1 - Change is Profitable

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There wasn't one pony in Equestria that liked change. Or perhaps those were only the ponies that Twilight Sparkle had met. They always tried to resist change, as most small town folk tended to do. Or perhaps that was only Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. After all, ascending to royalty was only exhilarating at first before the stone of fear dropped within her stomach. Saying that everything would be "all right" had been like a trigger for bad karma.

Well, at least she was still stationed at Ponyville. Twilight would have gone straight from worried to panic-stricken if she had to move back to Canterlot. In retrospect it was ironic. She had been so against moving to Ponyville and now she was so against moving anywhere else. Again, change seemed a popular thing to hate.

It was disappointing that she had to stay behind at the castle as her friends returned to Ponyville earlier that evening. With the coronation over, Princess Celestia needed Twilight to stay behind and go over some of the things that would be expected of her. Luckily, the older princess had gotten her out of most of the drawl elitist obligations. The unicorn-now-alicorn believed she would never be able to repay her mentor for all the things she had done for her throughout her life – excluding any mention of royal ascension.

Now, the newly appointed princess was taking a night ride on her chariot back to Ponyville. That was another thing to get used to. She had her own chariot, which included the two pegasus stallions that pulled it. She had tried to tell Princess Celestia that it was completely unnecessary but the mare had been persistent to the point of using a royal order to ensure that Twilight used it. So there was item number umpteen on the list of changes that she didn't care much for. Oh, she appreciated getting a free ride wherever she wished but it also made her feel guilty. Perhaps she would feel better about it if she could learn the names of the two stallions that were hauling her around. They had been tight-lipped and insisted that they were not worthy of her attention. Calling them by their names was certainly out of the question...according to them.

On that note, Twilight began to wonder why it was so taboo for her to simply fly where she wanted. She had her own wings, after all, and so did the other princesses. Prestige? Was that it? Or perhaps it was to save energy. Any further thoughts that Twilight might have had on the matter were utterly destroyed by the fact that her chariot was coming down to land in front of her library. Finally, rest. That was the plan anyways. First thing to do on her mental checklist was to make sure her guards were taken care of. Exiting the elaborately decorated vehicle, Princess Twilight Sparkle tiredly strode over to her home's front door and glanced back behind her.

"I'll get a few sleeping bags set up for you in the library," she regarded her drivers. "You both must be tired."

The suggestion, however considerate, was quickly denied.

"Oh, no!" they both hurriedly voiced.

One relented so the other could speak.

"We couldn't possibly sleep in the same quarters as your Highness!"

Twilight raised a brow in return. Was this how they were trained to act or were they sincere? Probably the latter, she thought as she turned fully to face them in Luna's pale moonlight.

"Please, you can just call me Twilight and, actually, it's not really the same quarters. My room is-"

"We will be staying at a nearby cottage so that we may continue to serve you. Princess Celestia has already arranged it," the second guard explained.

The first guard shot a look to his fellow pegasus and quickly spoke in follow-up, "Oh! But the princess no longer commands us. Your Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle, is our master now."

The flustered look and hurried low-bow that the two gave was quite beyond Twilight's ability to comprehend. It was not that she couldn't reason it out as being part of their duty but rather it was that the matters of "servant" and "slave" seemed terribly confused here. She was too tired to think of it any further, however. Any other time she might have argued or tried to tell the two that they needn't act like a couple of lowly servants. At the moment, all she wanted was her soft comfy bed.

Thus a tilt of her head and "get some rest" was all she managed to yawn before turning back and entering her treehouse home. Spike was instantly coming down the steps and she had to wonder why he wasn't already asleep.

"Twilight!" he nearly shouted before stopping and suddenly looking very unsure of himself. "Umm..."

That's when Twilight remembered that she still wore the mess of clothing and accessories from her coronation. Ugh, she thought plainly. It would all have to be removed before she could have a date with that bed and a not-so-fond memory came to mind. It was the last time that she left a necklace on when she went to sleep. Waking up the next morning with necklace-shaped bruises had not been at all fun.

But the regalia was not what had Spike fidgeting. If Twilight had to guess, it had to do with the other occupant of the library. That not-exactly-pony had caused many interesting situations since she moved in. Situations that were really more interesting than bad, and at least she wasn't impersonating other ponies anymore. The purple alicorn had little energy left, so the latest issue could hopefully wait.

"What's keeping you up, Spike? I hope you didn't wait all night for me to get back," she remarked, thinking to ignore whatever issue it was until she had more energy in the morning.

"Well, about that..." he wavered.

Twilight stepped around him and began making her way upstairs as she began removing accessories with her levitation magic.

"Oh! Uh...um..." Spike began to panic. Twilight was heading straight into the problem. Finally giving up, Spike merely sighed out, "Enjoy the renovations."

The princess was about to answer with a "huh?" when she turned the proper corner and beheld the subject of the dragon's distress. Somehow, Twilight wasn't tired anymore. The various accessories that she had removed and levitated via magic suddenly dropped to the floor with an assorted clang.

Before her was her bedroom. Or what was still recognizable as such. Everything had been covered with some sort of greenish almost-black material that formed ridge-like patterns on the walls. In fact, it also made that pattern on the ceiling and floor. The only thing that let her know that this was indeed her bedroom was the large circular floor indention at the back of the room. It was only a few hooves deep but was immediately recognizable. The indention was called a "sleep ring" and was one of the many peculiar aspects of changeling life. Of course there was only one changeling that had ever taught Twilight about these things and only one changeling that could have ever made it. She was the third occupant of the library...

"Chrysalis!"

It was more a shout of complaint than anger. And it certainly wasn't shock. In any case, the purple mare was making hoof gestures that went along with her stress-relieving breathing exercise. It was necessary to maintain her aforementioned lack of shock.

A light tap sounded behind her and the purple princess twirled around to behold the former queen. She was standing not a hoof away with a look of aloof glee on her face. How she had suddenly appeared out of thin air must have been attributable to her growing stealth abilities, which Pinkie Pie was entirely to blame for.

"Welcome home, Twilight. You like your present? I knew I'd have to do something grand for your coronation. What with the white priss not letting me attend. Now you can have a good night's rest-" the changeling mare spoke with rapid excitement only to be interrupted halfway.

"My bed! What did you do with my bed? And the books?!" Twilight's calming exercise gave out as her eyes shone like saucers with fear.

Chrysalis seemed to pick up on Twilight's difference in mood and answered more solemnly. "I just put them in storage. You weren't reading those ones anyways..."

The princess sighed long and deep. At least her things were safe. But next up was a good lecture. "I've told you before not to do anything extreme without asking me first. How does this," she waved to the very changeling-like room around her, "not qualify as extreme?"

"But it's your prese-"

"Presents don't involve mass structural change to one's home, Chrysalis. They're typically things like expensive cakes, overpowering perfumes, and books that you'd never want to read. This," she waved again, "is not a present. It's about two weeks of remodeling that I'm going to have to do. How did you even manage to do all of this while I was gone?"

"But there isn't a single book that you wouldn't read, Twilight," Chrysalis commented dumbly, clearly forgetting the point.

At that, the still smaller mare slid down onto the floor. She was just too tired and her energy left her again so she couldn't argue or fix her room - if it could still be called that. Ever since Chrysalis had begun living with her, Twilight had been forced to deal with changeling culture that she never even knew existed. Thus she also had to instruct the mare in how normal ponies lived. It was as if Chrysalis was incapable of acting normal while in her default changeling form. Maybe it was psychological. Whatever the case, Twilight could feel her eyelids droop. So tired...

"Oh, we can't have you fall asleep on the floor, princess," the changeling beamed once again. "Not when I chipped a hoof to make you a ring."

Vaguely, the alicorn felt herself get pulled onto a hard but warm carapace and transported down into the indention. Once she was let down off of the changeling back, she could feel something that, darned to admit, was rather soft. The floor of the sleeping ring might actually have been more comfortable than her bed. A soft green glow began to emit from the sides of the ring and it was just bright enough to be noticeable but not so bright as to be glaring or annoying. In fact, it was rather soothing.

"Spike!" called Chrysalis' slightly buzzy voice.

A faint "coming" was heard from downstairs and the small dragon quickly emerged in the room, but Twilight didn't entirely notice it since she was drowsy to the point of knocking out. The ring was helping her along quite nicely to that end. The last thing the new princess remembered was Spike's voice. He said something that might have been "how do I get roped into these things."

Morning came as it usually did in Ponyville. Only this morning didn't shimmer or shine so much as it glowed faintly in the dark.

"Dark?" murmured Twilight Sparkle as she slowly came to. She was better at mornings than her scaly companion but less so on the ones that followed busy nights. The question was, of course, if the darkness around her meant that it was still that same night. She got her answer upon awaking more fully and taking in her surroundings. Behind her was the large mass of changeling that was Chrysalis. The black being was nuzzled snugly against her back. Spike was MIA. He was never MIA. Not in the middle of the night and certainly not early in the morning when he had a warm blanket calling his name. Speaking of which, his bed was gone along with hers. It wasn't just dark either. The whole room itself was black!

"Ohhh," Twilight mumbled aloud by accident. She finally remembered the previous night. So if Spike was missing then it was probably late morning and she had slept in. No wonders there. The sleeping ring was as addictive as the Apple family's cider.

"Slept well," Chrysalis startled her from behind. Apparently, Twilight was the last one up.

Knowing it was a statement rather than a question, the alicorn relented the reply. "Yes," she admitted. It had been better sleep than even her nights in the royal Canterlot palace. Changeling ways were often odd but rarely nonsensical.

"I knew you'd like it. You ponies spend an awful lot of effort on resisting improvement," the former queen laughed.

Twilight couldn't say otherwise. If she had any more energy the previous night then she would indeed have resisted - perhaps not slept at all in the ring. How many times would she have to embarrass herself by being a stubborn mule about every single change?

"Can we get some light in here? I feel like I'm trapped in a cave," the purple pony finally said.

"Ah," buzzed the reply. "I kept the film from going transparent so that you could sleep in. I'll fix it now."

Chrysalis got up from her spot and moved out of the ring to an otherwise non-unique spot on the wall. Tilting her horn and drowning it in green magical light, a round spot in the ridged wall started to glow. The glow was red at first and then started turning a gentler yellow until it became clear that the spot was where her window was (or used to be). Once the material became see-through, it was as easy to see outside as if it was normal glass.

"Nifty," the princess remarked.

Chrysalis smiled and started toward the stairs across the room.

"I think Spike has finished preparing breakfast," she explained.

Might as well, Twilight thought. She could settle the matter of her bedroom over the meal. Or perhaps just think it over. After that good bout of sleep, some thinking certainly was in order.

Getting up with a yawn, she followed Chrysalis out of the ring, downstairs, and then into the kitchen. It seemed the tiny dragon had thought to make a simple entree of oatmeal. Of course, simple was only in the sense that it wasn't accompanied by ornate side dishes or garnish. Spike always made the otherwise bland oatmeal with just the right amount of sugar and spice. With a keen addition of mixed berries, it tasted quite nice. Or at least it was to Twilight. Chrysalis only sat at the table as a formality since she dined with an entirely different food pyramid.

"I guess the bedroom is staying as it is, huh?" Spike started the morning conversation as he twirled a spoon in his bowl.

Chrysalis gave the alicorn a hopeful look to which the pony sighed. It was the sigh of relent.

"I'd like to think it over but, for now, yes," she answered, not meaning to sound as regal as she came off. Was that tone of voice just natural to the horned and winged race?

"I can add anything you like. Something to hold books, perhaps?" Chrysalis happily suggested as Twilight took a spoonful of the tasty oatmeal.

After carefully chewing and swallowing, she replied, "I'd say that I'd like to think about that too, but I'm curious to know how you did it all in the first place. Care to enlighten me as to how you morphed my bedroom within fourteen hours?"

Such was the time that Twilight had left for Canterlot for the coronation and then returned to Ponyville at night. Chrysalis had been forced to hurry but she had managed it all the same.

"Just magic, Twilight. It's nothing you couldn't guess," she failed to explain.

"I wouldn't be so sure. What is that black stuff anyways?"

Spike continued to sit at the table with them. Rather then eating the oatmeal with the former unicorn, which he occasionally did out of boredom or in the interest of refining the taste of it, he just nibbled on a small sapphire he had prepared earlier. He had, after all, finished his current chores for Princess Twilight Sparkle and was more than content to bask in the glory that he was in the upper echelon of royal assistants. Number one, that is to say.

The changeling mare didn't answer the question directly, instead taking a peculiar interest in the blueberry that occupied a corner of Twilight's bowl of oatmeal.

"Nothing important," Chrysalis dodged.

But that only piqued the alicorn's interest in the way that made most ponies worried. Twilight, princess or not, was a stickler for details.

"What is it?" she asked with a cooler and more serious tone.

"Detritus," Chrysalis frowned. The changeling knew that her pony friend wouldn't be fond of the idea.

"Detritus?" Twilight mimicked.

"Detritus," the changeling repeated. Taking the occasion to further Twilight's knowledge in changeling life, Chrysalis decided to extrapolate. "From the Everfree Forest. Changelings," she motioned to herself almost proudly, "take leaves and sticks from nearby forests and use their magic - it doesn't take much - to compact and transform the material into that black stuff. We just call it 'clod.' It doesn't deserve a fancy name but it's crucial to maintaining a clean and secure hive. It can take quite the effort to get if the nearest forest is-"

"Hive?" Twilight interrupted with a giggly mood. "You still consider the two of us your hive?"

Chrysalis considered it no laughing matter though. After taking in the changeling, Twilight and her dragon slave (as the original misunderstanding went) became the first two members of Chrysalis' new hive. Maybe it wasn't anything like a changeling hive but it was still a hive to her. What the newly appointed princess didn't seem to understand was that "hive" did not exactly mean what most ponies thought it did. They often thought that hives were bad things or else understood them only in the sense of beehives. Changeling hives were quite different though. And to the former queen, they were a matter of close family.

"As I always will. Besides," the changeling tossed her mane in what might have been a form of pouting. "You are the reason I'm alive right now."

Twilight smiled. She couldn't deny it any more than she could the delicious taste of the oatmeal to which she took another spoonful. Unicorns and alicorns really had such an easy time with silverware.

More to the point, Twilight had a better understanding of changelings now but then she also might still have more misunderstandings than she currently realized. The true nature of the "hive" was an elusive subject for her. It was simply not something that could be adequately explained with words. It was one of those matters in life that could only be fully understood in it's actual living context. In other words, Twilight had to live "hive" life to understand what it really was. And that, in turn, meant that she still didn't know what place she held in the "hive" in relation to Chrysalis. Was she like a worker or like royalty? Was she somewhere in between or just an honorary member?

Spike, on the other hoof (or claw), had been taking everything quite well. There were moments where he panicked like his caretaker Twilight and then moments where he exhibited unusual calm and logic. This must have been one of those latter moments because he made no further fuss over the bedroom or even to his unicorn "sister" becoming an alicorn. In fact, he took the moment to express his contentment with last night's sleep. A rather ordinary type of conversation that revealed his utter acceptance of life, the universe, and changelings.

"I liked my old bed and blanket, but I have to admit," he tilted his head to Chrysalis across the table, "that ring thing is definitely an upgrade."

Chrysalis beamed all over again. It would seem that nothing in Equestria was going to lower her mood now, which was quite a switch from how she had been some months prior. The way she used to mope about the house seemingly in mixed pain and depression was, needless to say, not healthy in the ways of conviviality. She looked again to the purple princess.

Swallowing her food properly, Twilight struck up the obvious question, "What exactly happened last night...?"

"You came home and nearly passed out on the floor. I got you into the ring in time, though. You slept quite well and I'd say you enjoyed it quite a bit since your wings twitched so much," Chrysalis started to explain.

"And you drooled," Spike added flatly. The changeling nudged him in the side as an indication that he lacked tact.

"My wings twitch..." Twilight seemed to say more to herself than the others. She had a lot to learn about the two things on her back.

Chrysalis decided to explain further, as her royal host was still very much in the dark. "The three of us slept the usual way. I mean the changeling way," she corrected. "It can be dangerous to a changeling's health to sleep alone. It is normal and entirely necessary to fall asleep while gazing into another's eyes."

The alicorn raised her attention from her oatmeal to face her dark colored housemate. "So that's why I've caught you staring at me when I'm trying to get to sleep. I thought you were just trying to give me nightmares," Twilight smirked.

The look of shock and insult on the changeling's face was near comical, but Spike was the only one laughing. Attempting to recover, Chrysalis explained further. "Lower members of the hive sleep together in large groups. Sometimes as many as sixteen. Upper members sleep in smaller groups but rarely in less than four. As queen," she reflected, "I would sleep in any ring I chose. The workers were always so happy when I would sleep in their rings..."

Twilight may have been lacking in some cultural knowledge but she was able to pick up on the reminiscing. Chrysalis had some very special connections with her past hive. Perhaps it was motherly affection. The princess hoped not because it would only have made the changeling's cut-off all the more painful and such pain she would not wish on any pony...or changeling.

What did Chrysalis feel now? Was she masking sadness?

"Chrysalis," Twilight Sparkle started before the changeling spoke instead.

"I sleep in a different ring now. Yours," Chrysalis smiled but it seemed to have taken on a bitter sweet taint. "And Spike is not as cold at night as I had thought."

The dragon puffed up in response. Somehow it seemed it was a matter of pride to him. Must be a dragon thing, the changeling concluded.

"I conserve my heat, not lose it," he stated.

"Oh, I recall," the princess thought back to Spike's earliest years. It seemed nostalgic somehow. She was a little filly having to take care of a hatchling dragon that was attached to her like a magnet. "You were especially clingy during winter. I guess you wanted to add my own heat to yours when you slept. Sometimes I'd have claw marks on me when I got up in the morning."

"Twilight," Spike drew out the name in complaint. "Stop it."

Chrysalis missed the fact that the poor dragon was blushing in embarrassment. Perhaps it was due to the fact that the concept of "family sleep" was so natural to her.

"It's important to maintain physical contact before and during sleep as well," the changeling decided to continue the conversation. Twilight could use something to listen to as she finished her meal anyways. "Familial love between changelings is not a possible form of food but it's necessary all the same. Without some foundation of affection through family, we starve a whole lot faster. Since we all have our own things to attend to during the rest of the day, bedtime is the perfect opportunity to express care."

Twilight looked back up from her now empty bowl and regarded her changeling friend. The former queen held a lop-sided expression that told of her difficulty in presenting all of the cultural information to Twilight in a manner that she would understand.

"I see," the alicorn decided. "It does make sense even if I can't picture any of those drones having feelings like love or friendship. No offense but I'm inclined to say that you're the exception to the changeling rule."

To that, Chrysalis looked away from the alicorn.

"I guess I was a little different..."

"Different?" Spike interrupted, crossing his arms. "Join the club. I'm not exactly the poster example for a dragon."

It seemed more a light-hearted encouragement than a legitimate complaint so the other two laughed mildly in return. They were all unusual in their own way but everything had managed to work out.

So far.

2 - Communication is Critical

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Everypony had reacted in their own way to Chrysalis' recovery. Princess Celestia had been the most wary but she had good reason for that. Twilight's friends were more accepting but that was only relatively speaking. Pinkie Pie's fearless, unquestioned, and rather exuberant acceptance didn't count. Nopony but Twilight Sparkle herself really had the guts to walk right up to the former queen and offer friendship. But even that was by a slim amount. Not wanting to admit it, Twilight Sparkle had been a tad scared with being so close to the large black changeling. The wedding incident trauma had probably played some role in those feelings but, in recent days, Twilight had not felt any fear so perhaps it had finally melted away.

One way or another, things had worked out. Chrysalis had fully recovered with the then-unicorn's help and took up residence in the Ponyville library. The princess didn't necessarily intend for it to end up that way but there was simply no other place for the changeling to go. She would not be accepted anywhere and, even if she was, she needed Twilight around to prevent starvation.

Friendship had become the changeling's source of food. Or, at least, that's what Twilight assumed. What else could she come up with to explain the changeling's recovery? But in spite of the initial theories and conclusions, the now-alicorn was beginning to wonder if she would ever understand how Chrysalis survived or continued to thrive. The exact method of changeling emotional consumption was hard to understand and their general culture was even worse.

"You don't need to escort me around," Princess Twilight Sparkle stated pointedly to the two guards that walked alongside her. They both looked like they expected an attack at any second and almost seemed to believe it would come from the large black pony-like thing that was also escorting their purple responsibility.

"It is imperative that your Highness remain safe," the guard on the left replied.

"We will forfeit our lives so that you may safely escape any danger," the guard on the right added.

Twilight was about to continue the debate when Chrysalis spoke instead. "I will eliminate anything that would pose a threat to Queen Twilight Sparkle."

The guards looked like they wanted to respond in some way but had difficulty in deciding how. A queen should technically be a higher rank than a princess so they couldn't imply that Twilight deserved a lower rank. That would be an insult to their master. Nor could they imply that Chrysalis should not protect the alicorn. That would insinuate treason. In the end, it wasn't even their right to suggest who should and should not be accompanying Twilight if she had permitted the accompaniment in the first place. So they moved their mouths wordlessly for a second and then shut them entirely.

"Queen?" Twilight raised a brow to her dark friend. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Exactly. I thought you knew all along," Chrysalis buzzed happily. She must have believed that she already had everything that she wanted out of life because her mood was far too positive.

"Excuse me for missing the hints. I'm not exactly an expert on changeling societal norms yet," Twilight bleated as they continued their leisurely walk.

It would be nice when they reached their destination, the princess thought. Fluttershy's cottage was a much calmer place than most unless the pegasus was dealing with one of Angel Bunny's hissy fits. Twilight liked to assume that wouldn't be the case whenever she decided to visit. It resulted in much happier thoughts en route.

Of course, it hadn't been Twilight's idea to visit this time. It had been Chrysalis' suggestion and why that was the case Twilight didn't yet know. The changeling wouldn't say and the alicorn decided to go along because she wanted to see each of her five friends anyways.

"Oh, but you've been extremely accepting of me, Twilight. I can't expect anything in return and I really shouldn't. I would have died if not for you," Chrysalis mentioned for the millionth time.

Perhaps that was why she had transformed into something of a servant since Twilight had saved her. Perhaps she even believed that she had some life debt with the princess. So then, how did changelings deal with life debts in comparison with, say, dragons?

"I'd tell you to stop saying that over and over again but I already know that you won't. And on that same point, is failure to cease mentioning your salvation not a form of disobedience to your ruler when you are explicitly ordered not to?" Twilight half-joked while again slipping into a tone that was far too elegant. She began to suspect that Princess Celestia had slipped some speech spell over her to guarantee a princess-like tonality.

"If you really order me to then I will stop," Chrysalis replied gravely. Her happy mood switched off momentarily as she considered the seriousness of Twilight's suggestion.

Not actually meaning to be serious, the alicorn felt a little guilty. But it was a passing feeling. Might as well, she decided. "Yes. I'll make it an order. Cease going on about how I saved you. And also cease any similar remarks. I prefer you as a friend, not a servant. If only these guards will listen..."

Both of the stallions stiffened at the call-out. But neither had further time to consider it or respond as the entire party had arrived at the cottage. Whether it be day or night, the little house regularly appeared the prime example of tranquility. A few birds even flew by to perch on a nearby tree and chirp happily. If Twilight could speak bird then she might have understood that the two cardinals were singing a poem about the kindness of Fluttershy. But Twilight didn't speak or understand bird language so that fact was lost on everypony present.

Knock knock, rattled the door as the princess tapped her hoof against it.

"Coming," echoed a soft and gentle voice from inside. Not two moments later, the door opened.

"Good morning, Fluttershy," Twilight beamed once again with the happiness of greeting a long-time friend.

Fluttershy smiled in return while stepping aside to let the princess in, but flinched noticeably when she saw the changeling to the side.

"Oh, Twilight. Good morning," her voice wavered in nervous anticipation. What exactly the anticipation was for was unknown. To her, Chrysalis was still scary. Anything might happen.

"It's okay," the princess calmed her friend as she stepped into the cottage with the changeling in tow. "You know Chrysalis is as harmless as a marshmallow now."

The two guards took positions outside of the door, which only worked to continue the yellow mare's flustered state. Feeling just a tad awkward and closing the door again, she turned to her two guests.

"T-tea?"

"I prefer love," Chrysalis joked and received a purple elbow to her side.

"I don't think I can..." Fluttershy flustered even more.

"We're both fine," Twilight explained. "To be honest, I just wanted to check up on everypony since I haven't seen you all since yesterday's coronation. I really didn't want that to be our last meeting and it feels like it's been months already."

"Oh...yes..." mumbled the pegasus as she walked over to her sofa and curled up on it. Something was very off.

As Twilight approached her friend, Angel Bunny started giving Chrysalis mean expressions. A bunny-changeling war erupted behind the alicorn princess but she didn't take any notice. Instead, she laid a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Did something happen when I was still in Canterlot?" she questioned.

Fluttershy sighed deeply and then came out with it. "We were on the train talking about what it was going to be like when you came back. Everypony was so excited. I thought that poor Dashie was going to blow a fuse waiting for you to return. She's always wanted a flying partner and I'm just not any good with my wings."

Twilight looked downwards, feeling in an awkward position.

"I guess I just feel kind of," the butter-yellow mare winced before saying, "useless."

"Fluttershy," Twilight attempted to reprimand gently. "Nopony is useless, especially not you. You're the element of kindness for Pete's sake. And you're one of my best friends."

"I know," the pegasus replied in that faint whisper that was hard to hear.

Twilight took on a lop-sided look. Day one as princess and she already had a friendship problem. All she wanted to do today was take a quick round through Ponyville and spend some time with her friends. But now she had to figure out how to make Fluttershy feel that she wasn't getting pushed to the back of the train.

"How about we do something together?" Twilight rubbed a forehoof across the yellow wings. "Oh! We can do a research project together and it'll just be our secret!"

Fluttershy turned her face and looked the purple mare straight in the eyes. "That's something only you want to do, Twilight," the pegasus suddenly declared.

It was so blunt and unexpected to hear from the quiet and shy mare that Twilight felt her entire world turn to stone and crumble.

Luckily, Chrysalis made a noise behind them and snapped the alicorn out of her despair.

"H-how about a picnic then? You're always going on picnics with your animals."

"Oh, but Angel is on strike right now," came Fluttershy's swift response.

"Seriously?" deadpanned the alicorn.

The changeling was next for a suggestion. "We can improve your critter homes. And yours too while we're at it," Chrysalis buzzed cheerfully. "Your 'Angel' has already given his approval."

Both the element of magic and kindness peered around Chrysalis' large black form to discover the rabbit had been tied with a rope, gagged, and blindfolded. Twilight made a mental note to check her house when she got back. She expected that's where the materials came from but still wondered exactly why the changeling had thought to bring the proper equipment for hostage-taking.

Fluttershy "eeped" as she scurried over to her pet bunny.

"Oh, Angel," the pegasus sighed. "You really must be more considerate of others."

It was funny in that odd way that the comment was directed at the rabbit rather than the changeling. It was probably a result of the mare's slightly improved boldness in handling tough customers. Angel really was something of a bully, after all.

"I'm not sure if 'improvement' is the word that you mean," the princess directed at her insect-like friend.

"Oh, it is," Chrysalis insisted as Fluttershy released and tried to calm an enraged Angel Bunny. "Your bedroom has improved vastly. You already agreed to that."

Twilight Sparkle squinted back. That matter was still officially undecided.

"Well, I doubt Fluttershy will want to make any vast changes. Her house is extremely complex to account for all of the different animal life."

"You consider this," Chrysalis gestured to the various holes, walkways, and birdhouses, "complex? I'd create something twice as complex everyday for the hatcheries."

"But," Twilight started to stall. "Hive chambers are unnatural for these critters. Squirrels," she pointed a hoof to one nearby, "are not changelings."

"Spike is not a changeling either but he rather enjoyed it," Chrysalis responded with the resolve to not be deterred from her course.

"Spike doesn't count," Twilight deadpanned again. “He'll sleep anywhere if he's tired enough. Besides,” she tilted her head up and closed her eyes, entering that unusually regal mode again. “Animals don't have the same sense of logical adaption as ponies do in relation to long-term lifestyle modification. There are at least four books in my library that specifically-”

Twilight stopped herself short when she started opening her eyes again and found that Chrysalis had turned from her and was accompanying Fluttershy to her bedroom. “Fluttershy!” the purple alicorn pouted in retaliation, as she believed that she was being ignored.

Fluttershy looked back to her friend without breaking stride. “Oh, I know, Twilight. But it's only polite if I try it out, right? The animals won't mind if it's only my bedroom.”

Twilight gaped and then trotted to catch up. “But you're okay with it? Just like that?”

“It was very nice of,” Fluttershy practically flinched but didn't move away from the changeling beside her, “Chrysalis to offer. Discord needed some room to be himself and we're all the better for it. Why should it be any different now?”

Twilight felt like she had a million arguments against it and she knew she still had some issues with the way Fluttershy handled things. But she also knew that the yellow mare could be quite adamant when she put her mind to doing something and it was not as if Chrysalis was going to do any harm. If anything, Fluttershy might even like the sleep ring. So why was Twilight feeling so strongly against it?

Chrysalis had meant yesterday's renovation to be a special present to her for the coronation. Something special. As the three of them entered Fluttershy's bedroom, Twilight kept her mouth shut as she contemplated. Was she being...

Jealous?

“Perhaps I will just put a small sleep ring in the corner,“ Chrysalis commented as she took in the room and discussed the matter with Fluttershy. “Otherwise it will take all day and I wouldn't want to spend so much time and energy over something that you might not like.”

The tone of the changeling's voice very much indicated that she knew Fluttershy would like it. That fact, however, was lost to the alicorn who was too busy wondering why Chrysalis would offer to Fluttershy what she had first gifted to her “Queen.” Something was up. But then something always seemed to be up these days.

“Oh, well,” Fluttershy flustered again. She seemed to be trying to approach Chrysalis in a similar fashion to the way she approached Discord. Nevertheless, she still feared the changeling more than she ever feared the draconequus. “If it's not too much trouble or anything...”

“Hardly,” Chrysalis waved her hoof as if to dismiss the notion. “You are, after all, one of Twilight's dear friends.”

The purple pony caught the changeling's tone that indicated she had forced herself not to prefix her name with a title. She had probably forced herself not to say “Queen Twilight.” But now the alicorn's suspicions turned into hard fact. Twilight was not one to be slow on the uptake so she spoke her mind. “Chrysalis,” Twilight called.

“Yes, Twilight?” the changeling again strained against speaking the prefixed title.

“What are you doing?” the princess inquired plainly.

Fluttershy looked down, not knowing where she belonged at the moment.

Chrysalis' smile had stuck and did not falter now. “Just being friendly and helpful. You should go do something with Fluttershy while I prepare the ring. It will take a bit of time.” She turned to face the pegasus. “Off you go then.”

“Oh, um,” the shy mare stumbled quickly over her words before giving up. “Okay.”

Twilight would have done something herself if the changeling didn't shoo her out of the room as if she were a young filly. Perhaps it would be best to leave Chrysalis alone and let her do what she wanted. At the very least, the princess was confident that whatever she had planned would not be harmful or dangerous. She knew she could trust the pseudo-pony at least that much.

The purple and yellow ponies were walking outside, having left Fluttershy's cottage. The day had good weather and the breeze made the mild heat quite bearable. But there was still something wrong with the pegasus because a vague dampness hung in the air between them.

“You sure you don't need to take care of any of the animals back at your place?” the princess asked politely.

Fluttershy nodded but didn't answer until they had tread long enough for the pause to be awkward. “I took care of everything already. I have to be up extra early every day so that I can be there when the animals wake up.”

Twilight gave her own nod in return but her brow remained at a suspicious tilt. “Fluttershy,” she tried again to approach the subject from earlier in the cottage.

“Oh, it's not your fault, Twilight,” the mare replied with a sobbing tone. “You're just doing what you've always been meant to do and I...”

Her voiced trailed off to such a quiet tone that the alicorn couldn't hear it. Seeing that the mare had lowered her head and hid her face behind her mane, Twilight knew that she should just give her friend some time. So they walked on for a few minutes, passing trees and grassy hills at a leisurely pace with no end destination in mind.

“I'm not good enough to be your friend,” Fluttershy finally whispered just loud enough for Twilight to hear over the breeze and sound of their hooves.

“That's not true,” Twilight responded, realizing that she had done so too quickly and loudly. The yellow pony beside her had flinched as both of them came to a halt on the country trail. The princess sighed to make herself calm before turning to face the other directly. “You know that's not true,” she said softer and more gently, putting a hoof on her friend's shoulder. “If anything, I'm not good enough to be your friend. You're always so kind and considerate towards me. Forgiving me every time I do something wrong...” Stretching out her wings without realizing it, Twilight closed in and gave the butter-yellow mare a hug. Everything snapped together like a perfect and complete puzzle in Twilight's mind. She knew exactly how to reason out the matter with her friend.

“Twilight,” Fluttershy said more than asked, not quite understanding the gesture. Why would a princess want to be around her, let alone hug her?

“Sometimes you just need to give it a little thought and you'll figure it out,” the alicorn said as she deepened the hug. It was one of those rare times where she was right up against Fluttershy's mane and could smell that faint lavender scent. She had noticed it long ago only because it was rather uncommon.

“Huh?” the pegasus said, now even more confused.

Twilight leaned back from the hug but kept her hooves on the other's shoulders. “It's simple. If you believe that I've changed into some incredible princess then my decisions should be sound, correct?”

Fluttershy didn't react at first but then slowly nodded her head as if she was still trying to grasp the situation.

“And if I decide that you are an incredible friend then it must be true,” the princess continued.

Again Fluttershy nodded slowly, if even a tad slower.

“Thus, you must be an incredible pony. Isn't logic great?” Twilight beamed like a school filly.

“But-”

Not to let Fluttershy come to any other conclusion, Twilight leaned forward and hugged her again. This time becoming more serious and speaking softly into her ear. “I'm not some incredible pony, Fluttershy. I'm the same Twilight Sparkle that I was when I first came to Ponyville - just a little wiser about the importance of friendship. My wings and title make no difference to who I really am. And they certainly don't change the fact that you are very important to me.”

Letting out a sigh of mixed relent and relief, Fluttershy leaned her head back against her friend's. She closed her eyes for a moment and then pushed back out of the hug with her front hooves. “I'm sorry I made such a fuss,” she apologized.

“It wasn't a fuss,” Twilight smiled back faintly, knowing to be gentle as possible with the shy mare. She always had to be gentle to not upset the very sensitive pegasus. “It was how you felt and I'm glad you were willing to tell me.”

“I promise not to be a bother again,” she turned to look at the ground.

The alicorn sighed this time in exasperation, knowing that the issue might not have truly been resolved. “You're not a bother. And do tell me next time you start feeling this way because I want to be with you to cheer you up.”

Fluttershy blushed faintly and spoke again nearly to the point of not being heard. “That...would be nice...”

Chrysalis blinked twice in an attempt to clear her mind. Or perhaps to fill it up. The lack of the hivemind's presence had been painful of late and she couldn't wait to fix it. But, at the same time, she needed to keep Fluttershy's bedroom door shut so that the animal noises wouldn't interrupt her focus.

Creating a linked sleeping ring was actually rather complicated because it was, essentially, the application of persistent magic that could link multiple minds across great distances. Changelings, being of a hivemind, only had need of such chambers for two typical reasons. First, for hatchlings that had not yet developed a strong enough hivemind to maintain a regular connection. Second, for communication between whole or celled hives.

But this one was going to be problematic. Chrysalis had built the more complex hive quarters on occasion but had only learned about the method in which to create a linked ring as part of her leadership studies. She never actually used that knowledge in practice. Sure, she had said that she helped build hatcheries, but she hadn't mentioned that she had “passed the bit” on the more magically complicated parts. How could she have guessed that she'd ever have need to create something other than a basic sleeping ring?

It was one thing to mold the magical link for use between changelings but it was entirely another matter to do it successfully between different species. Chrysalis would have to set it up for Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns in addition to at least one alicorn, dragon, and changeling. With a smug grin, the former queen assured herself that she would deserve a golden trophy for ingenuity if she pulled it off. Not if but when, she reminded herself proudly.

That was when she opened the bedroom window and peered outwards in search of materials. Spotting all that she needed in the magically-reachable distance, her horn came aglow with green energy. The detritus began lifting and moving towards the cottage even as it began morphing in midair into the clod material.

The changeling strained and started to sweat under the drain, trying to distract herself from growing hunger with some mental planning. It would be challenging for the plan to succeed if Twilight found out too soon. The purple mare would have to already be under enough connections to see the sense of it.

Or perhaps an extra emotional hivemind connection would help...

No, the green-maned changeling attempted to prevent the thought. It would be no good if too much of Fluttershy found its way to Twilight. There was no need to go fusing personalities. Especially if it was with that frightened little one.

Still, Chrysalis would have to deal with the guards before evening since that would be when they switched for the night-shift. The current two with day-shift were the ones from last night. She knew without a doubt that they were the ones that had pulled the princess' carriage from Canterlot because she had been watching out a window when Twilight had returned the previous night.

While that white snob of a princess had prevented Chrysalis from participating in any of Twilight's coronation process, the changeling had used her wits to find out all that she needed. The two guards that pulled the carriage were not the only two. There was a second pair that switched on twelve hour shifts out of a low-profile cottage on the edge of Ponyville.

But that wasn't all that she had found out. The guards were strict enough in their duty but pretty sloppy when they were off-duty and not sleeping. The two that had carried Twilight home were new but the other two had been in Ponyville for a few days, which was how the changeling had figured out what she needed to know. It had also made her more suspicious of Celestia because the white alicorn had obviously been doing some under-the-table planning of her own.

A loud knock from the animals outside the bedroom interrupted Chrysalis' thoughts. Just as well, she thought as she rolled her eyes. The clod was all ready and situated into the appropriate piles in the room. It was time to create.

One minute.

Five minutes.

Twenty minutes.

After the fortieth one passed, Chrysalis was done with the ring itself. It almost looked like a meteor had burned a black spot in the corner of Fluttershy's bedroom. But that was only because it was daytime, the windows were not filtered, and the yellow mare's room was decorated in light pastels that spoke much of her personality.

Now, the changeling laid into the ring and lowered her head so that it was pointing into the spot where the ring pushed back against the corner of the wall. Touching her horn to the correct location, she made a magical connection to the ring's inner workings and made the appropriate adjustments. Just the kind of modifications she needed to make her plan work.

When she heard a commotion outside that indicated the two mares were back, she rushed to finish and leaped out of the ring. She was just in time as Fluttershy opened the door gently and poked her head in.

“Finished? Oh, I hope I'm not bothering you...” the butter-yellow pegasus said. Twilight leaned around her so she could also see in.

“Oh, yes. Just in time, in fact,” Chrysalis almost purred in satisfaction. She couldn't wait to see the results of her work when nighttime came around again.

3 - Knowledge is Useful

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Chrysalis had suggested going over to Fluttershy's for a reason even if she would not outright tell her Queen. It was for the best, since it was all for Twilight's ultimate advantage. But then maybe she was lying to herself. Sure, she wanted Twilight to have everything she could ever want but perhaps it was more than that. Changelings were not, after all, exactly like ponies in how they thought and acted.

“That was not exactly what I was thinking but I suppose we could,” the purple alicorn said to her carapace-covered companion.

They had just walked out of Fluttershy's cottage, as Chrysalis had told the pegasus everything she needed to know about the sleeping ring and got her to promise that she would use it when night came around. There was honestly not much to tell when it came to sleeping in a ring. The changeling basically just told her not to cover the ring light with blankets or pillows if the unlikely event occurred in which she found need of them.

Now, Chrysalis had just suggested that they head over to Pinkie Pie's place. Twilight had actually thought to visit Applejack next but didn't have any reason to make her visits in alternate order. The whole while she also had to put her two guards to the back of her mind because they were not an issue for the now. As ordered, they had followed her at a respectful distance when she took the walk with Fluttershy and, of course, they were following her now. The orders they did not follow, however, were those similar to “stop following me” and “what are your names.” The alicorn would have to deal with them at another time.

Even if it meant walking a little bit more, Twilight had learned that taking extra time could be beneficial to building one's patience. And by Celestia's crown, Twilight needed patience when it came to Pinkie Pie. That pony had more energy in her than the sun itself.

“Excellent! I'm sure she will love the ring as well,” Chrysalis said aloud as they walked the path that would eventually take them to Sugar Cube Corner.

“The ring?” Twilight questioned with a challenging tone, glared at her companion, and stopped dead in her tracks.

The changeling noticed immediately that there was an issue and turned to face the alicorn on the road. She kept her smile and happy tone, intent on not losing her cool. “Don't you think she would get better sleep with it? I'm sure her current means of nightly rest couldn't hold a candle-”

“Sleep better?” the purple pony interrupted. “You want Pinkie to have more energy every day?” Twilight shook her head to clear it of the images of a Pinkie Pie nuclear disaster. “Why would you make a ring for Pinkie?”

The pseudo-pony tried to keep calm. “So she could sleep-”

“No!” Twilight bit back more harshly than she intended to. “You gave me the ring as a present and now you've made one for Fluttershy. You didn't tell me why you wanted to go to Fluttershy's, but I think it's pretty obvious that you planned to make a ring all along.”

Chrysalis cursed herself for going one step too far. She should have taken things slower. Twilight was smart and perhaps the most intelligent pony in all of Equestria. Of course she would catch on. “I'm just trying to be friendly,” the changeling tried one last time, futilely.

“No,” the princess countered, this time lowering her voice to normal and calming herself down. Barking at somepony was not going to get her anywhere and she knew it. “I trust you, Chrysalis. But I can't have you building changeling stuff everywhere. At the very least, I need to understand why you are doing this. We're going back to the library where we can sit down and have a talk.”

Chrysalis felt like a filly that just had her hoof caught in the cookie jar. She was confident she could smooth things over but the plan would be next to impossible to pull off if she didn't get to the guards before nighttime. She had to deal with them quickly or else the princess sisters might find out.

“But you were going to visit your friends,” the changeling tried to salvage the situation even as the purple pony turned and headed down another path towards the place they both called home.

“My friends live here. They'll still be here tomorrow if I can't see them today. Now come,” Twilight ordered firmly.

“I'm sorry,” Chrysalis hung her head as she followed her leader.

Twilight didn't look back. “I'm not looking for an apology. I just want answers.”

Princess Twilight Sparkle laid down into her own sleeping ring that was still as comfortable as it had been last night. Spike had been surprised to see them back so early but didn't complain. He was too busy with an organization project that Twilight had given him. Chrysalis was still hanging her head down in defeat but she followed the princess' order to make all of the windows transparent. The room needed light, after all.

“Now come over here,” the pony ordered as she looked more carefully at the ring around her. Suspicion was etched on her face. Once the changeling stepped down into the shallow depression and laid down next to Twilight, the purple mare looked straight into her eyes and continued. “I'll admit that I was a little uncertain at first when you made the offer to Fluttershy. But I now know for a fact that this is really serious. I felt something when I was coming back to the cottage with Fluttershy.”

Chrysalis winced.

“Ah, I thought so,” the princess confirmed her theory. “You used magic. But you used more than it probably takes to make these rings. And you had to sneak some magic out of me to do it. I may not know too much yet about how changelings interact with a pony's emotions,” Twilight admitted, “but I suspect it might not be a stretch to siphon bodily energy or even magic. So why did you do it?”

The changeling didn't respond at first as she tried to come up with something to mask what she had done. She had been careless, as she had used up too much of her energy to rush the job and should have known that the alicorn would feel a leech of her own magic.

Twilight took the silence as intentional and continued. “Well, I can tell there's another problem so let's take care of that first. I've done the best I can to try to monitor your health but I have to admit that changeling physiology is frustratingly elusive. If I'm not mistaken, which I may be, you've exhausted yourself and you're really hungry right now.”

It was true. Perhaps her hunger was starting to interfere with her ability to come up with an excuse – even interfere with her ability to make good judgments. Perhaps that was why things had suddenly gone downhill. “I need food,” Chrysalis finally looked up to the purple pony and relented.

Twilight didn't know how Chrysalis had been getting by since she had picked her up and brought her in. It saddened her to think that the changeling might not trust her enough to tell her things about the basic needs of her species. So all she could think of to do was what she had done that night that they had looked up at the stars. She scooted up against Chrysalis and stretched a wing and hoof around her, feeling the faint warmth of the carapace. “I'm sorry but I don't know how to get you what you need. Really,” the mare confessed honestly. “I've been trying to figure things out but it seems like every step forward is three steps back. So if there's something you need me to do then just tell me. I'm not your enemy. I'm your friend and I'm here for you, Chrysalis.”

The large changeling stretched her wings reflexively and sighed in relaxation. “You've become a real Queen, Twilight. Giving orders, making decisions, caring for your underlings.”

“And still wanting those answers,” Twilight added as she leaned her head against the other's neck. Unlike Fluttershy, Chrysalis' mane had a scent that she wasn't sure of. It was something like morning dew and...honey?

“You don't have to order me. I'll just tell you,” the changeling finally said in confidence, having formulated her response. Twilight's gentle embrace was working, as she could feel a soothing flow of energy enter her. But she was starting to get warm in the face and didn't realize that the flow was turning her secrets and half-lies into honesty. She started speaking things that were too close to the truth. “This ring is special. Different from Fluttershy's,” Chrysalis explained as she turned against the princess so she could wrap a fore hoof across the other's shoulder. She needed more contact for her move to work.

“It sure looks different. It's quite a bit larger,” Twilight commented lazily as she too turned on the floor of the ring in an attempt to get more comfortable.

“This is the Queen's ring. Somewhat like your princess-sized double beds,” Chrysalis practically cooed as she rolled onto her side and dragged Twilight into a full hug, working an old changeling trick. “I activated the connection feature on Fluttershy's ring so that you can communicate with her. On something of a sub-conscience level. At least, that's the closest I think I can get to an explanation that you would...”

The purple princess was starting to feel sleepy in spite of the fact that it was not yet noon. Her eyelids started to droop and she struggled to comprehend Chrysalis' words. Did she say something about Fluttershy?

The changeling joyfully but gently squeezed the princess in her hooves. Laying her head down into the deep blue and purple-accented mane, she breathed in and sighed as she spoke calmly to the princess she knew was now asleep. “Such an interesting Queen. Giving me so much without even knowing what it is you're giving.”

Chrysalis was no longer hungry. She felt full but was intrigued by the odd sentiment that she had just fed upon. It wasn't like the leeched love that she had siphoned out of Shining Armor. But if she had to guess, it couldn't be true love. She had vague understandings of friendship and kinship as it might pertain to edible forms but none of these or any of the others quite fit the sensation that she had experienced from Twilight. It was as if the mare expressed an altogether new kind of emotion towards her.

Well, thought the changeling, it works. She wasn't about to complain even if she didn't understand it quite yet. On the other hoof, the warmth and softness of the Queen's sleeping ring and the pony's coat were proving hard to detach from. Chrysalis had to move fast but she felt pained to leave the comfort that she was currently invested in.

Finally convincing herself to leave by promising to spend triple time in the ring later, Chrysalis gently released Twilight from her embrace and moved to the chamber door. The princess would be asleep for a few hours since she had been drained directly rather than passively, as Chrysalis usually did.

A few hours would be enough to handle the guards. Pinkie Pie would be easy but Chrysalis needed permission first or else the whole thing would blow up in her face. Arriving downstairs, Spike asked what was going on and she gave a casual response and wave that successfully fooled the dragon. He was easy to handle if one didn't act suspicious. The guards outside were wary of her but didn't make a fuss when she told them that she was just running an errand for the princess.

She was out of the library and making her way out of town hastily. Keeping as much out of sight as possible to prevent startling the townsfolk, she got to the distance she needed and started to hover above the ground. Her wings buzzed rhythmically as she skirted around the town's edge and made her approach to the inconspicuous guard house. Dropping back to the ground, she snuck up as best she could to one of the windows and heard voices.

“Come on. You have any idea what Princess Celestia would do if she found out?” one guard pony said.

“Princess Celestia is not in charge of us anymore and, besides, I can't help it. It's not like we're devoid of emotion, you know. I can't just throw away my feelings,” replied the other.

“Yes, you can,” countered the first. “Out of all of the bad crushes in the world, this is the worst. You need to get over it before you get us both in trouble.”

“And how would I get you into trouble?” the second one argued.

Chrysalis counted herself in luck that the two were obviously distracted with their conversation. It gave her the opportunity that she needed. Cautiously using the new energy that she obtained from Twilight, she gathered some nearby detritus, started the material transformation, and made her way around the cottage to another window. This time it was the window for the bedroom that held the guard bunks. She opened the window from the inside with magic and levitated the clod inside, giving a lop-sided expression to the ease with which she had just gained access to the quarters. It didn't speak well of the guards' sense of security. In any case, this had to be done extremely quick without them noticing and the window was too small for the changeling to get in, so she would have to make do merely by sticking her head through the opening and using a series of magically-created mirrors to give her any of the impossible visual angles.

On one hoof, it had been too easy for her to gain access. On the other hoof, what she was doing was quite unusual and took a great amount of magical strength. Hopefully, Twilight wouldn't feel another magical tap since she was currently asleep via changeling sedation. Still, Chrysalis couldn't be too cautious and so would go straight back to the treehouse after her work was done.

With the green glow of her magic dying, the large changeling finished what she needed to do and removed herself from the window. The guards would never know what she had done until the matter was out of their hooves and into Twilight's. It would work. It had to.

Too much relief at having finished made Chrysalis careless. As she took a step back from the window, her hoof crunched a twig and some dry leaves. The resulting crackle was loud to the point that she wondered if the detritus personally had it out for her on account of their lost brethren. The voices from inside the cottage suddenly stopped and were replaced a second later by the sound of hooves.

The changeling cursed herself under her breath and leaped into the air, her wings buzzing her out of sight as quickly as they could. Since the cottage had been on the edge of Ponyville, Chrysalis managed to get a sufficient amount of trees between her and the guards before they exited the building and got around to the back. They hadn't hurried since they probably thought it was nothing but a squirrel or a badger but she could only hope they didn't hear the buzz of flight as she fled. Pegasi didn't exactly make that kind of sound and she could only hope to write it off as wild bees or hornets if it ever became an issue.

As she circled around to safely enter Ponyville once more, she decided on buying something in town as an additional cover-up.

“Chrysalis!” Twilight Sparkle shouted angrily as she stomped her left forehoof. “I should have left you to die when I had the chance!”

The changeling was laying on the ground, starved and seemingly injured. They were just outside of the library.

“You're evil!” she shouted to the black thing.

The townsfolk were gathering around, repeating the words. “You're evil!”

Suddenly, one of them charged at the helpless changeling...

Twilight sprung up from the position she had taken on the sleeping ring. She had been having a nightmare with a cold sweat thrown in for terrible measure. Only, she remembered the nightmare unlike so many nicer dreams that she had forgotten throughout her life. So much for good luck.

She looked down to see a pair of shaking hooves. Her hooves. They were shaking now in fright but they had been shaking in anger when she was in the dream world. More specifically, they had been shaking in anger against the one that she had come to know as a close friend in recent months. Chrysalis...

Was that what is was like to feel no compassion towards another? To be angry all the time...even hateful? Was that the end result when one didn't want another to be saved? Death?

“What if I had been mislead by hate or greed?” The alicorn thought aloud, painfully. “And nopony wanted me to be redeemed? Would I...”

“Die?” buzzed a familiar voice.

Twilight spun around to face the entrance to her new changeling bedroom. She suddenly remembered that she had fallen asleep aside Chrysalis, who was strangely now on the other side of the room.

The changeling began walking towards the one she now called Queen Twilight. “I think that is why we feel so strongly about the concept of salvation. It is the continuation – even creation – of life where there would have been only death. You ponies are not the only ones to have salvation as a theme in your literature.”

Chrysalis smiled warmly as she settled into the ring, trying to put the shaky mare at ease, who asked a question out of renewed curiosity. “You've been reading pony literature?”

The changeling rolled her eyes as she put a forehoof on Twilight's back and started rubbing the mare's wings, still trying to cease the alicorn's shaking. “We live in a library. How could I not?”

“So changelings have...literature?” the princess inquired again as the last of her shaking stopped.

Chrysalis frowned. “No offense, my Queen, but sometimes I have to work really hard not to be offended by you ponies. It's as if you assume every other race is a swarm of drooling savages.”

Twilight blushed, realizing how simple she sometimes thought the black shape-shifters were.

Resuming her smile, Chrysalis spoke again. “Yes, we have literature. My favorite has always been As a Star. It's a classic about a changeling princess named Novo who changed herself to appear as a star in the night sky.”

The purple alicorn tilted her head in curiosity and asked her companion to continue when she did not. Such interest warmed Chrysalis' heart. It was nice that somepony was interested in a changeling story for once.

“But she became consumed by her own beauty and began to hate all who lived below her on the ground. She used her magic to do terrible things to the changelings below, convinced it was her duty to carry out terrible judgments against them. But every time she did something bad to them, she only hated them more. It continued until she was prepared to end the life of all changelings. That's when The Hive Spinner, an all powerful-being that began the first hives, came down from the stars and stopped her. The Hive Spinner showed that Novo was only a changeling and not a star of the upper reaches. And so Novo was given two options by The Hive Spinner. She could sacrifice her life to pay for her injustices or she could sacrifice her magic and, by physical strength alone, mend and recreate everything she had broken and destroyed.”

Twilight's eye sparkled, begging to hear the end. It had been far too long since Chrysalis had seen that look from the younger changelings.

“Novo chose to live but, as such, she lost her horn, her magic, and her place as a princess. She had to spend the rest of her life in toil to rebuild homes and even bear a new life for every one she had snuffed out. She died before she could replace everything she had taken, since it was really an impossible feat to begin with. But she died with a smile upon her face because all of the changelings had gathered around her in those last moments, praising and thanking her for all the good that she had done for them. She had been redeemed, but not by paying for every bad thing. She was redeemed because she turned from her evil ways.”

The shape-shifter felt an ache of regret. She had known the story her whole life so why was it affecting her now?

“I suppose I see now how ironic it is,” Chrysalis realized. “I seem to have mirrored much of the story in my own life,” she giggled sadly. Such a sound was odd to hear from the changeling but Twilight decided that she would rather have liked it if it was not for the sad hue of it. Somehow it made her seem more real, if that made any sense.

The black being lowered her head to the soft floor of the ring before saying one last thing. “We tell the young ones to look at the night sky and find Novo's star. It reminds us of her and keeps us from being prideful or judgmental against each other. Well,” she admitted, “it's supposed to.”

Twilight didn't speak immediately but rather thought about what Chrysalis had said. “I had no idea. Changelings...” the alicorn trailed off as she noticed her companion had her eyes closed. Touching a hoof to the pseuo-pony's carapace, she could detect that the female was very low on energy. Suspiciously low considering that she should have had more than she did when the two of them had gotten back from Fluttershy's.

“Rest up,” the princess said, returning the rubbing gesture that Chrysalis had given her earlier. With that, Twilight got up and out of the sleeping ring. She had a question for Spike and it was rather important.

It didn't take her long after going downstairs to find the small purple and green dragon. He was reading a book at one of the tables. “Now there's a rare sight,” she kidded. “Spike reading a book.”

The young male rolled his eyes before narrowing them at his “sister” in a deadpan expression. “Very funny. I just thought that I'd get this one over with before you got on my case for the millionth time for not reading it.”

“100+1 Ways to Manage Your Gems,” Twilight grinned as she leaned around and read the cover.

“I'm insulted,” Spike deadpanned again.

“Well,” the alicorn lifted her chin, proud that the dragon was finally going to be improving his knowledge base. “I'm glad you're following my advice. If you apply the lessons in that book then you won't be constantly running out of your weekly gem allowance.”

Twilight then walked over to one of the bookshelves and looked across some titles, missing the gagging gesture that Spike gave her in return. Almost immediately, she found the folk lore section. “Spike?”

“Uh-huh?” he replied as if he expected some kind of jab. He didn't look up from the book he returned to but kept on reading it, using the cover to hide his frown from the purple pony.

“Did Chrysalis come through here earlier? After we got back from Fluttershy's?” Twilight stuck her tongue out in concentration as she got closer to the title she was looking for.

At that, Spike did look up from the book, this time with a confused expression. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “You didn't know? She said you knew.”

The alicorn's eyes narrowed but not because she had found the book she was looking for. It was because Chrysalis had obviously just done something behind her back. Now what was it? That was the question.

“It's no big deal,” Twilight half-lied so that Spike wouldn't hyperventilate. He could be something of a perfectionist when it came to very specific things (i.e. being her #1 assistant). She had no clue where he got it from.

Using the purple glow of her magic, Twilight pulled Folk Tales for Parenting from the shelf and placed it over on a table for later reading. She would have to keep asking around until she found out what Chrysalis had done while she had been asleep in her room. So, she walked out the front door and addressed the two stallions that were guarding the entrance.

“Did either of you see Chrysalis go in or out recently without me with her?”

Both the stallions stiffened at being addressed directly and looked to each other in what might have been panic before one of them answered. It was the one on the right with the dark blue coat and silver mane. “Y-yes! She said she was running an errand for you,” he replied, obviously questioning if he had somehow failed in his responsibility.

“Errand?” the princess mimicked out loud. She had not given the changeling any kind of errand, so Chrysalis had obviously lied. Which could mean...

“Oh no! Pinkie Pie!” Twilight suddenly widened her eyes in horror. Her shape-shifting friend had insisted on going to Pinkie's place after the visit to Fluttershy. She might have gone there to give the Earth pony a sleeping ring. Celestia knows what the physics-defying pony would do with changeling technology. Twilight could only hope that the floor of the sleep ring couldn't be used as a trampoline. Or that it would not somehow immediately give the pony more energy. That was one of many things that Pinkie Pie and, more importantly, Ponyville did not need.

The alicorn took off into a run, startling both the guards. Their responsibility was running into the distance and they had to follow, but they had never experienced anything like this before with the more predictable royal sisters. So, abandoning their posts in front of the library, they took chase.

4 - Pink is Preferable

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Poor Pinkie Pie. She was totally unaware of the blaze of panic that was about to befall her. Which was unusual considering her ability to regularly know everything that was going on throughout all of Equestria. Instead she was busy doing something nopony would have expected of her. She was staring at some blueberry cupcakes and was doing so not with her usual expression of exuberant enthusiasm. She looked at them sadly as if she expected them to give her something. Something...

BAM!

The door to sugar cube corner flew open to reveal a wide-eyed and panting Princess Twilight Sparkle. She recognized the pink pony at the counter and was about to burst into a run-together string of questions when the pink pony spoke instead.

“Hankering for some tasty delectables, Twilight?” she asked, succeeding in losing the downwards facial expression and less-than-usually-cheerful tone. The alicorn didn't know what she had been thinking. In fact, Twilight didn't even hear what the Earth pony had just said.

“Pinkie Pie!” she exclaimed in fear. The possibility of a Pinkie-powered problem manifesting due to changeling mischief was not entirely pleasant. “Did Chrysalis come here and do anything?! Make anything?!“

Pinkie's head tilted a full and impossible ninety degrees before snapping back upright. She beamed a brilliant smile that she did practically all the time. “Nope!” she replied simply but cheerfully.

At that, the princess fell to the floor in exhaustion. She had forgotten her calming exercises and had panicked. Not a very good thing to be doing since she was a princess now, she remembered. Greater care would be required for future incidents possible or real.

Seeing her friend laying on the floor of Sugar Cube Corner tired and still faintly panting, Pinkie Pie felt that it was her sworn obligation to do something about it. Put a smile on her face. That sort of thing. “But while you're here, why not try one of these delicious blueberry cupcakes? Made them myself not fourteen Pinkie minutes ago!”

Twilight questioned at first how a Pinkie minute differed from a normal one before rolling her eyes at her own attempt at logic. It was foolhardy to reason anything Pinkie. “I...think I'll pass,” she breathed out as she stood back up with some renewed strength. She registered her two guards out of the corner of her eye, noting that they had taken positions on either side of the entrance. Neither said anything but instead had those emotionless looks plastered to their faces.

“You sure?” the pink pony drew out the word with long and heavy emphasis. “They're really really good...”

“I don't have the time, Pinkie. I have to find out-” Twilight tried to reply only to have a blueberry cupcake stuffed into her mouth. Pinkie Pie had inserted it after disappearing from behind the counter and reappearing out of a flower vase that the princess hadn't realized she was standing near. Her attempts to speak only made her munch on the cupcake instead. To Pinkie's benefit, it really was a rather good treat.

“No time for a free cupcake?! You must be crazy!” the party pony chuckled, gasped, and then rolled her eyes in circles to mimic a crazy pony. If she had this much energy to begin with, Twilight shuddered twice again to think what she would be like with any sort of boost. “It seems something is really bugging you, Twilight,” Pinkie commented with casual observation. “A cupcake solves all but the worstest of problems so you must have,” she gasped for dramatic effect, “a real doozy of a downy!”

“Actually,” Twilight tried to say but ended up mumbling nonsense and crumbs through the half-eaten cupcake.

“No, no, no!” the party animal disappeared again and reappeared behind one of Twilight's guards. His eyes widened in shock but, to his credit, he didn't move a muscle. Pinkie was now standing up on her hind legs and wore a black vest that had the words “Rock N' Roll” and a picture of a suspiciously familiar boulder on it. The alicorn tried not to wonder where all of this stuff came from. It probably involved alternate dimensions and time paradoxes. “I have determined the source of your problems!”

It pained Twilight to say it but she had to. “And what would that be?” she asked, swallowing the last of the non-surprisingly tasty cupcake. Her voice was dripping of the notion that Pinkie Pie had not in fact determined the issue.

“Skies! Birds! Airplanes!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed with flailing arms. She then proceeded to make some odd screeching sound while motioning her hooves going rapidly down until suddenly blasting away from each other with explosive sound effects.

Twilight didn't get that last word or really what the pony was going on about in the first place. More importantly, she didn't have time to waste with Chrysalis having done something in the world at large without her knowledge. The purple alicorn shook her head and began to trot out of the sweets shop. “Pinkie, I've got to be going. Something important might be at stake and I've got to find out what it is,” she said.

“Exactadactly!” the Earth pony whirled in front of her and used another Pinkie word that Twilight was uncertain whether she had heard before or not. It was hard to keep track of them all. “Which is why we've got to race like rainbows to Rainbow's! Quick! There's no time to explain!”

And with that exact lack of explanation, Pinkie Pie scooped Twilight up into her forehooves as if she were a groom carrying the bride after the wedding. But the purple pony had no time to react because as soon as she was in pink hooves, the world blurred around her. Pinkie was once again using her impossible speed to go...somewhere. The shop was gone, Ponyville was gone, and they were both in a open and grassy field with a strange looking contraption sitting in the fine greenery.

When Twilight looked up to Pinkie's face, she found the pony wearing a pair of aviator's goggles and a matching flight jacket to boot. Never in her entire life in Ponyville had she ever expected to actually get neck deep in Pinkie's personal world of normally self-contained random. Of all the ponies, Pinkie Pie was the one that tended to tax her level-headedness the most. Thus the princess lifted a forehoof that had become curled against her body in her current position and used it to stretch and breathe. Calm.

With a sparkle in her eye, the Earth pony looked down and locked eyes with the alicorn still in her hooves. She spoke in a deep voice that was obviously trying to be some male action hero but also obviously drenched in overacting. “Don't worry, princess,” she huffed. “I'll see ya' right before the sun sets or my name ain't Pinkamena Diane Pie!”

Twilight just smacked her hoof to her face. The calming exercise was over. This was it. Her entire day was now going to be officially wasted.

As if trying to extract every last bit of possible theatrical cheese out of the situation, Pinkie Pie slowly made her way step by step to the contraption that couldn't have been more than ten hooves away from them. The pink pony even made little grunts as she made each step, acting as if she were direly wounded and was spending the last of her life to get her friend to the flight machine. Yes, that was what it was now that Twilight thought about it. It looked a bit different from the crazy bicycle like machine that Pinkie had made as a means of flight alternate to the hot air balloon, but it was close enough in appearance to safely make the guess. The Element of Laughter was still grunting, panting, making her way to the machine, and now adding a faked limp to her gait.

“Pinkie,” the alicorn breathed in exasperation.

“Milady,” the pink pony gasped for breath.

“Just...nevermind,” the princess gave up entirely and resolved to just get carried along.

Somehow, they finally reached the flight machine and Pinkie Pie labored with forced and faked pain to get Twilight into the passenger seat. After the pony was secure, she walked merrily and even skipped to the other side to get into the pilot's seat.

Twilight didn't ask why the limp was gone or why her friend no longer painted a look of pain and desperation. Pinkie had probably just forgotten the whole thing as quickly as she had started it. Not that she was an airhead or anything. No, not at all.

“Where are we going?” the princess asked without any expectation of a plausible answer.

Pinkie had just bounced effortlessly into her seat and positioned her hooves on the gear pedals. “Anywhere the sun shines and the wind tickles,” she answered with bubbly glee. And then her hooves moved. But it wasn't just her hooves. Gears started moving in turn and Twilight realized with amazement exactly how many gears there were. The contraption was incredibly complex and, though she never doubted Pinkie's ability to build something out of seemingly nothing, she felt a renewed awe towards her friend.

It was an off-hoof remark-turned-question that started it all. “Any reason you built a two-seater?” the purple princess wondered as the machine lifted them into the air. “Must have been hard to get it to fly with only one set of pedals and only one pony pedaling.”

The Earth pony wore her usual double-wide grin and answered with an answer far longer than necessary. “Oh! At first I was thinking that it would be great to have some way to zoom around because hot air is such a slow and hardy hard way to go all high and pegasi and I thought it was great when I was all zoom! But then Rainbow was all kaboom and I was still like whir! And then I thought it would be nice to have a fly without another bye because that's just too down, you know? And then I was all like tada! Light bulbs and floss! Lots of floss. The shopkeeper won't trade anything if it's not for floss! So I got it and then boom! Fire! There I was, eye-to-eye with it. Every stroke of my hammer only seemed to encourage him. And then it was chiseling away. I used the furnace for a few days and kuvahed some jimjay. It was amazing but only until it cooled off and I latched the extra. But it was worth it because now here we are!”

Twilight blinked and then blinked again. She understood, at best, about a quarter of whatever it was that Pinkie's nonsensical ramble had been. She understood none of those odd words that the pony had used but tried her luck at a response anyways, having no clue if she had guessed Pinkie's meaning correctly. She also had nothing else to do as the wind swept past her, ruffling her coat and the feathers of her wings, so accuracy was a null point. “You wanted to fly with somepony else who didn't have wings?”

“That's what I've been telling you,” Pinkie replied lightly.

“In as many words?” Twilight joked.

The Element of Laughter stopped peddling and looked her friend in the eye. Twilight tried desperately not to consider why the propeller hadn't stopped along with the peddling. “Twilight,” the Earth pony took on a sophisticated tone that indicated a lecture. “Sometimes you've got to let go before you can grab on.”

The alicorn paused before replying simply. “Huh?”

At once, Pinkie was again peering forward through her goggles and into the wind. She peddled again, faster this time. “Almost there!” she shouted as her tongue slipped out of her mouth in show of extreme concentration. The machine started taking them faster through the air, the ground gradually getting farther below. The trees got smaller and smaller until they were lost to sight by the clouds that the machine popped through. The ground was no longer visible and all the princess saw was a blanket of clouds for a solid while.

“Where is 'there' again?” Twilight finally raised a brow in question.

Her answer came in the form of a cloud or, more specifically, a cloud home that they started descending to. It was closer to the ground then the clouds they had been among and so they left the blanket of white and the trees and grassy hills came back into view. It was Rainbow Dash's place, which told Twilight they were not in some distant part of the world but in Ponyville. “Rainbow's?” she tried to ask the Earth pony in the seat next to her. Why had they taken such a roundabout way of getting here, the alicorn wondered.

Her question probably fell on deaf ears because Pinkie had a hard look of determination on her face. Her eyes were tracking something and when Twilight followed their gaze she was surprised by a sudden flash and blur of color.

The blur materialized to a very familiar pegasus and Element of Harmony flapping right before them. “Room for two now, huh?” the blue pony chuckled.

“Ha!” Pinkie Pie laughed in return. “It's not like I couldn't keep up, Dashie. I just like a stroll now and then, that's all.”

Twilight Sparkle felt very much like she had missed something important that had happened between her two friends. Perhaps that was just an inevitability of life.

“Well, Twilight doesn't need your thingamajig. She's got wings now!” Rainbow Dash countered proudly. She was still riddled with excitement about her new possible flying buddy.

The princess saw her chance to speak and took it. “I'm not that good a flier though. I still need practice.”

“Which you'll get from the best!” Rainbow followed up enthusiastically. “Benefits for royalty. Nopony else gets special training from the one and only, I'll have you know.”

Twilight rolled her eyes at Dash's regular walk of ego but took notice of Pinkie Pie having said nothing. She always said something even if there was not supposed to be anything to say. “Pinkie Pie?”

The pony smiled, never faltering in cheer. “I'll say goodbye for now, Twilight. Got to get back to Sugar Cube Corner, but I'm pretty sure this is what had you so worried. My pink-tuition told me!” she beamed, not pausing even though she obviously just made something up.

“Oh?” Rainbow butted in and then looked her purple friend in the eye. “Worried you won't do well? Never fear, your-”

“I'm not getting out of this seat. Do you know how high up we are?” the alicorn stuttered in fear when she made the mistake of taking a glance down. Suddenly, she wasn't so comfortable anymore. The distance might not have been as high as the clouds from before but she hadn't been flying on her own then and she certainly had never flown solo at the current altitude.

“You'll be fine! I'll even hold you a bit,” the blue pegasus dismissed the concerns, grabbed the alicorn under the forelegs, and pulled her from her seat.

Twilight panicked at first but trusted her friend enough not to fear immediate death. She saved Rarity that one time, right?

“Bye, Bees,” Pinkie Pie waved and then pumped the pedals with her hooves with such force that the flying machine zipped away at lightspeed.

Rainbow shook her head in dismissal. She knew as Twilight did not to take the pink one too seriously. It just lead to headaches, frustration, and a baker's dozen of cupcakes. Instead, the blue pegasus looked Twilight in the eye again. Her face was not far since the alicorn was being held. Rainbow Dash could even feel her friend shaking a bit in her hooves.

“You've really gotten stronger, Rainbow,” the princess remarked nervously. “You didn't use to be able to hold me mid-air without help.”

The pegasus smirked. “Well, duh. Wonderbolt training is pretty intense and I do my own workouts on top of that. You're in the hooves of one pretty powerful pegasus.”

“But I'm sure even you couldn't keeping holding me forever like this,” Twilight commented. “Perhaps you should take us down a bit and...put me on the ground?”

That made the pegasus smirk even more and give a laugh. “Nice try, princess. But you're here to fly, not to chicken out on the ground.”

“You sure you're not having any trouble holding me and flying at the same time?” Twilight asked desperately, back in her primitive form of scientific inquiry.

“I'm Wonderbolt material, Twi. Not some weak foal in junior flight camp. And it helps that you weigh about as much as a pea.”

The princess giggled at that. “Guess I underestimated you a bit.”

“Seriously though,” Dash cocked a brow in suspicion. “You're really light. Do you even eat?”

“Of course I do! In fact, I've been calculating my dietary habits as well as my abnormalities and have found certain categories of consumption to be beyond preferable specification,” Twilight countered confidently.

When she first met Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash never would have understood what the mare had just said. But she had known the purple pony long enough now to understand a sufficient amount of the excessive language. “Snack junkie?” Rainbow kidded.

Twilight just huffed and puffed a cheek in indignation.

“Well you're getting a chance to put on some weight in muscle today. Time to get those wings into shape,” the pegasus encouraged her friend. “I want you to know first though that whenever I let you go, I'm always ready to catch you if something goes wrong. You'll even get a free sonic rainboom if I have to save your life,” she joked with a laugh.

“I'd prefer not to see one today if that's the case,” Twilight gulped. Still, she found the way Rainbow had said that she was ready to save her to be a bit odd. She hadn't said it with her usually arrogant tone. It was more careful...more gentle. No, that must have been her imagination. Rainbow Dash was anything but gentle. That was Fluttershy's specialty.

“Yeah,” the blue pony replied in a drawn out voice. “I don't really want to have to save your flank any more than I already have. It'll just make things embarrassing.”

There it was again. Rainbow Dash's pinch of quite possibly self-conceited ego. “It's not as if I can't fly, Rainbow. I just have a lot to learn, that's all. And don't you have things to do today?” the princess decided to coolly question in response.

“If it's important then I've already done it,” Rainbow grinned as a matter of pride. “If it's not important then I'd rather spend my time flying with you. It's been forever since I've had a good flying buddy.”

“Well, that's-” the alicorn started to say before she suddenly felt Rainbow's hooves slip from holding her. She started to plummet and it took a full second before she started screaming. The rush of air was frightening and the way the ground rapidly approached made it seem to grasp for her very life. But she stopped again mid-air and still a decent distance from the grass below.

“That's good,” Rainbow Dash commented, this time from her back. Twilight was being held by the pegasus from behind and again under the forehooves.

“What's good?!” Twilight just about screamed again, her heart still racing. She tilted her head back but was unable to see the pony straight behind her. “You dropped me and I almost hit the ground!”

“Oh, pfft,” the pegasus dismissed it. “You might want to check your depth perception, Twi, because we're still pretty high up. And besides, what did I tell you about catching your flank?”

The princess was not convinced. She was far from convinced. “What was that for anyways?!”

“You don't need to shout, princess. I'm right behind you,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I was checking your gut reaction. Your wings started to unfold, which is a good sign. They just didn't move like they needed to for you to get out of the dive. So we start with lesson three in Instructor Rainbow Dash's The Art of Flight and Advanced Aerial Maneuvers.”

The alicorn's anger was suddenly washed out with a raised brow. “Seriously?”

“I figured a book with one of your egghead titles would be straight up your alley so we'll take this one flap and chapter at a time,” the pegasus beamed with casual pride. “But first we need to get more altitude. It's pretty sweet you can walk on clouds now without any spells because we're going to be using them a lot.”

“Oh...yeah,” Twilight slowly replied, heavy in thought. Rainbow Dash seemed to have put a lot of thought into this whole affair. It was almost like she had changed somehow. That, in turn, made the princess begin to wonder if Fluttershy's lack of extensive flying had indirectly hidden some part of Rainbow Dash. A part that Twilight would come to know now. So did her acquisition of wings change her friends more than it did her...?

Rainbow was flapping her wings harder to carry the both of them up, Twilight being little more than dead weight. “Light as a feather,” the pegasus commented as she took them up to a nearby cloud. “Soft as a cloud,” she commented again, taking notice of how the other's wing feathers and coat felt against her forehooves.

“What?” Twilight asked, not sure if she should be curious at the meaning or just assume and be embarrassed.

They reached a sufficiently large cloud and Rainbow Dash practically threw herself and her friend onto it. It was so soft that it was almost bouncy. Twilight hadn't really felt the sensation of laying on a cloud before. At least not as fully as she did now as an alicorn. “It is soft,” she remarked to nopony in particular.

“I wasn't talking about the clouds, egghead,” Rainbow snickered as she rolled over to where the the princess was nestled in the white fluff. She seemed to be using the egghead card on purpose. “I was talking about you,” she emphasized as she reached out and tickled the spot under the alicorn's wings.

Twilight flinched but started giggling and tossing about. “Stop!” she quickly blurted only to unintentionally encourage Rainbow to continue until she was out of breath.

“You're really ticklish, you know that?” the pegasus grinned as she laid there on her side.

Twilight had to calm down first and breath again. When she had, she looked bitterly to her merciless friend. “And what was that for?”

Rainbow didn't even look like she needed to give it a single thought. No remorse for her actions. “Lesson Three: Stay Loose. You're not going to learn anything if you're so nervous that your wings lock up. Fluttershy gets that all the time,” she rolled her eyes at the absent pegasus.

“And I wonder why I was nervous, miss drop-a-pony,” Twilight glared playfully.

“Hey,” the pesgaus threw her hooves up, “the best love is tough love, right?”

The princess held the glare until they both started giggling at the whole matter. “I guess I really do need to relax,” Twilight conceded. “But I'm not sure your method is the best way to go about it. And I've got a lot of things I have to do today, sans whatever Pinkie Pie thinks. I don't even know where my guards are. They're probably running all over town trying to find me.”

“Your guards?” Rainbow Dash raised a brow. Was her friend some royal treasure now that she needed guarding?

“Yes. I don't remember if Celestia mentioned it or not at the coronation. I've got a guard now. Well, more than one. I feel bad because they have to follow me around everywhere and I never realized until today how much travel I actually do.”

“Yeah, I'd say you've put on some leg muscles since the Running of the Leaves,” the pegasus returned a lop-sided expression. “Didn't use to run around so much in Canterlot, huh?”

“Sometimes, but definitely not as much,” Twilight sighed. “I really should try and find them,” she continued as she carefully crawled to the edge of the cloud and did what she didn't really want to do. She looked down. The height was intense but she was glad she looked because she could see much of the town and countryside. In particular, she found her guards after a bit of scanning. It seemed they were both taking up positions straight below and under Rainbow's house. How did they know she was here?

“Pretty easy to spot who you're looking for, isn't it?” Rainbow Dash remarked by Twilight's side. The alicorn flinched minutely, not having known the pegasus had come up next to her. She worried at the prospect that she might have been startled straight off the edge of the cloud.

“Yes,” the purple mare said as she backed away from the edge.

Rainbow, on the other hoof, carelessly jumped backwards into the center of the cloud. “It's pretty awesome. Only have trouble finding somepony if they don't want to be seen...or if it's Pinkie Pie. She's hard to spot when she's beating the clock somewhere.”

“I've experienced as much,” Twilight remembered what happened earlier.

“Well, anyways. Lesson four,” the pegasus beamed. She seemed to be in a pretty good mood up until now. So much so it made Twilight suspicious all over again. Pinkie Pie was always exuberant, but Rainbow's mood was typically dependent on whether things were going her way. Did she think things had been going well so far? Twilight didn't particularly think so.

“And which one is that?” the princess asked the obvious.

The Element of Loyalty bounced from her position on the cloud and landed unceremoniously on Twilight's back. The alicorn widened her eyes in surprise and Rainbow took her chance to grab the wings as they began to unfurl in reaction. She stretched them out straight and exclaimed in excitement, “Gliding.”

When Twilight recovered from the shock and looked back with narrow eyes at her friend still sprawled on her back with a slight hover, she asked another question. “Why is gliding next? That doesn't make much-”

“And that's why I'm the instructor and you're just my little princess leaner,” Rainbow patted the purple pony on the head.

Somehow, that just burned the mare up on the inside. “Get off!” she tried to buck the pegasus from her back.

“Nope!” Rainbow started laughing as she held on for dear life. “I can't have you gliding off without me. You don't,” she paused momentarily as she focused effort on holding on, “want to fall without me there to save you, right?”

“You can,” Twilight also paused as she tried and failed to remove her clutching friend, “just glide next to me for Pete's sake!”

“Why in all of Equestria would I fly frustratingly slow next to some newbie knowing that I can't do anything even remotely interesting because I'd risk not catching you in time?” the Element of Loyalty casually declared as Twilight's hooves gave out from beneath her and the two of them fell into the white fluff again.

Twilight opened her mouth but realized she didn't have anything to say on the matter so she just blew a whiff of cloud from in front of her face.

“Exactly,” Rainbow grinned at the fact that she was once again on top of things and, this time, literally above her friend. “You need instruction and guidance. I need something fun to do. I don't see why you can't glide along with me on your back. It's not like I'm putting any weight on you.”

“How does hovering over my shoulder equal fun?” Twilight deadpanned.

“Because I say it does, princess,” Rainbow dismissed the issue. “I don't tell you what books to read, do I? And it'll be a snap to help you along if I'm so close. I think the real question here is why you don't want me over your shoulder.”

Twilight didn't want to answer that one. How could she admit that she didn't want to feel like some young filly again, not knowing what to do while having some instructor hovering over her. It would be like...magic kindergarten.

“Now come on,” Rainbow interrupted the dark thought. “We've got stuff to do!”

The princess knew that better than anypony. She had passed from one set of hooves to another and her schedule was no better for it. She wanted to figure out what Chrysalis had been up to but she had to admit to herself that she had no real leads. The changeling would be willing to simply tell her anyways when she woke up. Twilight gave one last sigh into the cloud. “Why do I get the feeling I would have been safer with Pinkie Pie?”

Rainbow Dash grinned with characteristic confidence. “It's just you're imagination, kid.”

5 - Reason is Subjective

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Two space-black eyelids opened groggily, their characteristic shine a tad dull in comparison to that fateful day in Canterlot. The mind behind the eyes was strong in energy now but still low in spirit. Sure, she kept rather chipper but that said nothing of the part of her that wanted more than mere morsels of physical strength.

Chrysalis lifted her head from the soft padding of the sleeping ring, a tear falling down her cheek and making an even darker spot against the dark color of the floor. She had felt emotion while she had slept off the weariness of her earlier labor and she hated to feel this way.

Changelings were normally of a hivemind, sensing each other, touching individual minds as well as the whole and thus effecting one and all at once. Chrysalis had less trouble dealing with its absence while awake than she did when she was asleep. When under the influence of slumber, she had no guard against the void in her subconscious or of the ache in her heart. She told herself that Twilight Sparkle was her queen and even that Spike was a fellow subject but it weighed as an empty lie in her mind. She could keep saying it but she did not truly feel it yet in her heart.

There was only one way for the changeling to be at peace, to be home. She had to have the hivemind back. That meant Princess Twilight Sparkle had to be the hivemind's crown leader. She had to be its instigator. Chrysalis could only start her plan but she could not finish it. If the purple pony didn't take the reins at the appropriate time, the shape-shifter would be cursed with that eternal pain in her heart and she couldn't live with that.

So, she wiped the remains of the tear off her cheek and shifted her horn to the sleep ring's contact point. Twilight wasn't around so she could make another test of the ring connections without question. Tapping her horn to the right non-marked area, she used only the minuscule amount of magic that it took to make the test. A magical ping came back from the spot, hitting her horn as water upon rock. One, two, four, five. The first was strong and the other four were so weak that they were barely there to begin with.

Good, Chrysalis thought to herself with a smile. Everything was as it should be. Fluttershy's ring would broadcast clearly while the four stealth connections would setup the initial links and engage some simple connection self-generation. At least they would in theory. The changeling had to keep reminding herself that, in spite of her own cleverness as a former queen, the rings and connections she had made were all new things that she had put together. They had never been tested before because they were never things that a changeling had before thought to make.

Chrysalis got up confidently on her hooves and started walking to the stairway. She was less confident of what the night would bring. Practically everything of her future now depended on what happened in the next twelve hours. Seeing the light from downstairs, she corrected that number to six hours.

The pang of nervousness was brief and passed quickly. Of course she could feel nervous every now and then. She may not have been a pony but she was still a living breathing being very close to a pony. It was near madness to mimic hivemind broadcasts for pegasus, alicorns, and The Spinner knows what else. Even if the theory held, the actual result could be far from expectation...

Chrysalis groaned as she stepped down the stairs into the main library. Twilight's way of thinking had wormed its way into her the same way it festered in Spike. The changeling had caught onto the fact that the dragon would sometimes mimic the princess' personality of studious nervousness, perfectionism, and generally overzealous diction.

That unicorn-now-alicorn had a way of rubbing off on others...

“Chrysalis,” spoke a small male voice.

The black being looked to the side to see the purple and green dragon placing a book on a tall stack in front of him. He looked like he was about to topple clumsily over it and knock the whole precarious thing over.

“Yes?” she answered in her buzzy insectoid voice.

“Is there some kind of miscommunication going on between you and Twilight? Because I kind of feel like I'm being a poor middle-dragon,” he bit his lower lip, still the young assistant worried about how he performed. Doubly now that he was assisting a princess.

Chrysalis lifted herself with her wings for only a moment to buzz over the piles of books that had been not-exactly-carefully stacked around the room. “Using some longer words now, I see,” she commented casually. “You were not always able to say 'miscommunication.'”

At that, the dragon put his claws to his hips and huffed a puff of smoke. “Have too. And you didn't answer my question. Twilight looked like she didn't know you were going out. Now she's gone off, you're here again, and I don't have a clue who's going around for what. Gonna come clean?”

“Clean?” Chrysalis gawked. “That's what this place needs. Mind if I help? I do seem to recall how Twilight wanted it all organized.”

“Uh...yeah...” the dragon dropped his pose. It wasn't often that somepony (or someone) offered him help. The unusual occasion made him forget that the changeling had dodged the question again. “Could you take S-Z over there?”

“Ah, yes,” Chrysalis found the piles and started organizing them back on the shelf in the new order. “We'll finish faster together. Maybe we can make a jewel cake afterwards,” she added in the hope of keeping Spike from remembering anything about her earlier “errand.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Chrysalis could see the magical reptilian perk up and then deflate. “But I don't have any jewels right now. Help books don't help much when you don't have anything to begin with. And that's all I have until my next allowance.”

“I have a few to donate,” Chrysalis recovered hope for the dragon. “They're not much but we can space them around in the right spots so that you won't notice it all that much.”

She could see from the corner of her eye once again that the dragon re-inflated with excitement. “Really?”

“If I was lying then it wouldn't take you long to find out,” she lightly responded. “Now let's finish this up and have that cake started before Twilight gets back.”

“You're not all that bad, Chrysalis,” Spike commented gleefully as he upped his formerly dragging pace. He had a spring in his step now as a result of a tempting end reward.

The changeling chuckled to herself. What he said was something that she rarely ever heard. Spike may have been slower in acceptance of her than his “sister” but he was still more comfortable to be around than most.

“And stop,” Rainbow Dash declared without any pause of breath. Less could be said of Princess Twilight Sparkle, who heaved and panted upon the cloud that she had been using as a sort of return base. It's soft and plush whiteness was not something that the alicorn planned on leaving any time soon. She was exhausted.

“You,” Twilight wheezed, “could go a little easier on me, Rainbow Dash.”

The pegasus never broke a sweat during the stretch of lessons that she had given. Now, she plopped down onto the cloud with her purple friend and laid a hoof over the other's shoulders. “I did go easy on you, Twi,” she countered. “Besides, you'll never get anywhere unless you build up a sweat. That's how you get stronger.”

“I'm not aiming to be a Wonderbolt,” the princess glared at her companion.

Rainbow rolled her eyes as she seemed to do often enough. “That's not what I meant. I just mean strong enough to make good use of your wings,” she emphasized the last part by stroking her hoof across one. “I know you're probably thinking how hard it all was and how you don't want to do any more practicing for the rest of your life. But, trust me. Stick with it and you'll be glad you did. At the very least,” she shoved herself away from the other mare and flapped into a hover, “you'll be happy that you get to fly up here to the clouds.”

“Huh?” Twilight voiced before her mind caught up to her mouth.

“You can get away from all the buzz downstairs, you know? Just chill out up here on a cloud and let the wind calm you to sleep.” Rainbow plopped back down onto the fluffy cumulus and looked off into the bright pale blue sky. “Maybe you'll finally understand why I like napping so much,” she smiled only faintly.

The princess caught the tone of voice and began to look worriedly to the azure pegasus, hoping she wasn't over-analyzing the matter. Was this a repeat of what happened with Fluttershy earlier in the day? Rainbow Dash was no introverted mare but she was just as likely not to talk about something due to pride as Fluttershy was likely not to talk about it due to timidity. In any case, there was definitely a flake of something in Rainbow's tone that Twilight worried about. Did the pegasus feel like she wasn't understood? As a friend and now as a princess, she felt it was necessary to pay attention to such things.

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, unable to mask that worry from her voice.

But as soon as something seemed wrong, it was gone again. This pegasus was, after all, not one to get sappy. “No more for you today,” she switched tracks. “You should probably get back to the library because I wouldn't want you passing out on the street. Eggheads aren't really built for long days,” she kidded as she patted Twilight on the head.

The Element of Loyalty always seemed to know what to do to push Twilight's buttons. But before the alicorn could make a return remark about being belittled by her more sporty friend, the pegasus was dragging her to the edge of the cloud. “Don't worry about flying again. I'll just put you down, myself,” she explained.

“Oh,” the princess responded in shock. “Um, thank you.”

Rainbow lifted the other pony from under her forehooves, slid off the cloud, and flew gently down until their hooves touched the ground. Twilight had honestly thought that the pegasus was going to force her to fly down on her own, so this little courtesy felt odd to her. As a stray thought hit her mind, she began to wonder.

Both winged ponies said temporary farewells, Rainbow Dash flying back to her home and Twilight Sparkle walking causally back to the library. The thought that she had just randomly received was giving her reason to contemplate how the pony of loyalty really was as an individual. Put simply, she remembered something that Applejack had mentioned in passing about a camping trip with Scootaloo.

Rainbow Dash had always seemed the tough vaguely-coltish sporty type but Twilight had learned more and more over time that pegging a pony with a stereotype was a bad idea. At the very least, it had a high probability of leading to misunderstandings. What Twilight now wondered as she got closer to her book-storing treehouse was if Applejack had unintentionally prophesied about a side of Rainbow that neither thought existed to begin with.

For all the outward toughness that the blue pegasus exhibited, did she secretly harbor a softer motherly side?

Twilight smiled at the absurd idea. Not that it was entirely impossible but rather that there was nothing wrong with it should it actually be true. If Rainbow Dash was trying to avoid the notion that she was “soft” then that was her decision plain and simple. Twilight would have to find a way to address the mare sometime soon about it. Of course, in a way that didn't make the pegasus clam up. If Twilight wanted anything for her friends then it was simply a kind of friendship that held care and support as more important than image. Real friends didn't wear masks around each other, as the ideal went. And speaking of masks, Twilight bridged thoughts as she came up to the door of her library. Chrysalis was going to drop whatever one she was using and come clean.

The princess' two guards took up their positions on either side of the door as she went in. Again, she had them out of her mind when she had been walking back. Perhaps that was a part of their talents as royal guards. Not being noticed. The two stallions were just as much an issue as anypony else, though. She had told herself earlier that it was a matter for another time. But “another time” often wound up as an excuse to never address an issue and let it glide smoothly into forgotten habit. Regardless, other things weighed heavy in her mind and she had to disregard the two once again. Perhaps tomorrow there would be time to retrieve the names of the stallion pegasi, thank them, and find some way to lessen the burden they held of following her around all the time.

What she expected when she walked into her home was to find Spike still working on that book reorganization. Maybe Chrysalis would be up and about. What she saw when she walked in was neither. A fourth occupant of the tree home was flapping about instead. He seemed to be scanning the neatly and perfectly reorganization-finished shelves before he turned in flight and regarded his master.

“Owlowiscious?” the alicorn greeted by inquiry. “I didn't expect you back for a few days still,” she remarked with a raised brow as she trotted over to the shelves he had been observing. “Did you find the crystal I sent you for?”

The owl hooted in reply and tossed something from a talon. It had been so small that she hadn't noticed he was clutching it to begin with. Catching it deftly with a forehoof, she turned her surprise from seeing the finished book shelves to the small black crystal that now lay in her hoof. It gleamed with a shine but something seemed off about it. There was a faint but very real mist coming off of it and every so often a dark spark could be glimpsed in the shroud.

“Thank you,” she looked up sincerely at her pet, to which he hooted worriedly in return. “I know. I don't like it either, but somepony needs to look into it,” she exclaimed as she trotted over to her desk and set the crystal next to a microscope. “Where's Spike?”

Owlowiscious found his stand and perched upon it. His head turned a full ninety degrees in the direction of the kitchen doorway. That's when Twilight heard a distinct and rather buzzy laughter. She knew who that was.

When she rounded the doorway, she jumped a bit in surprise. There was the dragon and changeling laughing hysterically over what seemed to be a badly failed attempt at a cake.

“Next time,” Spike giggled, “maybe you'll listen to me about the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon of baking soda.”

“Hmph,” Chrysalis turned her head up, trying to hold back her own laughter. “Well I wasn't the one that put an eighth of salt in.”

“Oh, I only do that when I'm the only one-” Spike stopped himself when he noticed the pony that had just half walked in. “Twilight!”

“Ah,” the changeling soothed as she turned around to face the princess.

Twilight just shook her head and headed for the trash. “Thanks for finishing up the shelves early, Spike. I'll be able to do some critical research tonight without swimming in clutter.”

“No problem, your highness,” he saluted proudly. “Chrysalis helped out a lot.”

The changeling picked up the cake in a greenish magical grip and floated it into the trash can as Twilight held the lid up.

“I see. Well, thank you as well,” she nodded to the black pseudo-pony. “But we have matters to discuss once again.”

Chrysalis grinned sheepishly as she turned and made her way out of the kitchen without a word. As Twilight followed her out, Spike turned to the few gems on the counter that he and the changeling had carefully removed from the failed cake. No time like the present, he thought as he licked his lips with his serpent tongue.

The changeling stepped up to her savior's desk with curiosity. She thought she had seen something shine on it and she frowned when she saw what it was. But before she could comment, Twilight spoke up from behind her.

“You went out somewhere while I was asleep and told Spike and the guards that you were on an errand for me. You lied. What were you doing?” the purple princess looked intensely at her shape-shifting friend.

“I lied because I didn't want to make a fuss of it. Seems that failed,” she turned from the desk to face the alicorn. “If you really must know, I was picking up some snacks for you. I figured you'd be up late tonight and want them. At least I was right about that.”

Twilight widened her eyes, narrowed them, and then finally turned back to the kitchen in confusion. She walked back into it to find the snacks of question laying on the counter where she hadn't noticed them earlier. Spike was still there in the room except this time with a few gems crammed in his mouth. He gave an embarrassed expression when he realized he had been seen stuffing his face. At least he's getting more self-conscious, Twilight thought as she shook her head once again and turned back into the library main. Chrysalis was where she had been before, face unchanged.

“Um...thank you?” the princess tried. She felt pain inside at the fact that she had wasted so much time and energy running around in panic over such a non-issue. At least she got some flying practice, she tried encouraging herself. “How did you know I would be researching the crystal, though?”

“I'm not deaf, my queen,” Chrysalis smiled smugly. “I knew you sent the owl on a special mission.”

Owlowiscious hooted casually and hopped on his perch, apparently pleased with having completed his own errand.

“And matters such as this one,” the changeling continued, “take both time and care.”

“Honestly,” the princess sighed. “I thought he would still be away for a few more days. I don't suppose you knew when he was coming back?” she asked then with a raised brow more of interest than suspicion.

“Hardly,” Chrysalis answered, on the verge of a cold sweat. The conversation dragged longer than she wanted and it was making her feel like a hatchling crawling its way through the dangers of the lower caverns. Alone. “You'd need sustenance eventually, though. Those crystals are quite complex in construction.”

“You know something about this crystal?” Twilight asked hurriedly as she trotted over to her desk. The tiny jewel still lay there with its faint mist and sparkle. “Bon-Bon told me a couple of weeks ago about some weird crystal out on the old Canterlot road. I didn't think it would turn out to be anything important but I'm glad now that I had Owlowiscious get it. This thing,” she prodded at the minuscule gem, “is suspiciously like those dark magic crystals that King Sombra summoned. Well,” she corrected herself, “they seemed more a side effect of his presence than some forced creation. It makes me wonder...”

Chrysalis knew that Twilight was switching into her excited scientist mode, which meant the bluff and cover had worked well. The princess actually believed that the earlier errand had been nothing more than a snack run and even that Chrysalis had anticipated something she never could have. Sure, she had known about the thing that the owl had been out to investigate but there was no way she could anticipate everything that had happened. That was why those contingency plans were so important. The side effect was that Chrysalis ended up looking more clever than she really was. Well, she'd take whatever she got and it wasn't quite that bad since she did, in fact, know what the crystal was. Unfortunately.

Twilight Sparkle was a bright princess and would inevitably make a supreme queen. As such, Chrysalis could not bring herself to come out with all she knew on the spot. There was, in her mind, the possibility that saying too much in the present might spoil what needed to happen that very night. If Twilight found out that she already knew about that type of crystal and the pony behind it, something irreversible might happen. At the very least, it could lead to a breakdown for the princess. As a changeling, Chrysalis could very well feel the stress that was emanating so strongly from the purple mare.

“You know something?” Twilight repeated when Chrysalis didn't respond. The alicorn was staring at the jewel intently, probably preparing research methodology in her head. She could be rather exact in how she planned to do things, often exhibiting that exactness in small ways. The perfectly spaced quills and papers upon her desk were one such example.

“I know it didn't wind up near that road by mistake,” the insect-like being remarked coolly as she stepped behind her winged host. At first, she thought that making such a statement might lead her safely out of further inquiry by way of a few more calculated responses. But she immediately grimaced, knowing that the Sparkle of science would question one thing after another systematically until she extracted everything she wanted to know. There was no way out of what was to come and Chrysalis could only chide herself for slipping again into Twilight's own infectious mind of calculation.

“I don't think it did either. But I only assume and you said you knew. How so?” the princess of magic asked as she grabbed a quill and ink pot with a magical grip. Her tone was full of pointed inquiry, wanting very much to know what Chrysalis apparently did. But the calmness in that tone gave the changeling a chill. It was not the calmness of one who went along with the flow of life. It was the calmness one had before a storm. A calmness that foretold of a great storm.

Chrysalis gulped subconsciously. “I...didn't,” she replied weakly. “I assumed as well. I mean, how can such an unusual crystal end up beside the Canterlot road? There weren't even any others with it.”

“Did I say it was the only one?” Twilight voiced again calmly.

Chrysalis saw this was just one more crumbling tower, as previous attempts of hers had been. “No, but you implied as much.”

“Still, you mentioned it was complex. You must have studied this kind of crystal yourself once, right?” came the next question. Never had Twilight averted her gaze from her desk, the crystal, or the paper to which she was writing her research headings upon.

“The weather sure was nice today, no?” Chrysalis remarked dumbly. It was all over.

The alicorn sighed. “Chrysalis, I'm done going in circles with you. No more playing tag. Tell me what you know or I'll have you teach me how changelings discipline their hatchlings. For practical and immediate application.”

The shape-shifter cringed. Twilight's fear of being treated like a young filly was not necessarily an unusual fear. Chrysalis feared for her life where the former-unicorn only feared for her dignity and perhaps her self-esteem. Changeling discipline was rare but severe, which may have been why it was so uncommonly required. “I'll tell you anything you want to know but please don't be upset with me.”

Twilight didn't know that Chrysalis was worried more about how her queen slept tonight than how she herself might be disciplined. “I...can't promise that if you've withheld vital knowledge from me,” the princess answered, drawing from past experience. “But I will promise that I won't stay mad forever if that's the case. I do care about you as much as any of my other friends, Chrysalis,” she added encouragingly as she turned to face her carapaced companion.

The changeling nodded solemnly and began.

6 - Research is Relative

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It's a dark magic. Remnant's of that colt's juvenile tantrums,” Chrysalis told Princess Twilight Sparkle as she shook her head. “But we shouldn't be discussing such matters. You're tired. You should get some sleep.”

The alicorn's neutral expression turned dire as her body became rigid. Nevermind that her changeling friend had just feebly attempted once more to deflect the topic. Twilight needed an explanation as to the individual that Chrysalis had just eluded to. She needed the name now.

“What colt?” the princess asked darkly.

Chrysalis looked one way and another, her face scrunching in reaction to the realization that she had said something that might upset her queen. But she couldn't get around it. She was trapped between Tom and a hard place.

“Chrysalis!” Twilight huffed. “You should have told me about this sooner. Much sooner! Like before-I-had-to-confront-King-Sombra sooner! What do you know about him?!”

The black one slumped her shoulders in defeat, the mare opposite her going into a fit. Twilight had assumed properly as to who the male was and Chrysalis would have no choice but to concede to her leader. “Earth pony, betrayed my grandmother, stole changeling magic, very good with vaporization and regeneration magic.”

Twilight Sparkle's brow twitched. “I suppose you were going to tell me all of this eventually!”

Chrysalis blushed but felt more chastised then embarrassed.

“Where do I even start?” Twilight sighed and backed away from her desk, a hard look still on her countenance. It was already shaping up to be a long night and the sun hadn't even completely set yet. It was still half visible over the mountains for Pete's sake. “I need those snacks.”

Owlowiscious launched from his perch for a quick trip into the kitchen. Twilight sat down roughly with an “argh” of frustration as Chrysalis looked around, noticed Spike reading some help book in a corner, and then sat down silently across from the alicorn. “You doused him, so I didn't think my knowledge was relevant,” the shape-shifter remarked hopefully. “That white prissy didn't inform me that Sombra had broken free and you hardly had the time to let me know when you faced him.”

“Doused?” Twilight inquired again with a dark tone. “Please tell me there isn't a particular reason you used that word rather than 'eliminated' or 'destroyed.'”

“Um...” Chrysalis replied with a rare reluctance.

The princess facehoofed. Keeping up with the changeling was hard enough. The prospect of Sombra still being around was the perfect killjoy. That was, of course, assuming there was still any joy left to kill.

The owl returned and dropped a bag of mint-chocolate cookies in her lap before returning to his perch. She gave a thank you as she ripped open the package and resolved to forget her dieting concerns for the moment. With everything she had gone through in the past forty-eight hours, a little comfort food was more than justified. Seriously, Discord wasn't even around at the moment and things were getting more chaotic then they had been when he had been going on his tirade. At least that was how she felt at the moment.

“He's not really that dangerous,” Chrysalis tried to offer, not knowing she was not helping matters. “I could take him on myself. After a decent meal, that is.”

“Not that dangerous?!” Twilight complained, even more upset. “My brother barely made it out! My brother, who's way,” the alicorn gestured widely with a hoof, “stronger than you, Chrysalis.”

The changeling opened her mouth but didn't get to say anything before the other continued.

“But putting that aside, I suppose you could just tell me everything I want to know about that black crystal. You seem to know plenty about Sombra as it is. So,” Twilight started to slow down as she made in-out motions with her hoof. It seemed to be some kind of breathing exercise. Chrysalis recognized it as she had seen the princess do it several times before whenever she was getting overly frustrated or excited.

“So,” the purple pony repeated.

“So, you can just,” she paused again, in and out with her hoof.

“Just explain everything while I shove these cookies down my throat and,” her voice wobbled, hoof shaky as it stretched outwards.

“And pretend,” her eyes watered up, hoof falling down to the snack bag.

Chrysalis stiffened at attention and in worry.

“Pretend,” Twilight said again as she took a cookie and bit into it, tears forming. “Pretend I've got everything...together.”

The princess finally started bawling, at which point the other three occupants of the room had their eyes riveted on her. “Twilight,” the changeling called out, feeling the pressure of negative emotions emitting from the mare. “What's wrong? What happened?”

Spike stopped reading 100+1 Ways to Manage Your Gems but didn't get up from his spot yet. He, being the one who had been around Twilight the longest, saw this breakdown coming a hundred miles away. Twilight had a habit of blowing things out of proportion, especially when it came to things like tests and research. She had broken down before at the prospect that she might not get an A grade. The pressure she would inevitably feel from her coronation as princess was practically written on her schedule. The dragon knew she'd cry it out and be all right. He hardly even needed to pat her on the back anymore.

“I can't take this!” Twilight cried through her tears as she slumped to the floor. “You, the guards, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, everypony. I'm just a unicorn. A unicorn with wings! I'm not a princess!”

Chrysalis reached out and embraced the other, knowing the mare needed to just let it out. This was one more reason why she didn't want to tell the alicorn about what she knew. Because she knew it would just add one more weight on Twilight's delicate scale. In any case, the younger changelings often benefited from such simple gestures of kindness, such as physical contact, in moments of unusual stress. Such was a trait that many beings shared.

“I'm not!” the purple pony continued. “I can never be like Princess Celestia. I can never even be like Cadance. I'm just a pathetic egghead with no life!”

“No, you're not!” Chrysalis countered, seeing how the mare was crying over seemingly random and subject-disparate things.

The princess still sobbed, now against the other's black-carapaced shoulder. “The guards won't talk to me.”

“They're not really supposed to, Twilight,” Chrysalis commented confusedly. “They're just here to protect you.”

“Fluttershy doesn't trust me anymore,” was the next remark.

Where was she getting this stuff? “Of course she does. She's your friend.”

“Rainbow Dash thinks I'm lame,”

“Now that's just ridiculous,” Chrysalis argued with less certainty. The blue one could be rather condescending at times. But that was just from her own limited observations.

“You never talk to me about anything,”

“Oh, come on now,” the insectoid buzzed her wings faintly. “I very well do.”

“Nopony even cares about me!”

“Twilight!” Chrysalis shook the mare. “Snap out of it! None of it's true.”

Twilight's face was disheveled. A flushed mess marked with tears. “I...I...”

It was a good thing, Chrysalis thought to herself, that she had set up the ring with Fluttershy today. Twilight was buckling under the stress and she needed something more than a pat on the back to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. She needed something real and nothing was more real than the hivemind. One good sleep tonight would fix her self-confidence. Chrysalis was sure. More sure than she was of it helping herself because she hadn't gone through all her recent trouble for her own selfish reasons. She really did want Twilight to be Queen. To be something nopony had ever been before.

That's when Owlowiscious flew onto the alicorn's shoulder and snuggled against her face with a “hoo” of encouragement. A quiver raced at the corner of the mare's lip to tell the changeling that the princess in her arms just might smile again.

“Midterm for Critical Analysis of Ancient Magical Methodology and Practical Modern Applications,” Spike commented casually as he walked up from his spot in the corner of the room. He acted like nothing at all had happened. “You said nearly all of the same things when you got the test results back and found you only got an eighty-nine percent. It was your first B after Celestia started mentoring you. Only, the names were different. I believe you said that it was Shining Armor who didn't trust you and thought you were lame.”

Twilight looked at the dragon dumbly. Chrysalis smirked.

“I'll admit I was pretty young, but a dragon never forgets. Especially when you don't feed said dragon because you're so caught up in your own little world of self-pity,” he snorted smoke and put his hands on his hips as he had done earlier that same day. “Not like I put up with this sort of stuff often or anything.”

Something about Spike made Twilight's quiver turn into a small but very real smile. Chrysalis amazed at the special connection that the two shared. That Spike could be so indifferent and yet reach the mare's very heart said something about their relationship.

“Oh, Spike,” she regarded him, finally bringing a hoof to wipe away a tear on her face. Her sniffling lessened. “I never forgot to feed you. I just didn't get around to giving you your special dessert.”

“Aha!” he exclaimed triumphantly. “So you finally admit it.”

“I admit nothing,” she spun away suddenly from the reptilian and coincidently out of Chrysalis' grasp with a look of renewed determination on her face. She grabbed the bag of cookies that had fallen over onto the floor. “And you shouldn't be keeping a grudge over one tiny cup of sapphire sauce.”

Spike rolled his eyes. His job to get Twilight back on her rails was already over so the rest of his words were muttered low enough that the others couldn't hear him as he walked back over to his reading spot. “And you shouldn't flip out all the time.”

“What were you saying about Sombra being an Earth pony?” the princess questioned her larger friend as she put the cookies up on her desk opposite the crystal. She rubbed at her face again, as if trying to erase what had happened. But her face remained flush and her eyes were still glowing faintly, which probably meant she was fighting herself back into a calm.

She recovers rather well, the changeling mentally recorded. “I only know what my grandmother told me and she was rather old,” she disclaimed. “Sombra was originally a prince from some kingdom beyond the eastern desert. An Earth pony.”

“But he had a horn, which makes him a unicorn,” Twilight added in counter-fact as she resorted the items on her desk and situated the dark crystal on a scope slider. It was small enough to actually fit. If it was a remnant then it must have either been very old or else far away from the point of origin because there wasn't much of it.

“Was it unusual for a horn?” Chrysalis asked pointedly.

“Uh,” Twilight stopped herself and then decided. “Yes, I suppose it was.”

“It wasn't a unicorn's horn. It was something he created using dark magic. A magnification point to make his magic more powerful.”

“Wait,” Twilight turned her head to look Chrysalis in the eye. “Magic doesn't work that way. Earth ponies can't-”

“After all you said before about making assumptions regarding ponies you've never even known?” Chrysalis interjected with grin, taking Spike's tactic and not pushing the mare on the matter of her brief breakdown.

Twilight sighed as if to let out the last of her pent-up emotions. “I guess I like to think I have everything down to a science. I know that's not how everything works, though,” she looked back to the microscope and remembered Pinkie Pie's unusual Pinkie Sense.

“All I know is what grandmother told me,” Chrysalis relented. “I wasn't there so it could all be made up as far as I know.”

“And yet you've seen these dark crystals before,” Twilight countered as she turned her head to regard the shape-shifter with a raised brow. Science mode had been successfully re-engaged.

“My hive came across them in the northern wastes when we were on the move. I assume that was Sombra's prison before he broke out,” she explained with a nostalgic tone. It felt odd to speak of her former hive, even a bit distasteful if that made any sense. “It made me realize that grandmother might have been telling the facts rather than some spun up story. It was just mild curiosity though because I didn't have the time back then to do any investigating. I had a hive to feed.”

Twilight nodded minutely as she looked through the microscope's lens, gears turning one after another. “So Sombra was supposed to be some Earth pony prince? Why would your grandmother know?”

“He came to her. I guess he thought a hive would be able to help him find somepony he was looking for.”

Twilight looked up from the lens and back to Chrysalis.

“He came to her with some weird prophesy,” the changeling shrugged her shoulders. “Said he had a dream about finding a princess of great power, marrying her, and ruling an empire of immeasurable prosperity.”

Twilight must have looked like the most skeptical pony in all of Equestria at that moment because Chrysalis felt the need to disclaim once again. “Well I didn't come up with this stuff. My grandmother did. Assuming it wasn't real, which I now think that it was.”

“Alright,” the princess admitted and turned back to her desk. “Tell me everything. There might be something useful in there.”

Chrysalis frowned slightly in return, partly for trying to remember and partly at Twilight's skepticism. Not that she had ever been skeptical herself. “This princess was supposed to be waiting for him on the horizon. Only, he never found a horizon with her on it. So he started getting others to help him look. He, as my grandmother believed, was rather charming for a pony, so she went along with his requests. Even started teaching him things that were normally kept between changelings. If I recall properly, the transformative magic was the last straw.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight mumbled as she jotted down some notes from her observations on the crystal under the lens.

“Well, energy transformation is a very powerful thing to learn. Especially when fused with other magics from other cultures. One can do just about anything. Like, for example, construct a new magical medium.”

“What?” Twilight brought her face back up from the telescope and looked over to her friend once again, focus broken as soon as she had acquired it. “Mediums are fundamental. They're foundational systems of magic. You can't 'invent' them.”

“Ah, language. I suppose in your terms I should say he 'discovered' the medium of dark magic,” Chrysalis waxed in an eloquent tone indicating her distaste of arguments relating entirely to semantics.

“King Sombra, evil dictator of the Crystal Empire,” Twilight gestured wildly with no small amount of sarcasm, “was the founding figure of dark magic?”

“The Crystal Empire is old, Twilight,” Chrysalis countered. “A thousand years ago, dark magic was not as it is today. It existed then as lesser magics spread amongst many beings and cultures. Sombra brought it all together into something new and powerful. Practically made it a science unto itself. But those are grandmother's words, not mine.”

“I know,” Twilight sighed and turned back to her notes. She wasn't about to blame some incredible story on Chrysalis' recent boost in free time. “But wasn't he looking for this princess?” she asked to get things back on track. “Why did he get so obsessed with collecting magical abilities? How did he even interact with magic in the first place?”

“Hm,” Chrysalis hummed as she laid onto the floor to get more comfortable. “Was it before or after he left the hive? It's been a really long time since I heard the stories, so it's hard for me to remember it all.”

“I can't expect much more,” the princess admitted as she observed the crystal and took more notes down onto her paper. “Just tell me what you can remember.”

The shape-shifter nodded and put her head down onto her forehooves before her. “I think she said he lost hope. He eventually gave up on finding the princess himself but he didn't give up on the prophecy. So he decided to have the princess come to him instead. It doesn't meld with the dream so I can only assume he was making it up at that point. Or else grandmother was recalling it wrong.”

“Going so far just over a dream? Sounds like he wasn't very stable to begin with,” Twilight remarked sourly in passing.

“That's how things were back then, Twilight,” Chrysalis explained sternly, not having expected her queen to make a fallacy relating to modern projection. “If the tales are to be trusted, the griffons were some of the worst when it came to ritual extremism. They'd do all sorts of crazy things based on nothing more than bad weather and a stomach ache.”

Twilight shook her head. She had a hard time grasping other ways of life that didn't involve her hard and seemingly trustworthy science. “So Sombra made his own empire?”

“Yes. It wasn't hard for him to start because he was already a prince and his kingdom was apparently well built. The crystal ponies became his first choice because of their talents in gems and precious rock. The dark magic he 'discovered' made use of crystal as a control amplifier.”

The more scientific terminology caught the alicorn's interest. For another time, she turned from her desk and regarded the changeling. “Amplifier?”

“Yes, like his artificial horn that enabled him to interact with magic directly. That part of his dark medium was derived from the arachnes of the far West. Grandmother was very adamant about that point. She'd always go white at that part, as if she'd seen one for herself,” Chrysalis shivered.

“I've never heard of them,” Twilight said with a flat tone. “Spiders? Are they supposed to be special in some way that they use magic?”

“I don't know, Twilight,” Chrysalis raised a brow. “This is just stuff that I was told. And all she ever said on the matter was that they were only half spider. She never said what the other half was.”

That gave Twilight the chills. “Perhaps, you should just go on with Sombra,” the pony quickly turned back to the familiarity of her work desk and the microscope.

“Indeed. If you ask me, Sombra didn't really come up with much of his own magic. He just got around and stole techniques from others. Blended it in whatever way suited him, which is probably why dark magic is so twisted. It sickens me to think that he incorporated changeling magic within it. Practically taints my horn.”

Twilight giggled at that for a reason she could not entirely place. “You said he betrayed your grandmother. How so?”

“He was supposed to use his knowledge of changeling magic to help the hive align with his own kingdom. Hive's need food after all. But he didn't. All he used it for was his own ends to build his own empire. Enslave its citizens at that!”

“Hmm,” Twilight brushed her quill against the paper in a purple magical grip. “Slavery doesn't appeal to changelings?”

It was really more of a wonderment than a question but Chrysalis answered it anyways. “No. What you ponies understand as slavery is actually many different kinds of relationships. The kind that Sombra had with his subjects is not acceptable to our way of life.”

“Interesting,” the princess looked up from her papers and stared ahead. “I've read in some sociology books that different cultures can view the same thing very differently. Not one necessarily being wrong and another being right. I know this is rather off-topic but I'm curious,” Twilight finally smiled, back in her familiar world of learning. She even grabbed a cookie from the snack bag and started munching on it, relishing the minty flavor. “What do you mean when you say that slavery is actually many different relationships?”

Chrysalis knew that the princess wasn't really up to any more lines of conversation from the weariness in her voice. But the changeling humored her for the moment. “That's not really what I meant but it does prove my point. It's as if to see one chamber amongst many. It is not wrong to force one to move from the hatchery to the watering chamber. In fact, it would be the worst cruelty not to.”

“Huh?” the alicorn was lost.

“Forgive me,” Chrysalis turned her face away sadly. “I'm not speaking in ways you yet know. To satisfy your interest, it is acceptable to use 'slavery' as long as it serves a purpose for the hive.”

Twilight had resumed her work and just made a critical observation with the black crystal. So she started speaking in a much brighter voice. “Let me guess. Changeling culture accepts slavery only in the context of a pony or similar being that is held for the purpose of feeding the hive. But only should the being's physical and mental requirements be fulfilled, sans their knowledge of the reality of their situation.”

“I'll have to admit that sun-flank is right about one thing,” Chrysalis worked in a sideways nickname as she grinned. “You can be frighteningly accurate. And, yes, you're right.”

“Some things are not as complicated as they seem,” Twilight explained as she decided to ignore the manner in which the changeling had referred to Princess Celestia. She was too tired for that argument. No, she couldn't be tired yet. “In some matters, I've noticed that changelings are very logical in their way of life. When it comes to feeding off another's love, the subject cannot be hurt or degraded in such a way that may affect the future level of extraction. It's just the simple logic of survival. 'Your chickens are your children' as the saying goes.”

“I've never heard that one,” Chrysalis deadpanned.

Twilight laughed lightly with a blush. “Fluttershy said that to me once. She takes it literally, but what it means is that you take care of the chickens as you would your own child because they are the ones providing you with the eggs.”

“Ah,” the shape-shifter noted mentally as she noticed a change in Twilight's posture. “Tired?”

The princess nodded faintly and leaned back from her desk, sighing. A quick glance showed the owl to be resting peacefully on his perch. He had a long flight so he was probably tired as well. Spike was more awake but drooping enough for her to notice. He had probably exhausted his own energy quicker than usual today thanks to the shelf work. Twilight had gotten some rest earlier in the day as had her black companion, but both of them had also spent more energy than usual doing things they normally didn't. In example, Chrysalis constructing a sleep ring and Twilight flight training.

“Yes,” she relented. “Rainbow Dash had me flying miles and I don't usually exercise so much. Not that I'm so easily drained!” she tried to cover any indication of physical weakness out of embarrassment.

Chrysalis giggled with a buzz. While Rainbow Dash and Applejack were certainly more physically able than the bookish princess, Chrysalis minded none of it. She didn't judge others on such shallow terms of absolute might or mind. She herself, after all, had not led her previous hive through survival with only one or the other. It was determination from the heart that lasted her as long as she had. With any manner of slim luck in the night, she would no longer have to rely so much on shear will. There would finally be a deep seated peace of mind...

The alicorn may have wanted to stay up late studying the crystal, but Chrysalis was more interested in getting the mare to her queen-fitted sleep ring. That was, after all, the crux of the entire day (or night). “Research can get muddy late at night,” Chrysalis got up from the floor and nudged the princess on the side. “You'll focus better tomorrow. Let's get you to bed.”

7 - Company is Transformative

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The sun's last shimmer shone and disappeared into the twilight of the closing day. The effect was a cluttering of shifting shadows across Ponyville. Lighting grew dimmer and made some shapes hard to distinguish when within heavy shade. Nopony was about at this time, being wrapped up in other things or else avoiding the troublesome lighting of the waning hours.

Two forms emerged from around one home, now becoming visible to the two stallion pegasi stationed on either side of the town's treehouse library door. If either of the guards had not been alert they might not have caught on to what the new forms were. But they were alert. And they knew a pair of other guards just by the way of their stride.

That and this new pair had switched shifts with them before.

“Cent,” called the guard at the door's left.

“And Sent,” joked the guard on the right.

“Heh,” one of the two forms pipped as he rolled his eyes. “Funny.”

When the two new arrivals finally exited one particularly long shadow that had been cast from a nearby building, their guard armor became immediately obvious. Nopony could mistake who the two were even if their coat colors didn't blend with the white regulars at Canterlot. The pastel red coat of one and the orange of the other weren't exactly status quo and gave reason to wonder if some of the guards didn't dye their colors so as to keep from standing out. As odd as it was to some who liked being the oddball, standing out in a full garrison was not usually desirable.

Such things were irrelevant when the garrison was only four pegasi.

“Still nervous, Sent?” the right-side guard asked as he stepped from his post and looked to the orange pony. “This isn't your first shift, you know.”

“I think every shift is going to feel like first shift while I'm on this post,” he finally commented as he took the other stallion's position beside the door. His light red companion did likewise with the other male.

“While?” asked the previous left-side guard. “We're not palace guards anymore, Sent. 'Royal' means we take care of the princess personally. For the rest of our lives,” he finished resolutely.

“Unless you get transferred,” the dark blue-coated one mumbled sadly.

The new left-side guard started laughing at the orange one's expense. “He's got a case of princess preoccupation,” he explained colloquially to the two that were leaving. “I've had to give up on the poor lad. It's a lost cause.”

“Just don't let it lead to anything,” warned the one with the dark gray coat. “Can't have a case on our hooves.”

“Don't I know it,” the reddish one replied in lost cheer. With the last two guards now heading back to the quarters, his only concern was to keep alert and guard the princess within the treehome.

“Centurion,” the orange one with the blue mane began without losing his rigid and mindful posture he held at his post.

“Yes, I know,” the other replied. “You may be fresh out of the oven but I trust you not to make a mess. Nopony gets through the captain if they can't even handle a simple post.”

“About that...”

Centurion broke his forward gaze to glance at his fellow pegasus before correcting his focus. “Don't tell me you've never met the captain!”

“Oh, I have!” quickly responded the orange one. “You're right about nopony getting past him. I meant to say he pulled me aside in particular. It's just that...”

“Out with it,” the other stallion said flatly as his green eyes narrowed.

“He didn't pull you, Direway, or Midnight Strike aside. Just me,” he explained unsure. “He didn't say it but I got the drift that he was upset with Princess Celestia for going over his head. I think he wanted to have the pick of guards since Princess Sparkle is his sister.”

Centurion frowned. “Figures. I heard Midnight was on Luna's palace regiment and Dire used to work Princess Celestia's prep checks with me. Captain Sparkle might have chosen us on his own because of our records, but he wouldn't pick a new face like you.”

“Don't I know it,” the blue-maned pegasi sighed with depression. “And it kind of stings to have the captain on your case about something out of your hooves.”

The red pony pressed his lips in concentration. “Don't mind him,” he tried to encourage. “We get our assignments and we run the nine we're trained for. Princess Celestia herself assigned you and she never posts anypony anywhere without good reason. Trust me. I've made enough runs under her to know.”

“Doesn't help me much now. We've got all night to get through and I'm going to worry the whole time if Princess Sparkle is going to walk out and see me.”

The green-eyed one laughed at cautious volume and shook his golden mane. “Yeah, I guess we haven't seen each other since we got posted. Our day pals are getting all the love!”

“Love?” the orange one widened his eyes, blushed, and gulped.

“You should count yourself lucky,” Centurion finally moved from a neutral expression to a smirk. He did like playing it up now that he settled not to keep worrying over his fellow guard's situation. “This place gets low enough on traffic that we can actually talk. Those saps at the palace never get the time of day to talk to each other – forget anypony else. Trust me, I used to be one.”

“Is that why Midnight doesn't talk much when he's over at the pad?” the other asked a bit too quickly, glad he might focus on some other matter besides love.

“Maybe,” Centurion said longly, tilting his head slightly in thought. “I tend to think he's sulking though.”

“Sulking?” came the doubtful reply.

The older guard nodded minutely, more sure now. “He was a Royal Guard on Luna's nightwatch. Some of them get...” he trailed before smiling. “Well they get kind of attached, you know?”

The orange one frowned and refused to answer.

“Not that any ever get attached in return,” Centurion finished the line of thought before deciding to pick it up again. “On the other hoof, Princess Sparkle is not exactly like Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. I believe she's around your age,” he remarked as he praised his own ability to talk so freely without any other ponies in sight. It was like being able to breath after holding one's breath for a very long time. Maybe it wasn't talking anytime but rather talking on post in particular that gave him the sensation.

Still the orange one didn't answer.

Centurion kept his alertness but also continued his small smile. Yes, it really was refreshing to speak freely. He hadn't realized it until recently because routine tended to be the perfect blindfold.

Princess Twilight Sparkle opened her mouth and closed it, allowing herself to move in the direction that her changeling was nudging her. Images of late nights entered her head. Images that gave her shudders. Particularly, images of staring at the Horsehead nebula.

“Bed?” Spike put his book down. “About time.”

“Spike, it's not even completely dark yet,” the alicorn countered her assistant.

The dragon's stride, however, didn't lessen in the least. “Exactly,” he defended. “The sun's going down and we're running out of time.”

Twilight would have facehoofed if she had the energy for it. Her thoughts quickly turned to the physical aches she was starting to feel in her back and wings. But those were some of her last thoughts before her mind started dulling focus before the seduction of slumber. Her hooves felt more like lead with every step she took up the stairs to her bedroom.

“Can't have you falling down the stairs,” Chrysalis commented to nopony in particular as her horn glowed a faint green. If any of the others asked, she could just say she was using a little protective magic to prevent possible accidents on the stairway. She was by no means using an entirely different magic to help lull the princess into a peaceful rest. Can't have any kinks, she told herself.

In short order, the oddball triplet of alicorn, dragon, and changeling were all stepping into the sleep ring in Twilight's bedroom. Chrysalis' heart was pounding almost painfully. Part excitement, part fear. It was like the feeling of opening a present. It was a great joy but within lurked a nervousness of the present being something undesirable or even being a trick.

“Hah,” Spike chuckled as he bounced onto the soft padding of the ring. “This is the life...”

The changeling couldn't find the motivation to remark anything. The nervousness was starting to overtake the excitement. What had she even been thinking in the first place? There was one chance in a million she could pull this off!

Twilight was in auto-pilot mode as she knelt down and nestled into the padding. Cautiously, the shape-shifter followed suit, curling behind the princess where she could still physically reach Spike. A little insurance never hurt, right?

The Element of Magic closed her eyes and entered pre-sleep rest mode. Spike was rolling around with a smile and giggle. “I'm going to have one of these for my gem lair...” he commented softly as he obviously trailed into sleep. He turns off like a switch, Chrysalis thought finally. Turning her attention back to the mare, she listened closely and had to wait another half-minute before she was certain the alicorn's breathing meant full sleep.

Fluttershy would not be in bed for a few more hours by the changeling's figuring. Nevertheless, it would be knowable when the pegasus was asleep in the ring because that was when her unique broadcast would emit. In the meantime, Chrysalis could run some more gentle tests to check the mental connections. Very gentle tests that would not disturb the subconscious and awaken the two around her. Once the alicorn and dragon had been eased into a subtle connected state, Chrysalis could begin gradually turning up the ambiance of the hivemind. It had to be gradual for those who never experienced such a thing before. Otherwise it would be rather uncomfortable. At least that's what the changeling guessed. Always having been a part of the hive until recently, she had only thin grounds to make deductions.

Gracefully, the transformative being closed her eyes and let the green magic of her race emanate from her. She kept the intensity so low that it was barely there. Still, it made the ring's light circle glow with a surreal hue and the space within the ring began to alter in light as well. Within her mind, Chrysalis latched onto the emptiness of the yellow pegasus' ring. She also grasped the four smaller points, each empty as well. It felt as if she had just entered an empty house. Rather lonely...

An hour passed and Chrysalis' patience continued to hold only on account that she knew she was on the edge of an important moment. It was as if she was going to sleep knowing she would wake with the next day being a holiday of great celebration. That's when something happened.

A presence came suddenly into the empty house that had been the newly fashioned hivemind. It was abrupt and caught Chrysalis off-guard. The being's consciousness was more blatant than she had anticipated. Perhaps it was because changelings were natural with a shared mind, used to not being as red in a gray portrait. Chrysalis could only wonder.

Wondering is not important right now, she reminded herself. The presence had come from one of the four links she had hidden in the guard bunks. Not letting her own presence broadcast back to the pony, she observed it with interest. Then something began to worry her. The individuality of the mind was so immediate that it was obvious who had fallen asleep at the guardhouse. It was harder to distinguish a specific changeling from a hivemind of over a thousand. Even if one focused on one in particular, it was not as if the observation would be apparently colorful. This pony's mind, on the other hoof, was colorful.

Midnight Strike. The name was practically painted in bold on his presence. Dark blue coat, silver mane, eyes of deep ocean blue that shone so dark that they seemed a pitfall. Happiness, shame, then strong sorrow. Everything about this pegasus guard was on display.

Why were certain emotions so strong, the changeling questioned as she reached out to him within the hivemind. Then she stopped with a jolt. No, this was for the queen, Chrysalis decided firmly and backed away within the mental space. Now she began to touch lightly the purple pony that was not a hoof away in the physical realm. If done right, this could be a useful prep before Fluttershy.

The former hivequeen had no trouble soothing the alicorn's mind and carrying her consciousness carefully into the realm of the hivemind where she was sure it belonged. Now the whole matter was as if attempting to place an Ace on an already well-developed pyramid of playing cards. Chrysalis steeled her nerves as she reduced her magical protection of Twilight's presence and gave it room within the hivemind. The princess' conscious and subconscious played off each other in ways that the changeling well expected. Twilight was not currently aware that she was within a hivemind, since Chrysalis was easing her into. But the mare's scientific curiosity immediately began picking the place apart, categorizing it, labeling it, and building a thesis for the whole. It was almost laughable.

The next step, after allowing for some “breathing” time, was to allow Twilight and the guard to become vaguely aware of each other. Chrysalis exhaled and inhaled calmly as she focused on her job. That was when Twilight Sparkle's mental presence suddenly surged. She had caught a glimpse of somepony else being present and swiftly began a thorough investigation. The intensity of Twilight's mind only confirmed Chrysalis' belief that she would be a perfect queen. Midnight Strike would be her practice subject.

For the changeling, it was simple to project herself into the mental space of a hivemind but she imagined it was a surreal experience for the ponies. As far as they knew, they were fast asleep and experiencing some sort of dreamworld where they got the rest they needed and still got to think and act. A world that was, of course, controlled by the hivemind's master. For now that master was Chrysalis. She would slip out of that role once Twilight...

“Who?” called a soft voice within the hivemind. It was the purple alicorn princess but sounded as if a thick blanket had been cast over her face.

“I,” came a reply just as dulled. The responder was the guard.

At this point, Chrysalis could feel Twilight construct her thesis that indicated a dreamworld.

“Where?” Twilight called again.

“Away. Away from her,” the voice replied, this time very sad.

“Her?” the princess continued to inquire.

“No, she's far away with many as I was,” Midnight answered with less coherence.

The alicorn paused in thought, constructing ideas and weighing probabilities. “Why?”

Chrysalis became intrigued but was careful not to let her masking lighten. The two ponies could not interact too directly or else everything might fall apart.

“I was reassigned,” the stallion groaned. “Traded from the one I love to one I never even knew.”

“Why?” again came the query.

“I was ordered.”

For the third time, “Why?”

“I am a royal guard. I must follow orders. I must protect,” the pony answered dutifully.

As if the question could never be used enough, it came a fourth time. “Why?”

“I am no longer Luna's. I am Twilight Sparkle's. This is my life,” the pegasus stated resolutely and not without some tone of regret.

That last response was as a pebble into the gears of a delicate watch. The mind of the princess reeled back. Shock moved to fear and then finally to that old scientific curiosity. It quickly evolved, as many things did for Twilight, into another question that needed an answer. A door that needed to be opened.

“You were Luna's royal guard. Now you're mine? What is your name? No,” the mare countered herself. “What do you look like?”

It was a very good thing that Chrysalis had managed to get those connections in the guardhouse. That nighttime snoop of a lunar princess would not take long in seeing such mental activity in the night. The changeling did not yet know to what extend that Princess Luna could invade minds, but she reckoned that the hivemind was not yet something that the princess was capable of entering. After all, even a powerful alicorn could not interact with something that seemed only a confused garble on the outside. What was important was that Luna could not detect even the garble, else her curiosity would still undo the whole thing.

To help her little pony of a queen along, Chrysalis allowed a little more of the guard and princess to be sensible. Their voices became less dulled out and their formlessness became a glow. One purple, one dark blue.

“I am the blue of a darker persuasion. Silver in my mane and tail,” the guard recited as if he was speaking to a superior. Maybe he thought that he was, since he didn't seem to have a clue who he was speaking to.

“Blue coat and silver mane?” Twilight gasped. “Are you one of the two guards that pulled my chariot? That followed me around all day?!”

That must have been the deciding factor. The question was so obviously revealing that the stallion could never miss it. Not a sharp guard such as himself.

“M-my...my princess! I mean, your highness!” he tripped over himself. A hilarious thing considering that it was a hivemind and he had no physical form to actually trip.

The implications hit the young alicorn like a wagon full of anvils racing down Ponyville's infamous danger-zone hill. Chrysalis could see clearly all of the things that the mare had realized at once. Thankfully the word “hivemind” was not mixed in.

“What...is your name?” the princess finally asked slowly, apparently deciding that such a question was first by necessity.

“I cou-”

“What is your name?” Twilight asked more firmly.

The stallion knew his position and gave the information appropriately. “Midnight Strike, second commanding Princess Twilight Sparkle's Royal Guard, your highness!”

Crisp, Chrysalis smirked. That Shining Armor had a challenger for guard stiffness. But then she didn't know the stallion as well as some guards probably did. She shrugged it off.

“Midnight Strike,” Twilight Sparkle voiced as if needing to test the name on her tongue, existence thereof notwithstanding. “Second?”

The stallion did not hesitate now, but his unease was bleeding in his clipped tone. “First commanding, Centurion.”

“Centurion?” Twilight began to ask.

“Red persuasion, gold mane,” gave the pegasus.

A pause and then, “I don't remember such a pony...”

“Night watch, as dictated by guard regulation,” he kept speaking tensely and respectfully. “Limited resources must be dispersed in such a fashion as to maintain reasonable chain of command while maximizing best distribution of experience. Centurion's exceptional record justifies his position of commander as well as his position on night watch, the most dangerous time, with the detail's least experienced member.”

If Twilight had physical form, she might have blinked as she took everything in and weighed her next inevitable question in relation to all possible inquiries, which were quite numerable at this point. In this instance, she decided to go back. Something from earlier was apparently bugging her.

“You said you loved Princess Luna?” Twilight asked with dripping and eager curiosity. This question seemed to have far more weight with her than anything to do with the details of the guards.

Midnight Strike's glowing presence altered to a more purplish hue. Chrysalis laughed at the thought of the stallion's blue coat turning to Twilight's color because of a red blush getting mixed in. But she was careful not to let such reactions become detectable to the two she observed.

“Well...?” the mare prompted again with a caring tone. Was she trying to be considerate? If she wanted to be that way then she might not have thought to pry in the first place.

“I...I do. Did. It doesn't matter now and I'm not sure it ever really did,” he responded depressingly. Chrysalis could see the pain that stirred within him, only faint to the alicorn princess' view.

“Hey,” Twilight said with worry. “It does matter.”

“Why?” Midnight Strike was now the one to use that word.

“Because love is important. Because you're important,” Twilight explained.

Chrysalis stopped breathing for a second. The purple pony couldn't even see the stallion in physical form and yet she was saying such things. It was the same kind of heart that had saved the changeling and it made her stop.

“I'm just a-”

“No,” Twilight argued via interruption. “You're not just anything. You're a pony and you have feelings. I'd be a failure as a friend, student, and princess if I didn't apply everything I've learned so far. And I've learned how important others are. How important their feelings are...”

“But...” Midnight sighed. “It doesn't change where I am. My old life is gone forever.”

The alicorn didn't speak immediately this time but waited in thought. Finally, “Change is not bad,” she decided to say. “We often end up in a better place because of it. Maybe,” her tone got more cheery, “your new life will give you something you could never have had before.”

“Never had?” the pegasus seemed surprised at the notion.

“I don't know what friends you had or already have but if Pinkie Pie is ever right about anything then it's that another friend is something to smile about.”

“Friend?” the guard asked not knowing the meaning that Twilight was getting at.

The purple aura that had been the princess' presence in the hivemind began to move forward to the guard's. And it began to take more solid form. The glow began swirling into an actual pony form.

Chrysalis widened her eyes in shock and panic. She had lost control over Twilight within the mental realm. The Element of Magic! Twilight had, in her vast and deep pool of magic, unknowingly blown past the changeling's safety precautions and subconsciously taken full control of the hivemind. Chrysalis had been too focused on Twilight's conscious mind and had forgotten what the subconscious was doing. The guard was materializing now as well.

Chrysalis was only undetected because Twilight was focused on somepony else. The changeling was now also being sucked into a physical representation within the hivemind. She would be painfully obvious, standing there visibly in a place that was still constructing itself around her.

The shape-shifter cursed her short-sightedness. It had been obvious from the beginning. She had even noted it for Pete's sake! Twilight's conscious and subconscious were powerful in their scientific and mechanical workings. She naturally deconstructed things in her mind to learn what they were and, as she began to understand them, she began to wield the knowledge effortlessly. While Chrysalis had been focused on controlling the interaction between the guard and the princess, Twilight's subconscious had flipped the dreamworld thesis into something more along the lines of a magical dimension. It was a technically incorrect conclusion but such a distinction was irrelevant when it came to magically controlling the hivemind.

The mare's subconscious ran a quick series of scientific tests that were not large or obvious but rather efficient at practical manipulation. Then in the last moments of Chrysalis' control, the tests completed, confirmed theories, and began taking over the hivespace as foals shovel piñata candy into their forehooves.

And it all happened within the short time that the Element of Magic had been carried into the mostly fresh and blank hivemind. Twilight Sparkle's raw ability was terrifying.

But Twilight's subconscious was wielding its new power like a caffeinated squirrel and so an issue was inevitable. The princess finished taking on her full physical form as she reached the guard, who also finished materializing. The mare reached out a hoof and hugged the pegasus.

“I'm your friend, Midnight,” she said kindly. “And I don't want you to feel like you're unimportant.”

Everything came apart then. Chrysalis couldn't watch as she buried her face into her newly materialized holey hooves. Whatever was going to happen, she decided, would not be good.

An explosion of light erupted from between the stallion pegasus and alicorn mare. In that one moment, their minds had come too close. Twilight didn't understand yet how the hivemind worked even as she unknowingly tried manipulating it. She didn't even know that this space was called the hivemind. But in fairness, Chrysalis hadn't realized what she had done either. She had forced non-changelings into a hivemind without considering what a pony might be in it or what they might be capable of doing. She had split an atom without realizing the underlying energy thereof.

Twilight leaned back from the stallion as her eyes widened and beamed with a blinding white light. The hivemind around her that had started to take a physical representation began to crumble before it was completely there. Her conscious and subconscious had just been sucked into a hivemind collision. Midnight Strike's mind raced before her. She saw everything of him and he saw everything of her.

Finally, the the two ponies were blasted away from each other. Both groaned and held their heads as they laid painfully on their backs. The representation of the hivemind environment was back to a formless blackness with only the residents retaining materialization. But even that seemed to waver, the forms struggling to maintain existence amongst Twilight's confusion. It was as if trying to see one's reflection in the water after a chain of ripples had been put into effect.

And now to add chaos to disorder, a new presence entered the hivemind, catapulting into it like a meteor. It struck into their midst and shakily got to its hooves as if it believed it was going to be attacked any second by some terrifying monster. There could be only one reason the new presence had taken form so quickly. The hivemind's current master, Twilight Sparkle, could immediately give materialization subconsciously to those she already had a strong mental depiction of. And there was only one other sleeping ring that could be broadcasting so strongly in the first place.

It was Fluttershy.

8 - Hope is Healthy

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Chrysalis was in trouble. Her gamble had failed and before her laid a terrible mess. In the hivemind, she stood in a materialized form along with Twilight Sparkle, Midnight Strike, and the newly arrived Fluttershy.

Each seemed surprised at first but Twilight had a lightbulb moment and soon lost her look of shock, replacing it with something more along the lines of “I should have known.” Her mental embodiment strode over to the changeling with all of the calm grace that a young foal feared for the knowledge that it meant punishment. And Chrysalis did very much suspect that.

“Chrysalis,” the princess spoke evenly and seemingly without any hint of being upset. Somehow it frightened Chrysalis more. “Is this a dream?”

A gulp and then the response. “No.”

“I didn't think so,” the alicorn stated casually as she stopped right in front of the shifter's face. “But thank you for being honest with me. I wish you'd do so more often.”

“I-”

“No,” Twilight held up her hoof to Chrysalis' mouth, silencing her. “Don't worry. I'm not going to freak out like I did earlier. I'm working on my nerves. Honest.”

When the purple hoof dropped, the black non-pony spoke in a small voice. “It's okay?”

The princess sighed. “A lot of things are not okay. But I can't keep getting on your back when I'm one of those problems.”

“What? No,” Chrysalis raised her own hoof as she started to object, but the pony turned away from her. She didn't agree but then neither did she know exactly what the alicorn had meant by it.

Twilight looked at Fluttershy, who was curled into a ball of fright. Her forehooves were over her eyes as Midnight Strike was standing there silently observing the whole situation. But he looked like his mind might have been somewhere else - there really was too much for everypony to take in.

“I got it,” Twilight Sparkle explained to the changeling behind her. “I tend to do that. Understand something important when I'm doing something else totally unrelated. This time it was because of Midnight Strike. I saw and understood.”

“Understood what?” Chrysalis asked in a small worried voice.

“I know why Princess Celestia allowed me to become a princess and have these wings,” Twilight now beamed. “Though I still think there's too much going on in my life right now,” she giggled, which surprised Chrysalis. Something about her calmness and aloofness to what appeared to be chaos was not unlike the attitude that Celestia exhibited from time to time. “Have you ever experienced that? Long periods of nothing going on in your life and then everything happens at once?”

“Um...” the changeling hung up. She should be glad that Twilight was calm but it was too good to be true so she didn't want to believe it too quickly.

“The Princess always seems to know when I'm ready for something even when I don't think that I am. That's what makes a good teacher, right?” the alicorn turned back to Chrysalis. “I needed this push. I wasn't really learning anything else, just believing I was. Celestia knew I had to move on.”

The changeling spoke louder, more certain it wasn't all a trick and that Twilight had simply snapped. “Move on...?”

“Midnight Strike has been hurt by his transfer more than I could ever know without this special place,” she waved her hooves around her. “Now that I understand him completely, it's embarrassing how shallow I was in first approaching him.”

The changeling gave a quizzical look. “Understand him? Did you see his mind?” Her own view of what had happened was limited because she had lost control of the hivemind prior.

“That would be technically inaccurate,” Twilight didn't lose her smile. Something about the situation had touched her sense of enjoyment. Chrysalis hadn't one guess in all of Equestria how. “I saw his life. From his eyes. Rather an important distinction considering how everypony has their own perspective of the same events.”

Chrysalis nodded her head, not knowing the meaning. Perhaps it would be best to agree with Twilight on everything. After all, it seemed to be going in a good direction. At least she she thought it was. Hopefully.

Twilight started walking over to Fluttershy but then stopped. Her eyes shot wide. “He saw...”

Chrysalis tilted her head, wondering what the princess was talking about.

A blush rose to the alicorn's face and then burned her entire countenance red. Her head turned and eyes locked with Midnight Strike's. The stallion was out of his daze and now had a very troubled expression. He was first to act, walking with just the tiniest rush to the princess. He bowed until he was practically lying on the empty blackness that seemed to make up the floor of the mental space.

“Forgive me your Highness! I had no intention of violating your privacy!” he begged quickly. His sincerity burned through his own embarrassment.

Chrysalis was out of the loop. Not having run through all of the alicorn's memories, she couldn't know what they were so troubled about. So she stood there patiently, hoping things continued to progress in the right direction. In any case, it was all out of her hooves.

Twilight's lips moved oddly, no words coming out. She just kept blushing and some water came to her eyes. Eventually she touched the stallion's shoulder. He dared a careful look up and saw her nod minutely, indicating the apology was accepted. Or perhaps it was just a nod of understanding.

“We...” the princess whispered. “We should talk later.”

Chrysalis saw the alicorn and pegasus come out of their awkward moment. The purple one then went over to the trembling yellow ball that was the Element of Kindness. Instead of touching it with a hoof, the princess spoke gentle words. It must have had an effect but, not having heard them, Chrysalis moved closer to pick them up.

“I'm right here for you...” came the whispers of Twilight Sparkle.

Fluttershy started to uncurl and looked up, finally making her eyes visible. They locked onto Twilight, tears in them. “What is this place? Where are we? What happened to Chrysalis' sleeping ring?!” the mare shrieked swiftly.

Continuing the renewed state of calm, Twilight knelt down and surprised Chrysalis once again. She laid down against the yellow pegasus, wrapped a wing over her, and nuzzled her the same way she sometimes did with Princess Celestia.

Of course, it meant the same thing that had happened earlier with Midnight Strike. Only this time it had been intentional. Twilight meant to do it and such a thing intrigued the only one there that was a previous natural with hiveminds. It was initiative and it meant things were going as she needed them – everything was alright. At least as far as the changeling was concerned in that moment.

There was an explosion of light but, rather than being blasted apart, Twilight lit her horn and started wrestling with the raw power of the mental connection. She certainly had guts but her fast learning curve justified it. What was at question is how the princess decided that Fluttershy would be okay with sharing herself so completely. The answer was not long in coming.

For a moment after the light died down, it looked like the shy mare was going to get shoved away from the alicorn. But the moment passed and it didn't happen. The two were still together, touching. But neither was still experiencing the link.

Twilight grimaced and had a look of exhaustion. A few frazzled sparks spurt from her horn as if to indicate that it was out of order. But of more note was the fact that Fluttershy was digging her face against Twilight's neck, weeping painfully. The purple mare's wing brushed against the yellow one, holding her.

It wasn't easy for Twilight to keep up so many things in a new and strange mental space but her Element was Magic and by Celestia's sun she was going to use her talents. Fluttershy needed her.

“I knew there was something you weren't telling me,” Twilight whispered gently to her crying friend. “I knew I had to find out but I didn't know that it was like this. I'm sorry, Fluttershy...”

When the pegasus had used up enough of her tears, her soft and wobbly voice came muffled through Twilight's coat. “No, you have nothing to apologize for...”

“I'm sorry because I didn't notice earlier,” Twilight countered. “I've left you alone for so long. But I won't anymore.”

“Twilight, I-” the mare looked up to see the other's eyes, surprise starting into her tone.

“No need for words, Fluttershy. I think we know each other well enough now,” Twilight smiled down at the red-rimmed eyes below her.

Something like a combination between a smile and a sob came from the yellow mare as she leaned back into the princess. She nodded against the other's coat.

Chrysalis was getting frustrated. This was not how the hivemind was supposed to work! As a changeling, she should be able to hear what was going on regardless of where her physical representation was. She should be able to understand what the two were talking about, not being left out of the loop. Maybe Twilight was going along with the flow but there was now a problem with the flow itself.

That's when Chrysalis skid a hoof against the seemingly non-existent flooring. A random thought struck her even within the mental space. She was being antsy, moody, and a little frustrated because she wasn't the queen. She was experiencing a hivemind lead not by her but by an alicorn queen. And that thought just made her a bit more frustrated.

She had mellowed out quite a bit since coming to Ponyville but not so much that she didn't become incensed every now and then. Her plan kept yo-yo'ing from good to bad. Now it looked like it was going lukewarm. Not failing but not really going how she intended.

“Now for you,” the purple princess turned to look into the eyes of her changeling friend. “It seems I have quite a bit on my hooves right now,” she glanced to Midnight Strike and then to Fluttershy. “But what you've done takes priority.”

Chrysalis stepped towards the mare. “I only-”

“You have needs both as a changeling and also as a living breathing individual. Yes, I understand that,” Twilight interjected. “In fact, ever since you dragged me into this...place,” she motioned with a free forehoof, “I've been understanding too much too quickly. It's giving me a migraine just to piece together enough to make proper decisions.”

“If you're good at anything then it's at making an informed decision,” Chrysalis tried to flatter.

“Stop,” the alicorn commanded firmly but without hint of anger. “There's no need for you to explain further or try justifying yourself. Unlike Midnight Strike and Fluttershy, your mind is open without me having to touch you. But then I suppose the need for touch is a only requirement my own mind invented and not something of a real changeling hivemind.”

“You are quite-”

“Right,” Twilight interjected again. “I told you there is no need to explain. I can see – more feel – everything you know.”

Chrysalis finished approaching the one she considered queen and knelt onto the nothingness so she would be at eye-level with the purple pony. Without speaking, she nodded her head to test if Twilight could sense her current thoughts clearly.

She could and she did. “I am Queen of this hivemind,” Twilight stated without reservation. “I understand what that means now and I apologize for holding so many misunstandings before. I was making this position as 'Queen' to be more of a political or egotistical thing. Now I see that was simple-minded and foolish – even disrespectful – to the changeling way of life.”

It seemed that Twilight would keep speaking except that she paused and reached out with a forehoof to touch Chrysalis. Nothing happened.

“Horsefeathers,” she mumbled.

“What is it?” the shape-shifter inquired curiously.

Twilight retracted her hoof and then used it to rub Fluttershy's back. The sunny-yellow pegasus was still nestled against Twilight with her head down and pressed against the other's neck. “I seemed to connect to Midnight and Fluttershy on touch. I received your thoughts without doing anything. But I haven't shared my thoughts with you this entire time, which is why I have to keep talking like this. You can't 'hear' the others either can you?”

Chrysalis gave a buzz of agreement and the two had to move right on to other matters. She only had to think as she normally did to explain to Twilight the normal pattern of development for new hiverulers. Princesses that were given their own hiveminds could usually receive more than they were able to send. As one got used to the nature of one's own hivemind, it became easier to broadcast thoughts. Twilight got that it had something to do with the difference between the mind's “master” and it's many “slaves” but she didn't get why this hadn't applied to the two ponies she had touched.

Chrysalis spoke again, not realizing she was voicing what she was thinking at the same time. She wasn't used to hiveminds having physical representations. “How am I supposed to know the answer to that? Frankly, I'm surprised it's all been as changeling as it has been,” the holey hooves shifted under her uncomfortably. “It was a long shot on my part and the nature of non-changeling minds combined with your own magical abilities has-!”

“Altered the very rules of the hivemind,” Twilight again finished, although quieter and calmer than the changeling. “No need to shout, Chrysalis. I can hear your thoughts just fine.”

That's when Fluttershy finally looked up again. Something might have been shared through the mind between the alicorn and pegasus just then but Chrysalis was not yet privy to it and that was incredibly frustrating. As the only changeling, she hadn't even considered that she would have any problems in the new hivemind. But, as logic followed, it made sense that she did because she was now the oddball out. A changeling amongst three ponies.

The yellow mare smiled as Twilight wiped the remaining tears from her face with a purple hoof and nodded. “Tomorrow,” one Element whispered to another.

A sudden and blinding light sparkled around Fluttershy and then she was gone. Simply gone.

“What?” Chrysalis asked swiftly in confusion.

Knowing her friend's handicap, Twilight looked back to the black non-pony and spoke. “I'm putting everything in order as it should be. I'm going to have a very long letter to write to the princess this time...”

“Fluttershy...”

“Her mind is resting now as it should be, though I am still connected to her. And I will stay connected to her for as long as she sees fit. Which, at the moment, is forever.”

Chrysalis tried to keep up. “What did you two share? What did you discuss?”

Twilight stood up and began towards the guard who had been patiently standing aside as guards did so well. As the princess walked, she answered her dark friend. “Many things in a short time. Too much to tell you in one night unless we can communicate directly through the hivemind without me using these intermediary words. I will tell you as I have the time, though, because it has an effect on all members of my mind.”

Twilight gave an odd “heh” as she said that last word. “It's funny when I put it that way...”

“It is your mind,” Chrysalis stated resolutely.

The alicorn now faced Midnight Strike and she looked deep into his eyes. It must have been another hivemind exchange because Chrysalis heard nothing as the guard nodded, stepped forward gingerly, bowed, and presented his wings in a ceremonious way to the princess. Twilight lowered her head until her horn tapped the stallion's forehead. Now he too disappeared with a flash of light as Fluttershy did.

“I thought that accepting your proposal for becoming Queen might make me arrogant – the opposite of humble,” Twilight continued as she turned to fully face the last presence in the mental space. “Now I see the hivemind's Queen for the position that it really is. Not a political position. Not a way for one to rule or enslave the masses. Changelings exist on an entirely different cultural level that is hard for those of different species to understand.”

Those words were what finally put the changeling at ease. The conclusion was finally in. Forgetting how unsound things had looked for a while, the end result was good. All would be well because, even if it took some time to fix the kinks like her current handicap, she had a hivemind to belong to again. And her master was the only one she would ever want. Twilight Sparkle.

“I understand now,” Twilight smiled warmly as she emphasized the timing word. “Being Queen is, as closely as can be compared to pony cultural values, like being a mother. The word is not wholly adequate because I feel other emotions that I don't consider motherly. But it's the best I can do and, heck, I've never been a mother anyways. So how would I know?” she laughed.

Chrysalis just nodded, eager to ask one last thing. “So do you accept my offer?”

Twilight pretended to think about, taking advantage of Chrysalis' lack of ability to read her thoughts. But just two seconds was enough torture for the poor changeling. After all, nopony had been hurt by this whole ordeal and had actually been a little blessed for it.

“Yes,” the Element of Magic answered. “I will be your Queen.”

Chrysalis awoke the next morning to an empty ring. The alicorn and dragon were not there and a rumble from downstairs answered her initial wonderment as to their location. Random thought made her note that she had not been awoken by her new queen in order to “open” the clod-shielded windows.

When she got up and fixed her disheveled mane, she went downstairs to find Spike scurrying about with bundles of paper and quills. Twilight Sparkle was at her desk and she was quite simply a tornado of activity. Paper was shooting off of her workspace with every line packed with written word. Ink was draining rapidly from her ink pots and she seemed incapable of stopping the flow of her quill lest it snap and she need a new one. Spike was falling behind as the papers piled up and the desk's stack of quills drew thin.

Chrysalis was certain as to what it was all about but she decided to ask anyways. “Recording your findings from last night's little experience?”

The buzzy voice reached Twilight's ears and made one of them twitch. But the pony did not turn around. She just kept writing like a madpony and was broken in her speech when she finally responded, as if she was short on attention span. Such was entirely the case.

“I have too...much...I'm still...quill!” she suddenly shouted.

Spike, sweating from exertion, rushed to her side with the new quills, some spilling out of his arms. Twilight snatched one with magic and continued her work.

“Things from last night are still hitting me...it's too much...”

Chrysalis felt a bit guilty. It was partly her fault that her queen had been subject to an information and action overload. Sure Twilight had taken the reins from her but she couldn't help but feel responsible anyways. “I'm very sorry, my queen. I didn't mean for it to burden you so.”

The princess stopped at last. “Queen? Oh, yes. I'm your queen,” she seemed to remember and decide all over again. Still she didn't look away from the desk before her. “Late morning! Fluttershy! Midnight Strike!”

“Hm?” Chrysalis tilted her head.

But the purple pony leaped away from her desk and bolted for the door. “I'll be back as soon as I can!”

That was all she said before she was gone and out of the library. But silence didn't have a chance to befall the place of books as Spike sighed heavily and dropped to the floor in exhaustion.

“Tired?” Chrysalis asked the dragon coolly as she shook her head at her queen's rush.

A snort of smoke puffed out from him in indignation. “I should think so! Twilight's had me running around for supplies all morning. She's never torn through them so fast before. Not even when she was taking finals in advanced magic four twenty-one!”

“Did she explain everything to you?” the changeling raised a brow, knowing Twilight could sometimes get lost in the moment and forget to inform others what was going on.

“Enough,” he replied as he rolled onto his side on the floor. “But I don't want to try figuring anything out that Twilight hasn't yet. Sounds like a bunch of drama anyways,” he waved a claw to emphasize his dislike of such matters.

“Ah,” Chrysalis soothed. “You'd rather be getting yourself some more jewels, hm?”

Spike started to look interested but then stopped himself and looked bored instead. “Of course having a refill on my stash would be nice...”

“But?”

“Twilight and the others keep getting on my case about being greedy. Maybe I have been but it feels like I can't have anything anymore without somepony giving me a suspicious look. I'm going to have to pass on the jewels.”

The changeling knelt down to the dragon on the floor. Her wings buzzed a few times on her back, giving her that itch to fly that came every now and then. But she ignored it for now and brushed away a stray bang of bluish hair that fell in front of her face as she looked closely at the green and purple dragon. “So that's what that was all about. I did wonder.”

“Hmph,” Spike rolled his eyes. “It's annoying.”

“But not every dragon's jewel is his gem, if you take my meaning. Some treasure other things,” Chrysalis remarked even as she worked the gears of her hivemind-handicapped brain.

Not knowing or caring for any possible machination, Spike leaped spryly back onto his clawed feet in excitement. “Oh my gosh, really?!” his eyes widened in delicious excitement. “What do you know about dragons?!”

Chrysalis was taken aback at first, not having expected such a feverish response. This little guy really did hunger for answers. The question of who and what he was seemed always in health with him. “Ah...well...” she stalled as she gathered what she knew. Did she give it all away or hold back some? There would be no holding back if Spike fully connected with the hivemind, so she decided it was best not to conspicuously leave out anything. Spin with swift care, as one old changeling saying went. “Didn't I mention anything about it before?”

“No! No, you didn't!” Spike looked huffy.

“Well I apologize. You see my old hive once lived in the upper west mountains past the badlands. We actually lived a lot of different places over the years. Anyways, there were some dragons there. Big ones.”

The somewhat-magical dragon leapt at the changeling, a smile on his face now. He grasped the non-pony's shoulders with a sudden firmness. “What were they like? How did they look? Were they different from the ones in the last migration?!”

“Goodness,” she giggled as she brought up a hoof to ruffle his spines. “I wasn't here for the last migration, remember?”

Spike's face dropped.

“But they were different if I understand the ones you have encountered. Twilight did mention them even if it was in passing.”

The fire was rekindled in the dragon's eyes.

“Actually, it would be best to say they were quite different from each other as well. You see...there were these clan groupings and they each had their own ways. I shouldn't say 'had.' Dragons live so long that I strongly doubt any have actually died since I was a hatchling.”

Spike's eyes sparkled with so much joy that it made Chrysalis' heart flutter. It was that feeling she had forgotten about so long ago when a changeling just hatched and looked into its queen's eyes for the first time. Surely nothing could describe such a feeling with mere words. It was a thing only lived. Something experienced with the heart and not the mind.

Chrysalis smiled this time out of a warm memory. Such were few in her life.

“Clans? What are those like? How were they different?” Spike tried for more answers.

“Hm?” Chrysalis snapped back to the eager dragon's questioning. “Well, let's see. There was one clan called 'Gragoth,'” she gurgled her throat on the word. “It's hard to say properly if you're not a two hundred year old dragon,” she chuckled. “I think I missed half the name.”

“Graegonth,” Spike said cheerily, trying the word and saying it a bit differently.

Chrysalis opened her eyes wider. “That's closer,” she remarked surprised. It was still off but there was something to be said about a dragon's vocal range. Even a young one like Spike could access sounds a pony (or changeling) could not. It made Chrysalis wonder if Spike even knew that because he had only ever been taught pony words.

“I may not understand much about the ones in this part of the world but they seem very...modern from what I've heard. The ones from the upper mountains are traditionalists by comparison. They speak an old dragon dialect.”

“Dragon dialect?” Spike beamed. “There's a dialect just for dragon's?!”

Did Twilight starve this poor dragon, Chrysalis thought with a giggle. It looked like today was going to be a rather pleasant one with Spike. It had been far too long since a little one had been so eager for a tale.

“Yes, but I'm afraid I only know a few words and I butcher those. My throat just isn't made for it. Not to mention that I...” the shape-shifter stopped with a blush. Spike didn't get it and she spoke again to explain. “I sort of snuck from the hive when I was a young princess so I could eavesdrop on the elder dragons. Figuring out what they were saying was something of a guilty pleasure. I mean, I had already mastered the hivemind at that point,” she excused herself even though she had no reason to now.

“Did you ever get caught?” Spike drew back with a horrified expression.

Such an expressive dragon, Chrysalis observed. “Not really. My mother did find out but she wasn't so bad,” she answered but went no further on the topic. She didn't want to start reminiscing about that. “The elder dragons didn't much care for anyone unless they were another elder dragon. Or a leviathan. Bad blood on that front,” she rolled her eyes.

“Leviathans? What are those?!” Spike asked but it came out as more of a squeak.

This was going to be a long day. Perhaps the sleeping ring would be a more comfortable place to lay down and talk.

9 - Yellow is Warm

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Dear Princess Celestia,

There are many things that I wish to write to you about but I find myself short on time. I regret that I cannot go into further detail at this time but I find it imperative to bring to your attention that King Sombra, former dictator of the Crystal Empire, might not have been vanquished as we had originally concluded. I will be investigating this matter to the fullest of my abilities as soon as possible. I currently find myself overwhelmed with this and other urgent matters and will write a more sensible letter as soon as I can. My deepest apologies.

Your faithful student I will always consider myself,

Princess Twilight Sparkle

The princess of the sun finished reading the letter and turned it over just in case anything had been written on the back. Twilight would occasionally do so on account of running out of room. Some of her letters did seem to go on, so it was a bit of irony that this one that was so serious was also so short.

Celestia sighed.

“Something the matter, sister?” came the voice of the lunar princess.

They were both in the elder sister's ornate bedroom, the white one on her bed reading the letter and the dark one sifting through her sibling's assortment of clothes. Celestia didn't ask about it.

“Just another day in Equestria I'm afraid,” the elder alicorn replied tiredly.

Luna giggled. “I know. It's such a burden, right?”

Celestia set down the letter and looked straight at her younger sister who was still rummaging through clothing drawers. “Modern speech now is it?” she remarked, impressed.

“I do try,” the mare of night grinned and began climbing into one of the largest of the drawers. Apparently she thought that pulling out the items with her magic would not be acceptable. Even though she had done so with everything else. Celestia didn't mind and couldn't help but crack a smile when her smaller sibling fell face first into the enormous drawer.

One starry tail and two flanks wiggled over the edge, her hips having been caught on the lip. Some kind of muffled sound came from the sliding container. Luna faceplanted. It was just the kind of thing that she would do when nopony but her own sister was around. Alone with each other, they never had to worry about appearances.

Feeling the need to cool off after receiving a bit of bad news, Celestia did the only thing that she could. She rushed off a quick magical note, hopped off her bed, walked over to the drawer that had two moon cutie marks hanging out of it, and playfully pushed her sister the rest of the way in.

A muffled “gah” and several garments churning out of the burgundy compartment was the result.

“We're different sizes, Luna,” the elder commented as she leaned over the lip and hung her front hooves over it. “I'm afraid you've got to get your own clothing rather than borrow it from me.”

“I thought you had some serious matter to take care of!” Luna pouted as she turned over in the pile of clothes, two forehooves curled over her belly and star-filled mane scattered beneath her.

“Already taken care of,” Celestia countered effortlessly. “I'll intervene if suspicion turns to fact.”

“Oh” and “fast” were all Luna remarked in reply.

“Now,” Celestia smirked evilly in the way that only Luna had ever seen. “tell me what it is you were looking for.”

Luna blushed and averted her eyes. “No,” she half-mumbled and half-whispered as she puffed up her cheeks.

The sun-raising alicorn didn't lose her mischievous look. “I think I already know...but you will still tell me.”

Luna got worried. The feeling was completely justified.

Celestia pushed herself forward enough to reach her sister in the deep drawer and extended her hooves to the other's sides. Knowing what was coming, Luna tried to squirm away but failed when she got caught in one of the more elaborate garments that had come unfolded due to the invading pony. Celestia found the special spot on each side of her sister right between the belly and folded wings. She began tickling. Mercilessly.

“No!” Luna cried out trying to sound serious but ending up laughing it out in a manner that was anything but. “Tia, no!”

Coincidentally, it turned out to be a rather good day for the two princesses.

Purple bangs lifted and fell according to the mare's stride. The two highlights that ran through her locks seemed unusually bright but then the morning was growing old and the sun was in good health. It was just the kind of day that Fluttershy would enjoy going on a picnic with her animal friends. Fluttershy...

That mare was first on Princess Twilight Sparkle's mind. Oh, she had other matters for sure such as what to do with the Sombra affair, Chrysalis, Midnight Strike, and all that entailed. But one butter-yellow element of harmony wound up as item number one. Why? Because the link they had shared last night within the hivemind had revealed something to the alicorn that she hadn't known before. Something she had never even expected and felt weighing on her heart like a boulder ten times the size of Tom.

She tried using her wings to flap upwards and fly, thinking it would be faster. But, alas, she had not seemed to have enough instruction from the mare of rainbow. One of her wings cramped and she ended up coming back down almost painfully. Still she continued on hoof.

The princess did not go through Ponyville completely unnoticed. Some ponies that were about could not help noticing the newly appointed royal rushing through the streets. Especially so because of two guard ponies that respectfully managed to keep her in sight. One large red stallion even paused in his shopping errand to glimpse the sight.

As Twilight finished the path through town and began towards the shy mare's cottage, another element of harmony noticed her. If it had been Pinkie Pie then the world might have ended right then and there. But, thankfully, it was a far more tactful pony. With a stylistic swish of her purple mane that screamed fashionista, Rarity blinked twice at her rushing friend.

As the unicorn was actually on a different road that was separated from the other via stream, she made no attempt to hail her royal friend. Although the idea had passed her mind on account of the imagined prestige that came with calling out a princess one knew as a personal friend. Predictably, that very same idea was immediately replaced by one involving the fact that Twilight was running and building up a sweat. Only one conclusion could be had by the white-coated mare.

Ew.

Still Twilight ran on until she reached the door of the familiar cottage. Huffing and wondering why she hadn't yet built up enough physical stamina to handle the exertion, Twilight knocked heartily on the door. You'd think, she thought tiredly, I'd be used to this by now.

No answer prompted a second knock on the door.

Then a third.

Something was wrong and the alicorn had a good guess as to what. Knowing it would likely be okay with the pegasus of kindness, Twilight opened the unlocked door and entered. She discovered various animals huddled in a circle in the middle of the living room, seemingly in serious discussion. No Fluttershy was in sight.

One squirrel chattered something that sounded worried while a hummingbird chirped in a light octave. The presence of the alicorn startled them all but they also knew Twilight and thus did not scatter. In fact, the squirrel even scurried over to the pony and tugged at a leg while saying something. The princess didn't need to understand the animal's language to get the hint. Fluttershy probably hadn't gotten up yet even though it was late morning. That was very unusual of her.

With a second wind, Twilight ascended the stairs to her friend's bedroom. Careful not to fling herself too quickly through the door, she opened it without a creak. This was, after all, Fluttershy she was dealing with and it was quite easy to startle her.

The mare in question was indeed still in the sleeping ring, though not asleep. No tears were on her face. In fact, her face seemed rather dead and she didn't even look over to the pony that had just entered her room. She appeared in all ways to be lost in thought with an expression somewhere between neutral and depressed. The air of the room certainly felt that way.

Fluttershy was one to stay calm and cheerful in many dire circumstances. She could stand up to a dragon when pushed to it. She even turned Discord around for Celestia's sake. Literally. So whatever was affecting her in this moment must have been pretty serious. In fact, Twilight knew just how serious it was. The pink-maned mare had remembered many things from her past that haunted her. Seeing Twilight's past at the same time just made it more complicated.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight called out just loud enough to be heard as she walked to the ring and stepped into it.

No response.

The purple princess knelt down to lay next to her friend the way she had in the hivemind. Only, this time it was real as she extended a wing over the other. The cramp from earlier had thankfully not stayed with her.

Something shifted in the air and Fluttershy leaned into Twilight without a word. The silent mood felt not unlike a sad melody, as if somepony were playing one key after another on a piano merely to instill the feeling of loss. That was something Fluttershy had experienced and it was compounded by many other pains she had endured throughout her life. All of it had flashed through Twilight's mind, including the way Fluttershy had bottled it up and not talked about it to anypony. She told herself that she was past it and had to move on with life but it still had an effect on her.

Eventually the deadened pegasus spoke in whispers. Her voice sounded gravely and strangled. “I can't take it...hold me...tell me somepony cares...”

Twilight furrowed her brows as her heart clenched. Much of what Fluttershy had remembered was a broken home and nopony to make things better. Things that hurt more than anything ever should. Twilight had remembered things from her own past that were similar but on a minuscule level. She thus felt despicably guilty because her life had far fewer pains than Fluttershy's and all of a much shallower degree.

They said in those fancy psychology books how a pony's personality was formed early on in foalhood. Some argued it was even genetic. But the ones with the most scientific support claimed early foalhood environment and parenting as the primary influences in making a pony who they were. Regardless, books made poor shoulders to cry on when things didn't go well. Twilight had found that out herself.

“I am holding you,” Twilight whispered back as she put a forehoof around the other's shoulder and nuzzled her. “And I do care.”

Fluttershy shuddered but did not speak nor cry.

“I've already told you. I may be no Applejack but I didn't lie,” Twilight tried to be a bit more light-hearted. She knew it was pointless, though. Fluttershy was hurt deep. Scars ten years and older did not heal like fresh wounds might, assuming they could ever be erased.

Perhaps that was why Fluttershy was not crying even though Twilight could feel the stress pulsating in waves from the ground-preferring pegasus. Only breathing was heard in the room until the princess spoke again, deciding she would do the talking for her companion.

“I said I was a part of the problem,” she sighed, admittedly not wanting to say it. “It's because I was turning my back on you when I knew something was wrong. Maybe not recently but definitely after I first met you. I could tell there was something going on but I ignored it because I thought then that everypony should deal with their own problems. Or maybe you were just shy and that was all. I thought that even as I was learning about friendship and writing to the princess about it. It was scary just how blatantly hypocritical that was – almost like I was living a double life.”

“You've never been part of a problem, Twilight,” Fluttershy broke in quietly. “You're not hypocritical. You've always tried to find answers and help everypony...”

Twilight didn't reply quickly but was silent until she had really taken it in. “The end result was still horrible for you. It doesn't matter how somepony puts it if the end result is still bad,” she concluded. “Reason that not helping an orphaned foal on the street results in the foal growing up learning to survive on their own and be responsible for themselves. But no matter how well you try to prove the concept, the end result is still turning your back on an orphaned foal that can't take care of herself.”

Fluttershy flinched.

“How much does Rainbow Dash know?” The question was more of a point than any search for knowledge. Twilight knew the answer but still needed to hear it.

The yellow mare turned into her friend and grabbed her with her hooves, nuzzling her head into the other's coat. “Nothing,” came her broken reply. “I kept it a secret. She was my first friend and I didn't want to lose her.”

Twilight's heart clenched again. All of this time and throughout most of her life, Fluttershy had been alone. In her past she had been abused, abandoned, amongst others and still alone.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight croaked as she hugged the mare. She wanted to say something but somehow all of the words in the world meant nothing now.

Click.

Clack.

Neither pony looked but a few of the animals had gathered outside of the bedroom door, peering in with worried looks. They would enter and try cheering up their pony friend as they sometimes did except for the fact that they understood something was different. Thus they kept a respectful distance and hoped that the purple pony could cheer up the pegasus instead.

Those psychology books would sometimes say that a pony interacted with others using a set of rules formed in the early stages of life. Some ponies became good at interacting with other ponies of specific personality types based on the kind of ponies the parents were. That was what laid the foundation of the mysterious “click” event that happened when friends were made. If that was true then perhaps it made sense that Fluttershy got her cutie mark in conversing with animals rather than ponies. Few animals had ever done anything to hurt the yellow mare. The same could not be said of other ponies.

“Please...” Fluttershy begged softly without voicing the rest.

Twilight pressed her lips together in concentration before answering. “You can be just who you are with me, Fluttershy. I'll never ask you to be somepony else.”

That seemed to have an effect because the pegasus relaxed in her friend's grip and finally started to show some expression again. It was hopeful expression.

“I can't change your past,” Twilight continued, regretful of stated fact. “But I can make sure you don't relive it. And I can make sure you're never alone like this again.”

“Why?” came that faint voice again.

“Hm?” Twilight returned, not understanding.

Fluttershy nodded her head back and forth against the purple coat. “Why do you keep doing these things? Why do you care so much about me?”

It made sense for her to ask. Twilight knew now that Fluttershy had been scarred with a foalhood where nopony truly cared about her. Not even her only parent. If that pony could even be called that in the first place. But Twilight was not so quick in knowing the answer to the question. Maybe it had something to do with the hivemind thing that Chrysalis had tossed her into. Twilight didn't want to be so prideful to say that it was all from the natural goodness of her heart – that she was just a perfect pony.

“I...” Twilight started to say. Did she really want to say it? Did she even know what it was? She was confused in that moment. The world was coming down on her because she knew she had to say it but she also knew what would happen if she did. There was no way she could ever hurt Fluttershy with a misunderstanding and she felt that was where this would all inevitably go. But what was she to do about it? There was no getting around that word. That blasted four letter word that made the world go round.

Lightbulbs may have often been used as an analogy for a moment of realization but it was not without good reason. The imagery was just so fitting for, in that moment, Twilight experienced that very thing. Simple stuff but then hindsight was twenty-twenty according to an old saying. Perhaps it would be more explanatory to say that, rather than a lightbulb, it was more of a jigsaw moment where all of the pieces meshed together properly at once.

“I want you to be able to rest with me. Forget the pain and be at peace when I hold you. Give you the love you've always wanted and needed. Be special to you,” Twilight smiled as she looked down and met Fluttershy's eyes. “I want to be your Queen.”

“Q-Queen...?” the mare stuttered slowly, grasping for comprehension.

Twilight nodded, not helping but to notice the warmth coming from her friend's coat and feathers. It was rather nice. “Chrysalis has done a few things that are a little hard to explain. But let's just say that I'm willing to see things a bit differently now. I want to be here for you, Fluttershy. I want to be whatever you need me to be. So can I be...?”

Fluttershy kept looking into Twilight's eyes, starting to fall into their depth. She said something but it was too mumbled for Twilight to make heads or tails of it even though they were so close they were almost bumping noses.

“What was that?” Twilight whispered with just a hint of playfulness, suspecting what it was.

Another mumbled sound came from the shy mare and her eyes drifted away as if she couldn't keep looking at Twilight.

“I couldn't hear you,” the princess restrained a chuckle.

Fluttershy's eyes closed in concentration and determination. “Yes!” she lunged further into her best-friend-turned-princess-and-now-queen. Twilight became unbalanced and fell back with the yellow pegasus atop her, nuzzling her neck happily.

But the alicorn couldn't even respond before the mare, now fully recovered from her despair, began gleefully saying one thing after another. “Thank you! Thank you, Twilight! Thank you for being here for me. Thank you for caring. Thank you for not looking down on me or judging me. Thank you for being you!”

Twilight couldn't help but blush. For many other ponies, what she had done was hardly deserving of such praise. But for one mare with butterflies for a cutie mark, it was something nopony else had ever done for her. For somepony that never truly felt accepted or loved by somepony close, it was the world and more.

Rainbow Dash pounded her head into her plush purple pillow. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

Much of the morning had gone this way. She couldn't get over what had happened with Twilight the previous day. Or rather, she couldn't get over how she had acted. She had made a slip. Multiple slips! What if Twilight found out that she wasn't really some tough-as-a-dragon no-frou-frou pegasus?

What if Twilight found out that she secretly...

Rainbow's eyes bolted open for the hundredth time in the last several hours. “Gah! I'm finished! Nopony wants to be a fan of...of...”

Her two blue forehooves hugged herself tightly. She had always been zealous in keeping up her public image and was super-sensitive to how others viewed her. It inevitably became an issue over time that some of the things she wanted, indeed some of the things she was, were too stark a contrast to her public image and had to be kept a carefully guarded secret. A royal-guard-protected and Pinkie-Pie-proof carefully guarded secret.

The pegasus rolled off of her bed and onto the floor of her cloud home. She was lost in thought. Coming off as too soft was one thing. But what if it lead to somepony finding out about that? Her deepest, darkest, and most non-public-image-Rainbow-Dash desire.

“No!” she shouted angrily to herself. “Don't even think it!”

She knew she had to get outside and into the swing of athletic cloud-busting or else she would start thinking about that and have another of her super-secret giddy “what-if” fits. So, with a somersault off the floor and towards the door, Rainbow Dash steeled herself against all thoughts that made her heart patter and her mood go soft.

Rushing out of her home in a flying frenzy, she took a deep breath of morning air. “Ahhh!” she breathed out. “Fresh air does a pony good!”

Beating her wings faster to warm up, she started towards Ponyville Square. Perhaps there would be some weather work to do. But it was really a false hope because she knew how things would be. She was sometimes regarded as a slacker but she was actually quite up to speed with her job and knew each item on the week's weather schedule. Today's items were sparse at best. Maneuver a few clouds and make sure that no dark ones drifted over from the scheduled rain in a nearby town. But the chance of that happening was pretty much zip.

Blue wings and a rainbow tail glided their way over the familiar town below. The late morning air was as crisp as ever, the sun shining but not glaring, and a small breeze drifted along as if to suggest that Equestria was content with the day being lazy.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she looked one way and then another from her position above the Earth ponies below. It seemed the other pegasi, perhaps Flitter and Cloudchaser, had already taken care of the day's work. No surprise there. Plenty of pegasi were like Rainbow in the fact that a few menial weather jobs were a go-to solution for general boredom. Except for Thunderlane. He liked to work out and keep fit in every way except keeping the weather in check.

Another look to the town below failed to yield sight of one pinkish-purple maned orange filly. Of course not. Rainbow Dash would have a few words for the young one if she caught her skipping school in the middle of the week. A few words...

The Element of Loyalty bit her lip. Why did she think of Scootaloo like that so quickly? It wasn't just because the filly idolized her, right? Was it because the two had started sharing time together almost as if they were sisters?

Rainbow's eyes fell down in defeat. She wasn't getting away from these thoughts. Not on a day without any work. Not on a day where the thoughts in her head wouldn't let her take one of her twelve hour “naps” on one of AJ's trees. She was starting to feel a little guilty. Almost as if she was using Scootaloo as an out for something she didn't want to share with anypony lest her image be destroyed.

“Nopony would think I'm all that awesome if they knew I really liked kids,” she mumbled in a give-up tone of voice. “I guess being a mom is just not considered cool.”

She sighed one more time before flapping away slowly in no particular direction.

10 - Truth is Freedom

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Yes. It was such a funny word to hear when life was full of so many negatives. “No” seemed almost a go-to word for everypony. The first would be followed by another until one forgot just what it was like not to be rejected. To be accepted. To be loved.

But love was another funny thing. It invoked so many thoughts, ideas, and theories just by being mentioned. It was often oversimplified but also commonly overcomplicated. There was the love between friends. Between siblings. Between lovers, spouses, and between children and their parents. Yes, love was deep but could also be made shallow.

Fluttershy nuzzled the mare that held her dearly, not caring about all the kinds of love that made the world go round. She had this love and that was all the love she needed. The warmth from that purple coat and those majestic wings was emanating like the rays of the morning sun. It was something to be lost within and not hold a care for all the worries of life.

“Shy,” dripped the name from the princess' tongue. She giggled as the pegasus' own coat tickled hers. Fluttershy thought that she rather liked the sound of it. “I wouldn't mind spending the whole day with you and I don't see why we couldn't. That is if you don't have much left to do with the animals today.”

“Hm?” mumbled the mare still lost in the bliss that was royal red mixed with majestic blue.

“I have many 'stops' to make today so I was hoping you would accompany me,” came the reply as Twilight tried nuzzling the pegasus in return. Perhaps it would get her poor friend's mind out of the metaphorical syrup it was drowning in.

“Oh, but I have to check up on a family of sparrows. One of them hurt her wing yesterday...”

Twilight expected such a thing. This was Fluttershy, after all. “Then perhaps you could do your check up and meet me at the train station as soon as you're done?”

The Element of Kindness finally ceased her gentle nudging and looked up shiny-eyed at the pony that was now technically her queen. “Why the train station?” she inquired slowly out of curiosity, but mostly because she had caught a bout of drowsiness from Twilight's embrace.

“I need to do my own check up. Something Chrysalis told me earlier that's actually pretty important...” she trailed as a brow furrowed in concern. Important as the matter was, Twilight hoped that her shape-shifting friend was wrong about what she knew regarding a certain dictator pony.

“Will you be going out of town?” Fluttershy then asked sadly.

“With you and one of my guards,” the princess leaned on the last word strangely. “I know I usually end up running these kind of errands with the others as well but I'd really hate to pull everypony along for something as dull and possibly pointless as this.”

“Oh,” the butter-yellow mare commented calmly. With the careful speed she used not to startle her animal friends, she rose up from Twilight's hold in the sleeping ring and stepped to the door. “I should go check on Wendy then. See you at the station?”

“Of course,” Twilight smiled faintly as she too got up and followed the pegasus out. As she walked out, however, she did note how her friend took time for all the other animals. It was just like Fluttershy to calm all her animals down and tell them she was just fine. Twilight wouldn't have her any other way and appreciated her friend for who she was. Perhaps seeing Fluttershy's life so intimately through the hivemind had changed how Twilight thought about her. In any case, the alicorn hoped it was for the better.

Two pegasus guards were standing at attention just outside of the cottage door. Only, this time, Twilight knew their names. And she knew one just as well as she knew Fluttershy, which was a bit of a problem. It was easier for her to be open with somepony who was already a close friend but this was a stallion she barely knew. All of her private moments had spilled into his mind and the reverse was also true. It also might have been easier with Fluttershy because she was another mare rather than...

“Midnight Strike,” Twilight called as she walked away from Fluttershy's home and the two protectors fell in step behind her. With her eyes pointed forward, she did not see the normally rigid stallion flinch.

“Yes, your Highness?” he managed to respond with some manner of solidity to his voice.

Twilight didn't hesitate even though she rather wanted to. If it could ever be said that Twilight Sparkle was socially awkward then this would have been the prime example of how she felt in the present moment. She tried to keep her own voice from sounding rigid or commanding but it came out stiff anyways. “Walk beside me. We need to talk.”

The guard dutifully lengthened his pace until he was beside his superior and matching stride. He said nothing, respecting the princess' initiative in the conversation. The two trotted along the calm country road without much of a sound besides their hoofsteps. Twilight was desperately assembling what she wanted to say as the town of Ponyville soon loomed within sight.

It had become noon but the air was still fresh and the heat low enough to be nearly enjoyable. It helped Twilight think. Great Celestia, she needed help thinking. It was not actually until they were passing Sugar Cube Corner that she finally did speak and that was out of the renewed fear that Pinkie Pie would explode onto the scene and steal any chance she had to have a serious conversation with her pegasus guard.

“Midnight Strike,” she started.

He stiffened once more as if it was possible to be more at attention than he already was.

“You said you didn't mean to intrude on my privacy. I felt the same way.”

The stallion nodded. “I heard you say that. In my mind, I mean.”

“I'm glad I was able to get that through,” Twilight puffed a breath in relief. “I was kind of 'winging' it there.”

The guard's face twinged and Twilight grinned, knowing her bad joke got a reaction out of a normally reactionless guard. It was no small feat.

“Honestly. I'm afraid I'm in pretty deep,” the alicorn's voice became more serious, the weight of her situation settling onto her once more. “I just want to let you know that I won't be upset if you think any less of me now that you've seen my life.”

“I would never!” he argued even the possibility. “In fact, I have even more respect for you now. You've put up with so much!”

For some reason that broke Twilight's increasing bout of seriousness. She laughed. Honestly laughed. “I,” she tried to say before laughing again. “I guess I have. Sorry. It's just funny to hear somepony else think that other than me.”

“It's true from what I've seen,” Midnight continued, glad the princess was in a jovial mood and not minding joining her in spite of his training that told him the opposite. The mental connection they had shared made him relax around her more than he had ever thought possible. “Why if you even got half the respect you deserve for all that you've accomplished to date then you'd have more respect than Princess Celestia. No offense, of course!”

Twilight's smile continued but by one notch lower. She didn't like to think of herself in terms of being better than somepony else and certainly not Celestia. But still. What Midnight Strike had seen was no illusion. To this day she was still ignored, jabbed at, or turned away by some ponies in spite of what she had done for all of Equestria. Multiple times.

Was it her attitude? Was she not benevolent enough? Was there something wrong with her face? Was she just not a “poster” pony? Her concerns were interrupted once more but thankfully not by Pinkie Pie. They had safely passed by the sweets shop without incident. Needless to say, that was a very rare thing to experience. No, it was Midnight Strike who spoke again after they had walked long enough to step onto the train station's platform.

“I do miss Princess Luna, though,” he remarked as his face of resolve darkened and lowered.

Twilight turned to her guard. If she wanted closure then it was now or never. She would need to do this with the other guards as well if she wanted to prevent trouble down the road but she couldn't connect with them all at once. At least not yet. Confound it all, it was too much too soon and she needed time. For now, Midnight Strike would be the only one she could take into her confidence.

“Direway,” Twilight turned and called out to the other guard that had been following respectfully from behind. “I'm giving you an order. Turn around and close your ears. You will not look or listen until I tap your shoulder twice.”

If the other stallion had any reservation about it then he faithfully did not show it. Without question he did as he was commanded. It felt odd for Twilight to give an order like that but then giving orders was not something she had ever really done before. “Ordering” Spike or her friends to do anything didn't count. Especially when there was only about a fifty percent chance of such orders being followed.

“Now,” Twilight turned back to the other guard next to her on the boarding platform. She noticed in her peripheral vision that the station clerk was looking on curiously. A quick glance made him turn and take a sudden interest in his paperwork as he let on a playful but rather obvious “I-wasn't-doing-anything” whistle.

“Midnight Strike,” the purple pony resumed as she stepped up to Midnight Strike.

The stallion felt like stepping back but didn't on account that he quickly reasoned that the princess was entitled to do whatever she wanted. But it was still strange having seen so much of her life and yet not know what she was intending on doing. “Yes, your Highness?”

Still there was no hesitation in her voice. She was determined now, knowing what to do and how to do it. “I thought I told you to stop calling me that.”

“Did you?” he asked loosely and nervously. It didn't come out the way he thought it would.

“I can't pretend nothing happened and I really don't want to,” she explained. “I think you feel the same way.”

He nodded slowly.

“I'm taking you into my confidence, Midnight Strike. I'll need your absolute loyalty,” she continued.

He nodded again.

“From now on you will not refer to me as 'your Highness' or any other such title,” she placed a hoof on his shoulder and looked deep into his eyes. Facing ruthless enemies was one thing a royal guard could do with nerves of steel but being looked at so closely by the pony that he was supposed to protect above all else...it made his knees weak.

“Yes...um...” he spoke shakily, feeling too awkward without ending in some formal title.

Twilight smirked that same smirk she sometimes got when the marbles were not all there. Only, this time the marbles were all there, which made it unfathomably terrifying. “You will refer to me as 'my queen' and you will do whatever I tell you to. Even if it goes against your training. Even if it goes against Princess Celestia. Is that understood?”

The stallions pupils went small. Could he say yes to that? Was he supposed to? No question could stand firm within him at that crucial moment and so he nodded. Something had changed in Twilight's eyes. Midnight had seen such a look before with guards playing a late night in blackjack. It was the look of one who believed they would lose it all and had to put everything down in a bluff with the hope that a miracle would make the whole thing pull off.

Twilight knew something he didn't and it was something so serious that she felt she had to play all the cards in her metaphorical deck. That in and of itself was enough to make Midnight Strike worry. But it did make him decide resolutely to follow her nonetheless. In fact, it made his loyalty even deeper. He would give everything he had to this mare.

“Yes, my queen,” he bowed his head and spoke with conviction. “I am yours, completely.”

The princess-now-queen moved her hoof from his shoulder to his chin and lifted his head back up gently. “I'm not like some princess up in a castle tower. I'm telling you as your queen that you can and should come to me with everything – even your deepest feelings. I'd rather hear from your mouth than have to find out through the hivemind.”

“My feelings...?” he cocked his head in question as the mare's hoof fell from his face.

“I know exactly how you felt about Princess Luna in the past. I won't have you go through that as long as I'm your master,” Twilight replied even as she calculated her time with the guard was growing short. Fluttershy would not dawdle with her own errand after what had transpired between them in the ring. She would show up again soon.

“But that would hardly be-” the night-sky blue pegasus stopped himself when he realized one possible reason why she might be saying all of these things. He had the unfortunate occasion a few times in past service with other guards to hear them say things that seemed a bit extreme or out-of-character. Sometimes it was just stress or worry. But it was usually something else. It was usually because they knew they had been given an assignment with a high risk of them not coming back.

Twilight Sparkle began turning away as she spoke for him. “Remember what I just told you. It's probably better to act now then to lose the chance forever when something unexpected happens. Just don't tell the others until I allow you to.”

There was the sound of fast-moving hoofsteps. A yellow and pink thing was rapidly approaching the train station where they had been talking. The purple pony walked over to Direway, who had not faltered in holding his hooves over his ears and looking elsewhere. The appropriate taps made him drop his deep gray forehooves and face his superior at full attention.

“Take a message back to the library,” she instructed the stallion. “Tell Spike and Chrysalis that I'm on a special trip but will be back shortly. Before dark tomorrow I hope. Tell Chrysalis in particular that she is not to leave the library under any circumstances. I will punish her in traditional changeling fashion if she disobeys. Can you remember all of that?”

“Of course, your Highness!” he saluted bravely.

“Then go. And stand guard at the library as you normally do. I will only be taking Midnight Strike on this errand,” Twilight tried to command but she still felt like she was rather bad at it. "Bookworm" to "princess" to "queen" was not exactly easy stuff. Especially when "commander" was thrown in. What a mess that was.

“But-” he started to counter.

The alicorn attempted some practice with that commander-aspect of her position. “No buts! Do as you're told.”

Her voice was not as strict as she had tried to make it but her face must have appeared firm enough to get the point across. The guard snapped his mouth shut, nodded, and took off to the library just as the yellow-pink blur arrived.

A sunny-hued feather fluttered past Twilight's body as the pegasus mare came to an abrupt halt right in front of the royal's face. “All done! Wendy's doing quite well and the animals are all set for at least a few days without me!”

“Goodness,” Twilight breathed out the frog that had placed itself in her throat from speaking to the guard. “You can slow down, Fluttershy,” she smiled and commented lightly. “I don't think we'll be away for much more than twenty-four hours. I've got too much to deal with to be gone any longer.”

“Oh,” the shy mare replied, back in her small voice that Twilight had come to love. “Um, okay.”

Twilight stole a glance to Midnight Strike, who had fallen in behind her. He had a look of concern on his face. Probably noticed something was off. She couldn't blame him considering that her rather new knowledge of him made it clear that he could be particularly perceptive. It was an attribute that helped him become a guardpony in the first place. But what she was interested in right now was getting some train tickets and leaving with the next departure. Even now, she could glimpse the train approaching the station from the perceivable distance.

The Element of Magic stepped to the clerk's booth, finally taking the pony's attention back from his messy paperwork. “Three tickets for the Crystal Empire.”

Spike, tired out from a bout of over-excitement, had fallen asleep and Chrysalis, being in a generally good mood, had carried the dragon with her magic up to her queen's sleeping ring. He had been quite the eager listener, which made the changeling hum with contentment. Perhaps the hivemind was not always present for now but that might change in the future as Twilight learned how to use and manipulate it. Chrysalis could even make some modifications herself if she could figure out the complexities of pony interaction. That was left to be seen.

A knock at the door downstairs pulled Chrysalis from her vacant gaze upon the magic-fire-breathing dragon. She hardly guessed who it might be other than Twilight or, on the off chance, one of her close friends. They all knew her well enough and so she did not pause in buzzing downstairs to answer the beckon. Twilight would scold her for using her wings on the stairwell but she wasn't home so it hardly mattered at the moment.

“Coming,” her voice rang with its uniquely identifiable hum. When she opened the door, she was not so much surprised as she was intrigued. A grey stallion stood there like a statue, adorned in armor that belonged only to the guardponies. She knew this one.

“Princess Sparkle wishes to inform you and,” his eyes darted around the changeling but failed to spot the reptilian youngling, “Spike that she will be away from town for a time but will be expected to return sometime within thirty hours. She specifically ordered you, Chrysalis, to remain within the library until she returns. Changeling discipline being the consequence for disobedience. End message.”

Chryslais' mouth twitched. Her queen really was taking the reins now wasn't she? Well good, the blue-haired being thought. The sooner she went into the deep end the better. It would mean a stronger hivemind faster, which was mostly what Chrysalis had started the whole thing for in the first place. That and to get closer to her savior, Twilight. As hive queen, the purple alicorn might keep her closer than the others on account of being unfamiliar to changeling ways. Certainly it wasn't criminal for her to want to be close to Twilight. After all, that pony was the only one that had ever cared about her – perhaps the only pony to ever care about a changeling period.

“Thank you,” Chrysalis buzzed with polite inflection as she had been taught by the alicorn. She closed the door and looked around the library, trying to come up with what she was going to do to occupy her time with. It would be untrue to say she was entirely happy with the way that Twilight had decided to do things. Leaving and keeping her boarded up in the treehouse while gallivanting on some unexplained trip was hardly nice. Nevermind that Chrysalis usually kept herself boarded up. That wasn't important.

A twinkle from her queen's desk caught the black pseudo-pony's eye. She clacked her hooves across the floor until she was standing right before it. The black crystal that Twilight had left behind was still letting off its minuscule sparks and mist. Perhaps it was time for Chrysalis to further her own research. If she could unravel something about the crystal magic then she could make her queen happy and pass the time while she was away. That would be killing two birds with one stone. Chrysalis smirked to herself. Twilight really didn't like that saying.

First things first, she decided. She had to remember everything that her mother and grandmother had ever said about Sombra and this magic. It could make things much easier and, needless to say, safer. So she dropped her flanks onto the wooden flooring and thought hard. She thought long about things she normally wouldn't like to think about.

King Sombra had once been a colt named Prince Sombra. Grandmother said he had once been small...no not small. He had been lanky or thin. That was why grandmother had complained that he had to toughen up and get in shape. He didn't want to at first because he was convinced that physical form was not important if one could instead master the magic of formlessness. One could transform into whatever one desired even if it was a mist or a spectrum of light. Such power was the gateway to many other limitless magics.

Chrysalis arose from her remembering to look suspiciously at the crystal. If Prince Sombra had caught onto such magic at the age grandmother suggested then he would have branched from it, incorporating it into his other magics. The crystals might themselves be useful in testing the theory.

Careful to use as little magic as possible since Twilight would be gone for at least twenty-four hours, the changeling's horn lit with green energy. The small black crystal lifted up from the desk and hovered in front of Chrysalis' face. Getting up from the floor, she paced around the room as she turned the crystal over and formed a plan. She might as well be the one to research the thing since her queen was gone. The Spinner knows she had nothing else of even remote interest to do.

Trying her own changeling form magic on it, she got a reaction. Attempting to alter the crystal's shape made the thing spark. Chrysalis was not exactly capable of mist-transformation but the tiny amount that seemed to drift from the jewel made her think to try it. On the crystal, of course.

She had barely started applying the magic through her jagged black horn when the gem shook, sparked again, expanded, and then puffed into a cloud of mist. But rather than dispersing into the room, it hung there in Chrysalis' levitation grip. Curious, she thought. Most curious.

So Sombra had indeed mixed changeling magic into his other methods as grandmother had said. Not having mastered Sombra's magic herself, it would not be possible to fully control the crystal or explore the nuances of what made it “tick.” But she could still mess around with it some.

Chrysalis moved a holey hoof up to flip some blue hair out of her face. She might have to do something about it if it kept getting in front of her eyes like that. She would just have to be careful not to mention it around Rarity. As apprehensive as some were of her, Twilight's friends warmed up over time and began showing off their eccentricity. Not that she, former changeling queen, could never be called eccentric. But still.

Now what was she going to do with the mist-form crystal? Perhaps a light-transformation spell was in order. But she turned that idea down when she remembered that her light sensing spells were a bit off. She didn't want to accidentally make the thing a light spectrum she couldn't see...

That's when her eyes bolted wide. Transformation to a light spectrum undetectable by the eyes of ponies or most other beings was entirely within the realm of possibility if one took basic changeling transformation to the extreme. Especially so with the assistance of foreign magics. But if Sombra had tampered with such things then he could have done more than simply faked his death. He could be anywhere at any time without anyone being the wiser.

With a panicked rush, Chrysalis bolted back to Twilight's desk and dropped the mist-crystal from her magical grasp. It floated to the floor where it stayed there in a dark cloud. No more machinations would befall it for quite some time.

Piled near the desk were books on subjects related to transformation, conversion, gases, and...light spectrums. One was even entitled The Sun and Its Many Scientific Traits and Emissions, A Beginner's Guide to Magical Analysis Volume 42.

The changeling's heart wrenched cold. There was only one thing that Twilight's mysterious errand could be for. She had gotten up earlier than Chrysalis and ripped through research not only because of what had happened in the hivemind but also because of what she had been told about Sombra prior. She had come to the conclusion Chrysalis had if only much sooner and now she was darting off to investigate the whereabouts of that same cursed colt.

Chrysalis hadn't meant the whole thing to be such a big deal but she should have known better. King Sombra was viewed as a threat to all of Equestria. Of course, Twilight would take off on it. But she had to know with this research that Sombra was beyond her and the Elements.

Finding a window that would let her sneak past the guard outside, the former changeling queen wasted no time in her new quest. If Sombra was out and about and Twilight tried to pick up his trail then she would be in immediate danger. There was no telling what would happen. Even if Chrysalis trusted that her new queen was as powerful an alicorn as she had thus proven to be, there were no guarantees against that dark-maned stallion.

With an almost silent creak of the window and as stealthily a buzz as she could manage from her wings, she took off into the day. Twilight was wrong if she thought her number one changeling was going to let her expose herself to harm on what was practically day one of her queenhood. Even if some old-fashioned discipline was incoming as consequence.

No. The queen could not do anything to jeopardize a sapling hive. Twilight needed to know that.

“It took me a century to find this happiness,” she muttered, frustrated as she hovered as much out of sight as possible towards the thing that Twilight would most likely use to go great distances at speed. “I'm not going to let there be even the slightest risk of losing the one pony I've ever cared about!”

11 - Intervention is Intentional

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Two muscular orange legs struck out in reverse to slam a tree into giving up its treasure. Precisely eight of those shiny red treasures fell with seven dropping into a basket and one troublemaker bouncing off the lip and rolling a few hooves away. Not that the pony was paying too much attention at this point.

“Hewee!” the Earth pony breathed out the stress of the day with an accent so think it would make the snobbier of the Canterlot nobles shudder in fright. “Where in tarnation is that lug? He could sure be doin' his share right about now.”

She was, of course, talking about her large red-coated relative that had gone to town on a shopping errand earlier. He was supposed to be back already and helping her with the harvest. Only the appearance of the pony in question striding up the shadowy path of the inner orchard kept the mare from promising the male a piece of her mind.

“About time,” she called out to him as he walked up to her. “I didn't know carrots had legs and could run so darn fast it took you half the day to catch 'em.”

He knew she meant it as a joke because the two of them had a sense of humor all their own. “Wasn't the carrots, sis,” he started explaining in that deep voice of his that few heard more than once every one of Luna's blue moons. He walked steadily up to the stray apple that had fallen earlier and tossed it up into the basket with his nose. “Your friend Twilight was goin' through town like she had a tail alight,” he said with wonderment. “Golden Harvest struck up a conversation for it. Thought I'd have to marry her to get out of it.”

Applejack raised a brow and then both of them laughed lightly. “Oh, Mac,” she shook her head, still laughing. “Just sounds like plain ol' Twilight. But where in Everfree do you keep pickin' up these hitchin' jokes? You hardly leave the farm.”

Big Mac backed around and bucked the tree with his own powerful hooves. The apples all fell off and into the basket. Every single one. It was at a Pinkie Pie level of improbability. “Every time I have to pick somethin' up in town, somepony tries to invite me to sharin' a few mugs. Keeps talkin' and askin' me even though I always say no.”

“Ah,” Applejack exclaimed, knowing who would do that. There weren't a whole lot of single stallions in Ponyville that would keep poking Big Mac to be their drinking buddy. Caramel used to do that sort of thing before he managed to lasso a special somepony. Now it was just Thunderlane. Nopony ever seemed to be with him for long. Probably had the marital jokes to blame for. “You know you can be out late if you want,” she said more seriously as she grabbed an empty basket and made her way to the next tree as Big Mac hefted the full one onto his back.

“You and your friends keep lookin' after all of Equestria,” he argued. “But ain't nopony lookin' after you. Least I could do is make sure my world-savin' sis don't go killin' herself on the farm.”

Applejack paused her bucking, her eyes watering just the tiniest bit. “Consarnit,” she complained more to the wateriness than her brother to whom she walked over to. “Why you have to be such a perfect carin' stallion,” she poked him in the ribs. “I'm never gonna see any nieces or nephews if you keep it up.”

That made Big Mac pause as well. His eyes wandered for a moment before his cheeks went redder than they were already.

“I knew it!” Applejack exclaimed proudly, as if she had won some prize. “You do have somepony you like. Thunderlane's lil' bug ain't got to you. Who is it?”

The big stallion's lips sealed tight and he looked elsewhere, rear hooves bucking the tree one last time to get the remaining apples off. But the kick looked more like a resolution of silence than real work.

“Aw,” Applejack whined. “C'mon. I'm your lil' sis, right? You always tell me everything. Even about Smarty Pants.”

Big Mac fell over and onto his face. He recovered and, in an especially rare instance, he spoke in a surprised and quick tone. “Ya'll remember that?!”

Applejack gave a “pfft” of dismissal. “How could I not? That and a half bushel other things. Now who is it? Or do I have to ask Twilight about her doll? You know she still ain't lookin' for it. I'm sure a jog to her memory would-”

“Fine,” Big Mac mumbled and sighed. He really didn't want to lose that doll, after all, and he would have to if his sister went and made a deal out of it. “But you got to promise not to laugh and to take me seriously.”

“Hmph,” Applejack puffed out her chest. “Course I'd take ya seriously. And I'm not one to poke fun at somepony else's expense.”

“Just,” the bulky Earth pony added, “I know you speak your mind. Be good or bad.”

“I can be sensitive too, you know,” the mare countered, as if her character was on the line for it. “Now spit it out already!”

Big Mac sighed and started naming off some attributes of the mysterious pony. In the end, it was actually his sister who voiced the name. She guessed who it was by his increasingly detailed descriptions. It wasn't any pony that she would have thought of, so she was a tad surprised. It seemed her big brother could still throw her for a loop every now and then.

Applejack was about to voice her opinion that she considered it a perfectly acceptable pony to be interested in but, as Celestia would have it, two siblings could never speak together for long without something catastrophic happening. This time that something catastrophic was actually the third sibling running by at lightning speed with two other young ponies in tow. None of the three ran much further than two trees distance from the orange and red siblings before they stumbled to an exhausted halt.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders practically face-planted into the tree leaves on the ground, huffing and puffing and absolutely out of breath. “I could have,” the orange filly wheezed, “done this with my scooter no problem.”

“I can't believe you convinced Cheerilee,” Sweetie Belle gasped for air, “to consider this phys ed.”

“Maybe,” Applebloom groaned in pain on the ground, “Cutie Mark Crusader Marathon Runners wasn't such a good idea.”

The two older Apples walked up to the crashed fillies.

“Applebloom,” the orange mare spoke sternly. “What are you doin' here?”

Applebloom's face froze as she realized where they were and who was now standing over her. She hadn't raced the others back to the farm on purpose. It was just such a habit with her coming back after school everyday whether it be for home or the clubhouse. “Uh...”

Big Mac didn't have to talk for this one since Applejack was already on it.

“I told you this here crusadin' wasn't to get in the way of school,” she chastised.

The other two fillies started babbling on about how it was legitimate and such but Applebloom had few words to say herself. She knew that the whole “phys ed” thing was a cheat. “But-” she tried anyways.

“No buts,” Applejack's eyes narrowed as she ignored the other two young ones. “Now you're goin' to go back and apologize for foolin' around when yer supposed to be doin' some proper learnin'!”

The non-Apple Crusaders may have been more vocal in their excuses but Applebloom knew her sister and she knew not to argue about anything with her, especially when it came to education. “Yes, Applejack,” she winced, nodded, and affirmed in a stiff voice.

Seeing Applebloom heave her tired body to its hooves, the others did likewise with hanging heads. Even if they tried making excuses, the fact remained that they still didn't have their cutie marks and Cheerilee didn't allow them to take the rest of the day off. They had to be back in ten minutes.

“Twilight was just running so fast,” Sweetie Belle remarked, depressed. “It sort of gave us an idea...”

“And Fluttershy was too!” Scootaloo commented with a less apologetic tone, whipping herself around in clear excitement that was reminiscent of the pony she idolized. “I've never seen her run so fast before.”

Applejack would have disregarded any sighting of a racing Twilight Sparkle. That mare was always doing something, running one way and another, experimenting, stressing out, and doing things for Princess Celestia. She was a given but Fluttershy was not. Why would that shy pegasus be racing anywhere? And why the same day as Twilight? Was something up? This was one of the few times that she wished she had been in town herself to know. It just seemed that every time she was in town, some disaster came up that she had to fix along with her friends.

“Applebloom,” the orange Earth pony called to her younger sister as the trio trotted off exhausted to their next destination. “Where were they goin'?”

The yellow filly with the big pink bow had a pout on her face but she answered all the same. “Twilight was runnin' to Fluttershy's earlier this mornin' and Fluttershy was runnin' to the train station. At least I think that's where. She kind of zoomed out of sight.”

Applejack gave a terse nod and thought to herself. This was rather peculiar. Now, she wasn't one to pry into the matters of others or poke her nose where it didn't belong but how many times had strange or extreme things happened to Ponyille and greater Equestria? At the very least, it would be prudent of her to ask around if anything was going on.

“Need to check on your friends?” Big Mac asked when the Crusaders were out of sight again.

Applejack turned and faced him as she gave a “heh” that showed he read her. “Just real quick. Be back before you know it,” she tipped her hat and started trotting down an alternate path out of the orchard and on to Ponyville.

“The apples will still be here when you get back,” the red stallion shrugged as he resumed work, not the least bit worried or lonesome. He was used to being alone on the orchard while Applejack saved Equestria from certain doom every Saturday.

It would have been nice to go out and topple Twilight as she strode by. Pinkie Pie, after all, could not in a million centuries have not known when one of her friends was strolling right past the front of Sugar Cube Corner. Why in all of Equestria would she want to miss the fun of yanking her unsuspecting friends into the shop for a quick treat and chat?

But this time was different. This time Twilight was talking to one of her guardponies with something akin to seriousness. Pinkie was rarely socially sensitive but, as Rarity often stressed, it was something she needed to work on. At the very least, it would help her from hurting or upsetting her friends. She didn't like that at all and the few times it had happened had made her feel terrible.

Now this was not all to say that the pink Earth pony wasn't about to get in on the potential fun that shadowed her closest friends like a ninja pickpocket short on bits. Oh, Pinkie Pie was going to get a slice of that inevitable fun cake, that was for sure. But she couldn't shadow her friends as the fun did unless she was outfitted in the appropriate ninja suit. She already had one on since she kept them stashed all over Equestria in case of ninja costume emergency.

The only question that remained with her now was if she was going to eat that last piece of pineapple turnover before her super-honed stealth skills kicked into full effect. The answer was an empty plate and a Sugar Cube Corner suddenly and inexplicably devoid of the pink wonder.

“Time to save the world,” the Earth pony whispered as she slunk impossibly throughout Ponyville. She was far enough behind Twilight and her two escorts that they wouldn't notice how everypony was saying “Hello Pinkie Pie” as she passed them by. Either her ninja skills were getting rusty or else it was not sufficient enough to simply be wearing the suit as she hopped straight and clearly down the street as she normally did. But she didn't mind because she loved greeting everypony in return.

When Fluttershy later showed up at the train station, Pinkie was careful to keep out of the pegasus' line of sight. She had no clue why the clerk gave her such a bizarre look when she ordered a ticket after waiting for her prey to board the land vessel. Perhaps black was not in this season. Rarity had said that last year. Or was it the year before?

The Element of Laughter almost missed her ride as the train started taking off on the rails without her. Thankfully, her standard level of bounciness allowed her to spring into the back-most car at the last second. “This world-saving ninja stuff is too hard,” she remarked as she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and slumped to the floor.

Moments before, three ponies boarded the stopped train. Next stop was the Crystal Empire and nopony could argue how that worked when there were so many places in between that should have been the next stop. It was Pinkie logic and Pinkie logic solved everything. It also, though only occasionally, gave tasty birthday-cake-flavored cupcakes to everypony free of charge. The royal on board, the lack of any other passengers, and the month's unusually low traffic statistics may or may not have been the real motivations behind the stop changes.

“Are you sure?” the yellow pony meekly asked the purple one as the dark blue one followed quietly. “I mean, what if the others are upset that-”

Twilight Sparkle turned sharply to her pink-maned friend and brought a hoof to her lips to silence her. “They're our friends, Shy. They won't get upset because I didn't invite them on a research errand to the Crystal Empire. Pinkie Pie might have at one point but she's learned to find her fun with whoever has it and not just with us,” the alicorn winced as she heard her own words. Theoretically it was true, but when did such reasoning ever stick with Pinkie Pie?

“All aboard! Last call, leaving for the Crystal Empire!” a station attendant yelled from the boarding platform.

“Oh,” Fluttershy lowered her eyes and spoke with not the least bit of doubt. Mostly it was in relation to the party pony, who she had never been certain of in regards to calmness. “I suppose.”

“Now,” Twilight dropped her hoof and resumed walking to their seats, “I should probably tell you why we're going and what I expect to find.”

All three ponies were seated, Midnight Strike being a few rows back where he had a better view of the room and the pony he was supposed to protect. Fluttershy waited patiently for her queen to speak, exhibiting that endless reserve of serenity that she seemed to have. Save for a few bouts of unusual excitement, that is to say.

The alicorn adjusted herself in the less-than-plush age-worn seat to face her friend as she spoke. Nevermind that she was royalty because the train they were on apparently had no special seating. “Chrysalis informed me just recently,” Twilight began to explain. Unfortunately, and to prove there was no limit on the number of times she could receive a surprise or break in plans, one of the station attendants ran over to their seating row and looked her straight in the eyes. The rest of what the mare wanted to say promptly jumped off a cliff, thoroughly done with the world and all of its cruelness.

“Queen Twilight Sparkle,” he addressed her as his form started to glow. “How dare you run off right after you started taking charge! And endanger yourself while abandoning me!”

The royal mare didn't need to watch the attendant finishing transforming back into a changeling to know who it was, though she was a bit surprised Chrysalis would spend so much of her energy on such a thing merely to sneak onto the train. “How dare you disobey a direct order from your queen!” Twilight countered, her commanding tone more a natural result of being upset than trying to intentionally control.

Chrysalis was now in her full and tall original form, Fluttershy watching in awe not for the first time and Midnight Strike sitting back down in his seat after being roused to a potential threat. The changeling was taken back from her queen's snap reply but she was not totally discouraged. She knew she was in for it already and had nothing much to lose now. “You're endangering your hive, which has hardly even hatched! Being reckless does not mean you are brave. I won't let you throw everything away to satisfy your-”

“That's enough!” Twilight rose her voice as she sprung from her seat. “It's not for you to decide what is brave or foolish! Now sit down,” she pointed to a spot next to her that was opposite of Fluttershy, leaving the alicorn in the middle. The poor pegasus hid behind her mane but really wanted to disappear altogether.

The changeling opened her mouth again and her queen intensified her narrowed expression. It was an impasse and Chrysalis finally closed her mouth, lowered her head, and sat in the seat that had been pointed to.

“I should have expected this,” Twilight shook her head as she seated herself as well. The three were now a row of yellow, purple, and black. “You can be impossibly stubborn and selfish at times. I understand you have your own lengthy experience as queen of a hive but you are not queen anymore. I think that's part of the problem.” Twilight turned fully and struck out a forehoof to tap Chrysalis' chest. She wanted to make her next statement perfectly clear. “You've never been just a normal member of a hive.”

Once more Chrysalis started to open her mouth and Twilight snuffed out the chance.

“I know I've never been a hive queen before. But that goes without saying and it's not the point here. Even if it was, this whole hive thing is not changeling. It's different and we both know it.”

Chrysalis breathed out, defeated.

“Now,” the purple pony stated conclusively, “that's that. I didn't plan on it but I'm going to have you accompany me on this errand. I could use some help as long as you're not content to stay at the library and my word won't keep you there. I will wait to issue your punishment until we get back.”

When she was finished speaking, the silence was deafening. Thankfully, the train started up and out of the station before that silence had any time to become a vice.

“It's going to be a long ride,” Twilight changed the mood, lightening her tone. Having been properly and absolutely derailed from what she was originally going to tell her sun-yellow friend, the topic became temporarily deceased. “Should we do something to pass the time?”

Remarkably, Fluttershy peeped out from the cover of her pink mane to offer a possible suggestion. Her voice rang true with its unique spice of quiet “hard-to-hearness.”

“What was that?” Twilight smiled as she leaned to her side and closer to the mare's face.

“I said,” Fluttershy whispered louder, “Truth or Dare?”

Twilight blinked twice. “That's...kind of odd,” she remarked with a mix of surprise and curiosity. What was going through the pegasus' mind for her to suggest something like that?

“What's the point?” Chrysalis commented harshly from Twilight's other side. “Truth got swallowed whole when you two connected in the hive.”

Twilight was going to say something as a knee-jerk reaction when a light bulb went off instead. She had looked over to Chrysalis but now turned her gaze back to Fluttershy. It was something of a double-take moment. “Is there something you wanted to dare me with?” she asked with not the least bit of shock. The shy mare desiring to dare anypony with anything was akin to a six ounce sparrow wielding a weapon of rapid fire and fatal result. It was a scientific impossibility with an improbability percentage of zero raised to two billion powers.

“I,” the Element of Kindness choked, having apparently been caught. Whatever else she said devolved into some kind of whimper as she hid once more behind her pink locks.

Chrysalis stared on indifferently with two flat-line brows as her queen brushed aside the pegasus' offending locks to find the mare beneath. “What is it?” the alicorn asked blankly.

“Let me join you,” Fluttershy answered in a tiny voice that was even smaller than her usual one. Truly she was a master of the lowest of possible volumes.

“Huh?” Twilight twisted her expression in confusion. Whatever the mare meant was probably not in the spirit of Truth or Dare but, then again, Fluttershy was one to use anything as an excuse to not be direct. She was anything but direct. “What do you mean 'join?'”

“I saw it,” she drew up the courage to lean towards Twilight. “You, Chrysalis, and Spike. All sleeping in your ring at the library.”

Oh, ponyfeathers. Luckily, Twilight didn't voice that one. She had forgotten that she had slept that way before they had touched in the hivemind. She was surprised that it didn't cause some issue earlier but then maybe it had and Fluttershy had been thinking about it this whole time. Wait, did she want to join them in her ring at the library?

“Oh, I know it's a walk from the library to my house,” the pegasus hurriedly admitted. “But I'll walk it every morning if it means I can be with you.”

Twilight drew back and Chrysalis laughed. Was the changeling's sense of hearing that good that she could hear the super-quiet mare from across an extra seat? Chrysalis even spoke before the royal could.

“Well done, my queen,” she buzzed in what was either a congratulating or sarcastic voice. “It's a good thing I made your ring as big as I did.”

Twilight's left eye twitched. “Nevermind her, Shy. I already told you I'm open to you. If you want to sleep over at my place then I'll be happy to have you over. If you're willing to put up with a little craziness. From the others, I mean. I never get crazy.”

Chrysalis' brows flattened again. Was this princess-queen oblivious or just deluded?

Fluttershy beamed a smile every bit as elegant as her normal composure. “Thanks, um...Twi...”

Had the sunny-coated pegasus ever called her by nickname before? If she had then it had been fleeting and unnoticed by her. But it felt right. Twilight brushed more of the mare's pink locks over one of her ears so that her face would remain visible. “No thanks needed, Shy.”

“Favoritism,” Chrysalis puffed a cheek out as she refereed from her lonely seat on the other side. There was practically a rainbow over the purple and yellow ponies' seats and a rain cloud over hers.

“You,” Twilight turned and looked the changeling in the eyes, “still have a pending punishment. I'm not going to-”

Chrysalis didn't give the speaker time to finish before leaning over and draping her larger body over the other. Twilight didn't react fast enough and their horns touched with a spark. The alicorn's mind raced with a feeling of dull throbbing. It was a repressed form of exhaustion emanating from the shape shifter and this was not the first time she had felt it and far from the last by any logical reckoning.

“You're hungry again?” Twilight winced.

Chrysalis mumbled as she peered down upon Twilight's face. “That transformation was more than my last meal could handle.”

“That's what you did it for?” Twilight breathed out in disbelief as she caught on to what was really going on. Her changeling was sneaky indeed. “You did something unnecessary just to drain yourself and force me to go easy on you because you'd get weak?”

Fluttershy mumbled something to herself that thankfully neither mare picked up. It was something rather uncharacteristically jealous for her to mouth.

“Queens have to think of everything and I used to be one. You said so yourself,” the changeling smirked.

Twilight mentally repeated her calming exercise. Sure she was upset at Chrysalis but that shouldn't impede on either the duty or friendship she had with her. Twilight had promised to take care of the non-pony and that was what she was going to do. Celestia help her.

“I don't expect you to listen to me anymore now than you did with my last order,” Twilight disclaimed, “but stop trying to be clever and maybe I'll just give you what you want without you going through any scheming.”

“Mm,” Chrysalis hummed as the mare embraced her in a warm hug.

“Honestly,” Twilight shook her head over the changeling's shoulder. “What I do for you.”

“I love it,” the taller female purred.

Twilight had a final thing to address as she spoke straight into the other's ear. “One more thing.”

“Yes?” Chrysalis buzzed innocently as the two separated, the simple gesture hardly satisfying.

“You didn't pay for a ticket,” the alicorn deadpanned.

“Heh,” she blushed and twirled a holey hoof through her blue mane. “It's bygone, right? Can I have some love now?”

For not the first time that would be had that day, Twilight facehoofed.

12 - Chaos is Considerate

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It took more times than Applejack thought necessary to get the attention of one multicolored pegasus. Heck, she thought, her friend was being even more non-attentive than she usually was when taking a nap back at the orchard and ignoring the complaints about using Apple trees without offering any help around the farm.

When Rainbow Dash finally did look down from her cloud she was paddling slowly around on, her face held a frown. She made the whole thing drift down to a range more tolerant of talking volume. “No need to shout at me like I'm some criminal, AJ.”

“I did call you right and proper the first fifty times you didn't hear me,” Applejack sniped right back. “So what's the poutin' for?”

“I'm not pouting!” the rainbow mare crossed her arms indignantly as she flapped nonchalantly from her cloud of perch. The poor puff was vaporized after the wind kicked it into a nearby house. “I'm...thinking!”

“About what exactly?” the Earth pony questioned, wondering if perhaps this had something to do with Twilight and Fluttershy.

“Uh,” Rainbow halted as she realized it was probably not a good idea to voice her thoughts. She actually dropped and set hoof to the ground in contrast to how she normally fluttered about with her bias to flight. “Nothing,” she covered up dumbly. “What are you doing here anyways? Don't you have...like...apples to harvest or something?”

“When do I not?” the Element of Honesty mumbled more to herself than her friend. “I'll get back to it when I know nothin's goin' pear-shaped over here. So? Any disasters I should know about?”

Rainbow's frown and moody air changed to one of a mare lacking of crucial context. “Huh?” she cocked a brow. “Why would you ask? If you're talking about the weather then-”

“No, not the weather,” Applejack corrected without reserve. “I mean Element of Harmony kind of disasters. I heard Twilight and Fluttershy were out and about like there was somethin' goin' on. I checked Fluttershy's on the way over and she wasn't home. Twilight's missin' from the library and the guard wouldn't give me one word about it. At the very least, I'd expect that changeling to answer the door!”

Rainbow Dash tapped a hoof to her chin as she listened. “Her name's Chrysalis,” she commented off-hoof before making for a real reply. “Yeah, no. There's nothing going on as far as I know. Twilight might just be out to Canterlot for one of Princess Celestia's summons. She gets those every now and then.”

“How would you know?” Applejack asked as honest as her reputation gave her credit for. There was no slight in her words.

The blue mare froze again. She just let something slip again, didn't she? “Uh, yeah,” she started slow until she assembled an excuse in her head. “I see her taking the train to Canterlot every now and then. I guess I just assumed it was because she'd get a summons. Yeah.”

For her credit, Rainbow Dash was a better liar than her orange friend. But it still came out weak, Applejack's eyes narrowing just enough to suggest she was onto it. But the Earth pony had work waiting and, nevermind an excuse for Twilight, what about Fluttershy? She asked as much.

“Oh,” Rainbow drooped. “I don't know,” she shrugged without any further ideas.

“I guess I've seen her go around leadin' her animals and such,” Applejack wondered aloud. “I just got a funny feelin' is all.”

“Like anything ever happens around here,” Rainbow remarked as she rolled her eyes. The rolling stopped halfway and she instead locked them instantly with her wingless friend.

“Heh, that's funny,” Applejack giggled dumbly as the pegasus grinned.

“Yeah, maybe you're not being paranoid,” Rainbow Dash scratched a spot behind her head with a forehoof. “But we have some dead weeks every now and then. It's not always save-Equestria-from-destruction.”

“I'd agree with you if I actually believed it,” Applejack's mouth jackknifed. “You tryin' to keep me out of the loop on somethin'? Because I-”

“C'mon, AJ!” Rainbow flapped into a hover with her wings as she stuck her forehooves to her sides in an expression of being offended and finally out of patience. “I don't know anything you don't. I'm just trying to be logical here.”

“Logical?” the orange mare doubted. “Since when is a stunt-pegasus like you ever concerned with logic?”

Now Rainbow really did feel offended. “What?!” she exhaled all in one angry huff. “I'm just going about minding my own business and you want to start something?”

It was times like these that made it too obvious that the friends had a tendency to clash. Perhaps that was simply for the fact that both were headstrong and competitive. “I'm not startin' nothin',” Applejack denied. “And why you makin' such a big deal of it? It's the truth. And I never said it was a bad thing.”

Rainbow opened her mouth again, ready to defend herself, when nothing came out. She closed it again before talking at a more normal volume compared to her rising tone from before. “You mean...that was a compliment?”

“You really need to know the difference, RD,” Applejack sighed.

“Heh,” Rainbow pipped as she felt a bit foalish for getting worked up so quick. “Sorry.”

“Now I can't be standin' around for any more chit chat. Got work to do,” the Earth pony turned back towards the farm. “Just tell me if somethin' happens and I'm needed.”

“Sure,” the blue mare gave her confirmation slowly as her friend walked off to return to her farm. Maybe she should try to find the apparently missing Elements. But AJ's interruption of her cloudy thoughts hadn't been enough to snap her out of it. She was still feeling kind of moody.

There was one solution that rarely failed on days like this. It was the one thing that never followed any rules and therefore could solve even the most terrifying of life's roadblocks. For some reason this solution could be described using many a word starting with the letter “P.” Going to Rarity's would just have her end up another boring froufrou modeling pony and Applejack's was clearly out of the question. With her two other friends gone and Scootaloo in school, she found herself in a rare spot of having only one pony she could go hang out with on the fly.

Thus did Rainbow Dash find herself flying over to Sugar Cube Corner. Or perhaps it was really more of a glide since it took barely any effort on her very athletic part to reach the sweets shop. She only touched the ground after she hovered before the door and entered through it, ringing the shop's bell as she did so.

However, her expectation to be assaulted by a flying pink blur was not met with fulfillment either before she entered the door or after it. The place of desserts was deserted. When she trotted up to the order counter and rang the service bell, it was Mrs. Cake and not Pinkie Pie that eventually came around out of the kitchen.

“Oh, Rainbow Dash,” the older mare identified the potential customer merely by the frequency to which Pinkie Pie talked about her and not necessarily by the way she and her friends would all eat there together from time to time. “Haven't seen you in a while. I'm sorry I couldn't answer you sooner. We've got a storm to bake up in the back. See something you like?”

“Uh,” Rainbow glanced down at the glass counter's display of delights it held within. Some of them really did look good and she'd feel bad stopping by without getting so much as a single doughnut. “Yeah,” she droned out as if her vocal cords were on molasses. She had been talking slow quite a bit today. Probably an effect of her discontentment. “But, first, is Pinkie Pie in the back?”

“No,” the chubby baker tilted her head. “Did you want to see her?”

“Oh, um...it's no big deal,” the pegasus disclaimed a little discouraged. Did this mean that Pinkie Pie had gone along with the other two?

Thankfully, Mrs. Cake was a mare with a sharp eye. Maybe it was because she specialized in the nuances of baking, which were very exact. It could also have been for the fact that she was now a mother and mothers were known to be telepathic in certain regards. “How about you just go take a seat at that table over there,” she pointed to one of the Corner's customer tables. “I can get you something to eat and look to see if Pinkie left a memo. She sometimes does that to let us know where she's gone off to.”

Rainbow nodded wordlessly and picked out a few treats after the Earth pony prodded her for her preferences. She took a seat still wondering why the day hadn't a bit of cheer to it. Was it because she didn't have what she really wanted in life? Was it because she had to make sure other ponies didn't find out what she really wanted? Was it because she had this bizarre desire to be with somepony in a way that could never be? That was getting a little too close to home and so she decided to stop thinking at all. She propped her head against a hoof and propped that, in turn, against the table. A sigh puffed out as if it had some meaning in life other than to be heard once and then spend eternity in that special Tartarus that was maintained especially for it.

“She left a note,” Mrs. Cake exclaimed as she trotted back over in short order. If anything could be said of her then it was that she was quick as a whip. “It said 'Going to save Twi, Chry, and Shy from a lack of frosting and accidentally rhyming nicknames.' Whatever that means. I rarely find her notes to be very helpful when she doesn't give places or times.”

Rainbow Dash slammed her head down on the table. That really was, as Mrs. Cake so aptly put, not very helpful at all. They were all gone somewhere and only Celestia knew where that was. After all, she hadn't seen any of them in Ponyville and her skyward view was pretty inclusive. She might have had a clue if she had looked for them earlier, but she had been busy messing around on that cloud. They could be anywhere in Equestria by now because they all had wings minus Pinkie Pie who didn't need any. That pony could defy physics all she wanted to save on train expenses. Actually, it was rather funny that she didn't as far as Rainbow knew.

“I added a cream-filled one for you, on the house. You look like you could use a little pick-me-up,” the light-crimson-maned pony smiled warmly and made her way back to the kitchen. Rainbow had just enough time to offer a thank you to her before she was gone and the pegasus was once again left to the quietness between her and the three doughnuts now in front of her.

As the Element of Loyalty prodded the plain glazed with a forehoof, she noticed that the cream-filled long doughnut had been adorned with rainbow-colored sprinkles. The Cakes really were as sweet a family as their shop suggested. A sweet family...

Rainbow sighed for the millionth time that day, this particular sigh being cooked in Tartarus in that unique way that made one laugh and cry at the same time. The doughnuts were a nice if rare treat for her to get all on her own but the day had still been rather a downer. Scratch that, she decided. “Today sucks.”

That was normally the microsecond in which Pinkie Pie would have burst forth impossibly from one of the doughnuts but, as the rambunctious mare was presumably absent from town, there was nothing but the unbroken reality around her. Maybe it was for the best. After all, Rainbow had a lot to think about. Twilight being a princess now was something that had made its way into her hidden thoughts. What was it going to be like between them now that Twilight wanted her help in flying? Did that mean they would get more time together?

Rainbow was now biting her way through the first victim on the plate before her. Did Twilight like the same kind of treats that she did? She noticed that the bookworm wasn't big on spicy foods so maybe she preferred sweeter stuff like that creme-filled doughnut that sat a myriad of colors against the gray-blue of the dish. Maybe she...?

“Gah,” the pegasus growled lowly as she finished off her first edible item. Why was she thinking about Twilight so much? It was true that she enjoyed her time around the unicorn-now-alicorn but when had that started? Rainbow Dash was an athlete to the core and Twilight Sparkle was an egghead princess. Was that why she enjoyed having her as a friend and newly-christened flying buddy? Because opposites gave each other the spice of life?

So many questions. But, right now, Rainbow Dash decided that only one needed answering. Where was Twilight Sparkle?

Change was something often talked about and it was this way for good reason. It was everywhere all the time and it was impossible to avoid, though many tried to do so. This thing had been around since the beginning of time and some might argue that that is was the very definition of “the beginning.” Some of those sentient beings even embraced change whole-heartedly because they thrived on improvement.

Now, change was not necessarily the bearer of improvement. Some change could even be the bringer of devolution for strength, morals, and other aspects of character. Some changes in genetics could bring about the end or, in some cases, the very salvation of an entire species. The word “some” was everywhere as far as change was concerned. This was purely for the fact that change didn't care about anypony or anything and thus saw to throw its effects randomly upon the masses.

What it all came down to was a very simple concept. Change was not good or bad. It existed neutrally and will continue to exist regardless of any love or hate anything ever holds for it. There was one sentient being, however, that was caught in the chaotic grasp of this thing without truly knowing or understanding how deep he had fallen into its uncaring and seemingly flippant plan for the universe.

But there had to be some greater force at work because it was quite clear that this thing called “change” didn't give a flying feather about anything, much akin to that other thing called “chaos.” Perhaps they were brothers or sisters. It didn't matter because, after all, Discord gave just as much a flying feather about it.

“Let's see something really happen,” the former president of chaos and disharmony commented enthusiastically from his suspension in the dark expanse around him. “I'm tired of the same old stuff.”

Yes, the mismatch of animal parts that made up Discord was currently floating in a great space of nothing populated only by a few window-like screens that rotated around him. This was his special place that he had in no way ripped off from Princess Celestia's own magical knowledge of the “alicorn dimension” or whatever the heck it was she called that freaky place she used to spy on her prized pupil.

No, he was not like Celestia in that he secretly ached for some relationship so badly that he wound up spying on random ponies. He was Discord, king of Chaos, and he did whatever he wanted! Well, perhaps that didn't make much sense in the context of his current situation and thoughts, but when did he ever make sense? There was never any fun in making sense.

He was not spying on Princess Twilight Sparkle. He was not even spying on that curious changeling creature. He had been spying on Fluttershy, his one and only friend. Because everypony knew that friends spied on each other. Or was that enemies? He still had a hard time making those kind of distinctions in his head. It would probably take quite the better half of an eon for him to fully grasp it.

Actually, he had been spying on Fluttershy because he was perplexed and this was not something that happened often. What he had felt in that moment that Fluttershy had thrown down those ice skates...it still tugged at his heart. Why did that one thing effect his innards so much? He had never felt any kind of remorse before.

After spending weeks on this fascinating thing, he thought he might have finally arrived at a conclusion. Fluttershy was so unlike all of her so-called “friends” in that she was the only one that even wanted to maybe give him a chance. She was kind. She was considerate. She was hopeful. She was all of these things when he had not been her friend. He had been her enemy.

Discord felt his heart tug gently now like a skilled musician playing upon the key-stroked strings of a grand piano. This being Discord, his heart actually was a grand piano at the moment with a miniature version of himself decked out in a fancy black tailcoat tux and playing away with that almost weepy face that such pianists tended to play with. A screen rotated in front of him and stopped to force an intermission into the majestic show.

“How am I supposed to give you that?” Twilight Sparkle asked to some creature off-screen. It was funny how naive she was about this topic she was drowning in. She was sitting smack-dab in the middle of two others that loved her to the point of it being questionably contained within the realm of mere friendship.

“Get on with it,” Discord sat his head on his lion's law. Literally. “I'm getting bored.”

What an injustice it would be to say he orchestrated all of this. For as much as ponies pegged him as some master of pulling strings and as much as he might have really been that in the past, he was now bound to his promise to be friendly. That didn't mean he had to sit around bored day after day. He found he could still play a bit of mischief and get away with it without getting caught by Celestia, Luna, Twilight, or anypony else who might choose to lock him up for it.

A screen behind him was playing his own recent past with vivid animation and colorful depictions of the various ways he manipulated his own body for casual amusement. This screen was showing a Discord not a week younger and already in the planning for his next big move. It was when he decided to make his first glorious act of friendship that would exemplify his ability to be as considerate as his friend Fluttershy and as bold as that little blue brat named Rainbow Dash.

He had decided to do something nice for his one and only friend. Yes, it had made him gag at first but the potential for fun and mischief had gotten him past that. What he had actually orchestrated at first was a few random but key events around Fluttershy's cottage. A misplaced book on relationship starters. A picture of her old home in some seedy-looking city, mysteriously out of the box she had long refused to reopen. A dusty diary of hers opened to a page that she had stopped writing in whilst leaving the last entry only half written. An embarrassing letter from Rarity left unfolded to display her friend's concerns about her being alone so much with nopony but her animals. Finally, a dream about one purple princess.

Now that last one had actually been a workout for the draconequus. He dabbled with dreams only on occasion for the fact that he always twisted reality rather than mere dreams. After all, why mess with a fake world when one could mess with the real one? Luna gave him the third-degree the few times he had tried it as a means to vent his desire for a little “harmless” fun.

And why Twilight Sparkle? It was just an easy out as far as Discord was concerned. Fluttershy was as shy as her name let on and she was actually more introverted than she appeared from the outside. That was saying a lot considering how that outside did indeed appear reclusive twenty-four seven. She would never in a billion years open herself up completely to somepony else. Not after what she had gone through in her past.

The newly winged alicorn was the only one of Fluttershy's five close friends that was capable of reigning in her eccentric personality enough for a deep enough level of connection to occur. Not that Discord was ever eccentric. He believed he was in a perfectly positioned judge's seat to determine whether a pony qualified as eccentric or not. Discord was normal. It was everpony else who was off their rocker.

Rainbow Dash was too headstrong. Same for Applejack. Sure, some argued that opposites attracted but that still hadn't encouraged Fluttershy to open up to either of them. Pinkie Pie was too aloof and Rarity too focused on the higher echelon of society for Fluttershy to chance letting her know about some grim broken-home past. Twilight Sparkle was an A-student perfect-princess poster-pony that, if not for those first big marks, had plenty of other aspects that discouraged Fluttershy from considering her.

Screen number three to Discord's right was playing a scene that occurred before his release and redemption at the hooves of the sweet sunny pegasus. The black marks that separated Kindness from Magic all changed after Twilight had taken in Chrysalis as a rescue case. That was the precise moment that everything changed and, oh, did it change sharply. It might be said that a rift in space-time occurred. The world they now lived in was strange and new, the old world lost or perhaps continuing on with its own disparate events and developments.

This world they now lived in was the only one that mattered to Discord, though. With Twilight's risky act of love towards the broken and dying changeling, her own fate had been altered and sealed forever. Much like Discord's own. What would he be doing now if Fluttershy had not risked her own safety on his account? Would he be trapped in stone again? Free? Or...dead?

Who could answer such impossible questions about futures that had long been shot out of the picture. In Discord's case, this was a literal figure of speech since the screens floating around him very much depicted the pictures of life. He learned from them what he could not see and hear when in stone, no doubts to how much a cheat the whole thing was. If anypony had complaints then they would have to be directed against the white mare of the sun and not him, which was ironic considering that most complaints could honestly be directed towards his own flippant regard for stable reality.

As for his plan in motion, he wanted to do something nice for Fluttershy. Something that would portray that he really did have a heart somewhere inside that massive piano. Not that anypony was listening, but his miniature self was just getting to the grand finale.

“Love,” Discord repeated Chrysalis' word that she had voiced seconds ago on the main screen. He curled one side of his lip downward, one tooth poking out as it always did. “So much for the magic of friendship. But I suppose Princess Sun-Butt would say that friendship is an important part of love. Who cares?”

He was about to gag again but the next progression on the screen halted him before his clawed hand could come up all the way.

“Twi!” cried the voice of Fluttershy. A shout for her was really a loud whisper but Twilight heard it all the same. One more kudos to her for being one of the few ponies that could.

The screen had shot to the pegasus momentarily and then switched to the alicorn before doing a few camera tricks that only a cheap reality show would be lame enough to try. “Shy?” she asked worriedly, knowing that her friend would rarely try to get attention like that. “Is something wrong?”

Discord leaned toward the screen as he popped his head back onto his neck. Was his plan working?

“Would,” the mare stuttered, her gears grinding painfully to grasp courage she had never dared touch before. “Would you be willing to treat me like you treat Chrysalis?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked taken aback and very confused.

“There's been talk,” Fluttershy pronounced more boldly as she leaned forward towards her purple friend. “Changelings need love to survive. The others all think that maybe you...”

Thankfully Twilight didn't have a doctorate in naivety. She finally got it. “Oh,” she brought a hoof to her mouth in surprise. “No, no, no, no,” she denied. “I haven't...I don't...I...”

Discord's screen shot just long enough to the shape shifter to make sure the viewers were aware of the changeling's own reaction to Twilight's reply. There was a dark glare, as if she had just been denied access to something she had dire need of.

“Then you're...” Fluttershy picked up when Twilight failed to gather her thoughts properly into a plausible denial. The yellow mare herself had not petered off as the other did. The last word was spoken and simply lost in the female's ability to voice words so quietly that they devolved into squeaks and chirps. This particular squeak had sounded like the hope of a sailor fighting long and hard against destructive ocean storms only to finally see the illumination of a lighthouse and safe harbor of a protected bay. In some funny little way, that might be exactly what this seemed to Fluttershy.

Discord laughed a different laugh than the hearty mischievous ones he usually did. Yes, this wasn't as much fun but it did give him this unusual sense of fulfillment that he had never experienced before. It was a feeling like one tiny fish jumping into a group of sharks, saving another fish from their merciless plans for a meal, and then proceeding to successfully make it to safety with said rescue only to make a delicious dinner out of the saved friend. Pointless and twisted analogy aside, Discord felt like he had done something that really mattered. Something that made somepony happy in a way they had never been happy before.

If this next part pulled off then Discord had done something nice for once. Now it might just be for certain that the world had changed.

13 - Discovery is Foreboding

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The strutting of the train against the tracks as well as the occasional blare of the vehicle's horn were well past the point of rhythm. Both sounds were lost to the few passengers aboard except for one which was fast approaching hearing range of the alicorn, pegasus, and changeling. The fourth passenger, the guardpony, would likely hear it first since it was his job to be alert of such things.

If there was one pony that was ever questionably capable of stealth then it was the one who was now making her way forward across the train cars in a black ninja suit so that she could get a better look at those she was shadowing. Of course, shadowing was a very loose term to use because she was currently giggling about Celestia knows what as she bounced merrily along. She must have forgotten that she was supposed to be a ninja or else she had vividly remembered that she was Pinkie Pie. The latter might even explain the former as far as she was concerned.

When the pony was only one car away from her target, she finally slunk along more covertly. How she was able to slink around so fluidly, irregardless of anatomical restrictions, was irrelevant. She slammed her head against the car door without making a sound, which should have also been impossible. Somepony was saying something on the other side. It was hard to make out through the old metal of the door but she thought she heard a “yes” and a “we already talked about this.”

What conversation those things were supposed to be a part of she hadn't a clue. But then again, she didn't need one. What she did need was her special super-spy night-vision goggles. Ninjas were basically spies, right? She didn't mind the differences between the two. One pink hoof whipped the goggles out of her mane as if it was some kind of limitless inventory container. With the goggles on, she could see through the door that separated her from her “goal.” Or at least she assumed she could see through it. Pitch blackness had to mean that the next car had all the window blinds closed. Immediately, Pinkie Pie was suspicious.

“Now why would they all be talking together in the dark? Very fishy...” she whispered in her best covert voice she could whip up on the spot.

It was a good thing she had set out on this investigation. Or was it supposed to have been her saving them from something? She couldn't remember but it didn't matter anyhow. She was having tons of fun and that was all that registered in her mind at the moment. Now where was the lever to open the door? Her spy goggles were supposed to highlight it in red so she knew she could “interact” with it. It had to be nearby.

Pinkie Pie twirled around, half expecting some bad guy to be sneaking up behind her but there was still nothing but darkness. That could only mean somepony had now closed the blinds in her car as well!

“I'm not alone,” she remarked with a furrowed brow and dark tone of voice.

However, when she tried to get in fighting posture, she tripped over something on the floor and then tumbled over something else that might have been a passenger seat. A bump in the train ride made her head crash against something else on the floor and she was left then to a throbbing headache. She promised revenge on her assailant, whoever it was, as she passed out as gently as anypony could ever do so.

Fortunately or unfortunately for Pinkie Pie, the train car she had knocked out in was just a normal passenger car with no bad guys. And the blinds were not shut because the whole place was bathed with afternoon light. One day the pink Earth pony might think to read the instruction manual on her night-vision goggles or, at the very least, take the black protection caps off the lenses on the front. But alas, today was not that day.

Princess Twilight Sparkle nuzzled her friend Fluttershy lightly. “Goodness,” she continued to remark, picking up from the answer she had given. “You just don't stop worrying about this do you?”

“I'm sorry,” the yellow mare squeaked apologetically. Rainbow Dash would be pulling her cheeks down in a mix of frustration and boredom by now, which was probably a good reason why she wasn't with them. Chrysalis on the other hoof...

“Ugh,” the changeling groaned. “Fine. We'll do this later. Now what are we going to be doing when we get to your brother's empire?”

Twilight stopped her ministrations with Fluttershy, much to that mare's disappointment. Her eyes moved as if gears were turning behind them. “I,” she spoke with a stutter. “I guess it is technically his empire. It just sounds...weird when you put it that way.”

“So?” Chrysalis insisted while Fluttershy pressed her lips firmly together in anticipation.

“I looked up some special detection spells before I left – we left. I'm hoping to get some measurements on King Sombra's residual magic.”

“I thought he was defeated...?” the sunny pegasus spoke softly.

“Chrysalis thinks he might still be around,” Twilight answered her. “I'm not about to take her lightly on this.”

The changeling smiled faintly at the idea that her queen would have some manner of faith in her.

The pony royal continued as the deep emerald trees from Mt. Canter's summit raced passed the windows and sunlight faded gradually as they started encountering more cloud cover. “She said he mastered many unknown magics and even some changeling ones. Equestria could be in danger next if he decides to give up on the Crystal Empire.”

Fluttershy sounded a quiet “eep” as the train jolted along the tracks. They really needed to keep those things maintained. “Is this trip going to be dangerous?” the pegasus worried.

Midnight Strike was listening intently because he needed to stay alert, be aware of the nature of the trip, and figure out whether that last sound was just from the bump in the ride or if there might be an occupant in the next car over, which should have been empty. He eventually decided, upon hearing no more ruckus, that it must have been the train.

“It's okay, Shy,” Twilight assured her friend as she extended a wing around the other's shoulder once more. The physical contact had been working out as a sufficient means of calming the mare, so Twilight had no problem with doing it. “I won't let anything happen to you.”

Whether it be the fire in the new queen's eyes or the way she said those words, Fluttershy believed her. She believed every individual word and her heart was at peace in a way it had never been before even when she was with her animals. For all she felt now, Twilight Sparkle was the only one she cared about in that moment.

What Chrysalis would give to be in Twilight's head at that moment. She even voiced that thought, carefree of any social consequence. “What have you been planning?”

Twilight turned her head smoothly to the changeling with a serene look upon her face. “I can show you what after we get back. There are a lot of things that I've been realizing since last night. Every minute I understand a little more and I can feel something strange yet calming...”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes and peered deep into her queen's eyes. There really was something in them that wasn't there before, which made the changeling develop a pit in her stomach and not for a lack of love. Whatever was happening to Twilight was happening because she had more or less tricked the alicorn into her experimental plot with the hivemind.

“Twilight...” Chrysalis spoke suspiciously. “Are you feeling alright?”

“What are you talking about? I'm fine. Same old me,” the purple pony responded with a tick movement at the edge of her mouth.

Chrysalis was starting to think that maybe it wasn't the same old Twilight. “When we get back,” the changeling decided, “you must allow me to connect with you directly so I can confirm that for myself.”

“Oh?” Twilight's eyebrows raised. “Because I thought you had some punishment scheduled when we got back.”

Chrysalis scowled. “Many things are awaiting then. Now what about these light detection spells?”

“Well,” the queen began again from earlier as she gave a little pull with her wing to comfort a Fluttershy who had gone back to fidgeting. Other ponies might call the pink-maned mare over-emotional or needy but Twilight accepted her for who she was and was well resolved to the idea of taking care of her. On an unrelated note, Twilight didn't question how Chrysalis had guessed at the light spells she had gone over before. The changeling was usually just quick on the pick up.

“King Sombra,” she continued to explain, “may have an extensive knowledge of dangerous and foreign magic but power itself can be a critical weakness, as one great pre-Equestrian scholar once said. It is difficult to mask the inevitable residual traces left by transformation magics if one is specifically searching for them, especially when attempting to make a hasty retreat and not having the time to properly apply the best of dissipation techniques. We may have nothing but outright speculation at this point, but I find it reasonable to assume that...”

Thus did Twilight's bloated explanation ramble on in an answer far longer and more technically accurate then Chrysalis had meant to receive upon request for information. In fact, the alicorn continued giving detailed descriptions of theoretical magic and detection techniques thereof that would make even the Canterlot professors run for their money and hide for weeks in hopes of the mass of spoken words deciding to pass them by safely. Fluttershy, after about an hour of this, had fallen asleep against one purple wing with a look so tranquil that one might believe she had died happily with absolutely no regrets. Chrysalis may or may not have drooled at some point, her little love-hungry soul long since evacuated from her poor hole-ridden body.

Twilight should have needed a drink of water after the first half-hour, but that was another thing she was apparently capable of overcoming. Only the full and complete stop of the train was enough to make her wrap up her endless speech. The trees of Mt. Canter had long left them and outside was now painted with the green fields and crystal spires that characterized the Crystal Empire. The place would normally be a sparkling and shining wonder of a place to be but it was not so much so at the moment.

The sky had become overcast with gray clouds that seemed content to move overhead at a snail's pace while at the same time refusing to release their liquid load. A cold breeze added a biting chill to the moody gray-lit air that the clouds created. The crystal ponies were out and about just the same, though. It became apparent that no threat of foul weather concerned them after the occupants of the train disembarked.

“We're here,” Twilight announced as she stepped out of the car and onto the boarding platform of the station. It was just the sort of thing one said out of habit and not because anypony actually needed to know that the destination had come upon them.

Chrysalis mumbled a “thank goodness” and Fluttershy's eyes darted back and forth nervously as she followed the others out. Midnight Strike was only a step behind her with the stone-solid expression of his position etched upon his countenance. He was, perhaps, the most invisible one among their party since guards were not such a strange sight in an Empire so recently recovered from tyranny and led by a prince who happened to be Captain of the Royal Guard.

A few ponies did seem to recognize Twilight Sparkle and, thankfully, made no big show of it. Thanks to Spike being unintentionally immortalized in the story of the Empire's salvation and also in part to Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's ascension to the throne, Twilight's name took a backseat as far as the public was concerned. She may be a princess now but she had always been Shining Armor's little sister, which made her eternally the minor sibling of the prince. It was like being royalty twice removed.

Having not announced her visit by intention, there was nopony there to greet them. It hadn't come to the minds of her companions that none of them had brought luggage of any kind else they might have asked about such things along the way. Twilight had everything she needed already in her mind and any physical supplies relating to comfort she was content to be without. It wasn't going to be an extended trip anyways.

There was one quick little thing that needed to be done and the princess saw to it that it was done in just such a matter. She hurried over to the nearest ticket booth and explained her situation regarding the mistake of paying for three tickets when she needed to purchase four. The ticket pony, recognizing the royal mare, insisted that no such bother was required and even offered to refund the three other fares. Twilight, however, managed to insist even more to the opposite and finally won the argument when the stallion realized he was in a losing battle. Chrysalis' unpaid ride was thus resolved.

“Where...?” Chrysalis began to ask when she noticed many a hard stare of interest directed her way by passing ponies. One might think they had never seen a changeling before, which made Chrysalis suddenly wonder if they actually ever had. Perhaps only if her grandmother had intervened those many years before.

“We need to get out of here,” Twilight deadpanned as she too noticed the stares and slowing paces of the crystal ponies. The alicorn motioned for Chrysalis and made sure Fluttershy was right behind her before she led them off the platform and out of the train station. It might have been faster for them to fly just then since the crowd was thick on the main road in front of the station but that would have just gotten them more attention that she didn't want.

With a strained remembrance of the place, Twilight made way as soon as possible onto a less crowded road. She had come here a few times now and with less ponies around her she was able to think more clearly, which got them onto yet another less crowded road and onwards to the outskirts of the Empire. Eventually they hit open trails, which she figured was as good a place as any to begin work.

“So cold,” Fluttershy remarked as a sudden draft of a breeze sent shivers down her spine.

The dim gray tones cast from the cloud cover above gave the place a somber feeling. Rolling green hills now surrounded them, the grass bending in the breeze every time it passed. The queen lit her horn in a mysterious glow of purple, green, and black in an attempt to multi-cast magic as the passing wind made her mane wave to the side of her face. She grunted only a second before succeeding.

What happened next was both comforting and upsetting. The comforting part was the clear bluish light that her horn emitted brightly and the warmth that began to remove the chill from her body. She tried directing some of it to Fluttershy, who had come up to her side. Chrysalis was quite obviously unconcerned with the temperature because her eyes were on the same thing as Twilight's.

The light from her horn was only a side effect of the heat spell, but she had also cast a spell to highlight residual magic. It only stretched out about twenty hooves in front of her but that was, unfortunately, enough. What she had hoped not to find was highlighted in purple glows before her and her companions.

Crystal-shaped scars marred the ground where before there only seemed to be untouched grass. The revealing spell was showing what had been when King Sombra had tried to retake the Empire. This itself would not be so troubling since it was inevitable that such residual energy would be left after such an ordeal. What was troubling was that the left-over magic was still pulsing with life.

Chrysalis stiffened and moved her eyes across the surrounding fields suspiciously. Twilight stretched out a hoof and breathed deeply to reset her calmness. Fluttershy was thankfully enjoying the bliss of ignorance since she didn't know what the highlights of magical energy meant.

For Twilight to find such strong and immediate traces on her first try in a place that shouldn't have been any stronger a suspect than anywhere else could only mean that the situation was worse than she had hoped it to be. King Sombra wasn't just still alive as Chrysalis had indicated. He had not lost his strength and he was near. Not wanting to frighten Fluttershy without good reason, the queen refrained from asking the changeling anything obvious.

“You have any magic that might help out here?” Twilight heavily insinuated a second meaning.

Whether because of the mare's emphasis or her own reading of the highlights, Chrysalis got the hint. “We should start with those light spectrum spells first...”

The alicorn nodded seriously and wrapped a wing around the pegasus next to her just as a means of assuring that she would be close and protected in case things took a sharp turn for the worse. When she closed her eyes, she could see the spells still written on the pages of the books she had read. Memorization was a breeze for her and had carried her through many difficult tests. Even as her eyes were still shut, her horn completed the steps to the incantation so that new glowing magical highlights had combined with the others when she saw with her eyes once more.

The new green highlights were faint and revealed nothing except for the usual traces of that light spectrum that would be expected to exist where she had cast the spell. With a frown of disappointment and the ghost of an idea, she tried something else. Fluttershy's momentary shiver was a minor distraction since the mare was now pressing up against her for warmth. Twilight tried to direct more heat magic towards her friend and then resumed her next casting.

This time she recalled some basic compass magic and combined it with the light conversion spell all within her mind. Not that it was an easy thing to do. Princess Celestia had praised her in her early years for her ability to combine incantations with nothing but her own imagination. She was, after all, the Element of Magic. To be capable of less would be a disappointment to her title.

The new cast succeeded and Chrysalis grinned as she peered down to her queen. “Quite resourceful,” she remarked proudly.

“I do try,” Twilight returned as she interpreted the new display. It had become quite the light show before them now that an entire hill was bathed in a multitude of colors depicting various magic energies and aspects of the light spectrum for analytical purposes. What was important now was the purple-pink arrow that shined in the center. It pointed to further hills.

“What does it mean?” Fluttershy finally questioned with a slight chatter of a chill in her voice.

Twilight's eyes narrowed darkly in resolve. “It means we've got questions that need answers,” she put it rather politically. In her mind, she solidified her course of action and all contingencies thereof that she had drafted earlier before they had left on the train. If King Sombra really was a master of end-all transformation magic, which the analytical incantations supported, then the Elements of Harmony would have little effect on him. He couldn't very well be defeated if he could dissipate and reform so quickly. It appeared now that was exactly what he had done to survive the blast from the Crystal Heart.

Fluttershy saw a strained look cross Twilight's face as the alicorn thought deeply in the cold breeze. “Twi...?” she worried at her special queen.

Was the dark stallion in the realm of immortality and invincibility? He may very well be if nothing could keep him down. Twilight had often been praised for her creative solutions to the most difficult of problems in her academic life, but her best plan was really nothing more than a play for time. She had to eventually come up with something else if Equestria was to be safe from the tyrannical villain. With an ounce of brainpower she could spare, Twilight nodded reassuringly to the yellow female under her wing.

The colored light show that had been cast on the hill before them finally wisped away on the next breeze since the spell time was up. The direction of the arrow was a remembered survivor among the sorry casualties of the informational results. Perhaps time would present better options to the pony queen. Twilight took her first step in the path that foreshadowed a foul destination. Nothing would get accomplished by standing around and thinking the whole day out.

Before they could move on, however, Chrysalis tried to speak her mind. It may have been overly egotistical of her to think before that she could outdo Sombra in a test of strength and, now that she was faced with that possibly impending reality, it was important not to continue the sham. She had to make sure the royal knew that she couldn't assure a win in a fight against the dark gray stallion. “My queen, I'm not absolutely certain that I can-”

Twilight stopped her before she could finish and possibly worry Fluttershy or get Midnight Strike in a fight mentality. “I won't be needing those spells,” she forced her hidden meaning to come through her eyes and tone of voice. “I've got a plan so that it won't come down to anything too hard.”

The guardpony who had kept his peace was standing at attention behind them. He had been thoroughly impressed by the things Twilight had done with her magic but, then again, he had often been impressed by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's own abilities as alicorns. It was a new experience with a princess so young and the difference somehow made him proud to be one of her protectors. The way she told him to call her “queen” was both odd and strangely exciting at the same time. He just hoped he'd live long enough to speak the title a few times. Twilight's recent mood was giving him reason to wonder about that.

“Huh,” Discord hung his mouth open dumbly. “Well this bites.”

His plan hadn't necessarily failed. But it did kind of limp along with less pizazz than he hoped for. Maybe it would perk up in the future. In any case, that didn't mean he couldn't have fun in the meantime. But what was he going to do now? He tapped a claw to his hanging tooth in consideration.

“Time for something else,” he spoke into the darkness of the dimension he was in. Before him, a few extra Discords puffed into existence. Each of them was dressed in a stiff military suit. “It must be big. It must be grand!” the original explained to his new minions.

“It must be Celestia-approved,” one of the copies added. This one was wearing a thick pair of glasses unlike the rest, which he pushed up like some kind of stuck-up librarian.

Original Discord scowled and floated up to his inferior. “Just because I do one nice thing for Fluttershy doesn't mean I'm going to kiss Celestia's flank. Dismissed!”

With a flick of his lion's paw, the draconequus extinguished the copy into a puff of smoke. The others all stiffened in fear, the original's sudden and intense gaze only strengthening their stance more.

“Now,” Discord resumed as he floated back from the line and crossed his arms. “Let's see...”

He thought first of doing something with the changeling but then that might mess up his deal with Fluttershy. Then he thought of the royal sisters. It would be fun to rattle them around a bit but what were the odds he could get away with that? At first, the notion of reigning in his chaotic nature was beyond the point of frustration. But time moved on and he started to rather enjoy the challenge of finding ways to mess with the world while adhering to the little petty wishes of the inhabitants thereof. It was an invigorating game that made him feel ridiculous for playing on “easy” for so long. Orchestrating events was far more intriguing now then random bouts of pointlessness even though both could be equally hysterical.

“How about changing the whole world? The whole thing. Not just Equestria,” he suggested as he peered over to his copies. Each gave a curt nod and one of them took an Equestrian flag out of nowhere and started burning it.

“No, nothing so unfriendly,” Discord shook his head. After reaching to the end of his tail to pop off the tuft at the point, he turned it into a teacup and began drinking from it. He made sure to extend his eagle's pinkie finger for full effect. “And besides,” he drawled in a fake accent, “it would be too easy. I could have done that if I had just ignored the whole redemption non-sense. I need something more.”

Two of the faux Discords suddenly lit up with an idea. They literally shone with a yellow luminescence as they made one banner pop into existence for each of them. The one on the left was a bright yellow banner with ancient sketches of the sun. It was obviously the royal banner for Princess Celestia. The Discord copy on the right held the opposing black and purple banner that was adorned with the moon and stars. Each of the banners were waved over to each other until the poles clicked against each other.

“Hm,” Discord mused.

The banners were waved back and then clashed together again.

“War? No,” the draconequus frowned and sipped his tea again.

A third time the banners were moved only to click against each other for a final sound.

“Coming together and...” Discord whispered deep in thought.

Like that one time he had made the clouds strike him repeatedly with lighting just to know what it would feel like, he had an epiphany. Oh, what an epiphany it was! It was like nothing he had ever done before in his thousands of years. Great sizzling chaos, it was something new!

“That's it!” he exclaimed as he threw the teacup over his shoulder. Even though the dimension he was in had no flooring or other boundaries, it still managed to break brutally against something. “I simply must give you two a raise,” he gestured to the two copies that made the suggestion. Of course, they were really himself in duplicate form but no matter that small detail. He liked giving himself raises.

It was decided as he made each of the Discords pop out of existence with a jerk of his lion's paw. Floating screen panels shot past him at record speed and he caught half a hundred of them that he would later need. He had much work to do. Much work indeed!

“It's the ultimate chess game. With real ponies for pawns and the world itself for stakes,” he laughed merrily. “Those adorable little sisters won't be playing either. They'll even thank me!”

Oh this was just too good. He always enjoyed messing with reality but, for some odd reason, it had never occurred to him to marry chaos and order. The balance would be critical. Too much chaos and the plan would fail. He would probably be encased in stone again and the sisters would likely use that very imprisonment to come up with some more painful punishment. Too much order would obviously be boring and he couldn't dare have that.

“Fluttershy will be ecstatic, Twilight Sparkle will be elated,” Discord enthused. “The sisters will have their own little happily ever after where they'll never want to bother me again.”

One screen stopped in front of his face and blew up to theater proportions. It displayed a time that had not yet arrived. A time still in the making.

“No more sun. No more moon. One light with no boundaries...an altogether new presence in the skies.”

The draconequus inhaled deeply, drawing up magical powers he had not tampered with since his youth. It would take much of his terrifying power to pull this off. It would take time and it would take great care. It was the challenge of a lifetime, which meant much for one of Discord's age.

“Prepare yourself, my little world,” he laughed a deep and scary laugh. “You're about to find out that what you always wanted is not at all what you thought it must be.”

14 - Life is Limitless

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The mind was described by one famous philosopher as being a black box containing infinite potential both for good and evil. It was often a dangerous thing forever teetering on the edge of a metaphorical cliff. One wrong move mistaken for a step onto a non-existent bridge could lead one plummeting into insanity. But what was insanity in the first place? That same philosopher had argued that most ponies were insane their entire lives, pushing their warped ideas of love and compassion onto others in ways that only lead to pain and suffering.

That was, ironically, one of the selectable subjects for a certain mid-term in Canterlot's post-secondary education system. It was a trap paper with no correct answer unless one was Twilight Sparkle and capable of upturning the philosophy back onto itself in a brilliant display of intellectually-stimulating dry humor. Her professor had never laughed harder in his entire life.

In any case, it would be downright unfair to say that life was an orderly affair. Oh, many ponies did try to make it as clean, ordered, perfect, and sensible as they could. That went without saying. But as life was the collective whole of millions – even billions – of minds interacting with each other through physical representations, it would be most accurate to define life as chaos.

Discord, the draconequus, was not at all necessary to make life a living breathing mess. Sure he spiced it up a bit but ponies were quite well equipped to cause their own chaos and disharmony without his help. Discord had tried getting that point across to the royal sisters at one point but, as would be expected from two uppity alicorns, neither took him seriously.

The term “uppity” was entirely a point of view. That important note could not be stressed enough for it was that same troublesome term that had, in a twisted way, formed the world into what it was in the present. One would be inclined not to believe this should they only be concerned with the world as it was painted within the realm of Equestria. But Equestria was not the entire world and ponies were not the only intelligent beings to have beliefs about what the world was and what it should be.

Sadly, few ponies ever did leave the borders of Equestria or else they might have been enlightened to the true nature of life. Put in that manner, reality sounded rather grim and harsh. Perhaps that was where the term “that's life” came from. Nevermind that the pony that coined that same term was summarily devoured whole by a gargantuan cragadile. Such was the fate of those who flippantly created catchphrases for a living. Call it ironic penance.

Now, there were many strange things going on within the world for the past few thousand years as compared to however many eons preceded the most recent two or three. Nopony or other sentient being would likely be aware of this fact since none could glimpse the world from outside of the box of space and time in which they were trapped. At least not without any inhabitants thereof being aware of such confinement. To put it more succinctly, prophecies were being fulfilled left and right and nopony knew or cared.

Perhaps it would be best not to mention any of this at all and simply remain content to be locked away within the small world in which the newly “queened” Twilight Sparkle lived and understood. Alas, how comforting it would be never to know of the greater picture that was the universe beyond her own. Let it never be said that there was nopony that preferred their mind to remain in a gilded cage of gold rather than fly openly across a free but troubled world.

Truth was rarely ever what anypony truly wished for. Most would invent their own “versions” of truth and then repeat it to themselves day after day until they believed it whole-heartedly and forgot completely that they had themselves invented a lie. Who could possibly be in any position to refute this when the world ached with the immeasurable pain created by the lies of thousands believing it to be truth over just as many number of years?

The more important question to ask here would be who was in any position to be thinking all of these things. Who could live so long as to see them and understand them? Who...or what?

Sentients with physical bodies were obsessed with physical voices and a great many other things composed of matter and concerned with sensations experienced through the nervous system. King Sombra was an extremely rare exception only to a small degree. He had not entirely rid himself of physical form and often returned to it because he loved to feel.

King Sombra...what an interesting one he had been. Hopefully he would continue to be. It was not every eon that a mortal challenged the Vine and escaped death's grip by a mere hair. For that was precisely what he had done so arrogantly in his remarkable youth. If only he would live long enough for that particular episode to have actual meaning.

The Vine of Life was what had been thinking all of these things. It was not necessarily a thing to exist in a place or time, though it did choose to do so every now and then. It didn't know quite why but then “that's life” if one was willing to forgive the use of the expression.

The Vine was not at all an unusual thing even if most ponies would describe it exactly in that way. There were many other strange and powerful things spread across the world and greater universe that would be hard pressed to be categorized either as a being or merely a sentient thing. The Tree of Harmony was one such example. Then, of course, there was also the Shrub of Jubilation. But that was a subject best left untouched as it was something of a laughable black sheep in the flock.

Why did any of this matter again? Repeating that one catchphrase was not among the Vine's habits it liked returning to but perhaps it was the only one that could successfully jam the all-encompassing answer into the tiny minds of the questioning mortals. One day it would work and the Vine would, at last, have something to be surprised about.

“Complain” was the word of the recent eon. It had even been the word for the past several, which was interesting at first, boring at second, and like a throbbing headache at third. Ninety-nine percent of all mortals spent their entire lives complaining about one thing or another until they finally hit the grave and gave the Vine's immaterial ear a rest. Well, it would have been a rest if there were not always a million new mortals practicing their whining in earnest as they popped into existence for the short duration of their tiny lifespans.

This and this alone was what made Queen Twilight Sparkle a matter of interest for the Vine of Life. No, it wasn't any complaint that the once-unicorn had voiced aloud at any point in time. It was the direction she was starting in that intrigued the Vine. The possibilities were endless if the female mortal made certain key decisions in the next year of her life.

Twilight had already had dealings with the Tree of Harmony, though she was not yet entirely aware of that fact. She wielded the Tree's chief power, Magic, as if it was a natural part of her. That in and of itself was the fulfillment of a half hundred prophecies that everyone and everything had long forgotten about besides the Vine of Life.

If this alicorn fulfilled the other prophecies, such as those from the dragons and arachnes, then perhaps the Vine would finally have some peace from all that complaining it had been forced to weather for so many eons. That was worth a little intervention as far as the non-material Vine was concerned. It had been a very long time since it had any desire to act out in the physical realm since its last foray had created this silly little draconequus thing. The Tree of Harmony had complained bitterly about that particular episode – and still did!

Oh, but this new pony being was worth some possible backlash if the Vine had any say. And so, with little further thought to consequence, a chasm opened in the deep part of the world. It happened in a cavern beneath the surface where few creatures would feel the shake below. The cavern itself groaned and its inhabitants shrieked with that hiss-and-chitter voice that only the arachnes pulled off naturally.

The chasm appeared thin but bottomless, hardly a thing to trust since the cavern was so dark to begin with. The only light was cast about by magically glowing crystals set there a thousand or two years ago by a pair of mares obsessed with something called “life.” Those same crystals were now maintained by a cult of arachnes that had built up the cavern into a temple-like structure hidden far below the crust that saw daylight.

The sickly-looking half-spiders managed to make the whole temple cavern appear as far from inviting as possible. The walls and doors looked less like that of a building then they did some kind of massive termite's death prison. There were even statues every now and then of creatures more terrifying than the arachnes themselves. If anypony had a reasonable guess to make then it would be that this underground temple was to some god of death.

The Vine of Life would have directed the arachnes to do a little redecorating if only it didn't find the whole thing to be laughably amusing. The foreboding appearance also kept out anypony or anything from bothering the Vine of Life with some complaint about how their life was too short or that it was unfair in doling out justice through the clipping of someone else's life. The latter only miffed the Vine since it did not, in fact, intervene with the billions of sentients like some kind of judge, jury, and executioner.

Like the creeping forelegs of its arachne admirers, the Vine of Life extended its slowly materializing branches upwards from the chasm until the tips were just below the lip. One of the bold half-spider worshipers scurried up to the new crack-like pit that had appeared in the middle of the temple's worship chamber. It saw the branches of the Vine move as if it was hungry for a sacrifice, a mere playful jest that succeeded in alighting all eight of the arachne's intelligent eyes. Even in the near-dark, the optical orbs twinkled with delight.

“Master!” the half-spider chattered with glee. “I am blessed more than my ancestors to see you for myself!”

It might prove a small but useful pastime to interact with the cultist sentients if certain hopeful events were to transpire in the future. King Sombra would be back in any case. That colt, now a stallion, was the kind to give it one last shot if everything else failed. With luck though, it would not be failure but success that the dark gray pony met with. Perhaps the Vine of Life was biased but death was never a very interesting thing for it to observe, sans what so many mortals considered a “just” end.

“My eternal master, what is your desire?” the arachne queried yearningly as it huddled close to the edge of the chasm. The creature prodded at the tip of the Vine's foremost branch with the dull topsides of its thin forward legs. It was not a playful or disrespectful touch but really more of a loving caress.

One word was sufficient to get the Vine's point across to this half-spider and, in turn, all the others that busied themselves with this mostly unknown but monumental place. The Vine's material form stretched its branches further up the chasm and entwined with the body and many limbs of the mortal cultist. With such absolute physical contact, it was easy for the Vine to burn a word into the arachne's mind.

Wait.

Chrysalis was hard at work. When was she not these days? The amount of magical energy necessary to assist her queen in occasionally rechecking the light compass was proving to be far more than originally anticipated. By all means, some greater manner of love between her and the pony would be required if the assistance was to continue, which conveniently allowed the changeling to have an “aha” moment that she should have had long ago.

Twilight Sparkle was continually exhibiting little motions of affection with Fluttershy, who walked by her side like a magnet of the opposite polarity. She made the seven-legged race look like foal's play with the way she kept in step with the alicorn. If it wasn't for the cold weather then the pink in her cheeks might have been stapled down to something other than the environmental conditions.

Chrysalis had her horn glowing not only from the expense of magic every now and then but also from the intake of emotional “food.” Yes, she had started experimentally sponging off of the two ponies and only realized it now might be a feasible option because Fluttershy had been keeping up her purple-coated obsessions so long that the minor intake was becoming noticeable. Not that it was enough all on its own. If that kind of source was sufficient then her hive would not have starved in the past as it had. Chrysalis would need far more of these emotional connections to accumulate any substantial amount of sustenance.

“Argh!” Twilight cried as they enacted another revelation spell only to have it point once more in what had become meandering directions. “This is insane!”

Fluttershy creased her brows in worry as she peered around her friend's side and beheld the frustrated alicorn's look. Twilight had combed her forehooves through her mane in annoyance regarding their situation and now looked about half as crazy as she had during her must-get-a-friendship-report fiasco. But it was only by half.

“Maybe we should take a break,” the shy mare tried to suggest with an inescapable yawn.

True, they had been at it for literally hours upon hours now and they all felt well on the way to complete numbness from the cold air. The dark of night had come and gone along with most of the following day's morning. They were all past limits none had ever experienced the occasion to test. On the bright side, it had not rained once since they arrived even though the clouds constantly threatened as much. Perhaps the crystal ponies were used to this weather and thus knew this would be the day's forecast.

“We're not getting anywhere,” Chrysalis buzzed dejectedly in agreement.

Twilight's eyes darkened with the rest of her face as her gaze dropped from the disappearing glow of the spell to behold the grass wavering around her hooves. “Fine,” she mumbled. “You're right. I just...”

“Don't want King Sombra on the loose,” Fluttershy finished for her as she brought a hoof around her queen's neck. “I know, Twi.”

“Judging from these readings,” Chrysalis remarked as she stepped around to the tip of the hill they were on, “he's not going anywhere in a hurry.”

Twilight still frowned when she nodded. She knew they needed a break and would not likely accomplish anything more that day. She also knew that she and her friends had faced far worse than some half-beaten Sombra. But she didn't have to like it.

“It's his magic that has me worried,” Twilight admitted as she turned around and started leading them back towards the civilized part of the Empire, where streets laid for ponies to walk upon in the proper manner. “Dark magics are dangerous enough as it is but mixing it with these transformation spells is just unnerving. If we don't somehow deal with him soon then we could be in serious trouble.”

Fluttershy made some kind of noise as she followed, which probably indicated she didn't want to consider what trouble Twilight meant. She preferred the quiet of Ponyville sans any of its occasional disasters. Or, to be more specific, she preferred the peaceful grace of her lodging on the outskirts of the town where she could pass entire days with nothing but her friendly animals by her side and, hopefully, one very caring purple pony.

They were back in the Empire's grid of streets in short order. Chrysalis didn't question it when they made a quick side-trip to a stationary store and Twilight used the few materials she acquired to send off a letter in the mail. The changeling was too busy with her own schemes that had formulated in her mind. First, she had succeeded in opening up the mare to some of her changeling ways and even got something of a hivemind started - though it needed work. Second, Twilight was exhibiting some subtle oddities in the way she carried herself. It was hard to put a hoof on but it was almost as if she had become the tiniest bit more considerate and decisive than she was two days prior.

Foremost on Chrysalis' mind was the third thing. How would she get enough love-based sustenance to accumulate the raw power she needed to protect her queen? Getting it one-on-one from Twilight was of course something she would continue working up to. After all, becoming the queen's special someone was incredibly attractive and not just for the food. Twilight Sparkle was her savior, giving her life when she had been at death's door. Chrysalis loved her with a love that was beyond physical appearances or needs.

“Maybe he's not a threat anymore,” Fluttershy said as the trio and the shadowing guardpony stood once more at the train station. Twilight was getting them a set of drinks from a nearby stand that seemed solely intent on making profit with thirsty ponies on the busy side street.

Now, there was a mare who needed to be addressed. Chrysalis was staring at the yellow pegasus with a lop-sided expression. She didn't want to have to compete for Twilight's affections but maybe she could come up with some way around the matter that didn't involve blatant rivalry. There was slim chance Twilight would approve of anything Chrysalis might do to keep the friends apart. If not only because of the affection they so obviously shared but also because the two had been friends far longer than Chrysalis had been with her queen.

“That's hopeful thinking...but not entirely wrong,” the changeling informed the smaller yellow pegasus standing opposite her. “If Princess Cadance,” she mouthed with a bit of tension, “has restored the Crystal Heart then it is highly unlikely that Sombra poses any threat to this empire. At least as far as I understand it. I heard the Heart was based on the Harmony's magic.”

“Really?” Fluttershy couldn't help but ask wide-eyed.

Chrysalis shrugged. “I said based, not is. And I heard it from Twilight, who heard it from her brother, who heard it from some researcher...oh, you get it.”

The Element of Kindness' wonderment drooped. “I guess it makes sense...” she commented in her more quiet voice. “It's powered by friendship and...love...”

Chrysalis had nothing more to say but rather spent her time in thought as she continued staring at the small mare. Twilight was obsessing over Fluttershy almost as much as the pegasus did her queen. It made sense as far as Chrysalis could guess in terms of the hivemind connection they had shared. Twilight didn't seem to be obsessing over Midnight Strike, though. The discrepancies only gave the changeling reason to doubt she understood what had really happened in Twilight's mind and what was going on in it right this moment. When they got back to the library, she would have to make her own connection with the queen and figure everything out.

“One iced tea,” Twilight announced as she trotted back over to her small group. In a purple haze floating around her were an assortment of beverages. The tea was levitated to Fluttershy while something else that was probably another tea remained hovering near the alicorn. “One kiwi fizzy,” the purple mare continued as she floated a drink into Chrysalis' hooves. “And one blueberry punch,” she finalized with the last drink floating into the hooves of a very surprised guardpony.

“Th-thanks,” Midnight Strike spoke in what had been his first words in a very long time. Twilight smiled warmly in return before looking back to the bare train tracks before the station.

“We've got a minute or two before the next train arrives. So let's start using that time up,” the queen offered openly to her group.

“How did you know I like kiwi fizzies?” Chrysalis inquired quickly with terrified eyes wide open.

Twilight gave a groan. “Every time I pick up some at the market, they're always gone from the fridge before I can try one. I know what Spike raids and, by elimination, I can guess what you do as well.”

Chrysalis gave a “heh” of being caught and another fake blush in an attempt to wrench an easy reaction out of her queen. There were no takers this time.

Fluttershy was happily sipping from her own cup of iced tea. In fact, she seemed so happy with it that she was even humming some quiet but cute tune as she enjoyed the drink. Whether it was because of the tea itself or the pony that gave it to her might be a topic of heated debate. But, then, nopony cared to debate such things and so the point was moot.

“But,” Twilight added, “I was more intending us to use the time to discuss our options regarding Sombra.”

Chrysalis frowned when she saw the alicorn's head cast down a bit and a half-hidden sigh of exhaustion escape her. She was more tired than she was letting on. Perhaps what she had done for hours with those modified revelation spells was more strenuous than the changeling had guessed. Twilight was still mortal, after all...right?

“Did Princess Celestia give you more than wings?” Chrysalis decided the sudden question was important and was also relevant enough to the Sombra matter. Being immortal had its own implications that would effect their options in confronting the trouble stallion.

“Huh?” Twilight furrowed her brows as she lifted her head back up. One of her eyes twitched, as if the motion gave her some headache-like pain. “What do you mean? And why do you ask?”

Fluttershy had stopped sipping her tea and appeared to be looking off into the distance beyond the station and the empire, an obvious sign she was listening closely to what was being said without wanting to seem rude about it.

Chrysalis resumed. “I was never privy to much about what those sisters did in the past, though I suspect my mother knew something. I don't even know what they are fully capable of. So tell me. Did they make you immortal like themselves?”

The changeling meant it as much more of a casual question even though nopony could ever ask that kind of question so easily. The answer carried the possibility for far too much in the way of complications.

A look appeared on Twilight's face as her mouth started slowly opening without any words coming forth therefrom. Her drink descended to the floor of the station platform with reasonable control. “I...”

Fluttershy was now staring straight at Twilight Sparkle, her hooves shaking a bit as they held the cup of tea. Her mind and heart were racing with anticipation. If Twilight was immortal then...

“I,” Twilight suddenly turned to a look of horror. She hadn't actually thought of this. “I don't know.”

“I thought you would have asked about that if neither of those princesses told you,” Chrysalis grinned, obviously far less concerned about the implications of immortality than the others in the group were. Perhaps it was because she herself was naturally long-lived or perhaps it was because she lacked the exact societal and cultural norms that ponies were born into. Either way, the party's attention was cut to the blare of a train's horn. Their ride was coming up to the station.

Twilight's development into an alicorn had been sudden for her and she knew nothing of the rules that governed such ponies nor of the mysteries that shrouded the royal sisters. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were the only confirmed ponies to live seemingly endless lives and the few other alicorns that did exist were mere mortals as far as the history books were concerned. The Element of Magic's own lifespan and all questions involving the theoretical transference of immortality were like the frosting and sprinkles atop a decadent multi-layer cake. Each of those layers was a concatenation of all the problems and issues she had failed to resolve upon this tiring and apparently pointless venture to the Crystal Empire.

At the very least, both the rulers of Equestria and now also Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were made aware of Sombra's potential threat. Twilight had been clear in the letter she sent moments before to the Crystal Castle that the dark stallion could still be a danger and was likely close at hoof. She detailed his transformation magic and the detection spells thereof for whatever help they may be. She had also sorrowfully written that she had doubts as to the effectiveness of the Elements of Harmony as being used against him.

As a sharp pain racked the mare's head and caused her to temporarily shut her eyes and grimace, one thing was for sure. Twilight Sparkle had much to do upon returning to Ponyville.

15 - Rejuvenation is Empowering

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Pinkie Pie came to just before she heard the train whistle its farewell to the Crystal Empire station. Thinking that perhaps her attacker had identified her, she swapped out of her secret mission ninja suit and stored it along with its accessories in the bottomless capacity of her puffy mane. Like a pink-colored version of Rainbow Dash's streak of speed, she launched from the train car and into the crowd waiting outside of the transport vehicle.

First, she looked for her assailant from earlier. Next, she looked for her group of friends that she had been on her way to meet before she got knocked out. Last, she looked for anypony else she knew. And that was quite a lot of ponies. But still no sign of anypony she was supposed to be interested in.

“No dice?” she looked down to the station floor sadly. “Aw...”

As if on some deity's cue to prevent sad tidings from taking hold, a scent wafted its way to the Earth pony's nose. It was a scent unmistakable to a mare that spent so much time making and eating large varieties of confections. Was that smell...cupcakes?

All foes and friends forgotten, Pinkie Pie zipped through the crowd again and straight into the shop responsible for the lovely aroma. It was obviously a bakery but it also doubled as a laid-back cafe lounge. Ponies were all sitting about reading newspapers, drinking teas and coffees, and eating the great variety of treats the shop offered. Some were even writing on scrolls, drawing on canvases, or filling the low conversational noise of the shop with an additional hum and thrum from a variety of instruments.

Pinkie Pie's eyes widened in excitement and her smile beamed a level brighter than it had for the past few days, which said something since it always beamed bright anyways. To say that she had forgotten multiple times by now what her purpose for the day was would, of course, be entirely accurate. But Pinkie Pie was born with a natural attention span equal to the remaining half of the cupcake that she had just bought at the sales counter and devoured whilst other ponies bothered to consider her personality.

After she had finished her quick treat, Pinkie Pie wasted not a fraction of a second in diving into the thickest part of the cafe. While others did their own thing at each of their tables, there was one cluster of ponies that had gathered at one of the corners. It was not until Pinkie's first hop and bounce at the edge of the closely-knit pack that she saw what the commotion was about. Needless to say, her eyes lit up for the thousandth time and she gasped in excitement. One Pinkie-sized bounce sent her catapulting over the crowd and right up to the ponies that were the cause of it.

“Vinyl!” the Element of Laughter exclaimed with abundant exuberance.

The white unicorn lowered her purple glasses just enough to peer over them at the Earth pony with her naked eyes. “Pink?” she asked with mild surprise. “What are you- oh,” she caught herself. “It was the snacks, right?”

The musician was referring to the shop's treats in regards to her unfinished question concerning what in Equestria had brought Pinkie Pie to where she was currently standing. Vinyl Scratch was herself currently situated at a corner booth with some sort of switchboard like device on the table in front of her. To one side of her, nearest the outer edge of the half-circle booth seating, was a gray mare who Pinkie Pie vaguely recalled from the Grand Galloping Gala. To Vinyl's right were three other ponies of similarly varied backgrounds.

One was a pegasus with a shiny but not overwhelming coat of gold and a cobalt mane that was reminiscent of the ponies that haunted night clubs throughout Equestria. The image was only intensified by the red strikes running through it. He appeared to be staring at some musical notation papers with an expression that cursed it more than any word would be able to.

The second pony was a unicorn of a silvery coat, as if to accommodate the gold of the respective pegasus. Her silky maroon mane was likewise an offset, but that was the end of the obvious comparisons. Unlike the pegasus, she was busy nursing some unidentifiable drink and watched the exchange between Vinyl Scratch and Pinkie Pie with a mild interest.

Last, a butter-yellow Earth pony sat on the opposing end of the booth seat. He bore a dark brown mane with a short beard and mustache, which was a trait shared by some of the other ponies scattered around at other tables. Whether or not it was an artist thing was best left to social researchers. Unlike the others, however, he had his head pressed to the table and was seemingly fast asleep. How anypony could truly sleep in the assorted racket of the cafe was beyond any sensible pony to determine.

Vinyl Scratch started introducing them as the crowd behind Pinkie Pie started complaining about being ignored and not getting their desired autographs, photos, and memorabilia. Starting with the pegasus and working her way down in respective order, Vinyl Scratch did indeed ignore the miffed groupies. “Here's Thunder Rift and Silent Silver. The dead guy is Golden Tone. Oh, and her too,” the unicorn waved carelessly at the gray Earth pony to her right.

“I don't even get a name?!” the dark-maned mare complained with a puffed out cheek and particular accent as the pink pony rapidly greeted each of them. Golden Tone barely made a return gesture before knocking back asleep.

“Fine,” the glasses-wearing musician sighed as if it was some deep burden for her to give one more simple name. “She's Tavi.”

Immediately the gray pony was incensed. “Use my real name you ignora-!”

A white hoof stretched out and stuck itself in the other female's mouth to silence her. “Don't mind her,” Vinyl explained casually. “She's just grumpy because she didn't get her teddy bear and good night kiss yesterday.”

The quieted mare's coat starting warming into a red hue of rage as she flailed like a madpony behind Vinyl's stalwart hoof of absolute silence.

“Oh, I getcha,” Pinkie snorted in laughter. “I have a hard time getting to sleep if I don't have a dozen cupcakes before bed.”

Vinyl grinned as if she didn't have reason to grin enough. “That's why I like dropping gigs for you, Pink. You make life fun. Unlike prissy pants here.”

The gray Earth pony finally threw her friend's white hoof away from her mouth. “I'm not prissy! And stop treating me like some third wheel!”

Vinyl winced comically. “Lower the vol, Tavi.”

“My name is Octavia!”

For a second, the yellow stallion stirred as if he was about to wake fully. But then he just settled back down into sleep again.

“Pinkie Pie?” came the sing-song voice of the silver unicorn mare. “It's nice to meet you. Vinyl always speaks fondly of your parties.”

“Well, duh,” the party pony rolled her eyes and then flopped over the booth tables to vigorously shake the other female's hoof. “I'd give you all more than a hoofshake but I left my party cannon back in Ponyville. Silly me. But my parties are the best. Pretty pleased to meet you again with a cherry on top.”

Vinyl Scratch winced, this time for a reason mostly unrelated to the conversation. She always had so many things to organize and keep track of mentally due to the wealth of jobs, meet-ups, and ponies she dealt with on a daily basis.

“C'mon, Vinyl,” complained Thunder Rift on an entirely different topic. “You can't expect me to pick up this junk in my free time. I've got a job, you know.”

The unicorn pushed up her glasses and beamed innocently. “If it was impossible then I wouldn't be sitting here now would I? You think I never doubled up on jobs when nopony was buying my tracks? It's all about the blood and tears, buddy.”

“I've been doing overtime, I'll have you know. They got me working thunderstorm shift tomorrow. Maybe next weekend...”

The two continued talking while Pinkie Pie continued lazing across the table as if it was an everyday sofa. Silent Silver was opening her mouth to comment when another mare spoke instead.

“Wait a second,” Octavia squinted her eyes and leaned towards the Element of Laughter's face. “I think I remember you from somewhere...”

“Ha!” Pinkie Pie stiffened in her spot and laughed awkwardly. “Ha ha. Imagine that. Us having met already. Ha....ha...”

If the black-maned mare noticed any sweat forming on Pinkie's brow then she didn't mention it. Normally, Pinkie would leap at every opportunity to meet somepony new. But this gray mare was not somepony new. Even if Octavia's memory was grasping at straws, the party pony remembered her. She rarely forgot anypony – if anypony at all. But this musical mare had been playing cello at the Grand Galloping Gala and, upon fully remembering the event, Pinkie Pie was worried about the bitter can of recollections that might open should she bring it up.

“You're really laid back,” Silent Silver remarked off-hoof as she sipped her drink again. It was a thankful break from a very suspicious Octavia, to which the pink Earth pony leaped.

“You might say that, though I'm really more 'laid front' seeing as I'm not currently on my back,” Pinkie rambled as she so naturally did. Her words were punctuated every now and then by a cheap giggle or snort of laughter. “Or would that be 'laid forward?' Oh, did you know I came here on a secret mission?! It was, like, super secret and stuff but I was defeated by the forces of chaos and ended up so low on 'E' that I had to recharge by using a passing...”

Silent Silver's eyes faded. Either it was because she was going blind or else she was looking into the face of eternity. Probably the latter, though that did tend to cause the former. It was not until Vinyl and Thunder finished talking that the infinite loop met a finite end.

“Pink,” the DJ interrupted the pony's ramble. “Me and the rabble are going to shoot off to the shops in a bit and then crash at the hotel. Well, except for Tone. He's got a night show to hit. Want to hang out?”

Pinkie Pie spun into a hurricane and then landed all-hooves on the table in front of Vinyl Scratch. Her eyes were dinner plates. “Hang out? I'm always down for that!”

Nevermind that she needed to catch up to Twilight and the others. She could still do that as long as it didn't get too late, right? And who in Equestria would pass up the chance to hang out with some friends that one happened across by fate without even trying to do so? That was called destiny!

Octavia gave a skeptical look to her blue-maned friend but didn't say anything.

Thunder Rift stashed the papers he had been reviewing in a saddle sack next to him. “Yeah, I wouldn't mind a break from this,” he gestured to the rest of the cafe and the crowd gathered around their table that had been forced into an uneasy stand-off due to Pinkie Pie's traumatic appearance. It would not take long before the ponies started pushing in again.

“Let me finish this first,” Silent Silver requested as she took a greater sip from her drink.

“So, seriously. What brings you to the Crystal Empire?” Vinyl Scratch queried once more to pass the time.

Normally, a pony would take a deep breath before stringing together large amounts of words. Pinkie Pie was an exception to that by rule. She explained the whole thing by starting from the beginning. The very beginning. “Well, you see,” Pinkie started in her best Mama Pinkie voice. “When a stallion and a mare really really love each other, there's this stork that-”

Octavia's head hit the table. Why had Vinyl expected a coherent answer from the party pony? She never got one before, not even when the mare hooked her on for DJ at one of her parties. And that was only what Octavia had heard from Vinyl about it, which reignited her sneaking suspicion that this airhead mare matched the description of somepony else. The contradictorily fast-paced drawl of the pony in question went on and on only to make Silent Silver hurry with her beverage.

“-and then Queen Twily saved all of Equestria!” Pinkie Pie finished with exaggerated gestures.

The silence thereafter was deafening.

“Oops!” the Element of Laughter quickly covered her mouth. “That hasn't happened yet. Sorry,” she apologized in a whisper.

“Done!” Silent Silver broke in as she nudged Golden Tone awake with some difficulty.

Vinyl just shook her mane and laughed. “Let's get rolling.”

The DJ's words worked like law to get the party of ponies up and moving, various papers and instruments packed and hauled. The crowd around the table took the chance to assail the group with all manner of praise, admiration, requests for autographs, and then some. They all managed to get through it quickly as if they had some particular skill at it, which they probably did. Vinyl herself, however, was preoccupied with Pinkie's questions.

“So what brings you to the Crystal Empire?” the pink Earth pony asked the pale unicorn with cheer as they walked out of the cafe.

“Oh, Tavs got something spilt on her axe and the best repair shop moved here-”

“It's my cello, not my axe!” the refined accent of the gray mare interrupted energetically. “And I didn't spill the wine. You did. And it's Octavia, not Tavs!”

Pinkie caught a grin flash briefly on the DJ's face. Either she had just thought of something randomly funny or else she actually enjoyed antagonizing her musician friend. In either case, Vinyl picked up where she left off with the rest of the tale and how she ended up with her other friends. That part was also challenged by Octavia since Vinyl explained that every musician winds up knowing every other musician, agent, MC, host, etc before they manage their first album. The dull colored Earth pony disagreed strongly, but Vinyl shrugged it off.

The group made it with few incidents to the Crystal Empire's largest plaza of shops. There were places for toys, games, sweets, music, furniture, and apparel of all sorts. There were places for literally everything. Pinkie Pie's blood boiled with excitement and didn't slow down for the many hours the group relaxed with as they visited one place and another simply for the fun of it. Perhaps that was why the memory part of Pinkie's brain had a stroke and failed to remind her of her original mission as it should have.

Darkness fell along with some additional hours before the group headed towards a posh looking hotel. Pinkie Pie happily bounced along for the promise of some additional games after they got to their rooms. Golden Tone bid farewell when he headed off down another street, but Thunder Rift and Silent Silver continued walking in stride with the white and gray mares. The hotel was every bit as fancy inside as it appeared on the outside, which nearly made Pinkie Pie spin out of control with glee. She had never been in such an upscale place save perhaps for the Canterlot and Crystal Castles.

Vinyl had to drag her into her room on the top floor to prevent the party pony from wreaking any havoc that she might have to pay for, which was an unusual bout of perception on the DJ's part. Pinkie Pie didn't mind though because the room she was dragged into was like something out of a brochure one never got to personally experience. She barely saw Thunder Rift and Silent Silver going into a different room across the hall before Vinyl was leading her into her own suite.

Before they parted completely, Pinkie called out. “Later, Rifty and Silvy!”

The male laughed while the female raised her brows. That was when Vinyl gently shut the door behind her and Pinkie while calling out to Octavia.

“Break out Twister!” The unicorn laughed hysterically in a way that was most uncalled for.

A deep-throated groan came back from the cellist that had already rounded a corner into another room. “No. Not again. Why must you insist on such childish and undignified games?”

“I love Twister!” Pinkie Pie practically exploded. “Let's play. Let's play!”

“Looks like I win, Tavi,” Vinyl beamed, though it was not nearly as much as the pink one was capable of. Entire cities could likely be powered just from the smile she was giving off.

“We're going to have fun fun fun!” the super-powered and unstoppable Earth pony bounced about with a crazy look.

Vinyl used her blue aura of magic to toss her glasses over to their spot on one of the gigantic living room's side tables. With a toss of her head she whipped her blue mane around and enjoyed the cooler temperature of the air-conditioned super-suite. “You're one of the few who gets it, Pink,” the white unicorn laughed in anticipation of the rest of the night. “You don't spend your life worried or angry over everything. You just have fun and try to get others to have it too.”

“Of course, silly filly,” Pinkie Pie landed to a halt and gave a raspberry. She rather enjoyed doing it. “Life is a cupcake. You have to layer it with tons of frosting and eat it whole!”

That analogy almost made sense in a weird Pinkie kind of way, but it was probably best not to spend too much time thinking about it. That was generally how black holes were made. Or was that fourth-wall holes?

What happened the rest of that night would be best left to the imagination. For that was precisely the only thing that could invision what Pinkie Pie managed to do with her hooves in the game they played, much to Octavia's dismay. The Element of Laughter was without doubt the winner and stole the spotlight from the mostly undefeated Vinyl Scratch.

More games were had in addition to snack, drinks, and even a few movies. Pinkie Pie was so engrossed with the whole thing that nothing could possibly break her away from the oodles of fun she was partaking of. Thus did she burn like a star and then collapse when said star fizzled out. Let it not be noted that the physics-defying pony was completely without limit. Thankfully, the pair of musicians were kind enough to drag her into one of the gargantuan suite's ornate bedrooms when she fell asleep on the floor.

Of course, that meant that Vinyl had to move into Octavia's room for the night. It was a good thing that the stricter of the two was too exhausted to do anything but accept it. Vinyl was, in any case, content to hear the whining about the sheet-stealing and general bed-sharing in the morning. It was future Vinyl's problem.

When Pinkie Pie finally woke groggily, she slung her head around towards the nearest clock as if she was some slug soaked in molasses. She read the time but didn't really register the numbers for some drawn out minutes in the quiet hotel room. The number did eventually register along with the fact that she had fallen asleep to begin with. She was supposed to have gone off before it had gotten too late in the night so that she could hook up with Twilight.

“Oh pickles!” she exclaimed as she shot up and ran to the door in a pink flurry. She barely remembered to leave a note before she left. Along the way she would have to pick something up as an “I'm sorry” gift to the ponies she had forgotten about yesterday. Because, as it happened, it was almost noon of the next day.

A shadow crept through the back alleys of the Crystal Empire before it found its way into a well populated tavern. Of course, the term “tavern” was more of a catchword because the place was really just a toned-down diner. Many ponies filled the various seats and stools, collectively raising a volume of conversation that left the restaurant in an eternal uproar of sound.

The shadow was tired and needed rest. It had already been forced to fall back on the less concealing shroud form since it was running out of energy to maintain light form. Not to mention it couldn't manage greater manifestation as long as the Crystal Heart was powered. Still, light and shadow were only two of the many varieties of transformations it was capable of. Perhaps another day would see the most powerful ones used. But, again, it could not be today since it was low on magical energy and was strained almost to the breaking point. It had not properly prepared itself for the magical assault of the Crystal Heart and was thus left to heal for months before even movement became feasible again.

The shadow supposed it should feel lucky for being alive but it had been through far worse to be perfectly honest. The threat of death was forever upon its mind and that was the very same thing that drove it to where it was now. It needed some information if it was going to survive and even more if it was going to reach its goal.

Now it was in the Empire once again like a moth to the flame. Only this time its need was not for raw labor. It spent far too long accomplishing nothing as it roamed Equestria in search of leads, the result being an enormous pile of nothing. It could only hope starting back at square one would refreshen its chances.

The shadow passed one pony and another without being noticed since it succeeded in blending into as many other shadows as possible. The dim lighting of the place worked to its advantage until it stopped beneath the hooves of what seemed to be a zebra packing more weaponry than a Royal Guardpony on deathwatch. If the cutie mark of crossed knives was any indication, the striped being was of particular skill with the accompanying ordnance.

“Nevermind the ponies here,” the zebra growled to a unicorn with a deep green mane. “I know what I saw and these cuts prove it!”

The striped one stretched out a hoof onto the table that was shared with the strange pony. The unicorn would have said something but was interrupted by another that was moving past their table to serve a party of four.

“Passin' through again, eh, Sharp Eye?” bellowed the heavy voice of a surly stallion of a waiter. “Don't go bloodyin' up my tables with your battle scars again.”

“Don't mind him,” the zebra sniped as he returned his gaze to the unicorn across from him. The pony had taken a great interest in the fresh but thankfully non-open wounds that marked the leg. “I don't make it a habit of turning tail but I know a losing battle when I'm in the middle of one. Had to cut losses. Only got away with a few knickknacks to convince those Guard idiots there's trouble coming. Changeling trouble.”

The unicorn's eyes seemed to grow darker than the brown of his coat. There was a wild look about him, as if he was on the edge of some descent into insanity. “I don't suppose...you still have those 'knickknacks' with you?”

The zebra withdrew his foreleg and shifted a blade on his opposing shoulder as he thought. “Depends on who's asking I suppose.”

The unicorn drew himself into an upright posture and breathed his name out as if it was something to be found lurking about the cursed ruins of the world. “Star Craving, a humble enchanter...”

“Yeah, you told me that earlier,” Sharp Eye deadpanned. “I mean if you might be representing somepony else.”

“Hardly,” the unicorn replied just short of a mad bark.

“I see,” the zebra return in kind. “Well I've got to use them first to convince the Guard, as I said. If they don't take them outright then I suppose you could have them for a price.”

“You really care so much about Equestria?” Star Craving spat with no small amount of disdain.

“And what if I do?” Sharp Eye matched tone. He wasn't about to be challenged so openly by some random unicorn that took an interest in his personal findings.

“Oh, forget it,” the crazy-looking pony rolled his eyes. “I'm not interested in fighting you.”

“Really? Because you will lose if you try,” the zebra's eyes narrowed with resolve.

There was a thick tension between the two until it broke and they both laughed. It was not really a cheerful laughter but rather the kind of laughter one had when convinced they were so far superior to the other that laughter was, in fact, called for. On the good side, they didn't begin fighting and instead opted for a different discussion.

“So you heard about the changeling here in the Empire?” Star Craving asked with the ghost of his crazy smile returning.

“Heard?” the zebra gave a single “ha” to indicate the notion was absurd. “I saw it with my own eyes three blocks away. I'm not called Sharp Eye for being blind. Even a foal could pick out a changeling queen in a crowd.”

“Then you know she wasn't alone,” the brown-coated stallion chuckled darkly. He always sounded on the edge no matter the tone or topic. “Princess Twilight Sparkle was with her.”

“Couldn't be any other way. I saw the notice Princess Celestia sent to the Guard about this Chrysalis. The whole thing's a mistake, but it's hers and not mine.”

“So short-sighted,” Star Craving insulted too quietly to be heard above the roar of the restaurant. His next words were louder to be noticed. “I think she's up to something. The princess and that changeling,” he clarified. “I felt unusual surges of magic all night...”

“Tracking spells or I'm a griffon's uncle,” Sharp Eye answered. “I saw it as well. It's easy to see things from high vantage points.”

Star Craving finally gave a furrowed and skeptical look. “Spend much time on roofs?”

“You might say that,” the zebra grinned less menacingly.

“Wish I had such exorbitant time on my hooves,” the unicorn rolled his eyes.

A silence hung between them, filled only by the ongoing ramble of restaurant noise that didn't much concern either of them.

“Sticking around?” the unicorn finally asked without seeming to care anymore.

“I've got stuff to do, so no. I'm not sticking around to get my nose bloodied. Not when there's zero point in it.”

The shadowy presence that had been listening in to the conversation moved on to other points of eavesdropping. How ridiculously easy it was to get some useful intelligence without expending any energy or real effort. Ponies of the modern age gossiped openly just as much as the ones from the past age did.

What interested the shadow the most was the name of the alicorn that had been chasing it around for the past twelve or more hours. Any pony with the kind of power and determination necessary to do that was of note to the shadow. It had been forced to use up most of its recovered magic just to keep two steps ahead and out of discovery. Now it was forced once again to spend painful weeks in regenerating the most base layer of its magical pool. If it was a unicorn to begin with then such a thing would not be so difficult. But, alas, the melding of the dark magics had its own weaknesses. Weaknesses it had labored for countless years to keep from being discovered, else its ability to instill fear might lessen.

The shadow picked up some more tidbits of knowledge as it listened around. And ever as it did so did it gnash its shadow-shaped teeth at the fact that it was forced to mull around to hide itself in the shadows on the floor of some dive of a restaurant. How far it had fallen!

But at least it had a lead now and that lead just might get it out of the rut it had fallen into for so long. Perhaps the fall it had taken was a necessity, unlike the pointlessness of that thousand-year imprisonment. What had become clear to it in those months fighting for existence upon the windswept hills of the outer city was that the Crystal Empire had been a crutch to it.

As it made its way once more out of the eatery, the shadow relented one fact. It had spent so much time and energy on the Crystal Empire that it had lost sight of its original goal. The point in creating and controlling the Empire was to give it the resources it needed to fulfill the dream prophecy. Somehow, that need for power had become a crippling force, keeping the shadow obsessed with the means and not the end.

No more. The shadow's own end was inevitable if it did not hurry to fulfill the dream. As it was now, even in a transformed state, it was mortal. Its life was elongated but still on the clock. This Princess Twilight Sparkle was a modern anomaly and her raw ability might be enough to get the shadow what it wanted. Of course, its own abilities were far beyond the mare's but let it not be said that servants of power were not useful tools. After all, it was not the kings of old that had built the great pyramids that entombed them so majestically.

The shadow found another dark alley where it could hide behind a set of barrels that had obviously not moved in a decade since before it had cursed the Empire to its great magical time seal. Hiding in some dark corner was a disgusting blow to its ego. When the recovery was finally over, it swore to powers unheard that it would exercise its dominance in full as it took what it wanted at will. Every hope was held that nopony with as much resourcefulness as the purple alicorn came hunting for it. Rejuvenation had to come first if it was to have its way with the world.

16 - Illness is Opportunity

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Fluttershy was out like a light when the train took them back to Ponyville. For that matter, Twilight was as well even though hers was a far less restful slumber. The other two were just as tired but managed to stay awake anyhow. Chrysalis was trying to think about what would happen after they got back to the library and Midnight Strike was fighting not to doze off while he was on duty. This trip had him awake and alert far longer than he usually was since he normally worked in shifts with others.

Chrysalis was now looking on worriedly at Twilight's closed eyes. They moved behind the lids and the mare's mouth was etched downwards in a expression not far from one indicating a struggle against some specter of pain. Was it the strain she had been under on the trip or something else entirely? The changeling was incredibly tempted to use what was left of her magical strength to get inside her queen's mind then and there. But, alas, she was too weak to conjure up the guts for it. Her eyes began to waver and she fought to keep them from closing on account of some deep-seated obligation to protect her purple royal.

What should have been a boring return trip to Ponyville aboard a simple train quickly devolved into a single shot of over-energized madness. Such was the general rule to apply whenever Pinkie Pie decided to tag along. It really had been too long since she had some time to let fly her physics-bending craziness on the princess. That final specification was very important considering the fact that she had, after all, used that special craziness earlier when she tagged along with Vinyl Scratch. But Celestia forbid Pinkie Pie find out about the whole “queen” thing and decide to throw yet another party.

“Cupcakes anypony?!” asked the sugar-pumped voice of one pink pony as she appeared seemingly out of thin air. Her head had popped up from above the seat of the row in front of Chrysalis. Balanced on one of the party pony's hooves was a tray full of cupcakes complete with white and blue frosting as was common in the Crystal Empire.

Chrysalis would be a liar if she said she wasn't surprised. However, it was not her voice that came out when her mouth open. The Element of Laughter had awoken the Element of Magic from her uncomfortable sleep.

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight moaned as she groggily opened her eyes and tried sitting up. “What...?”

Midnight Strike had made a small noise as he got up and then returned to his previous spot assured that the sudden appearance was no threat. How the pony slipped into her spot without his noticing was something he was very interested in figuring out, however.

“I'm so so sorry,” Pinkie Pie apologized for some reason none of the others could figure out. “I got distracted and missed out on all the fun you all had yesterday in the Crystal Empire.”

She looked legitimately sad about it with the way her mane drooped. Twilight felt like she had a headache strong enough to knock out a rhinoceros but worked through it all the same for one disclaimer. “Fun? We didn't have any fun.”

“Oh good,” Pinkie Pie immediately re-inflated and then caught herself. “I mean, that's awful. We're going to have to have tons and tons of fun when we get back to Ponyville.”

“Ugh,” the royal groaned as her head lolled back.

Chrysalis gave Pinkie Pie a hard look and whispered warning. “Be quiet. Twilight is not well.”

“Oh,” the Earth pony didn't hush at all. “I can throw a 'Get Well Soon' party at the same time!”

That time, Twilight visibly grimaced and held her head in pain. Pinkie Pie finally covered her mouth with a hoof and breathed a soft “sorry” before putting the tray of cupcakes back down on the seat next to her.

Chrysalis now had reason to keep giving the party pony a difficult stare, which Pinkie never did well under. She usually got out of any tight spot she got herself into by either being saved by one of her friends or using some cheap breaking of physics and logic. With Fluttershy still asleep and Twilight instantly rejoining the yellow mare, Pinkie Pie was left basically alone with a changeling and guardpony that both looked like they had just fought their way out of a death pit with no humor for casual conversation.

Midnight Strike had no intention of talking, as was the custom of any Royal Guard. The changeling's expression soon went the route of the stallion's glassy stare. Both would be crashing when they got back to their respective places. Or at least as soon as they were able to with all the stuff that still needed to be done. As the clacking of the train tracks went on beneath them, Pinkie Pie poked her seat with her hoof and eventually wound up eating all of the cupcakes she had bought earlier for her friends.

She felt bad. But she was not the only one to feel so. The others also felt bad for different reasons. All were exhausted except for Twilight Sparkle who felt both exhausted and physically pained. She had fallen back into a restless sleep that she would have felt better not to have been in at all.

In her mind, Twilight felt empty. It was not the emptiness one might feel between the dream-filled parts of slumber. It was a dark and painful emptiness like one doomed to live in a world where all family and friends were dead and gone. A world where there was nopony else around. Not even one's own enemies.

The alicorn cringed as a new wave of silence hit her in the dream state, as if the lack of anything to begin with was in need of refreshment. What was this terror that came upon her? It had no form, which made it impossible for her to use her logic to defeat it. The pain was the sheer lack of anything and that was the problem. But she couldn't help it by waking because her over-taxed body could not keep from sleep even if that same sleep gave her no energy in return.

She had found Tartarus in personal form. That had to be it. She had been to the real one and it was far less painful than what she was going through now. Before she could try and rouse herself back out of the pain of sleep for just a few seconds, something finally disrupted the void in her mind. It was the voice of her changeling friend.

“My queen...” the buzzy voice echoed in the empty space. It sounded far, distant, and not at all as soothing as it should have been. In fact, it sounded more like a recording played back rather than live words.

Twilight strained to give herself physical form as she had before in the hivemind, but it would not come. Again she heard a voice. Only this time it was Fluttershy instead of Chrysalis.

“My queen....” the soft shy voice echoed in the exact same way the last one had.

Still Twilight strained and still no fruit came of it until a third voice called out.

“My queen...” Midnight Strike echoed. The repetition of it was maddening and made unbearable by the queen's inability to make any kind of response. She wanted to say something at the very least so that her hive could know she was there. They should know she was with them and that she cared for them.

Hive? Twilight's logical part, which was to say most of her, stopped suddenly. When did she think of her friends as her hive? And why? She was a pony, not a changeling. A princess, not a...queen? Oh, but she was a queen and she had those that depended on her. She loved them and they loved her. She was at peace-

SLAM!

Twilight's heart wrenched with a fresh wave of pain she had not seen coming. The emptiness washed over her like a nausea. She felt like throwing up and that was just when her eyes shot open and the light of the afternoon sun hit her, casting through the train car's windows.

Pinkie Pie's face was inexplicably in hers. “You look terrible!” the Earth pony exclaimed with mixed concern and a desire to keep her upbeat attitude. She liked to be happy as much as possible if it meant cheering up her friends, after all.

When she opened her mouth to speak, Twilight found her voice a grainy mess. An “ugh” was all that made it out before her throat seized up in pain.

Pinkie's face turned out of view as two holey hooves wrapped around Twilight and slung her gently out of her seat. “We need to get her back to the ring,” Chrysalis hummed with some kind of sad tone. “I knew something was wrong.”

“Wrong?” the quiet voice of Fluttershy sounded from somewhere behind them. Twilight was losing track of where she was since her vision was beginning to spin. And that was not because Chrysalis was carrying her and flying out of the train car at the same time.

“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie Pie's voice started sounding lower in volume, farther in distance. “Get Well Party! On it!”

“Is she going to be okay?” a stallion asked from nearby. It sounded like Midnight Strike but it also sounded deeply worried and Twilight had not heard him quite that way before.

“I don't know,” the changeling responded unsure. “It's my fault. I should never have mentioned Sombra.”

“What's Sombra have to do with this?” the stallion asked another question. This time his voice was less concerned than it was tired.

Chrysalis grunted and shifted Twilight's weight in her hooves to make sure she didn't drop the mare. Twilight herself would have gotten up and flown on her own if she could stop her body from aching all over and her vision from being caught in a twisted blur. Closing her eyes didn't help as much as she thought it would and only started calling back the painful non-sleep that she had been through previously. She didn't want that but did that mean that she could never sleep at all?

“I should have known better,” the changeling explained as they continued flying towards the library. “Our queen has this innate urge to protect Equestria. It goes without saying that she would try to track down Sombra even if it would be bad for her health.”

“What did you do?” Midnight's voice took on an accusatory tone.

“Don't talk to me like that,” Chrysalis growled. “If it wasn't for what I had done, you would never have known Twilight as you do. It's the hivemind. It's not for ponies but I forced it anyways.”

There was a lurch as the changeling and two pegasi touched ground. Twilight wanted to speak; she wanted to act. Confound whatever it was that had taken her like a plague! All she could do was just lie in Chrysalis' arms like a bag of hammers.

“Get her to the ring,” Fluttershy spoke as Twilight heard a door open. “I'll get some damp towels and a thermometer.”

The next time Twilight opened her eyes, she could make out the vague shapes of her bookshelves situated some distance below. She had an equally vague sense of weightlessness and her blurry vision had a green tint to it. She was being magically carried up to her bedroom at the Golden Oaks Library. She was home.

Fluttershy was downstairs in the kitchen, filling a bowl with cool water after grabbing some small towels from the bathroom. If a million chaotic things happening at once was what none of them needed then that was exactly what had to happen. The butter-yellow pegasus could hear Midnight Strike just outside the library door getting chewed out by one of the other guardponies. It was an older voice that was berating him.

The Element of Kindness would have thought to try mustering up some courage to speak up for the stallion if she wasn't already to the point of tears at the kitchen faucet. She was tired, she was worried, and she felt helpless. Celestia forbid Twilight to have anything other than simple exhaustion sickness.

When the water was done filling up the container, she hoisted the towels across her neck and grabbed the thermometer with her mouth. She carried the water bowl in her hooves as she fluttered upstairs to the bedroom. These were the kind of things she did all the time for her animal friends and it came naturally to her. What didn't feel as natural was the utter blackness of Twilight's bedroom. She hadn't physically been in it since Chrysalis had changed it and its appearance was stronger than she had imagined.

But no creeping feeling from the room could keep her away from a patient. Least of all when the patient was her queen, Twilight Sparkle. Chrysalis had positioned the purple alicorn in a restful lay on the sleep ring's padding. Her head was propped up by the changeling's forehoof. With deft speed, Fluttershy enthusiastically zipped into the ring with the others.

“I brought the thermometer just in case,” the pegasus said as she settled the things beside Twilight. “But it's probably exhaustion sickness.”

“And something else too,” Chrysalis added weakly. “She's asleep again. I'm going to join her. When you're done doing what you need to, lay down next to her and go to sleep as well.”

Fluttershy might have asked why if she was not as tired as the others were. And besides, she had wanted to sleep in Twilight's ring. This opportunity would have made her giggle with glee and prance in place if not for the weight of her queen's condition and her own lack of energy. Doubtless there were bags under her eyes. She knew there were under Twilight's.

“I will,” the Element of Kindness affirmed and set to getting a towel damp in the bowl of water. Chrysalis leaned in towards Twilight's face and touched their horns together as she laid down fully. Her eyes were closed when Fluttershy brought the towel over to Twilight's face and wiped away the sweat and dirt that had gathered there over the past twenty-four hours.

The yellow mare's lip quivered when she saw how close Chrysalis was to her queen. She decided to at least match the changeling when she joined them. After all, she had been friends with the alicorn long before Chrysalis had come along and certainly before Twilight had even been an alicorn to begin with.

Fluttershy continued using the towels to clean where she could and simultaneously check for unusual body temperatures, conditions, and wounds. It was a system she had worked out a long time ago for some of her animal friends. She didn't find anything unusual with Twilight even after she double-checked with the thermometer.

Seeing Twilight's clean sleeping face, a little bit less troubled than it had been before, made her heart glow. She looked so serene. So perfect. Fluttershy drooped and snapped out of it. She was tired and needed to sleep but, now that she had gone over Twilight, she noticed how much a contrast Chrysalis was and even herself. So with a sigh of relent, she turned her attention to the next two subjects in need.

It was when she had finished the changeling and half of herself that the mare nearly passed out. She wasn't used to going on as long as she had. The tiredness she had kept fighting was now at a painful state. Hanging on a little longer out of sheer will, she finally finished with her last hoof and placed all of the used items outside of the sleeping ring.

Fluttershy stumbled downwards towards Twilight with just enough of a gap between them to prevent the purple pony from being rudely awoken. Then again, considering all that Fluttershy had already gone through to clean her up, it was pretty obvious that she was not going to wake up easily. The pegasus was fine with that because the sleep ring's cushioning felt better than the softest cloud in that moment.

A yellow hoof draped across Twilight's midsection. The shy mare sidled up and hugged her queen from behind just before her eyelids shut completely and she dropped into the darkness of slumber, the warmth of Twilight's back being the last thing she felt. The release into much needed rest was a sensation hardly done any justice by mere words. In that sense, it was similar to more complicated things. Things like love.

Where many ponies fell into the nothingness of sleep interrupted only by the occasionally remembered dream, Fluttershy spent only a brief time in the initial void before she was pulled by a strong force into a place she had seen before. It was what she knew now as her queen's hivemind, still formless but continuing to shift in dark colors.

Chrysalis was there laying with Twilight much as she had been in the real world. But the two were awake in this one and Twilight had her head nestled beneath the changeling's own. Fluttershy heard sniffling and raced across the short distance separating them in time to hear a few words from the Element of Magic.

“I never want to feel that again. Never,” she repeated.

Fluttershy came up behind Twilight and touched a hoof to her shoulder as Chrysalis looked sadly to her. “Twi...”

Instantly, the purple mare's head came out from the crook of the changeling's neck and looked back to her yellow friend. Her face was a mess and nothing at all like it had been after Fluttershy had cleaned it up in the sleeping ring. Something invisible pulled at the pegasus once more, only this time she was sucked into Twilight's arms as the queen turned and grasped her friend with a tight grip. The suddenness made the shy mare squeak in surprise.

Twilight did not speak. She just hugged Fluttershy quietly, burying her face against the other's neck and soaking her coat with tears. Chrysalis still had the same sad expression to which she revealed the reason behind.

“I felt an emptiness when my hive exiled me,” the changeling began. “I was so distraught that I nearly died and it was Twilight Sparkle that saved me. I learned to live with the emptiness until I could do something about it. I thought restoring the hivemind through my new queen would relieve me of the pain but there were far too many problems. Ponies are not changelings.”

Fluttershy embraced Twilight in return, feeling a bit guilty that she could benefit like this from her queen's distress. Still, it was nice to comfort somepony else who had always comforted her. “What happened?” was all she could find to ask. The link she had with Twilight's mind was failing to provide the answer.

Chrysalis lowered her eyes in shame. “Twilight's mind has been permanently altered. I cannot restore it to what it was before. It has fused to the hivemind and made her completely reliant upon it even though she can only interact with us through the rings. When she falls asleep elsewhere, she feels the void. I worry that it's much stronger than anything I've had to deal with.”

“Will she be okay?” the Element of Kindness frowned in concern.

The shape-shifter stood up and leaned in to where Twilight's face was now nestled against Fluttershy. She directed her question to the broken alicorn as if she was a mother speaking gently to a small foal. “What do you want, my queen?”

The response came back warped in more sniffles. “My friends and...my changeling.”

Chrysalis drew back with a smile this time. She liked the sound of that. There was never a time in her life when someone had considered her to be their own. Even if she had resolved to staying alongside Twilight for the rest of her life, it was nice to hear she was wanted in return. Chrysalis looked back up to Fluttershy.

“She will be,” she concluded in regards to the pegasus' question. “But she can't be left alone anymore. I'm sure you understand what the Elements of Harmony need to do here.”

“Elements?” Fluttershy brushed at Twilight's mane with a forehoof and fixed her eyes onto the mostly quiet royal. The pegasus smiled now that she felt sure what was the problem and what needed to be done. And so, she leaned down and rested her own head atop the alicorn's as she closed her eyes. “Yes, we're all friends and I know the others will want to help as well.”

Chrysalis kept her own smile but narrowed her eyes by a tiny margin that Fluttershy wouldn't notice even if she had been looking at her. “Are you sure that you're just friends with our queen?”

At that, Fluttershy's eyes opened and locked onto the changeling. “We were destined to be together - all of us - when Rainbow Dash performed her first Sonic Rainboom.”

The changeling let it drop again. “Well, she will be fine after getting some rest like us. And we're getting that rest right now. Not that Twilight or I are deserving of any thanks for it,” she shrugged.

“What?” Fluttershy furrowed her brows.

Chrysalis reached out and brushed Twilight's cheek with the back of a holey hoof. The queen had her eyes closed as if she were concentrating on something. How the pony could go through all that she had and still manage to focus on anything was beyond the changeling.

“The hivemind is active even now. Twilight made us manifest like this, which means we can continue doing things here at the same time that we sleep.”

“But I read in a health magazine that the mind has to rest as well as the body...”

“Our queen is Magic itself. I don't think a magazine is going to explain it,” Chrysalis laughed a bit harshly at the shy mare, who drooped and shrank behind her mane. “Oh, don't be that way, Shy.”

“What did you call me?”

Chrysalis stepped around to the pegasus' other side where Twilight was not between them and she could get closer. She wrapped a hoof around the yellow one and snuggled up against her so that she was on Fluttershy's right while Twilight was on her left. “I've been thinking. You've been pretty nice to me even though you're usually just quiet and obsessed with our queen - I take that as being pretty nice. And I don't just want to be Twi's friend that you are obliged to tolerate or be pleasant around. I'd like to get closer to you, Shy.”

The Element of Kindness had little clue as to what had brought this on. “I think,” she muttered softly, “you're already pretty close.”

Chrysalis was sure she wasn't putting it on too thick. She was only nuzzling the mare's face and smiling like an idiot while doing it.

“Too close,” Fluttershy whispered at an almost inaudible level.

The changeling stopped suddenly but not on account of anything the pegasus did. She felt something ripping through the space around them. The shifting formlessness of the hivemind abruptly morphed into something new and crystal clear. They were no longer suspended in blank space but were on the ground. The solid, green, and grassy ground. Fluttershy recognized the place instantly. It was one of her secret spots she enjoyed going to with her animal friends whenever she wanted to just get away from it all.

A gentle breeze blew by just cool enough to be pleasant, unlike that of the frigid drifts in the Crystal Empire. The day was sunny with just a few clouds in the perfect imitation of a splendid Ponyville day. The only thing amiss were the animals that regularly occupied the area, but Fluttershy was the only one to notice that. Even the surrounding willows, criss-crossing streams, and lily pads were exact to her memory.

“So that was why she was so quiet,” Chrysalis remarked. Everything was so crisp, from the drift of wind through their manes down to the crunch of the grass beneath their hooves. “Incredible.”

Twilight backed away from Fluttershy, a serene look like the one she had in the ring having replaced the one of distress. Her face had also been cleared as if she had never shed a tear. “I'm sorry,” she spoke up with an even voice. “I was just a little overwhelmed for a while.”

“This is-” Fluttershy halted and would have looked around more if she was not so confused by the purple queen. She knew she had been working to form something because of their active link, but Twilight's magical activities were often beyond her ability to comprehend since she was not a magic user herself.

“-what I can build from your memories,” Twilight finished for her. “I think I'm finally getting the hang of this.”

“Why here?” Chrysalis butted in before either could continue. The changeling was buzzing in a hover towards the large willow that was surrounded on all sides by streams. It made up a cozy miniature island for the tree. Twilight used her own wings to follow just the same while Fluttershy meekly hopped over the small flows of water.

“I know Fluttershy's mind. Her memories, her feelings,” the queen explained as she touched down beneath the tree next to Chrysalis. “Of everything, this place was the most peaceful. The most safe. And, I personally feel, the most beautiful.”

Fluttershy blushed as she came up behind the others. Twilight thought her favorite resting spot was beautiful, so perhaps today had not been such a bad day after all. To see it in her queen's mind was one thing and to hear her voice those words was entirely another.

“Hm,” Chrysalis remarked simply.

Twilight laid down next to the tree and motioned with a wing for Fluttershy to do the same next to her, which she did without question. The changeling, seeing this, made straight to laying down at Twilight's opposite side.

“Everypony has something they like to do that calms them down and gives them rest,” the purple pony began. “I don't want to spend my time here worrying about the same things I do when I'm awake. I already made that decision. It was just the strain from all the magic that made me lose it a bit. I'm fine now.”

“Is this what Fluttershy does to relax?” Chrysalis inquired as she peered around her queen to look at the yellow pony.

“Yes,” Twilight answered for the other. “And I like it too. Doing nothing but spending time with nature is...soothing.”

“But there are no animals,” Fluttershy whispered to herself in a forlorn mood.

Since they were only mental projections within a hivemind, Twilight was immediately aware of all thoughts the others had. That meant that she knew even what they did not say and it meant that she certainly was in-tune with Fluttershy's concern.

“I'm sorry, Shy,” Twilight closed her eyes again in concentration. “Animals are a little hard for me to do right now.”

The pegasus apologized sweetly. “No, you don't have to do anything, Twi. What you've done is far more than enough. I'm just happy to be with you...”

Twilight stopped her focus, reopened her eyes, and smiled warmly at her friend. “Thanks, Shy. That means a lot to me...”

Chrysalis coughed. “Am I turning into chopped daisy over here?”

Twilight laughed lightly and leaned back over to the changeling. “Not at all, my changeling.”

Whether it was that name repeated or the way Twilight stretched upwards to nuzzle Chrysalis' face that caused the shape-shifter to blush was irrelevant. She couldn't help but crack a goofy grin, making her two forward fangs poke out.

“Heh. You're far less intimidating when you smile,” the queen complimented while she felt Fluttershy press into her opposite side. “It's kind of cute, actually. You should do it more.”

17 - White is Wanting

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Spike was hurrying this way and that in a huffing and puffing sweat. He wasn't at the library. No, that place only got him in such a state when Twilight had him doing too much for one of her maniacal little checklists. “Little” was, of course, a sarcastic description in this case. Still, he would rather be nowhere else but where he was.

When Rarity came to the library early in the morning looking to recruit Twilight for one of her sewing sprees, Spike felt that destiny had laid the opportunity in his lap. The white unicorn had meant it more as a chance to spend some time with her royal friend and was disappointed that Twilight was gone and unavailable. She did take the dragon's offer for assistance, however. He felt Celestia's sunny rays of blessing pour upon him even if he didn't question why the mare would be willing to take him in place of Twilight.

“Spikey,” whined what was an otherwise elegant voice. “Where are those clasps?”

“Coming,” replied the small dragon. He would never say that the unicorn was actually whining. She had the most specific whine when she wished to use it. What she was doing now was just being very vigorous in her sewing work.

A clicking and clashing sounded out when Spike tripped and dumped the container of clasps out across Rarity's desk she was working at. It wasn't his fault that he had tripped. He was just so tired from all the work she had him doing all morning. But this blunder magically turned out alright since the clasps slid about the unused space of the desk and one stray tumbled right where Rarity picked it up with her magic and starting sewing it in place.

Not a single word of thanks came from the mare, much as none had come the many hours Spike had been assisting her. Not that the saurian was going to complain. He loved helping Rarity whenever he got the chance even if it was just to spend some time with the one he loved. She was beautiful even when she was stressing about her day's work.

Spike did not dally but rather retrieved the container and cleaned up the mess of clasps that had fallen around. It was not a single moment after he was done that Rarity asked for something else to which he faithfully obtained for her. The requested roll of fabric was delivered this time without flaw, though Spike's stomach did growl in hunger. Was it noon already?

Rarity rolled out the fabric and marked the pattern for cutting. That was as far as she got before she turned from her concentrated work and regarded in full the tired and panting dragon behind her. It might have been the first time since they started that she had looked at him directly rather than focusing totally on her labors.

“So sweaty,” the fashion-minded unicorn sighed. “We must take a break. I can't have a sweaty dragon dripping about my boutique.”

Spike took no offense. He was just so enthralled with the way that Rarity was looking at him. It was almost like...like she acknowledged that he existed!

“Come now,” she ordered as she stepped around him daintily and lead the way outside. With a deft move of levitation magic, she donned her lightweight carry pack on her back. “Time to clean up.”

Spike, of course, obeyed without question in following her. Nevermind that he was hungry. He had so far gotten to spend the day with the best mare in the universe, so he was not going to pass out now that he would be getting even more time.

They left Rarity's home and shop to traverse a portion of Ponyville and arrive at one place very familiar to the Element of Generosity. She was, in fact, about to exhibit that generosity once more. Call it natural or say that she was in her “element.” The former would be simple and the latter a bad play on her title of Harmony.

Rarity led her trailing dragon into the Ponyville Day Spa with more than one idea running through her mind. It would be a lie for her to fake having no weariness as her assistant-for-the-day had. She was not entirely immune to exhaustion after a run of four complex outfits. Well, the fourth had just been started but she was going to finish it after they got back. It could be a more relaxing wind down to the work since she could allocate the whole remainder of the day to it and generally take things slower. She was sure Spike would appreciate that.

Aloe and Lotus Blossom took immediate notice of Rarity's entrance as if the two had been waiting around for her, which they probably had been. She was, after all, the most faithful and generous customer. It could not be considered egotistical to think that when it could be legitimately backed up with the spa's financial records. Fact was not equal to ego when it was in its most raw form.

“The usual?” Lotus Blossom asked in her unique accent that she shared with her twin sister.

“A tad slower this time, I think,” Rarity replied without missing a step and an ounce of her self-imposed mood of regality. “Plus one...companion.”

Both sisters leaned over the desk to behold the small reptile that neither had seen bounce in behind the unicorn. They looked at each other and then back to Rarity with a confused but respectfully reserved expression. Normally the dragon himself would have made some gesture about not needing a spa trip or any such frou-frou treatment. But he was hungry right now and was holding his stomach thoughtfully without regard to where he was other than the fact that Rarity was still near him.

“Of course, mistress Rarity,” both of the spa's sisters chimed in unison. They proceeded to lead their prized customer into the first backroom where all treatments began. The little dragon followed blindly behind with delusions of giant sapphires adorning mountains of delicious ice cream.

Rarity gave up on correcting the girls on the “mistress” title after it failed to click with them the first twenty times. Perhaps it was a cultural thing originating from their birthplace but the two were insistent on considering their best customer to be their master. With the level of business Rarity gave the shop, the title might possibly have been justified.

First stop was a simple scrub-down bath to rid them of sweat, dirt, and such for the other treatments. Rarity removed her packs and hopped into her usual tub, which was the fanciest one settled into the floor as a walk-in. Aloe was about to lead Spike over to another when Rarity intervened and assured that it would not be necessary, to which both of the sisters gave a curious look.

“Spikey,” the white unicorn called to the purple and green dragon that had stalled beside the tub, lost in thought.

“Huh? What?” he snapped back to reality and finally recognized where he was. He had been through here several times before but rarely took part. That was not to say he never did, but he didn't like to give the impression that he was vain in any way. That didn't sound very tough-dragon-like even if he was okay with Rarity being that way. She was perfect as she was and nothing could change that.

Rarity gestured with a flippant wave of a forehoof above the warm water. “Come, darling. Time to wash off.”

Spike looked on wide-eyed and twiddled his claws. There should have been nothing about this that was different than any other time he had been here with the girls. And yet something did feel different. He stepped gingerly into the tub only to feel the bubbles and the toasty warmth wave around his feet. He had never been in Rarity's special customer tub before. It felt like some kind of crime doing so even at her direct beckoning. On the third step inwards, he plummeted straight down into the watery depths.

Rarity could have used her magic but instead refrained and used her hooves instead to grab the saurian before he could hit the bottom. She lifted him back up with her usual dainty grace. Seeing Spike's face flushed red from the heat of the tub made her smile for some reason. The color really was most becoming.

“Sorry,” the Element of Generosity laughed lightly at her own mistake. “I forgot the center would be too deep for you.”

“No,” Spike stuttered and coughed on some water that had gotten into his mouth. A few bubbles floated out at the same time. “No problem.”

Rarity waded over slowly and carefully back to the underwater bench that allowed her to rest off of her hooves while relaxing in the flow of the soothing bubble jets. That was where she sat Spike back down next to her, since the water was shallow enough there for him not to drown in it. When Aloe and Lotus Blossom came around with the soap and scrubbing supplies, Rarity gave them a little look that they both got only for knowing their customer so long. They left the things near the tub and left the room.

“I really don't need all this fancy stuff,” Spike tried being humble.

The mare smiled faintly at the notion. “'Need' and 'deserve' don't always go hoof-in-hoof...or claw-in-claw,” she countered with a sigh of relaxation as she declined back against the familiar currents. “But trust me. You deserve this.”

“No,” the dragon turned to her and became more persistent. “I-”

“No arguing,” Rarity ended it with calmness. “Just relax, Spikey.”

If there was one thing the magic reptilian would find difficult to do whilst sitting in a veritable hot tub with the pony of his dreams then it would certainly be “relaxing.” Say nothing of his ongoing need for sustenance. He never did well with anything on an empty stomach.

Rarity breathed in and out slowly as she wound down but also glanced over to her packs that she had set near the edge. Using her magic, she removed an item from one of them and hovered it over with her light blue levitation aura. It floated in front of Spike's face, which was now looking around nervously as if to emphasize his inability to settle down.

Spike's eyes locked onto the item as a small kitten's would latch onto a ball of yarn. Rarity's magic only gave the item's already deep blue shine further saturation. It was a sapphire gem and a decently sized one too. It took microseconds for Spike to start salivating at the sight.

“Careful not to make any crumbs,” Rarity whispered, as if she was trying to keep her voice from making its way unintentionally to the spa sisters. The jewel dropped promptly from its aerial position and Spike grabbed it in deft claws.

“For...me?” he looked back with puppy dog eyes to the pony with him. Rarity's smile and nod made his heart glow. If he wasn't so hungry, he might have thought to keep the gem as a keepsake rather than consume it. But a new rumble from him tummy told him his options were short today. “Th-thank you!”

Perhaps some ponies would over-think what she had done but, suffice it to say, she was the Element of Generosity. This was just the sort of thing she liked doing. Besides, she had her own additional reasons that were floating around in her head as she watched the small dragon bite joyfully into his new meal. He was indeed careful with how he ate it so that he didn't produce any shards or gem flakes as he often did.

A few tears of happiness and bites in and he turned his eyes slowly to find a very relaxed-looking Rarity gazing at him in that way only his dreams portrayed. Seeing him notice her, she made to speak before he could.

“Thank you,” were the two simple words she said first. Spike lowered the delicious gem from his mouth. “You're always helping me out and never expecting anything in return. You're more generous than I ever have been.”

“No way,” the miniature male denied. “I don't do all that much and what I do...I do because I'm selfish. I...”

Rarity leaned over and pushed a hoof lightly to his mouth. “I'm thankful for that as well.”

“Huh?” Spike droned behind the hoof. What was she saying?

“Finish your sapphire, Spikey,” was all that the mare added before leaning backwards again and melting into the warm water.

The dragon stared. He couldn't help it even as his clawed hands lifted the gem back to his mouth as if they didn't belong to him and were moving all on their own. He watched as Rarity closed her eyes and sighed softly to herself against the rolling bubbles of the bath. Maybe he didn't understand what she had said, but he did understand one other thing as he bit cautiously into the sparkling gem. He liked the taste in his mouth.

Midnight Strike had been quite high in the ranks of the Royal Guards. He had been a personal guard to Princess Luna and was now again to Princess Sparkle – or Queen Sparkle as he reminded himself. The feelings he was developing about that and the mare in question were complicated to say the least. What was not complicated, however, was the way in which Centurion was chewing him out.

“King Sombra?!” the older stallion riled up. He was one of the very few senior officers like Shining Armor that held rank over Midnight. “I don't care what the princess tells you to do. We all go on such dangerous leaves. Direway just might have goofed up more than you when he didn't inform me of this right away. But that doesn't excuse you! Protecting the princess is not just your job. It's what we all do!”

“A princess' command supersedes all of ours, though,” a third guard spoke up. His orange-coat was a dark blend compared to the afternoon sun's yellow rays that shone upon them. “Not even the Captain can overrule an order from Princess Celestia-”

“Can it, Flash,” Centurion barked. “Last thing I want to hear is some greenhorn recruit quoting the book!”

The younger stallion proceeded to zip his mouth with rigid resolve.

“Now,” Centurion returned to Midnight Strike, who was not as easily intimidated as the other stallion. “I know how much time you've served, Strike. I know you would at least send a memo. You're too competent a guard to slip up like this. So tell me. What happened?”

Midnight's lips tightened up. Was he going to try explaining what had occurred when he was still asleep in his bunk that one night? By Luna's starry mane, he decided to Tartarus with it. Life was too short to bottle it up and he figured he could get away with telling a little and not upsetting his queen, who had ordered him to keep mum about it.

“Queen Twilight Sparkle chose me,” he declared shamelessly. “That was her right to decide. We belong to her and we follow her orders. That is what makes us guards. I will obey her to the letter even if you choose not to, sir!”

Centurion was taken aback by how resolute Midnight was being. Few in the guard were ever so firm when getting lectured by a superior. The only reason he could see this stallion being any different was because, one, he had years behind him along with a few scrapes to prove it and, two, he was right. Centurion did not have the authority to overrule Twilight's commands even if he thought it was in the interest of her safety. Captain Sparkle had stripped that privilege away from him before he had been sent out by Princess Celestia, likely because the purple pony's brother trusted his sister's judgment more than any guardpony's. And Midnight just called him out on that error.

Flash was breaking out a smile now that the eldest of them just had his lecture cracked by a second-in-command. Direway was more neutral but it was clear that he had taken Midnight's side from the start. He was his co-guard on duty, after all. There was something to be said about the artificial brotherhood that formed between sentry pairs even over relatively short periods of time. It almost made Centurion jealous that Direway had warmed up to the dark pegasus so fast when he had taken far longer doing so with him when they were flying for Princess Celestia.

“Wipe that stupid grin off your face, Flash,” Centurion barked as he whipped over to the recruit. “We have to reset shifts because of this mix-up, so snap to!”

The blue-haired pegasus did as he was told and took his position at the library door. Midnight Strike sighed and passed by Direway, giving him a knowing look. The two of them headed back to the guardhouse at Ponyville's edge. Direway was looking much better for the wear but Midnight was feeling every bit the punching bag that his face probably looked due to the darkness under his eyes.

“I expect some better answers after you get some rest, Strike,” the superior called out to him. “And there better be a good one for this 'Queen' business.”

When the retiring pair was out of earshot and both of the remaining guards were at their posts, the younger orange one made to ask something simple. “Mind if I ask you something?”

“Yes, now quiet,” Centurion ended flatly.

Well more than an hour past before the older pastel red stallion figured that nothing was going to happen and fell to the urge to idle conversation that the other had tried for. It was not that he couldn't go on long without talking. He could very well say nothing and maintain a frozen countenance for days on end. But this protection duty gave him more freedom than he had in the past and he might as well use it.

“You may speak freely, Flash Sentry,” he allowed, honestly not knowing what the kid had to say. That was practically what the recruit was – a kid. Few ever made it through guard training as young as he had.

Flash breathed and and asked. “You remember what I said before...about Princess Sparkle?”

“Yeah,” Centurion confirmed.

“Well...”

“Out with it,” the red pegasus ordered, but lightly and without the lecturing tone he had used before.

The other male was having a hard time about it again. Still, he wrestled through it. “You think Midnight might feel something for her?”

Centurion's eyes narrowed briefly, though not in suspicion or anger. He found the idea to be rather sensible. “It's inevitable he feels something for her, but I'm guessing you mean romantically and not just some guard's sense of loyalty.”

“Yeah,” Flash tried to mimic his superior's intonation.

“I can't imagine that something didn't happen. I just can't see somepony like him getting so worked up over our new charge when he just got kicked off his last detail. But you should ask him yourself.”

“I was afraid you'd say that,” Flash wilted. “He's not exactly the kind of guy you just strike up a personal conversation with.”

Centurion gave a “heh” that indicated his disregard for his friend's perspective. “No, he's probably just the type that looks that way. If Dire's sidling up to him so fast then he's got to be one heck of a character.”

“Wish I had that kind of support,” the young guard grumbled. “I've gotten nothing but blue milk runs for greenhorns since I got my flank stamped with an 'A' back at the training barracks. I've never even had a co-guard until this posting and I end up with-”

“-an old senior officer that doesn't know when to retire?” Centurion finished the line. “It's fine, Flash. I don't try kidding myself about my age. Guard work is for the young and prime, which I've got little left of.”

“Guess it could be worse then,” the orange one smiled and kept his focus forward as a proper guard was supposed to. “I could be stuck with a stuck-up vet that's never heard of humor.”

“Got those by the dozens back in Canterlot,” the elder groaned. “Probably why I came to appreciate Dire so much. He's not as bad as his name makes him sound. Actually kind of a goofball off-duty. You wouldn't see that the way we handle shifts, though.”

“Wish I-” Flash tried to say before jumping to attention for the blue blur that zapped like lightning onto the ground before them. His stance and spear were in order and he was at the newcomer's throat as fast as his name and recruiter grade had him marked for. Centurion's were a second thereafter except for the older one's guard being better positioned between the arrival and the library door.

“Seriously?” the blue pegasus rolled her eyes as if her appearance had been scheduled in advance. “Just let me in!”

Centurion already started relaxing and drawing his spear up while Flash failed to make the required connection.

“How about I spell it out for you, chump,” the non-guard pegasus sneered. “Rainbow 'Danger' Dash. Element of Loyalty. Personal friend to Twilight Sparkle. Saved Equestria a dozen times over. Now move out of the way before I make you.”

A light poke in the side from Centurion's spear told Flash all he needed. When the younger of the two looked back for final confirmation, he saw the stallion grinning playfully. Apparently, the guardpony enjoyed having his inferior get drilled up by a simple civilian. With wounded pride, Flash took the hints and relaxed back at his post. He had to work hard to ignore the combination glare and smug smile of victory that Rainbow beamed as she strode by him and into the Golden Oaks Library.

“How was I supposed to know?” Flash mumbled once the female pegaus was most likely out of earshot.

Centurion covered his own laugh, if just barely. “By doing your homework? Really, kid. How'd you get a crush on the princess and not even know about the other five Elements?”

“Keh,” the blue-maned stallion breathed between his teeth. “It's not like I'm the only one.”

The superior guardpony could have said something to that but stilled his tongue instead. Flash was right about some ponies not knowing about the Elements of Harmony and that was just...sad. To think that there were those who went about their lives not even knowing about how many times their world had been saved by those six “common” ponies. Even worse, to think that there were some that were even ungrateful.

No such thoughts, however, could keep Centurion from wondering what business Rainbow Dash had so suddenly with the princess. Or what would have her moving as impatient and agitated as she was. Centurion had physically seen the rainbow mare before on occasion in Canterlot and she had not exuded such intensity those times.

Rainbow Dash had it up to her neck with Twilight Sparkle and she was going to tell the mare a thing or two. How dare she leave town without giving even a word about it. How dare she go on some dangerous chase. How dare she take Fluttershy of all ponies and nevermind that changeling creature. How dare she leave behind her most loyal friend while putting her own life on the line.

She had tried to keep it from showing to the guards, who hopefully took it as anger, but she couldn't help it now that she was inside the treehouse library. She was seething mad about what her friend had foalishly done. She was incensed that she would abandon her like she did to go off on some dangerous trip. Rainbow Dash should have had a face red with how upset she was. Instead it was red with tears.

Twilight could have gotten seriously hurt. She could have come back with something more than whatever sickness ailed her. She could have...

No. That was a word Rainbow never used. She refused to just as she refused to consider a world without her book-loving friend. Maybe it was selfish of her but she didn't want her days with the purple pony to ever end. She almost wanted Twilight to never get the hang of flying just so that she'd keep coming to her for lessons and they could spend that precious time together.

The sporty pegasus mare didn't see anypony downstairs and so she made her way vertically to the upper bedroom as fast as her powerful blue-feathered wings usually took her. What she found in the bedroom, however, was a one-two shock. Her hooves clopped down onto the black floor when her wings stopped in a rare display of surprise powerful enough to stall her flying.

The room looked every bit the nasty and dank Tartarus that she once imagined changeling hives must have looked like. How any of the room's three other occupants could be sleeping as soundly as they were was one of the world's impossible mysteries. At least to Rainbow Dash it was.

Now there were actually a number of things that gave the otherwise strong pegasus mare the creeps and this was certainly turning out to be one of them. She was, as she would not fail in denying to others, a little scared by the sight. It was even scarier to see Twilight and Fluttershy sleeping alongside the former changeling queen. Especially Twilight for reasons only the darkest corners of Rainbow's heart knew. She had not warmed up to Chrysalis as some of the others had and always had a chip on her shoulder about what the shape-shifter had done in the past.

So what would the Element of Loyalty do before such a terrifying display? Charge, of course. With rainbow streaks barely able to form behind her in the short distance she bolted, she piled right into the changeling that was in all probability taking over the minds, bodies, and souls of her dearest friends. Needless to say, the move did not end well.

She wound up crashing into the changeling's softer under-carapace and thus flipping her away from the purple alicorn, who's eyes shot open like lightning. Fluttershy was also aroused with a squeak, though she was slow to fully come to. For all of her athletic ability, Rainbow herself still wound up flat on her back after the tumble. She quickly flapped over onto her hooves in correction.

“I knew it'd come down to this,” the aggressive mare leered at her black opponent even as said enemy groaned on the floor of the weird ring and moaned in what might have been pain. “You're not going to do any of your weird changewhatever stuff to my friends!”

“Rainbow!” growled the very upset voice of one Twilight Sparkle. She wearily stood up onto her hooves with shaking legs. “You...”

“Twilight!” the blue pegasus smiled at seeing that the mare was alright, albeit drained by the changeling. “Don't worry,” she turned her serious attention back to Chrysalis, who was giving her a mixed look of anger and annoyance. “I'll take care of the trash!”

Rainbow lunged forward again, this time intending to swing her back hooves around to deliver a punishing kick. The hooves never landed home, though, because Twilight teleported in front of her and grabbed her back hooves with her front ones to swing the mare around and away from Chrysalis. Rainbow, clearly not having expected it, was sent tumbling out of the sleeping ring.

“Argh!” the purple mare cried out in suffering as she clutched her head. “Why now of all times?”

Rainbow's eyes rolled, cleared, and tried to get a fix on things again. Fluttershy was getting to Twilight's side with great concern and Chrysalis was doing likewise, though she was cringing and holding her underside that the pegasus had driven into.

The blue mare was back up and about to do something again with less assurance that she actually knew what was going on. Thankfully, Twilight broke through the searing throb that raced in her head and the crippling tiredness to stop her. “Stand down, Rainbow Dash!”

“Huh?” the pegasus stopped short just as she started mindlessly racing into the ring again without any plan.

“How could you?” Fluttershy said softly through tears as she tended to Chrysalis, who was surprised for the mare's concern and welcomed it with gratitude. There was thankfully nothing more than a bruise that would calm and fade with a little time.

“Chrysalis has-” Rainbow tried to begin.

Twilight was not going to have a single word from her as long as she herself felt like jumping into a volcano just to ease the pain. The fact that the pegasus just rammed into her changeling as they slept in her own bedroom was extra infuriation. “Can it, Dash! I'm not in the mood for anything right now!”

“But-”

“Gah,” Twilight felt a fresh sting of pain. She was so completely done with the feeling that she would do anything to make it go away. She didn't even care about setting Rainbow straight with a calm and collected explanation as she would have in her normal frame of mind. All she was thinking then was “pain go away.”

Somepony in the stars had it out for her, though. For in that moment burst forth yet another intruder to keep Twilight as far as possible from the refreshing and rejuvenating sleep she had been wrenched from so unpleasantly. Getting ripped out of the tranquil place she had made in the hivemind was as painful as a buck to the horn immediately after having it slammed in a door.

“Time to get well!” Pinkie Pie exploded impossibly from behind Rainbow Dash with a spray of confetti. “Can you believe this?! I was all getting party supplies together and Rainbow Dash just happened to be going by looking for you and I was like 'oh my gosh this is so perfect' and I had to buy extra balloons because I totally-”

“Fine!” Twilight shouted with a crazed expression reaching need-friendship-report proportions. “Everypony wants to do this the hard way?! Let's do this the hard way!”

A massive purple aura flooded the room out of thin air as the alicorn snapped her eyes closed tight. Her horn glared brilliantly with a white supernova and the pain became bearable only by the resolute belief that haven was at hoof. Lasting relief.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were grabbed by the aura all around them. The pegasus was wide-eyed in the fright of the moment and the Earth pony was giggling and laughing at what she must have translated as being “fun.” Both were slammed unceremoniously into the sleeping ring by the aerial force. Chrysalis, Fluttershy, and Twilight herself were more easily drawn in against them before the room went absolutely dark and they all slumped against each other.

All occupants of the sleeping ring were now asleep by a powerful magic only the queen could conjure. Twilight was going to sleep, dang it, and no party pony or Wonderbolt trainee was going to keep her from it. If they were going to barge into her bedroom and make trouble then, by Celestia, they were going to sleep too. The Element of Magic was willing to burn to cinders just to get that done.

Twilight felt the cool waves of refreshing rest and peace wash over her again as she returned to that place she had made so carefully with the yellow mare's memories. The only caveat was the inevitable blow-up that awaited with one bruised Chrysalis, one tearful Fluttershy, one incessant Pinkie Pie, and one very confused Rainbow Dash. Add in Midnight Strike and one other pegasus that had just fallen asleep at the ring-connected bunks in their guardhouse.

18 - Revelation is Clarification

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A great crash sounded throughout the hivemind. It was followed promptly by another. One had been a cyan explosion, the other pink. No other ponies shared those hues in the place they had landed, which gave quick identification to who they were. That and only the new arrivals were sucked into the magical mind-space with such lack of grace.

Twilight would have been more careful with them if she was not already so utterly spent on getting back to where she was. In all honesty, she had not spent one microsecond considering the possible issues with dragging her two other friends into the realm. A more stable mind would have had her introducing her friends in a calm and orderly fashion one at a time. There was nothing calm or orderly about this, however. Only that Twilight was back under the willow, sighing as she settled back down.

Chrysalis and Fluttershy did not come back in like meteors but rather faded in smoothly beside their queen. Whether it was by the help of the alicorn, the hivemind, or themselves was left to the ironic imagination. Perhaps Twilight would give a muffin in a week or so. But now Fluttershy was too shaken up about what had just happened. She needed her purple friend's encouragement and reassurance for reasons she did not think clearly about.

Twilight's eyes opened again as her yellow friend dove in lightly for a hug, to which the other returned easily. Chrysalis was less direct but still settled down on the grass in such a manner as to lean up against her queen. Her face showed a ghost of the pain she felt in the real world and Twilight knew through their link that she was putting up a stronger face than she would otherwise due to certain other occupants of the hivemind.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were not the only additions. Although Midnight Strike had been present in the first hivemind instance, Direway had not been. By some inverted humor – perhaps to the assumed blame of Princess Celestia or Luna – it was entirely likely that Direway would be far less troublesome to orient than either of the two non-initiated Elements of Harmony. Midnight Strike had given proof to the loyalty, competence, and stability of the Royal Guard when facing the impossible and the unreal.

Three new ponies each with their own minds, their own lives, their own hearts to share. It was not so simple or immediate, however. Twilight had been structuring the hivemind into something more firm in terms of appearance, experience, and logic. The three new ponies were not yet linked with her mentally even though they now existed in this space. They were mere strangers as they were now.

Twilight herself was, of course, not considering any of this because she just wanted to relax here in what was soon becoming her personal oasis away from the troubles of the real world. She would have to face these things nonetheless because the two guard ponies came up to her and her two female companions – they came from the opposite side that the two new Elements had crashed into.

“My queen,” Midnight Strike bowed down to his royal after approaching. Twilight looked to him with something akin to a lazy look. Some of her exhaustion had leaked over from the real world, but she felt tranquil for the most part. Direway had bowed as well beside his fellow guardpony, though the hivemind's master felt no direct connection with him to know what he was thinking. He appeared every bit the collected stallion that she knew from the real world.

“Lay down with us,” Twilight spoke almost in a whisper, as if she was taking a page from Fluttershy. It gave further testament to the serenity she was settling into. “You, Direway,” she regarded the other pegasus. “Come closer to me.”

That's when the stallion first looked unsure. His near-black purple mane shifted around him as he leaned in closer as ordered.

“Closer,” Twilight instructed still.

He did so with no more of a nervous look but with a bead of sweat coming down his face. It was very unusual for him to be in such a situation as he now was. Being so close to the mare's face was more intense an experience than fighting off an enraged hydra, though he had no idea exactly why.

Twilight smiled that warm smile of hers that was becoming more signature for her of late. Her face leaned in as well to tap her horn on Direway's forehead. The lightshow was far less dramatic this time as well as every other aspect of the event since Twilight was rapidly taking control of this new environment. This was not to say, however, that no spark or slight grimace was had.

Direway's life injected into Twilight's own mind like a fast-acting medication. What she saw and what she felt was so different from Midnight Strike's that every preconceived idea of guardponies being carbon copies of each other was acutely disintegrated then and there. Where Midnight's was a moonlit story of struggle and lost love, Direway's was a vivid portrait of action and surprising playfulness.

Images of training and battle raced through the alicorn queen's still restful mind, keeping a logical calm through the fierce imagery. But there were many instances of off-duty activity for the guard. There were other stallions he would play games with, joke around about stupid things with, and even spend entire leave times with. If one thing came through as prominent then it was that Direway was a very laid-back and social pony with the others that he grew comfortable with after his working hours were over.

When the connection was complete, Direway was kneeling before Twilight. His words were first and they were, “My queen.”

The purple pony didn't miss the ghost of a smile that Direway attempted to hide, first for his lack of success in concealing it and second for the fact that Twilight was hearing his thoughts. But Direway took a shot of a glance at Midnight Strike as well. The ghost expression flashed concern through the playful look. What went through his mind in that fractional second made Twilight cock her head.

“Dire,” the queen spoke with reservation. “Did you see Midnight's...?”

“He told me strange things when I came to in this place,” the stallion responded while regarding her again. He moved to back away from the close proximity he had with her but was forced to stay when she reached out a hoof to his shoulder. “But I see now what he meant. I've seen him as I've seen you. It worries me some to be honest. I hadn't realized-”

“It's okay,” Twilight assured. She had a connection with this stallion too, which meant she knew his thoughts as she did the others. Only, it did not work as some panacea to all questions. Perhaps more than anything, Twilight was in need to voice questions to give clarity to the mass of thought and information that was growing in her mind – her own part of this strange thing Chrysalis referred to as the hivemind. She wasn't of the proper experience to give focus to the swarm anyway.

“But-”

“Just listen and you will hear me without words,” the alicorn tried for that missing focus. In any case, Direway needed to settle down with her and her other companions because the next two ponies were incoming. In fact, it might be said that they were coming in hot. “Lay with me,” she had to say in spite of her attempt to use mere thought instead. The rainbow and pink blurs were almost upon her already.

The dark gray guard did as instructed without question or hesitation as was true to who he was. And no sooner had he settled beside a troubled Fluttershy did the more vibrant colored equines arrive.

“Oh my gosh!” seemed to be what Twilight heard from Pinkie Pie as the pony plowed into her but it might actually have been “what happened” or “this is fun” because her words were mushed together impossibly close. It was likely the three things all at once, which was unnecessary testament to her tendency to think and speak faster than any of her other friends without any positive implication to the quality of said activity. In other words, Pinkie was being her usual random and energetic self regardless of the circumstance. How very typical.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, was not at all herself. She carried over that frightened look she exhibited before being forced into sleep and, though she sped to Twilight as fast as Pinkie Pie, she did not approach her situation with the same aloofness. The realm she had been materialized in was not the same as the real world no matter how much it was shaping up to appear so. Her manifestation was then not a dumb duplicate of her physical self. It was a more pure and less masked version of herself, which may have been a better reason for her fright than the shock of what had just occurred.

Fluttershy closed her eyes firmly and opened them again to try and refresh them so that she would not appear so tearful. In spite of her ease of it, she did not at all take joy in crying or feeling horrible in any other way. Still, she knew something that was in Twilight's mind just as easily as her queen reciprocated the connection.

Queen Twilight Sparkle was apprehensive of connecting to these two. On the surface, it seemed ridiculous to even pretend that the alicorn would be less willing to grow her friendship with those that should have been closer to her than Chrysalis or the two guards. And yet there was that hesitation, more for one than the other. If it was not for the hivemind, Fluttershy would have gone on wondering this forever. But every passing day and every passing moment made everything clearer.

The exuberant pink pony was more a tiresome constant than some random hurricane. There was something to be said about Pinkie Pie being predictable in her lack of predictability. In any case, Twilight expected to find balloons and cupcakes inside the mare's deepest thoughts alongside those portions of her life she had already related over the course of their friendship.

It was Rainbow “Danger” Dash that really scared her. Yes, Fluttershy could feel a certain fear from her queen that she seldom felt before. It was more personal than some fear of getting a bad grade on a research paper or failing to fly properly and faceplanting in the grass. Chrysalis and the guards gave little indication to their own thoughts on this matter even though Fluttershy was sure they must have been sharing all of this at the same time.

As Pinkie Pie swung a circle around Twilight's neck and Rainbow Dash landed and trotted with dark eyes over to the sole queen, Fluttershy felt the fearful thoughts peak. The first was “she's angry.” The second was “she attacked Chrysalis.” The third was like an odd break from the others, being “she thinks I'm lame because I read books.” The forth was just a bit more disparate with “she won't like me.”

“It's just like when I go to sleep every full moon,” Pinkie chortled without a care in the world. All were wise to forget what implications such a statement held.

Having come into contact with Twilight so fully should have created that first connection, but Twilight was actually staving it off! Her attention was riveted on the rainbow mare stopping in front of her and the unintentional consortion that had formed around her. The blue pegasus was somewhere between anxious and afraid.

“Twi...light?” Rainbow began apprehensively. “What's...going on?”

It was almost painful to hear those words, so slow and uncharacteristic of the mare. The Element of Magic bit her lip when she finally collected herself for what was to come. A visible flash finally gave out from between the purple and pink ponies just before Laughter was going to move on to bother the others. Even her Pinkie Sense made some new combination as the light zapped between them.

Fluttershy felt something unprecedented flood through her mind to distract her from her growing obsession with Twilight. It was Pinkie's mind connecting to the queen's and shockwaving into her own. Thankfully, what was revealed was not much more than was to be expected. Although, some difficult to understand things were included, such as pie divided by zero and scattered rules on how to break physics. What was stranger than either of those, however, was Pinkie's silence upon completion of the connection. She slipped off of Twilight and just laid beside her limply without any indication in the hivemind as to why, as if something had just struck her deep. Very deep.

Not much time had elapsed but Rainbow Dash was not at all relieved by what was unfolding still. “Twi-?” was her interrupted emission before she was dragged forward by seemingly nothing. Her face came in close to Twilight's, which was drenched in the expression of one about to drink down a teaspoon of medicine without the faintest grain of sugar to accompany it. The alicorn well appeared as one fully expecting nothing but pain and suffering in return for the following act.

“Wh-” Rainbow tried once more to say something. It never came out because Twilight winced and tapped her horn down onto the athletic mare's forehead without another second to spare.

There really was becoming less reason to use words with so many things traversing seamlessly between minds. But words would very well play out after what was revealed here. Let it not be said that Twilight Sparkle was insensitive to the privacy of others to be connecting and sharing the most personal details of one's life to every other that began receiving the information and emotional attachments. She was quite aware of the non-consensual sharing and decided firmly to accept all the responsibility thereof.

The queen had been taking on the air of decisiveness that her growing position required and hence made Chrysalis proud to have made the previous decisions that she had. What Twilight was doing was some combination of risky action to enlarge and better understand the hivemind, improve the depth of her relationship with her friends, and all inevitable improvisation therein.

Fluttershy, being the shyest of them all, would have died at the mere idea that her life would be shared not only with multiple ponies but also two stallion guards. Yet somehow she didn't feel that fear. She felt an opposing peace, a tranquility that came from her queen's impossible care and love. Not some shallow love that was nothing but a quick-burning candle that ate its wick out in one night. That was so typical of the more modern conceptions of romance, removed from the most pure love that tied all sorts of relationships together throughout entire lives.

The mare of magic at the center of all these events gave her and all those now present a foundation of love like that of family and friends knowing and staying together their whole lives. Every additional and possible passion understood as “romance” could be realized should the desire awaken, as the idea waved in the distance like the dance of the Everfree leaves in autumn. For now, such remained in the backseat, so to speak.

But a second thing must not be said for this moment in which not one or two but three new minds connected. Twilight's provision of a deep peace and love to her companions did not entirely override the ferocity of Rainbow Dash's own mind. The connection was made and the greatest mental race yet was on.

Twilight grimaced at the intensity into which she was thrust within Rainbow's life. In Fluttershy's, she had seen unexpected abuse and things that had given weight to the mare's tendency to be introverted. Never in a million years could Twilight have predicted or been prepared for what she saw next. The memories were more vivid and immediate than any others she had encountered, exploding like aggressive fireworks with each example.

A small blue filly was standing there in the memory. It was Rainbow Dash who was looking at this filly, the memory being from her perspective, so the rainbow-maned foal could not have been her. But it looked so much like her. She looked to be in pain and was having difficulty breathing, which helped Twilight realize that this memory took place in a hospital. The Rainbow-look-alike was in an intensive care unit, encased within a sealed pod only used for infants in critical condition.

The foal stopped breathing.

The memory shot out from under her and gave way to a grassy hill, which made little sense in the context of Rainbow's early life. She should have been in the sky in Cloudsdale, not on the ground. But the hill had a gravestone upon it, which was the focus point for the still young Element of Loyalty. She wasn't crying but there was definitely something serious in her heart. That lone gravestone was small and obviously related to what had happened before. When Rainbow looked to her side, there was only one older stallion, her father.

They kept coming one after another, this one being a scene at school back in Cloudsdale. Rainbow was being bullied and handled it with a growing intensity. But it was that very intensity for which she was being bullied. The other young ponies were making fun of her for being too much like her father. They kept saying she was too "colt-ish" and was a scar on the “female race.” Rainbow didn't cry but just got riled up and called them out on every bluff and beat them at every challenge.

The scene snapped to something that was so many worlds apart that it seemed to portray a different pony altogether. It was Rainbow's room. She was still young and her walls were decked out with all the sports and early Wonderbolts posters to be expected there. But Rainbow herself was not interested in any of those things because she was playing with a doll on her bed. It was a small plush made to look like a foal far younger than herself.

She called it her daughter.

Rainbow was now older, a teen caught between the early and late stages of that section of life. She was in her room again but many things looked different. In fact, the air of the place seemed so removed that the last memory was like some black and white relic in comparison, viewed through the smoky glass of a dream.

Her father entered the room and asked why she wasn't getting ready for Fluttershy's birthday later that evening. He insisted that she should do so since they had become such good friends of late. However, Rainbow just sighed, shrugged, and said that she would be ready in short order. She was always good with getting things done in record time anyhow.

The weathered-looking stallion left and Rainbow slumped down across her bed. Her heart was heavy with melancholy for many reasons far apart from each other and yet still so close. She mumbled things to herself as if somepony else must have been in the room to hear her troubles even though there obviously was not.

“Everypony likes Fluttershy more,” she frowned. “They only tease her because they're jealous.”

The rest remained unspoken and was steeled in Rainbow's mind but, Twilight being privy to it, the remainder was made known anyways. Rainbow Dash was bullied since her earliest memories because her upbringing by her single father led her to be outwardly “colt-like.” But Fluttershy's shyness and timidity was cherished by the males and coveted by the females that saw such things as being a great compliment to her gender. Ah, the simple-mindedness and extreme naiveté of those youth.

The bullying to this yellow filly was then an attempt by the girls to ruin their otherwise perfectly-imagined rival for attention and an attempt by the boys to exert equally imagined dominance and thus garner attention to themselves from this prized pegasus. The result was, without saying, a complete and utter mess that accomplished nothing of what anypony wanted. So often did life lay itself out in such absurd tangles of tedious controversy.

What was of interest to this memory was what happened next. The young mare grabbed something that was kept under her bed and clutched it to her chest as she laid back onto her bed, alone. The thing in her hooves was the same doll from the earlier memory, now showing great age for such a thing and a few haphazard stitches to keep it together. It was to be expected from Twilight's point of view for the pegasus to have a lack of ability in sewing but the patchwork of the emergency threads was like a determined witness to give weight to how hard Rainbow had worked to keep the thing whole.

“Why can't I be like that?” she muttered and then looked down to the doll sadly. A few strands of red from her mane drooped down and she had to blow up at it to move it over. “Guess I should be strong for Fluttershy, huh?”

The question was directed at the lifeless doll, two button eyes showing little sign of input.

“She spent another night in the alley, you know,” Rainbow whispered. “Something really bad is going on. I just know it. She won't talk about it and I...don't think I have the guts to ask. She even put this birthday thing together herself at the park. I'm probably the only one going to be there.”

The silence, even being in a past memory, was simply painful. But Twilight did have a moment of realization to offset it. Fluttershy said that Rainbow didn't know about what had gone on in her past but this just indicated that the mare had picked up on it and just never pressed on the matter. The sporty female was usually so blunt and straightforward, which made her hesitation and timidity in this just more fuel for the hidden persona she was starting to exhibit. Which was the real Rainbow Dash? The one everypony knew as a hot-head athlete or the one clutching her plush foal and just wanting to be treated like a...well...like a girl.

The next memory came in a flash to break any further revelation that could have come with the last. Twilight had seen other memories so far but it had been these that stood out most. This next one was the final straw. In retrospect, it should have been the most boring and predictable for it was when Twilight Sparkle had first come to Ponyville – then just a regular old unicorn with an ambitious love of books.

There she was from a different perspective, getting plowed into the mud by the offender. It was a weird introduction for the blue pegasus, who had been so wrapped up in her aerial moves that she had not even known the pony was there let alone who the newcomer was. But the rest was history only distinguished by private details Twilight had obviously not been enlightened to. After introductions were over and before the then-annoying party that was later held by Pinkie Pie at the library, Rainbow spent her time mulling about back at her cloud home.

She was berating her reflection in a mirror for making herself look stupid in the introduction. It was so stark opposite of what Twilight would have imagined that it was jarring to her. Knowing the memories that came before were less so because Twilight could slip, without knowingly doing so, into the belief that the young one was some other pony. But seeing the older Rainbow Dash she did know made the facts undeniable. Or perhaps it was that she did not truly know the actual Rainbow Dash. That was what made this connection so different from the others.

Twilight had come to know the guards through the hivemind with little before that to interfere with her perception of them. Fluttershy was a pony she already knew and only came to understand why she was the way she was because of her past. But Rainbow Dash was on an entirely different level. Twilight just found out that this Rainbow Dash was somepony else entirely and the personality she knew as that Rainbow Dash was merely an outward face that she had fallen into for so long that it was seemingly all she could be around other ponies. Whether it all began with her single father's upbringing, some splinter from the divorce, or something else entirely was less relevant than the fact that it simply was.

A final memory shot out from the others as a trumpeting exclamation point on all of this and a closing herald to bring both mare's attentions back under the willow in the hivemind. It was winter and the snow was falling heavily. The sky was dark even though it was still early enough in the evening for the sun to have been out if only it was not for the complete cloud cover. The date put this moment as Twilight's second winter that she had lived in Ponyville.

Rainbow Dash was flying in the serene weather. Yes, it was snowing hard, but it was not by some raging wind. The snowflakes were actually drifting down quite lazily, which made “hard” more a descriptor of the sheer volume of the flakes themselves. The ground was already thick with snow and the sky gave no indication of letting up. Still Rainbow flew until she reached the window of one very familiar library.

Her heart, being that of the Element of Loyalty's, was as heavy as the snow two-fold over. That was the day, otherwise indistinct to all others, that she admitted a variety of things to herself. She at last believed in her own heart that she would never be the mare she had wanted to be as a filly. She would never be the gentle and kind motherly figure she dreamed of. She would never have a stallion to care for her – an impossibility proven by her own father's lack of love to the pony that had once been her mother. To her, she had no knowledge of true love really existing in this world.

But if there was to be a cap on any of this grim bleakness then it was to be her relent into one final belief. If there was one pony in the world that she could still dare to dream to be loved by so truly and purely then it would be the one she looked at secretly through the frost-covered window. The light coming therefrom was dim and of a ghostly orange. It flickered because it was being cast from the candle on a desk within the tree home, likely lit early for the lack of natural illumination emitting from the outside realm. There was a purple pony at that desk, reading some book on Celestia knows what.

What had brought on these feelings that raced with solemn weight in Rainbow's memory? Was it something the unicorn had said? The way she had treated Rainbow? The way she occasionally shown forth this openness that made one believe that acceptance could really and truly be had? It was the shy belief that, one day, the mare of many colors could be just who she wanted to be with the unicorn sans who everypony believed she certainly must be. No judgment. No criticism. No fighting, arguing, or defending. Just a hug, a kiss, and three words that gave her a reason to live. A reason to breathe.

Twilight's vision returned to her place beneath the tree.

Rainbow's face was pale.

19 - Acceptance is Calming

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Chrysalis had no trouble at all with the imagery that came into her own mind. She was used to a much greater volume of it in her past even if such quantity had never before included the colorful variety that Twilight's connections did. The pony queen was preoccupied with one in particular and thus failed to take note of some others that should have been of just as much concern.

It couldn't be ignored that Chrysalis had experienced a sort of block in the last instance of the sleep ring hivemind. She had then not been able to see whole memories, thoughts, or unspoken conversations. This still occurred now, though of obviously lesser degree. The changeling could access some thoughts and not others without any immediately logical reason. As it had been before, it was again frustrating to her.

Pinkie Pie's silence was obvious enough to one who took focus to her new presence in the hivemind. The others were far too busy handling the flood of memories jumbling about mentally, but the sole changeling fought the tide even with that itch of pain on her underside. No doubt it would hurt worse when she awoke again.

In other circumstances, Chrysalis would be more concerned with getting Twilight's attention back to her. All these new ponies adding to her queen's hive were a great distraction from the void that existed before but Chrysalis still desired love as much as she did simple hivemind company. It could never be denied that changelings, in the end, always fed off of that emotion. Thus, its importance could likewise never be undermined.

Breaking just for a moment from Chrysalis' musing in the hivemind, Direway might be the one pony most interested to know why there seemed so much preoccupation with one central idea. That is to say, all the others mixing and matching thoughts all had at least one common denominator and that was a stress on the significance of love. For a changeling, this was understandable. But why was Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and even Midnight Strike so utterly invested in it?

What it came down to, in no small thanks to the logical revelations courtesy of the queen, was that love had many forms both romantic and non-romantic. But regardless of form, love was the most important thing nestled inside the deepest parts of everypony's mind. Foals could literally die without it and even grown-ups would wither away should they receive none.

For some, one form of love was more important than another. Midnight Strike had himself invested heavily in an impossible romantic love. Direway, on the other hoof, was instead centered on a camaraderie-based love. In both cases, it drove them to be what they were and gave them the power to reach even further, though Midnight's subject of love was no longer who it had been.

This, being shared and picked up by Chrysalis, was helpful clarity to Pinkie Pie's own life. The Earth pony was unique in the kind of love she centered upon, as much as the special relationship Chrysalis had formed with her savior. Pinkie loved parties, yes. She loved balloons and cupcakes to be sure. But she loved her friends with a jealous passion that was usually translated to an annoying excess of energy to those that knew her.

Pinkie Pie's silence had nothing to do with the fact that her life had just been put up on display in the hivemind. Neither did it have anything to do with the fact that she saw Twilight's past and a few private hijinks therein. Thirdly, it had nothing to do with Twilight's extensive knowledge of magic that had just been acquired within her own mind and thus fused with her own personal understanding of the mechanics of the universe.

The bubbly party pony was silent because she had also seen several other pasts. It had been almost to the point of being painful and the flashes she got here and there from this pony or that were not always of the positive variety that she preferred. Midnight Strike's was kind of sad and Fluttershy's was the coup de grâce.

Sure, life on a rock farm was a little gray at times - Pinkie Pie fully intended the pun and was not as happy about it as she had hoped - but actually being mistreated by one's own family was a shock for her. Or perhaps it was more the intensity to which Fluttershy had been treated. In any case, Pinkie's thoughts of an “It'll Be Okay” party fell as flat as her mane. Everything she saw had been in the past, so bringing it up now would only make her sad again, right?

That was the internal struggle an oddly sensible Pinkie was fighting when the next thing happened. Rainbow Dash entered into the pool of the hivemind. That meaning, of course, that she was connected to Twilight and the others beyond her simple physical manifestation in the imaginary hivemind space. Her life began flashing through just as Pinkie's did, if perhaps a bit more colorfully. Not that Pinkie's wasn't full of life and energy but those years on the rock farm literally lacked color without her first parties she threw for her family.

Pinkie saw Rainbow Dash's past just as Twilight did, though some different things here and there caught her attention. What remained the same were the key moments that had to be talked about after the connection was finished. Yes, talked about. Twilight wanted to make better use of the hivemind by leaning on thought to communicate rather than vocal words from their manifested bodies. But that was just an optimization that wouldn't cut it for the shock of what they all saw in Rainbow's past. Nevermind that Twilight had started having suspicions about the psychological implications of communicating serious past events only mentally and without vocal relation. Such was typical for the alicorn who spent perhaps far too much time in books, research, and analysis.

The sole Earth pony remained silent as the last connection was finalized. Now she had an entirely new set of memories to mull over. Her eternally sugar-pumped brain may have been capable of taking it all in at rates beyond the normal limits, but she couldn't decide the color of the streamers for the “Rainbow's Revelation” party. And that wasn't even to speak of whether or not Rainbow, like Fluttershy, would even want a party that brought up old less-than-happy memories.

Thankfully, she was too busy opening and closing her mouth while not being able to decide one thing or another to make an interruption to the worried conversation that had just started.

“Rainbow...Dash?” Twilight's voice spoke into the silence that otherwise hung there under the willow tree.

The two guards were doing their usual duty in being silent and obedient. Fluttershy was mute by what she had also seen in Rainbow's past. Not a few conversations between her and her rainbow-maned friend were to be had later. Chrysalis, on the other hoof, closed her eyes calmly and took everything in. If she wanted to be on Twilight's good side after this was all over then she would have to swallow every curse she wanted to throw at the blue pegasus for physically injuring her and generally being a bad egotistical busy-body. But that was her own heated opinion in the moment. She was not completely insensitive to what spots of the mare's memories she had born witness to.

“Dash?” Twilight asked again. Both mares, Rainbow and the hive's queen alicorn, were now fully back at attention under the willow, where all the others were around them. Really, neither had ever left that space, but their minds had drifted about during the connection.

The Element of Loyalty's face was still only a breath's distance from Twilight's own and it, unlike the royal's, was paled by fear. Or was that some kind of shock? She had seen Twilight's life in its entirety so perhaps she had seen something that surprised her. Twilight knew better, though. Because it was Twilight who was now seeing her friend's every thought as if it was posted on a bulletin board.

“It's okay,” Twilight soothed as she stretched out a hoof behind her friend's mane. She stroked it with gentle affection. “Be what you want, Dashie.”

One thought of Rainbow's was to cry. But she didn't want to cry because she was a tough rough-and-tumble pegasus. She was the unruly pony of her pack of friends, the invincible Element of Loyalty. She cried.

Twilight drew her in for a hug and let the tears soak her shoulder where Rainbow buried her face. What was it with all the strong emotions that had been going on in her hive? Had everypony expressed some by now? It nearly seemed so. Only the mass of intel that Twilight had been consuming through her connections allowed her to understand why. That or Chrysalis had injected that revelation on intention.

To be laid bare so fully and completely before somepony else was a terrifying idea. That alone could drive even Rainbow Dash to a sense of stage fright. But it was actually the stress that made the tears come so inevitably. In other words, it was not the secrets being revealed that made Rainbow cry. It was the fear of being rejected because of them. The fear of being judged and mocked. Yes, that was the very same fear that had made her keep her other self a secret for so long.

Rainbow Dash didn't say anything even after the tears dried up. Nopony else dared to speak and, when Pinkie Pie was about to break her own silence to try cheering things up, Chrysalis managed to keep the place quiet. The party pony hadn't even seen the black holey hoof wrap around her and cover her mouth just as it opened.

The changeling knew Twilight wanted a moment's silence from all present so that she could speak straightforward with the latest hive addition. It was a small favor that might land Chrysalis something later on. Once Twilight was more comfortable with the hivemind, perhaps she would be capable of muting and unmuting members thereof without concentrated effort. For now, Chrysalis lent her hoof.

“Dashie,” Twilight said again with a continued hold against her friend. “I'm still the same pony you've always known. I'll never leave you.”

The blue mare's breath seemed indication that she agreed and knew all along.

Twilight didn't want to be hard on her but she had to do what came next. “Dashie,” Twilight repeated the name with as much a reassuring tone as possible. “I want you to tell me what happened.”

“Why?” Rainbow's voice was muffled against the purple coat.

“Because it will help if you tell me yourself,” the alicorn explained. “Trust me...okay?”

Rainbow sniffled and then took a deep breath before backing out of the embrace. Her face looked about as red as one would expect from the crying. “I guess you want me to start with my parents?”

Twilight nodded, though she was going to let her start anywhere she wanted anyways.

The female pegasus sat before her friend and started with a lowered head. “I remember when I was young that things were never right between mom and dad...”

Fluttershy frowned sadly as she too listened. She knew from what she had seen that her and Rainbow had both experienced less-than-ideal lives growing up, each for different but very important reasons. She had incorrectly assumed that her pegasus friend had it better all along when that was never really the case.

“Dad...” Rainbow Dash continued, “he never really cared about mom. I don't know how they ever got together in the first place with the way he didn't seem to love her. But he wasn't like that with me. It was weird. He was nice to everypony but mom. He never talked about why.”

Pinkie Pie kept her silence this time out of respect for the situation, which Chrysalis let her hoof fall away in faith for.

“Mom seemed to like him but things changed slowly over time. She started getting as cold as him sometime around...well...” Rainbow started tearing up again because of the coming memory that haunted her. Twilight stretched her hoof out again in case she needed to be comforted, but the pegasus continued anyways.

“I h-had a sister,” she finally got out. She had a little trouble here for emotional reasons. “Her name was Sky Prism. I was just s-so...excited about having a sister. But mom...she started treating me like a stranger after my sister was born. I thought sometimes that it was because dad treated me so nice and never paid attention to her. Mom started getting weird about Prism, like she was her only daughter and I didn't exist. She started separating us and not allowing us to be around each other.”

Twilight pressed her lips together, knowing the results to come.

“One day, mom had to spend extra time at work and dad had to pick up Prism from the nursery since he came home earlier to pick me up from elementary. He had never had to pick Prism up before. Mom had always been possessive about doing it. But dad never came to pick me up that day. I sat there in the schoolyard for I don't know how many hours until a policepony showed up and took me to a hospital.”

The two guardponies looked at each other and exchanged sad looks. Both knew what it must have been like for the service pony to escort a young filly like that. It was like having to deliver the bad news to the wife of a fallen guardpony. It was something that all desperately hoped would never happen.

“Dad and mom were there but they didn't pay much attention to me. Even dad. I found out when I was older that he had gone to pick up Prism and was coming to pick me up with her when an accident happened at the weather factory. He...was passing the cloud exit docks just as it happened because he knew it was a shortcut to my school. There was a spray of lightning from some clouds that had gotten charged up by accident and some of them struck dad and Prism.”

Twilight would have preferred to spare any of her friends such grief, but she could tell from the tonality in Rainbow's voice that something was lifting off of her already.

“They both survived the shock but something started going wrong with Prism's heart because she was so young. She was still just a baby then. She...” Rainbow's voice caught on itself and she had to sniffle before proceeding. “She didn't make it.”

Pinkie Pie's mane wilted for the second or third time. She had a few sisters of her own and couldn't bear the thought the first time it had come to her in the hivemind and again now that Rainbow voiced it.

“Mom blamed dad for her death,” the blue mare composed herself again. “She just divorced him after that like there was nothing to it. She didn't even say good-bye to me and I never saw her again. Dad took care of me by himself after that...but he never really got over what happened either. He loved Prism as much as he did me. It ate away at him. I could tell every time we visited her grave near Mt. Canter. He had chosen that spot....”

Rainbow choked up and took a full minute to make it through.

“He chose that spot,” she resumed, “because Prism had always been fond of looking down there even though she was just a foal. She always smiled the most when mom would sit on the edge of the city and show her the lands and skies beyond. All I could do was watch them from a distance because mom didn't really want me around. Well, anyways, you know the rest...”

The queen encouraged her friend with thought this time. She wanted the pegasus to finish because she knew there was more on her mind, heavy things already known but not yet related. It made Rainbow uncomfortable to have shared them voicelessly, which was why Twilight wanted her to keep going.

The cyan mare sighed and went on. She got the message and she really was feeling better for some stupid reason she couldn't figure out. Trust an egghead like Twilight to use some dumb rule of psychology when the hivemind should have otherwise been more efficient. Of course, what Twilight had realized was that the connections did indeed lack certain psychological things that ponies needed even if changelings did not.

“I took after my dad, I guess. He was my only parent and I kind of didn't like my mom after what happened. Maybe she did what she did because dad was mean to her. I don't know. He was always nice to me even though it was hard for him to raise me alone. I acted as much like him as possible when I was around other ponies because I wanted to be strong like him and I didn't want him to worry about me.”

Rainbow moved against her spot on the grass, obviously feeling awkward about what she was going to say. She continued, “I hated it when the others at school started treating me like a colt and making fun of me. But I kept it up because I didn't want to cause my dad any trouble. He was getting overworked by then and hardly slept. I could only be my real self when I was alone in my bedroom. I had saved one of Prism's dolls before the rest of her things were gotten rid of. Dad just couldn't bear remembering her through the stuff. But I really wanted to play with a doll, so I took it and things...well, I don't know when I started doing it but...”

She got to another hard part because she ground to a halt. This time it was more a lack of words than any sadness.

“Dashie,” Twilight gave a rare word of interruption. The rest was spoken with thoughts. She told her it was okay to take her time. They had all the time in the world.

“I pretended that I was the mom I never really had,” Rainbow found the words to say and gave a flash of a thankful smile to Twilight, who she had kept her focus on this whole time. She didn't want to think about the other ponies around them at the moment. “I guess I always wanted mom to be there for me, so I used the doll to imagine it all. I promised that one day I'd really be that mom. I'd have my own kid and love them the way my mom never loved me. I kept at it secretly, playing around with the doll and stuff until sometime right before I met Gilda, I think. There wasn't really any more to it, except that I did sort of resent Fluttershy a bit during those years.”

Fluttershy drooped from her place to the side of Twilight. Rainbow knew they had much to discuss and she had much to apologize for to the animal lover. But that would have to be after this.

“I was shallow,” the Element of Loyalty admitted. “Though I wonder if it was just Gilda rubbing off on me. After I graduated, I took some basic weather jobs. But dad passed away after a few more years and I couldn't stand Cloudsdale anymore. It just made me depressed, so I moved to Ponyville. I heard Fluttershy had moved there and it was cheap. Gilda had disappeared somewhere over a year before that so I didn't have anypony tying me down. Then, one day, you showed up.”

Rainbow Dash locked eyes with Twilight directly and with a calm grace she hadn't had before. Almost as if she wasn't feeling the slightest bit of worry anymore.

“I had friends here and there in Ponyville but you were different. I don't know if it was because you were from Canterlot or if it really was destiny...Magic girl.”

Twilight couldn't help crack a smile before getting it back under control. It seemed the regular Dash variety of jabby remarks was sticking around.

“I liked you when we first met but it took a while for me to find out how much,” Rainbow confessed. “You made me feel...I don't know...safe? I thought maybe I could eventually slip into my old self around you and you wouldn't mind. The one where I could play around in dresses or mess with new make-up techniques... or... maybe... make breakfast in the morning for my special somepony. I could spend the whole day cooking, cleaning, doing laundry...”

It was rare for Twilight to hear another girl talk about such things like it was something to be desired. In fact, she couldn't recall ever hearing a mare talk of being a “domestic engineer” in an eager tone of voice. That same hopeful tone was being directed her way, the sparkle in Rainbow's eyes impossible to miss. Truly this was something that would never have come out if it wasn't for all the hivemind business.

The other ponies and one changeling had kept such a resolute quietness that perhaps their lack of interruption merited a trophy of some kind. Or perhaps it wasn't so unusual after all. Fluttershy and the guards were normally quiet anyways and Chrysalis was too strategic to make a blunder so obvious. The only one that was any surprise then was Pinkie Pie, who had been silent before for various reasons. Chrysalis' hooves were back against the mare's mouth, however, because Pinkie had again attempted some interruptions prior.

“I thought maybe I could still have my dream of being a loving mother,” Rainbow concluded. “And I wouldn't have to keep up some dumb jock persona.”

“You were never a dumb jock, Dashie,” Twilight frowned with her interjection.

“Oh yeah?” the pegasus argued. “I gave up on being a mother and then picked it up again when I decided that I liked you. A mare. How stupid can I get?”

Never had Twilight honestly been angry at any of the things Rainbow had related, though she had been a bit peeved at how her mother had walked out on her. But if there was one thing the alicorn queen wasn't going to take then it was Rainbow beating herself up like this. “Stop it,” she commanded and pulled her in again in an embrace. “Love is never stupid and nothing is ever impossible.”

“You can't make a mare a stallion,” the rainbow mare mumbled with resilient stubbornness over Twilight's shoulder.

“I was just trying to be humble when I said that,” Twilight responded to the remark. “Anything really is possible.”

Rainbow darted back from hugging Twilight. Her eyes were wide.

“I only said possible, as in theoretical,” the queen giggled. “I don't know what the future holds. None of us do.”

The Element of Loyalty blinked and rather wanted to make some kind of reply. But for everything that she had just gotten off her chest and everything Twilight had implied, no words found their way up her throat.

“You feel better now,” the queen said.

It had been a statement rather than a question. Rainbow, attempting to project her usual outward self, tried for something to put things back in typical scope. “Hey, don't think this gets you off the hook for skipping town without me.”

Twilight smiled and even giggled once more, knowing it was just one of her friend's ways of saying she really was alright after all. Rainbow sniffled again and wiped at her nose with a forehoof.

“You could really spruce this place up you know,” Rainbow tried for another jab. “This hivemind thing is a dump.”

Twilight forgot all sensitivities and took on a cross expression. “Going for the gold, huh, Dashie?”

“You know me,” Rainbow grinned. “All of me.”

“And that may come with some side-effects I hadn't considered before,” the queen looked back at her wings and waved them up and down. “Knowing something and being able to do it may be two separate things but knowledge is still half the battle.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow Dash quirked her brows, not catching on for all the help the hivemind should have been.

Twilight smiled again. “All that athletic training you did. My body may not have magically changed to match your level of fitness, but I'm getting how you do everything that you hark about all the time.”

Chrysalis must have decided this was as appropriate as any time could be because that was when she slipped her hooves away from Pinkie Pie and hence released the torrent of words. Needless to say, Pinkie Pie was back to her normal energy levels. She had decided, as she often did, that it was better to remain cheerful than stay gloomy about the unchangeable past.

“Yeah!” Pinkie laughed. “So like maybe it takes a while for all of us to get everything that's going on in our silly little brains but it's still coming and oh my gosh this is so awesome! Maybe I can do a sonic rainboom too! Because I totally didn't get how you did it before and I don't know if you really got it either but I can totally see everything and even feel everything when you did it and maybe I can practice until I can do it too. But it wouldn't be a sonic rainboom because it would be me and not you and I'm pink not blue. Hey that rhymed! Oh my gosh I wasn't even trying! So it'd be a Pinkie Pieboom. Or would that be a sonic pinkboom? Oh, maybe a Pie Blast? Sounds like some crazy awesome flavor for a breakfast pastry!” She gave her funny snort and chuckle, apparently never in need of oxygen or proper intonation with her sentences. “Maybe I can use Twilight's Magic-For-Earth-Ponies theory to help out because I'm totally getting her weird magic know-how thingies in my brains!”

Twilight gulped, not having realized before all of the implications in what she had done. In a manner of speaking, the floodgates had been opened.

20 - Reality is Zealous

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The hivemind world had taken on more and more character over time. The space was so much more vivid now with deep greens and rich soil along the bed of the tiny stream. A gentle air came by now and then to rustle the plants and freshen the smell of the grove-like area. Each step left an imprint in the grass or soil and the trickling sound of the stream was crystal clear. Though, in all fairness, that may have been due to the silence that came and then went back out all the same.

“A word, Pinkie!” Queen Twilight nearly panicked. This time it was herself to approach the pony rather than pull the subject closer via her hivemind powers.

“I love words!” Pinkie blurted out and criss-crossed her eyes as she gave a raspberry and a giggle. Something was seriously going haywire behind her eyes.

Chrysalis inched closer while the guards sat back patiently. Rainbow Dash pressed her lips and then steeled herself to walk over to Fluttershy. She experimented with the strange happenings in her mind by attempting to project her thoughts directly to Fluttershy's conscious, which seemed to work. Fluttershy replied in kind.

Rainbow bent down to where the shy mare was settled below the tree and joined by her side. She started apologizing both vocally and via the invisible hivemind conscious. But Fluttershy matched her apologies and both had to give up on trying to be the one more sorry.

“We both didn't know,” Rainbow finally decided to conclude it all with. “But thanks for continuing to be my friend.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy nuzzled her blue friend. “I'm proud to have you as my friend, Dashie.”

“Except I'm going to have to tell you that Twi is my territory,” Rainbow kidded, which made the other purse her lips indignantly. It made the sporty mare laugh.

“I got here first,” Fluttershy pouted.

“I guess I could share,” the blue pegasus winked and they shared a smile, both content that things would be okay from now on. Fluttershy knew now that Twilight and Rainbow Dash really knew her and cared about her. Moreover, she knew she was loved. The same was true from Rainbow's perspective and it put her at peace to know that things were okay between her and her long-time friend from Cloudsdale.

Meanwhile, Twilight was struggling for nuclear containment.

“Oh oh oh!” Pinkie Pie shuttered in place so fast that she looked ready to take off for the moon. “Let's go dimension hopping!”

“For the love of Celestia,” Twilight cried as she wrapped her pink friend in a magical hivemind grip. “No. No dimension hopping. And no dividing by zero either!”

“But I want my mechanical wings now!” Pinkie threw a fit.

“Please, stop looking into the future!”

“Yes,” Chrysalis smirked as she came up behind. “It's not very sporting.”

Twilight stole a glance to her changeling. “Some help here would be nice.”

Indeed Chrysalis could tell Twilight's hold on Pinkie was slipping in terms of hivemind restriction. She could very well do what her queen wanted but she also doubted she would really be of much help and, besides, she had waited long enough. She thought she had been rather patient for all that had been going on. Now she wanted something more tangible to fuel her changeling hunger.

“Wha-” Twilight gasped as Chrysalis suddenly and without warning grabbed her around her midsection and drew her into a full body embrace. Her concentration snapped, releasing Pinkie's hivemind torrent.

“So soft, my queen,” Chrysalis buzzed happily as she buried her face in Twilight's coat.

Something hurt. It hurt for her and every other member of the hivemind she had made. It originated from Pinkie Pie, who exploded into a light of supernova proportions. But the pain was quick and over like a needle from a doctor's visit. Nothing else could have been surmised from what happened because all seven members of Twilight's hive awoke into the real world in that very instant.

“Gah,” Twilight held her head. It was her real head. The real real one in the non-hivemind world. She wasn't as tired anymore and the pain went away quickly, but she was still drowsy and generally not in the mood for doing anything intensive. What time was it now?

“Woohoo,” shrilled the voice that could only have been Pinkie Pie. So she did not explode into non-existence. Well, that was good. But she was zipping about Twilight's clod-shelled hive bedroom in the most disturbing manner. What should have been a pink color streak trailing behind her lightspeed movement was instead multicolored. The same multicolor that Rainbow Dash emitted behind her when going at top speed.

“I think my cider got spiked,” Rainbow groaned as she rolled off of the pony pile that they had all remained in during their sleep. “Next time we do this, I call dibs on the spot beside Twi. Dogpiles aren't good for my back.”

“Well said,” Fluttershy whispered with meek agreement as she too crawled from the mess of limbs.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes and carried Twilight to a better spot. She resumed her clutching from the hivemind world and would not let go even when her queen motioned for it. The two guards were not there, of course, since they were back at the guard hut, but they were likely awake now as well.

Twilight!

The purple pony stiffened in horror. It was as if somepony had just spoken inside her mind and she wasn't in the hivemind right now.

Don't you know my voice, silly?

Twilight snapped her attention to Pinkie Pie, who was looking straight at her from across the room, bearing a massive and toothy smile.

Why didn't you do this before with Chrysy?

Something suddenly hurt again like a bee sting in Twilight's mind.

Oh, looks like you've got it now. You're welcome!

Wait. Pinkie, what did you do?

Now it was really getting confusing. Twilight was talking to Pinkie Pie through mental thought while not in the sleep ring hivemind and it was near impossible to determine who was saying what when. No lip movements and not even a unique tone of voice in each thought to indicate anything at all. Chrysalis, who was still holding her, smiled in a way that bore her two front fangs. It made her look far more goofy than it did scary, though.

I like cupcakes!

That was obviously Pinkie Pie but it also as obviously did not answer the question.

I appreciate your help but our queen can't carry on like this.

Who was that?

Focus, my queen. We are each still unique. You can know us if you try.

There was something that gave Twilight the idea that the one speaking was the one that had finally put her down and was now toying playfully with the ends of her mane. In other words, the one full of holes.

Imagine the thoughts are real and not just thoughts. Your heart knows your hive.

I like cupcakes!

Yes, we know.

The queen alicorn gave the changeling beside her a skeptical look but gave her the benefit of the doubt. She tried to collect herself again in spite of the others around her now who would easily derail her.

“You okay, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked in worry. Twilight had a face that made it look like she just popped a fresh lemon into her mouth.

“Urgh,” she croaked and then her horn sparked.

“Twi?” Fluttershy started towards her with as much concern as Rainbow.

“Ah!” Twilight's face suddenly cleared up and she lit with glee.

I knew that wouldn't take long, Chrysalis said. Only she didn't really say it. Both of the pegasi looked on in fright, having clearly heard the words but also having clearly seen Chrysalis' mouth not move an inch. Either the changeling was a ventriloquist or something very weird just happened.

“This will make things much easier,” Twilight pranced in place as she did every time she came across what she believed to be the perfect solution. The pegasi, who had not heard the previous exchange between the other three, were lost.

“What's going on?” Rainbow asked with honest intent. So much of this was hard to understand and she thought she had been doing pretty well to handle it all since she had fallen asleep in Twilight's hivemind.

“Elementary, my dear ponies,” Twilight tutted merrily. She was so ecstatic that she even slung a hoof around Chrysalis subconsciously, much to the changeling's delight. “Pinkie Pie – or I might say Pinkie's mind – has started making sense of things.”

Rainbow Dash deadpanned her expression. “Yeah, sure,” she dripped with sarcasm.

“Oh,” Twilight giggled. “I don't mean like that. Pinkie still doesn't make much sense-”

Hey, Pinkie cut in with her thought. Again, it was in the mouthless language. I totally make sense. Like, I even brought cupcakes for your Get Well party. I left them downstairs in the kitchen. Anypony want some?

Chrysalis was the only one to raise a hoof. It was deathly silent otherwise and she quickly brought it back down to resume hugging her queen. Pinkie zipped out of the room with the same rainbow streak from earlier. Rainbow Dash felt concern. Great concern.

“Anyways,” Twilight got back on track. “I didn't know this before but apparently Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense is omnipotent to a degree. It has potential beyond mere vague and immediate events. Merged with my own analysis magic that I use for indexing books, I've inadvertently used it as a sort of life hack.”

“Omni-what now?” Rainbow quirked a brow, lost on a previous word.

“Omnipotent. It means it has potentially unlimited power,” the royal answered for clarity.

“We've always known that,” Fluttershy added in a whisper, which Twilight effortlessly caught. She was gradually getting better at hearing the quiet mare than she ever had been capable of in the past.

“Yes, but now I can use it,” Twilight concluded.

“What?!” the two pegasi shouted, Fluttershy's being more of a breathy gasp.

The alicorn, however, was still calm and might even be described as increasing in levels of tranquility. “It seems to be related to her actual persona or the soul of her cutie mark rather than a physical intuition,” she proceeded once again into her technical speak. Quite cheerfully it might be said. “Each of us has something similar in terms of where our true destinies lie. Although we may not share all the same physical attributes, the hivemind that Chrysalis introduced me to has far closer immaterial bonding than I originally anticipated.”

Pinkie Pie zoomed back into the room and handed Chrysalis a double-accented purple cupcake, much alike the tones in Twilight's mane and tail. The changeling gave her thanks and started nibbling on it. She then looked between the cupcake and the mare she was still half-hugging and grinned with a thought, her cheeks puffed out by the cupcake in her mouth.

Twilight paused her practical lecture and stared straight at her changeling. I heard that thought, she declared.

Chrysalis just grinned more and swallowed the treat. Judging by the blushes on everypony else's faces, they had heard it too. Funny, Chrysalis thought out publicly. I could have sworn I had some kind of privacy filter in my old hive.

Twilight kept her serious look and then dropped it for a softer one. I'll have to come up with something too. This might get a little messy.

Messy? Pinkie Pie snorted along with the thought-talk. I love messy!

“Messy is an understatement,” Rainbow frowned. “I still don't get half the things buzzing around in my head and I just caught something I need to know more about right now.”

Twilight's glee was taken down a peg. Was there something Rainbow just realized in one of their memories that was really hurtful?

“What's this stuff about maybe being immortal?”

Ah, that again. I don't know either, Twilight responded sincerely through the new conversational part of her hivemind. I hadn't even considered it until recently and I haven't contacted the Princess about it yet.

“Okay, I'm calling it,” Rainbow frowned. “This talking without the mouth-moving is just creepy.”

I love creepy!

All eyes turned to Pinkie Pie in a disturbed manner.

Totally, the pink mare extended her hooves wide in gesture. Like when you get a friend to go into a rockyard late at night and then come around a boulder suddenly and scare them into hiccuping! It's hilarious! Can't do it without the creepy part first, though.

Twilight shook her head while Fluttershy took a step back from Pinkie and towards her queen.

“Well, that's enough of that,” the purple alicorn decided. “We can talk normal so long as we're here with each other. Does this mental talk work over long distances?”

Chrysalis seemed to have picked up on the fact that the question was directed to her. She shrugged. “It does with changelings. I don't know if it will for ponies.”

“Right,” Twilight sighed. “Let's assume for now. I'm still tired – what time is it?”

Before anypony even opened their mouths, Twilight knew. Pinkie Pie had gone down stairs and had a glimpse of one of the windows that hadn't had the curtains drawn yet. It was dark outside but not yet full night, which meant late sundown. Twilight began to wonder if she ever would get the hang of this mental conveyance and, further, if a large number of connections might even imply a low-level of omniscience.

“Oh, I don't know about that,” Pinkie Pie spoke verbally this time. She bounced around the room happily, as if she had some reason to be. Really she was just being her usual cheery self. “There are limits and downsides to everything.”

“That's an odd thing for you to say, Pinkie,” Rainbow furrowed her brows in skepticism.

“Is it?” the mare whipped out some smart-looking glasses out of nowhere and equipped them on her face. “The transference of pure thought and memory eliminates the necessity for verbal communication to the highest degree when it is of continual and active effect. This indicates a complete breakdown of the social aspect of relational conference in the event of positive interpersonal statuses. Furthermore, it might even suggest a reduction in individuality and an emphasis on objective operational needs, which further reduces emotional bonding in preference of survival. Perhaps even to the point of disdain for those not of the mental connection, who may exhibit an inefficiency in such things.”

Fluttershy rubbed her eyes. Did Pinkie Pie just say all of that? It sounded like a Twilight lecture but it was definitely Pinkie's voice.

“Or something like that!” Pinkie gave a raspberry and continued her bouncing, glasses still equipped. Rainbow Dash squinted as she tried working out things in her head in an attempt to use this hivemind to get the answers. It did not come as easy for her, though.

“Where are you going?” Chrysalis asked Twilight, who was walking lazily out of the ring and bedroom.

“I need to get a letter off to the Princess,” she explained. “And I might as well do some reading as well. I need to be up for a few hours if I'm going to get my sleep schedule back in order. I don't necessarily want to turn into a night owl. At least not if there's no research to be done.”

Fluttershy wasn't about to be left behind. She pushed as much of Pinkie out of her head as was possible, which was getting more difficult to do. She trotted up to her purple friend. “Don't you always have something to research, though?” she inquired in her normally quiet tone.

Twilight laughed lightly as she made her way down the stairs. “Just about. These days more than ever,” she said. “But I have to draw a line somewhere.”

“The Twilight I know always had a hard time drawing that line,” Fluttershy mentioned while trying to sound as gentle and respectful as possible. She loathed the idea of somehow insulting her queen.

“Hm,” the alicorn hummed and finally reached the ground floor of the treehouse library. “I suppose I did have some moments. But all those years in the-”

“What is it?” Chrysalis voiced from behind the alicorn and pegasus. She had followed them in turn and didn't like the way Twilight stopped so suddenly mid-sentence. She still wasn't getting reliable hivemind connections.

The pony queen walked more slowly up to her desk. “I...was going to say 'Academy' as in the Royal Guard Academy. But that wasn't me,” she said as her eyes wandered around suspiciously. “That was Direway.”

“Typical,” Chrysalis stated to nopony in particular.

“Are our memories going to keep getting mixed up like this? And where's Spike?” the queen asked her changeling as she levitated the proper scroll, ink, and quill in place before her. She would normally have Spike write the letter for her.

“It happens to hatchlings the most,” the changeling answered as she came up to sit next to Twilight. Fluttershy would have done likewise, not wanting to be outmatched by the shape-shifter, but she instead walked over to Owlowiscious' perch to ask him about the baby dragon's whereabouts. “You won't have the problem for long. It'll probably disappear entirely after you've handled all of your connections.”

“You mean I haven't handled them already?” Twilight asked another question as she started writing.

“Hardly,” Chrysalis balked. “You wouldn't be asking all these questions if you did. You'd already know the answers.”

“Speaking of that,” Twilight still didn't look away from the scroll she was etching upon. “I haven't had a very comprehensive connection with you. I thought I knew everything you did after that first time but I've started to feel like something's missing.”

Chrysalis peered around to see the words her queen was making out to what she considered to be a much lesser pony. “No,” she agreed. “And I honestly have no idea what might happen if you do. Pinkie Pie is already causing enough commotion as it is.”

“What do you mea-”

“He's with Rarity and should be back before too long,” Fluttershy reported back as she pranced back to her queen's side. Talking to the owl was easier for her than breathing.

The Element of Magic was going to respond but was cut off again, this time by another pony. Rainbow Dash tumbled out of her ink pot with the highest degree of unpredictability. As she rolled off the desk and onto the floor, the rainbow mare was so spotted with the writing liquid that she more resembled a frozen cow than her normal self. Thankfully no ink spilled onto the letter Twilight had been attempting to write.

“That is what I mean,” Chrysalis deadpanned.

“Dashie!” Twilight leaned back in shock and stammered. “What? How?”

“Ugh,” the sporty fem groaned. “Pinkie Pie...”

“You called?!” blurted the pony of question, who leaped out of the same ink pot with far more grace than the last traveler. She landed right beside Rainbow Dash and was not at all covered in ink like her friend. The pegasus still had her eyes rolling in their sockets in a confused daze.

“No roughhousing in the library,” Twilight huffed in conclusion and crossed her hooves. Before Pinkie could speak again, she added, “No transdimensional ink pot teleportation either.”

“Aw,” Pinkie pouted.

“You have the answer now,” Chrysalis spoke calmly to her queen, which made Twilight whip a “huh” in response. “You asked Rainbow how she went through the pot. You got the answer a second later. The hivemind is continuing to work outside of the ring.”

Twilight couldn't have missed the elation in her changeling's tone or the fact that she clopped her holey hooves together in excitement. “But it feels like my mind is getting shoved against a lemon juicer,” the queen retorted with far less enthusiasm than her friend. “Or maybe that's just a little bit of leftover exhaustion. Now who's going to fix this mess?”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to speak but her queen whipped back around to Fluttershy before she could.

“Get Dashie cleaned up,” she ordered and then, as the shy mare was helping the now slightly less confused Rainbow to her hooves, she changed her mind. “No wait. I'll do it. You go help Pinkie make some muffins in the kitchen so she doesn't try a Sonic Pinkboom.”

“Hey,” Pinkie whined. “How'd you know-”

“Let's get going, Pinkie,” Fluttershy rushed to the Earth pony and started driving her to the kitchen. It seemed she was just as worried as Twilight about the prospects. Given the cupcakes that Pinkie had brought, it was quite obvious the muffins were just a last second excuse for busy work.

“Useful,” Twilight noted to herself and then regarded her changeling again. “You seem to know more than you're letting on about what's been happening. I expect an answer and I'll get it if I have to force another connection on top of the last one.”

“But we're already-”

Twilight cut Chrysalis off again but did so intentionally this time. “No. I know you've held back somehow because there was never a flash between us like there was with the others. And I'm certain now that I don't know everything you know, which means we haven't fully connected. We'll talk more later,” the queen ended what was becoming too long of a conversation.

Chrysalis was wise enough to keep her mouth shut this time as her queen trotted over to the ink stained Rainbow Dash and assisted the poor mare to the library's bathroom. The changeling had no choice but to consider all that had happened and how she was going to deal with Twilight forcing another full mental link with her. She had many worries about that, which was why she had kept from it so far. The Spinner knew she wanted nothing more than absolute connection with her queen, but she couldn't bear to put her through any more than she already had.

Twilight shut the door behind her as she continued assisting Rainbow to the tub. At multiple points the black and blue pegasus had tried removing herself from Twilight's half-hold. She didn't like the idea of being some badly injured pony who needed somepony else to support her just because she had tripped through space and time and popped out of an ink pot. It was all Pinkie's fault anyways. Dumb Pinkie anti-physics getting shoved into her brain.

“Stop fighting me, Dashie,” Twilight tried putting forth as much patience as she could muster. “Have you already forgotten who I am?”

It would have been either a strange or incredibly egotistical question if Rainbow had heard it before the incident in the bedroom. Now, it was just plain fact. “No,” she sighed.

“And who am I to you?” Twilight proceeded logically as they came up to the edge of the tub. Her purple magic began organizing all of the necessary things such as soap and towels, ordering them in neat rows and groups worthy of her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Rainbow said something quietly. So quietly, in fact, that Twilight had to wonder if Fluttershy's mind had melded with hers.

“Say it louder,” the queen encouraged also with Fluttershy's voice, particularly the one she used to get her animal friends to cheer up.

“My queen,” Rainbow finally voiced loud enough to be audible but low enough so that it was absolutely impossible for the sound to have escaped the room. It was also half-mumbled but Twilight would allow that since she could see her friend was blushing in the most ripe hue of tomato.

Rainbow stepped into the tub and was surprised to see Twilight do the same. “I'd have told you to clean yourself up if I wasn't going to help,” the queen explained.

“Hey,” Rainbow came back with her stubborn ego. “I can clean myself off just fine, you know.”

Twilight didn't even say anything to that. She just cocked her brow in that way that said “really.” The pegasus got the hint that if her queen set her mind to wanting to do something then it was simply her decision to do so.

“Honestly,” Twilight said, “this would be much easier if you were just your true self. Washing her would be easier than washing you.”

“You mean...”

“I know old habits die hard but I could use the gentle Dashie right now,” the alicorn smiled warmly in an attempt to get her friend to relax. The curtain was drawn and the water started pouring without any warning or fanfare. The initial cold spray made her yelp in surprise but, humorously, it also made Rainbow do the same.

“It never warms up fast enough for me,” Twilight remarked and shivered as the water moved into the lukewarm stage. She used her magic aura to do everything as usual which included grabbing the soap and washcloth. They would only get the loose ink off and then she'd have to use a stronger cleaner to get the stain out.

Please don't take too long, Twi, Fluttershy communicated through the hivemind from the kitchen. Pinkie Pie is really hard to take care of.

Hey, Pinkie called out as well.

Fluttershy must not have remembered her thoughts might have been public. Oh dear, was all she had left to comment.

“Those two,” Rainbow shook her head as she angled her body one way and another under the water to get the ink off. Twilight began applying soap and scrubbing at some spots.

“Are both ponies that I trust as much as I do you,” the purple mare finished as a matter of fact. “Though maybe Pinkie Pie a little less,” she immediately backpedaled. “How'd you copy Pinkie like that anyway?”

“The ink pot?” Rainbow deadpanned. “I didn't do it on purpose, I swear. I was just stepping out of that weird ring thing in your bedroom and then I was walking out of the ink pot instead. I think Pinkie's whatever is messing with me.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes as she focused on scrubbing one spot of her friend's flank that she knew darn well she could clean more out of. Her tongue even stuck out a bit in concentration as she started seeing some of the cutie mark get revealed from beneath the ink. “It's messing with all of us. Just try to stay calm.”

“Calm?” Rainbow blurted and whirled around to face her queen directly. It moved the spot Twilight was focusing on out of sight, which made her frown in annoyance. “I'm having other ponies' heads in my head now. That changeling is getting in too!”

Twilight's frown came back. “Chrysalis,” she corrected sternly. “And I understand some of the things you'll see inside your mind might be a little disturbing, but we all have gone through disturbing things in our lives.”

“Disturbing doesn't even begin to cover it,” Rainbow insisted, looking far less like her usual self with the way her mane, tail, and feathers drooped under the spray of now-warm water. The ink stains didn't help the image's familiarity either. “What the heck is with this? I didn't want to know why she attacked Canterlot. I don't care, but it's worming its way into my head anyways. I hate it.”

Twilight's frown turned sad. She had indeed seen and understood many things she had not been privy to since the whole hivemind business started in the first place. But it had, more than anything else, merely convinced her that she had never had as much compassion in her life as she thought even though she egotistically believed otherwise in the past. There were times she even wondered if things would have gone differently if she had been more concerned with helping those in trouble rather than being consumed with herself in one way or another. Books, research, reports...

“Twi?” Rainbow finally turned concerned.

“Dashie,” the queen lifted her gaze and met eyes straight on with her friend. “Never say that. Never say that you hate understanding somepony else.”

The pegasus was taken back by the seriousness of it. She never liked feeling scorned and even the hint of it coming from Twilight, her new queen, was devastating. More so were the implications of it considering what Twilight had gone through to understand her. “I...didn't mean...”

“Let's get you cleaned up,” Twilight reiterated to end it. She grabbed a special coat cleaning solution from under the bathroom sink using her purple aura. It floated to the tub, around the curtains, and over beside her.

Rainbow Dash just stood there under the pelting water.

21 - Deferral is Energetic

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It was late but Spike was glad he had kept going along with Rarity until the end. It was a lot of work, but it gave him this hard to explain kind of peace when he spent the day with her. Maybe it was his crush on her or maybe it was just because he liked working with her. It was much less obsessive work than Twilight often gave him.

Nevertheless, he was looking forward to sleeping in that ring thing again. He was tired and it was practically calling out to him already. He could only hope that Twilight and Chrysalis were back by now and hadn't made a mess of the place that he would have to clean up. It kind of annoyed him that Chrysalis just up and left like that, but he wasn't her master. Twilight was the one in that position.

The dragon was walking along steadily across a darkening Ponyville on his way back to the Golden Oaks Library. He felt pretty good besides the tiredness and he fondly remembered the spa trip. It had been a pretty nice experience overall even if one removed Rarity from the picture. He would, of course, never actually remove her from the picture. That was just absurd.

He had no inkling of an idea that he would, upon opening the front door to his home, find exactly what he did. He had to close the door behind him rather loudly to get their attention since none had even seemed to realize anyone had entered in the first place. A hearty “ahem” was a useful additive.

“I don't remember there being any parties,” he huffed in an annoyed fashion. Again, he didn't like the idea of there being some unplanned mess for him to clean up with him being as tired as he was. “I suppose Pinkie sprung a new one on us?”

Twilight Sparkle was sitting before her desk with what appeared to be a freshly drying mane and tail. Rainbow Dash was in similar condition next to her and Fluttershy was off to the side with Pinkie Pie, talking to her about something and also looking to get away from her and towards Twilight. Chrysalis was looking gloomy in a corner but was the first to answer.

“In more ways than one,” the changeling buzzed precisely as gloomy as she looked. “Don't worry about cleaning anything up, Spike. Just go to bed. I'll do it.”

The small dragon was surprised by this. Sure, he knew Chrysalis wasn't all bad, but it was quite generous for her to offer that. Generous...

“Spike!” Twilight finally turned from her focus on her desk. “Welcome back. You went to Rarity's?”

“Uh, yeah,” he slowly came out of it as Chrysalis went back to her moping about whatever. “She needed help with work. You weren't here so I thought I'd make myself useful.”

“Oh, well that was very nice of you,” the alicorn praised and then returned her gaze to her desk where she was writing something.

“How'd everything go with...?” Spike made his own inquiry as he moved towards the stairs.

“Terrible,” Twilight answered to the obvious. “We accomplished very little and wasted a whole lot of time and energy. The very opposite of efficient.”

“Oh...I'm sorry,” Spike felt a little lost as to what to say.

“Don't be,” she dismissed it. “I have one letter I need you to send off and then you can just get some sleep, Spike. You must be exhausted. Rarity can get pretty crazy with her sewing.”

Spike had no grounds or desire to argue that. Rarity really could be a monster when it came to making outfits. But he still found it strange how Chrysalis had been as considerate as Twilight. The mare had usually been that way because she raised him but the changeling was less so. As he made his way up to the bedroom, he felt a kind of elation. Maybe, like with what happened with Rarity at the spa, some ponies (or changelings) were actually thinking him as an equal rather than a servile add-on.

Before he went out of sight at the top of the stairs, he called down. “Send the letter up when you're ready and I'll get it off before bed.”

Downstairs, Fluttershy finally extricated herself from the party pony. “Twi,” the shy mare zipped to her queen's side. “Save me.”

The words conveyed in her whisper made it almost comical. Twilight hesitated to respond as she finished her letter even though Fluttershy was starting to nuzzle her to get her attention. Rainbow gave a weird look and then started doing the same thing to her queen for some equally weird reason. Finally, Twilight dotted her signature.

“Save you from what, Shy?” she happily returned her gaze to the yellow pegasus.

“Me!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, who leaped onto Twilight's back and hugged her around the neck like an adjustable wrench on the lowest setting. The queen gave an “urk” at the grip and used her magic to make Pinkie loosen up and slide off.

“Stop getting in the way, Pinkie,” Rainbow scowled and nudged the mare out of the way.

“Oh, I get it,” the Element of Laughter rolled her eyes in dramatic realization. She then shoved Rainbow roughly into Twilight. “Time to get happy!”

Twilight pretended to understand that as much as Rainbow or Fluttershy had, which was to say not at all. She let herself get rolled over and have Rainbow roll on top of her in turn. “Sometimes it's best to just go along with her, Dashie,” the queen giggled.

Unfortunately, the rainbow mare was too red faced once again to make a legible response. Whatever was going on in her mind was taking too much of her mental resources for her to do anything, whether speak or get off of her queen. Pinkie laid back onto her side and propped her head up with a hoof.

“Aw,” the Earth pony cooed. “Now isn't that just adorable!”

Fluttershy could have made some remark but felt instead that she had already spent too much effort on Pinkie as it was. So she knelt down to look over Twilight and straight into Rainbow's eyes. “Dashie...?”

That succeeded in getting Rainbow out of her trance because her attention was averted to Fluttershy instead of her queen's soul-warming eyes. She seriously thought she could be lost in them, as if they were bottomless pools of lavender in a heart-stopping beautiful oasis. But then she also questioned whether that was really her thought or not. It felt like somepony else had thought that instead of her. Dumb hivemind. Rainbow carefully got off her queen, helped her to her hooves, and then asked again for some measure of clarity.

“So how does this whole hivemind thing work anyhow?”

Twilight squinted, unsquinted, pursed her lips, and then wondered aloud. “Who said anything about a hivemind?”

Chrysalis perked up at that and couldn't help cracking a faint smile in her gloom. Who said anything about a hivemind? That was hysterically shrewd of her. Pointless perhaps but certainly amusing.

“Ugh, please,” Rainbow insisted with a flap of her wings. A spot of black ink flashed, Twilight having missed a spot on the mare's wing. It sidetracked the queen's attention and Rainbow had to grab her face in her hooves to get eye contact and mental focus back out of her. “Equestria to Queen Twi. Hivemind?”

“Oh, uh,” Twilight stuttered. “Shared memories, mental talking, that's it for now? Maybe?”

Rainbow furrowed her brows and let the mare's face go. “Yeah, mental talking alright,” she rolled her eyes. “This whole thing is mental.”

Pinkie Pie either didn't get the separate meaning or chose to overlook it. “Can I do the thing now?”

Whatever “thing” meant, Twilight was sure she didn't want Pinkie to do it. A resolute “no” whipped out of her mouth practically on instinct. Was the library usually this busy and partially chaotic when her friends dropped by? It seemed like things were a tad more out of control than usual and she couldn't blame it on Discord this time since he was out of the picture. He mentioned months ago that he had some kind of work that would be tying him up, as if that idea was the least bit reassuring coming from him.

“Twi,” Fluttershy whispered into her queen's ear. The royal nearly jumped two hooves in surprise since she hadn't realized she had spaced out. Fluttershy backed off now that she had her attention again. “What about the letter and the research?”

“Right,” Twilight pipped and got back to the letter. She had finished it and only had to teleport it up to Spike before she got distracted one more time by the others. She hated having him do it since he was a baby dragon in need of sleep, but she also understood how a day with Rarity could give him enough lifeforce for one last thing. That mare was a slave driver but she always put a spring in his step anyways. The letter was teleported and not even a second later she heard the wisp of magic flame from upstairs.

“Great,” Rainbow said half-honestly as she sidled up to Twilight. “Letter's off. Now research.”

Twilight was pretty sure that last word had been uttered with some amount of disdain and sarcasm but she also wanted to know how well their connection had gone through thus far. She then had to ask. “You know about the black crystal?”

Rainbow watched her queen levitate the gem, rock, or otherwise titled item to the center of the desk while Fluttershy cleared the area for it. “As much as you do...I think,” she tacked on at the end. “I'm still not getting the hang of this memory thing. These crystals are what Sombra used? I remember that much myself.”

“Indeed,” Twilight answered with distracted tone as she peered in closely at the crystal.

“And it's actually some powerful kind of dark magic he invented.”

“You might say that.”

“And you want to unlock its secrets? So you know how to face him?”

“You seem to have a better 'hang' of this hivemind than you think you do, Dashie,” Twilight smiled brightly but didn't move her eyes from the piece. Some of her purple magical aura suddenly manifested within the rock and swirled around with the black shroud inside.

Fluttershy was watching just as closely and whispered an “oh my.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow flipped her mane with great pride, totally oblivious to what was going on. “I'm a totally together kind of mare.”

Twilight finally broke her concentration and looked straight at her. “Keep it up, Ms. Dash.”

Rainbow's elated mood kept up and Fluttershy shrilled an “eep” for an entirely different reason. The crystal that Twilight was working on violently exploded and rocketed the three mares away from its former existence on the desk. Fluttershy fell by the door, Rainbow Dash by the kitchen, and Twilight Sparkle into a certain changeling's hooves that just happened to fly into a position to catch her.

“Too much kinetic magic?” Twilight mumbled to herself as her eyes twirled around to follow the imaginary birds dancing around her field of vision.

There was a thick black smoke in the room that made it very hard to see and somewhere within was a chortling Pinkie Pie who was remarking how very fun it all was. Chrysalis noted, as she dodged to catch her queen, that none of them had been seriously injured, but she knew she had to say something in warning now. Twilight's eyes finally stopped spinning but the changeling didn't put her down quite yet.

“You should try not to mess with magic you don't fully understand, especially this dark magic,” Chrysalis touted.

“That's funny coming from a shape-shifter full of holes,” Twilight countered with a wobbly voice indicating she was in her right mind but still shaken from the blast. She saw Chrysalis' expression turn pathetic as if she had been insulted, which had to be amended right away.

“Chysy,” she started over. The name seemed to spark a reaction with the changeling. “I didn't mean it in a bad way. You're just as beautiful as anypony else. No, more so. And thanks for catching me, by the way.”

Chrysalis went even more wide-eyed than she was naturally but her queen turned and went to check up on the others without any additional remark. She was left standing in her spot wondering if Twilight had just said something completely platonic or not. She had no way of getting that out of the hivemind as it was now since only forced conversational links were working and no random floating memory could help her. Not a few changeling curses did she whisper to herself for the mess that this pony hive was turning out to be.

Twilight went to one pony and then another, ensuring each was alright while she used her magic to open a window and start billowing the smoke out. Afterwards, she found the crystal to be gone and the desk had a new scorch mark on it. It wasn't the first scorch mark and she was glad nopony asked about that because there were a half hundred stories to explain them all.

Spike hadn't come down to check on them in spite of the sound because he was likely already asleep and random explosions long ceased to give him worry – at least around Twilight. Nevertheless, a sound came from upstairs in the bedroom and the queen thought to check on him anyhow. When she got up the steps, she found the dragon turning on his side in the sleep ring. He was awake but trying to get back to sleep.

“Argh,” he grouched as he normally did whenever he was sleepy and bothered. “This better be the last one.”

Twilight took notice of a scroll next to him that hadn't been in the sleep ring earlier. Immediately, her heart picked up pace at the prospect of it being her anticipated reply. But it had been too soon, right? She grabbed the scroll in her aura and brought it over so quickly that it almost smacked her in the face.

Chrysalis buzzed up to her as stealthily as possible and hugged her from behind while looking over her shoulder at the scroll. Her horn was glowing a faint green and her eyes narrowed at the words on the piece of parchment. “Canterlot?” she asked, not too happy with the word or place.

“It will have to wait until tomorrow, obviously,” Twilight sighed and rolled the scroll back up. “If she wants to talk to me in person about it then I can't complain.”

“You're a queen,” Chrysalis argued. “Technically, you can.”

Twilight brought a hoof around and bopped the changeling playfully on the head. “I'm not that kind of queen, my little changeling.”

“I'm not little,” Chrysalis pouted. “I'm bigger than you.”

“Twi?” Fluttershy whispered as she came up behind them. “Is everything alright?”

“Just another trip, Shy,” she replied while trying with difficulty to turn around with the changeling draped over her. Everypony, she spoke out mentally. I need to take another trip tomorrow. This time to Canterlot. Anypony that wants to go can join me but it's not likely to be the most interesting venture.

Oh oh oh! Pinkie called back. I'm going! I'm going!

Heck if I'm leaving Twi alone on this, Rainbow added in.

Fluttershy, being right in front of Twilight, had a very sad look about her now. The queen didn't need to see into her mind to know what it was for, though.

“It's okay,” Twilight assured her and stepped up to place a hoof on her friend's shoulder. “I understand. You can't be away from the animals all the time. I'll be coming back, you know?”

The shy mare still looked depressed that she couldn't come along but nodded and tried giving her queen a smile. Twilight then attempted to nudge Chrysalis off to no effect. She was stuck like glue.

“I should probably go check on them,” Fluttershy said in reference to her animals. “I'll be back to sleep here if that's...um...alright with you?”

“I already said it was,” Twilight confirmed happily and gave Chrysalis a few more nudges, each as useless as the last.

With that, the pegasus left back downstairs and out the front door to visit her own cottage. Twilight figured it would be best to go back down as well so that she could do something of value other than letting a snacky changeling leech off of her. She wobbled down the stairs carefully so that she would not fall along with her holey baggage while she simultaneously decided what she would do with her time given the lack of the black crystal and the answer she received from Princess Celestia.

She finally supposed that there was always something she could dig out of Chrysalis herself. That notion was not entertained for a moment longer, however, because her two other friends downstairs immediately set questions upon her when she came back down.

“So why Canterlot?” Rainbow threw out while eating a very fresh looking muffin. It had blueberries in it.

Twilight went back to her desk, arranged some things to no ultimate purpose, and then answered. “Princess Celestia wants to talk to me face-to-face. I asked her about immortality and she seems to consider it a serious subject.”

“No, really?” Rainbow deadpanned.

“Yes, really,” the queen continued and then faced the rainbow mare again.

Chrysalis finally got off of her so that she could stop Pinkie Pie from bouncing right into them. She used her teeth to grab the Element of Laughter by her poofy tail and swung her around and out of the way. Unfortunately, Pinkie's tail had the stretchiness of fresh salt water taffy and she thus flung to and fro. As Chrysalis and Pinkie went about this swinging and stretching, the Earth pony loving every bit of it, Twilight continued talking with Rainbow Dash.

“So I'll be going tomorrow,” Twilight kept on, suddenly feeling lighter. “I'll have to remember to invite Applejack and Rarity just in case they want to go. I don't see any reason they'd want to but I'd feel bad inviting everypony else and not them. Which reminds me...”

“What?” Rainbow asked more softly.

“I need to talk to Rarity in the morning anyways. I haven't seen her in a while and she came here to get my help.”

“Hey,” the blue pegasus said, stuffed the rest of the muffin in her mouth, and crossed her forehooves as she hovered in the air with her strong wings. “It's not like she didn't get any. I've seen Spike help her before and he's not that bad. Give him a little credit.”

Twilight felt a little surprised to hear Rainbow of all ponies saying that, even if the words were a bit deranged by the muffin inhibitor. Still, it encouraged her. The little dragon really was a hard worker and he had his own special talents that shined whenever he used them. She felt like a poor guardian with the way she'd be leaving him again for Canterlot...unless she brought him along. Actually, that started to sound like a good idea to her.

She had many things to plan for. Thank goodness she didn't have anything set with Mayor Mare in terms of speeches or appearances in Ponyville. That was the charm of such a small and mostly out of the way town. Still, she had to figure out sleeping arrangements. She couldn't go through what she had earlier in the day. Not again. Perhaps Chrysalis could rig up a sleep ring at the castle? It didn't have to be a quarter as elaborate as the one in her library bedroom. It only needed to be enough.

“Whee,” yelled Pinkie Pie as she finally whirled over Twilight's head via Chrysalis' toss, trailing rainbow colors in her wake. Where she landed was irrelevant, assuming she landed at all. Twilight was too busy thinking and starting to draw up a checklist on her desk while pulling out various research books from the library shelves using her most base magic.

Chrysalis drew up by her side, getting a little tense look with Rainbow on Twilight's other side. She gave her queen an okay sign to indicate she had taken care of Pinkie Pie but went unnoticed and Pinkie slowly poked her head from behind Rainbow Dash anyway. Not that it mattered how she got there. The changeling sighed, relenting that only the alicorn could truly handle The Pink One.

“Want a cupcake?” Pinkie asked with an unnecessary slowness, as if it would somehow entice a yes. “Oh! Maybe a fresh muffin?”

Chrysalis shrugged. “One of each, I suppose.”

“Whoa, girl!” Pinkie shot out from behind Rainbow and took on faux shock. “So daring!”

Rainbow facehoofed, Twilight didn't notice, and Chrysalis nodded with a sly look. It was true. She lived oh so very on the edge.

“Why, sister?” Princess Luna asked honestly and with no hint of judgment. She really just wanted to know something she currently didn't. “Why didn't you tell her the truth when it happened?”

“I did tell her the truth,” Princess Celestia responded from her bed where she laid atop the sheets. They were both once more in her bedroom, though it might be clarified that Luna had been the one to enter without having been called there. She did that often these days. “And I think I've been rather lenient in the whole matter. I gave her a minimal guard, withheld the servants, and allowed her to remain in Ponyville. I've even gone to the trouble of ordering all press and the less upstanding ponies from bothering her.”

“You mean you gave me that job,” Luna pursed her lips in indignation. She continued pacing about the room for some inexplicable reason. “Hardly any time for anypony else, but plenty of time for Twilight Sparkle. You're even pushing it onto me now.”

It was rare for Luna to use that tone of voice with her, which made Celestia worry. “Lulu...?” she spoke in her kind voice. “I thought you liked Twilight. Don't you like her?”

“Like her? Hah,” Luna laughed. “She's a fine pony in her own right. But she's not everything you've set her up to be!”

Ah, the elder sister realized. So this was what it was all about. She had known her sibling long enough to know when jealousy was rearing its ugly head. For a thousand years did she have time to think about how she would treat her sister when she came back but none of those plans involved inciting jealousy. Celestia sighed. For all her age, she still made mistakes she had to reconcile.

“Lulu,” the white alicorn spoke with the same kind tone, not wanting to aggravate her sister. She had to repeat the name to get her attention, since Luna was now rapidly pacing about the bedroom with puffed cheeks of hurtfulness. “Lulu, I'm sorry. It's because I moved back our secret garden picnic, isn't it?”

The Mare of the Night finally stopped in her tracks, but her back was to Celestia and she did not turn to face her. She just stood silent.

“I'm sorry, Lulu,” Celestia apologized honestly. “I know you don't like it when-”

Luna whipped around now with an upset expression and cut her sister off. “Every time you reschedule, it just means you will reschedule it again because it's clearly not important to you. You did that to my one thousand three hundred twenty-ninth birthday for twelve months until you simply celebrated it with my thirtieth! All because you were too busy with the griffons to bother!”

This was escalating quickly to go down the path of the Royal Canterlot Voice. There were even tiny tears in Luna's eyes. Celestia could tell. It was her sister, after all. And, to be fair, what she said was entirely true even if Celestia hadn't meant to be so insensitive about that particular birthday.

“Lulu,” Celestia repeated in some subconscious hope that she could calm Luna down by doing so. “I did apologize for that-”

“Thy apology meanest ash if thou intendest only to REPEAT THY TRANSGRESSIONS!”

Royal Canterlot Voice: avoidance failed. Celestia sighed again. Maybe Luna could be a selfish little sister at times but then who didn't have such moments? Not a hundred years before her banishment, Luna had called Celestia out for throwing a most unbecoming temper tantrum over a trivial piece of cake. Being the older sister, it had been quite the embarrassing debacle.

Luna was suddenly wrapped in a light yellow haze and levitated over to the bedside, where Celestia released her, reached out, and placed her hooves on her sister's puffed cheeks. “Lulu,” she said more persistently. “I'm sorry. We'll have the picnic the second I'm done with Twilight.”

“Thy word?” Luna asked, calmer but still serious and stuck in her old way of speech.

“Thy oath,” Celestia replied, using it herself in spite of the fact that it had been nearly a millennium since she had last done so.

The little night mare brightened up and quickly hugged her sister. Still such a filly at heart and one Celestia gladly hugged in return. “Sit with me?” she offered.

Luna drew up fully onto the bed and rested beside her sister. “I look forward to it, Tia,” she started, now back to her more collected and modern self. “It's been forever since we've been to the garden together.”

Clearly, this really did mean a lot to Luna. Celestia herself had fond memories of it but all reminiscing was not given time for the interruption of Luna's words spoken with wide eager eyes.

“Is it still the same or different now for the passage of time?” the smaller alicorn asked.

“Oh,” Celestia moved her eyes around in search of something to suddenly take interest in. She hadn't actually been to the garden in so long. The last she had seen of it, there were many vines and weeds taking over with the stone columns previously decorating the hidden place long fallen and broken. She didn't like going there with Luna imprisoned on the moon because it held too many memories of their time together - hurtful in her absence. “It may need some work.”

“Work?” Luna drooped just a bit. “It has fallen to decay then.”

“I'll have some of our best servants and gardeners fix it up!” Celestia saved. “It'll be the best one since our white water log rafting picnic we had in the paleopony period.”

“That would be quite a day. Perhaps you could assign the Soleil sisters the task of sprucing the garden up,” Luna suggested with a fake illness at the name. “They could use something to remove their excess of free time.”

“Oh, don't be silly, Lulu,” Celestia flipped her forehoof out in a playful manner. “I already assigned them the task of escorting Twilight when she returns to Ponyville, where they will stay to dote upon her.”

Luna stiffened on her spot in the bed, full of horror. “The Soleil sisters?!”

“Oh, yes, the Soleil sisters,” the elder beamed back like a little filly.

In fact, it was not so different from the look she had given when she ate her very first piece of birthday cake. It had been sometime before Luna turned a hundred and not a day after cake itself had been invented. The incident had involved a sack of flour, a mischievous badger, and a stolen mane tie. It was a very unusual story that Luna preferred at great length not to recall.

“Oh, dear sister, no,” Luna leapt on her sibling. “Twilight couldn't possibly be expected to-”

“Now now,” Celestia patted her sister on the head. “They were very distraught that I kept them from attending her back to the library after the coronation and they've been petitioning me every single day to be released to her. I'm sure they're nothing our good little Twilight can't manage.”

“But, Tia-”

“Hush,” Celestia moved her hoof to her sister's lips.

“They're insufferable,” Luna half mumbled and half whispered behind it.

“And they're no longer my problem,” the elder joked and grinned.

Luna paused and then finally giggled in return. She was happy her big sis still had some playfulness left in her besides the drawer-shoving variety. Still, it might be considered cruel in a way to do it. The Soleil sisters were good ponies and all but they had become borderline obsessive about Twilight Sparkle after they had been assigned their part in the coronation. They were, more than any others, four white-coated blonde banner mares not to be underestimated.

22 - Locomotion is Complimentary

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In hindsight, it hadn't felt at all like just a single hoof's worth of days since Twilight had been through the coronation in Canterlot. It had to have been more than a week, right? The second the ceremony of her rise to princesshood concluded, her life seemed to get shoved so full of this, that, and the other thing that she never had a stretch of peaceful nothingness like she used to. Perhaps she'd get it again in the future...sometime.

This day, even more chaotic than the last few, finally came to a tired close to which the princess-elevated-to-queen could not have been happier. Slipping onto the soft pad of her own dark bedroom's sleep ring was like taking a drink of cold water after an endless trek through a sun-bleached desert of sand. Though perhaps the imagery of her private chamber more resembled a cool cavern well far hidden from the torturous rays of the sun.

She must have made some audible effect of her relief because Chrysalis giggled behind her. Twilight always enjoyed hearing the changeling do that. It was so unusual a sound, like the innocent laugh of a filly combined with the hum of an electric mixer. Not at all normal by pony standards but not entirely unpleasant either.

“I just can't wait until things are normal again,” Twilight said as she maneuvered around Spike. He was curled up near the center and fast asleep.

Chrysalis brought a hoof to her mouth as she thought for a moment and then put it back down as she followed her queen into the ring's pad. The gentle ring of light on the edge was giving them its same peaceful glow, slowly becoming more soothing as it became familiar every night. Both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had to go back to their own homes so they could get this or do that before coming back over for the night, which was getting quite late now.

“And what is 'normal' for you?” Chrysalis asked.

“Well, uh,” Twilight found herself at a loss as she bent down and took up her spot near Spike. The softness of the floor, as it gave in under her weight, almost made her forget the question. “I guess...not being so busy? I'm not sure anymore. You really mixed things up when you came along.”

The queen had smiled and said it jokingly but Chrysalis could see the truth in it. Having a changeling come into the life of a pony must have been just as disorienting as it was in reverse for her. Ponies were such different creatures in some respects.

“I just want a few days like I used to have all the time,” the alicorn continued. “Before my brother's wedding, I mean. Everything was so much simpler then.”

Chrysalis laid down next to her and turned sad. “You prefer the time I wasn't around?”

Twilight balked. “Would you stop that already? I like having you here. I want you here. By Celestia's mane, you're not going to leave me.”

The changeling broke a smile as big as Manehattan to which the mare became shocked and then immediately unsurprised. She had been played.

“You tricked me into saying that,” Twilight deadpanned.

“You didn't have to word it that way,” Chrysalis countered as she cuddled up against her queen's side.

Twilight rolled her eyes and then laid her head down onto her forehooves. Now completely laid down and with a large friend blanketing her on one side, it would not be difficult at all to get her sleep back on a reasonable schedule. The others, when they got back, would be just as tired and could get some rest with her.

“Just go to sleep,” she instructed her changeling. “I'll see you there.”

Sleep. It was different now, but Twilight knew she had to relax and get used to the flow. There really had been a very relaxing element to it, especially since she was in control of the hivemind world. But it could never replace the real world and she worried at one point if she might fail to properly distinguish the two at some point. Chrysalis had said that it was all very different from normal changeling hiveminds. Perhaps, as her conclusion went, it was best not to over-think it and simply treat it as no big deal.

Fluttershy was surprisingly the first to come back, lay down into Twilight's sleep ring, and thus enter the hivemind world again. Twilight was glad about that because she was the first of her friends she had connected to in this special way. That and Twilight knew how the mare could open up more with less ponies around. She didn't need all her knowledge of psychology obtained from endless books to make her aware of it.

The butter-yellow pegasus, removed from her appearance in the real world, had looked flawless in the hivemind. She said nothing much, however, as she took up a spot beside her queen and watched the constructed world around her. The sky was taking on its own character with self-moving clouds that were thin and wide, screening out just enough of the sun to give the grove-like area a slightly overcast but not melancholy feeling.

Now this really did feel like resting, according to Queen Twilight. Fluttershy was on one side and Chrysalis on the other, a look of mischievousness now on the changeling's face to replace the glum mood she had been in earlier. Twilight didn't mind it because she knew it had all been over the connection business. Chrysalis would get over it after she “spilled the beans” anyways. At least, that was what the queen decided.

Rainbow Dash was next into the hivemind, which was again surprising because it meant Pinkie had been the slowest. Without having the over-energetic party pony around to distract her, Rainbow acted a little differently than she had before. But it was barely noticeable and, in fact, only recognizable at all because Twilight had been in her mind – seen her life and inner thoughts.

The rainbow mare settled down at a safe distance from Chrysalis on Fluttershy's side, where she laid into the grass like the others. She wasn't quick or boisterous even though she should have left her tired self in the real world on the sleeping ring. Twilight asked about this and got a “meh” response, which was never to be let go of in the queen's book.

Rainbow found herself dragged in against Twilight by an unseen force of the hivemind, not at all to say she didn't like getting dragged in against her friend. Fluttershy was very polite in making room so that the two could talk closer, since that was obviously what Twilight was aiming for. Chrysalis was too busy to mind any of it, metaphorical gears turning as to which was the best way to ease Twilight into her wealth of knowledge regarding changelings and general life experiences.

What was exchanged between Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle became known to the others present even if it would have otherwise been a private conversation. Twilight was becoming more determined to listen to everything the girls had on their minds and voicing it as well regardless of who knew what. Rainbow herself, having come to terms with all that had happened before, left nothing to the imagination or the far-reaching grasp of the hivemind sharing of memory.

Later, Pinkie Pie shot onto all of them as if the group was a landing pad and she was a rocketship gone mayday. But she just mumbled a few things tiredly as they moved her off and she went straight to sleep as if she wasn't bothered by any of it. Twilight could hardly fathom why Pinkie of all ponies would choose to sleep while she slept but then perhaps that was why. She was Pinkie Pie and that was that.

Besides each of her friends returning from their short leave, nothing unusual occurred that night. The guards returned as well, both Direway and Midnight Strike. They were going to keep their respectful distance, but Twilight wound up ordering them to come in closer. The queen had much on her mind, individual concerns with each pony and the changeling as well. But what she spoke to Rainbow about gave her peace and patience with it all.

They were together safe and free. There would be plenty of time for everything.

Morning came with a contrast that Twilight Sparkle had never felt before in her life. It was thankfully quite a good contrast, being the opposite of the terrible physical and mental pains she had gone though so recently. In fact, she was tempted once again to burst out of the library in song regarding how much Ponyville shimmered and so forth.

Her body felt in pristine condition and her mind was at peace. Issues there may have been but she felt that none of them were out of her control. Breakfast had been livelier than usual with so many more present than just her, Spike, and Chrysalis. Mostly it was Pinkie, though.

Rainbow Dash was the most peculiar of the bunch because Twilight had never seen her wake up in the morning the way she had when they all got up. She was more her other self, the one devoid of mild but trademark narcissism. She was mellow, though in a different way than Fluttershy. It was more the calm that some ponies had after accepting reality in full rather than any measure of shyness.

Twilight was double-checking and triple-checking the packs on her back to make sure she had all she needed before heading out. They were not going to be stopping by the library again after swinging by Rarity's and Applejack's. They'd head straight for the station. According to another letter that had arrived from Celestia that morning, there was a special train car waiting for her and whoever she took with her.

“Can I take some gems?” Spike asked as he leaned out from the kitchen.

Twilight glanced back for just a second before whipping off an answer. “Sure. Just the rubies, though. Somehow I ended up with more of those than the others.”

“Score!” the dragon shouted happily as he ducked back into the kitchen.

Chrysalis came down from the upstairs bedroom with a little hop in her step. “I'm doing this just for you, my queen. I don't like Canterlot.”

Twilight levitated her packs back off of her to look more intensely for something she wasn't finding. “I can't imagine why. Just don't say anything to Celestia unless she speaks directly to you. I don't want an incident.”

“Incident?” Chrysalis faked ignorance. “I don't have a clue what you're talking about...”

“Uh-huh,” the alicorn droned as she frowned, having not found that something that was supposed to be in her packs. “You sound like Discord when you say that. Spike!”

“What?” the dragon popped back out of the kitchen.

“Where's that alicorn book? I thought I put it in here.”

Spike shrugged and then started towards the walls of hardcovers and paperbacks. “I don't know, but I'll check to see if it's still shelved.”

“I will obey my queen's every command,” Chrysalis ended their own conversation with a zipping motion against her mouth.

“It says alicorns didn't come from Equestria,” sounded Rainbow's voice from the kitchen. It made Twilight's ears swivel around to it like a radar.

Dashie, the queen spoke through the physical library walls with the hivemind. Did you take The Alicorn Theory from my bags?

Huh? Oh, the mare responded with a little surprise at the voice that had entered her mind. I was going to put it back...

Twilight sat back onto her haunches. Alright. Just tell me next time so I don't wonder about it, she instructed while waving Spike off of his search.

Rainbow rounded the corner out of the kitchen with a downcast look. “Sorry,” she said.

“Oh, it's okay,” Twilight downplayed. “There's no need to make a big deal of it. What was it that interested you about it?”

Rainbow walked over and slipped the book back into one of the purple pony's packs. “Pinkie Pie saw it on top of the other stuff. She mentioned it and I got curious. It isn't a very useful book, though.”

Twilight smiled at that. “No kidding,” she remarked honestly. “It says 'Theory' but any good scientist could tell it hardly even qualifies as a hypothesis. It's more or less just hearsay, conjecture, and the author's wild imagination. I thought to bring it last second because I thought Celestia might get a laugh out of it.”

“Twi?” Fluttershy's voice came along as she too arrived out of the kitchen. “Do you want me to clean the dishes? Pinkie just finished the last of breakfast and I know you'll be out of town...”

Rainbow perked up at the idea, looking back to Fluttershy and then back expectantly to Twilight.

The alicorn shrugged. Spike usually took care of such things so she didn't really have a preference one way or the other, even if it would be a good idea. Rainbow jumped at it, though.

“I'll take care of it,” the rainbow pegasus beamed as she trotted back into the kitchen.

Fluttershy looked either mildly surprised or happy. It was a complicated expression. She then gave a tiny nod to her queen and followed Rainbow while Pinkie Pie bounced out to replace her.

“Those muffins were incredible even warmed up!” the pink pony cheered and she bounced around the library.

Twilight latched her sacks again now that their contents were complete. “Yes, they were. So how'd you get time off for this, Pinkie?”

“I just asked, silly,” Pinkie chortled as she kept bouncing. “I asked before I left for the Crystal Empire with you. Or maybe I just left a note. My hours at Sugarcube Corner are flexible.”

“Gee,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “I can't imagine why the Cakes wouldn't mind letting you go for a while.”

“When do we leave?” Chrysalis broke in as she played with her mane in a bored manner.

Twilight hefted the packs back onto her back and ran through her mental checklist, making sure she had everything in order. “As soon as the girls are done with the dishes, I guess.”

Done, Rainbow grinned as she darted out of the kitchen again. Fluttershy was slower on her hooves as she tried following behind.

“That...was fast,” Twilight couldn't help but gape.

Rainbow Dash landed square on her hooves right in front of her queen. Her grin was stupidly goofy. “Rainblow Dry, remember?”

Twilight finally brought her jaw back up and shook her head with a smile. She didn't want to go because she would be saying a temporary farewell to Fluttershy, but she had to move along all the same. “Well, let's go. Everypony, don't forget your packs. They're lined in front of the door.”

Those that had not done so yet started to don their traveling supplies. As a matter of curiosity, Twilight had used the previous night's sleep to find out what each had packed from their respective homes. As she had fully expected based on past experience, they all packed precisely what was relevant to each of them minus actual traveling essentials.

Pinkie Pie had an incredible amount of party supplies jammed into her sacks like a hundred clown ponies in a miniature coach. Rainbow Dash packed next to nothing, the only exceptions being a pair of adventure books by unknown authors and an intricate silver hoof bracelet of inconspicuous purpose. Spike's own little backpack, a cute little thing of trademark green and purple made by the one and only Rarity, held mostly items that Twilight didn't think she needed but always asked for later anyways. She didn't require any mental connection to assume that. The gem snacks were presently being added. Chrysalis was using Twilight's old saddle packs since she didn't have her own personal ones made yet. The items they contained were all changeling items that Chrysalis constructed herself, mostly of incomprehensible purpose.

Twilight lifted the changeling's bags with her own purple aura and set them on Chrysalis' back. They exchanged a private look that they had somehow developed over time. It was the kind of look that spoke trust amidst the unknown. The queen said nothing but lead the others out of the library and through town to their destination.

When she first came out of the treehouse library, the two guards on station formed up behind her. She was glad to see it was Midnight Strike and Direway again but she decided to send Midnight out to retrieve the other two on a whim. She hadn't seen much of the other guard pair and figured it would be best in the long run not to leave them behind again while going out of town. Midnight returned in a amazingly timely fashion before they quite got to Rarity's, two other sleepy but fully armored pegasi guards in tow.

Neither had pause for comment because they arrived just thereafter before the door to one unique building that could have a hundred words to describe it but with each missing the mark in one way or another. Perhaps the round building was “unmatched” or “quaint.” Rarity herself would tend to use more fanciful words like “chic” or even “crème de la crème” if she was feeling particularly confident that day. In any case, it was where the white unicorn mare could be found sans special occasion.

Carousal Boutique. It just kept becoming more and more of a big-name place because of Rarity's work. It even started feeling odd to walk in when celebrities would visit regularly and then go into the back rooms where Rarity did her sewing and such. It was early enough in the morning for no customers to be present but for the door to be unlocked.

“Hello?” Twilight spoke with a cautious tone into the silence of the shop. The others were right behind her. “Rarity?”

“Coming,” sang the fashionista's elegant voice from upstairs. She came trotting down from the upper story in the same graceful fashion that she tried to do everything with. When she landed off of the last step, she even seemed to pose. Probably unconsciously. “Yes, darling? What's the occasion?”

“Well...” Twilight began as her friends fanned out into the room from behind her.

“Oh?” Rarity darted her eyes to them, giving some kind of odd twitch at the sight of Chrysalis that softened when she spotted Spike instead.

“I'm going to Canterlot for a short while,” Twilight continued. “I just thought I'd ask if you'd be interested in coming along.”

“All of you are going?” Rarity stepped forward and headed for one of the room's desks.

“Everyone here,” the alicorn confirmed and followed her unicorn friend. “I haven't asked Applejack yet and Fluttershy is staying here in Ponyville because of her animals.”

“Mm,” Rarity hummed as she stopped at the desk and looked at some paper on it. “Ah,” she added.

“I understand if you aren't interested,” Twilight mentioned. “It's not likely to be very interesting and you have work-”

“I think I will come along,” Rarity answered off-hoof when she turned to Twilight. “I sincerely doubt anything you would need to do in Canterlot could be boring. Especially if the others are going. I've actually gotten ahead of my orders thanks to Spikey.”

The dragon caught the mare's wink directed at him and blushed wildly.

“Oh,” Twilight brightened. “If that's what you want to do then I'll be happy to have you along.”

Rarity gestured towards the door. “You should go ask Applejack now, though I doubt she'll accept. Not much of a city filly, you know,” she whispered the last part as if it were a scandal to say. “I assume you'll take the train?”

As Twilight followed the mare's direction back out, she gave her “yes.”

“Alright,” Rarity turned from them to go back upstairs. “I'll meet you there, darling. I must prepare my traveling things first.”

Spike came up to the alicorn and whispered. “I should probably stay to help her. She brings a lot of stuff.”

Twilight laughed quietly enough for Rarity not to hear as she disappeared up the stairway. “Yeah, you better make sure we're not waiting for her at the station until noon.”

Spike seemed quite content with that and left them as he went up the stairs in hot pursuit of Lady Rarity.

“No can do, sugarcube,” Applejack declined without removing her one discriminating eye from the changeling. “Got too much harvestin' to do. Besides, I'm sure you don't need me for a simple chit-chat with the princess.”

“Oh, alright,” Twilight felt a little disappointed, though less so than she was with Fluttershy staying behind. “Don't go hurting yourself, Applejack.”

“Buckin' apple trees?” the country mare shook her mane. “Be a darn foal if I went embarrasin' my family name.”

“Be careful anyways,” Pinkie Pie added from her spot beside Twilight. The whole party was there minus the dragon and unicorn. “That water chute just about broke my back!”

It would be hard to tell the Earth pony was being serious since she laughed, giggled, and bubbled happily with every word. Applejack seemed to catch the gist, though, and she nodded.

“And watch the heat,” Twilight continued the line of thought as she looked up to the sky with one forehoof over her eyes to screen the sun's glare. “It's getting pretty hot already. Midday will be a scorcher.”

Applejack rolled her eyes and started pushing the royal back onto the path that lead up to her house. “Good golly. Would ya'll stop worryin' about me? Just get goin' before I smack ya'll off my farm.”

“Whoo!” Pinkie shouted. “That sounds fun!”

As they left and Twilight waved, she exchanged a smile with Applejack. She was glad she stopped by and that her farming friend was alright, but the feeling of one less traveling companion did dampen her heart just a tad. After all, few had gone through as much with her as her five close friends from Ponyville.

The group of them, decent in size by this point, walked the apple tree lined path that wound out of the farm and into the main part of town. Pinkie Pie had initiated a conversation with Chrysalis regarding whether or not her black carapace sucked in the day's heat more than a lighter color might. The four guardponies were quietly alert in formation, two for both of Twilight's flanks and two behind her trailing friends. Rainbow Dash took the chance to draw up next to her queen, which was easily done with her lightning-fast wings.

“So,” Rainbow started with some kind of expectation. “How we doing this?”

“Doing what, Rainbow?” the alicorn came back in equal tone, not having a clue and feeling neither here nor there about it.

“Hey,” the pegasus changed her mood as she flew ahead and then flapped backwards as she faced Twilight. “What's with this 'Rainbow' business?”

“You prefer 'Dashie' now?” Twilight smirked knowingly.

“Maybe I do,” Rainbow played coy.

“Doing what again?”

“Huh?” Rainbow lost the subject that she herself had started. “Oh, um, sleeping arrangements,” she got back on track.

Twilight decided as she nearly tripped over an oddball rock that she might as well counter Rainbow with her own coyness. “Sleeping arrangements...” she muttered. “Why in all of Equestria would that interest you?”

“C'mon, Twi. I'm not going back to the way things were before. I won't.”

The queen smiled, not at all bothered by the prospect of having Rainbow sleeping beside her every night. Spike had as well as Chrysalis for a reasonable time and Fluttershy already joined in anyways. “I'll make sure that Princess Celestia gets us a large enough bedroom.”

“The bedroom is one thing,” Rainbow decided to finally fly back into a forward pattern after having nearly flew rearwards into the last apple tree. “I don't think there's a bed in existence that could hold all of us.”

“Actually, some of the 'beds' from Saddle Arabia are quit interesting,” Twilight perked up. She loved using her massive pool of knowledge she gleamed from her books no matter how unpractical some of it was. “Some palatial estates, for example...”

Thunk.

Such was the sound that that Rainbow's head made as it lulled back onto the side of the train car. The solid surface was uncomfortable enough to encourage a wake up and Twilight's nudge between her wings was the last straw. She bolted into a flying somersault as she came awake and asked a “who, what” to the purple alicorn.

Twilight giggled quietly. “We're almost there,” she added as an answer to her friend's incorrect sleep-induced question.

“Oh...yeah,” Rainbow felt a little silly as she took her seat again.

“Did you not get enough sleep, Dashers?” was Pinkie's inquiry from the upper row.

The train car that had been prepared for them in advance was specifically for the use of diplomats and royalty, which meant the seats were more comparable to recliners or ten-thousand bit sofas than any of the hard benches that occupied normal passenger cars. Twilight would have refused such special treatment but Chrysalis had pulled a fast one on her to trick her into it. The changeling was definitely up to something, which was supported by the fact that she was now digging into her own saddle packs.

Twilight was momentarily distracted by a conversation going on between Rarity and one small reptilian assistant who had crossed the middle aisle to sit next to the unicorn. Spike was going on about Twilight's new changeling-style bedroom, which was bound to cause some trouble and raised brows. As it so happened, Rarity's brows did rise. It wasn't clear, however, whether they were of the “how dreadful” or “what's been going on” variety.

Chrysalis pulled out a few items from the sacks. They were, as Twilight noticed upon the catch of her peripheral vision, items she was very familiar with and had thought for certain she had left behind at home after she had gotten back from the crowning ceremony. Their golden shine was not something she took to on a personal level and she thought it too egotistical to wear them anyways. Chrysalis dumped them on her lap.

“I brought your royal horseshoes,” the changeling seemed happy about it. “You should wear them more often. They look good on you.”

Twilight had completely forgotten about them past the ceremony, but she did remember they existed in some dresser back at the library. That was for certain. Or, at least, they should have existed there. Instead, they had been retrieved from that place somehow. She would have levitated them off her lap and towards Chrysalis' sack again but was lost in a conundrum.

“How'd you get these? They weren't in your bag earlier...”

“I saw them in your most recent memories at the ceremony when you were checking yourself out in the mirror. You know, in the dressing room before the aisle walk?” Chrysalis waved a hoof as if it was no big deal.

The alicorn blushed in embarrassment. “Well how'd you get them?” she asked a bit testily.

“I didn't,” the changeling kept playing along with every ounce of sincerity that she contained in her hole-ridden body, which was quite a bit nowadays. “I recreated them.”

Twilight's face twisted. “Huh?”

“I can create certain things just like those sleep rings,” Chrysalis answered. “Different things require different materials and magic. The shoes I made with a different metal-based clod. I made them instead of taking the others because I wanted to see if I could still do it. I'm worried because I seem to have gotten out of practice with some of my magic.”

Twilight turned thoughtful as she kept gazing at her changeling. She kept it up until Chrysalis began to blush a little around the eyes. “Then you could change them without too much trouble?”

“I...if you wanted, of course,” Chrysalis said without seeing what her queen was getting at. If anypony wanted a simple change of fashion then she would have expected Rarity to bring it up instead. In that light, the queen's following words made sense.

“I think you and Rarity have something to talk about.”

23 - Nostalgia is Resplendent

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The imagination had to be what had caused that rainbow-colored blur. Surely Twilight's wings weren't emitting that speed streak on their own whenever they moved in involuntary but gentle reflex. Then again, Pinkie Pie had been doing it earlier and it made Rainbow Dash worry that her trademark colors and abilities were getting served up on a silver platter free of charge. Whatever the hivemind was doing, it was getting out-of-hoof.

“You mean that you can actually change that into whatever you want? More than once?” Rarity asked wide-eyed. She was still skeptical but was making the effort for Twilight.

“Oh, yes,” Chrysalis insisted from her new seat beside the unicorn. Spike had reluctantly given it up and just stood in front of the row. “There's a special material I can make that I can then change into clothing as well. Perhaps one of my most useless skills I learned from my mother. You see, changelings never really need-”

Rarity's squeal of excitement drowned out the rest. “Oo, oo!” she enthused with her odd little coos and bright sparkling eyes. “Just imagine! The most complicated and time-consuming ensembles out of thin air right before the event!”

Chrysalis, as she had attempted to indicate, was never much for fashion. She had tried a few things throughout her life either out of boredom or curiosity but clothing was never something she felt she needed. After all, she could simply transform into whatever she wanted. She didn't even know why her mother taught her the clothing magic. Must have been one of those things only old changelings cared about.

“I don't have any with-”

“Even silk!” Rarity cut her off again.

Spike leaned up to Chrysalis and whispered quickly into her ear. “She's in her own world. Just let her run her course.”

The changeling frowned but nodded a bit and looked back to Rarity who was still sparkling away, devoid of any awareness of her surroundings. Chrysalis sighed and started a new conversation with Spike to pass the time until Rarity was “available” again.

“I'm kind of surprised AJ wasn't interested,” Rainbow mused from across the car. She and Twilight had somehow gotten onto that topic. “How could she consider immortality to be just a chit-chat?”

Twilight shrugged. “She's entitled to her opinion,” she decided on, “and it's not as if she won't find out anyways. Applejack has always been patient like that.”

“Yeah right,” Rainbow blanched. “Maybe when it comes to some things. AJ sure isn't patient when it comes to proving she's better than everypony else.”

“She's never done that, Dashie,” the alicorn defended her absent friend.

The pegasus gave a “pfft” before going on. “Oh yeah? Then why is she always challenging me to stupid contests? She's always trying to make herself look better than me.”

“That's you,” Twilight deadpanned.

Rainbow's mouth was open but it hung like that without uttering anything. Finally, after an added look of “just admit it” from her queen, she confirmed it. “I...yeah...”

“When are you going to loosen up, Dashie?” Twilight switched tracks on the conversation. “I know you want to be different around me. I saw it in your mind. So why don't you?”

Rainbow didn't answer that quickly. The sound of the train tracks clacking seeped in between them at a volume lower than any normal compartment. On top of the special diplomat's car being overly plush, ornate, and clean, it also happened to be built for sound resistance. Twilight didn't like to think how expensive the car had to be or what kind of high-tier ambassadors might be carted around in it. Twilight herself might have been one of those high-tier officials now given her widely-publicized position as princess, but she didn't like to think of that either.

“It's...hard...you know?” Rainbow answered with painfully long pauses.

Twilight could be socially inept at times when it came to reading between the lines. Rarity was certainly better with such things, but the queen would have to be impossibly dense not to get what her blue friend was trying to say. “Habits die hard?” she guessed gently.

Rainbow nodded slow and solemn.

“It's on your own time, Dashie,” Twilight encouraged while being careful to keep her gentle tone. “I'll be happy when you're comfortable. But don't take too long, okay? I like the pony you keep hiding.”

The pegasus caught Twilight wink at her at the end and felt her face light on fire. She felt some kind of heavy emotion in her heart. Only, it wasn't a bad heavy. It was a good heavy. Taking a few days off of weather duty was shaping up to be well worth it already.

Pinkie Pie was laying sideways on the last row of seats during all of this. The back row was actually one complete sofa with cushions so thick that it was practically a mattress and a red so deep it was nearly black. Pinkie was doing well to take half of it up with her spread out form and work that nopony had noticed yet. She was messing with some sort of mechanical-looking pieces and two metal frames that appeared suspiciously like a unicorn's horn and a pegasi's wings.

Canterlot was a great city. There was no doubt of that. Any argument over whether or not “great” should refer to size, population, or class could be left to others for, at the moment, Rarity was recalling how long it could take simply to get from the train station to the castle. And that was to say nothing of all of the crucial stops that had to be made in-between. Nevermind that immortality business. This was Canterlot!

They were on hoof only because Twilight insisted they had made good time in transit and were a bit early. Chrysalis had wondered aloud why this mattered in the slightest and Twilight gave her a small piece of information that few actually knew. Apparently there was a certain time of the day and night that it was best not to disturb the two ruling princesses. Twilight was not explicit about the reason but did suggest sideways that it had to do with the times both sisters were awake and had time to each other.

The actual trip to the castle was not a short one. Nor was it an inconspicuous one. The scene of the newly crowned princess once more in Canterlot accompanied by not only her guards but also a towering changeling would make a good ninety-nine percent of the populace stop dead in their tracks. It made Twilight feel a little guilty when one particular unicorn, a waiter serving the outside tables at an expensive restaurant, actually half tripped and spilled the contents of his tray with a resounding crash. She hadn't intended to be such a distraction but did see in hindsight that her party would be just so.

Sure, there had been rumors about her housing a reformed changeling and even word that it was the former Queen Chrysalis. But seeing something with one's own eyes was worlds more powerful than simply hearing of it, regardless of how true one believed the words to be. Twilight had not considered it as such, but the image of her leading the former changeling queen through the streets made her seem somehow more powerful than she had been before in the public's eyes.

Several of her friends wanted to stop here or there at various points in the city and Twilight simply had to let Rarity have some time at one of the apparel stores on Mane Street. In fact, she had to be left there along with Spike, who was trying to up his game with the mare. Twilight couldn't help but think he deserved an A+ for his effort, nevermind the results. In any case, he'd have better luck communicating with her there since she seemed to have become so engrossed in the latest Canterlot trends that she became oblivious as to the entire reason they were in the city in the first place.

So there the alicorn queen was, once more at the gates of Canterlot Castle. The pearly white stone of the gate and wall was intimidatingly massive. It was easily a dozen ponies high and was decorated all along with engravings of Equestrian history. Only Twilight, who had read countless history books both common and obscure, knew most of the events that the depictions told. There were a few on the farthest end, however, that predated the Canterlot Grand Library's dustiest tomes of history.

Pinkie Pie was on Twilight's left side and Rainbow Dash on her other. Chrysalis towered directly behind her and was looking as relaxed as she could, though there was still a tick at the edge of her mouth and around the corners of her eyes. Something about the place bugged her.

The guards on station at the gate would have easily let in Twilight Sparkle, especially after her ascension to princesshood made her so well known. Still, they hesitated and glanced at each other for some manner of assurance they could not find in themselves. It was obviously the presence of the changeling that bothered them, regardless of any orders they might have been given prior from Celestia relating to the subject.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. It was a real joke to her that ponies that lacked any kind of uniqueness would make a fuss about a race that was also seemingly without individualism. The guards here, after all, were all either gray or white. They also seemed to share eyes, voices, and bodies that were so uniform that they might as well have been clones.

Finally deciding that any breach of code regarding changeling entrance was somepony else's problem, the guards made the signal to the gatekeepers through a small servants entrance near the main doors. The fact that the large primary stone doors had been closed in the first place was odd to Twilight. She knew for a fact, being Celestia's former private student, that the gates were almost always open. They were open so often, in fact, that some ponies didn't even know there were gate doors.

She and her party stepped through and were not a hoof's distance past the threshold when the gatekeepers, powerful-looking earth pony stallions, closed the stone doors again. The ominous thud that was made upon the seal was unnerving to say the least. Pinkie was oblivious but Chrysalis took on a nervous stance. Twilight noticed simply because it was so uncharacteristic for the normally confident shape-shifter.

The queen leaned close to Chrysalis to say something nopony else in the garden courtyard would hear. “Don't worry. Celestia would never do something bad to you and, besides, you're always safe with me.”

Chrysalis tried for a reassured smile as a response but it didn't come out well and she looked just as concerned.

Rainbow Dash squeezed in between them suddenly. “Personally, I'd be more worried about Pinkie Pie,” she nodded behind them to where the Earth pony was following with her signature bounce. “She's been weird ever since yesterday. And I mean weirder than usual.”

“Something is definitely off,” Twilight agreed but still filed it away as she had done before. She came to Canterlot to address one particular issue and didn't want to get too sidetracked. “I'll look into it later.”

They finally reached the main entrance to the inside of the castle, which was the grand foyer. As they passed by the tense-looking guards and the white stone pylons upholding the magnificent entryway, the grandeur of the place took on a fresh view. Twilight had been there often as she grew up and had little notice of it, but the others were in awe again by the size and expense of everything. Even after multiple visits, it was still an overwhelming experience. Chrysalis was as impressed as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, but she made an effort not to display any such feeling out of her disdain for the inhabitants.

The ceiling was high, the banners thick, and every surface was spotless. The marble floors shined and the forked stairway reached to an epic height without being overly exhausting to traverse. Perhaps the architects and decorators had measured and designed everything for Celestia's unusually tall alicorn stature but the castle was too breath-taking to care about such quizzical details.

Rainbow Dash was busy admiring what it would be like to live in such a massive place and Pinkie Pie was having daydreams of impossibly big parties to hold there. Chrysalis was starting to feel uncomfortable, now noticing how so much space lacked the adequate number of bodies to fill it. She didn't like large empty places because they gave her a disturbing little chill for some unknown reason.

Twilight glanced only for a half-second to check on her own guards that were keeping her safe. The Castle of the Two Sisters, as some took to calling it in the past, was hardly a place she needed to worry about safety, but she still wanted to make sure her guards were okay. Hadn't some of them served here before being assigned to her? She thought, according to her shared memories, that a few had.

Twilight saw all four guards following along in formation and was making her way to the first step of the grand stairwell when a familiar voice called out to her. There was no mistaking that mature but gentle tone. It was one that Twilight associated only with the pony that was basically her second mother.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight beamed cheerfully, her mood lightening by loads. She found the tall elegant alicorn of question standing at the top of the stairs. The smaller Luna was also there with her more serious look she tended to have for some reason, but she still looked like she belonged with her sister in some portrait of perfection.

If she had more training then Twilight might have tried forgoing the steps and simply fly upwards straight to the top. But she was too unsure about her wings to do so. Even without them, she was at the upper level in no time at all merely with her own hooves.

“I told you to stop calling me Princess,” Celestia joked with a smile and then regarded the two other Elements of Harmony present. “I'm glad to see you two again,” Celestia nodded to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie at Twilight's side.

“I love castles,” Pinkie bounced about oblivious.

“Anytime, Princess,” Rainbow saluted smugly.

Celestia turned tense and monotone at the changeling. “And you...”

Twilight watched Chrysalis out of her peripheral vision.

“A...pleasure...” Chrysalis replied just barely in check. One could almost hear the gravel in the words, as if it was back-breaking work just to pronounce them.

“Why is the changeling here?” Luna asked.

“Luna,” Celestia made a quick correctional glare at her sister.

“It's okay,” Twilight intervened. “Princess Luna, I'm glad you're here. There's something I'd like to talk about to both you and Pri- Celestia,” she caught herself on the second one. “Something besides lifespans.”

Luna didn't appear happy but didn't speak another word. Celestia indicated for Twilight to follow her down the passage to the left. Twilight, being comfortable with the layout of the castle, knew they were probably going to talk in the lounge room that occupied the fifth floor of the most westward tower. It was a laid back place that only the sisters seemed to use and Twilight as well back when she was being instructed directly by the princess.

Twilight came up beside Celestia as the others followed behind. Luna kept her distance from Chrysalis but stayed close to Rainbow Dash, who separated them. Pinkie Pie started rambling about something to quench the silence but Twilight was more interested in speaking to Celestia quietly.

“I'm sorry if it was too bold of me to bring Chrysalis,” Twilight whispered to her prior mentor. She didn't plan on being sorry for it but she fell into the habit of viewing Celestia as her guardian and teacher, always feeling as small as a dot in comparison.

“No,” Celestia whispered back. “There's no need for apologies. I'm afraid my sister is just being stubborn. She's still very upset about what happened at the wedding and she...”

Twilight tilted her head. It was not common to see the white alicorn pausing mid-sentence.

“She can be a little protective,” Celestia finished whispering.

“I thought that was the older sister's job,” Twilight couldn't help but remark as she took to noticing one of the banners hung up in the hallway they were walking through. It took her attention because it was both purple and green, baring the image of a small dragon. There was a heart in his claws.

Celestia giggled almost too loudly, which made her catch herself to keep the conversation away from the ponies behind them. “It used to be,” she admitted. “But ever since we reconciled after her return from the moon, she's been adamant about not only our relationship but also my physical safety. She thinks I'm too carefree, which is funny considering her own-”

“Luna thinks you're too carefree?” Twilight almost shouted as she snorted laughter through her nose.

“What was that?” Luna inquired from behind. She must have only heard her name because her tone was too blasé.

“Nothing, sister,” Celestia waved it off. “But here we are. I'm sorry these halls are so long. Sometimes even I get winded walking them.”

The others denied it being long at all, as one would likely do in the situation even if it was the truth. What laid before them, however, was an old and unassuming wooden door that had a bright natural light from the sun peeking around the edges. Celestia opened it with a flick of her magic aura.

They entered the small circular room only for Twilight to be struck by a wave of nostalgia. The deep blue rugs, the weird wicker containers holding scrolls upon scrolls of foreign correspondence, the wooden stools and thin-cushioned sofa. It was as if she was walking back into her old bedroom at her parents house. She just spent so much time here on off hours of learning. The sun still glowed through the cracks in the old wooden shutters that didn't do a very good job of keeping the windows protected. Clearly, Celestia had left this place as it was by intention. Perhaps she had some personal connection with it as well.

The pure white alicorn took to the sofa at a leisurely pace and gestured around for those following to take seats. Twilight hazarded the opportunity to issue orders to her guards via the hivemind. The two she had connected with got her message and stayed outside the room with the other two. Neither Celestia nor Luna seemed to notice what just happened telepathically in front of them.

Twilight joined Rainbow Dash in seating against a floor cushion. It looked a little battered but only because Twilight herself, as a young filly, had used it on multiple occasions to practice with her advanced levitational magic studies. In any case, Rainbow seemed happy that she got a sitting buddy.

Chrysalis sat nearby against another floor cushion and Pinkie Pie bounced onto one of the stools, causing it to rock back and forth from her weight and initial velocity. Luna laid fully onto the sofa next to her sister, who again used her magic to close the door behind them.

“There are some things,” Celestia began in her serene voice, “that my sister and I have not made known to the world we now live in. This place will give us the privacy we need to keep that so.”

Pinkie Pie would normally break in at that point but, this time, she did not. Instead, she looked to Twilight. The Element of Magic smiled faintly at her and they shared a minute mental link in which Twilight ordered and thanked her in advance for taking the moment seriously.

Whatever you say, Capt, Pinkie caught herself just before she saluted. It would have been an odd thing to do from the princesses' perspective. Not that Pinkie wasn't usually odd.

Luna spoke next, far more serious. “I would rather have speaks with you all that were far lighter than what this one will be. Unfortunately, not everything in life is pleasant.”

“I know,” Twilight agreed thoughtfully and did not miss Luna's pointed stare at Chrysalis upon her last words. “I fear there is still much of that for us to get through.”

“You have something specific in mind,” Celestia more said than asked.

“Yes,” the purple alicorn fought to keep from repeating Celestia's title. “I informed you about Sombra...”

“Indeed,” the white mare confirmed.

“The trail went cold. But we didn't come here about that,” Twilight returned to the main subject. “We came here about-”

“Immortality,” Luna finished.

Celestia looked at her sister out of the corner of her eye but let her proceed.

“We were never the only ones with it.”

Centurion had exchanged a second's nod with Princess Celestia when they first entered the castle and saw each other. He had served with her long enough for her to recognize him, though she probably remembered the names of all four of Twilight's guards anyways. She cared about Twilight like that, as Centurion had figured out over the years.

Flash Sentry, on the other hoof, had been sweating bullets ever since they joined up with Midnight and Direway in Ponyville. For some reason, the lad got it in his head that he had to perform his duties flawlessly for the entire trip or he would be doomed for all eternity. That was common with new recruits but Flash wasn't “green” that badly. Centurion just figured he was worrying about how he looked in front of their purple princess.

There was something changed in Midnight Strike's stance and that of Direway's as well that concerned the older guardpony. They were no less alert or ready but they did seem too comfortable with Twilight. It was no obvious thing by any means. Centurion figured he only noticed it at all because of his age and experience and that was just the thing. They carried themselves the same way he did with Celestia after he had served her for the majority of his life. There was no other way but to put it down as odd. And then there was that “queen” business.

Now that they were all on guard outside of the tower room, Centurion dared to speak. “I'll be honest,” he began. The others all looked to him, Flash at his own side with Midnight and Direway on the opposing side of the door. “I'm not used to being left out of the picture. I could use some explanations now.”

The corridor got silent again and just a pinch creepy. This part of the castle was only ever used by the princesses and had even fallen out of visitation for the past few years when Twilight moved to Ponyville. There were closed doors along the hallway that never seemed to open and some disturbing stories had even cropped up regarding them. Stories perpetrated by the castle staff.

“I'd waste a lot of breath and only give you more questions that you'd want answers to,” Midnight Strike answered.

“Strike is right,” Direway agreed. “The best thing is for our queen to explain herself. It should be pretty quick when she does...”

“Queen?” Flash jumped in confused.

Midnight closed his eyes and set a forehoof to his chest. “I hold by what I said.”

Centurion was not at all pleased but having Direway backing up Midnight Strike made it hard for him to do any more, even if he was superior by experience. Instead, he had to stand there in the dark even though plenty of light was let in from the equally spaced hall windows. Direway struck up a different thread of conversation to pass the time, obviously well relaxed in his position since three princesses were gathered in the room next to them.

An hour later saw two individuals coming down the hallway, which was unusual given the previously established lack of traffic the place got. Even more unusual was the fact that one of the newcomers was a small dragon. The guards all knew him, though.

“Sup?” Spike waved at them as he walked past, acting as if he owned the place.

Rarity nodded courteously but had a similar quality to her. She had a particular gait and a pride in her step, as if to assert that she was somehow born to live in the palace. None questioned it yet and good thing too because the mare was obsessive when it came to all things Canterlot and high society.

Spike tried being the gentledrake by opening the door for his accompanying female, but the wooden barricade wasn't budging. He thought, rather embarrassingly, that perhaps it was pulled out rather than pushed in. No luck there either. He was stumped and Rarity furrowed her brows because she couldn't think how to open the door either if it neither pushed nor pulled. Using magic was really just another way to push or pull on it, after all.

Direway hadn't intended it exactly but he solved the problem for them by using the hivemind to talk to Twilight within the sealed room. He asked if the door was locked only to be informed that it was. Celestia had sealed it with magic after they went in because she didn't want any unauthorized interruptions or eavesdroppers. Apparently, she also sealed and sound proofed the room in other ways. Whatever was going on in there had to be seriously important for the immortal Mare of the Sun to want such privacy.

The doors opened with a light yellow glow from Celestia's horn and the dragon and unicorn entered only to have the doors close and reseal behind them. Direway was desperate for more answers as to what was going on. Midnight Strike was as well but Twilight promised them the info later because they were still in heavy discussion now invigorated by Spike and Rarity showing up.

“Do you smell that?” Flash Sentry spoke after a short silence in the hall.

“What?” Centurion looked at the young pegasus weirdly.

“Yeah, what is that?” Direway started sniffing the air as well.

Flash mentally cataloged it as a nice smell – an aroma to be more precise – but still couldn't quite place it. It reminded him of the guard training he had done in the mountains once. His squad had come across this little niche in the ravines...

“Luna's Blossom,” Midnight suddenly spoke up in his usually cool and calm voice.

“Huh?” Flash couldn't help being curious but lost.

“Luna's Blossom,” the dark blue guard repeated. “It's a special flower that grows in a few places here on Mt. Canter. A few specialist shops sell the scent as a perfume. I'm guessing that was from Rarity. The unicorn that just went in.”

Direway grinned and bumped Midnight in the side with an armored forehoof. “Yeah, you'd totally know if there was a flower named after Luna and then if there was a perfume based off of that. You probably even know which shops sell it.”

The hivemind had let Direway into far too much knowledge. Really, he already knew that the stallion not only knew the shops but actually owned a bottle of the stuff. His remarks were more for play than anything else. It made Flash Sentry visibly shocked, though.

“Wow,” the young guard said in awe. “You wouldn't happen to...um...you know...”

Centurion shook his head and rolled his eyes. At least Flash and Midnight were actually talking casually now.

“Yes,” Midnight answered the question. He had already picked up on Flash's fascination with their queen. “There's one shop here in Canterlot that sells a new formula called Twilight's Embrace. Don't tell her, though. She might get upset or disturbed.”

“Or horribly embarrassed,” Direway snickered in a forehoof.

Flash Sentry, on the other hoof, was now looking at Midnight Strike with a new perspective. Truly, this was a stallion to be admired. Or a stallion to be feared. The two could be one in the same, right?

24 - Eternity is Incomprehensible

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My apologies, your majesties,” Rarity excused herself as she walked into the room. It baffled her why such royal company would choose to meet in such a dreary part of the extensively decadent castle, but she knew better than to ask such a thing. “And Twilight. I'm afraid I let my personal interests get the better of me.”

“No need for such formality,” Celestia answered first and gestured for the mare to take a seat. “I'm glad you're here. Spike, welcome back.”

“Hey,” the dragon waved casually as he followed the unicorn mare. He decided to sit next to her on the room's last seating, a small worn royal blue sofa, rather than join Twilight. Rarity didn't seem to notice since she was too busy picking up on the mood of the room. It was something all society-minded ponies needed as a skill and, goodness, the room was rank with a marked nervousness.

“We were discussing the matter at hoof,” Luna offered as catch-up for the two arrivals. “This is for your ears only. We do not wish any of this to be made public.”

“Unfortunately,” Celestia added. “I would have preferred we discuss this over a walk in the castle garden, but we simply cannot allow the possibility of eavesdropping. Even by the servants.”

“I'm still uncomfortable about Chrysalis being present, though,” Luna spoke the rest of her mind.

“And I have already allowed it,” Celestia turned to her. “I trust Twilight now just as I did when she told me she saved her.”

“Why's it such a big deal to keep hush?” Rainbow jumped in.

Twilight looked at her sideways, to which the pegasus shrugged.

“I got to fill in for AJ, right?” she defended herself.

“Rainbow Dash,” Celestia responded. “I understand your curiosity. Let's just say that we believe the information may lead to more bad than good as far as the general public is concerned. As difficult as it is to admit, not all of our subjects are of good intention.”

“That's an understatement,” Chrysalis muttered to herself. It went either unheard or ignored.

“As we have explained,” Luna got back on track, “there are some beings that are immortal by nature. Draconequui are one example. Some dragons are another while others simply live for thousands of years. There are other beings outside of Equestria that also lack finite lifetimes. Alicorns are, as you might expect, immortal by birth.”

Twilight tried to again skip over the part about Discord, seeing Rainbow wince for the second time at the revelation they had all suspected anyways. “Some dragons are immortal?” she decided to go with instead.

Celestia looked over to Spike, who was wide-eyed in interest and had a hard time deciding whether he should look to the sisters or to Twilight. Clearly he knew how important it was for him on a personal level. He always was smart for such a young dragon, Celestia smiled with the thought. Luna stopped and gave a knowing look to her sister, who she suspected wanted to speak on this particular matter.

“You must find it at least a little vexing,” Celestia landed her soft gaze on Twilight. “You've come here for one thing and so many other matters demand your attention. I never meant to withhold this from you forever but perhaps now is the time I put Spike's mystery to rest.”

Twilight cocked her head and didn't know whether to feel anxious or neutrally curious.

Celestia looked back to Spike, who had not dropped his expectant gaze. Such innocent eyes, Celestia smiled again a little sadder this time.

“Spike, I only kept from telling you about what I know because I didn't want you to be burdened with it while you were still so young. But you are the most valiant dragon I have ever met and your maturity continues to grow beyond your age,” the white princess praised.

Spike, not expecting it, gaped in wonder with a tiny blush.

“You may still be young, but let me tell you something,” Celestia continued. “Among every dragon I have ever seen, heard of, or befriended, you have had more integrity than any of them. Others may have thousands of years behind them, strength to move mountains, and riches to buy kingdoms, but only you have had the heart to give up all of those things for your friends. Both my sister and I are honored to share eternity with you, Spike.”

Rarity's mouth opened by a tiny crack that she couldn't manage to prevent even in her esteemed company. Her head snapped around to find the small dragon at her side on the short sofa. Spike himself had no unusual expression yet, working the words in his head to figure out what everyone else already had.

Twilight didn't know what to do. Words did not come out of her mouth any more than the others and she was left looking on at the Spike that she had raised. Their eyes finally met and she felt hers water for some reason. It was funny in a way. She had hatched his egg and raised him like a mother. Maybe it wasn't her that had given him his strength of character or maybe it was. It didn't matter, though, because she felt proud of him. If anyone would live past her and bear her legacy to the world it would have to be the little dragon she had loved since birth. He may have been greedy and infantile at times, but he never failed to pull through in the end. The fact that he always gave his all to fix and learn from his mistakes made him the strong individual that he was.

“H-how...?” Spike finally grasped for answers.

“Have you not felt it in your heart?” Luna mirrored with another question.

“The quiet flame,” Celestia supplied him when he looked at a loss. “It burns inside of you and nothing in Equestria can douse it. It is the immortal flame of your kind, the magic dragons. It shouldn't surprise you. You've wielded your own magic since birth.”

“My kind?!” Spike prompted at the edge of his seat. He was growing desperate for the answers right in front of him.

“There is a long story to tell,” Celestia sighed. “Too long to tell now, but let me give you at least some part of it for clarity. I cannot tell you where those dragons are or even if they still exist, but I was the one that saved your egg.”

The alicorn paused to let the dragon hear what she had said. He leaned back on the seat, eyes wandering as he took it in.

“I was across the world,” she continued. “It was a very bad time and I was well away from Equestria. My sister was still on the moon, the outer world was in turmoil, and I had to leave Equestria defenseless. But I couldn't just ignore a plea for help. The magic dragons had old ties to my sister and I because we had agreed long ago to assist each other when one of us was in dire need. Their plea arrived and I set out, but by the time I got there...”

Spike paled and his stomach ached at what he knew was about to be said. Twilight watched on with a depressed spirit for his sake.

“They were not there,” Celestia explained, “though there had been a great battle. They had resided in a mountain ridge with nests among the cliffs, which was very near to a powerful source of magic. But the entire ridge was broken, as if the mountains themselves had been torn apart and rearranged. I found no sign of the dragons themselves except for one - the one that I had known personally. She was also the one that had sent the emergency summons.”

“She...?” Spike asked cautiously.

“Your mother,” Celestia said in a quiet voice.

“I had a mother...” the small dragon wasn't sure whether to be happy or distraught.

“She was valiant like you,” Celestia offered encouragement and a smile to lift his spirits. “She sacrificed herself to save your egg and I knew when I found it that she had endured what had happened for your sake. Unfortunately, any hope I had of finding the others passed with her.”

There was a moment of respectful silence. The princesses left Spike to be the one to break it.

“What was her name?” the small dragon's voice came out just as small.

Luna answered first. “All of their names are from the old dragon languages. You would not find it as sensible or pronounceable as the Equestrian ones you are used to.”

Celestia nodded minutely to her sister and then regarded Spike. “It was Greelenth, though I butcher it horribly with my pronunciation. In their language, it means 'a dragon who foolishly gives up their horde for another dragon.' A most fitting name for such a selfless mother as she was.”

Spike had never heard of her until now. He hadn't even known he had a mother. But though he had little emotion to hold beyond the shock of the revelation, he still felt a burning inside. Perhaps it was this “quiet flame” inside of him but he felt angry. He was frustrated that someone or something had taken away his first family before he even had the chance to know them. What evil could destroy a life so that it would never have the chance to happen?

“My sister has informed us,” Luna spoke up, “of certain clues she found, but they are nothing that would help us solve the mystery except for identifying the attackers.”

Twilight straightened up at this while Spike crossed his arms and lowered his gaze.

“Our suspicions are pointless,” Celestia stopped her sibling. “We don't wish to waste all of your time with useless speculation. You all still need answers to other questions. Twilight, you wanted to know if you are now immortal?”

Twilight's friends all shifted where they sat. One of Rainbow's forehooves touched her queen's and made her look over. The pegasus was showing her hidden side in a flash. She was worried about what was to come and Twilight only wished she could give her some assurance.

“Yes,” the purple alicorn returned to the princesses. “It won't change my friendships or how I view them, but I still need to know.”

“Twilight is right,” Rarity agreed in clipped punctuation. “Immortal or not, she is still our dear friend. Though I admit my curiosity is quite difficult to control right now.”

There was a giddy sound from the purple-maned unicorn that acted as Celestia's cue.

“The answer is not so simple, I'm afraid,” the Mare of the Sun tried sounding positive in spite of it. “You have likely guessed by now, Twilight, that you were not born immortal. As my sister said, only those born as alicorns are immortal by nature and only Luna and myself were conceived this way.”

“Then what about Cadance?” Twilight dared to ask.

Luna looked away to one of the windows and fell silent while Celestia winced.

“Cadance,” the Mare of the Sun said the name with a marked sadness, “is somepony I'd rather not speak of for your sake, Twilight. Please understand.”

Everyone but Luna stared in mixed confusion and worry at Celestia.

“My sake?” Twilight parroted. “What is it? What's happened to Cadance?!”

“No, no,” Celestia backpedaled, seeing her former student was now concerned about some unintended implication. “Cadance and your brother are both fine. Perhaps even better than fine. I didn't mean to suggest they were in any danger.”

“Then what did you mean?” Rainbow Dash cut in. Twilight looked sideways at her for the rash tone of her question but then looked back to Celestia for the answer, who shifted her lips in a vain attempt to get some kind of sentence constructed behind them.

Luna spoke up instead, returning her serious look to Twilight. “Alicorns are not made, Twilight Sparkle. They are born. Or, at least, they used to be.”

Celestia was now the one to give her sister a sharp look. Luna disregarded and kept speaking.

“You're 'acquisition' of wings was not natural,” Luna proceeded.

“Luna!” Celestia interjected.

The dark alicorn looked at her sister with some lack of understanding on her face, as if she was surprised Celestia had interrupted her.

“I apologize,” Celestia looked to the others in the room. “Luna and I need just a moment.”

With that and nothing more, the two sisters exploded out of sight in a flash of pale yellow teleportation magic.

Twilight remained sitting where she was, brows furrowed and mind racing. She quickly noticed everyone else was now looking at her for an explanation of what was going on. However, she could do nothing more than shrug and give a “beats me.”

“What is the problem?” Luna asked point blank from where she was now standing in her own bedroom. She was very familiar with the feeling of her sister's teleportation magic and didn't flinch in the slightest. The midnight blue of her bedroom walls, the sparkles of the magical star projections upon them, and the overall cave-like darkness of the abode did, however, put her at more ease than the room they had just been in a second ago.

“I am,” Celestia said soft and sadly from her spot on Luna's double-sized bed. “I'm getting cold hooves, Lulu. I don't know if I can tell her.”

“This is ridiculous,” Luna rolled her eyes and stepped up to her own bed. The constellations and nebulae etched upon them were almost as familiar to her as her own sibling, who was acting less than herself. “Since when does my sister of all ponies get cold?”

“Twilight has always seen me as...” Celestia tried to find the word without sounding egotistical.

“Infallible,” Luna finished as she climbed up onto her bed and laid sideways with her sister. She put her hoof around her neck to encourage her. “It is best for her to know the truth, Tia. And anyways, your mistakes have been nothing compared to mine.”

“But after what she just did in the Crystal Empire?” Celestia looked to her smaller sibling and argued worriedly. “This is going to hurt her deeply, Lulu. I've betrayed her trust. And I cannot tell the whole truth because of her brother.”

Luna knew where the worry was coming from. The feeling of betraying her own sister had been a searing wound healed only by time and forgiveness. “I may not have been involved with Cadance's ascendancy but, for what it's worth, I did consent to Twilight's. She can blame me too if she has a problem with it.”

“You were busy directing a meteor shower when I talked to you about it,” Celestia pouted. “And you were half asleep anyways.”

The Mare of the Night sighed. “I did drop one on a poor pony's home...nopony was hurt, though,” she rushed to add. “And I fixed his house personally. It's even better now. I added a second story and-”

“Lulu.”

“Yes?” the mare slowed down sheepishly.

“Thanks,” Celestia said as she nuzzled her sister.

“I did nothing,” Luna dismissed it. “But I'll still take that 'thank you.'”

The white alicorn laughed and then steeled herself once more. “Let's not keep them waiting.”

Even though it felt like a much darker day, the sun was shining through the shutters quite eagerly and only the occasional cloud in the sky gave any kind of shade to the sun-stained land below. The day had also started off rather cool, but now the heat could be felt pouring into the tower room where the ponies, dragon, and changeling undertook their off-the-record meeting.

There was the same flash again and both sisters were laying right where they had been before on the old sofa. A round of apologies and dismissals were had to accommodate the unusual break. Not wanting to drag things out unnecessarily, the original conversation was quickly resumed.

Luna let her sister lead now, which she did with a deep breath of courage. “You've been such a perfect student, Twilight. I never wanted you to see or know how terrible the world could be. You've been like...like my own child.”

Twilight bit her bottom lip. She hated how much those simple words affected her. She wanted to keep a strong face in front of her former mentor.

“I was lying to myself,” Celestia admitted. “I kept telling myself it didn't have to end. That I could keep you safe in Equestria, a world of my own making. But then you told me that night about finding Chrysalis along the road. About how you saved her. I knew everything was going to change then. I couldn't keep you ignorant of what lies out there and really I never should have. I just wanted you to live a long happy life. One without pain or sorrow.”

Luna massaged her sister's back with her forehoof, encouraging her. Twilight swallowed and knew there was something more to come.

“I was the one that was responsible for everything that happened at the wedding,” the white alicorn stated flat out. “I was the one who deteriorated relations with other races after banishing Luna to the moon. I was distraught and depressed. I just wanted to seal myself away from everyone. But it cost Equestria dearly and some, such as the changelings, even worse. They were reliant on us for food-”

“That's not possible,” Twilight cut her off with a frown. She knew Celestia couldn't be serious. There were never any records of it and all of Equestrian history showed relations with the changelings to be sparse at best. “The changelings came from the South,” she began her argument but then stopped on that. Chrysalis had mentioned the northern wastes earlier. Something was off.

The one changeling in the room found herself leaning forward subconsciously. In spite of being the former leader of the foremost changeling hive, she had not exactly disclosed this to Twilight. Her new queen had already been suspicious of being kept from certain things and this was just a nail in the coffin as far as that was concerned. Her own mother had a habit of withholding certain things for political machination but Chrysalis had only failed to disclose it out of fear. She knew Twilight was smart and one question would lead to another. Nothing could afford to come in the way of their relationship and Chrysalis feared that the past just might do that.

Luna shook her head, wishing she instead had some words of comfort to give. “I'm afraid my sister will have to explain everything. I was not present at the time.”

Celestia winced, knowing she bore the full burden of it. “The changelings,” she tried, “were around long before Equestria was ever formed. My only defense in breaking ties was that they were an unpredictable race that could hold a fierce sense of retribution over multiple generations, partly in thanks to their hivemind.”

The two immortal sisters looked at the former changeling queen, who had forced as much of a neutral face as she could. She decided that she would have to let the white princess say what she will and then defend herself later with Twilight should the need arise. She trusted Twilight, however, and doubted that even Celestia could cook up a convincing lie about her. The whole matter was a mess regardless, much alike what happened the first night in Twilight's hivemind.

“Equestria was our dream,” Celestia looked back to Twilight with an earnest expression. “Luna and I desperately wanted to make a place where ponies and creatures of all kinds could live in peace and safety. It was all we wanted after our unfortunate past. But we were never the perfect rulers our subjects came to believe and, after a while, we were sucked into the image. After Luna was gone, all I had left was our glass dream. It could break so easily. I did some things I'm ashamed of now in order to protect it.”

Twilight started to feel small again. She had been Celestia's closest student and yet she was constantly finding out how much deeper the alicorn's life and power went. There were likely entire lifetimes she had lived that had shaped parts of the world she had never heard of.

“I'm only telling you this because you deserve to know. Just as you deserve to know the truth about us alicorns. Since you decided to adopt Chrysalis as your...friend,” she struggled with the word, not sure if it was the right one, “you must know this along with everything else. The changeling invasion was nobody's fault but my own. It was a tragedy that I could have-”

“Princess Celestia,” buzzed the unexpected voice of Chrysalis. This time it had been her to do the interrupting. All eyes became riveted upon her and the room became a vacuum of noise for the changeling's next words. “There's no need to trouble my queen with endless, petty details and assume blame for everything that went wrong.”

A few brows raised at the mention of “queen.” Namely Rarity's and the two sibling princesses.

“My ancestors,” Chrysalis kept up a quick pace to keep from getting herself cut off as she had done to Celestia, “were as bull-headed as I was. They didn't look to reason and acted only on emotions from stupid accidents. Now, explain what you did with that foal prince's magic before I smack your self-loathing mouth until it gets to the point.”

“Chry-” Twilight started to object angrily while processing the out-of-place reference to King Sombra. But she was instantly drowned out by somepony's laughter.

Luna was busting a gut on the sofa, waving occasionally at her sister between bouts. Rarity stared in horror while the others tried looking for the lost joke. Pinkie Pie joined in, not getting it in the slightest but never being one to miss a good laugh either.

“It's not so funny,” Celestia whispered to her sister.

“Oh, but it is,” Luna finished her fun. “She is right, Tia. You are terrible at answering one specific question.”

“Fine,” Celestia exhibited a rare display of pouting as she stuck her bottom lip out. She retracted it when she turned back to Twilight but continued to be indignant. “Since my sister and Chrysalis both seem intent on a simple answer without any crucial explanation to back it up, you will get the bare facts first. But please listen to what I have to say afterwards.”

Twilight gestured that she would always listen intently anyhow and would have voiced as much if Celestia hadn't declared the next thing so pointedly.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, upon your transformation into an alicorn, your lifespan has been altered. You are now immortal.”

Rainbow paled even as Twilight herself stared on blankly. She didn't see anypony as her eyes glazed over. Her logical mind went into overdrive trying to tie up all of the implications. It failed.

Rarity's heart ached but she put on her brave face. “C-congratulations, Twilight,” she encouraged her friend. “I'm so happy for you!”

That was the final straw for Pinkie Pie, who had only kept as grave-silent as she had because of her queen's explicit trust. But she could stand it no longer. Instantly, she burst off of the chair she was on, spraying a cloud of confetti that seemed to come from nowhere. She shouted “congratulations” and “I can't believe it my bestest best friend is an immortal alicorn princess queen” multiple times. She ended only with a declaration of all the planning she had to do for the Super Fun Annual Queen Twilight Sparkle Ascension to Immortality Party. She then started hyperventilating when she realized that, being immortal, Twilight could have an innumerable number of such parties. Once a year for all of eternity and that was not even to mention all of the birthdays and birthday cakes.

Spike clutched his chest. A lot of emotions rolled inside because of his past and his future. It was one he knew now in relief that he would have with Twilight always around. Celestia spoke up again in a way that made those feelings pause.

“Twilight,” the princess broke back in and snapped the purple mare back to reality. “There is much you have to know. This is why I didn't want to say it before I explained more. First of all, immortality is not the same as invincibility. You may live forever but you can still die should something terrible happen.”

“You mean if somepony was to harm her?” Rarity asked with alarm.

Luna nodded grimly at that and spoke. “We have lived only because of fate, though my sister would prefer to say 'heart' or 'determination.' I believe there are greater things at work that determine what happens to us.”

“Which brings me to my next point,” Celestia picked up. “I have begun considering what I used to believe was Luna's own superstitions. What has happened during your lifetime, Twilight, has been one extraordinary event after another. There have been so many disturbing coincidences that I have even considered taking leave of Equestria to find answers in the outer world.”

“What coincidences?” Twilight hazarded.

“Everything that you and your friends have done,” Celestia replied while finding her former student's lack of self-realization surprising. “You have gone far beyond merely using the Elements that Luna and I obtained from the Tree of Harmony. You have actually embodied those elements. You have tamed Discord and taken a former changeling queen under your wing. You even defeated King Sombra and saved the Crystal Empire. Then the magic I used to transform you was difficult to control...almost as if it wanted you...”

Twilight felt praised at first for what Celestia was saying but then felt ill at the last part.

“What about the magic had to do with Sombra?” she asked carefully without actually wanting the answer.

“It started with Cadance,” Celestia sighed deeply. “In short, all of it was his. I found hidden studies hundreds of years ago scattered through the northern wastes. There were journals describing strange and powerful magics that I had never seen or heard. Eventually I figured out who the studies belonged to, but only because his name had been made famous by the extreme nature of his disappearance. It was a part of history that I had personally covered up in the hopes of preventing unrest. Such powerful magic put the ponies of the time in a great panic.”

Luna rested her head on her forehooves as she listened to the words for the second time. Her sister had brought her into the knowledge after her return amongst many other events and happenings unknown to the greater populace of Equestria. It was only after her restriction on the moon that Celestia had begun changing the books.

“The dark magic you used when you were explaining the Crystal Empire to me...?” Twilight began to realize.

“Yes,” Celestia admitted. “It wasn't an imitation. I learned it. All of it.”

Chrysalis and Luna, both older and more intimate with the more dangerous parts of the world, didn't think it such a big deal. Twilight and her friends, however, began feeling uneasy about the possibilities.

“But you taught me to stay away from it,” Twilight backtracked in worry. “When I first became your personal student. You told me to stay far away from dark magic.”

“I know,” Celestia pressed on, trying not to lose her strong face in front of her old student. She still cherished Twilight even now that she had grown up and become a princess in her own right. Having spent so much time with the girl as she was still growing up was what made it so difficult.

“Then why...?”

“I'm weak, Twilight,” the white alicorn trembled, losing a bit of her control. Luna leaned over to her and nuzzled her in encouragement. “I thought I could handle everything on my own but, after I lost my sister, the years ate away at me. Decades. Centuries. My body may be immortal but it felt as if my heart was dying. I couldn't stand it anymore. I needed somepony around me – somepony that would last as long as myself. Maybe it was because it had always been Luna there with me, but what I wanted most was family.”

Seeing a growing realization on Twilight's face, Luna tried to keep the suspicion from blowing up. “My sister did not see the far-reaching implications,” the younger sibling disclaimed.

“There was one young filly,” Celestia pushed forward, fighting to get stability back into her voice. She succeeded for the most part. “A pink unicorn as young as you were when you took your entrance exam. She was smaller, even, and she seemed to have a natural talent for love and understanding, which is why I knew I had found the pony I was looking for.”

“You didn't,” Twilight barely even voiced the words. She didn't want to picture her perfect image of Celestia casting dark magic on an unsuspecting filly.

In spite of the concern on the faces of Spike and the four Elements of Harmony, Celestia said what they already suspected. “I used King Sombra's dark magic to make Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or, as you all know her, Cadance.”

25 - Magnanimity is Magnificent

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Just like you did me?” Twilight Sparkle asked her former mentor.

Celestia hesitated to nod. “Nearly. It wasn't quite the same, Twilight. Back then, my motivations were different. I really do believe it was your destiny to become what you are now and Luna agreed, but Cadance...I just don't know. Sometimes I wonder if I made her into something that was never meant to be.”

“Pfft,” Rainbow blurted without any restraint. “Yeah right. No offense princess, but Cadance had to be what she is. Last time I checked, the Crystal Empire would never have survived without her. Heck, Canterlot would have fallen to that one,” she pointed to Chrysalis, who smiled in a way that would show her sharp teeth.

“Rainbow is right,” Twilight backed up her friend. “I may want to know more about this dark magic but you shouldn't regret turning her into an alicorn and making her immortal. She's important to all of us and I mean that personally.”

“But it didn't stop there,” Celestia shook her head. “The alicorn transformation is not the same as making one immortal.”

“Huh?” Spike squinted.

Luna looked at him and whispered. “Just imagine what we would have endured if Sombra himself had been immortal.”

“The dark magic I gathered from Sombra's studies was related to immortality and permanent physical alteration. All of it was incomplete and I was forced to use some of Star Swirl's work to finish it. It was dangerous but I was desperate. In the end, I had both pieces I needed to make somepony like Luna and I. The first was the alicorn spell. Sombra's work only went as far as providing a rudimentary horn and wings, while Star Swirl's work smoothed it out - made it more natural. The second part, the immortality, was only a solid lead. Sombra was obsessed with it but never managed to create magic for it. His extensive travels, however, gave me the hint I needed and one I assume he never realized himself.”

“Hint? Lead?” Pinkie Pie enthused happily and bounced once more on the chair she had returned to. “I love guessing games!”

Celestia proceeded without pause for the pink pony. “I must confess, it took everything I had to follow the trail and survive the journey. The hint was in a journal entry detailing a golem fortress on the other side of the world. There were inscription reproductions in the journal that indicated some entity called the 'Life.' Sombra didn't make any other entries about it, so I assume he didn't catch the significance. He probably marked it off as some cultural lore irrelevant to his work.”

“I don't understand. An entity?” Twilight's logic raced to put the pieces together.

Celestia patiently answered, knowing she was about to reveal something that very few beings could be trusted to know. “Luna and I traveled much in our younger years and met many different races and beings. That was how we became aware of these unique entities, immortal beings that wield the most fundamental aspects of the world. For convenience, Luna and I refer to them as the Origins. The Tree of Harmony is one such being.”

“Harmony?” Rainbow Dash spoke up. She couldn't help but figure the name was important to them.

“Yes,” Luna answered. “The Elements of Harmony that you bear are originally from the Tree. We borrowed them so that we might defend Equestria.”

Twilight looked to Rainbow, who exchanged the same look that passed to Rarity and Pinkie Pie. They were all thinking the same thing. A trip to the Tree of Harmony just might hold some significance to them.

“The Tree is not the only one, though,” Celestia continued. “We met others in past millennia. The Vine of Life is the one that decided Cadance's fate. I met with it, not for the first time, at the end of my search and bargained with it.”

“You bargained with a vine?” Rarity's expression turned as green as her imagination of it in pure distaste.

“I assure you it's no simple plant,” Celestia giggled, lightening the mood. “Its eccentricity is the only reason I managed to get the magic from it to make Cadance immortal. Make no mistake, the Origins are powerful. Even without the Elements, the Tree of Harmony continues to keep the dangers of the Everfree from getting out of control. Likewise, the Vine continues to keep entire races alive with its magic.”

“Like the golems,” Twilight finished her internal conclusions. “Rocks don't exactly have a pulse.”

“Hey, some do!” Pinkie jumped in. “My sister says that-”

“Only some of them are rock,” Celestia remarked over Pinkie. “Some are crystal. I even met one that was diamond.”

“A diamond golem?!” Rarity widened her eyes and asked with a gleeful squeak in her voice.

Spike patted her on the shoulder to calm her down.

“He was quite the gentlecolt...gentlegolem,” Celestia frowned and looked troubled at figuring out the proper terminology. She forgot to ask the golems how they preferred to be titled. But then, they didn't talk much.

Chrysalis looked thoughtful throughout most of the revelations. She had plans forming in her mind as to how she might use this information for her queen's advantage. What made Twilight happy would make her happy and so she knew she would have to take action to ensure her queen was not dragged into some avoidable tragedy. She knew how much Twilight cared about her friends and it would hurt her to see them fade away while she stayed the same for eternity. Maybe the alicorn wouldn't say as much but she would still feel that way.

“So it gave you the magic for immortality?” Twilight got the talk back on the rails.

“Only a one-use spell that would work on Cadance alone,” Celestia clarified. “It might be eccentric but the Vine isn't stupid. It ensured I could only give immortality to Cadance, the one I described to it. As for you, I had to ask again. Thankfully, I've come up with long-distance communication magic since then so I didn't have to reiterate the journey.”

“And it just gave you another spell?” Rainbow gawked. “Just like that?”

“Bargaining for Cadance was much more difficult,” Celestia quirked a brow. “The Vine was practically insisting that Twilight be allowed immortality. It seemed very interested in you,” she ended with a look to the purple mare.

Twilight felt her stomach churn. She didn't know if she wanted the attentions of some weird millennia-old plant that determined the life or death of entire races.

“Does this have anything to do with the dark magic's reaction to Twilight?” Rarity hazarded the question.

“I believe it does,” Luna put in her two bits.

Celestia gave her sister a neutral look. “Destiny might not even come into the equation if Sombra's physical alteration magic originated from the arachnes. They're one of the races the Vine oversees directly. It could just have been the Vine pushing its interests again. In any case,” the elder Mare of the Sun turned back to Twilight, “I believe your initial question has been answered.”

“Yes,” Twilight sighed deeply, still trying to figure out how she was going to come to terms with it. Even though it didn't affect how she saw her friends, it did mean she would outlive them...her family...

There was a silence as various occupants of the room began to think how it would affect each of them in turn. Pinkie Pie rocked back and forth on her stool while Rarity stole a glance to the dragon beside her. Spike caught the look but didn't know why she looked troubled. He knew why he felt that way but not why she might feel that way towards him. Or was she looking to him about her feelings on Twilight?

“There's something I need to talk to you about,” Twilight ended the lack of noise as she spoke directly to Celestia. “But I'd like to think first. Can we talk again later?”

Celestia's motherly smile returned. “Of course, Twilight. You can talk to me any time you want to. I'll have your things sent to your rooms and have one of my maids show you to them. I have something to talk to my sister about, so take your time.”

“About those rooms...” Twilight said sheepishly.

Normally, Celestia wouldn't have given it a second thought when Twilight asked for a large bedroom to accommodate all of the girls at the same time. Something about the way she asked, though, made her wonder if there was something more to it. Shrugging it off as needless paranoia, she got her mind back to the conversation she was now having with Luna in her own secure bedroom. Hers was brighter than her sister's, which made Luna squint a bit from the light and generally face away from the windows.

“I owe Cadance too much,” Celestia continued their conversation from where she sat at her bedroom desk, “to betray what she intends to do with Shining Armor.”

Luna leaned from one side to the other where she stood but masked how emotionally moved she was about the prince and princess of the Crystal Empire. Love that strong was rare. “I knew it would eventually happen when they married. Have they left yet?”

“She wouldn't just tell me, Lulu. As much as she trusts me on other things, I don't think she trusts me to give her approval. No doubt that's why some of my journals went missing and why she intends to sideline me by going there directly. If they haven't left yet then they will soon. Shining Armor doesn't know about the Vine and I suspect she won't tell him until it's already over.”

Luna said nothing, unsure of whether she should voice her personal approval of Cadance's intent.

“She may have the greatest talent for love,” the white mare remarked, “but that has only given her a greed for her husband's life. Honestly, I think the Vine will grant her wish. Especially if it discovers their connection to Twilight.”

“It would. Sniveling little weed. Twilight will be pleased with it, though.”

“Still nursing your grudge against it, hm?” Celestia provoked her sibling while trying to get rid of some of the court cases that had piled up for signatures.

“It insulted your mane, Tia,” Luna protested adamantly. “The nerve!”

“You care much more about it than I do,” Celestia laughed gingerly while shaking her head. “Anyways, Twilight can't know about this until after it's already done. She still worries too much over the implications and might try to stop Cadance from going through with it.”

“What about Sombra then? He doesn't have much time left now that he's been unfrozen from the time spell. Those backed into a corner can be very dangerous, sister.”

Celestia stopped her signatures for a moment and turned back to her sibling, meeting eyes. “He'll have found out about us by now, but I can tell just from his magic that he's very shrewd. He could have died many times throughout his studies and the altercation at the Crystal Empire, but he's a survivalist. He cares too much about his own life to risk doing anything that would unite us against him.”

Luna stammered. “Y-you mean you're intentionally letting him go?”

A disturbing smile came over the elder's face. “It came to me a few nights ago when I was trying to get to sleep. Twilight needs a reason to come out of the bubble I put her in. Chrysalis helped at first but I'm beginning to wonder if that hive mentality of hers is making Twilight pull back.”

“So we're really going to go through with it? Twilight cannot handle Equestria as she is now, sister.”

“Perhaps not,” Celestia tapped the quill on a scroll behind her on the desk, “but that is why we need Sombra.”

“Great stars, Tia!” the Mare of the Night exclaimed. “And you said he was the shrewd one. Has Discord been playing with your mind?”

Celestia giggled. “No, but we might need his help if we're going to confront the ones that attacked the dragons. He has far more power than even he himself realizes – probably because he only ever fools around with it.”

Luna sighed in relent. “I don't want to do it, Tia. Just thinking about them gives me nightmares. I see mom's face-”

“Shh,” Celestia soothed her sister as she suddenly got up and approached her. She didn't like it when Luna trembled that way. “It'll be okay, Lulu. We're not fillies anymore. We can face them together.”

“But we are two and they are thousands. Even in their prime, our entire race couldn't defeat them.”

“We have many advantages over them now. No, let's not speak of it anymore. Today should not be so grave. Especially when we have plans for little Spike.”

Luna lightened up finally. “Oh? Are we sure about this? Once we start, it will be very hard to reverse events.”

“Rarity has always struck me as an interesting mare, much alike all of Twilight's friends,” Celestia mused and began levitating over a book that had been sitting on her desk. “She thinks herself socially clever but wears her heart right out on her sleeve. And as for Spike, he wears it on a fifty hoof high bulletin board.”

Luna giggled, past conversation intentionally forgotten. “I can't argue that.”

“I believe our mischief will begin with you, dear Lulu,” the taller mare declared as she flipped through the book that had no title or identification on it. “A dragon's dreams do have such an effect on them. There's no telling how much of his magic will start to show.”

“It will be the easiest of any dream-making I have done,” Luna straightened with pride. “I have seen his dreams and they are often of her in the first place. Innocent but persistent.”

Celestia paused and started walking to her bedroom's balcony as she found the place she was looking for in the book. It was her own notes on what she knew of a magic dragon's ability to access unicorn magic. “Just don't overdo it. I don't want him getting half as tall as a mountain again. The castle staff weren't too happy cleaning up after the hatching incident – nevermind what happened in Ponyville.”

“Who are you talking to?” Luna blanched. “I weave dreams as subtle as your aging face.”

“Indee-” Celestia began and then whirled around with pursed lips. “What did you say?”

Luna laughed as she swiftly darted out the door to go her personal room and the entrance to her dream world that was her bed. Celestia just stood there in her own chambers with a scowl and a mumbled promise to herself that she'd show which one of them had the “aging face.” But she had other matters to attend to, notes to take, and a quartet of sisters to unleash.

As for the dream-specialist, she knew Spike was prone to sleep earlier than the others and even nap in-between. Luna would have to exploit every moment if she was going to unlock the leviathan hidden inside. Even if her sister had not discussed it with her, she would have seen the meaning in it. Equestria needed all the help it could get for times ahead, to say nothing of the drake's adoptive mother, Twilight Sparkle.

Spike and the girls had assembled in the one massive bedroom that Celestia had arranged for them while the four guards stood at attention outside, two in the castle hallway and one at each of the other doors facing the outer courtyard. It had been a room specifically designed and built as an addition to the castle for use by a visiting dignitary from Saddle Arabia. Its use, however, had come and gone, which left it mostly worthless in spite of how well it was upkept by the proud castle staff.

The room was everything Twilight needed and, in fact, had a bit too much space. It was generally shaped like an oval but had two protrusions that stretched into the outer castle garden while opening up at the ends with a glass dome and door. It was a kind of layout Twilight had never seen before but vaguely remembered from one of the random books on foreign architectural norms she had read one night on a whim.

The most prominent feature besides the wealth of indoor plants, both standing and hanging, was the bed. It was at the center of a round stage that had short easy steps leading up to it, but there were no legs to it. Essentially, the bed was just a thick mattress laying on the floor with oversized sheets pooling at the sides. It made Twilight feel like she was touching a different world, all the sheets and various room decorations of peculiar color combinations and ornamental stitchings that could come only from Saddle Arabia itself.

“I do apologize, Twilight,” Rarity offered sincerely from where she was nestled on one corner of the massive mattress. “I'm just so overwhelmed right now.”

“You're overwhelmed?” Twilight groaned near the pillows at the top. “What am I supposed to be? Elated? Oh, sure. I get to live forever. I wonder what hayburgers will taste like next century!”

“My queen,” Chrysalis buzzed patiently and crawled over to calm her. “You're beginning to panic.”

“I was wondering how long that'd take,” Spike commented from across the other side of the mattress. He was engrossed in some comic book and didn't look away from it. “There was a little extra incubation time for that meltdown.”

“Incubation?” Rainbow raised a brow at him. She finally turned her attention from messing with the sheet edges, trying to figure out how such things were supposed to fold.

“What?” he put down his comic and defended himself.

“I don't know, sport,” the pegasus grinned. “Don't hear you use the ten bit words very often.”

Spike tried hard not to blush in embarrassment, especially with Rarity right there. “H-hey,” he stuttered, “I know how to use a dictionary, you know.”

After the words were out, Spike realized how bad they sounded. There he was making himself a goofball again. Nopony else seemed to pick it up, though.

“At least Spike will be with me. Oh dear Celestia...” Twilight's eyes widened as she realized again how none of the others around her would live as long as her, save for the dragon.

“Careful, my queen,” Chrysalis whispered close to the mare's ear, but had a joking grin on her muzzle. “The princess might hear you using her name carelessly.”

Twilight frowned at her changeling and bopped her on the head with a forehoof. “You're not helping.”

“Hey, Twi,” Rainbow hovered over with her wings and landed so close that she nearly dropped onto Twilight. “When were you going to tell Rarity?”

“Tell me what?” the fashionista narrowed her eyes but kept suspicion from her voice. In truth, she had been curious about many things and couldn't guess as to which Rainbow had just implicated.

The purple alicorn cringed. She had never told Rarity why she had insisted on the large bedroom. She could only presume the unicorn went along without comment because she wasn't against the idea of what was essentially a group sleepover. But it went deeper than that. Much deeper.

In reading her friend's face, Rarity took the tactful route. “You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, Twilight. I do respect your privacy.”

“No,” Twilight waved it off. “You need to know – just as you needed to know whether or not I might be immortal now. We're best friends and I don't want any secret coming between us.”

“Best friends?” Rarity smiled and cooed. “It's so nice of you to say that, Twilight.”

Before the pony queen could make any response, the Element of Generosity stepped over and nuzzled her friend.

“I'm serious,” Rarity insisted. “Pinkie may have plenty of friends but not everypony is so lucky, especially with having true friends. I'm honored to have you as mine.”

Twilight softened at that unexpected response. She really hadn't meant to invoke such a thing and was moved by Rarity's forthcoming attitude. Applejack would be proud of that honesty if she were with them. The alicorn simply nuzzled her friend in return.

“Well, you've always been so understanding, Rarity,” Twilight began. “I need to tell you that something has happened in my life.”

“Oh?” Rarity sat straight in front of Twilight. Her interest was genuine. Twilight phrasing anything in such a manner was bound to be important. Of course, her mind went directly to wondering if she was about to confess starting some romantic relationship. But, then, Rarity was such a romantic herself that she couldn't help such fascinations.

“I...well, Chrysalis...” the queen fumbled on her start. Where exactly was she supposed to start anyways? “Do you know anything about changeling hive mentality?” she finally landed on. It was better than nothing.

Rarity's lips went slantwise as she thought. “I am afraid I am only more familiar with, ehm, relationships as it were. Do tell, though.”

Chrysalis laid back onto the bedsheets and sprawled out in relaxation. Her mind was patiently working out how she would rig the bedroom for her queen's sleep. The number of necessary connections were considerable, but she was confident she could do it. Meanwhile, Rainbow sat her head on her forehooves where she was laying and watched for the reactions Rarity might show. Pinkie Pie moved over to another corner of the bed and drew out some mechanical items from her mysterious item-carrying mane, putting on some equally mysterious goggles as she worked with the gears of the equipment.

Spike kept reading his comic but kept his ears elsewhere. He had been neither here nor there on Twilight's entire hivemind situation. He knew what she was basically going through but he had limited experience of it. It did come to his curiosity whether or not something was happening with the ponies as he slept beside them but he didn't know what. As far as he could tell, it was a matter concerning them and not him. On the other claw, if Rarity would be affected by it then he would definitely want to know.

“Changelings exist in what we know as a 'hive' society. They are connected by telepathy - basically linking minds to each other so they can easily share information and coordinate as one large group.”

Rarity nodded, showing her comprehension.

“This mental connection is something we refer to as a 'hivemind.' But changelings can choose to forcefully remove members from it should they collectively decide to do so.”

“You did mention something about that happening to Chrysalis when you first told me you had...saved her,” Rarity subconsciously brought a forehoof beside her cheek as she contemplated where Twilight was going with it.

“Yes,” the alicorn reiterated. “Chrysalis was removed from her hivemind. But now there is another.”

“Another?” Rarity raised her brows and dropped her hoof, awaiting the answer.

Twilight didn't hesitate this time. “Mine,” she clarified.

Rarity blinked. Across the bed Chrysalis smiled.

“She was having a hard time without one,” the queen explained. “She set things up so I could be the center of a new hivemind and I decided it couldn't hurt. She needs my help just like she did back then.”

“You seem to care about her wellbeing quite a bit,” Rarity spoke softly in a form of reflection.

Twilight straightened her posture and breathed deep. “I do. But I care about all of my friends. I didn't plan it exactly but Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all wound up connected to me through this hivemind. I found out stuff I never knew about them and strange things have started happening, but I'm glad it all happened.”

“When?” Rarity furrowed her brows in mild concern.

“All in the last few days,” Twilight admitted.

Rarity shifted in her spot and looked for words to say.

“My guards as well,” the queen added, getting another brow-rising from the unicorn. “The two I've connected with so far have been quite the gentlecolts,” she giggled, having only realized that fact herself.

“My apologies, Twilight,” Rarity pressed her lips in lack of certainty. “What do you mean about finding out things? What has happened exactly?”

“The hivemind is a full mental connection,” Twilight repeated. “I see everything in one member's mind just as they see mine, so memories are shared too.”

Rarity blushed as she glanced quickly to the others in the room. “Everything?”

“Yes,” Twilight answered cheerfully.

“Is that not a bit, ehm,” Rarity was careful to phrase it, “embarrassing?”

Twilight flipped her mane aside so she could also glance around at the others. That's when she noticed Pinkie doing something odd, but she kept taking to Rarity. “Yes. At first, I mean. But it's unbelievably calming afterwards – like having a stone removed from your back. I guess that's because everypony I've connected with so far has been very open and understanding. I have some pretty awesome friends,” she enthused at the end.

Rarity forced a smile but still felt conflicted on the privacy of the whole thing.

“Anyways, that's the reason I asked for this room,” the purple pony concluded. “Chrysalis needs to create a temporary link for us to connect while we sleep because this hivemind of mine is a little wonky right now. I guess it makes sense, though. Ponies don't usually have their own hiveminds.”

“That explains the queen business then,” Rarity decided. “I thought it might just be an old changeling's habit of terminology, but I see it was literal now.”

“Who's old?” Chrysalis buzzed in retort from across the bed.

They all laughed, though in good humor.

“You're not old, my little changeling,” Twilight soothed.

“Nor am I little,” Chrysalis returned in the same tone, a smile returning to her face.

“No,” Twilight agreed flatly. “You're not.”

Pinkie Pie looked up from her increasingly complex mechanical contraptions and offered an ominous-sounding inquiry. “So when does the Rarity Fairy get to join the party?”

Twilight opened her mouth but said nothing and looked back to her white unicorn companion.

“I admit I am concerned, but I also have to admit I am curious,” the fashionista tapped a hoof to her chin. “How were the others...connected...as it were?”

26 - Imagination is Insurmountable

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Chrysalis was no greenhorn, though her horn did glow with green magic. The point was that she was far from naive and even farther from inexperience. She could handle a terrible situation in stride because, honestly, she had quite a bit of practice with such situations throughout her life. This one was, however, rather unique.

There she was, laying on the massive burgundy sheets that had funny embroideries of green and black running through them. She might have thought she liked the style if she hadn't been preoccupied with transforming a levitated bundle of clod she had created using the dead plant bits from the castle courtyard. Direway had let her in and out to get it through one of the glass doors.

She was sprawled haphazardly, not caring one bit if she appeared overly-relaxed. She was with her queen in a grand bedroom chamber. Why should she care? And, anyways, said queen was talking Rarity's ear off about the whole hivemind business. Chrysalis made sure there was an extra connection worked into the faux ring system she was rigging together.

What had been a random black bundle suspended by green magic began to form into a long thin cord that emanated its very own green light. Chrysalis' eyes narrowed in concentration and one of her fangs poked out of her mouth. Two protrusions extended from the center of the cord like antennae. At the end of each was a bulb that began pulsating with the same glow as everything else.

The changeling finally set the cord to line the topmost part of the mattress and was pleased to see the illumination of the thing did not fade out. She wiped a bead of sweat that had formed on her forehead, not realizing she actually had been working so hard on it. When she looked to her queen for some accomplishment recognition, she found the occupancy of the room to have changed.

Twilight Sparkle was gone and so was Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie was still working on her mechanical devices while Rarity was at one of the extended glass domes, looking more self-reflective than holding any interest in the garden courtyard outside. Chrysalis was about to ask Spike what had happened when she had her attention diverted, but she found the miniature drake had fallen backwards on the mattress. His comic book laid over his snoring face.

Then there was a ring. It wasn't the kind of ring that Chrysalis had made for her queen to sleep in back at the Golden Oaks. Rather, it was the kind of alarming noise one heard when they set a magical detector to inform them whenever someone or something was attempting to tear down the cloaking magic surrounding a hivemind. It was the one sound Chrysalis did not want to hear.

She heard it.

None of the others noticed because it was a ringing that happened only within the changeling's head and was not repeated throughout the hivemind. Not wanting to garner any attention, Chrysalis quietly closed her eyes and lit her horn. This was going to be tricky. To say she had rigged the cloaking magic would be a terrible understatement. She hadn't rigged it. She had tossed it together like a rotten fruit salad set upon by a swarm of parasprites. It would not likely last a second more and, honestly, it was a surprise it had lasted at all.

Chrysalis strained to find the culprit behind the alarm. She was in a mental space nowhere near as intricately built as the one Twilight had been constructing and it was a struggle to keep herself from slipping into her queen's hivemind. Just as she was about to give up the effort as futile and let whatever it was remove the detection shield on the hivemind, she got a clue to the attacker. Her horn diffused and her lids shot open.

“Luna,” Chrysalis growled beneath her breath. A dreamwalker spell. Typical.

Well, she was officially annoyed now and wouldn't let this go even though she had plenty of other valid reasons to interfere besides mere annoyance. Luna had no business messing around with the queen's hivemind and Chrysalis would make sure the deceptively young alicorn knew as much.

She closed her eyes, linked through the newly made ring cord, and barreled over to Spike's passive hivemind existence. It was still floating there as a little purple and green orb of light. It hadn't changed since she had locked it away from Twilight. With no more preparation, Chrysalis exercised her magical strength she had grown from Twilight's friendship and love. She copied her queen's approach and transformed her orb-like presence into a more straightforward representation of herself. She transformed into her full-height physical version and Spike's orb morphed into a sleeping version of himself.

The cloaking magic was being eaten away from the outside, but she decided to Tartarus with it and ripped the whole thing away. Suddenly, a purple orb blinked into existence. It was a deeper shade than Twilight's and quickly it resolved itself into a familiar Mare of the Night. Said mare had a very unamused expression on her face.

“Chrysalis,” Luna squinted in suspicion. “What is this? What have you done to Spike's dreamworld?”

The changeling lifted her head high. “I think the question is what you are doing here. Do you have any idea how dangerous it would be if my queen connected right now?”

Luna said nothing to that but glanced around her and spotted Spike. “Hiveminds have changed a lot in the past millennium,” she remarked with a challenging tone. “Since the last time I made the mistake of walking one, that is.”

“It's none of your business,” Chrysalis matched her look of annoyance.

“It is my business if you are doing something harmful to Spike - say nothing of Twilight Sparkle!”

Chrysalis stepped up to the representation of the alicorn. “I would never do anything to harm my queen. You challenge my loyalty, mare?”

Luna stuck her chest out. “I'm not sure I trust you, changeling. Why have we not heard of this from Twilight herself?”

Ah, valid point, Chrysalis cringed inwards but smirked outwards. She stepped forward again so that her chest bumped Luna's and she had to peer down at the shorter female. “Because it's none. Of. Your. Business.”

Luna forced her face up so her horn crashed into Chrysalis'. “Twilight Sparkle is my business! And what have you done to Spike?”

The tall shape-shifter stared daggers into the mare's eyes not a hoof's distance from her own. “Get lost.”

Luna was not about to take another word. She had never been completely forgiving in the first place and wasn't about to be talked down by the changeling. Her forward hooves tipped as she pushed forward, attempting to bowl Chrysalis over. The target quickly met her with equal force, however. They initiated a back-and-forth of pushing, horns locked in anger. Words were exchanged. None very pretty.

“You seem more interested than usual,” Twilight remarked as she and her blue friend leaned casually against one of the castle kitchen's massive and totally spotless steel countertops.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash looked back to the alicorn. She had been distracted, carefully watching the chef prepare their request. Each ingredient was critical and there were some she put in that were far from normal. “Oh, um, what makes you think that?”

Twilight gave one of her nerdy and, for one sporty rainbow mare, completely heart-stopping giggles. “C'mon, Dashie. You've haven't been subtle once in your whole life. Is cooking a couple of hayburgers really so interesting?”

Rainbow blushed. “Well, uh,” she stammered. “I was just thinking it'd be nice to make them on my own, you know? I'm really hungry after those workouts.”

If it wasn't for the mouth-watering smell of the grilling burgers and the enticing sizzling sound they made as the chef prepared them, Twilight might have been more apt to push the point. But she hardly needed to do so to figure that her most loyal friend was scheming for a chance to make her some hayburgers as well. For some reason, that little fact helped calm the alicorn's nerves even if only by a little. She had incredible friends that were just as incredibly supportive of her. But then...

“Hey, what's up, Twi?” Rainbow broke her thoughts. “You're getting this real downer of a look.”

“Nothing,” the queen shook her head to try clearing both her mind and her emotions. The former needed to focus and the latter needed to go out on a vacation because it was clearly overstressed.

“Yeah, right. I can tell you've got something on your mind. What's bugging you?”

“Besides the whole being immortal thing?” Twilight deadpanned while resuming her stare at the sizzling burgers.

“Besides the whole being immortal thing,” the pegasus confirmed in a lower but compassionate voice.

Normally, she wouldn't feel so hasty to speak of it. Circumstances were uncommon, however, with her shape-shifting companion not around to hear her so long as she didn't slip it into one of those hivemind broadcasts. She'd probably find out anyway when they went to sleep that night.

“It's Chrysalis,” Twilight admitted.

“Ah,” Rainbow put it simply.

“I talk big and I think she falls for it sometimes but I just...”

Rainbow could hear her friend working out the words and gave her the necessary time. It wasn't anything she didn't already know but she wasn't about to hound her queen about it either. If Twilight wanted to talk it out, she had no problems at all with it.

“...I just don't have anything over her. I'm only able to keep her in check because she seems to really want me as her queen. But I have no spine to do anything against her because I'm worried that she might stop getting whatever nourishment she gets from me. I can't bear the thought of seeing her like she was when I saved her. I know she wouldn't hurt anypony anymore but she still hides things from me as if she doesn't trust me or something...I'm sorry.”

“What for?” Rainbow almost squeaked as she furrowed her brows.

“For rambling like this,” Twilight took a deep breath. “I don't like to talk about things I shouldn't be so concerned about in the first place. Especially when it's probably not a very nice thing to do.”

The blue mare just couldn't understand it. She too had to shake her head to try and figure out what Twilight was saying. In a single flap, she hovered away from the countertop and faced her friend more directly.

“First things first,” she crossed her forehooves in seriousness. “Why is Ms. Egghead forgetting all those lessons about sharing concerns with her friends?”

Twilight shrunk at that. It stung because it was true.

“Second,” Rainbow frowned, feeling a little hurt that Twilight would feel the need not to say things in front of her. “Why would you think it wouldn't be 'nice' to talk to me about Chrysalis?”

The alicorn queen shifted on her hooves. “I know how you feel about me, Rainbow. I feel like I'm walking all over you when I talk about somepony else again and again.”

“Hey,” Rainbow dropped to her hooves with a single collective clack against the kitchen tiles. She stepped up to Twilight in one move and put a forehoof to her shoulder as a playful grin worked its way onto her face. “I told you it's 'Dashie' now.”

Her queen gave a tired “heh.”

“And you can't go hurting my feelings just because you care about others,” Rainbow continued. “In fact, I'd be mad at you if you didn't care about anypony other than me. I'm not one of those obsessive mares that wants to lock you away all for myself.”

“But this is different,” Twilight had to argue.

“Yeah,” Rainbow lowered her head for just a second but brought it back up again. “Yeah, it's different. Maybe you know some obscure bit of history I don't but I'm pretty sure this is the first time a bookworm unicorn turned into an immortal alicorn queen of a pony hive.”

Said queen couldn't help but muffle a snort of laughter at how absurd it sounded coming from her star athlete.

“Seriously, though. I may not be all super smart like you are but I am flexible – as flexible as you need me to be.”

“I think I needed to hear that. Thanks, Dashie,” Twilight hugged he friend gratefully.

As Rainbow pulled back, she beamed her go-to look of pride. “I don't know if you needed it or not but I do know one thing,” she said with a smirk.

“What's that?” Twilight asked, knowing full well something silly was about to come out of Loyalty's mouth.

“I know how to get free hugs from my queen.”

No disappointment was had.

“Burger's up!” the red mare with the chef's hat called as she flipped the hay patties over her head and onto two buns sitting on a plate behind her. Truly a world expert. Remembering the two that had made the request were still there, she blushed and added, “your Highness.”

Twilight gave her a kindly look and dismissed the title once more, finding that none of the castle staff ever took the dismissal to heart. “Thanks for making these,” she remarked in appreciation. “I just needed to walk around and think – only my stomach seemed to be doing all the thinking.”

“No problem,” the chef laughed and waved it off. “I do that all the time. A change of air is good for you, after all.”

Rainbow scooped up the plate of hayburgers and hovered right out of the kitchen. Twilight gave one more word of thanks and followed her friend, all the while wishing she was skilled enough with her wings to do the crazy things Rainbow could do seemingly on thoughtless whims.

The kitchen door they used opened up to a grand dining hall for special political gatherings. It was currently empty, however, which left the two winged ponies to find opposing seats that weren't too far apart. They only had one plate, which Rainbow may or may not have schemed into the whole picture. Two of Twilight's guards that had shadowed them the whole time were as silent as most guardponies were. They took up positions at the nearest door.

After they ate a few bites, Rainbow continued. “You didn't finish did you?”

“About what?” Twilight asked around a mouthful of burger.

“Chrysalis,” Rainbow turned soft again. “What is it you think she's hiding?”

The alicorn chewed slow and breathed calmly until swallowing. She also took a sip of water from the glass that Rainbow had retrieved just before they had sat down. Oddly, it was also just one single glass for the both of them rather than two.

“Lots of things,” Twilight admitted.

“For instance?”

“Her past, what she knows about her people and the outside world, why I seem to randomly get more of a working hivemind over time, why I'm seeing these weird trace lines between inanimate objects-”

“That's just Pinkie,” Rainbow cut in. “Yeah,” she answered her queen's curious look, “it's her Pinkie Physics thing. That's how I got in your ink pot. Been a lot more careful since then...”

“So that line between the plant vase in the corner,” Twilight gestured to the spot on the other side of the massive dining room and then another spot upwards, “and that chandelier is a teleportation guide?”

“Probably,” Rainbow agreed, seeing the same line that was entirely invisible to everypony else should anypony else actually have been there to not see it. “You won't see me testing any theories, though. Not a second time. It just feels weird.”

“Anyways,” Twilight resumed the original topic and gazed at the half-eaten hayburger she longed to finish. “I think she's hiding other things too. Like, why did she connect those two guards with me so quickly? And why haven't I seen Spike's mind yet? I should have felt his existence at the very least.”

“He wasn't with us,” Rainbow only now remarked to herself in realization. She was too much in the habit of not realizing whether or not he was around. That could have been an insult to his sense of presence or a compliment to the fact that he was never really out of place. “You think Chrysalis has something to do with it or is it just a hinky hive?”

Twilight had taken another hungry bite of her meal and had to finish first. “That's just it. I don't want to sound spoiled or anything. Maybe she really doesn't have a clue why all this happened.”

“On the other hoof, why hasn't she asked about it when she would likely be the first to notice?” Rainbow provided the suspicion.

“Exactly,” Twilight sighed and took another bite. After finishing and sipping some more water, she added one more tidbit of appreciation. “Thanks for listening, Dashie. I know it doesn't come out to a hill of beans but it makes me feel better when I can just talk to somepony about it.”

Rainbow would have argued that her queen shouldn't be thanking her for lending an ear but was instead caught on the old saying. “Who thought up the whole 'hill of beans' thing anyway?”

“Probably Applejack,” Twilight said on reflex and then caught herself.

A painful second elapsed before Rainbow started laughing so hard that she fell out of the chair she was in.

“I didn't mean-” the queen tried to take back her bad sense of stereotyping.

“No, no,” Rainbow wheezed through her laughter on the floor. “It's so true!”

Twilight still didn't feel too good about it. She just heard so many peculiar things come out of Applejack's mouth that she started blaming her whenever one came out of hers.

“You know,” Rainbow panted as she crawled back up from her exercise, cheeks flush. “AJ wouldn't take offense. She'd probably give you another one of those sayings in return.”

The purple pony shook her head and found herself wishing the Element of Honesty had come along with them. But then she sipped from the glass again and instead wished Rainbow had gotten some carbonated sugary drink rather than plain spring water.

“How about we grab some fizzy drinks, ask the girls if they want some food, and then get my last talk with Celestia over with?”

Rainbow took a shot at the glass of water, careful to spin it around so she could drink from the same side Twilight had. “Solid,” she said as she flipped the plate, sending the remains of her own burger into her mouth.

Just as it was about to be taken to the disastrous level of magic combat, a new presence began to materialize in the currently black space. The darkness crawled away to an upper light and the ground began turning into a soft if rather crunchy green grass. Chrysalis panicked. The queen was entering, Spike was still visible, and Luna could be accidentally connected to Twilight any second.

Luna saw her chance and thrust forward with her whole representative body. Even though Chrysalis was taller, she still went past her point of balance and rolled halfway onto her back.

“Hah! We are victorious!” Luna cheered in the Royal Canterlot Voice, triumphantly falling back into her old tongue. “Now we shall havest our answers!”

Chrysalis grit her teeth and exploded her horn into a whirlwind of green energy. Just as Twilight's body materialized into the space beside them, the world went dark again.

“Ah!” Twilight shivered in shock and one short vocal exclamation. She blinked and shook her head. The light of the real world was around her, the bedroom mattress and a series of carbonated drinks exactly the same as they had been when she attempted to communicate with her seemingly asleep changeling.

Chrysalis also blinked her eyes and reached up with a holey forehoof to rub the base of her horn. “Ow...” she moaned.

The ring cord she had recently finished wasn't glowing anymore and, in fact, looked like it had been charred at a thousand degrees. A little smoke may or may not have drifted off of it. Chrysalis' expression deadpanned but she didn't have any time to bemoan the fact that she'd have to make another one all over again because Spike had flung his comic across the room as he too woke up. His eyes were large, he sat up as if he had just laid into a hot frying pan, and he began quickly muttering things such as “who, what, where?”

“What the hay, Chrysy?” Twilight shivered again. Whatever just happened was giving her a combination feeling of a papercut and the creepy-crawlies.

Chrysalis, of course, salvaged what she could of the situation. “Safety measures,” she buzzed out lamely. Upon hearing some loud slam of a door elsewhere in the castle, she added, “better have that talk with Celestia.”

“Huh?” the pony queen hung her mouth open.

The door to the bedroom chamber, which was quite far from their mattress, began thundering with a furious tempo. “Chrysalis!” shouted a very mad sounding Princess of the Night.

Twilight looked to the door and then back to her changeling as fast as lightning. “What did you do?”

Chrysalis blushed, opened her mouth, closed it, and then voiced an innocent little “heh heh.”

With a dramatic groan and roll of her eyes, Twilight got to her hooves and went to open the door. Just before she got to it, the polished wood shattered into a thousand pieces. Thankfully none of them hit her. What was left, though, was a purple alicorn of a deeper hue. She was breathing heavy with a posture and expression that appeared ready to tear the world itself in two.

Rainbow snickered and moved the drinks she had brought to a safe distance. “Someone's in trouble,” she said, finding it amusing for some reason.

Rarity looked back from her spot against the glass outcropping and seemed to find the affair distasteful to her rudely-interrupted musings. Pinkie Pie was now sporting a halfway elated and halfway joyful look as she concentrated hard on the one mechanical contraption that looked most like a pair of wings. Spike just stood where he was with a dead look of “what?”

“Luna,” Twilight tried addressing the princess.

Said princess didn't hear it as she scanned the room and locked eyes with the changeling. She squinted in anger.

“Luna!” Twilight called louder as she stepped to the other alicorn.

Finally, it caught. Luna looked to Twilight and regained enough of her senses to lower her breathing.

“What's going on?” Twilight asked much more calmly, concerned at the remains of the door.

“That one!” Luna replied in a hurt tone and waved her hoof at Chrysalis. “She's done something to Spike!”

The small dragon waddled over the mattress and come up beside them. “Me?” he asked, possibly mishearing and thinking his name was mentioned for something other than what it was.

Luna started walking around them but Twilight stepped over and stretched out her hoof to stop her. As queen, it was to Twilight's reasoning that her first job was to get the facts on whatever it was that had happened in her absence. “What has she done, exactly?”

“She...she...” Luna struggled to put actions and observations into a summary explanation. “She hid her hivemind and put Spike in it!”

Twilight's brows creased with not the least amount of confusion. She glanced to Chrysalis, who averted her eyes. Something was up. “It's okay,” she tried to assure Luna. “I think. Anyways, I need to talk to you and Celestia about this. We'd better have our discussion now.”

Luna pursed her lips and seemed to pout, calmer but now also indignant. “We were forced from our dreamwalking. We want an apology.”

“I'm sure Chrysalis is sorry that the ring broke,” Twilight began while taking in the gnarled remains of the cord and the changeling who's eyes seemed to wander everywhere but where they were standing. “Aren't you?”

Chrysalis flinched before giving a “sure” within a sigh that sounded more long-suffering than apologetic.

Twilight wasn't very satisfied with it and neither was Luna, but they had a discussion that was getting prioritized. A certain book beside the mattress was levitated into her grip before she started out. “Come on,” the pony queen wrapped a hoof around Luna's shoulder to guide her. “We need to sort this out with Celestia. Everypony else, just stay here and - for the love of everything holy - don't do anything crazy.”

Just before they left, Luna caught the changeling give her a stuck out tongue. They were out of the room and around the corner before Luna could respond with her own infuriated glare.

“I never get a break,” Twilight grumbled under her breath as Luna lead her to Celestia's room in an odd turn of events.

“Hm?” Luna hummed as she made a triple knock on her sister's large and ornate bedroom door.

“Do you ever want everypony to just shut up and leave you alone for five minutes?” Twilight looked the princess in the eyes with her very disillusioned voice.

“Twice per day,” Luna agreed. “Sometimes hourly.”

The door creaked open by a faint yellow magic and Luna stepped through with Twilight following behind. The room was as grand as Twilight remembered it being every time she had been in it when living in Canterlot and being tutored by her special teacher. Of course, it seemed a tad smaller now that she was no longer a filly. Celestia seemed engrossed in something while standing at her desk and hadn't even asked who it was that entered. She just gave them a distracted “leave them on the edge of the desk.”

“Tia,” Luna said as the door closed behind them and they stepped up to the tall white mare.

Celestia almost jumped in her spot. “Oh,” she finally diverted her attention from the court papers piled in front of her. “Lulu, Twilight. I was expecting the Commissioner again. Is something the matter?”

“We need to talk before anything else happens,” Twilight responded even as she shook her head at the idea that something had soured up not even two hours after their last discussion.

“The changeling interfered with our dreamwalking,” Luna added.

Celestia turned thoughtful and then gestured to some seating cushions kept out of the way against her bed frame. She remarked on one thing before grabbing her own comfort for the chat. “Lulu, you're using 'our' again.”

27 - Censure is Absent

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Luna pursed her lips again. “My apologies.”

“It's okay,” Twilight assured her.

“It's cute,” Celestia teased as she poked her sister, who shied away from her and rolled her eyes.

They were gathered in a three-point circle beside Celestia's bed. The door was shut and a magic seal had been put over once more to keep their privacy. There was a balcony to the room but the door was shut and the open curtains revealed them to nopony due to the angle and the encirclement of the castle's design. The day was still bright, with sunbeams casting into the room to warm it.

“Are you certain you don't want the others here?” Celestia asked for affirmation from the smallest of them.

Twilight nodded, breathing in and out deliberately to keep herself from throwing a fit over the never-ending troubles she seemed to be caught in. “I've already spoken to all of them about it except for Applejack. I plan to talk to her too. This is nothing they don't already know.”

Celestia understood but looked sadly at the spot in between them, as if there should be something there that currently wasn't. Perhaps a small table of tea or perhaps one with a stack of books that Twilight was trying to get through for the day. It reminded her of the time when Twilight was just a filly and she was teaching her all sorts of things every day. She tried not getting caught up in the memories since they would detract from the present.

“This is about Chrysalis,” Twilight proceeded. “I think Luna just happened across what I was preparing to tell you about. It has to do with changeling hiveminds.”

“I suspected there may be some issue with that,” Celestia voiced her thoughts. “But her rescue was your initiative and I trusted you would do what was necessary to handle it. You certainly never failed any task I gave you.”

Twilight blushed at the praise. “W-well, I hope I've done a good enough job. You see, when a changeling is exiled, they lose access to their hivemind. Chrysalis told me it was like having a void.”

Luna said nothing and seemed to still be cross.

“Chrysalis isn't the first to be exiled,” Celestia extrapolated from her past. “It's never a good thing.”

Seeing Twilight's curiosity rise again, the elder mare indicated it wasn't a subject to breach at the moment.

“Well,” Twilight continued, “Chrysalis can make things with her changeling magic. I don't know if it was because she was a queen or not but she managed to get something to work. For creating a hivemind,” she added when she realized she had lost a bit of the topic's obviousness. “I have my own hivemind now.”

Luna widened her eyes. “You mean that hivemind was...?”

Celestia was far more relaxed, however. “Interesting,” she put it simply. “I hadn't thought of that before. It sounds experimental, though.”

Twilight frowned, realizing she was disappointed that it was true. “Yeah,” she admitted. “It hasn't been everything a changeling hivemind would be and sometimes I can't help but think it's kind of...broken. I wasn't even aware Luna had attempted accessing it.”

“But all is going well?” Celestia inquired as if she were a mother asking her child about a school report.

Twilight scooted over on her cushion so a particular beam of sunlight would stop baking her right flank. “As much as could be expected. Actually, there are a few problems and Luna's convinced me I have to do something about it.”

“I would certainly like to know what happened,” the white alicorn looked over to her younger sister. She didn't feel well with how her sibling was acting. She was supposed to have had an enjoyable little dream venture.

“Chrysalis was beyond rude,” Luna made a sour face.

Twilight took another deep breath to keep herself collected. “I understand she can be that way. Believe me, I know. But I'm sure she meant well. Since I saved her, she's never done anything that she didn't believe was in my best interests.”

“What was the problem?” Celestia interjected for clarification.

Before Luna could detail anything, Twilight answered. “Spike. And herself, I think. She's been hiding something from me. You mentioned Spike, right?”

Seeing Twilight turn to her, Luna nodded. “He was there. I broke down the cloaking magic and found him and the changeling. They both had form but Spike did not seem to be conscious.”

“Hmm,” Twilight hummed and then voiced an unexpected query. “Why were you trying to get into Spike's dreams?”

“We were just trying to help,” Luna said and then noticed the grinning looks she got in return. “My sister and I,” she added to prove she wasn't using the “Royal We” again.

“Indeed,” Celestia agreed and kept her grin as she explained to Twilight. “We thought it would be a good idea to help Spike learn more of his magic and control it accordingly. I'd still like to do that if we could work something out.”

“Of course!” the small pony queen wound up saying far louder than she intended. “Sorry,” she blushed. “It's just that I've been wanting to help Spike for so long. He's always been so loyal and helpful to me that I've felt bad all I could ever get him to learn was his magic breath. You could help him do more?”

Luna lightened up a little with that. “Magic dragons may lack wings but they are the strongest of all dragons. In fact, you might say they lack wings because they don't need them once they master their teleportation magic.”

Twilight beamed with hope for her little assistant.

Celestia savored the look on her former student's face. It warmed her more than her own sun to see the grown-up filly so excited again and for someone else other than herself. She was proud of what Twilight had become. “Spike's kind have always struggled with their aging magic, though.”

Seeing Twilight's mood lower was enough to make Luna cut in. “She means their concept of it. They are the only dragons that can change their physical age consciously. It lead them to have very unusual customs regarding it.”

“You mean like the time Spike's greed changed him?” the queen tapped her chin.

“Yes,” Celestia confirmed. “I'm sure you must have arrived at the obvious conclusion. Or, at least the one that would be obvious to such a studious young mare,” she winked with the compliment.

Twilight's cheeks burned with all the praise Celestia was giving her. She hadn't thought she had done anything so terrific as to merit it but it made her heart kindle all the same. She still craved Celestia's approval more than anypony else's.

“So it's true then?” the Element of Magic knew it must be true even before she voiced it as a question. “Spike could theoretically control his greed and thus control his form?”

“Not theoretical,” Luna corrected. “It's fact. Magic dragons are less instinctual and more self-aware than others of their kind. They can define their greed however they choose, limit it, and wield their magic as intentionally as any grown unicorn.”

Celestia held up a forehoof before Twilight could open her mouth again. The golden horseshoe on the end of it glimmered in a passing beam of sunlight. “Before you wonder about it, Twilight, you need to know that magic dragons do not have the same kind of magic as unicorns. Some things may indeed be similar, such as teleportation and levitation. But they cannot wield all the same abilities. Neither can we wield all of theirs. Spike will still have to discover these things on his own. We simply wanted to provide an opportunity for him to do that by giving him something he can safely redefine his greed with.”

Twilight turned halfway between contemplative and concerned. “It sounds risky. What would work?”

“The risk is acceptable,” Luna assured. “I have seen Spike's dreams many moons ago, after my return and before this hivemind of yours. The aging incident that happened in Ponyville was unfortunate but it has made him stronger. His willpower has grown far beyond his current body size.”

Twilight brought up her tail along her side as she sat in reflection. “He's certainly done some crazy stunts for me and the girls...”

“And that is how he must redefine his greed,” Celestia revealed. “For all of you. You, Twilight, in particular. I'm sure you know what it means when a dragon hatches from an egg and beholds the hatcher.”

Twilight looked down to her two forehooves she shifted back together in front of her on the cushion. A smile of a different sort etched upon her countenance. It was a gentle one she had never used on any but Spike when he was still a hatchling and sometimes when he was good. “Imprinting,” she said modestly.

“You are his mother, whether he actually admits so or not,” Celestia said. “That fact will always burn in his heart...and yours too, I think...”

Twilight looked up to see her former mentor. “Don't make me tear up,” she warned the larger white mare. “I'm...sensitive about it, okay?”

Luna grinned playfully. “Sensitive about being a mother? I think it's quite admirable to see the instincts of one in a mare who's only become one so indirectly. But you are not the only one we thought to help Spike focus on.”

“Oh?” Twilight tilted her head.

“Your friend Rarity,” Celestia supplied.

That made the young queen tighten her expression. “But isn't that cruel? She's just his crush. It'd be toying with his feelings.”

“If,” Luna tutted, confident in her dream-centered expertise, “those feelings were only temporary or one-sided. Neither of which his and hers are.”

A pale ghost of a look started creeping across Twilight. “Wait. What are you saying?”

“I believe my sister's indiscretion,” Celestia spoke quickly and regrettably, “has to do with recent events. You do have Spike within this hivemind of yours, correct?”

“Yes,” Twilight came back with an inflection that weighed with a heavy catch. “But I've never seen him – his representation or whatever. I mean, I've never really connected to him. I think it's something Chrysalis has been keeping from me.”

“Hm,” Luna reflected on how her revelation about his feelings might now seem very inappropriate. There was no taking it back, though. “What about Rarity?”

“She's thinking about it,” Twilight answered. “I don't think she's too keen on the privacy concerns. She's the first one that's actually been put in a position to think about joining or not. The others were all...let's just say 'special' circumstances.”

“I'm sorry,” Luna apologized. “I didn't mean to violate her privacy or Spike's. I jumped to the conclusion that you already knew.”

“No, no,” the lavender alicorn dismissed it. “It's no secret how Spike feels about Rarity. Everypony can tell. And, to be honest, I kind of suspected Rarity was holding something back too. She's dropped too many hints not to be at least a little suspicious. You're sure you can help Spike control his greed?”

Celestia held her head high as she looked to her little sister.

“I have thousands of years of dreamwalking practice,” Luna held her head just as high, though inevitably lower on positional distance due to her smaller frame. "I know what is and is not possible."

Twilight thought a bit longer and finally consented. “It's not as if I'd wished you talked to me about it before. I know the both of you are far more capable than I am. But I'm glad we talked about this anyway.”

“I imagine,” Celestia began to joke to lighten the mood, “you won't want to talk about anything at all for a long while after you get back to Ponyville. You've certainly done plenty of it with us.”

Twilight and Luna both laughed, though Twilight's was more of a giggle.

“What's that?” Celestia finally pointed gingerly to the book at the small mare's side.

“I thought you'd find it interesting,” Twilight felt a little embarrassed about it now. “It's The Alicorn Theory. It has all sorts of speculation in it about alicorns, what they can do, and where they came from. Just brought it with me on a whim because I thought you'd find it interesting.”

“Oh really?” Celestia stiffed a giggle. She loved hearing all of the fascinating if sometimes crazy things her subjects invented about her and her sister. With a bit of levitation magic, it hovered over to her in a light yellow glow. Some pages were flipped.

“It even has one theory that suggests you and Luna are from another planet,” Twilight mentioned slyly.

Luna's right eye twitched. Twilight noticed.

“It's...not true, right?” the smaller alicorn asked a little unsure.

Celestia made a clicking but polite “tut” with her tongue. “Star Swirl once told me something I've found to be quite true. He said it doesn't matter where you come from or even where you're going. What matters is what you are doing in the present.”

“Huh,” Twilight pipped as she contemplated all possible meanings.

“Wasn't that after he discovered that time traveling spell?” Luna stretched out her limbs where she laid as she asked her sister.

Celestia put her forehoof to a place on the open book she was reading. “Yes, I believe it was. He mentioned it again after he went back in time to tell himself and I that...which makes it only one time, I suppose. I was never good with figuring out time magic.”

“It's best left alone,” Luna rolled her eyes.

Twilight couldn't stop her own energetic nod. She wouldn't go near those kind of spells for the rest of her life. Not after the last incident. Wanting some closure, she began to stand up.

“Well, I trust your judgment with Spike,” she announced in conclusion of their discussions. “You did save his egg in the first place.”

Celestia and Luna both stood as well.

“Thank you for confiding in us about everything, Twilight,” the older sister said. “It means a lot to me that you still trust my sister and I.”

The queen gave her response in the form of a courteous smile. She didn't know quite what to say to that.

Luna's horn started to glow and another book hovered over to them, this one from beside Celestia's bed. It was small, black, and emblazoned on the front only with three dark rubies. “I write details on my most important walks as well as ones I must plan extensively ahead of time. This is the diary I keep for Spike's dreams. I'm sure you understand why I would make one especially for him.”

Twilight nodded, received the small book, and did not open it.

“Since I cannot walk his realm myself right now, you will have to implement our plan personally within this hivemind of yours. Do not worry, Twilight. I said that I had thousands of years of practice and I would not give this to you if I did not think you were capable.”

“I've never done anything like this, though...” Twilight bit her bottom lip.

Luna grinned. “I was in that hivemind for a moment. If you've been in there before then you have dreamwalked. It's not so different from what I saw you doing...before I was cut off, that is.”

Twilight looked back to the small book. The black canvas on the outside was foreboding but she knew that the contents would likely fail to live up to the mood if they contained notes on Spike's dreams.

“I support Luna in this,” Celestia added in. “Considering the nature of hiveminds, it would be a far better idea if you were the one to do this. Not to mention it would be a valuable thing to learn, wouldn't it?”

Twilight brightened up at that suggestion. Her former mentor still knew how to word things to Twilight's interests.

“Before you leave,” Luna spoke up again before Twilight could begin turning to the door, “perhaps you might do my sister and I a favor?”

It seemed such an odd thing, especially from Luna. Celestia had a new and very sudden uneasiness about her, trusting her sibling not to say more than was necessary at this point. They both knew Twilight was overwhelmed as it was with what she had in her hooves. She didn't need full knowledge of their impending absence to worry her.

“Of course...” Twilight trailed on, more than willing to help the princesses but clueless as to what they could possibly need her help with.

Luna put the mystery to rest. “We have many duties to fulfill as acting sovereigns of Equestria. Sometimes it's all a bit more paperwork than we can handle.”

Celestia glanced back to her desk and sighed. Twilight offered her sympathy.

“We would wonder if you might be willing to help us with the simpler things, such as signatures for court rulings. All you would need to do is review the case summaries and stamp a signature. It's easy, but the volume keeps us rather busy.”

“Um,” Twilight made some fast calculations in her mind. It was a big responsibility to sign cases from the Royal Court. On the other hoof, Luna seemed to indicate it might only appear to be more than it really was. Celestia too. “Sure, I can help.”

“We won't give you a stack – just a few to get started,” Celestia assured her as she stepped over to her desk and used her magic to sort some out that would be simple enough for Twilight to begin on without posing much stress. “I'll have them sent to your home in Ponyville and the Court staff will send one or two every now and then after a few days. I don't want it to be a burden on you...”

“It won't be,” Twilight assured the elder princess in turn.

Luna placed one of her forehooves on the lavender pony's shoulder. “Thank you, Twilight,” she appreciated. “It really is a big favor.”

“I'm just glad I can help with something that takes my new title into account,” Twilight thought aloud and kept herself from thinking of “queen” over “princess.” That was an entirely separate list of responsibilities. Twilight knew because she was very good with lists.

Celestia came up to her too. “Can I keep this book for a while? I'd like to read it for enjoyment,” she remarked with a rare lapse on hiding her enthusiasm.

“Of course,” Twilight brightened at the idea of her former mentor looking forward to reading a book simply for enjoyment. It had been all those years back when Twilight was still just a filly since she saw or heard Celestia do such a thing. As sensible as it was for the tall mare to be busy with professionally-minded reading, that same sensibility was also dull and in need of a joyful offset. “Keep it as long as you like.”

“I suppose you will have to arrange something before I may visit the dreamscape of anyone within your hivemind?” Luna inquired as Twilight started for the door.

The queen compiled her mental checklist. “Yes,” she confirmed. “I'll have Spike express you a letter when I sort it out, so you'll know when it's possible.”

“Letter?” Celestia cut in as they stopped in front of the door. “Why not just tell us?”

Twilight paused, brought a forehoof to her head, and closed her eyes. It was a healthy moment before she opened them again and breathed deeply. “Somepony will probably rope me into going somewhere with them this evening and I don't want to spend too much time here since I'm certain the girls have things they'll need to get back to in Ponyville. And, honestly, I'm a little worried about Fluttershy. She was one of the first I connected with and I know with a ninety-eight point thirty-seven percent probability that she's worried to tears about what's going on here.”

“That specific?” Celestia joked and nudged Twilight playfully. “Alright, my little princess. Just be sure to tell us where you go if you leave the castle. I...have to keep records for royal visits.”

Luna gave her sister a secret look of mischievousness that Twilight finally failed to perceive. “I look forward to the letter.”

Such were the last words exchanged before Twilight was making her way back to her own chambers further down the castle wing and on the ground level.

“What now then?” Luna asked as she jumped onto her sister's bed, all past mannerism thrown to the wind. She relaxed far less than her sibling did around Twilight due to her reduced familiarity with the mare.

“Now,” Celestia smirked with conspiracy, “we get the Soleils ready and figure out this trip of ours.”

Luna saw the white alicorn draft up a quick note and pop it out of existence with her sunny-hued magic. Probably sent off to the East-wing head maid who was currently in charge of keeping the banner mares in line.

“The trip,” Luna sighed with less enthusiasm about it. She was excited beyond words at leaving the troubles of Equestria to go on an adventure with her big sister, but the end destination was dreary at best and downright dreadful to be more likely.

“Oh, what's that tone, Lulu? You should be more excited about this. I know I am!” Celestia had her back to her sister as she shuffled the papers at her desk, so Luna thought nothing of the odd ring to her voice. Something was a little off about it even though it mostly sounded like her.

“Of course, I am. It's just-” Luna was suddenly interrupted.

“Who was that?!” Celestia looked around the room, quickly whipping her head this way and that from where she stood at her desk.

Luna could now see her sister's face and it looked worried. “Huh?”

“That wasn't me. I didn't say that,” Celestia seemed greatly disturbed. “This room is supposed to be sealed!”

“Heh heh, I can keep a secret,” sounded an overly sweet version of Luna's voice.

Luna looked over to the source of sound to see a duplicate of herself laying next to her on the bed. She shrilled an “ee” and fell off the side.

Celestia charged to the side of the bed, horn aglow, and eyes dire. “Who are you?!”

“Aw,” the fake Luna droned in disappointment as it rolled its eyes. “And here I was hoping you'd go straight to thinking it was Chrysalis. You've spoiled my fun. And still grim as ever I see.”

Celestia relaxed again and her horn's magic whiffed out in a puff of smoke. It had prepared a massive amount of energy and had to smoke it off. “I'd prefer you not scare us like that. Don't you honor privacy yet?”

Luna peered over the sheets from the floor. “Ugh,” she found her simultaneous realization most distasteful. “I'll vaporize this pretender for both our sakes.”

“Peace!” the fake Luna held its forehooves in front of itself in defense. “I was only a scratch of paint on the wall until a second ago!”

“I suppose that's some joke about the walls having ears?” Celestia rolled her eyes.

Fake Luna wilted. “You even ruin my jokes now. No fun. No fun at all.”

“Stop taking my form, you fiend,” Luna turned sour. “It's unsightly.”

“I could pass for a changeling, you know. But very well,” the double sighed in the most dramatic fashion. The very air around its body wriggled and glared. A dozen irrelevant noises sounded off, clearly having no reason to do so other than for the transformer's unpredictable whim. What laid in a mocking pose on the bed afterwards was certainly no female.

“Master of Chaos at your service!” Discord announced himself without getting up but with all the energy that indicated he might have had he not thought it boring to do so.

“Why are you here?” Celestia made good time to the point.

Discord blanched, gaped, and held his mouth open far wider than possible for anything but a draconequus. “W-why? Why?!” he sounded terribly hurt at the question. “I was summoned! You summoned me. You did summon me, didn't you?”

“I was planning to but hadn't gotten around to it yet,” Celestia narrowed her eyes.

Luna added in her two bits. “You were just eavesdropping.”

“Oh, please,” Discord shook his hips after teleporting behind Luna. He began sprinkling fresh leaves over her, materializing them out of nowhere. “I stay strictly to leavesdropping. Anything else is bad for my health.”

“So why are you here? Be honest,” Celestia sat on her haunches and crossed her forehooves like a stern mother waiting for a misbehaving child to explain why they did something bad. It made Discord stop what he was doing and mope.

“Oh, c'mon, Tia. Lighten up. It'll keep the wrinkles away.”

Both sisters waited.

“Fine,” Discord threw up his suddenly detached arms and caught them with a fresh pair. They turned into two saddle packs, one with the sunnier hues of the rainbow and the other with a midnight pattern. “A little birdie told me my favorite pair of princesses had planned a road trip. And,” he tossed the sacks at the ponies and began dancing around like a school filly. “They. Were. Going. To. Invite. Me.”

Celestia dropped her cross mood and hid a giggle as she looked over the saddle pack he had given her. The moonwalking that Discord began was actually getting to her. It was either that or how absurdly enthusiastic he seemed to be about the affair. Luna shook her head and looked over her own pack with no small amount of nervous suspicion. She had every reason to believe it might morph into a shark or something else less dangerous but equally absurd.

“I made all the reservations in advance,” Discord stopped and then snapped a tropical shirt on and held a tourist map that hung down into a pile on the floor. The style was complete with a straw hat, sunglasses, and a dab of sunscreen on the tip of his snout. “Used up twice my strength to make sure our feathery little queen stays all safe and cozy while we're gone. Why, I even removed all those troublesome Plunderseeds that were finally spouting up in the Everfree. Saved that poor tree you stole the Elements from – not that you seem to care about my perfectly angelic deeds.”

Celestia made an “O” with her mouth as she did a double-take. Was Discord serious about that? Could he actually be capable of doing something good on his own initiative? Besides that, how did he know so much about the trip to begin with?

“And another thing. You really shouldn't have used that little dimensional trick of yours without making sure I was turned the other way,” he stated in a stately tone of voice as he pretended to study the map intensely. “I might learn a new trick – start monitoring everything with that immeasurably useful observation space of yours.”

Luna stared deadpan at her sister. “He's used the All-Seeing Dimension.”

Celestia winced and banged her head against the nearby bed post. “I forgot to keep him busy!”

“Oh my,” Discord faked shock and gasped. “Tia displaying regret? Goodness gracious me! How could you let your perfectly reserved nature drop? Not that I ever worry about such things.”

“Get to the point,” Luna bit out.

Discord teleported from his spot over to the other side of the bed where he seemed to be decked out in a heavy suit of armor while polishing a rather large lance. He fiddled with the sharp end of it. “Point?” he giggled in that special way of his that seemed only to indicate he was scheming something new. “I thought the two of you already made it. Oh, how flattered I am that you wish little old me to be your Shining Armor.”

Celestia's tone leveled to match that of her sister's. It was the kind of voice that one might have when agreeing sarcastically to a proven murderer that “yes, they didn't do it.” In other words, hardly amused. Especially about the blue mane he now sported in the exact fashion of the former Captain of the Guard. “No, Discord. You are no Shining Armor. My former Captain of the Guard has-”

“Former?” Discord pretended to appear shocked as he lost the mane and dropped the lance carelessly on the floor. It exploded into a candy cane upon contact. “Oh no! What foul fate has taken him?”

“He's a prince now,” Luna answered dryly.

The draconequus gasped dramatically, which may very well be the only way he knew how to gasp at all. “I might have known. The worst fate!”

The ensuing guffaws of laughter ground on Celestia's patience. Luna's eye twitched.

“Oh, come, come,” Discord tutted and reverted back to his tropical apparel. His body slunk around the bed and slithered back up into a standing posture before them. “My little ponies, you must lighten up or we'll never live together on this vacation of ours.”

“It's not a vacation,” Luna argued. But her conviction came out more as broken hope for the trip rather than correction. She pouted again.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your wittle fewings, Wuwu,” Discord babbled as if to an infant and patted Luna's head reassuringly. “Here. Maybe some candy will make you feel better.”

Luna steamed, both cheeks puffing up in agitation. Still, Discord leaned down to eye level and held out a candy bar in front of her.

“Stop it, Discord,” Celestia stomped her hoof. “You will not patronize either of us. Understood?”

“Ah,” the being of chaos said simply but didn't move. He kept holding out the candy bar. “Only I wasn't patronizing Luna. I'm really quite serious. It won't turn into anything bizarre, I assure you.”

Celestia stared, completely unconvinced.

Luna waited a moment. Silence. She grabbed the candy bar with her magic. Nothing happened.

Discord splayed out his hands of different species as if to indicate he had been completely undeserving of the doubt. He even gestured towards Luna and the now successfully half-eaten candy bar. The smaller alicorn's face was having a hard time keeping its annoyance from turning to joy at the tidal wave of flavor that was the best candy bar she had ever tasted.

The Mare of the Sun sighed. “I'm trusting you, Discord. I hope you understand how important that trust is.”

“I admit I'm feeling a little drained after all the other unmentionables I had to do for our dear Twilight,” he remarked and crossed his arms. A rare tenor of seriousness working its way into his speech. “But I'll be fully rested and able again long before we're half there. As for trust, you have nothing to worry about. Ever since Fluttershy showed me friendship, I've realized the most important truth about life and taken it deeply to heart.”

“What's that?” Luna said around the candy bar in her mouth.

Discord grew his playful smirk again. “Friendship is magic.”

28 - Secrecy is Unnecessary

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A long distance magical communication was made. It took quite a bit of focus since they were on opposite sides on the planet, but the initiator of the connection was particularly miffed that day and would have no reservation about the whole situation. Enough was enough, it decided. This sort of thing was simply intolerable.

“Yes?” the receiver of the magical communication responded in a tired voice. It was early in the morning and it had been ready to knock off for a solid five hours of rest. It didn't do that sleeping thing very often and hated it whenever someone or something decided to take that rare occasion away from it. After all, it was the only time it ever stopped hearing the incessant whining of all those mortals that took to doing nothing but that until they pushed up the daisies.

The voice was cast in a magically ethereal tone that no living thing could perceive simply because the words were carried over the leylines themselves rather than vibrations of the air as all those primitive beings took to doing.

“You!” the caller bit out in a completely gender-neutral tone that was typical of their kind.

"Ah," the receiver realized with complete disinterest. It should have known it was the Tree of Harmony to begin with. Only the Tree had managed to keep up in sending those ripples of annoyance throughout the magical realm. And only the Tree directed them at itself, the Vine.

“This is the last straw! Your little hackjob just about killed me!” the Tree shrilled with a bloody vengeance.

The Vine would have sighed if it had a mouth to do so with. Instead, it had to consent to sighing metaphorically, which was hardly as satisfying. “I assume you speak of my draconequus?” it queried in a still bored voice.

“The sneaking vile little filth!” the Tree shrieked again. “It choked me, you hapless weed. It tried to kill me!”

The Vine would have liked to yawn now. It went back to the metaphorical version and was even less impressed with it this time. Perhaps it would someday go through with its insane idea to temporarily take on the body of some mortal creature just so it could sigh and yawn at their pathetic little tirades. Not that the Tree's own rambling didn't qualify as such.

“Do you know what it used, weed? Hm? Do you?!” the Tree incensed.

“No, what?” The Vine regretted asking as soon as it did.

“Vines!” the Tree exploded. “Big black vines, you deathless creep!”

It had been so long since it had laughed. So many years and now the Vine finally found the blissful joy of it once more, even where it was hidden down in the lightless chasm of the arachne's underground temple. The sound of the bellowing laugh didn't reach the half-spiders, of course. But it did reach through the leyline communication and infuriate the Tree of Harmony to new heights of rage.

“That's my boy!” the Vine kept laughing.

“You raving lunatic,” the Tree seethed more than any tree had any business to. “It tried to kill me!”

“Yes, you said that already,” the Vine wished it had tear ducts to express the tears of laughter it would have shed. “But, clearly, you are still alive.”

“Y-yes,” the Tree stumbled in its wrath.

“I take it he called the whole thing off?” the Vine pressed on.

Again the Tree stumbled. “W-well, how did you know?”

“Because it was either him or the current bearers of your Elements,” the Origin of Life answered. “And I happen to know, for various reasons, that the Elements are not yet in your care again.”

Apparently losing the momentum it hoped to have on the subject, the Tree switched to the new subject of infuriation. “The bearers! Hah! How dare you or anyone else refer to them as such. They're dirty little thieves. All of them. Did I give them permission to take them? No. But I'd like to see one kind soul that thought to ask me if I was doing alright. I mean, here I am rooted in some rotting cave I didn't plan on being stuck in and here comes two half-beaten vagrants to tear them off my poor limbs. Tear them off! Do you have any idea how painful it was? Hm?! I'm just minding my own business and here comes company. 'Oh, hello there. I do love company. It's been so long, you know. Would you like some water-? Oh dear stars! Argh! What are you doing?! My limbs! Oh the pain!'”

The Vine would have liked to have a pair of griffon claws just then. It could use them to light a match and burn itself to ashes so it wouldn't have to hear the incessant ranting. This was, after all, not the first time it had been through all this.

“Oh what then?!” The Tree was really into it now. “Just take off? Here I am, branches curling in agony, and they just up and leave. Never come back. Now I'm down to barely an eighth of my strength, battling off every demi-whatever that comes along and tries to kill me, the world, the Everfree, what have you! Nothing but my weak pathetic reserve magic to do it with. Royal sisters, my roots! If I ever see those dumb ponies again, I'll take my thickest branch and slap their rears so hard they'll make a crater right where they came from! Dumb stupid ponies!”

“Done yet?” The Vine metaphorically yawned.

“Done? Done?!” the Tree blew a second or third fuse. The Vine hadn't been counting.

“Suppose not,” the disinterested of the two returned its attention to the real world, where it found a crack in the side of the chasm. So interesting.

“It's vindictive, that insane pot of parts you created! It used vines on purpose. It could have used anything else. But no. Vines!”

The crack went deeper. Oh, look. There was another crack inside of it!

“That's it!” the Tree went on. “I don't want to be Harmony any more. Can I change my destiny? I want to be Ironic Justice. I'd be satisfied with my life! Now apologize. And get rid of that stupid hackjob of yours!”

“As I understand it,” the Vine felt tired just at having to respond. It really wanted that five hours now. “My draconequus fixed the whole mess...unfortunately. So you're alive and he's clearly on your side. I don't see the problem. Oh, and I'm sorry for the trouble...I guess.”

“What?!” the Tree gaped across the leyline in complete disbelief. “You guess?”

“Look,” the Vine tried to be patient and understanding. It wasn't easy. “I try to do something nice. I make life and such because it seems to be my dreadful destiny. 'Here's some life, half-dead pony. Here's some life, rock. Here's some life, whatever you are.' I do it day after day and what do I get for it? 'I'd like an apology.' Yes. Even from you, dear Elementless tree friend of mine. That's all I ever get. No 'thank you, I'm glad you gave me the chance to live.' No 'gee, I'm happy I got this shot and all.' Just 'I'd like an apology.' It feels like some comedy gone wrong and I'm at the bad end of it.”

“Oh,” was all the Tree said, most of the steaming anger gone.

“Yes, 'oh.' Best reaction I've had in the last hundred years to be honest. Sad, isn't it?” the Vine practically commented to itself. “I'm just telling it like it is but, every time I do, the other vine - well, whoever the other being is - just says something foul at me and leaves, as if I should just crawl in some hole in the ground and kill myself for having feelings.”

“But you are in a hole in the ground, you have to admit,” the Tree offered up in a contrasting and compassionate tone completely unlike the earlier ones.

“Yes, I am in a hole in the ground,” the Vine agreed.

Silence ensued.

“Sorry,” the Tree finally said after a lengthy pause. “I apologize for getting off my soil there. Just had a rough day, you know?”

“I understand. Really I do.”

Now it was the Tree of Harmony that tried the metaphorical sigh. It helped. “I'm feeling kind of harmonious again. Thanks for hearing me out.”

“What are friends for?” the Vine returned as it crawled back up to the arachnes above it in the physical realm.

“You're going to have company, probably,” the Tree later remarked as an after-thought.

“You too, I think. Ponies, I'm afraid.”

“I'm calm now. I'm sure they're very nice and friendly ponies.”

The Vine started coordinating with the half-spiders for one thing or another. “Yes,” it commented. “I'm pretty sure they are.”

“Chrysalis,” a thinly patient voice of a pony queen called up to the mattress atop the stepped uprising in the bed chamber.

“Twilight!” responded not just the changeling but all the other occupants in the room, including several ponies and one dragon.

“Is everything alright?” Rarity trotted up with as much worry as she had regarding her own pending decisions.

“What was that all about?” Rainbow huffed.

“Are we in trouble? What's that book?” Spike nervously twiddled his claws.

“I finished the wings!” Pinkie bounced up onto her rear legs and held an odd contraption over her head. She made a snort-like shout of victory upon doing so. It was the kind of Pinkie snort-like shout of victory that only Pinkie herself could do.

“I assume you want words with me?” Chrysalis predisposed with an ill tenor.

“In order,” Twilight forced herself to be far more patient than she felt, “yes, it's complicated, no, it's private for now, do it outside, and not in the way you think. Again, in that order.”

The others all closed their mouths and became incredibly thoughtful to figure out where their answer was. It made some of them wonder if it wasn't simply a better idea to just wait one's turn before asking their question. Pinkie Pie, however, responded immediately and without the expected “okie dokie lokie.”

“Oh, Twi, m'queen,” she countered and came back down to her hooves, contraption tossed back onto the mattress. “Can't do it without your cross-warp difiguration magic, silly nilly mcfilly.”

“Disfiguration?” Rarity gasped in horror.

“No, difiguration,” Pinkie corrected. “Like when you hit a change-warp with half more the amount of energy than it needs and then get stuck in a subethereal state.”

Rarity's face rivaled that of the stone statues out near the royal garden maze. Particularly the one of the famous Guard Captain from ancient Equestrian history that somehow managed to portray a stone-faced expression after already being a stone statue in the first place. It wasn't quite so easy to pull such a thing off and the statue only managed it because the historic pony it resembled happened to be named Captain Stone Shield. Rarity did a remarkable impersonation of it.

“Pinkie,” Twilight came up and temporarily rested a forehoof again her friend's shoulder. “We're going to need to talk about making use of my memories of magical studies. It's not safe. Difiguration is just advanced theory. It's as dangerous as current pegasi technology on lightning fusion.”

“Aww,” the bouncy Earth pony stuck her lips out.

“So?” Chrysalis buzzed at the same time that Rainbow asked it in her equally eager voice.

Twilight took the express route in the conversation. “Luna was just a little surprised about the hivemind. It's all been worked out. Now, I don't want to spend unnecessary time here since I'm sure everyone has things to get back to in Ponyville-”

“What about that Tree of Harmony?” Rarity pressed in both with her words and her hooves. She had followed Twilight like the rest onto the mattress.

The purple queen stepped lightly around the top of the bed, looking for something. She also placed the black book beside her spot near the top, sealing it with her own magic. None, however, had much clue what she was looking for until Chrysalis ventured a guess.

“Horseshoes?” the changeling offered, magically levitating them from where they had been placed halfway down the steps on the other side.

“Ah, thank you,” Twilight nodded and grabbed them in her own magic. “Yes, the Tree,” she turned to address Rarity. “We definitely need to check that out. But I'd rather wait a day before doing so when we get back. I need some time.”

“More thinking?” Rainbow queried, assuming her queen might need somepony to talk to again simply in the interest of relieving stress.

“No, quite the opposite actually,” Twilight replied with all seriousness. “I intend to lay in bed reading several enjoyable books and doing absolutely nothing else. Nothing. As in a normal peaceful afternoon variety of nothing.”

“Oh, good,” Spike puffed his chest out. “I've been needing a break too.”

“But you've only been reading that comic book, Spikey,” Rarity raised one brow.

The dragon blushed in embarrassment at being caught by the mare in such a way. “Well, uh, you know,” he stuttered. “There's just been a lot going on lately and, uh, I thought maybe it'd be nice not have have stuff going on...you know?”

Pinkie nearly bounced on top of him. “Aw, little Spikers needs his downtime,” she chuckled.

“Now, now,” Rarity stepped to Pinkie across the mattress and intervened. “It's quite understandable. Everypo- everyone needs some stability in their lives. It's only natural. One can't feel properly collected when they're constantly tossed about by the winds of life.”

Meanwhile, Twilight set about equipping the horseshoes and going down the steps to one of the room's few wall mirrors. Rainbow Dash and Chrysalis pursued her. Rather than for vanity, however, Twilight was looking at herself for inspiration. An idea had come to mind earlier about her changeling's ability to construct things and she was on the verge of a new breakthrough. She may also have bothered with the shoes because she figured it'd be an excuse to breach new ground with Chrysalis.

“Gold,” Twilight remarked as she looked at her attached horseshoes in the mirror. “Doesn't go well with my coat.”

“I think it's fine,” Rainbow remarked and then quickly added, “Rarity thinks that too. I mean, if our fashionista gives the go ahead then it must be good, right?”

Twilight let a playful line creep across her lips and struck a dramatic pose in front of the mirror. “You can just give me a compliment if you want, Dashie. You don't have to edge it in.”

The pegasus blushed, letting Chrysalis have her chance.

“You'd look even more alluring with a crown,” the changeling hummed happily.

Before Twilight could comment or change her position, a flash of green magic erupted atop her mane. Chrysalis winced with the double action of teleporting her working material and transforming the accessory, but had no trouble drawing the energy with her queen right there.

“Uh,” Rainbow opened her mouth.

Twilight noticed it too. The crown was the same as the one Chrysalis used to sport.

“Oh,” Chrysalis squealed in a high frequency buzz. “It's perfect!”

The queen brought herself back to a more reserved stance and tilted her head one way and another. Her mane shifted from side to side but the crown stubbornly didn't move. If she was unsure about the gold before then now she was certain that the black crown clashed with the look of the horseshoes.

“I might not have half the sense Rarity does, but it seems kind of off,” she remarked. “And I wasn't really wanting the shoes for looks in the first place. I thought maybe they could be – I don't know – functional for something?”

All the talk had inevitably made its way to the purple-maned unicorn's ears, who had become engaged in some back-and-forth with Spike. Said pony hopped down from the mattress and joined them. “Did somepony mention functional accessories?”

“Oh dear,” Rainbow sighed below a hoof she had placed to her forehead. “Here we go.”

Twilight groaned, though it was for her own thoughts and had nothing to do with Rarity. “Just trying to distract myself from thinking about the fact that I'm going to live long enough to see my favorite future authors be born, live their whole lives, and die while I stay the same.”

“Now that's not true,” Rarity flipped her mane for no good reason as she came up beside Twilight at the mirror. She looked at both of them standing there side by side with Rainbow Dash and Chrysalis behind them. “We all change over time no matter how long our lives are. You're not the same as you were when I first met you and you won't be the same in ten years, I'm sure. Most likely all for the better, but my point is that even the princesses are different now than they were a thousand years ago. My intuition tells me, darling.”

Twilight smiled at her friend because she saw something dawn on her face just then. It seemed that something Rarity had been pondering for the last few hours had finally resolved itself upon her own words. No doubt it had to do with her decision about the hivemind.

“I suppose,” Rarity added in self-reflection, looking less sure than her words. She glanced behind them to the mattress and the pink pony and purple dragon talking thereupon. “Perhaps...change is not something to fear. Our lives might just get better if we're brave enough.”

Twilight grabbed her opportunity. “The brave don't worry about what others will think of them. They're happy because they accept who they are...”

Rarity's eyes locked with Twilight's. She hadn't meant for the innocent conversation to go this way but she was glad to have the closure. Her feelings in the moment traced back well over two years worth of time. The queen encouraged her.

“Some won't accept it,” the unicorn frowned.

“But you will,” Twilight countered. “And your friends will.”

Rarity kept looking at the queen. “My friends...thank you, Twilight. I don't know why I let this bother me so much. I should have trusted my friendships more.”

The purple alicorn broke restraint and hugged the Element of Generosity. “It's alright. I forget to do that all the time. And if anyone gives you a hard time because of the way you are then just come to me. I'll beat them senseless for you,” she half joked in conclusion.

Rarity laughed lightly and leaned back to regain her composure. “Yes, well,” she flipped her mane again, as if it said something in and of itself. “I know a variety of combat styles. I think I can defend myself just fine.”

“What's this all about?” Rainbow finally cut in. Her forehooves were crossed as she hovered slightly off the floor.

“Our hivemind,” Twilight answered.

“Spike,” Rarity voiced at the same time.

Both mares looked to each other and laughed. A knowing expression was exchanged.

“Both,” Rarity agreed with the most lady-like laugh. “I'll be joining the lot of you. I'd just have regrets if I turned away now.”

“You know you don't-”

“Hush, Twilight,” Rarity cut the mare off politely. “You've told me enough already that I have no obligation. My decision, I assure you, is my own.”

The lavender queen felt some kind of warm feeling inside. Sure she was happy that Rarity wanted to be apart of this but there was something else causing that sensation. It almost felt like she was overjoyed at the prospect of having more in her hivemind. In reflection, she wondered if that was what it was like for a changeling queen whenever a newborn was hatched. She glanced to Chrysalis, who just gave her a look of innocence.

“So now you're getting a piece of this, huh?” Rainbow half-lidded her eyes and leaned sideways on Rarity. She made a terribly conspicuous gesture to a preoccupied Spike, as if to say something without actually saying it.

“I, well that is to say,” the targeted mare looked helplessly to Twilight, then to Spike, and finally back to Rainbow while braking on her words. “Ahem,” she cleared up, “it is simply uncouth to ask a lady such insinuating questions.”

“Oh, I see,” Rainbow played along. “So I was right.”

“Right about what?” Rarity stuttered about with “ke” and “che” noises being flung about. “Really!”

“Well then,” Twilight raised her voice for everyone to hear. “Perhaps we should celebrate-”

“Partay!” Pinkie Pie bounced into the middle of the group with confetti and balloons scattering out of thin air. The word “celebrate” was more than enough to snap her out of whatever she was talking to Spike about.

Rainbow rolled her eyes but was cheerful all the same. “Who didn't see that one coming?”

“Yes, Pinkie,” Twilight rubbed the pink pony on the head, which made her close her eyes in contentment. “But this is for Rarity, so she gets to choose where we're going for this evening.”

“Going?” most of the others asked at the same time.

“This is Canterlot,” the queen explained. “It may be kind of boring because I grew up here but you always have somewhere you want to go, right Rarity?”

“Oh my,” the unicorn's eyes dazzled. “Anyplace in Canterlot? With a princess to open the doors to every highest-tier spot at every highest-tier establishment?!”

“Queen,” Chrysalis gave her insistent correction.

“Oh, I know just the place!” Rarity got into it as if she had known exactly where she wanted to go all along. “The crème de la crème! The Hallowed Hanging Gardens. Equestria's most prestigious and exclusive recreational spa!”

“Spa Party!” Pinkie Pie began flipping out.

Spike just shook his head and surprisingly voiced nothing about it other than mysteriously saying “don't need a magic ball.”

“Oh, but I don't want to detain us here in Canterlot if you-” Rarity began to worry.

Twilight stopped her. “It's fine, Rarity. I didn't exactly plan on leaving this evening anyway. I'm looking forward to this. Honest.”

A series of conversations thus ensued regarding all plans necessary and quite a few unnecessary as well. With the sun still shining bright through the large windows and two glass outcroppings, there was no need for anything at all to feel rushed. Twilight was grateful above all others for this because she wanted plenty of time to settle her own thoughts regarding Rarity, Spike, the princesses, immortality, and all the other hundreds of things she found herself wrapped up in.

As the day drew on, conversations came and went just as the occupants of the room did in their need of food, refreshment, relief, and similar mundane parts of life. Of course, a few of them found refreshment to be anything but mundane. Pinkie Pie had already made a half dozen trips to the kitchen to both teach and learn from the chef in regards to a wide variety of baked goods.

Rainbow Dash started a peculiar conversation with her queen as to the origins of the odd colors and designs of the bed sheets and wall tapestries. Twilight was surprised that Rainbow of all would bring it up and eventually came to suspect the mare was mellowing out for opportunities for more relaxed conversations with her. Of course, she could simply have been over-thinking the matter. She often over-thought things and reminded herself to be less analytical of every little detail. In all fairness, however, she did later find her suspicions to be correct. Rainbow just liked talking to her.

It was at the setting of the sun, moments before the group left for the evening trip, that a certain pony found her chance to get her changeling aside.

“Chrysalis,” Twilight called said changeling over, who was immediately obedient. She proceeded in a lower voice. “We've got to clear some things up. First of all, I understand you upset Luna quite a bit. I may not have been there but it's very important for all of us to get along.”

Chrysalis tried opening her mouth in defense but Twilight prevented her by reaching up and plugging it with her forehoof.

“Ah-ah,” the purple alicorn warned. “I'm not saying you were in the wrong. I know you feel very strongly about me and my hivemind. I know you care. I also know you can be hot-headed from time to time. Luna was willing to let it go this time so I'm not asking you to go make some presentation of it. I just want you to write a letter apologizing to her.”

Twilight's hoof was removed and the changeling sighed with a vibrating wobble in her voice. “Very well,” she relented. “But only for you, my queen.”

“Thank you,” Twilight relaxed a bit at it. “I also need you to cut all the secrecy. What I said back home was meant to be serious. I'd like to have a full connection to both you and Spike.”

Chrysalis started withdrawing but Twilight's forehoof moved to her shoulder and stopped her.

“Please,” the queen pleaded. “I can handle this. Just trust me, Chrysy.”

Although Chrysalis had been apprehensive about it before, she couldn't find it in herself to say no to that. No matter how much Twilight insisted on her being honest and trusting her, Chrysalis still struggled to be that way. After all, she had her worries just as any other sentient being naturally would. What if Twilight couldn't handle the stress from knowing the truth? Or what if she stopped liking her because she didn't agree with something?

Twilight must have sensed the internal debate because she made a move to help end it. With one simple movement, the purple pony leaned up and gave a chaste but expressive kiss to Chrysalis' forehead. “There's no need for all this worry,” Twilight whispered along with it.

Chrysalis was glad all the others were too busy with Pinkie Pie's obsession over the Rarity Fairy Initiation Spectacular Awesome Collective Party. If they had been looking over, they might have seen the first ever red changeling. Her blush moved through her whole body and, in spite of her apparent embarrassment, she rose a nervous hole-ridden forehoof up to point at her forehead. “Another?” she whispered with the most impossible combination of shyness and arrogance.

Twilight giggled. “If you link Spike and yourself with me tonight,” she made for tact. “And no half-links or covered memories. I want everything cleared up.”

“Aww,” Chrysalis hummed in defeat.

“Now let's see what you can do with these horseshoes,” the queen shifted hooves and raised her other foreleg. “Maybe we can figure something out that'll help with needing those sleep rings. If not then you'll have to make another one. I'm pretty sure that burnt one won't work anymore.”

29 - Enthusiasm is Overwhelming

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Really? I thought you'd be really...I don't know...upset with the hues or something,” Rainbow Dash remarked as they walked down one of the less busy roads in Canterlot.

“Just because I'm a fashion designer,” Rarity countered, “doesn't mean I'm blind to other cultures. I know perfectly well how to judge the value of an ensemble based on its cultural relevance. I'm quite fond of certain foreign styles, such as the Prance Deux Series at High Lines right here in Canterlot. For your information, the bed sheets back in our room are the highest quality fabric available in Saddle Arabia or most place else for that matter. Pure iridian silk.”

Rainbow leaned over to Twilight with a mischievous grin and whispered. “Didn't mean to trigger a fashion rant.”

Twilight stifled a laugh and it came out as a snort. She then reached up and magically hid the changeling crown Chrysalis insisted she wear and continually unhid atop her head using green interspacial magic. A look was exchanged. Chrysalis relented for now.

“My sister Maud loves iridium,” Pinkie added in.

“Iridian silk has nothing to do with rocks,” Rarity corrected on point. “I'm sure your sister knows a thing or two about rocks but it's simply not what I'm talking about, dear.”

“Ooh,” Pinkie droned out and then cheered up instantly. “I wonder what an iridian golem would look like.”

It was dark but not the deepest black of night since the sun had only recently set and the streetlights along the roads kept everything in healthy illumination. They had been walking for a while now and found themselves out of the nobles-infested area around the castle. Now they were in a business area that was so high class that there weren't even signs on any of the buildings to identify which business was which. One was expected, at this point in the city, to simply know where one was going without the need for directions. If one needed directions, one didn't need to be there. Or so the logic of the area seemed to be.

A few unicorns were walking about, all dressed so sharp that they could cut steel with their outfits or dressed so insanely that the high-brow fashion circuits would faint at the “futuristic creativity.” Rarity just cringed. To her, fashion was a finely tuned balance of boldness and artistic reserve. One without the other only lead to something too bland or too ridiculous. The reasoning that weaved through Rarity's mind on this matter was actually so many worlds more complicated that nopony else could hope to comprehend it.

The girls were talking about something else now, perhaps about golems, but Rarity couldn't steal her thoughts too far from her recent decision. What would it be like to be in Twilight's hivemind? Oh, she knew everything Twilight had relayed to her, but she also knew the difference between knowledge and experience perhaps more than any of the others. It was one thing to imagine a dress. It was quite another to make it work out in reality.

Her eyes kept wandering to the little dragon that walked beside them just barely above a waddle. What would it be like to share not only a mind with Twilight and the girls but also...him. It honestly made her nervous. She may not be as mathematical as Twilight but her sewing did require a considerable amount of science for that crucial exactness. That science showed her the otherwise overlooked variables of the decision and sometimes she wondered if the others noticed as much as she did how Spike had matured over the years.

If the dragon really was immortal as the royal sisters had indicated, it certainly made sense that his body had yet to catch up to the rest of him. Back when Rarity first considered Spike as a real equal, she had dared to do the math. Maybe it was his small frame, big eyes, or natural innocence but most just assumed him to be no more than a baby. He wasn't actually that much younger than herself or any of the other girls, minus Chrysalis of course.

It made her nervous again to think of how he might react when he saw her memories – her very thoughts in the hivemind. Rarity's eyes shifted about as they turned another road to reach their destination. It flustered her that all of this was distracting her from one of the places she had been dreaming of visiting all her life. The Hallowed Hanging Gardens. It seemed less important now with her immediate relationships poised to change in ways she couldn't even fathom.

Spike wasn't as oblivious as he let on. He knew she was stealing glances at him and he started to feel nervous himself. Was something wrong with him? Rarity had been increasingly nice to him of late. Not that he didn't like it. Oh, he loved it! But it still made him nervous. What was he supposed to do with the attention? He was too used to just being ignored that it made him feel out of place.

Without any precedence, Rarity made the most non-reproducible squeal of delight. They had come a ways down the sidewalk and were now at the dead-end that the road led to. The buildings on either side had scrunched inwards until a claustrophobic entryway remained between two large office buildings at the end. Said entryway was dimly lit in the night, which was still young but quite dark within that part of the city.

Twilight would have felt less sure about traveling these particular streets if it wasn't for three facts. First, Queen Twilight Sparkle was quite capable now of handling herself. Little doubt remained in her mind as to the raw magic she could bring to bear in an emergency. Second, she had her friends as well as her four guards. The deepest pity would go to anyone who mistakenly believed they could somehow manage to get past all of them and still have enough fight left over to deal with her changeling. Third, there were also two guards outside of the claustrophobic entryway they were destined for. Bouncers. Big ones.

And then there were the four black and very changeling-esque royal horseshoes that Chrysalis had finished earlier. They were not yet functional but did have jagged green glow lines running through them as part of their partially-constructed inner functionality. Chrysalis needed more time to work it out but had assured her queen that the concept was feasible. For now, they provided their wearer with some considerable comfort as well as basic defense. Twilight dared not consider what it would be like to be bucked by hooves still wearing them. If Applejack wore them then they could very well be fatal weapons.

All of this was neither here nor there, however, because they had arrived at their destination and had no reason to bother with worries. This was a time for relaxation and that was precisely what Twilight intended for the girls – and guards – to do. The two large ponies at the entrance were intimidating but not so much as to sour the mood. One gestured to a sign above the entrance that was titled “Hallowed Hanging Gardens: World's Finest” under gentle and indirect blue lighting. When she spoke, it became apparent that the bouncer was indeed a “she” in spite of her massive physique.

“Welcome, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” her deep voice held at a respectfully low volume so as not to seem a dramatic announcement. “Do you wish to grace us with a visit?”

Twilight's brows had raised since she didn't honestly expect any recognition. At least not like this. “Um, yes,” she answered a tad quizzically. “I'm sorry but have we met...?”

The bouncer grinned and seemed to want to laugh but didn't. “Of course not,” she replied. “Not somepony as low on the rung as me. We were instructed to welcome you specifically if you ever happened by. The highest royals are the highest priority as far as the bosses are concerned.”

The other bouncer, a male, gave her a dead glare for the unfiltered frankness. The honesty may have sounded less refined than the business they worked for.

“Why does this place look so shady?” Pinkie blurted out with a totally happy expression that didn't match her question.

Rarity went wide-eyed in horror and shot to the pink mare, shoving a hoof over her mouth. She'd have to give Pinkie another lecture about high class businesses having subtle and less flashy advertising because, obviously, the last lecture failed to click. “We'd love to engage a visitation at this most inviting and refined establishment.”

The bouncers looked to Twilight, who nodded. The mare of the two spoke again. “Okay, but your guards will have to wait outside.”

Past Twilight would have agreed. Present Twilight was continuing to leave Past Twilight's reservations behind. “No,” she disagreed bluntly. “They come with me or we won't go in.”

Rarity's face paled in shock, a curious reaction considering the natural paleness of her coat. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, grinned like a foal. The look on the faces of the bouncers were remarkable. Twilight's firmness made Rainbow want to either give her a hoof bump or just hang her mouth open in awe. The latter was what Spike went for.

Chrysalis raised her head high as if to look down her nose at the two strong ponies. She almost wished that they had mentioned keeping out all changelings as well since the inevitable reaction from Twilight on that point would have been spectacular to witness. As it was, Twilight's guards were amusing enough. They all – even the older one – appeared just as shocked that Twilight had thought of them like this.

“Servants are not allowed in,” the male bouncer explained in a tone less sure than he tried to use.

“So,” Twilight's face went stern, “am I to assume that the owner of this establishment wishes to undermine my personal safety?”

The bouncers felt very awkward about that question.

“Or,” Twilight continued, “perhaps that they wish to take advantage of my lapse in security to bring me physical harm?”

The bouncers wilted.

“Your highness,” the female nervously spoke, “we meant no offense...”

“Nor did I,” Twilight returned quickly. “So let us all through and I will personally deal with your superiors if they have any issue.”

The two mulled it over for a few seconds before deciding that Twilight's rank really did overrule any decision made by the owners. And, anyway, the rule had never been one they agreed with. Personally, neither of them wanted to enforce it in the first place. Thus did they allow the full party through.

The path only allowed one pony through at a time. Midnight Strike stepped in first followed by Direway. Twilight was next and all others followed until Centurion was last in. As for the path itself, it matched the mood of the front. Vines covered the sides thickly almost to the point that the old brick walls couldn't be seen. Soft-glow night lamps were situated in rare free spots on the brick and gave the corridor a surreal bluish lighting.

The path was just long enough to start feeling as if it was, in fact, long just before it ended. Twilight's two forward guards split to either side and she stepped forward out of the confining corridor path to find herself in a place she would never have dreamed existed inside of Canterlot's city walls. The others felt much the same way as they filed in, Pinkie Pie being the quickest to recover with her enthusiastic bouncing and claims of the place being perfect for the “perfectest” parties. She had said as much about Canterlot Castle earlier, but that didn't really mean anything for a pony that saw every venue as “party exploitable.”

“It's even more beautiful than I heard it was,” Rarity whispered in awe as she covered her mouth with a hoof.

They were in the city but one could hardly tell. There was no concrete or steel. No neon lights or advertisements or really much of anything artificial at all. The air was fresh, without pollution and faint with the aroma of fresh grass and pine. The sound of trickling water was nearly the only other audible thing besides their own breathing. Before them laid a view dominated by deep greens of plantlife, deep blues of slow running water, and the smallest amount of dark gray from the old stones used for uprisings from which both the water and plants stretched downwards. The darkness of the hues may have been natural or perhaps only portrayed by the lack of glaring lights and the exclusive illumination by the moon itself.

A few fireflies hovered around without much concern as to whether or not they had anywhere else to be and it made Twilight sad again that Fluttershy was not with her. She would have to come again with the pegasus some other time. Chrysalis, however, seemed to enjoy the presence of the tiny bugs. She walked up to one, let it land on an outstretched hoof, and smiled at it as she brought it close to her face. She seemed to consider the small thing as a kindred spirit. Rainbow Dash withheld a cruel joke.

A ring of magic encircled the entire area, preventing the gloomy lighting from the city from degrading the clear air and crystal night sky. What it would cost to have such magic maintained was beyond simple imagination. The stars could be seen as easily as if one was looking through the highest grade telescope, only with their natural pin-point smallness. The ebb and flow of the nearest arm of the galaxy could be seen stretching from one side of the night portrait to the other.

“Wow,” Spike was next to speak. “I heard even some nobles have a hard time getting in here. I feel like I'm violating something holy.”

Rainbow Dash made no sarcastic remark or move to dismiss the moment. Her wings remained locked at her side and she sidled up to Twilight, exchanging a content look with the queen. Whether it was contentment for the location or the fact that she knew Twilight was happy was, in this case, nearly irrelevant. In reality, it was both. She was, after all, not without a sense of appreciation.

The magic surrounding the place made the buildings behind them appear to be tall outcroppings of rock. This was true for all others surrounding, which effectively made the locale reminiscent of an alcove in some untouched mountain range. Clean grass laid before, swooping down slightly before going back up to stop before a tall uprising of stones in the center. Two willow trees were situated on either side within the expanse of grass and one darker area was nestled on the far left side of the center uprising, leading down as if it was some kind of burrow.

Twilight felt herself drawn - almost pulled – forward on impulse. She started towards the center as if it was an enormous magnet. To describe any of the Garden as being small would be horribly inaccurate. Whether by magic or by history's greatest accomplishment of spatial engineering, the Garden was huge.

The stretch of grass before the center was gigantic, the willows were even larger than the one Fluttershy visited with her animal friends, and the center assembly of stones was no miniature fountain. In fact, it was rather inaccurate to call it an assembly of stones when it more resembled a small mountain. It was a conglomerate of dark-colored boulders towering hundreds of hooves into the air, varieties that only Pinkie among them had a chance of identifying. They had moss and vines creeping across them as if they had been there hundreds of years, which for all Twilight knew they had been. But equidistant from the left and right, there was an easy path of rich soil leading up into the rocks. It winded to the side and hid behind various boulders but could be seen appearing and disappearing further up as it snaked around the miniature mountain.

It was as Twilight stepped up to the beginning of this new path that she stopped to see the trickling of water that flowed like a gentle waterfall down the boulders. It pooled in a thin and neatly-kept moat around the rocks, which only existed in natural zig-zags rather than an artificial circle. A little water crossed the path up into the mini mountain, which made Twilight realize that she was half standing on a small wooden bridge that went over the stream. It blended in naturally with the soil but might have been more noticeable if it was not for the dim glow of the moon.

Twilight also noticed at that moment that a pony was making his way towards her from the burrow she had noticed earlier. He had on a pair of glasses and was obviously a unicorn since he was levitating a clipboard beside him. There was also a very elaborate uniform that seemed to wear him more than he wore it. Old reds and browns curled around in patterns Twilight had only seen in Equestrian history books pertaining to the early years of the nation.

The queen's friends and guards had accompanied her across the grassy field and were at her side as the unicorn approached with an “ahem.”

“Sorry to take so long,” he apologized in a crisp tenor that one might expect from a choir member that had decided to change careers and explore the executive assistant route. Yet there was a little friendly warmness to his voice that contrasted with the cold professionalism usually found in both executive assistants and choir members. Of course, such judgment was based solely on Twilight's personal experience and did not necessarily equate to fact. (Though she was quite good with extrapolating probabilities based on statistics, such point was rather beyond the interests of her current situation. In other words, over-analysis was pointless.)

“No, it's quite alright,” the purple pony queen dismissed it and smiled.

Mr. Executive Assistant smiled back. “It is an honor to have you with us, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I assume the others are your party for tonight?”

“Partay!” Pinkie screamed as if she were going crazy, which she was.

“Not that kind of party, Pinkie,” Rainbow restrained the overjoyed mare.

“Yes,” Twilight confirmed and noted that the stallion took no offense at the presence of the guards.

He kept his smile while a quill whipped from some fold in his ancient uniform. The writing utensil darted across the other side of the clipboard so fast that Twilight barely had time to wonder what he could be writing let alone how the tip wrote without being dipped at least a dozen times in an ink pot.

“Your stay is most welcome,” he continued as the quill retreated and the clipboard lowered a bit. “Though, I'm afraid one spa is not enough to contain all present. It will take three.”

“Oh my,” Twilight couldn't help but blurt out.

“Most of our clients are regulars since there are so few, but perhaps I might have a change of pace and answer some rare questions as I show you to the spas.”

Twilight nodded silently as her logical mind burned rubber trying to figure out his age. He sounded young and his face agreed. He couldn't have been much older than herself. But then there was the practiced way in which he walked about. Was it years of experience or just the odd uniform that made him so careful. She realized with embarrassment that she was supposed to have asked a question.

“Oh, um,” she floundered. “The city.”

“Yes?” he encouraged as he began walking around her and onto the trail heading up into the center mountain.

She followed. “What kind of magic masks it and keeps such a massive area like this within the cramped inner-city of Canterlot?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow added in as she flew just above them. “I never saw anything like this from the sky above the city.”

Mr. Executive Assistant seemed rather happy to answer that. “I never get to tell anypony about this, you know. We're not allowed to talk about it openly to anypony outside of here and everypony that does come here already knows. The answer is the sole reason I never want to leave this place.”

“Oh?” Rarity said almost to herself.

He lead the party around the left branch of the path, which became steep and rocky. “The magic,” he explained almost in awe, “is not ours. It's Mt. Canter's.”

“Like the Everfree,” Twilight said more than asked.

“I knew a princess would gather as much,” he praised. “I understand you are very knowledgeable about magic, your highness.”

“Oh, 'highness' isn't necessary,” the alicorn corrected. “Just Twilight. Are we getting higher?”

“No duh,” Rainbow gave a raspberry. “Want to see how high? Might cure your vertigo.”

“No thanks,” Twilight paled. “We get back to flying lessons after we get back to Ponyville.”

“Me too!” Pinkie added cheerfully as she bounced up from rock to rock, not even breaking a sweat.

“The princesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,” the stallion with ancient garb continued, “chose to begin a settlement on Mt. Canter because of its strong magic. There are other special places like this one, but this is the only one that became privately held and used as a recreational establishment. There is a special peace to this place that I adore. The regulars do as well. It's almost as if...as if there is no evil here.”

Twilight noticed him glance at Chrysalis. It was without the shock, fear, or awe that most gave, however. Perhaps he believed there was no evil in her, as he seemed to indicate with his words and tonality. It would certainly be a nice change of pace from the more common doubt.

The steep path finally leveled out, even though it was only for a few hooves distance before it ascended sharply again and continued wrapping up the mountain. To their right was a solid wall of rock and to their left was a outcropping of stone just high enough to prevent one from looking down the side of the long drop back down. There was, however, a wooden door amidst the rocks on that side. It opened with Mr. Executive Assistant's magenta magic aura.

With the stallion's nod of encouragement to follow, he lead the group inside. They barely all fit in and the guards patiently looked on from outside the door. The inside happened to actually be much more like the outside. Or rather, the door revealed an open area that had no rocks baring view of the way down the cliffside of the small mountain but maintained the old moss and vine covered stone landscape. It was a miniature plateau with a small pool of water in the center. That same pool was being fed by a tiny stream of water flowing out of a hole in the rock near the door. It continued out the other side of the pool to the very edge of the cliffside, where it dropped and became one of the waterfalls below.

A bounty of plants occupied the space, giving merit to that part of the location's title. There were flowers both common and rare as well as ferns and exotic plants. Some were strewn about in plots of soil arranged gracefully about while the majority were hung in ornate pots. The cables they were hung in the air with looked as natural as vines and some extended down from outcroppings a hundred hooves above them on the higher parts of the mountain. There was nothing that could give justice to just how unmatched the place was.

Chrysalis touched a holey hoof to the edge of the pool and her lips betrayed her two pointy teeth in a smile as the water moved through the holes. “It's warm.”

“Always,” the guiding stallion replied. “We have masseurs that will attend to you all upon call,” he gestured to some kind of bell near the door. Various stands and supplies were near it, such as towels and lotions.

Rarity closely inspected the area of supplies and felt her heart race at the variety. There were some items that even the Blossom twins in Ponyville only dreamed of acquiring for their spa. If only Fluttershy was with them, she thought. The shy pegasus may not have been as enthusiastic about spas as she was, but Fluttershy could still tell the difference between imported Soyeux and common lotion brands.

“The others are much like this,” the stallion proceeded to explain. “There is only room for three per, though the esteemed Spike may be small enough to accompany a full group of three.”

Spike perked up at hearing his name called out as it was. He only ever got that kind of recognition from the crystal ponies.

“Therefore,” still-unnamed-stallion concluded, “now might be the time to decide how you wish to divide your party. I will show each group to their spas.”

Twilight suddenly appeared troubled. It wasn't because of the math. That was easy. She had done it a hundred times already even as they had walked up the scraggly natural path. Ten individuals, three per spa, one allowance per Spike, three resulting groups, four guard ponies, one changeling...

Rainbow Dash was the one to beckon them into a group huddle near the door where they could reason it out. “Alright, gang,” she began her talk, “I hope you all are okay with taking Group Two and Three because I got dibs on Twi.”

“Dashie,” Twilight began to rebuke.

“I had pre-dibs,” Chrysalis buzzed in to challenge the blue mare's lead.

“Oh, oh!” Pinkie added just for fun. “I had dibs before she was born.”

“You don't really mean that, dear,” Rarity doubted her pink friend.

“I'll stick with Rarity...if that's okay with you?” the dragon looked hopefully to the female who meant so much to him.

Rarity tried to hide a blush but nodded silently.

“You guys can have votes too,” Twilight called over to her guards, who had kept outside the door.

“The three of us can be the last group,” Centurion spoke up for them as he motioned to himself, Direway, and the orange guard. “But maybe one of your groups will take Midnight?”

“Alright,” the queen allowed so long as it was what they wanted. She took a hoof signal from Midnight that indicated he would take any spot. “I guess we just have to decide who will be in the first and second group and then the one with the last spot will have Midnight to fill it.”

“Twi,” Rainbow repeated which group she'd be in.

“My queen,” Chrysalis matched.

“That is quite alright,” Rarity relented. “I will consent to being in the second group – or the one not with Twilight.”

“That would put Pinkie and Midnight Strike with us, right?” Spike came to the conclusion at the same time as their head alicorn did.

“Actually,” Twilight lifted a forehoof up in point, “I really want to talk to Pinkie about something so I'm going to exercise my authoritative powers. Dashie is in group two with Rarity, Spike, and Midnight Strike.”

“Yay!” Pinkie bounced.

“What?!” Rainbow protested. “No way!”

Twilight reached over to her friend. “C'mon, Dashie. The world isn't ending.”

“It is for me!” the pegasus cried bitterly.

Chrysalis would have made some remark about Rainbow blowing it out of proportion except that she felt the same way about being in Twilight's group and she also knew the bond the two winged ponies had been building. She sympathized in spite of her general annoyance with the mare.

Twilight waved the group huddle into dispersing, all but Rainbow content with the arrangement. She then grabbed a fully depressed Rainbow Dash to the side.

“I'm going to miss spending the night in the most awesome place ever with the one pony I...I...” Rainbow sniffled.

“Goodness,” Twilight furrowed her brows in concern. “I didn't think it meant that much to you. It's not like this is the only time we'll come here. I wanted to come back with Fluttershy anyways.”

No response.

“You know I could probably reproduce this entire place in our hivemind...”

Rainbow remained inconsolable.

“I'd just talk to Pinkie another time but her application of my knowledge of magic could be dangerous. And Chrysalis has me worried too.”

Silence. Rainbow wouldn't even look her in the eyes.

“You can be real stubborn, you know that?”

“You know that, Twi,” Rainbow finally talked. “You know that...”

“I'm trying, Dashie,” Twilight begged, finding herself becoming suddenly more emotional without intending to. “Really I am. But everything is racing in my mind and it's hard-”

Rainbow's heavy sigh interrupted her. “Forget it. I'm sorry for being selfish. I know it can't be easy. I have all the same stuff that you do in my head and I have to admit it kind of hurts. I'll try to be better about this.”

Twilight, however, shook her head. “No, you're fine. But to keep us from fighting over apologies, how about we settle for having time together tonight. You can have Chrysy's spot next to me on the bed and we can even do stuff in the hivemind while we sleep.”

“She won't be happy about that,” the blue pegasus cast a glance to the changeling waiting by the spa wall's door.

“I'll work it out. She can have the other side.”

“You sure?” Rainbow looked worried.

Twilight brought her forehoof to the mare's cheek and stroked it, careful to use an angle that wouldn't be sharp or otherwise unpleasant because of her royal changeling horseshoes. “You're worth it, Dashie.”

With a pink tint adding itself to her face and bolstering her bountiful array of colors, Rainbow happily trotted out of the door to her own spa with Group Two further up the mountain.

30 - Ascension is Inevitable

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The guards had wound up with the first spa they had come to. The others were all gone and now only Centurion, Direway, and Flash Sentry remained. That was actually how the two eldest of them wanted it and certainly how Midnight Strike had planned for as well. With the other spas being further up the miniature mountain, anypony attempting to get to the princess would have to pass their spa first. Pegasi could be spotted in the clear sky and unicorns could only teleport finite distances.

The door was open and Centurion kept a weather eye upon the Garden grounds visible from the cliff edge. Direway kept an eye on the passage outside of the door and Flash Sentry kept both his eyes upon his seniors. He was trying to learn how they managed to split their attention so easily, enjoying the spa with one half and keeping fully alert with the other. It appeared more an art than a science.

“It seems our princess still surprises me,” Centurion admitted from where he slunk smoothly into the warm water of the center pool. He sighed in delight as it relaxed him but kept one of his powerful hooves on the rim in such a way that he could fling himself out in one move. “Even Princess Celestia never treated us to this.”

“She has very little appreciation for political subtlety,” Direway stated as a matter-of-fact. He also slid into the pool. “And I fully mean that as a compliment. She'd make an incredible guard. All practical, no non-sense.”

“She sure handled those bouncers like that,” Flash added in as he walked gingerly around the edge, trying to find a spot he liked between the two others. Something in his tone indicated he might have fallen for the mare even more for her handling of the situation. “It's like she's perfect.”

“I'd be careful if I were you,” Direway warned. He might have meant that two-fold since he was carefully watching Flash's hooves on the very edge of the pool. “Everypony has flaws. Some matter, some don't.”

“Some are even interpreted as strengths,” Centurion agreed. “I have to wonder if Princess Celestia has kept our own princess from getting into too much hot water by only delegating less than she's fully capable of.”

“Are you saying our queen deserves more power?” Direway smiled and shifted forward in the water.

“Queen...?” Flash trailed.

“I'm sure you'd have no problem, Sent,” Direway grinned over to the younger. “But your thoughts might embarrass her.”

“Here now,” Centurion brought his submerged forehoof above the water with a loud splash. “Don't be pushy. The lad deserves some respect.”

“No,” Flash wilted and his head sank down to the water. He blew some bubbles in it. “I've had nothing but Boot and backwater paper-fights since I joined up. I hardly deserve any respect for never lifting a hoof outside of sparring.”

“It's peacetime,” Direway assured him. “Most guards these days haven't seen two drops of blood in their life. Count yourself lucky. Centurion here will back me up.”

The oldest of them tapped the light red coat of his chest, where not a few scars laid barely visible beneath. He also agreed with a few unnecessary explicatives. “You don't want to be stuck behind enemy lines using deceased comrades to hide your half-dead flank as you bleed out two broken legs in a ditch. Trust me, lad. This is the life you want.”

“I'll take your word for it,” Flash gulped. He then cringed at the fact that he had just gulped a bit of the pool's water. It was crystal clear and doubtlessly clean, but sharing it with two other stallions wasn't much of a positive balance in his opinion. He was in love with a mare that just so happened to be his charge.

“Should we call the masseurs?” Direway asked openly.

“Can you get from the massage table to the door in less than four seconds if needed?” Centurion squinted.

“That a joke?” the gray pegasus grinned at the challenge. “Special taskforce, remember? I can do it in two.”

“Call 'em.”

“Weren't we just at one of these?” Spike asked as he walked over to the stand of towels and lotions. The cyan glowlight nearby made everything just visible enough that he could find what he had been sent for. For the most part, the moon was doing the majority of the illumination.

“Yeah,” Rainbow droned, half submerged in the pool and smacking the water aimlessly. “I bet you were if you were with Rarity. I'm pretty sure she goes to one every twelve hours.”

“I am right here,” Rarity pretended offense. “You should not talk about a lady as if she were absent when she is not.”

“Oh, sorry, your majesty,” Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“What has you in such a dire mood?” the unicorn pressed.

Midnight Strike stayed safely on his third side of the pool, not daring to engage in a fuss between the two mares. He tried simply relaxing instead and noticed Spike leisurely making his way back over with some kind of bottle in his claw.

“Dire? Pfft,” Rainbow wanted to roll her eyes again but felt it would make her dizzy and instead opted to start paddling the water. “I was just thinking. Why does the changeling get so much of Twilight's attention? I mean, she's not even slightly attractive.”

“Ah,” Rarity concluded for herself.

“Don't tell anypony I said that,” the light blue pegasus suddenly looked back up at her friend.

Spike shook his head and slipped into the water next to the fashionista, setting the bottle on the edge next to them. “The way Twilight's going with the hivemind, nobody will need to. She'll just find out anyways.”

Rainbow muttered something foul under her breath.

“I understand there have been some...well, some feelings going about,” Rarity chose her words daintily and found a wet lock of her prized purple mane quite fascinating for some reason.

“Feelings? Like what?” Rainbow turned very interested and a tad worried.

“Oh, darling,” Rarity's lips turned sideways in concern. “I had not meant any in your disfavor. Actually, it would seem there might be something between Twilight and yourself. I suppose I might understand better by tomorrow but I would like to hear it all the same.”

“Like if there was something between me and Twi?” the rainbow mare shrank back a bit. Her wings twitched beneath the clear but lightless water. Whenever the ripples slowed, one could even see the stars and moon reflected on the surface.

Rarity resumed her attentions with her mane. She seemed intent on directing where it waved around underwater, almost to the point of it making her seem shy. “You certainly have no obligation to say anything. We are all friends, however. There will not be anything but encouragement between us, I am sure.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow appeared less sure and sank until half her face was below the water.

“Speaking of,” Rarity gave her friend some space to collect, “Midnight Strike is your name?”

The stallion straightened up at being addressed. Before the hivemind link, he might have felt out of place in a spa pool with two mares. Now, it hardly crossed his mind. Spike's presence was a help in that regard and one of the two mares he was with he knew more comprehensively than most husbands knew their wives. It wasn't strange for him to know that, however, because it was a respected understanding through the hivemind rather than some suggestive affair.

“Yes, ma'am,” he answered.

“Oh, no need for that,” Rarity smiled and waved her hoof up through the water. “I was hoping to meet some of these guards Twilight was supposedly going to get. In fact, I found the prospect to be rather inviting. We have all been friends for so long that the lack of any stallions in our little group was beginning to make me nervous.”

“Seriously?” Rainbow popped up and hung her mouth open with a look of distaste.

“It is rude to interrupt, darling,” Rarity tutted. “I was about to put my words in context. You see, even though Spikey here is quite exceptional in every sense-”

The dragon beamed but kept silent. He knew better than to break across Rarity as Rainbow Dash had. He relented to blowing little flames into the water and watching the liquid and magic fire meet and fizz out in green sparks beneath the surface. He knew Rarity would protest if he used normal air from his lungs, but the magic fire was hardly unclean and it was fascinating to watch. Not that anypony was paying attention.

“-it made me uneasy that I might be losing touch with proper male opinion. Do not interrupt again, dear. You are simply going to keep taking my words the wrong way,” the unicorn brought her patience to bear. “I simply mean that I have a boutique to run and even if most of my clientele are female, I still must be aware of male opinion. I do make clothing for stallions, after all, and it is just as important if not more so to know what a stallion thinks of a mare's apparel as compared to the mare herself. Perspective, you see. Not to mention I had not the faintest idea what Spike would like.”

“Huh?” Rainbow and Spike both voiced at the same moment.

“Oh, I do not mean fashion. Though that does pique my interest as always. I meant, what would he like to do?” she clarified and then turned to that very dragon. She clearly redirected the conversation from Rainbow to Spike and had forgotten Midnight somewhere in the mix while she dominated the conversation. “This is precisely the problem, Spikey. I feel I have neglected you. We have only done things that I might do myself or with the girls. What do you like to do?”

“Like...a date?” Spike braved the question.

Rarity giggled if only to needlessly warm his cheeks. “Not necessarily, though I have no objection to it. But let us suppose we were simply friends looking to spend an enjoyable afternoon together. Nothing complicated. And suppose I would unquestioningly want to go anywhere you would – do anything you would.”

“I'd first pinch myself to see if I was dreaming,” Spike replied instantly.

Rainbow laughed. Apparently, she had finally lightened up a bit.

Rarity did much the same but repeated her inquiry differently. “Suppose you had me at your whim. What would we do?”

The small dragon had no trouble getting excited at the idea. “Where to start?” he grinned. “First, we'd have to go gem hunting so we'd have some snacks...er...well, it's basically money too. And I could give you the biggest one! Maybe another ruby!”

Rarity's face contorted. It was a combination of shock and disturbance, a mix of emotion from realizing just how thoughtful and generous he was as a dragon. A little water formed at the edges of her eyes, but it was unclear if it was from the reaction or just from the steamy water. Rainbow couldn't fathom what was going on in the unicorn's head that would make her that way because Spike honestly hadn't said anything that wouldn't be expected to come out of his mouth. He always had Rarity in mind, especially of late. Even Tank, the flying turtle, could figure that much out and he was slow as Tartarus with everything.

“S-Spike,” Rarity recovered, “I was asking what you wanted. You shan't think of getting me anything.”

“Well, that is what I want,” the dragon shrugged and almost slipped under the water. He carefully corrected his seating position. “I'd definitely save some for snacks. Emeralds are great for nights like this. The clean air and clear sky gives them the perfect inner balance.”

“At risk of losing the topic,” Rainbow rolled her eyes with the words of utter sarcasm, “how does the air affect how a jewel tastes?”

“Non-jewel-eating pegasi might find the answer to be a little beyond comprehension,” Rarity chipped in with a snide glance at her friend.

Rainbow's mouth crooked open at the return crack.

Spike chuckled to himself. “Rarity's got a point, Rainbow. Even if I told you, it wouldn't mean anything to you because you just don't eat gems.”

Midnight Strike made the rare occasion of speaking up. “Do different gems affect your magic?”

Spike opened his mouth, began to point, closed his mouth, and dropped his claw. “I never considered that.”

“Not that I know anything about dragons,” the stallion clarified, “because I really don't. I just thought I'd ask for the sake of curiosity.”

“I'll have to run some tests,” the reptilian concluded to himself, the sparkle of Twilight's scientific obsession twinkling in one eye.

“My question...?” Rarity reminded and Spike got back on track.

His next idea, oddly enough, involved traveling.

“And then I was all like 'whoo-whoo' and she was all like 'nyah, s'right' which I totally didn't get at first because-”

“Pinkie!” Twilight Sparkle raised her voice.

Finally the pink Earth pony quieted and slipped back into the pool from where she had risen out of for her quickly escalating story.

“I know you're excited, but this is supposed to be a place to relax,” Twilight lectured her. “I would appreciate it if you appreciated it.”

“Yes, ma'am, captain, ma'am, sir,” Pinkie saluted with the titles and flipped some water about when she brought her forehoof out of the water.

“Now,” Twilight noted Chrysalis slinking further into the steamy water with closed eyes. “I'm glad you have such an interest in the more complicated aspects of magical theory, but knowledge without discipline will only lead to trouble. Do you truly understand this?”

“Of course I do, silly,” Pinkie waved her hoof nonchalantly. “It's like baking cupcakes. You have to be very careful to measure and mix the ingredients right or else they could turn out bad. If you don't cook them long enough, you can even make ponies sick. It's a very serious business.”

Twilight was glad to know her friend had some grasp of it. Perhaps she had underestimated just how much discipline Pinkie actually had. “Excellent. Then you will bring any ideas you have to me first?”

“If it involves stuff I got from your brain!” Pinkie said gleefully. “But even if it didn't! And it's not like you wouldn't already know anyways. I mean, I get to be around a super awesome immortal alicorn queen now. And she's my queen. But she will always and foremost be my friend.”

Such sentimentality from the mare gave Twilight a heart-warming sensation. Or perhaps that was just the effects of friendship lifting her spirits. “Thank you, Pinkie. And, actually, I think Chrysalis might be able to help you with your latest contraption.”

When the queen looked over to her changeling, she saw the black pseudo-pony submerged fully except for the upper half of her long jagged horn and the floating tangles of her bluish mane. It moved around.

“Chrysy...” Twilight facehoofed.

The faint sound of an underwater giggle came up. The horn turned away from Twilight and towards the center of the pool, where it began to slice forward like a shark's fin.

“Chrysy,” Twilight repeated in long-suffering tone. “That way,” she directed towards the edge of the pool between her and Pinkie Pie.

Chrysalis must have seen the pointing because that's where her horn began moving to. Twilight also noticed Pinkie suddenly missing, a dotted line momentarily blinking where she used to be sitting at the inside edge. A pink tangle of mane joined Chrysalis' in moving over to Twilight, who facehoofed again.

Chrysalis was first to attack. She grabbed her queen's rear legs under the water and started shaking her. Pinkie Pie erupted from the relatively shallow depths with a “rar” and a cardboard shark fin taped to her back. Where she got it was irrelevant. Shark Pie couldn't hold in her laughs and giggles as she threw her forelegs around Twilight's neck and pretended to gnaw on it. Chrysalis did the same to Twilight's legs beneath the surface, her two fangs intentionally doing nothing but tickling her.

“Alright you two!” Twilight tried commanding seriously but had a hard time keeping her own smile from showing. “Pinkie might always be a goofball but I'm not sure I can handle another one, Chrysy.”

Twilight slid down on her spot so she could lift her rear legs out of the water. Chrysalis became visible, still hanging on with her mouth and looking every bit like a caught fish on the end of a line.

“Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed from her queen's neck. “Looks like you caught a big one,” she snorted in laughter.

Twilight used her magic to encase Chrysalis completely in a purple aura and levitate her out of the water and off her leg. She hovered over the center of the pool. “As punishment for nomming on me, you must help Pinkie work safely on her new invention and ensure she doesn't blow anything up. Unless it's with her party cannon.”

“Nomming?” Pinkie asked with her usual vibrant cheer. “Never heard you use that one before.”

“I got it from The Dictionary of Emerging Modern Terminology,” Twilight responded with all the pleasure of using her book smarts.

Chrysalis was making poses as she was suspended in the air. She wasn't getting Twilight's attention until she attempted laying sideways and making kissing faces. She then dropped unceremoniously into the water as Twilight's magic promptly ceased holding her.

“You-” Chrysalis gurgled as she flailed about, water and hooves splashing around chaotically. “Your wish i-is my c-command!”

Twilight removed Pinkie and ducked under the water when she saw Chrysalis slip down, though she never really worried about her safety. She had already proven to be an adequate swimmer, nevermind her magic, and Chrysalis was tall enough to have her head above the water no matter where she stood in it. She could see the changeling already rocketing to the inner edge of the pool where the depth shallowed and allowed them to sit leisurely. They both came back up.

“Oh, a firefly!” Pinkie cheered as her attention was diverted to a glowing bug. It hovered into their spa area.

Twilight started arranging Chrysalis' soaked and dripping mane so that she could see the face beneath it. “This is why I don't normally have you and Pinkie in the same group,” the queen joked. “She rubs off on you.”

“I regret nothing. You said you wanted to relax, so I was just indulging you. And the taste was exquisite,” Chrysalis buzzed merrily. When her last strands finally parted from her eyes, she could see Twilight shaking her head with that look that said “oh you.”

They both rested again against the water, the time giving Twilight space to consider whether or not to call any masseurs. Also, whether or not to pursue continual speaks with Pinkie regarding application of difiguration principles. The latter idea was eliminated as she saw the Element of Laughter bouncing about their walled-off cliffside, dripping about and singing “lala” as she followed the firefly aimlessly around.

“This reminds me,” Chrysalis whispered fondly as her head titled up to the sky. It was crystal clear with the exception of a few small and thin clouds that had drifted in, one failing to cover the bright moon. A faint but cool breeze was moving them along.

“Of what?” Twilight asked.

“When you saved me,” the changeling answered with a warm smile. “We looked up at the stars together.”

“Yeah,” Twilight breathed out slowly, relaxing and finding herself melting against her changeling's side. “I still remember that night sky...”

“I can't believe it!” whispered one in boundless energy.

“I can! It's our princess!” whispered another.

“The paper said 'queen!'” whispered a third.

“Only because 'princess' was crossed out with a red marker,” whispered still a fourth.

Four ponies tip-toed their way up the scraggly slope. The first spa they came across only had a trio of guards. Said guards had been quite quick to stop them and request identification. Princess Celestia had apparently anticipated such a thing because the quadruplets were happily able to provide four hoof-signed documents from the princess that proved their citizenship and new occupation.

The second spa they came to still did not have the pony they were looking for. There was another guard there that stopped them for the same reason and let them continue. They knew they were getting closer because this spa had their princess-elevated-queen's dragon assistant. The next spa they found was quite a ways higher and one could tell the air was getting thinner. Thankfully, not so much so that it was hard to breath. It was colder too, but there was a warmth radiating out of the door of the third spa...

One face peeked around the frame as a hoof gently prodded the door open just the tiniest bit. Two more faces joined for a total of six eyes peeking into the spa. The fourth face complained about not being able to smoosh its way between the others.

A joyous squeal, a quiet awe, an “Oh Celestia” of happiness. The fourth pony said to Tartarus with it, threw her siblings aside, and burst into the sectioned off cliffside as if she were a mountain troll returning home after a bothersome day. Three sets of eyes locked onto hers. Three sets of eyes also bore into her back, where her sisters grumbled and got to their hooves again.

“Y-you're...” Twilight Sparkle stuttered from where she was previously relaxing in the warm spa pool. Her mind was quickly placing the face. It was easy since her coronation hadn't been so long ago and there was something strikingly unique about the four white mares that had bore her banner during the ceremony. Perhaps it was the fact that they were all identical, or perhaps that they shared a very similar mane style with Fluttershy. It could also have been their Prench accents. Rarity had made a fuss about it.

“Mistre-” the eloquent white mare began and was immediately pummeled to the ground as the three behind her charged straight over her body.

“My princess!” cried one as she galloped to the purple alicorn.

“My queen!” shouted another.

“My love!” raved the last with psychotic obsession in her eyes.

“My pony!” Pinkie Pie added, obviously feeling she was required to join in.

Twilight had no time to react. She felt at a total loss, five ponies lunging at her. She hadn't even thought she'd ever see the banner mares again and yet here they were.

Chrysalis moved to intervene. She grabbed Twilight, drew her in close, and warded off the oncomers with a holey hoof. “Back! Back!”

Two of them halted at the edge of the pool. Pinkie and the third banner mare leapt over them and collided with Chrysalis. They wrestled in the water with the changeling to get to Twilight until the fourth, previously trampled near the door, snuck around the tangle of limbs and grabbed Twilight from the other side.

“Mistress!” she proclaimed to Twilight's confused expression.

The confusion, however, was finite. At last, Twilight shook her head and blasted a bright light from the tip of her horn. Everything shifted and the occupants of the spa found themselves suddenly teleported into an obsessively straight line against the wooden separating wall that stretched out on either side of the door. “Huh” and “what” were had in plenty as everypony but Twilight found their equilibrium again.

“Alright,” Twilight spoke up with resolve in her voice as she faced the line. She was dripping wet but had teleported like the others and was no longer in the pool. She even had to flip her wet mane out of her eyes, where it hung over heavily. “Can somepony tell me what's going on?”

A mangled response came from the four white mares as they answered “yes” all at once and in different ways.

“Just one of you, please,” Twilight ordered. “Actually, I could use some names first.”

They started talking all at the same time again.

“Ah!” Twilight shut them down. “Left to right! One at a time.”

As if to surprise the alicorn, the first of them spoke up quieter than the rest. “My name is Soir Soleil, your faithful servant.”

“Midi Soleil!” declared the next. She was brimming with a smile almost but not quite as big as Pinkie's. “I love you!”

“Matin Soleil,” bowed the third. She winked at Twilight when she leaned back up.

“Minuit Soleil,” the fourth identified coolly and shifted her hooves beneath her.

“You're all sisters,” Twilight said more for her own clarification of the situation than any need to know.

“Quadruplets,” Soir agreed. “We were born at the same time but in the order we introduced ourselves.”

“You're the oldest?” the purple queen inquired.

“Technically. But it matters little.”

“What are you all doing here?” Chrysalis asked as she rolled her eyes, fed up with standing quietly in a line she didn't need to be in.

“I was getting to that,” Twilight pursed her lips.

Midi knifed in the answer first. “We have been maids in Celestia's house for years but we have finally been assigned our own dignitary to serve outside of the castle!”

“Dignitary?” Twilight wrapped her mind around the situation. “So why are you here? Is this individual in one of the spas?”

“Indeed she is,” Minuit smiled and narrowed her eyes in a conspiratorial manner.

Chrysalis groaned. Pinkie Pie hugged each of them in order and said something about welcomes and parties. Twilight was going to have them move on to find this pony or other being of question.

“It is you,” Matin stated blunt but crisp. Her accent came off as exotic but her words were pronounced with clarity as clear as the night sky above them.

“I have four new maids?” Twilight looked from one of them to the other.

“Yes,” all four enthused.

“For the rest of your life,” Midi added in excitement. “What are your first orders, Mistress?”

Any idea of an order slipped Twilight's mind. At the moment, she could only voice one thing.

“Oh dear.”

“Do not tell me you planned this, sister,” Luna said as she went about her room looking for her mysteriously missing brush.

The hour was late and Luna's already dark room was now illuminated only by the magical lights scattered about the walls and ceiling. They did a very good job of making the room appear identical to the night sky. Luna lit the room a little brighter using the moonlight glow from her horn.

“I am no stranger to politics, Lulu,” Celestia explained as she vaguely followed her younger sibling about. “I hate political games, but Twilight needs all the bolstering she can get before we leave. We are actually quite fortunate she has become more firm lately. She will need that disposition.”

“Having an increased number of servants will increase her respectability?” Luna questioned incredulously.

“Not directly, but banner mares do have an influence with crowds,” the Mare of the Sun giggled while recalling something Luna did not. “I'm thinking Twilight's interior title of 'Queen' might not be such a bad move upon her temporary ascension in our absence.”

“You can't be serious,” the dark purple alicorn finally stopped and turned to face the taller mare.

“Oh, quite,” Celestia tapped her sister playfully on the nose, making the other scrunch it up. “We may have vowed never to ascend to it in honor of our parents, but Twilight has no such obligation.”

“But she is so much younger,” Luna argued. “It wouldn't make sense for her to have a higher title than our own.”

“Need I remind you that she has already done things we never could? There's also the matter of our future,” Celestia's expression turned hopeful. “I believe our dream for Equestria may be fully realized in Twilight Sparkle. Our time to move on may be closer than we think.”

“One dream to another...?” Luna remarked as she considered the notion in terms of her dreamwalking. “Anyway, help me. I can't find my brush and I'll need it for when I wake up.”

“Of course,” Celestia replied and started searching the room.

“About our picnic you promised,” Luna began as she resumed her own search. “Perhaps we might do it tomorrow morning? The air is so nice right before sunrise.”

“Sounds perfect to me, Lulu,” her sister smiled in agreement.

31 - Fulfillment is Imminent

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And that's how I became an alicorn,” Twilight finished explaining to the banner mares.

The last hour had been an amazing mishmash of conversational nuance. In other words, Twilight didn't want to boss them around, they insisted they were mere servants to be bossed, she insisted they were free individuals, they insisted they wanted to serve her, etc, etc. The back-and-forth could, quite unfortunately, have filled volumes. It ended with a very relaxing massage by two talented masseurs and a Twilight Sparkle who had given up on the argument.

The masseurs were leaving, having treated Chrysalis and Pinkie Pie as well. The banner mares refused. With Twilight having finished a less argumentative conversation with her new maids, she felt a little more at ease. There were logistics to be calculated involving the four new mares, but the purple queen was content to save it for later. She wanted to feel relaxed so long as she was supposed to be at one of the most relaxing places in the world. She wanted it and so she felt it. No worries.

She was standing now, not having returned to the pool as the ever-crazy Pinkie Pie took to doing. Instead, Twilight walked about the enclosed area. It was enclosed from the path up but open to the high-altitude air on the cliff side. This was where she took her fascination. She stepped to the very edge, not afraid of falling because of her levitation and teleportation magic. The view straight down was disorienting but gazing out straight outwards was breathtaking. The buildings surrounding the area appeared only as mountains and gave the sensation of being deep within a mountain ridge.

A cool night breeze came in and sifted through Twilight's mane. She breathed out to let all the remaining stress out of her system. Not even the sudden acquisition of four new maids could worry her now. With a little sparkle of serenity in her eye, she looked up higher to the stars and moon. They were indeed beautiful this night as they had been those months before when she looked up at them along with a broken Chrysalis.

Time had been kind to them and, though life had not necessarily been easy, she saw purpose in it all. She was who she was now because of what she had gone through herself, with her friends, and with her changeling. Who knew what tomorrow could bring if today felt so much like a dream. Her relationships were changing fast because of her hivemind, letting her know things she never would have before. Perhaps some of those friendships were destined to become something else even...

Twilight shook off her introspection, turned from the view at the edge, and made her way over to the supply shelves near the section door. As she walked over, she looked at each of the hanging flora along the way. By subconscious means, she mentally came up with the scientific classification and proper name for each one save a few she had never studied before. They must have been rare varieties – possibly foreign to Equestrian soil. She smiled when she saw a cluster of Luna's Blossom. She tried seeing if there were any oils or fragrances with the aroma of that flower when she reached the shelves.

“My queen?” Soir Soleil spoke up softly so as not to grate on her mistress' ears. She and her sisters had settled on addressing her as queen now that they better understood the circumstances. Twilight hadn't asked them to, but they all felt it was best and they all certainly felt that it was appropriate. Not one of them had a grain of dislike for their royal charge.

“Yes?” Twilight's voice came out as if she was in paradise, drifting on a cloud. She continued to stand near the supply stand, looking over the lotions.

“What about Chrysalis?” Soir asked with utter politeness. She was careful that she gave no impression of disliking the changeling because she honestly did not. What she experienced from the changeling invasion had been minimal to non-existent, so she and her sisters had little personal reason to dislike such beings. Her curiosity was still equal to that of her sisters, however.

“That,” Pinkie Pie called over from where she was across the spa, suddenly looking down the cliff's side, “is what we call a looong story.”

“Is not,” Chrysalis countered and pointed her nose up.

“It depends,” Twilight shrugged, “on how much context you want. I could just tell you that I found her by the roadside. Context, however, will make quite a bit of difference.”

“You raised her?” Minuit Soleil asked wide-eyed.

Chrysalis laughed openly.

“Context,” Twilight repeated monotone. “This is why.”

Pinkie Pie bounced over to them, taking Twilight's body language as a sign that they were leaving. It was easier than making a no-bake pie with the hivemind knowledge she had. “If a picture's worth a thousand words then a hivemind must be worth, like, a bazillion!” she waved her pink hooves in exaggeration.

“She is correct,” Chrysalis agreed as she stepped right up to Twilight. She gave her queen an affectionate nuzzle to which the mare returned with one raised brow. Twilight quickly comprehended that the gesture was gratuitous on Chrysalis' part. The changeling's jagged horn twinkled with the reception of emotional sustenance.

The banner mares stayed respectfully silent. They had actually been that way throughout most of their presence, minus the appearance. While they had indeed spoken on end for the previous hour, nearly all of it had been initiated and carried through by Twilight herself. As far as maids went, they were perfectly un-nosey even if they were dangerously enthusiastic. Especially the one named Midi.

“I have a way you may all know me better should you want to,” Twilight began addressing the Soleils again.

“Of course!” they all returned in more or less words.

“But it will have to wait,” she lost her smile upon seeing them disappointed. “I already have too much to get caught up on tonight. Maybe after we get back to Ponyville...I don't even want to think about how I'm going to house four new occupants in the library.”

The banner mares, on the other hoof, insisted they could work matters out themselves and their mistress need not concern herself over it. They traded more “Oh, but I couldn't” conversation as they made their way out of the spa and back down the mountain path.

Rarity was the second one out of the spa when Twilight came by. Rainbow Dash was, of course, first. Rarity would have been more spry if she wasn't so thoughtful. She had much on her mind and the last hour could have seen more talking in her group if she wasn't so mentally preoccupied.

Perhaps it was her nervousness to joining the hivemind tonight with Spike that had lead her to say all of those things she now felt very foalish for. “I feel I've neglected you” was one of the things that kept running through her head. How could she have said that out loud? And to Spike too! It was so direct and lacked even a molecule of tact. She would normally have phrased it differently. Definitely more articulately anyhow.

But that was not the only thing plaguing her and keeping her face appear morbid. She didn't feel as bad as her expression but she was still troubled nonetheless. The problem was that it wasn't just one thing. It was Spike being immortal, it was Twilight being immortal, it was being around the rescued changeling, it was all this business about Twilight's hivemind. She just didn't know what to do and felt more and more that her decisions were slap-dash efforts to keep herself from being left behind.

“Rarity...?” Spike spoke up in a hush, practically whispering it in her ear while standing on his tip-toes to do so.

“Hm? Yes?” she attempted breaking out of her thoughts as her body continued to follow Twilight and the rest of the group out.

“Are you okay?” Spike asked low again so only she could hear him.

“What do you mean? I am perfectly fine. This place has surpassed my expectations – no offense to the twins in Ponyville, mind you.”

“It's just that...well...you've been acting kind of strange,” the small dragon took the blunt route. It was something about him that Rarity both despised and loved at the same time. He often lacked social tact, but that was also one of his strengths. He would say things nopony else had the honesty or courage to.

“Just...trying to find myself, Spikey,” was her open reply.

“Aw, c'mon,” Direway playfully poked Flash Sentry in the side as the orange pony got out of the pool again. “You can tell me...”

“I'm not so sure about that,” Flash doubted with worry written all over his face. He promptly dried himself off.

“I'm safe. I can keep a secret,” the slightly older dark gray stallion insisted. “You have no idea what secrets I've held for others.”

The orange pegasus squinted at him and finished equipping his armor that he had left near the door with that of the others. “Like what?”

“If I told you then I wouldn't have kept the secrets now would I?” Direway winked at him.

“Whatever,” Flash rolled his eyes. He readjusted the straps that kept his armor in place, particularly the one that secured the breastplate. It was Twilight's star insignia which all four of their armor sets bore. He cherished wearing it because it was the very cutie mark of the one his affections lied with.

Centurion had already donned his again, much larger in size because of his muscular bulk. Direway was biding his time leisurely, still in the spa pool and playing with the water. “You know I didn't really wear armor much before I got this reassignment,” he noted as he watched his two armored comrades.

“That's right. Special Ops are usually in civilian clothes if any, right?” Flash remembered.

“The worst kind,” Centurion responded instead with a huff. “Dire would find any excuse he could to get up in the most ridiculous-”

“It's not my fault you have no adventurous spirit! Or that you didn't have my S.O. freedom!” Direway shouted over with a face that told he was messing with them.

The old pale red guard turned to the pool. “You saying that showgirl getup wasn't just the tiniest bit over the top?”

“Oh...that...” Direway giggled to himself as he remembered whatever situation had been referred to. Flash's mind ground to a halt trying to picture it.

“Yeah,” Centurion said as if to repeat the point. He said nothing else, apparently having said enough.

Flash's mouth was opening to ask for a desperate clarification when Centurion suddenly whirled towards the door. Flash did the same in time to see Midnight Strike's head appear around the outside of the door frame. The dark blue pegasus was fully armored and passed them a smirk, said nothing, and continued on past the door. That was their cue.

Centurion and Flash were already headed out the door when Direway zipped over to his carefully placed armor in one move. He grabbed a towel with one wing and began drying off quickly while armor clicked in place on his body – two particularly difficult things to do at the same time. He may not have been as familiar with the armor as his fellow guards but he knew enough about clothing to make up the difference. He was done and out the door right as the last of Twilight's party passed it, giving him an easy entry for rear-guard position.

The rocky mountain path felt less troublesome this time around since they had all relaxed. In fact, Direway was feeling a little sad at the prospect of leaving. As happy as he felt, he knew that guard duty back at Ponyville wouldn't even be a tenth as interesting as this place had been. Even if he wrote down everything he had seen here, the words would be as ash in comparison to the real thing.

Direway found himself following the pony currently at the back of the group. Interestingly enough, that happened to be one of the mares they had stopped going up to see Twilight. In front of her were the other three that looked exactly the same as her. Feeling emboldened by earlier relaxation and enjoyment, he dared to use the hivemind voice Twilight's friends had used before.

My queen, he spoke up mentally, are these mares to remain in your access?

It was a perfectly reasonable question and Midnight Strike backed him up in the unspoken and unseen conversation. They needed to know, as Twilight's protection, if these ponies were to remain in Twilight's confidence for room access and such.

Direway, Twilight addressed him back. They are...unique. Yes, allow them to enter my chambers. I'll give a proper introduction when we get back to Ponyville unless I can have them released. I'll give a rushed one for now. They're my new maids.

Direway failed to keep the first blurt of a chuckle from escaping him. The maid mare before him looked back with concern but said nothing. The stallion straightened his face to all seriousness, as would be expected of a guard.

They reached the end of the decline and walked back over the small wooden bridge, no easier to see in the still of the night. Twilight was ahead, talking to the intricately dressed unicorn from before. He waved something off and the purple alicorn's eyes widened a bit.

“Thank you,” she said to whatever it was. Her body movements indicated they were going to head back out of the grassy space and through the tight corridor leading out. Centurion and Midnight Strike had taken leading flank positions and angled back in towards the exit. That left Flash Sentry to fall back naturally with Direway.

The whole party, now rather large, started filing through the exit passage. That gave time for Flash Sentry to pass his co-guard a sideways look. Direway could tell everything that hadn't been voiced with that one expression. They were out of immediate earshot of anypony but the maids, which gave the senior of the two guards all the encouragement he needed.

“You want to know about the outfit, right?” Direway whispered to his side, not having lost much of his playful tone from earlier.

Flash was silent but nodded while he kept his attention both forward and to their rear flanks.

Unfortunately for the younger guard, Direway saw only an opportunity to dress-up the story. A little fun wouldn't hurt, right? Flash was prime material for spinning a yarn for...and falling head first for it.

“It all started when I was assigned to investigate a case involving the Royal Post.”

“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash moaned. “Finally. I just want to sleep.”

They had reached the castle again and were making their way down the grand halls towards their unique shared bedroom. Most of the chandeliers and hall lights were still lit even though it was so late and the mix of cool air and quiet atmosphere made the enormity of the place just a tad lonely. Or creepy.

“I can go another few hours!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed in boundless cheer, which was the only kind of cheer she ever seemed to have.

Two of the guards, Centurion and Flash Sentry, took their positions in the hallway outside the bedroom door as Twilight led the rest of her procession in. Most filtered around her, but she noticed the four Soleils stop at the door. One, which she believed to be Soir but wasn't sure, explained that they would be the ones to answer any of her service calls from then on. Apparently they had resting quarters elsewhere in the castle.

All Twilight got out was a tentative “okay” before all four of the sisters bowed and left. No doubt there was a new conversation to be had with Celestia on this matter. Even if Twilight had relented to be queen of her small pony-dominated hive, she wasn't going to use that as an excuse to attempt garnering servants. It wasn't her style.

“I'm going to go talk to Celestia about something,” she turned and addressed those in the room.

“Again?” Rainbow groaned as she pulled back the sheets on the bed.

“It'll only take a moment,” Twilight assured and saw Chrysalis nod quietly before grabbing Pinkie Pie and talking to her about her mechanical project. Rarity and Spike did something similar, only making small talk so as to not feel uncomfortable.

When Twilight stepped back out of the room, the two guards followed her down the hall. She was headed towards the upper story where she knew Celestia's room to be. It was a decently long walk in which she was alone in wide halls with only the two stallions with her. It might have made her nervous in other circumstances, but these two were her guards. She knew they'd go as far as sacrificing their lives for her safety if need be. Her own brother was still an honorary guard captain, after all.

Twilight was curious about the pastel red guard on her right and the orange one on her left. She hadn't connected to these two yet even though she had a little knowledge of them through the other two guards' minds. What was interesting was that they were polar opposites in so many ways. Centurion on her right was a large stallion and well toned even though his face showed the beginnings of age. He might have been a little bulkier than even Big Macintosh. His muscles were, however, not as extreme as Bulk Biceps' and his wings were of adequate proportion to enable easy flight – perhaps even on the large side, as Celestia's were.

Then there was the orange guard on her left with that closely kept electric blue mane and tail. He looked about a third as young as Centurion and nowhere near as heavily built. That was not to say he didn't have any muscle to him, but it was nothing that one wouldn't find on most guards. Something in his stance faltered when she looked at him, almost as if he was nervous under her gaze. She marked it up as her imagination. Who in all of Equestria would find a bookworm like her to be intimidating? Then again, she was still wearing her changeling-made royal horseshoes. Nopony would want to be kicked with those.

Her thoughts came to an end as she came into the hall of the princesses' bedrooms. She was surprised to see Princess Celestia already outside her door and talking to Princess Luna about something.

“Celestia,” Twilight hailed calm and even. “A word?”

The taller mare had seen Twilight approaching her from across the corridor. Celestia gestured to Luna beside her that she could go back to her room and leave Twilight to her. The approaching mare was alone save her guards, but Celestia had heard from her secret sources that Twilight's party had returned from the spa and settled back into the special guest quarters. The Mare of the Sun thus gathered that Twilight was approaching her alone now on account of the banner mares.

“Yes?” Celestia replied in perfect serenity.

“You sent the Soleils to me while I was at the spa, didn't you?”

Ah, the elder smiled. She was usually right. No shocks here. “Indeed I did,” she kept her serenity. “I believe they may be of assistance to you. They were helpful at the spa?”

Twilight saw the question was really more of a statement and she couldn't refute it. “Well, they did get a few things for me, helped us dry off, got me a piña colada...but that's not the point!” Twilight caught herself in time before she lost her reason for seeing the princess.

Celestia smiled a bit wider and tried to keep it from a stupid grin.

“I'm not some great pony that deserves a ton of servants,” the Element of Magic expressed insistently. “I'm nothing special...first the guards and now the maids?”

Celestia leaned down so her face was level with her former student's. She laid a forehoof on her shoulder and even giggled faintly. “Twilight Sparkle,” she said in a forward manner, “it is that very humility that makes you the great pony you are.”

Twilight blushed and averted her eyes.

“Even after everything you've been through, you have never lost your integrity. What you have done and are still doing with Chrysalis is something I myself may never have had the strength of character to do. And you've kept calm through it all.”

“Sort of,” Twilight muttered under her breath. She had a few stress-induced moments in the last few days.

“Don't belittle yourself, my little pony,” Celestia kept insisting.

“T-thank you for paying in advance for the trip, by the way,” Twilight turned softer and quite appreciative in an attempt to change the subject.

Celestia hardly needed it, though. “My sister and I have permanent payment there. It covers a few ponies extra, such as my court commissioner and you as well.”

Twilight backed away from her former teacher. “Still, I really do appreciate it.”

The white alicorn smiled.

There was clearly nothing she could do to convince Celestia the maids were not needed. At least not without garnering more embarrassing praise, which she couldn't bear to do. It felt like she might be giving up easy, but she was also just as tired as her friends were – save Pinkie. “I think I'm going to try getting some sleep now. The spa was so relaxing that I nearly fell asleep.”

Celestia giggled again. “I've actually done it before,” she admitted. “And it is quite late. Have pleasant dreams, Twilight.”

“I will,” the alicorn nodded. “You too, Celestia. I guess I don't need to wish Luna any good dreams.”

“No,” Celestia beamed. “You certainly don't.”

“Is everypony settled?” Twilight asked out into the large bedroom upon re-entering.

A chorus of replies came back. From the far side of the bed, Pinkie Pie and Chrysalis reported they were comfortable as they discussed something over a few scattered machinery parts. Rarity and Spike both nodded solemnly from their position near the top of the bed. They were a good pony's length apart and fidgeting nervously. To see Spike do such a thing wasn't strange but Rarity hardly ever looked this nervous. Twilight assured them both that there was no need to worry about connecting in the hivemind. It really wouldn't be too different from being on one of Fluttershy's picnics, she encouraged them. It would be perfectly calm and organized. But, having mentioned Fluttershy, Twilight felt herself missing the yellow pegasus even more.

Midnight Strike and Direway were absent but likely nearby, sleeping on their off hours. A knowing look from Chrysalis confirmed that they would have a proper hivemind connection. Twilight had noticed both Centurion and Flash Sentry snap a tired but clean salute from the hall on both sides of the room's door where she left them. She wanted a connection with them as well but figured it best to wait on that along with the Soleils. She was already adding Rarity and unlocking Spike and Chrysalis tonight. That was quite enough as it was.

For the first time in a while Twilight Sparkle felt as if she was on top of her game, so to speak. She had everything organized and all matters were scheduled to be taken care of in turn. She could do this. No problem. She even took to a little giddiness at the prospect of getting mental access to Chrysalis' magic. She didn't know the full span of what was possible yet but was quite eager to find out.

Rainbow Dash, already under the sheets and at the center of the floor-level bed, was not so patient. “You going to stand there all day making goofy faces or get in? I'm about to knock off here,” she yawned big and wide.

“Of course, Dashie,” Twilight beamed and trotted across the sheets. She had already used her magic to remove the black and green horseshoes. She had also removed the crown that Chrysalis had once again revealed atop her head when they had been returning to the castle. Twilight hid it again before having seen Celestia. The items were situated at the bottom of the steps leading up to the grand bed.

The pony queen slipped under the silky covers with ease and almost as much grace as Rarity. Pinkie Pie and Chrysalis took the moment to put the machinery aside and get settled under as well. Eventually, all of the occupants were tucked in and ready for sleep, Rainbow Dash being the closest to Twilight.

“Whoa!” the queen exclaimed as Rainbow instantly rolled across her side a full three-sixty degrees and wound up face to face with Twilight.

“Just collecting on that promise,” the Element of Loyalty explained.

There was a silent roll of the eyes as Chrysalis came up from the other side and touched Twilight's wings.

“What?” Twilight asked in reflex.

“You were laying on your feathers wrong,” Chrysalis said. “I fixed them.”

“Stay over there,” Rainbow warned.

Twilight sighed but kept her smile. “Alright you two. Chrysalis, thank you. Dashie, just relax. Everypony, goodnight.”

That was that, as the saying went. Rarity and Spike both closed their eyes but had no chance of actually falling asleep. Twilight had already anticipated this being the case and her horn was aglow with a sleeping spell to put over them. Pinkie was already snoring in spite of her prior claims.

The lavender aura leapt from Twilight's horn and swirled around the unicorn and dragon. It took a few natural seconds and then the breathing of the two settled into a healthy and rather quiet rhythm. She then looked back to Chrysalis behind her, who whispered that she'd keep the new ring cord in control so the new members would only reveal on her command.

Rainbow would have watched, but she was too busy snuggling into the sheets and resting her forehead against Twilight's chest. She could hear the beat of the alicorn's heart beneath the warm plush coat. Looking back up to the mare's face above hers, she saw Twilight smiling down at her. Two purple forehooves settled around her neck.

“Sweet dreams, Dashie,” the queen bequeathed, closed her eyes, and magically turned out the room's lights.

It was time to sleep.

And it was time to connect.

32 - Parenthood is Complicated

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The world came into being around her. The soft green grass beneath her hooves, the pale blue sky above, and the old willow tree were all as before. She controlled this world completely and nothing could go wrong in it. She was the queen.

A gentle breeze started, the sound of a trickling stream beside the willow reached her ears, and the sunlight came down warm enough for comfort. The blades of grass crunched beneath her purple hooves again. She didn't think to materialize the crown or horseshoes upon herself since she wasn't obsessed with such things as Rarity was.

Twilight breathed in deeply. She was calm. There was a knocking within her hivemind that let her know that Chrysalis was manipulating the ring cord to materialize her connections. With a former changeling queen in control of the magic, Twilight knew there wouldn't be any problems with it. She trusted Chrysalis, obviously.

One. Rainbow Dash blinked into existence beneath the willow. She made some remark about how it was a much better entrance than last time.

Two. Pinkie Pie materialized by dropping out of the willow's branches. She landed on Rainbow's back as if she weighed nothing and then cleanly bounced off. A shrill shriek of joy shot out of her mouth.

Three. Midnight Strike popped out of thin air on the other side of the tiny stream. He saluted and settled down onto the grass.

Four. Direway joined in right beside Midnight. He poked his fellow guard playfully and settled down beside him.

Five. Chrysalis herself fluttered down from above with her buzzy transparent wings. She landed in front of Twilight and returned her queen's warm smile.

“Ready?” Twilight asked her.

“For your every wish,” Chrysalis responded, perhaps a bit too happily.

The alicorn rolled her eyes and walked around her changeling, wrapping a forehoof around her neck and guiding her alongside in the process.

“Twi!” Rainbow enthused as she bolted up to her queen.

Twilight stopped and used her other forehoof to return the pony's embrace. “What is it?”

“Just wanted a hug,” the Element of Loyalty replied but didn't move back. “It's like getting double-time since I'm with you in real life too.”

Chrysalis squinted at her and hugged Twilight from the other side in retaliation.

“Alright,” the queen giggled. “I-”

“Triple Hugboom!” Pinkie cried as she grabbed all three of them. She managed to lift them off the ground in a group hug that was only possible via Pinkie Physics. She squeezed them until their eyes nearly bulged and then let them back down. “Okay! What's next?” she bounced in place.

“Pinkie,” Twilight shook her head but couldn't lose her smile. “Could you play elsewhere for now? I know it's asking a lot. You too, Dashie. I need to focus on new connections.”

The mares were obedient, though Pinkie Pie looked ready to explode out of excitement.

Twilight went to lay beneath the great tree, relishing in the shade and the fact that it was actually shade that she herself had created as master of the hivemind. Chrysalis laid face-to-face in front of her and then shifted over a bit so that another pony could lay in that spot.

“You reading my mind?” Twilight asked her changeling.

“I'm already in it,” Chrysalis stuck her tongue out.

“I want to banter too!” Pinkie complained from the other side of the tree.

“Pinkie...” Rainbow groaned.

Twilight focused her thoughts on Chrysalis and then on her hivemind from a bird's eye perspective. “Allow Rarity in,” she commanded. “Gently.”

Chrysalis' eyes seemed to fade for a second. A white and purple orb materialized straight in front of Twilight before morphing this way and that. It eventually resolved into the unicorn mare they all knew. Said mare slowly opened her eyes, blinked, and then blinked again. She was laying casually upon the plush greenery.

“Oh my,” she spoke almost in a whisper. “Is this a dream or...”

“Hiya Rares!” Pinkie saluted and tried very hard not to bounce up from her spot. She was leaning from around the other side of the tree trunk.

“Yo,” was all Rainbow said from beside the Earth pony.

“This is not a dream,” Twilight calmly began to explain to her friend. “Welcome to my hivemind.”

Rarity looked to one side and then the other. Finally, she tossed her mane with a forehoof. “It looks somewhat familiar.”

“I based it off one of Fluttershy's favorite spots,” the queen returned in good cheer. “It may be a little different, but I've been trying to make it as real as possible. It's actually quite fun because I get to apply everything I know about physics, atmosphere, flora-”

“I see,” Rarity cut her off as politely as possible. She knew that rising pitch Twilight got when she started getting overenthusiastic about her book smarts. “I will admit it is not precisely what I had envisioned.”

“Oh?” Twilight's spirit dropped a bit.

“It is far less terrible than I worried. It is rather nice, in fact,” the Element of Generosity admitted. “And it does make sense for it to be such a calm, quaint little retreat. This is supposed to be a place of rest, as I understand it. I would prefer less nature,” she flinched at the word, “but...well, one can not really get dirty in a hivemind, I assume.”

“I could always factor that in-”

“Banish the thought!” Rarity cut off Twilight again. “My apologies,” she calmed herself. “Just...there is no need.”

“Ready to connect, Rarity?” Twilight eased back into her calm smile and got them back on track.

“I thought I already had.”

“Not until I touch you,” the queen declared.

The white mare hesitated and then voiced her question. “I see Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Chrysalis. Where is Spike?”

“He's joining after you.”

Rarity's face contorted to relief, then worry, then confusion. “I...I suppose that would be best. A lady must be prepared, after all.”

Twilight crawled closer. “Just relax, Rarity,” she encouraged. “I know Spike even if I haven't connected with him yet. I raised him. He may be a strong brave gentledragon but - trust me - he's more worried than you are.”

Rarity nodded slightly with her lips tight together.

“Thank you,” the queen said more softly.

“For what, darling?”

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “For giving Spike a chance. I know that I sometimes rant about all his idiosyncrasies, but that's only because he's so close to me. He's always been with me and I couldn't...”

Rarity noticed Twilight's voice and expression waver with emotion. Without any particular thought put into it, Rarity reached forward to encourage her friend with a nuzzle. The contact was made and the connection began whether or not either party was prepared.

Life flashed before Rarity so fast that she had trouble comprehending it all. It wasn't just her own life. It was Twilight's. It was Rainbow Dash's. It was Pinkie Pie's. Even the two guards had their moments run through her. She felt pain within her mind and then felt it dissipate as her mind seemed to expand and no longer center around her. Where she used to feel like a single seamstress in charge of the entire creation of a work of art, she now felt like a full production team. She saw things from a half dozen points of view and understood concepts she never even knew existed.

She was horrified at pain. Not her own, but rather that of others. She felt pain from Rainbow's past – a past she never imagined could have happened. There was also pricks of hurt from the others, especially Fluttershy's past. She saw that only dimly through Twilight's mind rather than from the mare herself. But happiness combated the horrors. Relief came in such waves that Rarity worried her makeup might start to run from the water in her eyes. Then Twilight's logic assured her that couldn't happen in the hivemind space. Rarity realized that, indeed, Twilight's logic was with her just as Pinkie's special understanding of physics was. Everything was a mess in her mind and then crystal clear the next second.

She squealed with delight in that special way that only she and her little sister ever did. There was the feeling of a thousand lines of inspiration hitting her from all of the joined memories. It came with ideas for apparel designs so glorious that the best designers in the history of ponykind would be jealous. And not just ponies. Even attire for other races was easy game.

Then Twilight's magical repertoire hit her. Being a unicorn, Rarity had a far easier time understanding it than the others. Literally thousands of spells charged around her, making her feel invincible. Was this how Twilight felt with all of her magical knowledge and ability? She felt through the hivemind that the queen was far too humble about her capabilities. And yet the power...

“Oh goodness me,” Rarity finally snapped out of the rush. She leaned back from Twilight and realized she was still laying on the grass in front of her friend. “What happened? Oh, I see. No. Oh, dear. Stop doing that!”

“Sorry,” Twilight giggled. “But this is what we can do now. When we're connected, we can think and speak to each other without words or actions. It can be a little disorienting at first, so I've tried limiting it to keep it from being too much at once. I could, for example, do what I was doing with you a second ago and explain without actually saying anything. But I agree that it can be a bit of a rush.”

“Much like hitting fourteen clouds after a double turn, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity called over to the multi-colored mare.

Rainbow shook her head. “Well, now you get me.”

“Just because I 'get' you does not mean I want to be you,” the unicorn clarified.

“Hey,” Rainbow grouched.

“So you're alright?” Twilight asked to keep any argument from progressing.

Rarity got up from her spot and stretched her legs. There was little sense of pain or relief, which reminded her that this was only her body in the hivemind. It wasn't entirely real. “Oh, you know quite well I am, dear.”

“I'll admit your sense of fashion sometimes eluded me, but now...” the queen trailed.

“Perfect,” Rarity smiled in her lady-like manner. “I have been waiting ages for you to pick up on the finer points.”

Twilight shrugged and then took Rarity's previous words. “Just because I understand doesn't mean-”

“That's my Twi,” Rainbow agreed prematurely.

Rarity facehoofed. “You could all at least pretend to care about how you look.”

“It's what's inside that counts,” Rainbow added as she came closer to Twilight and wrapped a forehoof around her, as if expecting the queen to back her up.

Rarity took the more reasonable route and looked up to the sky visible through the willow's branches. “When one has already refined the inside, it is only natural to begin refining the outside,” she remarked. “You are right that the inside in more important, but that fact is no excuse to be lazy about the outside.”

Rainbow said nothing. She looked to Twilight for help.

The purple alicorn passed her a curious look. “Hm,” she hummed.

“What?” Rainbow felt anxious all of a sudden.

“You did look nice in that Gala dress, Dashie...” Twilight complimented.

The pegasus blushed in her silence as her hoof slipped from her purple friend.

“That is the spirit,” Rarity encouraged. “Dresses are not your enemy, Rainbow Dash. You do want to be your best for Twilight do you not?”

That gave Rainbow the out she needed to keep from melting on the spot. “Hey,” she rebutted the white unicorn. “That's personal.”

“I believe Twilight is the queen here,” Rarity took on an almost smug look. It was masked behind her lady's etiquette. “She has shared everything through her hivemind, which I am now in. There is no need for hostility. I assure you that you have my full support in these feelings of yours.”

“Uh, well, yeah! So there!” Rainbow hammered the point back as if she were arguing against Rarity and had just won. Even if she was glad her friend supported her, she didn't want it to look like she had been robbed of her power in the conversation.

“I'm worried about a certain somepony, however,” Rarity looked back down to Twilight.

“I am too,” the Element of Magic sighed. “It's possible Fluttershy could have experienced a lesser form of what I did when I was unable to connect to others during sleep. And, besides that, I'm just worried she may be lonely.”

“AJ is still with her in Ponyville,” Pinkie Pie commented while rolling across the grass on her back. She was also pawing at something invisible in the air with her forehooves. “Applejackie wouldn't ignore her if something really bad put her down.”

Twilight felt a little better but wished Fluttershy was with them all the same. “Agreed. I'd still like to be back in Ponyville, though.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed. “Ponyville clouds just can't be replaced by any others...”

“Would you like to proceed, my queen?” Chrysalis whispered to Twilight.

The alicorn gathered herself. Spike was next and, though she already knew him so well, there were aspects to his species that remained in the dark to her. She may have raised him, but she had no idea the full extent of a magic dragon's abilities and hoped the connection would be without incident. She only considered doing it now because she had enough confidence to believe that nothing would, in fact, go wrong.

“Yes,” she answered, her expression taut. “Carefully.”

Chrysalis nodded, leaned back, and closed her eyes completely. The changeling was masking her inner thoughts, keeping them from reaching her queen through the hivemind. This connection was not something she wanted to do, though admittedly she still preferred this to fully connecting herself. She knew Twilight had decided she could handle this and she would die before fighting her queen over it...but still. Spike was only limited with his knowledge of magic when it came to the real world. No dragon had ever been in a hivemind to her knowledge and their immense power within the dreamworld could lead to terrifying consequences.

Twilight flinched. Something had stung in her hivemind. The stream stopped flowing and froze as if it were a photo. The willow's branches did the same, no longer moving with the breeze. The air went still. The other occupants in the hivemind noticed.

“What's wrong?” Rarity asked, just a little worried.

“Chrysalis?” Twilight asked back to her changeling, who was wincing.

There was a second in which she said nothing. It made Twilight begin to doubt her decision. But then the moment passed.

“My apologies,” Chrysalis opened her eyes and soothed her queen. “He's overdone it on the mental preparation. He won't settle on a single physical representation. I'm going to have to force him into a single state.”

“Spike?” both Twilight and Rarity spoke at the same time.

“His worry over this connection made him go overboard and his dreamscape is battling my control,” Chrysalis momentarily closed one eye again in a flinch. “I'll try to put him in a stable body.”

Rainbow made a sarcastic laugh. “I wonder who could have given him that worrywart complex,” she poked her queen playfully.

Twilight rolled her eyes. Before she could say anything else, it happened. Spike came hurtling in as a fireball. Unlike Rarity, who had appeared gently, Spike made the most ungraceful of entrances. The great green flameball shot down onto the green hill on the other side of the stream, making both guards leap out of the way. Dirt flew in every direction, which forced Rarity to shriek in reactionary horror.

The hivemind's queen could now understand what Chrysalis had been saying. She felt the unruly tug in her mind as Spike wrestled with his appearance. The smoke, dirt, and fire of the crash faded out to reveal a dragon five or more times as large as the small version they were so familiar with. His body had grown out in length more than width. His spines had mostly grown in proportion except for a few on his back, which pointed further out. They lead up to one especially large spine complete with a jagged edge.

“Rarity!” he exclaimed in a tone of embarrassment and shied away, trying in vain to somehow prevent himself from being seen.

Rarity and Twilight both raised their brows in shock. Chrysalis frowned, but only because she had such difficulty in getting him to show up in the first place. Rainbow Dash made some remark along the lines of “not too bad” while Pinkie Pie mimed out what could have been “got a snazzy new look.” None present were able to comprehend the mime. The guards just sighed and settled back onto the grass since there was obviously no problem to combat.

“Spike,” Twilight finally decided on beginning. “You...look older.”

“Y-you weren't supposed to see me like this...” he hung his head with a blush and some measure of shame. His voice was a tad deeper, but not as much as it had been during the sudden growth incident in Ponyville. In fact, he looked remarkably different now than he had back then in his teen form. His body was not so oddly proportioned. This one was sleek without being thin, as if built for a balance of strength and speed. He still stood on his two legs, but it didn't appear too far fetched for him to be able to launch into a run on both his arms and legs like a fully grown dragon.

“Spikey,” Rarity approached him. “Why not?”

A puff of smoke came out of his mouth, which was the moment all environmental aspects of the hivemind space resumed from their previous freeze. Twilight sighed in relief that she got everything working again, but Spike's presence was still putting a bit of strain on her control of it. Something about him was creating distortions in her self-constructed world.

“I'm hideous,” Spike mumbled as he sat down on the ground in defeat. “Nobody likes me like this.”

Twilight knew it was time to stand up. As she did so, she heard Rarity already responding while Rainbow and Pinkie joined her in approaching the mid-size dragon.

“Don't you dare say that,” Rarity argued firmly. She sat down in front of him and lifted his head to look him in the eyes. “You are not hideous. You are a very handsome young dragon.”

“You're totally cool,” Rainbow Dash added as she flew over and landed nearby.

“Best dragon ever!” Pinkie Pie shouted loudly.

“I knew you'd all say that,” Spike nearly cried. “But it's just words. You don't really feel that way.”

Twilight came up right beside Rarity and sat down. She met his eyes straight on. “I wonder if this is why you've stayed the same little dragon you always have been.”

“Huh?” he frowned but didn't lose his sad mood.

Rarity picked up on her new queen's thread of thought. “You have sequestered yourself in your old body because you will not let yourself believe that you could be tres bien any other way.”

“That was bad,” Rainbow called out, finally picking up on Rarity's terminology because of their mental link. Rarity ignored her.

“Would this be the way you would look if you let yourself be?” the Element of Generosity asked him in a soothing voice.

In that moment, Spike's vision narrowed onto Rarity. “I...I...”

“Ooooh,” droned Pinkie Pie, suddenly behind the slightly-larger-than-pony sized dragon. “Spikey is spiky!”

A poke to the large sharp-tipped spine on his back sent a chill up Spike's body. “Careful,” he warned the pink Earth pony. “It's sharp.”

“Oh, silly,” Pinkie countered. “We're in Twily's brain. I can't get hurt.”

Twilight blushed. “I don't think it's possible to get hurt here, but I certainly will try to keep everyone safe.”

“Spike,” Rarity grabbed the dragon's face with her forehooves and turned it to look back at her. “If this is the 'you' that you want to be then you should not hold back. It does not matter what others think of you, though I should let you know...I think you are ravishing.”

“R-ravishing?” Spike turned red in the face.

Chrysalis nudged her queen and whispered to her. “Rarity is having some kind of effect on him. I can't handle his presence much longer. You have to fully connect before I lose him.”

Twilight nodded and put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder. The unicorn let go of Spike and turned a concerned gaze to Twilight.

“We all support you, Spike,” the queen told the dragon. “I'll show you.”

And with that, Twilight reached out and put her forehoof on Spike's chest right where his heart laid. She was expecting, at most, a flash of light as had been the case with the others. Her mind would race with his, nothing particularly surprising to her being revealed. She thought she knew how the connection would play out. It couldn't be that different than Rarity's connection, could it?

The moment she touched him, the hivemind world around them froze again. The colors began to warp and everything seemed to bend out of shape. A brilliant and massive green flame erupted from Spike's chest and engulfed Twilight, who would have screamed if she had the time. All the others in her hivemind went silent, as if she were cut off from them. The world disappeared, leaving only the brilliant flames.

Those flames weren't hot. She was confused. The fire was neither hot nor cold. It was a steady warmth – the kind one would have after snuggling beneath one's bed sheets for a few minutes. She could no longer see anything around her but the green fire, as if the space beyond was an empty void. At first, she began to remember the horrifying moment that Chrysalis had sent her down to the Canterlot Caverns. But then she heard Spike's voice.

“Twi....light?” he asked, sounding scared. It was as if he were on the verge of tears.

“I'm right here, Spike,” Twilight quickly answered him. “What's going on? What's wrong?”

Silence. The flames continued flickering around her with their stable warmth. Then there was the sound of crying. Faint.

“Spike...?” Twilight asked in worry.

“I'm scared,” he sniffled out.

Twilight turned in place, looking but failing to see anything but the green fire. “Of what? Where are you Spike?”

“I'm afraid of change,” he cried. “I'm afraid everypony will hate me because I'm different. If I stay in the same body, everything will be okay.”

The purple alicorn eased into her parental mode she used to play all the time on a much younger Spike. “No,” she tapped a forehoof beneath her. “Didn't Rarity just tell you that she liked your new look? Remember what Celestia said. You're growing up, Spike. We all grow up. I didn't use to have wings, you know.”

“I'll never have wings,” the dragon said, his voice coming from everywhere around Twilight. His tone was one of defeat.

“Why does that matter? You will eventually be able to teleport around like me, not to mention you could probably cast a temporary wing spell anyways. Change is not bad, Spike. It's just a part of life. Be proud of the body you have."

Silence.

"Maybe the real reason you're so afraid is because you're not willing to let go of the past.”

“What if I do something bad?” he sniffled and the flames flickered before continuing their steady wave. “What if I lose control? What if I fail...like all the times I've failed before...”

Twilight's patience wore out. “You have never failed me, Spike. You've always come though, fixing any of the mistakes you did make. I want you to move on. I...”

The queen hesitated before clearing her thoughts.

“...I want my son to grow up. I want him to be the kind of dragon that will make me even more proud than I already am to be his mother.”

The flames instantly wisped away. What was left was the blank blackness that Twilight saw when she first began her hivemind. She still had her body, however, and there was a purple and green dragon standing on his two feet right in front of her. It was Spike as he was moments before the flames had overtaken her. He was looking down on her because, when standing, he was about half again as tall as she was. Tears were in his eyes.

“M-mom?” he croaked out in his slightly older voice.

Twilight looked up and met his gaze. “I tried not to think of it before because I wouldn't let myself believe I was responsible enough to be a parent. But you've always been my child, Spike. I'll always love you no matter what because, regardless of what you do, I'll never stop caring about you.”

The dragon's two green eyes watered as he knelt down and embraced the mare. He said nothing for a long while, but just stayed there hugging her. Twilight could feel her coat dampen from his tears, but she embraced him in return. Careful not to touch the sharp edge of his large spine, she rubbed his back to sooth him.

“Is this what was troubling you, Spike?” she asked softly into his ear.

He eventually answered without letting her go. “My parents were taken from me and I don't think I could live without you. I don't want to be an orphan...mom...”

The word seemed to make him cry again, so she kept hugging him and rubbing his back. “You never will be,” she shushed him calmly. “I don't plan on dying for quite a while. Too many books left to read.”

That finally got the dragon to give a little laugh through his crying. “Heh, yeah.”

They stayed that way for several moments longer before parting. “Princess Luna gave me a book about your dreams,” Twilight remarked.

“Really?” Spike replied while wiping his face with his forearms.

“Yeah, but I think I prefer being a parent more than snooping through dreams. Not that I won't still nose through the book.”

Spike snorted smoke but smiled.

“Now,” the queen looked around her at the black emptiness. It really was a nothing space. She and Spike were standing, but there was no floor. Just darkness. “I've got to fix this.”

“What happened?”

“You happened,” Twilight giggled. “Chrysalis was right. Your presence in my hivemind is strong. You kind of messed it up.”

“I'm sorry,” he drooped.

“Don't be,” she looked back to him and lifted his spirits. “I wouldn't have it any other way.”

“Is that light?” the large reptilian inquired as to the point of light that suddenly appeared in the dark.

Twilight breathed deep and concentrated. “I'm working on it.”

“What about the others? I don't feel anything in my mind – your mind. This is weird.”

“I suspect that's because their connections were temporarily muted or frozen,” Twilight explained and made the small light blow up so that it was all around them. The world began to build again. The grassy meadow came back along with the willow.

“How?” Spike moved around in place, a bit disturbed at the fast creation around him.

The queen stopped, took another deep breath, and resumed. “Chrysalis,” she stated just as the changeling popped into existence before them.

“Ugh,” the large changeling buzzed in agitation. Her body quivered for a second. “That left a bad taste in my mouth. I had to force close all the connections so the others wouldn't get hurt.”

“I thought so,” Twilight smiled at her changeling. “Thank you, Chrysy.”

“Anything, my queen,” Chrysalis nodded and then looked to Spike. “Don't do that again.”

“He's fine,” Twilight cut back in before Spike had to defend himself. “Now the others? Spike hasn't connected to them yet.”

The black pseudo-pony stepped up to Twilight and tapped her purple horn. “I've put the rest of the hivemind management in your head. You'll have to be the one to connect them because all this work has drained my magic. Unless, of course, you would supply me with love...perhaps a kiss?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and placed a simple kiss on the changeling's cheek.

“That wasn't enough,” Chrysalis whined. “How about on the lips?”

Instead of replying, Twilight materialized the other members of the hivemind into the mental world one by one. Rarity was last and Twilight could visibly see the reaction on Spike's teen face when her connection bore full strength to him through the hivemind. It had been faint before through Twilight's memories but was now complete. He was nearly in tears again, only these being ones of joy.

Chrysalis sighed in defeat and resigned herself to stand beside her queen. Pinkie Pie rushed to Spike and hugged him extra tight. She went on and on about something, but Twilight was too busy with Rainbow Dash to hear it.

“You okay? Nothing hurt, right?” Rainbow kept on as she hugged her queen and checked her over again and again. “That was totally not okay. Don't do that again. You just vanished and everything!”

“It's okay, Dashie. Really. And, no, I'll try not to have that happen again,” Twilight reassured her friend. Another buzz made the queen look to Chrysalis.

“A dragon in a hivemind,” Chrysalis hummed. “You see what's going through his mind, don't you? He's grasping everything you and your friends know, including your advanced magic.”

“Told you I could do it,” Twilight grinned.

33 - Recollection is Disheartening

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Rarity ignited a series of magical inscriptions around her. Symbols spun in the air, glowing with a cyan hue that matched the tone of her cutie mark. They formed a large levitating embankment around her, adding more and more to their own numbers. Spike was just on the outside of it. A single swipe from one of his large clawed hands sent the symbols racing towards him and then reforming to circle both him and Rarity.

“Oo,” Rarity squealed in excitement. The magic she was reviewing was originally Twilight's advanced composite spell formula. Spike had just mutated it with a flick of his claw and a rush of inspiration. The spell's cyan hue now had streaks of electric green dancing through it as if it had been infected.

It had changed and now Rarity felt something changing within herself. It was a fiery rush that surged to her chest and heated her very heart. She began breathing a little faster. The dragon stepped closer to her with his beaming smile he hadn't lost since their minds connected. Could this truly be possible?

“Spikey,” the white unicorn breathed out heavy. She put a forehoof to her thumping chest. “What...what is this?”

Spike's eyes almost seemed on fire, the irises flickering with a certain heat. He laughed in a way that was far more relaxed than she had ever heard before. “To be honest, I have no idea. But if I knew it felt like this then I would have used the magic a long time ago.”

Rarity's eye twitched and she sat back down on the grassy meadow. Her eyes felt like they were on fire and she thought that she shouldn't have felt any such thing. Through her queen, she was able to immediately construct a mirror in front of her. It was just like the one in her bedroom, full length and spotless.

“Oh,” she exclaimed in worry. “Oh, dear. Twilight!”

The purple pony heard the call even before it came out of Rarity's mouth. In fact, she was walking over the moment Rarity had seen herself in the mirror. The queen had previously been tied up in a rush of rapid-fire conversation under the willow. Pinkie Pie wouldn't stay quiet, Rainbow Dash wouldn't keep her hooves to herself, and Chrysalis was copying Rainbow just for the fun of it. Of all present, Twilight was most thankful for how the guards were acting. They were calm, reserved, and made no fuss.

“Hm,” Twilight hummed as she came up to Rarity and waved all the magic symbols away. They vanished into whatever realm existed beyond the hivemind. “I have to admit, I've never seen anything like this.”

“That's not what she wants to hear,” Spike almost laughed. He deadened his look when Rarity shot him a glare.

Twilight reached up and carefully pulled down on the part of Rarity's face just below her left eye. She peered close and saw that the eyeball was indeed struck with green lines. It was basically the same as being bloodshot, except the lines were green instead of red.

“I didn't factor in anything like this to the physical representation matrix,” Twilight frowned. She searched her hivemind and then looked at Spike. “It's originating from you.”

Spike's smile returned. He suddenly erupted in a crackling of green sparks, disappeared, and reappeared behind Twilight. “Maybe it's my magic. I seem to understand more of it every second.”

Did he just teleport? Twilight's thought was her own but then bled out through the hivemind to everyone.

“I wonder if I can do it in the real world, though,” the grown reptilian assistant was almost giddy.

“Slow down, Spike,” Twilight kept frowning. “I don't want anything to spin out of control. Why would your magic bleed over into Rarity?”

The Element of Generosity blushed at the idea.

“You're the queen here,” Spike shrugged. “You tell me.”

Twilight gave him an age-old disapproving glare.

“What?” Spike returned a bit more reserved. “I don't understand all of it. Honest. You're way more knowledgeable about magic. Me getting your knowledge is one thing, but coming up with it on my own is another. As far as I can tell, this hivemind only shares what we know. It doesn't literally turn me into you.”

“I don't know about that, Spikers,” Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared from behind one the dragon's back spines. She quickly trotted over to Rarity and generated a rainbow colored trail in the process. “See? I can copy Dashie.”

“Ugh,” Twilight dropped her head and felt a little ill. She had seen this before and had tried to ignore it. She knew there was something about her hivemind she didn't understand and only a full connection with Chrysalis would alter that. “Maybe Chrysalis-”

“Please,” buzzed the changeling's voice. “I hate to copy that Rainbow character, but my name is Chrysy.”

Twilight hadn't been expecting Chrysalis' voice to suddenly be so close to her ear. It made her jump in her coat. A few years of her immortal life might have been shaved off as well. “Where'd you come from?!”

“I took a page from the pink one,” she explained. “I stepped out of your shadow.”

Pinkie giggled, bounced over, and wrapped a hoof around the shape-shifter's neck. “That's my little changeling!”

Now Twilight really started to get a headache and no attempt to shake it off worked. Her head lowered from the shaking anyways and, when she looked back up, Rainbow Dash was a micron's length from her face. The queen's heart skipped a beat.

“Yo,” the blue mare whispered.

“Enough!” Twilight shrilled. “I can't keep track of all of this! The hivemind is just a mess now.”

“Uh oh,” Spike backed away. This was normally the moment he adorned himself in pillow armor to prevent injury from a Twi-Stress Explosion. Lacking the necessary materials, he made do by grabbing Rarity and putting her out in front of himself.

“Wha-?” the mare was only able to breathe out before Twilight emitted the same magical blast that had once jumped the entire Golden Oaks Library.

“So there is clearly some advantages to the hivemind that are not currently being used,” Rarity remarked upon recomposing herself. Thankfully, being in Twilight's hivemind meant that she hadn't been harmed by the explosion. At least not in terms of injury. But the queen's powers did successfully replicate what Rarity's mane would look like after being struck by an explosive blast.

Rarity continued smoothing it back out and recurling what had become a frizzy blown-back mess. In addition to fixing her mane, she also saw to it that her backstabbing Spikey Wikey was duly punished. He lay in a heap beside her, bound in a series of chains that criss-crossed his arms, legs, and snout. Rainbow Dash was also beside him, flipping a key in her hoof that went to the chain lock. It hadn't been hard to convince Twilight to materialize the chains. She was a very understanding queen.

“Yeah, Twi,” Pinkie added in. “You're supposed to share the stress across the hivemind, not bottle it up until it explodes.”

Twilight sighed and continued to lay where she was in the grass. “I'm sorry,” she said with a returned calmness. “I just...”

“Had a panic attack,” Chrysalis finished. “Just because you have so many connections now does not mean you are immune to stress. As the queen, you will always decide what is shared and what is not.”

“I'll get a grasp on this,” Twilight said to herself more than the others. “I'm in control. I can do it.”

Spike mumbled something through the chains.

“No, Spikey,” Rarity turned her nose up. “Traitors get no favors. You must pay the price for abandoning your gentledragon nature. Really,” she huffed.

“Yeah, bud,” Rainbow smirked. “You want love, you got to be loyal.”

The dragon rolled his eyes and puffed a small cloud of smoke through his nostrils when he saw Rainbow wink with the last word.

Twilight retraced her line of thought and beckoned Rarity closer. “Both your eyes,” she rethought her observation, “have a lesser but similar pattern to the green infusion I saw in Spike. You might have seen a small black book in my recent memories. Luna gave it to me.”

Rarity synched with her queen's reasoning. “It's about Spike's dreams. But you haven't looked in it yet.”

“I got the notion that a dragon's dreams may have a magical component to them that ponies don't have,” Twilight tapped her chin with a forehoof. “I'm no dreamwalker, but my hivemind indicated the dreams we've all had over our lifetimes have not been immediately controlled by our will. Spike's memories show something different. He's crafted his own dreams - or at least strongly directed them after they started.”

The white unicorn looked back to the mid-sized dragon, who had a deadpan expression on his face. “I must say that the ice cream castle was cute, if not a tad overdone. That I have been a princess in so many of his dreams...”

“It's what you are to him,” Twilight said bluntly. “But it's the control that magic dragons have over their abilities that makes them less animalistic than other dragons. That's what I got from our talk with Celestia and what you did as well. I get the feeling that if I had been Spike's biological mother then his powers would not be such a mystery and I would know exactly what this green stuff is in your eyes.”

At that moment, a massive series of magical encirclements surrounded Twilight and Rarity. They were far larger than Rarity's had been earlier and they each were radiant with a purple fire. It made the queen comment.

“Hm,” she hummed. “It seems even my magic is being affected by him. The only thing I sense is an increase in foundational output, though. It should be safe to continue.”

Rarity let her queen mumble to herself. She trusted, through their connection and more general friendship, that the purple pony wasn't intending to do anything dangerous to her. The obsessive look in Twilight's eyes still made her worry, though.

The magical symbols forming the multiple circles around them moved up and down until the circles collectively formed a fiery purple sphere. From outside of it, the others looked on with extreme curiosity. Spike's mouth twitched when he lost sight of Rarity behind the symbols.

“Ah,” Twilight pipped. “Huh. I see.”

“You are not being very helpful, darling,” Rarity complained. “I am not getting your thoughts.”

Twilight was silent a moment longer before giving an “oh” of realization. She opened her mind back to her connections to let Rarity know what was going on inside. It seemed Chrysalis had been doing more than she realized in regards to hivemind management. It would take some getting used to for her to be natural at it.

“I see,” Rarity almost whispered and trailed off. She looked to Chrysalis while the magical sphere around them dissipated. “So hiveminds are something more than mere communication.”

Chrysalis stiffened in her spot. “I was not aware. Changeling hives do not work this way. It's possible that pony hives do not either.”

Everyone present saw the unspoken implication as if it were a hundred hoof wide neon sign. Chrysalis didn't need to be fully connected yet for that to be obvious.

“You think it has to do with the Elements of Harmony?” Twilight asked.

“I would not be here if it were not for the Elements,” Chrysalis replied in a hum-like manner. “If you had such power before through friendship then...”

“...it would be reasonable,” Twilight continued, “for an even greater power to manifest through a stronger connection.”

Rainbow had gotten bored of tossing around the key and had lounged beside Spike as if he were a desk to lean against. “What would happen if all six of us were connected at the same time?” she inquired in a neutral tone.

Rarity kept her slightly worried expression while Pinkie Pie gasped.

“I don't know, but I'm sure it'd be super extreme awesome-mazing!” the Element of Laughter looked ready to pass out from the sheer incredibleness of the idea.

“The rainbow streaks,” Twilight mumbled to herself again, this time her thoughts being shared openly across the hivemind. “The Pinkie Sense vision. Spike's power. He may not directly be an Element of Harmony, but he is a magic dragon.”

“Has Flutters ever given you some weirdness when you've connected with her?” Pinkie Pie asked.

It was nothing Twilight immediately recalled, which was likely the reason Pinkie had to ask. When she analyzed the memories, the only thing she noticed was a deep peace. The unquestioning calm when she had connected with Fluttershy was almost enough to put her to sleep and certainly enough to make her yearn for the yellow mare's presence.

Twilight shook her head. “Nothing like what I've seen from Rainbow and yourself,” she answered Pinkie. “But I felt something. Almost a serenity.”

“Perhaps,” Chrysalis spoke up. She didn't like to share Twilight almost as much as Rainbow didn't, but she was taking in the lessons of generosity from Rarity. “Fluttershy might be the one that stabilizes you rather than provide some new power.”

Rarity added in her two bits both vocally and mentally through the hivemind. “Yes. She may be shy, but she is a very strong mare. Why, there have been multiple times we would have been better off if we had listened to her calm advice rather than force our way with our stubborn ideas.”

Rainbow hung her head and agreed. She had thought Fluttershy a coward a few times in the past. But now that she knew her friend's past and all the times she had given them wisdom only to be ignored...it shamed her. “She has a strength that no workout could ever get me,” Rainbow admitted. “If only I could be the me I've always wanted. I'm still too scared.”

Twilight got up and walked to Rainbow. She hugged her and whispered encouragement that she had already given mentally but hadn't yet voiced. “We all are in our own ways. But we have all the time in the world, Dashie.”

Rainbow didn't know how she meant that since, as far as she knew, Twilight and Spike were the only immortal ones present. Before she could ask, though, the queen backed away and approached Chrysalis.

“Let's connect, Chrysy,” Twilight ordered. “The sooner we do, the sooner everything will be clear. I'm sure of it.”

Chrysalis was anxious and it wasn't any good kind of anxiousness. She had put this off because she was unsure it would work as the other pony connections had. Spike had already caused enough trouble as it was. Honestly, she was surprised Twilight got the hivemind back at all. If Chrysalis hadn't terminated the live connections, Spike's surge of magic would have caused serious damage to their minds.

“My queen,” the changeling began to whisper to Twilight, who was laying in front of her face-to-face. “I have lived hundreds of years-”

“You're power has drained, though,” Twilight interjected. “This is the safest time to connect.”

“But there's no telling what my memories-”

“I already have so many memories collectively that it probably totals beyond the number of years you've lived,” she countered. “Wait, I can do the math fairly quick...”

“My memories are compounded with those of my former hi-”

Twilight interrupted again. “Okay, so it's still less than two hundred years. It's a lot, though. I'm not worrying about doubling or tripling it. I mean, the cognitive consequences related to the imprin-”

“Twilight Sparkle!”

The queen didn't seem all that surprised by the shout out. Instead, she put her forehoof calmly on Chrysalis' shoulder. “I already have eight in my hivemind, including myself. Some of the memories I've received have been extreme both visually and emotionally. I'm sure I can handle anything related to your past hive. It is only a memory, after all.”

“I don't want to hurt you,” Chrysalis buzzed in a lower and more worried tone.

“I've touched you quite a bit and I haven't experienced any painful link. I think I'll be fine.”

Rainbow Dash flew down beside them from wherever it was she had been conversing with Rarity. “Are you two going to keep arguing over this or what? I want to wake up tomorrow with awesome changeling powers!”

“Dashie,” Twilight giggled. “I'm not entirely certain that connecting with Chrysalis will give us any special abilities.”

The blue pegasus flung her forehooves to the side in a shrug. “I might as well hope for the best. I mean, just think of all the pranks I could play if I could transform myself to look like somepony else.”

“Whoa!” Pinkie Pie materialized from behind Rainbow. “Oh my gosh! Totally!”

“You two will not, in the very small probability that you obtain changeling powers, use them to prank ponies,” Twilight turned more serious with the lecture. “Pranks may be good every now and then but I will not have either of you taking it so far that-”

Chrysalis tapped her shoulder, prompting Twilight to open her eyes. She hadn't even realized she had closed them. It was an occasional habit she had when lecturing because she liked to prepare the lecture notes behind her eyelids. In any case, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were gone. They were walking away across the hilly meadow, talking about prank ideas.

Twilight grumbled in frustration. “Let's just connect,” she monotoned.

Chrysalis bit her lip in continued worry. “I suppose this is what I always wanted...I just hope nothing goes wrong.”

“Don't be so doubtful,” the alicorn ordered. “It worries me when you worry.”

The changeling, tall even when laying down, lowered her head until her long jagged horn nearly touched Twilight's shorter but smoother one. “Just promise that you won't stop loving me after what you see.”

Twilight would have said something in reply if she had the chance, but Chrysalis didn't wait to tip forward and touch their horns. A blinding light snapped between them, crawling like lightning as Chrysalis opened up her full mind to Twilight's. The years rained down.

It started at the very beginning, such a joyous recollection. Twilight saw the world, strange and foreign, through a young changeling's eyes. It seemed that hatchlings were similar to pony foals in some ways. The memories started vague and nowhere near the actual hatching. Instead, the images were of early adolescence. She was probably a few years old, but still very small.

There was a face. One that brought happiness, warmth, and love. It was non-food love from a changeling and also food love transferred through strange magic. This tall beautiful changeling was old but not extremely so. She was comparable in looks to a young mother, which she was. The emerald-maned changeling female was Chrysalis' mother.

Her smile was breathtaking. She would beam whenever she saw hatchling Chrysalis, or rather when Chrysalis saw her. The mother had the ability to show up out of seemingly nowhere. Chrysalis could barely walk and, to be fair, it was really more of a wobbling half-crawl. And that was to mention nothing of the bangs.

As a princess changeling, Chrysalis had a body different than the average worker. Her proportions were unique and she had a flowing mane even at her minute age. The green-blue locks had a habit of getting in front of her eyes, causing her to cry when they blocked the view of her mother. Even if the mother queen was still there, Chrysalis could only assume the parent had ceased to exist whenever she wasn't immediately visible.

Another memory came still early on. It was when Chrysalis was learning to walk properly. Everything was remembered in such simple terms, but it was obvious there was light. There was much of it, in fact. She was laying in soft grass and there seemed to be walls of rock all around. It was as if she and her mother were in a canyon, rough dark rock on the sides and a strip of light coming down from above.

“Chry,” said an almost whispery voice. She knew it was her mother. “Come here, Chry.”

The world should have lowered itself as a tiny Chrysalis got to her legs, but the viewpoint instead toppled. She whimpered and almost cried outright.

“Mommy's not angry,” mother soothed. “Try again, Chry. Come to mommy...”

A few sniffles later, the hatchling clumsily shifted again. This time, however, she did not topple over. The world bounced from left to right, the center of it being occupied by the radiant smile of a queen changeling. Mother.

The grassy earth below was so unstable. Why did earthquakes have to keep charging through it with every step she took? Why was it covered in grass to begin with? Most of the hive tunnels didn't have grass. Only the hatchery areas for some reason.

It was so exhilarating. She wasn't falling over. Step by step she got closer and mother seemed to get larger. She almost tripped and two steps later almost fell. Still she was standing. Still she was walking. The memory grew fuzzy except for the last event. Something felt warm and familiar. She was being held in caring forehooves.

Another memory came in to overlap the closing of the last. It was a pitch black room, assuming it was a room at all. Nothing was visible. But there was a voice that came through her mind. It told her to concentrate. It told her to form. Green light began to cast an eerie glow.

It was indeed a room. Some kind of underground chamber. The green glow came from her horn and seemed to funnel primarily towards something on the floor in front of her. With a click of realization, it became apparent that the material was what Chrysalis had called clod. It was morphing with the green magic. Eventually, it began to spiral around until it appeared to be a half cylinder. It changed more until it became a bowl.

A voice in her mind told her that she had done a good job. But the praise soon turned to encouragement. There was a prompt. A prompt to create something of her own imagination. And so the green magic intensified and gathered more clod from the darkness of the chamber. The bowl was evolving into a cone and finished as a more rectangular-shaped thing with some kind of antennae at the top. The tip had its own green glow.

The mental voice made some kind of sound. It seemed to be surprised and extremely pleased. It said that it was happy that Chrysalis could so quickly grasp the concepts of infusing clod-based objects with hive-power. The green magic was their collective magical strength and granted the object a certain degree of raw energy. It allowed for an unlimited number of inventions. Mother would be proud.

The next memory was far clearer. Chrysalis was on a soft sleeping pad encircled by a ring glowing with the predictable green hue. Everything had that same glowing color, but it wasn't strange or bland. Chrysalis was proud of it just as every changeling was. It was like the black of their carapace. It was a part of who they were and none disliked it.

Chrysalis had a large reflective surface in front of her. It was made of clod except for the center, which was some kind of mirroring surface. It showed herself. She was no longer a hatchling but neither was she a fully grown princess. She was at the age in-between, which had her at intermediate proportions. Her mane was long and tended to droop over her eyes as it always had.

A brush was moving through her mane. She was having a hard time because it seemed intent on snagging every few strokes. There were parts of her mane that had mysteriously formed holes, parts where the strands refused to fall. Or at least that was how it seemed. Chrysalis kept brushing and mumbling bad words under her breath upon every painful snag.

The sleeping ring she was settled upon was indented within an alcove in the wall. Upon stepping out of the ring, one would be in a wide underground corridor that ran both left and right. Chrysalis knew by hivemind and heart that left lead to the work chambers and right lead to the hatchery. She had no business with either, however, because she had been ordered by her mother to stay put.

It was ridiculous. Mother had never been so obsessed with politics before now. It wasn't just local politics with the hive's other potential royals either. It was world politics. Something or other had been going badly and mother's attitude had changed in the last month. She just wasn't the same anymore.

One more snag in her brushing made Chrysalis groan and fling the brush across her ring. She was supposed to stay in her ring and do nothing all day? It might not even be day anymore with the way she had been losing track of time. So much seclusion underground has made her suspicious of her internal clock, making her rely more and more on the hivemind to keep her sundials in check.

It was a question over the hivemind that made this moment stand out in her memories. It was also the answer that came back through the old hive. Chrysalis asked her mother if she would have time later on so that they could be together. The day was supposed to be special, after all. It was Chrysalis' birthday. She liked the idea of birthdays even though they were primarily only celebrated in Equestrian culture.

The reply through the hivemind was less than encouraging. In fact, mother said she wouldn't have time for months and didn't want to be bothered about it...she told Chrysalis that she would never celebrate those stupid pony birthdays ever again.

34 - Suffering is Dilapidating

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It's not like you were actually scorched,” Spike argued when Rarity unlocked his chains. She had gotten the key from a distracted Rainbow Dash.

“It is the principle of the matter,” Rarity acted as if she were on moral high ground. “Now quiet down and pay attention. Twilight's connection is strengthening and it would be wise for you to mind yourself. Do not go creating any magical spikes.”

The dragon either didn't catch the unintended pun or simply ignored it. It was true that the connection between Twilight and Chrysalis was building up. The green meadow was dissolving where the two females laid with horns touching. The black void of the featureless hivemind was becoming visible again while Twilight's attention was bent towards Chrysalis alone.

They were all seeing the memories of the changeling at the same time. However, the recollections were not headed in a positive direction. Emotions were starting to run foul.

Chrysalis ran from the hatchery. She couldn't bear to see it anymore. Things had gotten out of hoof years ago and time only made the situation worse. Whoever it was that said “time heals all” was a liar. A terrible liar.

The shouts of pain and death followed her even to her royal sleeping pad. It was all she ever heard now and it haunted her when she slept. This was a living Tartarus, where every dream was a nightmare and one only awoke to find it reality. She had tried to stay strong like her mother, but this was simply a moment she could not be strong. Chrysalis buried her face into the cushion of her ring and cried even as the hive itself suffered.

Everyone had turned their backs on the changelings. Every nation they had any ties to. Every race. Every individual. Everyone.

Equestria had been the first and the others fell like dominoes. Trade ceased and threats of war raged. It was as if the world had gone mad and was out for changeling blood. Chrysalis' own hooves, so perfectly kept before, now ached with malnutrition. The natural holes that formed in her lower legs and hooves had begun to hurt. They were always sore and the holes even grew in diameter, which was a sign that her body was reaching its limit. They were all reaching their limit.

Recent blockades from the griffons and northern pony tribes had cut off their hive from escaping the mountain range. Even if they decided to abandon their great underground halls, they had nowhere to go. Mother had exhausted every option to the point that she no longer held back public displays of aggression towards those that had deserted them. It had been years since mother had even spoken to her child with more than a few words per day.

Princess Chrysalis was taller now. She had the look of a young queen, though she didn't feel like one. She felt more like a starving changeling, which she was. The entire hive had been beset with starvation and had endured it for years. The breaking point was soon upon them because the hatcheries had used the last of their reserve sustenance.

She had seen it with her own eyes and couldn't for the life of her get the image out of her head. It festered in the hivemind, which she could no longer shut out. The screams were too strong. The hatchlings were dying even as they came from the eggs. Pitiful sounds came from their small helpless mouths, the last sounds they ever made. It drove Chrysalis insane. She was depressed at the death and she was angry over the needlessness of it.

Who were the other races to kill them off like this? What could possibly be going through their minds to justify it? Mother had said it was a shift in global politics and culture. Other nations needed a scapegoat for their internal problems and the best target happened to be foreigners recently out of favor with Equestria.

Chrysalis crawled across her ring and grabbed her worn brush. She could no longer levitate it with her green magic because she didn't have the strength. The last time she had tried going against mother's orders to steal love had ended in disaster, so she had to make due without magic. The extra strain on her body only made the lack of sustenance worse.

She brushed twice before it snagged. Rather than simply pull against her mane, it tangled in the strands and took them with it when she fumbled it away from her head. Her mane was starting to fall out, as if she needed another reason to cry. Brush forgotten, she crawled over to an item on the other side of her ring.

Her face flashed a weak smile for just a fraction of a second that she hadn't felt. She grabbed the small black device. It was almost like a cone, except it had an odd antennae protrusion with a green light on the end. Well, the light would have been green if it had any power. At the moment, it was just as black as the rest of it because there was no energy in the device.

As Chrysalis laid back on the padding of her ring, she clutched the odd thing close to her chest. To any normal changeling, it was just a piece of junk. To her, it was everything she cherished in the life she once had. The past of love, understanding, and gentleness was forever gone. Nothing could get it back.

She wanted mother to be like her old self again. She wanted the world not to hate her and her kind. She wanted grandmother to be alive again. The oldest and wisest ruler the hive had been blessed with in the last millennium had passed away months ago from the hive's deteriorating condition. It had been her that had spoken the last words of kindness to Chrysalis.

The princess changeling gripped her self-made clod construction tighter. Grandmother's last words had been faint almost to the point of being lost in the roar of the suffering hivemind. What she said had been kind and loving, though Chrysalis knew the words couldn't be true. She said that one day there would be no more suffering and Chrysalis would have the love she always dreamed of.

She hadn't realized the padding below her face had become damp. It was a cracking sound from the spot near her chest that snapped her to attention. She had subconsciously been gripping her device so tight that it had cracked. Age had worn it down and even her weak condition had allowed her to break it.

Nothing stopped her from crying long and hard after that. There was no changeling to comfort her because they were all too busy with their own painful existence. Some mention went through the hivemind of another failed attempt to obtain love sustenance outside of the hive's domain. Of course it failed. Everything ended in failure these days.

Starved and broken both inside and outside, Chrysalis cried herself to sleep. It wasn't restful. Every night was filled with nightmares.

The flood of memories wrenched at Queen Twilight Sparkle's heart. It wasn't the fact that Chrysalis had witnessed such horrors or had been broken over it, though she did feel for her changeling. What terrified Twilight was that present-day Chrysalis was reliving the emotions through the recollection. As Twilight's connection continued to strengthen, they both began to feel the weight of the memories. It was as if they were both actually in the moments, feeling every painful nuance.

This couldn't go on. The memories were getting worse and it was clear that Past Chrysalis' mind was breaking. She had lost her sanity at one point due to the suffering and that brokenness was coming out of the memories and straight at Present Chrysalis and Twilight. This wasn't supposed to happen. As queen, she could and would stop it before it got out of hoof.

The next memory came flooding in with even greater intensity.

Twilight panicked. This was not supposed to happen. It should have stopped. She willed it to stop. With fresh horror all her own, she realized she was no longer in control of what was happening. The next memory pulled her in like a tiny fish in a maelstrom.

A young Queen Chrysalis pounded the bottom of her holey hoof against a rock. She laughed because the stomping had killed a tiny bug. Stupid things. They were born specifically so that they would die. It was a shame it couldn't endure a little torment first, though. Perhaps she should find a way to torture the things before squishing them underhoof.

No, she had better things to do. Wiping off the remains on the edge of the rock, she turned back to her elite cadre of changeling warriors. No more would the world's hatred decide her fate. She would take command of destiny and show everyone the fury of the changelings. Not a speck of mercy would they get. No compassion either. She'd laugh in their faces.

We've broken through the eastern pass, one of her warriors reported in the hivemind. But the griffons have been hardened by the siege and offered no sustenance.

“Leave them plastered to the cliff wall,” Chrysalis bit out in a loud buzzy voice. It cracked with venom. “They can starve and die up there. It's the very least they deserve for what they've done. If I had my way, they'd all be shackled into the living flames of Tartarus!”

Months ago, she would never have believed it possible to fight her way out of the disease-ridden hive chambers. Excess amount of death had given them plagues that worked as both a blessing and curse. Many were dead, but the ones that survived were stronger than even a well-nourished changeling warrior. Sickness and starvation only drove them into blind and deadly rage. Most of them would die along the way, but it would be worth it.

As if in opposition to her, the fierce wind of the day tore against her face and whipped her long messy mane backwards. It was stronger than usual and the overcast sky threatened to bring more punishment in the form of hard rain – possibly hail. Thunder could be heard far in the distance. Fitting, she thought.

“Come,” she commanded her group of soldier changelings. They hadn't been real soldiers until she declared them as such because all of the properly trained warriors were long dead. “Everything we will ever need is out there waiting for us.”

Not a single one defied Chrysalis. She was, after all, the last living royal changeling in the hive. The ones that hadn't starved to death were claimed by disease. The ones that hadn't died of sickness were killed by the sieging forces upon attempted escape. That was how mother had gone. Her last attempt to open a path for her hive to leave by had ended in failure and her last breath.

Waiting in a dying hive for mother to return was not something Chrysalis had enjoyed. Especially so when she later came to realize her mother was never coming back. The life she had some dying ember of a hope to reclaim...well, it was as dead as everything else. If the world wanted to play a game of blood-letting then she would oblige twofold.

Queen Chrysalis squinted against the wind and forced her aching body to run down the fern-ridden path. The overgrown walkway would lead them through one of the mountain ridge's exits that opened up to the northwestern side. The dark rock and deep green near-jungle broke to great dry savannas populated by an assortment of griffons, ponies, and zebras. There was at least one large city there due to the critical trade route that ran through the area. That was Priority One.

How will we overcome their numbers? the second-in-command changeling asked. He was panting from behind, trying to keep pace with the rest of his beaten, starved, and sick warriors. We cannot succeed again as we did in the pass.

Chrysalis let a dark giggle loose. “Another hive has been sieged further up the ridge. Hivemind activity indicates they still have several usable cadres. We can fuel them with the villages along the way and then strike the capital at its core. The northern states will draw in to protect the trade route and eliminate our 'proven' evil. The cadres have been sharpened in prolonged guerrilla fighting during the siege. We'll bleed them out until we have enough sustenance to move on.”

The changeling gulped in fear. He knew through his own part of the hivemind that Chrysalis was always clever, but she had never been so terrifyingly vindictive before.

A less fearful warrior decided to venture a question. Move on to where?

Chrysalis' hooves slipped on a rock underhoof. Something cut her, but pain was long from having meaning. “The next city, the next nation. Whatever it takes to restore the hive and feed our needs. Who knows? Perhaps one day we will even reach Equestria. I'd love to see the look on that old hag's face when we take that capital!”

The wind was against them and a light sprinkling of rain began as they finally came across the rocky canyon that her warriors had defeated the griffons within. She saw evidence of the chaos that had occurred, losses on both sides. Most were changelings, but she paid it no mind and focused on the group of survivors. Ordering them up to her smaller group, she started them to the other side of the pass.

Cracked stone was beneath their hooves and vines covered the rock walls on both sides. Everything started to get damp from the sprinkling and the wind made the water streak. A sparkle of joy spread in Chrysalis' heart. They were finally free. Sick and dying, but they were free.

Everyone was about to reap from the hatred they had sown.

Twilight realized in her panic that she had lost her hivemind form. The others were gone too. What happened to them? Chrysalis was only a small glowing light of green in front of her. The memories hadn't stopped and had never gotten any better. The pony queen felt as if her eyes were on fire.

A bright white light was starting to glow from them, noticeable to her only because they started projecting that pure light into the dark void around her. Green tendrils of energy were crackling out from Chrysalis' orb and striking her without causing pain. They actually only increased the power Twilight felt surging up within her. She knew this feeling. It had happened before during her entrance exam...right before Princess Celestia took her as her personal student...

No!

Twilight wanted to scream the word, but it didn't come from her mouth. She had no mouth, no physical representation. She would have to wake up and return to the real world so she could have a voice again. As if her panic needed some assistance in escalating, she realized she couldn't wake up. She was trapped with her own magic spiraling out of control.

It had been many long years since she had felt this way. The fear of the raw power was overwhelming. There was the fear that she would harm others. What if she had already hurt her friends? They were nowhere to be found. What if she hurt Chrysalis? The changeling had already gone through so much. What if she hurt herself? Could she die from this? Would the magic continue to surge until her body and mind could take no more?

Chrysalis' next memory was of war. There was no prettier way to describe it and, true to reality, the flashes of violence seemed only random and avoidable in hindsight. Twilight didn't want to see any more. She didn't want to know because she already accepted Chrysalis for who she was in the present. The past need not have weight.

The former queen changeling laughed even as she struck down another pony. That made eighty-three. Even the elite members of the cadre didn't have that kind of number for just a single day's worth of fighting. She was strong now, nigh invincible. She had drained so much love energy from unsuspecting sentients that all of her wounds were healed and her attacks struck as powerful as lightning itself.

Well, “sentients” was a bit of a strong term to use as reference for the filth. They had the intellect of worms and ethics even worse than that. They were, after all, one of the nations that had used the changelings as scapegoats for internal political machinations. To them, changelings were an insignificant ethnic group that could be blamed for anything and most would believe it. Perhaps Chrysalis was now proving some of the previously untrue lies that changelings were physically violent by nature. She didn't care. Non-changelings deserved everything they were now getting.

The sound of battle raged on all around. Changelings fought with ponies, griffons, and zebras. Anything and everything was used for offense and defense. Hooves, claws, teeth, horns, swords, pieces of rubble from the war-torn city. Some even had a new form of rudimentary weapon that was responsible for the booming noises that filled the city. Racks of the things had come in on one of the supply trains. They were made of wood and metal, sparked with fire, and shot deadly pellets from one end.

Chrysalis laughed as one pony tried to use one against her. They were clumsy and slow weapons in the hooves of those that were equally so. The pellet missed her, though it would have easily been blocked with her magic if it had not. She charged the attacker and made short work of her.

This was the situation she had schemed into existence and not one thing had gone wrong. For her anyways. Everything seemed to be going wrong for the savanna nation. They had called in every ally and even some of their enemies who were bored enough to accept. Nothing helped. The queen's changelings faded in and out both with expertly-timed disguises and well-hidden tunnels.

Some changeling hives took to building villages and cities reminiscent of ponies, but those that Chrysalis knew had kept to their underground roots. That meant that her fighting changelings were experts at tunneling, which the defenders were not. In fact, the griffons still had a hard time even comprehending the concept because they were prisoners of the sky.

The body count rose only when it was necessary. Chrysalis may have deserted some of her sanity, but not to the point that it hurt her ability to survive. Love sustenance could only be obtained from the living, after all.

The queen supposed, as she used her magic to drag the unconscious mare behind her, that all good things had to come to an end. It would only take the defenders so long to decide that the city was lost. They would fall back and use some cowardly tactic such as gas or magical bombing. Chrysalis and her hive survivors already had all the “loot” they needed to live off of, which meant staying was an unnecessary risk.

The female pony that the queen had knocked out was young. Probably a greenhorn with the tired ideal of defending her country. An evil country, but a country nonetheless. The worker changelings would have her out of the temporary harness cocoon and fitted into a new long-term one in no time. They had become amazingly fast at it in the last week.

The sounds of war and chaos continued on around Queen Chrysalis. The hot air made everything in the distance wave with the heat and the glaring sun above offered no respite. Not a cloud was in the sky and not a green blade of grass could be found below it. What grass did exist was painted in yellows and light browns. Larger plants, such as trees, were formed in odd bulbous shapes and were completely crooked in their growth – assuming they weren't dead. It was hard to tell.

Chrysalis found her destination she had been heading towards with her latest prize. It was an inn. Correction: it used to be an inn. The flat tan front facing the dusty rubble-ridden street was about as inviting as a train wreck, but that may have had something to do with the actual train that had blasted straight through its walls.

The train track that ran elevated over the city had been broken down in places from all the fighting. One glorious night battle had seen a pair of pylons, which acted as critical support, crumble just as a fresh supply of zebra war supplies were being transported overhead. The train plummeted down with angry zeal, plowed through several building by sheer momentum, and finally stopped inside the inn. Supply cars were strewn behind in mangled arrays, packs of rations and munitions raided by changelings before the defenders could recover them.

It took a bit more doing for Chrysalis to haul the unconscious mare over the rubble of the collapsed inn's front. She managed it and smiled when one of her changelings greeted her. He was near the underground tunnel entrance hidden in one of the ruin's dark alcoves.

I can take that one if you want to go grab number eighty-four, he grinned with his tiny sharp teeth.

Chrysalis giggled at the joke. “Appreciated, but unnecessary. We must remove ourselves from the city and collapse all tunnels on the way out.”

That seemed to surprise him, though he should have suspected as much through the hivemind. Nodding, he grabbed subject “eighty-three” and offered for his queen to be first down the hole. She had to encourage him to go instead and, when he did, she warmed up her magic and followed.

The queen dropped into the darkness. It wasn't too far a depth, but it was deep enough not to easily collapse on its own. She intended to do that manually, which she charged up her magic for. The changeling with the unconscious mare was headed down the tunnel towards the Advance Operations chamber and would be safe from what the queen was about to do.

Her green magic made a little bit of the slightly-coolor-than-topside soil visible. Backing away, she ignited her custom spell into the entrance. Large amounts of dirt and rocks blew this way and that, bouncing off of the magic shield Chrysalis had prepared for herself. When it finally settled down, no more light from the surface invaded the underground space. The tunnel entrance was sealed and nobody would be able to tell from the top that there had ever been an entrance in the first place. The city was in ruins anyhow.

The large royal changeling darted down the tunnel until, after a significant amount of time, she reached the Operations chamber. Over a hundred changelings swarmed about in the cramped place. Some were handling new prisoners, some were maintaining the cocoon prisons, and others were treating wounded changelings. Some were even treating wounded prisoners. Sources of food needed to be protected, after all.

The dim green lighting of the place was natural to them and a soothing rest for their eyes compared to the blazing bright inferno that was the surface. It was cooler here, though not by too much due to the mass of live bodies. Because of the hivemind, the sounds that filled the chamber were mostly of buzzing changeling wings rather than spoken words.

“Ah,” Chrysalis sighed openly.

She could feel her hive bending towards her will already. Warriors out in the battle above were reeling in the last of their captures and disappearing into the tunnels. Ponies, griffons, and zebras started to surge forward to reclaim territory they had been clawing away for weeks to get back. They would have it back. They would have every worthless blasted hoof-sized increment of ruin back.

Rumbling and crashing sounds could be heard down other tunnels leading to the Operations chamber. Various entrances throughout the city were being sealed up. Changelings were hauling their “loot” back in droves, testament to their battle-hardened expertise. The chamber was being overwhelmed by more prisoners than the cocoon spinners could handle.

Chrysalis worked her way into the center of the chamber. She liked addressing her survivors from a spot where they would not only hear her in the hivemind but also physically see her. They knew she was about to address them again and so their attention locked on.

“My wonderful little changelings,” Chrysalis beamed with a half-crazed smile. “We have won!”

The roar of success through the hivemind was so loud and immediate that it made even the queen herself wince.

“Begin taking the finished cocoons through the southern exit tunnel. I will lead you all to our next destination. One third of you must stay to finish with the new captures. One half of the fighters will stay to ensure security until the cocoons are finished.”

They all cheered again in the hivemind, the only physical noise in the chamber being of happily buzzing wings.

“Let us be on our way,” she concluded and headed towards the exit tunnel. Some overjoyed changeling had comically marked it with a large green-glowing exit sign. She smiled and thought aloud to herself as she lead her hive. “Through our struggles, we have been perfected.”

35 - Collapse is Compensation

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Queen Twilight Sparkle was in pain. She wanted to regain control, but she couldn't. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Chrysalis had been right to warn her. She wanted to turn back time and heed those words. Overconfidence had been her undoing. It only pained her more because she had struggled so much with a lack of confidence in herself and now she felt like she could never be confident about anything ever again.

The memories swirled with colors she didn't like until she came to moments she dreaded the most. The back of her mind had warned her that this would come eventually. Part of her wanted to connect with Chrysalis on this point because it was so important. Part of her wanted to run away as far as possible. This was the climax of everything that had gone wrong.

Canterlot.

No! Anything but this. Twilight's immaterial tears tore her apart. Cadance was tricked into being alone with a servant pony she didn't know. The equine transformed into the changeling queen. Voiceless screams, physical violence, blackout. The pink princess was dumped into the caverns, audience to a gloat of victory from the queen when she awoke.

Emotions bled over directly into Twilight's very being. The horror of her situation was temporarily washed aside by the changeling's feelings of fulfillment for the successful invasion. The hive's survival was guaranteed and all those that had hurt them directly or indirectly had been defeated. A special torture would have to be planned out for the now fallen Celestia.

It turned sour. Their sustenance somehow became a weapon to repel them. The sheer power of the love was beyond anything Chrysalis had felt before. Twilight began feeling pains throughout a body she didn't have. The brunt force from Shining Armor and Cadance's love now attacked her. The non-existent carapace felt like it was on fire and cracked from top to bottom.

Air whistled by as she sailed through the sky. One of her wings bent...and snapped off. It felt like she was tumbling through treetops, thrashing one way and another through sharp branches. Ground assaulted her, bones broke, memories started to tangle. She came to and passed out again several times before the last event finished her off. Chrysalis could take no more in that moment, the memories becoming too powerful while she was at death's door. They fell together. They fell completely.

Queen Twilight Sparkle's mind broke.

Her eyes opened, white lights beaming from them. She was back in the real world and awake, though she couldn't see anything but blank whiteness. Perhaps she wasn't in the real world. Only the Element of Magic nestled deep inside of her - defining her - kept this moment from being her last. The Tree of Harmony's Elements had matured inside the six friends and used all their strength to stave off the end.

A single word screamed louder than any other that had come from Twilight's mouth.

“CELESTIAAAA!!!”

Princess Celestia had heard her name millions of times over thousands of years. She had heard it from bored royals proposing uninteresting and mundane laws in court. She had heard it as the dying word upon the lips of many ponies she had failed to save. She had only heard it like this once before in her entire life, though. This was the kind of shout that her little sister, Luna, had made when they had nearly died shortly after the death of their parents.

She knew Twilight's voice like the back of her hoof. She had practically raised the mare alongside the purple pony's biological parents. The tone of the scream sent a chill through her very bones. It was a chill she had promised never to feel again after what happened with Luna. Now it had happened again.

Princess Celestia was fully awake to begin with. She was in Luna's room, discussing details of their impending travel. For that matter, Discord was present as well, shooting off the late night hours quite literally from Luna's clock. They all heard the scream, which seemed to pierce through every wall of the castle.

Only a fraction of a second was spent before they all moved into action, Celestia a microsecond faster. Discord had practically paled. She had never seen that look on his face, which was so often painted with something goofy. They teleported by using magic that Celestia normally refrained from due to the massive energy requirement. But she wouldn't waste any time getting to Twilight and Discord didn't have usable magic of his own at the moment. He had used it all recently on Twilight...

Spike regained consciousness just before it happened. If matters had been different, he might have had the time to properly learn to control his magic. The situation had gone from bad to worse, however. He had no time to think and acted only on the instinct to survive and his desire to save the others.

Green lightning shot out a dozen times per second between Chrysalis and Twilight. The bed sheets had long been blown back to the far side of the room and there was no doubt that something about the connection had gone horribly wrong. Spike was still having afterimages and felt ill down to the pit of his normally indestructible stomach.

“AH!” screamed Pinkie Pie, who had rolled down the steps leading to the bed. She was holding her head with eyes closed and an intense expression of pain.

“No, stop!” Rarity cried out. Her eyes were also closed in pain as she attempted to crawl away from the lightning that repeatedly struck her.

Spike's small body shot into motion and his untapped magic came soaring out without any filter or manner of control. His body size started fluctuating drastically even as he jumped between Rarity and the assaulting lightning that originated from Chrysalis and Twilight. He didn't understand anything that was happening and the pain he soon felt from the lightning made him realize that he might never get the chance to.

Bolts struck his body again and again while his spines finished growing to twice the size of a pony. He wanted to be more, but he didn't have the necessary control. If only he was larger, he could protect everypony. He needed time to learn and master his magic. Time he didn't have. The lightning blackened his scales and his vision faded. He shouted to Rarity and everypony else.

“Run!”

Centurion shoved Flash Sentry back from the doorway. The younger stallion hadn't realized why until the door suddenly exploded outwards and struck the veteran square in the torso. Several hooves distance worth of bricks around the frame also exploded outwards, portions that would have hit Flash had he not been shoved out of the way.

The heavily built guardpony grunted from the impact but shook off the blow and, instead of running away from the danger area, he shot straight into the glowing smoke of the rubble. They had both heard Twilight scream Celestia's name a second before and it was clear that their royal charge was in mortal danger.

Flash Sentry may have been considered a greenhorn by some, but he was a guardpony and no coward. He darted in behind his superior. What he didn't anticipate was what he saw after he cleared the first smoke haze. Centurion was suddenly visible again, being tossed through the air to the other side of the room. A massive green lightning bolt was electrocuting him. Fear gripped Flash's heart but did not impede his resolve to make it to Twilight. Only a mismatched paw and claw withheld him.

“Get back!” shouted an unexpected voice.

Flash had never met Discord before, but the seriousness in the creature's tone gave him something new to fear.

Whatever happened had occurred so quickly that it was impossible for the alicorn sisters to make sense of it. The room was literally falling apart now. Lightning struck the walls, floor, and ceiling. Bits of stone brick splintered from the hits and some of them exploded outwards entirely. Key supports along the wall were cracked, some breaking and collapsing the ceiling downwards. There would be no time to take in the sights. This part of the castle was about to come down on their heads.

Celestia had seen Twilight like this once before, sans the green lightning and the rainbow-colored sphere that flickered on and off around her like a half-broken lightbulb. The incident that occurred when Twilight was a filly was merely a result of massive untempered magical energy. Now that Twilight's abilities had matured so much, this event had the potential to be worse. Far worse. The green lightning connected down to an unconscious Chrysalis, which meant Twilight's out-of-control magic was linked to changeling energy.

“My magic isn't working,” Luna worriedly called out, using her wings to fly up and avoid tendrils of lightning that tried to grab her. Indeed the dark alicorn's near-black magic aura frizzed out when it tried to beam from her horn towards Twilight. “How do we stop this?!”

The roar of the snapping green energy and the collapsing stone made it hard to hear each other even when they shouted. Princess Celestia knew there was no time to think or reason it out. She had to act immediately, regardless of how ill-advised her plan was. She thought that she might be able to reach into Twilight's magical source the way she had that first time. Her magic would calm and everything would be alright.

Thus the Princess of the Sun jumped up towards Twilight, pushing with her massive wings when it became clear she would have to fly the distance not covered by her spring. Lightning curved mid-arc in an attempt to overwhelm her, as if it had it out for white alicorns. Celestia's subconscious dealt with each strike by deflecting the bolts with her powerful star-hued magic.

“Twilight!” Celestia called as she reached forward at the end of her short flight. Her golden horseshoes entered the rainbow sphere around Twilight for just a second before white light exploded outwards from the younger mare.

None of the guards that came rushing to the scene were able to make out much from the rubble. Canterlot Castle had completely collapsed on the southeast wing. There was so much junk stone piled in a billowing heap that it took the entire Canterlot Guard's unicorn division to get to what used to be the visitor's bedchamber. By that time, daybreak had arrived.

Discord, lord of chaos and fine connoisseur of mayhem, decided that there did exist some forms of chaos that he didn't like. His chaos was one of laughter and enjoyment. This chaos was just...well, it certainly didn't make him laugh. His head hurt and it felt as if some part of him may have been broken.

“Discord?” Celestia groaned as she became conscious.

Her vision was terrible and everything appeared to be bathed in a tinted light that might have been blue or green. It was hard to tell. She was laid painfully on some sort of medical bed. It wasn't the bed that was uncomfortable, but rather it was her own body. She ached all over. Only the plush silkiness of the massive bed made her condition feel bearable.

As her mind started to come into order, she realized that this was a room she only vaguely remembered. Some royal unicorn looking to get in on her good graces had built a special wing at the Canterlot Hospital that was made for Celestia's sole use. Of course, it was a ridiculous idea since Celestia hardly ever got hurt in the first place. She had rolled her eyes at the unicorn back then. Now she wanted to find the pony and praise his foresight.

Discord was indeed standing at one side of her bed. An unamused and almost bitter expression was written upon his countenance. A coin was being flipped over and over from his eagle's claw. Or was it a griffon's claw?

“Now that your majesty is conscious,” his voice dripped with annoyance, “might I begin my carefully prepared complaints?”

“Quietly,” Celestia replied. “Start with Twilight. Is she okay?”

Her voice was coarse and her lungs ached at the action. Of more importance to her, however, was her smaller sister. Luna was curled up asleep next to her on the bed, likely against the wishes of the tending doctors and nurses. There seemed to be about a half dozen of the medical ponies present in the room, monitoring various devices and charts that ran data on Celestia's condition. Something was keeping them busy enough that they didn't think to swarm the royal princess with their relief at her return to consciousness.

Discord rolled his eyes, though he did not do so literally this time. Something had him in a sour mood indeed. “Yes, of course. I go spending all of my magical reserves to ensure Twilight's safety in our absence and what does she do? The one thing my magic was not intended to prevent!”

“Being?” Celestia prompted him with her tired tone. She wanted to know what had happened, but her body was not quite up to the task. It felt as if she might fall asleep from some kind of exhaustion.

“Self-initiated harm,” he frowned. “No, don't give me that look, Tia. They're all as fine as can be expected. Nobody died.”

Celestia was so relieved that she almost let herself drop back into unconsciousness. Discord's next words prevented that.

“But some of them might now wish that they had,” he added in a dark manner. “By the way, you might want to know that little Lulu there never left your side. Seems her loyalty to you is stronger than any friendship she has with the so-called 'Elements of Harmony.'”

Celestia furrowed her brows at his use of air quotes on the Elements, but she looked back to her little sister fondly. That was just like Luna to stay by her side. The lunar mare was even holding Celestia's right forehoof with both of hers, as if she were afraid her sister might leave her.

“You've been out for a week,” Discord continued. “I don't think I've felt so miserable for so long before, even when I was encased in stone! It's Fluttershy mainly. I go putting all my chips down on this friendship thing and...and...”

“You know what it's like now to have empathy for a friend,” Celestia finished for him. She smiled, though she knew it was a less than happy experience for the draconequus. “Is she alright?”

“Fluttershy?” Discord kept his frown and averted his gaze. “No. She's torn to pieces over what happened. I've tried every slight of claw and paw I know and nothing cheers her up.”

“What did happen?” Celestia's smile disappeared. She still needed more information.

It was then that one of the doctors finally stepped forward and interrupted.

“Your highness!” she exclaimed in obvious relief. “I can't tell you how relieved we are that you're alright. You gave us such a scare! Medical history has never recorded such low life support throughout your internal systems. Your heart nearly stopped.”

“I'm alright,” Celestia assured the unicorn mare. Some of the other doctors and nurses were by the speaker's side. “I've had worse days, believe me. Discord, please continue.”

The depressed creature of chaos had slithered onto the far side of the bed and toyed uselessly with a corner of the sheets. It was eerie to see him so glum. Perhaps it was the contrast to the predictability of his character.

“I've gotten a small amount of my magic back over the past few days and I immediately used it to do a little investigating. The problem lies with Queen Twilight.”

The female nurse spoke up again. “Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie are all here in the intensive care division. Coma condition. We tried separating the...uh...Chrysalis, but we encountered a negative magical feedback. One of Twilight's guards, Centurion, is also in intensive care. We expect him to have a full recovery within the month. Some less severe care has been applied for Applejack.”

“Applejack?” Celestia questioned. She hadn't remembered that mare being present at the event.

“Yes,” the doctor turned a tad sheepish. “She caused some commotion upon arriving at the hospital. Some of the guards had to restrain her and a few tables, chairs, and walls may have been...reconstructed during the...altercation...”

Celestia smiled once more at hearing the doctor's difficulty with wording the event. From what she knew of the Element of Honesty, it made sense that she'd come barging in wanting to take names. Celestia tried not to think of the implications of their current state of affairs. Having herself and Discord low on energy and four of the six Elements of Harmony in a coma left Equestria on highly tentative grounds security-wise.

“She's alright, though,” the doctor concluded. “Just a few scratches.”

“Far less than Rainbow Dash,” Discord said, still toying with the edge of the sheets. He hadn't lost his lack of cheer. Gears turned quite literally within his eyes, some part of him trying to work out the problem in such a way that he could turn it all into some light-hearted joke. “She had the worst injuries. Best of the best doctors and they still don't know. Personally, I'm inclined to think she'll live.”

“What does he mean?” Celestia returned her attention to the unicorn mare.

“Ms. Rainbow Dash received multiple high-voltage electrocutions. Pegasi are naturally resilient against storm weather, but...”

“But?” Celestia prodded.

“We haven't been able to properly diagnosis the electrical magic produced from Chrysalis. Or Twilight for that matter,” she tacked on. Most of the other nurses and doctors had returned to viewing the readouts and diagrams littered throughout the room.

Celestia sighed. She hoped that the extra breath would make her feel better, but it didn't. Luna finally stirred in her spot, one eye groggily opening. After recognizing Celestia's conscious state, both eyes shot open in an instant.

“Tia!” Luna exclaimed louder than anyone else had been thus far. The dark alicorn hugged her sister as if her life depended on it. She apparently had no regard for the other occupants of the room observing this.

“Good morning to you too,” Celestia croaked from within the stranglehold.

“Actually, it's the afternoon,” Luna made a pouting face after leaning back from her elder. Her voice wobbled with the tears in her eyes. “We've been keeping close track of daytime since you passed out.”

Celestia leaned back on the bed sheets once more, somehow more at ease because of her little sister's slip of the old language. “What were you saying about your investigations, Discord?”

The draconequus finally stopped messing with the sheets and rolled upwards so that he was sitting on the bed's edge. By some slight of paw, he produced a full deck of cards from thin air and proceeded to play a game of War against himself. His unamused expression hadn't flown away.

“Twilight finally took on more than she could chew,” he began in the tone of a Canterlot elitist. A top hat, a monocle, and a bubble pipe poofed into existence upon him. “I invested heavily in analytical magic, which I admit I'm not all that good at. Mostly stick to causing problems rather than solving them. Anyways, I found the heart of the trouble. Blasted ponies,” he puffed some bubbles from the pipe, “think they can just loop their minds together and not get all tangled up. Twilight's mind is stuck with that of the changeling.”

“I see...” Celestia hummed to herself. She was trying to come up with ideas.

Luna grabbed her sister's attention. “We believe that, until their identities are resolved within the hivemind, all the members that were connected at the time will remain comatose. Centurion was only injured physically, but two of Twilight's guards were connected at the moment of the incident. They're comatose as well.”

“So the question is?” Celestia sighed again due to her tiredness.

She looked to one side of the room that had a large window letting in the sunlight. Luna must have been handling a multitude of affairs while she had been unconscious. Raising and lowering the sun in addition to the moon for an entire week had to have put a strain on her sister.

Discord flicked a card atop the sheets Celestia was half beneath. The large white alicorn was able to look down and see what it was. No surprise. It was a joker card with the contrastingly gleeful visage of Discord upon it. He was dressed in a goofy jester outfit. When she looked back over to the real version, she found him suddenly wearing the same getup.

“How do we quickly fix our little queen's problem so that we can move on with our own journey?” Discord's mouth caught the edge of a grin. Some scheme had obviously worked itself out within the gears in his eyes. “Fight chaos with chaos.”

“No,” Luna immediately rejected it. She knew instantly what the odd creature meant.

“I just need a teeny-tiny boost of magic,” Discord offered with a full grin, “and I can control the chaos that's darkened Twilight's mind. And I won't even have to join her band of mental compadres either.”

“Don't do it, Tia,” Luna warned her exhausted sister. “He just wants to take advantage of the situation. Without the Elements-”

“No,” Celestia calmed her sibling by moving a weak forehoof to Luna's mouth. “I trust Discord.”

The draconequus beamed at that.

“Twilight needs help as soon as possible and there's nothing we can do ourselves. Breaking the hivemind bond would be far more dangerous and would harm all of them long-term. Discord, you have my blessing.”

“Excellent!” he exclaimed as he stood up fully on the bed. His cards scattered into butterflies and his jester costume transformed into a surgeon's scrubs. “Who will be the lucky super-powerful alicorn to give me their magic?”

Discord was looking straight at Luna, who then looked to Celestia, who looked back at her.

“What?” Luna furrowed her brows and took on an expression of disgust. “No. Tia, no. I won't let that snake have my magic.”

“It's only temporary,” Celestia begged in her weak voice. It softened her sister considerably to hear that kind of tone. “If not for Twilight, then at least for me...”

Seeing Princess Luna's face falter under the wording, Discord whipped out a defibrillator as easy as he had done with the cards. Levitating it mid-air, he took the paddles off and started sparking them against each other. “Oh, goodie!” he regained his full glee at last. “I always wanted to be a doctor!”

The actual doctors in the room gave him mixed looks of disdain and horror.

The air honestly hadn't changed much. If one was to be in a hospital then one had to come to terms with the fact that the “hospital smell” would follow into every room. Though, perhaps this particular room was a tad more sterile than Celestia's private wing. There was a kind of light spring fragrance in that special wing of the hospital, for some reason.

This large circular room was stocked full of medical machinery. Masses of wires and magical observation devices were directed towards seven beds that lined one side of the room. On those medical beds, from left to right, were Midnight Strike, Direway, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Chrysalis, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash. Some had more machines than others, Rainbow Dash's bed being completely encased within a glass shield for her critical condition. All of them were in a full coma state.

“What're you doin' here?” Applejack glared angrily at the draconequus as he waltzed carefree into the intensive care room. She didn't like him much to begin with and she sure didn't like him after this most recent incident. It wouldn't surprise her if he even had a claw in what happened.

“Oh, tut tut, my little Applejack,” he waved a paw as he approached the medical bed that the pony was standing beside. It held Rainbow Dash. “I'm here to save the day. Isn't that what all masters of chaos do every weekend?”

“B-but,” squeaked a small voice that didn't sound to be in much better shape than Princess Celestia's. Fluttershy almost failed to utter the rest of the words, her face ashen from her place beside Twilight's bed. Her mane was a mess and it appeared as if she hadn't slept in days. “Y-you said you didn't have the s-strength...”

“Yeah,” a familiar but slightly deeper than usual voice added in from the other side of Twilight's bed. It was Spike, the dragon who had miraculously escaped the troubled hivemind and survived the lightning. His scales were still burnt and his body was now fixed at a teen size about two and a half times that of a pony. “What changed?”

Discord was too happy to register the drake's skepticism. “The power of the moon is truly a wonderful thing. I believe I shall be respecting dear Lulu a little bit more from now on.”

“Oooh, nelly!” Applejack remarked wide-eyed upon realizing what he meant.

“As you can see,” Discord laughed jovially and gestured to his surgeon's scrubs, “I'm fully qualified. It won't take two shakes of a pink ewe's fluffy tail before I have everypony in tip top shape.”

Applejack remained worried, Fluttershy let herself fall for a hope, and Spike remained rooted in place. He was unsure whether he could trust the misshapen creature or not. Discord, on the other claw, was quite sure of what to do. He used a blast of magic to replace his scrubs with a magician's cloak and top hat.

“Let the magic begin!”

36 - Recovery is Tiring

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Discord?” asked a very concerned pink alicorn.

“I'm sure it'll be fine,” Shining Armor tried comforting his wife. “If Princess Celestia trusted him to do this then there should be no worries...”

Cadance could hear the uncertainty in her husband's voice regardless of his words of assurance. She couldn't help but pace back and forth in the hospital hallway, wanting to peer inside the intensive care room. She was too scared to do it.

“This is Twily we're talking about,” Shining Armor tried again. “She's the strongest mare alive. Besides you, of course.”

A sad smile came onto Cadance's face. The way her stallion had tacked on that last bit was an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. She kept pacing, however.

“You're right,” she agreed. “And Luna seemed confident about it as well. It's just been – how long has it been?”

“Two hours,” Shining answered. He had been glancing to the hallway clock every five minutes since they had arrived.

“Plus the hour he had already been working before we got here,” Cadance began humming nervously to herself. “What could be taking so long?”

“And then the rabbit said to the fish: That's not a carrot. That's my eulogy!”

Queen Twilight Sparkle sat there in the dark empty void, staring blankly at the draconequus. Her face was as stiff as stone. She didn't get the punchline, though she blinked a few times in an attempt to.

“Ugh,” Discord groaned and dropped his arms in frustration. “You ponies don't have a micron of humor in your bodies. Or whatever it is we're supposed to be right now. Creating a representation of the real world in a fake mental world is just confusing. No wonder you got all jumbled together! I'm not one to complain about chaos, but it's an art. What you've done here is just too blasé.”

Twilight finally moved to speak. “Where am I? What're you doing here?”

Discord's eyebrows flattened in a deadpan expression.

“Where's that changeling?” Twilight asked with a suddenly angry tone. “I'll snap him in two!”

The master of chaos floated up close to the queen and flicked her on the forehead right below her horn. The pony went sailing backwards, flipping end over end. When she finally stopped, her pupils were rolling in a spiral that she had to shake off.

“Discord?” she asked again when her vision cleared and she beheld the creature floating over to her once more. He was wearing an absurd knight's uniform.

“Do I have the honor,” he sniffed for no reason, “of addressing m'lady or some specter of mismatched persona?”

“Talk like normal and I'll tell you,” Twilight replied in an obviously snarky manner.

“Oh good,” Discord said and quickly threw off the uniform. “You're back. I really didn't want to keep that outfit on for more than a few lines. Itches like an alpaca sweater.”

“What're you talking about? I've been here all along.”

Discord's frown returned, though his positive mood was hardly dampened. “Not remembering recent events well, Sparkle? Let me recap for you. The hivemind got messed up. Your hivemind. Connecting to Chrysalis was the last straw that your mind couldn't take. Your identities fused and triggered a large release of magical energy stored up within both of you. I reset the hivemind and Chrysalis' connection is complete and in order, no charge. I've paused the active links until your confusion has abated. Go ahead. Fail to thank me.”

Queen Twilight Sparkle sat there in the void again, speechless. Was this really Discord? The Discord? Master of chaos and chief troublemaker? Why would he do all of this for her?

“I'm in your mind, my little pony,” Discord literally tossed the frown from his face. It landed in a trashcan nearby, which quickly popped out of existence. With his eagle's claw, he drew on a smile instead. “In spite of everypony not trusting and generally failing to be a good friend to me,” he made heavy use of air quotes, “I have studied this friendship thing very hard. I read all of your letters and diary entries-”

“Hey!” Twilight complained about the invasion of her privacy.

“-and I must admit in all forms of humility that I, Discord, have transformed into the flawless butterfly of the perfect friend!”

He killed the moment of grandeur at the end by snickering. The purple alicorn, however, was stumped. Her mind ran through the basics to confirm all that the draconequus had said. Her connections did feel alive, but they were muted. Stuck, as if time itself had been put on pause. Vague memories came back to her. They were of pain and desperation, though their intensity was almost non-existent.

“Dear Queen Twilight,” Discord chuckled. He whipped her changeling crown out of nowhere and placed it on her head. “Why do you not learn from your own lessons? You already have all the knowledge you need to be a good friend, yet you forget constantly.”

Twilight's confusion continued to drain away as she comprehended the situation. Her gaze drooped downwards because the chaos-bringer had hit a sore spot. Now more than ever, she was struggling to make sense of the complex relationships she had gotten herself into.

“Lectures and lessons are easy on paper,” she replied, almost sad. “It's much harder to translate them into a real-life relationship.”

“Pfft,” Discord stuck out his tongue, which dropped down to half his body size. It rolled back up obscenely. “Oh, please. Am I invisible to you, Twilight?”

“Huh?” the queen looked back up to him.

“Has that logical brain of yours not returned yet? Who do you think you're looking at?”

Twilight pursed her lips and decided to go along with it, not seeing the immediate point. “Discord, master of chaos and disharmony?”

“Precisely,” he flicked her on the tip of her horn. She didn't tumble back this time, but it still stung a bit. “And yet here I am giving all I have for your sake. What do you think this is doing to my image? You better not tell anypony about this. My reputation would be ruined. It's already bad enough that I'm using Luna's magic rather than my own. Didn't think she'd give it over that easy, but-”

“Wait, what?!” Twilight's eyes shot open to the size of dinner plates.

“Hush now,” Discord put a claw to his lips. A grin laid behind it. “Quiet now.”

“You stole Luna's magic?!”

“She gave it to me. Small difference, I know.”

“Ugh,” Twilight held her head, trying to work out the mess that would await her when she awoke from the hivemind session. Her head came back up when a paw forced her chin up.

A small bit of seriousness was visible in Discord's eyes, something that was not often seen. “The point I was trying to make a moment ago was that you can be whatever you choose to be in life, Twilight. I decided that I wanted friendship, which is why I am here doing what I am. Change is not about destiny. It's about what you decide is important in life.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

“I thought that's what good friends did for each other. It's what you did for Fluttershy,” he stopped himself before revealing that he had a paw in that relationship. “You better make good on that promise you made her, else I'll be forced to stand up for her. You don't want that, Twily.”

It was the weirdest thing to hear that unique tone in Discord's voice. The sensation was almost as if Discord believed himself to be Fluttershy's older brother, responsible for ensuring her feelings were never damaged in an intimate relationship.

“Though I will be gone for quite some time,” the draconequus wondered aloud. “Perhaps I'll pull one last string before I close the curtains.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight crossed her forehooves as she was sitting. It was annoying when he thought to himself but was mentally inaccessible within her own mind.

As suddenly as Discord always did such things, a psychiatrist's couch poofed into existence beneath the queen. Discord was randomly in a fancy leather chair with a fine pressed suit and pair of glasses on his face. A notebook and a pen were in each of his mismatched appendages. The control he had within Twilight's hivemind space bothered her, but she supposed that it came from his usual bout of chaotic magic. It would be simple for him to do with a magical source as powerful as Luna's.

“You have a lot of problems, Twilight,” he began in a terribly professional tone. It lacked emotion and yet attempted to draw out her feelings. Discord the Psychiatrist. The world was coming to an end. “Tell me about them.”

“Oh, c'mon!” Twilight grumped from her new laid-down position on the bed/sofa thing.

“Tsk, tsk,” Discord tutted and wrote some notes in his book. “Chrysalis, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all have very serious feelings for you and you've only made vague promises in return.”

“That's not true,” Twilight denied. Why was Discord doing this?

“Is it? Or has your hivemind connection already revealed the unfulfilled hopes of those three mares? The same hopes you hang out in the air, making them think you'll devote yourself to them more intimately in the future.”

That struck a nerve. Twilight used her magic, now thankfully under control, to make the couch-thing disappear. She stood on her hooves, glaring intensely at the creature of chaos.

“First of all, what I do with my own personal relationships is none of your business. And second of all, I'm not waving anything in the air. I fully intend to devote myself to them for the rest of my life. I just don't know how to do that because I've never been in that kind of relationship before. I don't even know how I can be involved with three ponies at one time without being looked down on by others!”

Discord patiently awaited the end of the rant. He wrote down more notes in the book and carefully observed the queen's increasingly rage-filled expression. It was fun to be playing this part, though he had other ideas that sounded far more entertaining. He stuck with this approach because he knew that it would help Fluttershy farther down the road.

“So you believe that cultural acceptance is more important than your personal relationships?”

Twilight winced. That was the kind of logical question that she would have asked somepony else. It hurt to have that revelation be given to her when her own logic told her that it was dead right.

“Remember,” Discord added before the mare could reply, “I'm not here to guide your decisions, Twilight. I won't tell you what to do with your life. I'm just a mirror, showing you to you. Look deep and be true to yourself.”

The more Twilight looked at the misshapen creature, the more she began to see purple colors and dark blue bangs. Eventually, she really was looking at herself. The copy was wearing a changeling crown and changeling-esque horseshoes along with a chestplate-like thing. She walked about with pride and self-assurance. It wasn't arrogance, though. She was merely certain of who she was and set on what she wanted to do.

Three mares walked up to the copy, though one mare could only be considered as much for the sake of convenience. They were Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Chrysalis. All were smiling and all embraced the queen's duplicate with something more than a friend's hug. Each of them had a necklace with a sparkling pendant. It meant something very serious and yet very happy.

Boos and hollers of disapproval came from multiple directions. There were no faces associated with them, but they seemed great in number. With a swipe of her hoof through the air, the Twilight clone silenced the sounds and spoke.

“Let friendship overcome distrust. Love replace hatred. Freedom over tradition. To each their own within reason and understanding.”

“A little manipulation isn't always bad,” Discord nodded to himself, pleased as he walked over to Rarity's medical bed. He had just reappeared in the real world, triumphant in his brief hivemind adventure. “Parents direct their children, do they not?”

“That's a might different,” Applejack narrowed her eyes at him. Nothing seemed to have changed with her friends' dire condition in spite of his hours of absence.

“Whatever,” he waved his eagle's claw over Rarity, as if he were performing some ancient ritual. “She needed a boost in confidence or else she'd be stuck in the same place forever. Honestly, I have to do everything for you ponies.”

Rarity's medical equipment began to beep wildly, which caused a flood of doctors and nurses to enter the room. They had been waiting and watching patiently throughout the hours. The white unicorn mare breathed deeper than she had during her coma and then she coughed violently. Her eyes opened and her coughing died down.

“Wh-what h-happened?” she stretched the words outwards in shock.

Spike was at her bedside at an instant, shoving aside the medical ponies that flocked in at the impossible event. As they poured over medical readouts, the mid-sized dragon grabbed Rarity's forehoof and practically cried.

“Rarity!” he exclaimed in pure joy.

“Spikey?” the mare said in return. Her confusion remained, however. “Where are we?”

Not wanting to bother with the dull back-and-forth, Discord moved on to another pony in coma. He tried not to smirk when he saw Applejack's mouth hang open nearly as far as the floor. A more simple tap to the forehead and Discord had both of Twilight's comatose guards awake. The medical ponies couldn't keep up.

They hadn't a clue that he had actually done all of the magical healing and reordering inside of Twilight's hivemind. What he was doing now was hardly more than flipping an “on” switch. With a few of the hospital patients, he pretended to exert great physical force in the magic ritual. He was, after all, never one to abandon a perfect opportunity for showboating. Various medical tools and massive magical inscriptions accompanied his further acts of miraculous recovery. All fake, but all convincing.

“Blueberry Pie!” Pinkie Pie shouted angrily as she came to. Her face immediately softened and she stuck her tongue out. “Oh, sorry. I thought I was still in my coma dream for a second there.”

Discord laughed, though nobody besides him knew what she meant. Fluttershy was already hugging Pinkie and crying with relief. She had done as much with Rarity and was beside herself with the continued revival of her friends.

“Don't forget the dimensional observation magic I told you about,” Discord reminded Pinkie Pie. He couldn't wait to see Twilight's face when she found out what he gave Pinkie Pie.

“No, sir, captain, sir,” the mare saluted in return. She had to do it through Fluttershy's hug. “I'll try it out as soon as I finish my horn!”

“Huh?” Fluttershy finally backed up from her friend and queried.

Discord had already moved on to the next pony. Queen Twilight Sparkle. Since they had talked extensively already, he knew there wouldn't be much trouble in reviving her. Still, he groaned as he “powered up” his magic. The room darkened, the lights flickered, and his body glowed brilliantly. The ponies watched in awe as he wielded Luna's magic for a pointless display. Good thing they were clueless about how much of a show he was putting on.

Twilight's eyes opened slow and dramatic. Her forehoof came up to her head, massaging her forehead while she moaned due to the bodily ache. The IV tube followed with the movement of her hoof. All conscious occupants of the room found their eyes riveted on the purple alicorn. She was, after all, the one that had been at the center of the terrible incident. No green lightning sparked about, though.

“T-Twilight...?” Fluttershy stared in disbelief. She had already started to move away from Pinkie Pie and towards her queen. “You're okay?” she added more to herself than anypony else.

Discord was winding his arms around as if he were stretching after a tough workout. Nopony was paying attention to him anymore.

When Fluttershy came up along the very edge of Twilight's bed, she finally saw her queen's irises. Something was definitely different about them. They were still purple and yet there was a movement within them, almost as if there was something alive within their circular shapes.

Fluttershy half climbed onto the bed to peer close, making sure her Twilight really was alright. What her own eyes confirmed both made her relieved and worried at the same time. The Element of Magic seemed okay in every respect except for her eyes. Tiny lines of green lightning danced within her irises and glowing specks of the same hue persisted throughout. It wasn't distracting at a distance because one could only see some minor discoloration until they got closer.

“Discord?” Fluttershy let her small worried voice carry without looking away from Twilight.

“Don't worry about the details,” the draconequus tilted and cracked his neck. It popped off afterwards and he had to chase it across the floor before grabbing it, reattaching it, and continuing. “They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In this case, it's magic instead.”

Fluttershy wasn't certain she liked the laugh he made. It was as if he thought the issue was some big joke. Then again, Twilight seemed okay now and what was a little discoloration in exchange for her life?

“Shy,” Twilight breathed out faintly upon realizing which pony she was looking at. Her vision was blurry but steadily returning. Her hooves felt too heavy to lift, so she requested what she wanted instead. “I could use a hug.”

Fluttershy didn't have to be asked for something like that. She was going to embrace her queen anyways, which she now did. Tears flowed freely and she sobbed her relief out loud without any consideration for the others in the room. Twilight had become everything to her and the assurance that she hadn't passed on was paramount to her.

Twilight simply enjoyed the soft embrace of one of her closest friends. Though Rarity and Pinkie Pie couldn't come over due to their weakened conditions, they verbalized their relief. Spike was the most forward of them by far. He raced over to Twilight's bed and wrapped his much larger arms around her, weaving through Fluttershy's hug and having to approach from the other side.

“Hey there,” Twilight tried to giggle but only wound up coughing a tad painfully. “Looks like my little dragon grew up when I wasn't looking.”

“Don't joke,” Spike sniffled through his tears. “I didn't do it on purpose. I don't even know how to go back.”

“Why would you want to go back?” Pinkie Pie questioned from her nearby bed. “The new Spikers is awesome!”

“Yes,” Rarity agreed from her own spot slightly closer. “We were hardly speaking empty words whilst in Twilight's hivemind.”

“Whilst?” Pinkie Pie snorted her everyday laughter. “That's Rares for ya!”

“Pardon?” the fashionista raised a brow and looked to her other side to question the pink pony.

“Done yet?” Discord tapped a hoof and placed his claw and paw on his hips. “I've got a few more to go through.”

“I hadn't forgotten,” Twilight replied solemnly and glanced to Rainbow Dash's medical pod.

“Jumpin' jellybeans,” Applejack finally exclaimed. “You could've told us you could do all this from the start!”

“I prefer to see the shocked looks on your adorable little faces,” Discord only half-joked.

Typical of the chaos-bringer, he mixed up the room with a snap of his fingers. Twilight suddenly disappeared from the grasp of the pegasus and dragon, who fell forwards onto the bed. The alicorn reappeared beside Rainbow's bed, which no longer had a glass enclosure. Discord was standing on the opposite side with a full surgeon's scrubs. A matching mask was over his mouth.

“Scalpel!” he demanded from Twilight, who furrowed her brows trying to comprehend what he was doing. She wobbled and felt weak on her hooves, but she didn't fall. “Nevermind, Nurse Sparkle. This one needs a chainsaw!”

Just as the rumbling roar of the suddenly-appeared chainsaw filled the room and Twilight's expression turned to horror, Rainbow's eyes shot open. She flung up on the bed so that she was standing on it with all four hooves, no wounds or burn marks visible anywhere. Her stance was defensive towards Discord.

“Don't get anywhere near me with that thing!” Rainbow warned with a tone of steel determination. Her voice was muffled oddly by the oxygen mask still attached to her face.

“Rainbow!” Twilight called out from behind her, as equally shocked as the others in the room.

This was a different shock than the one they had been going through with each miraculous recovery. Twilight knew that Discord had worked to fix up everypony in her hive, but she honestly hadn't expected Rainbow Dash to be in such perfect condition considering the severity of her wounds. As she was now, the rainbow mare looked better than she had before the incident.

Discord threw the chainsaw over his shoulder and it evaporated out of existence just before reaching the face of a doctor pony that was behind him. The poor stallion almost feinted from the near death. The other hospital ponies didn't notice because they were busy rushing back and forth trying to figure out the incomprehensible medical miracles that Discord seemed to be pulling off.

The continued heartfelt reunion of the previously comatose friends was actually a tad boring for the draconequus. Therefore, he didn't pay much attention to Twilight and Rainbow's embracing, tears, and general repeat of the other reunions. Discord instead focused on the last member he had to revive. This was, after all, the most interesting one in his book. Queen Chrysalis. Or rather, the former queen.

“Like a bear walking into a lion's den,” Discord giggled to himself as his magical ministrations started receiving feedback from the changeling.

Twilight looked to Chrysalis' bed with renewed worry. Small green sparks started dancing out from the changeling's horn even though she hadn't yet been awoken. Discord was waving his fingers over Chrysalis' body, seeming to orchestrate a build of magic from the horn.

“What are you doing?” Twilight quickly asked, all attention now removed from her recovered friends.

“I could have simply removed the magical cross-matrix,” the tall chaos-bringer continued in his gleeful mood. “But what fun would there be in that? I'd hate to come back-”

“Come back? From where?” the pony queen kept her worry but added in some curiosity.

Discord's smile paled only for a second before returning in full glory. He had forgotten that Celestia hadn't spoken to Twilight about the whole ascension thing yet. “In spite of recent history, I don't spend every waking moment looking after you,” he covered it up with a half-truth. “I have vacations lined up, you know.”

The sparks had turned to complete electrical arcs that reached from Chrysalis' horn to Discord's arms. The energy seemed not to affect him, probably due to his purple and black magic that he was using to absorb it when it reached his body. Luna's magic source was a thing of beauty, he reflected.

“With your new connection to Chrysy, no future connection should pose a problem,” Discord leaped into the air. He remained airborne for the purpose of laughing at gravity. “And your new Hive Power will be accessible to all members thereof.”

“Hive Power?” Rarity asked, brows furrowed because she was lost with everything Discord was saying.

“Come now,” he began a backstroke in the air over Chrysalis' bed. The electric lightning had risen to a near deafening roar, though it did nothing when it was absorbed into his body. “Don't make me explain everything. Learn for yourself and you might have an easier time defeating...”

“Defeating what?” Twilight's eyes narrowed. She always suspected Discord knew more about the world than he let on. This slip made her feel like he had them all on strings.

“Live life one day at a time, Twily,” Discord's expression shifted so that his gaze shot into the pony queen's very core. “That's the only way to enjoy it.”

Spike crossed his arms and side-stepped a stray bolt that had reached out towards him. “Chaos and wisdom go claw-in-claw, huh?” he remarked sarcastically.

“I know,” Discord waved a paw sheepishly. “I'm just such a good friend. I mean, I totally leave you ponies in the dust, don't you think?”

Deadpan stares were his garnered response.

“Anypony for ice cream?” he tried again. Bribing with special treats usually worked. The green electricity had died back down so that not even a spark came from Chrysalis' horn. He descended from the air and stood on the floor for a rare moment of normality.

“Oh!” Pinkie Pie bounced in front of him and jammed an ice cream cone into his paw. At some point, she had sprung back to her normal energy levels and abandoned her bed. “Already got them! Everypony's favorite flavors too!”

The pink wonder proceeded to teleport around the room with a snap of green electricity. That fact was not lost to anyone in the large intensive care room. They all promptly received their favorite flavors of ice cream in a variety of cups and cones.

“See?” Discord gestured with his eagle's claw and licked his cone of Mystery Sherbet. “Pinkie Pie already has it.”

“Actually,” she suddenly materialized in front of him. “I'm cheating right now with Pinkie Physics. I'm not using Hive Power yet because I need Chry-Chry's help with the changeling mechanics of my artificial horn and wings!”

As if on cue, Chrysalis' eyes slowly opened. The large black being groaned from her splayed-out position on the bed. Twilight's focus shot from Discord and Pinkie to Chrysalis. She desperately wanted to get up and go over to her changeling, but her own physical condition prevented that. Her body was still tired and achy in spite of her increased mental clarity. As if catching onto that, Discord teleported her back onto her medical bed and in between Spike and Fluttershy.

By some subconscious move, she reset the connections in her mind to sync all the members in the room. Instantly, they were able to share thoughts, emotions, questions, and answers. Spike was the only one that visibly flinched at the reset. The others simply skipped a breath, minus Twilight herself. The queen paled at what Pinkie had mysteriously learned in relation to dimensional magic theory, causing her to throw an upset glare at Discord.

“Chrysalis, are you alright?” Twilight asked verbally even after she had connected with her changeling mentally. Some things she would never get rid of entirely when it came to speaking.

“Of course,” was the buzzy reply, not quite as weak as Twilight's voice had been upon awakening. “I regret to realize who our savior is, though.”

Discord might have feigned offense if he wasn't busy chasing Pinkie Pie around the room for no reason at all. They were both laughing like a pair of brainless foals. Their ice cream had, of course, already been consumed. It was as they darted through the dumbfounded nurses and doctors that Chrysalis realized she had a cup of mint chocolate chip ice cream next to her on the bed.

The primary doors to the room blasted open and two ponies came rushing in straight to Twilight's bed. The purple alicorn was thankful that she could use the hivemind to settle all concerns within her hive because there was no way she'd be able to keep up with what was going on otherwise. Especially considering who the two newcomers were.

“Twily!” shouted the teary voice of her older brother. Cadance was right beside him and shouted the same.

Twilight's bed began to complain about the number of ponies leaning or otherwise pressing upon it. The frame creaked under the weight.

“Everypony's alright,” Cadance glanced quickly around even as she hugged Twilight along with Shining Armor. “How?”

Some of the doctors finally gave up, threw their medical masks on the floor, and stomped out of the room. A few mumbled curses were had about “dumb chaos creatures using confounded magic.”

Discord hopped over to the mass of ponies around Twilight's bed. He was holding Pinkie Pie under one arm, who had a sign hanging around her neck. It read “I've been got.”

“Now, now,” Discord fluttered his eyelids in mock humility. “I didn't do all the work. Discord over here deserves most of the praise.”

Shining Armor and Cadance looked over to the individual Discord had motioned to and found...another Discord. The duplicate bowed and then disappeared.

“Seriously,” the draconequus chuckled, “Chrysalis really did try her best. She accomplished a lot in protecting her new hive. Unfortunately, as hivemind magic goes, none of that hard work was visible to the naked eye of the common pony. Behind-the-scenes stuff. I'll leave you all to have a talk with her. Especially you two.”

Discord grinned almost creepily at the rulers of the Crystal Empire before he popped out of existence. Pinkie Pie dropped to her hooves and gave an “aw” of disappointment. She wanted to play around with Discord some more.

Shining Armor gulped and Cadance's mouth twitched as they both turned to face Chrysalis upon the medical bed beside Twilight's.

“Hello there,” Chrysalis tried to smile at them, though her fangs showed and she didn't feel as if she were in her best of moods. She didn't have an IV stuck in her, but she did feel a bit sickly. Perhaps it was the sterile hospital air.

Or perhaps it was the looks she was getting from the two ponies she had a particularly sour past with.

37 - Synchronization is Serendipitous

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Where do I even start?” Shining Armor's growl simmered just below complete hostility.

Chrysalis looked one way and another to find Discord, hoping he might be willing to continue backing her up. He was, however, nowhere to be found. Thankfully, Cadance was less gung ho than her husband. Her expression was critical, but her words were cautious.

“Wait a moment, Shiny,” the pink alicorn put a forehoof to the stallion's shoulder. “Maybe this wasn't something Chrysalis did on purpose.”

Shining softened a little when speaking to his wife, but he remained stubborn about the situation. “How so? She's ruining Twilight's life the way she almost ruined ours.”

“Stop it,” came the tired voice of Twilight. Both Shining Armor and Cadance returned their full attention to the purple mare, their faces dropping every hint of anger. “Chrysy did nothing wrong. I...I wasn't as strong as I thought I was.”

Cadance reached out to hold one of Twilight's forehooves. “That's not true, Twilight. You're the strongest mare I know.”

The queen shook her head. “Discord bailed me out. I don't deserve any praise.”

“Speaking of Discord,” Shining narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Why was he so dedicated about this? I don't want to sound ungrateful, but he's definitely the type to have ulterior motives.”

“I wouldn't worry about him,” Twilight declined the thought. She didn't say anything more, but she had her own curiosities on the subject. Anyways, the new Discord cared too much about Fluttershy and friendship in general to do anything nasty.

“I'll only let it slide on your account,” Shining Armor conceded. “Chrysalis is another matter.”

Cadance felt as if she were in an impossible situation. It wasn't that she was lacking in compassion, but her heart still wrestled with the events of her wedding. She didn't want to point a hoof at Chrysalis, and yet she was hesitant to offer defense.

Her husband whirled back towards the changeling and stomped over to her bedside. There was simply no way to get out of a serious discussion with the shape-shifter. It had been hard enough when they learned Twilight had saved the changeling. What had transpired since then had only complicated matters drastically.

“What if Discord hadn't been able or wasn't willing to do this?” he drilled Chrysalis. “You're the changeling. You should be very aware of how changeling hiveminds work. How could you not have anticipated this problem?”

“Shining,” Twilight called out to her brother again to intervene. He ignored her this time.

“How can I walk away from here certain that you won't jeopardize her life?” he glared at Chrysalis.

Of all the ponies present, the most unexpected one placed a forehoof on Shining's shoulder. He looked to his side to find Fluttershy peeping out from beneath her pink locks, which covered most of her face. In spite of the nervous wobble in her hoof, her words were firm.

“Chrysalis means us no harm,” she meekly said. “We all trust her, and Discord told us it won't happen again.”

“Why should I trust him any more than her?” Shining responded with less accusation than he had towards Chrysalis. He knew from his wife and Twilight that Fluttershy was a sensitive pony.

Applejack answered before the pegasus could, causing her to back away from Shining Armor. “'Cause this here Chrysalis is hooked up right one way or another to Twilight, ain't that so?”

Fluttershy nodded her agreement to the Earth pony. She had told Applejack about the hivemind situation while Twilight and the others had been unconscious. Actually, she had been forced to spill that information even before that point due to the unexpected mental effects of Twilight's temporary absence from Ponyville.

“You can trust her, Shiny,” Cadance added in when she came up on his other side.

“Why are you so certain?” Shining furrowed his brows at his wife. “Don't you remember-?”

“Forgiveness is a big part of love,” she said in a serious tone. Her eyes glanced to a surprised Chrysalis before going back to the stallion. The changeling must have been shocked that she would speak in her defense. “I know when two ponies really love each other. I can sense it even when one of them isn't a pony.”

Shining Armor's next question remained unspoken. Instead, his vision whipped over to Chrysalis. She had a hopeful look about her that was practically begging. Then he looked to Twilight, who still looked fatigued. There was something else there, however. It was a scared look that revealed her uncertainty and desperate desire to be accepted.

“No way,” was all the stallion wound up breathing out in a whisper.

Cadance kept the two other relationships to herself. She knew her husband would have enough to consider with possible feelings existing between his little sister and the former queen of the changeling hive. He didn't need to think about what was going on with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy as well. Cadance could feel the love-centered emotions coming from them just as strongly as from Chrysalis.

In a way, the Princess of Love was proud of her sister-in-law. She had always known it was only a matter of time until some relationship blossomed between her and another. Though other ponies would be suspicious and condescending of multiple loves, Cadance took the possibility with the openness her cutie mark had given her. Twilight's hivemind entered a whole new mix of relational dynamics into the mare's life. Cadance understood and accepted that even though the hivemind itself was a difficult concept for her to grasp. She had no envy for Twilight when it came to the complications.

“Might I say something?” Rarity chimed in from where she laid on her recovery bed. Spike had gone over to stand next to it. “It is quite possible for us to have debates on end until the nurses remove your visitation rights. What matters is not arguing levels of trust. As part of Twilight's increasingly splendid hivemind, I believe I have the pleasure of informing you that we are all capable of understanding and trusting each other on a level deeper than you could possibly be capable of understanding or appreciating.”

“Put like a pro, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash verbalized her approval.

“No disrespect, your highness,” Rarity added in regards to Shining's political status. “It is simply a matter of accepting what we already know to be a fact. I admit that I was skeptical at first, much like yourself. However, after connecting with Twilight's hivemind, there is not a single doubt in my head or heart regarding Chrysalis' content of character. You may trust her as much as you trust Cadance.”

Shining Armor had to take in all the words and wrestle with them. He cast more glances about the room. Some to Chrysalis, some to Twilight, and some to his wife. When he looked to Spike, who he still wasn't used to seeing so large, he saw an honest fire in the dragon's eyes. It burned with a brilliance that Shining never knew he would see from the baby dragon that his little sister had raised.

“I see,” was all Shining could say at last. It was true that he had much to think over even before this latest incident. The evolution of Twilight's hivemind complicated much. He had to come to terms with the fact that Twilight was a grown mare and wielded power greater than he was capable of.

“Your majesty? Princess Cadance?” a female nurse came up to Cadance. “Princess Celestia requests your immediate presence.”

Cadance tilted her head in wonderment, but began to follow the pony out of the room. “I'll be back soon, I hope.”

When Shining followed as well, the nurse stopped. “My apologies, your highness,” she held up a hoof. “Princess Celestia requested Princess Cadance's exclusive presence.”

Shining gave his wife a concerned look, which she returned for an entirely different reason. Princess Celestia had caught on to her plan. The trip outside of Equestria. Her husband's possible ascension to immortality could now be jeopardized. Cadance tried not to let the flash of panic show on her face.

“I'm sure it's nothing,” she lied.

There were many things for a queen of a pony hive to do. So many questions and errands. So many ponies to talk to. Some of them weren't ponies at all.

Twilight Sparkle had chosen to satisfy her curiosity sooner rather than later based on the recent implication that Discord might later be unreachable. It wasn't simple to maintain her presence in the hospital room while materializing inside a secondary dimensional space. She had to cheat on that part. The mare everypony thought was resting on her hospital bed was actually nothing more than a temporary illusion spell. Her hive members knew better, but they weren't the ones she needed to fool. In any case, it only had to hold for a short while.

“What happened?” Twilight asked as soon as she materialized within Discord's interdimensional space. She instantly recognized it as being very much alike Celestia's dimension that she had been sucked into when she had acquired her alicorn wings. There was little doubt as to who stole the magic from who.

Not surprisingly, Discord's magical space was filled with odd knickknacks and things that were probably floating upside down. It was hard to tell. The creature of chaos was in a bathtub, scrubbing his back with a long-handled brush, and humming some peculiar tune. He feigned shock and embarrassment when he noticed Twilight was standing there not ten hooves away.

“Oh my!” he dropped the brush and crossed his arms to cover his chest. Did he even have chest? His body was somewhat like a snake's. “Dear me. Haven't you ever heard of knocking?”

“On a dimension?” Twilight raised a brow but remained neutral.

“How'd you get in here?” Discord snapped his fingers and the tub disappeared along with him. He rematerialized a second later in a bath robe that was printed with pointy-looking versions of Twilight and her friends.

The pony queen didn't miss a beat. “You infused Pinkie's mysterious Physics ability with cross-dimensional magic theory. She's connected to me through my hivemind. Did you think I wouldn't find out? Or did you not think I'd be able to use it by proxy?”

One of Discord's eyes twitched. “I forgot about that.”

Twilight called out his lie. “No, I don't think you did. You wanted me to have access to this magic, including the odds and ends of your chaos spells.”

Never content to just stand around, Discord began hovering sideways as he stroked his chin. He formed a lazy orbital pattern around her. “Now why, I do wonder, would somepony like me ever want to do that? Chaos is my calling card. I can't just go giving it away.”

“That's what bothers me,” Twilight remained calm and neutral. She continued standing in her spot, not minding the fact that the colorless floor beneath her warped into a familiar grassy hill. “Fluttershy's connection has given me some interesting insight concerning you. The amount of dedication you've put into reformation is too much. Something more than Fluttershy's friendship made you realize how important it is to care for others.”

It had been weird from day one to be in Discord's company and not consider him a villain. Even after his initial reformation, he retained his jovial spirit and only recently betrayed some hint of having more serious emotions. This was, however, the first time Twilight recalled seeing him uncomfortable.

Discord stopped hovering around her and his bath robe popped out of existence. They stood facing eye-to-eye and the male's mouth hesitated after opening for a response. Perhaps Twilight's approach had caught him without a reactionary response.

“I'm sure you understand what crossing different spells can do,” he began. “Especially when it comes to the high-level magic alicorns use. I was intrigued when Celestia gave you wings.”

“This observation dimension...?” Twilight glanced around before locking eyes with Discord again. She tapped into the power of her hivemind to put the pieces together. “Your chaos magic warped the observation screens when you tried creating your own space.”

Discord heard her words and knew it was only a half-second before she would let that revelation sink in.

“You saw other worlds? Other dimensions? What did you see?!” Twilight's heart quickened as she understood the possibilities that chaos might introduce to Celestia's magic.

“Better still,” he tried to smile, but his happy mood failed to return so soon. His words felt almost sad. “Other realities. What ifs. Lives that would have been if our decisions had been different.”

The fact that his seriousness had held this long made Twilight nervous. She had subconsciously come to depend on his light nature. Perhaps his recent kindness towards her had given her some form of compassion towards him. She had only been skeptical of his honesty before.

“The changelings-?” Twilight started to ask.

“Me,” Discord interrupted with a blunt tone. “I saw it all, Twilight. I saw what would happen if I wasn't a good friend. I saw what would happen if I betrayed your trust. I lost everything, Twilight. Not just my friendships. Not just my magic. I lost every drop of happiness I might ever have in life.”

Twilight's voice softened. She could tell this had affected him on a level she didn't even know existed. This might have been the first time she had ever seen Discord as a creature with real emotions rather than some shallow jester.

“I...” the queen faltered and then resolved herself on what she was going to say. She moved forward and hugged the draconequus, who didn't pull away or try some humorous stunt. “I didn't know. But I want you to know that it'll never happen. You've been a better friend than me.”

Before Twilight said anything more, Discord returned the hug and added a question that made the pony giggle. “Why are we hugging?”

“Because I knew you needed it, you goofball,” she couldn't help but smile. “I know what it's like to suffer and feel alone. Chrysalis' past showed me that with more intensity than I was able to handle. She'll always have me around, but I don't get to see you too often.”

Discord gently pushed her out of the hug. “You might not be seeing me at all for quite some time.”

“I've wanted to know about that,” Twilight returned to the question she had asked previously in the hospital. “Where are you going? And why can't I just see you like I am now inside of this dimensional space?”

As if it had been a timed cue all along, the chaos master adorned himself in a professor's humble outfit. Glasses appeared on his snout and a tired old voice creaked out his words. “The answer to those questions,” Discord explained, “are best left to the principal and her sidekick.”

“Who?” Twilight cocked her head but kept her smile.

“Tia and Lulu.”

Cadance stood beside Celestia's medical bed, looking very much ashamed of herself. Nopony else was in the room besides her and Celestia. Not even Luna or Shining Armor, her husband, were present. Her aunt had wanted to speak privately and Cadance knew exactly what the talk would be about.

“You came back early,” was all Celestia said. She didn't say it in anger, but she didn't say it in happiness either. It was neutral.

“Shining and I were headed off on a vacation when we heard the news about Canterlot. Word of the castle's collapse spread faster than a wildfire, even past Equestria's borders.”

The taller mare may have been under the covers and still tired, but she had an authority to her even then. “It wasn't going to be a vacation,” she countered calmly. “Not if you were going to the Temple of the Vine.”

Cadance paled. It was one thing to suspect she had been caught. It was another to actually hear the words point blank.

“Well?” Celestia prompted, as if waiting for an excuse. She was not disappointed.

“Please!” Cadance draped herself half over the bed. She grabbed one of her aunt's shoeless forehooves. “Shiny is everything to me. I can't be stuck like this while I watch him age and pass away. I won't do it!”

All the Sun Princess wanted was honesty from her niece. They had spent so many years together because of what Celestia had done to her in the past by altering her lifespan. Though Cadance's immortality had been a relief for Celestia, it had eventually become a burden for the pink mare. After all, she had her own needs.

Celestia's face regained its brilliant but serene smile as she moved her forehoof up to the side of Cadance's face. Her neutral tone transformed to that of a kind mother. “I wouldn't ask you to. I'm just glad you came back before the deed was done. You may not feel like you can talk to me about these things, but I want you to know right now that you can. You're family to me, Cadance, and I'll never stop caring about you.”

It was obvious that the pink alicorn relaxed with the words. Her whole body had been tense and now it melted against the bed. Nothing was said for a time after that. One was emotionally drained and the other was physically exhausted. Besides, nothing more needed to be said.

Time drifted along with the breeze coming through one of the massive room's open windows. Birds were chirping outside. They were audible now because there was enough silence in the room to allow it. The atmosphere would have been comfortable if not for the slightly chilly air. For that reason, Celestia's magic closed the window.

“You care too much.”

“Hm?” Celestia asked, looking down to meet her niece's gaze once more.

Cadance sighed to let the rest of her built up anxiety release. “You treat both me and Twilight as if we were blood relatives.”

“And you don't feel as strongly about me?”

The pink pony's look said what she didn't.

Celestia's smile remained. “I won't deny it. Both you and Twilight mean the world to me. That will never change. I want to see you happy and I know that will happen if the Vine grants your wish.”

Cadance's eyes went wide. “You're blessing my quest?”

“Eloquently put,” Celestia giggled quietly. “But yes. I am. Why should I not? Shining Armor's immortality will ensure the emotional stability of both you and Twilight. Oh, I know you can survive without him, but the joy in life is not found in survival. It's found in the relationships you have with others. Why do you think I sent Twilight to Ponyville in the first place?”

“I already knew the answer to that,” Cadance continued to lighten the mood by sticking out her tongue. “Don't forget what my cutie mark is for.”

“How could I?” Celestia joked in return and folded her forehooves before her.

The Princess of Love laid her head against the hooves of the Sun. “Everytime I worry that you'll disapprove, you surprise me.”

“Wisdom does not always come with the years, but I do try to to use the lessons I've learned,” Celestia brushed her niece's mane with one of her hooves. “I may not have a husband, but I do have somepony I care for more than any other in the whole world.”

“Luna?” Cadance guessed lazily. “You two are like peanut butter and jelly.”

That caused Celestia to let out another mature giggle. “I prefer jam, but your point is taken.”

“Aren't you worried what will happen if too many ponies become immortal?” Cadance asked offhoof. It was simply a random thought.

Celestia gently shook her head. “If a problem comes up, it will be a welcome break from the monotony of my years.”

What she didn't go on to say was that the “monotony” had already been broken up. The journey she was still intending to take with Luna and Discord would be anything but boring. In all seriousness, it could end up being a life-and-death quest. One she might not come back from. Cadance and Twilight would be better off never knowing.

“And that's how I met your mother,” Pinkie finished explaining to a fake foal doll.

Twilight's now massive group of ponies had finished checking themselves into a special hotel room that catered to large groups. It was a five-star establishment compliments of Princess Celestia, who assured the hotel staff that their building would not end up in rubble like Canterlot Castle's guest wing had.

The place was practically as ornate as the castle had been, but it was far less foreign. Unlike the destroyed bedroom from before, this room was designed with Equestrian residents in mind. There were no foreign elements to it.

Several large beds had been moved in, as was possible with the dimensions of the place. Many had complained that even the enormous beds would limit them to a few ponies per. Twilight would be sleeping with only a couple others on her bed. All others had to choose separate mattresses.

With Discord's magic healing them so completely, the hospital had been happy to have them released. The doctors were actually quite energetic about getting them out. A few had muttered things about “making a mockery of medicine.” Twilight was thankful to be walking on her own, in any case.

Shortly after they had left the hospital, they had met a variety of family members who had rushed over upon the news of their recovery. Twilight's parents had come to see her, which had ended in a more emotional reunion than she had anticipated it being. Various family members of the others met them along the way as well. Even Rarity's parents had shown up.

With all that had been going on, Twilight hardly had the time to address the darkest parts of her recent revelations. Chrysalis' past was like lead in her heart, pushing her desire to comfort her changeling even more than before. There were just too many things to be done, even with her pony hive settling into their hotel room.

“What are you doing?” Rarity decided that she might as well be the one to ask the necessary question to Pinkie.

“Practicing, of course!” the party pony replied enthusiastically. She somehow managed to store the doll in her mane. Nopony ever breached the subject of the infinite storage space in her poofy pink locks. It was a taboo thing to inquire about. “Do you have any idea how many foals I'm going to have to nanny?!”

“I'll pretend I didn't hear that,” Rarity grimaced and shifted her attention to Spike.

The relatively large dragon was preparing the beds for sleeping when a hearty knock sounded across the room. It had come from the proportionally large double doors, which opened. The guards outside, a fully recovered Midnight Strike and Direway, had apparently let the newcomers in. Spike actually smiled when he saw who they were.

“Finally,” he remarked. His new slightly older voice was familiar enough to still be Spike and yet different enough to instill a sense of awe from those that didn't know him. “I can take a break.”

“Mistress!” shouted Midi Soleil. She was at the forefront of the four identical banner mares that had dedicated themselves entirely as Twilight's maids.

Twilight wasn't able to prepare herself before the white mare collided with her, squeezing her in a tight embrace. It was near Pinkie-grade pressure. “Which one?” the queen wheezed out.

“I'm Midi, my mistress,” the tearfully joyful mare let her queen go but didn't loose her enthusiasm. “None love you more than I!”

Twilight's eye twitched.

“Please forgive my sister,” another blond-maned mare came up to the queen. This one's tone of voice was steady and calm, as if it were a mountain stream in comparison to Midi's white water rapids. “She means no offense to you or those that have stronger relationships with you. Merely, we are all relieved beyond words that you and your friends have recovered so well and so quickly.”

A third of the maid ponies came up to Midi's other side. “Don't be so reserved, Soir,” she said and then turned her attention to Twilight. “Minuit, your highness. Soir won't say it, so I'll say it for her. She loves you as much as Midi does.”

“Thank you all for thinking about me,” Twilight softened and expressed her appreciation. Her gaze was spread to each of the three mares and then the fourth one that squeezed between Soir and Midi. “Please forgive me for having a hard time telling you apart. Identical quadruplets are not exactly common.”

“Yes, but do not feel the need to speak to us formally,” Soir answered in her serene tone. “We are merely your servants.”

“Even my guards are my friends,” Twilight shook her head with a smile. “I wouldn't treat you any less. Midi and Soir, I'll have to talk to each of you privately. Later, though. Pinkie's been hounding me for some assistance.”

As the talk had been going on, the other occupants of the room had been exchanging their own conversations. A few of them were overhearing the talk between Twilight and her maids. Notably Fluttershy, who nervously approached the maids after Twilight ducked away to attend to Pinkie. The party pony had been calling for Twilight over and over through the hivemind, which was now permanently active.

Chrysalis was laying on one of the beds with Pinkie, and they had an interesting contraption between them. The mechanical oddity that Pinkie had been laboring away on had developed into a more mature stage. Structural supports and magical current circuits were mishmashed throughout the “wings” construction. The design had much more prominent changeling roots than it had before.

“So this is what the hivemind can do,” Twilight concluded for herself.

“What do you think?” Pinkie grinned. “Chrysy's been helping me with the parts I don't get yet.”

“You not getting something?” Twilight doubted. “Impossible.”

Chrysalis stretched out one of her long forelegs and brushed at her queen's mane. “You should be resting in your bed.”

“If that's the case, then you shouldn't be using your magic to help build Pinkie's contraption. I'm fine,” Twilight assured and leaned forward to nuzzle her changeling. “Though my schedule is a bit full.”

“The maids?” Chrysalis asked but already knew.

“Harmless but helpful, I'm sure.”

Rainbow Dash's voice came over the queen's active hivemind. Is it really going to take Centurion two more days to heal?

Yes, Twilight replied without any delay. Discord apparently used most of Luna's magic healing us. He used what he had left to help Centurion along, but now Luna's source is drained as well. I'm not sure how fast her source regenerates, but he told me he returned it to her already.

I'll never get your crazy magic stuff, Rainbow replied. In the physical world, the mare was laying on her bed and flipping through a HouseMare magazine.

I'd say you know quite a bit now with our connection, Twilight remarked and then refocused on the changeling in front of her. “Just needs some energy, right?” she spoke verbally.

Chrysalis nodded, indicating that she wanted her queen to do the deed.

Twilight took a deep breath and focused herself. The lightning in her eyes danced to a new intensity as she used her hivemind connection with Chrysalis to build her changeling magic charge. This was still new to her and what happened at the castle made her nervous. Only Discord's previous conversation with her gave her the confidence and drive to try it at all.

Little green sparks erupted from her purple horn for a split second. A single bolt of green lightning then shot from the horn's tip and snapped against the mechanical wings that Pinkie had made with Chrysalis' assistance. The magical circuits lit with a faint green glow accompanied by an equally faint hum. Pinkie squealed with delight while Chrysalis smiled at her queen.

“So our link is stable,” the changeling confirmed for herself. “Discord truly is a powerful if slightly mysterious creature.”

“Slightly don't begin to cover it,” Applejack put in upon walking up to them. “Sorry for bringin' it up again, Twi, but...uh...what's all this mud n' hay with changeling power again?”

“Discord called it Hive Power,” Twilight began and got up onto the bed with Chrysalis so she could rest her hooves. “Since he corrected my internal mental links, I've began using our interconnected minds to decipher what he meant. So far, I've found some clarity that I was missing before – mostly via Chrysy's knowledge of changeling magic. The unintentional side effects of using a hivemind on sentients with innate cutie mark talents has led to a cross-matrix involving latent-”

“Whoa there, Ms. Smartypants,” Applejack chuckled. “Think you lost me good a few words in. Might want to give me the bottom shelf.”

Twilight's brows flattened with her deadpan tone. A huff escaped her lips as she relented to the simple version. “We have access to each other's cutie mark abilities.”

That seemed to get through to the Earth pony. Her expression steadily grew in relation to the implications. “Land sakes! Ya'll got each other's talents?! Like that mixup-?”

“Not like that,” Twilight interjected. “And the real answer, as I was attempting to convey, is not so straightforward. For example, as I am now, I can't just fly off and create a Sonic Rainboom.”

“Not without my training you won't,” Rainbow remarked from across the room without looking up from the magazine she was leafing through.

Twilight ignored the comment. “Though I might be able to utilize the special parameters of her talent in more reasonable measures. For example, her subconscious understanding of speed optimization could be applied to Rarity's dress making abilities.”

“I'll need it too,” Rarity added in. She was talking to one of the banner maids, only temporarily looking their way to speak to Twilight. She would have used the hivemind if not for Applejack's non-inclusion. “I have too many designs prepared in my head. All thanks to the insight I acquired from this lovely hivemind.”

Spike sighed beside her, thinking of all the work he likely had cut out for him. Indeed, cutting was only one of the things he'd be assisting Rarity with. The thought of snack rewards offset the possible monotony.

“Sounds like a lifetime went by while I was at the farm,” Applejack frowned.

“In a way, it did,” Twilight's expression sobered. “I saw what felt like a thousand lives through Chrysy's mind. There are a lot of questions I need to ask, but also a lot of answers I need to share. I'd like to fill you in more and I believe there's only one really good way to do that.”

“I don't need to guess,” Applejack threw out her signature grin. “If ya'll can take it, I don't see why I should be worried. 'Sides, I'd never hear the end of it from RD if I bailed out 'cause of fear.”

“You sure wouldn't, partner,” Rainbow imitated the farm pony's accent. She still hadn't looked up from the magazine she was reading.

Applejack rolled her eyes.

“Please be careful,” Chrysalis buzzed next to Twilight.

“It won't be an issue. Not this time,” the purple alicorn nodded to her changeling. She faced Applejack again. “Let's go over to my bed. There's more room and it's easier if you're laying down when this happens.”

38 - Complexity is Exponential

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Applejack's mind felt like that tree in the center of the north field at Sweet Apple Acres. It was the most stubborn of the trees in that part of the orchard, which meant she had to buck it longer and harder than most to get the apples off of it. After the rough rodeo she had just survived upon linking with Twilight's hivemind, she almost wished she was back home bucking that darned tree again.

Twilight had surprised Applejack by showing her a world beyond their world. It was a place where they had bodies in a mental space. The queen tried explaining it at first, but AJ waved her off as quick as a whip. Even after they had touched foreheads, the Earth pony still didn't bother comprehending the raw knowledge she now had access to through the queen.

This linking attempt was indeed far safer than the last connection. On the other hoof, something unexpected still happened. A theory had long ago been formed in Twilight's mind regarding the synchronized magical properties possible through a hivemind chain of the Elements of Harmony. The innate properties of hive magic, as exposed to her through Chrysalis' connection, made it apparent that the Element magic might be able to shift in flow. That shift, flowing through a web structure rather than point-to-point, might result in an exponential increase in the magical charge.

Applejack didn't care about this. Thus what happened when the link was complete was, at least to the farmer, incredibly fun. Both her eyes and Twilight's opened at the same time, simultaneously returning them to the real world upon the bed in the hotel room. A solid white light was emanating once more from the queen's eyes, but the same was coming from Applejack's.

“Yeehaw!” the orange mare shouted in a rush. She couldn't help bouncing off the bed, eyes beaming with light, and green lightning dancing from all four of her hooves.

The four white maids gasped in fright and backed away to a corner of the room. Lightning wasn't just coming from Applejack. It was emanating from Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Chrysalis, and Spike. Their eyes were all glowing white as well.

The flashes of light were in stark contrast to the rich colors of the high-class decoration of the hotel room. The deep red carpet and dark wood walls spoke of refinement and subtlety. The golden linings and indirect-lighting of the ceiling lamps added to this. All of the careful designing was lost on the occupants that were largely from Ponyville, save Rarity. The white unicorn wasn't currently interested in the decor, however.

“Oh my!” Rarity worried, not moving for the fear that the lightning might somehow ruin her mane.

“Yipee!” Pinkie Pie bounced up much as Applejack had, only with more height.

“Everypony stay calm,” Twilight ordered in a tone she hoped was as calm as she wanted them to be. “This is just a loose variable in our hivemind's magic buffer.”

Indeed, the lightning was not massive or out of control as it had been in the recent incident. For the most part, the green electricity bouncing around them was more akin to sparks and miniature arcs. Hardly destructive-grade.

I never realized how hard you worked, Rainbow Dash addressed Applejack directly through their new active link. I mean, I always knew you worked hard. Just not that much. Not to mention taking care of Applebloom. Geez.

Outwardly, AJ gave her signature chuckle. You get used to the load after a while, she answered. Don't even realize it's a lot to do. I'd sooner be praisin' Shy. Work's one thing, but I couldn't bear handlin' those blasted critter tantrums.

They do get moody every now and then, Fluttershy practically giggled from her spot on one of the room's other beds. Her eyes were shining like the others and her mane was half levitating from the green electrical charge.

“AJ,” Twilight called out. The queen was still calmly seated on the bed, but she was furrowing her brows in concentration. “I'm trying to channel our Hive Power, but a surge is coming your way. Try to hold it until I can bring it in.”

“Great granny's ghost!” Applejack exclaimed as she felt precisely what Twilight had explained.

Her right forehoof suddenly crackled with stronger electricity, making her hold it up in reflex. Bolts turned inwards to form a spherical pattern with a most peculiar color distortion. The center was turning black instead of green and small purple sparkles drifted off of it in a mist. Applejack's vision lost itself in the depth of the mysterious orb.

“Ooo,” Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared beside the orange mare. She too was mesmerized by the growing power.

Then it was gone in a thunderous snap of sound.

“Huh? What?” AJ blinked.

“Got it,” Twilight stated with a degree of satisfaction. Small green bolts continued to snap around and between the members of the hive, however. Their eyes hadn't lost the white light.

“How long will this last?” Rarity asked with pursed lips. She simply couldn't go outside as she was, nevermind if she actually planned on going anywhere. Because Twilight was focusing their hivemind on rectifying the current issue, Rarity wasn't able to glean the information off of the queen through their passive connection.

Spike climbed up onto Rarity's bed and placed a claw on her forehoof. Unlike before, his new body size meant that his claw was now closely proportional to her hoof. He smiled when she placed her other forelimb over his. Both his eyes and Rarity's dimmed by half so that they could see each other's irises through the white haze.

Interesting, Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at Spike, watching him from another bed.

I have powers too, you know, the dragon smiled, showing the points of his teeth. Even if I still have to discover and master most of them.

Thank you, Spike, Twilight broke into the train of thought. She integrated the magic dragon's power control into her own methods. The other members of the hive now had decreased overflow. The lightning and “eyelights” continued to lessen.

“What caused this?” Soir Soleil dared to ask, trying to keep her voice steady and free of fear.

“The Elements of Harmony are connected to us,” Twilight explained aloud for her maids. “We have a magical tie to them that is acting up in response to Applejack's connection. I would have been able to handle it if it had been like the other connections, but AJ's was different for some reason.”

“Could it be because we're all in your hive now?” Pinkie offered.

“I suspect so,” the queen confirmed. “To be honest, there is close to nothing in the history books about the Elements and their magical-”

Her words were cut short by a rainbow streak forming between her and the other five ponies that bore Elements. It was the same power that ignited when they had defeated Nightmare Moon and turned Discord to stone. There was a high-pitched whining sound before the rainbow streaks disappeared again.

It may be wise to ask Celestia about this, Chrysalis offered. Even her hivemind talk carried her signature changeling voice.

I planned on seeing her tonight anyways, Twilight responded.

Her hivemind was flipping through magic theory and changeling techniques faster than a single individual mind could hope to comprehend. As the green sparks in Twilight's eyes crackled about, the lightning dancing around each of the hive members finally ceased. The white glow from their eyes was eliminated as well, causing them to blink and squint for a moment to readjust.

“Thank goodness,” Fluttershy sighed in relief.

“Aw,” Pinkie Pie pouted in contrast.

There was no more time for comment, however. A series of rainbow-colored bolts laced out from Rainbow Dash's forehooves and struck the room's ceiling light, effectively turning its illumination multi-colored. The blue pegasus snickered.

“Rainbow!” Twilight grumped aloud.

The Element of Loyalty shrugged. “No harm, right? Just seeing if I can use this Hive Power stuff.”

“Rainbow lightning?” Applejack remarked in awe. She had felt elated during the lightning-fest but was back on her hooves, so to speak. “Wait. We can all use this magic?”

Twilight bit her lip, struggling with the reality they were in. Controlling Pinkie Pie might end up being problematic, which was why she was attempting to throttle what was shared within their hivemind. She had to draw heavily on Chrysalis' memories due to her own inexperience with controlling hive thoughts.

“In a way,” she reluctantly answered to all of the eyes that had locked onto hers. “Our Element magic was a world of its own even before the hivemind. I took advantage of that to channel the changeling energy backwards, which means everyone in my hive could potentially access whatever magic we have stored through the Elements.”

There was a long pause as each of them bounced their thoughts around to translate what that meant.

“So,” Spike slowly broke the moment of contemplation, “we can use the Element magic through the hive connection and expose it using our own manifestation points.”

“Precisely,” Twilight gave a weak smile.

“I don't have a clue what I just said,” Spike gave a prideful grin in return.

Rarity failed to hold in an unladylike snort of laughter.

Rainbow Dash, still smug through her earlier use of the lightning, put in her two bits. “You can't just take Twi's thoughts and regurgitate them,” she told Spike. “You've got to translate them into your own language when you share thoughts. I immediately knew I could shoot awesome rainbow lightning because I translated Twi's brainy stuff into something I knew.”

“Which was?” Fluttershy quietly prompted.

“Use her energy to shoot rainbows,” the blue pegasus puffed out her chest proudly, though she hadn't bothered getting off the bed.

Applejack shook her head. “You would think in such simple terms.”

“Like you wouldn't?” Rainbow countered with their old rivalry heating up.

“Enough,” Twilight calmly defused them. “There's a lot for us to do and we don't need to be wasting time arguing. Applejack, I saw your memories when we connected. You used to play Pillow Fort with Big Mac when you were younger.”

The orange mare raised a brow. “Yeah, and so did you – with Shining Armor. What's your point?”

Twilight tapped the side of her head and AJ instantly got it through the hivemind.

“Always putting two and two together,” Applejack grinned. With a flick of her head, she sent her hat spinning to the other side of the room where the group's odds and ends were stacked. It was time to get to work.

Chrysalis giggled in her changeling buzz. “Trust my queen to quickly find solutions to every problem.”

Twilight humbly shook her head and motioned for all the room's occupants to move away from the beds. “Nopony can figure everything out on their own. Lucky for me, hiveminds are the ultimate cheat. The question becomes: how could I not find an easy solution when I have ten minds rather than one?”

When Twilight began to wrap her purple magic around each of the bed mattresses in the room, the Soleils spoke up.

“Please, mistress!” Midi quickly intervened, causing Twilight's magic to subside. “Never trouble yourself with such things. We are here to serve you.”

Twilight mentally weighed the pros and cons of the situation. She decided to allow the maids their initiative. “Have at it,” she replied with a thankful nod. “Get the box springs and frames out of the way and arrange the mattresses in a square pattern. Don't remove the fitted sheets, but rearrange the flats and covers.”

“As you wish,” Minuet happily replied as the four maids got to work.

Where are you going? Spike inquired in the hivemind before the others could.

The pony queen was heading for the door. To talk to Celestia and Luna, she returned. I suspect that they want to tell me something important.

Leaving the hotel was mostly a non-event. Twilight's two active guards that followed her to the hospital were a fully recovered Midnight Strike and Direway. Both of them had respectfully inquired earlier in the hivemind as to why they had experienced electrical surges around their bodies in addition to abnormal light from the eyes. They were satisfied with the answer and even contemplated the usefulness of the powerful shared magic. The guards separated from her only when they reached the massive ornate doors to Celestia's private hospital chamber.

The special recovery room in the hospital was amazing indeed. Just the kind of place one would expect the grand and immortal leader of the entire Equestrian race to be resting. The room was many times larger than the massive bed at its center, nestled in classical fashion with the headrest against the back wall. Enormous golden arches reached up behind the bed to form the shape of a sun on the wall. Celestia was awake and sitting up with a tray of sugary treats on her lap.

“Twilight,” the large alicorn ruler declared with much cheer in her tone. “I've been wanting to see you since I first awoke, but these silly doctors wouldn't let me get up.”

“For good reason,” Luna told her sister in all seriousness. The smaller dark mare was lying above the sheets beside her sibling.

“I'm glad to see you're alright as well,” Twilight replied with a small breath of relief. She approached the side of the bed. “I gathered it was pretty bad after I lost control.”

“Castles can be rebuilt,” Celestia waved off the concern. “Ponies cannot. We are all in good health and that's all that matters.”

“About that,” the purple alicorn bit her bottom lip. She had a feeling her questions were going to have difficult answers accompanying them. “We need to talk.”

Celestia laughed quietly and politely. “We've done much of that since you returned to Canterlot. What troubles you, Twilight? Something separate from your hivemind I presume?”

Taking the elder's cue to come up onto the bed, Twilight laid down on the sheets opposite of Luna. Even her ascension to becoming an alicorn and recent inner-circle title of queen failed to put her at ease being so close to the royal sisters. It felt as if she were in the presence of super-powerful beings beyond her comprehension, which she very nearly was.

“It's about Discord,” the pony queen admitted after an unusual pause. The sheets beneath her body were silky smooth, but they didn't help calm her mind. The others in her hive would be hearing the conversation even though they weren't physically in the room.

Luna spoke first. “That buffoon gave my magic back only after he completely squeezed every drop of energy from it. It will be days before I can so much as lift a pen with my magic.”

“It was for the best cause, though,” Celestia glanced to her sister.

“That I would hardly argue,” Luna agreed and nodded to Twilight.

“I talked to him,” the queen shifted her gaze from Luna to Celestia. “There was something a little off about him. He's usually nonsensical and ridiculous, but this time he was...I don't know...vulnerable? He also suggested I talk to you about some kind of trip. Is something big going on that I don't know about?”

“Ah,” Luna stated flatly and shot her elder sister a knowing look.

“I hoped to somehow tell you later when you might have less on your shoulders,” the large white mare responded. Instead of continuing, though, she used a faint glow of her magic to bring a blueberry pastry to her mouth. Her expression turned far more delightful upon the first bite.

“Celestia...?” Twilight prompted.

The Princess of the Sun took her time and even took a sip of something that had been in a tea cup on the tray. It didn't look like tea, though. More like hot chocolate. Luna rolled her eyes.

“After I recover enough that the doctors approve of me getting up,” Celestia began, “I will be going on a little trip with Luna.”

“And Discord,” Luna added in monotone. “May the blessed stars save us.”

“Where to?” Twilight asked slowly, picking up the implication that it wouldn't be to some vacation hotspot in Equestria.

Celestia's nose scrunched up. She clearly wanted to say as little as possible while knowing, at the same time, that she could never be so vague with Twilight Sparkle. “Overseas. First to Griffonia.”

“First?” Twilight quickly spoke up. “Then where?”

“Lands beyond that we haven't tread in millenia,” Luna answered instead.

Anticipating the words forming on Twilight's lips, Celestia proceeded. “There are many dangerous things outside of Equestria, Twilight. Some more so than others. Luna and I have reason to believe there is a race out there that was involved with the disappearance of the magic dragons. If they are who we think they are, we have to go now before Equestria is endangered.”

Twilight said nothing at first. She lowered her head to her forehooves, which laid before her on the sheets. “How long?” she eventually asked.

“We don't know,” Luna provided. “Truly.”

“Twilight?” Celestia leaned forward, levitating her tray of treats aside. Luna caught it with her hooves when the mare's magic predictably gave out prematurely.

The purple queen didn't look up but continued to keep her head down and her gaze vacant. Her hive was talking about this discussion in the hivemind, but Twilight had only emotions stirring in her heart – not words.

“Twilight?” Celestia repeated. “What's wrong?”

“You'll be gone...” Twilight said listlessly. It was as if she were talking to the air rather than the princess.

“With Discord,” Luna corrected. “I know. It will be difficult for us. He rarely takes matters seriously.”

“Twilight,” Celestia regarded the smallest of them and temporarily ignored Luna. “You hardly need us here. You've grown up into a wonderful mare with more wisdom-”

Celestia's words were interrupted by Twilight jerking her head away so that Celestia couldn't meet her gaze.

The Equestrian ruler sighed and came out from the sheets so she could get closer to Twilight. “What is it? Talk to me, Twily.”

It had to have been over a decade since Twilight had heard Celestia use that nickname. That alone tricked her into looking back into the princess' eyes. Their faces were close, which allowed Celestia to see the green arcs dancing in her former student's irises. The abnormality didn't faze her, but it did weigh on her heart how much the young mare had already been through.

“You've always been here for me,” Twilight spoke with softness. “I never even imagined a time when you'd be gone...”

“I won't be gone,” Celestia tried cheering her up. “I'll just be away for a while. Luna and I will return.”

“And what if we don't?” asked an individual they hadn't known was in the room.

All eyes turned to find the source of the voice. It was the tea cup that Celestia had been drinking from earlier. Two eyes and a snide mouth had formed on its side.

“What's wrong?” Discord smirked. “Never seen a talking tea cup before?”

Realizing the implication, Celestia stuck out her tongue and looked down on it with worry and dismay. She practically turned green in the face.

“Discord,” Twilight acknowledged but kept her dismal expression.

“What?” he replied in faux innocence. He transformed outwards from the tray so that he was lazing across the bed in his original, full-sized, and signature body. He was, in particular, draped over Luna.

“Oof,” the Princess of the Night groaned from the sudden weight.

“I couldn't bear sitting this one out,” he explained himself while hugging Luna like a plush toy. “Three princesses having an emotional moment of impending separation? Why wasn't I invited? And after we just hugged, Twily!”

Although Discord continued with his goofiness, he didn't make use of any magically created props or random chaos. Luna squirmed in his grip, pushing insistently to get out of the forced hug. She clearly didn't feel as attached to him as he did to her. The scene helped lighten Celestia and Twilight's mood, however.

“Where did you get the magical energy to transform into that tea cup?” Twilight asked the first logical thing that came to her mind. “I thought you were out of magic...”

“Well,” he laughed and continued to force cuddle a red-faced Luna. “You're little connection to Applejack caused so much excess energy waste that I scooped up enough for a tiny transformation. It wasn't much, but I'm desperate for anything at this point.”

“You were stalking my hotel room?” the purple pony raised her brows.

Again, the draconequus chuckled in good humor. “Why of course, my little queen. You honestly thought that I wouldn't do something like that?”

Twilight facehoofed.

“Release us at once you molesting fiend!” Luna practically had tears in her eyes now.

“Me,” Celestia corrected her sister with a smile. “Release me, Lulu.”

“Can I keep her?” Discord teased as he nuzzled the side of her face. “Huh? Can I? Can I?”

“I would destroy you,” Luna breathed out darkly through her beat-red face of embarrassment, “if only you hadn't drained all of my magic.”

“We're two of a kind,” Discord grinned happily. “Two souls bereft of power, alone save for each other to love and cherish.”

Celestia had finally regained enough cheer to laugh openly. Her sister's cheeks puffed up and steam practically shot from her ears. Twilight's heart was lightened by the male's playfulness, but she still had serious emotions over Celestia's plans.

“Celestia,” Twilight bravely returned her attention to the mature white mare. The tall alicorn was situating herself back under the covers when she stopped to give Twilight her full attention. “You've always been there for me. Even when I was only sending you letters from Ponyville, I knew I could count on you to be there for me. I knew I could go back to Canterlot anytime I wanted just to see you. You've...”

Twilight paused and composed herself.

“You've been like a second mother to me.”

Celestia felt her heart seize with the meaning behind the words. Even Discord had paused to allow Twilight to talk unabated to Celestia. Luna too had fallen quiet in the draconequus' arms.

“Equestria has always had you here as a timeless pillar of love and leadership. What will happen to it if you leave?”

The Sun Princess had indeed put much thought into this. She knew her answer long before, but she instead took the time to grab Twilight and drag her closer to where she was beneath the covers. The immortal mare hugged her former pupil.

“I understand the idea that my prolonged absence would cause many to worry. I've felt as if you were the daughter I never had, Twilight. It brings me more joy than you can imagine to hear that you have similar feelings for me. But that is the very reason I must go. I couldn't bear the thought of losing Equestria to the monsters that are out there. Even more, I couldn't bear the thought of losing you.”

“You don't have to worry about me,” Twilight insisted more strongly and came back from the embrace. “I've learned so much and every day I grow stronger.”

“I've noticed,” Celestia gave a playful wink.

Realizing that the mare was referencing the fact that she was hospitalized, Twilight blushed. “Sorry,” she apologized. “But I have full control now.”

“I'm proud of you, Twilight,” Celestia concluded. “I trust you with everything. I was hesitant at first when it came to Chrysalis, but I know now that I can trust her too. The power and, most importantly, the maturity you have gained over time has convinced me you are ready to fill in for both me and Luna when we leave.”

“What?!” Twilight couldn't hold back her utter shock.

“I know there is so much for you to take care of right now,” Celestia said, truly concerned. “Unfortunately, I have to admit something to you. This is something Luna and I have learned over our thousands of years.”

Twilight's attention couldn't possibly have been more focused on the regal mare before her.

“Life,” Celestia declared, “never slows down.”

A moment of silence.

“Huh?” the pony queen raised a brow.

The Sun Princess simply folded her forehooves against the covers. “There will be moments in your life when you feel overwhelmed and there will be moments when you feel nothing has changed. But the world is always changing and you see that so clearly when you're trying to keep Equestria together. The reason that your life seems to be in such constant change, Twilight, is not because of anything Discord has done.”

The draconequus snickered. “See? I'm practically unemployed at this point.”

“It's not necessarily because of Chrysalis or the hivemind either, though they are involved in this case,” Celestia continued. “It's because you've continued to gain more responsibility over time. You used to be a pony that spent all her time reading books in a library. Now you're responsible for more than yourself. More than just Spike. There are over a dozen individuals that directly come under your wings – your hive. That responsibility has given you much more to consider besides your own wants and needs.”

Though the weight of responsibility was heavy, Twilight knew she had to shoulder it. She knew Celestia was right. Her hive needed her.

“In a way,” Celestia tilted her head as she considered the thought, “your hive is like a small version of Equestria. Every member has hopes and dreams. They all need stability and justice, but they also need freedom and peace. Being a good leader is a complex and difficult task. Especially when the ponies that depend on you see you as infallible.”

“I could never rule Equestria,” Twilight nearly whimpered.

“And it is that very admittance,” Celestia smiled in her motherly way, “that indicates you are ready.”

The purple alicorn's hivemind roared with speculation while her own voice was riddled with doubt. “I...”

“Twilight,” Celestia said as she put a bare forehoof on the other mare's shoulder. “You became a princess and, in under a month, you became a queen. I didn't give you the first title because I thought you were unprepared. If anything, it would be Equestria that is not mature enough for you. This country owes its life to you and your friends many times over. With my blessing, nopony will have any problem with your public ascension.”

“Ascension?” Twilight's eyes widened.

“Yes,” Celestia affirmed. “You will be Queen Twilight Sparkle of Equestria.”

39 - Time is Precious

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The maids had gone off to their own room some time ago. The mattresses had been arranged per order on the floor, though an outsider would hardly understand why. Twilight's hive was far happier with the situation, though. It made for less bickering over sleeping position, after all.

Pinkie Pie and Chrysalis were outside the hotel doing something or other with that crazy invention. Spike and Rarity were out at some restaurant. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack were all present in the room and caught up in their own musings. Though it was possible for them to communicate seamlessly over the hivemind, most preferred using actual words over mere thought when the audience was immediately present. It was a point Twilight had made before.

All members currently connected through the hivemind had heard what Celestia had said. They knew what the near future held for Twilight, but the pony queen forced the subject into a dormant state. She didn't want to think about it for a thousand reasons, the most obvious being that it was actually quite late into the night and she was too tired for another explosion of stress. This blocking of the topic led the hive members to continue their own thoughts in the meantime.

“You don't need to pretend when everypony already knows and accepts you for who you are,” Fluttershy answered Rainbow Dash's worry. They were laying beside each other near the center of the multi-mattress spread.

The blue pegasus gripped the pillow between her forehooves. “I know that. You all keep saying it,” she said with a slantwise expression. “But I just...”

Fluttershy was, perhaps, a pony more sensitive than most when it came to empathy. She moved over on the sheets and wrapped Rainbow in her hooves. “Won't you at least be yourself around me?”

“I'm not sure who I really am,” Rainbow remarked with a touch of depression. She nuzzled her friend as a sign of gratitude, however.

“Consarnit,” AJ breathed out in frustration. She had been trying to use magic by applying what she had access to through their hivemind. The small orb of energy she had been trying to form in her hoof winked out of existence every time her breath touched it. “We're connected, you know. Got the same as Spike did, so why can't you get past it?”

Rainbow's default reaction would have been a snarky response, but the emotions Applejack conveyed to her over the hivemind were far more sensitive and caring than her words sounded. What the Earth pony had really said was that Rainbow's insecurity over her identity was similar to the issue Spike had over his new body.

“Spike only had his image with us to think of,” Rainbow's voice was nearly a mumble. “We all knew that he mostly cared about Twilight and Rarity's opinions. That was it. But I've got tons of ponies that expect me to be a certain way. The town, the Wonderbolts, even those weird fans...”

Fluttershy rubbed Rainbow's back with a yellow wing. “I think Applejack meant that the decision is still the same. Spike may have had the benefit of having all of us accept him, but he still had to choose to let go of what he had been before.”

“What's important to me, huh?” Rainbow's head lowered while she stared listlessly into the sheets. “Me or my reputation.”

“Ain't a matter of reputation,” Applejack added in as she focused on creating the orb in her hoof again. “I'd respect you more for bein' yourself in spite of the pressure rather than give in and have a split personality your whole life.”

Goodness me, Rarity chimed in over their hivemind. I think that may be the most sophisticated thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth.

No peepin' into other conversations, Rarity! AJ retorted.

“Thanks,” Rainbow Dash answered. “Really. I'd like to think about it some more, though. Maybe talk to Twi again.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Well, Dashie, she does happen to be our special pony.”

“The trick is to focus,” Rarity explained in her typical tone of refinement.

The white unicorn and her accompanying dragon were seated at a high-class restaurant themed primarily after some distant foreign culture. Spike didn't recognize the origin of the white and blue flags outside. Neither did he remember tasting such perfect garlic rolls before. The straw basket in the center of the circular glass table was nearly empty of them now, though he had carefully articulated his consumption so as to not embarrass Rarity.

It may have been a cool damp night outdoors, but it was comfortably warm and clean in the bright restaurant. The décor was heavy in white and light hues of blue and green. Newer lighting devices put forth a decidedly non-yellow and entirely pure luminescence. Meanwhile, the waiters and waitresses carried themselves about with a markedly different style of posh. It spoke of personal contentment rather than the classical “I'm better than you” attitude of the city.

By far, the most important aspect of their very late evening was the fact that they were the only customers present. Few Canterlot ponies were visiting restaurants at such a mature hour and this particular establishment was the only one still open that Rarity wanted to go to. Spike picked up on this effortlessly through their hivemind. Everything seemed so easy now with it.

Spike swallowed the final bit of his last garlic roll just as the music took a new turn. Being the only customers, he and Rarity were seated at the prime table right in front of a low-level stage occupied by a single gray mare. Whoever she was, she was incredibly talented. Her use of the cello created an incredible sound of exotic tranquility. Not a single note sounded as tired as the poor musician looked. It was entirely probable that she had been playing all day for the restaurant.

“I think I'll just focus on you right now,” the dragon smiled, attempting to keep his larger teeth from poking out of his mouth the way they often did with Chrysalis. “This is kind of like our first date.”

“Do not be silly, Spikey,” Rarity blushed but didn't shy away. She held his gaze. “It is hardly fitting to call this a date when our positions and intentions have already been explicitly revealed through our hivemind.”

“Sounds like something Twilight would say,” the dragon chuckled lightly.

“We have all been affected by her mind – and each other's for that matter. It is impossible not to be influenced now that our connection is always present.”

Spike saw their orange-coated waitress approaching with their order in a magical levitation aura. “Just promise me you'll always be Rarity.”

“I would not change so much,” the Element of Generosity assured him. “Though I might give it some thought if you had any specific requests.”

Their hivemind was completely unnecessary for him to pick up on the mare's flirtatious suggestion. With a careful but light-hearted grace, the waitress placed their dishes before them and quietly left so that they might enjoy the food and the music. Both of them, however, were more interested in each other.

Spike poured his attention back into the purple-maned mare on the other side of the table. “I fell in love with you because of who you are, not because of who I wanted you to be. You're already everything that I want, Rarity.”

The unicorn tried to keep the water in her eyes from showing and only her practice in etiquette allowed her to half succeed. “Such a smooth talker. You would have us forget our meals and banter the night away.”

Spike grinned, shrugged, and took to his plate. Being as late as it was, they had both ordered light appetizers. His was a crumbly cake that was more air than substance. Hers looked to be little more than a berry with a tuft of creme on top of it.

“Don't eat it all in one bite,” Spike joked.

At one point in her life, Rarity might have scolded him for the comment. She had indeed changed, though. Using her magic, she controlled her fork and knife to cut the piece of fruit into even smaller pieces. She did this with her signature form of daintiness.

“Life is much like this Righnoli berry, Spikey. It is small and meant to be savored.”

The dragon swallowed a forkful of his miniature cake. “As much as possible,” he agreed with a hint of sadness creeping into his happy exterior.

Whether it was from the inflection in his voice or the hivemind, Rarity caught his meaning. He was immortal and she was not. Some facts could be looked at in a positive light, but others seemed cold and hard. This was one of the cold and hard ones.

Rarity swallowed the small bit of berry she had carefully picked with her fork. Her voice fell nearly below the volume of the calm cello-based music. “When we get back to our room,” she said, “I would like it very much if you would hold me while we sleep.”

Spike took his turn keeping the water from his eyes. It felt like he had been given everything he ever wanted in life only to be given a stopwatch as well. He had limited time and the seconds were ticking away even now.

“Every night,” he answered, trying not to choke on the words.

“It's not as different as you worry that it is,” Celestia assured her former pupil. “You've taken some foalsitting lessons from Cadance when you were a bit younger. Holding court in Canterlot can be done using little more than those lessons. Just don't be afraid to give some spankings when they're called for.”

Princess Luna nearly bust a gut laughing at her sister's remark. Twilight, on the other hoof, was still too bothered to let the humor get to her.

“Rule Equestria?!” she repeated her disbelief. “How could I? I've never even assisted in holding a session of court before. The legal classes necessary to-”

“Twilight,” the Sun Princess interrupted the shocked alicorn. “I distinctly remember teaching you personally about the political and legal ideology of Equestria. What I have already taught you is completely sufficient. In fact, it might be a good thing that I have not had you assisting me in court before. You will not be able to relax in that routine when you take my place. Equestria will need a much firmer leadership.”

Twilight's panic turned to deep thought and she settled back into the silky sheets. “What do you mean?”

Luna spoke up. “She means that even her past rule of this land and public declaration of replacement will not be enough weight to ensure your position in our absence. With us temporarily gone, there will be groups even here in Canterlot that will question your right to rule. Maintaining Equestria's sovereignty will require you to impose a form of leadership we haven't had need of in over a thousand years.”

The small purple alicorn gulped. Being far from stupid, it wasn't hard to pick up on Luna's implication. Celestia tried to continue but Discord had the next word in. He had let Luna free from his arms earlier and had started braiding her mane instead.

“Ponies these days,” he clicked his tongue. “They have no idea what it was like thousands of years ago. They'll soon find out if they don't respect their queen.”

Luna tried swatting away his paw and claw but failed to keep him back.

“Don't worry about being harsh, Twilight,” Celestia got the alicorn's attention back. “Remember this moment when I gave you all of the explicit permission you might need in the future. The only way Equestria will ever fall is if you are too afraid to use the power given to you. I would never worry about you abusing it because I know you, Twilight. I also know your friends would hold you accountable.”

Twilight was relieved at the approach Celestia had taken, but the weight of responsibility had hardly lightened through the Sun Alicorn's encouraging words. Twilight's hivemind had taken the information with much speculation and a wealth of mixed feeling. It was hard to imagine what it would all mean in the end. Were their lives going to keep changing without any period of rest? She decided to put the topic on hold until she could sort it out with the others.

“What now?”

“Hm?” Celestia questioned as she turned beneath the covers.

Luna was only half paying attention as she fussed with Discord.

“What do I do now?” Twilight clarified. “You want to put me in your place after you leave, my friends will want to go back to Ponyville, I need to address Chrysalis' past with her, we need to see the Tree of Harmony...not to mention figuring out the relation between this Hive Power and the Elements of Harmony!”

Celestia considered the younger mare's words. It was nice for some peculiar reason to hear a hint of characteristic obsession still in Twilight's tone. “The Elements never belonged to me,” she settled the fact. “I couldn't begin to explain how they might interact magically with the power you've discovered through Chrysalis. I suspect, as you likely already have, that it's a matter of relational magic. The Elements are based on that magical foundation the same way changeling magic is. Perhaps you should focus on going back to Ponyville first. From there, you can visit the Tree and then return here for your public ascension.”

A hum sounded in the quiet room while Twilight thought.

“Would you stop that,” Luna huffed as a statement to the draconequus.

Discord's tail wrapped around a small mirror on the bedside table and hung it in front of Luna's face. “But it suits you so well!”

Seeing her mane partly braided did give her a sense of style. Perhaps it wouldn't look so bad if it was finished. But no. She was too stubborn to admit such a thing and thus kept her forelegs crossed and her cheeks puffed.

“Luna,” Twilight called for the mare's attention.

“Yes, what?” the Princess of the Night rolled her eyes at the male beside her. She waved the mirror away from her face.

Twilight was straight to the point. “What do you think?”

Luna was very aware of the fact that Discord and her sister were looking to her just as intense as Twilight was. She sighed. “Follow my sister's advice. Go to the Tree and listen to it closely. It does not speak in the way most creatures do, so you must open your mind to its magic. Your hivemind should give you a sense of how to do that.”

“Pay close attention to the tonality,” Discord added. “I strongly suspect you will hear two voices rather than one. The Tree has connections to the other origins. The Vine especially.”

“The one that granted my immortality,” Twilight remembered.

“And the one with a personal interest in your future. Take its words with a grain of salt,” Discord warned. “I don't trust it.”

Celestia's smile had waned. “We don't know its motives. Granting immortality might only be a primer in its plan. We may be grateful to it, but the Origins are mysterious powers that have existed long before recorded history. Countless empires have risen and fallen around them.”

“The Vine expressed little interest in modern crises when we last visited it,” Luna helped emphasize the point. “The fact that it's interested in an individual pony is as mysterious as its power.”

“I'll be careful,” Twilight assured while her eyes crackled with a faint green spark. “I've got a hive to take care of, after all.”

Discord groaned, though it apparently had nothing to do with the conversation. “I hate having no magic to use. No props, no costumes, not even the most simplistic gag to pull out of thin air. It's no fun at all. Where do you keep the trick cards, Tia?”

“How'd it go?” Applejack asked the moment Twilight walked back into their hotel room.

It was especially late into the night and, though the stars had looked beautiful outside, Twilight found herself incredibly tired. Besides her magically-forced physical recovery, too many things had changed with her recently. Her mind and body needed time to recover. Certainly Chrysalis would be willing to accommodate the needs of her queen by helping to get the others settled down for sleep.

“Chrysy,” Twilight yawned. “Get comfortable because I'm about to crash.”

Their hotel room had a cozy atmosphere to it with the carefully controlled temperature and the sleepover-style arrangement of mattresses and sheets. All of the hive, save the two guards stationed outside, were present. The maids and two off-duty guards were already asleep, though Centurion was still technically in the hospital. Twilight's servants were two groups she'd rather not have to worry about at the moment.

“It went exactly as well as you already know,” Twilight finally answered Applejack.

The Earth pony had been listening in over the hivemind, but she still felt the need to ask. It seemed the polite and honest thing to do anyhow. She could only hope it helped convey the feelings of support she tried sending to her queen.

“I'm here for you all the way, sugarcube,” AJ added voice to her thoughts. “Even if that means...haystacks, I don't even know how we're goin' to do this.”

She was referring to how they were going to be in Ponyville while Twilight needed to handle Equestria from Canterlot. Taking a small part of Twilight's obsession with details, AJ had already begun nervously shuffling her hooves. She wasn't normally prone to doing it, which caused the others to take notice.

Don't bother our queen with worry, Chrysalis told Applejack. We're all tired and we'll have plenty of time to think on the train back to Ponyville.

Taking the lead, Chrysalis? Rainbow yawned. She was obviously as tired as the others were.

Even Pinkie Pie, currently laying on her back on the soft sheets, was staring at the ceiling in a listless daze. Spike was nearly asleep already with Rarity laying snug against his curled up body. Fluttershy motioned to her queen to lay down with her.

Twilight sighed for the last time that day while she got beneath the sheets at the center of their sleeping area, accompanied by Fluttershy and a few others. The hive got the hint that there was little reason to keep up conversation. Only one thought struck the queen as they settled into the world fabricated in their hivemind.

The future was dark, as if hidden behind cold rain clouds.

Perhaps that thought had been a premonition of the next day. Their hivemind world was sunny and cheery, providing a ground for restful conversation and play. The real world that they returned to the next morning was less so. Dark clouds had been moved in over Canterlot skies and sprinkled the ground in a light but cool drizzle.

Twilight had carefully organized her saddlepack with replacement items that Celestia had sent to her due to the materials she had lost in the castle's collapse. Scrolls, an ink pot, a brush. Everyday items for the most part. One item that had thankfully been recovered was the black book that Luna had given to her in regards to Spike's dreams. The hardcover was a tad beaten and scratched, but the pages inside were intact.

“All done, mistress,” Midi Soleil happily reported upon tidying up their room.

The purple queen smiled and thanked her maid. “Don't forget to meet me at the station,” she reminded.

“Of course not, mistress,” the white mare practically swooned over her superior. “I couldn't forget a word of your lovely voice.”

In spite of Midi's flattery, the Element of Magic was more concerned with pending issues. One of the topics of their recent hivemind sleep had to do with Twilight's absence from Ponyville. Apparently, Applejack had found Fluttershy in a terrible condition only a day after Twilight left. The hivemind hadn't matured to a continuously active state at that time and some aspect of it had caused the normally timid pegasus to experience intense levels of fear and anxiety. Fluttershy hadn't been able to sleep.

The idea that her connected individuals would never be able to leave her presence for long made Twilight concerned. Was it akin to taking away her friends' very freedom? They weren't exactly aware of this fact when they connected. Was it fair? Her hivemind helped put her at ease when the others assured her they accepted the reality of their situation.

With the moral dilemma aside for the moment, Twilight and her hive were now making their way out of the hotel. One of the maids had taken care of the bill, the other three also having taken care of fixing the mattresses and sheets in their room. There was much to do today, but first thing on Twilight's agenda was to see her brother and her sister-in-law.

“Everypony,” Twilight addressed her party of individuals as they walked out of the hotel lobby and entered the Canterlot streets. “Feel free to do what you want. We meet at the train station in two hours.”

All gave their agreements, though Chrysalis looked a bit uncomfortable at being away from Twilight even if it wasn't far or for very long. Fluttershy encouraged the changeling by inviting her along for a walk. As each went their own way to spend the necessary time, Spike gave his mother some parting words.

“Careful what you ask,” he said in a serious tone. “I've got a queasy feeling about this.”

“You're just hungry, Spike,” Twilight giggled in return. “Go grab some breakfast and keep Rarity out of the rain. I don't want to hear her complain later about how her mane was ruined.”

“I have an umbrella,” Rarity deadpanned.

Indeed, now that they were outside, they all had proper covering from the rain. Most, like Rarity, wielded generic umbrellas provided from the hotel. Doubtless, Rarity would want to beautify her drab gray equipment. Applejack was the only one without an umbrella because she had managed to grab a heavy poncho at some point.

Nopony believes me when I say y'all regret not havin' it when it rains, the orange mare grinned in gratification.

Twilight ignored the ensuing conversation between AJ and RD. Instead, she focused on getting down to the nearby inner-city park where she had promised to meet up with her brother and his wife. It was a park she knew well from her childhood, which meant she didn't need to think to find her way there. The buildings and paved walkways were irrelevant to her hooves that could traverse the path all on their own.

Perhaps the light drizzle of rain made their outdoor meeting less desirable, but there were covered tables at the park. Beneath her umbrella, Twilight was seized in a moment of nostalgia the moment she stepped past the open gates of the tree-lined park walkway. Even the gloomy skies couldn't keep a smile from her face.

The damp cobblestone beneath her hooves felt the same as it had over a decade ago. Familiarity was what everything was bathed in, rather than the cool damp water from the sky. She felt good coming back here until the path wound around the play area with the swings and seesaws. Perhaps it was only a memory, but she could see a young version of herself playing there with Cadance. They were having the time of their lives without a worry in the world.

As Twilight kept treading down the damp cobblestone path, she couldn't help feeling a sense of loss. What would it be like to turn back the clock and live forever in that time of happiness? No cares or worries. Not a hundred thousand troubles draining her very life...

“Twily!” called out the unmistakable voice of her brother.

The purple pony snapped out of her dark thoughts. Where had they come from? She wasn't sad or depressed was she? How could she be when she had her hive? It was that same hive that even now flooded her with love and strength.

“Good morning, Shining,” she greeted back and stepped beneath the roof of the covered table area. Cadance and her brother had gotten up from their seats to meet her and it took only a second for Twilight to snap her wet umbrella closed. She hooked it onto the side of the saddlepacks on her back.

“Twilight,” Cadance gave her sister-in-law an indicative look as they stepped up to each other. That was enough for the younger mare to forget her prior musings.

“Sunshine, sunshine,” Twilight beamed.

“Ladybugs awake,” Cadance answered.

“Clap your hooves and do a little shake,” they both ended with a bout of giggling.

Shining Armor shook his head but smiled all the same. “Some things will never change,” he commented.

“I hope not,” Twilight stated and hugged them both. “But it seems to be getting harder and harder to keep up with you two.”

The party of three got to their seats on the table centered beneath the large roof. A calm pitter-patter of rain drummed on, though it was easily overpowered by their conversation. Shining sat on one side with his wife while Twilight took the opposing end of the park table.

“Well,” Cadance stretched out the word, “a lot has happened. I take it that Celestia has already told you about the trip?”

“Yes,” Twilight confirmed a bit sadly.

“But not about ours?” Shining cocked his head. He must have picked up on the curious look in his little sister's eyes because he passed it on to Cadance.

“Twilight,” the pink princess bit her bottom lip. “Shining and I will be leaving soon. We actually had started out when we got the news of what happened here in Canterlot. There's something very serious that we need to look into for the sake of the Crystal Empire. We were going to leave the council in charge of governance in our absence, but it would be far better if someone stood in our place.”

“We talked to Spike when you were still unconscious,” Shining Armor continued. “Both me and Cadance think he's done a lot of growing up. Not just physically,” he quickly added. “I mean, this whole hivemind thing seems to have given him a greater sense of responsibility. The Empire already considers him a figure. Would it be possible to have Spike step in for us?”

The slow and gentle rain kept on even as Twilight's hivemind stopped cold.

40 - Rain is Refreshing

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Chirp! Chirp!

The light rain had stopped in some portions of the city, but Canterlot remained wet. Chrysalis and Fluttershy had taken a walk towards the train station, though it was at a very slow pace. They had lots of time and had no need to rush. The chirping of the birds was evidence to Fluttershy's special talent because the small creatures were coming out from their various rain shelters.

“It's okay,” Fluttershy assured a female cardinal that hovered in front of her. “The pegasi are moving the clouds away now.”

It chirped some kind of response. Initially, Chrysalis didn't understand what it said, but then she got the translation through the hivemind. The changeling's eye twitched. Was she going to inadvertently hear everything Fluttershy's animal friends said? That might get...tedious. She'd just have to tune it out the way she used to tune out the more annoying changelings in her former hive. In any case, the bird flew away and they continued their walk.

Fluttershy, apparently having remembered a past visit to Canterlot, had chosen a scenic route for them to walk along. Now that their umbrellas were closed and hooked on Chrysalis' saddlepacks, they had a much clearer view of the city around them. Or perhaps it was more the lands below rather than the city that they saw. Their path ran along the top of the outer city wall, which was permissible to them only because Fluttershy was one of the Elements.

“Why are you so calm about it?” the shy pegasus asked in her soft tone. It was a casual question as they slowly stepped across the mossy crenelated wall. On their right, the vast and diverse lands of Equestria could be seen beneath Mt. Canter. Cloudsdale was barely visible in the sky beside the receding rainclouds.

Chrysalis effortlessly used their hivemind to get Fluttershy's meaning, though she kept her own part of the conversation slow for the mare's sake. “I assume you think that I'm calm about Twilight's intention to dedicate herself especially to you, I, and Dashie,” she spoke their friend's nickname with a buzzy purr. “Or perhaps you refer to my reaction to our queen's official ascent to Queen of Equestria?”

“Well, that too,” Fluttershy admitted while keeping to her quiet voice. “But especially about our relationship. I know how much she means to you. She means just as much to me and I know she's Dashie's entire world even if Dashie herself won't admit it. How can you be so calm about sharing that special connection with us?”

The towering changeling paused for only a moment, looking down kindly to the smaller female. “For the same reason you're so calm.”

They stopped and Fluttershy fully faced Chrysalis before shying away to look out over the lands. “But I saw your past through Twilight. I felt the pain and hurt,” the Element of Kindness started to tear up. “Why would you choose to be so kind and selfless now?”

Chrysalis stepped closer to Fluttershy and wrapped a holey black hoof over her shoulder. “Because I experienced what I did and was given a second chance,” she smiled with her pointy teeth. “Because Twilight has led by example to show what love and friendship really means. Because I'm connected not just to her but also to you. Who better to understand kindness from than the Element of Kindness herself?”

Fluttershy began to blush but then turned red even faster when Chrysalis leaned down and nuzzled the side of her face. She tried to say something but her words only came out as embarrassed whimpers.

“I never intended for you to experience any anxiety or hardship because of Twilight's absence,” Chrysalis pulled back and poured out her heart. “I'm sorry for not anticipating it.”

When Fluttershy finally regained her composure, she hugged her changeling friend. “There's no need for apologies. If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you for not being more welcoming when Twilight first brought you to Ponyville. You've gone through so much. If...if Twilight isn't around and you need somepony to be with, I'd be honored to spend my time with you.”

Chrysalis beamed at the mare's words. It was a marked step up in Fluttershy's attitude towards her. A spark of green magic flicked from the tip of her jagged black horn, absorbing the love emanating from the sunny pegasus. Fluttershy noticed this but was only more happy for it. As they continued to talk to each other about whatever they wanted, the sun got a little brighter and the morning air got a little bit warmer.

“Why am I so obsessed?” Applejack echoed back to Rainbow Dash while they ran outside of the city walls. Though the trees were many and the grass was thick, the worn dirt paths were adequately traveled and were easy to run down without tripping over some rock or branch.

Rainbow Dash didn't break a sweat as she kept up pace with the Earth pony. “You expect trouble?”

“Nah.”

“You're a terrible liar,” Rainbow deadpanned.

“That was sarcasm, RD,” the farm pony replied before starting them down another path that led to a small pond near Canterlot's northern wall.

“Sure it was. Just tell me when you can actually use our Hive Power like I can!” Rainbow exclaimed and immediately opened her wings.

She gave only a few starting flaps before exploding forwards in a low altitude flight that left a rainbow trail crackling with green energy. Her speed was nearly to Rainboom levels without having yet performed an actual Rainboom. Before Applejack could finish rolling her eyes, Rainbow had zipped back, closed her wings, and was running along her side once more.

“I need to get a hang of this here Hive thingamajig,” Applejack resumed their conversation. To her credit, she hadn't gone out of breath even though they had been running for some time. “Being a princess was one thing, but being the queen of all darn gone Equestria is serious business. I got to be at least a sliver as serious as she is.”

“I'm all the protection she needs,” Rainbow argued even as her hooves lifted from the ground and she matched Applejack's pace by flying low.

Not wanting to roll her eyes again, the orange mare slowed her run instead. “I'm pretty sure that's what the guards are for,” she countered. “I was more thinkin' along the lines of a major disaster callin' for the Elements of Harmony.”

“Pfft,” Rainbow scoffed. “As if that'll ever happen. I don't know if you've been paying attention, AJ, but we've beat the living daylights out of every villain in Equestria. Who's left?!”

“Hey now,” Applejack stopped completely.

They had arrived at the pond that had the miniature colorful fish darting around inside it. Though the body of sparkling water was small, it was also deep and dark at the center. It might have felt like a lonely place if the wind hadn't picked up and the sun hadn't come through the receding clouds.

“What?” Rainbow rose a brow and landed at the damp edge of the water.

“You seriously askin' that?”

“Asking what?”

Applejack shook her head because Rainbow wasn't getting the hint through their hivemind. “Every other day there's somepony crawlin' out of the woodwork lookin' to conquer the world. We didn't even know King Sombra existed until the Crystal Empire popped up out of nowhere.”

Rainbow's tongue stuck in her mouth. She didn't have a good counter for that and Applejack knew it with or without their hivemind. Before the silence had a chance to get heavy, they both heard the words spoken to Twilight about Spike stepping in for the Crystal Empire.

“Aw, nelly!”

Rainbow Dash dropped her face into her forehooves with a groan. “Way to read the mood, Oblivious Armor,” she said sarcastically.

“Twilight already has too much to think about,” Applejack furrowed her brows in worry. “And we need to get back to Ponyville. How in tarnation...?”

Spike nearly spit his drink back out after having just taken a sip. Rarity, walking smoothly by his side, had almost tripped. They had both passively heard the conversation through the hivemind just as the others had. The pair had stopped simultaneously on the sidewalk, surrounded by ponies still walking about since the rain had ceased in that part of the city. Rainclouds were receding, but some portions of Canterlot were still under light rain.

Rarity looked to her special drake, uncertainty plastered on her face. She held her cup of specialty tea in her magical grip while he held his hot chocolate with his claws. A white hoof on his side prompted him to look down to meet her eyes. While walking on his two back legs, his height was above her eye level.

The hivemind was rife with discussion over the question. With the help of Chrysalis and Rarity's advice, Spike gave his thoughts to Twilight. It may have been a terribly complicated idea for Shining Armor and Princess Cadance to suggest, but Spike was put at ease by Twilight's quick inner scheduling and Chrysalis' hivemind assurance. The dragon was also a little excited with the prospect.

“Of course, we understand you can't make the decision for him,” Shining Armor quickly added.

“But you know he values my opinion,” Twilight explained what wasn't said. She had immediately heard Spike's questions in the hivemind, which were all directed at her. “It's a big responsibility.”

Cadance looked sheepish. “I'm sorry, Twilight. We know how much you've been going through...especially the recent accident...”

The purple mare took a deep breath and used the hoof motion Cadance had taught her, which the pink princess smiled meekly at. “It's alright. I've been learning to deal with it. As for whether or not Spike could fill the position-”

“It's okay if he needs time to consider it,” Shining disclaimed.

“-the answer is yes.”

Shining Armor turned very thoughtful for a moment, as if reasoning out whether it was only Twilight's answer or Spike's conveyed response over the hivemind. Such concepts of communication were strange to him and he had almost forgotten about it. Cadance smiled a few seconds before her husband did.

“Only after the crowning ceremony here in Canterlot, though,” Twilight stated. She rested her forehooves on the table and shifted on her seat. “Chrysalis will need to work out some method of long-distance hivemind transmission. I haven't figured out the precise distance on connection deterioration. I've got a wealth of other issues to address as well.”

“We don't want to keep you,” Shining offered his consideration to his younger sister.

Twilight brightened up, however. “You won't get rid of me that easily, big brother,” she giggled. “I didn't want to meet up to talk business and then leave. How about we catch up on the stuff that's actually important. Like what you and Cadance have been doing with your free time?”

The white stallion blushed and averted his eyes.

Cadance brought a forehoof to her lips in a vain attempt to hide a giggle that matched Twilight's. “I don't think he could tell you anything that doesn't involve the two of us in candlelight.”

“Oooh,” Twilight smirked at the red-cheeked male. “Got to keep the honeymoon going, huh?”

“C'mon, you two,” he complained weakly. “Is it so bad that I love my wife?”

Cadance got a wild look in her eyes. “Should I make the flirty comeback or just leave it to your imagination?”

The brother and sister laughed at that, but they calmed themselves back down when they saw one of Twilight's guards approaching. Her guards had shadowed her the whole way and one of them stood stock still at the edge of the table area's roof canopy while the other walked up to them.

Neither had a readable expression but, then, neither did any of Shining Armor and Cadance's crystal guards. There had to be at least half a dozen of them failing to be inconspicuous in the distance. It was hard for them to be subtle with their sparkling crystal coats.

“What is it?” Twilight asked with furrowed brows. The guards had been forced to switch their shifts again since the accident, which was why Direway and Flash Sentry were the ones currently with her. She wasn't yet connected to Flash, so she couldn't use the hivemind to know his thoughts.

“My queen,” the orange pegasus bowed and sounded very nervous. “I'm very sorry for interrupting, but I have realized there is no good time to speak to you about this.”

“About what?” Twilight asked again and got out of her seat so she could stand face-to-face with him. Though she didn't do it consciously, her face and body language was already demonstrating her motherly concern for one of her soon-to-be hive members. It was a personality trait she was continuing to obtain through Chrysalis' influence and the guard's troubled look certainly called for it.

Shining Armor was going to speak up to the guard since they had once served together in the Canterlot division, but Cadance stopped him. She knew Twilight needed to handle it.

“My failure...” Flash lowered his gaze to the stone flooring of the table area. He felt ashamed. “When the accident happened, I was nothing but a disgrace to my uniform. I should have at least done something to mitigate the danger to the others, but I was so full of fear that I was frozen-”

“Discord,” Twilight interjected, “informed me of a few details. Like how he stopped you. There's no reason to worry over what happened. It's behind us now and that's where it will stay. I'm guessing there was something else on your mind.”

“Actually, yes,” he replied but seemed to get even more nervous. “I know I have no right to bring this up after how pathetic I must have seemed-”

“You're one of my own guards,” Twilight interrupted him again. “You can just tell me whatever you want to.”

Flash took a deep breath and then looked up to meet his queen's eyes. “Do you only...uh...”

“It's okay,” Twilight smiled and assured him again. “Go on.”

The stallion straightened himself and spoke with an almost rigid tone of determination. “Do you only like mares?”

Cadance tried not to fall off her seat from her unrestrained laughter.

“Where-?” Applejack blurted when Rainbow Dash took off from the ground with a sonic blast of speed just below the level of a Sonic Rainboom. “We don't need any more darned drama!”

Rainbow was ditching her time-wasting with AJ so she could tell off that guard straight in his face. How dare he come out of nowhere like that and make a pass at Twilight. Especially by interrupting the queen's limited time with her non-hive family! Even as Twilight tried to calm her down, Rainbow Dash kept flying back into the city at high speed.

It was frustrating for Twilight because her attempts to directly influence Rainbow over the hivemind were not working the way she wanted them to. She supposed, however, that it might be for the best if she didn't pursue ways to forcefully direct the emotions of others. Thus, she let Rainbow have her moment when she arrived. The pegasus hadn't even finished landing before she let into Flash Sentry.

“You've got some nerve!” Rainbow shouted angrily at the stallion. Water droplets sprayed out from her wings because she had flown beneath a few rainclouds on the way over.

Flash was quiet, but that was likely due to his shock at the blue mare's sudden and near supersonic arrival.

“You're a guard for Celestia's sake! What kind of pig-headed jerk goes making rude-” The blue mare was so impassioned that she came up short on words.

Shining Armor and Cadance didn't say anything, opting to remain observers rather than unwelcome third parties. It was a very uncomfortable situation even though Cadance had thought it much more light-hearted a moment ago.

Twilight decided that remark sufficient enough for Rainbow Dash to vent. “Alright, Dashie. That's enough. I need to speak with both you and Flash privately. Flash first.”

“What?!” Rainbow zipped over to Twilight with a burst of speed from her wings. Her mouth was open. “You're not speaking to this creep all by yourself! He-”

The queen didn't let the rainbow-maned mare go on, though she whispered the rest so as to avoid making the others more uncomfortable than they already were. “Zip it, Rainbow. I'm sick of not making progress because of all these accidents and distractions. You're only making it worse by being illogical and unreasonable.”

Rainbow replied by making some throaty sounds not quite qualifying as complete words. The hivemind betrayed her annoyance at Twilight's response. Therefore, the queen lit her horn with a powerful purple magic that crackled with green electricity. It shot out at Rainbow Dash, effectively teleporting her out of visible distance and adding a ball and chain to her rear legs so she couldn't simply fly back.

“Sorry,” Twilight looked over to her brother with a forced expression of happiness. “This will only take a moment.”

The royal couple nodded in understanding, but Twilight didn't wait. She proceeded to quickly teleport herself and Flash Sentry to another close location safely distant from the eyes or ears of others. Coincidentally, that happened to be the other side of the park. They found themselves standing next to a large fountain that was shaped like some cross between a pony and a seahorse. The sound of the trickling water was nice even though it had so recently rained.

When Direway asked where she had gone through the hivemind, she answered respectfully while also starting her talk with Flash. “I'm sorry about Rainbow Dash,” she began. “I'm sure you've noticed things have been hectic lately.”

The orange stallion chuckled a bit. “I kind of notice, but you don't need to apologize about anything. Rainbow Dash was right. I'm one of your guards and it's not right for me to say anything that might be taken as a...well, an implication.”

“It's more than that,” Twilight sighed and knew Rainbow could hear their conversation even now. She was too worked up to attempt blocking the hivemind's flow. “It wasn't really about what you said. There wasn't anything bad about it. Rainbow is just...”

“A short fuse?” Flash offered.

Twilight only responded to that with a wane smile. “I suppose. It's personal, though. I'd rather not go into the details. As for you, I'd like to know if you meant any implications.”

The guard widened his eyes and was at a loss for words. Eventually his nervousness lessened enough for him to make out some words. “I'm not sure if I've ever met such a direct mare before.”

“I didn't use to be,” she sighed and finally noticed that they weren't being sprinkled on by the dark clouds. She had been so invested in the situation that she had forgotten it had been lightly raining in their area. Since she had teleported them around without extended umbrellas, they would have been soaked if the weather hadn't moved on.

“What changed?” Flash tried for more casual conversation.

“The world,” Twilight looked up from the ground to Flash and then to the sky. The sun was coming back out with the blue surrounding it, but she remembered Discord's words about alternate Equestrias. “I'm starting to wonder if my life would have been easier if I hadn't saved Chrysalis.”

“You're not doubting your decision are you?”

“Why would you want to know?” she countered, not quite sure why she suddenly felt defensive.

The young guardpony didn't hesitate this time, though. “Because that was one of the reasons I fell in love with you.”

Another Twilight in another dimension might have been shocked to hear those words. This Twilight was not the same, however. She had gone through Tartarus in more ways than one and had at least five individuals she knew that openly had those feelings for her. Three of them she had decided to return the emotion with at the most personal level.

“Thanks,” Twilight replied almost in a whisper.

“You're not complacent with the way things are and I mean that in a good way,” he continued to praise her. “You made some hard decisions and stood up to the backlash it got you all for the sake of saving somepony. There aren't a whole lot of ponies like that in the world.”

“I can't return your feelings right now, Flash,” Twilight stopped him. Her hoof had stretched out to place upon the center point of his breastplate, which was shaped after her own cutie mark. “My world is a mess and I'm being pulled six different directions all at once. As much as I want to love you as part of my hive, I have nothing left to give right now.”

Flash's gaze faltered, but he only stuttered at first before regaining his positive tone. “T-that's okay. I understand. It's just too much...”

“Maybe after I've settled in for a month with the others,” Twilight encouraged him. She knew it was a vain hope. The future had too many variables for her to predict. Especially within the last week. “I have to speak to Rainbow now. I'll teleport you back to Direway. Wait for me to return to where my brother and Cadance are.”

Flash took a deep breath to keep his battered hopes from showing. “Yes, my queen!” he forced his enthusiasm.

Twilight's horn glowed just as it had before. Green electricity snapped around them and, a second later, both were gone. Flash was where she said he'd be and Twilight was now standing before a very torn Rainbow Dash who was facing the other direction on purpose. The mare was just as she seemed to be in the hivemind: upset, confused, and broken. Twilight knew the second Rainbow darted over to them what was going on.

“Dashie,” Twilight changed her tone and approach to a soft one. She stepped across the damp park grass that Rainbow had been teleported onto. “I'm sorry for putting you aside like this, but I needed just a second to talk to Flash Sentry. He has fee-”

“I know! I can hear everything, remember!” Rainbow shouted, though her face was turned from Twilight and her voice betrayed her uncertainty. “I'm sorry about butting in with the guard, okay? I don't know what got into me. I just...I just...”

Twilight embraced her Element of Loyalty from behind, simultaneously disintegrating the ball and chain attached to Rainbow's rear legs. “You feel lost.”

The blue pegasus didn't respond, but her body slumped back against her queen's.

Twilight rested her head on Rainbow's shoulder, nuzzling the other mare in the process. “Dashie,” she intentionally coddled her. “I'll always be here for you. You know that, so why do you feel so insecure?”

“Just use your powers to probe my mind,” Rainbow pouted but didn't shrug off the other mare.

Twilight withheld a grumpy comeback, instead opting to continue her gentle support. She slowly started rocking the mare from left to right, as if some nonexistent tune was playing in the background. “I don't want to do that. I want to hear your voice in the real world, not just some shared mind. I want you to speak to me.”

“Why?” Rainbow bit her lip. This conversation had happened before and she heard the answer before Twilight actually said it.

“Because I love you,” the queen smiled. She loosened her embrace just enough to turn Rainbow Dash around and kiss her on the cheek. “That's what this is about. Not Flash Sentry. This is about you wanting me to return your feelings and not feeling secure about our relationship.”

“Way to ruin the moment with your egghead talk,” Rainbow rolled her eyes but chuckled when she got a giggle out of Twilight. “You like psychology now?”

“Only yours,” Twilight returned.

“And Fluttershy. And Chrysalis,” Rainbow added with a lop-sided look.

“Do you not like them, Dashie?”

“Flutters or Chrysy?” the pegasus smiled and then frowned purposefully. “I don't mind sharing you with the former, but I cringe at the latter.”

Twilight couldn't help but remark on her friend's choice of words. “At least you're improving your vocabulary.”

“It's hard not to with you in my head,” Rainbow came back with a small grin.

The uncomfortable moment had finally passed and Twilight was at ease once more, which also lessened the emotional tension in her hive. She took a few tiny seconds to relish the feeling of Rainbow Dash in her hooves. The smell of fresh rain did her justice rather than disservice and there was also the faint scent of pine in her mane, likely from her run outside the city walls.

Rainbow Dash didn't complain when her queen kept holding her, but she certainly felt like doing so when she pulled back and left again for Shining Armor and Cadance. She didn't want to, but the multicolored mare left her special somepony to her family. Hopefully, Applejack would keep from saying anything about the episode.

Twilight got back to the table area, where she and the rulers of the Crystal Empire could talk again. The mood had been hurt, but they got it back when Cadance managed to crack another joke about Twilight's foalhood. She was good at it for some reason. Likely because she had once been a foalsitter.

41 - Home is Heartening

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The day was bright and the air was clean. Earthy. That was how best to describe Ponyville's scent. In fact, one might describe the town's atmosphere that way as well. Most of the residents were Earth ponies even though there was a fair share of unicorns and pegasi. It was the only place in Equestria to have so much harmony between the different types. While masked bias may exist in such places as Cloudsdale and Canterlot, ponies from Ponyville saw each other only as good neighbors.

“Phewee!” Applejack shouted out with a hint of glee as they stepped off the train station's platform. She ground her hooves into the dirt beneath her. “Canterlot's good and all, but landsakes! Never feels better than bein' back home.”

“I know the feeling,” Chrysalis buzzed as she stepped by the orange mare. She grinned when she saw the Earth pony shiver at the closeness. Even as part of the hivemind, AJ still had some warming up to do. “I assume our queen wants to get right to business.”

“Not exactly,” the purple alicorn half jumped and half flew over their heads. She landed next to Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, who had walked a bit further ahead. “I wouldn't mind grabbing something to eat before dealing with this Tree of Harmony.”

I'm full, thank you, Chrysalis echoed into Twilight's mind. Perhaps I can start our chore for you. Would you like if I cleared a path to this supposed tree?

You know exactly what Celestia told me, Twilight replied. Follow the directions, don't do anything extreme on your own, and don't proceed if trouble comes up. You're not getting hurt when I'm not around.

I'll take that as an order, the changeling hummed to herself in contentment. Her queen's concern for her health had started taking on a possessive taint to it. Just how she liked it.

Fluttershy stopped for a moment and watched Chrysalis hover towards the Everfree by herself. “Maybe I should go with her...”

“I thought you were terrified of the Everfree, darling,” Rarity commented while walking past her stationary friend. She took notice, much as Spike did, that the townsfolk were looking on in mixed wonder and nervousness at Spike's larger size. They had, after all, been through an incident before.

Twilight also took some looks from ponies as they traveled towards her favorite hometown veggie burger shop. Whether it was the changeling breastplate, horseshoes, or crown was hard to tell. Likely it was all three including the significantly larger dragon companion. Pinkie was also donning her artificial changeling horn and wings, which pulsed with green magical energy.

“I'm going to have to call a town meeting,” Twilight sighed in resignation. Mayor Mare would have questions too.

Got to get to the farm, Applejack explained as she veered off from the group. Grannie'll get the paddle if I don't let them know all's good.

Twilight gave her affirmative while strolling into the burger joint. She was hoping that the place would be mostly vacant so that there wouldn't be so much of a scene. Not a chance. The shop was packed to the rafters with ponies. Even a few out of town griffons were there. It was as if all of Equestria had chosen this one day to deprive her of a nice quiet meal.

Her ears turned down, her brows went into a deadpan expression, and she murmured an “every cursed day of my life.”

If only she could order them all out. The thought did cross her in no subtle way. Chrysalis, being close enough to catch it in the hivemind, encouraged the idea. The queen ignored the encouragement, though. Chrysalis was in high spirits with Twilight's queenhood and would immediately marry her in the street if the thought entered her mind. It had, in fact, entered Twilight's mind and the changeling was quick to encourage that idea as well.

A cream-colored stallion with a long brown mane at the front of the waiting line was kind enough to break Twilight's mental battle by waving her over to the counter. Normally, the purple alicorn wouldn't dare consider cutting by a line. Especially a long one like the one that currently wound back and forth nearly to the door. The individuals that were waiting, however, all had the curious tendency to avoid eye contact and were quick to wave her forward as well. Were they...

...afraid of her?

Now that she thought of it, there was a discernible tang in the air, as if the emotion of fear were a faint perfume. All of the grown ups had it. Only the little ones were oblivious enough to not pay attention to the group that had just entered the eatery. A young gray Earth pony colt ran head first into Twilight's left forehoof, prompting the queen to look down with concern.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

The white-maned colt looked ready to cry even though he didn't have any apparent injuries. Before any other comment could be made, a black griffon with grey accents decided to grab the little pony and offer a bounty of rushed apologies.

“So so so sorry, your highness,” he begged in a worried but sincere tone. "I'll get the kid back to his parents. Please forgive us.”

Once again before Twilight could speak a word, the griffon was gone. He raced around the line and halfway across the restaurant to return the colt to a pair of ponies seated at a booth. The confusingly fast exchange and the looks from the other ponies and griffons were more than enough to turn Twilight's stomach.

Rainbow Dash ignored Twilight's concern, zipped ahead to the counter and started ordering a large set of meals. “Make it a triple stacker for my beautiful royal mare over there,” she nodded back to Twilight. “Oh, and can you cut the bun in the shape of a heart? We're madly in love.”

“Rainbow!” Twilight grouched, stamped her hoof, and stomped over to the blue mare.

Pinkie Pie snorted a laugh through her nose. “Oh, Dashie. Still haven't lost your pranky side, huh?”

“But we are in love...” Rainbow almost pouted.

The ongoing conversation was lost on the pony behind the counter who had broken into a cold sweat. Her eyes darted back and forth from the menacing-looking contraption Pinkie Pie was wearing to the various changeling-like queen's accessories Twilight adorned. The hard clod and metal pieces glowed with a green energy and arcs of lightning seemed to play out inside of the light, drawing one's eyes in like a bottomless pit.

“Still no gemstones?” Spike asked the female cashier after resting his forearms on the counter.

“Huh?” the poor pony trembled. “Gemstones? I don't have any...I'm so sorry...”

Spike was taken back by the fear the mare seemed to be in. It caused him to lean off the counter.

Rarity put a hoof on his back to reassure him while addressing the cashier. “No, we are the ones who are sorry, darling. We did not mean to seem imposing. I believe the others can find a sitting place outside while I finish the order and deliver the food personally. Spikey, would you be a dear and find us a few tables?”

The hivemind allowed not only Spike but all the others to take Rarity's hint. They were terrifying everyone. News of the incident in Canterlot must have spooked the townsfolk. Twilight and Pinkie's changeling equipment didn't do much to ease the obviously unsettled atmosphere.

“Come on,” Twilight hurried the others and followed the dragon back out of the building. “I'm sure Rarity knows how to handle a fast food order. It's easier than fixing an inner stitch, after all.”

Twilight's three guards that had taken positions around the doorway took formation around her party of ponies once more. They were nicely casual about it, which was the only reason she didn't order them elsewhere entirely. If it weren't for them, it might have been impossible to get through the door in the first place. More ponies were pouring into the restaurant, as if it was the only eatery on the planet.

“Dashie,” Twilight started while Spike steered them towards the only outside table left unoccupied. “Thanks for that compliment, but you don't need to try so hard.”

“Try? What are you talking about?” Rainbow attempted to sound annoyed but only wound up with an insecure tone. “I thought you'd like it if we shared a heart burger. The hivemind...”

The pony queen winced. When she had first grasped the concept of the hivemind, she had only seen the pros. It had never occurred to her that a synchronous mind could possibly lead to miscommunication. Too much interconnection lead to the possibility of mixed signals, which resulted in confusion. It had just happened.

“Oh, silly Dashie!” Pinkie hopped cheerfully on their left side. “That was my thought. I was thinking how cute it'd be if you two shared one.”

Rainbow's face couldn't have gotten redder. Nothing came from her closed mouth and they all got seated at the table. The only conversation left was in the hivemind.

I wouldn't mind sharing one, Twilight assured the Element of Loyalty.

Rainbow may have turned her frown into a smile at that, but Spike merely puffed a breath of smoke from his nostrils. He rested his head and hands on the table and waited for his own mare to come back with their food. It looked like he would have to resign himself once again to hayfries.

Extra crispy.

Crunch!

“Eep!”

The former was the sound of Chrysalis snapping a branch underhoof. The latter was Fluttershy being frightened and hiding in the changeling's blue tail. Chrysalis was honestly surprised the pegasus could hide in there. On the other hoof, she had let it grow out quite a bit. Her mane was longer too.

“I thought you wanted to come,” Chrysalis hummed the words with her unique changeling vocal chords. Her tone was gentle, though. She had, after all, become quite fond of the scared yellow mare.

“It never gets any less...scary,” Fluttershy trembled as she peeked out of Chrysalis' tail. The difference in their body size made her seem even smaller than she was.

Chrysalis had to admit there was some truth to Fluttershy's fright. The Everfree forest around them was dark and gloomy even though it was a bright and cheery midday in Ponyville. The sun was practically forbidden beneath the tree canopy. There was an awful smell too. Part timberwolf breath and part rotting wood. Of course, the timberwolves were partly made of rotting wood, so it made sense.

“We're almost to the stream,” Chrysalis assured Fluttershy upon levitating the mare out of her tail. She nuzzled her neck to instill a little comfort. A small glow of green from her horn's tip put an old changeling soothing spell over Fluttershy for good measure.

The shy pony felt weak in her knees not because of fear but because of the spell. A strange sense of euphoria overtook her and she found Chrysalis' appearance to be incredibly soothing. As if her conscious thought had been switched off, she started rubbing her face against Chrysalis' side and made soft giggles while she did so.

“I may have overdone it,” Chrysalis sighed to herself. “Come on, Shy.”

They reached the stream quickly due to the fact that the dense trees had obscured it from view and kept them from realizing they were practically on top of it already. The sound of the water was calm enough not to notice over the rustling wind. It was deep enough to make the changeling think twice about trying to swim across, though.

“Shy,” Chrysalis buzzed and looked down to the pegasus still cuddling against her side like a cat. The hivemind helped the former queen query Fluttershy's mind directly, but the answer to crossing the river was still a tad vague. “You crossed before using a serpent. Another time you used a series of rocks. I see neither.”

“Mmm,” Fluttershy hummed in pure contentment. “Let's fly together. Low, though. I'm afraid of heights.”

“Afraid of heights?” Chrysalis' face turned blank as she considered that alongside the fact that a pegasus had just said it. It was one thing to know it through their mental connection, and it was another to hear her say it. The changeling's train of thought was suddenly broken by a lightbulb moment. “We have wings!”

Chrysalis felt like an idiot.

“A rose by any-”

“Shut up and eat your hayfries,” Rarity silenced her dragon. Her tone was anything but ladylike at the moment.

Being in the same hivemind seemed to have given Spike the ability to take a hint. The others at their combined table arrangement carefully avoided eye contact. Nopony wanted a piece of the very upset and on-edge fashionista.

Except Twilight.

“Spike was just trying to lighten your mood, Rarity,” the alicorn queen lectured. “How were we supposed to know that the food preps would get the order wrong twice and then the cashier would accidentally spill barbecue on your coat after knocking over the drinks?”

Rarity's red-hot stare said everything that didn't come out of her mouth.

Pinkie Pie snorted another bout of laugh. “The barbecue stains make you look like a cow!”

It was finally out. Everyone else at the table stared at Pinkie in horror. Of all the things to say to Rarity, that was perhaps the worst. Sure, everypony had been thinking it. Twilight had gone to great lengths to suppress the thought in the hivemind so Rarity wouldn't know. So much for that.

Steam could be seen coming out of the newly marble-coated mare. “W-well I never!” she shrieked before shuddering in rage. Not knowing quite where to go from there, she looked one way and then another before stomping as hard as she could from their table.

“I better go after her,” Spike grimaced and stuffed a claw full of hayfries in his mouth before taking off after Rarity.

“Good job, Smoothie,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at Pinkie and then messily bit into her burger, crumbs flying.

The party pony didn't seem to get the problem. “What? Cows are awesome. I love cows! Moooo~!”

Rarity was apparently still in earshot because they heard her shout an “ARGH” of additional rage.

Twilight's face hit the top of the table in front of her plate. “I think I need to lie down somewhere.”

“Need a hug?” Rainbow smiled and leaned on Twilight's side. Her face was a mess of crumbs and veggie sauce.

The queen let her crown clink forward onto the table. “Do friendships come with refunds?”

“So this is it,” Chrysalis stated in a flat monotone upon looking up at the sparkling Tree of Harmony. She had to keep batting Fluttershy away because the mare was trying repeatedly to jump up and steal a kiss. It had been a while since Chrysalis had botched a spell so badly, but she supposed even the best were obligated to mess up every now and then.

“Chrysy!” Fluttershy enthused in a mix of joy and eagerness. The contrast to her usual shy innocence was touching but terribly distracting. She kept giggling like a filly in a candy store.

“Shush, I'm thinking,” the changeling frowned and huffed.

The tree was...well it was unique. It seemed to be made of an unusual ivory wood. There were an assortment of branches that had indentions at the end. A large indention was at the center, which was impossible to reach from the ground due to the obscene size of the tree. Chrysalis lazily hovered up and sneered as she touched the indention. It was in a familiar shape.

“I don't believe in destiny,” she whispered to herself.

Fluttershy was hovering beside her and had finally paused her affections long enough to truly take in the wonder of the massive tree. “Harmony...” she breathed out in awe.

You're paying attention? Chrysalis queried her queen. They were still in hivemind distance, though Chrysalis was not sure if Twilight was taking in the visual information through their eyes.

The response was immediate. Of course, Twilight assured her loyal changeling. I had no idea it was so big.

The indentions...

The Elements, Twilight concluded. Celestia told us, but I'm not sure how they interact with the tree. We'll have to all be there together.

Chrysalis asked when that might be. At the same time, Fluttershy abandoned her interest in the tree and resumed nuzzling against the changeling's side, chest, and neck.

We'll be over after I finish lunch. Rarity had-

An accident. She's very attractive with that color scheme, Chrysalis smirked, though Twilight wasn't there to see it. Spike seems to be handling it well.

Though all members were currently connected in the hivemind, Rarity and Spike were thankfully not paying much attention to it. They were instead focused on a private conversation amongst themselves.

If it weren't for him, I don't know if I could deal with Rarity, Twilight's exasperation came over their connection. In situations like this, I mean. Nice work on Shy, by the way.

Rub it in, Chrysalis groaned, which came out as more of a stuttering buzz in the non-hivemind world.

I don't have to. She already is, the queen chuckled and then turned her attention back to her own physical location.

“Keep your hooves to yourself for now, Shy,” Chrysalis said with forced calm. Her comparatively larger hooves had no trouble grabbing the smaller mare as they both hovered back down to the slightly damp soil. “You should use them first for your queen. Not me.”

“Twilight is special to me,” Fluttershy responded in her most level-headed voice since they entered the Everfree. “But that doesn't mean I want to ignore you and Dashie. The two of you are just as important in my life and I know for a fact that you are a far sweeter changeling than you give yourself credit for.”

The spell had apparently worn off. Chrysalis breathed in relief over that. At the same time, her hooves shifted on the dark soil beneath them. She glanced to the tree towering before them. “Is it pessimistic of me to doubt? I have lived over ten times as long as you, Shy. I may hope for the best, but I expect the worst. Rarely have I been let down on the latter.”

Fluttershy lowered her head when she felt Chrysalis' dark memories replay. The pink locks of her mane that she kept carefully combed fell over her eyes and shrouded her face. Even if Chrysalis' words had little effect, the emotions of powerlessness and depression had plenty of weight behind them. Only Twilight's positive intervention in the hivemind prevented the dark cloud from growing.

Their queen held their spirits up.

“Applejack?” Fluttershy asked in surprise. The orange Earth pony walked down the half-eroded stairway that lead to the cave she, Chrysalis, and the Tree of Harmony were in. It had never occurred to her before exactly why a tree would be growing in a cave in the first place. Chrysalis chuckled at the idea.

“Never been easier,” Applejack remarked as soon as she hopped off the last stair. It was really more of a slope with the way it had been worn away.

Chrysalis stood at the cave's entrance and nodded AJ inside. “Does our queen's hivemind please you?”

Noting the trace of smugness in the changeling's voice, Applejack matched it. “Gettin' directions is a sack of turnips compared to the ol' maps of the Everfree that Grannie whipped up way back when. Especially when my friends already did the trek for me.”

Fluttershy relied on the hivemind to inform her of Applejack's meaning behind “a sack of turnips.” Her polite smile didn't betray her confusion of the phrase, though the hivemind certainly did. AJ might have joined them, but the yellow pegasus saw no reason to get up from where she laid beside the tree. There was a strong sense of calmness she got when she was beneath its branches – a calm that matched even Twilight's queenly influence.

“The others are comin' along,” Applejack added upon approaching the tree. It was more of a self-comment than any useful bit of information. Chrysalis was so much taller than the Earth pony she stood next to that the apple farmer got a nervous tick at the edge of her mouth. She forced herself to be more at ease, trying to trust the hivemind as she felt she should.

“It won't get any points for beauty,” Chrysalis said while she and AJ peered up at the massive tree.

The mare's brow inched up. “Darn pretty as a mare in veil. Black and green really have to be all that's attractive to you?”

Chrysalis tilted her head and looked over to the smaller female. “Purple, a little blue and pink, a couple of stars. I see beauty beyond myself, my little sheep herder.”

“What did you just call me?” Applejack's voice rose. She reacted to the offhoof comment instantly.

“What?” Chrysalis practically shrugged it off and looked back up to the tree as if to ignore her. “I thought your memories involved sheep herding. You still have sheep at Sweet Apple Acres. I saw them when you checked in with your family not half an hour ago.”

Applejack's lips sputtered on the logical comeback. “I can't help but feel you were insinuatin' somethin' mean!”

“Explore my feelings,” the changeling countered in perfect calm. She treated the matter as if it were no more than a quibble over half a piece of toast. “You'll see I'm being honest.”

If Chrysalis had meant any slight, Applejack could only conclude that she had hidden it well in the hivemind. The changeling might be able to mask her thoughts or emotions in there, but Applejack certainly could not. Her grumbling echoed loud and clear within.

Fluttershy spoke up with some small talk to keep the air from being uncomfortable. However, it was only about ten minutes until Twilight and the others finally arrived. The entire hive was now present because the two guards accompanying the queen were Midnight Strike and Direway. The maids had not yet been connected and were currently at the Golden Oaks library taking care of the chores Spike typically attended to.

Concerning Spike...

“Put me down this instant!” Rarity shouted from atop Spike's shoulder.

The larger-than-pony dragon was hefting the mare across his right shoulder. Earlier attempts at neutralizing her hissy-fit had failed. Though he had preferred not to, Spike had been forced to carry her against her will to the Tree of Harmony. All members had to be present, including her.

“Sorry, milady,” Spike's words rang with an honest regret. “Twilight's orders.”

Twilight herself was by his side and rolled her eyes at Rarity's drama show. “Alright, everyone,” she announced and marveled again at the sight of the tree. She had seen it through the eyes of the others and then again as she descended the stairs. But only now that she was seeing it up close and personal did she take in the majesty of it.

“Alright what?” Applejack couldn't keep the sass out of her tone when she walked up to Twilight. Fluttershy and Chrysalis were on either side of her. “I don't get what we're supposed to do.”

Twilight peered up at the tall mysterious tree, returning a small hug from Fluttershy and a larger one from Chrysalis. Rainbow Dash adjusted the heavy case of Element necklaces on her back while Pinkie Pie ignored it as she wrestled with her horn that didn't seem to be channeling any of their Hive Power. Spike was trying to keep a struggling Rarity from falling her full height off of his shoulder. As for the guards, they were as expressionless as their stance at either side of the cave's entrance.

The queen remembered what Celestia and Luna had said. If ever there was a time to believe in destiny, this might have been it. The Tree of Harmony supposedly communicated through a magical ley line, which meant it was theoretically possible to synchronize with its mode of communication by using her hivemind. This would never have been possible before she had attained her changeling abilities.

If she had come to the tree before she had her Hive Power, she might have been lost and unable to communicate. Who knows what spells she might have tried in a desperate attempt to analyze the strange magical plant. But there was little time for “what ifs” because a voice echoed in her hivemind the moment she placed her hoof on the tree's trunk.

All hail, greeted a calm androgynous voice. The plains and forests burn before thee, Queen of War.

42 - Planning is Dangerous

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What?” was more or less the collective response of all present before the Tree of Harmony. It was voiced and thought in a variety of questions and levels of urgency. Except for Chrysalis, of course. She was used to such things coming from elder beings and withheld her calm from the hivemind for the purpose of her own amusement.

Burn? Queen of War? Twilight queried in shock. Her fellow hive members helped snap her out of it long enough to ask the obvious. Are you really the Tree of Harmony?

Of course I am, the almost whispery voice responded. You don't happen to have your dirty little hooves on any other tree do you? I must admit, your reaction was worth the wait.

Twilight closed her mouth, which she only just realized had been gaping open for a while.

I always wanted to do that, the tree giggled in its unvoiced magical means of communication.

Chrysalis looked deadpan at her queen. Don't worry, Twilight. Eccentricity comes with being old.

The alicorn mare found a grin to show in return. “I know,” she strongly insinuated towards her changeling, who stuck her tongue out playfully.

You're smaller than I was expecting, the tree continued. Your horn is shorter too.

Twilight's grin turned to a frown as she looked back to the tree. And you're testier than I expected.

If the giant plant had arms, it might have crossed them. I can't help it if a pair of pony princesses plucked my Elements from my branches and then haven't bothered to return them in over one thousand years. Now I see them right in front of me and I want them back.

Rainbow lifted her gaze so she was looking down her nose at the tree. She knew Twilight wanted to bring them in case they needed them to placate the tree, but she avoided giving voice to that. “Equestria needs them. How are we supposed to defend ourselves without the Elements?”

Simple, the tree barked back. It said nothing more and, instead, one of its roots splintered up from the soil beneath Rainbow's hooves. It knocked her onto her back, causing the chest of Element necklaces and crown to spill over on the ground.

Twilight's eyes widened. She was caught between racing over to Rainbow and demanding what the tree thought it was doing. Though she was communicating with it over her hivemind, the tree was not a part of it. She could only hear its words, not its thoughts or intentions.

Applejack didn't have as much hesitation. She immediately leaped over to the root next to Rainbow and kicked it away with her rear hooves. “Consarned weed!”

The root reeled back for only a second before causing a rumble from the ground and bursting forth more of its length. The ground cracked where it came up and the thick dark root moved like lightning to scoop up the Element necklaces. Chrysalis moved out of the way while it did so and made no move to interfere or even make a face to seem interested.

Both of Twilight's guards hurried to her side to protect her against any possible attack, but the queen shook her head to discourage them. “Would you mind explaining yourself?” Twilight asked both in the hivemind and real world. She made a hoof motion along with it, mimicking the calming gesture Cadance had taught her.

The tree ceased the movement of its roots, the necklaces still clutched within while the crown remained on the ground. Spike carefully picked it up and brushed it off. Pinkie Pie was still ignoring the affair and had her tongue out in extreme focus as she worked to fix her changeling horn.

The Elements, you must understand, the tree harrumphed, are part of me. They channel my power, but do little more for any other than myself. When those vagrant alicorns took them from me, it hurt like no pain you could imagine.

I don't know about that, Twilight thought more to herself than to the tree. She stole a glance to Chrysalis, who was brushing her mane in boredom.

Belief shapes reality, the tree went on. When belief is not based on reality, it causes strife and chaos. The Vine tampered with that concept and wound up creating a monster. I tell you this because I'd rather you understand where your true power comes from. If you understand then you'll freely allow me to have my Elements back. Not that I need your permission. I just like to make my name as fitting as possible.

“Finally bein' a tad more reasonable, Tree of Harmony,” Applejack commented with a slanted line of her lips.

“How can we trust what you say?” Rarity questioned with more suspicion.

Because your queen trusts me. Correct, Twilight Sparkle?

The purple pony raised a brow. “That depends on your answer.”

To what?

Twilight sighed in exasperation. “To every question I've asked that hasn't gotten a straight answer.”

Spike huffed a cloud of smoke from his nostrils to emphasize his mother's point.

Very well, I will speak frankly, the plant relented. It seemed to do so a bit too easily, though.

Its grabby root flicked the necklaces into the air and each exploded into a unique shape just as they were about to fall back down. The shapes matched the basic forms of each pony's cutie mark. Before any of them could think to grab the newly-shaped jewel-like pieces, they raced to the tree as if by magical levitation. Each snapped into a space on the tree's branches.

Much better, the tree hummed in contentment. It continued doing that for a good minute before an “ahem” from Twilight encouraged it to move on. First of all, you don't need my Elements to protect Equestria. You each already embody the Elements of Friendship and Harmony. The power comes from within yourselves, not some piece of flashy jewelry. My Elements helped you only because they allowed you to use my power to supplement your own when your strength was still new and lacking.

Rainbow had gotten back off of the ground and was looking so excited that she might have even forgotten about being pushed around by the root. “So we can use the Rainbow of Doom whenever we want?!”

Applejack snickered and Fluttershy giggled.

Yes, yes, the tree's tone indicated its distaste. Just don't go using it too much. You'll go blind.

“Queen of War?” Twilight asked once more.

Your future is dark, Twilight. I do not see the future as my fellow foliage does, but I like to keep in touch with them. They've told me disturbing things about you. Only the Vine feels that it will be worthwhile to suffer your future actions – as destructive as they are. Equestria will never be the same after you ascend to the throne. It will split, towns will burn, and many will not see the sun rise again.

“How do you know the future?” Rainbow asked with a sneer. Her doubt was written into every micron of her body language.

How do you know the sun will rise tomorrow? It's elementary, the tree passed over the suspicion.

Spike walked around the tree while the others were conversing with it. His nostrils flared for a second when he noticed the slight scent of mildew. The cave was old and just damp enough to have assorted moss and mold growing on the walls. He saw nothing on the tree's other side, but he remained wary of the magical plant. Why was it called Harmony anyway?

You've got a lot of explaining to do, Twilight frowned, sat on her flank, and stared at the mysterious being. Where did you even come from? Was there some tree seed an ancient magician cast a spell on or something?

In the hivemind, it sounded as if the tree laughed. In the physical world, its leaves rustled about. It has been so long, excuse me. No creature has asked such a thing in eons. I'm afraid if I answered, however, all of you little ponies will see the world much differently than you presently do. It is unnecessary to tell, but I will say this much: I was indeed blessed by a being far beyond myself.

Twilight's continued frown displayed her displeasure at the response. She didn't press, though. There were other things that needed answering. “You like to keep your secrets,” she spoke aloud on a whim. “Celestia and Luna refer to you as an Origin – a powerful and ancient being of magic. You are partly responsible for the founding of Equestria. Without your Elements, our nation would never have survived infancy.”

“You are not the only one,” Rarity finished her queen's thought.

Do you wish to meet the Fern of Eccentricity? the tree's voice caused Twilight to visualize it grinning.

The pony queen rolled her eyes. “Actually,” she turned towards a more serious topic, “I was wondering if you knew anything about the Vine of Life. You mentioned it once already. What is it planning?”

Harmony's branches shuddered. That is asking for trouble.

“How so?” Spike half-frowned and leaned against the tree's trunk in a casual but still alert manner. The fire in his throat was kept hot.

Perhaps feeling the dragon's impatience through the contact, Harmony tried a different approach. Long talks do get boring. Here, let me show you.

Not the dragon, the changeling, or any of the ponies present expected what happened next. Twilight's crown flung from Spike's claws, snapped into the center slot on the tree as fast as lightning, and transformed into a star shape in the process. The cave around them warped and bended unnaturally. If Twilight hadn't already gone through such a thing with her hivemind world, she might have felt ill. Rarity's face did turn a tad green, though.

The dark cave walls waved into new shapes, but the texture and lighting changed little. When the portal-like effect around them ceased, they still appeared to be in some sort of cave. The soft soil had morphed into stone that matched the walls and ceiling. Meanwhile, no entrance was in sight. The cavern was deep and torchlights on the cavern walls failed to penetrate the blanket of darkness that hung over the tunnel that stretched on in two different directions.

Fluttershy was at Twilight's side in an instant, shaking from the unexpected change in her surroundings. A quick hivemind exchange with Rainbow Dash was enough for the blue mare to know Fluttershy was taking advantage of the situation as much as she was simply afraid of it. In retrospect, Rainbow had begun to realize that Fluttershy had often had convenient excuses to sidle up to Twilight in frightful situations (real or not).

Spike, who had been leaning on the tree, now fell flat onto his face. Where Harmony had been was now occupied only by a semi-transparent ghost of the tree. It pulsed with a magical light that got brighter when it spoke.

The inner tunnels of the Temple of the Vine, the tree explained. We're not really here, of course. To see a fake representation is enough. To truly bring you here would take too much strength. I have only just recovered my Elements and the Temple is millions of branches away.

“I fixed it!” Pinkie Pie shouted in absolute glee. She bounced in the air as her changeling horn fizzed with green sparkles. A magical bolt shot from the tip and raced towards Twilight's head.

The queen caught it in her forehoof without so much as looking in that direction. The bolt disintegrated as she absorbed its magical essence.

“Sorry,” Pinkie tapped her hooves sheepishly while Twilight continued to focus on the tree.

Chrysalis felt uneasy. If they were really going to see the Vine then her plans might be useless. If the Vine could give immortality then the only way to ensure Twilight's friends would have it would be to bargain with the Vine privately. Chrysalis was unsure about how Twilight would feel about it. She could simply query the queen over the hivemind but that would give away her intentions. If Twilight felt that bestowing immortality in this manner was unethical or a bad idea then Chrysalis might never get the chance to go past her queen's wishes.

The dilemma seethed in the changeling's mind even as Harmony's ghost hovered down the tunnel. It only moved a small distance before stopping in front of a deep crack in the ground. The chasm was completely black, so it was impossible to tell how deep it was. However, all that were present had the unnerving sensation that it was impossibly deep.

Humor me, old friend, Harmony beckoned into the darkness.

As if summoned through a dark ritual, creepy tendrils of sickly green slithered up from the chasm. The root-like appendages continued reaching up until they clung and draped over every half-hoof increment of the cavern immediately around the crack. A new voice spoke, similar but different than Harmony's. It was deeper and not at all comforting – like the tone of a deranged psychopath.

I don't take these kind of long-distance calls, it barked at Harmony. Only the leylines. And I told you I wanted to see them in their true bodies. No representations!

The cave around them warped again and Twilight did feel ill this time. It happened faster than before and the queen almost fell over when she felt the soil of Harmony's cave beneath her hooves once more. Chrysalis held her steady by lowering her head and nuzzling the alicorn back into an upright posture.

The light from the Everfree was once more at their backs and the familiar scent of the forest was comforting for the first time any of them could recall. Harmony's cave was bright, cheery, and friendly in comparison to the Vine's. They had only seen it for a moment, but the sensations would not soon be forgotten. There had been an odd smell, like cinnamon but slightly different. There had also been the faint sound of scurrying in the darkness, like a thousand spider legs. The very idea gave Rarity the shivers.

You'll have to excuse the weed, Harmony stuttered, as if to signal some indignation. It doesn't act that way about anything or anyone besides you. I think you've made it obsessive.

The question Twilight wanted to ask only seemed more pronounced now. “Why?!” she shouted out louder than she intended. The lack of knowing, in spite of her ever-growing hivemind, made her increasingly irritated. “What is it and why does it care about me so much?”

The Vine is like me, Harmony answered, though it had no cheer in its voice. It controls the essence of Life, thus many seek it out for immortality. It grants it only to those it wishes – for whatever purpose it deems worthwhile. The Vine has been my friend for millenia, but it does not always confide in me. Its plans for you I can only guess at based on my experiences and knowledge.

“And?” Chrysalis decided to encourage the tree. If she knew more about it then it might be easier to bargain with the Vine later on.

Harmony groaned. That is why I said what I did in the beginning, Twilight. There is Harmony and there is Discord. There is Life...

“And there's Death,” Applejack finished with an air of gloom. “Doesn't sit well. Not sure we want to go lookin' after some super-powerful ancient bein' who's special talent's the grave.”

“No biggy!” Pinkie Pie smiled without a care in the world. “All we have to do is make Twilight Queen of Equestria, unite the world, and defeat Death. Easy-peasy can-get-it-done-in-a-squeezy.”

“Yeah,” Spike rolled his eyes. His voice dripped with sarcasm. “And we'll finish in time for dinner, I'm sure.”

Something seemed to click in Rarity's eyes. It moved on to the others through the hivemind, but the fashionista was still first to speak. “The Vine granted Twilight immortality at Celestia's request. It could do the same for any others.”

There was more she was going to say but her words stopped short as she met Spike's gaze. The dragon then looked to Twilight, who already knew what the thought was. The desire burned in Spike's eyes with the intensity only a dragon could experience. It was the greed Luna had spoken of – a greed that was more than senseless hording. He wanted Rarity to be safe and happy and would do anything to ensure it. It didn't take the hivemind for Twilight to know that.

Twilight's mind began to hurt with the pressure. Was it right for her to agree to that? Rarity could become immortal but then what of her other friends? What of Rarity's family? Would Twilight then be responsible for who got to live forever and who died of old age? What would the Vine think? It hadn't sounded like a very friendly magical being...

Chrysalis felt her queen sigh rather than heard it from the pony's mouth. She decided to speak on her queen's behalf since doing so through their connection was second nature. “Thank you for your time, Harmony,” Chrysalis buzzed in her usual voice. “Twilight needs time to think all of this over.”

Of course, the tree replied in a distracted manner. It might have been doing some thinking itself, though none of them were privy to it.

The group left with a round of farewells. Twilight would come back with questions, no doubt. But careful consideration had to be made. Certain decisions didn't require any more information – only time for reflection. Chrysalis saw the troubled look on the faces of the others. Even Pinkie Pie was worried. Thoughts of her sisters growing old as she remained the same sucked her of her gleeful bounce.

Was immortality a choice between life and death? Or was it a choice between one life and another? One thing was for certain. The serious questions had dampened their hive's mood.

Twilight struggled to sleep that night. In her sleeping ring, she tossed and turned. The others lay around her in the dark, illuminated only faintly by the soft comforting green glow of the ring's edge. It did not help calm her, though. Not after the visit to the Tree of Harmony. Not after hearing those words.

“It'll be okay,” Fluttershy whispered into her ear. The mare was nestled beside her and rubbed her back to try calming her. In the hivemind, her comforting voice continued to attempt soothing the queen.

Some of the others had fallen asleep, but a few remained awake with their monarch. Rainbow Dash was curled below Twilight's tail and rear hooves while snoring the night away. Chrysalis and Applejack were the only other ones awake at the moment. It made sense for the changeling not to slumber with her queen awake. The dark being was obsessed with Twilight nearly to the point of madness, after all. Applejack's resilience was less obvious, though the hivemind easily revealed it.

“Listen to what ol' bugface has been tellin' you,” AJ whispered without the faintest hint of subtlety. “There's no way that darned tree knows nothin' about the future. If it did, then it'd have the foresight not to get its Elements torn off its own branches.”

Twilight was too tired to do anything but minutely nod in response. She only wanted the sleep that continued to evade her. Fluttershy's calm warmth at her back and Chrysalis' enveloping warmth at her front were more than enough comfort. In fact, Chrysalis was tightly embracing her so that their bodies were flush, the changeling's larger frame nearly surrounding her. Still, her mind remained too active. She couldn't fall into her own hivemind's dream world.

Chrysalis had reasoned earlier that the tree's words about war were absurd. The shape-shifter's points were irrefutable. The tree was thousands of years old and supposedly the master of the magic of Harmony. Yet that same master had done little to actually cause harmony throughout the world. It was only by Celestia and Luna's efforts with the Elements that Harmony had been a force to begin with.

The reasoning and favorable arguments didn't help, though. The only thing that mattered to Twilight was the sense of darkness she had begun to feel after hearing the Tree of Harmony's predictions. An inner gloom settled around her, forcing her to grip Chrysalis and nuzzle against her chest in a desperate grab for the comfort Chrysalis offered her. Twilight's voice was soft but determined in the hivemind for those that were still awake.

Don't leave me.

“Now why in Equestria would you go thinkin' we ever would?” Applejack whispered the obvious question.

Twilight's next words were whispered in kind. “With you by my side, I know I can face the future no matter what it holds. But alone...”

“Shh,” Chrysalis calmed her sweetly and joined Fluttershy in rubbing the mare's back. “There will never be a moment in your life that you will not have one of us with you. At the very least, I will try to be the one that never leaves your sight, my queen.”

To any other “normal” pony, such words might have been discomforting or even creepy. To Twilight Sparkle, queen of a pony hive, the words were reassuring. She wasn't certain when it happened but she eventually fell asleep. It was some time after Fluttershy had given her an almost imperceptible goodnight kiss on the back of her neck.

Why did you have me do that? the Vine of Life asked Harmony via the world's magical leyline.

I thought you were supposed to be the scheming one, the tree snickered in response.

The Vine made what it believed to be the sound of a groan. Sometimes. Ultimately, Twilight will be the one to end my feud with Death. I'm sure of it now. But I still want to know why you wanted me to play the drama queen.

The tree shifted its leaves, though it knew the Vine was not there to see the gesture. If she was convinced you were friendly then she might not feel the need to include her entire entourage when she enters the temple. Can't have that. We need her hive in its entirety.

As if she'll have them with her. Did you forget about her little shadow? I knew he was there and I wasn't even trying.

Harmony's roots squirmed. I was trying to ignore him. Gives me the creeps, you know.

Lucky you, the Vine grouched. You won't have to deal with him, but I will.

Are you afraid of him or what he will do to Twilight?

Neither, the Vine retorted. Death is my only match. Twilight I can heal, her shadow I can smite. Death, however, can end all I've slaved for over these many eons.

The Origin of Harmony considered its friend's position. The Vine's adversary was much more of a threat than Discord had ever been to Harmony. I should let the shadow do as he wills then? He's cunning. I'm not sure even Twilight's newfound power will be enough. If he-

Don't be so hysterical, the Vine interrupted with an air of confidence. He is as cunning as you say. That is precisely why he will do exactly what I want him to. He will take her to me. The hive he will dangle just out of reach so neither her nor they will give up before the proper time has come. That's how he works. I used to watch him often, you know. Used to think he was the one. That's why I made that bogus prophecy to spur him on with the Crystal Empire.

Your prophecy is about to come true, Harmony countered. The one about the princess and the eternal kingdom.

That is how the universe works, dear Harmony, the Vine chuckled. Fantasies are only reality before it happens.

This day was not brighter than the last. Perhaps that was because of Twilight's depressed mood. A difficult night had passed and her hive's assurances had failed to convince her to ignore the old plant's words. The clouds were light and puffy today, which was a good omen that would overcome the previous gloom. At least that was what Rainbow informed her queen.

“Ahh,” Twilight breathed out a wobbly sigh as she walked out the front door of her library.

She had donned her queenly attire once more. It wasn't for looking royal that she did so, but because she honestly liked the decorative pieces. Chrysalis had also been working to integrate special changeling magical constructs within them to boost her powers. Whether or not it was possible to extend their already considerable power had yet to be seen.

“Cheer up, Twi,” Applejack nudged her queen to lighten her mood. “Got a lovely day in Ponyville to relax with. I can spare a moment with you before hittin' the farm.”

Applejack had only slept with them the previous night because Chrysalis hadn't the time or energy the previous day to complete and connect a sleeping ring over at Sweet Apple Acres. The country mare wasn't used to the guards that accompanied Twilight everywhere, so the whole experience had been odd for her. She tried tapping into the hivemind for comfort.

“C'mon, Twi-Twi,” Pinkie Pie hopped in front of her queen and stretched the mare's lips. “Gimme a big happy smile!”

When Pinkie Pie's hooves let go of Twilight's lips, the smile fell back into a half-frown. The sad look caused Pinkie's own smile to fade. She could feel the emotions through the hivemind and none of her attempts there were working.

“Sorry, Pinkie,” Twilight sighed again in apology. They were walking through the market now, all kinds of fresh produce and smiling faces attempting to sell it. “If I knew why I was feeling this way then I'd find a solution.”

“It's more than the tree, isn't it?” Rainbow Dash ventured a safe guess from her flying position above her queen.

“Yes,” Twilight made a third sigh. Her cloudy mood hovered over her like a wet blanket.

Thankfully, Chrysalis had just the right medicine. She stepped closer to Twilight's side opposite of Applejack and kissed her queen on the cheek. Twilight stopped cold and the others giggled as they too stopped.

“A little love is all our queen needs,” Chrysalis grinned in a mischievous manner. She stroked Twilight's mane with a holey forehoof.

Perhaps she was just being moody today, but Twilight felt a little better somehow. Perhaps the day's sunlight would get brighter. Or, at the very least, she could spend the day relaxing with those she loved.

43 - Power is Tempting

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Days passed by. Just enough time elapsed for a few of Twilight's friends to settle into old routines. Not for her, though. She took time resting with Chrysalis and the others, but she also spent time working. The schedule and details for Celestia's planned announcement of ascension were serious and complex to say the least.

It was during one day of exhaustive plan-making for the plan-making that Twilight decided to take a break and read a very special book. The Tree of Harmony had seen them on multiple occasions since their first visit and, though it had talked openly with her for hours, she felt as if she knew little more than she had in the beginning. Therefore, Twilight decided to take a break and handle something she knew that she could.

Spike's black dream book.

Luna had made it as a very special journal of her observations. Celestia apparently had interest in the dragon's dreamscape as well because Twilight found annotations throughout the book made by the elder sister. Though they might or might not have recognized it themselves, both of the sisters had different and unique quill styles. Celestia's was straight, bold, and regal. Luna's was more relaxed, but detailed with ancient decorations on each letter.

The pony queen took a deep breath of air and settled onto the center of her sleep ring's cushion. The room's window was made transparent so that she could read by natural light. Judging from the sun's position, it was hardly noon. She had all day.

None were immediately present in the room with her, but she felt the urge to dictate aloud. Too much talking through the voiceless hivemind had given her an unusual craving for spoken sounds. “A Dragon's Dreams,” Twilight read the opening page. “A journal of observations by Princess Luna, second heir to the world afar. Huh?”

How strange, Rarity commented over their hivemind. She had heard everything across Ponyville via their shared mind.

The princesses have many years of their past that they don't share with me, Twilight frowned. She shook her head, cleared her thoughts, and continued to the next page. “Night 1: ice cream and Rarity. End.”

Twilight giggled to herself and felt Spike's embarrassment blossom from where he was helping Fluttershy with her animals just outside of Ponyville.

“Night 2: Rarity. Also ice cream. End. Hmm, I think I'm seeing a pattern here,” Twilight hummed to herself and scanned further into the book. “Ah, here we go. Night 428: Spike offers Rarity ownership of his hoard. First record of dramatic shift in the dragon's hoarding characteristics. Spike's internal flame experienced a cooling effect followed by rapid temperature rise. May indicate his magic is starting to grow. The hoarding has refocused on Rarity as the only treasure. His subconscious recognizes her as a unique gem.”

Twilight's eyes moved to the side of the page where Celestia's annotation was followed by a doodle of a heart. “A mate, not a gem. Surrendering the hoard is a part of a magic dragon's natural courting ritual.”

Can't you read that some other time? Spike mumbled to his mother's mind.

“I have to read it eventually,” Twilight couldn't keep the sly grin from her face.

Do you have to read it aloud? the dragon insisted.

“Nopony is in the library – let alone my bedroom. You're the only one hearing it.”

And everyone in the hivemind, Spike grouchily added.

Rarity took the moment to voice in. She barely averted her attention from sewing a dress at her boutique. Well, I for one find it flattering. You have nothing to be embarrassed about, darling. Why, if it makes you feel better, I would not hesitate to give up my boutique for you.

A pause ensued before the dragon responded with a teary “really?”

Twilight let the two carry on their conversation while she proceeded with the book. “Night 455: Nonsense. Too much sugar before bed.”

The queen laughed again to herself. This was turning out to be more entertainment than information.

“Night 459: Another dream saving Rarity. In this one, he has given his life for her. The intensity of his dreams correlate directly with the strength of his heart's flame. My magic reveals a raw power nearly as strong as that student of yours.”

It was clear at this point that Luna had seen her sister's earlier annotations. Celestia must have been following along since the start of the journal. Referring to Twilight as “that student” meant the entry had been made before Luna had warmed up to her. The next was another of Celestia's annotations.

“Twilight Sparkle is no mere student.”

That was all that was written at the side. Twilight's lip turned in uncertainty. The writing was vague, so she turned more pages only to find little clarity. As for Spike, the later entries were of great help. The nuances of Spike's magic started to become clear. Interestingly, it seemed that Spike was fully capable of any unicorn-type magic if he could control his raw power.

He had matured fast. Though his body was similar to a teen's, his abilities were nearly that of an adult. All he needed to do to unlock that power was...

“Experience an extremely dangerous situation in which his most precious possessions are in danger of destruction,” Twilight read the hoofnote near the end of the book. “This will cause a change in respiratory rhythm and force out the flame kindling near his heart. This cannot be replicated through other means. The rush of power will then...wait. Extremely dangerous?”

Chrysalis, currently making a sandwich down in the first-floor kitchen, decided to add her two bits. The possession is Rarity and, by proxy, his surrogate mother, she buzzed. The danger would probably have to be life-threatening if I were to judge by the context of the book. Luna is such a glum alicorn.

She's a very nice pony, Twilight's hive voice retorted.

“Yeah, but you're better,” Rainbow Dash said as she entered Twilight's bedroom. She had to use the door now since the window was technically sealed.

“Quick as always,” Twilight cheerfully greeted the mare. She knew Rainbow had finished weather work early and had no desire to spend her free time apart from her special mare. “I'm afraid I don't have anything to amuse you with, Dashie. You sure you want to hang out with me?”

The pegasus had no hesitation in her voice or stride. She laid down next to her queen and brushed her wing feathers against Twilight's in an affectionate display. “You're all I need for amusement, queeny,” the multicolored pony giggled in her somewhat squeaky-like manner.

“Well then,” Twilight blushed and quickly averted her eyes back to the book. “There's nothing more for me to gleam from this. I can push Spike in the right direction but it's ultimately up to him how far he wants to go.”

“What about our Hive Power?” Chrysalis prodded as she too entered the room. A daisy sandwich was floating in a green aura beside her head.

“What about it?” Twilight asked before she caught the meaning. “It goes as far as it does. There are no recorded instances of such a power in history, so there's no data for me to generate conclusions from. I've started writing down experiences,” she emphasized her point by levitating Spike's book out of the ring and bringing a different one in.

The new book was of a royal purple and blue. The cover read “Hives of Harmony by Twilight Sparkle.” Rainbow gave a “heh” of disinterest before repositioning herself on the ring's soft pad. Specifically, she moved so that she laid crossway over Twilight's back.

“If you're not going to humor me then at least refrain from using me as your personal pillow,” Twilight grouched with deadpan brows.

“No can do, Twi,” Rainbow chuckled this time. “I've got to take advantage of the real estate while I can. There aren't any good spots when the rest of the gang is here.”

Chrysalis gave her queen the sandwich and laid before her. “Ignore the ignorant one, my queen. I am listening.”

Twilight hungrily bit into the sandwich and leafed through her own book that was now before her. “I've written down our discoveries so far,” she mouthed past her chewing. “The mingling of our special abilities and the infinite potential of our magical boosting.”

“What of that little magic the disjointed one gave you?” Chrysalis prompted. Her expression was even, though her gaze was soft because Twilight was within her sight.

“Discord?” Rainbow interrupted from her lazy spot on the alicorn's back. “Probably just a gimmick. He's too loopy to give us any serious powers.”

Twilight closed her eyes in her signature I-know-more-than-you manner. She titled her body, which successfully deposited Rainbow Dash off of her. The mare rolled onto her back across the ring's soft pad.

“Hey,” Rainbow grouched.

“He's not quite that loopy,” Twilight lectured. “I thought our shared memories would have clued you in.”

“Yeah,” the blue mare countered quickly. “Hence, loopy. You want to see real power?”

Without waiting for approval from her audience, Rainbow flapped up above them and then beat her wings in a frenzy. Miniature dark clouds began to form out of thin air and swirl around her, snapping with tendrils of small green lightning. A faint mist of rain-like water began to spray from the black puffs. A wicked smile plastered the face of the pegasus as her chest swelled with pride at demonstrating before her special pony.

“Behold,” Rainbow declared with inflated ego, “Princess Rainbow Dash, Goddess of Storms!”

It all ended abruptly as Twilight's magical glow enveloped the mare, cut her magic display short, and plummeted her back down to the ring's pad.

“Ooph,” the self-proclaimed goddess grunted as her body hit the padding. Thankfully, Twilight had pulled her at such an angle that her head gently met her queen's soft-coated body rather than the firmer floor.

“Princess? Goddess?” Twilight half squinted and half glared down at the pegasus she now held in her hooves. “I'd say you're the one who's gone loopy. You may be able to use some magic with our Hive Power, but don't go getting ahead of yourself. If I hadn't stopped you...”

Rainbow groaned and made a point of avoiding the amused gaze of Chrysalis. “I know, I know. I would have electrocuted myself or something.”

“Knowledge is not the same as experience, and likewise is true of refining one's use of magic,” Twilight tutted with the lecture. Her eyes closed in practiced monologue. “Chrysalis may reveal to me the magic of shape-shifting and I may even be able to replicate it using my Hive Power, but I cannot pretend to be a stallion in just one-”

A pause. It was heavy even though the room was absent of sound.

“What?” Rainbow titled her head, which was still cradled in Twilight's hooves. It took only a moment more for Rainbow to understand what Twilight had stopped for. The hivemind made the implications explicit. “What?”

Twilight's normally calm smile took a saucy turn. She lowered her face so her nose was nearly touching Rainbow's. “You'd like that wouldn't you, Dashie?”

Whether the closeness or the hot breath of the words caused it, Rainbow shot away from the mare as fast as her trademark gave her credit for. Her face was so red that it was glowing.

“Oh please, my queen,” Chrysalis chuckled in her odd vibrating changeling way. “Must you conquer so easily?”

The pony queen turned her attention to her changeling, dropping the special smile in the process. “I do not conquer friends, Chrysy.”

“Only lovers?” the changeling came back with a quick wit.

Twilight closed her mouth in defeat and then opened it once more to refocus. “Perhaps we should take a break. Maybe test our powers outside?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow darted out the door with her instant agreement.

The alicorn followed much slower, all the while knowing that she had struck Rainbow in her weakest spot. Not that it was hard. She was the hive's queen, after all. Only one thing bothered her as she exited the Golden Oak Library.

She liked the sense of power and control.

Midnight Strike and Flash Sentry were on duty, effectively securing the area Twilight had chosen in the grassy hills just outside of Ponyville. Her four maids had come as well, bothered that they had been bypassed for the earlier sandwich. They fully intended to pamper their queen to the fullest extent possible, so they set up a picnic blanket and full assortment of tea and snacks for when the queen wished to rest.

“Give us a show!” Chrysalis shouted from where she lay sprawled out lazily on the picnic blanket.

“Maybe you should get off your rear,” Rainbow called back. She was hovering near Twilight and kept just enough space between them for the alicorn to do what she wished.

Twilight looked up to the bright sky. Another bright cheery day in Ponyville. The wind was barely there, which made the air a bit sticky. She would be sufficiently cooled by what she wanted to attempt today, however.

“Test One,” she exclaimed and spread her wings. A few calculated flaps lifted her a few hooves into the air. She took a deep breath and started drawing on multiple sources of magic within the connected hivemind.

The Hive Power began to manifest as a purple and green lightning storm around her horn. It then swarmed around her entire body, still brightest at the horn. Every angry snap of electricity that crackled around her pulsed with a disturbing aura. Rainbow Dash only now began to see the influence of Discord in Twilight's new magic.

“Gah!” the alicorn queen shouted out in mixed concentration and release.

A purple beam of light as wide as the pony's body shot straight up from her and pierced the clouds above. Thick green bolts circled up with it and charged the clouds. The air became heavy with raw power. Twilight's eyes glowed white, but her face kept its expression of focus and control.

Rainbow Dash dropped to her hooves as her wings closed in rare shock. The display of strength before her was overwhelming. Though her eyes were wide in awe, her heart was frightened by the limitless power she witnessed and felt through their mind.

The guards and maids were in similar surprise. Only Chrysalis was unperturbed. She watched with mild amusement, sipped a cup of tea with delicate grace, yawned, and then checked a watch she had penciled onto her hole-ridden hoof.

Twilight's focus turned to casual smugness. Her lips curled up and she began flying around the area in gentle circles. “Hahahaha,” she laughed, eyes still aglow and the beam of light waving back and forth into the heavens above. Lightning caused rolls of thunder to shake her bones, but it only swelled her with elation.

This was who she was.

Queen.

The power from all six Elements was in her control. Changeling magic coursed through her veins along with Discord's little gift. She felt the power of the draconequus bubble up from her very heart. Was this how it felt for Discord? A rush of foal-like glee accompanying the ebb and flow of chaos? The world below her looked so insignificant all of a sudden.

Many voices swirled about her innermost thoughts. They were all trying to get her attention. But why?

Twilight!

Yes, Rarity? the queen continued flying about. She increased the radius of her flight so the movement would fan out the beam of light and spin the supercharged clouds above.

Darling, the unicorn started sweet. She was still at her boutique in Ponyville, but seemed well aware of what was going on. Do not overdo it.

Twilight almost heeded those words in her mind before she noticed something else that made her censure Rarity from her foremost thoughts. It was Rainbow Dash. The pegasus mare had joined by her side, wings outstretched and flying in the rhythm of a traditional pegasus wingmate.

Rainbow's sideways look expressed her very soul and the hivemind betrayed her thoughts clearly. The Element of Loyalty was everything her name implied and more. Her fear of Twilight's raw ability was not a challenge to her trust of the pony queen. They were bound by fate and many other powers more affectionate.

“This is awesome!” the multi-colored pony shouted loud to be heard between the crashings of thunder. No bolt of lightning from Twilight dared to hit the mare. This was no reckless show of strength. Twilight's glowing eyes, wind-streaked mane, and wild grin were a matter of measure and command over her power.

The two females flew faster and faster. A mix of rainbow, purple, and green streaks lit the space behind them. Though Twilight had only begun the exercise as a test of new magic, she quickly lost herself in the theatrics and, more importantly to her, Rainbow's company.

A light red pegasus eventually dared to fly into the maelstrom of wind and energy to speak to the queen. Twilight almost failed to notice the pony but managed to curb the release of her magic enough to ensure the safety of the newcomer. The pegasus explained as politely and as calmly as she could manage that Ponyville's weather team had not scheduled a superstorm for another three hundred years.

Twilight sheepishly apologized to the terrified town thereafter.

“Did you all see that?!” Pinkie Pie jumped up and down like a filly in a candy store. It was an apt analogy given the fact that she was practically a filly that worked in a sweets store anyways. She was Pinkie Pie and nopony expected less of her.

“Clear as a prairie in the dead of winter,” Applejack agreed with a tilt of her country hat.

The entire gang was settled around a joined pair of tables at Sugar Cube Corner. An assortment of delectable pastries were scattered in plates before them, some eaten and some only tasted.

Spike seemed big for his spot, but preferred it to standing outside their circle. He shoved another heavily sprinkled donut in his mouth and had the manners for once not to talk with his mouth full. All of that time with Rarity had apparently influenced him.

“Rather unrefined, no?” Rarity almost huffed but kept her politeness.

Rainbow pounded the table with a forehoof, causing small éclairs on the center plate to bounce. “You want to say something?”

Twilight put a hoof to Rainbow's shoulder to calm her. “Please, Dashie. No need to get upset. It was silly of me.”

Indeed, the pony queen hadn't thought of the townsfolk she would frighten or the weather team she would trouble. The only reasons she had for not regretting it were the data she collected on her own abilities and the special moment she shared with Rainbow. A unique connection existed between them that only registered more after their recent co-op flight.

“Well, it wasn't silly for me!” Rainbow failed to settle down.

“Of course not, silly,” Pinkie Pie briefly stuck her tongue out in play. Her wings and horn had been put away for the day. “It was only a necessary moment of experimentation in which you reconfirmed your lov-”

Rarity plugged the pink pony's mouth with a hoof and gave Fluttershy an apologetic expression.

“It's alright,” the shy animal-lover gave Rainbow and her queen a happy smile. Both could tell it was forced and tears were hidden behind a thin veil of denial. “I don't have the kind of free time that Dashie does. I...I know it must be troublesome to...”

Twilight bit her bottom lip. Fluttershy had been the first of her friends she had connected with, but now she felt as if she was the farthest from Twilight. Was it because of this flight the queen had with Rainbow Dash? No. She knew the real reason. Fluttershy had poured out her heart and painful past to Twilight, desperate for the love she had yearned for all her life.

She wasn't there when the incident in Canterlot occurred and she had been in tatters during the brief separation from the hivemind. Then she was away tending to the animals while Twilight freely interacted with the other two individuals that loved her just as much.

Fluttershy felt like the third wheel.

Rarity made an overly obvious tilt of her head towards Fluttershy, exchanging unspoken words both with the gesture and with the hivemind. Twilight regulated their shared conscious, more capable at doing so than she had been before. Practice made perfect and she intended to be exceptionally good at it.

I will admit only this once that I can be a tad dramatic from time to time, Rarity flinched with her own admission. But this business between you and your special someponies is completely out of hoof. How long is this going to go on?

“Shy,” Twilight spoke up to prevent Fluttershy's teary loss of voice from being any more painful than it was. “Can I talk to you alone?”

The others, minus Spike and Chrysalis, all looked surprised. The dragon was focused on the next donut and the changeling was challenging him to a hoof wrestle for it. Spike cracked his claws and smirked as he accepted.

Fluttershy couldn't manage words but she obediently nodded and followed Twilight out of the sweets shop anyway. They were across town and back in Twilight's dark bedroom inside the Golden Oak Library before either actually said anything. The queen did her best to make their minds temporarily private from the rest of the hivemind just as she had done with Rarity.

“I know what it feels like for you to be away from me when Chrysy and Dashie seem to have all the time in the world,” Twilight began as they stood before the sleeping ring.

Fluttershy's head remained lowered and her lips quivered but stayed together. She didn't want to look so weak in front of her queen since all of their other friends seemed to have so much strength. Twilight was a veritable goddess at this point, which only made her feel smaller. Doubt gnawed at the shy pony's mind, bare for the queen to feel. She felt as if there would never be anything she could do that would make her feel worthy of Twilight's attention. She could never fly with Twilight the way Rainbow did or experiment with magic the way Chrysalis did.

A soft purple hoof made Fluttershy's head lift and matched her eyes to her queen's, which hovered so very closely to her own. Tears could not hide at this distance. Twilight saw the wetness around the corners just as she suspected.

“I'm beginning to understand so many things,” Twilight spoke to the mare gently, just as she knew Fluttershy needed to be spoken to. “So many powers outside of my control shape my future. Celestia, Luna, Discord, the Tree of Harmony, the Vine of Life, perhaps even destiny itself. My own worries affect everyone in my hive. They affect you. I'm sorry if I've caused you to ever experience feelings not your own.”

Fluttershy was about to deny any such thing, but Twilight quickly continued.

“I do things with Dashie because I love her just as I love the rest of my hive,” Twilight took a deep breath. “But I also have a few special ponies that I love even more. I'll do anything for them. If it means putting everything else on hold for them, I'll do it.”

“You've never done that for Chrysalis, though,” Fluttershy spoke through her indecisive shyness.

“Because she's so relaxed about everything these days,” Twilight giggled. It helped lighten the mood. “You know how she is when she has everything she needs. I brush her mane in the morning, cuddle with her in the afternoon, kiss her goodnight, and she's as content as a kitten on a warm back. So tell me, Shy. Tell me what will put both our hearts at ease about this.”

“You already know,” the butter yellow pegasus rubbed one hoof against the other in timidity.

“We've talked in circles about this, yes,” Twilight fought to keep the frustration from her voice and mind. Her pegasus needed gentleness, so she avoided blowing a fuse over the fact that Fluttershy was just as stubbornly timid about their relationship as she was. “Actually, what I want to know is what you'd like to do with me on a daily basis. I've been doing flying lessons with Dashie. Maybe we could do something like that...?”

Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, which she rubbed together. “But you have so much you're doing already and, besides, I don't have anything exciting we could do together. Not like Dashie does.”

Twilight got closer so that the pegasus was forced to meet her queen's eyes. “But I'm not trying to do Dashie stuff. I'm asking to do things with you.”

The Element of Kindness began to reply but was immediately cut off when Twilight's eyes widened and a great smile plastered her face. The alicorn jumped in place and clopped her hooves together.

“Oh oh! I just thought of the perfect thing!” she exclaimed in excitement.

I believe it was my idea, dar-

Twilight silenced Rarity's voice in the hivemind, which only entered because of an earlier break of the queen's concentration. “Let's find out what the two of us can do together with our Hive Power!”

Fluttershy's face paled, her sweat-inducing worry failing to catch her queen's notice. “Ha ha,” the pegasus laughed weak and fake. “That sounds like a great idea, Twily...”

Pinkie Pie heard the exchange from where she was in Sugar Cube Corner. She bounced away from her friends at the table with a feverish delight. Fluttershy was going to show off her Hive Power? She had to be there!

What could go wrong?

44 - Fighting is Proving

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I am certain I put my seam ripper right here,” Rarity insisted as she pointed to the same spot she had been staring at for over a minute now.

Spike was dutifully combing the boutique for the lost item. He was very good with finding things. His mother's influence gave him a systematic approach to search and find activities. He was guaranteed to find the tool within-

“Found it!” the dragon cheerfully exclaimed as his claw clutched the odd-looking sharp thing. “It was behind the box of ribbons you got this morning.”

Rarity's lips puckered as her magic glowed around the tool and levitated it from Spike's grip. “What would I do without you, darling?”

“Be single?” Spike said with a mischievous curl of his lips.

“Puh,” Rarity blurted aghast and then returned to her sewing work. “Must you be so blunt?”

“You'd know anyways,” he tapped his head to indicate their shared mind.

Just then a flurry of green lightning bolts spread themselves around his irises and he fell to his knees with a gasp. Rarity dropped her work and rushed to hold him. She could feel what was going on because of their connection but she remained powerless to help in any way. It left her heart in pain.

“Spikey,” she soothed the dragon's power pains.

After a moment of internal struggle, Spike recomposed himself and returned the mare's embrace. “I'm sorry, Rarity,” he apologized in all sincerity. “I don't know if I'll always be able to control my power.”

Of course you will, Twilight's hivemind voice cut in. You're just having the same adjustment difficulties we're all having. Now stop capitalizing on Rarity's hugs and get some work done.

Spike blushed deeply at that and would have done as ordered if Rarity hadn't been so stubborn. The white unicorn puffed her cheeks in annoyance and only held Spike tighter. “My sewing business may be my dream but I would never let it become more important to me than those I care about most. I would fail as the Element of Generosity if I forgot all the lessons I have already learned. Furthermore, I would be a failure as a...”

The mare's words trailed into a thought she shared only with Spike.

As it happened, the pair finished twice as much work as they originally intended that day.

"Awww," Pinkie Pie pouted as she hovered large baskets of apples with the magic from her changeling horn. "Why do I have to help now? I wanted to see Flutter's new powers."

"Because she needs some space and we both know it," Applejack said in that lecturing tone she usually got when disciplining her younger sister.

"Eeeeyup," Big Mac agreed as he knocked the baskets into the carts for transport back to the barn. He was not a part of the hive but was well aware of the situation thanks to his sister.

Pinkie Pie shot over to the stallion's side and leaned into him. "And what would you know about Twi and Shy's relationship?" she batted her eyes at him in faux innocence.

The male blushed, gulped, and averted his eyes. Honestly, he didn't know all that much. However, Pinkie Pie was nearly sticking her face into his. "Uh..."

"Calm down, Pinkie," Applejack casually ordered. She continued bucking the apple trees while Applebloom caught the falling fruit in empty baskets. "It's not like I go violatin' nopony's privacy. I try leavin' that to you."

"Well that's a relief," Pinkie bounced away from Big Mac and continued moving the full baskets along. "I've got dibs on the violating."

Applejack sighed. Maybe she should have asked one of the others to handle the Element of Laughter.

“Do you believe in perfection? I mean, relationships or situations being ideal,” Twilight Sparkle quickly clarified her question.

Fluttershy bit her bottom lip at the thought. They were walking at a pace the pegasus was more used to, shadowed by a pair of guards and a Rainbow Dash that wasn't content to stay behind.

“Um,” the yellow mare was as shy as ever. She had half of her face behind her pink mane. “Yes?”

Twilight let the uncertain answer sink in for a good while. “What is perfection to you?” she eventually asked in follow-up.

They were just passing Fluttershy's cottage when she gave her next response. “A quiet afternoon beneath a beautiful tree,” Fluttershy's soft and gentle voice barely drifted over the small breeze.

Twilight could feel the depth of the words through their hivemind. It made her smile to be reassured in such a manner. Fluttershy truly did have a pureness to her that put Twilight at peace. It struck her then that perhaps Fluttershy's Hive Power was nothing flashy like Rainbow's was. Perhaps not all strengths were aggressive in nature...

In a rare display, Fluttershy lifted up on her wings and gently flew over to the nearest hill off of the trail they had been following out of Ponyville. Her hooves touched so delicately on the grass that they hardly even made a sound. A calm expression was on her face as she looked up to the bright clear sky, took on a smile, and slowly closed her eyes.

Twilight had only begun to search for meaning in their mind when the Element of Kindness began to explore her special power. The pony queen had not needed to coax her into it, which both surprised her and left her relieved. Fluttershy already had the confidence she needed to find what she was capable of.

What surprised Twilight more was what happened to the space around her as she stepped into the grass to follow her pegasus. A bubble-like form sparked into existence around Fluttershy, quickly inflating until it enveloped the entire hill along with Twilight and the others. The grass turned into different grass. It was the kind Twilight was familiar with, but only from their time in her hivemind world. The tree and small stream materialized in real space, replacing what had been a nondescript green hill before.

Direway smiled past his shock and Flash Sentry was split between awe and fear at the magical power. Rainbow Dash only yawned as she glided down next the newly formed stream and proceeded to nap. As for Twilight, she nodded in approval and brought a hoof to Fluttershy's shoulder only to draw the mare in for an affectionate nuzzle.

“I know it's not cool like Dashie's-”

The queen cut Fluttershy off before she could get any further. “Don't compare yourself to Dashie,” Twilight looked her in the eye. “You're you and I love you for that. Your power is incredible!”

The pegasus blushed but didn't look away.

“I wonder if the possibilities are as endless as they are during sleep,” the queen tapped her chin in thought. She looked around. It seemed the world was still the same outside of the bubble, which was apparently the limit of Fluttershy's sphere of influence. Though it was clear enough to see through, the bubble did have a tint to it that swirled with pink and yellow. Just a few splashes of light blue were mixed in.

“I'm sure you can use my power through me...right?” Fluttershy suggested and then second guessed herself.

Twilight wondered about that but decided to give it a go. She looked back to Fluttershy and squinted in concentration. She didn't necessarily need to use magic. She just needed to focus in the hivemind and transfer her will through Fluttershy. Success came quickly but with a mixed reaction.

Everypony instantly knew something was not right.

The air turned sour, the green grass wilted down into dark stone and ash, and the stream morphed into a dirty rail complete with minecarts full of rocks and dirt. Worst of all the tree transformed in a hideous manner into a large metal post. A dozen chains were connected to it, as if prisoners were meant to be locked there for keeping.

Fluttershy shrunk into Twilight's hooves with an “eep” of fright. The guards both readied their spears in worry while Rainbow woke from her nap. The trouble conveyed through their mind and let her know something was wrong even if the foul air hadn't bothered her light sleep.

A disturbing hole formed in Twilight's hivemind, suppressing her connections and making it more difficult to communicate. Even as she clutched her head in mild pain, a sickly voice dripped into the air. It was a voice none had heard before.

“Did you think,” the young female voice chided in a nasty tone, “you could just grab all the power in the world without also grabbing my attention?”

“Who are you?” Twilight put her hooves back to the gnarled ground. She looked around as quickly as the guards and saw what they did. A dark cloud began to form near the post and chains.

“Your worst nightmare,” the voice giggled in a cheerful mood. But as it took form from the cloud, it began to seem far less friendly. Massive jagged black claws dropped with a heavy thud on the near-black ground. Insect legs followed along with a terrifying mutant body. Most of it looked like a giant black half-scorpian half-pony with varying splotches of gray and accents of bright red. The stinger-tipped tail crackled with a shiver-inducing insectile movement. “You've grown strong. A perfect victim for me to gain more power from.”

Fluttershy gulped and hid in Twilight's tail. This was one creature she did not feel she wanted to be friends with. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash sped to a dangerous distance with the massive scorpony. “You'll be the victim by the time I'm done with you!”

“Wait!” Twilight tried to shout out, but it was not soon enough for the Element of Loyalty.

Green tendrils of electricity snapped from Rainbow's wings as she flapped them at the enormous menacing monster. The storm clouds began to form once more in the air above, but thin shots of lightning immediately erupted from the cyan feathers and raced to the unusual creature.

Everyone expected an explosion or some kind of electrocution. Twilight could feel the magic within her and her hive drain through Rainbow Dash. It was enough power to turn an ox into ash. But when the bolts reached the scorpony...nothing.

The lightning only tickled the large beast.

“Heehee,” the scorpony squealed disturbingly. “That's new. I've never had my food play with me.”

As much as Twilight wanted to get Rainbow away from the monster, she paled at the display before her. She knew exactly how much power was going into that assault.

The two guards jumped into action. Direway catapulted into the air, grabbed Rainbow in his forehooves, and tumbled to the ground while keeping her safe from the impact. One of the scorpony's large claws shot out and pierced the air where Rainbow had been only a half second prior.

“Something makes me think you intend our queen harm,” Flash Sentry said with a confident grin upon stopping in front of the scorpony. His spear was readied toward the dark creature and his purple armor shined with the brilliance that could only come from being carefully tended to every day.

“Not a challenge,” the scorpony dismissed him up front and took a lazy jab with her claw.

Flash Sentry would have lied if he said it was a slow move. Even for a half-hearted attack, the jagged death-bringing scorpian claw was a blur. So the villain took on a new look of shock when her claw stopped against the ground and she saw Flash Sentry literally running up her arm.

“Eat this!” Flash shouted and jumped with his spear at the pony chest that rose up from where it joined with the scorpian body.

The hard stinger at the tip of the monster's tail slashed forward and made a clang against the driving spear. The guard landed precariously on the large arm as he tried to push his weapon harder against the stinger. Neither budged. As the other claw moved up to knock him off, he somersaulted backwards and tried going for the legs instead.

“Persistent,” the scorpony seethed. She flashed irritation for only a moment before skittering about on her multitude of skinny insect legs.

Every time Flash lunged for a strike, she would evade. He had to find something that worked. Then he saw it. An opening between the legs on the side slightly beneath the midpoint of the body. She was vulnerable there. He gathered his energy, evaded the thundering crash of one of her claws and jumped once more with spear extended.

A purple and green aura surrounded the soaring stallion and jerked him a distance from the monster, carefully setting him back on his hooves. He had failed to see the scorpian tail that had also been racing towards him. The stinger jabbed at the air he would have been occupying had Twilight not pulled him away.

“Fall back!” Twilight called out to the young guardpony.

In a stark display of loyalty, he obeyed. Flash's body snapped backwards the second the words were out of the alicorn's mouth. She should have expected it, however. Flash was, after all, a well-trained guard that was fiercely obedient to her – just as Direway and Midnight Strike were. The stallion's orange coat shimmered as he skidded to a halt before Twilight and turned on point to keep himself between the one he needed to protect and the one he needed to guard against.

Just as Twilight was contemplating trying out her own blast of magic on the creature, two members of the hive broke through the sphere of the created space. Spike thundered towards the scorpony with a speed he could only get when running on all four legs. Rarity was right behind him, but stopped short and shot a beam of light blue magic towards Direway, who was trying very hard to restrain a stubborn Rainbow Dash.

Twilight would have acted herself if the hivemind hadn't let her synchronize with the others. Rarity's shot of magic morphed into a shield that stopped the scorpony from piercing the pair of ponies with her claws and tail. No matter how much force she put into her strikes, they merely bounced off of the diamond-shaped cyan wall.

Before charging into the villain, Spike hesitated and glared. “I don't suppose you're going to introduce yourself or explain your plan?”

“Hardly a need,” the scorpony giggled and then resumed her attack on Rarity's semi-transparent shield. She apparently thought nothing of the dragon because she didn't appear concerned in the slightest. Her size was not quite twice his own, so he was much more a match for her than a pony in terms of mass.

Spike shrugged and glanced back to Twilight. The queen had started to relax. She felt confident about her ability to keep everyone safe in this situation, so she gave him a small nod of permission to proceed. Rarity's shield was reinforced with another shot from the white unicorn. Her magic had noticeable green flecks in it. She was using Hive Power for the shield's unbreakable strength.

Ignoring the drake hadn't been a good idea because Spike bent into a crouch on all fours and sprung as a manticore upon prey. The scorpony tried to raise her tail as a shield but the dragon's mass was too much for it. The tail bent in as Spike collided onto the creature's massive back. A shrill “oof” came from her mouth as her legs gave out beneath her and her claws scraped against Rarity's shield for the last time.

“To think I'd have been scared of you when I was smaller,” Spike grinned with confidence and hooked his front arms around the scorpony's neck. He had her restrained with her tail safely caught between their bodies.

“Get off me you filthy lizard!” the young-sounding monster whined. It was almost as painful as Rarity's whining, but still not as bad. Spike refrained from the desire to plug his ears.

Twilight took the opportunity to attempt further communication. She walked closer to her. “Why are you here?”

The scorpony giggled again, though she gurgled against the chokehold. It was quite disturbing. “I thought I already mentioned that.”

Spike tightened his grip around its neck. “Remind us,” he said in annoyance.

Just then something new entered the sphere-space. It flew in near the top of the bubble's boundaries, streaming green lines of illumination was it glided. The hive knew who it was because both newcomers were a part of it. Pinkie Pie was smiling a thousand-bit smile as she carried an air-sick Applejack in her hooves.

“Uuugh...” the farmpony's face was as green as Pinkie's artificial glowing horn and wings. “I...I think you need to let me down, Pinkie.”

“Awww,” the party pony turned sad. “But you said we needed to get here in two shakes of a lamb's tail!”

“Pinkie, let me down,” AJ moaned with nausea.

“Okie dokie lokie,” the pink mare complied with glee. Unfortunately, she didn't think to reduce her altitude first. She simply let go.

“Aaaaah!!!” Applejack cried in terror as she plummeted towards her demise below.

Pinkie only giggled as she continued to glide onwards. “Oopsie. Not used to this whole flying thing.”

Twilight began igniting her horn but Pinkie took a rapid dive down, ignited the turbines connected to her wings at the shoulder, and scooped up Applejack before she could hit the ground. She dropped the mare again once their flight had slowed and they were only a few hooves above the ash-strewn ground.

Meanwhile, the scorpony took advantage of everyone's distraction to flip Spike off her back and simultaneously jab both claws forward into his stomach. Nothing could hope to penetrate his dragon scales, so he was merely knocked back across the sphere. He came to a tumbling halt near the edge, disoriented and groaning from the impact.

“Spikey!” Rarity cried and ran to him. Her shield dropped because of her diverted focus.

“Uh-oh,” Direway commented.

Rainbow Dash finally bucked out of his hold and charged the villain once more. “AJ, double team!”

Using the advantage of their hivemind, Applejack joined Rainbow's plan and charged in as well. The pegasus flew circles at supersonic speeds around the scorpony, which brought in a funnel of dark clouds from above. Twilight could only see a hurricane where the villain used to be. Applejack was pulled into it with an aggressive leap. Not wanting to keep standing by while the others did everything, Twilight teleported in as well.

The winds were intense. They instantly pulled at Twilight's mane and tail, whipping them in one direction while Twilight's gravity magic held her in place. Applejack was trading blows with the scorpony and was actually making the villain reel back with every buck. The queen didn't waste time, though. She gathered her strength into her horn and blasted a beam of crackling purple and green energy at the monster.

Applejack rolled aside as the powerful magic lanced into the scorpony.

“Eek!” the half-scorpian shrieked at the assault. But the lightning only crawled over her and was gone.

“Looks like we need a might more,” Applejack glared and then drew upon her connection to the hive. She was not much one for magic, but she knew when to put her friends and family over her personal preferences.

Rainbow's Dash's continued circling was keeping the scorpony unbalanced so she couldn't accurately stab them with her tail or claws. Applejack continued to dodge the attempts, but was never in fear of getting hit by the flailing limbs.

“Somepony needs a timeout!” Applejack cried and stretched a forehoof towards the creature.

A black orb of magic she had formed shot out from her hoof. But instead of exploding upon contact, it warped space and sucked the enormous monster in. The instant effect chilled even Twilight, who felt it coming through their connection. Applejack's Hive Power used void magic – darker even than chaos magic. Twilight knew little about it and wondered how AJ could use such a power.

Rainbow flew to a slow pace around them, letting the hurricane dissipate. Applejack had kept her ground because of her physical strength and now Twilight was able to cease her gravity spell that kept her planted. The guards were first to run up to her with Pinkie landing not far behind.

“What in the name of Tartarus is going on?!” Applejack managed to ask first. It was useless, though. The hivemind had no answers yet.

“Fluttershy?” Pinkie looked sideways to the nervously approaching mare.

“I...” the shy pony trembled but knew no more than the others. “I don't know what that was...”

“Well, we're going to have to fi-” Twilight began but was cut short.

The floating orb of void magic that had swallowed the scorpony imploded on itself and then blasted outwards to a massive size before popping into the scorpony's shape.

“Dagnabit!” AJ growled and jumped back in time to avoid another strike from the being's thick stinger.

“That was sooo rude,” the scorpony whined. “But I do appreciate the energy. I needed it.”

“She sucked up your magic, hayhead!” Rainbow shouted at Applejack.

The Earth pony turned worried. “I didn't know she could do that!”

“But void magic can't be-” Twilight again tried desperately to find an answer before having to jump back from a jabbing claw.

Direway and Flash Sentry jumped before her and joined their spears to stop the advance.

“Why are you doing this?” Fluttershy finally found the courage to speak out to the scorpony.

The villain ignored her and continued jabbing at the ponies. Rarity joined in again, protecting them with more shields. Spike took a deep breath and started towards the battle now that he was collected again. Pinkie Pie managed to get airborne and grab a distracted Rainbow before the insect tail could collide with her.

Fluttershy closed her eyes in concentration. She had practically no experience at what she was doing but knew she had a Hive Power to use like all of the others. Seconds before Spike was going to leap into the disarray for the second time, the entire sphere-space transformed back into the green space it had been before with one exception. The space beneath the scorpony morphed into a very deep pond.

“Gah!” the scorpony's eyes went wide as she plummeted into the water with a gurgle.

Twilight grinned back at Fluttershy. “Nice!”

The guards remained alert with their spears pointed at the edge of the water. The large claws did eventually surface and grab hold of the ground to pull the rest of the creature up. She didn't seem hostile anymore, however. The villain only laid tired on the grass at the edge of the pond, panting for breath.

“Water...” the scorpony heaved in defeat. “Warn me next time...”

“Give up?” Rainbow flapped in front of the monster with a cautiousness.

“You ponies are too hard,” she replied with a disinterested tone. “I could have had a thousand meals back home for what I've put into you.”

“So you surrender?” Pinkie Pie smiled big as she landed – more like crashed – in front of the scorpony.

“Sure, whatever,” she waved a claw as she continued catching her breath.

The others let out a collective sigh of relief. None of them wanted to continue fighting the nameless and mysterious creature. Thankfully, their hivemind allowed them to collectively keep a close eye on the monster. Twilight used some quick magic to bind the scorpony's claws and tail in shackles, which she couldn't do before when those parts had been thrashing about.

The guards took up positions beside the tired creature. Apparently, they were content that water was the ultimate weapon against the scorpony because they didn't doubt the being's sincerity or exhaustion. Pinkie Pie started prancing off with a “lalala” on her tongue. Fluttershy came back to Twilight's side like a magnet while Rarity went to Spike and fussed over the area he had been punched.

“Maybe we can get some answers now,” Applejack squinted at the scorpony, who had turned passive and sleepy.

Twilight knew something was very off. For such a strange and powerful creature to appear so suddenly and for her to be completely unaware of its approach was absurd. The scorpony also seemed to be a very carefree being with no strong reason for being here rather than anywhere else. It could be no random coincidence. Somepony or something had planned it being here. Who could it be?

All it took was a second with that question in her hivemind. With the collective conscious of all the others, it was easy to find the conclusion. However small it was, the chaos magic that Discord had given her made it elementary to find similar magic – even if it would otherwise be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Twilight closed her eyes for just a moment, erupted magic from her horn in a jumble of dark colors, and revealed the mastermind behind this recent offensive. The closest innocent-looking tree outside their sphere-space was immediately enveloped in her magic aura and exploded into confetti and something else entirely not a tree. The thing was pulled into their sphere-space.

“Fluttershy always wanted to be one of these things?” Discord crossed his mismatched arms. “I don't see what's so great about it. There's nothing to talk about when you're a tree.”

“Discord!” the present hive members shouted out in frustration. Those far away still conveyed their annoyance over the hivemind.

“What?” the draconequus raised a brow and pretended not to know what the commotion was all about.

“You...you...” Fluttershy's weak voice trembled with the hint of being hurt.

Discord floated over to the little pony and put a paw on her shoulder. “I assure you that no harm could come to any of you.”

Spike gave him a deadpan look.

“You're still not at full strength,” Twilight commented with a harsh seriousness. “How did you have enough magic to summon her and suppress my awareness at the same time?”

A darkness lifted from Twilight's hivemind to reveal the answer. A deep breath came from the scorpony as Twilight's eyes widened. The massive villain they had fought began to transform and shrink. It was disturbing to watch, but the being that materialized out of it was no scary monster at all.

“It was my idea,” Chrysalis admitted as she regained her balance after reverting to her true form. She stepped before Twilight and looked down at her from her natural height above. She had taken quite flawlessly to using their Hive Power for a most unusual form of shape-shifting.

Twilight wasn't sure why but her heart ached. “Why?” was the question that came off her lips. Only, she already knew why. It just hurt to be deceived like this. Only the lifting in the hivemind had allowed her to realize Chrysalis had been absent this whole time. Or at least she thought she had been absent in a vague sense.

“You needed to put our power to the test,” she hummed in assurance and leaned down to her queen. “I knew that this would help give you the confidence you need as well as practice for wielding your power. Not just your own power, but your power through the others.”

Twilight gently kept the changeling from nuzzling her. “It was dangerous. We could have practiced without that element. And I thought you took it to heart when we weren't going to hide things from each other. You've been masking some of your thoughts and actions in our mind, not to mention suppressing my awareness. How can I trust you like this?”

“But I-”

“No,” Twilight interrupted her.

“She meant well, darling,” Rarity offered.

“Lock her up,” Applejack said with a frown and an angry tick in her eye. “Can't have nopony puttin' us all in mortal danger like this. All of Ponyville was at risk.”

“No it wasn't. And she was right,” Spike countered. “We needed this. Besides, we're way too powerful to lose against a bug. No offense,” he added as an apology to Chrysalis, who shrugged.

“What about me?” Discord whined, clearly interested only in attention rather than any kind of punishment. He materialized a pair of cuffs on his wrists and made a pouty face. “Don't I get any double irons?”

Fluttershy gave him a trusting hug, clearly not bothered anymore by his apparent involvement.

“If Chrysalis was the monster then what were you here for?” Twilight raised a brow at Discord, who then looked to Chrysalis.

“Don't look to me,” Chrysalis hummed and averted her eyes. She suddenly decided to turn back on taking responsibility for the event. “Discord was the one that made the suggestion and offered to help my entrance.”

“Fine,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Discord?”

The draconequus' eyes lit up with his name. Quite literally, a floating neon sign of his name lit up above his head, having materialized for no apparent reason. “Yes, my little queen?” he fluttered his lashes.

“Join me in the library. I want to know what gave you this crazy idea in the first place.”

Discord's cuffs disappeared and the sign was replaced by a military cap that landed on his head. He took on a serious expression. “Sharin' intel,” he mumbled in an old heavy accent.

“Huh?” Fluttershy looked up at him, completely lost.

Discord followed the alicorn back to town and the others began to discuss matters in the hivemind while dispersing. It had all been a setup by Discord and Chrysalis to test the hive's magic abilities. Something still seemed off, though. The scorpony was planned but Chrysalis' connection revealed that she hadn't altered the sphere-space. Discord didn't have that ability. After all, chaos magic wasn't the same as Hive Power.

“What was that place?” Twilight couldn't help but wonder. The depressing transformation of Fluttershy's sphere-space happened at the same time that Chrysalis appeared as the scorpony but the two events were not otherwise related. In fact, the magic that was used for that transformation remained a black hole in Twilight's hivemind, as if someone outside the hive had intentionally covered any trace of the magic used or awareness thereof.

Who had corrupted the sphere-space into a bleak landscape of ash and chains?

45 - Propensity is Fateful

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Are you as worried as I am? Maybe we shouldn't go,” Shining Armor spoke to his wife while the two of them got ready for the evening's public address to their subjects.

“Don't let it bother you,” Cadance replied without taking her attention from her reflection in their bedroom mirror. Her mane had already been completed in an intricate fashion by the royal hairdresser. “Have you forgotten how much our own subjects love Spike? In their minds it's as if we're a pair of old tired royals and Spike is the young hero freshly back from war. I've heard there's even a small cult for him in the northern district.”

Even now she could hear the Crystal Orchestra making tranquil music outside in the castle's courtyard. The public assembly continued to grow and all were in high expectation. The crystal ponies adored their rulers and hung on their every word. Cadance had tried to let them see their own power through the Crystal Heart, but they remained fixated on their two royal ponies even more.

“I'm not worried about them accepting Spike in our place,” the white stallion let a nervous tick out into his voice. He remained honest when alone with his wife. Political charades could wait for public appearances. “Or even Spike being ready for it. I'm worried about Celestia and Luna leaving as well. Discord too for that matter. I only trust him as far as I could throw him, but I'd still feel better if at least he was around. Twilight ruling Equestria alone-”

“She has her friends,” Cadance interjected. “They are the Elements of Harmony, after all. And that's not to mention Chrysalis.”

A silence from Shining on the other side of the room.

“Sorry, dear,” Cadance lost her smile as she turned around to face him. “I know you've never thought much of her, but she loves your sister more than you know.”

“And...?” Shining softened a little when Cadance got to him and gave him a reassuring hug. He knew she had more to say.

“Twilight sends us letters regularly. I've noticed something interesting about the last few regarding Chrysalis.”

Shining leaned out of the hug. “Her theory about a former changeling queen feeding directly from the Elements of Harmony via a hive connection?”

“Little Twily has always been bright, hasn't she?”

The stallion smiled big. He was proud of his sister. “Chrysalis may be fueled by the most powerful source and be able to protect my sister but that doesn't mean I trust her any more than I have before.”

“Then what about love?” Cadance countered.

Shining bit his bottom lip and hesitated. She sure knew how to corner him with that. He couldn't very well deny the power of love to the Princess of Love herself – his own wife!

“Well...?” Cadance batted her eyes playfully at him.

Shining Armor avoided his eyes and tried moving to the side but soon found himself trapped against their ornate bed.

“Gotcha!” Cadance giggled as she pounced upon him and sent them both toppling onto the silky sheets.

“Fine,” Shining relented with a sigh. His wife was holding him down from above. “I'll give you this one.”

The royal mare leaned down until their faces were a breath apart. “I love you more than the rising sun, my prince.”

“That's an old saying,” Shining responded with a hint of defiance left in him.

“We'll be together even longer than the saying has been around,” she grinned and then touched her lips to his in a warm kiss. Although her husband had no idea yet, her words had a depth to them beyond mortal understanding. Shining would live forever with her. She would see to that.

“That was stupid,” Twilight told Discord with a straight face.

The draconequus squinted. “I thought Applepack was the brutally honest one.”

“It's Applejack,” the pony queen frowned with her reply, “and I've learned a few things from her. Namely: getting straight to the point.”

Discord rolled his eyes and then hovered to one of the library's tightly packed bookshelves. “I was just trying to be a good friend,” he tried to conclude their conversation.

“Teaching me another lesson I needed to learn?” Twilight became slightly more agitated. “I understand the intention, but friends don't go about it this way.”

Discord took out a book from the shelf and gave it to Twilight. She read the title.

“Psychology of Romance.”

“Just admit it, Twily,” Discord smirked as he leaned down to Twilight's eye level. “You're not annoyed at what happened. No, you're jealous that your adorable if somewhat oversized changeling hid something from you. But we both know that it takes two to tango. You've been hiding things from her as well.”

Twilight's face went from expressing annoyance to rage to fear in a very short period of time. “What would you know?”

“Little old me?” the chaos creature chuckled, stuck his tongue out, and tried to summon something. When his low charge of magic failed to be sufficient he made a disappointed face and settled for the nearest chair to sit on. “Well, here I thought we were talking about how I was trying to teach you something.”

“Don't change the subject,” Twilight stomped her hoof.

“I wasn't. You were,” Discord countered. He hadn't lost his aloof attitude yet.

“No, I wasn't.”

“Sure,” he came back with an infuriating smirk.

“Sometimes I just want to...to...”

“Yes? I'm sure Fluttershy would like to know. She can hear everything over your hivemind, right?” the crafty old Master of Chaos grinned wide.

“Shy understands my frustrations with you,” Twilight breathed through her teeth. “Now tell me what's going through that thick skull of yours.”

“It just feels all too familiar – this conversation of ours. And besides, wouldn't Chrysy be bothered by my telling? She can hear as well, after all.”

“Not right now,” Twilight quickly responded and stepped up to him. “I can filter.”

“See? That's the problem,” Discord looked down at Twilight due to his naturally larger size.

“This idea of yours was to sharpen my hive for the absence of Celestia and Luna. Am I wrong?”

Discord's lion paw stroked his goatee. “I really don't know why you even need me here,” he chuckled lightly this time.

“To confirm so that I don't feel so bad when I beat you to a pulp!” Twilight raged.

“Now now,” Discord leaned back and put his arms in front of him. “No need to get physical. That's not the soft-hearted bookworm I know and love.”

Twilight's temper cooled by a degree. “Oh really?”

“Oh yes indeed,” the draconequus leaned forward again, seeing his chance for another bit of fun. “If your heart was not taken thrice already then I'd elope with you. If you don't mind me saying, you're quite the catch.”

As the mare's mouth opened for comment, Discord plucked a rose from behind her ear. A simple trick even his low reserves could handle. He took the rose in his mouth and made a growling noise. This was, of course, the moment that Chrysalis chose to burst through the library door.

It might have been awkward for a moment if Chrysalis hadn't caught on to what a jester Discord could be.

“I...” the changeling had a hard time speaking because of the suppression in her mind. Twilight's use of her power was not yet as refined as it could be compared to her own. “I couldn't feel you...in our mind...”

Twilight groaned, pushed Discord away from her, and rolled her eyes at him. He fell on his back chuckling even while she traded one irritation for another. “You should know what it feels like, Chrysalis. You keep doing it to me. Only you're more subtle with it.”

A look of pain and regret crossed the changeling's face. It was clear the words stung. Twilight had called her by her full name, scolded her, and seemed cold overall. Chrysalis lowered her head in shame.

“Get upstairs and stay in the ring until I come to see you,” Twilight ordered with steel in her tone.

Chrysalis felt her legs shake in reaction to her queen's commanding voice. She quickly obeyed and avoided eye contact. All of the certainty and conviction she had about her earlier plan had evaporated. In the end, she still wanted and needed Twilight's approval and love. She didn't want to ever jeopardize that.

With the changeling gone again, Twilight turned back to Discord. Her eyes were alight with a crackle of green lightning. She yanked him towards her with a flash of her powerful magic. “One more time. What do you know?”

Discord shrugged and played casual. “Just that you're beginning to love your power. The painful memories from bug-brain have taken their toll on your own conscious. You would never let your friends know because you're supposed to be the Princess of Friendship, not the Queen of Vengeance. The Tree of Harmony was hinting at the dark magic you've been building within you, the lust for power, and inevitable collapse of Equestrian society. But maybe I'm just lying to teach you another lesson, right?”

Twilight squinted at him, none of her frustration ebbing. “Should I even care about what comes out of your mouth?”

“Touchy. And so soon after I saved all of you.” The Master of Chaos slithered out of her magic grip and pretended to dust off his shoulders. “You'll be the only leader left in Equestria soon. At least for a while. I'm just doing my duty as a good friend to make sure you are in the right frame of mind for it.”

Twilight's eye twitched in disbelief. “A draconequus wanting order and stability?”

“Compared to you, I'm the poster foal of it,” Discord stuck his tongue out. “The hivemind is making you unstable. Mood swings. Power swings. You're not even sure of your own morals anymore.”

“I'm in control,” Twilight finally fought her voice back to an even temper. She took a deep breath and straightened her posture. “This is all just another test. You like playing around with me but I can see past it. You won't get to me again like this.”

Discord pretended to be in shock for only a moment. He was a terrible actor. “Who said I ever got to you? Now get up to that bug-thing of yours and tell her how much you love her. Changelings are like newborn foals. They can die if they don't feel loved.”

“What-” Twilight began to respond but Discord blinked out of existence with a snap of his fingers. “I didn't give him permission to leave,” she then muttered to herself.

Twilight made her way up the stairs, passively acknowledging that the other members of her hive had dispersed to their own places in town or were elsewhere as ordered for the moment. Only her guards were at the door and the maids were waiting to be called from the kitchen.

When the alicorn entered her own familiar dark bedroom, she beheld a nervous Chrysalis laying in the soft glow of the sleeping ring. The fact that Twilight wielded so much influence over this former villain and changeling queen hit her anew. But amidst this influence, Twilight was aware of the responsibility. Chrysalis was hers to take care of and she needed to look after her no matter what. That meant calming and reassuring her.

“Dispense with any notion that I'm upset,” Twilight began as she walked into her ring and laid next to her changeling. “I'm just frustrated with myself. I thought having this incredible hivemind would mean I would no longer have weaknesses like anger or spite. I should have learned from your own past that hives don't work that way.”

Chrysalis listened but said nothing. She welcomed her queen's closeness and enjoyed the soft glow of her jagged horn, which was absorbing Twilight's affection.

More time passed and Twilight knew that her changeling had heard her and was fully understanding. If she didn't know it through the hivemind then she knew it through the warm smile on Chrysalis' face. Spike was coming back to the library, so the purple mare quickly got in another comment before he arrived.

“We're fully capable of handling Equestria while Celestia and Luna are gone,” she self-assured. “I'm ready to lead.”

“And I'm ready for marriage,” Chrysalis gave a fang-filled grin. “Maybe we could do the ceremony and your coronation at the same time. Two birds, one stone.”

That's terrible, Fluttershy whimpered over the hivemind at the awful expression.

Twilight shook her head but smiled. She flicked Chrysalis' horn playfully. “No violence towards animals, Chrysy. I thought I told you to stop using that saying. And you're going to have to wait-”

“But I love you,” she buzzed.

“I know,” Twilight said with a hint of her own grin. “All in good time.”

Just when the queen expected, Spike walked into the bedroom. “Looking forward to the coronation?” he asked as he stepped into the ring and tested the plush floor with a large claw.

“Actually, I'm thinking of what I'm going to do while I have the throne, so to speak,” Twilight blushed.

Oh my gosh! Pinkie Pie added in from Sugar Cube Corner. It's like the biggest question ever, right? What would you do if you ruled Equestria?! Free cake for everypony! Let them eat cake!!!

“Pinkie...” Twilight facehoofed.

It was business as usual in Canterlot. Rumors had spread of major changes in the royalty, but few actually believed them. Even more time had passed since the reports of a scorpony in Ponyville, which was nothing short of a joke to those in the big cities. Only the royal sisters knew better and, besides, it had been nearly a week since it actually happened.

“Nervous?” Celestia asked her sister, who was standing next to her and looking outward.

They were both on her bedroom's balcony, which meant the morning sunlight was bathing them and the inner-castle garden that they overlooked. The fountain in the middle of the garden was pouring its crystal water as usual. Only the sound of construction in the devastated east wing of the castle was any disturbance to the tranquil scene.

“About what?” Luna replied with denial and a slight taint of irritation.

The elder sister walked up beside her sibling and wrapped her wing around her. “I am too.”

They kept looking out at the peaceful garden. Eventually, Luna lowered her head and leaned into her sister's sideways embrace. “What have we done, Tia?”

Celestia frowned. “Built a civilization. Planted the seed of Harmony. Gave millions a life that was taken from us. Ran from our past.”

“The dragon, Spike,” Luna sighed, “reminded me when I was overseeing his dreams.”

“He told you something?”

“No,” the dark alicorn shook her head. “I never let him know I was there. The way he acted reminded me of ourselves. He was afraid of moving on in life because of what the others would think. How much different are we really?”

“But he doesn't lead a civilization,” Celestia noted.

“He will lead the Crystal Empire,” Luna countered.

The Mare of the Sun shifted on her hooves. Her own star was warming both their coats. “Ponies like portraits and masks, not reality.”

Luna leaned back from her sister and gave her an incredulous look. “When did my big sister become so poetically pessimistic?”

“It's just the stress talking,” Celestia lowered her head in weariness. “I'm afraid having Discord with us is not as much assurance as I would prefer. But then I'm afraid there is none other that could give us more help – not with what we must face.”

This time it was Luna who put her wing up around her sister. Her wings were smaller so it did not cover the larger mare like Celestia's did with her. “Perhaps we should take the day off court and relax together,” Luna suggested. “It seems we both need it.”

Celestia beamed at that and gripped her little sister tight in her forehooves. “I'd love that! But what about your sleep? Aren't you tired?”

Luna coughed from the too-tight hug, so her sister loosened up enough for there to be an intelligible response. “I can sleep on your back if I pass out.”

Both sisters giggled at that and began contemplating the agenda for the court-free day. However, they were soon interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door. Celestia tilted her head in curiosity and called for the pony to come in.

Centurion entered. He had new scars on his shoulders but was otherwise looking as fit as a warm sunny day. “Ready for duty!” he saluted to his former charges after approaching the balcony.

Luna raised a brow. “Your princess is in another castle, Centurion.”

“I am aware, your highness,” Centurion lowered his hoof but remained at attention. “I had a question before returning to Ponyville. Regarding a significant concern of rank.”

“Yes?” Celestia prompted him.

“Is is true that Storm Sword will be promoted to Captain of the Royal Guard?” he cut right to the quick.

“Storm Sword is the most logical choice,” Luna spoke up, unsure of the guard's question.

An uneasiness wafted through the air, as if Centurion didn't want to disagree with the princesses even though he clearly did.

“Speak your mind, Centurion,” Celestia encouraged him. She tried to be accepting and soothing in her tone. “If you have an objection, I would gladly hear it. You have full permission to speak freely.”

“Storm Sword is a bully, your highness. She was in a northern sector military tribunal only three months ago for damaging actions against her own unit. I would think that absurdity alone would be enough to dismiss even the idea of electing her as Captain – a position as honorary as it is functional.”

Celestia sighed and turned back to look out at the morning sky. Luna took the hint and spoke to the guard in her place. “I see the talk has spread even here to Canterlot,” the Mare of the Night frowned. “We have been informed by our sources that the events leading to that court case were manufactured by other guardsponies hoping the incident would put her out of the picture for promotion and give them a shot instead.”

“Informed by who?” Centurion looked intense. Clearly the idea of being monitored secretly had disturbed him whether or not it was justified.

“That is not for you to ever know,” Luna responded tartly. “That you don't know is precisely why we know what we do. Contrary to popular belief, I don't care much for cloak and dagger. However, it still has its uses. My sister is aware that issues within the ranks have been becoming more intense since Shining Armor was discharged to see to the Crystal Empire. Storm Sword is just the kind of pony to fill the void he left.”

“By destroying the guard's traditions?” Centurion pursed his lips.

Luna straightened herself. She was not as tall as her sister but she still matched the massive guardpony in height. “What traditions do you speak of specifically?”

“The marches, the line formations, the straight-forward fighting methodology,” he began to list. “I've heard of her unit history. She would have the entire Royal Guard crawling in mud and hitting from strewn cover rather than march in formation and fight in ranks.”

“Centurion,” Luna began, “the Royal Guard has not had any major fight in over a thousand years, correct? Storm Sword was chosen partly because of her experience with the tribes past Equestria's northern border. Her unit is the only one to see engagement outside of the Canterlot Invasion. She developed her methods after traditional ones failed to cope with enemy tactics. Twilight is the one that will have the final say in this in any case. You should bring it up with her. My sister plans to finalize the paperwork along with the coronation so that the court won't lock it up in procedure.”

“Then you already know that the legislators wouldn't allow her appointment,” Centurion highlighted the issue.

“Politics are one thing I won't miss while we're gone,” Luna rolled her eyes.

Centurion backed up towards the door. “I will bring my concerns to Twilight. Thank you for hearing me out, your highness.”

Luna hardly voiced an official dismissal before he disappeared out of the room. Feeling somewhat off balance, Luna rejoined her sister against the balcony's railing.

“Do you ever get the feeling Equestria would fall apart if we left?” Luna asked to the open air and kept frowning.

“Now who's the pessimist?” Celestia giggled beside her.

The dark alicorn stuck her tongue out.

“Blueblood won't take this well,” the elder sister commented after they had enjoyed the sightseeing for a while longer.

“I never understood why you didn't just appoint him to the southern sector for a while. It would have taught him a valuable lesson. He's too entitled.”

“I was worried he would just make matters worse,” Celestia admitted. “Besides, his friends on the nobles' side have less power than they think they do. They have only a few actual connections in the Royal Guard and Storm Sword can eliminate those. In fact, I can trust from her record that she'll put a priority on it. She knows more than any other that political maneuvering has no place in the Guard.”

Luna leaned closer to her sister even though she felt their more intimate moment had passed. She kept talking in the hope that Celestia wouldn't notice and she could get away with it. “It's almost as if you expect trouble after we leave.”

“Trouble has been brewing since before your imprisonment, Lulu,” Celestia waved innocently to the gardener that was now tending to the garden plants below. “I've written a letter to Twilight regarding the finer points of it. She's probably making a hundred contingencies already.”

“Contingency one-hundred,” Spike groaned as his claw cramped. He was nearly out of ink, the quill was about to snap, and the scroll had barely any room left on it. “Can we take a break?”

Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth in the ground-floor room of the library, almost forgetful of her hive gathered with her. Chrysalis followed her around like a faithful servant. The four maids did likewise but kept a safe distance from the changeling.

“Celestia sent me this information herself!” Twilight bit her bottom lip. “Given the subject material, it's only a matter of time until a societal rift significant enough to cause public disorder occurs! Did you see the numbers from Cloudsdale? Over sixty-three percent of privately surveyed pegasi were in favor of deep functional reforms regarding Royal Guard appropriation from select Canterlot legislatures. There's now a nintey-two percent chance of a landslide push-through of Bill Ten Twenty-Four now that Las Pegasus backs the proposal!”

“I'm just pretending to know what's coming out of your mouth,” Spike deadpanned.

“Isn't being a dictator better than being a pandering princess?” Chrysalis giggled.

“Not funny,” Twilight turned on her changeling. “Celestia and Luna are giving me the most important position in Equestria and I have to be fair and just in my decisions. The balance of power between the legislatures and the throne must be carefully considered.”

“That's not what you said a week ago,” Spike remarked. “You kept going on and on about how fun it would be to-”

“Not helping,” Rarity put a hoof on his shoulder.

“The Wonderbolts were officially decommissioned centuries ago when Celestia consolidated the various Equestrian Forces into the Royal Guard. This bill would re-instate the Wonderbolts as a military organization instead of a stunt team with honorary heritage.”

“Sweet!” Rainbow Dash squealed in joy.

Everypony looked up to her. She didn't blush or stop hovering around. Instead, she raised a brow.

“What?” Rainbow defended. “Spitfire would be a general! That's awesome!”

“So some ponies get some fancy shmancy titles,” Applejack frowned and repositioned a twig of grain sticking out of her mouth. “Who cares?”

“Don't you get it?” Twilight pushed her thoughts out harder so they might grasp the gravity of the idea in the hive. “Cloudsdale and Canterlot legislatures have been opposed practically since Equestria was formed! Celestia fused the Wonderbolts and the Canterlot Guard into the Royal Guard to de-escalate tension. That's not even to mention the Earth Rangers, the Night Militant, and other Forces that were combined. Splitting them back up would only fuel old fires and with Celestia and Luna gone, I'll be the only one trying to get them to hold hooves again.”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy became concerned from where she lay in the corner.

“Sucks to be you,” Applejack remarked.

Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash gave her a disapproving glare.

“Just the truth,” the farm pony shrugged.

“The only silver lining in this,” Twilight pushed her unbrushed mane out of her eyes, “is that Celestia is forcing through Storm Sword's appointment as Captain of the Royal Guard along with the legal work for my coronation. She assured me that Storm will be on my side and as a unicorn Captain, she can keep the Canterlot side of the Guard from siding with the nobles, who want a confrontation as bad as Cloudsdale.”

“You're from Cloudsdale,” Spike said to Rainbow Dash. “And you're a reserve in the Wonderbolts. What are the pegasi thinking?”

“I don't know,” Rainbow shrugged. “That high-society unicorns are snobs that don't care about the rest of us?”

“Pardon?” Rarity frowned at the blue mare.

“It's like Hearth's Warming Eve all over again,” Fluttershy whispered to herself. "Except without the warming part.”

Pinkie Pie spoke up for a different line of thought, though she took the faster route of the hivemind. Why is Las Pegasus siding with Cloudsdale?

While Twilight focused on the contingencies, Chrysalis passed the information. Las Pegasus is over half pegasi residents and the majority of others share their way of thinking – even the unicorns.

“If this is the difference between being a royal of Ponyville and a royal of Equestria, I can tell you right now which I'd prefer,” Twilight deadpanned.

Spike grabbed Celestia's earlier letter and read the bottom. “P.S. Ruling Equestria is great, right?”

Silence.

The dragon tried a weak smile. “Well, at least she hasn't lost her sense of humor.”

“We're doomed!” Pinkie threw her hooves up and faceplanted.

Rarity rolled her eyes. “I recall you said that about this morning's breakfast menu. You just like saying it.”

Pinkie smiled big after picking her face back up from the floor. “Got that right, sugarcube.”

Applejack raised a brow at that. She then shook her head and tapped her chin as she reassembled her thoughts. “I don't see the big deal. Just get this here Storm Sword to back you up. No court ponies can tell a Captain of the Guard what to do, right?”

“That won't stop Cloudsdale from splitting up the Guard based on what the nobles have been doing with it for over a decade now,” Twilight bit her lip again. “There's no changing the fact that the Guard has been moved into questionable situations multiple times that served only the interests of the nobles. They barely have any direct connections in the Guard so the nobles used the legislators to move supply and staging grounds through lands laws stapled into essential funding bills. It's incredibly complex court manipulation and I don't have the right kind of experience to fight it. I can only draw on Chrysalis' experience with her hive and that's not at all comparable.”

Spike rubbed his sore claw and offered his two bits while glancing to Rarity, who was still glaring at Rainbow Dash. “Worst case scenario: the Royal Guard splits, Spitfire leads the Wonderbolts and Storm Sword leads the Canterlot Guard. Both would be loyal to you. Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus are obviously on your side by the sound of it, which leaves only the Canterlot nobles against. And you are the final voice in the court as Queen of Equestria. Checkmate.”

“That's what bothers me,” Twilight worried even more. “There's no way they would make all of these complex plans and not see that eventuality. They have something else in mind that would give them the control they want to have over Equestrian affairs. There needs to be a one-hundred and first contingency, but for what?”

46 - Hierarchy is Controversial

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Twilight Sparkle!” bellowed the voice of Storm Sword.

She had the most peculiar accent. Some of her vowels leaned and her Rs rolled. The accent was rare outside of the most northeastern parts of Equestria. Above all else, her voice had a finality to it that spoke volumes of authority. She sounded like a mare that knew what everypony was thinking and was fully prepared to put a stop to all of the bad thoughts.

Twilight and her hive had only just entered the foyer of Canterlot Castle. Somehow, the air seemed hotter and more humid. Likely a result of the heavy morning rains and the midday sun. The castle was looking better because of recent construction while the foyer and main hall were shining in pristine order.

None of the hive members recognized the steel gray mare, her feathery spring blue mane, or intense azure eyes. She was unrecognizable as a Royal Guard. In fact, the two other guardponies on either side of her were just as strange. They wore loose garments patterned with dark leaves and permanent mud stains. It made Rarity cringe all the way to her very bones.

“Storm Sword?” Twilight made her best guess. Luna had told her that the pony was waiting to meet her at the castle.

“Second Lieutenant Storm Sword,” the mare responded briskly in her unusual accent and stopped before the other mare. Her gaze was almost to the point of harsh and she didn't bow or shake hooves. She gestured to a group of court ponies that were walking toward the main hall. “Those peach-eating pen-pushers demoted me for doing my job. Only reason I didn't get worse was because Sunnyside gave me an out. Would be rotting in a twig brig if it weren't for her.”

“Sunnyside?” Rarity ventured a polite question.

“Princess Fire Flank,” Storm gave another name, which seemed to click.

Rarity made a face while Pinkie Pie snorted laughter.

Twilight kept her seriousness and stayed on track. “Celestia wanted us to talk before the coronation in a few days. You've been elected for Captain of the Guard.”

“Pfft,” Storm frowned and the two other guards with her rolled their eyes. One was a lanky stallion that looked more ready for a desk job than guard duty and the other was a mare that looked all too happy to be in Storm's presence. “Nothing like waiting to the last minute. The position's been void for how long? Typical. Give me the reins late enough so I can't save the Guard, but soon enough to be blamed for its demise.”

“Celestia seems to think you can at least keep the Canterlot units from causing trouble,” Twilight offered and was anxious as to how the conversation was going. “But we can talk about that later. I'd like to know more about you.”

“Why?” Storm put it upfront, eyebrows flat with indifference.

Twilight's hooves shifted around beneath her in discomfort. Her hive felt what she did but knew she had to be the one talking.

“We...” Twilight searched for the right response. “We should be friends, right? I mean, we need to work together. And my brother was the last Captain. Maybe we can exchange stories?”

“About Sellout Shining?” Storm Sword grumbled. “Sure, I can tell you all about how your good-for-nothing brother took the Fifty-Second Canterlot Unit on a wine-tasting tour in Canterlot while he ordered my Sixty-First to eat dirt and steel – over-spent, under-supplied, without relief or reinforcement – all because we happened to have been born in North-E and LP downtown.”

Twilight's eyes were as big as saucers. The anger in the biting words of the female guard were like lashes of a whip.

“Ever think to ask your brother why bug-teeth,” Storm pointed to Chryaslis, “got past our outer perimeter? He split the Canterlot units into central cities that needed no protection so that the high society guards of those units wouldn't be in harm's way. The outer perimeter was filled only with units like mine that hadn't any political connections or money to buy safe posts. He used us like disposable tissue paper and, when our perimeter collapsed from exhaustion, the changelings just walked right in. Should have seen the look on their faces as they literally stepped over us. So, yeah. Let's talk about Shining Armor, once proud Captain of the Royal Guard.”

Twilight composed herself and replied in a calm even voice. “He placed the units based on expertise. The Canterlot units were most familiar with Canterlot, which made them most effective stationed there for a second line of defense. Other cities needed token forces in case the changelings raided prior to their primary target. The other units were more experienced in open field combat, which is why they formed the outer perimeter. Supplies and relief were ordered to the weakened units but were blocked by the nobles in court, not Shining Armor. He had very strong words about that after the incident was over and almost resigned because of it. He cares for each and every one of you as much as he cares about his own family. I would know. He would never show it when he thought somepony was around, but he cried whenever one of you was seriously hurt.”

A blanket of silence persisted for an uncomfortable length of time until it was broken by Storm Sword.

“I doubted when they said you had what it took to replace Celestia. Guess I should have expected as much from Shining's sister,” Storm gave a wild smile that somehow seemed to match her unkept mane. “You saw right through my test and responded with logic and fact. That's a princess I can trust.”

Twilight gave a little nod of understanding in return. Storm Sword turned around and led them towards one of the hallways branching from the foyer. The pony queen walked at her side while Storm's two guards fanned outwards to reinforce Twilight's four.

“By the way, we call him Saving Armor,” Storm glanced to Twilight with a grin. “He's saved more of us than any other pony in the history of the Royal Guard. He's kept us all together in spite of continuous setbacks from the nobles. They've tried to rip us apart more times than I've had to cover myself in mud to avoid being seen by a hungry dragon – and that's a lot of times.”

Spike winced, trying not to be associated with his less civilized kind.

“I have to admit that I sort of cheated,” Twilight was embarrassed at the thought. “I contacted my brother before we met so I could hear what he had to say about you.”

“Oh? What did he say?”

“That you're a heart-heavy sap that cares too much and won't put up with the slime that the nobles keep throwing at you.”

“Well, I never wanted to be reasonable with them,” Storm smirked. “Equestria is secure on all borders right now. The only enemy is here in Canterlot.”

They reached the end of the hallway and entered a war room that was labeled as such merely for tradition. The place was filled mostly with non-relevant bookshelves and the large map table in the center had been used for far more peaceful expedition plans than any battle preparation. Right now, it had a massive map of Canterlot stretched across it with a multitude of pins marking something across the city. Most of the pins were clustered in the north and east sections, which happened to be situated around the castle and the mansions of the nobles.

“You'll notice a pattern,” Storm pointed to parts of the map with her hoof.

Twilight and the others gathered around the map table. “That's Prince Blueblood's private estate,” Twilight pointed her forehoof to one pin near the castle.

Storm Sword frowned deeply. “The rally point of the nobles. Fancy Pants as well,” she added and moved her own hoof to a lower point where another large estate laid within the city walls.

“Fancy Pants?” Rarity was irked.

Storm tilted her gaze to the unicorn. “He's the best PR the nobles have ever had. They let him break mold on enough social issues to keep the papers happy. It helps his reputation and grows their profits by drawing public scrutiny from the less interesting commerce laws they pass.”

“You are awfully adept at politics for a guardpony. No offense,” Rarity remarked. “How would you know about Canterlot business, though?”

“It's only complicated for someone on the inside who doesn't deal on the outside. Take it this way: the pony out of the fog can see it moving the way the pony in it can't.”

“I'll be,” Applejack gave a lop-sided grin at that one. “Never thought I'd hear a unicorn so down to Equestria.”

Twilight couldn't help but use the opportunity to apply her knowledge. “I'm not too surprised. After all, it's basic psychology that we tend to believe what we haven't learned is more complicated than it really is. It's the magic in the machine.”

Rainbow Dash giggled. “You know how ironic that is coming from you, right?”

Twilight gave a short embarrassed laugh in reply. “Good news is we have a voice of reason,” she moved back on topic and slid her hoof to the northwest corner of the city. “Blue Moon and North Star. They've recently formed a public movement here in Canterlot for the dissolution of the royal court and reinstatement of the regional assemblies.”

“Blue Moon is one of the royal court's legislators,” Storm caught on, “which is why he's been getting public attention for his proposal. North Star also has a lot of prestige among the people here in Canterlot. Her family was key in the original unification of the three pony races.”

“She is one of the very few confirmed descendants of Princess Platinum,” Rarity added with sparkling eyes.

Twilight smiled. “The fact that the bloodline became mixed with pegasi and Earth ponies still makes the nobles grumble. Anyways, Cloudsdale's proposal has only been encouraged by a reduction in the number of its own legislators in the royal court and the fact that their seats were replaced by an obscene and disproportionate majority of Canterlot elites. I knew there had to be at least one legislator on Cloudsdale's side in Canterlot or else the situation would have blown up long ago. Thank the sun and stars that we have Blue Moon on our side.”

“I remember reading about him in the Ponyville Times a few months ago,” Pinkie commented as she stuffed a cupcake in her mouth and talked messily around it. She was mysteriously holding a tray of fresh cupcakes that nopony had seen when they entered the room. “He's had real street cred even before this confusing complicated frown-inducing dark-cloud-covered mess of a situation.”

“I read that story,” Fluttershy's voice was barely audible. “He kept an orphanage in Las Pegasus from closing because he managed to do....something with a new law. The ponies in Las Pegasus really love him.”

“Personally, I can see why,” Storm nodded. “He kept the court from eliminating food aid to my city when we were in the middle of a famine.”

“Scinland?” Rarity asked.

“Hm?” the female guardpony raised a brow with the beginnings of surprise.

“Your accent, darling. Is it Scintish?” Rarity inquired.

Storm looked genuinely shocked. “Never had such an exact guess before. My home is not so well known. How did you figure?”

Rarity beamed and tossed her mane back in pride. Rare was any chance for her to boast of her all-too-specific knowledge. “I have made many banners and tapestries for small districts and local cultures. I made a royal tapestry for the Scintish Council. They have a very proud history and unique crest. I noticed the small patch on the left shoulder of your uniform. It is the same crest and your accent is very similar to the one of the pony that ordered the tapestry.”

Rainbow snickered silently. Trust Rarity to notice an accessory.

Storm Sword stepped to the other mare. She fully faced Rarity and bowed. “My sincerest gratitude, Lady Rarity.”

“Oh,” the white unicorn was shocked at suddenly being in the spotlight. “W-what ever for?”

Storm leaned back up and smiled warmly. “Those that weave our banner demand our appreciation. Our city is seldom acknowledged beyond the most northern regions. Now let us continue to the castle garden. Princess Luna wished to see us all for matters of the coronation.”

Rarity was glad they exited the map room and were walking towards the castle garden. Her face was red with embarrassment because she was not used to such courteous shows in her honor. Spike grinned at her in encouragement.

“No more!” shouted a pegasi in the crowd.

“Canterlot will burn for this!” shouted another.

“Send the snobs to Tartarus!” a third yelled in bursting anger.

Cloudsdale's historical district was packed for a full three blocks with protesters. The old city hall that was once Legion Headquarters was now over-capacity with angry pegasi and just a few city servants that were ready to collapse from exhaustion and nervousness.

Fleetfoot and Rapidfire were holding off ponies from the mayor's office and continued to reassure the masses that the issues were currently being addressed. A very different scenario was playing out inside, however.

“You're telling me it's over,” the mayor groaned and let his forehead smack onto his desk. “On my term,” he added. “Some mayor I'll be remembered as.”

“It's not your fault,” Spitfire assured him. “It's not Cloudsdale's fault for that matter.”

The gray-coated middle-aged pegasus lifted his face up. “Tell that to the citizens,” he pounded a hoof on his desk. “This may not have been our doing but they still want a resolution.”

“I told you last year that I wouldn't get wrapped up in these politics,” Spitfire frowned. “And to Tartarus if you get the Wonderbolts stuck in it.”

“I called you here to help the city,” the mayor matched her frown. “You do have some sense of public duty, do you not?”

Before the leader of the famed Wonderbolts could answer that, another pegasi squeezed through the doors. She looked ragged and out of breath. Her mane was frazzled and her simplistic dress was dirty in some spots. Both the mayor and Wonderbolt captain raised their brows.

“North Star?” the mayor looked at her harder and adjusted his glasses. He was honestly shocked at her appearance. “Why are you here?”

“Blue told me about the new airspace regulation,” she panted and walked to the desk while she tiredly brushed the dirt from her attire. “I knew there would be trouble so I came as quickly as I could. Preventing Cloudsdale from using Canterlot airspace for weather control is not just self-centered and unjustified – it's dangerous for our weather.”

Spitfire had a nervous look on her face when North Star walked up beside her to face the mayor's desk.

North smiled sweetly at the Wonderbolt. “I assure you I'm not here for an autograph.”

Spitfire shook her head so fast that it was almost comical. “No, no, no, I wouldn't dream of that. Actually, I was kind of hoping to get yours.”

The pink-coated mare giggled behind a forehoof. “I didn't know anypony admired me. Besides my dear Blue, I mean.”

“You kidding?” Spitfire grinned like a filly. “You've helped more ponytarian causes than I've ever hoped to. And you've kept pegasi-unicorn relations above the water on so many occasions that even your ancestors were into it.”

“I try to do what I feel is right,” North Star's smile was real but also revealed how fatigued she was. She looked to the mayor. “The protest is growing out there. If it reaches the weather factory then you can be sure that Cloudsdale is going to give Canterlot the lightning storm of its life. We need to make an address and send a group of public representatives to Canterlot immediately. If we act now then I can get an audience with the Princesses and we can overturn the new law before it leads to serious trouble.”

A silence ensued as the others contemplated her words.

The mayor tapped his desk and then nodded. “Do it. I'm not afraid to admit it. I got this position because I'm good at running the city, not the royal court. Canterlot is more than I can handle. If you can rein this mess in then I'll give you all the resources you need to do it.”

North Star looked to Spitfire. “Mind helping me to calm some angry ponies?”

“Just like another day at the Academy,” Spitfire grinned.

“Act Ten Thirty-Two is repealed!” Princess Luna bellowed out to the full court of ponies.

She and Celestia were seated on their thrones in the middle while over one hundred court legislators murmured, talked, barked, joked, and ridiculed each other from where they were seated in a circular fashion around the royal court chamber.

“Bill Ten Thirty-Three is under Revision Five!” Celestia added as the next item on the agenda.

She and her sister had both wanted to have more days off of court but with Twilight's coronation tomorrow there was not a chance in Tartarus. North Star, Spitfire, and Soarin' were still standing as witnesses before them. The report they had given on behalf of Cloudsdale's public sector was more than enough to convince Luna to take royal action.

Neither princess normally made announcements from the thrones in this particular court. They typically used the castle throne room to make judgments and royal aides would carry orders back and forth to this court. Technically it was the official royal court after the legislatures had been formed and the hundred plus seats were too much for the castle's throne room to house.

Celestia liked the castle more and that was partly why she rarely took her seat in the official court. It was also partly because she didn't like the bickering legislators. Okay, she admitted to herself, it was mostly because she didn't like the bickering legislators. Luna shared her pain.

“Princess Luna excuses herself!” Luna announced and stepped down from her position. She led the temporary representatives to the break room door where they continued on to the exit. They were walking back to the castle in short order.

“I could never begin to thank you-” North Star began.

“None of that,” Luna prevented her from finishing. They walked down the street to the castle gates, all the while ponies bowing in reverence to Luna. “It wasn't a personal favor. It was simply the best course of action for Cloudsdale and ultimately Equestria.”

“Of course,” North Star replied in humility. “I was merely expressing the gratitude that Cloudsdale pegasi will doubtlessly feel. We are representing them only for this one matter, after all. I would feel terrible if I failed such a short task.”

“You continue to surprise us, North Star,” Luna said. The guards at the gate stiffened upon seeing the princess and swiftly opened the gates for them. “You take a lot of initiative even on matters outside of Canterlot. To be selected as a representative so quickly is honestly shocking. Spitfire I had no doubt of, but clearly Cloudsdale holds you in high esteem.”

The captain of the Wonderbolts saw her chance. “To be blunt, though, this was hardly planned in advance. I didn't want to get this involved in the beginning. We only managed to get the crowds to send us as ambassadors because of our...”

“Name recognition?” Luna stifled a laugh.

“I didn't want to say that, but yes,” Spitfire sighed. “I went along with it because I didn't like the regulation any more than most other pegasi. I can tell you right now that whoever came up with the idea doesn't know a thing about weather.”

Luna lead them into the castle and through a few halls before entering the inner garden. Spitfire had been in the castle before and had spoken to the princesses on occasion. Visits were less than common, however, and she marveled at the size of the castle, the ornate decorations, and the spotless halls. She had little opportunity to notice it during the Grand Galloping Gala. The rooms were limited then, the guests crowding, and her attention always consumed by fans wanting attention.

When they entered the garden, it was an entirely new splendor to behold. Lush plants all around, fresh natural scents that cleared the mind, and colorful arrays of exotic flowers. It made Spitfire mentally remind herself to hire a gardener for her house back in Cloudsdale. New magic technologies allowed for gardenbeds to be installed on the cloud foundations.

The Wonderbolt was shocked when they came around a turn in the garden to find a large entourage relaxing in the middle of the central clearing. There were well over a dozen ponies. Some she knew. There was even a changeling and a mid-sized dragon blowing puffs of green fire in an attempt to do something.

“Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire's eyes widened.

The multi-colored mare snapped her attention over to the Wonderbolt and reacted in kind. “Spitfire?! I mean, ma'am?”

The two began their own conversation, catching up on what they had both been up to. Luna walked over to Twilight Sparkle, who was a striking sight in her changeling-like attire. Her spikey shoes and chestplate were dark as midnight but had glowing cracks about them that had an eerie green hue. The crown on her head was the same one that had once been upon Chrysalis. A fierce lightning danced in her eyes, but was faint and almost unnoticeable in the daylight.

When she had last seen Twilight at her coronation as princess, North Star had only seen a mare uncertain with her new position. The raw power she now commanded and the regality she projected was likely lost upon Twilight's own reflection, but it was clear as the sky above to anypony else. North Star was quick to acknowledge it.

“Your highness,” the pink pegasus bowed politely to Twilight. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”

“And you, North Star,” Twilight smiled and gave a minute nod. “I've heard of your accomplishments. Today seems to be yet another one. I can see why you stick out so much in Canterlot. In fact, there are few in all of Equestria that are as go-getting as you are.”

“I always wanted to be like my parents when I grew up,” North Star stuck her tongue out happily.

“I'd like to talk to you about Cloudsdale in a moment, but something else comes first.” Twilight looked at Luna with a more serious gaze. “Luna, I have a question about Celestia.”

The dark mare tried not to be distracted by Pinkie Pie, who was flying around on her changeling-machine wings and making fireworks with her horn. “As the young ponies say: have at it.”

“Why isn't she blocking Bill Ten Twenty-Four?”

Luna paused for a moment and then burst out laughing. “You mean the Social Integration Bill? Because it's the perfect opportunity for your entrance on the throne, Twilight. You have a dragon and a changeling at your side. Whatever decision you make will be important and will help give you a sense of authority. My sister and I don't want you to feel constrained by your position the way we fell into it. Break all the rules if you must.”

“Break the rules?” North Star tilted her head and then blinked in contemplation. “Sounds like a good thing.”

“What makes you say that?” Twilight shifted her attention with more than a little worry on her face.

“Change is good,” Chrysalis answered in a buzz instead. She came up from behind Twilight and towered over the Princess of the Night. She was not as high in comparison to Luna but she still had a good height advantage. They exchanged an awkward pair of looks. Chrysalis pretended to jump onto Luna but held off and then laughed at the flinch that the princess made.

“Chrysy, behave,” Twilight commanded with an orderly tone. She used a gentle aura of her magic to drag the changeling back close to her side, to which the shape-shifter cuddled up to. “North Star, you have a sense for the ponies here in Canterlot. What would be your advice for this bill?”

The pink pony smiled more wanly this time. “Blue Moon would have better advice, I think. But I would personally recommend chopping the bill and replacing the legislators with regional assemblies to accurately represent the Equestrian population.”

“Even though this could eliminate Blue Moon from his position?” Twilight raised a brow in curiosity. “I was under the impression you two were an item.”

“We are,” she blushed. “He always wants to do what's right for Equestria, though. Besides, we can get by doing something else if we have to.”

“Hmm,” Twilight tapped her chin.

The others in her hive could hear all of the thoughts running through her mind. The ideas, the consequences, the pros, the cons, the liberation, the tyranny, and then an unusual spark of pleasure. It was a pleasure involving power. The voices that would have questioned it before were now silent.

Something had changed in their collective mind. Did no member of her hive question her? The alternatives had been considered and, after her coronation, Twilight would be able to make corrective decisions if her plan didn't work out. It made sense.

“I think I'm prepared for tomorrow,” Twilight finally said with a hint of self-relief.

Pinkie Pie landed in front of her queen. “I can't wait to see your new mane!”

“New mane?” Luna giggled.

Twilight sighed even as Rarity cooed at the thought of a different look. She would most definitely be the one in charge of it. “For your coronation, darling, it must be perfect!”

47 - Ceremony is Conclusive

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Even Twilight Sparkle, in all of her extensive preparation and expectation, hadn't realized the full gravity of the coronation. She expected it to be much like her coronation as princess, which hadn't really been that long ago. It wasn't quite so absurd being publicly elevated as Queen when Celestia explained to her the real differences. Those differences were effectively none.

“The title Queen of Equestria is bestowed only as a technical preference and bears no royal or legal implication beyond that of Princess,” Spike read from the scroll containing her official replacement of Celestia and Luna. “Hence, all raising of power is granted instead by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's appointment of Queen Twilight Sparkle as sole monarch of Equestria.”

“How regal,” Rarity sighed happily in awe. She was of course saying this about Twilight's dress and mane rather than Spike's reading.

The hive and the royal sisters were in the castle's forward fourth-story conference room. Many others were present, not the least of which being Storm Sword and at least a full squad from her unit. Delegates from all over Equestria were crammed in as well, some giving others death glares that originated from decades old political disputes.

Not as nice as Celestia and Luna, Twilight thought to herself.

The two sisters looked just as well, though in a different way. Rarity had designed Twilight's queenly dress with both her colors and traditional changeling colors in mind. The garment had sharp lines and points along with glowing green accents that were sometimes curved and sometimes angular with the panels. It was all black otherwise with the exception of dark gray armor plates that were integrated into the dress at the chest, spine, and trailing pleats.

Her mane was another matter entirely. Rarity had slaved away on it for many hours. It was wrapped around into a point at the back of her head much like Cadance's had been during the Games, except Twilight's style had far less accessories and instead used simplicity to its advantage. Rather than coming together in a bun at the back, it came together in a flowing ponytail the likes of which even Twilight didn't think possible. She hadn't realized she had enough mane for it. On the other hoof, Rarity had still added extensions matching her colors along with a near-black green to compliment her outfit.

“Last time we'll be wearing these,” Luna commented to her sister.

Celestia looked down at her old but still pristine dress. Like Luna's it matched her colors and outward appearance as master of a celestial body, the sun. It had golden trim down the sides and tips that sparkled with the same hue. The garment flowed from her hips down to the end that trailed on the floor. Luna's was as dark as Celestia's was light, though the elder sister liked her sibling's sparkling stars more. The original maker of the dress had managed to create the black piece with twinkling pinpoints as realistic as the actual night sky.

“For some time at least,” Celestia added thoughtfully.

Nearby, Twilight's four maids were once again holding their mistress' banner. The emblem had changed, however. It now had darker tones and had a blue and green cross behind Twilight's star, which had black accents instead of white. It had been Twilight's final decision after a few hours of debate with Rarity and Chrysalis.

I think I'm going to be sick, Fluttershy felt her stomach drop. She had made the mistake of peeking out of the curtain that hid the window. Outside, before the castle, was the largest gathering there had ever been in Canterlot for hundreds of years – possibly even a thousand. More ponies were gathered than at Twilight's coronation as princess, and it was for good a reason.

Tens of thousands of ponies flooded the courtyard, packed the streets leading to it, and squished together on nearly every walkway in Canterlot. Pegasi clouded the air, kept in check by every airborne pony in the Royal Guard. Almost every single one of the three-thousand four-hundred guards were present in Canterlot for this occasion. They could be seen tending to the crowds, guarding every door in the castle, and patrolling the streets to help the city servants with logistics.

You'll be fine, Shy, Rainbow Dash cozied up to the yellow mare and hugged her sideways. Nopony's even going to be looking at us. They'll be too busy with miss beautiful over there.

Fluttershy blushed as she followed Rainbow's gaze. Twilight did look stunning. The pegasus usually preferred more gentle earthy tones, but the changeling design was strangely alluring to her. Knowing the intimate feelings their queen had for her, Dashie, and Chrysy made her breast swell with a form of pride.

Meanwhile, Applejack was getting very suspicious. Her eye was on a group of delegates that had been moving through the room. Her intuition was usually right when it told her something was up. She didn't like this. Not one bit.

Pinkie Pie was on the ground floor of the castle, helping out with the food for the congregations that were meeting today. A lot of treats were in order for this grand gathering. Along with the royal staff, she pulled twice her weight in baking. If the Cakes had been present in the kitchen, they'd have been amazed at her talent all over again.

Chrysalis was perhaps enjoying this occasion more than any other. Rarity had graced her with an outfit as well, never content to let anypony go without a stunning arrangement for an equally magnificent occasion. The changeling's dress was not Twilight's hybrid design. It was fully changeling in every way. Chrysalis had synced her mind with Rarity's closer than usual during the making of it.

The former changeling queen strode through the packed room with a confidence that bordered on arrogance. Her black and emerald green dress had a certain refined flamboyance to it that none could avoid giving a second look. The dress split into tails past the hip that flowed like the trails of shooting stars to the ground below. Most of the ponies in the room couldn't look up at her eye-to-eye for more than a second without feeling small.

She spoke up above the clamor of the small conversations in the room with her unmistakable buzzy voice. “Shouldn't the announcement begin now? I was told we would eat afterwards and I'm starved.”

Some of the delegates shuddered at that.

“Chrysalis,” Twilight tactfully addressed her changeling from the other side of the room. “You do not need the banquet for sustenance. Be patient. We'll begin in a moment.”

As an added measure, Twilight addressed her beloved shape-shifter in the privacy of their hivemind. Do you not feed off my affection even now, you greedy little thing?

Sensing her queen's playful tone, Chrysalis smirked. The fact that the others can't hear us only makes me want to say something...implicative.

We can still hear, though, Applejack deadpanned.

“Okay,” Spike nodded to himself as he finished reading the scroll silently. “Yeah, I'm ready.”

Celestia and Luna had come up to either side of Twilight. They still stood tall over her, but Chrysalis was a match for the elder of the two. Somehow that made Twilight feel a little less small in comparison.

“Is the balcony secure?” Celestia asked Storm Sword, who was just walking back into the room from the aforementioned balcony. She had ducked out onto it just a few moments before.

“Double shielded with sound projection enhancement,” she nodded with a grim look.

Shining Armor walked in close behind her. “Almost makes my shields look bad,” he joked with her and nudged her side.

Storm grinned but knew he was only playing. No unicorn in Equestria was known to have better magic shield capability than Shining. That was why he had double checked it and reinforced it. She knew her defensive capability had never been as good, though he often praised her for her other talents. Namely her combat prowess and spells related to long-range projectiles.

Celestia gave Twilight a knowing look before they moved out onto the balcony together. Shining Armor left Storm Sword in the room and joined Cadance along with the other royals on the balcony. It was quite possible that the castle had never before contained within its walls or balconies more royalty than it did now. That would especially be true if only speaking of Equestrian royalty.

“Equestria!” Celestia began after they reached the rail of the balcony. Their appearance and her call had the roaring response of the tens of thousands of ponies below and in the distance. The vast sea of faces made Twilight dizzy at first, so she looked to Chrysalis and then back again to right her senses.

“We understand that this is a historic event,” Luna declared in her strong voice, “not only for the ceremony that will take place shortly but also for our prolonged absence that we recently made public.”

The crowds were either cheering or shouting discontent. It was hard to make out which. One voice from the masses managed to come out just above the roar. “You can't leave us!”

A flash of sadness crossed Celestia's face, but it happened so fast that Twilight barely saw it.

“Equestria will endure in our absence,” Celestia calmed the crowd. Or at least she attempted to. “I am more than simply proud of my former star pupil, Twilight Sparkle. As you all know, she and her friends have saved our land time and time again by bearing the Elements of Harmony against the forces of chaos and malcontent.”

Twilight's close friends stepped up behind her, all giving her reassuring smiles. Fluttershy bit her bottom lip and trembled a bit at the sight of the thousands below and beyond. This time it was Rarity who soothed her.

Celestia raised her hoof. “Twilight Sparkle has proven herself even to the point of becoming a cherished princess of Equestria. Her ascension as an alicorn was inevitable. And now my beloved ponies and citizens of Equestria, I am honored to announce that Princess Twilight Sparkle will become the sole monarch of Equestria in the absence of myself and Princess Luna.”

“Though we chose our titles,” Luna added in, “only in reverence of our past, Princess Twilight Sparkle holds no such restraint. She will be given the proper title of Queen, as is fitting.”

Cadance took Luna's glance as her cue. “The Crystal Empire is happy to make a simultaneous announcement, though this may be old news following our initial declaration within the Empire.”

Shining Armor tag-teamed with his wife, much as Luna did with Celestia. “We will also be absent for a time, though not as long as the princesses. In our stead, we have granted the esteemed Spike the powers of lordship over the Empire. As such, the relationship between Equestria and the Empire will be as strong as ever.”

Only certain parts of the crowd cheered at that. Not all were familiar with the Empire or had regular interactions with it. Even the Equestrian Games had a minimal effect on educating the general public as to the Empire's sovereign status and economic relationship with Equestria.

Celestia spoke once again, waving her hoof to calm another section of the masses that was becoming rowdy. She spoke above the snide shouts that the discontents were putting forth. “The crowning ceremony will take place inside the throne room shortly. All are welcome, but please understand that there is only room for so many. The banquet will be extended throughout Canterlot to accommodate those who are unable to enter the castle due to limits of capacity. A detailed reading of Twilight's newly awarded powers of authority will be made available to any who are concerned. The court will be conducting a series of public readings over the next few weeks to relieve the current volume of requests.”

Luna and Celestia continued to go back and forth on the drier portions of the ceremony and legal procedures. Twilight could hear the monotony creep into their voices. As much as she loved reading books that many would consider drier than Appleloosa, she could see herself getting as bored with the tedium of the proceedings involved with leadership.

Even Spike got his turn to read some portion of the scroll in his claw. He seemed to enjoy it more, though that might have had something to do with his long-standing love of narration.

Storm Sword had led the Guard well in keeping the less-than-happys from making an incident. Twilight had not found out until they made their way down to the throne room that a decently sized group of ponies had attempted to rush the castle. The massive size of the crowds made it hard to discern even something that should have been noticeable.

The presence of Chrysalis on the balcony as well as throughout all proceedings made some groups wary and others hateful. Some theorized that Chrysalis was mind controlling them all and intending to use Twilight as a puppet on the throne. The pony queen was no spring chicken, so she could see how such a thought might seem reasonable to some. However, such theories were based on little more than a lack – rather than a presence – of information. No amount of public disclosure regarding Chrysalis' harmlessness seemed to matter.

The smell of the baked confections downstairs became even more pronounced when they entered the packed throne room. Twilight's wings rustled in a shiver of anticipation. She saw Pinkie Pie at the tables to the side, a gigantic smile on her face. The food that had been laid out there was spectacular. Most importantly, it helped give Twilight a sense of warmth she had been feeling drain away from her with every cold distant clack of her changeling horseshoes against the stone floor.

Even as she took position at the throne with Celestia and Luna, her mind couldn't help but reflect on the events leading to this moment. How crazy had her life become that this was her reality? Chrysalis was below her as her personal changeling. She was about to be crowned Queen of Equestria. The incredibleness of her thoughts was broken by the proud visage of Soir Soleil, her lead maid and banner mare. The white pony trot down the center aisle towards her while the anthem of Equestria was being played by the orchestra intricately arranged in one part of the room.

Twilight Sparkle had been through this before. Her ceremony as princess had taken place this same year. Doubtless some found it as awkward as she did. However, it hadn't been Twilight's idea to have another ceremony for the purpose of the new title. Celestia and Luna had been strangely adamant about it, which gave Twilight interest into the reasons why.

“A harken to our distant past,” Luna had told her mysteriously. “It's a parting memory for my sister and I. Call it our own sense of closure we never had in our...old world.”

Both Celestia and Luna refused to explain further, which did nothing to satiate Twilight's lust for knowledge. No history book chronicled the sisters' past farther back than perhaps a hundred years before the founding of Equestria. Even back then the sisters had been a thousand years of age. Perhaps more.

The packed room was getting uncomfortably warm. Unicorns in the corners began using their magic to try cooling the air enough to make it comfortable. Twilight only noticed this in an effort to calm herself at the enormity of the moment. Spike, Chrysalis, and the rest of her hive were right below the stairs leading up to the throne she was standing in front of.

When the four banner mares parted to reveal the one carrying the new Equestrian crown, Twilight was caught between genuine shock and deadpan “you've got to be kidding me.”

The music ended on a high note as Discord stepped up the stairs with crown in paw and claw. He grinned in his normally goofy manner. “Nice crown,” he whispered to Twilight as he stepped before her. “Get it on clearance?”

The six-pointed crown was a mix of pure silver, rare black metal, and precious gems matching the colors of the Elements. It was designed to mix the style of classic Equestrian metalwork with changeling royal flair. It was by no means without significant value.

“Why you?” Twilight muttered through her teeth, which were shown in a forced smile. “And what's with the getup?”

Indeed, Discord was wearing some kind of ridiculous robe that might have had a royal meaning but also looked like it came from some dark cult.

“Got it on clearance,” Discord parried quietly.

Twilight tried not to give him the satisfaction of a reaction, but the tick in her eye failed her. He giggled even as he awaited Celestia's declaration to place the crown on Twilight's head.

“The monarchs of Equestria, Princess Luna and myself, Princess Celestia, do wish to pass our...”

Such did the proceedings go on for a good while. Discord started to become bored after the first ten seconds but then really felt the itch for chaos after the first ten minutes. By twenty minutes, he was wondering why he was supposed to be standing in front of Twilight with the crown if he was never going to give it to her. He seriously contemplated turning the blasted thing into a Tatzlwurm just to see where the ceremony would go from there. His menacing giggle at the thought made Twilight nervous.

The poised purple pony distracted herself by looking out to the sea of ponies in the room. There were a decent number of faces she recognized. Her parents, proud for the dozenth time now. Shining Armor and Cadance, likewise. Her hive, of course, and a slew of ponies from Ponyville. Lyra, Bon Bon, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, the Cakes, Zecora, the mayor, Trixie...

Trixie?

The blue mare gave her a smug look that Twilight guessed was supposed to be some kind of congratulations. The pony queen just shook her head, kept smiling, and looked to the rest of the room. When it finally came time for the crown to be put on her head, both Celestia and Luna gave the order and it was done. Discord teleported out of the way as if his tail was on fire. It likely was alight out of unrelenting boredom.

Celestia drifted down to the soft cushions laid in their castle's central garden. Her magical lift had receded after she had lowered the sun. Luna rose the moon with a more flippant wave of her hoof. She remained laying on the cushions, now bathed in the new moonlight. Celestia rejoined her and took silent delight in the softness of the royal pillows and the familiar feel of Luna against her side. It was nice to get away from the ceremony for a while and relax.

The soft trickle of water continued from the garden's central fountain on the other side of the path from the alicorns. The water sparkled in the moonlight and cast a marbled reflection onto exotic plantlife around it. Celestia cherished the serenity they had now, knowing it would be the last they would see of this place for some time.

A quiet clacking of a hoof and something else came from around the other side of the fountain. The odd shape of Discord came walking into view. Perhaps odder than his mismatch of parts was the fact that he was walking. He typically chose a far less normal style of movement or at least had some ridiculous outfit on. This was not the first time his silliness had been absent in recent times, however. Both the sisters had noticed his more serious mood that had been becoming more prominent of late.

“I haven't been invited to many of your sibling get-togethers,” he said in a voice so peaceful and non-accusatory that it made the sisters confused. It also made them not the least bit perturbed. “Mind if I join you?”

Luna was apprehensive, but Celestia was more accepting. She nodded with a faint smile to which Discord returned. He knelt down and then draped himself across the pillow entirely so that he was facing them with his head propped up by his paw.

“We might as well be on good terms with each other if we're going off to die the death of heroes,” Discord chuckled in a dark reserved manner. “I never used to care about empathy or compassion, but I'm sure you've noticed I've changed.”

Even Luna relaxed at that. She couldn't deny it. Since they first met those thousands of years ago, Discord had become a different sort of creature. Though the change had been in very recent history, it was proof that change was indeed possible.

“None have dared to ask,” he continued, his eyes moving between Celestia's and Luna's in the moody lighting of the moon above. “Not even Twilight. I wondered why but then I remembered she grew up the same as any other pony in Equestria. Of course she wouldn't be so bold as to ask what you two are hiding. Out of decency, I thought I'd let it go. Our situation has changed, though. So I must ask.”

“Oh, spit it out already,” Luna stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.

“Why did you choose to bottle up your past?” he asked simply. A tinge of sadness was on the edge of his words. If anypony doubted that he was capable of compassion they would likely continue to doubt. He let this softness show just to them and perhaps the suspicions of the Elements of Harmony.

Luna turned her eyes away, looking to her elder sibling instead. She had always let her sister decide matters of the past. It was up to her to speak for them as had been the case for as long as she could remember.

Celestia looked up to the stars for a long while, letting the calm of the nightly noises give her the strength to form the words that had been locked away in her heart.

“We are not royalty,” Celestia finally let it out in a sigh, letting her gaze fall back down to the planet she was on and the draconequus' eyes. “Where we came from, we were peasants. Mere fillies to a poor family. Our cutie marks were for the management of an equally poor backwater solar system. Luna did not even have the power over one of the major planets within it – only a single moon.”

Luna tried not to show her hurt. She hid her face by nuzzling into her sister's side. Celestia wrapped her hoof around her and covered her with a loving wing.

“What does one do when destiny gives one a life of insignificance?” Celestia genuinely asked, her eyes on her sister rather than Discord. “Though I controlled the star, it meant little more than the moon as far our fellow alicorns were concerned. How would you feel, Discord, if you had a younger sibling who everyone considered lesser even than yourself? I promised myself I'd always love her and then...I ignored her until our relationship was gone and Nightmare Moon came out.”

Luna rose her face to look at her sister. “We already talked about this, Tia. Have you not forgiven yourself still?”

“As much as you've forgiven yourself, Lulu,” Celestia half smiled and half winced. She stroked Luna's back in calming strokes. “We both have our regrets.”

“At least I would have a sibling,” Discord whispered.

The sisters heard it. Luna was first to snap her gaze. The draconequus was quiet, still, and contemplative. He stared down at a blade of grass poking up at the edge of the cushion. It bent slightly in the gentle night breeze. It was Luna who stretched a hoof to his claw that rested on the pillow.

“Is this what you really came here for?” the dark alicorn asked, an almost motherly tone in her voice.

Another silence much like Celestia's prevailed for a long while. Luna kept her hoof on his claw until he was ready to speak. The sound of the trickling water prevailed, giving a calming background to the azure tint of moonlit garden.

“You still had each other through the centuries,” he finally spoke in a blue tone and then let his red and yellow eyes finally meet Luna's. “Even through your imprisonment you held onto the tiniest shred of hope that you would be with your sister again. The ponies saw you as benign rulers, but you could still be yourselves with each other. You could always be something besides the masters of this world. Something besides a mere jester...”

Luna exchanged a knowing look with her sister. Celestia moved closer to Discord and lifted his chin with her bare forehoof.

“When others expect us to always act a certain way, we lose our ability to feel emotions and express ourselves for who we truly are. We become parrots in gilded cages, saying and doing the things others want us to over and over again. Luna and I know that better than any others.”

“Trust us on that,” Luna smiled at him warmly in a way that amazed the chaos creature. She repositioned herself so that she laid against his side. Celestia followed, though she kept to the same side so she didn't have to part from her sister.

Discord quickly looked around to ensure no others were watching. Then he laid his head down on the cushions and snuggled up against the princesses, a single happy tear falling down his cheek.

Celestia took on a smug grin and a carefree tone. “This wouldn't have anything to do with our mission would it? Perhaps cleaning out the closet before the end comes?”

Discord replied, but almost choked at first. “I just wanted to know.”

“Know what?” Luna asked, laying her head down as well.

“Know if there was someone I could show my heart to.”

Celebrations were still running throughout the night. Many merely used the event as an excuse for partying, which Pinkie Pie certainly had no problem with. The pink mare was still out there in the city crowds and enjoying the festivities as only a super energetic party pony could. Twilight, however, was tired.

The purple pony queen laid there in the large converted bedroom. The joined mattresses were soft but not as soft as Fluttershy's side, which her head rested against. The buttery mare was well into slumber, a happy smile on her lips because her queen was with her. Rainbow Dash was in a similar spot, though she was haphazardly splayed out to Twilight's side, one hoof always in contact with one of Twilight's.

Besides the soundproofing of the room, the thing that gave Twilight the most peace was the faint green glow like the one in her sleep ring back home. But this glow did not come from a ring. It came from the tip of Chrysalis' long horn. It was a passive glow of magic indicating the changeling was receiving affection from her queen.

Indeed, Twilight slowly and tiredly stroked the changeling's back even as they both laid entangled with the others. It was by force of will that Twilight was the last to fall asleep. She wanted to join the others in the hive world of slumber, but she also wanted one last moment in the real world.

This was her reality. Impossible to have dreamed but still as real as the changeling beneath her stroking hoof. She was queen of this world by Celestia and Luna's own blessing. Her friends were her hive by their own desire. Three of them were her special someponies.

This, she concluded, must be her golden age.

The world seemed complete.

Perfect.

48 - Departure is Melancholy

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Twilight Sparkle shot up onto her hooves as fast as lightning. All trace of her deep sleep was gone in an instant. A look of mixed horror and anger was plastered on her face. Slowly she let her muscles relax as she let out a long and tired sigh.

Chrysalis, who had been flung onto her back from her queen's abrupt awakening, rubbed her eyes carefully with her hole-ridden black hooves. “Such a fuss,” the changeling groaned.

“Sorry,” Twilight apologized. She tried to keep calming down. “I thought I was going to be fine after the ceremony, but your memory fragments keep jumping out of my control.”

The shape-shifter wasted no more words and instead grabbed her queen with her much longer forelegs. She drew Twilight back onto the warm part of the sheets they had been sleeping on moments before. Out of temptation, Twilight let herself be snuggled back into a comfortable position.

“The others have been up for a while,” Twilight noted. “I shouldn't sleep in any more.”

“Mmm,” Chrysalis kept the pony from getting up again. “You've stayed in so long it's almost lunchtime now. I'm hungry again, so you have to stay with me.”

Twilight rose a brow at her changeling's pouty last words and big puppy dog eyes. That jagged black horn was glowing too. “With all you've had this morning I'm surprised you aren't fat.”

The night sky was clear and was a sparkling beauty with no equal. Luna looked up at it with a small smile. This would be her last time below the Equestrian sky. The royal sisters, draconequus, and pony hive rested on a grassy knoll well outside of Canterlot's walls.

A single cart of supplies sat to the side, full of everything the three travelers would need for their outgoing journey. Although few had ever seen them, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were adorned in their full armor. The horseshoes were now thick battle greaves, golden for Celestia and dark silver for Luna. Their ornamental necklaces were now full chestplates with panels of armor lining their shoulders down to their flanks. Likewise, the forward sections of their wings were encased in a thin but strong plate that allowed their feathers to be free for flight while protecting the hard but vulnerable parts.

Neither sister had worn their full armor suits since the earliest days of Equestria when war was as common as morning tea was in recent times. Each suit had its own scars and dents. Though clean and shiny, the armor had a dark past that led neither princess to consider it something of pride. Only the symbols of the sun and moon on their breastplates made them happy. After all, it was a reminder of their talents and love for each other.

“The stars may change little,” Luna told her sister next to her, “but in my heart these are special to me. Another land means another canvas.”

“And a different time for my star to rise,” Celestia replied.

Beside the two alicorns was Discord. He was joining them in observing the stars and moon glowing above. A peaceful but inspiring orchestral tune was playing along to their observations. The record player eventually moved on to the next track, forcing Discord to pop it out of existence. After all, Winter Wrap Up was not the most appropriate tune for the sacred moment.

“Aw,” Pinkie pouted. “I was looking forward to that song!”

“Though the night grows cold and the skies dark,” Discord leaned over to Pinkie, “we will always share the same exuberant heart.”

“Are you flirting with me, you old charmer, you?” Pinkie fluttered her eyelashes.

“I simply thought we shared a kindred spirit, you and I,” Discord smiled and patted her on the head. “You know me. I could never settle down. Well,” he corrected himself, “not for too long.”

Twilight was having her own conversation with Celestia now that she had the chance. “These monsters you're chasing...if they destroyed the magic dragons then can you really defeat them?”

“They will face the true power of my star if they are found,” Celestia replied with a grave expression. She tapped the flaring symbol at the center of her breastplate. “I never called upon it within Equestria for fear of the destruction it would wreak upon the inhabitants. Perhaps with Luna's help I might be able focus its power into small areas and save even foreign lands from it. We might not even have need of Discord.”

“Focus?” Twilight looked to Luna.

The dark mare had a spark of pride in her. “Imagine needing to write on a scroll with an ink pot and no quill. That is how the sun, our star, works when it is directed as a magical weapon. It can cause great harm with very little precision. I have experience in reflecting and re-directing that power. That is, after all, what the moon does in part. I'm sure I need not lecture you of all ponies.”

The Queen of Equestria blushed with that compliment.

“The important thing,” Celestia spoke again, “is that we can work together to defeat this foe.”

“Promise me the three of you will come back safely,” Twilight insisted.

Luna felt a hesitation in her heart but Celestia did better to hide her reservations. “We will,” the elder alicorn gave the promise she knew she could not guarantee.

“I don't suppose you'll explain anything else before you leave,” Twilight gave one more hopeful try.

Celestia shook her head gently. “Some shadows of the past should remain so.”

“May you never need this,” Luna added as her forehoof tapped her chestplate.

Though Twilight was now wearing her own changeling chestplate, it was far more minimal than Luna's was and was not designed for battle. Twilight's accessories were just that. Accessories. She knew the depth of meaning for true armor if only for Chrysalis' old memories. Whatever functionality her changeling grafted into her chestplate, she hoped it would never be used for combat.

They all continued to enjoy the calm stargazing. Applejack and Fluttershy helped themselves to much of the punch and snacks that were laid out on the royal red picnic blanket. Rainbow Dash was quiet and restive for once, her thoughts on her undecided future. Would she become the soft-hearted pony she always wanted to be and was soon becoming? At the very least, she knew she would be with the new Queen of Equestria.

Chrysalis was laying head down on the separate star-patterned blanket, her eyes transfixed on Twilight in a droopy gaze. Her horn continued to glow as her mind traded endless affections with Twilight over their connection. Perhaps the queen was right and she was simply getting more and more mellow with each passing day. She no longer cared about such change because she was enjoying her situation too much.

As the crickets sounded off and lightning bugs flittered by, all knew the moment was coming upon them. They all wanted to stretch the night out, some more than others. Hours passed until no punch or snacks were left. The first to break the unspoken treaty to ignore the parting was, ironically, Fluttershy.

Discord was laying beside the pegasus when Luna stood up from where she lay. All knew this was the cue. The two princesses and one draconequus had to leave. Fluttershy couldn't bear it and launched at Discord, hugging him tight and crying without restraint.

“You can't leave!” Fluttershy cried, tears running like rivers soaking her face. “Not when you've finally opened up to friendship!”

The others let Discord handle the mare while they each bid the princesses farewell.

“Shy,” Discord soothed. “That is precisely why I am going. Don't you see?”

Fluttershy sniffled and even hiccuped while he rubbed her back through their hug.

“I do care about you. All of you. That's why I have to go and do everything I can. If Princess Sunbutt says she needs my help then she must have really stepped in it, right?”

Fluttershy cracked an awkward smile through her sadness. The jester's joking had managed to cheer her up if only a little.

“I suppose I won't be here for your wedding, though. That is a shame,” the draconequus frowned. “I would have liked to do something reckless with your bouquet. Perhaps turn the blossoms into miniature tatzlwurms. Friendly ones, of course.”

Fluttershy's face hurried into a blush. She both hated and loved how he made her run a gauntlet of emotions in such a short period of time. “If I didn't love Twilight, I might have considered you...”

For the first time in his life, Discord was shocked into silence. His mouth hung just slightly ajar.

“Come back to me in one piece, okay?” Fluttershy tried to sound casual again. “I really do love our Tuesday Tea.”

Discord regained his senses with a nod and a final parting hug.

The others gave the tall chaos master a warm farewell as well. When Discord began magically levitating their supply cart with his restored magic, Celestia indicated for Twilight and Spike to follow her away from the others for a final word. The pair obeyed and Twilight even limited their hivemind for privacy.

Once they were at a comfortable distance away on the moonlit field, Celestia affectionately embraced her former student. The armor was warm rather than cold against the bare parts of Twilight's coat. No doubt it was warmed by intention by Celestia. “I love you, Twilight," the elder mare whispered in her motherly tone. "Never forget that.”

The tremor in the elder mare's voice sunk Twilight's heart and made her fear what she had suspected all along. She returned the hold and was reluctant to let go. “If you didn't mean to come back, you'd tell me wouldn't you? Please tell me you would.”

None of Twilight's urgency could deter Celestia even if it was breaking her heart. “Of course,” she lied as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “I couldn't bear to have too many Hearth's Warmings without you. The cake especially,” she joked to lighten herself up.

“The cake,” Twilight laughed in a painfully reflective manner. She tried to share Celestia's false cheer. “I'll be sure to save you a slice for when you get back...mom...”

“Twilight,” Celestia bit her lip as she pulled back.

“I've said it before and it's true. You're like my second mother,” Twilight tried to smile but just wound up looking hurt. “You've been such a huge pony in my life. And not just because you're tall,” she gave a heartfelt smile. “I wouldn't be who I am now if it hadn't been for you. I still look up to you even though you tell me not to.”

Celestia didn't know how to express herself anymore. She just leaned in and nuzzled the smaller mare. Though they had to separate now, she knew they had a special bond that could never be broken. Knowing that she was leaving her cherished Twilight safely back in Equestria meant a lot to her.

Luna gave her sister the extra time she needed and even gave Twilight her own special thanks afterwards. After all, Twilight was highly responsible for her return to sanity. She took note of Celestia looking back over her shoulder time and time again as they left the field in the moonlight. The elder sister waved a few times as well when she looked behind them at Twilight and her friends.

It was not only to Luna's relief but also to Discord's when they finally walked over a crest in the landscape that blocked visibility to Twilight's distant group. Not having them in sight anymore meant that Celestia could finally come to terms with their situation. That was what prompted her next words.

Celestia looked to her sister. “Am I too clingy?”

Discord stifled his laughter.

“Not in any bad way, Tia,” Luna replied gently. “We all should be clingy to some degree. It shows that we truly care. I did not wish to leave them either.”

“We had nearly a dozen nighttime talks together over the past two weeks,” Celestia reflected.

The small group got onto the old road leading away from Canterlot towards the east. The tapping of their hooves was loud in comparison to the quietness of the night. Only some chirping insects and the distant rushing water of Canterlot Falls gave any ambiance to the warm environment. Discord chose to hover via his magic rather than walk. His wings did occasionally make a flapping sound, however pointless that was.

“I do understand the feeling,” Discord added in. He continued to use his magic to pull their supply cart behind them. “I worry about Fluttershy, you know. She's such a delicate pony.”

“I can assure you,” Luna gave a playful smirk, “she's in no danger with Twilight.”

“Is that a clever joke or are you making fun of my legitimate concern?” Discord squinted back.

“Personally,” Celestia broke in and looked to Discord, “I hope you lighten up more than our supplies for us. I'd hate our trip to be glum.”

“No sweat,” the draconequus immediately replied with a large toothy smile that was more creepy than encouraging. “How about some knock-knock jokes?”

“No,” the two sisters instantly shut him down.

Discord wilted.

“We, uh,” Luna stumbled. “We mean that perhaps another form of cheer is in order.”

“I've got it!” Discord snapped his fingers. A strange screen popped into existence a good twenty hooves from their faces. It was positioned so that it hovered at a continuous distance before them on the trail. “Feature presentation: Tia and Lulu Explore Outer Space!”

That seemed to cheer the two up a bit. They both had to admit that, in spite of the late hour and the sadness of leaving Equestria behind even for a time, at least they had a third companion to share the journey with. And what better companion than the Master of Chaos?

The screen displayed the opening scene with a filly-aged Celestia and Luna floating through space in strange suits. Luna blushed when the young version of her spoke with a foal-like lisp.

“How's it feel livin' in a post-Celestia world?” Applejack ribbed Twilight.

The pair were in the royal garden at Canterlot castle. It had been days since the royal princesses had left them. The city had been eerily silent and even a little on edge. Applejack may have meant it as a joke but Twilight feared that was not how Equestria thought of it.

“You know better than to jest,” Twilight folded her forehooves on what used to be Celestia's grand garden pillow. She tried not to think about how likely it was that even the pillow itself was older than her. “The court has been tense. Nopony has said it but tensions are up.”

“Didn't mean no harm,” AJ tipped her hat.

The queen was eager to change the subject. “How's your Hive Power?”

Applejack held up a forehoof and formed a small black orb of energy with her special power. “Hungry as a hog in summer swelter. I don't get it. How can I of all ponies have a power that none of us can understand?”

Twilight remained composed, which she had become very good at as of late. She leaned over to Applejack's side and probed at the orb with her own purple and green magic. “There are a near infinite number of things in this world we do not yet understand – to say nothing of alternative magic and worlds beyond. We simply have to keep testing and analyzing it. Obviously it is a form of void magic. The real question is where the exit point is.”

The alicorn squinted and tried sending a magical beacon into the matter-sucking black orb. The transmitter disappeared into it, reporting a spacial jump just as it did. However, that was all. Twilight's hivemind heard the report of the magical construct but the information did not include any direction. The transmitter went silent right after it began a spacial warp.

Twilight tapped her chin. “Void magic is nothing new. Basic unicorn teleportation is a form of it. This, however, is different enough to be worrying. Without knowledge of the exit point, I wouldn't dare send anything alive through to find out where it goes. It could lead into the heart of the sun, after all.”

“Chrysalis went through it as that scorpony thingamajig, right?”

“She used a shape-shift trick in the early transport phase to keep her matter from being pulled all the way through,” Twilight shook her head. “She never saw the other side. And good thing too because she could have been hurt - or worse.”

I'd rather not recall how close that was, Chrysalis hummed over the hivemind.

You brought it on yourself, Twilight retorted deadpan. She knew she didn't have to add the next part since they had already gone over it. Chrysalis was never to do anything like that ever again.

“How does this transport stuff work anyhow?” the farm pony slanted her mouth. She bounced the void orb in her hoof. Though she was comfortable in controlling it, she had no idea how it worked. After all, she hadn't exactly been a magic user for long.

Twilight glanced up to the bright morning sky where Rainbow Dash flew around overhead. “Magic stimulus motivates a select portion of matter to shift position. Matter cannot be created or destroyed but it can be moved and rearranged. Teleporting is somewhat like instructing certain matter - such as my own body – to change its spacial position.”

AJ regretted getting Twilight into lecture mode. Her eyes began to glaze over.

“Magical energy directed out of the user determines where the teleported object will be shifted to based on the output level and the user's position relative to the object or – in the case of self-teleportation – a precise frequency in which the magic is cast. That's really oversimplifying it, however. This void field is using some kind of dark magic formula to mask the actual energy output, which is why it's impossible to deduce the exit point. But what I can deduce by inference is that this void magic should be transmitting a magical pulse at thirteen micros with a six beat alteration on the planar scale of three Y.”

In Applejack's head, Twilight's words both spoken and in the hivemind translated to: “thirteen apples with a six apple on the apple scale of three apple.” The strong farm pony gulped, hoping Twilight was too wrapped up in her explanations to know what her words were translating to. In an attempt to prevent her from ever finding out, Applejack got up abruptly from the pillow, extinguished the orb, and yanked Twilight into following her.

“Come on,” AJ insisted with a nervous tick in her eye and a fake smile, “let's go get some cider!”

“Huh? Why-” Twilight tried to ask why her lecture was being interrupted.

“I'm sure Celestia stored up plenty of interestin' flavors in the cellar!” Applejack stated in faux enthusiasm. “Not that any of 'em could beat my own, mind you. Just a good chance to loosen up, let out some of that tension!”

Twilight gave up as the stronger-built pony continued dragging her into the castle. “Oh, fine...” she mumbled.

Pinkie Pie snapped in and out of existence with the crack of thunder. She soared the skies at high speed on her mechanical changeling wings that left a glowing green trail in their wake. The night sky was perfect for it to show, after all. Though Luna was not there to put the stars in place under the Equestrian skyscape, the stars were there all the same. She had obviously done her duty from wherever she was now.

The pink party pony was prepared for precipitation - given the probability of it. The dark clouds she zipped past looked ready to storm. No matter, though. She was testing her changeling horn in conjunction with her wings. It seemed she could use her Hive Power to teleport mid-flight after all. That sure sped things up!

“Hahahahagh,” Pinkie laughed with a snort at the end. Too bad you're busy, Dashie. I'd love a good race!

Some other day, Rainbow shook her head. She was in Canterlot Castle's bakery. Twi's rainbow cookies are almost done.

Golly oh gee, Dashie, Pinkie continued to cheerfully laugh as she soared the heavens above Mt Canter. Never thought you'd try replacing me as a baker!

Not really, Rainbow said in a more bored manner. She watched as the cookies turned brown at the edges in the oven. Her head was propped up by her forehoof while she leaned against the kitchen counter. You've baked for thousands. I'm only baking for one.

Awww, Pinkie cooed. You're as sweet as my Double Chocolate Cupcake Supremes!

Rainbow shook that off with a blush and got to extracting the cookies from the hot oven. When she opened the door, a wave of heat blasted her face. She had been getting used to it lately, however.

Twilight was, of course, fully aware of this conversation and all others going on in her hive. She was currently in the throne room. All of the majestic splendor of the ancient royal chamber meant little to her now. Storm Sword was talking to her about the latest developments in Canterlot and within the Guard ranks. It wasn't good.

Wanting nothing more than to relax in her new castle bedroom with Rainbow and her fresh cookies, Twilight concluded her late night chat with the new Captain of the Guard. “Thanks,” the Queen didn't bother to hide her exhaustion. She and Storm had formed a close understanding with each other. Twilight was deeply grateful that Celestia had set up her appointment before leaving because things would have been far worse had Storm not been in position to reduce ongoing power-fighting.

After they parted way in the throne room, Twilight spoke into the hivemind. Another day, another disaster averted. I'm ready to forget my worries. Shy?

The sunny-yellow mare chirped in with her pleasant voice. All ready, Twily, she even giggled. I situated the pillows and I have that new novel you've been wanting to read. Rainbow's coming up-

You know, Rainbow cut in, I'm actually going to miss Buggy tonight. Something about her has grown on me.

Chrysalis dug the hole deeper with a combination of her bountiful magic and natural changeling shoveling skills. Among all changelings, the queen varieties were the most capable of digging. The ground was soft, so that certainly helped. Moist green grass had been upturned in the spot she had chosen. The irony of the location hadn't eluded her.

She was near Neighagra Falls - in a forest who's features came back to her in broken memories. The moonlight was sufficient for her work even below the treetops. Thick undergrowth and fallen pine needles mixed with the grass above, but she was nearly her own height into the ground by now. The transmitter needed a deep foundation, after all.

She remembered this place. The distant sound of the massive waterfalls and the smell of the wet forest. She had almost died here. This was where her hive had abandoned her and she laid with her final breaths on a nearby road. Oh, how the world would have been different if Twilight's carriage hadn't found her that day!

"The tables have turned," Chrysalis buzzed to herself. Her horn glowed green as it swirled together new formations of clod to begin shaping the transmitter pole's base. "Who knew being a pony's cuddle bunny could be so empowering?" she laughed openly.

Talking to yourself? Twilight's voice came faintly over the hivemind.

Their current distance from each other meant their connection was weak. But with the transmitter Chrysalis was creating, the hivemind would maintain a strong connection between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire where Spike and Rarity were soon to be.

Simply enjoying your affection, my dear queen, Chrysalis grinned happily with her fangs.

The changeling filled the soil back in over the foundation's balancing rods. She was content with the power she now wielded because of Twilight's love. With the princesses and Discord gone, nothing was left in Equestria that could challenge her strength.

49 - Conflict is Misleading

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Silence!” Twilight shouted. “The next of you to challenge my decree I will personally exile from this court!”

The large chamber was finally silent. The Queen of Equestria stood at the center podium where Celestia and Luna used to give their announcements to the court chamber. Over a hundred legislators and spectators would listen in. Not this time, however. The court was different now. It had begun to shift ever since the royal sisters left. It was late and only the legislators affected by the issue were present - of which there were still plenty.

Whoa, Nelly, Applejack gulped in the hivemind. She could feel Twilight's anger even though she was across the city in the marketplace.

Twilight had been in the court for hours, arguing back and forth with dozens of the legislators who had been fighting against her orders involving Cloudsdale's new weather distribution plan. What had once been a narrowly avoided disaster was now becoming a slightly different problem with very similar consequences.

One thickset teal mare spoke up anyways. She was one of the dissenting ponies who had been involved with the last Cloudsdale crisis. “You have no legal standing to do so and threatening of this court is completely out of line! I move that the court remove Ms. Twilight Sparkle's privileges as overseerer and head speaker of this chamber! She is clearly not fit for the role.”

It didn't escape Twilight's notice that her title of Queen was intentionally left out. Chrysalis had been waiting outside, but now entered with Direway and Midnight Strike. The hivemind motivated their actions due to Twilight's influence, though each would have come in on their own. They had been listening in on the rising tone of the chamber all along.

“Queen Twilight has full authority as given by Clause-” Blue Moon tried to interject with his small opposition party.

“Out of bounds!” one of United Equestria's Elite's coalition parties pressed. “Such procedure is unregulated! I second a move for reconsideration!”

“The court has ultimate power to override Princess Celestia's Edict of Absence!” another legislator, this time a yellow stallion, added in.

“Treason against our Sacred Sun!” a fourth party leader cried out. He was a member of the court's small but mainstay loyalist party often accused of outright worshipping the old princess. They had enjoyed a recent surge in chamber seats and popularity after Twilight's alicorn ascension, which gave them an entirely new group of enthusiasts.

That was the last straw for the chamber. All members broke out in shouts, complaints, accusations, and insults all at once. Twilight's patience had run its course as well. She was not about to tolerate this late night session devolving into a mad frenzy because of the Elite party's immoral grab for more wealth. After all, that was what this weather plan had been made to rectify in the first place.

Whether because of the humid post-rain air, the exhaustion of the night, or the dozens of insults – direct and otherwise – that had been thrown her way over the past week, Twilight was finally through. Her forehoof pounded the podium with a contained crack of green lightning. Fury was in her heart and every muscle. She stood there in the center of the packed chamber of ponies with the strength of a mare who would bow to none.

“Silver Coin, Golden Chalice, and Sterling Star will be removed from this chamber at once!” Twilight commanded with a boom of her voice.

“How dare you!” Silver Coin shouted back.

Chrysalis started to follow Twilight's two present guards to guide the three legislators out of the court.

Noticing the changeling in the room, one of the other Elite legislators pointed at her. “Changelings are forbidden in the court!”

In no mood for it, Twilight added that pony's name as well. “Shallow Hills will be removed as well!”

The chamber was in a constant uproar at this point. Over a hundred ponies packed in the room were trying to shout over each other to be heard. It was chaos and not of the kind Discord would find amusing. Direway gripped Sterling Star by the shoulder and then by the midsection to haul the resistant and thrashing pony from her legislator's seat.

“Guards!” Sterling called to the six Royal Guards lining the chamber as she was gripped by Direway. “To arms! Protect the court!”

To Twilight's honest surprise, the guards actually obeyed.

“Stand down!” one of the white unicorn guards bellowed as he rushed to Sterling's aid. He readied his spear at Direway. Another did likewise with Midnight Strike while two went for Chrysalis and the remaining ones advanced through the seating aisles to the central stage where Twilight stood at the podium.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and her two off-duty guards instantly began rushing towards the court building. Twilight was enraged even more, though. She began to shout her warnings to the chamber guards not to interfere. And then something unexpected happened.

One of the two chamber guards approaching Chrysalis intentionally swung the mid-section of his spear's pole at Chrysalis' neck. The blow, however blunt, sent the tall being falling sideways to the stone floor. Her tough changeling hide protected her, but she still felt the pain from the fall. Somehow, she had allowed herself to be open to the blow upon the assumption that the guards would not actually intend her physical harm.

It was likely the assault that forced Twilight to her next action. Perhaps her fury would have been isolated to the guards if not for the fact that over half the chamber of legislators cheered at Chrysalis' fall. They cheered.

“AAAGH!!” Twilight bellowed with a deep crack of thunder erupting with her outcry. Thick bolts of green and purple lightning shot from her horn. The intense energy caused the papers of the podium to fly in all directions as her mane whipped backwards from the force.

The guard that attacked Chrysalis was hit straight in the chest and sent flying back into the chamber wall where he fell with sparks of crackling energy. The other chamber guards tried to rush to Twilight, but she blasted them all with the same immense force so quickly that the last one never made it into the clearing between the seating rows and the podium.

Ponies screamed in terror as they rushed the door to flee. Some had been singed by the flying bolts. Direway and Midnight Strike gave up on their earlier orders to remove the ponies now that so many wanted to be removed on their own. That was save, of course, for a few minority parties that had been supporting Twilight all along. Blue Moon's Equestrian National Party and Morning Glory's Golden Dawn both remained seated, albeit with a heavy silence and contemplation of the events.

Rainbow Dash burst through the doors, knocking back a dozen legislators that hadn't made it through yet. “Hold the train!” the pegasus glared at them. “Nopony is going anywhere!”

Twilight had leaped with her wings to Chrysalis. Though they exchanged conversation in the hivemind that let the queen know her changeling was alright, Twilight still wanted physical reassurance. She noted the fallen chamber guards were still breathing. Her power had not been fatal.

“Listen up!” she shouted to the ponies trapped between her and Rainbow Dash, who kept pushing back any that tried to make it around her. All those wanting out were of the same Elite party. “One of you is going to tell me who replaced the chamber attachment!”

Twilight knew Storm Sword had staffed the court with loyal guards to prevent this very kind of situation. Somepony had switched the guards and done something with the missing attachment. Where was Storm for that matter? Before she could wonder more, her hivemind informed her of a rapidly unraveling situation outside.

Applejack! Twilight widened her eyes in distress.

“Get off!” the farm mare yelled in her dizzy state.

The two turncoat Guards held her upright on each side by her forehooves while a third readied the blunt end of his spear. She would have easily had the strength to throw them off if one of them hadn't knocked her in the face when she was running around a corner. Her head was still spinning.

Thankfully, before the third guard could do anything more, he and the other two were sent flying in a variety of directions after being hit by unusual arcs of green lightning. They lacked Twilight's power but they were still quite effective. Pinkie Pie landed with a loud hum of her wing turbines just as Applejack fell back to all four hooves and shook the dizziness from her eyes.

“I owe you one, Pinks,” Applejack groaned and touched her sore head.

Pinkie Pie, however, was not wearing her usual smile. She frowned deeply and looked around frantically. “Not good. Not good,” she repeated and pranced in place with her mechanical wings and horn. “Got to go. Got to go!”

A blast of energy from the turbines on her shoulders sent her careening back into the air and whipped AJ's mane and tail back from the force. The legislators that had escaped the courthouse were shouting something in the streets around the Earth pony. Royal Guards were seemingly coming out of the old city's woodwork and from alleyways as well. City posts stationed by loyal guards were suddenly fighting with the surfacing guards who sported blue cloths tied around their left forehooves.

Applejack now found herself in the middle of a sudden citywide brawl. She readied her two powerful back hooves as two more Blue Guards ran towards her.

Flash Sentry found Storm Sword just as his queen ordered him to. She was directing one of her own units in front of Canterlot Castle. The mare was illuminated just barely by meager moonlight and a few cobbled together lanterns on a slapped together map table in the castle courtyard. Her group of guards bore the new fire-powered weapons that they had been using experimentally in the northern regions.

“Reload tranqs only!” Storm added as they rushed out of the front gate and she stayed behind.

“What's going on?!” Flash hurried an explanation out of her as he stopped just short at the table.

Storm looked up from the city map on the table for only a moment. “Coup d'état. We just got booted out of the castle. Got the foyer but we can't take the rest back without more guards,” she slammed her hoof on the table. “Just sent my last out to secure East Street. Ten minutes in and I've lost contact from all of the east side, half of the north, and parts of everywhere else.”

“Hey,” Flash reeled from the violent irritation in the Captain's voice. He tried to be encouraging. “You still got a map table. Not bad.”

The mare stared at the low rank recruit.

“If you've got time for bad humor,” she whispered in a low tone, “then you can get out there and take back the streets.”

“Twilight wants me to keep her informed through you. She just sent me back here,” Flash tried keeping his courage in the face of the most terrifying superior he had yet met in the Royal Guard. “I guess she figured I'd be best used as a hoof messenger.”

“No hivemind? Fine,” Storm sighed and shook her head. She wasn't in the mood for this. She wasn't in the mood for any of this. “They planned this from the beginning. I don't know what they've tried in the courthouse but I assume based on our conversation so far that Twilight is more than okay. I suspected she would be. But there's no way this is a coincidence. I've got word there's over five hundred Blues in Canterlot. They stuffed them in every cursed rafter in the city. We've only got half that and the surprise took out a third of our force already.”

“Why?” Flash asked. “What are they trying to do?”

“Captain!” a dirty exhausted-looking guard galloped up to them from the darkness of the front gate. “We're cut off from all city exits and our pegasi squadron is down. They have the square. One of the court ponies is there giving some kind of speech.”

“Focus on the castle,” Storm ordered and then commanded the messenger to rest and recoup. “Ignoring your present orders, you're tasked with the protection of Twilight and her entourage, right?” Storm Sword looked back to Flash.

“Yes, ma'am!” the orange pegasus replied sternly.

“Then you'd better give me a hoof,” Storm blew out the lantern at the table and raced to the castle doors with Flash in tow. “We need to secure the queen's quarters before the traitors break the doors down. Fluttershy and some of the servants are holed up in there.”

"I thought you said we needed more guards to take the castle!"

"We've lost the city exits and the Blues have air superiority," she bit out just as they entered the brightly lit foyer. Only a hoof's worth of loyal guards were there holding the doors against a mob of Blues. "We're not getting reinforcements, so it's time to rush with all we have!"

“This puppet plans to make us all slaves!” Shallow Hills shouted from the stage in the city square. A sizable mass of ponies had gathered here from across the city to find refuge from the fighting. As guards clashed with guards, the citydwellers were plunged into panic and fear.

“I knew she was too young for it!” one sharply dressed mare shrieked.

“She's no goddess!” a thin stallion strangely added.

Shallow Hills continued with a lengthy speech so neat and orderly that it sounded rather rehearsed to a few of the more politically savvy in the crowd. He finished with a call to action as he rushed back down the steps of the stage.

“Part of the guard is still loyal to our democracy! We must join them in taking back the court!”

Most of the ponies in the crowd began to follow Shallow Hills down the street when a single voice shouted out from the back of the crowd. It was an older heavyset stallion. He had the swagger of a retired guardpony in his gait.

“Wait! We need to gather intelligence first! This could be a coup!”

A magically-strong unicorn near the back of the departing group shot a beam of magic that not only locked the elder pony in a magical cage but also gagged him.

Another pony, a pink mare with a yellow mane, tried to rush to his aid but was caught in the same trap as the attacking unicorn was joined by five others to fight the small number of dissenters in the square. Shallow Hills smiled at the victories. With the Blue Guard having taken the square and adjacent streets alongside his strategically worded speech, the residents were prone to think they were the proper side.

Now with the crowd with him and the small amount of opposition in check, the Elite party's months of careful planning were about to pay off. In the case of the Blue Guard, it had been literally years of planning. Since most of the actual Canterlot populace was more interested in social gossip and small group financial gain, few would be politically literate and bold enough to question an actual legislator.

Everything they had expected to happen had indeed happened. Once the courthouse was taken using Canterlot residents along with a portion of the Royal Guard, news would spread in their favor. The ponies would cheer for a “democratic” court and force a complete elimination of Celestia's given authority to the Queen. Or so it went in the mind of Shallow Hills.

Without the crown to back them, the minor opposition in the court would be useless and the Elite party would have full control to eliminate them. The Cloudsdale Fair Weather Plan would be struck down and the noble's east fields would finally get the five-star attention needed for profit growth. Of course, it would be silly for the plan to be only for that. No, there were a hundred more things they could do with this power. Perhaps they could even eliminate that profit-killing law that mandated that businesses had to provide water and breaks to their manual laborers!

What didn't go as planned was their arrival at the courthouse. The massive flight of decorative stairs leading up to the ornately finished front was not currently held by the Blue Guard. In fact, they were tied up with rope in the street. All of them were unconscious and a group of four non-Blue guardponies were standing watch over them. The small group didn't look at all bothered by the far larger crowd that had come to take the courthouse.

The reason why left Shallow Hills frozen on the first step of the stairs.

“Shallow Hills!” bellowed out a fear-inducing voice from above.

The otherwise snide stallion looked up to see Queen Twilight flying in place a good three stories above the crowd behind him.

“You're under arrest for conspiracy against Equestria!” she declared with a level of self-assurance that annoyed him deeply.

“You're not our dictator!” one of the crowd ponies shouted back up to her.

Far from any mood to handle matters rationally, Twilight replied with vengeance in her voice. “Silence!”

“How dare you!” Shallow Hills finally spoke up to encourage the ponies with him.

“Down with the crown!” the crowd began to cheer even as it stayed on the street before the courthouse. Since those present were solely those not in favor of the monarchy, no argument arose within them.

The four loyal guards looked confused as to what to do. However, Twilight's two personal guards present were not conflicted in the least. Midnight Strike followed the lead of his fellow guard in surrounding Shallow Hills. Direway had him in a four-way lock of hoofchains faster than the stallion could even recognize the guard had the chains with him.

This, however, only enraged rather than placated the crowd. Some part of Twilight was wise enough to know that would be the result, but she directed Direway to do it through the hivemind anyway. The incident with Chrysalis in the courthouse had ignited a flame of fury within her that yearned for conflict to release her anger through.

She got what the dark part of her mind wanted.

Shots of magical energy shot from multiple unicorn horns in the crowd. Some were aimed at Twilight's guards, others at the loyalist guards, and still others were bold enough to be directed at Twilight herself. It was a needless encouragement for her at this point.

All in the pony hive felt the hatred that burst out of Twilight's fury. It was sharp within the hivemind. Spike and Rarity were frightened by it from their helpless distance in the Crystal Empire. Fluttershy huddled under the sheets at Canterlot Castle's royal bedroom. She was locked inside with the maids and temporarily safe from the Blue Guards outside.

“Wait, my queen!” Blue Moon exclaimed as he and a few of the other loyalists ran down the court's stairs. He had been troubled by the whole series of events and, though he knew the Elite's coup had to be stopped, he had no desire for Queen Twilight to lose her rationality.

Even Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie tried to urge some manner of calm back into Twilight. But it was useless because she was no longer willing to play nice with those that would hurt Chrysalis or her hive. Celestia's words echoed in her hivemind's memory.

Don't worry about being harsh, Twilight.

Queen Twilight Sparkle blasted the crowd below her with crackling lightning. It exploded on the stone roadway, causing entire bricks to splinter and fly upwards. Ponies went careening in all directions. Only the persistence of the others in her hivemind ensured she casted countermeasures to keep those below from being seriously injured.

Remember this moment when I gave you all of the explicit permission you might need in the future.

The crowd quickly dispersed in all directions in fear. None of the unicorns trying to fight back could land a hit on her flying so far above. Even if they could, she would deflect them without even a thought. Some part of Twilight enjoyed this. Those who would see Equestria fall to the tyranny of the Elite party would be cast away as easily as a feather on the high winds.

The only way Equestria will ever fall is if you are too afraid to use the power given to you.

“Hahahaha!” Twilight laughed loudly and heartily.

Even as Shallow Hills' gathered force dissolved, Twilight mustered her near limitless magical energy inside. Ponies began vanishing in smoky explosions as they were teleported in rapid succession straight to Canterlot's military dungeon located within the Royal Guard barracks still held by the loyalists. It took great amounts of magic, but Twilight had plenty to use.

Once all of the Elite's sympathizers were teleported away by her swift magic, the queen landed with her changeling shoes onto the beaten and pocketed road. She smiled as she whisked Shallow Hills himself away even while his mouth hung open in awe.

Blue Moon still stood there with the others but, unlike them, he was able to voice his nervousness. “I'm not sure I like how this is going but at least nopony is hurt. We can still sort this out as peacefully as we can. Nopony is hurt, right?”

“Both sides of the guard,” Applejack answered as she approached from further down the street, “have no casualties. So far as I've seen, anyhow. Got to give the traitors some credit. At least they didn't have it in 'em to seriously hurt their old comrades.”

“There's still fighting going on,” Rainbow Dash readied for another takeoff.

“Come on,” Twilight nodded to her hive members. She pointed at Chrysalis to make her stay and then looked to the guards. “Let's brig the rest of them. When this is over, I have a feeling a lot is going to be changing here in Canterlot.”

“Flash!” Storm Sword shouted out but was too late.

A heavy hoof came from an open doorway they were passing and succeeded in shoving the running stallion over. Before Flash could recover, the big male attacker leaped from the doorway and knocked him out cold.

“Sorry, kid,” Centurion frowned. “But you're on the wrong side.”

“Cent,” Storm Sword stood her ground a few ponies distance from him. She took her stance. “Why you? I thought you were loyal.”

“To Celestia!” he barked back with a surprising amount of passion. “I knew Twilight was going to take this path when the princesses left. If Celestia were here, she'd never allow a takeover of the court!”

“How would you know anything about that?” Storm countered. “Didn't you serve under her? Do you even know what kind of pony the princess was?!”

“Shut it!” Centurion shouted as he rushed her. Clearly he had no intention of mincing words.

As intimidating as he was, big body and thick muscles, Storm had spent years fighting the same at the northern border. Centurion may have been a veteran of Celestia's guard, but he had few actual engagements to match his lengthy years of service.

Centurion barreled into her, fully expecting to use the force of his body and hooves to knock her out. So he was dumbfounded when she sidestepped last second and stood so close to him that their bodies pressed together. His armor was against her currently useless camouflage suit. He was so used to having room to wind up his blows with that he had to be the one to step back just so he could retaliate.

Storm did all of this on purpose. She knew how brute force fighters worked. Nothing scared them more than an enemy being point blank. They had no room to put velocity into their punches or kicks. They didn't know what to do because nopony ever had the guts to get that close. She stepped with him to stay near.

“Gragh!” he tried enveloping her in a deadly hug instead. He figured he could crush her into unconsciousness if he couldn't punch or kick. It would look ridiculous but all he cared about was getting the job done.

Storm anticipated this as well. After all, it was always what her opponents tried next. With his strength he might actually be capable of crushing her, so she wasted no time in dropping from under his circling forehooves. She dove under his chest and then used her horn to blast him from beneath. He was sent flying onto his back several ponies' distance down the hall.

He was tough, so he tried to get up quickly with a grunt. Not wanting to waste time with him while more Blue Guards were approaching from his end of the hall, she grabbed a knockout grenade from her suit's vest and threw it. It exploded on the floor next to him and spewed a cloud of gas that had him safely unconscious in seconds.

Storm Sword dropped to the floor and drew up the baggy section of her suit that was around her neck. It extended up and covered her muzzle, effectively acting as a mask to filter the fumes. She had to crawl quickly to Flash Sentry, though, and press a filtering cloth to his face. She didn't want him being out any longer than he already was. She might still need his help, after all.

The Captain of the Guard reached into another of her vest's many utility pockets to get to her waking salts. The way this was going, she'd need a complete restock when she got back to the barracks. While some guards would have preferred a more lengthy fight of honor with Centurion, Storm was of a practical mind only. She had been taught through her service to put duty before ceremony.

A trio of Blue Guards leaped through the smoke still emitting from the grenade. They were wearing standard issue gas masks and wielding battle spears. Even with the haze in the air they still locked gazes with the female guard vet in quick order.

“And Twilight said I was over-prepared,” Storm commented dryly to herself, muffled through her suit's filtering cloth.

50 - Friendship is Magic

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Golden Chalice ran, emerald eyes wide and sweat glistening on her forehead. The next alley she ran into was dark and was supposed to have a Blue Guard staging area with maps and supplies hidden behind the false front of crates and barrels. What she ran into was the opposite of what she wanted and expected. All three Blue Guards were tied up together and gagged. Two loyalist guards were standing there and immediately noticed her run into the supposed-to-be-secret area.

This was it, Golden Chalice knew. She had been running to avoid the loyalists since East Street fell. This was the last refuge on this side of Canterlot and no other zone had delivered a word since sunset. To think that, after just twenty hours, they were finished.

The turncoat mare just stood there in the back of the alley, frozen in place as the guards approached her like lightning to cuff and chain her. Why bother doing anything? It was over. There was nowhere left in Canterlot for her to run. She was too tired to keep it up anyways. If the guards weren't presently clacking irons around her hooves, she probably would have collapsed on the stone pathway anyhow.

She did, in fact, collapse onto the ground. A tick worked its way into her expression and she laughed in a half-mumbled sort of way. All the work. All the planning. Poof.

Far above, visible in the night sky of Canterlot only because of its mass of city lights, was Cloudsdale. It was never supposed to have gotten involved. At least not so fast. It seemed to have been drawn into Canterlot air space on Celestia's own wings. The Blue Guard's aerial domination in Canterlot meant nothing once Cloudsdale's loyalist pegasi legion was unleashed.

Golden Chalice reflected on her life. She had little else to do now and likely wouldn't for quite some time to come. Perhaps word would reach the prisons one day as to why the cloud poison hadn't worked in time to eliminate Cloudsdale from the equation.

“I never thought one of my own guards would betray me,” Twilight looked into the cell, her eyes dead of all the emotion she had experienced in the past few nights.

She stood there in the guard barracks' prison corridor. Her changeling accessories pulsed in a calm green glow, keeping her hivemind connected at unnatural distances. Even now, Spike and Rarity's minds were present in hers as they took care of the Crystal Empire far up at Equestria's northern border.

“It was never personal,” Centurion glared through the bars. He remained on his side, trapped in the walls of his cell. “I did what I knew was necessary for the sake of Equestria. Only the Elites know how to keep our country strong in Celestia's absence.”

“For the sake of the nobles,” Twilight corrected with a more stern expression than he had. “Let's not pretend this was about anypony but you and them. They promised you a high position in the Royal Guard if you helped, which was why you opposed Storm's appointment and insisted you remain outside my hivemind for just a bit longer when I offered a week ago. You may have served Celestia well, but you're nothing but a disgrace now.”

Too upset to hold a conversation longer with him, the queen stepped away. As she was leaving the detention block, she heard one last remark.

“Equestria will never lose its voice to yours alone!”

“Now may not be the best time,” Chrysalis buzzed to Pinkie Pie. She knew her words fell on deaf ears and she would have to play along regardless. She merely wanted it to be on the record that she gave her two bits about it.

The pair was in the central square of Canterlot, standing on the stage that was often used there for public speeches, concerts, and even cake contests. The massive expanse of the square stretched out around them, but it was not all polished marble and smooth tile. Parts of the place were broken by well-kept garden divides and benches. The last of the scorch marks from the Blue Guard coup had been cleaned away by Queen Twilight's decree for emergency city upkeep.

“Happy Happy Happy~” Pinkie Pie sung out in sickly cheer as she danced on the stage.

The crowd below hadn't lost the edge from the city's earlier altercations. They were on edge, unhappy, and ready for either rage-filled argument or outright fighting. Pinkie Pie knew she had to do her part. If not for Canterlot then for her bestest friend Queen Twily!

Pinkie Pie twirled in her new changeling-style dancing dress. The billowy pleats moved with a mysterious grace only matched by the same outfit Chrysalis was wearing. Only, Chrysalis' was larger. The taller being danced along with Pinkie with all the indignation she expressed vocally within the hivemind.

At least the music was loud enough to make the changeling's wounded pride numb. Tables of sweets and goods were scattered about to help smooth out the frowns of the Canterlot ponies. Pinkie was at least talented enough to be making some progress with them on that front. A few ponies joined the dancing, much to the pink one's satisfaction. Others followed while some lingered at snack tables and became less agitated with every sweet they tasted.

There were many ponies present, some coming, some staying, others leaving. Pinkie bounced with a resilient smile, content with every small bit of progress she could make. One smile at a time. That was her latest motto.

“Hey there!” Pinkie flew off the stage. She called out to a finely-dressed unicorn who looked very unsure about joining in. The Element of Laughter showed her biggest smile in her arsenal. “What's your name?”

Princess Cadance looked out the window of the royal bedroom. It was situated high within the Crystal Castle. Spike was addressing a vast crowd of crystal ponies below with a happily dressed-up Rarity at his side doing likewise. But Cadance's gaze was not on them. It was on the frozen wastes to the north of the Empire. She could see the sparkling snow from here and the beginnings of the great dangers lurking within. Perhaps this was why the Empire had once been ruled by King Sombra. The Empire forever laid upon the dangerous edge of Equestria.

Her golden horseshoe clacked against the clear glass of the cold window pane. Her breath warmed a spot on it enough to make a miniature cloud of fog upon it. The room was getting as cold as the outside was and had been for over a month now. She stared a while longer before dropping her hoof and looking back to her husband, who was fast asleep under the covers of their large heart-shaped bed.

It hadn't taken long for them to find out about the coup in Canterlot. Twilight and the loyalists had gotten it under control faster than they could get there, however. So the two had only helped to a small degree by reining in the coordinated coup in Manehattan. That takeover had been far smaller and less planned, though. All in all, Cadance was content with Twilight's control over the terrible turn of events. She hadn't witnessed the trouble in the capital, but she knew Equestria would be safe under her just as the Empire would be safe with Spike and Rarity.

She stepped quietly across the plush carpet until she was beside the mattress. “Nopony will ever take you from me,” she whispered as she leaned over him and stroked his face. He was used to her touch and seldom awoke from it. Doubly so since she trickled her soothing magic through her every caress.

“Not even death itself,” she added and touched her horn gently to his. “Till death do we part...but not if we're above it.”

Their voyage would make their bond boundless.

Cadance's pink love magic sparked from her horn with a black mist.

“Something is wrong,” Twilight winced and then held her head in her forehooves. The pain stabbed in her mind and then was gone. Her feelings of anger and rage came flashing to her in episodes and affected the others to a lesser extent.

“Twi?” Applejack touched her queen's shoulder in concern.

Embrace your emotions, Chrysalis encouraged through their shared mind.

“I can't hate! Not hate!” Twilight shouted in her bedroom. She and the others were supposed to be relaxing on the new hive-size half-mattress half-ring bed.

The anger in her voice made Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy shirk back on the bed. Rainbow had been far less challenging of late. Spike and Rarity were always away now. Pinkie was always oblivious or aloof while Chrysalis was supportive of Twilight to the point of being provocative. The guards and maids were only ever subservient, which left Applejack to be the only bold one to intervene. She was the last voice in the hivemind that didn't bend to Twilight's growing aggressiveness.

“Twi,” AJ leaned in close face-to-face, “what is it that you hate?”

A new wave of anger snapped within Twilight's mind. It carried so strongly through their connection that both Direway and Midnight Strike crippled over at their posts. Fluttershy whimpered but still crawled closer on the bed and even hugged Twilight. Choosing to do what she could for her queen, the yellow pegasus ignited her Hive Power.

The darkly decorated chamber quickly transformed into a cheery and familiar hideaway punctuated by a willow tree and a small stream. Fluttershy squeaked in worry when she saw even her own efforts were being affected by Twilight. Though the hivemind began to calm, all could notice the black tips of the grass and the trickles of black something in the stream.

“Thanks, Shy,” Twilight winced as she hugged her friend back and rested into the grass.

“Mind answerin' me, my queen?” Applejack insisted. She remained as close as she had been before. “Because our hivemind sure ain't.”

Our mind is fine, Twilight calmly disagreed, flinched, and then let out a restful sigh. Her entire hive was confused as to what she was thinking and feeling. Thoughts emanating from her were nonsensical until she spoke them or put immense effort into projecting them as she did now. I'm in perfect control.

The others were not so certain. Fluttershy clung to her queen as if her life depended on it. Memories of the near-death incident carried through the hivemind to her even though she hadn't been there at the time. Discord may have saved them then, but he wasn't around anymore.

Rainbow Dash pounced from the other side of the bed, tackling the queen and rolling over until they stopped. Twilight wound up on top while Fluttershy's hard grip had been lost at some point along the way. The pair had barely avoided rolling into the water, which flowed slowly beside them in the stream. Something about the wet soil and grass made Twilight smile at last. Or perhaps it was simply Rainbow's colt-like chuckle that did it.

“Maybe my Twily needs some cuddles to lighten up,” Rainbow playfully tapped her on the nose. “You still worry too much. So not everypony has warmed up to Buggy yet. Big surprise. Especially in Canterlot. Blue Moon and what's his face are smoothing it out. All you should be thinking about right now is me.”

“Hey!” Chrysalis tried to get in between them in protest.

“Wait for me, please,” Fluttershy timidly joined Chrysalis.

Applejack put her hoof to her face and then curled up beneath the tree. “Forget I even bothered.”

However, there was still a strong voice in their mind that spoke to AJ as she set her head down on the sheets. The day had been long, she was tired, and so was Spike for that matter. If anything, he had more reason to be tired if not only for being with that fuss bucket Rarity all the time.

There really is something to be said about the differences of culture, Spike commented. He was busy even though it was night. Rarity had gone to sleep in their hivemind-connected ring chamber while he finished some matters of government in the Crystal Castle's royal study. Canterlot ponies are nothing like our Crystal ponies.

To be fair, Applejack replied, we're still thought outsiders here. All Celestia's blessin's mean dry apples when they don't think of us like anythin' special. Them Crystals think you're some immortal hero.

Spike blushed and paused at his desk. But his blush then cooled and his expression drooped darkly. Immortal. That's true...

Hey there, AJ grimaced at herself. She could feel his troubled heart. Didn't mean nothin'. I'm sure...uh...

Spike let out a long breath, heated from his natural dragon's flame deep within. He put the quill down and got up from the large chair that had been made for him. I know, AJ. There's no reason for you to be sorry about it.

But I sure can feel sorry if I want to, the country mare responded in her old stubborn way. Cadance been any help?

Spike snuffed out the candles in the room and left it for the much colder hall of the castle. The icy tile sent a loud click every time his claws stepped against it. As he walked back to the ringroom, he became uncertain and replied. It's too strange, his eyes squinted even though Applejack wasn't there to see it. She's been distant lately. Like something really serious is on her mind. When I asked her what she thought about mortality, I thought she'd understand. She's immortal even though Shining Armor isn't. But then...

Applejack finished it by digging through his recent memories she hadn't bothered with before. She got defensive and evasive.

Spike shook his head and walked into his and Rarity's ringroom. He closed the door quietly behind him. Shining doesn't know what it is either. He's noticed too. Something has her worried. Or stressed. I just don't know.

The orange mare looked over to the queen and her three enthusiastic special someponies. Rainbow had now settled in Twilight's hooves, Fluttershy nestled against her back, and Chrysalis was trying unsuccessfully to squeeze Dash out of the way and steal a kiss.

We all have our reasons, AJ shook her head as Spike had done.

I just wish hers didn't make me feel alone, the mid-sized dragon humphed but did so quietly. He didn't want to disturb the gracefully sleeping Rarity, who was curled up in the center of the ring pad's soft green glow. All other lights were out, so she was only visible under that dim pulse.

Twilight feels the same as you, hun, Applejack tried to be more soft and caring. As a result, Applebloom came to her mind. The little filly often needed a motherly touch that only AJ provided in their family. It had been a while since she had seen her little sister. That made her homesick.

Somepony else has some worries, Spike noted and finally laid in beside Rarity. He hesitated, though, and didn't curl around her as he had done before. Something felt different when they were the only ones in the ring and, in fact, had it all to themselves. Instead, he merely rested his claw on her forehoof. Twilight has already told you to go back to Ponyville so you can be with your family. You shouldn't put it off if it bothers you so much.

Thanks for the kindness there, sugarcube, Applejack yawned. I might take up the offer. I just feel antsy about leavin' Twi after what's happened here. I'll bet the family's just as worried, though. I write, but...you know.

Sure do, Spike agreed as he gazed at Rarity's peaceful face. Though covered with her sleeping mask and dressed in her night gown, her natural beauty still swept him away. He yawned with AJ. Well, goodnight. See you on the other side.

Don't go makin' it sound all glum-like... Applejack weakly retorted as she too drifted off to sleep.

Black crystals crawled up the long thin tower in the forest near Neighagra Falls. They too pulsed with a light the way the tower's tip did. Only, they pulsed with an added red hue rather than plain green. The dark rocks seemed to meld into the mostly smooth thin transmitter, transforming it into a jagged spire far more sinister than anything within a thousand hooves. Or a hundred thousand for that matter.

When the crystals reached the tip, their fusion was complete. The transmitter continued to pass hivemind signals between Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. However, the signals were different now. Spike and Rarity's connection was enough the same not to be noticed but different enough that it was no longer their original thoughts that reached Twilight.

A dark mist surrounding the base of the transmitter pole shifted as if to give a “humph.” No coercion would be needed at this point. No, only a truly dangerous opponent might need to be coerced into frailty or disarray. The only ones that needed any containment were already accounted for.

“Do not make me any more impatient!” complained a very loud and buzzy voice. The changeling royal stood tall, though perhaps not as tall as a true queen. She was princess in body even if queen was her title now. “We starve! Every day we delay is another chance to lose more of the hive.”

Hearing the scattered moans and chittering of the mass of changelings behind her, the mist rose up and swirled around her head. It assured her that the hive would be fed. So eager, its venomous voice dripped with a kind of contempt. Princess Flux must prove herself, hm?

“Queen Flux! I'm the queen!” the thin changeling royal screeched. Her messy orange locks shifted as she looked one way and then another at the mist swirling around her. “She shouldn't be alive! She was supposed to die!”

I won't get involved in any petty feud you have with Chrysalis, the voice bit back. The power behind it made even the stubborn changeling flinch in fright. Just do as I say and your hive will never go hungry again.

The hundreds of changelings behind Queen Flux ground their teeth and bit their lips both in hunger and anticipation.

Canterlot is even weaker than it was when your rival attempted to take it. Their guards are tired and divided. The Crystal Empire will hear no cry for help. Cloudsdale will fall. The pegasi will be too busy to even consider saving Canterlot again.

Flux shook her whole body clear out of the black mist. “I don't trust ponies. Even less ones that make such intricate plans.”

The black mist no longer cared to waste time with its changeling pawn. The stage had been set. It would have the princess foretold in the prophecy. Nothing could overcome it. Not with its fathomless knowledge of dark magic. What irony that this foretold princess had become a pony queen with a changeling mind. No other non-changeling beside itself had such an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of such a mind. No other knew of the weaknesses that came with it.

In due time, the shadow would have immortality.

“I just don't get it,” North Star scrunched her face.

Spitfire found herself nodding in solemn agreement. The two had been working together more and more often due to Cloudsdale's political condition. It seemed to always be on the knife's edge of rioting these days. Ironically, the rioting was usually in favor of Twilight.

“Who would mess with the lower levels?” Spitfire voiced both their thoughts. “It doesn't matter what side you're on, no pegasus would dream of jeopardizing the city's cloud stability. The whole thing could go down.”

The two finally came around the last bend in the sky city's dense lower cumulus levels. What they both found there was far worse than either imagined. The messenger had dragged them out of the mayor's office with hysterics about some cloud-eating disease, but they had doubted it. The lower levels around the weather factory had always been known for myth and rumor. This was likely nothing more. They only went out to inspect it because he wouldn't stop insisting.

Before the two of them was a massive chasm where there should have been a full one thousand cubic hooves of cloud suspending the city above the ground. A tiny pinhole at the bottom even let one see the early morning light bathing the fields several thousand hooves below. A dozen city maintenance pegasi were flying around in panic. Some of them just sat to the side, staring in helpless horror as none of their patching materials did anything to stop the erosion.

“Sweet mother of Celestia...” Spitfire whispered out, her whole body having frozen.

A sickening black mold seemed to be spread around the edges within the chasm and ate away at the cloud. The black patches moved inwards at the city's foundational clouds like acid melting through the soft innards of a melon.

“You!” Spitfire managed to recover while North Star still stood in fear. The Wonderbolt grabbed the nearest maintenance technician, who was staring into space listlessly. “What have you tried?”

“Everything...” the male pegasus looked at her as if he was about to cry.

“We can still use the X5 cloud machine in the factory! It can produce faster than we can lose cumulus,” Spitfire tried to order him and the others to get the massive machine. When they didn't move and gave her the same pitiful look, she felt the helplessness creep into her own heart.

“We already tried,” the large male now had tears running down his cheeks while he trembled. “The black stuff...it got into the machine. We tried putting it into turbo mode but it just used up the water reserves and put out nothing...nothing....”

“We're out of water?!” North Star shrunk back when a portion of cloud beneath her hooves rotted away.

Spitfire looked to the chasm then to North Star. Finally she looked to the south where Canterlot lay on the horizon. They had only recently started moving away due to the uprising. “We need Queen Twilight. How much time until the cloud loss makes us lose altitude?”

The technician's eyes danced about in calculation. “An hour?”

North Star matched Spitfire's strained expression.

“We need Twilight now.”

Queen Twilight Sparkle yawned. She stretched as well, wings spreading and flexing. In spite of the extreme issues she faced on a daily basis now, she had woken up encouraged today. Perhaps it was the happy faces of her hive that helped in that. Sure, the royal court was still in chaos over the coup, but Twilight knew she could handle it with her friends at her side. The emergency measures they had already taken had given at least some semblance of stability in the meanwhile.

She stood out on their hive bedroom's balcony that faced the uphill portion of Mt. Canter, which Canterlot and its castle were situated upon. The morning air was fresh, crisp, and cool. The deep green of Mt. Canter's thick outer-city forest was spectacular. Almost as magnificent as watching the many waterfalls cascading down into the deep treescape, pouring from the mountain's rich frozen tops going through their natural precipitation cycles.

Twilight shuffled her accessory-free hooves to different parts of the balcony because she loved the cool sensation of the stone underhoof. Fall was coming and, with it, lower temperatures. She spread her wings again to feel the soft air through her feathers. If every day was as nice as this one was starting out to be then perhaps she would never need a vacation. The alicorn knew that was an exaggeration, but liked to be optimistic anyways.

Chrysalis stepped out onto the balcony with her. She was the only one around with the queen at the moment because the others were off to their own individual work and interests. It was a rare moment for the changeling to be alone with Twilight since the hive group had been closely knit for a good while. Chrysalis breathed deep and enjoyed the view along with her queen.

“I may have lived most of my life underground,” Chrysalis remarked, “but I can see the beauty of it.”

Twilight smiled, though it was minute. “Equestria really is breathtaking. There are all kinds of biomes,” she returned to her scientific mind. “Different ponies like different ones. I grew up here in Canterlot, though. Maybe that's why I still love the natural coniferous landscapes. It makes me a bit nostalgic.”

The two continued enjoying the scene and the breeze. Chrysalis yawned in contentment and leaned against the balcony's railing. Twilight, however, noticed a pony in the distant sky.

A lone Wonderbolt was flying swiftly towards them.

Author's Notes:

Thank you so much to for reading, enjoying, and supporting me by demanding more!

What a journey! Over two years of non-stop writing with a new chapter every month or more over that time span. I never imagined that my desire to have Chrysalis reformed in the show would end up with me writing a story over 225,000 words long and with over 10,000 views.

I've changed and grown much throughout the course of this story. Always for the better, I hope. Now that I think of it, I believe Hive Alive was the first story I began to experiment with chapter images or "flare." Custom title headers, chapter names, dividers, and such may not add anything to the story itself but they do spruce up the decor. It stokes my inner artist and the practice has become standard for all of my stories now. Rarity, I understand when you get caught up with artistic inspiration~! Oh dear, look at me rambling...anyways...

Love you all! Keep rockin' it, bronies~!