Unforeseen Consequences - The counteroffensive begins!

>When you got back to your dear mother’s study, Discord greeted you with a… disturbingly kind smile…
>”Well my little prince, I suppose that you don’t need moi to tell you that while your reunion was disgustingly adorable… you need to leave those feelings of melancholia and sorrow to the side… at least for a bit… for we still have a bug infestation that we need to take care of…”
>You took a step back, if anything because you wanted to be cautious about any little trick that Discord might have in store for you.
>When you made sure that there was nothing odd going on, you let out a sigh and nodded
“I’m well aware of that, my goat faced amigo… but if you didn’t pay attention, we can’t just invade the changeling’s hive and banish them to Tartarus… at least not until we take care of that throne… and that in itself will be a massive problem since their home at first glance looks like an impenetrable fortress”
>Discord hovered to you, giving you a menacing glare ”Then what do you want to do?! Sit on our flanks and watch as those pesky little bugs harm Fluttershy?!”
>You shook your head and replied to him in the calmer tone that you could come up with
“No… Discord, no… you know that I would never allow such thing, but just like you are worried about Fluttershy’s safety, I’m worried about yours too. I can’t just let you go on a suicide mission like that… listen, let’s meet the others alright? They should be around the castle and-“
>”Is my young rascal with them?” Discord interrupted you with a hurried voice
“Yes, and-“
>But he didn’t wait for a more throughout explanation; Discord snapped his talons, teleporting the two of you to the castle’s dining hall.
>There you saw Starlight and Eris munching down a whole bunch of pancakes… were they… competing on who could eat more? Why?
>Aegia was also there, sitting at a safe distance from those two… watching them with disgust as they swallowed their pancakes.
>That is, until Aegia noticed your presence, she got up from her chair and gave you a warm smile before returning to her emotionless expression “Aaaah, Mon Petit! I see zat you have returned from your mission! And you have brought Monsieur Discord wiz you!”
>You walked towards Aegia and gave her a brief hug before making a military salute to her
“That is correct, ma’am Aegia! I am happy to announce that my mission was a success, ma’am!”
>”Ooooooh! So you’re the pony who poisoned little Anon’s mind with this nonsense!” Discord quickly gets in between you and Aegia, narrowing his eyes at her “Do you know what have you done? Do you have any idea on the kind of danger that you have put him through?!”
>”Oh, but Monsieur Discord! Ze only zing zat I did, was to inform ze Prince zat zere was strange zings going on at zat prison! It was ultimately him who chose to know more about ze zreat zat we were facing!”
“Yeah Discord! As I told Eris before, it is my duty to protect everyone in Equestria from those who dare to steal their hopes and dreams. My cutie mark symbolizes harmony, or did you forget that? My destiny is also to discover new forms of harmony and protect the existing ones… heck, you even told me that…”
>”Oh, so that’s the attitude that you are going to take, alright… it’s fine, you are clearly taking your new responsibilities seriously and more importantly with passion…” Discord turned his back on you and crossed his arms
“That’s right Discord, I-“
>He quickly cut you off,  with a more… sinister tone “But there’s still something lingering on my mind that bothers me a little… so please, riddle me this, my little prince, because if you don’t then I’m afraid that I won’t be able to ever conceal any sleep… “
>Discord turned to you with a disturbingly menacing grin “What are your dear “mothers” thoughts about this, hmm?”
>You took a step back, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread running across your body… you never thought about them… you never contemplated in your plans… Why? WHY?! Why were you so reckless?!
 >Discord let out a sinister chuckle as he patted your head “Because pardon me if I’m wrong… but last time I checked, you, my little prince, were their most treasured thing in the whole wide world, I would even say that they care more about you now than they care about Equestria… I highly doubt that they would approve of their only son risking his life like this…”
“I… I…”
>”Have nozing to worry about…” Aegia gently stepped forward and stroke your mane “Because your mozers already know everyzing zat has happened, and they want us to proceed wiz caution…”
>”WHAT?! WHAT KIND OF DUMB TWIST IS THAT?! NOT EVEN I WOULD THINK ON PULLING THAT KIND OF JOKE, AND I’M THE LORD OF CHAOS!” Discord’s voice made the whole place to tremble, making everyone to focus on him… and when Starlight Glimmer finally took notice that Discord was in the room…
>She tried to yell, but just ended up choking a bit with her pancakes ”GYAH! FFISSFCORFF! Urp…”
>”Neat!” Eris happily exclaimed as she gave Starlight a might pat on the back, making her to spit out the pancakes “Hah, hah! Take that, Motley! I win and you lose! Which means that you owe me!”
>You raised an eyebrow and tilted your head in confusion
“… Motley?”
>”*cough* *cough* Ugh…” Starlight rubbed her tummy for a few seconds and then turned to you “Yes… Motley, that’s my new nickname, courtesy of Eris… and… I know that nicknames are supposed to be a clear signal of friendship… or at least that’s what Twilight has told me… but I still don’t get why the name…”
>”Oh that’s easy!” Eris waved her paw in a dismissive manner and ate the rest of the pancakes that were lying on the table in one swallow “Your name is Star-something, something Glimmer, right? Which means that I could call you GlimGlam, or just Glam to make things faster, sooooo with that in mind, I decided to call you Motley because that’s the name of the most awesome GLAM rock band that has ever existed!” She then gave Starlight a cheerful grin and happily asked “Cool, huh?!”
>”I…. guess?” Starlight shrugged in confusion “I still don’t understand a word that you said… but okay?”
>”Awww, you’re welcome Motley!” Eris gave a tight hug to Starlight
>You slapped your face and groaned
“Eris… please, your bad taste is showing… everyone knows that Sweet… err… wait, that doesn’t matter…”
>You turned to Aegia and asked with a confused tone
“Aegia… I thought that our little reconnaissance mission was a top secret one… one that not even my mothers knew about…”
>Aegia patted your head and chuckled ”And zat was partially correct…but you seriously didn’t zink zat we would keep somezing as big as zis hidden from ze Princesses. I sent a letter to my bosses and zeir reply was zat we should proceed wiz caution as long as ze Prince’s safety was not compromised. Oh, and Princesses Luna wants to speak to you, Mon Petit… ”
“Well… they are out in royal bussineses… so I suppose that my mom meant that she wants to speak to me in my dreams, right?”
>”Oui…” Aegia nodded “But I have to warn you, Mon Petit… based on ze letter, Princess Luna didn’t sound very pleased wiz your acting…”
>”AHAHAHAHAH!” Discord started laughing “Well, what can I say? I have seen hydras that are less threatening than our Lulu when she gets angry… good job, my little prince, really… you somehow turned this tragedy into a comedy!”
>You gulped as you started to feel a chill running down your spine
“My mom Luna is angry… o-oh dear… e-even Chrysalis is less scary than the prospect of facing her wrath…”
>Aegia nodded again “Oui… I fear for you… and mes paycheck…but” she sighed “Before you go and face your destiny at ze hooves of your mozer. I zink zat you better tells us what you have learned from your mission…”
“R-Right… okay, but you better take a seat because there’s a looooot to cover…”
>And so, you explained to everyone in the room the information that Scrappy gave you- Making clear to everyone that while he was still a changeling, Scrappy was actually a rather sensible soul… one that even when still didn’t understand friendship, couldn’t live without it.
“… and that’s the basic gist of it…”
>Starlight started to hyperventilate “Oh dear, oh dear, ohdearohdearohdear! OH SWEET CELESTIA! What are we going to do?! I-If the changelings have a way to nullify every kind of magic, t-then how is Twilight and the elements of harmony g-going to defeat them! AAAAAAAAH! M-maybe there’s still time! I-I’m sure that if I go back to the prison and ask for mercy, then Chrysalis will let me be her pony parrot! A-And m-maybe if we all-OUCH!“
>With complete annoyance, Eris interrupted the panic attack that Starlight was having by giving her a slap on the back of her head ”Oh, shut up Motley! Sheesh, grow a backbone, and stop being so lame will ya?! We ain’t givin’ up just yet!”
>Aegia nodded ”Mademoiselle Eris is right. We now know somezing about ze changelings. And even better, zey don’t know about us…”
>”Oh well, and who cares if they did?” Discord shrugged “The moment that our dear Chrysi or any of her followers tries to hurt Fluttershy, then that’s the moment where they will learn the true meaning of chaos”
>You walked towards Starlight with a proud expression on your face
“You should listen to them, Glimmer…”
>”Motley” Eris quickly corrected you
>You rolled your eyes and continued with your explanation
“Yeah, yeah, Glimmer, Motely, Pink Psycho, whatever… point is, we have crucial information on the changelings. We know what their plan entails, we know what their “triumph card” is, we also have details and the location, even when it’s vague, of their own traitor, who based on Scrappy’s words, will be more than eager to join us in our cause, or at least to share more information about those bugs hive… and… I actually got a plan…”
>”Oh? Zen I wasn’t overestimating you, Mon Petit…” Aegia walked to you and pat your mane “I’m glad zat I took zis job. It not only pays well… it is also very… how do you say it? Aaaah, yes… gratifying…”
>Eris chuckled and gave you a sultry grin as she fidgeted with the mane of a still terrified Starlight ”You know that keeping a lady waiting is of very bad taste, right dork? So spit it out and tell us how we are going to get rid of our little bug problem…”
“Right… listen, first of all, we need to keep in mind that right now, we know that the changelings are already on the move. We can’t possibly conclude that those guys at the prison are the only squad that Chrysalis has dispatched, and… hmmm… tell me something Glimmer…”
>”Y-Yes? Have you reconsidered my plan on begging for mercy and- OUCH!” Starlight angrily turned to Eris after she delivered a second slap “Would you quit that?”
>Eris gave Starlight a toothy grin ”I’ll do it when you stop with your lameness, my dear Motley. There is nothing that annoys me more than a coward, and you really, REALLY don’t want to annoy me…just a little piece of advice from me, to you, my dear Motley.”
“Giving up is not an option, Glimmer…”
>”You also need to consider, mademoiselle Starlight, zat if you ever zink on going behind our backs and sell us to ze changelings…” Aegia gave an icy cold stare to Starlight, making her to fall on her back “Zen I will be force de vous monstrer why ze secret service is so feared among les criminels, est-ce clair, mademoiselle Starlight?”
>”That is… if she gets to you before me…” Discord joined in, giving Starling a menacing grin “And trust me… there’s no way that a pony can achieve such feat, no matter how fast their wings can flap or how good at magic they  might be… they won’t get to you before I do…”
>”Before WE do, you senile jerk!” Eris quickly barked at Discord “I swear that if you ever leave me out of another round of fun again, then I will transform your dust collection into a bunch of books about organizing!”
>Discord crossed his arms and rose an eyebrow ”And I assume that they will be stolen from Twilight’s personal collection, right?”
>”Of course!” Eris giggled “And replaced by a bunch of living, rubber snakes… and as the cherry on top, I will also put a giant tarantula hanging right above her bed!”
>”Wonderful! You even contemplated how to make her little pony head to implode in fear after she seeks shelter from the shock of the initial joke!” Discord wiped a tear from his eye and hugged Eris “Papa is so proud of his little girl!”
>”Awwwww! And that was just the warm up!” Eris returned the hug whole heartedly
>”Y-You are crazy! I-I mean…” Starlight frantically nodded and gave everyone a nervous smile “I-I-I was j-just joking, guys! I-I-I swear! I won’t surrender to the changelings! I can’t do that to Twilight… not after everything that she has done for me…”
“It’s good to know, because I will need you to give me more info on the changelings that are in that prison. Namely what their numbers are, and what did they do to the real staff…”
>”Uuuuh…” Starlight took a deep breath to calm herself and then exhaled “I know that they completely took over the prison, replacing every single guard and anypony who worked at the administration too…. But they didn’t take them to their hive… they… they hypnotized everypony and made them pass as prisoners…”
 “Well, believe it or not, that’s actually great news, because if the staff is being held captive in the prison itself, then we won’t have to worry about an actual rescue… now, Discord…”
>Discord broke the hug and gave you a sarcastic look as he replied with a… seductive tone ”Yes, my little prince? What can I do for you in this lovely night?”
>You took a step back and cringed
“Ugh… don’t you ever speak to me like that… like ever again, please… whatever…”
>You sighed
“Do you think that your magic is good enough to break whatever hold the changelings might have on the minds of the prison staff and inmates?”
>”Oh please!” Discord waved his paw in a dismissive manner “Those changelings might be safe from my magic when they are at their lair, but when they step outside of it…” Discord snapped his talons, making an exterminator uniform to appear on him and Eris “They are nothing else than a bunch of little bugs who are no match for the power of chaos!”
>You rubbed your temples and started to think
“All right… good… now…”
>You looked again at Starlight
“Answer me this question Glimmer, because it is very important… when was Twilight supposed to visit you again?”
>”Welll…uuuh…” Starlight rubbed the back of her head “Around… Wednesday or Thursday of next week… I think…”
>You let out a chuckle and nodded
“Good, that means that we have a lot of time to maneuver, so we can put on practice the first step on my little counteroffensive. And that is, for you and Discord to go back to that prison, so you guys can capture any and every changeling that might be there, and release every single pony from their mental shenanigans…”
>Starlight jumped from her seat, looking clearly agitated ”YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?!”
>You slowly nodded and calmly explained to her
“I know that I’m asking a lot to you, you went through Tartarus while you were inside of that prison… but… Equestria’s safety is on the line, we must do everything we can… for everyone that we love and care about. But we won’t be able to do anything if we don’t work together, so please Starlight… we can’t do this without you…”
>”O-Okay…” Starlight sighed “Okay, Anon… Sheesh… you really are your mothers’ son…”
>You let out a small chuckle
“Thank you Glimmer… thank you very much…okay…”
>You sighed and then looked at everyone with a serious expression
 “We have a big advantage on our side, and that is the fact that the changelings’ plan is clearly on its initial phases, isn’t that right, ma’am Aegia?”
>Aegia nodded, and for a second a proud smile was drawn on her face “Oui, zey are still recollecting information about zeir targets. Zat means zat ze changelings are still clueless about how zey should proceed wiz zeir plan…”
“Exactly! So my strategy is to prevent that invasion from ever happening in the first place! And how are we going to do that, you may ask? Well… by outdoing the changelings at their own game, that’s how!”
>”So…” Aegia calmly intervened “Your plan is for mademoiselle Starlight to point out every changeling zat might be zere, so monsieur Discord can capture zem wiz zeir magic…” She then gently stroked your mane “Excusez-moi for making assumptions, Mon Petit, but would I be correct in saying zat your next step is to replace ze changelings, oui?”
>You nodded and gave Starlight a smug grin
“That’s why I said that we are beating those bugs at their own game… we will replace the changelings with agents of our own and feed Chrysalis with fake information, that way we will ruin her schemes without her even knowing what even happened. Not only that, if we manage to fool her, then we can get the location of the other changeling squads, so we can capture them too”
>”Aaaah… I see…” Aegia nodded and let out a small giggle “And if we control ze information zat ze changelings have… zen we can trick Chrysalis into sending an actual attack force… one zat will be ambushed by our own forces…”
“And after we capture that attack force, we trick Chrysalis into thinking that the operation was a runaway success, so we can repeat the same thing a few times until her forces are dwindling... or convince her to come out from her hive, so our forces can deal with her…”
>She then looked at Discord and Eris with an almost malicious grin “Or better yet, make her face ze terrifying power of chaos magic… good… good..” Aegia giggled and stroke your mane “I like your mezods, Mon Petit. Zey lack ze brutish heroism of ze Royal and Night Guard and instead have ze elegant audacity zat ze secret service is known for…”
>”So we are hunting the hunter…” Discord let out an evil grin “I haven’t had that kind of fun since I reigned Equestria, you certainly are an interesting fellow, my little prince”
>You looked at both Aegia and Discord, and gave them a smirk
“What do you guys expected? I learned from the best…”
>”W-Wait!” Starlight jumped in “D-Do you realize that your plan has a glaring flaw, right? How are you guys even going to even make contact with Chrysalis, let alone fool her?”
>You let out a chuckle complete with an arrogant smirk
“Oh, Glimmer, I really want to think that your fear is preventing you from thinking straight, because I can’t believe that you can’t figure out something so obvious… Our friend Thorax is going to give us the information that we need about that, and if he doesn’t… well…”
>”Then my Daddy-O and I will have a whooooole lot of fun with those jerks until we make them sing…” Eris joined in with a playful smile on her face
>”Well, I’m sure zat your plan will work, Mon Petit…” Aegia said with a calm voice “Now you only need to tell it to your mozers. I’m sure zat zey will be able to polish it around ze edges…”
“Oh yeah…that…”
>You gulped
“I-I almost forgot that I have to talk with my mom Luna… err… but I’m not sleepy, how am I-“
>Discord quickly interrupted you ”Oh, that won’t be any problem, we don’t want to keep Lulu waiting, do we?”  Then he snapped his fingers, making a boxing glove to appear “Sweet dreams, my little prince…”
“W-Wait Discord! I-I think that I feel like sleeping no-“
>*WHAM*
>And with a swift hit on your precious face, you get knocked out cold and sent to the dream world… to your mother’s reigns…
>... ... ...
>... ...
>...
>Darkness… darkness enveloped the entire landscape, and yet… you could clearly see where you were going, you could clearly see your hooves and the water running underneath them… but that was it… everything else was dark…
>Needless to say, this eerie scene made you feel nervous, but your mom wanted to talk with you, right? Maybe it would be for the best if you tried to call for her
“Hellooo? Is anobody in here? Mom? Where are you?”
>But you got no answer other than the echoes of your words…
>You spent some time walking aimlessly, feeling more and more unnerved by the creepy calm of this place… and that dreadful feeling only increased after you heard a faint whisper that said “Anooon…”
“Mom? Is that you?”
>But the whisper only replied with a sorrowful “Anoooon… look at what you have done…”
“What?”
>From the never ending darkness, you suddenly could see your mom Luna, who was looking at the empty space
>You walked towards her… and when you saw her… she was… NO! Nononono! Oh dear!  Her eyes… her face… she… your mom Luna… she… she was in that same trance-like state that you saw back at the prison… oh dear heavens!
>You gulped and gathered all the courage that you could… with a deep breath and an exhale… you walked towards your mom and gently, very gently touched her right front hoof…
“M-M-Mom?”
>In the exact moment that your hoof made contact with hers… your mother got engulfed in some  wicked green flames… revealing… AAAAAH!
“C-C-CHRYSALIS!”
>You tried to cast a shield spell, but… but nothing happened! You tried again… and, this time you couldn’t even feel the warm feeling of your magic flowing through your body… no…it couldn’t be… your magic wasn’t working! But, why!
“W-WHAT’S GOING ON?!”
>You could see Chrysalis’ laughing at you, you could hear her laughter… but why… why you could also hear the sounds of ponies screaming coming from every direction?!
>You narrowed your eyes at that monster, and …oh god… her body was even more disgusting than her face…
>She was as tall as Celestia but much, much thinner… the legs of the creature were filled with holes for some unholy reason.
>And… upon a more detailed inspection, it was clear that this monster… didn’t have any fur… you were sure that Chrysalis had an exoskeleton of some type…
>Now that you looked at the monster, it had a green carapace-like thorso where her wicked, bug wings came from… this creature… this monster couldn’t be described as any other thing than the anti-alicorn
>You tried to freeze her with a spell, to teleport away from this vision of Tartarus… but your magic wasn’t working… you were powerless… and the screams… agony, despair, anxiety, hopelessness were being carried with them… and they just got louder by the second
>Chrysalis though, made her horn to glow, and using her magic, she picked you and cackled maniacally ”AHAHAHAHAHAH! Foolish child! Don’t you see what you have done?! You have given Equestria to me! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“W-What…”
>Chrysalis banished… and the darkness with her, making way to…
“Oh… oh sweet heavens… please… please no”
>To Canterlot being engulfed in flames as hordes of changelings few across the reddish sky laying waste all over your beloved home…
“I…I don’t understand! What the hay is happening?! When did the changelings invade Equestria?!”
>”AHAHAHAHAHA!” Chrysalis landed behind you “Fool! Can’t you understand?! This happened because YOU failed! AHAHAHAHA!”
>As your heart sank and started to hyperventilate, you took a step back and gazed on the hellish landscape.
>You saw Canterlot and the castle being destroyed, ponies were captured by changelings, the royal and night guards fighting bravely to stop this madness, but ultimately being overpowered by the invaders… and your mothers… they… they were… no….
>You drop to the ground, tears flowing like a waterfall down your face
“I-Is this really m-my fault?! B-But why?! I-I didn’t do anything I-!”
>Chrysalis stomped her hoof, making the ground tremble ”Silence, you insolent fool! This all happened because-“
>But the creature got interrupted by a loud voice that roared across the landscape… it was your mom Celestia’s voice ”That is enough Luna!”  And with your mom’s angelical voice, the nightmare went away, leaving just Chrysalis, you…. And the never ending darkness
>Your mom then materialized out of thin air and glared at the monster “We were supposed to give our son a lecture, not traumatize him!”
>Chrysalis then raised an eyebrow “Which is exactly what I am doing. Because you see Celie, what you see right now, is called a “symbolical message” which is how we do things in the dreamscape!”
>Your mom Celestia rolled her eyes and let out a small groan “Oh puh-lease! Ever since we saw that play when we were fillies, you have always, AAAALWAYS managed come up with the most over-the-top ways to convey the most simple messages…”
>Celestia then placed her hoof on her forehead and shook her head “I swear Luna, one of these days, your little theatrics will come and bit you in the flank”
>Chrysalis frowned, and then, with a blinding blue light, she transformed into your mom Luna ”That is not fair, Celie! I don’t criticize the ways in which you handle the lessons that you impart on our subjects! So I just ask for you to do the same with my methods!”
>Wait, wait, what?! Luna?! Oh… OOOOH… sheesh… you kinda forgot that you were in a dream… and your mom wanted to speak with you
>”Luna…” Celestia gave her a stoic look “When I give a lecture to a pony, I don’t summon a giant snake to eat them and then call that symbolism!”
>Luna gasped and quickly regain her composure, replying to her sister in a sarcastic tone ”No…you just send Twilight and the elements of harmony to do the job, and then proclaim that it was all part of a big lesson that you had planned”
>Celestia narrowed her eyes and growled “Low blow…”
>Well… seems like those two were getting into a rather… unpleasant discussion, so the wisest move would be to remain silent… still
“H-HEY! That ain’t cool, mom! I almost thought that I was a goner back there! Just… WHY did you do that?!”
>”Awwww, you too my child?” Luna dropped her head in disappointment “Can’t you see that I was trying to give you a lesson?”
“Yes… that Chrysalis is evil and dangerous… and I already knew that by just looking at her the first time, you didn’t need to almost scare me to death with that vision!”
>”Almost?” Your mom Celestia gave you a little smug grin as she raised an eyebrow “Had I arrived a couple seconds late you would’ve wet yourself, my dear”
“Th-that’s not true! I-I was going to come up with a way to grind Chrysalis into tiny bug bits!”
>Your mom shrugged “Whatever you say, my dear… now…I do agree that Luna went overboard with this, and we will have a very long conversation about it” Celestia then glared at Luna who just rolled her eyes and shook her head.
>”But…” Celestia then looked at you “We do have something to talk about; my dear… and I do hope that you are well aware of the importance of this conversation…”
>You shrugged and replied with a calm tone
“You mean about the changelings right? Yeah, kinda figured it out when Aegia told me that mom Luna wanted to speak with me”
>”Yes, and no…” Celestia said with a cautious tone “Before we get to the main subject, I have to address a rather… difficult topic, but you have to be warned” she then sighed and gave you a very serious look that was borderline terrifying “For something as important as what we are about to discuss, it is imperative that we address it not as your mothers, but as the rulers of Equestria, do I make myself clear?”
>You took a step back, gulped and slowly nodded
“Y-Yes…”
>Your mothers looked at each other and nodded, then Celestia walked towards you and looked down at you with a serious gaze “Anon. Prince of Harmony. By sneaking into a maximum security prison and releasing a prisoner, you have broken the equestrian law” she stomped her hoof on the ground, making the world to tremble and shatter “And for that, you shall face a trial, right here, right now”
>Wait… wait… what was going on?! A trial?! Why are they looking at you like that?! Why did they become so serious all of the sudden?! Why…. Why were you so scared?
>You took a step back and turned away, but Luna was right behind you, looking down at you with that serious and scary look
>“But your crimes extend even further than that…” Luna stomped her hoof too, and just like with Celestia, the world shattered more “Your dreams and memories have revealed that you have a bond of friendship with a changeling that goes by the name of Scrappy.”
>You tried to open your mouth to protest, but no sound came from it… which made your fear to only increase even further… and also made your mothers to look even more intimidating
>Luna shook her head ”Any objection that you might have about these subjects is pointless. We are aware that this “Scrappy” does not belong to our dimension, but nevertheless, you have made friends with an enemy of Equestria.”
>Celestia sighed and looked down at you with sorrowful eyes ”Through your memories, we have seen everything with our own eyes, we have a letter signed by a top officer of the equestrian forces that confirm this story, and the evidence of your transgressions is inside the castle, isn’t she? It is quite clear that you are guilty of the crimes that you are being accused of, but  before we pass our judgment, you may have one and only one chance to justify yourself, to let us know why we shouldn’t punish you…”
>Your eyes opened wide as your voice shattered with a surprised…
“P-P… punish…me?”
>”Yes…” Luna nodded “You have broken the law, and unless you have a very good justification for your actions, then you must receive a punishment…”
“B-But… I…I…”
>You dropped on the floor… what were you supposed to do? Your mothers… they…. They were being serious… you… what could you do?
>This… this had gotten out of control… maybe if you beg for mercy… maybe if you drop everything and return Starlight to prison so she… so she…. No… if you do that… if you do that then she will be executed by those monsters…
>And… oh, heavens! You just did what you thought was necessary! You couldn’t let Starlight to be destroyed! You MUST stop the changelings from harming the ponies that you love… to harm the ponies that you must protect…
>”Well, Anon?” Celestia asked “Don’t you have anything to say?”
>Because… Because you can’t let Equestria to fall… you did all of that because you wanted to make sure that your country, your home wasn’t in any kind of danger…
>”Should I remind you, Anon, that if you don’t come up with a proper justification, then we shall accept that you don’t have one?” Luna said with an impatient tone
>And that is… because… you… you are the prince… and… and…
>”Very well...” Celestia sighed in disappointment “given that no proper explanation was given, then we shall-“
>You interrupted your mother by gathering all the strength that you could muster, even when you were still looking down and lying on these dark waters
“You are right… you are absolutely right…”
>Celestia raised an eyebrow and replied with mild curiosity ”Excuse me?”
>You raised your head and yelled
“I said you’re right!”
>You slowly got up… and felt some tears running down your face
“Yes, I broke into that prison! Yes, I freed Starlight Glimmer! Yes, Scrappy is MY friend!”
>Luna huffed “So you confess, then?”
“YES! And I also confess that I regret nothing! Because… Because I couldn’t just stand there while Equestria is in danger! Because even when she tried to harm me, even if she was a convicted criminal, I couldn’t just stand there and let Starlight to be executed! And yes! I am friends with a changeling! But who cares what he might be?! Scrappy has a lot of love, friendship and kindness inside his heart just like any other pony! Even if he’s under the rule of that hideous monster, I will still call him my friend!
>You wiped your tears and looked at your mothers with determination
“And I don’t care about that dumb punishment either! I… I…”
>You took a deep breath and the yelled
“I don’t care what happens to me! It is my duty to protect the dreams and hopes of every pony in Equestria! It’s my destiny to keep harmony going! And if I have to stand against the world itself to save all of that… then…THEN SO BE IT! I will protect my subjects from anyone who tries to take away their happiness, their dreams, their love, their harmony… no matter the cost… because that is my duty as their prince.”
>”Seems like you have chosen your path…” Celestia walked towards you, her wings were extended, and her face had a powerful look that you couldn’t put into words “Very well then, I have just one thing to say to that…”
>Before you could react, Celestia pulled you into a warm hug as she gently nuzzled her muzzle across your neck “Why do you have to grow so quickly, hmm? Why can’t you stay as our adorable and innocent colt a little longer?”
“W-WHAT?!”
>You broke the hug and looked at your mother with utter confusion
“M-Moooom… you are being kinda… weird… I-I’m afraid that I don’t understand what you’re talking about… did… did I do something wrong? A-Am I going to get punished still? Because if so, then-“
>”There was never such thing as a punishment, my child…” Luna calmly said as she joined the hug and nuzzled her muzzle on your mane “We could never bring ourselves to harm the one we love the most…”
>”That is right… I am sorry if we scared you with that little act, my dear…” Celestia sniffled as she wiped out a tear “I know that this is a poor justification but… we wanted to see if your determination was real and well…”
>Luna sighed and kissed your head ”As usual, you have far exceeded even our wildest expectations… and even when my heart screams that I must stop you from going onwards with this dangerous trial that lies ahead of you…”
>”The reality is that we can’t stop you… you have made yourself quite clear about your resolve in protecting everypony….” Celestia gave you an awry smile “It is just that I kinda wished that you didn’t have to get involved with this… that you could have grown up as a normal colt…”
>You let out a chuckle and let yourself to be overwhelmed by the joy that was your moms’ cuddles
“Well…what did you expect? We are not exactly a normal family… and I’m far from being just another colt”
>”And you may be right in more ways than just one, my child…” Luna softly replied “It is true that you are not the natural son of Celie’s or me by a mere technicality, but…”
>”But it’s just that, a technicality…” Celestia continued “As I told you some time ago… I believe in destiny, and I believe that it was precisely that what brought us together… I honestly can’t think of anypony else that we could call our son…”
>Luna giggled as she nuzzled once more into your mane “Because really, there’s nopony else in the whole wide world that we could love more…”
>Celestia stood up and took a deep breath ”But it is for that reason that we are worried about your safety, this is something that you have never faced before my dear, the changelings are a major threat for Equestria, and this is not something that we would feel comfortable for you to face alone…”
>”My child…” Luna gave you a stern face “While we are very aware of your natural talents, and how crystal clear it is for everypony that you are nothing short of a prodigy. The attitude that you are taking is a dangerous one.  The changelings are not a threat to be taken lightly…”
>Celestia nodded, giving you that same stern look “I agree completely, you have to understand the risks that you are taking, my dear. Please, I know that you usually have this attitude that could only be described as…” She tapped her chin “how do I put it?”
>”Overconfident? Arrogant?” Luna stepped in, trying to help Celestia with this “Or what is that term that ponies of that era now use? AH, YES! Smug! That is what you were trying to say, am I right Celie?”
“H-Hey!”
>”Meh…” Celestia shrugged “In all honesty, all of those adjectives could fit, but the point is, you can’t let your guard down if you plan on facing the changelings…”
“I-I know that! Sheesh, I’m no dumb! And besides… the two of you are speaking as if my plan involved me to have a direct confrontation with Chrysalis…”
>You mom Celestia gently tilted her head in confusion as she said “Come again?”
>”Yeah…” Luna rubbed the back of her neck “I am afraid that I did not understand your words, my child…”
>You gently rolled your eyes as you gave your mothers a little smug grin.
“You seriously didn’t think that I would do something as stupid as say, march onwards to the changeling hive and defy Chrysalis to a duel, right? Come on moms, I actually have a plan, and lemme tell you, it is pretty good…”
>And as so, you told your moms everything, from the events that happened in the prison, to the information that Scrappy gave you, and finally, the plan that you had devised…”
>”I have to be honest with you, my child…” Luna sighed “After the heroic words that you said with so much passion, I was led to believe that you… would do something a little more heroic, and while that plan is… brilliant… it is also the opposite of the heroic antics that I was expecting”
“Well…”
>You shrugged
“What I said was true, I am willing to do anything for our subjects… but that doesn’t mean that I will charge against our enemy… not if we can avoid that“
>Celestia let out a chuckle as she gently caressed the back of your neck “I kinda agree with Luna, and don’t take this the wrong way, my dear, but… while you are certainly many wonderful things, you definitely aren’t a “hero colt””
>You cringed when your mom said that title… even got offended by for some reason… you rolled your eyes and let out a groan
“Mom… please… that title sounds really, really lame… but whatever… I have no intentions on facing Chrysalis and the changelings on an epic duel, I mean, come on! How in Equestria could I ever do that?! I don’t know any offensive spells, and while I train daily, Scootaloo always beats me without sweating, and she only joins the trainings every two weeks or so!”
>You sighed and looked down at your hooves
“Protecting Equestria IS my responsibility, but I can’t do that on my own… even if I wanted to… the only advantages that I have are my mind and my magic… but I’m just a colt… I still can’t cast anything that would help me against the changelings, but that’s okay, because I am supposed to be a leader, right? My strength comes from my allies, my friends, my family and every pony in Equestria… without any of that… I’m just the miserable pony that I was before I met you…”
>You looked at your mothers with pleading eyes
 “Even when my plan is not flashy or spectacular… it is very optimal and covers virtually all of our bases… and I think that’s what we need now… we need to be as efficient as possible if we want to prevent this invasion from ever happening…”
>Luna gently kissed your forehead and replied in a kind voice “You are underestimating yourself, my child… you are more than the strength of your subordinates… you are more than just a little colt who desires with all his heart to be worthy of being called a prince by others… with that in mind…” Luna chuckled “As I said before, I find your plan to be quite brilliant… very well, I will tell Moonlight to alert the Night Guard and-“
>”No…” Celestia quickly interrupted Luna as she shook her head “Alerting the Royal and Night Guards right now could destroy any advantage that we have on the changelings…”
>”Hmmm…” Luna tapped her chin “You may be right Celie… we still don’t know how deep the changelings have gotten inside our ranks, so making sure that both Guards are clean from those insects must be a top priority…”
>Luna then gasped and looked at Celestia as she came to a realization “And how can we be sure that a changeling spy hasn’t already informed its Queen that Starlight is at the castle?! What if they attempt to silence her?! We need to get our son out of there!”
>”Don’t worry my dear sister…” Celestia calmly replied “In the letter that she sent, Aegia indeed informed that she had that exact same concern, and as such she has kept Starlight hidden from any guard and castle staff…and trust me, she’s the best at that.”
>”As for our son’s security…” Your mom Celestia made a smirk “The changelings would be pretty stupid to try their luck against one of the best elements in the entire equestrian forces, a very powerful unicorn, and two spirits of chaos that I’m sure, would protect Anon with their own lives… but…”
>Your mom Celestia then looked at you with a stern face “That doesn’t mean that we can stop worrying. My dear… I know that you plan on going to the crystal empire so you can speak with this rogue changeling… but please, before you do that, meet with Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. I will send them a letter explaining the situation. They are your family; I’m sure that they will help you out in whatever way they can”
“Alright! I’m gonna see cousin Cadence! I-I mean…”
>You gave your mothers a military salute
“Understood! Anything else that I need to know?”
>Celestia couldn’t but to giggle and pat your head “It seems like Aegia’s influence on you is a bit bigger than what I thought…” she then gave you a serious look “As for your mission, Prince Anon. Once that you confirm if Thorax is trustworthy or not, you will head to Ponyville and meet with Princess Twilight. You shall inform her about what is going on as well as your plan. Then you will ask her to take you to a zebra that goes by the name of Zecora”
“Huh… I thought that zebras were supposed to live inside isolated cities in a very faraway land… or well… that’s what Miss Sunny Hill taught me at school anyways…”
>Celestia nodded ”Most of them do, but not Zecora. She came to Equestria because she wanted to improve her already fantastic skills in alchemy and to study the Everfree forest. I’m quite sure that she will know a way to help with our bug infestiation”
“Man, that’s so frickin’ cool! I wonder if she- AGH!”
> Your mom Celestia gave you a little bonk on the head ”Focus… This is no time to get side tracked. You can ask her whatever is on your brilliant mind in another occasion, but for now, you have a mission to fulfill”
>You rub your head and huff
“Yeah… Yeah… and… what are you guys going to do?”
>”We will look into ways that might come useful in countering changeling magic and try come up with an attack plan to capture the changelings spies that may have infiltrated the castle…okay, now that everypony knows their part” Your mom took a deep breath “I suppose that we have to say our farewells for now…”
>Luna embraced you like a plushy and nuzzled onto your mane “My Anon… my child… my little star, please be careful, if you sense any danger do not hesitate on retreating… you are my most treasured thing… I would gladly spend another thousand years in the moon if that guaranteed your absolute safety”
“I… don’t worry mom, alright? I swear that I won’t do anything stupid, and if this Thorax turns out to be a bad guy, then I’m sure that either Discord or Eris will transform him into a toad before he can do any nasty bug thing”
>”I know that you won’t fail, my sunshine…” Celestia said with a soft voice as she caressed your cheeks with hers “But if you get scared or hesitate, even for a brief moment, always remember that whenever the sun bathes you with its warm light on the brightest day…”
>”Whenever the stars guide you when you are lost and the pale moon casts away the shadows of the darkest night…” Luna added
>Then your mothers spoke at the same ”It’s because you have two mothers who are always watching over you, and that they will always love you with all their heart…”
>Before you could say anything, the world started to get blurry… so blurry…. And then… you woke up in Eris’ arms… flying above a magnificent city made out of crystal…