Thread 108: Stories 16-30

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>Pommel
"Daw"
~~
"YAR HAR FIDDLE DEE D-"

SLAM

"GAH!"

>Daw? what the hell was...why are you in a wooden box waving a flag?

"No reason"

>Uh huh

"No reason at all"

>...can I join you?

"Ye certainly can!"

FWUMP

>ALRIGHT FIRST MATE DAW, WHERE ARE WE GOIN' TO SAIL TODAY?

"TA THE END OF THE OCEANS!"

>THEN LET'S GO!

>"YAR HAR FIDDLE DEE DEE! BEING A PIRATE IS ALRIGHT WITH ME! DO WHAT YOU WANT BECAUSE A PIRATE LIVES FREE! YOU ARE A PIRATE!"

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OOCO
>AJ
“Celly”
____

>Hey, Cells.

“Hey, bane."

>...

"You know, as in bane of my-”

>Yeah, yeah, yeah, got it, anyway… remember the creature that nearly came through the portal that one time?

“…Truthfully? You’re going to have to be a whole helluva lot more specific than that, dear. Lots of creatures come from lots of portals around this place. I need some characteristics here, a formal name, height, did it have tentacles? Spikes? Vomit lava? Help me out.”

>Erm… the… the green one? The tall, lanky green one? Question mark on it’s face?

“…”

>…Ah’ bucked it back through ‘fore it had a chance to do anything?

“…”

>…Then y’all chucked a pineapple right after? Blew it up?

“…”

>…Same green as yer’ double mint chocolate cookies from-

“Ah, yes! Now I remember!”

>Sad.

“Okay, on the same page now. What about it?”

>Nothin’, jus’ wanted to see how odd yer’ memory functions in response to snacks. Y’all can’t remember ribbon cuttin’ events, public appearances, meetin’s with ambassadors- hell, ya’ barely remember to lift the sun half the time, but y’all can go back thaaaaaaat far when it’s connected to a snack.

“…”

>…

“Am I supposed to be seeing a problem with that? I’m not seeing a problem with that.”

>Didn’t think ya' would.

"Well alright then, next subject! Down for some cake?"

>Like eighty-eight flats, Cells, let's go.

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OOCO
>AJ
"Celly"
~~~~~

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

>You know what Ah did.

"Oh, I have eyes, I just want to hear it from your mouth before I blow your jaw clean off that mouth!"

>Look, we're having a bit of an obesity problem, and you aren't helping. In fact, you might be causing it directly.

"HOW!?"

>...

"I'm not that bad!"

>...

"Choke on an apple."

>Just go on a diet until Ah' can convince those kids that ya' don't eat six hundred pounds o' sugar but not turn into a whale. Ya do, know ya' do, but just lemme convince them otherwise.

"...it's all I have to stay sane..."

> Well, then find somethin' else Fer a week.

"....SHINYYYYYY! GET IN THE TUB AND CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE!"

>... Don't think too hard about it, AJ, just.... don't think about it... please don't think about it... brain no... dang it.

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OOCO
>SA
"Celestia"
~~~

>Don't you think this is going too far?

"Shiny, I have no cake. You understand me? NO. CAKE. I have no cake FOR A WEEK. I'm going into withdrawals, I'm seeing spots, I'm thinking about how nice it would be to own a one story cottage out in the edge of the Pegasi falls for Mother's sake!"

>...That actually sounds kind of nice...

"This is how I cope, you understand me!? This is what I use to have two damn minutes to myself when I'm not listening to crying, whining, creening little ponies with the brainspan of GOPHERS! I need this, this whole thing right now, and I need it more than I ever have before! Now, either you can help me, or you produce something else I can put in my mouth and get creme filling out of. I will take it, and I will be happy."

>Alright, alright! We'll do the bath thing.

"Good!"

>...Sounded like Chrysalis right there, want you to know.

"Chrysalis has NOTHING on what I would do in that situation!"

>...

"...What?"

>Nothing, nothing... just hope that water is cold.

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>Cadence
"Crystal Ponies"
'??'
~~~

They had been waiting.

Of course they had, to think there was any chance one of them would not need, demand, answers, was madness. So, there they were.

All of her Empire, all of her subjects. Standing before her again as she walked to the rise that let her look down to all of them in turn, look down to every face staring up at her, held back by her guards to prevent them from reaching the castle, and looked overhead by her airforce, with one in particular giving her a pained glance.

Beyond her guard, they looked to her, her subjects.

Staring as if they had never done so before.

>I'm sure... you're all looking for answers.

It would have been an insult, had she not spoken so sincerely. But from her, there was an honesty to it, just enough that none took it to mean in such a way.

>I have them. But I do not know how you will react when you hear them.

She winced internally as yet again her words came off to treat them as simpletons, children at best. Her greatest power, perhaps her only real power, to speak and be heard and be seen, was failing her. The single ability for which she had pride, and it slipped through her hooves as easily as if she were the changeling that had done so much for those below.

She was falling, failing again.

All she could do was hope not to drag anyone else down with her.

>But first off, there is one thing that must be said. I have to tell you this now, before the suspicion grows any further. It is not what some of you fear. This... situation, is not what you think the worst of it could be. You are not being invaded or anything like that, do not turn on the changelings we've let in, because, in truth... the only one you should think badly of, is me.

She sucked in air deeply through her nostrils, her eyes watering on their rims as she prepared what would be her final dive. This, and all that it would have with it, might be her end.

She could only hope the drop would be quick, nothing more.

>I have not been replaced by a changeling, we have not been taken over in secret, I just... am not a very good princess.

A stunned noise echoes off the crystal walls of their homes as they muttered and spoke to each other, squeaking like freighted animals to one and all.

>It's nothing as amazing as some secret plot, it's nothing as shocking as it was at my wedding, it was simply... I am not a good princess, at all.

"What does that even mean!?"

She did not blame the desperation in his voice. To hear this, to watch his reality and perceptions shatter, to know that she is the one who did this, took away any inclination to ask him to calm down in the slightest.

>...I've not been a very good princess, I've not been a very good friend, or... much of anything really. Because, simply put... I haven't been doing any of it.

Her hoof waved out gesturing to the new buildings, to the shining place their land had become since it's ressurection.

>It looks beautiful, doesn't it? It looks like something I would see in a dream... perhaps did, a time or two. It looks big and shining and wonderful... and I didn't do any of it.

More shocked noises, more gasps, more of the betrayal and the hurt.

>When I arrived here, I didn't know how any of this worked. Not the taxes, not the city planning, not anything. Princess Celestia had tried to teach me in my youth, but I never thought I was actually going to rule a country, I never thought I was actually going to be in charge of such things. So when I came here... I didn't know how to do any of it.

It hurt, to say it out loud, to take this from them. To watch them dim, and know it was all her fault.

>I still don't.

It hurt.

>I've been trying recently... but I haven't been doing a very good job of it. No, I haven't done any of it. When I came, I had all of this just dropped on my lap and told 'you need to do this', and I couldn't... I just couldn't.

Her eyes sparkled, much like their coats did on their best of days, as she looked to them.

>I couldn't, and I never did. At first, it was just... chaos. I focused on keeping the peace, making sure all of you were happy, and that was all. Things were getting worse. Then Shining stepped up, despite how... awful I had been to him, in the leadup, and he shouldered as much as he could. But it was too much, it was breaking him, it was tearing him down, and I couldn't help him. It was too much... so then...

This was it.

At last, it was time to let it all out.

>...One day, out of a single act of kindness by my dear Shining Armor, someone decided to help.

It was finally time to stop hiding.

No matter how deeply, how selfishly, she wished she could keep it hidden. And she did, she knew it to herself even as she looked for the things say to those hanging on her every word. She did wish she could keep it hidden, she did wish they would never look to her with the eyes they did now, she did wish things could just have gone on forever as they were.

Her, the princess who could do anything, the star that shined in the Empire, the beacon of love not just for them but all the land. She could be everything, and she wanted it to be. It was selfish. It was wrong.

She still wished it.

Even though, she knew, had known the moment Chrysalis had formed a plan to put it all away, a plan she knew without question would have succeeded, that it had to end.

>That someone... is the changeling you all saw today.

It ended, today.

>Her name is Eighteen, and... she has done more for you all then you can ever understand. When something needs done through city planning, construction, registration, salary, allocation of funds, pretty much anything and everything that keeps the Empire running, she has handled it. And she did this without ever believing she would be given credit, without ever seeking to take the praise. She could have, at any point she could have and none would stop her, but she didn't. Because, no matter how much blood sweat and tears she poured into this place, she believed that you all needed a princess to look up to. You all needed someone to believe in.... and for some strange reason, she chose me, no matter how much I didn't deserve it, or how badly I had treated her before.

The gasps could have been heard from the sky, had any been up above the shield. The magnitude of emotion that rolled through the shimmering bodies would have made a changeling drunk from being there.

>I can never apologize enough to the ones I've hurt, and I've hurt them more than I would ever want admit to myself or any others, even you. I can never make up for what I did, how much credit I took when I did not deserve a bit of it, how much of your praise and admiration I took on, I drank in, without ever deserving a word of it. You are not being invaded, my little ponies, you are not being taken over, you were merely... watched over, by those like my Shining, who toiled away until he could stand no longer and collapsed, by those who would work until they were mere shells of themselves, by those who deserved what you said to me, every day, as you thought I was capable of any of it. You were not invaded... you were loved, by those who never asked you love them back, and I'm sorry that in my selfishness, it took this long for me to come forwards, and admit it to you.

The anger, the betrayal, the hurt, she could see it all. She could feel it all. She could taste it all, even. It was as if they learned their parents had never really loved them, that they were adopted and that they weren't getting any presents this year all in one collision of traitorous words.

>I thought, no, convinced myself for the longest time that if you ever knew the truth, that you would let the feelings of depression come back, that it would be harder for you all to keep your spirits up and remain the love in your heart we all need to survive. I told myself that if you ever knew, you would lose that spark you all deserved to have in your life. That love, that happiness, that peace of mind and safety. It was not my choice that you see this today. It was not my choice that you learned the truth, no matter how much you deserved it. But now that you know, I can never take it away from you, never again. This is yours, to do with as you will, and all I can say is...

How a low, almost whisper of a voice could be heard by all had to be magic, it could not be anything else.

>...Don't lose your light because of me. Do not ever doubt in the power of love for my failure, do not think that you were not cared for, or protected, or loved. I'm sorry, I can never say just how sorry I am, that you had to have this happen to you, that I could never live up to the princess you thought I was. I'm sorry, but... but live!

The last word had been a whisper no longer. It had been a scream, as loud as she could speak it.

>Live, for all that is good in this world. Don't let this one truth shake you, you are stronger than that! You are more than that! You can be so much more than what you thought you were. I've seen it, in Shimmer's love to figure skate and never giving up no matter how many times she fell. I've seen it, in Misses Glitz's willingness to bring in a scared, shy little thing and give her a purpose in life no matter how many times she stumbled. In Shatterhoof overcoming his shakes to finally hold his weapon strong and proud, in so many other lives I've been blessed to watch grow. I thought... I thought that if you knew the truth, it would stop that, would make you become what you were on the first day of your arrival into this time, but I was wrong! Please, listen to me now, believe me now even if you never do another word again! I was wrong! You don't have to fall back into despair, you don't have to lose your trust, your life, your light... don't lose it all because of me...

There was no stopping it as she openly let the tears fall, no hiding it any more than she cold the desperation in her voice.

>...not because of me. I'm only a selfish, useless pony who thought everyone needed her, and didn't want to admit she was never needed at all. You don't need a princess like me to be happy... you just need to know someone cares, and they do. They do, so much... they do...

...it wasn't working.

They were still looking to her with betrayal, whit hurt, with suspicion.

They were still losing their light.

>If you wish me to leave, in light of all this. To step down, I will. Just... please, don't lose hat makes you special, what makes all of you... you.

"...We should, right?"

It was chilling, no matter how much she had been expecting it, to hear that.

In no time at all, the crowd was a flurry of conversation she struggled to latch onto any one of.

"We should just... make her abdicate the throne?"

"Well, why not?"

"She did save us all from a thousand years of imprisonment and misery. It's not like anyone forced her to save us."

"Well, yeah, but that's like... hero stuff, not ruler of a country stuff."

"Does that mean we should make her take the changelings with her?"

"That's not very fair, they didn't do anything, and apparently Eighteen has been doing a lot."

"I don't know... that still all seems pretty suspicious"

Her heart seized with every words, mouth going dry and leaving her speechless as she picked out a few lines from the horde. All the while, her guard looked to her with nervous glances, the very real idea they might have to fight back a mob becoming tellingly clear with every passing second. They did not want to fight their neighbors, their families, but... they had a duty.

With every line she could pick up, that duty became more real a possibility.

"I'm just saying, if she did all this but never asked for anything, like... why? What's she get out of it?"

"She might just actually like making us happy, they do feed off love."

"Point, and she does seem genuinely nice..."

"But the princess should go?"

"Wait, should the prince? He apparently did work, a lot of work, didn't he?"

"That's what she said, but can we trust her?"

"Well obviously not..."

"The changelings only came over because of her, right? Should we make them follow her? Don't want to put that burden on the next ruler.

With every line, it became worse, and worse, and worse.

"So, who should take over?"

"Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but... shouldn't one of us?"

"Who!? None of us know how any of this works! Our council was mostly enslaved and or... you know what in Sombra's reign."

"Mostly you know what..."

"Should we lock her up? For lying to us, I mean?"

"Well, she is holding a lot of state secrets..."

This was going so, so much worse than she had ever dreamed.

"I say we-"

'ENNNNNNNNNOOOOOOUUUUUUUGGHHHHHHH!'

The voice, so loud and screeching, was like nails on a chalkboard. It cut off every single conversation, and likely quite a bit of their eardrums as well. In the aftermath, a stunned, confused silence rained down upon them all. Only to be broken, by the clop clopping of hooves as a white figure made her way onto the podium, and next to the princess.

A white, horned, winged figure.

The only one of such on the planet who wasn't Princess Celestia.

'Are you all mad!?'

The voice of Princess Rarity was certainly enough to grab the attention, and the look on her face was certainly enough to hold it.

'I didn't reveal this to all of you so that you could cast her out into the snow like some kind of unwanted pet who had wandered in! Don't you all understand what I was trying to show you!?'

They did not, if their blank stares were any indication.

'All throughout today, I wandered about while posing as her, and you know what I saw? Worship! Worship of her as the princess who could do anything! File your taxes, command the army and even cheer up your children, all in one magic package! Well... she's not!'

"W-we know, that's why we-"

'Don't you understand!?'

Still no, it seemed.

'I did not reveal her to shame her, or to make you be rid of her! I did it to show you the truth... don't you understand? Look at us... we're just mares.'

Three little words.

That was all it took to stop them all.

'We're not gods, that's all I was trying to show you. You all thought that because we were some special species that this suddenly meant we could do anything, everything, and better than any of you could ever do! That we were special! Well... maybe we are special, but we're not special because of these blasted things!'

Pointedly, she flicked her wings, angry as if they were fake.

'She claims she did nothing, that she was worth nothing. And as much as it seems that, as much as she believes that, it's simply not true! It's not that did did nothing, she merely... didn't do everything. No one mare ever could, no matter how powerful, that's all I was trying to show you!... Look, as much as it hurts to learn she wasn't behind the curtain all this time, doing the minutia of your lives, doesn't that mean something that instead, she was always before you? She couldn't be in two places at once, it simply wasn't possible, but when she accepted that handing the paperwork was too much, she did not choose to simply live in decadence... like I did..."

The former unicorn felt her mouth go dry, a stray hoof poking flesh with only a little give where before had been... considerably more.

'She... she did what I should have, and she went out to you, her people, and made your lives better with the direct hoof and the kind ear only she could provide. She used that belief that she could be anything, and she used it to have you trust her to solve problems you might not even have spoken were it not for that! She isn't useless... she just... wasn't everything, that's all... and she did try. I personally have been watching her struggle to learn what takes most their entire lives in just a few short months, watching her cram and fail time and time again, just so she can help you better. I've been watching, and knowing that she only wishes to do this so she could live up to some sort of impossible standard! It can't be done! It can't be! We aren't gods, we aren't invincible, and we don't have powers beyond your comprehension! We are mares... we're just mares...'

She was seconds from weeping, barely holding it in, barely staying strong.

'... I went about this the wrong way, I see that now. I didn't think, only acted. I did it so you would all know, so you would understand. We're not so far beyond you, we're not beings without compare... we're just mares. And we're trying to make your lives better, she's trying to make your lives better, and she's been succeeding. Am I wrong?'

It was strange, to watch so many try to think all in tandem, all at once.

To watch none of them bring up a single denial of this truth.

'No, of course I'm not. Your lives have been in more comfort and safety now than they have ever been, period! And it's only getting better! They are doing right, all of them. That's all I wanted you to know, that it was not one single, untouchable being that made your life what it is now, that made your city what it is now. Any one of you can be like this... any of you. Don't toss her aside because of what I showed you. Embrace it. Your princess is not a god, she is only a mare... but she is a mare who loves you, and wants to help... I'm not asking you to forgive her, simply... give her a chance.'

A thousand questions asked, a million debates raging so loudly she could not hear a single word of it. Could not make out any of it, what they thought, what they wanted to happen. She couldn't follow it, lost in a sea of words.

Slowly, like a hurricane losing it's force, it lost it's momentum, and it stopped.

"I... guess she didn't actually do anything like... illegal?"

"Nothing impeachment worthy, I guess? She didn't directly say she did everything, we just assumed it."

"And everything is just... so much better. All the streetlights are lit on time, no potholes or cracks..."

"Plenty of available healthcare, transportation, food...'

"And she has helped me out..."

"Me too."

"And me..."

"Should we really, like... stop that? Do we want this to stop?"

"I don't, I like the fact the guard don't scream at a pile of smoke anymore."

"And my tax return gets filed on time."

"And I could get some advice on my... erm... problem."

"...Huh."

That seemed to be the consensus, 'huh'. With every examination, they found less and less reasons to be rid of her, especially if it meant that perhaps the real one behind the change would leave.

Eventually, it all just... came to a close.

"...Well, I'm not kicking her or her husband out."

"I guess not? Not until we have someone better, at least."

"I'm sure as tartarus not kicking out Eighteen, she's nice."

"It's not nice, but... I can't see any reason to upheave it, yet."

"Yeah, this... has been working? It's been working I guess."

"I'm going home, I don't even understand this crap anyway."

"Fuck politics, I just care if it works. It's working, so who cares."

One by one by one, they left, heralded off with the help of the guard if need be, but never forced.

They all just... left. The fight gone out of them, the battle taken from their sails, they just left. Accepting that the lie had hurt, but it was not worth anymore fighting. There were no cheers of acceptance that she was their Princess after all, there was no heroic swelling of music to accompany her victory, there was no feelings of love washing over her to make everything all better and let her know she was really needed after all, there was none of that.

There was no victory, only the absence of failure.

She felt them, the stares they gave her on their way out, the bit of a look that said they no longer trusted her, or thought her as they had. She was, as Rarity had declared...

Just a mare. To all of them, she was just a mare.

Nothing more.

'Cadence?'

She was lost as the palace streets before her became empty. Gorgeous in their structure, but with nothing of note atop them. Pretty, but empty.

Much like she herself felt right now.

'Darling? Are... are you alright?'

Crystal was beautiful, she knew. Shining, shimmering and quite a sight to hold, but useless unless someone with more skill took heed and controlled it.

'...I'm sorry...'

That, she realized, was her. A shining, beautiful face of support, but nothing to create unless the right hooves held it, and used it.

That was her.

...But it didn't have to be.

>This is wrong.

She had been given gifts that most could only dream of. She had been forgiven, long after she deserved it so.

It hit her, all at once. That her people did not ask more of her, only that she not make things worse... was inexcusable. She could not be just a pretty face. She cannot just be a kind ear.

She had the potential, she must have.

She could not be who she was, anymore.

>I can be more than that.

And by the power of love itself...

She was going to be.

A new day had begun on the land of the Crystal Empire. A new bright sun of love had risen.

She was going to show them, all of them...

The power of Love.

>I can be more.

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 >Chrysalis
"SA"
~~~

"...So... Big mob out there."

>Very big.

"Very big and angry."

>They are that.

"...Chrysalis?"

>Hm?

"Did you mean what you said?"

>Be more specific.

"What you said about... not sticking around, if this goes bad, did you mean that?"

>...

"Because of course, I'm going. I don't think that was even up for questioning, certainly wasn't up for debate. I'm going, if she is. I'd follow her off the side of the earth and into space beyond... but you don't have to."

>...

"You have safety here, you've got a home now for your changelings, are you really ready to give it all up so soon? You don't have to go. You can still see us, whenever you want, and still keep your changelings safe."

>I know.

"So..."

>So... I don't want to go...where you all aren't.

"..."

>Does that surprise you?

"... Not anymore."

>...

"Sot that's it then?"

>That's it, then.

"...Okay."

>Okay?

"Yeah... it's okay."

>...

"...Chrysalis?"

>...

"Lets hope we don't have to go anywhere."

>We'll be fine if we do.

"Yeah... I guess we will."

>...Shining?

"Hm?"

>...We'll be fine...

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NC

>OH! I See! You're in the middle of doing something silly already. My turn!

>Ahem. Everyone? may I have your attention? I alicornized twilight and Applejack so they could do my job because I'm tired of dealing with all of you gopher brained morons and I just want to eat cake and get laid! I alicorned Rarity out of Spite because Applejack was annoying me with everything I'd done 'wrong.' and now I can't alicorn shiny because the ability is on cooldown after being misused!

'...what the fuck?'

"WORST. PRINCESS."

-I'm not sure theirs a BEST Princess.-

+Stalliongrad has it right! Eviserate the proletariat!!+

=Er...no. That's us. You want to eviscerate the bourgeoisie...=

+...EVISCERATE WHAT HE SAID!+

>Oh my this is fun! When does Chrysalis mindwipe them all so someone else can have a go?

>Shiny? Why is your eye doing that twitching thing?

~MIIIIINNNNDDD ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTZZZZZZZ~

BOOM~

>...Erm-

~Yeah, think I messed up somewhere in there. Not supposed to explode.~

>CHRYSALIS!

~...~

>Now how's Shiny supposed to have a turn!?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC
>32
~~~

SLAM

>OH COME ON! When I do it, it's all "Oh 32 you need to get your shit kicked in! When they do it, uh... wait, are all their heads exploded?

~Sorry!~

>...Huh. Guess I did get off easy.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC
>Applejack
"Pommel"
~~
Knock Knock

Applejack froze, pen paused on the paper, as she felt true fear. Very few people knocked on her door

>Come in

It opened quietly, somehow giving off an air of respect to the rooms owner, which meant she could relax, it wasn't 29, the door would have somehow sounded prissy had it been.

"Princess Applejack? Got a question"

>AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LUNA STOP THIS AIN'T FUNNY LET ME OUTTA THIS NIGHTMARE!

"It's just a simple question..."

>Simple? okay phew simple is alright, nothing life changing alright?

"Do we have a Navy?"

>A what

"You know? A Navy? ships carrying troops and munitions across oceans and through rivers?"

>uhh...

"So we don't, why?"

>Equestria is... landlocked?

"No it's not, and even if it was there are several rivers throughout it"

>Ah... ah don't know sugarcube, I suppose we should form one, but... uh... who would lead it?

"...You asked to the Captain of your Guard who is dating an Ex-pirate who wants to prove herself"

>Ya sure about that?

"If there is one thing I am sure of it is that mare and her willingness to be on a boat"

>...huh, let me think about that one and ah'll get back ta ya, ah gotta talk with the other princesses about this

"Of course, thank you"

He left, and Applejack was left wondering how she had missed that while signing form #100021 of the day.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>SA
"Cadence"
'18'
[Chrysalis]
{42]
~Twilight~
(???)
~~~~

>Well, at least our whole kingdom didn't collapse into riots?

It was his best joke. Hence why he had not chosen a life as a comedian.

'So, again, I need to doublecheck-'

"They're not going to ask you to leave your position, Eighteen. Or the Empire, or just in general."

'...So just to triple check-'

[My plan would've worked.]

{I knew they would accept you. Never held a doubt for a moment.}

~Which is why you ordered the guards to stand at the gates?~

{...I didn't want them to scuff the floors. And the terminology is 'requested', not ordered, as I am not in a position of authority in the Crystal Empire military. I am a leader of the changeling army, and thus would have a conflict of interest in such an event.}

~Riiiiight... So, um... about Rarity...~

>Well, she did come help out at the end, and her reasoning makes sense...

'But she also nearly caused a revolution and screwed us all out of a home because she got a crazy thread crossed in her brain.'

~I'm sensing some remaining hostility.~

'Dunno what you mean!'

{Her actions are rather politically unfavorable, this could be seen as an act of aggression against the ruling class or against any allies of the changelings, who she gets into public arguments with.}

'If by changelings you mean Chrysalis and nobody else, sure.'

[We can deal with her later-]

~Or not at all! Not at all is an option! She was just trying to help and we can accept that!~

[-First we need to deal with the windfall this is going to leave. Mostly politically and with the immediate subjects.]

>That's going to be... a nightmare.

'So much paperwork.'

"I'm sorry..."

[Apologize later. For now, we need to just... actually? What do we need to do?]

{Well, the information getting out isn't something we can do anything about. Are they asking for investigations? Reparations? Is there something we need to answer for?}

>They seem to just be accepting it, actually. Trust in us is obviously... gnmgm... but on the whole, they seem to think we have their best intentions, or at least some of us do.

~Which is good!~

{Hrm...It actually is good. Until someone raises a formal complaint or asks for action, there is nothing to do. Any preemptive move would imply we were preparing to retaliate, and waiting for them makes it look like we have nothing that needs preparing for. It's possible this scandal will be the talk of the town for a while, but eventually die down.}

"So we just... go back to our lives? Everyone knows I'm a fraud."

>You're not a fraud, Cadence. It's just everyone knows you don't do... everything.

{And what you do contribute is reason enough to accept you. Do not be so hard on yourself.}

~Your subjects love you, they're just... a little lied too, that's all I'm sure.~

"..."

[So... what now?]

>...
"..."
'...'
{...}
~...Huh-~

SLAM!

(Shining! You're not going to believe it, I got a lava cake big enough to RIDE! Chrysalis! Cadence! Twilight! Oh, even you two can come you beautiful bugs, this is going to be amazing!)

>"'[{~..~}]'"

(What?)

"Um, Auntie Celestia... something happened..."

(...I knew being happy was a bad idea...)

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Fuzzy
"Buzz"
'???'
~~~~

>Annnnd, COMING AT YOU LIVE, IT'S FUZZY AND THE BUZZ!

~Fuzzy and Buzz in the morning, 97.1!~
~Hot stuff baby tonight!~

"Our top story toDAY that has me all abuzz, SCANDAL IN THE EMPIRE!"

~ *Repeated airhorns* ~
~WHERE YOU AT!? WHERE YOU AT!?~

>And, to the surprise of all, it's not a sex scandal!

"Not until Fuzzy gets there with some schnaps in him."

~Anehown evah tell ya' yer' a shoild shix?~

"The Empire is reeling as a shocking discovery was made! Princess Cadence... HASN'T BEEN DOING HER JOB!"

~Yeeeeah, if you could just actually do what we pay you for, that'd be greeeeeaaaattt.~

>That's right, Princess Cadence has been offloading royal duties onto, get this, A CHANGELING!

"The me kind!"

>That kind!

~WITH THE BUGS!~

"That's right, she-"

'WAIT WHAT!?'

>...

"...Uh-"

'THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY!?'

'Is... is this serious!?'

'The princess has been giving royal duties to a CHANGELING!?'

>Er-

'WHAT THE FUUUUUCK!?'

~Hoofstan, we have a problem.~

"Y-yes! And that's why we're bringing you the Buzz-"

'OH MY FUCKING FAUST!'

'I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS SHIT!'

'AHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhHHHhhhhhHHHhhhHHH!'

~Right round like a record baby!~

>...Say, Buzz, you know what I'm feeling?

"Hope it's not that poor waitress again."

>OHHHHH!

~The COFFEE is hot! The coffee I said!~

"What we need right now is some musical styling by Coltby Keith! He just released a new single, "One hoof at a time", and we know you're going to love it!"

'EVERYTHING I KNEW WAS WRONG!'

'Hey! No copyright infringement! Parody only!'

"In the name of Love someone hit it already!"

>And not like that one mare did to you!

"Ohhhhh!"

~EVERYONE GET THE FUCK BACK I GOT THIS!~

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Dash
"Sptifire"
~~~~

>...

"Would you believe I didn't do this?"

>No.

"Well, I didn't."

>Oh, so someone else dropped acid in my ice cream?

"Yes."

>...

"..."

>...

"...Aren't you going to investigate who it was?"

>No.

"Ah. Smart choice, probably wouldn't find it."

>...I hate you.

"Aw, sorry Dash... I got tired of making your meals."

>...

"MEEP MEEP!"

ZOOM

>..I hate that pegasus...

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OOCO
>Dash
"???"
~~~~

>...Is that a lava-cake so large you could ride it?

...

>...Nobody to the left... nobody to the right....

...

>...Mayyyyybe a little dip would be just fine for all my hard work-

ZAP

>GAH!

"Our sister has tasked us with protecting this with our lives!"

>DAMN IT LUNA! I was just going to- Wait, with your life?

"Which do you think she needs more, us or the cake?"

>...

"...'

>...Backing away now.

"Good choice."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OOCO
>Pinkie
"Dash"
'Twilight'
[FS]
{AJ}
(Rarity)
~~~

>WELCOME TO PINKIES... Party LOVERS! That's right, for this show, we're going to focus only on parties we love and joining in, not crashing! Nope! No crashing here! Crash free zone!

"..."

>I'm trying, I'm really trying.

'You're succeeding, I guess? No reason to go into the explosion part of this.'

>Right!

[And it would be nice just to have a little fun...]

>Exactly!

{Shoot, why didn't you do this in the first place?}

>Who knows!?

(...This is pretty boring.)

>No.

(Where is the drama, the romance, the action?)

>Noooooo.

(I just-)

>DON'T.

(I just-)

>DOOOON'T.

(...I just don't think your viewers will have fun.)

>I KNOOOOWHOHOHOOOO! BUT DASHIE KEEPS GETTING EXPLODED!

"I do."

>I don't wanna explode Dashie anymoooore!

"...Pinkie?"

>*Sniffle*... y-yeah?

"...go ahead."

>No! Dashie no!

"Go ahead, and.. do the thing."

>But...

"...go ahead."

>...You're the bestest buddy a pony could ever ask for.

"The term... is awesomest."

>It is, Dashie, it is...

'....Soooo-'

>SO SET OFF THE BOMBS!

[Did someone bring bombs?]

>"'[{(...)]}'"

(Huh.)

>Well, shoot! I guess we have no show today.

'This was a great use of all of our time.'

{So much paperwork Ah' didn't do...}

>Sorry!

"....HA!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Pennydrop
"???"
~~~

The airship ride was quiet. Relaxing, almost. A cool sky wafting past them as the clouds rolled by. It was peaceful, exactly what she needed after the event that had unfolded.

This, in all it's peaceful nature, was exactly what she needed.

"Ma'am? Where to next?"

... For about ten minutes, at least.

>... Canterlot.

A businessmare never rests, after all.

She had such... Wonderful news to share with some friends of hers, it would be a pity to keep them waiting.

>To Canterlot... Where the Future is.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________