Thread 83: Stories 16-30

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Pinkie
"Fluttershy"
~~

>...So, we're putting money on that green ball thing being evil, right?

"Evil or just showed her something that's not letting her think straight?"

>I'm betting on it just being evil.

"She's talking like it's just really bad, though. Something about something Chrysalis did?"

>Evil.

"It might be morally grey for once."

>Eeeevil.

"...It's probably just another aritfact that makes someone act crazy, isn't it?"

>Yeeeep.

"Didn't she just make that?"

>Didn't someone, theoretically, have to make all the other stuff too?

"...Whoa."

>Mindblowing?

"Yeah."

>...So, you gonna chaos it up in there?

"And do what? Last time I tried to make a stop sign I messed with time. Imagine me trying to make them stop."

>...Your powers suck.

"Yeah, they're not amazing as Discord makes them look."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Twilight
~~~

>Hmmmm

OUCH! GRAAAH! RAAAARGH! BIFF!

>Uh Huhhh

SMACK! CRUNCH! WAAAGH! BLAMO! KILL!

>I see....

CRASH! SHATTER! SPLAT! WALLOP! AAAAGH!

>...Yes those are definitely her internal organs being garroted around her neck...

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Sombra
"Chrysalis"
'AJ'

>Ok, you have this, you have this. Just need to smack it away from the Princess and hopefully someone will...I don't know, drop an anvil on it or something. CHAAAAARGE!

Tink.

>...oh, I see you've fortified this thing about the immaterial. Fantastic.

"Good going, idiot."

'YEW TOO HUH!? AH'D'VE FIGGERED A SHIFTY LITTLE VARMINT LIKE YEW'D GET IN ON THIS TOO!'

>HEY LOOK A DISTRACTION!

*KA-FLOAT AWAY*

>I'LL TAKE MY PARTICIPATION MEDAL IN THE MAIL!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

~~~

"WILL YOU HOLD STILL!?"

"Do you really not see the problem with that!?"

"Yeah! Hold still! Listen ta' yer' dang bug monster again! Why not!? Ya' listen ta' all her other bad ideas!"

"Will you fuck off for three seconds!?"

"Come over here and someone's gonna fuck off!... You! Ah' meant you!"

"She is not good with the banter."

"She's really good at breaking stuff, though!"

It would have been funny if it wasn't so horrifying.

Applejack, hopping like a demented frog, smashing all four hooves into the ground every time she landed. And barely dodging every time? Shining Armor, scampering like a frightened mouse.

Trailing behind both of them? The limping, lagging changeling Queen.

"If you'd just give me some loving right now I could utterly end her! Give me just a bump, here! A thump! A boom even! I'll take a boom! Just give me some love!"

"I would if I could!"

"Oh, sure, let her drain ya'll all over again! Let her sap the very love right outta ya! That's okay! That's totally fine considerin' she friggen SHOT CELESTIA with it that one time!"

"I only did it the once!"

"GRRRAAGGGHH!"

"Stop making her worse!"

"It sounded better in my head!"

"Ah'm not surprised! That echo's gotta make stuff hard ta' concentrate on!"

"Oh hey, she's getting better at banter."

"WILL YOU FOCUS!"

"FORTY TWO! SUPPORT!"

"Occupied your majesty!"

They spared only a glace, but just one glance was enough for them to see Forty Two, Rarity and Spike tangled in a mass of living, breathing vines.

Vines made out of hamsters.

"...FLUTTERSHY!"

"I was trying to stop Applejack, really! The vines went the other way!"

"Uggggh... TWILIGHT! HELP YOUR BROTHER!"

"Getting a clear shot with you guys hopping around is really hard!"

"Magic grab her!"

"I tried that twice! She just teleports out!"

"OH! SO YER' TAKIN' HER SIDE AGAIN!?"

"I'm not taking her side, or anyone's side! I would just use a stopping spell! I just want you to stop wrecking Shining's castle!"

"HE CAN AFFORD IT!"

"CELESTIA! TALK TO HER!"

"This is an act of war. You get that technically, right now, you're doing war stuff, right? This is literally you, a royal of Equestria, trying to punch in the prince of the Crystal Empire. This is happening. He can literally declare war on us right now, and WE'RE the aggressor in that situation."

"HE'S TOO SPINELESS TA' DO ANYTHIN' ABOUT IT!"

"...You did not just call my bubblehorse spineless."

"WHAT'CHA GONNA DO ABOUT-GLK!"

Like an angry mother picking up her child, the massive alicorn grabbed hold of her by the back of her neck, reared back like she was preparing to jump...

Then fell straight back, and power-bombed Applejack right into the floor.

"...Ouch."

"HAH!"

"REALLY, CELESTIA!?"

"Well, I obviously couldn't shoot you with a laser-"

Applejack vanished in a flash of light, none-too-subtly appearing between the Queen and Prince, much to the former's chagrin.

"No! Ah' mean... really!? She shot you! She almost turned all yer' subjects inta' friggen CATTLE!"

"Racist."

"And now yer' gonna act like us not bein' able ta' stop those friggen superpowers they've got is a bad thing!?"

"Nope, but then again I'm also not going to act like you, in this state, should be the one to decide how to do it. Applejack, you are letting your emotions control you, and I ask that you stop."

"Why!? Ah'm the only one with any common sense around here! Ah'm the only one who friggen cares we gotta buncha mind controllin' lyin' RAPISTS in our castle right now!"

"I don't want to be there either."

"What happened ta' you!? Ya' used ta' care about yer' subjects, or at least ya' pretended too, ain't ya' in the least bit worried about havin' a buncha love-eatin' bein's being lead by a friggen MURDERER!?"

"...No, Applejack, I am not. I am not worried. She's not evil, she's not a monster, and neither are they. Everyone deserves a chance, and I will gladly give it to them. They are fine and you need to stop, right now."

And there it went.

The fabled "Apple family tradition."

The red in her eyes was now both metaphysical, and very, very literal.

And she was about to blow.

"...friggen knew ya' never cared."

If it stung, Celestia didn't show it. She took it in stride...and made a terrible mistake.

She glanced over, to that orb Applejack still held, at that second.

The exact wrong second.

The exact second she could spot a pair of hooves just before they could close over that orb.

"...Snickerdoodl-"

To the one struck, the force of the punch didn't hurt nearly as much as the fact she was being punched by Applejack of all ponies.

"PINKIE!"

Dazed after rolling around head over tail backwards for a bit, the pink party pony was completely unable to do anything at all as Applejack's hooves left the ground, and that one brief moment of uncontrollable, uncontainable rage, a moment when she was too drunk on the anger in her head, the magical images showing her over and over the worst that some beings were capable of, the ideas singing in her mind of how this is justified, and she was totally right to do this. In this one moment, her free hoof was cocked back, and ready to strike.

Beams from all sides came at her, but she was too fast. Magical grips tried to stop her, but they couldn't hold her in time. Power from every single free mind in that room made it's damnedest attempt to make her stop before she could make it any further, but none managed.

Despite the fact that every single being, pony or otherwise, in that room was screaming at the top of their lungs in pleas to her sanity that echoed through the room in loud and amplified already deafening sounds, somehow, and she would never know how, she heard one... single... voice.

"GODDESSDAMNEDMOTHERFUCKINGHIVEMINDGREENSPITWHYTHEFUCKDOIALWAYSHAVETOBERIGHTHEREFUCKYOUTHISISGOINGTOHURTSOMUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuu....uuu...ch?"

What had, seconds ago, been a blow that would have shook the castle became nothing more than... a poke.

A single, tiny little poke to the chest of the one who had put herself between the rapidly less dazed Pinkie Pie.

A tiny little poke that shoved her back in her hovering, flying state than it did to depress the surprisingly soft chitin beneath the crossed forelegs thrown up in a hasty defense.

A poke that was all she could manage at the sight of Chrysalis, Queen Chrysalis, standing there wincing and waiting.

With that moment granted by sheer, uncontrollable shock, it hit her.

And it hit her hard.

"...D-Did Ah' just almost punch Pinkie Pie?"

There was no end to the relief on Chrysalis's face.

"HOOO!... hoo!... I uh... I thought you were going to punch a hole in me."

"Y-yeah... Ah' probably was... but ya' didn't... move, just... like..."

A deathly, uncomfortable silenced filled the room. In her grasp, the orb throbbed, pulsated, raged like a contained hurricane, ordering her to do whatever it took to complete her goal. She was right, and Chrysalis deserved no mercy.

But the orb, as strong as it was, was not as strong as certain other things in Applejack's mind. The thought of just making a break for it and ending this right now certainly seemed tantalizing, but..

Instead... Applejack held it out, almost touching the Queen herself.

"...Ah' think this is yer's. Ah'... don't think Ah' should be holding this right now."

The relief still obvious on her face, Chrysalis too reached out to take it.

"Yeah... don't worry, I'll just take that... and use it perrrrfectly-"

With a WHOOSH! it was gone.

"..."

"...Son of a-"

"Oh no, *I* will be the one using this 'perfectly', thank you!"

All attention that had previously been locked in on what was almost a touching moment of understanding now resided squarely on the yellow, unnatural looking Unicorn on the other end of the room.

"This is my one chance at fixing any fuckup I've done in the last... I don't even know! YOU'RE NOT TAKING THIS FROM ME!"

"...Tell me I'm not the only one who forgot about her."
"Nope."
"Me too."
"Completely slipped my mind."
"I have a concussion..."
"GET AWAY FROM THERE YOU GHASTLY FURBALLS!"
"I have literally never spoken to her."
"It has been a rather big day..."
"Will someone PLEASE just drop an anvil on that thing or something!? Pinkie!? That's your thing, right?!"
"N-no mister birdy, I don't want to go to school, I want mister biggy to spank me..."
"...Ignoring that, SUNSET! Put it down!"

She would not.

And they had all had enough.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"Rainbow Dash"
~~~~~
>Welcome to Sort of Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content does still matter, but some of us are living a double life! Now for our main guest...RAINBOW DASH!!!
Audience applause

"What's up?"

>Question! Since you're a main character and a captain, will you be able to shape up the wonderbolts before Pommel?

"Um-"

>That's the episode for tonight as we try to make it even shorter than the last!

"I'm really trying!"

>We'll talk about it later.
RD wakes up.

"My head hurts..."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

~~~

>I SHALL MAKE IT ALL RIGHT-

THOOM

"...So, we're just going to say she attacked us, right?"

'Sounds good.'

"Good, if anyone questions it.."

Brushbursh

"Just throw 'sunset' into their eyes."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

[Declared Non-Canon, but included for completion's sake.]
~~~~~

Sunset Shimmer's headache slowly subsided with HER PRECIOUS memories, contained within that orb fashioned out of Changeling magic, back within her grasp. Once again, she knew their secrets and tales of terror, searing enigmas and strategic information. The Song of the Hivemind was making her head swim, resulting in her becoming drunk on its power for the third time in her life. But throughout the whispers of power, the hiss of fury and intoxicating lure of might, she hesitated.

Not because of the room full of infuriated ponies and Changeling tactically spreading out and closing in on her, waiting to jump her the moment she moved one way or another. Not because of her increasing fear of punishment and loss of control.

And certainly not because a voice remarkably sounding like Variolus whispering into her head, “Hey, want to hear the most annoying sound in the world? EEKEEKEEKEEEKEEEKEEEK-”.

That last one would need thorough analysis once this was over.

No, Sunset Shimmer hesitated because she wasn't dumb. Forgotten by the wayside after Shining Armor struck her, her face still swollen by a bruise that was making it hard for her to see out of her right eye -a fact the Changeling dubbed 42 was savvy of and intending to use against her by moving into her blind spot-, the unicorn had some small amount of time to sort her thoughts and just.... watch.

Watch as the previously murderous viper that was Queen Chrysalis seem confused and dazed, watch as her new mentor picked up the almost literal fruit of her painful journey to knowledge and became a raging beast of righteous fury and watch as everyone fell over-another to try and lash out. To hurt.

The original intention had been to wait for the perfect moment to strike, which had been when Applejack had snapped out of her rage and almost hoofed over the orb to Chrysalis. Now that she once more knew what this orb sealed, she was hesitating. What was really important and at stake here?

The monumental secret of the Titan, the whispering madness that was the Hivemind, the power to freely shift forms on a perfect, biological level, means to toy or destroy the mind of others, centuries of Changeling history, plots and intrigue, magic that could twist, bend and deform body and mind... all things within the realm of possibility for unicorns, if far away in the future due to lines being drawn about ethics.

No. In that moment as time slowed, diluted to a precious small drop about to strike the surface of HAPPENING, Sunset Shimmer realized what mattered most about her lost memories. Two things.

One, the reason WHY. Why she did what she did, and why the resurrected Changeling Queen was willing to lie, steal, betray and destroy just for another chance at redemption.

Two, Chaos. The all-consuming, mind-dazing power that infused even the orb and the whole room right now, enough built-up strife accumulating that she swore she could see the growing wisps of mist gather on the ceiling that would herald the arrival of the dreaded Windigos. Chaos, that created, twisted and shook the foundations of everything that made a pony be what they were. Chaos, the Usurper, Chaos, the insurgent, Chaos... the Chessmaster.

With only seconds left before enough power would be focused upon her to bring down a villainous country, Sunset withdrew within the planescape of her mind and crafted a song. Using knowledge from beyond the portal, she fabricated a hastily-worded, badly tuned song of Eris and Apollo, of Strife and Redemption. A song like a lullaby, irresistible to her alone, discordant to anyone else. A song full of hints and secrets, but no specific knowledge to be gained. No trace of Changeling Queens or Magic to be had or found by anyone searching her mind.

A song only she would understand. Maybe, eventually, if she was allowed to ruminate in her isolated cell. But all power, all abilities, all knowledge? Lost. Forever.

Her horn must have been glowing for an instant, for when her senses returned like a bucket of ice water to her face, a colorful array of glowing magic greeted her, ponies and Changelings alike charging up their final solution to the 'Sunset Shimmer Problem'.

Sunset would have liked to look Celestia or Applejack in the eyes as they brought her down, but instead, she only head eyes for the tall, black form of the Queen of Changelings. Their gazes locked, emerald clashing with cyan. The small, minuscule instance as two opponents readied to strike and be victorious or die.

“Knowledge is always earned, never given or taken.”

Her words to be too quiet to be heard over the commotion, only the movement of her lips and what little of Changeling remained within the mare connecting them. But Queen Chrysalis had heard. And understood, if her widening eyes and frantic summoning of her magic was any indication.

Too Late.

With one mighty, painful gulp, Sunset TORE the love magic out of the orb, disrupting its integrity no amount of violence or arcane magic could ever hope to do. It cracked, splintered and exploded into a million scintillating shards. A single, ear-piercing scream of fury and loss rang out, a cloud of warbling vapor shaped like a howling visage emerging and disappearing just as quickly.

Queen Variolus' violent legacy had found its sudden end.

That was enough of a sign for everyone to strike. Shields, freezing ice, constricting force, telekinesis and bodies all slammed into Sunset Shimmer at once before she could even lower her head in defeat.

All of her struggles, her pains, her hurting of others and selfish acts. All for nothing. And she could not even remember why anymore. All.... for naught, but a tune.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Now it could never fall into the wrong hands again. It was a loss for both sides. But, somewhere Sunset realized that no matter how much she'd try, she wouldn't able to keep this knowledge or use it in any satisfactory way.

They were HER memories, HER keepsake, HER knowledge. A part of HER. So SHE could decide what happened to it, not others. Even if it meant losing them, at least she had been able to lose them on her own terms.

Was it petty she felt satisfaction hearing Chrysalis' desperation at losing the single-most greatest, most potent discovery of her past and potential? She felt it was, and undeservedly so as the Queen had not spared her once but twice so far. Yet it was the only pleasant sensation she felt right now. The rest was a lot of pain as a whole lot of bodies piled upon her like she had been the hoofball-player carrying the ball.

"Self-sacrifice. Blegh."

Having lost his final, rebellious pawn to the opposing sides' Queen, Discord took his leave. He had fed enough. He was full... and ready to play another one of his unfinished games at another table.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Zephyrious
"Hilda"
~~~

>Sister? I worry.

"Brother? I'm three seconds from tearing my own eardrums out."

>I'm not joking, I really do worry about our aunt. She seems... rather forceful about all of this, does she not? She has not left father's side for a long time. Likewise, she hasn't let that poor chick breath all that much.

"Do you mean spacial wise, or the fact she chokes him constantly?"

>...both?

"So, what do you want us to do? I'm just happy she isn't following us."

>More like you. She keeps coming up to me and poking me. Says something about our bloodline this or bloodline that.

"Hrm... I'm actually more concerned about that dog thing and the morlock."

>Oh lord yes, that thing irritates the hell out of me.

"Figure mother would bring home something like that."

>I don't mind the morlock too much, even though...

"Yes, I too wish that she would just keep the armor on."

>...You don't suppose-

"No, brother, that is not what the result of inbreeding looks like, I double checked."

>Oh, phew... thought those ponies had some really odd recessive genes.

"I thought they fucked an ogre and that's what popped out."

>...

"Tell me I'm wrong."

>Well, you're not, but still. You can be mean, sister-

SMACK!

>OW!

"Eat with your left claw, a kind cannot leave his blade unattended."

>I have a dagger in my left claw!

"Oh."

>...Aren't you going to apologize?

"No."

>...Are... are they right when they call us weird?

"No."

>Oh, phew... was worried for a second there.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

~~~

At some point in her life, Sunset Shimmer was going to have to come to grips with the fact it had all gone horribly wrong somewhere.

She just would have preferred if it hadn't happened while she was facing down enough firepower to turn her into less mare and more salsa.

"Sunset? Give us the orb, now."

Perhaps it was the can-do-I-can-win-this attitude of the now long gone Variolus, perhaps it was the creeping desperation that made her every bit as drunk as if she had taken enough Cider to put Celestia in the hospital, perhaps it was just a bit of good old fashioned insanity. Whatever it was, it emboldened her to clutch the orb closer to her, and back towards the door.

"Just so you know, I have guards with orders to shoot to kill if you go out that door. I'm not joking, I told them that if anything that looked like you ran out that door, make it dead. You might think this harsh, I disagree. Put the orb down and surrender, or you will be executed by the order of the Prince of the Crystal Empire."

She had very little interactions with the white stallion who was no-nonsesensically glaring at her and sparking his horn dangerously, but from the way everyone shifted uncomfortably all around him she could gauge this was not his normal behavior. Or even close to that.

"We ain't gonna kill 'er-"

"Applejack? I need you to be silent, I am handling this."

If his previous behavior had been off, that one was apparently downright body-snatcher weird.

It hit Sunset pretty hard right there he was probably very angry about that whole wife thing right about now.

"I said, stand down, and return the orb."

"To you... or to her?"

His eyes cut over to the 'her' in question, the changeling Queen staring hard at her orb hungrily, like it was a big juicy... well, she didn't know the promiscuity level of changeling Queens, but if Variolus was any indication they probably weren't overly picky. So, like a big juicy thing that should not be discussed in polite conversation.

"To her."

"SHINING!"

"Are ya'll serious right now-"

"Yes I'm serious, what is wrong with all of you!?"

His voice boomed like a blown out stereo, silencing the few voices that had started to call to him and likely causing mild to moderate tinnitus.

"Okay, am I just the only one in this room that remembers that Applejack was acting really weird a second ago and that this orb thing is clearly changeling magic? I don't know about all of you, but I'd rather the one who gets the orb is the one who actually knows what the hell it is, and maybe, just maybe, can hold it without going bonkers! I don't know what the fuck that thing is!"

"Variolus."

A single word, just one, was enough to send a chill down the spine of a few in the room.

"...Please elaborate."

"That, Shiny, is the mind of Variolus. She merged with Sunset, becoming one with her every thought... and warping her. I, being the kind soul I am, decided to cut it out of Sunset's brain in order to free her from being controlled by that Queen and seal it in the orb... and then it turns out, she's just a bitch who fucking sapped Cadence and then tried to take it. I take full responsibility, I assumed that maybe Sunset wasn't in full control of her actions and that Variolus was controlling her... not so much."

If someone had put a piece of wood next to Shining Armor's twitching eye, it would have caught on fire. If it had been a brick, it would have melted. If it had been the sun it would have turned to ice.

Sunset wasn't about to question that.

"OF COURSE I TRIED TO TAKE IT! You were going to use it!"

"...yeeesss?"

"Chrysalis? Stop talking with her. Talking time is done, now time is either you put down that orb or I am going to walk over there and I will start beating you until you cannot physically hold it."

"I wouldn't do that... she can drain love through contact."

"...How. How, the fuck, can she-"

"Dunno, something to do with that thing she has instead of a heart."

If someone had cast a time-stop spell right then to another version of that room, it would have been utterly indistinguishable if placed side by side with the present one.

"I'm sorry, did you say-"

"INSTEAD of a heart, yes."

And thus... Sunset got to know what it sounded like when multiple hearts broke at once.

"Sunset... what have you done to yourself?"

The stone where her heart should be throbbed, pulsating in pain no matter how she tried to keep her mind off of it.

"I-It wasn't supposed to be like this... I just... I needed to know."

"Sunset, you-"

"Applejack? I said stop. We can talk as much as we want later, during your trial. Give. Her. The. Orb."

Finally, that desperation came back with a vengeance.

"NO! Not to you! Not to any of them! Not to a fucking CHANGELING! You shouldn't have this! None of you should have this!"

"That includes you. Now, I'm going to start counting, and then I'm going to start shooting. One... Two..."

The knowledge was flying through her. So many powers, so many skills, so many things she could not let into the hooves of the changeling Queen. She couldn't, she just couldn't, she couldn't let them have this. So many powers that could help ponies. So many powers that could protect them, enrich them, make them better.

And it was all going to go to those damned changelings instead.

"... f-fine! Maybe Celestia! She can use it! She'll understand!"

The alabaster princess shied away, looking wearily at the sphere that seemed to hunger for her touch, reaching out with it's flowing insides for her.

"....I'd rather not, thank you. If this turned Applejack into an issue, I'd hate to see what it would do to someone like me. Chrysalis can handle it."

"NO! NO SHE CAN'T!”

She began to heave, eyes going wild at being turned down by her old mentor.

"Don't you understand what's in here!? Titan magic! The secret to how they ascend! The Hivemind! The truth of the Hivemind is in here! History of cruelty and death that she'd hide away forever! She'd hide it like she hides everything else! She'll get stronger, pretend she's on your side and then when it benefits her the most she'll turn on you! She'll turn on all of you! It's what a Queen IS! It's what they live for, what they were trained for their whole lives! Changeling Queens are powerful, brilliant, spiteful creatures who will make you wish you had died the moment you met them, instead of watching your whole life be torn apart!"

At what point her voice had changed, none of them could pinpoint for sure.

But oh... it had changed.

"I just wanted her secrets! Secrets so that she couldn't keep it from us, all of us! This isn't hers, it should belong to the world! That's all I wanted, for the secrets to just stop before something else happened! I just wanted the dreams of the Changeling Queen! That's all my dreamstone was supposed to do! But... but she fucked it up somehow! I don't know how! She sabotaged it with... what did Variolus call it... chaos magic! Chaos magic like the FRIEND she supposedly made uses! Oh yeah, total coincidence that she spends so much time with you now and all of a sudden my dreamstone turns on me and shoots me right in the chest! It killed me! I'm DEAD! So no! I'm not giving it to you, or any changeling Queen! Twilight! Take it! Take it and see just what kind of 'friend' she really is! Take it and take a good long look at just what she's capable of, what they're all capable of! You know as well as I do that science should be open, free, used for the betterment of everyone, not just the Queens who won't even let their subjects learn how to read out of fear they'll rise up and overthrow their inept rule! I'm not going to let it happen again!"

She couldn't cry... literally she couldn't, her tear-ducts weren't working properly right there, but if she could... she would have flooded the room.

"...Sure, I'll... take that from you."

She reached out. Sunset pulled away.

Both physically, and... in another way.

"Y-you're... you're going to give it to her."

She had seen it in her eyes. She had seen the betrayal incoming the moment the unicorn stepped forwards and shared an uncertain look with her brother. That was all it took, just a look, and she knew her intentions right away.

She hadn't even had to look to know there was a magical 'glove' over those hooves.

"Sunset..."

"Y-you... you don't understand what they do to you. They don't make it obvious, they make you think they just want what was best for everyone... a-and then they almost make you... almost make you..."

The orb pressed into her chest as the memories flooded her. Both those of the Queen as she prepared to kill the three royals of the Empire, and her own... as she watched helpless.

"...She's not going to stop, Twilight. None of them are. T-the only one who was different was Chitania. She tried... for a bit. But in the end they're just monsters, and you can't make them better. You need to take this so that you can stop them the next time it happens. Take this so that when she finally drops the act, you're ready... and you don't lose anything along the way. Don't believe her. Don't... don't believe her. Just make it worthwhile..."

Strange, she didn't have any tear ducts, and yet...

She could swear she felt moisture on her cheeks as she looked to the prince once more, the one who never had wavered in his cold, hard stare.

He approached her, the time for talking over, and she fell to her backside, looking up to him like a frightened child to a parental figure.

"That doesn't excuse what you did to Cadence, when all she wanted to do was help."

Slowly, the grip on the orb lessened, and eventually it moved away from her chest.

"I... I don't care if you lock me up forever. I don't. I don't care. Just... just... there's so much in here. I gave up so much to learn this, all of this. You can use it. You can use it so it never happens again... nobody like her can ever hurt them again. Nobody like... like me. I lost it all already, just... take it, please. You understand what they're like. You have to understand what they're like. Don't let them lie to you."

His hoof reached out, preparing to take it.

But it stopped, just before it did. It stopped... and he looked to her.

"...yeah, I know what they're capable of... but that's not what she's like."

And he broke her stone heart.

Metaphorically.

At least, before he sighed.

"...and I do know how bad it can get when they're... in there. But Sunset... "

The words left him, he was left with blank air as he floundered around, looking for the right words to put to what he wanted to say. He searched, he pondered, and he thought. But the right words wouldn't come. No flowery description seemed to fit.

So, instead, he went for as simple as he could make it.

"...I am not being mind controlled. I am not being manipulated. I am not a clone. I am not a replacement. I am not a fake. I am Shining Armor, and my mind is clear. And... I care about her, a whole lot, and I trust her."

It was so simple, almost robotic.

And yet, he may have well have spoken a novel of the universe's secrets for the way it made her mind spin.

She couldn't process it, couldn't understand it, couldn't fathom it.

She had kidnapped his wife.
She had taken over his mind.
She had ruined his wedding.
Attacked his home.
Attacked his princess and friend.
And she had even...

But he still said...

"But... but she... she can turn on you."

"That's not exactly a special trait, Sunset. Anyone you trust can turn on you for their own gain... anyone."

Twilight's words resonated with her on a level that seemed both strange, and comically obvious.

"Shinin'... can I..."

The mare who was supposed to be a lot to her, but the more she thought about it... a mare she barely knew. She knew of the one she left behind, but this one... this one was different.

She just wasn't sure how yet.

Two strong, orange hooves landed on her shoulders, and made damn sure she couldn't look away.

"...Yer' right about one thing, ain't nothin' good about secrets and lies. Ain't nothin' good bout squirrlin' away information that might help folks just cause ya' want it ta' themselves."

Somewhere in the back, Chrysalis's eyes began to roll.

"...But sometimes, there's a secret in there not cause they're hidin' it, but because ya' ain't ready for it yet."

Only to stop, just at the top.

"Sometimes, folks hide stuff fer' a lotta reasons beside just plain wantin' power. Sometimes it's cause they're just plain embarrassed, maybe they don't wanna admit they know it, and sometimes they just plain think ya' can't handle it iffin' it all came out at once. But ya' know what the difference is? Sometimes, gettin' ta' that secret is way more harmful than that secret would ever be iffin' ya' never knew it. Dang it, Sunset.... ya' got kicked out not cause Celestia didn't want ya' ta' know what it took ta' be a princess, she wanted ta' show ya' when ya' proved ya' could handle it, when ya' earned it. Sometimes, it ain't a secret, it's a sign that someone believes in ya'... and right now, none of us believe in you."

Twice now.

Twice she got to feel her heart shatter.

Twice now, she wished it would actually happen, and just save her the pain.

"...And ya' know what? Guessin'... guessin' they shouldn't believe in me right now either. Probably never should'a, considerin' what happened ta' you."

"Applejack!"

"Ah'm serious! Fine, ya'll came ta' me when Ah' was drunk off mah' cutie mark and Ah' wasn't gonna be able ta' help ya', but the fact it got this bad is Mah' fault. That's what a 'teacher' does, right? Cept... Ah' ain't taught you jack, have Ah'? Well, fine... this here's officially yer' first lesson. Ya' done messed up, lied ta' us, nearly hurt a bunch'a folk and then ya' hurt someone a lotta' us care about. We don't trust you, and that's that."

Make that three.

"...But we can, maybe. Wasn't too late fer' Chrysalis, wasn't too late fer' Chitania... Ain't too late fer' you."

"...I.... I already got a second chance, and I..."

"...guess we'll just have ta' see if third time is the charm. That is... iffin' Shinin' Armor allows it."

All eyes turned to him, and they waited.

"Like ya'll said, it's yer' Empire, it's yer' call. This here... it's up ta' you. Iffin' ya' want her locked ya' fer' what she did... then Ah' can't argue with ya', no matter how much Ah' want to. Iffin' ya' say she doesn't get a round three, then she don't. Ain't no one gonna blame ya', ya'll certainly gotta make some tough choices bein' a prince and all. Gotta do what's best fer' yer whole kingdom, not just one life... so... what's it gonna be?"

A yellow hoof reached out to her, clinging to her, holding onto her as she waited for him to speak, waited for him to decide.

And thus, for once, everyone in the room got to see Shining Armor at his most uncertain, his most unsure and his most questioning. They all got to see him, for once, try to decide, and be a ruler.

"...You're planning to destroy it, aren't you?"

Every single eye snapped back in rapid succession, all trained in on the orb dangling from a single yellow hoof.

And the glow atop her horn, edged ever so slightly at it.

"You'd really rather destroy it than let her have it..."

Chrysalis, losing her subtly for only a second, choked in fear, edging towards her as slightly as she possibly could.

"...If I have to pick between that grubs spawn gaining the powers in this orb, or rendering this whole thing moot..."

There it was again, that shift in voice. Only this time, quite a lot more obvious.

A snarl rang out through the wrecked hall, but Chrysalis made no move to go forwards, not yet.

"...Sunset?"

The gentle, almost nurturing voice broke through the screams of a soul long since passed, and right to her.

The real her.

"...give her the orb."

Thus, the Crystal Empire itself sunk a solid inch more into the ground, as every single jaw hit the floor.

"Secrets and lies ain't never gonna make nothin' better... but sometimes, it ain't gonna make somethin' worse either. Sometimes, ya' just gotta... trust, and hope yer' friends know what they're talkin' about somedays. And iffin' they aren't, ya' gotta believe that they'll listen... even if sometimes they're too stubborn to. Give her the orb, Sunset."

They sang to her like a choir from hell.

Don't give it, don't let it loose, don't give it up, keep it, use it, make the world better.

She saw the world through Variolus's eyes, the effectiveness of these tactics, how they work, and how they shouldn't. The power of the lie, and the power of the truth.

They sang to her, growing louder and louder with every moment.

Until, at last, they were silent.

The moment the orb left her hooves..

"...So, you're not going to touch that, right?"

The Queen looked to the orb dangling next to her with magic, and let out a resounding

"HAH! Fuck no! It obvious to everyone else this thing makes you crazy?"

"SUPER crazy."

"You'd have to be stupid to miss that."

"I literally did miss something like this once, and even I see that."

"A DOOOOYYYYYY!"

"Soooo... you gonna break it?"

"HAH! No! Think of all the useful stuff in here! Shiny! Bubble it up!"

With a BLOOP! it was sealed, unable to be touched for all the world.

"And soon, I can-"

"A-HEM!"

No single being had spoken.

No single one needed to.

"...I'm keeping it."

"Chrysalis!"

"BUT... Maybe I'll...wait and not examine it alone. With Twilight is fine."

"THANK YOU."

Applejack politely cleared her throat, drawing everyone away from the queen making mocking 'nag nag' gestures.

"Now, uh... what about-"

"Take her upstairs."

Shining Armor looked like a thousand weights had been placed on him, pressing him down so he could barely stand.

"...Upstairs as in-"

"Just... third hall, second on the right, just don't let her leave until... Cadence deserves a say in this too, after what happened to her. She can't leave, not yet, but..."

He ran a hoof through his blue, twin colored mane, ruffling it further.

"...It's been a long day."

With a gentleness unbecoming of his size and muscle structure, he made his way over to the sphere shield in the corner of the room. He dispelled it with a wave, and very gently reached down to pick up the mare beneath it, still unconscious.

Finally, he made his way to the door.

"...Just wait till I tell the guards not to shoot."

"Ya'll were serious about that?"

He didn't answer.

He just left.

"...So I'm not the only one a little offput by Chrysalis holding the bomb, right?"

"Shut up, Lizardo."

"Just checking."

The eye roll of the country mare had to stop mid roll. That hoof that had been gripping her tightened just a bit.

"Applejack... what does that mean?"

For what felt like the first time in a year....

"...Get ready fer' round three, Sugar Cube... ya' ain't gonna get another.

Applejack felt like she could smile again.

"...Now, let's find out what makes you tick!"

From nowhere, dozens of magical instruments were conjured into existence, and hovered over the smiling lavender alicorn.

"...Applejack help."

"Yer' on yer' own with that one."

It was a tired, weary smile that crossed Celestia's face.

But a smile all the same... for things were finally going right again.

"...I give it a week before everything goes to hell again."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC
>2
~~~

>SHIIIIINNYYY! MOOOM! AH'M BACK FROM SCHOOL! Yer' not gonna believe what... WHAT THE MARCHMALLEYS HAPPENED OVER HERE!?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Non-Canon
>Pinkie
"Spike"
~~~~
>Welcome to Not Late Night /pa/ with your host Pinkie Pie! It's during this time that content does matter, but why so serious? Now for our main guest...SPIKE!!!

"Hidy ho."

>Now that you're back to being treated badly again. Will you be more like show Spike where you bungle stuff while the writers treat you like Worf?

"Wait what?"

>That's all the time we got here. Hopefully we'll be returning to something less serious."

Spike wakes up.
"...Who's Worf?"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NC
~~~

"Cadence deserves a say in this too, after what happened to her."

>The Crystal Empire takes no prisoners, Shining. Execute her.

"...Eighteen?"

>SO MUCH PROPERTY DAMAGE! SO MANY FORMS TO FILL OUT! KILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILLKILL!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 >Twilight
"Sunset"
~~~~

>How does it feel when I do this?

"Can't feel anything, sorry Twilight."

>Aaand this?

"Nope."

>This?

"Uh uh."

>Oh wow, this is so exciting! You actually have accelerated cellular regeneration only Cordyceps spores would rival. There are so many thing we have t-

THUNK

"..."

>...

"Twilight, why is your scalpel in my eyeball?"

>For science! ...and because I tripped.

"It's okay."

>From your reaction I am guessing you can't feel that either?

"Kind of dull pressure in my eye socket, but that's it."

>Noted!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

>Twilight
"Sunset"
~~~~~

"No."

>Sunset, don't be unreasonable.

"I said: No."

>Bu-bu-bu-but TWIENCE!

"Twilight, I reality I have made big mistakes and deserve punishment. But we're not testing if I am still capable of mating in my current state just because you feel like it!"

>But my brother and Cadance might decide to execute you any moment now! So much knowledge lost!

"..."

>...

"..."

>...Inappropiate?

"Just because I'm clinically dead doesn't mean I don't have feelings."

>I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that.

"..."

>...

"The answer is still No."

>DAMMIT!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

non canon
>twilight
"spike"
Carlos
~~~

It was one day, that spike went out to find gems. he found a blue one and ate it. suddenly, his penis shot up to the clouds and grew very large.

"oh god" spike said, looks like I need a twilicorn doctor!

BACK AT THE CASTLE...

>oh my, Spike's having a boner!

"What's a boner?"

BADUM CRASH!

THE END...

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________