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Act Two:

"All Equal in the End"

Chapter Eight:

"A Momentary Lapse of Reason"

Trixie paced back and forth, muttering under her breath. As soon as the guards had entered and found Celestia, Trixie had rushed to her room and enchanted her door with as many spells she could think of in order to make sure no one could invade her privacy.

What do I do now?

How would everyone else react once the news broke out? Did Aunt Cadence or Luna know? Did Rainbow Dash or her friends know? Did everyone know except her?

The people didn't know that was for certain. What if they found out? They would probably form a mob and chase her out into the wilderness where she would be forced to wander among the realms as an outcast. Just like her family.

No! She shook her head violently. Those... monsters aren't your family. I am NOT one of them! That damned casket was lying, that's the only explanation. It's a Penumbrson weapon, and all Penumbrsons lie.

She stopped pacing as a chilling thought struck her:

But I lie...

Her eyes slid towards the full body mirror that was perched on her wall.

Her reflection was the same as always: blue coat, silver mane and purple eyes. Even her cutie mark was the same as well: a star-tipped wand surrounded with a cloud of silvery sparkles.

But something about it...felt off. No matter how long she stared she couldn't find anything different with her reflection yet that only seemed to intensify the sense that something was wrong.

The image of what she looked like as a changeling flashed in her mind. Before she even had a chance to blink she felt a tingle run through her and the familiar blue coat of her Borrson form seemed to evaporate, revealing her true form.

And there it was, blatant and undeniable in all of its terrible truth. Her once velvety sky-colored coat was now leathery and the color of pitch; her legs were littered with gaping holes, even her horn was now crooked and her mane and tail that now hung limp and straggly in front of her face, nearly veiling her eyes which now glowered a dark green. The most jarring changes were the pair of seemingly razor sharp fangs glinting from under her lip and the holed insect wings jutting out of her back.

Trixie stared at her reflection, willing herself to do something but everything in her seemed to say, Do what? I can't change it, I can't make it go away, what is there to do anymore?

Trixie was never quite sure how long she stood there but when she heard the noise of somepony fumbling with her doorknob she nearly shrieked and her body instantly transformed back into its Borrson form.

"Trixie!" A childish voice came from behind the door.

Oh fathers no. She thought.

"Leave, Rumble," she said sharply. She could hear the young pegasus still struggling with the knob.

"I said LEAVE," she shouted again, making sure to project her voice louder this time so that the stubborn Pegasus could understand her.

"Where's Rainbow Dash? She promised to take me flying but I haven't seen her anywhere!" he whined, the jiggling doorknob showing that he had apparently didn't get the message.

Trixie stomped a hoof on the ground in frustration. Why won't he leave me alone?!

"Rumble, I said LEAVE!"

"WHERE'S RAIN--"

"Ask Mother!" Trixie shouted, cutting him off.

There was a pause and Trixie briefly thought that her brother had taken the hint and left, however, that was not the case.

"Auntie Cady says she's tired and won't let me see her," Rumble said, sounding insistent.

So, Cadence was with Mother. Trixie thought. That was simultaneously comforting and alarming.

"Ask Auntie Luna," she said, trying to calm herself so she could come up with something to make him leave her be.

"She's with Mommy too," he whimpered.

"So ask the guards to be let in, they'll let you." They let you do anything you want. I used to wonder about that.

Rumble finally stopped jiggling the knob. "Please let me in," Rumble said in such a small, trembling voice. "I'm scared..."

At those words Trixie was moved almost to tears, but it was only because Rumble's voice suddenly sounded exactly how hers had sounded when she spoke with Celestia in the chamber. She remembered how Cadence used to say that she had a kind of reversed bleeding heart, every pony's sorrow only seemed to heighten her own: if everyone else felt it as a sprain, to Trixie it felt like a fracture. Trixie wondered if that was the nature of a changeling's ability: to take from others to advance yourself, even if it was harmful. As long as you had more, it didn't matter.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Rumble's pleading, this time in an intolerably whine.

"Please Trixie let me in!" he begged, now pounding on the door with his hooves.

_I said go away! How many times do I have to tell a pony something before anypony in this realm listens to me!!! _

Next thing she knew, she was storming towards the door, disarming her own spells, tearing the door open and shoving her face right into Rumble's.

"Leave me alone, you wretched imp!" she hissed, her voice taking on an almost demonic buzzing tone.

Rumble's face turned pale and for a confused moment Trixie thought he was going to faint. Instead he belted out a deafening shriek and turned tail, taking off down the hall. Confused, Trixie looked at her hooves, her heart sinking like a stone at the sight of the black leathery coat and the holes. Looking around to make sure no one saw her, she quickly sealed herself inside her room again.

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Meanwhile, across the palace in a spacious room walled with tapestries depicting the kings and queens of ancient days and upheld by six massive pillars, sat an immense golden bed enclosed by a shimmering field of magical energy. Within lay Celestia, her gleaming mane and her coat faded as if all the color had been drained out of her and yet her expression was one of fixed serenity, the utter opposite of the two other Alicorns in the room. The princesses hovered over their sister; Luna standing at the head of the bed while Cadence sat directly at Celestia's side

What am I going to do? Cadence thought, staring anxiously at her sister's tranquil face. We weren't ready for this yet.

She looked towards Luna, whose own expression was deeply pensive. "Luna...what shall we do now?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"I know not, Cadence," Luna stated simply, her voice heavy. "Celestia did not convey her need for her to undergo The Slumber to either of us. All I know is that the throne must not remain vacant for a moment longer. Chrysalis will soon be made of aware of this turn of events and will consider an empty throne as an invitation."

Cadence glanced at Celestia again. "Why didn't she tell us she needed the rest?"

"I do not pretend to know the goings on of Celestia's mind, Cadence. Why she pursues certain goals and not others is not our affair."

"But Luna...this is serious. We are at war with the Changelings for the first time in over a thousand years. Who's to say Rainbow's actions and banishment incited something much graver than Celestia was willing to admit? I feel you would be better suited for the throne than I." Cadence looked up from Celestia to see Luna shaking her head.

"I am The Sentinel, I vowed to guard the gates of Asgard all of my days. I cannot abandon my post," Luna replied with finality.

Cadence let out a defeated sigh. "But I can't be All-Mother, Luna. I'm far too easily swayed by emotions, they cloud my judgment completely."

"Indeed, Cadence. But do not think that being kindhearted is a flaw."

Cadence smiled thinly. "I know but still..."

"However, even with your kind heart thou cannot be the All-Mother," Luna added.

Cadence glanced at her sister, eyebrow raised. "Why?"

Luna let out a heavy sigh. "Cadence, you and I know full well that the Line of Succession is through the eldest child. But, alas Crown Prince Thunderlane was disinherited and off to places unknown to us, and Princess Rainbow Dash banished. That makes the next successor--"

"Trixie," Cadence said.

"No," Luna said with surprising sharpness. "Celestia never formally adopted Trixie, remember she intended to wed her to Thunderlane when they came of age."

Cadence's shoulders sagged. That left only one option. "Then...Rumble is the heir."

Luna nodded gravely. "But he is far too young to rule. Thou must then act as regent until he is of age."

"So All-Mother in all but name." Cadence shut her eyes, the very idea seeming to physically weigh her down.

"Verily so," Luna said simply. "Worry not, my duty does not prevent me for offering counsel."

Cadence smiled thinly, looking back towards Celestia. "And always, there's the hope that Celestia might reemerge from the Slumber..."

There was a long, heavy pause between the two Alicorns. The silence was broken by a knocking at the door.

Luna frowned deeply. "I told the guards not to allow any visitors."

The knocking continued, this time louder and more forceful. Cadence stood and trotted to the door, ready to turn away anyone who might be on the other side. But when she opened the door her eyes widened when she saw who was knocking.

"Trixie what are you doing here?" Cadence gasped.

"I've come to see my mother, should I be denied that right?" Trixie replied, her voice defensive but containing a slight tremble. She looked pale and fatigued and her eyes seemed to be having trouble focusing. Cadence was to respond but Trixie's attention seemed locked on the unconscious body of Celestia. Her expression was raw with pain.

"No Trixie, you shouldn't..." Cadence said quietly but she didn't try to stop Trixie as she brushed past her. Her hoof-steps were oddly slow and uneven, as if she was carrying a great weight. Upon sight of Luna, Trixie looked suddenly ill at ease and made sure to steer away from the midnight blue alicorn.

Luna eyed her with her usually grave manner but there seemed to be a twinge of suspicion to her expression.

"I believe it is time for me to return to my post," she said, her voice betraying a hint of pragmatism. "The Bifrost has remained unguarded too long. I must return to my duties." With her glittering cobalt tail swirling behind her Luna swept out of the room and the closed the door behind her, leaving Cadence and Trixie alone.

Trixie finally sat down carefully at the edge of Celestia's bed, looking down at the All-Mother with a face twisted in an attempt to keep from crying.

Cadence came up beside her niece and put a wing around her but instead of relaxing Trixie tensed up as the wing came to rest on her back. Cadence immediately felt uneasy, in all her years she had never seen Trixie shun any kind of display of affection.

"Trixie, are you--"

"How long have you known," Trixie said. Her voice was a hushed whisper and her eyes never left Celestia.

Cadence at first said nothing, unsure of what Trixie was implying. "What do you mean Trixie? How long have I known what?"

Trixie turned towards her and her eyes were so icy they almost made Cadence flinch. "The truth of my ancestry, Auntie," She spoke the last word with a noticeable touch of venom.

Cadence felt her shoulders sag. This was all too much for one day.

I knew this was going to happen. She thought sadly. "I-I've always known, Trixie. But it doesn't change anything."

Trixie immediately pulled away from Cadence. "Really? 'Doesn't change anything'? If it supposedly doesn't change anything, then why didn't you say anything?"

Cadence said nothing, instead simply looking at Trixie sadly. Oh she had tried quite literally hundreds of times, there had been more than enough time to tell the truth but either Celestia deemed it inappropriate or the idea of Trixie's broken-hearted expression if she were told was too much for Cadence to bear. She supposed in the end this was the only way she would have ever found out; how many times had she and Celestia said to each other, "Soon we'll tell her."

But soon never did come.

"Trixie..." she began slowly. She had imagined this conversation so many times before, but somehow the words seem to evaporate on her tongue. "I...I apologize. I know that isn't enough and that nothing any of us say or do will ever completely heal the wounds you've received on account of our deception, but that doesn't mean we didn't love you. It's because we loved you that we didn't tell you."

"Oh, that makes perfect sense," Trixie all but snarled.

"You were always so sensitive!" Cadence said pleadingly. "And after the...incident and all the children you just seemed to be getting worse and we thought such information would only injure you further..."

"'Injure me'? You make it sound as if I were made of glass and might shatter at a moment's notice." Trixie spat. She turned to look Cadence in the eye, her eyes cold. Cadence sighed, unable to come up with a response. Trixie, seemingly knowing that Cadence had no answer, looked back towards Celestia. "But I'm not..." she said, her voice low. "I'm stronger than that."

"Trixie, who said you were weak?" Cadence asked softly, putting a hoof on Trixie's shoulder in an attempt to calm her. "No one here believed that,"

"But you always acted as if I were. As if I were some sort of infant, who needed to be constantly watched and doted over. Well I'm not. I would not have been able survive the suffering I've gone through if I were as weak and fragile as you say. What would it take for me to prove it?"

"Trixie, you needn't prove yourself. This isn't a contest of strength."

"Oh, but it is," Trixie said, cutting Cadence off again. "I heard you and Auntie Luna. Do you seriously believe that Rumble will ever be suitable for the throne? He is but a foal and it will be many years before he's even half ready. And what do you expect to do until then Auntie? Idly sit on the throne, awaiting the day he is ready? What if war does break out? What then?" Trixie's voice had lost it's biting sadness and anger and now seemed suddenly...smooth and steady. "What would you do to stop it? Would you attempt to barter with Chrysalis as Mother once did? You and I both know that Chrysalis wouldn't accept such promises. All you would do is delay the inevitable. War will come, Auntie, and both of us know that at this moment we need somepony strong. Somepony who'll be able to lead. Somepony who knows the art of politics, how word things in just the right way so that they always come out on top. And you and I both know exactly who that pony is."

Cadence was hesitant to speak. Her mind felt as if it were suddenly clouded and unable to focus. She shook her head to clear it, trying focus again. Out of the corner of her eye she could have sworn that Trixie's eyes were glimmering but could not be sure.

"Auntie," Trixie's voice seemed to snap Cadence back into reality, the fog almost instantly clearing away. "Auntie, what I'm trying to say is that I believe I am the one who is most capable. I'm better skilled with the art of politics than you are, there's no denying it. I might be able to correct some kind of truce, even if it's only a temporary one, until Mother has recovered. Let me take the throne."

Cadence furrowed her brow. Trixie was making a frightening amount of sense. What was Cadence to do when the levee broke and the dogs of war burst forth? She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated.

"Auntie, you said you've always loved me and that no matter what I'm a member of this family," Trixie suddenly spoke again, and the fog returned to Cadence's mind. "Was that another deception? Something meant to temporarily placate me until I forgot about it and went on with my life? Or do you actually, truly love me as your own flesh and blood?"

Cadence felt a pang of guilt run through her mind. The only thing that remained clear amongst the fog was that she truly loved Trixie deeply. She had seen her suffer all sorts of hardship, all because of a petty lie. She now felt compelled to help Trixie anyway she could, to ease the pain in someway. She had lied to her, she owed her--

"Trixie...I...are you sure of this?" She finally asked, looking towards Trixie with concern. "Are you sure you'll be able to bear the weight of the throne on your shoulders?"

Trixie nodded resolutely. "Yes Auntie, I am. All you need to do is say the word." As Trixie spoke, the weight on Cadence's shoulders increased and the fog completely enveloped her mind again, and she felt as if she were nauseous.

"Then I grant thee the title of All-Mother, but only until your Mother recovers." She finally said. As soon as she spoke these words the fog cleared from her mind and the weight evaporated from her shoulders she once more thought clearly. She shook her head slightly as everything came into focus. She looked towards Trixie again and noticed that her eyes seemed to glint in the light. A content smile was on her face.

"Thank you, Auntie, thank you very much," Trixie said as she reached out and hugged Cadence. "I shall not fail you," she whispered. Cadence nodded, returning the hug herself.

"Of course you won't Trixie, of course you won't. And what a relief to finally be free from this deception..."

Unbeknownst to Cadence, however, Trixie's eyes were now glowing dark green and a dark smile came across her face.

Yes... she thought. Thank you so very very much...Auntie.