To Begin Again

The moment the group returned to city hall, the prince didn't waste any time and approached Celestia. Luckily for him, she had already dealt with the press, and by the time they arrived the princess had finished talking with the traitorous guard and was on her way to the Golden Leaf.

The next couple of hours after that were spent dispatching soldiers and medics to transport the wounded, making an arrest, and recovering all the contraband Fort Knox had in his possession. An ordeal that in and of itself was already proving to be tough and long, but to perform it in secret turned it into a very slow process. One that the princess took full advantage of to get a report from the group, culminating with her hearing the confession of Fort on the recording.

"After that, we left the place and came back with the hopes of getting more guards and making the necessary arrest." The prince finished the story before looking back at Celestia who, after hearing the confession, could only sigh and shake her head.

"When we came here, I hoped for the start of a new alliance and an opportunity for a new family member to be introduced into our society. Instead, we will leave with two traitors and even more problems that need to be addressed carefully and in due time to avoid panic." She mentioned in sorrow.

"What is going to happen to them, princess?" AJ asked, a bit worried.

"Naturally, they will be judged and punished for their crimes. However, due to our recent alliance with the changelings, and because of the position Fort Knox holds, his trial, no matter what, will make news and will be exposed almost immediately. So it will have to be delayed for a time." She then looked Applejack dead in the eyes. "But I assure you Applejack, not even the weight of all Canterlot's bits or information are going to save him. His crimes are as clear as day, and any information he might be in possession of will be useless. He will be receiving the maximum sentence."

"Well, I'd say that serves him right, after all he's done over the years," Rarity mentioned in irritation.

The prince then decided to ask the question that has been bothering him since they left the building. "Aunty, do you have any clue what that Alicorn ghost was?" Blueblood asked in wonder, yet she just shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Luna and I only have bits and fragments of the alicorn tribe that precede us. By the time we were conscious, all of them were already gone, so I don't have an answer of what they were." She then smiled and touched his cheek "But it's a mystery that I would be happy to unravel together as a family." She retracted her hoof. "And even though I'm not exactly condoning that you have ventured into almost unknown dangers, scolding or punishing you would just make me seem like a hypocrite."

"Aunty?" Blueblood looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she continued. "If I had been in your position, I'd have probably done the same thing. Despite the dangers, you acted as a true leader flawlessly, wanting to protect your subjects while at the same time trying to ensure peace and avoid panic as much as possible. Let this be a lesson, nephew. The unexpected can happen at any moment in our line of work, so it's important to always keep a cool head and consider your options in the event of an emergency, just like today. You really acted like a true prince of Equestria," She mentioned before using her neck to bring him into a hug. "And for that, I couldn't be more proud of you."

The prince at first was surprised but then he smiled and returned the hug contentedly.

The elements let the two have their moment for a while before Rarity walked toward them in guilt and cleared her throat. "Um, excuse me..."

Blueblood and Celestia end the hug and look back at her. "Yes, Rarity?" Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know that I already apologized back at the warehouse, but I feel like I need to do it once more now that our lives are no longer in danger by that brute," She mentions with a little smile.

"Come on Rarity, there is no need for you to…" Blueblood tried to stop her, but Celestia in turn stopped him by placing a hoof on his shoulder.

"Actually, she does, Blueblood. No matter the cause, the fact of the matter is that she still raised her hoof against royalty and lashed out without any sort of provocation. It's a major offense towards the crown, and even if poetic justice was served, punishment needs to be addressed," the princess explains in sadness. "I can't just overlook this, not when it comes to my family."

After that, she looked at Rarity with a cold and neutral expression, which was enough to make Rarity flinch and start picturing Celestia like a giant that could squeeze her any second without any problem. "Plus, I also want to hear what she has to say. Depending on what she tells, I will weigh a proper punishment."

"Aunty, please..." Blueblood placed his hoof on her shoulder with a worried expression. "There is no need to go this far, the poor mare has suffered enough and she told me that she already learned…"

"It's ok, Blueblood." Rarity interrupted him by lifting her hoof and looking at him with determination. "This is something I really need to do properly, and the princess is right. I sure wouldn't be calm if a similar situation had happened with Sweetie Belle," She mentioned with confidence before approaching him. "No matter what the consequences are, I will mare up and take my punishment with my chin up."

Her words managed to surprise the prince before he just sighed in defeat and looked down. "There is no escaping this, is there?"

"'fraid not, partner. Just as the princess said, attacking royalty can't just be solved by a slap on the wrist," AJ mentions in sadness. "Don't worry, I'm sure the princess won't be so harsh on her," she told him with a smile, making him relax again.

"That is correct, Applejack. As furious and sad as I am right now, I promise to be completely fair," She responded, smiling slightly.

Nodding in understanding, the prince lifted his head and looked at Rarity, who took a depth breath before speaking. "Prince Blueblood, I just want to say that from the bottom of my heart, I truly am sorry… for the poor treatment I have given you the past couple of days. In my line of work, I have seen others playing the friendly game to take advantage of defenseless ponies and swindle them of every bit they had, and your previous image and actions were the reason it was hard to believe a change in personality on your part. Plus, because of our story together and my propensity to the melodrama, I blinded myself in what I thought I was justifying paranoia, and never once gave you the chance any pony deserved." She ended by giving him a bow. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my rude and un-ladylike actions."

"Of course I do," Blueblood told her, bringing his hoof to her chin and making her look at him. "Now, please stand up Rarity. We are friends, there is no need for you to bow to me. For now, let's try to leave all of this behind us and start again. Just like I offered you."

"I would love that, yes." Rarity smiled a bit at that.

"Even so… I still don't understand why you lashed out so violently, Rarity," Celestia mentioned, still confused by what happened. "It's true that you are not afraid to show your discontent or wariness to others that have wronged you, but unless provoked or enchanted… you've never once had to resort to physical harm."

"I don't understand it myself either, princess," Rarity told her plainly. "Ever since you told us the truth about Blueblood in the hospital, I've been completely on edge, and no matter how much I tried I just couldn't relax or think straight. Not even making dresses, which usually calms me down, helped..." She mentioned in disappointment. "And I really thought that the changeling necklace could offer me a challenge big enough for me to forget the whole ordeal."

Both royal's eyes widened in surprise the moment she told them that. "Wait, wait, wait..." Blueblood lifted his hoof in surprise at her. "You're telling us that all this time, you've been using the changeling necklace as a piece of garment on your dresses?!"

"I wasn't intending to keep it, I swear!" Rarity held her hooves up in defense, a bit panicked by the sudden shift in demeanor. "When we left the hospital, Thorax gave me the necklace, asking me to give it to Twilight so she can keep it safe until you take it back. It was too late at night, so I decided to keep it and then give it back first thing in the morning, but the designs on it, the perfect colour for an autumn line of clothing, the possibilities on formal attire… I just couldn't resist the ideas. And before you say anything, I never activated it," She quickly added. "I just wanted to know how would it look with the correct combination. I succeeded, but the anger was still there, so I thought that maybe I could try another project… and I suppose I kept trying them and forgot that I needed to give it back," Rarity mentioned with a blush of embarrassment. "B-But I still have it, I can return it once we are back at the hotel," She quickly added.

"Oh Rarity, why?" The prince pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head hearing this news. "Now it all makes sense."

"Huh?" She looked at both of them, clearly confused.

"Rarity..." The princess took a deep breath and then looked at her like a disappointed mother. "The reason why the changeling necklace is so dangerous is that when some pony uses it, his or her emotions at the time would flourish and grow according to what they change into, just like its title implies."

"That is why before using it, one must first clear their head and keep calm. If they don't, the necklace will expand the user's emotions to dangerous levels, even if you don't activate it," Blueblood continued with the explanation. "If you were happy you will end up euphoric… if afraid, then completely terrified. If angry…"

"…then furious," Rarity finished as her eyes widened in realization. "Now I understand, the necklace kept feeding my anger and increasing it. I didn't understand what was happening, so I just kept using it, and the cycle just continued!"

"Now I get it, over the past few days, because you were wearing that thing, your fury just kept growing and growing until it reached the boiling point and then you slapped him," AJ mentioned. "No wonder you've been acting so out of character all this time, that necklace was keeping you from seeing reason."

"Indeed, and it wasn't until you stopped using it and talked with Fort that you finally managed to calm down and see what was going on in your heart," Celestia mentioned as she approached the element of generosity. "I'm happy to know that you are safe and understand the reason behind your actions, but I'm disappointed that you were so careless in dealing with enchanted artifacts, Rarity. You could have easily endangered your life."

"I'm so sorry, princess... I promise I will be more careful from now on," She responded with guilt from her past actions.

"For now, we will need to remedy this situation. If you use the necklace so many times, then the risk of lingering magic on you might still be there." She started to prepare her horn. "Stay still, I will scan your body real quick."

In that moment, Blueblood had an idea and stepped in front of the princess."Wait, Aunty."

She stopped and looked at him. "Yes?"

"Before you do that, can I talk with you for a second?" He asked her before bringing her away from the two elements who just blinked in confusion as the prince whispered something in the princess's ear.

"If an opposite emotion is placed, can it counteract the present anger one?" Blue blood asked

"Well, yes. It could be like pouring water on to a fire, why?"

The prince then grinned at his aunt. "If that is the case, then I think I have the perfect idea on how to erase all lingering anger in Rarity AND give her a fitting punishment all at once."

That made the princess smile, intrigued by the idea. "I'm listening."

After explaining the plan, the princess grinned and nodded before the two returned to the elements. "Well, Rarity, seems like today is your lucky day," the princess stated in a calm voice. "Thanks to my nephew's quick thinking, we managed to come up with an idea to help you and punish you at the same time, without being overly severe," She told her with a smile.

"Really?" Rarity looked at both with a smile before flinching and slightly backing away once they grinned and chuckled.

"Oh yeah, Rarity, this is going to be perfect," Blueblood mentioned. "Since the changeling necklace made this mess, we will use it one final time to solve it."

I have a bad feeling about this

Rarity gulped at their expression as they continued to chuckle.

Later that day at an ice-cream shop

The group entered the establishment and soon placed their orders, leaving just one to place her request.

"And what would you like, Annie Bell?" The prince asked with a smile as he turned to look at his back to see an embarrassed and blushing Rarity, now turned into a filly version of herself, but with a red afro wig and a brown messy dress underneath a green dotted one, her tail now red, messy and bubbly, making it resemble Pinkie Pie, as well as the changeling necklace and her face even having some freckles on it.

"Just order anything for me," She responded, burying her face in the prince's back in complete embarrassment.

"Didn't you say that you would mare up and take your punishment with your chin up?" AJ goaded her with a raised eyebrow, slightly smirking.

"I didn't think that I would take it like this!" She quickly responded.

"Too bad, because this one was the less painful one. The other option involved a pretty big shot and one of your tushies," the prince responded with a grin as he got the desired effect and Rarity shot her head up and held her flanks in fear. "No! Anything but that! I will do it! I will do it! Just no shot!"

The prince just chuckled and nuzzled her cheek. "Understood, no shot for you." He then look in front of them. "So, what flavor would you like?"

"Uhhh, that one!" Rarity pointed to the most expensive and biggest ice-cream sundae they had, as her inner child was starting to take over.

"Great choice, Annie." The princess nodded before turning to her. "But you know our deal, if you wish for a big ice-cream, you will have to earn it, by doing what we told you."

"Aw, but I don't want to," She whines, crossing her arms, some heat appearing on her cheeks.

"I will ask them to add an extra scoop of ice-cream if you do~" Blueblood sweetened the deal, making her eyes widen and her mouth water "Promise?"

"I promise."

"Ok, I'll do it!" Rarity jumped down from the prince and walked to the center of the room before clearing her throat. From seemingly nowhere musical instruments started to play, which in turn alerted the prince and looked around in confusion. "Who is playing that music?"

Meanwhile, the others kept looking at Rarity. AJ even tried to contain her laughter at what she was seeing.

(Song: The Sun will come up Tomorrow, By Annie, a Broadway musical)

As Rarity continued to sing, a group started to gather in happiness, enjoying the performance, some parents even awwing at how adorable she was looking right now.

"Ok seriously, who is playing the music?" The prince asked, continuing to try to find the source of it.

"Just give it a rest, your highness," Amber told him before handing his ice cream to him. "These kinds of things just happen. I'd say it's the magic itself of Equestria."

"I…see," The prince responds, just deciding to just accept the fact and take the ice-cream in his magic.

And just when I thought I had this place figured out… Will this world ever stop surprising me?

He just smiled and shook his head as they continued to watch Rarity's performance. "Well, nephew, I have to say… this was indeed one brilliant idea on your part." Celestia commented with a smile.

"Are you sure nothing bad will happen to her?" Coco asked in worry. "I have never seen Rarity act like that before."

"It's completely natural, Coco," The prince calmed her down. "That necklace is what makes her think like a child, which is perfect since all of her anger is slowly being purged from her body. Perhaps she will act a bit childish for a few minutes after we take it away, but afterwards she will be good as new."

"And why did you teach her that particular song?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That is the final part of her punishment, AJ. Believe me, try as you might, that song will be stuck in your head for weeks," He mentioned with a small chuckle. "One last reminder for her to have next time she is trusted with something dangerous."

"Oh." AJ nodded in understanding. "Ok, now I get it."

Once the song ended, everyone in the shop stomped their hooves on the ground cheering for Rarity, who just smiled and pranced to the counter, waiting for her reward.

Meanwhile in Canterlot

Shining Armor rushed through the hallways, heading to Luna's bedroom, before knocking on the door desperately once he reaches them. Soon, the monarch of the night opened the door in fear.

"Mr. Armor, what is wrong? Why the sudden…?"

"I found it!" He quickly interrupted before trying to recover his breath, and then looking at Luna again. "I found out how Blueblood was killed!"