//------------------------------// // 3- Odyssey // Story: Approaching Apotheosis // by KKSlider //------------------------------// Twelve thousand linen sheets. That’s how much the Palace needed to be cleaned in a year. Around the clock, a staff of no less than four hundred ponies worked to keep the three-digit-room complex dusted, windows washed, food planned, imported, and cooked, floors mopped and remopped and then mopped again, priceless vases replaced when a newer maid inevitable bumps into one sitting on a table causing it to fall (thankfully there’s a closet full of the things), boilers full of coal, enchanted gems replaced in lighting sconces, and gossip to be distributed. That last one was this morning’s topic of interest. Word worked its way from the kitchen staff, through the various friend groups of the maids and butlers, to the not-very-uncommon hookups between the Royal Guards and the maids, then up the chain of command to Shining Armor, who then relayed the gossip to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Cadance was not at all pleased to hear her fiance spread rumors, especially ones of sensitive nature. As he was relegated to sleeping the night on this couch– the proverbial couch being his personal quarters in the Royal Guards barracks section of the Palace, instead of the three different couches Cadance had in her royal chambers– Cadence resolved to find out if these rumors were true. Rather than wasting her time following the long trail of tea-spillers and loose lips that sank ships, Cadance went to Celestia. Inevitably, all gossip found its way to her through her aide, Raven. Cadance found Celestia in the North Wing’s third-floor drinking lounge. Cadance called it by its much shorter nickname, ‘The Room Which You Don’t Enter on Friday Nights.’ It was one of Celestia’s favorite places to relax. “Cadance,” Celestia greeted her with a smile as she laid down a thick ledger on top of several others. “Aunt Tia! Sorry I missed lunch, my meeting with the Canterlot Social Society of Socializing ran on too long. Much like their name.” Celestia chuckled, “Yes, they do love talking. Thank you, by the way. You really are doing me a favor.” “Nonsense!” Cadence dismissed, sitting down next to Celestia after determining that the chair wasn’t sticky. “I am glad to finally be getting into the deep end of rulership. Though these meetings are tedious, they are something. I’m finally helping Equestria in a real way! Raven, how are you?” The young mare blinked in surprise and smiled, “Oh, just well, Your Highness! We were getting through this afternoon’s work at an excellent pace.” “Then I came and threw it all away, huh?” Cadance laughed, elbowing the aide. Raven nervously chuckled. “So, to what do we owe the pleasure?” Celestia asked her niece. Cadance grimaced, “Well, if you must know… I heard something from Shiny this morning. I just wanted to, ah, see if there was any merit to it. Shiny heard it from one of his lieutenants, who heard it from… you get the idea.” “Go on,” Celestia said. “Apparently,” Cadance said quietly, “King Phasma was in the kitchens yesterday.” “Scandalous,” Celestia teased. “I know! Anyways, the staff apparently saw him getting some food to eat for lunch. And he, ah… broke into tears. Do you…?” Celestia frowned, “Yes.” When she didn’t continue, Cadance asked, “Do you know why?” “Reminder of home, he told Luna.” ‘Well, that would do it.’ Cadance resolved to tell Shiny that the rumors were completely fabricated. At the same time, now she wanted to know what exactly happened. Celestia sighed, “It is none of our business.” “I didn’t say anything,” Cadance said. “Not out loud. Cadance, please, I know you better than that.” Cadance rolled her eyes, “I understand….” There was a moment of silence between them. Raven not-so-subtly motioned towards the ledgers with her head. Regretfully, Celestia picked up the one off the top and reopened it. “.... It was the smell of coffee,” Celestia announced, eliciting a groan of annoyance from Raven. “Coffee?” Cadance repeated. “Coffee.” “I’m sure he’s smelled coffee before. Especially since Luna has discovered its existence,” Cadance thought out loud. “You don’t choose when to be reminded of what you lost,” Celestia said. “I don’t recall ever seeing you cry, auntie.” “I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Celestia muttered. “Now. I really need to get through these expense reports before Raven has an aneurysm. I do hope you’ll join us for the send-off?” “Ah, that’s in an hour, right?” Cadance asked. “I’ll be there. Shiny will be, too– but you already knew that…” “.... Speaking of rumors,” Celestia paused her reading again– much to the ire of Raven, “have you heard of the latest one circulating the Palace?” Cadance leaned forward on her chair. “Go ahead, Raven. Tell her.” Raven sighed, “A couple of the Royal Guards have been asking about Phasma. Apparently, they asked him personally if he had to lay all of the changeling eggs since he was the ‘insect royal,’ as they put it. He did not find the idea as funny as the ponies did.” Five hundred changelings pulled about one hundred sky carriages into the open air beyond the edge of Canterlot. Starting their journey in the late afternoon would, by all accounts, be considered poor planning. However, the changeling convoy’s first stop would be directly East, not North. They would stop in Manehattan to load up many of the raw supplies needed to supply the recolonization effort. It was cheaper to bring it all and store in the Fifth Hive’s warehouses located there than it was to haul all the materials up the mountain. Thorax wiped away a tear as he stopped waving. His brother became quickly obscured by the swarm of lings flying behind his position at the head of the column. “Don’t worry, Thorax,” Double Diamond wrapped a hoof around Thorax’s withers. “We’ll be skiing in Shimmervale in a few months. We can visit your brother in Nisir then!” “Yes, yes, you’re right,” Thorax admitted. “I just… wish he didn’t have to go.” “How’re things going within the changeling… Hive?” Diamond asked. “I’ve got a lot of things to do,” Thorax explained. “More than I know how to do. Or when. It’s all important, yes, but noling’s ever done anything like this. Nopony, either, I think. I have to restructure the entirety of changeling society! All of it! Except the King, of course.” “Like what?” Thorax sighed and glanced around. The changelings and ponies that had gathered to watch were beginning to disperse back into the city. Already, Phas and the rest of the real royals had turned away to head back to the Palace. “Let’s get something to eat, Diamond. I’ll tell you over dinner.” The two made their way out of the viewing balconies at the edge of the city and looked around for a place to eat. Thorax had money now, which was strange. Before, all expenses were essentially managed by Phasma himself. Now, all the changelings were expected to learn about money and how to manage it. Thorax had some experience from his time in Equestria before he found Phas, but not much. He was being paid quite a lot of bits in his opinion. His position as Prince and as a member of the First Fang had meant that he was very important to the Fifth Hive. Which was very weird to him, but oh well. As they found a hole-in-the-wall to get dinner, Thorax explained his situation to Double Diamond. “Really, I don’t know where to start,” Thorax started. “The changelings are going to have families for the first time in… thousands of years. We also have to train changelings to get along with ponies. We also have to start new relationships, not just with each other but also with ponies. Or we’ll starve. We also… That’s about it for now, but you get the idea. I have a lot to do!” Diamond whistled, “That is a lot to do, Thorax. Hmm…. You can ask for help, right?” “It wouldn’t be possible if I couldn’t.” “Wouldn’t be poss… that means yes?” “Yes.” Diamond grinned, “Then ask for help! I’m sure the Princesses will love to help out!” Thorax groaned, “They’re all busy. Plus, the changelings wouldn’t like it. Ponies, let alone Princesses, reordering our society? I’ve already got my hooves full dealing with the changelings that actually liked the Invasion. The last thing I need is to tell Phasma that I’ve actually started another revolution, this one against him!” Diamond grabbed Thorax’s hooves, “Whoah, calm down Thorax! I don’t think anypony’s going to start a revolution…! Are they?” “Probably not,” Thorax sighed. “I’m just so… overwhelmed. There’s a lot that everyone has to do, including me. If I don’t do all these things, everything will fall apart. Being a Prince sucks.” “Phasma seemed to like it,” Diamond pointed out. Thorax laughed, “Phasma’s good at it! He brought our species back from the edge of extinction! I mean, technically we’re still there, but now we’re in Canterlot and not as invaders. Chrysalis couldn’t have accomplished that if her life depended on it. And I… would never be brave enough. Pharynx would never be kind enough to seek out an alliance– he’s like Chrysalis in that regard. Phas says we’d do fine without him, and maybe he’s right, but we’re doing amazing thanks to him. At least, we’re better off than we would be without him. “Anyways. Reforming changeling society. I think I’m going to talk to the Broodnurses about trying to make families. They took care of the egg clutches and the larva, they know and can train changelings in their ways. What I need is some way to get changelings who know how to interact with ponies normally, not like Infiltrators.” “And the Princesses can’t help?” Diamond asked again. “No.” “Not even Princess Cadance?” Thorax blinked, “Cadance? I mean… I can try asking her. To be honest, I thought she would also be too busy, but families… I guess that falls under her title as Princess of Food. I mean Love. Stop laughing!” “Heheheh, okay! Okay! You’re gonna go to the Princess, though, right?” “Yes! Panar, I will. I… ugh. If she’s too busy, do you have any other suggestions?” Diamond shrugged, “Dunno, dude. Do I look like I’m in government business… things? If Cadance is too busy, then maybe uh…. Shoot. Twilight Sparkle is important, right? Maybe her?” “Uh, I’ll think about it,” Thorax said. “Probably not, though. So that’s what I’ve been up to. How about you?” Double Diamond groaned, “My parents. They really want me involved in the family business. I gotta go to business school or they’ll cut me off!” Thorax frowned, “Okay? So you go to this school, and then you’re done in what… five weeks? “Four years.” “Sounds like a terrible school if it takes that long.” “That’s how universities work, Thorax,” Diamond sighed. “Oh. What if you went to school in Canterlot? Or Manehattan? Either one works for me, but Canterlot is better.” Diamond brightened up, “Hey, yeah! Yeah! I can go here in Canterlot, and you can do your… changeling… things. Yeah, dude!” “Yay!” Thorax cheered. Diamond leaned over and gave Thorax a kiss, “I’ll go look at some schools later. Maybe I can stay in your place now!” “Heh, you’re going to get a lot of stares down in the Crystal Caves, but let’s do it! Lacewing beamed at me with a grin too wide to be physically possible. “So Phas, whaddya think?” “I think you put a lot of effort into this,” I said, looking over the blueprints and accompanying model that Lacewing had brought me. I had spread them out across the desk that Luna had brought into her office for me to use. While I now had an office within the Crystal Caves for personal use, I took every excuse I could get to be with Luna. Unfortunately, at the moment she was out dealing with some reconstruction efforts in Canterlot. Someone had ruined many of the tracks leading up to Canterlot. That someone was me. Luna had become very accustomed to cleaning up my collateral damage. ‘But in my defense, that Tatzelwurm was going to wreck most of ‘em anyways.’ Lace’s voice brought me back to the present, “I had to talk with a lot of changelings responsible for the Fourth Hive’s structure. Those ponies you sent my way also had a lot to say… This is really gonna be a work of art!” Lace’s plan for the Fifth Hive’s new home in the Crystal Caves was… ambitious. She had planned out the entire city, layer by layer. With a lot of help from myself and Coxa when it came to actually planning the location of important bits, Lacewing had coordinated with a team of Civil Engineers I borrowed from Celestia. They weren’t exactly knowledgeable when it came to designing a changeling hive buried in the ground, but their insight was invaluable. Lace’s personal touch came to designing the not-as-important public spaces and other rooms. All in all, it was an extremely intricate, probably over-engineered, and absolutely gargantuan subterranean complex, that would take tens of thousands of mare-hours to build, up to hundreds of millions of bits, and would only be the core of what could eventually be the most complex city on Equus. “I love it,” I told her. “I want it, and I want it now. Do you have a timeframe for how long this would take?” “The core structure itself? That could take… up to two hundred years to fully dig out. I’m currently working with Coxa’s staff to make several stages… like uh… like we can build it in layers going outward and downwards.” I nodded, “That sounds best. This certainly is a work of art, Lace. It’s like an ant-hill in the shape of a diamond… Truly massive in scale. How soon can you set this in motion?” Lace shrugged, “As soon as all the temporary caves are finished.” I sat back in my chair, “Thank you for doing this, Lace.” “It was my pleasure. But it wasn’t the only news I brought.” I leaned back in my chair, “Go on.” Lace frowned, “Division-P is still lying low, as is Daring Do. She’s not doing anything. Just staying at home, writing.” I clicked my tongue in annoyance, “Right. Downgrade surveillance on her to a single ling team: long-term stake-out. When she makes a move, I’ll want to know. She’s probably taking this time to write her book…” “The Traitor is also confirmed to have arrived in Griffonia,” Lace announced. “His boat arrived Monday. After he departed, the team followed him for the morning, then began their return journey back here. He’s gone, Phas.” “No doubt to cause problems for future us,” I said. “Any news from Griffonia?” “Our spies are non-existent. We’re going to have to rely on Celestia’s information at the moment.” “Wouldn’t it be best for us to get started on a network now?” I asked. “All our Infiltrators are focused on gathering food,” Lace explained. “Right. Not starving is kinda important.” “I’ve also got a problem forwarded to me from Thorax,” Lace continued. “Apparently, there’s a hardliner group of changelings who were rather enthusiastic during the Invasion. Thorax says they are problematic; they don’t connect with ponies that easily. Right now, they’re essentially blacklisted from interacting with ponies. What do you recommend we do with them?” ‘That’s a good question. We’re in desperate need of drones in all sectors across the Hive…’ “Ha!” I laughed. “I’ve got it! Send some ‘em off to become lawyers, and give the rest duties within the Crystal Caves. If they’re not going to get along with ponies, then they can help us by honing their lack of empathy and learning Equestrian and Hive laws. Having a dedicated changeling lawyer team would be invaluable.” “Lawyers?” She asked. “.... If you think that’s worth it… I’ll uh, I’ll get on that. More accurately, I’ll kick Thorax’s problem out to Coxa. Make him deal with them. How goes the army?” “It’s going, alright. A hundred different reforms and revisions have been started. Currently, I’ve got Pharynx, Froghopper, Katydid, and Labrum on reforming the Swarm. Pharynx is now off the Swarm reforms, what with him being sent up north on the Expedition, but the rest will pick up the slack.” “That’s good. And the money-side of things? How are we looking?” I grinned, “Very well. Turns out, all you have to do to make crazy amounts of money in life is to start out rich. No surprise there. I’ve looked over the reports that Coxa has whipped up. We’re growing…. We’re probably the richest kingdom when it comes to income-per-person, but our spending power is a very long way away from matching something like Equestria or even Griffonia.” Lace nodded, “How’s your personal training with Celestia?” “Very boring.” “.... Okay. How’s your therapy-thingy?” “.... Not as boring as I would like.” She frowned, “Do you want to talk about it?” “Not in the slightest,” I said quickly. “Fine then. But if you die of a stress-induced heart attack, it’s no chitin off my elytra. I, uh… Coxa said that it might be useful for me, if it’s useful for you. ‘Cuz of the whole torture thing, you know?” “Yeah. Sorry about all that, Lace.” She shrugged, “We all suffered for the war. Except Thorax and Coxa. Those two got off pretty damn lightly– Thorax especially. Anyways… A little bird– and by little, I mean about the size of Luna but with white fur– told me that you are going to have a birthday party tomorrow.” “Celestia is hosting it, yes,” I confirmed. “Thought you knew about it already.” “Well yes, but not from you. You planning on inviting any of us?” “That goes without saying. All of the First Fang is invited. Just put in a vacation request, and I’ll get around to approving it sometime within the next week.” She frowned, “Is that some kind of pony-joke? Or human-joke?” “... Nevermind. All the changelings will soon learn the terror of offices and the daily nine-to-five,” I said. The door to Luna’s office opened and Bray Call stepped through. “Hey Phasma!” She waved at me. “Good evening, Bray,” I returned the greeting. “Hi Bray!” Lace smiled, giving the adorable Cream-colored unicorn a hug. “How’s it going?!” “Oh, heh. Hi Lacewing,” Bray returned the greeting. “It’s going well. Fast, I should say. It’s going fast. Lots of things are happening, and I have no idea how to do my new job. But I’m learning and having fun!” Lace just smiled even more, “That’s great to hear. You should come down to the Caves soon, I have to show you the sculptures the lings have been trying to chisel out. I really think you’d like them!” The two mares had bonded quickly over their love for… things. To be honest, I’ve been too busy to pay close attention. Nor did I care about the specifics. If they wanted to be friends, then I was all for it. “I did have something important to tell King Phasma,” Bray coughed awkwardly. Lace broke the hug and stepped away. “Phasma,” Bray addressed me. “... Sir. There’s uh… there’s… visitors? An army? Ponies. There are ponies here now. You really need to see this and clear up any confusion.” “... There’s normally ponies in Canterlot,” I told Bray. “I mean in the gardens! And not ponies– well they are ponies– but soldiers. Scary ones, too! Vamponies!” I stood up, “The thestrals are here?”