Two weeks later the, day finally came. It had taken a lot of work, dozens of letters in all directions, and a lot of bits, but it was finally here. At 5PM today the rail network would officially be opened. They had decided on a name for it too- The Harmony Line. Wildcard found it highly ironic that his signature accomplishment brought 'harmony' to the Hive, just as Princess Twilight Sparkle had attempted to do with her short lived invasion.
Arriving back at his office after the mornings briefing- which was a trivial bit of work, nothing significant had happened since Baltimare a few weeks back. He had noticed something however: ever since a few days ago First Class had stopped pretending he didn't exist, even going so far as to acknowledge his presence with a nod when he had arrived. The first time he noticed this Luna had smirked, as if she knew something he didn't. In any case the meetings were interesting at times, watching the Equestrian Royal Guard transform itself into the 'Equestrian Legion', and a much greater overlap between them and the Night Guard. If the ponies were as good on the field as their organization, then maybe they all had a chance.
Zeta was out of his hair too, a group of warriors had shown up in the night a week ago and whisked him away with nary a word, Wildcard didn't care to press home for details, he imagined his fate wasn't going to be very pretty and left it at that. Arriving at his office after the morning meeting he found Lyra at her desk, she was always up bright and early, and had been an enormous help. She took care of his calendar, dealt with the more trivial things, and made sure the office ran smoothly. Wildcard noticed that it was a rather odd setup- her desk was against the wall to the front and side of his own, but anybody that came in person was probably important, so there was no need to break the office into a front and back room. They worked quite closely too, often you would here a sort of legalese being tossed around as Lyra summarized some document. "Night Guard wants update on Diamond Dogs- suggests intervention," Lyra said as her boss walked in, pausing for a moment in typing something. She had her own typewriter, a basic binary model she had brought from home.
"Tell them we've got it under control, they've got a border to worry about," Wildcard said, putting his jacket on the rack beside his desk.
He had a jacket now. After Spitfire's reference to 'technical treaty violations' involving his shapeshifting now and then, he had thought it extremely improper to show up to meetings, or todays event, doing so. So he had taken a short trip to Ponyville and had a local seamstress make him a fair representation of the fatigue jacket he wore on his first journey into the mountain. He also had a pair of saddlebags with his cutie mark on them, finally bringing him into the mainstream pony society. He also had a bowler hat he wore when he felt like making an impression.
Sitting at his desk he sat back in his chair and felt under it for the newest addition- a small crossbow was taped to the underside. The guard knew full well he had this, he had requisitioned it from them after all. It took some arguing but after Zeta's betrayal, and the pending possibility of war, some sort of self defense for government officials seemed logical.
It only small enough that it couldn't kill anyone anyway, but it could certainly hurt.
Relaxing in his chair Wildcard put his hooves up on the desk, going over the schedule for this afternoon.
It was as follows:
3PM: Wonderbolts flyby, which was actually a scouting party to ensure nothing was going to go wrong dressed up to look like an airshow.
4PM: All guests should have arrived, security will close off the area. Equestria and the Hive took a 50/50 split on responsibility here. Wonderbolts would remain on extreme-height recon.
5PM: A short speech by Celestia, Chrysalis, and Wildcard; followed by the hammering of the final golden spike.
6PM: Dinner provided by both sides, cider by Applebuck. They had already set up a few dozen picnic tables, and the pegasi had promised a bright and sunny day. Weather management, it was a heck of a thing.
6:30+: Mingle with guests, hand over report, come home later probably drunk. (The later two were unwritten.)
Satisfied, Wildcard set it down and noticed he hadn't received anything from home today, his desk was totally bare.
"Lyra, anything from home today?" he asked. He knew Lyra knew full well not to open anything classified from home. He trusted her, but it was best she stayed out of the loop for her own sake. She had actually taken possession of the second key to the desk, Wildcard trusted her not to do anything stupid with it, and regardless she seemed plenty happy with her position.
Lyra paused in her typing again, and leafed through a stack of papers.
"Not today, but there is something interesting here... comes from some pony named "Buckapple," She said, and slid the paper over through the air in a golden field of magic.
"Buckapple, haven't heard from her in a while..." Wildcard mumbled, opening the letter.
"Ambassador Wildcard.
I have spoken with the 'supplier' you mentioned, and found her prices outrageous. I have decided on a different course of action. I have managed to secure some funding to expand my tropical fruit business here in the east, and as soon as this rail line is complete I would like to open exports to you and your people. Ever had a Piña colada?
With respect, Buckapple, Proprietor."
Wildcard couldn't help but laugh. Two competing businesses, on opposite sides the country, with mirrored names. It would be great for the Hive too, competition could get prices down.
The letter found it's way into his desk, which was starting to get full. He was going to need to buy some filing cabinets or something soon. While he was in there he pulled out the 'Report on the Equestrian Situation.", which at this point had ballooned to a hundred pages in length. The report was incredibly detailed, and he was certain that it would earn him a promotion, a good bit of money, and maybe even a small command of his own out here. A proper embassy building, with his own guards and a field man that wasn't insane? It was well within his reach.
So why didn't it make him happy?
He sighed and put it in a metal briefcase he had purchased specifically for this. Two four digit locks, thick steel, it was nigh impenetrable. Lyra glanced over.
"What's that? Looks exciting." She asked.
"This is my ticket to a promotion," Wildcard explained.
"Well that seems exciting... but you don't sound excited," She commented.
Wildcard took a deep breath, drumming the briefcase with his hooves. "Lyra, who am I?"
She seemed to consider this for a moment before replying, not expecting such a strange question.
"Ambassador Wildcard of the Changelings, a friend, and a good person," She replied.
Wildcard made a decision, and fired up his typewriter to see it through.
After taking lunch, and shortly before leaving for the ceremony, Wildcard sat at his desk staring at his own invitation.
"Ambassador Wildcard and guest"
So who was his guest? He wondered, Lyra typing away in the background.
He sighed, the choice was obvious.
"Lyra..."
After calming her down long enough to get his briefcase and coat on- said briefcase was attached to a harness around his back, one of the great things about being a quadruped was the ability to lug around a lot of stuff comfortably- Wildcard led Lyra out to the train station. She seemed absolutely delighted to be, in her own words 'an important pony'. She walked with a wide smile, Wildcard couldn't help but mirror this. Her enthusiasm towards every little bit of life was refreshing, she was everything the ponies were personified in a single light green mare.
She wasn't too shabby with a lyre either.
"Hey look! There's Fancy Pants, and Fleur Dis Lee!" Lyra gestured over at the convoy of 'high society' boarding the car ahead of them.
"Lyra you have no idea how happy I am you took care of the invitations, seriously," Wildcard noted. He didn't know any of the elite, beyond having spied on a couple of them... and stolen from a few others. When you need cash, you need cash. In any case he was never found out. One day he would have to browse the archives and see if he could total up the amount of crimes he had committed in his past career for laughs.
"Oh, you don't need to say that!" Lyra said, nudging the ambassador in the shoulder. "You've done so much for me, I'm happy to help."
The train conductor finished checking the elites and trotted up to Lyra and Wildcard. With an elegant bow he addressed them.
"Ambassador Wildcard and guest, I presume?" He asked.
"That's correct, I assume this train is going to the end of the line?" Wildcard returned.
"Quite right, we'll be picking up a few ponies in Ponyville, and then heading right down," He replied.
Wildcard looked to Lyra and smiled. "Well, let's get on with it then," he said.
On the ride Lyra breathlessly pointed out all the scenery errata to Wildcard as they passed.
"There's my old house..." ...Princess Twilight still lives in that library, weird huh?" ...Wow, what's that?"
The train rumbled and Lyra opened the window to stick her head out. Wildcard couldn't help but follow her, and they both looked up to the sky. The H.M.S Magnificent flew over, heading south. He knew the Wonderbolts were taking their role seriously, but he had no idea they were bringing that. He watched the smooth voyage of the enormous ship, surrounded by a cloud of smaller ships that shadowed it.
"It really is magnificent!" Lyra shouted over the wind, before ducking inside.
Wildcard was interrupted in his reply as the train halted, nearly throwing him out of the window before a hoof grabbed him.
"Thank you," Wildcard said. Lyra smiled in return.
"Can't let you fall out of a train, Ambassador" She said, with a mock curtsy in her seat.
Wildcard slouched back in his seat, under him was that briefcase, and inside was his salvation. To pass the remaining time he pulled his speech out of his coat and read it over, and over, while Lyra continued going on about this and that.
It was a long ride.
Eventually they arrived at the end of the line. Lyra prodded Wildcard from across to wake him up. He grabbed his briefcase and followed her out. Thankfully his coat covered it, or else he would have had some awkward explanation when his superior saw him running around with it.
"This is so great! Princess Celestia is going to be here, Princess Cadence... hey- what's a group of alicorns called?" Lyra asked, walking backwards out of the train.
Wildcard mulled it around in his mind a bit.
"An oligarchy," He joked.
"Oh, that's perfect!" Lyra exclaimed, Wildcard got the impression the joke went right over her head.
Wildcard and Lyra walked towards the open tents that stood in the plain. Everything looked just as he had expected, thankfully. A few dozen chairs were lined up before a stage on the far end, and inside the tents plenty of food was prepared, or being prepared. Wildcard squinted at the distant tree line, and was pleased to note the gleam of a few guards here and there. To add to his sense of security the H.M.S Magnificent was visible high above, like a metal cloud watching over everything. He spotted his superior flanked by a cadre of changeling warriors, and trotted over to greet him with Lyra at his tail.
"Good afternoon Eta-Alpha, you're here early!" Wildcard greeted, Lyra at his side.
"Same to you, Eta-Delta, who's your guest?" Eta-Alpha asked.
"Lyra Heartstrings, she's been serving as my secretary and you have her to thank for most of the preparations," Wildcard explained.
Lyra Curtsied, "You're too kind Ambassador, it wasn't all that," She said.
"Oh hey, If Chrysalis ordered you to jump off a cliff- would you?" She asked. Wildcard nearly fell over with shock.
"Lyra! That's h-" Eta-Alpha cleared his throat and they both turned to him.
"Yes," he replied pointedly.
"Well it's nice to meet you, Lyra. Would you mind leaving us for a bit?" Eta-Alpha asked.
Lyra nodded and trotted off. Eta-Alpha got in closer to his subordinate, Wildcard tensed up.
"I'm going ahead and assuming you've been collecting all the information you're supposed to be gathering into some gigantic collection, and you're about to hand it to me?" Eta-Alpha asked.
"I would be quite disappointed otherwise,"
Wildcard collected himself, and murdered his career.
"Nothing I haven't reported already- I should mention as well that you haven't been very forthcoming on your end," Wildcard accused.
"We've had our own problems!" Eta-Alpha shouted in a seldom seen display of emotion. The warriors surrounding the pair looked at each other.
He sighed. "Forget it, you've fulfilled your core assignment well enough, and you'll get to continue it. Tomorrow I'll be sending a pair of warriors to be placed under your command to ensure we don't see a repeat of the 'Zeta-Incident'."
"By the way, he managed to escape on the way home," Eta-Alpha added, with absolutely no sign of emotion in his face or voice as he told Wildcard that the single changeling traitor in their history was running wild.
"You're serious? You really let him escape?" Wildcard rubbed his forehead, this was going to cause problems.
"Mind your place Eta-Delta, now get back to your job- leave the real work to us," Eta-Alpha ordered.
Wildcard, in spite of every single sinew in his body wanting to do something entirely otherwise with his arm, saluted. He then turned away and quickly cantered away from his superior.
"That went well," he mumbled to himself.
He found Lyra talking with one of the elite, Fancy Pants. The aristocracy didn't even seem to have picked up on the fact the nation was rapidly heading for a calamity. Their conversation was a load of triviality, the only mention of the state of emergency was a complaint that the Wonderbolts weren't racing.
None the less, Wildcard had a job to do. He milled his way through the early arrivals, putting on a smile and engaging in horrific smalltalk with them. "Wonderful weather today, isn't it? I suppose you don't have weather control where you come from..." "Isn't it nice of Princess Celestia to let you join us?" "I hear you don't have cider in the hive, what a travesty!" Wildcards personal favourite from the day was this: "It must be terrible to live without your own magic, I would just die without it." said by a mare in a rather overdone dress whom looked like the most she ever used her magic for was levitating a tea cup.
Eventually, just after he had started a game in his head of 'count the aristocrats complaining about stupid things, take a shot for each later', Wildcard found his counterpart sitting at a table. Ambassador Pike had been the Captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard during their invasion of the Hive. It was his mutiny that had saved them- at the expense of his career.
"Eta-Delta!" Pike exclaimed on seeing his counterpart.
"Look at you, got a cutie mark and everything," he laughed, patting a seat beside him.
Wildcard relaxed, Pike was the truest friend the changelings had.
"I do indeed, It's been an eventful few weeks," Wildcard said, taking the seat beside him.
"I'll say, Equestria's in a state of emergency, the griffons are at the gates, and I'm stuck at a desk unable to do anything," Pike lamented with a sigh.
Wildcard patted him on the shoulder.
"You've already done enough, Ambassador. Without you the Hive would be a smoking ruin. You deserve your own peace," Wildcard said.
Pike shook his head.
"It's not that. The peace is nice, but I feel guilty alone in it. I want to help- somehow. I feel useless, I don't even do much as Ambassador, all of the work has been on your end," he said.
Wildcard supposed he understood. Pike was a fighter at heart, and he was relegated to a desk job.
"If things keep going at the rate they are, you'll get a chance to help- somehow," Wildcard noted.
Wildcard glanced at the sun, it was around 2:30 and the actually important guests should be arriving soon. He collected Lyra- finding her juggling apples. One of a kind...
They stood waiting for the approaching train, not sure who was onboard but Wildcard had a duty to greet whomever it was.
"So who do you think it is? Couldn't Celestia just fly?" Lyra asked, Wildcard ignored her.
The train came to a stop, and out came the passengers. Princess Twilight Sparkle and friends were out first. Wildcard swore he had only sent her a 'plus one invite', he looked to his side to find Lyra grinning back at him.
"What? I couldn't separate them! Last time some pony tried the whole town fell apart," She said.
Wildcard sighed. Heroes they may be, but they had... character.
Still better then the aristocrats though.
"Good Afternoon Princess, guests of the Princess," Wildcard said with a small bow.
She smiled at him, and nodded, the others were nowhere near as 'proper'
"I hear you've got cider, that true?" Rainbow Dash flew right up into his face and asked.
"We d-" Wildcard said, that was enough and the pony flew away.
"Those aren't Ponyville apples!" One of them exclaimed, and was off too, the pink one following. Fluttershy seemed to be following a butterfly, and Rarity had somehow already found herself in with the aristocrats, a small purple figure at her heels.
"Don't mind them, they're-" She was interrupted as Applejack tipped over a bushel of apples, tossing them all out.
"These won't do at all!" She could be heard yelling.
Twilight coughed. "So uh, Ambassador, I see you're here with Lyra?" She asked.
"That's correct, Princess. She's my new secretary, and a fine one if I do say so myself," Wildcard said. Lyra curtsied in turn.
Before they could say anything else she ran of, glancing over Wildcard saw her running over to her friends.
Wildcard let her go, he had done his job. In any case she was unlikely to care about any breach in protocol. The next guest to disembark was Celestia. Lyra curtsied on her arrival while Wildcard gave a quick bow.
"Good Afternoon Princess Celestia, I'm glad you could come." Wildcard greeted. He had no idea if she would bring a guest or not, so the invitation had been simply addressed as "Princess Celestia and company," which turned to only be herself.
"Good Afternoon Ambassador, I see you've brought a guest- Lyra Heartstrings is it?"
"Yes, your Highness. It's an honour to be here, " Lyra replied. In the moment of distraction Celestia managed to press a note into Wildcard's hoof unseen by Lyra.
"I'll leave you to greet the others, " Celestia said with a wink, leaving Wildcard to look at the note.
"In the car, let's talk." - First Class.
Wildcard quickly turned to Lyra. "I've got to take care of something, take over for me," he said. Before she could reply Wildcard was already in the car, finding First Class sitting on the far side, looking out the window. Wildcard took a seat across.
He was about to launch into a well prepared speech, but was beat to the punch.
"I've done some thinking, Wildcard..." First Class said, turning away from the window. "I guess I can't really blame you for who you.. were, but I need you to do something," She leaned in, Wildcard did as well.
"Anything," Wildcard said.
"I need you to tell me, once and for all- who are you? Are you 'Eta-Delta', or are you 'Wildcard'?" She asked.
His reply came surprisingly fast.
"Wildcard," he replied, and swung the briefcase over beside him.
"What's that?" First Class asked.
"The lock is keyed to 0451 1138, open it." Wildcard said. First Class looked at him quizzingly and did as asked, reaching over and with a click the case swung open. She reached in and pulled out the report.
"Report on Ambassador Wildcard, First Class eyes only?" she asked, flipping to the first page.
"Oh, oh I see," She said, and put it down beside her.
"I suppose this is your way of making us even?" She asked.
Wildcard nodded "That's my hope, yes,"
First Class smiled, Wildcard as well. The familiar and euphoric feeling of being close to her filed him. His career might be circling the drain, but it was worth it.
She kissed him, and with a burst of green flame the report was destroyed.
Worth it.
Once his brain had caught up he departed the train, First Class leaving afterwards to join her Princess. Outside Wildcard found Lyra greeting Prince Shining Armour and Princess Cadence.
"... and here's the Ambassador!" She said, gesturing over. They both turned to him and he bowed.
"Good afternoon Prince Armour, Princess Cadence," he said.
"Good afternoon, Ambassador. I hope that I will be able to meet with Queen Chrysalis as we had discussed earlier, once this is all done?" Cadence asked.
Shining rolled his eyes, clearly not looking forward to this meeting. Wildcard couldn't really blame him.
"That's correct, after the speeches are done you will have a private audience," Wildcard said.
Cadence nodded. "Good, I've been looking forward to it," she said, and led her partner to the others.
Wildcard sighed. "Who's left?" He asked Lyra.
"General Massé, Air Marshall Spitire- whom I imagine while show up a bit after three- and your Queen," She said.
As if cued by her saying this Wildcard heard the sound of trumpets, and turning to find the source he saw his superior and his phalanx of warriors heralding Chrysalis' arrival. Wildcard dashed over with Lyra behind him.
"Your Highness!" Wildcard shouted, skidding to a stop. From an outside perspective it would look have looked like a crazed stallion with a unicorn at his side was rushing the Queen, which was clearly what the warriors saw too- a few of them closed in before Eta-Alpha whistled and they came to attention, forming an aisle at which Chrysalis landed at the end and strode through them.
Wildcard swore she put on weight, but no matter he bowed low, as did Lyra.
"Eta-Delta, how wonderful for you to have arranged for this display. I knew you were the right agent for this mission, and this alliance is proving most useful," She said, grinning.
"I see you have a... cutie mark? As well now. Interesting, is this a choice on your part?" She asked, towering over the Ambassador while the warriors looked on.
"Just part of doing business in Equestria, your Highness," Wildcard replied
"I see, and who is your friend?" She asked, seeing Lyra at his side.
"Lyra Heartstrings, your Highness," Wildcard replied.
"It's nice to see you're getting in touch with the locals, just be careful," She said, and trotted past Wildcard, taking the other changelings up in her wake.
She glanced back, gazing at Wildcard with a calculating stare. "Keep up the good work Eta-Delta,"
Wildcard relaxed, and turned to Lyra. She shivered and frowned. "She's... cold," Lyra said.
Wildcard had to agree. Recently he had begun to see the Queen in a whole new light, he used to respect and fear her as a leader, a driving force. Now he just feared her.
The next to arrive was General Massé, coming in via chariot. Wildcard was once again forced to dash across the field to greet him, he hadn't expected everyone to be arriving separately like this. As an Ambassador he was more or less making this all up as he went, he couldn't even imagine how badly things would have gone without Lyra helping.
"General! I'm glad you could make it!" Wildcard shouted up at him as the chariot landed.
"With the collective leadership of the entire country here, I would be a fool to miss this," He said, disembarking. Without any more talk he trotted off, Wildcard glanced back and saw him come to take a position shadowing Celestia.
"Well, he's serious," Lyra noted.
"It's his job to be serious, now what ti-" Wildcard started to ask, but the Wonderbolts answered him by starting their flyby. Turning his head to the sky as he heard a roar echo through the plains he saw the lightning contrails as they descended from the H.M.S Magnificent. They flew downwards at such incredible speed that Wildcard almost involuntarily threw up his arms to protect his face before they branched off bare meters above the ponies and changelings on the ground. Apart they flew the outside of the valley and then joined up again, flying straight upwards. The then cut their contrails and flew into the distance, hailed by cheers from the ground. Wildcard joined them, it was an awesome display. If the Wonderbolts were as good at fighting as they were with showmanship, the griffons didn't stand a chance.
The next couple hours went by in a blur of trivial conversations with 'nobles', and ensuring that things in general went smoothly. Applejack had apparently had her family bring in a bushel of their own apples, which ended up causing a minor stir when their markedly superior selves were quickly devoured, leaving only the inferior ones provided from a generic supplier. Wildcard made a mental note: Ponies have strong opinions on dumb things, specifically apples.
Eventually time came for the speeches, Wildcard stood next to the stage. He was able to finally see the background for it, a stylized map of Equestria with a dotted red line marking the new border, a gold star representing the point where the rail line connected. First up was Celestia, a natural orator she stood smiling at the crowd with her mane blowing in the wind behind her. She cleared her throat and began.
"Gentlecolts and Mares of Equestria, and our new friends from the Hive. Today it is my great honour to be here for the dedication of this new rail line- the Harmony Line, which represents the new friendship our two nations have begun to build. We start today in a greater future, and the friendship between our two peoples will lead us all into a happier future. The magic of friendship unites us, as proven that fateful night this all began. Let it grow by the day, and never dwindle."
When she finished the ponies applauded, Wildcard was slightly amused to note that the changelings only did so after Eta-Alpha started to himself, and somewhat half-heartedly. Their tone would change as soon as they started journeying into Equestria, in time they would see as he did.
Next up was Chrysalis, who seemed to tower over the stage. As if a bizarre omen the sun moved behind the Magnificent, casting them all in it's shadow.
"Citizens of Equestria, I come before you today for the first time not as an enemy- but as an ally. Together we strike forward to a stronger future for both our nations. Together as allies we can, and we will, accomplish great things. It is my great pleasure to see this alliance come to be, and with each passing day this alliance between our nations grows stronger. This rail line represents the core ideal of that, and it is my wish that we should both benefit greatly from trade. Let the world see us together as partners, with the strength of our alliance never faltering."
In a mirror image of Celestia's speech the changelings all immediately applauding, while the ponies applauded in a style that could be described as 'gentle'.
It was Wildcards turn, and he arrived on the stage as Chrysalis descended the other side. Public oration was certainly not his forte, but part of his training was being able to ignore eyes watching you and set to a task.
"Friends, Changelings, Equestrians; It is my great pleasure to have seen the construction of this rail line since the idea was first proposed in a board room a month ago. Since then I spent my time in Equestria, and I have experienced things no other changeling has. I experienced friendship, I expected to be greeted as an outcast, but instead I found myself embraced with open arms by the unbelievably generous, and kind, citizens of Equestria. My time with you has not been perfect- as Equestria Daily will probably tell you all in tomorrows paper..." He paused, and as expected got a few laughs. ", but I have in my time come to see you all not as ponies, but as friends. I have learnt so much during my time here, and one lesson will stick with me forever. That lesson is that we're not truly different- we need not be separate. There are in the end no ponies of Equestria, nor changelings of the Hive. There is only us. Together we are one people, and I feel this bond growing stronger by the day. May we never forget this lesson, and may we remain as one into eternity," Wildcard finished and bowed to cheers from both crowds.
Walking off the stage he was ushered by a pair of guards to the tracks, where one of the engineers from Baltimare stood holding a mallet. A golden spike was halfway in, waiting to be hammered the final distance. Beside him Celestia and Chrysalis both stood, a mare with a camera waiting to get a picture of the moment.
"I think you should do the honours, Ambassador," Celestia suggested. Chrysalis nodded her approval.
Wildcard hefted it in his hooves.
"Friendship," Celestia said.
"Strength," Chrysalis added.
"Togetherness," Wildcard said, bringing it down on the spike to as the camera flashed.
With that accomplished, Wildcard turned to see First Class smiling behind him.
"That was a nice speech, I think you bridged the gap between your Queen and Celestia's speech quite nicely," She joked.
"Thank you, I assume you wrote Celestia's?" Wildcard asked.
First Class laughed, "She writes her own, something about 'a few thousand years of practice."
Wildcard shrugged, "I suppose that cuts down on your work anyway- wanna grab a cider?" He asked.
First Class smiled, and took his arm. "That would be great, but what about your guest?" She asked.
Wildcard glanced around, and then spotted Lyra. She had found one of the guards, and appeared to be getting on quite well. They laughed at something, and she removed her helmet to reveal a rose and blue mane.
Wildcard smiled, "She'll be fine."
First Class and Wildcard had dinner together, she beguiled him with a tale of her apparently having to track down and destroy a shipment of tea, which Wildcard found quite hilarious. Everyone, and every pony, else was getting along quite well too. Eta-Alpha had gravitated towards General Massé, they both appeared to be sharing war plans while Ambassador Pike desperately tried to share his own insight. Celestia and Chrysalis sat together, mostly silently. Air Martial Spitfire was notably absent, but Wildcard couldn't really blame her. If he had an airship like that, he would certainly rather be there than here. Flankenstein had turned down his invitation, apparently busy finalizing the immunizations.
"So Wildcard, what's going to happen to your 'friend?" First Class asked.
Wildcard poked at his meal, a collection of mushrooms and a pear. "I'll talk to you about that later, let's just say 'it's complicated,"
First Class laughed, "What, are you dating the guy?"
Wildcard sat back in his chair, a great grin across his face. Dusk had it's own beauty.
An hour or so later the guests began to leave, most of them having already moved onboard the train as the evening turned chilly. Those that could fly already had, and Wildcard looked for Lyra with First Class by his side to send her off before he left as well. He found her, and her (friend, partner, soulmate?) laughing at one of the benches as changeling workers began to clean the field up.
While they looked around First Class asked Wildcard a question.
"Wildcard, there's something about that dossier I still don't get..." she stated. Wildcard swallowed his fear and braced for whatever came next.
"Those numbers and weird lettering beside my picture, what did that all mean?" She asked.
Wildcard let out a breath of relief. That was easy enough to explain.
"The numbers are a colour code for coat, mane, eyes- that sort of thing. The 'strange letters' represent your voice. That's the reason we normally hold onto those dossiers instead of just memorizing them- it's incredibly complicated to assume a voice and body without seeing it for yourself. Try memorizing a random dozen digits of pi and recalling it a week later," he explained.
"Mine was longer then the one for that bat pony though, why would that be?" She inquired.
"It's harder to capture beauty," Wildcard replied, quite pleased with how this had gone. He spotted Lyra and her friend chatting at one of the tables. Workers were all over the place cleaning up.
"Lyra, been looking for you!" Wildcard greeted.
"Ambassador!" She exclaimed, "Bon-Bon, this is-"
"I know who he is, Lyra." Bon-Bon said, standing. "I wanted to thank you for what you did, it was quite noble of you. To be perfectly honest... I never expected such kindness for a changeling," She said.
Wildcard smiled. "It's my job to prove that thinking wrong, and I'm glad I did. Think nothing of it," He said.
Bon-Bon nodded, "You've got a good heart, Ambassador."
Lyra came to her side, taking her hoof in hers. Wildcard glanced down and noticed that mirrored himself and First Class.
"Would you mind if I found my own way home, Wildcard? I haven't been able t-" Wildcard cut her off with a gesture.
"Of course, Lyra. Take the night off, and tomorrow as well. You worked hard to help me set this all up, and I owe you my gratitude." he said.
"Train leaves in ten minutes with or without you though," Wildcard warned.
Lyra simply smiled and tapped her horn. "I've got it well in hand, Ambassador." She trotted off with Bon-Bon at her side.
First Glass ribbed Wildcard. "What did you do to make that one mare like you so much?" She asked.
Wildcard led her to the train as he explained, "I had her re-assigned from the Crystal Empire so they could be together, at considerable expense. I couldn't bare to see that friendship break- and I got a good secretary-" Wildcard was interrupted by a warm feeling on his cheek.
His vision blurred for a moment and he glanced away with a blush, and then he spotted it.
A small lake with a sandy beach, and a single palm tree. It wasn't an ocean beach he had seen in his mind- it was an oasis. His brain must've remembered the few times he had flown past this place and created the image from it. He led a slightly confused First Class over and beheld it.
"It's just a small lake, what's the big deal?" She asked. "Trains leaving," she quickly added.
Wildcard waved his arm, let it go. He sat on the sand and stared at their reflection in the calm waters.
"It's not just any lake, it's an oasis. Look how dry it is around here," He gestured around. It was true, this close to the badlands it was a cold, dry, grey wasteland.
"A bit of life in the waste, a bit of colour in the grey, a bit of love in a war- a ray of sun through the clouds," He turned to First Class, also looking out at the water.
"I love you," He said.
She grinned, and embraced him.
"I do too," She said.