By the time Twilight got to the tent, the rest of the girls were already there. Pinkie was telling a story to Rainbow Dash that seemed to be about trying to bake a cake from grass and tree bark. Applejack was sitting quietly next to Rarity and Fluttershy, who were both quietly munching on some grass fries. They all looked up and smiled at Twilight when she walked in, and she realized how long it's been since they were all in the same place at the same time, without any pressing matters to distract them.
"Hey, girls!"
"Heya, Twi."
"Hiiiiiii!"
"How are you guys?"
"Hunky dory!"
"Doing awesome, as usual."
Some small talk ensued, and Twilight learned more about her friend's daily lives. Rainbow Dash was still part of the Pegasi Scouts, flying the patterns, making sure no one was sneaking up on them. Fluttershy hadn't been doing much as a medic, seeing as there hadn't been much action the past few weeks. Applejack had probably been the most busy, between the carpentry work, the attemps at cultivating a crop, and the general labor. Pinkie was still in the kitchen for the camp. Most everypony was familiar with her work, and she was arguably the most popular pony in the camp. Rarity was still working on her transformations. She didn't go into much detail, and no one asked any questions. They all knew what Twilight had been up to, running the camp and making big decisions.
All the pleasantries done with and aside, Twilight put her serious face on and brought up the real reason that they were there. Not that seeing her friends wasn't nice, but there was something important to settle.
"So, girls, onto the real reason we're here. Yesterday myself, Luna, and the Black Berets all decided that we have to split up. The majority of the Ponyville ponies will hopefully be going south as refugees to the Zebra nation. We have a delegate on thier way now to talk to King Acoreg and hopefully figure something out. The rest of us will be going back to Equestria, going back to the fight. I'm just wondering who wants to go where. Each group will need as much help as possible."
"I'm definately going back."
"And myself as well."
Twilight wasn't surprised that Rarity and Rainbow Dash were the first to volunteer. Dash had been loving every moment of the Pegasi Scouts, and Rarity had been working very hard on developing and understanding Scarlet. No one really knew much so far, but Twilight knew what was most important: Scarlet was good in a fight. Neither did it surprise Twilight that the other volunteered to go back immediately after.
"Just wouldn't make a whole lotta sense for us to split up. We've been through enough together before, so let's keep up the trend."
"I agree wholeheartdly. We've proven a formidable team many times in the past."
"Yeah! I wanna go back, and we can get those bad meanies who took our homes, and then we can throw a HUUUGE party and all of Equestria will be there!"
"This is gonna be awesoooommmee! Daring Do doesn't have anything on us."
"You're defiantely going to need medical attention at some point. It's going to be dangerous."
"Who else is going?"
"We're not sure yet. So far, it's us six, Princess Luna, and the Black Berets."
"It's gonna be pretty hard to take back Equestria with twenty five ponies, no matter how good they are."
"It will be, but we do have several advantages. A small group can evade detection far better than a large group, not to say a small army. As well, eighteen members will be the Black Berets, some of the most highly trained warriors in the land. Not to mention, we have Luna, and she has the Moon Stone."
"Do we have a plan?'
"Not really. Luna's meeting with Nightfury, and they're figuring something out right now. I'm going to go over and see how it's going after I talked to you girls."
"Count us in, sugarcube, no matter what."
Twilight smiled at Applejack's remark. She had expected this outcome, not that she liked it. She was glad they were coming, but at the same time, she had been slightly been hoping they would go with the rest of Ponyville. They were going back into the fire, straight into the danger, and if Twilight was sure about one thing, it was that not all of them would be coming back. She wanted her friends to be safe. Was that too much to ask?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The only sounds in hearing were her guards' heavy tromping, and her own light steps. Kritz weren't allowed in her wing of the castle, but she kept a regiment of her Royal Guard around. There weren't many left, as most had abandoned her when she had announced her intentions to follow Axion, but enough remained. Three of them were following her now. It was endearing, the same way a puppy would follow around it's mother. She could ditch them easily enough; tell them to guard a certain doorway or flower vase and they would dutifully stand there until their shift was over. However, if any of them spotted her walking without an escort, they would silently fall in behind her. She didn't remember exactly why, but Celestia was pretty sure at some point in the past she had told them to behave as such, and it would be silly to contradict them. It's not like they weren't trying to protect their liege, even if she didn't need protecting.
She reached the door she had been seeking. A wave of her hoof, and the guards posted up to either side, and she advanced inside alone. To an observer, she merely pushed it open with her hoof, but the tingle that ran up her leg indicated a seal, broken only to her touch. If anyone or anything else touched the door, they would be frozen in place, unable to move, until Celestia herself came along and released them. Sometimes Celestia debated putting stronger enchantments on the door, given what was inside, but it was only one of many secured doors in the castle. If one was stronger than the rest, curiosity would run rampant. This way, the door was nondescript, and no one cared what was back there.
The room was dark. She had tempered the inferno for the conference, the glow from her fiery mane only lighting up the area directly around her. As soon as the door closed behind her, Celestia let herself smile in the glittering gloom and relaxed the control on her fire. It silently bloomed, and the room was revealed.
Celestia began to laugh. She was in such a great mood. Axion was furious. The mare and the big unicorn had escaped, and still couldn't be found. Ponyville had repulsed the Kritz, and had left, leaving Equestrian borders. While most of the realm now bowed to Axion, there were still pockets of resistance, emboldened by the rumors of Ponyville. Some say that Twilight grew to a hundred times her size and devoured the enemy, some say that the villagers fought with the ferocity of lions. Axion had a veritable public relations machine running full tilt, spreading counter rumors and the like, but it was a tough battle. It made Celestia laugh. Axion might have enormous magical power and wisdom of centuries, but she was not accustomed to running a country. Celestia had almost given her advice a dozen times this afternoon, but had decided not to. It was incredibly entertaining to watch.
Celestia turned her eyes to the only object in the room. It was a manniken of a pony, a normal-sized one that barely came up to her chest. On the manniken was a suit of plate armor. Dust would never settle on the surface, no matter that it had been undisturbed for decades. Delicate engravings danced over the polished metal, swirling patterns that played tricks on the eye. It had been forged as a unicorn's armour, with a collared hole for a horn to project through, so Celestia had had to modify it slightly, cutting the sides of the back-piece away so her wings would have room. Now it fit her nearly perfectly, just one last modification to make.
Celestia sat back on her haunches and lifted the neck piece with her hooves. She wanted to reserve her magic for the process she was about to perform. The enchantments on the armour were powerful and ancient, and if ruined, Celestia wasn't sure she could replicate them. Not anytime soon, at least. Metallurgy wasn't her strongest subject.
She eyed the piece, examining the lines she had scribed on the outside, ever so carefully. A long, thin rectangle ran most of the length, right down the center. The ancients that had created this armour would shave their manes off before battle, for whatever silly reason, and so there was no cavity or slot for a mane to protrude. Celestia wasn't a fan of that. Her mane was glorious, a hellish beacon, and she wanted it visible.
She took her time, flowing her magic in, through, around, over, and out. The metal wasn't the hard part. She could slice through the armour like a sheet of the thinnest paper, if it hadn't been enchanted. No, she was having to contest with the long dead magicians who had wrought such a masterpiece. She was attempting to defeat, outsmart, and overpower more than a dozen of the most intelligent and powerful unicorns of their era. The armour had been designed to gift the wearer with total invincibility. Celestia could take an enormous beating, being an alicorn, but she wasn't quite immortal. This armour essentially cast a shield just above skin level over the wearer's entire body, and although she hadn't tested it as thoroughly as she would have if there had been more than one set, Celestia was pretty sure it could take whatever Twilight, Luna, the Black Berets, and whoever else they had recruited could throw at her. The only downside was that if the armor was overpowered and broken, the magical backlash would definitely kill a mortal pony, and probably knock Celestia unconscious for several days. That, however, was very unlikely.
She finished cutting the hole, faint smoke fluttering past her face. Examining her handiwork with her eyes and magic, Celestia was pleased. The slot was smooth and even, and the enchantments were still strong. Quite pleased with herself, Celestia settled the neck armour back on it's place on the manniken.
Not for the first time, Celestia wondered what Axion's reaction would be if she were to learn about some of the artifacts hidden about Canterlot Castle. The new ruler of Equestria had scarcely been anywhere but her rooms and the council chambers since she moved in. She hadn't explored the vast majority of the ancient castle. Celestia had hidden the things she had deemed too precious or dangerous for Axion to get her hooves on, but a few had been left only just out of sight, begging to be discovered. Some would help Axion's efforts immensely, though a few were cursed. Celestia's intentions had been to see how good Axion was at discerning and occasionally defeating various enchantments, but so far, nothing had happened. Celestia had been considering allowing a few Kritz to discovering something, just to see what happened, but she wasn't so desperate for entertainment yet. Axion's antics were comedic enough for the meantime.
Celestia left the room, her guards falling in behind her. She swiftly traversed the passageways to her personal quarters, telling the guards to allow no one to intrude. They were very good at preventing unwanted disturbances, and Celestia didn't want to be disturbed. It was bubble bath time.
The water was drawn, heated, and bubbled ever so carefully. Celestia removed her royal ornaments, setting them on the fine shelf. Lowering herself into the incredibly comfortable water, Celestia closed her eyes and began to hum. Tunelessly at first, but after a few minutes, she realized that she was humming a song. An old one, long forgotten by all except herself.It was a song composed about the fall of Luna into evil ways, and the rise of the Princess Of The Sun. Equestria was brought to peace, and the realm prospered under her wise guidance. It was a sweet song, and one of her favorites. Not for the sentiments of the time, but for the simple melodies, the delicate progressions and the ethereal undertones. It was written for a large orchestra to perform, but Celestia thought it could still be an inspiring piece by a talented string quartet. A cello for the rythem lines, a full upright bass for the low tones, and two violins to duel over the lead.
The song was dutifully finished, and Celestia lapsed into grateful silence. Her mind was calm for a time, blissfully unaware of anything but the warm water and the occasional bubble popping. However, a mind so accustomed to racing for centuries wasn't so easily quietened. Thoughts began to present themselves, slowly, like flowing molasses in a late November.
Twilight, as always, came first, but there was no new ground to cover, so she was subsequently set off to the side. Axion came next, and there was always plenty to think of there. The little unicorn was as complicated as she was mad. There was a dragon's worth of crazy in a unicorn sized package. There was definitely a superiority complex going on, without a doubt, but there also seemed be be some sort of loathing. For herself, for Celestia, for ponies in general, who was to know? But Axion was most definately driven, at least in part, by hate.
The next thought was of the armour. Celestia was quite proud of herself for successfully modifying it so. Very little was known about it before Celestia had acquired it, and she made sure even was less was known after that. It was one of her many little secrets, just a little fail-safe kept back in reserves, something to surprise her opponents. It was definitely the most meager of such resources, and such was the only reason she was considering using it. The rest would most likely never see an occasion where they were necessary, but the armour would be nice to have. It would save her many bruises and aches if there was to be a fight.
Abruptly, Celestia realized that the water, while still somewhat warm, was no longer hot and steaming. She let her mane blaze hot for a moment, cracking an eye open as she did. She loved looking at herself in the mirror when she did that. For some reason, the image of fire erupting form the water around her radiated power and control, and Celestia loved it. She hadn't gotten around to painting the picture yet, but she would.
Celestia lowered herself deeper into the water, leaving only her face exposed, letting her mind drift into serenity. She lay in the bath for some time, still humming that old song.