Cadance and Argentium had exchanged messages in the days since my arrival in Coldharbor to sort out the details for our meeting. While the trip to a hot spring and a tour around Coldharbor had been very nice, they hadn't completely dispelled the mounting pressure I felt over this meeting. I think what bugged me most was not knowing why Argentium wanted to see me. Sure, I was Empress Sunbeam’s student and I belonged to an important family, but I personally wasn't that important. Maybe someday I would be of significance within the Empire, but that day felt a long way off.
I severely doubted she wanted to harm me in any way. In her letter, Argentium had extended an offer of hospitality to me, and the rules of hospitality tended to be very important to very old and powerful beings like her. After all, if you made a habit of murdering people you invited to your home, people would catch on pretty quickly that they shouldn't drop in for a visit. Reputations were pretty important, especially when you were going to be around for a long time.
Maybe she was just curious about me?
In any event, I was going to find out what Argentium wanted before too long. The pine forests of Northmarch crawled under me as the sky chariot took me to Argentium the Runescaled. Already I could see the Silver Spire Mountains growing quickly on the horizon. It wouldn't be long before we arrived at Argentium’s lair. Sadly, Cadance hadn't been able to come to the meeting; she had an important meeting with the leaders of the earlier protests that she couldn't put off, at risk of provoking an outright riot.
Strumming stretched out her wings on the opposite side of the chariot. “Ah, the lazy way is the best way to fly.”
I grinned at my companion. “Aren't you a pegasus?”
“Really?” Strumming gasped and stared at her wings in shock.
I shot back with a round of sarcasm. “There were one or two hints, yes.”
“Huh.” Strumming shrugged. “Well, what do you know?”
“Oh lots of things,” I said with a grin. “Magic, chemistry, alchemy, biology, history, sociology, literature, enchanting—the list goes on and on.”
Strumming chuckled. “I like you. You're a smartflank.”
“I have my moments.” I buffed my hoof on my chest. “It helps that Sunset really likes me being a smartflank. Have to make the fillyfriend happy, right?”
“Makes life a lot more harmonious, yeah.” Strumming tightened her scarf. Even with the chariot’s enchantments against the elements, we could still feel the bite of the northern wind. Strumming had a bit of an edge over me thanks to her innate pegasus resistance to cold, but even she was reaching her limits.
“So.” I leaned against the side of the chariot as I faced her. “What do you think of Argentium? You should have something to say, being a spook.”
Strumming leaned languidly on the opposite side of the chariot. “Oh, I've heard all kinds of things.”
“Are you going to share any of that, or shall I go into this with just what my history books have told me about her?” I prompted her. I had long figured out that Strumming was a something of a tease, so I might as well play her game to get what information I could out of her. I for one always felt proportionally better about dealing with a situation when I had more information to work with, especially for something like meeting an ancient dragon under mysterious conditions.
“Well, she's a dragon.” Strumming grinned teasingly at my flat look. “A nicer dragon than most, but still a dragon.”
I crossed my forelegs over my chest. “That doesn't exactly make me feel better. Dragons can be a bit temperamental. And greedy. And prideful. And a half dozen other things to be wary of.”
“Relax.” Strumming waved dismissively. “She's not the type to gobble ponies up on a whim.”
“By dragon standards, at least,” I groused. There were plenty of stories out there about ponies who had ran afoul in their dealings with dragons.
“She's got all the usual dragon pride and greed,” Strumming conceded. “She's just not a jerk about it.”
“At least that much is true.” I looked to the wrapped package large enough to cover my back sitting next to me. “Good news is that we had the sense to bring along a gift for Argentium with us.”
“It's only prudent,” Strumming said. “Dragons do like adding to their hoards.”
“It should butter her up.” I scooted a bit closer to my gift. It wasn't likely to fall off the chariot, but I didn't particularly feel like taking a chance. I looked out ahead and saw Ancalagon Peak slowly growing as we got closer. The snow clung to the mountains year-round this far north, and evergreen forests surrounded its base. “I think we're almost there.”
Strumming peeked over the side of the chariot and pointed. “That's certainly a big dragon-sized cave.”
Her superior pegasus eyesight had let her see the cave first, but it wasn't long before I saw the opening in the side of the mountain. It was larger than would have formed naturally, and was flanked on both sides by intricate sculptures of watchful dragons carved from the mountain stone itself. As we got closer even more elegant statues became visible, with arcane runes and artistic carvings etched between them. It must have taken at least a decade to do all of it.
I whistled at the display. “You could fit a small village inside of the entrance. And the masonry...”
Strumming nodded in agreement. “No kidding. That’s one way to say ‘Here there be dragons.’”
“Now I have to wonder how much of the mountain she has carved out.” I’d read before coming out here that she’d hollowed out a chunk of the mountain, but there hadn't been much in the way of hard numbers about the dimensions of the lair. Probably a result of the normally secretive nature of elder dragons.
Strumming pursed her lips in thought. “Considering how long she's been around? The whole thing's probably hollow.”
“There's a crazy thought,” I said. “Considering it took generations of unicorns to mine out Mount Avalon for materials.”
“Dragons do things a bit bigger.” She shrugged. “Comes with being huge.”
“Right, and with how old she is...” I mentally calculated her potential natural size. There were some rough calculations for how big dragons got over time, but they were far from perfectly accurate given that dragons didn't really like others poking and prodding them for information. I had seen Argentium at the palace once, but she had been disguised as a pony at the time and I’d had no clue who she really was. Still, even with nothing more than a rough guess... “Her natural form must be massive.”
“Dragons just keep getting bigger the older they get, and she's really old,” Strumming agreed.
“It is really fascinating. Zoologists have been trying forever to figure out how that works,” I said. “There are only a handful of animals that have that property, though dragons are the most noteable because of their size and magical nature. Which has led to a couple theories...” I said as I launched into a lecture about everything I knew about dragons. For her part, Strumming grinned and sat back to listen. I didn't stop until the chariot suffered a sudden jostle. A quick check confirmed that we had landed in front of the cave. Thankfully there had been more than a reasonable amount of space to land. There was even a wide trail that led further down the mountain, probably worn into the landscape by the generations of caribou who consulted with Argentium.
“It looks like we’re here.” One of the pegasus guards that had flown us here assisted me as I stepped off the chariot. The opening looked even more intimidating up close.
Strumming hopped off next to me. “Unless we landed at the wrong ancient dragon cave, yeah.”
“Well, we can pick up with the nature and properties of dragonfire later.” I wasn’t quite able to keep the disappointment out of my tone.
“I can't wait,” Strumming deadpanned.
“This should be interesting, at least.” I stretched my stiff muscles. “It would be nice if I could ask her some questions ... if she won't be offended, anyways.”
Strumming glanced all about the entrance of the cave. “No way to tell until you try.”
“I'm usually not snack-sized to whomever I'm asking questions,” I grumbled. “Still, we've come this far. Might as well go all the way.”
As the two of us headed towards the entrance, a caribou cow came out to greet us. She was in her late middle age and bundled up in a heavy coat, though what really caught my eye was the plethora of small stones dangling from her antlers. They clicked and clacked against one another as we approached one another, and I saw that each had a small rune on them.
“Greetings.” She bowed courteously. “Argentium the Runescaled expects you. Follow me and I will take you to see her.”
I glanced Strumming’s way, but her only response was a helpless shrug. Seeing no objection from my bodyguard, I nodded to the caribou. “Thank you. Just lead the way.”
Without further comment, she led us further into the cave. The further we walked into the ornately sculpted cavern, the less Strumming’s theory about the mountain being hollowed out seemed like an exaggeration. The hallways alone were massive, though surprisingly well-lit, with lighting gems periodically spaced to create a consistent glow everywhere we walked.
After the entrance, the first real chamber we’d entered opened up before us. All about us were massive statues, arranged as though they were part of some sort of elaborate museum. As we got closer, more treasures and artifacts became visible, each displayed independently of the other as though to be admired in their own right. It wasn’t the great mound of treasure I was expecting for a dragon’s hoard, but that didn’t make me any less impressed.
“Oh, wow!” I scanned some of the statues as we passed them. “Where do I even start? These statutes date from across centuries, I'm sure of it. I can see evidence of Reneighssance influences here.”
Strumming whistled as she looked over a marble statue of dragon grappling with what looked like some sort of demon. “Yeah, it's all very dramatic and impressive.”
“I didn't have any idea she had all of this.” I stopped to examine a dozen Fabergé eggs that sat inside a glass display. “When you think of a dragon horde, you think of—you know, a big pile of gold coins and gems, with an odd crown or necklace thrown in.”
“Looks like she's got more sophisticated tastes,” Strumming said.
Our caribou escort hummed in agreement. “The Great Runescaled is not some mere wyrmling who lies in all his meager holdings. My mistress is a dragon of taste and distinction.”
“You won’t get an argument from me.” That was in no small part because I didn’t want Argentium to think that I had insulted her in her own home. That could only end poorly. “I have to wonder if some of those paintings on the wall are originals. Some of them were reported missing or lost a long time ago.”
Strumming nodded. “I'd put pretty good odds on it.”
Our escort’s only answer was a knowing smile as she led us even deeper into the cave. I had a feeling that part of the reason for the pseudo-museum display was to awe any visitors like us. Granted, it had worked on me pretty well.
The caribou showed us into a chamber that I could best describe as an audience hall. It was similar to Empress Sunbeam’s own throne room in design and purpose, but on a grander scale than what even the Empire found necessary. On either side of the room were enormous paintings of Argentium that stretched across the length of the hall, each showing various aspects of their dragon owner. One presented her as the leader of the caribou, placing her in front of a large herd, while another showed her teaching the mysteries of runic magic. Flanking it was a painting of Argentium as a patron of heroes, and I recognized some of the figures drawn in front of her, facing towards the watcher as though ready to face some kind of evil.
Along the ceiling was a vast fresco that seemed to be a depiction of Argentium’s life, starting above the entrance and then finishing on the other side of the room. While I still had a great many questions about this visit, there was one thing I was all but certain about: Argentium could never be called modest.
On the far end of the room sat a vast throne—if a seat the size of a building could still be described as a throne. It looked as though it were carved out of the mountain itself, its base flowing right into the floor. Even from a distance I could see the precious metals and gems that encased the underlying stone, glittering in the magical light of the room.
As impressive and daunting as all of this ostentatious display of wealth was, it somehow managed to pale in comparison to the being that lounged atop it.
Argentium the Runescaled was larger than any living creature I had ever seen. I had seen the bones of some of the mightiest tyrant lizards in the Royal Museum of Natural History, and they could have been pets to the dragon before me. I was reasonably certain that her teeth were bigger than measly little me. Her scales were the color of tarnished silver and there were runes carved into them. She almost could almost have been mistaken for a massive statue if not for the occasional slight movement.
There was also a sense of power that I had rarely felt, a deep, strong, suffocating presence in the room. The closest I had to anything like it was when Her Majesty was doing some display of her own power, or some great feat of magic done by a group of magi working together. I had seen a hooffull of dragons in the past, but I realized there were dragons and then there were dragons.
My ears wilted as I stared up at Argentium. “Oh, she's ... really, really big.” I gulped as I stared up at her. “But we can't stop now, can we?”
Argentium’s lips spread in a toothy grin, confirming my initial assessment of her teeth size. “You have come an awful long way to turn back now, and I wouldn't expect one of Sunbeam's children to be a coward.”
I hunched my shoulders and suppressed a squeak. The dragon hadn’t been too loud per se, but her voice had carried weight and it fell upon me. That, and I hadn’t realized she could even hear us speak.
Still, I stepped forward to properly present myself. Erring on the side of caution, I bowed before Argentium. “Um, greetings. My name is Twilight Sparkle, Empress Sunbeam Sparkle's personal student. It's a pleasure to be guest in your home.” Following what I had read about caribou traditions, I levitated my wrapped package to her. “I've brought a gift for you to show my thanks for your hospitality.” I forced a smile onto my face. “I hope you like it.”
Argentium’s eyes lit up. “A gift? How thoughtful.”
Realizing that a being that size might have trouble unwrapping a pony-sized gift, I quickly pulled the wrapping paper off, revealing a collection of books nestled in a wooden holder decorated with pictures of Daring’s various adventures carved into its surface.
“It’s a rare collector's edition of the Daring Doo series,” I clarified for her. “It contains the first seven books of the series. I admit, I really like how each of the books was made to look like an ancient hoof-made tomb.” In truth, it had surprised me to find something like that in a Coldharbor bookstore, but I wasn’t going to complain about getting something I thought would be a nice gift. Sure, I could have gone with something like gold and gems, but I figured something a bit more personal should work at least as well. “They’re my favorite adventure series, and I've read each book several times. I wouldn't want to give you a book that I didn’t think was amazing, of course.” I laughed awkwardly. “You're a big, very impressive, ancient dragon, so I wouldn't want to waste your time with anything but the best.”
“My my, quite impressive.” Argentium carefully took the book collection into her massive talons before gingerly putting the books aside on her throne’s armrest. “I'll have to set aside a few days to enjoy these properly. But first we have many things to discuss, Twilight Sparkle.” She paused and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly at Strumming. “Just Twilight Sparkle.” She flicked a claw at my bodyguard. “Leave us.”
Strumming stiffened at the dismissal, no doubt unhappy with the idea of being away from her charge. She had barely left my side since departing for Northmarch. Little surprise, considering what it would mean for her if something were to happen to me—the best-case scenario for her would be the Empress dead-ending her career.
It seemed best to try and defuse the situation as quickly as possible. Given the old rules of hospitality, Argentium might become seriously offended if it was suggested I was in any kind of danger while under her roof. The few times in history someone had tried to hurt one of Argentium’s guests all ended very, very poorly for the attackers. “I'm sure I'll be perfectly safe with her, Strumming.” I gave her the best reassuring smile I could muster. “No one would think to hurt me while I'm under her hospitality, naturally.”
Strumming frowned as she considered the situation and then nodded. “Yeah, anything that can get past the ancient dragon's probably too much for me.”
“I'll be fine. As fine as I can hope to be.” I gulped as my eyes turned back to Argentium. “Besides, this is important, right?”
“I would hardly have called you all this way for a trifle,” Argentium said, reminding me that she could still hear the two of us even when we spoke softly.
One of Strumming’s wings flicked irritably, but she nodded. “Right. Well I'll be just outside, pretending not to listen in on your private conversation.”
Argentium’s eyes narrowed further, and even from this not insignificant distance, I could hear a growl rolling through her throat.
Strumming gulped. “Or maybe I'll give you your privacy.”
I leaned in and whispered into Strumming’s ear. “Dragons are supposed to have really good hearing. So be smart, alright?” I didn’t think Strumming was dumb enough to go skulking around a dragon’s lair and doing something like stealing her treasure, but I would really not be in any way responsible for a diplomatic incident. Explaining to Her Majesty why Strumming had been burned to ashes would not be easy.
Strumming was still when she spoke. “Yeah. But call me if you need me.” She gave my shoulder a quick squeeze, then trotted out back towards the exit.
That left me alone. With Argentium the Runescaled. Probably the most important figure in Northmarch. For unknown reasons. No need to panic. The worst thing that could happen was that I did something to cause another war between Equestria and the caribou thengs, resulting in thousands dying in what should have been a preventable war, and in turn causing valuable resources to be squandered right when a dark demigod was on the verge of returning to inflict an eternal night on the world that would cause all life on the planet to freeze to death.
Okay, maybe there was a reason to panic.
Before I could find new and completely justified reasons to want to run away screaming, Argentium hummed to herself and started scratching something onto the floor with one of her talons. “Just in case...” She finished her scratching and gave whatever she had carved into the stone floor a quick tap. There was a snap of unfamiliar magic as some sort of spell exerted itself over the chamber. “And now we have our privacy.”
I blinked at the sudden display of magic, and my horn glowed as I probed at it to try and figure out what it was. While it was different from any kind of pony magic I had dealt with, the spell itself was one familiar to me. “That was a privacy spell, right? Only one using runic magic?” Whatever we were to talk about, Argentium didn’t want anyone to hear. While privacy spells were pretty basic, this one was very solid in its makeup.
Argentium nodded. “Very good. I suppose Sunset has been showing you a few things she learned from her mother?”
“That’s right,” I said. “I don't know as much as her, but I've been studying them more lately.”
She probably knew about my relationship with Sunset thanks to Cadance. That made me wonder what else the two of them had said about me; Argentium was an ancient dragon who probably had her own information gathering resources too, now that I thought about it. Could she even know about the Elements of Harmony? She had been around when Queen Celestia and Luna had been using them. It was strange thinking of someone being as old—no, older than Empress Sunbeam.
“Very good then.” A toothy grin worked its way onto her lips. “Always nice to have my work appreciated. Sunset’s mother learned about runic magic from me, you know.”
“Is that so?” In truth, Sunset had barely mentioned her parents to me, only giving me the basics about them like their occupations and a few other tidbits. I had dropped a few hints that I wanted to meet them, but she hadn’t even seemed to consider the idea. It made me wonder if everything was okay between them. “I guess that isn’t surprising. You are supposed to be the foremost authority on runes. I mean you've literally written the book—books on the theory, application, uses, ethics ... you know, everything you need to know about runes.”
“That is true.” Argentium chuckled throatily. “Flattering my draconic vanity, I see.”
I smiled with no little embarrassment after being caught in the act. I thought flattering Argentium would make her like me more. Dragon pride had been noted in more than one book I had read, and I really wanted to be on her good side. “Nothing I said wasn't true. It's hard for me not to get excited to talk to an expert of your caliber.”
“Yes, of course.” She purred. “But I think my ego has been stoked enough for now. We're not here to talk about me, after all.”
My heart started pumping fast as the conversation moved to why I was here. “Right, what are we here to talk about, if I may ask?”
“You.” Argentium’s gaze somehow became more intense as she focused on me. “I admit, you've rather piqued my curiosity.”
“Me?” My smile became very brittle. “Oh, I'm not that interesting...”
“Ah, such modesty.” She sounded amused. “I am somewhat curious about your place in your ancestor's plans for the future.”
I blinked. Did she know that I was supposed to use the Element of Loyalty? The Empress had somehow known I could use it, and Argentium was one of a hoofful of beings in her league when it came to power and knowledge. Maybe I could avoid that particular topic? I didn’t want to say something I shouldn’t.
“Oh, um, I'm sure she has plans. Probably important ones. I can't imagine she would waste her time on me if I wasn't going to be useful to her and the Empire.”
Argentium smile turned into a deep frown. “No, that is not her way. Always she looks to find a way to make others ... useful to her.”
“Well, yes. She's the Empress.” I tried to make my tone gentle, and sound less like I was directly contradicting the ancient dragon and more like I was merely extrapolating the facts. I wanted to defend my grandmother’s actions, but the trick was doing so without offending the fire-breathing dragon. “She has to find people of talent who can help her run the Empire effectively. Delegation is one of the most important management skills a ruler can have.”
“Yes, and the more she takes, the more she needs to rule over.” Argentium’s wings flicked and she narrowed her eyes. “It amazes me sometimes that she goes to all the trouble. Who would want to spend every hour of an immortal life immersed in the minutiae of leadership? Always dealing with details that mortals are far more suited to. Always appointing ministers, figuring out how much in taxes everyone should pay, making them actually pay their taxes, and spending countless hours pouring over documents written by self important bureaucrats all trying to cover their own rear ends. It seems a rather dreary existence, especially when one knows that it will never end.”
“She gives a lot of herself to the Empire,” I countered. “She thinks it's really important. Without her, the Empire would fall apart.” I did not mention how Argentium’s management style had resulted in Her Majesty scooping up Northmarch out from under her. It hadn’t helped that Argentium had been in the middle of a hundred-year nap at the time.
Argentium did like to keep the caribou she had always cared for at arm's length and ruled indirectly. She always liked to pull strings, supported and educated heroes, leaders, and sages, and acted as a mediator between the various tribes of caribou, and only acted openly in dire emergencies. It was very different from my grandmother’s much more hooves-on approach to governance. I wondered how much of that was deliberate and how much was based on her draconic nature. You never read about dragons being paper pushers, after all.
Her head tilted in a curious gesture. “Would it now? Most societies survive quite well with mortal leadership.”
I bit my lip as I considered the validity of her statement. “Some. Though those societies are somewhat uncommon, historically speaking. Most nations with mortal leadership tend to suffer a number of problems. For instance, thanks to having an immortal Empress, Equestria doesn't have to deal with a periodic succession crisis, not to mention it helps give the Empire a consistent direction and leadership that most other nations wouldn't enjoy. Nations like the Zebrican Empire suffered periodic civil wars to determine who would be the new sultan, and had to deal with a shift in policies every time it got a new ruler. Those flaws were exactly why they eventually agreed to annexation by Equestria.”
I worried I had stepped a bit too far as a growl built up within Argentium’s throat. Given her size, I could feel it reverberating in the floor. “Such an arrangement can also lead to stagnation.” Before I could form a counterargument, Argentium stretched out her wings and stepped off of her throne. Each step caused me to jerk slightly as it created a tremor in the ground. “But enough about politics, the subject bores and angers me in equal measure when discussed at length.”
I hunched my shoulders as I looked up—and up, and up—at Argentium standing at her full height. My voice came out raspy as my throat threatened to clench up. “Oh, s-sorry. I didn't mean to make you u-unhappy.”
“No offense was intended, and none was taken.” Argentium waved the issue off. “Shall we move somewhere more comfortable for this chat? This room is fine for greeting guests, but it lacks a certain warmth I prefer for a private talk.”
I looked around the cavernous chamber and found myself in complete agreement. “That would be nice. I'm sure it's fine for you, but this chamber is really, really big for a pony.”
“Indeed so.” Argentium’s lips peeled back in a smirk. “Perhaps a different form too, then? I would be a poor host if you got a neck cramp from looking straight up all the time.” She traced a claw over on of the designs in her scales. To my mild surprise, she actually did shrink down from her colossal mass. It took a minute, but soon she stood before me at a much diminished size. Relatively speaking anyways; she was still at least as big as Empress Sunbeam.
“That was amazing!” I blurted out, looking her over to make sure it had been transformation magic instead of some sort of illusion. “You managed to change your mass by that much? That takes a lot of talent. Normally it takes a senior magus to be able to do anything more than superficial changes to a body.” I was pretty good with transformation spells, but I couldn't change the mass of a creature that much. Not without a significant amount of preparation, in any event.
Argentium smiled proudly, puffing out her chest while doing so. “I do have a few thousand years of practice.”
“I can only imagine,” I said. “It always feels like I can learn more and more, but there's so little time to do it all. But you've had so much time to learn everything.” I sighed at the constraints of reality that prevented me from being a better student. “I guess there isn't anything that can be done about that.”
Argentium’s lips pursed in thought. “There are always ... options. Follow me.” I tagged alongside of her as she led the way to another room.
My eyes widened at the sight I saw. Like all the rooms in Argentium’s lair, the room was massive in its dimensions. But what really caught my eyes were the numerous tall shelves stacked with books. Even at a quick look, I judged that this might very well be the largest personal collection of books I had ever seen, and I could smell how ancient some of the tomes were. It was all I could do not to squeal in delight and run off to read something.
Argentium led the way past a few of the bookshelves before walking between a pair of them. “I might as well put your gift in its proper place.” She reached up and placed the Daring Do collection on an empty place on one of the shelves.
“This is amazing!” I glanced over some of the titles. Many of them were first editions, more than a few were preciously rare, and I was reasonably sure at least a few were custom jobs. “This is one of the largest libraries I've ever seen! These books are wonderful!”
“Well, perhaps not the largest,” Argentium said with a sense of false humility. “I am a bit selective with what books I own. Though I admit, reading can help pass the time. But enough of that.”
Argentium walked over to a pair of reclining couches that sat against the far wall. “So ... how much has Sunbeam told you about Nightmare Moon?”
I couldn’t help but wince. So she knew about that, too. It made me wonder how many were in on that secret. “Um, I know that she's going to be coming back in a matter of months, and ... I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say.” Argentium wasn't on the list of people I was allowed to talk about the Elements of Harmony and Nightmare Moon, which made this conversation extremely awkward in more than one respect.
“I knew Luna in the days before madness claimed her,” Argentium said. “I quite likely know more about her return than your Empress does. I doubt you can tell me anything I don't already know.”
“Right, so...” I considered my options. What I had before me was a unique opportunity. Argentium had been around when the Elements had actually been used, something even the Empress hadn't been alive to see. If she had information that could help us use them, then we probably needed to know about it. “You know about the Elements, then?”
“Indeed I do,” Argentium confirmed. “Which one did she give you?”
“Loyalty.” Having already come this far, I didn’t see the harm in sharing that.
“Naturally.” While Argentium had spoken that word casually, there was still an undercurrent of displeasure in it. Maybe even a hint of contempt. “You are of her bloodline, after all. And how did you earn this Element?”
“My family has been extremely loyal to the Empress.” I smiled at Argentium. Whatever she may have thought about my family’s relationship with my grandmother, I was proud of it. “Though it is a bit of a story for why she picked me...”
I told her about the incident between me and Sunset, and how the Empress had chosen me to be the bearer of the Element of Loyalty.
“Interesting,” Argentium mused. “Very interesting. So you were loyal to your ideals, yes?”
“Yes, I was.” I wondered why she thought ideals were important at this moment. “I didn't want to see Sunset get punished for something she didn't do, or for her not to get credit for her project. Her teleportation circle project was really important to her, and it wouldn't have been right for me to steal credit for it.”
“Out of curiosity, what are those ideals?” Argentium prodded.
I thought the question over. “If I had to state them, doing the right thing, loyalty, duty, and helping others.”
Argentium frowned. “That seems like a rather vague response. I would have expected a pony as well-read as you have laid out an entire ethical system.”
“Hey.” I puckered my lips out in a pout. “I'm sure I could with a little bit of time and study. Ethics is a very expansive topic, and one open to interpretation.”
“But how can you be loyal to your ideals if you don't understand what those ideals are?”
I crossed my legs over my chest. “I think I have a pretty good idea about what's really important in life.”
“And what is that?” Argentium prodded.
I was really starting to wonder where she was going with this line of questioning. It was tempting to just outright ask her, but most likely she would be evasive. So it seemed best to play along for now to figure out what she was aiming at.
“Family, those I care about, Equestria, for a few things,” I declared.
Argentium tapped at her cheek with a talon. “Curious that the Empress is not on that list.”
“Of course she is!” I snapped out. “She's my grandmother! Not to mention my teacher. And she's the Empress of Equestria. That’s kinda a big part of Equestria.”
One side of Argentium’s mouth quirked up in a smirk. “And what would happen if she asked you to do something that went against your morals?”
I grimaced at that moral quandary. “It ... it depends on the situation. The question is too open ended. Sometimes someone has to do something that could be seen as immoral in order to do a greater good. The world is imperfect, after all.”
Argentium’s smirk only widened at my answer. “Imagine if the Empress felt that the only way to save Equestria and thousands of lives was to sacrifice your life? Or Sunset's?”
I couldn’t help but wince. “I don't like the idea, but it might very well be necessary. The Empress would never ask me to do something like that without a very good reason. Plenty of soldiers have died for Equestria under her reign. I can hardly expect others to sacrifice themselves while thinking I ... or Sunset are above that.”
Argentium grunted in concession. “It is a common enough tale, but rather different when it is your loved ones being sacrificed for the greater good. It is well and good to say that you’re willing to make the ultimate sacrifice; it’s another to actually face that choice in the flesh.”
I squirmed in my seat, not having a satisfactory answer for that. How would I react if I found out I was going to have to give my life fighting Nightmare Moon, or if Sunset or somepony else I loved might die? “I can’t really argue with you there. Can't say I'm comfortable with the idea.”
“With all the lives at stake once Nightmare Moon returns, how much do you think Sunbeam would be willing to sacrifice to stop her?” Argentium pressed, almost as if she were reading my mind.
I clenched my teeth. “A lot. Nightmare Moon threatens everything. Nearly everything on the planet is going to die if she wins.”
Argentium nodded in agreement. “And if her plan succeeds and the Elements purge Luna of her madness, what then?”
I tilted my head, not understanding what she was getting at. “What do you mean? If we beat her with the Elements, we’ll have won. The threat will be over.”
“And what happens to Luna?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again when I realized I didn’t have an answer ready. I honestly hadn’t put much thought into what was going to happen to Luna after we had used the Elements. All of my efforts had gone into just trying to figure out how to get the Elements to work to start with. Planning for the aftermath of using them on Nightmare Moon had seemed like getting ahead of myself.
“I'm not sure,” I admitted. “The Empress hasn't said what she’s going to do with her afterwards. I'm not even sure what the Elements will do to her. Looking at the records, half the time the Elements were used they just turned the subject into stone. The Empress says they will cleanse Nightmare Moon of her madness, but for all I know, they’ll just trap her on the moon again.”
Argentium pointed a talon at me. “Perhaps that's something you should consider? If you're going to strip away Luna's powers...”
“Maybe she'll be allowed to live a normal life?” Even as I said that, it didn’t sound right, and my brain worked to catch up to the topic and think the question all the way through.
Argentium snorted derisively. “And what exactly is a normal life for a former ruler of Equestria? Think. A pony as well-read as you should have some idea.”
“Historically speaking?” I mused and decided on the most likely answer, knowing my grandmother and her normal way of doing things. “That's usually results in something like house arrest or outright imprisonment.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“She did try and end the world,” I pointed out. “Shouldn't she be punished?”
“Do we normally punish the unwell once they are cured?” Argentium asked.
“Well, no.” That was a good point. According to everything I had read, Luna had been becoming increasingly erratic in her actions up until her fall from grace. Causing an eternal night wasn’t exactly a rational thing to do, especially considering her reasons for her doing it. Sure, ponies might notice her night sky after she won, but they wouldn’t have long to appreciate it before they all froze to death. If she was lonely before, everypony else being dead would definitely make it worse.
That taken into account, I continued. “Legally speaking, somepony that is clinically insane should be treated of their illness, and once they have been demonstratively cured they should be allowed to return to normal life if at all possible.”
Argentium nodded. “Just so. That is perfectly reasonable.”
I frowned as my thought process led me to the next step. “But the Empress isn't going to tolerate a threat to her rule, and an old queen of Equestria would certainly qualify as one. Even if the Elements cure of Luna of her madness, Her Majesty won’t like a rival claimant to the throne running around.”
“Indeed not.” Argentium shook her head. “And that means acting ... decisively.”
My ears fell flat to my head as the implications of that impressed themselves on me. “Is she going to kill her?”
Argentium eyes became as cold and hard as the glaciers of the harsh northern climate she lived in. “Do you think she would?”
I rubbed my leg, now feeling very uncomfortable. Was I abetting in the murder of a mare whose only crime was losing her sanity? “The Empress argues that one should destroy a potential threat to oneself. Her history is certainly full of incidents where she did just that.” My gaze fell to the floor as I was unable to meet Argentium’s gaze. “Her Majesty would be ... heavily inclined to kill Luna to make sure there isn't a threat to her crown. Not to mention there would be the risk that she might go insane again. I only have the loosest idea about how the Elements work, so I have no idea if they'll really fix her or not. Or if it will stick.”
Argentium continued with her questioning, her voice uncompromising and cold as she spoke. “And what would you think if she killed Luna to ensure she would never be a threat again?”
I wrung my hooves at the question. “I wouldn't be very comfortable with it. If she's really mentally sick, and we do cure her, it wouldn't seem right to turn around and kill her. It shouldn't be that hard to ... I don't know, give her a comfortable lifestyle? I remember reading about how the Empress put the last Gryphonian royal family on an estate to live out their lives in peace in Equestria.”
Argentium hummed neutrally. “I would suggest you think carefully about where your loyalties truly lie.”
“B-but, I, that is...” It was as I struggled with how to respond when a lightning strike of an idea hit me. “Wait.” I narrowed my eyes at the dragon. “Are you trying to make me question my loyalty to Empress Sunbeam?”
Her own eyes narrowed. “Am I?”
I felt something in me start to burn as I realized I was being manipulated. Had the whole purpose for Argentium calling me here been to make me question my loyalty? “You're asking the right type of questions. They’re certainly questioning if the Empress is doing the right thing, and asking me what I think we should do instead.”
Argentium’s chin rose slightly, giving me the sense she was looking down on me. “So you don't think the Empress wants the right thing?”
“Th-that's not what I said!” I bolted from the couch and started pacing about. “She's in a tough spot. Wearing the crown isn't easy. She has to make hard choices—and this is a very hard choice, but somepony needs to make it. Even if the answers aren’t something everypony will like.”
Argentium shrugged. “A common rationalization.”
“It's still true.” I stomped a hoof. “I mean, I might do something different than her, but I'm not the Empress. And there isn't anything I can do. All I can do is try and stop Nightmare Moon—it’s Her Majesty’s choice on what to do after that.”
“You're not helpless,” Argentium countered. “Would you do nothing as an injustice is about to happen?”
My ears wilted. Why did knowing what to do have to be so hard? If only I had the answer... “What am I supposed to do? Use the Elements, if I can use them with the others to start with, and then grab Luna run as fast and far as I can?”
“If it's the right thing to do, then you have to do something, yes?”
I bit my lip. Should I do something? Could I do something? I wanted to save Equestria, but I wasn’t sure what should be done with Luna afterwards. Grandmother would want to do one thing, Argentium another, and then I ... I wasn’t sure.
“Maybe I can convince her not to kill Luna?” I said cautiously. “She'll listen to me. She always listens to reason.”
“Perhaps.” Argentium scratched at her cheek. “Especially as she has no intention of doing so to begin with. Not without exhausting all other options. Or so she told me, at any rate.”
I blinked, taken aback by that new fact. “Wait, she isn't planning on killing Luna?”
“She gave her word to Celestia.”
Initially I felt a wave of relief wash over me as I realized I wouldn't be put into the moral quandary of killing Nightmare Moon, but then my brows furrowed as another thought struck me. “Then why did you make it sound like she would?”
Argentium shrugged indifferently. “There is value in theoretical exercises.”
I rolled my eyes at that response. “Now that is something you and the Empress hold in common. You both like making me think with theoretical thought exercises.” I was getting a pretty good idea about what Argentium really wanted: she wanted somepony who agreed with her among the bearers of the Elements of Harmony.
Argentium peeled back her lips and drew herself up, a growl rolling out of her throat as she did so. “Do not compare me to her.”
I winced as I realized I may have pushed her too far. Especially now that I wasn't going to be walking out of this cave as one of her agents. “Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean it like that.”
Argentium growled more sedately and settled herself back down on the couch. “Consider what we have discussed. If Luna is restored to her right mind, she deserves better than a mortal life in a gilded cage.”
I frowned as I considered the more practical issue before us. “And what would you suggest? I have a pretty good feeling you've already been thinking about this and have an answer.”
Argentium huffed out a breath through her nostrils. “Luna is a very old friend. She does not deserve to be murdered by your Empress. While the Elements will remove her madness, they will also take away her eternal life—and if that happens, forcing her mortality is merely a delayed execution. Your Empress need only wait for time to remove Luna from this world.”
“But what are we supposed to do then?” I asked. “The Elements are our best weapon for ending this quickly and without bloodshed. But from what you're saying, they're effectively going to kill her in the end anyways.”
“She can be restored,” Argentium said. “It is only natural that sun and moon balance one another.”
My eyes widened at what she was getting at. “You want to give her the Moon Mantle back. That would give her back her eternal life and probably a lot of power.”
Argentium nodded. “It is hers by right.”
I frowned at the obvious snag in that solution. “I think the Empress would disagree.” Considering the Empress held both the Sun and Moon Mantle and that she didn't like Luna, it didn't seem likely Luna was going to get her Mantle back without a fight.
Argentium’s eyes narrowed and she spoke with a deep growl. “I will have quite a bit to say about that.”
“I can't really think of a way to convince the Empress to give Luna the Moon Mantle,” I said. “I know what her arguments would be and ... she has personal reasons not to like Luna.” The two of them had a long history with one another, even if it had always been a step apart.
“And what do you think?”
I bit my lip. Here she was, asking me difficult questions again. “I would like to see what Luna is like, to make sure she's healthy, and ask her what she thinks. A lot has changed since she was last on the world, and I have no idea what she’ll think of her situation.”
Argentium hummed in agreement. “Yes, that much is true.”
“It would have to be awful.” I shifted uncomfortably and sat back down on the couch. “Everypony she ever knew is ... gone, just gone.”
Including her sister.
“Not everyone,” Argentium bristled, reminding me I had completely forgotten her in the equation. “But yes, Celestia should be here. It is only because of your Empress that she is not.”
I winced, for I couldn't argue with her on that point. When the Empress had taken the Sun Mantle, it had consigned Celestia to a mortal life. That only made the current situation even sadder.
“I still don't quite understand that decision,” I said. “The one where Celestia just ... gave up, I mean. Was it just too much to lose her sister?”
“I suspect it was a matter of depression.” She let out a long sigh. “The pressures of leadership combined with the loss of her sister proved too great a burden for her. And perhaps ... other factors.”
“Other factors?”
Argentium frowned deeply. “Her relationship with Sunbeam was very ... complicated.”
I looked down at the floor as I considered some past conversation I had with the Empress over Old Queen Celestia. “That doesn't surprise me. It's just... an impression I got from the way she talks about her. It's hard to describe it.” It didn’t help that the Empress tended to quickly change the topic whenever the old monarch of Equestria was brought up. It could be frustratingly difficult to pin down nigh-immortal beings on a topic.
“Sometimes I think she hated Celestia, and sometimes I believe she loved her,” Argentium said.
I quirked an eyebrow. “Loved her?”
“I suspect it was both.” She waved dismissively. “As I said, complicated.”
“The Empress can be surprisingly complicated sometimes.” As her descendant, I had seen more of her than the vast majority of ponies. It was strange sometimes. There would be times where I would be treated as just another one of her subjects, if a favored one. Then others as her student, and during rare and treasured moments, as her granddaughter. “I think I understand her on occasion, but then she shows some other aspect of her personality that throws me off again. She's so many things. My Empress and founder of my house and family. A mother whose children are dead. An immortal being that carries the weight of centuries of life. Strong, but with moments of vulnerability...”
I rubbed my forehead as I felt a headache coming on. This whole conversation had been extremely stressful and it was wearing me down. “I already know the Empress isn't perfect.” I narrowed my eyes at Argentium. “But neither are you.”
“Excuse me?” Argentium blinked in surprise; I was probably the first being in a long, long time to call her self-assured dragonic perfection into question
“You've brought me here under your own motivations,” I pointed out.
Argentium snorted. “But of course. Is it any great surprise I had reasons for speaking to you? I did not do so on some whim.”
I kept pressing, getting tired of dancing around whatever had brought me here. “No, but I have to wonder what your goals are in all of this.”
“To help you learn the truth about your teacher.”
I rolled my eyes. “And what truth is that? That sometimes she makes mistakes? That's she's ruthless at times? That she's ran roughshod over half a dozen nations? You think I'm blind to all of that? I’ve read the history books. Hay, a bunch of them were assigned by her.”
Argentium’s tone became more testy. “Then why do you still work with her?”
“Because she's still my grandmother and my teacher, and I love her.” I ground my teeth together as my patience wavered. “She's important to me, and important to Equestria.”
The two of us locked gazes and for a minute neither one of us spoke. To my surprise, it was Argentium who broke the silence first. “I see. Loyalty indeed.” From the way she said it, I wasn’t sure if that was a condemnation or if there might had been some admiration in her tone.
I chose my words carefully as I address the ancient dragon. “Loyalty ... loyalty means sticking with someone, even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard. Anypony can be loyal when it's easy—when you can just go with the flow without conflict. A true test of loyalty is sticking with somepony when it's going to hurt to do so.”
Argentium folded her forelegs over her chest and gave me an impassive look. “I see. So that is the way of it.”
I shook my head. “I know this isn't what you want to hear, maybe you want me to fold like wet paper, but I'm just not like that. Not when it's important.”
“So be it.” She stood from the couch and looked down upon me. “I only hope you remember this discussion.”
“So ... you're not going to eat me, are you?” I asked, smiling sheepishly. I had perhaps been a bit too confrontational.
The stony demeanour she had been wearing slowly faded and she chuckled. “No, I'm not going to eat you. I don't eat ponies. And it would make me a poor host, besides.”
“Oh, good...” A moment later, I added, “And you’re not kill me in some way?” My cheeks ached as my smile became strained. “I've gone through the word game before with the Empress.”
Argentium shook her head. “I have no intention of harming you. It would damage my working relationship with the governor, which is complicated enough already.”
“Right, I do want you two to get along. It's why I came here.” Though it was a bit curious she had mentioned Cadance instead of Emperor Sunbeam. Most people would have been more concerned with offending Her Majesty than one of her governors.
“Thank you for that,” Argentium said. “Working with Cadance is much more complicated than previous governors. Something Sunbeam no doubt intended when she sent her here.”
“Why is that?” I asked, curious about what sort of relationship the two of them had.
There was a long pause, and I could see Argentium thinking behind her ancient blue eyes. When she spoke, it was with a slightly guarded tone. So slightly I wasn’t certain I had even heard it. “She is less objectionable than previous governors.”
“I see.” I wanted to press further, but if my experiences with the Empress had taught me anything, it was to know when a being like Argentium wasn’t going to divulge any more information than they had already given. Which in-of-itself told me a great deal. Even if she hadn’t intended to tell me what I had just learned.
Argentium stretched out her wings. “Well, if there is nothing else...”
I sighed and nodded. It seemed that our conversation was pretty much over. “I think I'm pretty worn out by this point.”
Argentium bowed her head slightly. “Then I wish you good day, and hope we might meet again under more pleasant circumstances.”
“I would like that.” I gave her a smile I hoped looked genuine. “There is a lot I would like to ask you. You are the foremost expert on runes, not to mention an invaluable source on history.”
Argentium tilted her head and the barest grin worked its way to her lips. “Perhaps we can arrange something.”
My smile widened. “I would like that.” Maybe this trip wouldn’t be a complete waste after all.
“Good,” Argentium said. “And give my regards to your sister-in-law.”
“I'll do that.”
Shame that I didn’t think my next conversation with Cadance was going to go very well.