The Solar Steward

by kissfromarose2

Embers

Queen Chrysalis looked out at the midnight Sun.

Behind her the hive continued to work as normal. Panic would serve any of them little. She supposed it was lucky that her changelings worked primarily underground. There were the decorative storeys of course, but anyling of any sense knew that the main work of the hive went on deep in the underground tunnels.

She supposed it was an advantage now. By now no doubt Luna's ponies were panicking, the zebras were searching for wisdom in stars that could no longer be seen, and the griffons were raising an army to fight whatever they thought was causing this.

Chrysalis knew better. Almost a thousand years ago she had met a Luna much less practiced in hiding her emotions, still raw from a war that had almost taken what little of a soul she had left. Back then her mother had warned her against getting too involved, but Chrysalis had known better. Ponies weren't just a source of food. They could be friends too.

Her mother had called it blind naivete, but a month later when Chrysalis still wasn't hungry, even Imago had had to admit there was something to what her daughter was saying. Luna hadn't know it at the time, but she had unwittingly cured changeling's of a millennia long famine.

Chrysalis owed her.

It was why she hadn't had a troop of warrior class changelings waiting when whatever Luna's sister had come back as had shown up.

It was also why she hadn't simply kidnapped Luna herself and put a willing changeling in her place to protect her.

Not too long ago she had felt Luna's emotions spike, then disappear entirely.

Logically Chrysalis knew there were any number of reasons for that.

It didn't stop her worrying.

A whisper of familiar longing blew past on overly heated air.

"I hope you know what you're doing Luna." the Queen of the Changelings whispered. "I don't think we can afford to find out what happens if you don't. I don't think I can."

---

The five mares sat in a small circle, as far away from the fire as they could get. Silently Fluttershy cleaned and dressed Rainbow Dash's wing with scraps of fabric from Rarity's dress. The mare herself sat in silence, periodically glancing at Pinkie, who still sat gazing at the fire, to check she wasn't too close to the edge. Applejack sat glaring past the others at the flames beyond as if simple stubborn determination would make them vanish. Twilight's small patch of ground was riddled with etchings and diagrams. All around calculations had been furiously scribbled out, a testament to the impossibility of her endeavours.

Rainbow Dash hissed in pain as Fluttershy pulled the silk just a little too tightly.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I didn't hurt you more did I?"

Rainbow shook her head.

Silence fell again.

Screaming in frustration Twilight threw her stick into the fires beyond. "Argh! It just won't work. It's like there's this whole other source of magic that's being tapped that I haven;t ever heard of."

"Give it up Twilight." Rainbow said dully. "We're never getting out of here."

"They just change too darn fast." Applejack muttered angrily. "They're too unpredictable. And since Rainbow can;t get out by air it's sure as cinnamon we can't get out that way."

"I-I could try." Fluttershy offered quietly.

"No. We don't need anypony else hurt. If I could just figure out how this works..."

"Oh that's easy." called a distant voice. "You've just got to not be afraid."

"Pinkie?" whispered Applejack disbelievingly "How are you..."

Rairity's eyes widened. "Pinkamena Diane Pie! If you do not get back over here this instant, I swear to Luna I will never forgive you!"

"Okie Dokie Loki, just a tock."

"Wait Pinkie don't come back through..." shouted Twilight.

Her voice fizzled out, however, when she saw a familiar pink figure dancing and hopping her way through the flames, and of all things humming at the same time.

After finishing with a rather ostentatious cartwheel Pinkie looked back up at them a proud little smile tugging at her face.

"What in Equus was that?" asked Applejack bemusedly.

"How we get past that big flaming meanie's trap of course!"

"Rightly ah don't know how you do half the things you do Pinkie. But there's no way the rest of us can do whatever it is you just did."

Pinkie looked back at her in confusion. "Don't be silly Applejack. Everypony can dance!"

And as Twilight watched in horror their pink saviour began to sing. Loudly.

---

"Is that?"

"It is." said Luna with a smirk.

"This should not be possible. That boundary was impregnable..."

Luna cut in. "Did you not account for Laughter sister? That seems a rather large oversight." Her tone rang with sarcasm and the quiet ring of hope. "Perhaps you do not wish to destroy them as much as you claim?"

Infernia laughed. Once the sound would have sounded like music to Luna's ears. A prank well pulled, or a jest well made. But now the tinkling of bells from her sister's throat sounded hollow, darkened by the cruelty within.

"Oh Lulu, do you really think I would change my mind so easily? That I would allow a silly song to blind me to the truth?"

Luna turned away eyes wet with tears she refused to shed.

"Now then... What do you think about moving the Sun a little closer?"

Comments

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Oh no... Things are heating up... literally...

[Satakieli]

"Now then... What do you think about moving the Sun a little closer?"

[Composer99]

Infernia is apparently taking the tagline for the Legion expansion as a how-to guide.

"Kingdoms will burn? Done!"