28 - Act 1 Epilogue
Above the Western Ocean.
It struck Ignis that he’d never seen so much water all at once. Insular as The New Kingdom is, making such a crossing across the vast sea had never been much of a consideration. Rather it had always been something of a natural barrier, keeping out the unknown masses that would seek to upset the balance and topple all he’d strived to preserve.
So seeing nothing but water around him, all three-hundred and sixty degrees, with not a speck of land in sight was rather disconcerting.
As it was, he was rather glad he was high above it on one of their many airships, rather than swaying atop a maritime vessel instead. Flight he could deal with just fine, he wasn’t keen on testing his sea legs.
And it really was just water, they’d long fallen out of sight of the rest of the fleet, moving away to their ‘other’ destination. And this was something he had to see for himself, and Stout Guardian would maintain the primary offensive in the meantime.
But he would be joining them soon enough, he’d hardly ask his soldiers to do something he himself was unwilling to do. And he’d led ponies into a fight or two in the past, he’d do it again. Once their insurance was secured and he was confident it would remain so for the foreseeable future.
“Are you quite done gawping?” Vulgaris’ projection asked from the chamber behind the King, the alicorn sighing as he turned from the porthole and looked towards the changeling’s crimson visage. “You called me, did you not? I do not appreciate being left waiting while you daydream.”
“My apologies, I’m merely admiring territory all too alien to my eyes,” he responded diplomatically. “And considering what is to come.”
“My changelings are hard at work, I have already received some reports of successful sabotage. Small things mostly. Missing supplies, misplaced orders.”
“A good beginning, but I trust escalation is due.”
“Steadily. This must be slow, careful work. I need not remind you that they have more than one expert in sniffing out changeling infiltration,” the Queen noted. “Fortunately, I am all too aware of their safeguards. They are difficult to circumvent, but not impossible with time and caution.”
Ignis hummed in thought. “Do as you will. My force will hit their first targets imminently, and with Queen Twilight coming to you, I see ample opportunity in your near future.”
“Indeed. The Queen’s Council has ever been a place of intrigue, though I cannot show my hoof too soon. It would appear they already suspect foul play amongst our kind.”
“Yes, and on that note…” Ignis narrowed his eyes, studying the changeling carefully. “That creature from our last conversation… I require answers.”
“Discord, you mean,” she said with a smirk. “By his own claim, an independent power. In reality, another once-proud being broken and forced to bend the knee to the Equestrians. He stumbled upon our alliance, that you witnessed.”
“Stumbled upon, or was sent by his masters?” he questioned.
“If you are wondering whether my part has been exposed to the alicorns, no, I do not believe so. The beast was arrogant enough to confront me himself, so assured that his power was beyond reproach. For that overconfidence, I struck his heart and felled a God!”
“A God…? Hmph, perhaps he wasn’t the only one needing to mind their arrogance.”
“You know so little, King. Discord’s power was not to be trifled with, but I was prepared. And now he is gone, and our plans remain on course.”
“Then do what you need to do, my ponies are in position.”
“Indeed… and where shall you be, I wonder? Will you grace us with your presence as well?”
“In due time. You are not the only one who sees the need to prepare for all eventualities, and I have just the bargaining chip should things take a turn against us.”
Vulgaris quirked an eyebrow, her interest piqued. “Bargaining chip? I would quite like to hear about this contingency of yours…”
Ignis returned her smirk. “In due time. For now, I’m sure you can appreciate the need for secrecy.”
“Of course… But we are partners, are we not? Perhaps it would behove us to be-”
“I have spoken all I need to on the matter. See to your council, I will be in touch soon.”
Without waiting for another word of protest or ire, Ignis cut the connection to the Changeling Queen and let silence fill the room.
He let out a breath, letting the gathered tension in his body slowly bleed away. His eyes steadily drifted back to the porthole, and the vast blue surrounding them. A final calm before the storm claimed them all… Was that a hint of land far on the horizon? Or was his apprehension merely getting the better of him? He wasn’t sure either way, but the alicorn did suddenly find the need to ensure the safety of the said bargaining chip once more.
He moved away from the window, exiting the chamber entirely and into the corridor beyond. A couple of soldiers and crew of the zeppelin stopped to bow at his passing, with the King giving a practised nod in return and his stride remained unaffected.
His passage took him further into the bowels of the ship, past the cargo hold and into the deepest depths where the brig was located. Down here the air was dry, the light dim and dour, the wood beneath his hooves just that little bit more crickety…
Depressing, as any semblance of a prison was wont to be.
But secure, out of the way… and presently only home to a single occupant.
Outside the door to the brig were two of Stout Guardian’s most trusted royal guardsponies, each unicorn saluting as the monarch approached. Trusted enough to be let in on the secret and warn away any prying eyes aboard the ship. So few could know what lay within, for if it was discovered before the time was right…
They did nothing to bar his passage, Ignis passing through the portal and into the dungeon beyond.
And there, in the centre of the room, was a crystal. A large object radiating magic, lavender in colouration, rooted to the ground via the obsidian altar it was affixed to. It hummed gently, providing the only source of light in the chamber after the entryway was secured behind him.
And there, held aloft and sleeping soundly within…
There was Princess Avia, alive and well.
“Safe and sound… good…” Ignis muttered as he approached studying the young Changeling Queen within. “How Vulgaris would have discarded you… She is a brute, despite her claims of wisdom. Such a meaningless death she would have you suffer…”
He lit his horn, the magic within the crystal dulling ever so slight.
And then, after a few moments of agonising silence, the mare’s eyes began to flit open ever-so-slightly…
“Wuh…?” Avia groaned, her vision blurring in and out as she vaguely perceived the orange alicorn before her, albeit heavily obscured by a lavender tint that covered her entire world. “I… Uh… Hm…”
“Awake?”
“Yeah… Still in the, uh, suspension crystal I see.”
“Comfortable?”
“I guess… Surprisingly. You know, since the last time we had a chat in here I’ve been thinking, and I’m pretty sure I could overload this thing.”
“...Excuse me?”
“If I spent this conversation slowly channelling what little magic I can access through my horn and into the surrounding structure, I could probably attune just the right harmonic resonance to crack its surface and tumble on out of here,” she noted matter-of-factly. “There’s an essay on warding magics in the Canterlot Archives that you should really read, shore up those weaknesses!”
Ignis blinked, regarding her with complete bemusement. “And yet you chose to tell me that rather than see it through.”
“Well, yeah. I’d fall right into a centuries-old alicorn who I know first hoof I can’t tangle with. It’s all kind of fascinating, though… In a kinda terrifying sort of way.”
“Always so quick to analyse things, and altogether curious…”
“I mean, ahem… I like books and learning things. It’s genetic.”
“Clearly. Yet your predicament is unchanged.”
“I know…” Avia averted her eyes, images of fire and blood flashing in her mind’s eye. “You… hurt them…”
“I’ve already apologised, I won’t do so again,” Ignis quietly replied. “I’m only protecting my people.”
Avia looked back at him, a small mixture of resentment mixing into her fearful gaze.
“I… I was trying to stop this…!” she protested sadly. “We didn’t want to fight! But you… You aren’t protecting anypony, you’re just going to get them all hurt! Nopony wins in this situation!”
“I know all about Equestria, how it tamed your kind. We won’t give up our freedoms so easily, and won’t be fooled by false olive branches.”
“I don’t know how you got these ideas into your head, but you really should read a history book or two. Oh, I know a couple of authors that-”
“Unnecessary.”
Avia pouted. “Aw, but it could be fun! More than… hanging here, like a pinata.”
“After I leave here, you will return to your slumber. I can’t have you shattering the crystal when I’m not around, you’re too important.”
“So you’ve said. But you don’t know what you’re doing! If my mother thinks that you… That I’m… I know her. She’s a nerd, like me. Kind, responsible, hard-working… But she’s also stern as a Queen, sometimes has a temper… And is really hurt. She always tried to hide it from me, but I can see it. Whenever grandmother comes up, or the Empress, or that scar…”
“She cares for you greatly,” Ignis noted. “That is why you’re here.”
“You’re missing the point!” she rebuked. “If she thinks I’m gone, I don’t know what she’d do. Friendship is her life, her dream, her hope… But there is something else in her, buried, but now… I can’t hear the others… My mind is silent… alone… She’ll have felt that.”
“I know she has.”
“Then you’re in danger! You have to let me go! Please! We can stop this! Even if we have to go our separate ways, remain apart, nopony needs to die! I don’t want my mother to do something that’ll destroy her! And… I don’t want you to either.”
Ignis paused, frowning at her words. He studied her as if trying to work out a perplexing enigma.
“Me?” he questioned. “What do you mean?”
Avia took in a slow breath. “You’re doing this for your little ponies, right? Think you’re protecting them?”
“I am protecting them!”
“Then you can’t be all bad! Not like in the stories, of power-mad tyrants and beasts and stuff. You’re one of the redeemable ones!”
He snorted, clearly offended by the remark. “I fail to see why I require redeeming, Princess.”
“Well I- I mean… I just don’t think you want to do this. In time, you won’t be able to forgive yourself. A lot of innocent ponies are going to die if this happens, and we’re not your enemies! You’ll come to see that, and you’ll hurt too…”
“...You believe that, truly. Don’t you?”
“I do. I don’t want anyone else to hurt. Not Mother. Not you.”
Ignis offered her a genuine smile, albeit a small, saddened one. “You’re a good kid, I can see that. I’m glad you live… But you’re young, sheltered. Naive. And I think you too will see my view in time.”
“...Only one of us is naive, Ignis. I’m young, but… at least I know friendship. You could too… Please…”
“I’m sorry. Sleep now, this will be over soon, and then you can go home.”
Ignis lit his horn, the glow within the crystal increasing as consciousness began to leave Avia once more.
She tried to protest, to get in some few final words… Yet nothing left her lips as her eyes began to close. A small whimper was all that escaped as her thoughts shifted to her mother… Her pain… Her anger…
She silently prayed for her and Ignis both. For their souls in all to come…
…
…
…
Silence.
Avia slept soundly once more, a dreamless sleep that would remain until he saw fit to wake her again. When that would be he couldn’t say, for soon she would be held far from the front lines in a location specially chosen for its remote nature. There she would be left with only the trusted few to watch over her, watch and wait for his command.
An abandoned structure, deep in a southern wasteland. And an ironic one, if the alicorn’s understanding of past events was on the mark. Mostly collapsed, and what little was left had been largely reclaimed over the ensuing decades. A place not a soul had stepped within for all of that time, a ghost of Twilight Sparkle’s past with one last part to play…
With a final glance of regret, Ignis turned from the slumbering changeling and exited the chamber.
For soon they would be arriving at the Badlands Hive, the former home of Princess Twilight Sparkle, where the future of all their kinds may yet be decided in the days to come…
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OMG, so many called it, I knew it, I had a feeling it was due to stasis so she couldn’t contact anyone, Ignis should’ve listened, it’s gonna bite him back HARD😱😖😡
Can't wait to see Vulgaris get what's coming to her.
So, Iggy. How are you gonna explain THIS to Her Royal Majesty, Queen Twilight, hmmmmmm?
Oooh, I hoped she was ok all that time. And Ignis... You kinda are sheltered and naive yourself, aren't ya?
11288754
Oh, I think that that goes without saying, and I cannot wait to see Twi hoof him (and a certain too-smart-for-her-own-good crimson changeling Queen) his (their) respective asses!
11288778 A very good question!
Can't wait to see the answer!
I think we ALL know she absolutely will NOT take it well.
Bets on just which one of 'em she's gonna gut first?
Ignis... or Vulgaris?
Decisions, decisions........
11288808 Same here, and yeah, he really is.
Too bad that's gonna come back to bite him in the plot before this whole thing is over.
As to my own observations:
Ha! I knew it
Unless there's a body found, NEVER count a person AS dead!!!
Excellent chapter as always, tom!
Looking forward to Act 2, and beyond!
Now, on to other things:
As has been noted in other chapters (and as was just observed by Avia herself before he put her back to sleep), Ignis is still being a naive idiot:
Ooooo, still being a gullible idiot............
(Noooooo, you're NOT, "genius"! You' re just making things WORSE for EVERYBODY!!!)
Avia's right, you know.
SHE'S really not the REALLY naive one; Ignis himself is, for believing Vulgaris' lies.
Too bad that's going to bite not only him, but his whole kingdom.
And sooner than he, or we, can possibly imagine.
Sad thing, that.
As to THIS:
REALLY, Ignis?
You're gonna hide Avia in the very hive where her mother was hatched, and her own grandmother died?!
Oh, yeah, there's no POSSIBLE way that THAT'S gonna backfire on your sorry, worthless ass.
And you called HER the naive one.
Good luck, King Chump.
You're gonna NEED it.
Oh, yeah, and as to Naive Ninny #2:
Oh, Vulgaris, Vulgaris, Vulgaris.
You silly, silly mare, you.
You actually think you actually really killed him?!
Ha!
Yeah, okay, he's in a coma (if I remember right from the last chapter), but that doesn't mean he's dead.
Or "felled", as you put it.
Might want to heed Ignis on this one, you self-absorbed moron:
Tsk, tsk.
As I said above, he's NOT dead, idiot; just in a deep, healing (I think) coma for now.
So methinks that he's gonna give you a very, VERY nasty surprise before this whole mess is over with.
Especially when (WHEN, not IF) he wakes up and tells the nearest available alicorn (MY bet's on Celestia; don't ask me why) about his little tête-à-tête with you.
Loved this chapter, another one WELL done, and I can't wait for the next one to see what happens, tom!
Wait... That detail was in question? I could be remembering wrong, but I thought it was established that he captured her pretty much when it happened. Or at least heavily hinted at?
If Ignis tells Twilight that Avia is alive:
Twilight: If my daughter was alive, I would feel her.
Ignis: She is shielded.
Twilight: Then bring her to me, NOW! Otherwise, your kingdom shall die, starting with you by my own hoof.
11288931 Yeah, I can see this being the scenario.
After all.........
"Hell hath no fury than a grieving mother enraged."
Ever seen a VERY pissed off mama Ursa Major?
That's Twilight when she finds out her daughter IS alive, and is being withheld from her.
And in HER old hive?!
That's Strike 1, 2, AND 3 for this brain-dead idiot!
'Course... I don't think that even Vulgaris would suspect that he's THAT stupid.
11288844
Just know that whoever she doesn't go after is MINE!
11288964 You'll get no argument from me on that.
Just so you let me have however much of them is left after YOU'RE done with them.
Deal?
11288943
And when she finds out Vulgaris planned to kill Avia...
Well, there won't be enough of Vulgaris left intact to present to the council as a corpse.
This is getting more and more complicated, though at least we now know that she's alive for sure. Admittedly I can't wait to see Ignis getting his plot handed to him eventually, too. He's not a bad sort, but wow, he needs someone to come in and show him how much of a fool he's been in this.
11289009 *shivers* Oh, yeah, THAT goes without saying, I think.
On BOTH counts.
11289019 Very true.
That makes TWO of us.
No, he's really not, but he, and his people, have all been so self-isolated for so long they're ridiculously gullible.
Hence Vulgaris' ability to prey on his fears of the outside world and manipulate him so easily into thinking that Equestria and her princesses are out to dominate the world and everything and everyone in it.
Gonna be a pretty rude awakening for him, as well as Stout Guardian and all their people when they find out the truth about everything that she's been lyng to him about.
That's why I almost feel sorry for him and what's coming his way.
Notice, please, that I said "almost".
Um, tom?
I think I found a slight flub in this chapter:
I'm pretty sure that you meant THIS:
right?
11288969
Who said there'd be anything left? [DRAGON GROWLING]
11289109 Ah, good point.
They're all yours then.
Just please make sure that Vulgaris suffers the most, please.
Avia's alive!!
How many Acts will there be?
I knew it! I knew Avia was still alive! Though Ignis is going to find out the hard way soon that he should have listened to her. If Twilight gets her hooves on him before she finds out her daughter is still alive, there will be no mercy.
11289118
With pleasure.
11289478 Thank you.
ITS ALIVE! ... hey, and so is Avia... how about that...
But more importantly... ITS ALIVE!
11289733 Indeed.
Although I think a good many of us suspected that Avia WAS alive this whole time.
11292860
Yes we did...
Been reading and following the "change" seires and the kinda relatable "of the hive series" since long before I joined the site with a legitimate account.
thats why I meant the story is alive as well.
11294220 Ah, I see.
11294221
Edited that mesage. Sorry. Something went wrong. Have a good day.
11294222 No problem.
Twilight appears in the distance
Well i am finally all caught up with this series thus far, all i can say is very well done, I will be reading what is to come
11289136 Well, if this story goes like the first two, three acts (the first one now concluded), interlaced with intermissions and flashbacks.
So two acts and one intermission left.
GOOD
Good fucking Celestia's Harmony!
This is the best news I've heard in what feels like days!