69: Behind the door, should I open it for you? (Hv)
Behind the door, should I open it for you?
Chapter published 26th May 2014
**************
Escorted not only by her own two honour-guard, but also by four of the pony princess’s most intimidating royal guards - two pegasi and two unicorns - Queen Aurelia made her way down the lengthy castle corridor. As she walked her hooves clicked against the immaculately polished pale grey marble floor, the dark brown of her skin reflected back up her from below as a insubstantial doppelganger that came and went with every hoofstep.
At each of her flanks, her changeling guards walked in lockstep, heads held high, glowing eyes always set directly forwards, venturing no further from her side than they had ever since they had left their hive far behind earlier that same day. Imprisoned though they may be, and though they both had already been released from her service, they had made it plain that, no matter what lay ahead,they would remain at her side to the bitter end.
The mid-afternoon sun glinted through the brightly coloured stained-glass windows that lined the unnecessarily lengthy corridor. Vibrant blues, pinks, reds, all lanced across the hallway, bouncing back and forth between the spotlessly gleaming white walls, tinting the occasional piece of gold and purple accenting with slivers of gaily coloured light.
Every so often, a particularly intense sunbeam would hit the queen’s dark, dull skin, flashing a momentary tableau of colour - focused and tinted by a single still frame made of glass - across her large form. But all too soon these projected images were lost in time as her stride took her away from its field of projection.
After so much time underground this topside world was now foreign to the queen. How long was in now, months? Years maybe? Tucked away in their own little subterranean world, surrounded by nothing more than the dark and the gloom, the whispers and the moans, the deep seated feelings of distrust and despair, the incessant words of darkness that had slipped unbidden into her mind. In contrast to all that she’d recently become accustomed to, the light here was almost blinding.
As they walked, Queen Auriela took in the huge works of glass-based art that flanked their journey. It was hard to believe that they were, at their core, not so different from the vast and breath taking displays that had once adorned her own throne room.
While her own ornamental vistas had been crafted from darker colours, these spectacular pieces of art were comprised of a much wider palette - to be illuminated by the full power of either the sun or the moon themselves, while her own were lit by nothing more than a pale imitation of the same - it struck her how similar they really were.
Both were designed to remind the observer of great deeds performed, as well as great trials overcome, so often by the few in the name of the many. They told tales of heroes to be celebrated, remembered for the parts that they played in shaping history, and also of lessons learnt in times long ago. But so often these lessons were taught only at great expense... prices laid out that should never be forgotten, debts shouldered that could never be repaid.
As the tightly sealed entrance to what Aurelia assumed to be the princess’s throne room loomed ever closer, she observed the two windows closest to the door.
The window on the right hoof side was of six brightly coloured mares - two of each of the major pony races - as they faced off against a large, dark, evil looking alicorn. Cruel eyes shone and wicked fangs were bared, huge wings outstretched while the moon shone down from high in the sky behind her. But the six mares remained proud and defiant in the face of her oppression, five jewels at their throats as well as single jewel on one of the unicorn’s heads, bursting with radiant power as they stood their ground.
Turning her head to the left, she found the image of a red haired human towering above her. His arms were outstretched before him, a tiny pale grey alicorn cradled in the cupped palms of his huge hands, its eyes closed as if in the deepest of slumbers. Laid out at his feet, curled up like tiny foals, a trio of ponies - a unicorn, a pegasus and an earth pony - slept as soundly as the alicorn above them. Over his right shoulder hung the sun, its untempered rays beating down upon his back and arm, scorching his clothing, while the moon rose over the other, the deep chill of night leaving flecks of frost in his hair and across his chest.
As the unlikely procession finally reached the huge door, the two unicorn guards that were guarding it stepped forward, their spears rapping against the hard marble floor before being crossed, blocking the group’s path.
From between the two guards came an elderly unicorn stallion, the pale grey of his coat, as well as the darker grey of his moustache, contrasting heavily against the bright red formal jacket he wore. Golden buttons on his chest gleamed and glinted in the brightness of the corridor, an equally shiney sceptre topped with a horse’s head carved out of pure gold hovering next to him.
As the elderly stallion motioned the two door guards to move their spears aside, Aurelia looked down at her own pair of weaponless, and uniformless, guards - standing tall and proud, their dark chitinous skin, their glowing yellow eyes and dirty orange gossamer wings. While she watched, Flitter turned his head ever so slightly, taking in the white marble walls and expensive vases, the guards in their regalia covered uniforms. The subtle movement of his eye-ridge, coupled with the almost imperceptible wrinkling of his nose, almost made the queen laugh out loud.
Her children, it would appear, were not even the slightest bit impressed with all this... opulence.
The door guards now out of the way, the elderly unicorn stallion lifted his scepter and rapped it loudly once, twice, three times against the massive white door in front of them. As he stepped back from the door, the two guards activated their horns, the doors swinging open agonisingly slowly under their command.
Even more light than before, if that was at all possible, flooded out of the corridor, momentarily blinding the changeling queen. As her vision cleared she saw a long, thin, cavernous room before her, more brightly coloured windows filling both of the long sides of the room. A long, blood red carpet led the way to the far end of the hall, to where her appointment with destiny lay in wait.
So this was it, time to face the music. Maybe even literally.
As the elderly stallion strode into the room, the rest of the group of three changelings and four royal guards followed suit.
Under her hooves, Queen Aurelia found the carpet to be soft, probably the softest thing she had felt in a long, long time, maybe ever. But she had no time to appreciate the luxury as their immediate destination filled her attention.
At the far end of the room, at the top of a short flight of steps, was the biggest, shiniest, plushest throne that the queen had ever imagined. It was easily as wide as she was tall and at least three times that in height. Behind it hung two immense banners that reached from the distant ceiling all the way to the floor; one in yellows, golds and oranges to represent the power and radiance of the sun; the other in blues, purples and silvers to portray the strength and grace of the moon. On either side of the throne stood an alicorn, the two regal creatures locked into an intense discussion, neither having noticed their ‘guests’ arrival.
At the base of the throne’s dias stood two mares that the queen recognised as her former prisoners, specifically the green maned unicorn and the rainbow maned pegasus. Between them stood the human, the one that had defeated her. None of them looked at all pleased to see her, not that she’d expected them to.
A good half dozen body lengths from the base of the dias, the elderly stallion stopped, the procession coming to halt just behind him. After a second to clear his throat, he lifted his staff into the air and announced-
“Queen Aurelia, and her honour guard.”
His job done, the stallion lowered his horse’s head sceptre and moved off to the side of the carpet.
Up on the dias, their ‘discussion’ suddenly dropped, the pair of alicorns both turned their attention to the changeling queen.
Princess Luna was the first to make address, and she did so rather loudly.
“Thou dare to sully our court with thy foul visage?”
The alicorn of the night’s voice thundered around the room as she stormed down the short flight of steps. As she moved, her mane billowed out behind her, all nearby heat being pulled into its length leaving a sudden chill in the air.
“In truth thou art not fit to lie beneath our hooves!”
Reaching the final step, the stars in Luna’s mane flashed while nebula swirled in her agitation. A pair of wicked sharp fangs started to creep their way down behind her top lip as teal irises contorted to form a pair of cat-like pupils. An already jet black coat darkened so much that it began to suck the very colour out of her immediate surroundings as she continued to approach the queen.
“Thou shall pay dearly for the chaos thou hast wrought!”
As she reared up on her hind legs, reading herself to let loose with a follow up barrage, the alicorn of the night found a hand held against her chest. Though it would not have had the strength behind it to hold her back should she wish to push past, the fact it was even there was enough to stop the furious co-regent in her tracks, her forehooves falling back to the floor..
“Master Lero! What madness is this?” she demanded of the human, his palm not moving from where it lay, “have thou lost sight of the wrong she has inflicted upon your family? In the name of my subjects, I demand satisfaction!”
“Princess, please.” Lero replied softly, his hand still not moving, not even an inch, “they lost, we won, it’s over.”
“After all that she has done, you say that it is over?”
“Yes, I do. She surrendered. It’s over,” lifting his hand, Lero moved it to the alicorn’s face. “please, Luna. For me?”
The human’s hand still against her cheek, Luna’s eyes flicked from him, to the queen, and then back again. With a sigh she let her mane fall, her eyes clear and her fangs retreat.
“For you, Lero, not for her.”
With one last withering glance, Luna turned her back on the changeling monarch.
“Think yourself lucky, queen...” the princess almost spat the title over her shoulder, “you appear to have have gained yourself a champion, an influential one at that. See to it that you do not waste his favour, for it is far more than you deserve.”
As Luna stalked away, Lero at her side, Princess Celestia stepped forward, taking her sister's place.
“A powerful champion indeed,” the alicorn of the day motioned with her head to the retreating human as he returned to his wives, those that were present at least. “More merciful than most, I would wager.”
As the princess appraised the queen with a careful eye, Aurelia was dismayed to see that the pure white alicorn did not appear to be angry, or disgusted, even mildly annoyed. No, she held an expression that the changeling queen found to be so much worse, an expression that cut her deeper than she thought another ever could - the alicorn princess was disappointed.
Lowered her head, the queen bowed deeply, leaving the back of her neck exposed, open to attack by the princess’ wickedly sharp horn. The two changelings at her side did the same.
“Queen Aurelia, please, raise your head,” Celestia requested.
But the queen did not raise her head, in fact she bowed lower still, both her nose and the tip of her horn touching the soft carpet at their hooves.
“Please, Queen Aurelia, be upstanding before our court, you have nothing to fear from us,” Celestia insisted, stepping closer.
“No, Princess,” shaking her head, Aurelia’s horn brushed against the soft pile of the carpet, “I have done wrong. My actions were reprehensible and unpardonable. I let pride and foolishness keep me from the right path, and it almost took the death of an innocent child to remind me of what I should have done all along. If I must bow my head in your presence, if I must scrape and plead at your hooves, if I must throw myself at your mercy, then that is what I will do.”
Craning her neck so that she could look up at the alicorn of the day, but still keeping head low to the ground, the changeling did something that she would not have thought to try just a few short days before... she begged.
“Please, help us. Whatever punishment you deem worthy for my actions I will take gladly upon my shoulders. But please, I beg of you, help my children.”
Princess Celestia had expected that this meeting could go many ways, and she had arranged many responses accordingly. What she had not expected, was the changeling queen’s heartfelt act of contrition. While her sister had made quite plain what retribution she felt was appropriate for the queen’s actions, Celestia herself was unwilling to take the harsh line that the alicorn of the night had so passionately espoused.
Casting her eyes around those gathered, her sister with her back still turned, her subjects awaiting her response to the queen’s plea, her gaze fell upon the nation’s sole human. Locking eyes, the human held her gaze, his face a mask of calm, his expression still impossible to read even after all these years. After what felt like forever passing between the two of them, the human closed his eyes and nodded, just the tiniest of movements.
Decision made, Celestia turned back to the changeling queen, brow furrowed and expression stern.
“You come before us now, after all you have done, and you ask for our help?”
At the alicorn’s hooves, the queen lowered her face again, her nose against the floor once more. A wave of calm came over her as she closed her eyes. Patiently she awaited her judgement, her punishment, ready to accept whatever came her way.
“Well if our help is what you need,” the alicorn of the day continued, “then our help is what you shall have.”
The queen felt a pressure against her chin, something soft firmly and insistantly lifting her face from the floor. Opening her eyes she found a large, white wingtip held under her jaw, bidding her to rise, to lift her face to the light.
“Please, Queen Auriela, lift your head,” Celestias’ expression had softened, the disappointment replaced by something kinder, more understanding. “We have heard your plea, now it is time to talk.”
At the princess’s insistence, Aurelia rose to her full height, her head almost coming level with that of the alicorn before her.
Taking her wing back, Celestia did not stow it against her side, instead she used it to motion back to towards the room’s main entrance. Aurelia’s eyes followed it, finding the four royal guards who had escorted her to the room standing to the side of the carpet as the door slowly opened.
“Will you not join me outside, in the royal gardens.” Stepping around the changeling monarch, Celestia kept her wing out from her body, using it to beckon the queen to walk with her. “We have much to discuss.”
“The terms of our surrender?” Aurelia asked, unable to believe what she was hearing.
The alicorn smiled serenely, shaking her head.
“No,” she replied, “the breadth of our assistance. You have asked, and we shall provide. Is that not the way of harmony? Come, I find a stroll amongst the wonders of nature does marvelous things for the spirit, does it not?”
Not knowing how to respond, what words could ever come close to expressing how she was feeling, the changeling queen instead put one hoof in front of the other and joined the princess as she walked from the room and out towards the royal gardens.
*************
As Princess Celestia and Queen Aurelia left the room - a pair of changling drones directly behind them with two pairs of royal guards flanking the entire group - those that remained in the throne room watched them leave.
“Thank you, Kibitz,” Luna addressed the elderly stallion in the bright red jacket who had been standing patiently at the side of the room, “you may leave us now.”
After bowing deeply to the princess, the royal appointment keeper closed the large double door behind him, leaving the room’s occupants with their privacy.
Turning to her human friend, Princess Luna eyed him quizzically.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked, “really and truly?”
Blowing air through his lips, Lero just shrugged... which was not the response that the alicorn of the night had been looking for.
“No,” the human admitted, “but sometimes you’ve got to take a chance on someone, don’t you. If we always expect the worst from people, how will they ever give us anything but? People can rise to your expectations, but then they can also drop to them too. If we don’t give her people a chance, how how would it make them feel. I’ve been there - feared and hated for what others think I might be or do, not what I actually am.”
Reaching out, Lero put his hand on Luna’s shoulder.
“We’ve both been there... and neither of us was happy about it. I may not like her, in fact right now I still want to punch her in the face, but I think she needs a chance, and what she needs is more important than what I want. Especially after what she did for our daughter.”
Considering these words, letting them roll around in her mind, Luna nodded.
“There is truth in what you say,” the princess said, “and though I do not completely approve of or agree with your choice - and certainly I would not have been as forgiving as you - I will abide by it... for now.”
Turning to one side, Luna took in Lyra Heartstrings, standing by her stallion’s side.
“And you...” the princess said, “I gather you were initially against assisting the changelings, but now you support this plan. How so?”
Under Luna’s gaze, Lyra hung her head.
"I’m not the world’s greatest forgiver,“ she admitted. “I’ve been hurt too many times for that. But a great pony once told me that there’s really no great evils out there, just people who’ve made wrong decisions and don’t know how to get past them. In my anger I lost sight of that lesson. I’m ashamed to say I let my emotions, and my own past dealings with her kind, control me. Because of that we almost missed our one chance to save our daughter.”
As Luna pondered Lyra’s confession, Rainbow Dash leant over and pushed herself closer to her herd-sister, the unicorn reciprocating the contact, letting the pegasus rub her neck against her own in a display of solidarity and comfort.
“And what say you?” Luna asked of the pegasus.
Resting her chin on the minty mare’s neck, Rainbow took her time in answering. Speeches weren’t her strong point but that didn't mean that she didn't have something to say.
“Twilight seems to think that we should help her. Lero reckons we should at least give her a chance. Lyra, now she’s had a chance to calm down, says we should look beyond our emotions and do what’s right. If they’re all willing to give her the benefit of the doubt then that’s good enough for me.”
Luna opened her mouth to speak but Rainbow held up a hoof, indicating that she hadn’t finished speaking. If it was any other pony treating a princess of the realm as such they would have been in trouble, but by now this herd had earned more than a few... considerations.
“Much as I’d like to believe that in her shoes I’d have done things differently, I’m starting to think that we’re really not that different, us and them. So honestly, though I can’t really understand why she did what she did, I don’t know what I’d have done in her place. After all that, I can't honestly find it in my heart to go about crushing her underhoof. At least, not today.”
Cracking a smile for the first time in days, Luna placed a hoof on the pegasus’ shoulder.
“You’ve mellowed with age, my flighty friend,” she said, her smile taking on a sly edge.
Rainbow wasn’t sure if she should be pleased or offended by that statement.
“I prefer to think of it as evolved,” Rainbow snorted, “or distilled, or triple filtered like ninety percent proof awesomesauce, matured till it kicks some serious flank. Don’t tell anypony I said it, but we all have to grow up sometime. I’m still the most awesome thing you’ll ever see though.”
“Indeed you are,” Luna laughed, “indeed you are.”
“And Lero,“ Luna moved closer to the human, so close their noses almost touched, “know this - though you are my most trusted friend, we will speak later about you interrupting me in front of the changelings. You made me appear...” her expression was unreadable, though ‘put out’ seemed to be the closest description. “...cock-whipped.”
Off to the side, both Lyra and RD did their best not to laugh.
“But enough of this.” Luna clopped her forehooves together. “Come, let us depart to the hospital. I am informed that my newest niece has stabilised nicely and will shortly be ready for visitors. As such, I believe it is high time that I paid my respects.”
Not waiting for the others, Luna started for the rear of the room.
“So, what is she to be called?” she called over her shoulder as Lero and his wives hustled to catch up with the princess. “Something long winded and overly encumbered with superfluous middle names I would wager if my beloved Lucent has had anything to say about it.”
“Star Song,” Lero replied as he came abreast of the alicorn, “and just that, for now. I’m sure she’ll end up with as many extra names as Sweetie by the end of the week.”
Slowing in her stride, Luna raised a suspicious eyebrow.
“‘Star Song’ eh?” she remarked. “Hmmm ‘SS’. I wager Star Sparkle will be just thrilled to bits when she hears that her granddaughter also bears part of her name. I would love to be present when she is told. The look on her nigh-on permanently smug face will be no doubt priceless. I can imagine her already, her features akin to that of a bulldog chewing on a particularly sour lemon.”
Had any royal guards been present to see the the princess of the night pulling a particularly inelegant impression of Canterlot University’s erstwhile Dean of Archeology’s face as she was being given what she would consider extremely bad news, they would probably have ended up thinking less of both mares. The fact that the impression was also uncannily accurate only made it all the funnier to all those present.
Ducking behind a banner, Princess Luna hurried into one of the castle’s many hidden service corridors, eschewing the usual route of royal passage as she plotted the fastest route to the city’s finest hospital.
Diving in behind her, Rainbow laughed as she responded.
“You know, princess, if you can figure out a way to teleport us all the way to Neighpon, you can tell her yourself.”
Luna’s hearty laugh echoed along the cramped corridor, along with the loud ‘clop’ of two forehooves colliding to seal the bargain.
“You, Lady Dash, have a deal.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.055 seconds
Total duration
642 users online
1,095,082 hits today, 2,814,898 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
*reads chapter title*
ARGH!!!!.... now that song's goinna be in my head all day... at least it's a good song.
A Bulldog chewing on a lemon. A vision that will stay with me for days.
Love how mischievous and devious they can be xD especially Luna and rainbow
I'm so glad that little Star Song survived :) That is a big weight off my shoulders...
Great finish to this arc. Or is it? We still have to meet a certain newborn filly for good.
I hope we'll see more of Lero's offspring in the future and how their own lives in Equestria are panning out.
Some small typos.
4450744 There is another version of that phrase that I heard once- a bulldog licking piss off of stinging nettles...
4450803
So it seems, but I'm still concerned. I don't quite remember how non-pony she is, but I hope it gets properly explained. She was born aomth earlier than normal, strange alterations to her form aside.
Well that turned out fine in the end despite Lero holding a blade to the changeling's throat.
Heh heh… 'cock-whipped…'
So then, is this the end of the changeling arc?
Pfffftt cock-whipped luna, i doubt her embarressment will last once those fingers of his get to work.
Ah, I like the final vision of Lero's Blank Plague window. Now I feel like I need to get someone to draw that...
4452461
Good choice. Though it brought this song to mind for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq9FZ8e6d1Q
I dearly wish I had some kind of visual art skills. I want to illustrate Lero's window.
Also, "ninety percent proof" gave me pause until I remembered who was saying it. Oh, Dash...
In any case, a fantastic denouement for this arc. Thank you for it.
4452742
4455572
We need fanart of this.
I thought they would be more involved in it, but I'm glad that they are willing to give them some form of peace instead of tragedy.
Nice way to close things off
Ponies scrunching is always a good thing.
Sorry, but FUCK this arc. It's actually put me off the entire Further Tales set of stories. The sheer jingoistic hypocrisy in the fic and especially the comment just killed the entire thing. I hope the author is proud to have ruined this.
8493278
Yep, very.
Byeeeeeeee.
It might not have been the end of the arc that I expected, nor the end I wanted, but I think this is the most human end. Imma leave this right here...