Loud trumpets blasted through the horns on the six Cruzesian ships, signaling the first sight of the Equestrian coast.
If everything was right, the misunderstanding should be cleared by the time they arrived. Rainbow Dash did send in a letter through Spike to roughly explain the situation and their intention to enter Equestrian border.
The princesses knew that Rainbow Dash has pretty much vowed to find Twilight before ever coming back. Now that she suddenly came back, the status of Twilight would be the first thing they ask.
After an intense discussion, the mares decided to tell them part of the truth: that they did find Twilight, but Twilight has become magically deficient, fallen into a coma and need urgent treatment. She naturally neglected to mention the reason of such deficiency. They thought that it would be more prudent to discuss also with Rarity and Applejack, and should they choose to communicate it to the princesses, it had to be face-to-face for security reasons. In the letter, she also implored the princesses to not openly announce the status of Twilight to the public until her condition became clear.
However, somewhat worryingly, no reply was sent back.
Still, the fleet continued eastwards as planned. Originally, they were to dock at Las Pegasus. The fleet was carried a little bit north to their planned destination by the currents. Pegasus scouts were sent out to skim the coast, and it seemed that nothing overtly unusual was going on in Equestria.
A day before they entered the port of Las Pegasus, Rainbow Dash again called for a meeting between the Equestrians and the Zebricans.
After everyone sat down at the round table in the meeting room, the cyan pegasus slickly began.
“Alright, we shall start now. Since we’re close to landing, there must be a plan that we all agree upon, so that we do not run into trouble.”
Rainbow Dash continued. “I had already sent a fast letter to the princesses of Equestria informing of our intention to land, thanks to the help of the fire breath of Spike the dragon.”
“Did they reply then?” Rosencross frowned.
“Unfortunately not yet.”
Rainbow Dash sighed. “But according to the scouts, no signs of disturbance were observed on shore. So I suppose the Equestrian government is still running fine. Perhaps they haven’t replied simply because they are busy.”
“Pfft, if I were them, four thousand foreigners at the shore and somepony returning from death would have been my first priority on the agenda.” Kanipha said.
“The ponies in Las Pegasus know us. Hopefully they will understand that we come at peace even if something did happen in Canterlot.”
“Dashie, we have quite a lot of hooves here.” Pinkie Pie said, “How are you going to settle them all?”
“For my own soldiers, I told that after we found Twilight, they are free to follow me back to Ponyville or return to the Amarezon settlements. I made it clear that I would stay in Ponyville for the most part. Although pegasi are not exactly the most agricultural among the ponies, we did have ways to grow food in the absence of earth ponies. The Cruzesians, in particular, were used to the idea of autarky.”
“… What ‘turkey’ now?” Spike asked.
Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, but Mistral Trail already began. “Autarquia means self-sufficiency. It has been how we do things in the arboreta for millennia. When Ancient Roam soldiers marched, they usually couldn’t source the food locally through foraging or trade, so they would establish agro-colonies in which soldiers were also farmers.”
The cyan mare smiled and shook her head. “Thank you Mistral. I am planning to revive this idea. I have asked help from the ministers and we drafted a preliminary plan of agro-colonies for those who wish to stay, once we acquire lands of our own, which will hopefully solve the issue of housing and food.”
She turned to the Zebricans. “If you’re interested, I can also arrange a similar plan for you.”
Geuse asked. “What would your plan exactly entail? My brothers and sisters might be interested.”
“Basically, we’ll try to arrange lands for farming and assorted industries around Ponyville. Rarity and Applejack should have the provisions for the additional helping hooves. As far as I know, Applejack in particular has a need for farming hooves on her farms and down south as well, for which we can cooperate. Among our own, we will divide the soldiers into corps of fifties, and supply them with seeds and farming tools. We will collect a portion of agricultural product as recompense to the Cruzesian state for ‘lending’ me their army and repaying the fund they gave us, and possibly as rent to the Equestrian government.”
“That’s assuming your princesses would tolerate a bunch of foreigners suddenly squatting on their royal lands.” Kanipha said doubtfully.
“Equestria is not as unitary as you think.” Rainbow Dash said. “Cities always have a lot power of self-determination, especially traditionally sovereign ones like Cloudsdale. If we really can’t get enough lands around Canterlot and Ponyville due to royal objection, we can just move shop to the south, where the royal power is not as strong. Our friend Applejack had friends down there, and surely she could find us some arable lands with some efforts.”
Fluttershy knitted her brows. “It isn’t a good idea to openly defy the princesses.”
“We will try to talk, that’s for sure. Hopefully the princesses recognize this is a golden opportunity to make the Cruzesians less distrustful of Equestria.”
Rainbow Dash then narrowed her eyes. “We should now talk about another important matter, Twilight. We will quickly reunite with Rarity and Applejack, our two other friends and former Element-bearers, and bring Twilight back to research a way to revive her. However, we don’t know how long it would take to succeed.”
The cyan mare then added. “We have already informed the princesses of the relevant fact that Twilight survives but currently unfit to meet anyone.”
Rosencross interjected. “Did you tell them the whole thing? The Equestrian princesses will probably cut Chrysalis to ribbons when they find out she is in our midst. I know I will if I were them. Not that I terribly mind.”
Fluttershy winced. “We simply told them it was a mysterious case of magical deficiency. We didn’t implicate her or any changelings.”
Geuse again muttered in annoyance, while Spike looked up as if he heard nothing.
Kanipha then said. “I hate to bring it up, but I’ve heard some weird rumors among the Zebrican passengers regarding the sudden disappearance of Twilight which coincides with the Cruzesian soldiers’ movement on the black ship.”
He rolled up his eyes. “Apparently they fear that you guys have incapacitated Twilight, and are then going to round them up and ship them off to the highest bidder.”
“What the flying buck are they talking about?!” Rainbow Dash burst in absolute horror. “We are no slavers!”
“Uh…” Kanipha and Mistral Trail both uttered a hesitant tone. The zebra then looked to Mistral Trail with a curious gaze, and the mint-green unicorn quickly said. “Your Grace, although slavery was outlawed from the conception of the Amarezonian colony, other Cruzesians… did engage in the trafficking of quadrupeds in what’s now the Zebrican Ocean.”
Seeing the revulsive look on the cyan mare’s face, Mistral Trail quickly added. “As far as we know, any such unethical activities have long ceased by the time the first great earthquake devastated our ancient capital on the old continent, Tagos, which forced most of the mazombos to migrate to the Amarezons. I profess no knowledge of the Zebricans’ impression on such an ignoble trade, but I must again stress that it was a long time ago.”
“The name of Cruzesia might have been forgotten by most of Zebricans except the West Zebrican ponies, but the white starry tree is still an omen of servitude for some.”
Mkondo looked at the zebra meaningfully, but Kanipha huffed lightly and continued. “Cruzesians were far from the first… trafficker that operated on our coast, but they were certainly one of the most expansive. One rather old theory states that cows were originally brought in from the Far East by the hooves of the Cruzesians and Saddle Arabians, because they were more pliant than us zebras, which made them better workers.”
“Kanny…” Geuse looked at Mkondo and then turned to the zebra colt, who sighed and raised his hooves.
“No offense to you of course, Mkondo.”
“None taken.” He said with a curt smile.
“None-the-less.” Rainbow Dash said with a heavy tone. “I must make it absolutely crystal clear that we abhor such practice and will never do something like that.”
“But the lack of Twilight in public appearances will still be worrying for many of them.” Kanipha stressed.
“What can we do?” Rainbow Dash said with some impatience. “We are already implicated in such outrageous rumor, any attempt to explain Twilight’s appearance away will only be seen as excuses. Our hooves are tied until Twilight herself wakes up and explains things to them.”
“I know this might be a touchy subject, but do you think a fake Twilight would work?”
Everyone turned to Discord with stunned looks.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that. Just offering solution to you, it’s all. We aren’t going to mess with Twilight’s real body like a frigging marionette as Chryssy did.”
Discord shrugged. “Since the real deal was in the sick bay and basically guarded more tightly than Celly’s diary, they couldn’t have known about her real condition. And there are more than one of us here perfectly capable of impersonating Twilight, at least for the hopefully short period of time when she’s out of action.”
“That sounds… wrong.” Spike muttered. “But heck, it might just work.”
“Spike?” The mares were surprised that it was Spike that first endorsed this plan after getting stung by Chrysalis’s nefarious bid.
“Everyone here is probably quite uncomfortable with such a thing after what Chrysalis did. I myself still think that what she did now and then was so horrible that your forgiveness is, honestly, misplaced.”
Spike continued to the stunned mares. “But we’re not just ourselves, we have to consider what it is out there for the thousands on the black ship. Applejack, if she’s here, might hate it for the deceptive trick, and we might be in our right to feel wrong and even hypocritical to do so, but if someone could be out there to pacify the passengers until we reach the safety of Equestria, it would be for the good of all instead of us few.”
Pinkie Pie gazed at her beloved Spike. Instead of thinking about what he had said, she was fretful at the change she observed in Spike, which she had not been acutely aware of until his outburst a few days ago.
Since the changeling invasion, Spike was a lot less bubbly innocent compared to before, a fact that both saddened Pinkie, and caused her to worry about their commonality that brought them together in the first place.
On the other hand, the ordeal seemed to have forced the dragon to grow up and mature quite a bit, as he had to fend for himself all of a sudden. The fact that he decided to remain in Ponyville instead of going back to Canterlot was a sign that he was starting to take charge of his life. He had grown grimmer, but at the same time giving out thoughts that surprised the mares from time to time.
Was it what Twilight had always wanted, though? A dragon that was self-dependent and strong-willed, instead of being seen as some insignificant tagalong. Now that Twilight was confirmed to be safe, perhaps it’s all for the better… Or was it?
“Hey Pinks, are you alright?”
“Eh?!” Pinkie Pie was dragged back into reality by a concerned-looking Spike.
The dragon smirked and showed some warmth in his smile. “Is it really this outrageous a proposal? Twi’s alright now, I hope. And if she’s still the Twi I know, she would not mind this a bit since we’re doing this for the good of many.”
Geuse fanned her wings and rolled her eyes. “She didn’t even exactly mind when some evil wisselkind jacked her body for some nefarious purpose. Her threshold of tolerance is a bit too high. I would’ve been screaming bloody murder if I were her.”
A strange glint shone in Rosencross’s eyes, and then she said. “Well, she minded for once.”
Discord turned his head sharply, but the red mare already said. “Before our final confrontation, Chrysalis once threatened Twilight to act against Spike in her guise, particularly, choking him unexpectedly and feast on the shock of betrayal.”
The group except Discord gasped aloud. Spike himself asked with a stunned expression. “…What for?!”
“Just a vain attempt to prove that she’s still in control of her unstable mind.” Rosencross coldly spat.
“Dang, she’s even viler than we thought…” Geuse shook her head.
Spike froze, and then simply muttered something under his breath.
“Dang it, Rosy.” Discord impatiently huffed. “Chryssy’s a bad, vile, calculating bastard of a changeling ex-queen, we get it. Point is, she was just a bluffy windbag that never acted on her little twisted plan. She herself felt so bad she broke down in tears before she even stepped out of the room!”
Rainbow Dash raised her hoof, and then knocked on the desk several times.
“What treatment, and possibly punishment, that Chrysalis and her ilk will face is something that we must discuss, but not without Twilight’s input. For now, I think Discord and Spike’s comments, even though extraordinary, do have their merits.”
Facing the impending retorts, Rainbow Dash stressed. “But-! The goal of any such operation should be to make them feel safer, not to fool them because we can. Any public appearance must be short but to the point.”
“But why did Mister Discord said there are several of us that can do the job?” Verna asked. “Do you mean Lady Rosencross?”
“Me?” Rosencross widened her eyes. “I haven’t transformed into another form for ages. And with my chronic lack of food, my magical conduits have long been empty, this was why I was able to evade detection by Chrysalis and her hive. I doubt I can attempt transformation with or without drawing energy from Twilight anyway, which I promised not to.”
“Well, if Rosy isn’t okay, then Pinkie Pie can do it.” Discord shrugged. “So can I.”
“Huh?” Geuse looked flabbergasted. “How?”
“D- Discord!” Pinkie Pie looked a bit flustered.
“What’s with the reservation? You tugged pretty well in Fluttershy’s disguise back in Las Pegasus.” Discord said with amusement.
“I left my Twilight disguise at home! I didn’t expect it would have any use on our trip…”
Discord’s smirk turned into a suppressed snort, then some chortle, and at last unreserved laughter. “What? You guys want me to do that?”
Spike looked a bit bummed out at first, but he then shrugged with a slight wince. “It’s you who proposed the idea, it’s not that out there for you to carry the idea out as well.”
“I don’t mind it at all. I just don’t know if you guys mind.”
Spike raised a brow, and then grinned toothily to the surprise of the others. “Come on the Lord of Chaos, at least I’m far from this touchy. This is tame stuff compared to some of the pranks you pulled back home.”
“Huh, really?” Discord was somewhat soothed by the easy attitude from the dragon. “Then what about the others?”
The group looked around, and gave him a collective shrug. Verna, in particular, scratched her cheek in embarrassment. “I kinda want to see how a non-wisselkind do it.”
“Hahah. Watch out then!”
With a snap and a shower of flash, a timidly smiling purple mare stood before the group.
“Whoa, Discord, you can pull off such a precise transformation after all.” Rainbow Dash said.
“What do you mean, Rainbow?” Discord narrowed his eyes.
Rainbow Dash gulped at the perfect imitation of her best friend’s intonation. “I, uh, just thought that your transformation might be more… I don’t know, off the mark?”
Discord harrumphed. “Well, now you see my capability is far from limited.”
While the mares and Spike gawked at the exactness of the replication, the Zebrican companions looked a bit frownier, even though their surprise was evident on their faces.
“What’s wrong?” Discord turned and asked.
“Well, let’s say the look and the voice are both dead-on.” Geuse sighed.
“But…” Kanipha said hesitantly. “To the Zebrican followers, she was much more battered-looking.”
“Oh.” Discord nodded blandly and then transformed again, this time much closer to the injury-ridden Twilight they’ve seen earlier.
“So how injured was Twilight exactly? I might have to act limp and stuff.”
“Lady Twilight’s legs, as you saw, were quite injured. She could barely limped forward unassisted.” Verna sighed. “Back in Timbucktu, she basically dragged herself forward with her own magic. But with her depleting magic, we had to build her a clutch and a walker. Her ears and eyes were also seared. The damage was not debilitating but apparent. We all have to raise our voices or repeat ourselves when we talked to her. She had failed to see things that tripped her over several times, which gave us quite a lot of scares that she would injure herself further.”
Rainbow Dash heavily sighed, while Mistral Trail duly reported. “Our medics confirm what Dona Verna has said. Given her condition, the chance for a full recovery is less than ten percent.”
“Well, hot dang.” Discord gritted his teeth, neglecting to maintain in-character anymore. “But her weak constitution can be an excuse for me to use.”
“How?” The cyan mare asked.
“I can just tell everyone that I, ‘Twilight Sparkle’, gotta receive treatment privately because of some magical complication with my existing injuries. With the purple egghead’s ‘personal reassurance’, they won’t be near as suspicious and paranoid.”
“Hmm, well, we don’t have any choice, do we... Hopefully Twilight can be revived in time so that we don’t have to keep this charade on for too long.”
Rainbow Dash waited for the group to raise concerns. When she was met with shaking heads, she said. “So if there is no further issue to discuss, I shall declare this meeting adjourned. We have a lot of things to do.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the meeting, Discord swiftly took to action. In Twilight’s guise, he made the announcement to the Zebrican entourage as discussed.
To Rainbow Dash’s surprise, he explicitly demanded the Zebricans to defer to the cyan mare for leadership when ‘she’ was out, an act that briefly worried the cyan mare that it might again raise suspicion among the Zebricans. However, the Zebricans turned out to simply desire seeing the elusive purple mare with their own eyes. As long as that was permitted, they don’t mind some shuffling of the command structure, which affected them not that much.
And so the fleet stayed at the sea for half a day for the restructuring of army organization, and then they sailed straight towards Las Pegasus.
Rainbow Dash was, on the other hand, growing unsettled by the lack of response from the princesses. However, just a few hours before sundown, when they were just about to arrive at the port, Spike had knocked at her door with an especially decorated royal letter and a much plainer one.
She immediately tore them open and read. Afterwards, she knitted her brows deeply and then loudly gasped. She immediately gathered Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Discord, and Mistral Trail to her room.
“Good Afternoon, Your Grace!” Mistral Trail saluted. “The integration of the Zebrican entourage is a bit slow due to the language barrier, but with the help from Dona Twilight’s companions, we should be able to manage it before docking at Las Pegasus.”
“Thank you, Mistral.” The cyan mare nodded and laid out two letters on her desk. “The princesses have replied.”
“What did they say?” Pinkie Pie asked eagerly.
“One of them is a very proper diplomatic note, another one is a personal letter from Celestia. Which one do you want me to read first?”
“Y—your Grace, it’s not appropriate for me to read your personal correspondence…” Mistral Trail shifted uncomfortably.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes up and sighed, “For goodness’ sake, if I think it is inappropriate, I wouldn’t have called for you in the first place.”
“Let’s go with the formal one first, I’m interested to hear what the official stance on the Las Pegasus affair is.” Pinkie Pie suggested.
“Good idea.” Fluttershy nodded.
“Alright, here goes…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“HG Arco-Íris Impeto
Grand Duchess of Novo Esperança
Cruzesian State in Amarezons
HRH Celestia, Princess of Equestria, Most Royal Solar Sovereign, Grand Mistress of the Most Ancient Order of Star Swirl, Head of the Royal House of Equestria, etc. etc. has commanded me to write to Your Grace regarding the extraordinary affairs surrounding our two nations in the past moon.
Her Royal Highness expressed alarm and regret over the unlawful intrusion and occupation of Equestrian territories in the Free City of Las Pegasus. However, Her Royal Highness also expressed understanding of the mitigating circumstances of language barrier and the unfortunate hindrance stemmed from the improper execution of diplomatic protocol by the Equestrian Coast Guard in defense of the City. Her Royal Highness acknowledged the strict restraints observed by Cruzesian troops during their stay, and the generous recompense provided to local affected individuals and businesses. Henceforth, Her Majesty’s Government deems it no need to pursue diplomatic reparations. Nonetheless, Her Royal Highness will be most pleased shall the Cruzesian Government express regret over the incident in similar fashion.”
“Whoa, that’s not even a slap in the hoof.” Pinkie Pie beamed.
“Yeah, this is surprisingly lenient.” Rainbow Dash nodded, and then sighed. “I wish every other news is as good as this.”
“ Her Majesty’s Government respected the equity of individuals who wish to seek better lives in the Kingdom of Equestria. Equestria has always been a land of opportunities. However, due processes must be observed in all cases and circumstances, as a lack of rules on border control will lead to disruption of social coherence. Therefore, we regret to inform you that Your Highness’s request for the settlement of Cruzesian and Zebrican nationals will have to be merited on a case-by-case basis and individually audited by the Council of Immigration and Border Jurisdiction.”
“It’s going to take ages to get through all those red tapes!” Pinkie Pie gasped.
“Not to mention I’m not going to tolerate the assumption that any of my soldiers and citizens are bad apples unfit for living in this land.” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves.
“Can’t say I’m surprised that they don’t like the idea of foreigners freely walking in and settling down. What sovereignty-loving country does that?” Discord smirked.
Rosencross, however, looked surprised, “Twilight told us that she was very confident that it would be a piece of cake and the princess would readily agree to her request, and there are a lot of lands south of Ponyville for settlement.”
“Your Grace.” Mkondo said. “You are friend of Twilight, what did you have in mind?”
“Don’t mind Misty, it’s fine to just call me Rainbow.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “If you want to glimpse what Twilight might have in mind through what I had in mind, then you might be disappointed. I don’t know what Twilight had in mind at all. Maybe she wants to leverage her status as a national hero?”
The cyan mare then bit her lips in worry. “As for myself, I had never thought that I could find Twilight so fast and then such a quick return to Equestria. Although in the previous meeting, I said there might be some of my soldiers who want to return to the Amarezon, but the truth is that almost all those who follow me heavily dislike either the fossilized culture back home, or the hot and humid environment of the new jungle settlements. Quite a number of them had a bone of contention with some of the civilians who dislike my warlord aura. They would be bitterly disappointed if I direct them back there.”
Rainbow Dash then wistfully took out a pile of documents from the drawer and casually flipped them over.
“So I had to plan for the livelihood of three thousand ponies somewhere else, in wherever we chose to settle. My prime choice is Equestria of course. Back before we left, I had a private talk with Applejack and Rarity. I left them a moderate sum of fund from our coffer, told them to invest them wisely and used the sum to acquire enough land. It was not an easy task, we estimate that we need at least a thousand and two hundred hectares, roughly the size of half of the entire City of Ponyville, in order to settle and feed them all. It was to be a project at least more than a year and a half in length, as many complex deals have to be struck with the hard-headed magnates and nobles, and bits have to be spread around in the bureaucracy to oil things up.”
“You mean bribing them?” Kanipha chortled.
“Ahem, I mean to create a favorable atmosphere in the government for possible Cruzesian settlement.” Rainbow Dash said with a curious glint in her eye. “But now, as we came back this early, I could only directly appeal to the princess to see if she can do something with this herself, and apparently she cannot.”
“Why? She’s the princess!” Spike said.
“Hear me when I read the other letter.” Rainbow Dash quietly sighed. “Anyway,
Her Royal Highness congratulates the courage shown by the Cruzesian nation in their national renaissance. The Kingdom of Equestria wishes to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with the Cruzesian State for an indefinite time to come.
On Behalf of Her Royal Majesty,
Lord High Chamberlain,
Purple Cincture”
“Sounds pretty business-like at the end.” Discord said. “I bet the ‘personal’ letter contains a lot more information.”
“Hurry up, hurry up!” Spike gushed. “I can’t wait to hear!”
“Alright… Dear Rainbow Dash,
I’m most astonished at the rapid-fire news that Las Pegasus has fallen, and then that it was merely a misunderstanding. What’s more, one of my former subjects have rescued a long-lost pony nation and been ennobled as a Grand Duchess. I agree with your assessment, that this has been the strangest of time, even speaking as someone who’s pretty old.
Your news that Twilight Sparkle, my beloved student, has not perished, is one of the best gifts that you can ever offer me. Luna and I are absolutely thankful for your tremendous efforts. I can barely contain my joy, which I cannot express in mere words in this letter, I shall come thank you personally and see Twilight with my very own eyes.
As for your requests, I’m sorry to inform you that it is simply too much to ask. Although I’m the princess of Equestria, allocating such a large portion of lands by royal edict to foreign nationals constitute a breach of our sovereignty in many nobles’ eyes and will likely disrupt the fine balance between each of our individual constituent city-states in Equestria, because it will be seen as either setting up a brand new member state which is a complete unknown, or a blatant bias towards pegasi. Also, I must express great hesitation at the potential difficulties of integration regarding the mixed origins of some of your entourage, considering that among other things, it contains a large amount of non-ponies from Zebrica. We are already burdened with heavy noble discontent at the Diamond Dogs settlements on the Upper Saddle River. Further provocations would be unhealthy for the nation’s unity and health.”
“Her concerns are not completely baseless. But I’m still pretty unhappy with the decision.” Rainbow Dash said.
“That’s unacceptable! The land down south is more than enough to hold a few hundreds more zebras and antelopes. They got singled out because they were the ‘wrong’ kind of non-ponies.” Fluttershy showed a rare glimpse of spirited consternation.
Discord simply smirked. “Hmph.”
“ While you were gone, Applejack and Rarity explained your case in front of the court. But shortly thereafter, something unexpected happened, postponing our responses. A thousand-year curse laid down by the evil sorcerer-king Sombra had broken, and the Ancient land of Crystal Empire returned to the embrace of Equestria. We are most in need of hooves to rebuild the infrastructure towards our returning subject nation, but competent hooves are in short supply, so we will be happy if your entourage can help us refurnish the railroad up north. If so, I may be able to secure a half-year temporary collective work-permit for them.”
“See?” Rainbow Dash said, “They want cheap—”
“Wait, the Crystal Empire returned?” Pinkie Pie yelped and Fluttershy gasped.
Discord frowned. “What about Sombra right now?”
Rainbow Dash’s expression turned inscrutable. “… To our delightful surprise, King Sombra had apparently been defeated by a most unexpected hero, and as a consequence never returned to attack Crystal Empire. Her name is Sunset Shimmer, a former student of mine before Twilight became my student…”
Discord looked at the mares, who were either shocked or thoughtful-looking. “Who’s this Sunset Shimmer girl?”
“She was a former student of Princess Celestia. She dropped her study because she was a bit too impatient. When she didn’t get what she wants, she just left.” Rainbow Dash said. Her gaze swept across Spike, and she immediately added. “Twi told me, of course.”
“Whoa, she must be one ambitious punk then.” Discord grinned. “Leaving the dang princess, pretty much one of the most knowledgeable and powerful magic user in Equestria, to pursue her own studies.”
“Good for her, I guess.” Pinkie Pie smiled.
“… I guess.” Spike muttered.
“Okay… I’m most ashamed for failing to nurture her full talents during her time with me, but seeing her doing the righteous work for the good of the nation, I can only feel glad for her.
But I digress. I advise that we should send Twilight to the best physician in Canterlot as quickly as possible, so that we can begin her treatment as soon as possible. The sooner I see my most prized pupil in health, the happier I am myself and for all of you her beloved friend. I look forward to seeing you in Las Pegasus.
With gratitude,
Princess Celestia of Equestria.”
“I don’t think this is something that some common court physician can treat.” Discord tapped his chin.
“She don’t know what really happened. And neither do we to be honest.” Rainbow Dash sighed. “We must also find a way so that we can move Twilight under better care on shore.”
“Well… that’s it then! Nothing more to do really until we dock.” Spike shrugged.
“I suppose so.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Now everyone, go and get a little rest before we land, because it would get really shouty then.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ships had entered the harbor shortly before sunset. The harbormaster was prepared this time, and signaled the fleet to dock at the assigned spots. Then immediately, the workers and Equestrian troops began to board the ships to inspect and help unload the materials. It seemed that the Government of Equestria and Las Pegasus had clear order to welcome the fleet this time.
All others were either busy getting the supplies off the ships to prepare for the night stay on shore, or organizing the passengers and soldiers to orderly disembark. Discord had slipped away. He felt like he stood out like a sore thumb among the shuffling ponies.
He wandered on the Chitona, where almost all passengers had gotten off the ship. He passed through the half-open door on Twilight’s chamber, and to his surprise, not one soul was guarding the place.
When Discord waded into the room, he saw that Twilight was simply placed on the bed unattended. He was a bit dismayed at the lack of attentive care.
He closed the door knelt down near the bed. There Twilight lied, looking ever so weak and vulnerable. And above all, she looked incredibly lonely.
Could it be simply that he projected his feelings towards the purple mare? He didn’t know. Still, he elected to sit beside the bed and be the one who accompanied the purple mare.
“Oh, Twilight.” He muttered. “What were you thinking? Sometimes, I do imagine, if you simply opted to tell me the truth right then, instead of charging madly at Chryssy, then none of these would ever happen. I don’t know if you were afraid that someone would overhear, or that I was not ready. But you are still incredibly silly, everything is incredibly silly and makes no sense.”
He shook his head, “Heck, I make no sense myself. If the past-me saw me now, he would slap me so hard to snap me out of this schmaltzy nonsense. But hey, at least now I know why you are reluctant to tell me the truth.”
“Even after talking with the spirit and your friends, I’m still not so sure. Who was I dealing with? Who are you, Twilight? I thought I knew you besides your one little secret, and once I know it I will see the entire you. But now, I’m even more unsure than before.”
“You are young as a foal but also ancient as a rock. You are a walking encyclopedia but also so naïve to the danger and darkness in others’ hearts. You are such a stretch of a mare, you often look unreal to me.”
After a pause, he asked, “Do you really especially think fondly of me because part of you and me share similar experiences in solitude? Or do you want to dote me because you don’t like how the alternate-you do not?”
“To be honest, I don’t care what had motivated you to approach me. Thing is, you are important to me, and the longer we spend our time like this, the deeper it makes me unhappy, because we are physically close but unable to talk to each other, I can never admit my mistakes to you like this.”
Discord turned, and Twilight was still as motionless as ever, only moving minutely as she weakly breathed. He wryly chuckled to himself. Perhaps he had become too naïve and sentimental, and too counting on miracles himself.
He stood up and closed the chest carefully, planning to stand guard until Twilight’s friends come to move her ashore.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“AJ, Rarity!” Pinkie Pie happily shouted, as she almost rammed herself into her friends on the pier against the setting sun.
“Ouch, Pinkie!” Rarity yelped, then looked around, “Eh? Where’s Spike?”
“As soon as we landed, I sent him to the nearest gem store and told him he can eat his fill before sundown.”
“Pinkie, I told you many times that we shouldn’t spoil him too much.” Rarity frowned, and secretly annoyed that she could not see Spike right then.
“I’m not spoiling him! I mean, not entirely anyway.” Pinkie Pie sheepishly grinned.
“Yes, it’s me who tell Pinkie to find a way to distract him for a moment.” Rainbow Dash straightened her ceremonial uniform and walked forth.
“I—is it true?” Applejack asked hopefully.
“… Yes.”
“Where is Twilight?”
“We’ve just transferred her to the medic’s camp on shore. But before we move on, we must tell you more about the particulars of what lead to the current situation, it’s very important.”
She gestured to Pinkie Pie, who promptly nodded. The cyan mare is too conspicuous to be seen whispering to others in public.
As Rainbow Dash turned and attended to her lieutenants, the pink mare surreptitiously led her two friends to one of the secluded corners on the pier. She looked around to make sure everyone else was distracted by the hubbub created by the unloading Cruzesians and Zebricans, and then she immediately whispered something into their ears.
Just after Rainbow Dash finished organizing the main Cruzesian army into ordered formations and returned, the three emerged again. Rarity and Applejack were visibly unsettled and worried.
“Are ya three fo’ real?” Applejack immediately protested. “That varmint almost replaced and practically killed the real Twilight!”
“Shh—!” Pinkie Pie shushed the orange mare in a hurry.
“Applejack is right though. Chrysalis is too dangerous to keep around!” Rarity frowned.
“Yes, but Twilight herself showed mercy on her.” Fluttershy said. “Besides, this matter would be quite sensitive for her… Because it involves the sanctity of mind and selves.”
“Hmm…” Applejack and Rarity widened their eyes, and then heavily sighed.
“… Well, yah. We should at least let Twi have a say on this.” Applejack slowly muttered.
“But shouldn’t we at least put Chrysalis and the changelings in some kind of confinement? Where is she and the changelings kept anyway?” Rarity asked.
“Discord’s keeping an eye on Chrysalis. According to him, she’s being very pliant for a changeling ex-queen. I’m willing to put some bits into his words.” Rainbow Dash said. “A former lieutenant of Chrysalis, called Allela, was in charge of the hive at the moment. She’s an interesting character in of herself… In particular, she claimed that Twilight should be their rightful queen.”
“Pinkie just told us. This is quite outrageous and unbelievable to be honest.” Rarity frowned. “Twilight isn’t even a changeling, unless that Green Stigmata thing can also somehow change species. Why would she want a bitter enemy to be their queen anyway?”
“According to her, it was because Twilight has strong magic… which is doubtful as a reason alone because her magic is faltering in Zebrica. She might believe that Twilight was partial to their plight and can change their luck for the better, but whether this is just seeing Twi as a… useful fool, or a genuine reaction to her kindness, I cannot tell.”
Applejack pondered for a while, and then narrowed her eyes. “Discord is getting too close t’ Chrysalis fer mah comfort.”
“Are you doubting Discord?” Pinkie Pie frowned. “I thought we discussed th-”
“Naw, naw.” Applejack clarified. “Discord’s sincerity Ah don’t doubt. Ah just ain’t sure what Chrysalis’s up to. The last time they two get together, it wasn’t a pretty sight.”
“Applejack’s right. We shouldn’t let them be together alone for too long. Who knows what would come out of it.” Rarity shook her head. “We should keep a tab on them.”
“I already did.” Rainbow Dash’s expression turned a little bit fretful. “The guards I sent to accompany Discord and Chrysalis are actually one of our best intelligence officers. They are all unicorns, specifically drilled in Equestrian language and secretly jotted everything they talk down in quickhoof.”
She threw up her hooves. “I don’t want to do that, to be honest. I was still distrustful of Discord at first when I saw him in Las Pegasus. You know, I left shortly after Twi’s disappearance and didn’t get to spend time with him, so you girls might notice more changes out of him than me. But as we talked, and especially since now that he knows about Twilight and our big secret-“
“What?!” Rarity and Applejack both shouted.
“Pinkie? Haven’t you told them yet?” Rainbow Dash widened her eyes.
“E- Ehehe…” Pinkie Pie grinned in embarrassment, and whispered to them a few more words.
Rainbow Dash looked at the flabbergasted duo, shook her head with a defeated smile. “Yeah, he does now. And from what he did throughout this trip, I think he’s definitely, fully standing on our side, unlike our uninformed optimism at the beginning.”
She sighed. “This is why it pained me to spy on him. I hate to doubt a dedicated friend like this, but his vouching for Chrysalis, while heartwarming in a sense, is also alarming otherwise. We need to sit down and talk to him… and her eventually.”
“Even Chrysalis?” Applejack frowned.
“… I’m angry at her, very angry in fact. She wanted to subject Twilight to a fate worse than Tartarus, and if she had succeeded, it would be an absolutely horrible thing. If I had known that she wanted to hurt a single hair of Twilight, I would have pulverized her immediately.”
She drew in a breath, “But I… no, Pinkie, Fluttershy and I all think that she might deserve a chance.”
“What? Why?” Applejack raised her voice in shock.
“I’d want to say that we are confident that she had truly reformed.” Rainbow Dash looked aside. “The fiasco with Discord had made me hesitant to say so. But perhaps especially because it’s Discord who now comes up and is willing to be her character witness, I’m willing to consider giving her a chance.”
“Our friend-making skills are super-duper good, but for something as drastic as going from sacking cities to happy parties, we need to give her more time.” Pinkie Pie smiled.
“… Sorry, we’re not entirely convinced. She’s still an enormous liability in my eyes.” Rarity said.
Applejack added. “If not for the princess’s intervention and our words, even Discord would be tried in court and probably sentenced to something way worse than just wearing a power limiter. And we’re now talkin’ about someone who almost sacked Canterlot and did sack other cities, committin’ crimes, ruinin’ livelihoods. And now even… turning Twilight into a mockery of herself. In an older age she would be promptly executed if caught.”
“A—Applejack!” Pinkie and Fluttershy gasped.
Rainbow Dash simply nodded. “True, but we’re not barbarians anymore. We punish not for revenge, but to facilitate rehabilitation. And to our eyes she showed some promise.”
“Some is not enough. Ah’ll darn sure keep both o’ mah eyes on her.” Applejack narrowed her eyes.
“Of course.” The cyan mare swiftly nodded. “Anyway, AJ, I’ve heard that some of the Zebricans brought a new kind of apples from West Zebrica along with them. They called it Bigbucks, you wanna check it out?”
“Hey sure, Rainbow.” Applejack grinned. “Yer always thinkin’ ‘bout us.”
“Stop this schmaltzy nonsense, AJ. It’s uncool.” Rainbow Dash grinned in embarrassment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, Celestia and Luna had arrived with the blasting of royal fanfare. The Las Pegasus City Hall were booked for the purpose of the unofficial meeting between three head of states.
Although Cruzesia was way less populous as a whole, its military was demonstrated to be strong and capable. The host nation didn’t wish to set the bar too low or appear weak by giving Rainbow Dash a cold shoulder.
“I can see why leaders sometimes want to curb the freedom of press.” Rainbow Dash casually commented as she strode into the meeting room with her mare friends, Spike and Discord. “We can’t talk anything substantial with everyone watching.”
“Rainbow, it’s an improper attitude to have.” Fluttershy reprimanded.
“Yeah yeah, I know.” Rainbow Dash moved her legs to wriggle out of the stiff uniform a bit. “But we have plenty of skeletons in the closet right now. I positively hate it, but before we clear them all out, it isn’t possible for us to talk freely. Besides, it’s not like you would talk about our biggest secrets in Ponyville Mirror just because of ‘openness’.”
Fluttershy bit her lips and went silent.
They walked inside the oval shaped meeting room, and saw the two princesses sat at the round table. Celestia looked expectant and calm, but Luna was visibly unsettled. Curiously lacking were Cadance and Shining Armor.
“Welcome, everyone.” Celestia greeted with an inscrutable expression. “And as the sovereign of the Kingdom of Equestria, I greet you, Grand Duchess A—”
Luna, however, was quite impatient, “Rainbow Dash, is it true that Twilight is still alive?”
“It is true.”
“Luna, you shouldn’t…” Celestia frowned at the lack of formalities shown by her sister.
“No, I don’t mind. I'm still an Equestrian citizen, and this is a private occasion after all.”
“So where’s Twilight?” Luna asked in barely contained concern.
“She is with our medics in the camp. She is under good care, don’t worry.”
“Why is Twilight…? You are rather vague in your letter.” Celestia frowned.
“… Magical deficiency. She’s quite spent from the fight with Chrysalis moons ago.”
“Rainbow Dash, magical deficiency alone does not do that.” Luna said with an unamused tone.
“I need you all to be honest.” Celestia sighed. “I don’t know why you have to hide the true reason of Twilight’s status, but knowing why she fell into this state will help me help her. I care for my faithful student as much as you, so please place your trust in us.”
Rainbow Dash gulped. The reason she hesitated was because she didn’t know what would happen if the princesses knew of the horrible deeds of Chrysalis. The mere presence of changelings in their midst would already be extremely concerning for them.
Last night, when she communicated the idea of hiding the fact to Rarity and Applejack, they slammed it as nonsensical. The two thought that the princesses could help them more efficiently if they knew what caused Twilight to fall unconscious, and that as long as they worded it appropriately, it would not overly incriminate the changelings.
Of course, Rainbow Dash knew that Rarity and Applejack did not trust the changelings a bit. She swept her gaze across her friends, who just gave her uncertain looks. She bit her lips, and decided to push her luck.
“Princesses.” Rainbow Dash said, “We had our reasons not to say what caused this. We can tell you, but on one condition: you have to promise not to punish anyone that might be implicated.”
Celestia frowned deeply. “We cannot tolerate this miscarriage of justice. If someone had perpetrated the crime of hurting Twilight, appropriate punishment has to be applied.”
“I insist, Princess. You ask us to trust your sincerity, we in turn ask you to trust ours. We care for Twilight a lot, so we are not asking for this promise lightly.”
“Do not tempt us, Rainbow Dash.” Luna narrowed her eyes.
“Princess Luna... I assure you, we are not asking for this for any reasons of self-preservation or cronyism. We simply think that this is what Twilight would have wanted as well, and we’re executing her will.”
Celestia looked at Rainbow Dash intently, who did not flinch for a bit.
“What if Twilight herself wants to pursue punishment for the deeds?”
“Then we’ll certainly respect her wish.”
“Deal. You have my word.”
“Sister!”
“Luna, time is of essence. Besides, I do trust Twilight’s friends to have her best interest in their minds as much as me.”
“… We thank you.” Rainbow Dash drew in a breath, and began slowly. “Twilight fell into this state because she tried to rescue Chrysalis.”
“What?!” Both princesses exclaimed at the same time.
“Twilight and Chrysalis had clashed after they both appeared in Zebrica. With her magic and local help, she successfully defeated Chrysalis.”
“Oh, harmony be her shield.” Luna exhaled.
“Indeed, thank goodness for that.” Celestia nodded. “But why would she want to rescue such a… character?”
While Rainbow Dash tried to weave a story that minimize the impact of the changelings’ existence, Discord suddenly interjected. “I’ve talked to the no-longer changeling queen about what happened.”
The mares widened their eyes and turned to the chaos spirit, who simply shrugged and continued. “She’s staying well put with her fellow changeling captives on one of the ships. I’ve casted a spell that would alert me if they were to escape.”
“Discord!” Rainbow Dash hurriedly hushed, but the princesses already recovered from the initial shock.
“Are you saying that Chrysalis and her changelings are right there on the ships?” Celestia glared severely.
“Yep.”
“We shall arrest these villains post haste!” Luna thundered. “Call forth our-”
“Hang on a second, moon butt. You should hear me out before acting rash.”
“Why should I listen to you, you faithless anathema?” Luna narrowed an eye. “I don’t suppose you’re plotting vile schemes again with the accursed vermin.”
“I know you can’t quite stand my sight.” Discord said to the angry Luna. “But don’t you demean my hard work persuading her into being slightly more palatable to you ponies despite being a love-sucking predator. I do it only for Twilight.”
Although the mares were still shocked by Discord’s sudden reveal, Fluttershy still voiced her support. “Princess Luna, it’s too harsh and unfair to call Discord faithless. He had been our staunch champion throughout this journey. Without him and his fight with Chrysalis, Twilight will not be able to return to us at all.”
Celestia muttered something under her breath, and then slowly nodded. “I’m interested in what you have to tell.”
Discord nodded, then began to recount the story of how the hive crossed the desert and met Twilight.
When he got to the part about the Chrysalis’s failed bid to steal Twilight’s magic as well as identity, however, the princesses’ faces were livid with anger.
“Discord!” Luna yelled and interrupted the chaos spirit. “What you’ve just said only add to her insurmountable sin! I shall be damned not to blast her into pieces!”
“Oh, Luna. Be careful with your boundless wrath, for it might consume you instead.” Discord grinned.
“Discord, please do not try to get a rise out of my sister. Like me, she’s simply highly concerned about Twilight, as well as justice.” Celestia said with a grim face. “Still, if what you’ve said is true, then it’d be unreasonable for us not to pursue a severe form of punishment.”
Applejack, Rarity and Spike looked at Discord with some surprise, thinking that the chaos spirit might have changed his idea about covering up for Chrysalis.
Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, on the other hand, tugged at him anxiously. Discord however just gave them a ‘let me handle this’ look.
Celestia continued. “Banishment and imprisonment are our standard forms of punishment towards villains in Equestria. But with her regretful resilience-”
“What is a promise to you, Celestia?”
“Eh?” Celestia raised her head and looked to the chaos spirit, who was unusually calm and serene.
“I’ve stood by my promise of aiding your kingdom before Twilight herself releases me from my vow for seven moons, and now you can’t even stand by a promise you made to rainbow-mane several minutes ago.”
Stunned by Discord’s accusation, the solar princess winced and stayed silent.
“Now that I got the worst of her deeds out, I must still plead for the case of the changeling ex-queen. At least hear my second half of the story before you rush to your predetermined verdict.”
“… Ex-queen?” Luna, now slightly calmer, asked suspiciously.
“Finally someone caught the blatant hint that has been flying above her head.” Discord huffed. “The changeling hive is now simply a shell of what it was. Chrysalis had lost most of her troops and already been deposed by one of her own.”
“Huh?!” Celestia widened her eyes. “Chrysalis had an iron hoof over her kingdom! This is simply unbelievable.”
“I know you had an altercation with her before. Wasn’t it you that punch those holes on her and her ‘hivelings’ so hard that they still look like cheese ponies now?” Discord said. “So what do you know of her?”
Celestia narrowed her eyes, as Luna also turned to listen.
“The attack on Canterlot was not her first foray into Equestria. Years back, when she first emerged from the shores of Zebrica, she swarmed across the ocean and laid waste to the cities of Trot and Timbucktu. Then she set her eyes on Equestria. Bolstered by her successes, she led a direct assault on our East Coast, only to be repelled by the defensive works that we have laid down in anticipation of her attack. Those physical blemishes on their bodies… only served as a reminder of the futility of her misguided ambition.”
“A course of action most appropriate.” Luna nodded.
Celestia exhaled heavily. “She’s someone that could not be reasoned with at all. Like Sombra, who was corrupted by his singular desire to conquer and dominate, Chrysalis was single-minded in her desire to subjugate peaceful species for her own sustenance… They are changelings, they are by nature predators over ponies. There can be no true peace within such a lopsided relationship as mandated by natural order of things.”
“I’m also a spirit of chaos. Think of how many songs and texts in your fancy little kingdom that praise harmony and demonize disharmony. Shouldn’t I also be the perpetual enemy of yours and everyone of your little ponies?”
“But you… seem to have changed, if subtly.” Celestia muttered. Luna wanted to rebuke, but she bit back her remark.
“Exactly. I still remember how you tried and utterly failed to talk to me at first. Though I maintain that the tone you used was highfaluting, annoying and antagonistic regardless.”
“You subjected the entire land of Equestria to your chaotic whim!” Celestia couldn’t help but raise her voice. “Of course I would’ve been righteously angry.”
Luna added with dismay. “If not for you, Sombra would never find the opportunity to exploit the power vacuum in Crystal Empire and rose to power.”
“Wow, wow, hold on. You’re blaming friggin’ Sombra on me? I only began to really hear about his more exciting exploits after I got out of the stone, and before that I only knew him as an unhinged dark magic spewing unicorn with a penchant for slaves and crystal. For all that is chaotic, that guy was transparently evil even during my reign, before he got close to any kind of power. I mean, it’s your own dang fault for focusing on brainwashing when it’s some poor draconequus that did it, but acted like blind fools when it’s your fellow unicorn. Poor Princess Amore was so right in submitting her empire to your able hooves.”
Rainbow Dash muttered something under her breath, and then jabbed Discord. “Dude, and uh, princesses, we aren’t here to bicker about the old debts. We’re here to talk about Twilight, the Zebricans and the treatment of changelings.”
“Oh, right.” Discord raised his arms and turned to the fuming princesses. “If you would excuse my snark.”
Celestia narrowed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. “… Say what you’ve got, Discord. Don’t make me retract my generous appraisal on you.”
“Fine. My point is, even though I still don’t see eyes to eyes with you and some other ponies, I still managed to be persuaded to conduct my businesses in a way that bother you ponies less. Heck, although it was mainly my payback for the purple egghead’s dedication, but I did vow to aid your kingdom. These mares all think of me as their loyal friend. Even her little dragon and I came to a mutual understanding on this trip. All from the chaos spirit that you two thought was impossible to get through to or even communicate, that you felt the need to lock him in a stony prison for a thousand years.”
Discord walked closer to the two princesses, and looked at them eyes to eyes. “You might doubt the authenticity of my ‘reformation’, especially you, Luna… Feel free. I myself don’t know sometimes. After all, who can say for sure? No one, however prescient, can have a total foresight of one’s own future transformation, be it corrupting, purifying, or simply life-changing.”
Luna looked surprised at Discord’s words, and slightly lowered her head in thought.
Discord then stepped back and laid his claws on each of the mares, even Spike, who widened his eyes but did not flinch.
“What I’m sure, however, is how these folks around me gave me their firm trust. If it was the past me, I might try to cynically exploit that without thinking. But the things which have happened in this very short portion of my time on earth makes me realize it’s worth thinking.”
Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie perked up as they remembered that the chaos spirit did comment on his own changes briefly when they brought up Tirek, but now he seemed ready to discuss and disclose it in detail.
Discord himself magicked a fainting chair for himself to sit on. “Unlike you ponies, I merely came into being from the primordial soup of chaos. From the moment I became conscious, I already knew what I am – a spirit of chaos. This is my inherent nature, and my solitary goal, as well as my only source of joy, was to promote and spread it.”
The mares and Spike more or less knew about or at least inferred this from their interactions, but to the princesses, this confession was wholly new and so unlike the Discord they had in mind. They both opened their mouths and wanted to say something, but Discord waved them down.
“But it took me thousands of years of messing around and an addition thousand years as a statue for a realization to dawn on me – that despite being a spirit of chaos, my nature alone did not completely define me. Outside of my innate connection to chaos, I still have a lot of personal agency. In this sense, I was a fool as well, seeing that I used to laugh at you ponies’ obsession with your plot tattoos, while being blind to my own obsession.”
He shrugged and looked up to the decorated ceiling of the town hall. “It’s perhaps no surprise that someone like I would think everyone and everything can change, but it is Twilight and her friends that reminded me even I myself, and the operation of chaos itself can also change. I still refuse to say I’ve now changed for the better – I merely do the things that would allow me to have someone who could listen to your woes, share your joy, playfully tease you in good fun, and tolerate your flaws, however intolerable they are.”
He then showed a rare gentle smile that surprised both princesses. “Friends, as we all call these people. Even if this land does not react to the mere act of friendship with strange burst of magic, friendship itself is still a game changer, a chisel to sculpt ourselves and others. And I happen to be partial to this little concept at least as much as I towards making things all screwy and stuff.”
Celestia was somewhat taken aback by his candidness, even the antagonistic Luna began to listen with attention.
“Someone…” Discord paused for a bit. “Once asked me rhetorically that if I think friendship is just a roundabout way of slavery.”
Celestia quietly gasped, while Luna looked so shocked that she barely reacted. The sun princess then spoke up sternly. “This is patently false!”
“Celly, of course you would say that. But consider if you were someone who has been branded as a villain his whole life and long got used to the scorn, but then suddenly pulled into a settled life. One that had operated out of the confines of rules and without concern for friends or indeed anyone. This kind of words are like sweet honeydew to your ears, appealing to your raw instinct and luring you away from the restraints of rule-bound inaction.”
“I… I never thought…”
“A chaos spirit can be deep too?” Discord huffed. “Come on Tia, we’re both thousands of years old.”
“No! I wasn’t going to demean you like that!” Celestia felt somewhat frustrated with Discord’s penchant to bend her words. “But…”
She for once smiled to her former enemy. “It was great to hear that you seemed to have dismissed it.”
Discord, however, shook his head. “Truly persuasive words are not the ones that are completely false, but those that hid blades in nuggets of truth. I’ve been thinking since that person asked me this stinging question. Am I giving up part of my freedom in my bid to appease my new friends? No matter how you phrase it, it is true.”
The mares looked at Discord with worry, but he swiftly added with a grin. “But if this makes it an ‘imprisonment in all but name’, then we may as well call the world a giant prison, which is a stupid way to call this intriguing stage of action... In making friends and forming relationships, we are all giving up part of ourselves and in exchange, receive those of the others. These friends around me gave up so much that it both shamed and enlightened me. Twilight almost gave her life up both because of my foolishness at the spur of the moment, and her unwillingness to harm me in any way. Between all these, I learned that there are myriad possibilities to manifest your nature, and holding onto the ones that results in losing the bonds that connect us isn’t exactly wise or liberating.”
“That’s almost transcendent, Discord.” Rarity grinned.
“I am transcendent. I’m a spirit of a friggin’ concept, remember?” Discord chortled, and then shifted the focus of his talk. “But if even I can do this, why can’t some small time warlord queen?”
“Discord…” Celestia and Luna widened their eyes in slight alarm.
The white Alicorn bit her lips and shook her head. “You’ve indeed no longer the Discord we once knew.”
Luna added with some muted regret. “Your tongue might still be sharp and irritating, but… Alas, Twilight Sparkle did work miracles.”
Discord simply shrugged and nodded. “She’s a miraculous existence, yes.”
Celestia then said. “But however splendid your own reformation is, it is no basis or comparison for us to alleviate our distaste or potential punishment for Chrysalis. She is no small-time warlord queen. She violated our sovereignty and placed our subjects in dire danger, not to mention lead her changeling hive and laid waste to nations East and West.”
“You don’t think changelings are all vile by nature, no?”
Luna knitted her brows. “They were brutal and voracious devourers of love, totally incompatible with the Equestrian way of life.”
“Oh… Rosy is gonna be sad that she’s probably going to be deported away from her Twilight.”
“Who?” The princesses looked bemused.
Pinkie Pie interjected. “Rosencross was a stray changeling Twilight rescued in Timbucktu.”
“She was instrumental in, um...” Fluttershy briefly paused to search for a less incriminating wording. “…stopping the worst that could have happened to Twilight.”
“… She might be a special case.” Luna shook her head.
“But she was once a queen too.” Discord said, at the same time pondering what would Rosencross think if she knew she’s being used as an example to defend Chrysalis and her hive.
Celestia widened her eyes. “I thought changelings are just…”
“Changelings? That’s like saying everypony is the same.” Discord smirked.
“No… But I thought they were all led by Chrysalis as one single hive.”
“They used to be much more diverse, until Chryssy unified the disparate hives in Zebrica. In fact, Rosy’s hive used to obtain love using rather benign means until Chryssy’s hive absorbed hers. There’s no reason not to think whatever remained of her hive cannot be directed to become relatively harmless with our prodding.”
Celestia muttered. “Discord, why do you insist that Chrysalis can be reformed? She’s the one who laid harm on Twilight and countless Equestrian citizens. And according to what you’ve said, she’s also the one who drove the changelings onto the doomed warpath.”
“Trust me on this one, even if it might be hard for you. I’ve talked with her, and I knew that feeling very well. The initial tug from the other side, the gradual opening of the eyes to the possibilities beyond the old ways. The recurring hope and doubt and swirling mess of thoughts. As someone who’s been through this, I’m positive that she could eventually be turned.”
He then added. “She also had had a softer side, but her view was then distorted by some rather bad childhood experiences.”
“Such as?” Luna narrowed an eye.
“Witnessing her only friend got murdered in front of her eyes?”
Luna covered her mouth as Celestia winced. The chaos spirit extended his arms and said. “In any case, treating Chrysalis with restraints also has its practical use. The hive is now a shade of its former self. Only one squadron remained, and its squadron leader had deposed Chrysalis in light of her failure.”
“Their internal squabbling concerns us not.” Luna huffed. “We will hold them to their deeds regardless.”
“Oh, but here comes the good part. She then proclaimed Twilight as the new queen of the hive!”
“What?” Celestia asked. “How is this… Why would a changeling want a non-changeling as queen?”
Rainbow Dash said. “Discord is speaking the truth, Princess. Apparently, the changeling’s royal magical signature, called the Green Stigmata, had been wrestled from Chrysalis when Twilight fought her. So Twilight actually did have some claim to the queenship.”
“What she said.” Discord nodded. “Of course I suspect there are some ulterior motives, but at least this Allela’s desire to make Twilight her new queen seemed solid. If Twilight got better and can later incorporate the changelings into our side, then even if we see no need of fighting, we can still hold high the banner and stop the changelings she dispersed seven moons ago from marauding the countryside anymore.”
Discord crossed his arms. “By then, if we have Chrysalis by our side, then even if she might not be a completely reliable advisor, she would still be a counterweight to any particular changeling’s ambition… Twilight would be safer this way.”
Celestia paused for a long while, and at last, she nodded minutely.
“But what about justice?” Luna asked with a frown. “She had committed so many vile actions towards the innocent across the lands. There will be an uproar if we do not deal her and her ilk with appropriate punishment!”
“What is punishment good for?”
To the princesses’ surprise, it was Fluttershy who interjected.
“For those who were hurt, it might sate their desire for revenge, but it neither feed nor heal. For the one who had wronged the others, it might create an illusion of penance, but it changes nothing in the past. If the perpetrator had not the heart to change for the better, then punishment has no use. If the perpetrator had the heart to change for the better, then punishment has no purpose.”
Luna winced. “But…”
“There is no but, Princess Luna.” Fluttershy said sternly. “If back then we had unleashed our anger and sadness onto Discord and chaining him up on the rocks of Everhoof, Twilight would not have returned to us at all.”
She then stressed further. “If you simply let your desire for self-punishment fester only for the fleeting penance it’d have brought, then we might have already been inundated by the product of your own nightmare.”
Luna’s sensitive nerve was touched when her past was brought up. Celestia looked to her sister with concern, but she too merely sighed.
“Celestia, Luna.”
Discord straightened himself, drawing attention from the Alicorn sisters who were unused to such a formal Discord. “What my dear Fluttershy said was what drove them to accept me, even after I made the grave error of turning my back on Twilight, but it is not the sole reason I went soft on my brief partner-in-crime. I am no wide-eyed optimist myself, and I only said Chrysalis might be reformable because I saw something in her, and she also would be willing, if only with some prodding from us.”
Pinkie Pie looked to Discord and turned to the princesses. “The seed of friendship was already in her! But it could not grow because the soil is not right. The pent-up anger towards her lost friend combined with her upbringing made her into a brutal invader... But isn’t it all the sweeter when even such a turn from sweet friendship can be righted if we try, right?”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah. She’s a product of her environment, just like each and all of us. We’re already having it easy if she’s all regretful and not vengeful for her own defeat.”
“So you are asking us not to punish Chrysalis or the changelings for their crime, are you not?” Celestia asked in a low voice.
“I prefer leniency because I trust Discord’s judgment, and I’d very much want to hear what Twi think. So I’d say not now. We urge you to wait until Twilight has recovered and hear her own account, and only then make any decision.”
The princesses looked to each other and seemed to be more convinced, but still not enough.
At this time, Spike suddenly said. “I say give her a chance too.”
“Huh?” The mares, particularly Applejack and Rarity, as well as Discord were all surprised at Spike’s proclamation.
“Yeah, yeah. I know you all are going to think it is weird for me to say that. After all, she did go all, um… murder-y on me briefly. But that didn’t exactly pan out, and she stopped herself before she even got out of the room.”
He then bit his lips. “Was I scared? Heck yes, I am still a bit scared. Was it a heinous act? Well, duh! Was she a ruthless conqueror that make ponies and non-ponies alike suffer? Certainly. But if Discord there, who had turned the land upside down, literally, and ruled it in complete chaos for goodness knows how long, can get a pass from us because he is willing to change his ways, then Chrysalis is just some ‘small time warlord queen’ indeed. Of course I still have a personal grudge towards her, but so had I been with Discord, and perhaps things would change when some time has passed, just like what a thousand years did to everyone.”
The last sentence caused several listeners to sharply breathe in.
“As for the changelings, they were certainly a mean bunch. But like Rosencross, perhaps they are not all bad, and can be directed to be a helpful force. I mean, it’s like the diamond dogs, isn’t it?”
Celestia raised a brow. Spike noticed the change in her expression, but he continued. “They were shunned in Equestria, but Rarity brought them out from their seclusion and onto the surface. Now they are productive citizens of Equestria, and lessened our reliance on Saddle Arabia for imported gems and minerals. All these changelings need may be just a healthy conduit to utilize their ability to earn their love, instead of steal it.”
Celestia looked pensive for a moment, then suddenly shook her head and shone them a smile. “Fair enough. You’ve talked me into this, don’t disappoint me.”
“You think so?” “What? Sister, wait! I-“
“Luna, listen to me.” Celestia turned to the mares and lightly leaned forward. “Given if Chrysalis, or any other changelings, do not act out of line in the way that harm the security of our nation, and it was my faithful student as well as her best friends’ ardent wish to preserve them, we shall also strive to accommodate this extraordinary request.”
Luna looked at Celestia for a moment, and then also nodded. “Very well.”
“I thought you would be more opposed to this, Lulu.” Discord smirked.
Luna narrowed her eyes and said. “Don’t get too comfortable with me yet, Discord. I’m not an accursed fossil, I simply take into account of your process of reformation and the confidence Twilight’s friends gave to this decision. I would still monitor their action closely.”
“But of course. My lieutenants will give me near-real-time reports of the changeling’s condition.” Rainbow Dash said.
Celestia looked concerned when Rainbow Dash mentioned her followers, but she nodded regardless.
Rainbow Dash looked around, the discussion seemed to have ceased. She then asked. “Princess Celestia, if the changeling issue is for now settled, then we must talk about how we are going to nourish Twilight back to health. We have a rough idea of our own, but we also wish to hear your advice.”
Luna asked worriedly. “First, I must ask... You mentioned something about the changelings’ royal magical signature. Does that mean Twilight is still magically linked to the changelings?”
“Probably… No, most likely yes.”
“Then is it due to the changelings’ continuous draining that my faithful student remain unconscious?” Celestia asked with a frown. “If so…”
Rainbow Dash reported. “As part of the agreement, the changelings have stopped feeding on Twilight’s energy for the moment, even Rosencross. Although they insist that Twilight’s condition has nothing to do with their feeding, which according to Allela, was minuscule compared to Twilight’s large magical potential.”
“That’s strange. Didn’t you say Twilight’s magic was declining during her stay in Zebrica? Then why…?”
“The comments from Allela, Chrysalis and Rosencross all point to the observation that despite Twilight’s mounting inability to cast magic, they did not feel at all difficult when they want to feed. Since they are hooked onto Twilight’s magical conduit directly to negate their need to feed from love for the moment, their words should be reliable. But it’s still done as a way to ensure Twilight’s safety and, well, keep them weak enough from doing anything stupid.”
Celestia nodded. “This is indeed quite thoughtful and prudent. So what could be the other possible reasons that Twilight couldn’t access her magic?”
“Well, we don’t know. The most recent cause is of course… Chrysalis. But Discord swore that when he and Rosencross extracted Chrysalis from Twilight, it was done with the best care he could give.”
“It’s true!” Discord waved his arms. “Chryssy almost made a mess of the place with her fit, but when I came out, I made sure to check for the integrity of her mental space. Nothing seemed too out of whack to me.”
“Hmm… Then we should transfer her to the royal medical ward in Canterlot for intensive examination.” Celestia heavily sighed. “Hopefully our experts on magic can figure out what happened to my faithful student.”
“Actually, why don’t we try the Elements?”
Everyone turned to Discord with surprise.
“Chryssy mentioned this to me, and I thought about it for a while. Aren’t there six strange slabs near the Tree of Harmony now that the Elements are put back? If so, perhaps in whatever plan the Harmony you all treasure so much has, Twilight must be present, because without her, there will only be like five bearers. Perhaps bringing her to the tree would do the trick and heal her from whatever strange illness she has now. At least, the harmony doohickey can’t be too bad for her magic or health.”
“… Not a half-bad idea, Discord. Good job!” Rainbow Dash slowly smiled.
Pinkie Pie tapped her chin and looked up. “Ah, I wonder if all these is just one big spiritual quest dictated by the spirits of Harmony to make our bonds tighter.”
“All the suffering just for that?” Spike raised a brow and huffed. “Asking nicely would do too, you know!”
Pinkie Pie mildly chuckled and shook her head.
“Indeed, what Discord said made sense. It wouldn’t hurt to try before the formal course of treatment.” Celestia thought for a while and nodded. “If you need any information on the Elements that I have researched over the years, do not hesitate to approach me.”
“Thanks.”
Rainbow Dash’s smile then faltered. “Princesses, now I must ask you something else quite important as well. I know it was a quite demanding request, but we’re quite saddened by your refusal to allow my good citizens and the Zebricans to settle on the empty plots of land down south.”
Luna again frowned. “Rainbow Dash, if we shall allow your Cruzesian citizens to settle on Equestrian lands, then to which nation do they swear allegiance to? Equestria or Cruzesia? If it was the latter, then approving your request is no different from seceding Equestrian lands away.”
“Princess Luna. I assure you, this is never our intent.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “The Cruzesians who follow me merely want to begin anew somewhere other than their old lands, so do the Zebricans. We aren’t going to suddenly plant our flag and proclaimed a Cruzesian state here.”
Celestia and Luna looked to each other and exchanged a few words. Afterwards, Celestia shook her head and said. “I feel bad to say this, but we still cannot grant your request for the same reason I have mentioned in the letter.”
She closed her eyes. “Your Cruzesian entourage are majority pegasi. I do not wish to upset the balance between the three- no, now four tribes. The influx of zebras and antelopes is going to cause problem with integration as well, since they are unfamiliar with both Equestrian language and customs. I oppose any move that might adversely affect our national unity.”
“Princess!”
Celestia shook her head and said slowly. “… Six moons. Six moons are the most generous concession that we can give you. During this time, we shall observe how well they integrate in Equestrian society. Perhaps by then, things would have changed. By then, Twilight herself might be able to weigh in later, giving us her case for the Zebricans. If things do not work out, Equestria reserves the right to enforce her border and repatriate these newcomers.”
Rainbow Dash was disappointed that she could not get a better deal, but she reluctantly nodded.
“Princesses.” Spike spoke up. “Why haven’t Princess Cadance and Shining Armor come to check up on Twilight? This should be pretty big news for them.”
“I’m sorry, Spike. They are having a very busy time up north.” Celestia sighed. “A lot of things changed in a thousand years. Customs, language, infrastructure, technology… everything needs to be reconnected and reconciled. Most importantly, the citizenry of Crystal Empire are restless about their lost years, prestige… and even lands. Cadance, Shining Armor are working closely with Consul Shimmer to deal with the tumultuous situation.”
“Sunset Shimmer is now in the government of Crystal Empire?” Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief.
“She was the one who defeated King Sombra, and organized the provisional government at the Empire’s return. Moreover, she was the one who brought the news of its return to us. She seemed to command a lot of respect and loyalty from the citizenry, so Cadance appointed Sunset Shimmer to the post in order to help her govern.”
Celestia then bashfully smiled. “I was initially suspicious of my former student. But after a few meetings, I believe that she had definitely grown, and my suspicion of her character is unfounded.”
“Interesting.” Discord smirked.
“Well, we can always use more competent and helpful hooves.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “I cannot wait to meet this Sunset Shimmer.”
“We certainly can.” Celestia smilingly nodded. “However, our first priority should be nursing Twilight to health. Before she awakes, we will not announce the news of her return yet.”
Her gaze turned steely. “But now, I must ask you to bring us to Twilight, and then Chrysalis and her changelings.”
The mares looked a bit unsure, and Celestia reassured. “Do not fret, I will keep my words and I’m not going to pass judgment on her yet. I just want to see what she had become.”
Rainbow Dash looked around. She was faced with a series of nods. “We shall lead you to her, but this must be covertly done.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After checking on the physical condition of the unconscious Twilight, the princesses, now wearing sad and weary looks, followed Rainbow Dash to a secluded area of the army camp. They three surreptitiously trotted, as the others had returned to avoid being too conspicuous.
“Your Grace!” The milky white pegasus who guarded the entrance greeted Rainbow Dash in Equestrian.
“How’s our VIP doing, Milestrela?”
“She’s staying put, Your Grace. She had requested me to chat with her, but I refused because it was against protocol.”
The white pegasus then thinly smirked. “She then asked me to bring her some light reading. So I gave her the Enciclopédia das Direito do Mar.”
“This is wicked, wicked.” Rainbow Dash shook her head and grinned wryly.
“What is the meaning of that, Rainbow-” Luna looked to the unimpressed lieutenant of Rainbow Dash and corrected. “Duchess Rainbow Dash?”
“It’s a super boring brick of a book about marine law from thousands of years ago, it’s outrageously bad. Drill sergeants make the recruits recite the books when they go out of the line.”
Celestia rolled her eyes and smiled. Rainbow Dash glanced and felt better that at least the sun princess was becoming less mopey.
“What about the other guests?”
“Under tight guard by the Law and Order Brigade. Commander Mistral Trail had not informed us of any abnormal activities.”
“Very good. Keep on duty, Lieutenant Milestrela.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
They passed the white pegasus and stood in front of the entrance to the camp. The decoration was minimal. Rainbow Dash gestured the princesses to wait for a moment, and she popped her head inside and entered the tent.
The former changeling queen was sitting inside, flipping the tome with a grumpy look in the form of a golden-orange mare with a mane of green.
“Rainbow Dash... What brings you here? The joke your lieutenant made is unfunny.”
“Celestia is outside. Luna too. Just sayin’.”
“W- Wh- What?!” Chrysalis’s face immediately turned green, as she instinctively grabbed her belongings.
“You tell me on them?! How can you do that? They would positively annihilate me!”
“No, they won’t. Even if they want to, we’ll make sure that you’re safe until Twilight herself woke up to make the call.”
Rainbow Dash then crossed her hooves. “If you and the changelings are to be rehabilitated in the public eyes, the first step must be informing them of your presence and how you come to be with us in the first place. In any case, no panic needed. She’s not coming to punch more holes in you.”
“How do y-”
Rainbow Dash simply cut her off. “She just wants to check on your status. We bargained our tails off, and at the end she agreed to let Twilight pass the final judgment. With how soft and forgiving our purple egghead is, you are basically given a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
Chrysalis widened her eyes. Then she looked down, and squeezed out her words in a slightly frustrated and hissy tone. “Why did you all do this? I am a bona-fide changeling! I was a changeling conqueror! I will drain all love from all you silly mares if given the chance!”
“But you won’t though.”
Chrysalis shot up. “How can you be sure?! I even tried stealing your friend’s life once! You should be punching me right in the face whenever you see me, not acting all fidgety or even helping to plead my case in front of the princesses! What’s wrong with you?”
“Good question. I don’t know what come over me too. In case you haven’t noticed, Rarity and Applejack were against helping you out.”
“Maybe they’re not as mad as you.”
“Aren’t you just as mad as me though?” Rainbow Dash raised a brow. “What would the past Chrysalis say to you if she met you now?”
Chrysalis’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
“Admit it. Twilight left a mark on your life so deep, you cannot undo it just like you cannot unburn a searing brand. You do not want to admit it, but you can barely bare your fang without having second thoughts now.”
Chrysalis gritted her teeth and hissed angrily. “S- Shut up!”
“I can’t.” Rainbow Dash blinked. “I’m conflicted myself. I should be quite mad at you, but inexplicably, I can’t really be mad to you… You claim to have acted in this strange manner partly due to the influence from linking with Twilight. If this is the case, I can within my conscience give myself a chance to forgive and forget, because I… let’s say I understand. But I’m never really sure how much you have changed.”
Rainbow Dash then sat on the tarp. “You’re no longer the queen now, but how much Queen Chrysalis remained?”
Chrysalis’s face contorted like a small boat on rough seas, but all she could make was anguished grunts.
Rainbow Dash observed and then sighed. “Celestia will come in a moment. Compose yourself and act calm. I will help you out.”
Chrysalis almost let out another cynical remark, but she instead quietly said. “… Thank you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Princesses, this is Chrysalis.”
Chrysalis felt a mix of anger, disgust, fear – but paradoxically also a smattering of wanting welling up in her heart.
The last time she met them, she stuck them onto the ceiling in two cocoons. The time before that, she was beaten by Celestia so badly that the scars of shame remained on her body. They were lifelong enemies, but now they were to talk in peace.
“No longer the Queen of the Changelings, huh, Chrysalis?” Celestia asked with an inscrutable expression.
“Tell me something I didn’t already know.” Chrysalis huffed.
“Show your form, changeling.” Luna scowled.
Chrysalis blinked and frowned. “I would rather not waste any more energy on meaningless thing like this.”
Luna raised her voice angrily. “When we command you to do so, you shall do as we say!”
“Princess, this might be a legitimate concern.” Rainbow Dash said. “The changelings were only nourishing themselves with what’s left of the energy from Twilight.”
Celestia raised a brow. “Is this true, Chrysalis?”
“… Transforming are very energy-consuming for changelings. That’s why we all prefer to stay in one form for now. I have already made some mistakes towards the purple pony, I’d rather not compound it by wasting any more of her gift.”
“Can you just cast a simple spell to show us your changeling magic then?” Celestia asked.
Chrysalis hesitantly nodded, as a bright green glow surrounded her body, and sparks flew out from atop her head. It was a strange scene to see somepony who was ostensibly a pegasus casting magic.
“Noted. We shall take this and Rainbow Dash’s words for now.” Celestia nodded. “Chrysalis… you indeed look and sound different. For some reason, your gaze is no longer one of lust for conquest and wanton destruction, but merely confusion and longing. Something must have tied your heart down to earth.”
Chrysalis fidgeted and said with heavy annoyance. “This is none of your concern, Celestia.”
Surprisingly, Celestia merely smirked. “Why indeed.”
Luna then added with a sneer. “As long as you are powerless like this, you pose little threat to us, for we can strike you down anytime. Remember this in your every waking moment, changeling. Only Twilight and her friends’ grace kept us from doing so.”
Chrysalis gritted her teeth. Her intense dislike for the princesses did not fade even with Twilight and her friends’ support.
“Princesses. I know she did a lot of… unmentionable stuffs. But in the interest of rehabilitating her, I do not see how verbal threats might help.”
Luna narrowed her eyes. “Rainbow Dash, why are you helping her out like this? Are you bedeviled by her vile magic?”
“For one, I’m not acting like a braindead zombie. Second, I believe she barely had enough power to do so. I merely follow Twilight and Discord’s example in reaching out.”
“Reaching out…” Celestia muttered, and then lightly sighed. “It is a beautiful phrase, but it is not an easy word to implement. Queen Chrysalis had brought so much suffering to the land, I’m really hesitant to let her off simply because she have reconciled with and is in the probable good grace of my faithful student.”
She paused for some thoughts, and turned to Chrysalis. “But I can’t deny the fact that you seem to have changed, and that even Twilight’s most loyal friend speaks on behalf of you… Although we clashed in the past, these facts made me feel that your case might deserve to be heard.”
Luna turned to look at her sister, and then shook her head with a sigh.
“I don-” Chrysalis’s annoyance at being verbally patted in the head flared up into a jab, but Rainbow Dash bumped her side and interrupted her.
“Just say thanks for the love of the dang egghead!” Rainbow Dash surreptitiously whispered.
Chrysalis widened her eyes, and then reluctantly replied, “… Thank you.”
“We will leave her in you care, Rainbow Dash.” Celestia shot Rainbow Dash a meaningful gaze. “I trust you to keep a vigilant watch over her. We will shortly return to Canterlot for our duties, but we’ll soon reunite with you in Ponyville. We hope that you and your friends are right in that the Magic of Harmony may return my faithful student to health.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The train depot in Las Pegasus were crowded with Zebricans and Cruzesians ready to depart for Ponyville.
The giant ships of the Cruzesian Navy could not sail up the narrow Saddle River, so the passengers had to take trains instead. Applejack had diverted some converted train cars to Las Pegasus for this purpose.
The to-be-passengers were not exactly concerned with using a new mode of transportation, but some of them were unhappy to see the lack of comfort and cleanliness. It was to be expected, since two-third of the cars were originally used for carrying fruits and coals, with tops and windows hastily installed.
There were not even proper seats in these cars, meaning the passengers had to stand or sit on the floor for dozens of hours before arrival. The soldiers were used to harsh conditions, but others were more dismayed.
The princesses had left on their own chariot. But the mares themselves did not have the luxury of comfort.
Although Rarity was particularly reluctant, they decided to show a sense of solidarity by staying in one of the cramped carriages. It so happened to be the one that Geuse and her guards stayed on.
They were using the opportunity to practice their newly learnt Zebrikaans. It was becoming remarkably apparent that it was like West Germane with Equestrian phonology and a sprinkle of Zebrican words. The West Zebricans were trying their hooves in speaking some basic Equestrian phrases. Apparently Twilight had taught them some also.
Verna was sitting next to Rarity. She tilted her head at the uncomfortable expression on her face. “You look glum.”
“Oh, no, I’m very fine.”
“You need not to be shy. All of us are feeling the heat in this cramped car.”
Rarity nodded, and then the two went quiet. Amid the intense and even sometimes rowdy chattering in the train car, awkwardness quickly grew. Rarity quickly searched her mind for something to talk about.
“Ah, Verna.”
“You can call me Vernie, like Pinkie does.” Verna smiled.
“O- Okay, Vernie, I wonder how you met up with Geuse. You two look so close…”
“And yet I’m an antelope while she’s a pegasus?”
“No, no! I mean…”
“Don’t have to panic, I got this question a lot. I can tell from your face that you don’t mean it in a prejudiced way.”
Rarity gingerly nodded, and Verna continued. “Let me explain. Antelopes and other land-bound creatures always lived under the cloud district of Timbucktu separately from the pegasi. The non-pegasi quarter is frankly, just a ghetto, and we bore the brunt of attack during the first changeling invasion. I’m honestly surprised at how well the non-pegasi, even though they are still ponies, live in Las Pegasus. They got it good in here.”
“Equestria managed her race relations relatively well… At least for the pony races.”
“Heh.” Verna noticed the implied meaning of Rarity’s comment, but she merely smirked. “Things changed under the current king, who tweaked the law slightly to allow for smoother mixing of the races. It’s only due to this and the money both my mother gave me and I earned with my hard toil, I’m able to afford a cloud-walking charm and enter the Sandcore University, one of the most prestigious academic institutes of West Zebrica. And there, I met Lady Geuse.”
“You two are college students?” Rarity said with surprise, and then covered her mouth after realizing the rudeness.
“Ha, we don’t look the looks, do we? She studied administration, I studied business and trade, just as I’ve always wanted.”
“I see… Well, you’re certainly more learned than me then, I’m just a humble seamstress.”
Verna grinned and shook her head. “You can’t fool me, Lady Rarity. Twilight told me about you, and I also asked around a bit. You’re quite a captain of industry yourself, and you own and manage quite a number of mines and mills. How’s such an entrepreneur less learned about business than someone like me? I’ve always wanted to learn some moneymaking tricks from professionals, and you certainly are one.”
Rarity gulped with embarrassment. “So, uh, you two were classmates.”
“Lady Geuse also defended me from verbal attacks from less well-intentioned pegasus classmates of mine. Being a wingless creature on the clouds is dangerous business, and she saved my life more than once.”
Rarity looked a bit shocked. “Someone tried to…?”
“It’s a fact of life from where I lived. Different races don’t get along exactly.”
Rarity gulped again. “But why… how did you two suddenly become adventurers?”
“She got expelled.”
“Eh? What happened?”
Verna lowered her head and sighed. “It was my fault. A bully tried his usual trick of shoving me off the cloud edge again, and Lady Geuse decided it was once too many. She knocked him out with a punch to the face, and then proceeded to beat him up badly. The university eventually decided to expel her, even though Lady Geuse’s fath- um...”
“Even though her what?”
“… Let’s say Lady Geuse herself wasn’t too keen on the campus life herself. So she took me on as her retainer, and we became freelancing adventurers. I can’t complain about leaving the sterile academic environment to earn money in the real world again, and Lady Geuse is never one to patiently sit down, so we’re both okay with it.”
“Retainer? I hear you keep referring to Geuse as Lady Geuse. Is she nobility?”
“Kinda, sorta… Yes.”
“Hmm?”
Verna shifted. “She’s the only daughter of, uh, a near-extinct noble line, which had fallen into obscurity. But she’s still formally knighted and technically a member of nobility.”
“No wonder she seems a bit fond of seeking fame.”
Verna’s eyes twinkled, but she did not comment on Rarity’s remark. Instead, she leaned back and said. “Lady Geuse is meant for big things, she knows it and have her eyes always set on success. I’m happy to be part of it. I’m glad that Twilight seems to be the answer to our aspirations.”
Rarity was slightly uncomfortable with the implications that they viewed Twilight as their way to fame and wealth, but she stayed quiet. Instead, she asked. “… First time riding train, eh?”
“Yes. Quite nifty a mode of transportation! Twilight described it to us before. If we had this in West Zebrica, then it would certainly be a big boom to trade. And if we can ride this across the desert, then it would save us so much trouble…”
She then beamed. “And personally, I want to ride on one for a long time!”
Rarity smiled wryly. “Are you disappointed?”
“It’s crowded in here, sure. But the feeling of speed is great, as well as the rhythmic beats when the train moves on the tracks, the steam spewing out from the engine reminds me of clouds. It’s all because of Twilight that we can go on this exciting journey, and I’m glad we met her and helped to bring her home.”
Verna dreamily looked outside, and then she took out her lute from her bag, and plucked the strings.
“… Go, steam train, bring her to home
Let your iron wheels roll and roll
Bring her and make my being full
Go, steam train, fast on your tracks
For you bring my dearie love back to me
Where are you on your track?
How far is she from me?
Riding on the old steam train, roll on
Was there solitude in her, through the deserted dryland
Bring her right back here to me, roll on
Go, steam train, bring her to home
Let your iron wheels roll and roll
Bring her and make my being full
Go, steam train, fast on your tracks
For you bring my dearie love back to me
In the homeland she will feel
She comes back where she belongs
Back by her old heath land, roll on
In the distance I hear you
And your old lute sounds like heaven
Here's your destination, but I only just started going, on the steam train.”
When she finished, all the passengers were already paying rapt attention and clapped.
Rarity was smiling brightly. “Was that ‘her’… Twilight?”
“Of course.” Verna smiled back.