//------------------------------// // 20 - Aftermath // Story: Change: Queen of The Hive // by tom117z //------------------------------// Canterlot Celestia was quite enjoying her morning tea. It hadn’t been too long since she raised the sun, and after some early morning duties she was finally able to just sit in her personal tea room and enjoy a steaming cup, served alongside a generous slice of chocolate cake. She really liked cake. It was something her little sister loved to tease her about, commenting on her weight constantly, just to get a reaction. Not that her comments were ever true, an alicorn’s metabolism, combined with the occasional spell here and there, kept up Celestia’s image as the picture of equestrian beauty. It didn’t stop Luna, however. Their teasing was an eternal struggle that would last until the end of time itself, and then perhaps bend time just to continue afterwards. “Don’t be dramatic, Tia.” Celestia inwardly groaned, speak of the devil and he, or she in this case, shall cometh. “Dramatic? How did you know what I was thinking?” “When you think you’re alone, you wear all of your thoughts on your face,” Luna stated, before a smirk graced her face, “That, and I know you far too well.” “We are sisters, so I would hope so,” Celestia responded, rolling her eyes. “But why are you here now, so early in the morning? “It’s not that early,” Luna retorted. “But I needed to speak with you, about the team that was sent up to the hive.” Celestia raised an eyebrow. “What about them?” Luna paused for a moment, mulling over her next words. Celestia, on her part, just sat patiently and took a sip of tea while Luna compiled her thoughts. Luckily, Celestia didn’t have to wait overly long before Luna had decided what to say and how to say it. “Every night I enter my realm of dreams…” Luna began. “I am aware,” Celestia said. “What of it?” “I’m getting to that!” Luna scolded before continuing on. “Last night I decided to see if I could locate the dreams of those within Twilight Sparkle’s group, any of the twenty three.” “Twenty four,” Celestia corrected. “Remember Cadance’s letter? The one where she vented about Shining Armor sneaking on board Twilight’s transport?” “Ah, yes…” Luna grimaced. “I never knew Cadance could use such foul language in that much quantity. The words ‘pissed off’ don’t even come close. I feel almost sorry for Prince Armor, though he did bring it upon himself.” “Indeed,” Celestia agreed, not hiding her smirk. “Anyway, did you locate them?” Reluctantly, Luna nodded. “Yes, I did. It is not always easy to locate and enter dreams, especially ones so far away. They were patchy, I think they were taking it in turns to sleep. I wasn’t able to delve into their dreams too much, but what I saw was… confusing.” “Confusing?” “It was a flurry or images from all ten of them the different times they slept. Each nightmare was chaotic, the images undecipherable, except the horror of it all. Something bad has happened.” “Ten?” Celestia asked, hoping what Luna just said was a mistake. “Did you say, ten?” “Yes, I could only find ten dreamers among the group.” “Could they have simply not dreamt?” “Everypony dreams when they sleep,” Luna rebutted. “No, there were only ten who slept. The others may have simply remained awake, or something else happened to them. I fear the latter scenario may prove true, given the content of their dreams.” “Who were among the ten?” Celestia asked, a little fear in her voice now. “Twilight,” Luna started off, causing Celestia to give a sigh of relief. “Three of Twilight’s changelings, Spike, Broad Sword and two of his subordinates, Vladimir and Shining Armor.” “And are you certain there was no sign of the others?” Celestia asked. “You said it yourself, it’s not always easy to locate the dreams you seek.” “They would have been in the same cluster,” Luna stated. “No, the other guards, Captain Scorpion included, as well as the three pilots are all unaccounted for.” Celestia sighed. “This is grave news. I have to wonder what they are doing now that the day has risen once again.” “That, I cannot be certain of,” Luna said regretfully. “I wasn’t able to ascertain much aside from what I have already told you.” The Princess of the Sun nodded, staring down into her half empty cup of tea. It was swirling around the cup quite gracefully, something she quite enjoyed observing as she drank. This time, however, it was bringing her little comfort. “Tea, Luna?” The younger alicorn shook her head. “No, thank you, tea is more you domain.” “Right, you prefer ale,” Celestia teased. “I remember back before we took the throne when I was in my early twenties, and you were in your teenage years. Moving from town to town in the earliest days of Equestria under Queen Platinum, and how you so loved to prove your dominance in drinking contests.” Luna puffed out her cheeks, which Celestia only found adorable. “That was a long time ago! I was a mere child.” Celestia chuckled. “Not that it matters, I remember joining in and then winning more often than not.” “You would always cheat!” Luna argued. “Did you think I would not notice those spells to increase your resistance to alcohol?” Celestia placed false shock on her face. “Me, cheat? Why I am most offended, dearest sister.” Luna’s eye twitched, but then she took in a deep breath and waved it off. “If you say so, but Discord put a quick end to those days. Where is the trickster, anyway?” “No idea,” Celestia responded. “Last I saw him was a week ago, he was telling me an interesting tale of two Chrysalis’.” “Twilight’s mother?” “One was,” Celestia said with a smirk.” Any further questions on the subject were interrupted by a sudden explosion of green flames, the flames quickly dying away to reveal a scroll which fell onto the table in front of Celestia. Luna studied the scroll. “Spike?” “I would guess so,” Celestia stated, taking the scroll in her magic and quickly moving to read it. Luna could tell the news was grim, Celestia’s face said it all. The elder sister read through the scroll multiple times, just to make sure what she read was the full truth, making sure she hadn’t missed anything. Of course, she hadn’t. “You were correct, Luna,” Celestia muttered. “The ten you detected were the only survivors, the rest perished.” Luna sighed. “I had feared as much. Anything else?” “Queen Draco is dead.” Luna’s eyes widened. “Twilight’s friend? One of the missing Changeling Queens?” “The very same,” Celestia confirmed. “It’s light on the details, but Spike says they lost their entire convoy and need an emergency evacuation. Luna, could you please see to it that a force of EUP helicopters are sent up there immediately?” Luna nodded. “I can do that.” The Princess of the Night left without another word, urgency in her movements. Celestia stared at the scroll a moment more, before placing it down and sighing. ‘Celestia you fool! Duties be damned, you should have gone with them!’ she mentally berated herself, angry at her own folly. All the while, her tea sat in front of her slowly going cold, but she cared not. Celestia would find no more enjoyment in her morning tea. The Northern Forest Queen Twilight and her downtrodden group all sat by the twisted metallic hulks of the very transports in which they had arrived. The graves of those they had lost sat a short distance away, and they all couldn’t help but glance towards them every now and then. There had been no more signs of the changelings that had once been part of Queen Draco’s hive, all of them having seemingly given up the chase. They had settled down in the clearing where they had crash landed, waiting for a pick up. All they could do in the meantime is wait, and watch for any sign of danger to return. Thus far it had all been quiet, and they hoped it would stay that way. “The message is sent,” Spike stated, sitting down next to Twilight. “The Princess will come for us.” Twilight nodded. “She will.” “I’m just eager to get back to Canterlot,” Spike stated. “A shower would be nice.” “Hm,” Twilight simply responded, studying the regalia in her hooves with a hateful glare. “Twilight, do you want to talk? I’m here if you need to.” “I don’t,” she growled, the anger in her voice causing the dragon to flinch back. Twilight sighed. “Sorry Spike. It just… It wasn’t meant to happen this way.” “Things rarely go to plan,” Spike said. “Well, whoever is behind this is going to pay,” the Changeling Queen stated as a simple fact. “She will beg for the fires of Tartarus by the time I am done, that prison being a far kinder fate.” Spike wilted a little. He had only seen Twilight that bad once before, when her mother had died. Given the fate of Queen Crudelis, he knew she wasn’t bluffing. He hated seeing her like that, the vengeful Queen of the Changelings. It was times like that he greatly missed the old days, back when Twilight was still Celestia’s star pupil, when they would roam Ponyville getting into all kinds of trouble. Sometimes, in the present, there was a lot of Queen Chrysalis in Twilight. Still kind and benevolent, but with a more severe side, and extremely dangerous to provoke. That was the reality he had to accept. Maybe, once they finally got home and all the horrible business was dealt with, he’d get her to sit down with him so they could read some books together. He knew she’d like that, and it would be nice to see the mare behind the throne again. In truth, it hadn’t been that long since it all began, but for Spike it seemed a lifetime. Twilight saw Spike staring at her. She sighed, but managed to force a small smile on her face. “Alright, you can stop worrying now, Spike.” Spike blinked. “Huh?” “I know that look you’re giving me,” she stated. “I’ll be fine. Once this is all over, anyway.” “I just… don’t like seeing you like this,” he admitted. Twilight outstretched a wing, wrapping it around Spike and pulling him into a wing hug. He gladly accepted, resting his head down onto the ground pressed affectionately up to Twilight’s chest. She couldn’t help but gain a far more genuine smile at the sight. No matter how big he would get, he would always be her baby dragon. Nearby, Vladimir, Broad Sword and Shining Armor watched the two from a short distance. The other changelings and ponies were talking amongst each other nearby, but the two captains and the Prince of the Crystal Empire talked amongst themselves off to one corner. “Well, that’s cute,” Vladimir stated. “A nice little reprieve I think, after everything.” “There’s always some light in the darkness,” Shining Armor said. “From my experiences, anyway. No matter how bad things get, you’ll always pull through.” “As long as you have friends and family to pull you through it,” Vladimir added. Broad Sword nodded. “Agreed. I, for once, am eager to get home to Scarlet and Valiant.” “Ah shit,” Vladimir suddenly stated. “That’s not good.” Shining Armor and Broad Sword looked at him in confusion. “Scarlet,” Vladimir clarified. “We made a promise to all come back intact, and well…” Vladimir wiggled the stump where his right wing used to be. “Oh,” Broad Sword simply stated. “Well, I haven’t got a scratch so we might be alright.” Vladimir threw him a deadpan look. “Well look at you, I am so happy you kept your white coat so pristine.” “Look on the bright side, mares love scars.” Vladimir raised an eyebrow. “What about metal wings?” “Probably. You might actually get yourself a mare at long last, or stallion, I don’t judge.” Vladimir rolled his eyes. “Whatever. We actually have to get home first, anyway. And we have a lot of waiting to do before our ride gets here.” “We better keep an eye out for those creatures, or changelings,” Broad Sword stated. “If they are still about, they’ll need our help to land safely.” “We’ve been through Tartarus and back as it is,” Shining Armor said. “We can do a little more yet, especially if it means a ride home.” The three were in total agreement on that point. Luckily, it would never happen. They would wait many hours upon hours, but eventually rescue would come. But during all the time they waited, and even as they boarded their ride home, there was once constant among the group. One simple fact that remained unchanged. The regalia sat silently, for it too was going home.