"I just don't see how you put up with him." Spike took a sip of his tea. It was cold, and mixed with a little bit of mint and lemon. It was perfect for starting out a sunny day like today. He and Celestia - she was still in her compressed form- were sitting at the smallest table outside Sugarcube corner, waiting for breakfast. Nearby, Screwball and one of her subordinates sat at a much larger table and poured all their attention over a pile of paperwork. "How did he even get to be on the council anyway?"
"A lot of dragons see him as a hero." Celestia smoothed her crest before sniffing at her own glass of tea. Years of drinking Rose's special blends had spoiled her somewhat, and she wasn't sure about this particular blend just yet. Spike certainly seemed to be enjoying his. "His role in uniting Corith and Iber has gained him countless supporters, and there's also the fact that he's related to Bluescale."
"Bluescale hates his guts though." Spike drained his tea and set the glass down. "And I think he was responsible for Corith and Iber's problems in the first place."
Celestia's eyes snapped up from her glass. "Spike," she said quietly, "do you know what you just implied?"
The pony nodded. "That Greyscale isn't just some annoying politician? That he's responsible for interfering with the governments of our sovereign neighbors and forcing Dragartha into wars that would never have occured without his intervention?" He sighed. "I spoke with dragons named Lapua and Magnum recently, and based on what they said, I can't see Greyscale as anything but dangerous and power-hungry." He took a sip of his tea. "I always knew he was power hungry though."
Celestia's tail twitched. "Lapua and Magnum were the names of the Corith-Iber Alliance's leaders when they tried to invade Dragartha. They are wanted criminals, how did you meet them?"
"They're Rarity's parents," Spike answered. "Based on their story, Greyscale is the criminal. And, while I have some things to check with Bluescale, I don't feel I have reason to doubt them."
Celestia let out a sigh of her own and decided to taste her tea by slamming most of it down in one go. Not bad. "There was a report back then, that those two had been sighted in the capitol. At the time, I believed them responsible for the war, and was about to set after them myself. Bluescale came to me personally and asked me not to pursue it. He also said I should not trust his uncle."
"Psst!"
"They're staying in town." A pebble bounced off Spike's head, and he looked up, to see where it dropped from. "You should speak with them."
"Psst!"
"I probably should," Celestia conceded. She hadn't revealed everything about Greyscale's recent threats to Spike, but she could at least tell him, "Greyscale's actions, as of late, have grown bolder."
As Celestia took a sip of her tea, another pebble bounced off the side of his head, with more force this time, giving Spike a sense of the direction it traveled from. He looked over at the corner of the building, but there was nothing there. Wait. Grumble just poked his head around the corner and waved Spike over before disappearing again.
"Spike?" Celestia set down her empty glass. "Are you alright? If you aren't fully recovered, we can always-"
Spike held up a hoof. "I'm fine," he reassured her with a smile, "It's not the first time I've been stepped on, and it probably won't be the last. Excuse me a moment?"
Spike disappeared in a flash of magic.
When he reappeared around the side of the building, Grumble was waiting for him. The larger dragon grabbed the pony and dragged him towards the wall before sneaking one last peek at the white and pink dragin Spike was sitting with. "Dude, who's the hottie?"
Spike buried his face in his hooves.
"Hottie?" Celestia asked from her perch on the drake's head. She was laying on her belly, elbows propped up and resting her head in her front claws. "Why, Grumble, you flatter me." She hopped to the ground, leaned up to plant a small peck of a kiss on the tip of the surprised drake's snout, and gave him a little wink before strutting away. "You're not too bad yourself."
Spike groaned as she turned the corner with a satisfied, "Hmph, I still got it."
Grumble just stared at the corner. "Dude, how did she know my name?"
"Trust me," Spike deadpanned, "you don't want to know."
The pony headed back to his seat just in time to meet the waitress that was bringing their order, a familiar pink dragon who was carrying the tray atop her head. "Oh, hey, Pinkie. I forgot you-"
"All righty!" She grabbed his head,wrapping it entirely in her giant claw, and muffling his words. She flicked her head towards the table, depositing the tray in the center. She also used the opportunity to let go of Spike and whisper, "Ix-nay, on the inkie-Pay! She doesn't know we know each other!" The hyper dragon scooped up the poor pony and looked over at the table. "Here's your breakfast. Two dozen ham and cheese Kolaches, and two kilos of Blueberry and Cream Danish. I'm gonna borrow him for a moment, K? Thanks! Bye!"
An unblinking Celestia reached for a kolache as she watched her son get pulled away from their meal for a second time.
Spike could only sigh as he was hauled into the back room and thrown into a cold, hard, metal chair in what seemed to be a walk in fridge. "Who was that?" Pinkie demanded as she pulled a bright light down and pointed it in Spike's face. "And why did she kiss Grumbly?"
Spike walked up to Sugarcube corner from behind a nearby tree and made his way back to the table. "Sorry about that. I had to teleport away." He calmly dusted himself off before sitting down. "So, where were we?"
Celestia didn't look up from her half-devoured kolache. She merely pulled off another chunk of chewy, salty, hammy, breakfast pastry and stuffed it in her mouth. "Spike doesn't sit like that," she said between chews.
"Damn it!" He threw his hooves in the air in exasperation, and slumped back in his seeat. "Why can't I just make one convincing copy here? Huh?" Green flames engulfed him, and Chrysalis returned to her normal form. "Five minutes, that's all I ask. Let me fool one of you guys for five freakin' minutes. Is that too much to ask?"
Celestia stared at the changeling while she finished her kolache. After that, she picked up another, but didn't take a bite. "Do I know you?"
"I doubt it. I come from some bizarro alternate universe where my transformation abilities are actually effective." Chrysalis sighed and straightened up. Then she started cutting herself a slice of the danish. "I probably look familiar because I look like pony boy. Four hooves, one horn, fangs, and a sexy, swishy tail."
"It's not that." Celestia offered her one of the smaller plates that was delivered with the food. "I recognize your scent."
Chrysalis stopped cutting.
"I can't place it," Celestia continued, "but it's very familiar." She scooped up the changeling's piece of danish and set it before her. Then she started cutting a piece for herself. "I had a similar experience when I first met Spike. It wasn' possible that I ever met him before, yet I felt that I recognized his scent. You two are the only ones I've ever felt that way about."
"Ugh! Don't get caught up in her pace!" A short, purple hatchling stormed up to the table from behind the same tree Spike appeared from. She stomped right up to Chrysalis. "What happened to the plan? We had a script and everything!" Twilight climbed up into the changeling's lap, and then from there onto the table. She grabbed the nearest thing she could, one of the kolaches, and pointed it at Celestia. "Spike has Rarity. If you try to get in their way, you'll have to go through me."
Celestia smiled sweetly. "You must be Twilight."
"I am. Who are you?" The hatchling's stomach growled as the scent of warm bread and melted cheeses wafted up from her pointing implement. "And what is this?" She swallowed hard, realizing that she and Chrysalis had skipped breakfast to come spy on Spike. "This smells kind of... delicious."
"Quick question, young Twilight Sparkle." Celestia leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and forcing the hatchling to retract her kolache. She waited a moment while the hatchling held the pastry in both claws and nervously tapped the crust. "Did you enjoy the books I sent you?"
Twilight's eyes grew in size, and her fidgeting stopped. "That was you?"
Celestia nodded. "Postmarked, Tia from the Royal Archives Overstock Department, 1 Castle Way, City of Dragartha."
"Thank you!" The hatchling wrapped her arms around the white Dragiin's neck, hugging her tight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! The library hasn't had that many new books in as long as I can remember! You need to come over, Spike helped me organize them all, and it all looks really nice. We still have room too, are you planning on sending more?"
"Now who's getting caught up in whose pace?" Chrysalis scoffed.
Twilight released the hug to turn around. "Shut it," she snapped at the changeling, before turning back to face the other dragon. "And you still can't get in the way. Spike and Rarity are more important than new books."
"I believe you," Celestia said with a nod. "After all, I'm the one who sent Spike here in the first place."
The kolache fell from Twilight's claw. "You're my new favorite dragon," the hatchling said in quiet wonder, "I hope you know that."
"I do now," Celestia giggled. She picked up the fallen pastry and set it on a plate in front of her, then offered the hatchling a fresh one. "And it makes me really happy."
Spike walked out the door to Sugarcube corner with a paper bag in his mouth, his head held low and a coffee stain on his left shoulder. He let out a weary sigh as he approached the table.
"Shoot!" Chrysalis excliamed when she saw the pony. "It's the Fuzzy! Time to go!" The changleing was once more engulfed in flames as she reached for Twilight. Bright yellow hooves wrapped around the hatchling's midsection as she grabbed a kolaches with each claw, and Chrysalis flew off, fiery orange mane flapping in the wind. They made it about twenty meters before their flight plath started dipping towards the ground. "How are you so small and still so heavy?!" Chrysalis groaned, flames engulfing her as she changed into another winged pony, a slightly larger, blue one this time.
They managed to pick up a little height with the change, at the cost of some speed.
Spike shook his head as he sat down across from Celestia. He dropped the bag, contents clinking together inside, and reached for a kolache. The plate was missing a good number of pastries, and he didn't even get one yet. "What did they want?"
"Not sure," Celestia mused. "Though, Twilight was kind enough to thank me for the books I sent her. Who was the other one? Was she a pony?"
Spike glanced over to where Chrysalis was still struggling to fly off into the distance. "Somehow, I doubt it." With a shrug, he continued, "She called herself a changeling, and she can transform her physical appearance. But, when she does, it also changes her scent and mannerisms. It isn't always perfect, but it's more than a simple camoflage. " He sighed. "Her magic reminds me of the creatures found beyond the Tartarus Gate."
Celestia shared a shrug of her own. "Perhaps that's why she smelled familiar. She sure looked like a pony."
"Yeah," spike agreed half-heartedly, "I guess." He started loading a plate with meat-and-cheese-filled pastries. "She says I don't though, and all the ponies she's transformed into so far have been... a little on the short side? I don't know. I get this weird feeling there's more to it than I want to know."
"That's surprising." Celestia finished cutting the piece of danish the changeling had started on and set it on Spike's plate. "I would have expected you to be much more excited about finding a lead about other ponies. How long has she been living here in Dragonspire?"
"Since I got stepped on, I guess?" Spike took a fork and started cutting into his pastries. "I ran into her in the woods during the camping trip. She attacked me, and I guess she was trying to replace me."
"Obviously, that didn't happen." Celestia finished off the last of her tea. "How did that work out to having her stay in town?"
Spike paused with a fork full of pastry halfway to his mouth. "Apparently, she derives magical nourishment from positive emotions." Spike took a bite and chewed for a moment. "She survived the windthread spell, and fighting with me and Ice Heart, oh, and Rarity... Eh, let's just say she was badly injured, and we had a chance to talk to her a little. She was starving out there in the wilderness, and she's promised to behave herself for the most part."
Celestia started helping herself to a large portion of danish. "And you trust her?"
Spike shrugged. "She'll literally die if she doesn't have any friends." The pony looked down at his hoof. His magic hadn't manifested itself since he left the vet's office, but he couldn't help but remember when he first woke up, how his earth magic was somehow intertwined with the changeling's as well as Rarity's. "Hey, mom? You know those stories you used to tell me about the old legends?"
"Of course I do." Celestia smiled at the memory. "It was impossible to get you to go to sleep without a story of some kind. Did you have a particular story in mind?"
The pony set his fork down. "I did."
Before the pony could continue, Celestia nodded slowly. "The legends of the Earth King?" She smirked at the surprise on the pony's face. "Spike, I already know. Ice Heart told me about the temple." She looked down, smirk fading. "I never would have expected you to be Terris, or that I would send you straight into the arms of the earthmate, but both happened."
"Yeah, they did." Spike scratched his mane, looking down sheepishly. He couldn't read the expression on her face. "Are you disappointed? The Earth King was supposed to be some powerful hero, not a little pony that can't keep himself from getting stepped on."
Spike," Celestia scolded, pointing a claw directly at him, "don't you ever say that again. You may be a little pony, but you are my little pony, and I am just as proud of you as I have ever been. You may be Terris, but that doesn't change who you are, or how much I love you." Her expression softened and she lowered her claw. "If... if anything, I'm glad Terris is someone I can trust."
They sat silent for a moment before Spike spoke up, "thanks, mom." He straightened up in his chair, and pushed his plate away. His appetite was gone, and there were more important things to discuss. "So, what does this mean? What, exactly, is Terris supposed to do, be, accomplish, or whatever? I'm guessing there's more to it than was in those old bedtime stories."
"There is." Celestia glanced around. "But this is not the place for it. One day soon, I will take you to meet someone important, and I will tell you everything. Until then, I must ask you to be patient."
Spike nodded his understanding. Important dealings often require secrecy, he knew enough about politics to understand that. "I'll wait then. Here, Pinkie gave me these as an apology. Want one?" He opened his paper bag and dumped it out on his plate. Small gems clattered against the ceramic. He picked out a small sapphire, and tossed it in his mouth, crunching it in his back teeth. "So," he said between chews, letting the gem's flavor wash away the taste of his breakfast as he powdered it between his teeth, "can you at least tell me who you want me to meet?"
Celestia reached for the plate, picking through the pile of gems. "Why, your aunt, of course." With a smile, she picked out a peridot and an emerald, then excused herself from the table. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there are a few dragons I need to go introduce myself to."