Chapter Twelve
Xvital
With a smile on her face, Xvital followed the map down the street towards the embassy while doing her best not to look to the roofs. After what Vix-Lei had told them this morning about Ruby Shell and their secret shadows, the ahuizotless didn’t want to tip off the Guards that she knew they were there, or alert any other potential followers who might be out there to the fact that she had backup. It was good that she had someone watching out for her, but with her past as a thief, it still rubbed her the wrong way that they were Guards.
Xvital let out a sigh as she knew she would have to get used to them as long as she was the Bearer of the Element of Magic. And then she would have to deal with Tizoc’s guards shadowing her when she got married. Wriggling from the thought of her upcoming marriage again, she just had to look at her ring to steel herself that she wouldn’t run away again, that she would stay this time and be married to the man she loved.
All she had to do was find out when their special day would be and then she could start planning for it and to do that, she had to find the blasted embassy!
She was wondering if this map was as defective as the other one she’d gotten when she first came to Canterlot, and knew she would never hear the end from it from the guys if that was the case.
Squinting at the map, she was half tempted to call out to the guard when she turned the corner and found herself in front of a large courtyard with a tall building done in the style of the Cuanmiztl Kingdom’s architecture and a number of ahuizotls standing in front of it. On the very top of the building, the kingdom’s flag was waving in the wind.
Rolling her eyes, Xvital walked towards the the building with the guards barely even looking at her.
Once she had made it inside, she found her way to the front desk. “Ahem.”
The ahuizotless there looked up from a magazine with a bored expression on her face. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to see Prince-King Tizoc,” Xvital replied. “Can you tell me where he is?”
“The Prince-King is busy and can’t see anyone,” the other ahuizotless said, looking back down.
“He’ll see me,” Xvital replied. “I’m his fiancee.”
That got the other ahuizotless’ attention. “I’ll need to get confirmation of your identity,” she said in a business-like tone. “We’ve had more than a few claimants to that status here already today. All of them frauds, of course, and I’ve had them escorted off the property.” She pressed the button for the intercom, and quietly spoke into it.
A minute later, a guard stepped out of the back room and took one look at her before smiling. “Lady Xvital!”
“Axayacatl!” Xvital smiled. “Good to see you again.”
“The same goes for me,” Axayacatl replied. He turned to the ahuizotless at the desk. “It’s definitely her,” he reported. “I’ll take her to our Prince-King.”
The receptionist nodded. “Good.”
As Axayacatl led Xvital down the hall, he glanced at her. “So, how are you? I haven’t heard much since… well, since you helped take down that thing controlling King Well Banded.” He looked down a bit. “I am so, so sorry I couldn’t protect you from him. I should have stayed with you when you ran back to the airship.”
“It’s okay,” she said softly. “In the long run, it’s a good thing I got caught - if I hadn’t, my friends and I never would have been able to save the day like we did.”
Axayacatl nodded as they headed up several stairs. “There is that,” he acknowledged. “Still, I’m glad to see you’re okay.”
Xvital nodded back. “I’m glad to be okay,” she said as they walked past several guards, each of them nodding their heads to them. “But now, all I really want is to see Tizy and start making plans for our wedding.”
“Well, there’s already been a little bit of planning, actually,” Axayacatl said, opening a door for her to go past. “Your groom asked me to be his Best Man.”
Xvital smiled. “No objections to that choice. Anything else I should know about?”
“That’s the only part that’s been finalized,” Axayacatl replied. “He said he was waiting for your opinions on everything else.”
“Smart decision.” As she said this, the two reached Tizoc’s office with the Shorn Ones standing guard.
“Well. Here we are,” Axayacatl said, reaching out to knock on the door.
Before he could do so, it burst open and something big flew through the open space, landing right on Xvital.
“Ack!” Xvital sputtered as she hit the ground, looking up to see the creature’s rough tongue heading straight for her. “Not again! Down, Xolo!”
The timberwolf ignored her command, happily licking her face with Axayacatl snickering at the scene, and the elites predictably staying quiet.
“Xolo, atras!” a voice commanded, and this time the timberwolf looked up, whining a bit before backing down. A moment later, a hand reached out to help Xvital to her feet, and she sighed. “Thank you, Tizoc.”
“It is always my pleasure to aid you, Xy,” Tizoc smiled at her, pulling her close for a chaste kiss on her cheek. “I wish I had known you were coming; I would have cleared my day for you.”
“But I thought you loved it when I surprised you.” Xvital smiled at him as she took his entire form in and felt more complete than she had in years.
“I do.” Tizoc smiled back at her, with his hand around her waist as he gestured towards his office. “After you.”
Nodding, Xvital walked into the office and saw a small group of Tizoc’s ministers looking at her. Xvital frowned internally, she’d never liked to deal with them when she had been Chantico’s scriber and even less when she had been engaged to Tizoc the first time. They’d never approved of her but at least they had been vocal and direct about it, unlike Chantico who had been very subtle about her disapproval until the day the dowager Empress had come to her and convinced her to run away.
“Let us take a recess everyone,” Tizoc announced as he followed her in. “My fiancee and I have important matters to discuss.”
They shared looks between each other before one stepped towards them. “Sire, if we may speak to you about this-”
“You may not,” Tizoc said coldly. “I recall the objections the last time quite clearly and I doubt you have any new ones?” Xvital saw them talk to each other briefly before the one who spoke before shook their head. “Then there is nothing more we have to discuss.” He looked even more stern than before. “Xvital is the woman I am going to marry, and nobody, not my mother and certainly not you, is going to change my mind.” He gestured towards the door. “Now, if you will kindly excuse us.”
Grumbling, the ministers shuffled out the door, most of them with grouchy looks on their face. When the last one had gone, Tizoc closed the door behind them and sighed heavily. “Sorry you had to see that,” he said tiredly. “I swear, I wonder if Mother arranged for the most difficult people possible to fill my advisory positions on purpose.”
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Xvital said. Feeling something rubbing against her leg, she looked down to see Xolo, the beech timberwolf looking up with a wry grin on her face. Idly, Xvital reached down to scritch her ears with her tail hand as she continued. “So, aside from difficult advisors, how are things going here?”
“It’s going,” Tizoc said. “There are still something of a vocal minority who are calling for us to cut ties with Equestria entirely, or even declare war, but the majority have accepted that King Well Banded was not responsible for what happened due to the possessing spirit that is no longer present and just want things to go back to normal. We have, of course, kept the enemy’s true nature quiet in order to avoid causing a panic, but it is known that King Well Banded was not himself at the time and is not at fault for any of what happened.” He then looked at her. “And naturally, we did our best to suppress all information on you and our friends for the purpose of giving you all privacy.”
“Thank you,” she said, sitting down across from him. “Sorry for not coming here sooner, but we were waiting for things to cool down first.”
“I don’t blame you,” Tizoc said. “With everything going on since we first came back here, I’d be more surprised if things weren’t going crazy outside for a while.”
“Yeah.” Xvital took a deep breath. “What with that… spirit, me getting magic and the Pardoning and all that, it’s going to be a long time before things settle down in this city.”
“Quite. Speaking of which-” Tizoc reached under his desk and did something, and then nodded. “We should be safe from eavesdroppers now.”
“Security system of some kind?”
“Exactly.” Tizoc nodded with satisfaction. “I recruited a couple of local unicorns, I believe their names were Magic Mixture and Secured Connection, to help update what we had. They promised that it would completely soundproof my office and the rooms attached to it, though if our alarms trigger, it’ll shut off automatically for safety reasons.”
Xvital grinned. “If it was those two, then you can definitely trust their work,” she said. “They were partners with Rex until he had to leave Canterlot with the rest of us, and they’re good ponies - we met them when we were moving around the city, back before we made our final escape.”
Tizoc’s eyes widened in surprised satisfaction. “I see. I hadn’t known that, but now I know I made the right choice in hiring them for this job.”
Xvital nodded. “So… what’s up that we need the soundproofing up?”
“General precautions.” He smirked. “Great pony, from what I’ve heard. Right up there with General Principles.”
Xvital snorted with amusement. “I knew I should have kept an eye on you and Vix-Lei,” she said teasingly.
“She does know some good ones,” Tizoc agreed. “But seriously, is it so hard to believe I just want to make sure we can’t be overheard by anyone? Other than Xolo,” he added as he looked at his pet, who was still getting her ears rubbed by Xvital.
“Not really.” Xvital shrugged. “So, any plans for our wedding, besides your Best Man?”
Tizoc nodded. “A few ideas. Mostly pertaining to the guest list, but beyond that, I was waiting for you.”
“Well, my friends are coming, and Vix-Lei kinda called dibs on maid of honour, although I think she might relent and let Itotia do it. That’s if she wants to do it, I mean.”
“Itotia?” Tizoc said with surprise on his face. “Well, if she wants to be there, I don’t see why not but all things considered between us, I’m surprised that you would even think of her as a possible maid of honour.”
“Well, despite her not becoming your wife and you choosing me instead of her, she was actually very supportive and very happy for us,” Xvital said, pausing as she thought of her old semi friend. With a sigh, she wondered how Itotia was doing and how disappointed she was in Xvital for running away before Xolo nipped her fingers and forced her to continue to rub the timberwolf.
“And of course, Machtia,” she added. “She was my teacher and sort of a second mom to me, back before you and I met.”
Tizoc nodded. “If she was like a mother to you, she is certainly welcome.” He then gave her a more serious look. “And your actual mother?”
Xvital winced. “Well… I grew up in a house with several families, and I’m still not entirely sure which of them were really my blood relatives, even the one I called Mom back then. When I turned old enough to be on my own, I moved out and haven’t seen any of them since.” She sighed. “I met Machtia sometime after that, and learned a lot from her… she’s the only real family I’ve ever really known, blood or not.”
“I see.” Tizoc looked thoughtful. “I certainly know at least one blood relative of mine that I’d like to forget. Unfortunately, she makes herself very memorable.”
Xvital nodded. “No argument here.”
“My mother’s behavior aside, are there any others you can think of to invite?” Tizoc asked.
Xvital tapped her chin. “Good question,” she said. “How big or small should we keep it?”
“Personally, I’d rather just have a few witnesses, but I know that my position demands the biggest, grandest ceremony anyone can come up with.” Tizoc looked a bit disgruntled at that. “It’s unavoidable, unfortunately.”
“Like everything else that comes with being suddenly royalty,” she paused and gave Tizoc a look. “Once we have kids, we make sure we communicate with them and that we love them.”
Tizoc gave a raised eyebrow. “Of course we will Xvital,” he said slowly. “Whatever brought this on?”
“One of my friends, Night, has had massive trouble with his parents over that and I don’t want that to happen to us.” Xvital sighed. “Fortunately, they’re getting better, but it’s still an issue I really want to avoid.”
“Ah, the Butcher of the Everfree Forest,” Tizoc said, nodding his head.
Xvital grimaced. “He really, really doesn’t like that name, you know,” she said. “Besides, he saved my life during that fight, even after I’d pissed him off enough that he’d left us for a while.”
“Right right, sorry about that,” he said, leaning close to her now with Xvital feeling her face heat up. “Now onto the three more serious questions, Xvital; where are we going to have our wedding, when are we going to have it and what are we to do about your ties to Equestria due to you having one of their Elements?”
“The when is one of the things I was planning to ask you,” Xvital said. “The where, I haven’t given much thought. As for the Elements, I’ve got no idea. Mictlan, I still need to learn how to do this safely!” she said as she snapped her tail hand’s finger, causing a spark of fire magic to come into existence. Xolo let out a yelp and bolted away from her while Tizoc let out a curse as he more or less pounced over his desk as water began to fall from the ceiling before the doors were smashed open and the Shorn Ones stormed in, looking for any danger before setting their gaze on her.
“Sorry,” she said as she tried to cancel the magic but was struggling to so with the water pouring down her and the pressure of the moment was not helping!
Finally, she managed to extinguish the flames, and groaned. “I swear, I never planned for this to get out of control like it did.”
As one of the Shorn Ones managed to shut off the sprinkler system, Tizoc climbed off his desk and gathered up the paperwork, fortunately still dry. “Perhaps you should stay here to get lessons?”
“I’m already under orders to do so,” Xvital replied. “And the Captain General wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
Tizoc nodded. “Certainly understandable although she has no legal rights to do so, Xvital,” Tizoc stood up as several attendants came into the room with towels for their Prince-King, with one going to Xolo and another to her. “You are not an Equestrian citizen, you are a Cuanmiztlan.”
“Yeah, I know,” Xvital said as she shifted around, letting one of the attendants have easier access to her tail. “I can’t blame her for trying though, given the problems I’m having. And it’s not like there are any real academies for magic back home.”
“I will see what I can do to get private tutors for you,” Tizoc said before noticing the look on her face and amended with “Providing that it is what you want, of course.”
“At the very least, what I want is control over these powers so I don’t accidentally burn down my bed in my sleep again,” Xvital said as the ahuizotl finished toweling her down. “Not a fun experience.”
“I could only imagine,” Tizoc said. “Must be the worst thing you have ever shared a bed with?”
“Second worst,” she teased him, with Tizoc blushing rather fiercely as he no doubt, and hopefully for his sake, remembered the time he had pulled her aside back in his palace. But Xvital knew better than to outright say what happened in the public with all of his attendants nearby, regardless of what they thought.
“In any case, we still need to-” Tizoc began when the loudspeakers outside began to chime with an announcement about to be broadcast. Turning their heads to the windows, they listened to the King’s proclamation with widening eyes.
When he had finished speaking, Xvital shook her head as the Royal Guards began to speak now. “That… that was...”
“Not something I expected to hear today,” Tizoc said. “Nor you, I believe.”
“You’re right, it wasn’t,” Xvital agreed. “But I know a lot of people are going to be happy about it. I should go out and-”
“Excuse me, Lady Xvital,” one of his guards spoke as the Shorn Ones peered out the window with his ministers peering into the room. “But due to the vast unpredictable mess that is about to happen, we would feel it best you remain here where it is safe.”
Xvital was about to retort that she didn't need protection when Tizoc spoke to her, “Agreed; and in this case, you can sit in the meetings and prepare yourself for future meetings.”
Xvital bit her lip, knowing full well that they were right and she would have to learn how to handle these kind of meetings if she were to be Tizoc’s wife. Still… “I do want word of my friend as soon as you get it, okay?”
“Of course, Lady Xvital,” the guard said with him turning to an assistant to repeat the order as the ministers came into the room with one ahuizotl bringing in a chair for her. Sitting next to Tizoc, Xvital prepared herself for what would be a part of her life.
Rex
Rex had to admit that, in spite of his brief misgivings the night before, their shopping trip was going a lot better than he’d hoped. Vix-Lei had proven herself surprisingly efficient when it came to clothes shopping: she knew exactly what kinds she wanted, and unlike several of the mares he’d noticed in the shops, she wasn’t wasting time trying on dozens of random things, though she had asked his opinion on one or two items.
So far, the only problem they’d had was an incident where an overzealous security guard had tried to confiscate Vix-Lei’s hammers when they’d first entered the store where she had done the majority of her shopping… fortunately, that had been nipped in the bud when the store’s manager had recognized them from the newspapers and ordered the other stallion to back off.
Finally, with a handful of bags, she gestured towards the door. “Okay, I’m good.”
Rex nodded, and followed her out. “So now where?”
“Back to the hotel to use their laundry room,” Vix-Lei replied, still just wearing just her skirt. “Mom always taught me to make sure and wash any clothes I got before I started wearing them.”
Rex nodded. “Good thinking.”
As the two continued walking down the street, Rex noticed his friend seemed lost in thought. “Something bothering you?” he asked quietly.
Vix-Lei looked startled for a moment, then shook her head. “Nah… just wondering how she’s going to react to all of this.”
“Your mother?”
“Exactly.” Vix-Lei looked up. “You know, whatever happened to the Nightmare when it got dragged off… it’s probably getting off light compared to what Mom would have done to it, after what it did to all of us.” She looked at Rex. “She might be about your height but she can be scary when she wants to be.”
“I believe that is a trait most mothers share,” Rex replied.
“No no, you don’t understand,” Vix-Lei shook her head. “You see how tall I am, where my ears are?”
“Yes…” Rex said carefully, wondering where his friend was going with this one. It was always hard to tell with Vix-Lei.
“Even at this age, she can somehow grab and twist my ear, and lecture me like no tomorrow,” Vix-Lei shuddered. “I mean, she doesn’t jump or anything. She just grabs and suddenly I’m on the ground in pain.”
Rex winced. “You’re right, that is scary.”
“And now you know a big part of the reason why I need less… revealing outfits before she arrives.” Vix-Lei suddenly tilted her head. “Speaking of Mom, do you still have any family anywhere in Canterlot?”
Rex considered. “Biological family, I honestly am not sure. Our packs move around quite a bit, though my former packmates are still in Canterlot’s Under somewhere. You will recall how I got some help from them before our final battle with the Nightmare…”
“Yeah, I remember.” Vix-Lei nodded back towards her hammers and rotated her right arm. “Where did they get those fire potions they gave you, anyway?”
“I am not sure, and I didn’t get the chance to ask.” Rex looked contemplative. “I will do so the next time we cross paths though…”
His train of thought was cut off when he heard a loud gasp. “Rex? Rex, is that you?”
The Diamond Dog’s ears snapped up, and he looked over in astonishment. “Magic Mixture, Secured Connection! I wasn’t expecting to see you here today!”
“And we weren’t expecting to see you,” the white and yellow-patched stallion replied as Secured Connection trotted up behind him, a massive grin on her face. “We heard some of what happened in the papers, but we haven’t been able to get a hold of anyone who knew where you were after all that…”
Rex nodded. “Given the state of things after our victory, I’m not surprised. But how are you two doing?”
“Very well,” Magic Mixture replied, blushing a bit as he looked towards Secured Connection. “The shop’s doing great, and we’re just fine… we’ve missed you though.”
Rex smiled. “And I have missed you too, my friends.”
Secured Connection gladly approached him, letting him pull both she and Magic Mixture into a hug. After a moment, the two drew back.
“So, what are you up to, anyway?” the teal mare asked. “I mean, I can see you and your friend here must have gone shopping for some stuff, but what kind of stuff?” She gestured towards Vix-Lei’s bags.
“Needed to expand my wardrobe,” Vix-Lei told her. “Got family visiting soon.”
Secured nodded. “I can understand that.”
The four began moving down the street, chatting about various things. Rex saw Magic Mixture’s eyes light up as he talked about some of the experimental potions he’d been working on recently, and Secured Connection seemed just as happy with her own work. But as the quartet came to an intersection, Rex’s ears twitched.
“Rex? What is it?” Vix-Lei asked.
“I am not sure,” Rex said with a frown. “But something…”
He was cut off as a nearby loudspeaker began making a loud noise, and all four looked up at it. A moment later, a very familiar voice began to speak, and four pairs of eyes widened at what it had to say.
When the announcement had ended, Vix-Lei shook her head. “Well. I guess they got their proof,” she muttered.
The two unicorns exchanged glances. “Proof of what?” Magic Mixture asked.
“That, um,” Vix-Lei began to hum, shifting on her hooves. “I actually can’t say what but it’s clear that we should be off the streets ASAP.”
“I agree.” Rex looked at the two. “With what we just heard, I believe things are about to get very, very… chaotic out here.”
“No kidding,” Secured agreed. “But we’ll see you again soon, right?”
“Absolutely.” Rex smiled at her. “I look forward to having a long, involved discussion on your work with both of you.”
“Same here. We’ll see you soon!” Secured said, before she and Magic Mixture headed off.
Watching them go, Rex smiled, then turned to Vix-Lei. “We’d better hurry…”
“No kidding,” Vix-Lei said. “Come on!” Scooping him up and positioning him on her back, above her hammers, she took off in a loping gait back towards their hotel.
Page Turner
Page did her best to hold up her head as she walked down the street with Night and Wind by her sides but she was still nervous about what she had to do today. Recreating the Sages of the Past would be easy, but as she’d told her friends the night before, she was very troubled by what she’d have to do to reform the Hivemind.
Not to mention what would happen if she ran into Polished Apple again… that mare was still not happy that Matron Hush Tone had scolded her about her attitude towards Page the other day, especially since she’d done it where several of the other librarians could hear. Then again, after Polished had rather publicly snubbed her when it was time for lunch, she couldn’t blame the Matron for giving Polished a public scolding.
Shaking her head to try and get rid of that line of thought, Page looked at Night, who seemed lost in his own thoughts. “Are you okay?” she asked quietly.
Night looked startled for a moment, then shook his own head. “Just thinking.” He sighed. “Wondering how my parents and my siblings will react when they meet you.”
“If it’s with anything less than total acceptance, I’ll gladly give them the eye,” Wind Breaker volunteered.
Night Blade raised an eyebrow. “The eye?”
“Something a couple of the Sisters at the Hatchery did if we displeased them,” Wind Breaker said. “They just had to look at us like…” he shuddered. “Anyway, it was disturbing and creepy enough that we’d do almost anything to make them stop.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Night said dryly before turning back to Page. “In any case, I should be asking how you are doing.”
“I’m… managing,” she said honestly enough, flicking her eyes to Wind Breaker who simply kept on walking. “I’m still very nervous in what I have to do today; the spells are very old and complex.”
“But you can still do it, right?” Wind Breaker asked, turning his head to face her.
“Of course,” Page said, a tiny bit insulted. “It is something that has been passed down via my bloodline for generations; I just need to call back on the knowledge to do it so I can do it.”
“I’m sure that Rex would just love to know all of this,” Wind Breaker said, shaking his head with a grin on his beak as they turned the corner to see the Library and the ponies in front of it with signs and the Cadenza Guards lining the area. A few of the protesters were even on the statue of the Magi of Stars. She stiffened at the ponies jeering at the odd changeling walking towards the library, looking at her friends but was oddly reassured by the fact that they were unworried by the sight and looked slightly bored by the protesters. Although, she could feel a hint of apprehension in their emotions and were causal reaching for their weapons. There were a few protesters trying to yell at them instead of her changelings but most were either pushed back by the Cadenza Guards or saw the lethal weapons her two male friends were holding openly.
Page had to smile at how her changelings were behaving as they went towards the Library; even though they had no reason to trust her at all, they’d all followed her call for this safe haven and not a single one of them were even looking at her which kept her true identity as their Queen a secret.
Her smile grew as she saw Matron Hush Tone at the top of the steps, welcoming in the changelings as well as regular patrons that went inside, each passing by a stallion with a gray coat and black mane who had to be Memorizing Gaze, keeping an eye on everypony and either nodding or passing some unseen signal that had the Guards take them away.
The Matron’s eyes widened as she saw them, walking down to greet them. “Good morning, Page Turner, Wind Breaker,” she said before settling her eyes on Night. “And hello to you too, young Blade. Did my ward tell you of what I wish from you?”
“Yes she did,” Night said, nodding his head. “And I promise you, I will do what I can to arrange it the next time I speak with my parents.”
“Very good,” the griffon said as she shepherded them into the library with Memorizing Gaze following them as two other attendants from the Library came to take their places. While they were making small talk as they passed by the front sections, as soon as they were inside the deeper section of the library, Memorizing turned to face her.
“It is good to see you are well,” the drone that was supposed to be in charge of her personal bodyguards said, his eyes flashing to their true colour. “Both Sound Record and High Finish are here to take charge of their duties at long last.” It was unspoken that he too was here to do his duties to protect her, but Page didn’t see the need to comment on it.
“Good,” she responded as they were led to the private living area of the Library, making Page raise an eyebrow. “They are with the rest of the staff?”
“Some are, some are not,” Hush Tone said. “The more… confident ones are up top and either learning how to read and write or instructing other changelings in the basics or learning how to be a productive member of the Library. A few should even be ready within a week or two to actually serve our visitors here.”
“And the others?” Page asked turning to face the griffon with a serious look on her face that caused Hush Tone to pull back ever so slightly.
“The more skittish and fearful ones are in the basement with a few of the King’s tutors aiding their rehabilitation,” the griffon said with disgust in her voice. “As much as I do not like it, it seems that the King was correct in his beliefs in how to help the changelings.”
“The Sages to be are upstairs, overseeing the education of the more stable changelings,” Memorizing said with his disguise falling to the side. With guilty looking eyes directed at her, he continued. “The Sages have asked us not to use our disguises, as to promote that we have nothing to be ashamed of…”
Page rolled her eyes, knowing that Memorizing wasn’t doing this voluntarily but was stuck following orders from superiors. The only one above the Sages was her and she wasn’t bound to their wishes. Still, the Sages were meant to be advise the Queens and their wishes were not to be ignored lightly. With a flick of her magic, she dropped her disguise as she walked out into the living quarters of the Library with her heart warming as none of her friends or Hush Tone showed any reaction to it.
As they walked passed through the hallways, there were more changelings that were peering at her and began to follow them. Page could tell that Memorizing was similarly unhappy with them being so obvious about following their leaders but there was nothing she could do about it without being equally obvious about it.
Finally, they arrived at one of the kitchens that had been converted into a study room of sorts, with the elderly nymphs and drones looking up as they walked in, with their students pausing and turning their heads to them. Off in the corner, there was a serious looking drone in armour that had to be Sound Record, second born of the triplets, and nearby there was High Finish, his and Memorizing’s youngest triplet brother.
“Back to your lessons,” Archived Knowledge said as he and the others walked to Page and her group. “It is good to see you again, Page,” he said with a shared bow, making Page feel slightly uncomfortable at the gesture.
“And you, my changelings,” she said, bowing her head slightly to them. “Are you ready?”
“We are,” a nymph that went by Secret Archive said before flashing her eyes at Page. “And you, my queen?”
Page bit her lip at the casual usage of her title by but she nodded her head. “Yes I am,” she flicked her eyes to her changelings sitting at the tables and asked. “Please clear the area, my changelings, and stay outside until we are done.”
As one, they stood up, collected their belongings and left the room with Night Blade sharing uncertain looks with Wind Breaker and Hush Tone.
“Should we leave too?” Night asked, shifting on his hooves.
“No, you may stay,” Page said while wanting to actually ask them to stay for moral support. She then focused her magic to move the furniture around to create a large space for herself to perform the spell. “If you will all please get into a circle around me.” Her changelings did as they were asked, and now it fell onto Page to do her part.
Focusing on her magic, she began to pull up the parts of herself she did not like dwell on. There were spells that had been passed down that she knew without ever being taught them and knew exactly what they did. Reaching inside of herself, she accessed the spell that would link the elders’ minds together and share the knowledge each had with all of the others, extending their lives as well as placing in the spells that would allow them to perform this duty and others in case the worst should happen and they be called upon to restore the Hive.
Physically, their heads would grow larger as their minds expanded to contain their combined knowledge while their bodies grew slightly larger than the average changeling, but otherwise they would remain visibly almost identical; those who were unfamiliar with their kind’s traits would not notice the difference. Mentally, however, they would be changed far more and would no doubt now view teaching changelings how to read and write as being beneath them, instead taking it upon themselves to become her advisers as previous Sages of the Past had done.
Page had finished half of the task of what was required of her, with her mind now focusing on supplying her Sages with the history of her Hive from that small tucked away piece of her mind into theirs. Page could feel them grunting in pain as they were shown their Hive’s entire history, Page herself felt a twinge of unloading all of the memories, overlapping most of her conscious in the process and she had to pace herself while at the same time doing her best to only be somewhat aware of the memories of past Queens and Sages as looking too closely would be dangerous.
After some time had passed in the background, Page was able to pull back into herself and take proper stock of everything. She saw the new Sages looking over themselves with Sound Record moving to stand in front of them while at the same time feeling them making a place within the fragmented Hivemind. It was close to her, and she could feel them bring Sound Record under them while some lines were moving towards her. It would take time to properly sort everything out and it would only be doable after she recreated the Hivemind Body.
“Page, are you okay?” Night asked, resting his hoof on her back which made her feel better, mostly in part due to her feeding off of his concern for her but mostly due to the fact it was Night.
“Yes,” she told him, keenly aware of the disapproving looks she was getting from the Sages who were hopefully being temporarily influenced by the past memories as Night helped her.
“You think you’re ready for the other ones?” Wind Breaker inquired as the Sages began ordering changelings that were peering in to fix the room up, with one of the Sages going to the Matron for more proper housing arrangements.
“Ye-yes,” she said, flicking her eyes to Memorizing and High Finish, before steeling herself for what she had to do. “Matron Hush Tone, could you please show me where the...where the changelings who are to- to,” Page trailed off, hating herself for being too weak to speak of what she had to do.
“This way, my Queen,” Memorizing said softly, nuzzling against her as well as passing on positive emotions to her that eased her worries. She then had to bite back a giggle as she also heard the low growling coming from Night as well as her coltfriend subconsciously flaring his wings a bit.
“Thank you,” she said as they were led to the back of the dormitories, the section that held the underground storage that now held a wide range of changelings, all looking at her with wide eyes. She walked past them, deeper into the makeshift hive with a few of the Hidden Guards appearing more and more often and High Finish taking the lead from his brother. Standing as tall as she could, she approached a wide cadre of Guards who gave a sharp look at the non changelings.
“I am sorry my Queen, but they are not welcomed,” a Guard said as she tried to stare down Night but Night was a hard pony to intimidate.
“He is my coltfriend,” Page said unneeded as almost all of her Hive knew of Night. “He is my friend,” Wind Breaker flashed a smile. “And she is the griffon that raised me as her own hatchling.” Matron Hush Tone tipped her head. “They have the right to be here with me.”
Surprisingly, they looked at both High Finish and Mesmerizing Gaze for confirmation which caused her nose to wrinkle. Thankfully, they nodded their heads and the Guards parted, allowing them to pass.
Almost immediately, they heard the crying of infants and Page began to feel the self hatred again for what she had to do.
“Queen Lamella, you’re here!” a young nymph called out as she held her baby against her chest and raced over to her, causing the other mothers and few fathers to surround her with cries of joy in their voices. Both Protectors moved in front of her to push them back, the brothers baring their fangs and flailing their hooves. The parents moved backwards and held their heads low, looking very sheepish.
“We are sorry, Queen Lamella,” another nymph said, doing her best to soothe her crying daughter. “We were just eager to see you at long last and do our part to help the Hive.”
“I see, my changeling,” Page said as she walked over to the nymph, nuzzling her and giving her some positive emotions to calm her down. “And it is okay, my little changeling.” She then tipped her head lower and gave a kiss to the baby’s head.
Counting to five in her head, she forced herself to do this next step. “Please, place all of your babies next to each other and I may rebuild the Hivemind Body.”
The parents did this without any hesitation, and Page began the spell. It had the infants’ bodies begin to melt into one another with their ability to think for themselves being suppressed before their minds were wiped away as they were pushed into one physical form. It was best this way as their twelve minds were now one, with them this young they would lose nothing but their future. Already, even at this small growth state, Page could feel the hivemind stretching and filling out to its proper dimensions.
Looking at the growing form, she shuddered in horror. She knew what she had done was necessary… but at the same time, she mourned for the loss of the individual lives that had been sacrificed to create this one, even if it was for the betterment of the rest of the Hive.
As she stepped back from the Hivemind Body, the former parents went to tend to it and move it into a much more secure section of the storage room, with High Finish and his detachment of guards moving with them.
“Are you okay Page?” Night asked, leaning against her, holding her close as he wiped away tears from her face. “That was…”
Page looked down. “Magically, I’m fine,” she said quietly. “Emotionally… I don’t know how any Changeling Queen could ever have brought themselves to do something like that in the first place, and I really hope no Changeling Queen ever has to do it again.”
“That’s why you’re special,” Wind Breaker said. “I doubt any of them would be as bothered as you are. That’s why you’re the Bearer of the Element of Kindness.”
“Thank you, Wind Breaker,” Page smiled and nuzzled him. With a sad sigh, she looked at the departing changelings and despite how much better off her changelings were now, she knew that this was something she could never forgive herself for. “Look, I just want-”
She froze as the loudspeakers begin to rumble, with every head turning upwards. Normally, it would be near impossible to reach the surface in time, but as she could work with her Hive instantly now, she was able to have her changelings dash to the side as they all raced up the stairs to hear King Well Banded speak.
“My dear citizens,” the King’s voice boomed. “It was this morning that my Captains brought news to me of corruption within the Hatcheries stretching back years and even now our Royal Guards are piecing together the sheer scope of what has occurred. With griffons stolen from families across the seas and other lands to pay off debts that have long since been repaid, I cannot in good conscious allow such practices to continue any longer. As of today, the Hatchery System is officially no more.” Page turned her head to see both Hush Tone and Wind Breaker wide-beaked with their eyes open even wider in disbelief. “Furthermore, there are to be stations that will run today until they are no longer needed, manned by the Royal Guards, that will give the personal records of the former Hatchery griffons to our now free griffon citizens.”
There was a clearing of a voice as the microphone was passed to another pony who began citing locations and former Hatcheries that griffons that once belonged to were to appear for their records but Page’s focus was on her friend as one of the first Hatcheries that was called was the Caring Sisters of the Virtues Hatchery, which was, as she recalled from the time she’d seen the cover of his ledger, the name of the Hatchery he’d grown up in.
“I have to go,” Wind Breaker said as he started to take off in the air. “Are you guys coming?”
“I wish I could but I cannot,” Page said, shaking her head. “My Hive needs me now and I cannot leave them.”
“Of course,” Night said at the same time as she did, causing Page and Wind Breaker to blink. “We’ll see you later once we’re done, either here or at the hotel.” Giving her a quick nuzzle, Night took off with Wind Breaker, the sky already full of flying griffons and announcements calling off more names and locations. It would be chaos if any other division of the Guard did it but Page had faith in the Royal Guards.
Turning her head to Memorizing who had Sound Record and High Finish standing beside him, Page asked, “Why didn’t you tell him this was going to happen?”
Memorizing looked at her. “I knew that major investigations and raids were going on - in fact, I was supposed to be at one last night, but…” He coughed. “Something else came up, and I left my lieutenant in charge of the operation. I had no idea the information was going to be released this soon though. Gentle Step told me she was going to wait on it until we had all the data sorted out and the more corrupt Hatchery officials in custody.”
“But when would she tell Mems anythi-” Record trailed off with his eyes widening as he shared a wicked grin with his younger brother as the eldest of the trio let out a weary sigh. “So that’s the mare that has dibs on you, you sly ’ling.”
“About time,” Finish chuckled as he tried to mess with his brother’s mane with Memorizing growling and stepping back, only for Record to lean in and finish what his other brother started.
Memorizing Gaze facehoofed as his brothers jostled him between them, the two younger drone laughing. “Did everyling know how I felt about her?”
Page covered her mouth with one hoof to keep from blurting out what she’d figured out the other day. When she was certain of her self-control, she lowered it and looked at him. “Memorizing Gaze?”
“Yes, my queen?” his tone changed immediately, showing the training he and his brothers had gone through.
“Regardless of how many may or may not have been aware of your feelings for her, and she to you, I want you to know that you and Gentle Step have my full support in your relationship.” She also sent the warmest love she had to him to show how deep her approval was.
Memorizing bowed low in response. “Thank you, my queen.” He then let out a sigh. “I need to report to the office to see what exactly is going on. Sound Record, until I return, I am placing the Queen’s protection in your hooves.”
Sound Record nodded his head with Memorizing Gaze teleporting away, leaving Page to wonder what the truth of her friend was.