The hive was mourning.
Seldom few had ever met Twilight Velvet and Night Light. But all knew of them, of course. Even those whose roots came from the hives of Queen Crudelis and Queen Draco, which naturally made up the vast majority of the population after each Changeling Queen’s demise. All knew of the pony couple who had taken in the Queen of the Hive, raising her as their own to the best of their ability. It had been they who had nurtured and protected the young nymph when Chrysalis was unable, they who had set into motion the one who would, one day, become a ruler with her place well and truly secured in the annals of history.
It had all started with them, taking in a lonely infant on their doorstep. It was from the Queen’s pony side that her humility had sprung up to temper the fierceness that came naturally with being of the hive’s royal bloodline. The friendships she had gone on to forge with the other Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle’s desire for peaceful outcomes first before the alternative may sadly come to life… It was them who had been the start of it all.
That was not to dismiss Chrysalis and Celestia, of course, each an important role in the Three Mothered Mare’s life. Chrysalis had given the Queen her name, it was from her that the love of books was inherited as well as her loyalty and protectiveness of the hive. Celestia, meanwhile, had further nurtured the qualities that Twilight Velvet and Night Light had planted within her. The alicorn had pointed her in the direction of her long-time friends while further encouraging that scholarly nature that, even now, still drove much of what the Queen did.
But now, like Queen Chrysalis, Twilight Velvet was gone. And not only had Twilight Sparkle lost another mother, but she had also lost the only father she had ever known in Night Light, having no memories to speak of as to Virum, the changeling who sired her and sacrificed his life for his infant daughter.
And while all those but those seldom few could not fully know the pain of their loss, they all felt the numbness from both the Queen and the Princess. Something had been taken from the royal changelings, something close to their hearts. And, subsequently, it was as if the hive itself had lost something in the process.
And so, they mourned.
“So, the funeral…” Façade asked carefully towards his wife, who was sat silently in their chambers with a gossamer wing wrapped around her despondent daughter. “I hate to ask this now, but… How will this affect the expedition?”
Twilight was silent for a few moments. As much as her mind was elsewhere, that was something she, as Queen, had to consider. And yet…
Twilight sighed, shifting and tightening her grasp on Avia.
“It will still go ahead, we had to go to Canterlot to link up with the ponies accompanying us anyway,” she noted. “But we will need to depart earlier… It just means I’ll have to coordinate efforts in the hive from there.”
“I can stay… If you want,” Façade offered. “Make sure everything goes smoothly while you go and… say goodbye.”
“No. Don’t,” Twilight asked of her husband. “I… I want you there. Carduus can help organise things. He can handle it, he always can…”
“I know he won’t say no to you,” Façade replied. “Alright, I can make the arrangements for that with him. If this is still happening, we’ll ensure everyone meets you in Canterlot when we had originally planned it.”
Twilight groaned. “There was still so much to do… Supplies to categorise, documents to-”
“Twilight…” Façade interrupted. “We’ll handle it. Just… take it easy, yeah?”
“It’ll be alright, Mama…” Avia finally said, looking up at her mother and giving her a gentle nuzzle. “You know the hive will get everything ready. We can go to Canterlot…”
Twilight sighed again. “I know. But this was all so sudden. Their health was meant to be fine and now… now…”
“I know,” Façade said sympathetically, trotting over to the two most important mares in his life and sitting close to them. “But these things happen, it was just their time. At least they went peacefully, together.”
“It still hurts,” Twilight responded, her expression pained. “The worst thing? It’s not even like when my mother died. My biological mother, I mean. Everything about it was different. But this… I don’t really know how to describe it. There’s nothing I could have done; nothing could have been different. I feel… I don’t know…”
“Do you think Uncle Shining has been told?” Avia asked. “Cousin Flurry Heart?”
Twilight nodded. “Celestia would have sent them a message. They will know…”
“At least we get to see them again.”
“A small bright side. It has been too long…” Twilight mused. “Alright… Pack your things, Avia. We leave tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“You. Me. Your father,” she explained, getting a nod of agreement from the stallion. “I don’t want to leave this. I need to see them, and I’m sure you do too.”
Avia sniffed, humming in agreement. As much as the news of their passing hurt, she couldn’t deny her eagerness to leave the hive for Equestria’s capital as soon as possible. Her pony grandparents deserved that much at least.
“I’ll gather some of my guards for an escort, a carriage will be prepared by dusk,” Façade told Twilight.
The Queen gave him a grateful look. “Thank you. Avia, go get ready. I’ll do the same here. Also, Façade, could you have someone put away the mess we left in the throne room?”
“I can,” he confirmed, his head twitching as he communed with other changelings within the hive mind. “There, done. The others can pick up where you left off, don’t worry.”
Which was certainly a relief. If she had to continue delegating and planning while also having to deal with her parents’ passing…
The loyalty her hive showed its ruler did touch her heart, it really did…
With that settled, the three parted ways. Façade to go and make sure transport and a sufficient royal escort was prepared, Avia to pack, and Twilight…
Before packing, she focused in on the hive mind and found just the changeling she was looking for. The changeling in question was a simple love collector, one assigned to work in Ponyville to passively collect love energy that they would then return to the hive for submission into the reservoir. But while they were there, the changeling was in the perfect position to inform some old friends about what had happened…
The day was a cold one, a light scheduled shower of rain overtaking the city of Canterlot. Even though it wasn’t the heaviest storm in the world, most ponies had already seen fit to remain indoors and out of its way. Those who remained in the streets did so either beneath helpful umbrellas or raincoats of various colourations and designs. Some were the simple yellow variety, while other such coats were more extravagant and clearly of Rarity’s design.
Canterlot Castle was no different. Far fewer ponies walked the gardens, only the guards continued to dutifully patrol despite the droplets pattering against their golden helmets.
And then, looking out form a window in a high up tower as the rain gently poured down the pane, Princess Celestia herself watched it all. The rainclouds above already seemed to be passing, a few pegasi dancing around in their weather team uniforms. Somewhere nearby, currently obscured by the clouds, Cloudsdale would be floating across the landscape. As always, the factory within the mobile pegasus city was hard at work controlling and distributing the correctly scheduled weather patterns across Equestria. Canterlot, in around a month’s time, was due to receive a far more torrential downpour from the winged ponies.
And yet, with the gentle pattering currently pressing up against the window, the current weather well reflected the sombre mood Celestia was in.
“Let me guess…” Princess Luna addressed, finding her older sister exactly where some of the staff had directed her. “Thinking about Twilight Sparkle?”
Celestia chuckled, turning to look at Luna. “Am I really that transparent?”
“When it comes to her, easily so,” she stated, joining the Princess of the Sun by the window. “Today of all days, however, it is warranted. It is a thing we have seen far too often with our potentially infinite lives, something we can never truly understand and yet have born witness to more than any other. Simple age.”
“Each in their sleep, barely an hour apart. At least, according to the coroner,” Celestia mused. “A peaceful death after a full life. They might be considered lucky in that regard, but I know they would regret leaving behind those that yet live.”
“Indeed,” Luna agreed. “I trust their family are all on their way as we speak. They had many who loved them, their memories will live on.”
Celestia hummed, returning to gazing at the window. The rain had become even lighter, the pits and pats of the drops becoming rather infrequent. The Princess watched as her sun started to reappear, breathing its light onto her little ponies.
“I do worry about Twilight most of all, though,” Celestia then said. “And not just because of what we are. She… She does not handle loss well.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Do you recall what happened when Chrysalis died?”
“You mean when she was murdered by that fiend Crudelis?”
“The very same event,” she confirmed. “When that happened… Twilight has long found a balance between what is pony within her and what is changeling. But that day, in that tent, it was like… Twilight’s pony side was smothered by the vengeful Changeling Queen inside her. The rage I saw in her eyes was terrifying. We got her back, but I always fear that balance being toppled once more.”
“She has come a long way since she gained her crown,” Luna pointed out. “But even so, this is not then. The circumstances are wholly different, there is no foul play to incite the vengeful Changeling Queen buried within her. You needn’t worry, she will mourn with the rest of her family and then life will go on. Even if the pain of losing a loved one never truly fades.”
Celestia gave her a sad smile. “I know. I’m also worried about how Avia is handling the news. She has not been damaged as her mother has, she's never lost something like this before. She is no longer a child, but still…”
“Like her mother, Avia will survive this blow,” Luna assured her sister. “They will each seek comfort in you, I am sure. As will they in Cadenza and the others. But survive they will.”
“You are right,” Celestia admitted. “But this is still a sad day for all involved.”
Luna hummed. “Yes, and with such an important event on the horizon.”
“How have our preparations for Twilight’s latest project been, while we are on that subject?” the Princess of the Sun enquired.
“Well. Your school is jumping on this with the usual expected eagerness,” Luna informed her. “Captain Valiant is hard at work briefing the ponies under his command as to what they may face, and I believe my own Captain of the Guard is pouting about his exclusion.”
“You couldn’t let him have his fun, could you?” Celestia jokingly scolded her little sister.
Luna rolled her eyes. “He is not a young stallion anymore for one thing, sister. And he does so love to overindulge himself so close to retirement.”
“And yet he remains capable.”
“True. But I would much prefer at least one of them to remain, and he is the logical choice. That, and the last time he went on one of Twilight’s ‘expeditions’ he returned with one less wing.”
“Point conceded. Still, I’m sure we can find something for Vladimir to do in the meantime.
“I believe he will be plenty busy overseeing the training of the newest recruits into the Lunar Guard,” Luna stated. “As ever, his experience is invaluable.”
“Hm, maybe I should have Broad Sword return to give some pointers to them too. At least while his son is back in the land of our birth,” Celestia mused. “I must admit, Luna, no small part of me wishes we were going with them to the old world.”
Luna’s mood seemed to fall slightly. “Admittedly, sister, I do not even recall much from before the snow.”
Celestia smiled, giving her sister a light loving nuzzle. “You were just a filly with your fool of an older sister, herself barely a teenager, to look after you. And I must admit, even I struggle to remember much before Starswirl took us in upon our arrival in Equestria.”
Luna was silent, moving closer to her elder sister as an alabaster wing was comfortingly draped over her back. Both alicorns looked out of the window and tried to picture the continent far beyond their view. The place where ponykind had their humble beginnings even as the changelings of old had conquered much of what was now the Griffon Empire and Zebrica. And then even long after the fall of Empress Immortalis, when snow had started to fall and all ponies had been forced to leave. Two small alicorns treading their way amongst the masses, homeless and alone, even the ancient mother they’d barely known claimed by the rampage of the wendigos.
That was where Twilight was going.
Luna couldn’t blame Celestia for her continued motherly fears.