“Carduus, I am going to Canterlot! Right now!” Avia announced as she burst into the chamber where he was meeting with several guards.
Several pairs of luminous changeling eyes turned to blink at her, somewhat bemused by the Princess’ sudden and extravagant entrance.
Carduus just sighed.
“Would you excuse us?” he asked the guards, each of them nodding before proceeding to file out of the room until only the two remained. The former captain then turned towards Avia with an unamused expression. “And you couldn’t have just announced this to me over the hive?”
Avia paused a moment. “…To be entirely honest, I didn’t think of it.”
“Of course.”
“Hey, I’m being serious here,” she pressed further as she approached the stallion. “You asked me to sleep on it yesterday. Well, I slept on it. I slept on it harder than most people could hope to sleep on something. And I’m still going. I need to go.”
“What I said yesterday still stands, your Highness. I can’t stop you if you truly intend to do so,” the changeling responded. “But might I ask, what makes you more certain now than you were then?”
Avia hesitated, biting down onto her lip. Should she tell him about Luna’s visit? About her dream and all that it brought? A decent part of her felt like she should, if only to alleviate his concerns as to the validity of her decision. His support was always nice to have, being the gruff uncle he kinda was in his actions. His help would be great, given all his experience and caution well dealing with things like this. Changelings lived for doing things in the shadows, right? And she couldn’t think of a more experienced drone in the hive.
And yet…
Her point to the Princess of the Night still rang true. Of course, he would tell the Queen, he was duty-bound to do so. And, again, that caution-prone nature of his. Even if he did ultimately agree with their reasoning, or if he did not, it didn’t matter. She knew that her mother would shoot down the idea on principle/
So, for now, it was best to play things close to her chest.
She’d apologise profusely, and probably with a Pinkie Pie branded cake, later…
“I just had a lot of time to think,” the Princess told him. “And I am confident in my calculations and certainty of disaster if I sit on my flank and do nothing but file paperwork all day. You do not mess with the numbers, Carduus.”
“So I’ve long heard…” Carduus deadpanned, shaking his head in bemusement at the bookish changeling. “But, you know, even your mother has gotten the numbers wrong on occasion.”
Avia gasped. “Blasphemy!”
Of course, the whole reason she was doing this was because she didn’t agree with her assessment, but that was a disagreement of hypothesis in a scientific manner, totally different.
That’s what she was going with at any rate.
“Oh don’t give me that, you know it’s true,” Carduus shot back. “But, if you’re dead set on pushing your luck, I’ll do my best to pick up the pieces after you as per usual. I’ll help however I can, so if you truly feel like you can do something out there to help out, you have my support.”
Avia grinned, shooting forward and grabbing the aged changeling in a crushing hug.
“Thanks, Carduus! You’re the best!”
“Ow! Ow! Back injury!”
She loosened her grip.
“Sorry…”
“Yeah yeah, I should be used to it…” he muttered, returning the embrace before pulling away. “Well, seeing as you’re not going to listen to any more of my sage advice, I’ll get an escort prepared to accompany you to-”
“No! No escort!”
If his chitinous face had eyebrows, one of them would be raised to the roof with the expression he gave her.
“I mean…” Avia chuckled mirthlessly. “I know my way there; it will be quicker if I just rushed over myself.”
“Not really, even just a couple of guards would do well. Especially now.”
“Carduus, I’ll be fine. You worry too much.”
“I like to think I worry just the right amount.”
“Hey, nothing is going to happen flying between here and Canterlot. This is Equestria, and last I checked we’re not at war yet,” she pointed out. “I’m going to be heading out ASAP, and I don’t want to mess around getting something like that together.”
“You’ve never been bothered by ordinary protocol before,” Carduus noted suspiciously. “What are you up to, Avia?”
“…I’ve told you everything I need to, I just want to get going right now,” she stated. “Please, Carduus? Don’t fight me on this?”
His instincts told him something was off with this situation. He had known the Princess long enough to know when she was hiding something, hives knew she’d told the odd fib when she was a filly getting into all kinds of ‘research’-related mischief. He should really have insisted further, pushed for her to accept. He might have even managed it, for what he lacked in actual rank of the royal changeling he held a great deal of influence over her emotionally.
And yet, that wasn’t a one-way street. And looking into her eyes now, he wasn’t really sure he’d ever seen her looking so desperate and even terrified as she was now. Whatever the reason for the way she was acting, she clearly needed him to let her go on this one…
“Damn it, Avia. Fine. Just… keep yourself safe, alright?”
“I’m a Changeling Queen, I can handle myself.”
“Don’t let your innate power get to your head, no one is invincible,” he warned. “Go. Make haste to Canterlot, I’m sure Twilight will be thrilled to see you in person if nothing else.”
“Thanks, Carduus. I promise, I won’t make you regret this!” she thanked earnestly, giving him one last hug before turning to exit the room. “Pinkie promise!”
“I hope so kid, I really do…” he muttered to himself as she departed, standing alone in his thoughts for several moments after she had done so.
He couldn’t help but feel he was making a huge mistake.
“My Queen,” he called out over the hive to Twilight Sparkle. “There’s something you should know.”
“Oh? Carduus, what’s wrong?” Twilight answered.
“It’s Avia. She’s on her way to Canterlot as we speak.”
“What!? Why!? Hrmg, I told her to stay put!”
“Would you?”
“Doubtful. But still, not the point! Ah… What exactly did she say to you?”
“Only that she wants to help. Only… Well, I’m not sure what’s really going on. She looked a little distressed. Perhaps it’s just everything going on with King Ignis and his unicorns, but I’ve never seen her looking quite like… Well, like I’ve seen you at some of your lower moments.”
“…I see.”
“I can still stop her if you want me to.”
“She’s stubborn, it runs through our particular line of Changeling Queens,” Twilight mused. “When we set our minds to something, we don’t tend to give up easily.”
Yes, Queen Chrysalis was just the same in her own way. Never one to back away from her goals no matter who might object…
“Let her come, I’ll speak to her when she gets here,” the Queen decided. “Besides, I could use her assistance. Things are pretty hectic here.”
“So I hear. Just… keep an eye on her, yeah?”
“Always.”
Princess Luna wasn’t sure if it was her uncertainty or the guilt that weighed down on her the most, or some likely mixture of the two, but her mood wasn’t exactly at its brightest. Scheming with Princess Avia behind the backs of both Celestia and Twilight the way they were…
This could go so very wrong. She prayed that history would prove her right, or else she was going to have much to repent for.
As if her soul needed more.
And it could go very wrong indeed. It had occurred to her that their actions could very well bring about the future they were trying to prevent, though just as equally they could be on the right path and be correct in their actions.
That was the tricky part about prophecies, they were quite unpredictable. One could be as straightforward as it might seem, another could be misleading or otherwise self-fulfilling. A misstep could see all of their good intention undone, and thus leading to something that they tried so very hard to avoid.
There was even the possibility that Avia was mistaken and there was no prophecy at all. Though the Princess of the Changelings had been genuinely convinced of its validity, and her demeanour had caused the alicorn to be more partial to the idea of its truths. And even now, Ignis was planning who in Equus knew what with an unknowable state of mind, one born of a nation buried in its ignorance and outdated views of the wider world beyond The New Kingdom.
As they had before, dark forces were at play in Equestria. What form the wider plot against them took Luna could only speculate, but Avia’s glimpse had widened her deepest fears at where it would bring them if not prevented.
More war. More death. Another city destroyed. And whether she did something or nothing at all, either way, she could end up being responsible for them once again.
They had to take great care in the coming days…
Moving through the halls of Canterlot Castle, moving away from her inner conflict and focusing more on where she was at present, the Princess swiftly made her way past the everyday hustle and bustle until she came all the way up to the doorway leading into the war room. The timing was correct, so the individuals she had summoned should already have arrived and hopefully slipped into the chamber without drawing any attention to themselves. The last thing they wanted was some nosy maid causing rumours to float into her sister’s ears.
Doing much the same, checking to see that her surroundings were clear with both a visual scan and a magical one, Luna opened up one of the two doors and slipped inside before anypony could choose that inopportune moment to blunder around the corner. Closing it behind her, she found the map silent and yet the chairs around it occupied by half a dozen members of her Royal Guard waiting patiently for her arrival. There were three thestrals, two unicorns and an earth pony in all that Luna saw after doing a quick headcount, the alicorn being relieved to see that they had all made it as desired. Each had a question on their face, and it was high time she let them in on the secret.
“Gentleponies, I thank you for coming despite the unorthodox nature of my summons.”
“Your wish has always been our command,” one of the thestrals, the highest-ranking of the group, stated dutifully. “However, if I am permitted to speak freely, I am rather surprised to see that Captain Vespertilio is not in attendance. Given the secrecy insisted upon us, I would have thought our ranking officer would be involved.”
“Let me make this clear right now, lest future mistakes occur…” Luna said seriously. “Vladimir is not to be informed of these proceedings. I do not wish his involvement.”
On the surface, the ponies around her remained professionally neutral about this proclamation. However, she was not so blind as to assume they weren’t concerned by this particular action.
“We understand. However, this is an unusual precedence being set. Why keep him out of this?”
“Because his duty supersedes that of your own,” Luna answered. “You are all members of the Lunar Guard. You report to him, but more than that, your oaths are to me and me alone. But, as Captain of the Lunar Guard, Vladimir’s responsibilities go beyond simply doing as one is told. He is responsible, in conjuncture with Captain Valiant Snow, for the safety of all of Canterlot. And that means his rank requires further autonomy, and even though he is my Captain, him reporting events to my sister should he see the requirement isn’t out of the question. The opposite also rings true for Captain Snow if the issue ever arises, such is the nature of their positions.”
Luna sat in her designated place, her severe eyes glancing at every last one of them.
“My commands today are not to reach my sister, and as loyal as Vladimir is, I cannot take any risk. No matter whether I believe he would see fit to report to Celestia or not. The possibility alone cannot be condoned, and so I turn to all of you, those whose responsibilities are to my voice and mine alone. What you hear and do is not to leave this room until I say otherwise. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Princess Luna,” came the united sound of confirmation.
“Good. Now, Princess Avia of the Equestrian Hive is on her way to Canterlot as we speak. When she arrives, you will be rid of your traditional armour in favour of that of simple mercenaries. Under this guise, you will accompany young Avia and ensure her safety as she conducts her task.”
“Task?” the officer asked.
“Aye, she is to parley with representatives from The New Kingdom in order to ensure the prevention of future conflicts. This is classified to the utmost level, and failure could prove disastrous to Equestria.”
“When are we to leave?”
“That has yet to be decided. For now, go about your duties as normal until you are called upon. When you are, you will not leave the changeling princess’ side for a moment. The first sign of trouble and you are to evacuate her, understand? I will arrange for transportation via helicopter to collect you once you are beyond Canterlot’s walls, doing so within will arouse too much attention. I have already secured an EUP pilot who can be trusted to keep silent about this endeavour.”
Luna stood up, her wings flaring out as her glare increased.
“Do not be mistaken, there is great risk in this assignment, but our very future may depend on it. Equestria barely survived the last war, and I would not see it again. A rogue monster, mage or other such abomination is one thing. But an army is entirely another. The fate of Equestria is in your hooves, a fact you must not forget.”
Because she knew that if they did, and something went wrong, then forgiveness would be something the Princess of the Night would not deserve.
Not this time.