It was an auspicious morning to say the least; mostly as it was a morning not done by the princesses for the first time in a long time. But for the most part, everypony seemed to be fine and not in a state of mass panic, which Spliced was told was what most everyone had expected to happen.
Spliced was half of a mind to think that would have been better as it would have been something interesting happening instead of this mind numbingly nothingness. Starlight, despite how infuriating the mare was, was somewhat entertaining to talk to as she did force Spliced to make it worth her while to think out her responses. Unfortunately, she had other plans since her friend Sunburst was busy teaching Snöflinga the modern language while doing double duty in watching over Flurry Heart, and Spike was lending his assistance to Shining Armor as he did double duty managing the Empire as well as Equestria. While Spliced wasn’t all that confident in having a ruler of a nation that was not in the nation, it did make some sense if the purpose was to halt any progress the co-regent of Equestria tried to make for his own gains.
That left her alone and while she was fine with this as she was more comfortable working by herself, it left her finding her own way of being entertained. As she had no real inclination to try and train the locals in her knowledge, it meant she was exploring the palace and its grounds.
So far, Spliced hadn’t seen anything that truly interested her, except for possibly a few closed up studies, but she hadn’t been able to get into them and wasn’t particularly eager to try; she had a feeling she’d wind up angering somepony by doing so.
Still, as she was aimlessly wandering through the empty throne room, letting her thoughts drift, she couldn’t help but wonder what its former rulers might have hidden around there.
Thunk.
Spliced looked up curiously at the noise. Tilting her head around, she couldn’t see or hear anypony else around, so she moved forward.
Thunk.
That time she was certain. Moving back a few steps, she tapped the floor, but got nothing other than the normal sound of a hoof on crystal. Moving back forward, she tapped it again, and was rewarded with the same hollow-sounding thunk she’d been hearing.
“Wonder what’s down there?” she asked herself. “And how to get to it…”
She began a systematic search of the room, hoping to find some switch or lever that could open the path she’d found. When nothing was immediately obvious, she began considering other possibilities.
“Maybe it’s concealed by some kind of thaumatics,” she mused to herself. “Hmm…”
Thinking back to some of the books she remembered from Twilight’s palace, she called on a general thaumatics-detecting array she’d figured out, and soon found a spot at the top of the throne that seemed odd. It took her a few minutes of analysis, but soon she’d figured out the exact frequency it needed, and her horn lit up, causing the crystal on the throne to dim.
And from there, a massive hole opened in the floor, revealing a spiraling staircase.
“If that isn’t ominous,” she muttered. Still, she had set out to find something interesting, and this fit.
It took her some time to reach the bottom, and when she did, she found a wooden door. However, much to her annoyance, it would not stay put when she approached it, and she let out a groan of frustration for a moment before she forced herself to think logically. Using the same array she’d called on before, she scanned the door, and within a short while had determined that the same thaumatics frequency from before would work. Focusing, she got the door open, and entered into it.
And found herself right back in familiar surroundings.
The white walls. The hard metal floors. The room, a strip of light overhead and a red light in one corner, with its familiar bed and that sensation of being just small enough to be uncomfortable.
“No…” she gasped. “NO!”
Getting the door open, she ran through it, down halls that she’d been through more times than she could count, through a circular room with its familiar tables and computer, and the pantry full of freeze-dried food. Finally, she reached a staircase and ran up it to the observation room, its glass windows showing the desolation that she’d been surrounded by for centuries.
Sinking to the ground, she looked around in sheer panic at the surface of the moon.
“How can I be back here?” she whispered. “How‽”
And then she looked around in confusion. “Wait… what was I talking about again?” she asked herself, feeling a growing sense of terror inside of herself. Something was wrong but she couldn’t place her hoof on it.
Looking at her hoof, a great and terrible realization came to her as she didn’t know w-
“Spliced!” a voice shouted as she was yanked backwards.
And she looked up to see she was back in the room at the bottom of the spiral staircase, a concerned Spike looking at her.
“Spike? What are you-”
“Don’t scare me like that!” Spike said sternly, a look of relief on his face. “It was bad enough having to deal with that thing the first time, I don’t ever want to see anypony put through it again!” Grabbing hold of the door, he slammed it shut, sending it darting off again. “I knew we should have figured out a way to disenchant that stupid door.”
Shaking her head with her heart pounding hard in her chest, Spliced got to her hooves. “What was that thing?”
“One of Sombra’s traps that he set up to keep others away from the Crystal Heart after he stole it and hid it.” Spike looked disgusted. “He set that door up to show you your worst fear if you tried to get through it. The only way to beat it is if you overcome your fear, like Twilight did. And so did I.”
Spliced looked down at him and smiled gratefully. “I don’t know what you faced, but mine was pretty bad,” she said. “Thank you for getting me out of it.”
“No problem,” Spike said. “It’s what we do around here.” Then he eyed her. “What were you doing when you came down here, anyway?”
“I heard a hollow noise in the middle of the throne room and decided to investigate,” Spliced told him. “Who wouldn’t?”
Spike shook his head. “Why am I not surprised. Come on, we’d better get back - Shining Armor’s got the room sealed off just in case, doesn’t want to risk anypony accidentally falling into the big hole in the middle of the room.”
“Right.” Trotting up the stairs after him, she looked back at the door momentarily and shivered at the memory of what it had shown her.
When the two had made it back into the throne room, Shining Armor looked at both of them. “Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Spike told him. “But when Twilight gets back, we have got to have her disenchant that part of the castle. Don’t know why we didn’t do it sooner.”
“Because we had other things that required our attention at the time and we had always postponed it,” Shining Armor replied before looking at Spliced… “Are you okay? Twilight’s my little sister and I know when she’s really spooked by something.”
Spliced nodded. “I’ll get past it… but what kind of sick maniac comes up with that sort of thing? And how, because there has got to be an easily accessible way to counteract it! If Spike hadn’t come along, I would have been down there for… who knows how long. And I don’t want to even think about what would have happened if the effects were permanent.”
“You’d have been down there for however long it took for somepony to notice the gaping hole in the floor,” Shining Armor said dryly. “Which would have been the first time they walked into the room. Still, I am glad Spike knew what was down there and how to handle it right away.”
“So am I,” Spliced told him, and shivered at the memories.
“In the meantime, you think you can seal it up again?” Spike asked.
“Absolutely. The right frequency, and…” Spliced zapped the crystal on the throne, and a moment later, the floor sealed up again. Once it was all clear, Shining Armor dropped his shield.
“So.” Spliced looked around. “How are things going with your co-ruler in Equestria?”
“He’s as big a jerk as ever,” Spike replied. “Fortunately, Shining Armor knows how to handle him.”
“It didn’t hurt that he knows what I can do if he misbehaves,” Shining Armor added. “Twilight told me about that thing at the Grand Galloping Gala a few years ago, so I let him know that if he goes too far, I’d be shutting him up in a room with Rarity for a few hours.”
“He made this noise like a rubber squeaky toy and promised to behave right away,” Spike added with a grin.
“Do I even want to know?” Spliced asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Does your world have an equivalent to the phrase ‘Tartarus hath no fury like a mare scorned’?” Shining Armor asked.
Spliced nodded.
“Blueblood experienced it firsthoof from Rarity that night,” Shining Armor said. “Princess Celestia showed Cadance and I the memories after we got back from Cadance’s diplomatic mission to Saddle Arabia, and we both laughed so hard… so did Princess Celestia, for that matter.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Spliced said. “And the more I hear about this prince, the less I want to ever cross paths with him.”
“You and everypony else,” Spike told her. “Back when Twilight was still a unicorn, I was up in Canterlot helping Princess Celestia with some things for a day. It also happened to be the day that Princess Luna met Blueblood for the first time, and I’ll never forget how she stormed into her sister’s study and started comparing him to Princess Platinum. ‘Stuck up, snooty little plothead’ was the nicest thing she had to say about him. The rest… well, let’s just say I’m not allowed to use that kind of language until I’m at least eighteen. And I swear it nearly set all the paperwork we were doing on fire.”
“If what Snöflinga said is true then the remark might not be far off,” Shining Armor said. “And if his story turns out to be accurate, something tells me the Hearth’s Warming plays are going to be a lot more interesting in the coming years.”
“If the country does not revolt first,” Spliced said dryly. “As somepony with some experience with revolutions, I can attest that having somepony that was well regarded to be in fact… well like they were, will not set easily with even the most unconcerned pony. And from what I heard about your pegasi population…”
“He did make it clear that Clover, Cookie and Pansy really were good ponies,” Spike pointed out. “And they’re the real heroes of the stories. If he’d tried to make them out to be bad, then we’d definitely wind up with something ugly happening. But since they’re not, hopefully that’ll keep things in check.” Spike frowned. “Although I doubt Rainbow Dash will ever be eager to play Hurricane again…”
“Oh yeah,” Shining Armor recalled. “You were all in the annual play that last Hearth’s Warming before Cadance and I got married. Wish I’d been there to see it.”
Spliced blinked. “And what role did they have you in?” she asked Spike. “Since, and no offense, I don’t recall Princess Celestia mentioning any dragons being involved in the event. And neither did Snöflinga.”
“I was the narrator,” Spike said, puffing his chest out. “Twilight was Clover, Applejack was Smart Cookie and Fluttershy was Private Pansy. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie were the other leaders.”
“Ah.” Spliced said, nodding her head before blinking. “If I recall correctly, Applejack has family all over the world, right?”
“Yes, why-Oh,” Shining Armor winced. “I don’t believe Snöflinga is lying but if all the farmers get fed up with us at once…”
“Are you saying that starvation is a real concern?” Spliced asked.
“No, but it will become a concern if they do halt their production as many ponies rely on them to operate on a predictive schedule, and sudden shortages will cause a lot of problems economically,” Shining Armor told her. “Besides, if they don’t sell what they’re producing, or do any other work for a fee, they can’t bring in money to buy other supplies that they need. And in the long run, that leads into a downward spiral that just makes things worse for everypony.”
Spliced gave him a curious glance, and he blushed. “Well, I did take an economics course in school, back before I joined the Guard. I wasn’t planning to make a career out of it, but I did want to pass, and some of it stuck with me.” He then pawed the ground. “And I’d be a lousy husband if I wasn’t able to help Cadance, so I did brush up on my economic lessons as well as take a few others so I’d be somewhat helpful when I gave her some advice after a long day.”
With a sigh, he shook his head. “I should get back to the other room; we asked Sunburst to take charge for a bit while we came to investigate things here, and he’s been dealing with the petitioners for long enough. And I’m not sure if leaving Snöflinga in there is a good thing, even if the negativity some of them are giving off is making him fill out.”
Spliced blinked in confusion at this and Shining said, “While Sunburst was teaching Snöflinga and looking over Flurry Heart, my little daughter was really intrigued by the windigo.” Shining then scratched the back of his head. “In retrospect, we should have seen it coming but all that unrestricted love being directed at him made Snöflinga queasy, so we had to ask Starlight to take Flurry Heart somewhere else to watch over her.”
“Does she really have much experience with foals?” Spliced asked.
“Not as much as I’d like, but she was the best option we could get on short notice,” Shining Armor said with a sigh. “And she has helped Sunburst watch over Flurry Heart before so she should be fine.” Shining then gave her an odd look. “How good are you with foals, by the way?”
“I got along well with the Crusaders when I met them the day before we came up here,” Spliced said. “And Flurry Heart didn’t seem to mind me being in the same room as her. Other than that, I haven’t really been around any, except in passing. And I mean that literally, I may have passed some on the tubes before I moved to the university and then later to my cottage, but that was it.”
“Worth a shot,” Shining Armor said, tapping his hooves. “Still, if anything, I could look over her if things don’t go well. Having a child is really something else, you know?”
“No I don’t,” Spliced said, looking thoughtful. “I never really thought of foals before; certainly not some of my own.”
“Do you think you ever would want one?” Spike asked her.
“I… I don’t know,” Spliced said, the question really surprising her. “I never put much stock in building relationships; I was never good at it when I was a foal myself and… I never really learned how to make one.” Then she blushed. “A relationship, that is, not foals - I know full well how they’re conceived and born.”
“Well, I’m sure Cadance could help you; while she is the alicorn of love, she’s also fully versed in every step of forming relationships, both romantic and platonic,” Shining Armor told her.
“I’ll be sure to ask her that once she return, although I am not sure if she likes me,” Spliced replied. “She seemed a little…” She thought for a moment, trying to figure out the right word. “Well, apprehensive, after she saw me working in the medical wing.”
“I’m sure you’re imagining it; I don’t think my wife has it in her heart to hate anyone,” Shining Armor replied. “Not even Sombra; sure, she wanted him to go away, but that’s because he was an enemy who’d enslaved the Crystal Ponies. And I know she’s still mad at Chrysalis for what she did at our wedding and later on, but I don’t think she outright hates her.”
“Just what did she do?” Spliced asked. “Princess Celestia mentioned something about not realizing she was there until she dropped her disguise and started causing a lot of trouble, but that’s about it.”
Shining Armor lowered his head. “She imprisoned Cadance somewhere in Canterlot and took her place,” he said gravely. “And she used her powers to keep me from figuring it out until it was almost too late - Twilight was the only one who figured out something was up, and once she found the real Cadance’s prison and brought her back, right before we could say our wedding vows, Chrysalis had no choice but to show herself for what she was. And she had an entire army in waiting too.”
“And let’s not forget the whole ‘capturing the entire royal family’ thing she did before Starlight, Trixie, Thorax and Discord came to our rescue and Thorax wound up taking over leadership of the hive,” Spike added. “It’s kind of dumb, actually, and I don’t think she thought it through all the way. See, she wanted to capture everypony and drain their love energy to feed her hive…”
“But a nation of hostages, all of them angry over being held captive, wouldn’t be producing very much love for her to drain in the first place,” Spliced concluded. “You’re right, she really didn’t think that through. If she’d been a windigo, it would have been the perfect plan. But for a changeling, it was idiotic.”
“Hopefully, you can help us capture her,” Shining said as he directed she and Spike out of the throne room. “Why don’t you come and show us what you have in mind?”
“Certainly,” Spliced said as she followed them, casting a look back at where the staircase had been and shuddering. For as long as she lived, she never wanted to see that place again.