//------------------------------// // Lesson Four: Making Plans // Story: History Lessons // by dungeonguy88 //------------------------------// Clover the Clever found herself nearly tripping over her hooves, as she moved to steady the teetering tower of tomes she had stacked up on her reading table over the course of the day. Letting out a sigh, as she managed to stabilize the great pile of research, she was only briefly distracted by the sight of her own breath forming in the cool air. Forcing down a small shiver, the Court Mage ducked her head briefly before steeling herself. Sparing one last glance towards the books to be sure they would stand, she sidled across the room towards the one that had nearly caused them to topple in the first place. The currently fuming princess that had slammed open the doors to the small library. Clover was somewhat relieved to find that Princess Platinum’s very apparent anger wasn’t directed towards herself, and that the Princess seemed well enough in control that she wasn’t ranting aloud. Even so, the agitated pacing and the noises of apparent frustration coming from her friend told Clover more than enough about how things had gone with the King. She very much hoped that Princess Platinum’s current lack of her usual crown wasn’t indicative of anything... Swallowing down her anxieties one more time, Clover took another step forward, raising a hoof in the hopes of getting her attention. She found herself almost deflating in relief, when she was interrupted by the sound of a hoof lightly knocking on the doors to the library. Both mares turning towards the still open doors, revealed the presence of one of the many guardponies from around the castle standing in the threshold, his hoof still hovering near the door. Clearing his throat briefly, the stallion stood up a bit straighter upon taking note of the princess “I beg your pardon, Your Highness. The King sent me to relay a message to-” “Do not speak to me about my Father!” Princess Platinum immediately snapped, leading to the guard clamping his mouth shut in an instant, even as he ducked his own head. Clover could sympathize with the stallion, as the angry comment wasn’t even directed towards her, and she could feel her own ears pinning flat. “I- Of course, Your Highness. I-I did not mean to-...” The unfortunate guard stammered for a few moments. Again clearing his throat, Clover suspected this was a far more nervous gesture than before, the guard gestured a hoof towards the Court Mage “It- It has been passed down that the Court Mage is now free to-” “Do you you think she does not know that already?” Princess Platinum demanded, closing the distance between herself and the shuffling stallion “Do you think her a fool that she could not have deduced that on her own?!” “N-No, Your Highness. I-” “And has no one yet sent for more firewood?!” The Unicorn Princess did not relent, bearing down upon the poor fellow, till she seemed to be looking upon him like an ant “Is it perhaps that we are meant to freeze to death while we’re here?” At this point, the stallion couldn’t even speak up, merely giving a vigorous shake of his head now. “Then perhaps you can do something that is actually useful and go retrieve some fire wood!” His mouth still buttoned shut, the guardpony started nodding his head even more vigorously at the order, even as he stood in place. “...Now!” She eventually shouted, quickly shocking the stallion into action. The sound of his hooves on stone echoing from down the hallway, Princess Platinum turned away with another huff. Not even looking now, she used her magic to close the doors behind her, as she trotted further into the library. Passing by Clover, the Court Mage briefly tried to speak up, to shake herself out of her own nervousness around the clearly upset princess. But the opportunity passed, as her princess trotted by. Clover watched with no small amount of concern, as her friend abruptly sat down on her haunches in front of the reading table. Letting out a heavy sigh, Platinum pressed her forehead against the edge of the table with her eyes closed, without further comment. Clover found herself once more shuffling her hooves, looking to the side, some part of her distressed at seeing the princess seeming so...tired. Sidling a bit closer, it seemed as if Princess Platinum was in her own world to the Court Mage; it almost made Clover wonder if she had fainted dead away from, perhaps from exhaustion. That was plausible, in her mind, given her travels and the time that must have been taken up with meeting the other representatives, Platinum must have gone without much sleep for a couple of days now. It was preferable to think this was merely a sign of fatigue on her princess’ part, instead of despair. Bringing a hoof to her mouth, she cleared her throat before trying to broach the matter “Erhm, Princess? Perhaps-...Perhaps I can escort you back to your chambers? I’m sure you must be-” She quickly found herself pinning her lips together, as Princess Platinum held up a hoof without looking towards her, implicitly calling for silence. Having achieved that, she lowered her hoof before letting out a slow sigh “I need a few moments, Clover...I need to think...” “You-...You might have an easier time of it if you had some rest...my lady.” Clover managed to persevere after only a moment’s hesitation. “Mmm...” She had to frown at that non-response from the royal pony. How poorly could the meeting with her father have gone? How much more had been piled on to the princess? How could she actually help? There was the real question, the one that truly stymied Clover; after her years of tutelage at the hooves of Starswirl the Bearded, mastering the ways of magic, how is it she still felt so unable to help anyone? Clover found herself resting on her own haunches, looking onward with concern, wondering just how much she had managed to cost the princess “Did you...lose your crown, my lady?” “What? No. What?” Princess Platinum blurted out, lifting up her head at the question, in apparent surprise. Even now, there was a lingering mark between her eyes and horn, where she’d been leaning her head against the reading table “No. Just figuratively I-” “You figuratively lost your crown? You’ve been dis-” Clover started to ask with growing worry. To which the princess gave a quick shake of her head “No, no. I mean, I threw-...lost it. I lost it literally...And didn’t bother retrieving it.” “So you haven’t been...disinherited? Or anything of the sort?” “Not at all...It was just a very vexing conversation is all.” Princess Platinum finished, rubbing at her temple with a hoof, seemingly trying to massage away a headache now. Pressing her lips together as Clover prepared to push on “How did it go, my lady?” “He...correctly surmised that the summit was unproductive. We argued...You are free to leave your tower now, if you haven’t already picked up on that.” Princess Platinum tiredly summarized for the court mage, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. “I...assume that’s not all? He took exception to your leaving for the summit?” “He couldn’t have cared less about the summit. All that mattered to him, is that I publicly opposed him. No, I embarrassed him! By calling into question his utterly mule-headed policy of doing nothing!” The gray-toned princess snapped again, before stomping to one side to apparently glare at nothing in particular. Once more Clover wasn’t sure if it was better to let her run her course or to try to calm the royal mare. She didn’t get an opportunity to mull it over for too long, as the princess turned back around and trotted over to the reading table. Clover was left a bit bemused, as she watched her princess once more sit down, before leaning her royal head against the edge of the table again. Unsure how to proceed, it felt like a full minute had passed before the young mage could muster up anything to say “It’s...going to leave a mark, if you keep pressing your forehead into the table like that.” This actually prompted the princess to sit back up, and turn her attention back towards Clover. She was briefly worried that she might have offended her, when Platinum gave an abrupt snort that quickly resolved into a clipped laugh. Chuckling now, the princess absently rubbed at the sore spot that she had indeed caused on her forehead with a hoof. “Feeling a bit better? Maybe- Maybe it’s not as bad as you think. We can-” Clover began hopefully. “No, no. It’s actually somewhat worse than all that, really.” Princess Platinum continued to chuckle, even as she somewhat blithely shot down her friend’s optimism. “Oh...” “But, I won’t complain about having something to laugh about later on...” The royal mare mused, a rueful smile on her face now. “Your fa-...The king gave you some manner of decree, didn’t he?” Clover soon deduced. Princess Platinum eventually nodded, before giving a wave of her hoof “Yes...Yes, as it turns out, it falls to me to salve his wounded ego and repair his reputation in the eyes of the other families.” “I’m sorry?” “Don’t be. I made my decisions and- Oh, you mean-...I need to go to the other families and tell them that I made a foolish choice and that I regret it immensely.” The princess clarified for the Court Mage. A moment later, she turned to the side, before muttering out of the side of her mouth “Although, I don’t...” “That doesn’t seem so bad, having to go speak with a few nobles.” Clover noted aloud. It took her a moment to realize that her princess was staring at her like she’d just said something very foolish. Once more overtaken by her sense of sheepishness, she shuffled on her hooves a bit “I mean, I suppose that could be time-consuming and...unpleasant?” “It’s not just going to be unpleasant, it’s-” Princess Platinum abruptly stopped herself, turning to the side before she could snap at Clover “I sometimes forget that you aren’t as used to the...politics that we’re dealing with here.” “I take it, that this is worse for us than it sounds.” The court mage broached. “Yes. Yes it is. You need to understand that there are many different factions we need to deal with, if we’re going to pressure my fath-...The king into taking action.” Princess Platinum began to explain. Rubbing at her forehead again, seemingly to help order her thoughts. “Who could-” “Off the cuff? The Jewels, the Bluebloods, the Gallants, the Vintages, the Glimmers...” The Royal unicorn quickly and easily began rattling off names of the noble lines she knew to have her father’s ear, punctuating each with a wave of her hoof. Stepping off to one side, she glanced upwards in brief consideration “And of course, we can’t neglect Lord Towering Shield, sitting on his great pile of sychophantical vipers. I could go on, but you get the point...” “How can there be this many sides though, my lady? The only way anypony lives, is if we all come together and-” “They’re thinking about what comes after the crisis. They are taking it for granted that this crisis will eventually be solved or pass on its own, and are thinking for what comes after it.” Platinum continued to explain, before giving a flip of her mane “And...they aren’t even entirely wrong for doing so.” “But-” “I know, Clover. We need to take action. And politics are getting in the way of us doing so.” The princess quickly forestalled with a raised hoof for the mage “But those same politics are what keeps everyone else from acting on their own selfish wants and desires. There’s a precarious status quo that few have an interest in upsetting.” “You make it sound as if we’re all trapped in some sort of great spiderweb.” Clover observed, still sporting a disbelieving look. Princess Platinum seemed to mull her words for a few moments, before giving a nod “That’s...an apt analogy. Because, like in a spider’s web, if one starts pulling on the threads too roughly, the whole thing might fall.” “He’s concerned your actions made him look weak...? Which could cause others to attempt to capitalize and destabilize things further?” Clover started to surmise, the gears in her head clearly chewing apart the information that she’d been given. Seeing the nod from her princess to continue, she continued “So, he’s making you shoulder responsibility to reestablish his authority...And because that makes this a visible loss for you, it’s less likely that the nobles will want to follow your lead?” Platinum nodded once more in agreement “Basically, yes. I either have to publicly drag our own reputations through the mud, to spare his...” “I know enough, to know that I don’t have much of a reputation with anyone beyond you, my lady.” Clover quickly pointed out, with her own self-deprecating smile. The royal unicorn gave another chuckle and a tilt of her head at that “I cannot deny that...But the alternative, is that I publicly rebuff my father’s orders again.” “Which could lead to others plotting against him.” “They’re already plotting against him, Clover. This will just lead them to thinking they can accelerate their plans.” Princess Platinum corrected, before visibly considering a thought “Some might even think that I’m already vying to overthrow him and try to toss themselves in my camp. Or try to co-opt such a motion for their own benefit.” Clover furrowed her brow at that, knowing well-enough to not ask if perhaps her princess was plotting such a thing. Shifting back to the main issue was an easy choice “What do think the worst case scenario could be from rebuffing your father?” “Civil war.” Came the very blunt response from the princess. “Oh...” “Yes. Oh...” “I suppose, we’ll be ruling out that choice then.” “You suppose correctly.” Princess Platinum agreed, her earlier energy withering away once more, as she finally finished imparting the depths of their situation. A few moments later, the royal unicorn had closed her eyes and was rubbing at the bridge of her nose with her hoof, exhaustion once more spilling over. “Well- I mean, is there some way that I can help? Perhaps I can speak to them on your behalf. It need not be you that-” “That would look even worse for all parties involved, Clover, precisely because you have no standing in the court.” Platinum interrupted without even looking up. Giving a wave of her hooves in the court mage’s direction, she continued “Assuming they weren’t insulted just by it being you that was sent...no offense. But it would not only look like the King can’t control the goings-on of his own court, but that I’m trying to toss you under the cart.” “But, you’re not! I-” “That’s how they will see it, Clover.” Princess Platinum cut her off before she could continue. Finally looking up, only to see the despondent look taking over Clover’s features, she let out a sigh “I do appreciate the sentiment. But this is the truth of how things work within the nobility. Don’t blame yourself over this.” “I just-...It seems as if I’m so powerless to help you, my lady. I’ve spent years studying so much, but all I’ve done is- there aren’t any spells I know that can help me fix this.” Clover finally admitted. Though after a few moments, she gave a tilt of her head “No spells that I would consider using, at least...” “Just let me worry about the politics of this situation, Clover. I have no doubt that your magical prowess will make itself useful in some way in the future.” “All I’ve done so far is tangle myself up in this giant web. And gotten you tangled in it, as well.” The court mage pointed out, the princess’ own exhaustion seeming infectious now. Clover found herself letting out a long sigh “We probably would be entirely better off, if all the blame had fallen on me. I could probably do more for you in exile, than I can here...” “Yes. You probably could.” “Uhh-Oh...I didn’t really expect you to agree with me.” Clover notes, a slightly hurt look crossing her face, as she turned towards her princess. Only to find the royal unicorn very obviously overtaken by some thought that she had to work her way through. “Princess Platinum?” “Hold a moment, Clover. I just...I need a moment.” “Uhmmm...” Clover hesitantly tapped her two front hooves together after a few moments “You’re not...thinking about exiling me, are you? I-I could understand if you felt you might be-” “What? No, no. That’s not it.” “Oh. Oh, of course. I never should have thought that you would-” “That is to say...You probably will still end up being exiled, if this works.” “...Oh.” Present day Canterlot Castle library... “Chrysalis! We would have words with you!” This abruptly shouted declaration, along with the sound of the library doors being thrown open, naturally proved to be quite the surprise for Twilight. Setting down her notes for a moment, as she furrowed her brow at this interruption, she found herself glancing towards the others. Unsurprisingly, Spike and young Hard Note likewise seemed surprised and curious, respectively. “Well, that was sooner than I expected.” Chrysalis noted in a mild tone, barely bothering to spare a glance towards the shout. “Is that...Princess Luna?” The purple princess hesitantly called out, as she stood up from her place nestled among the pillows and blankets, carefully setting down her notes as she did so. “Twilight?” The voice called back, confirming that it was in fact the Moon Princess at the lower level of the library. “Well, we certainly can’t pretend that we didn’t hear her now.” Chrysalis groused, even as she used a hoof to prop up her chin and glance to the side. Twilight quickly, or as quickly one reasonably could, stumbled her way through the pile of comforters, quilts, and cushions. Giving a small buffet of her wings to cover the last stretch, she approached the edge of the second level before peering down at the curious Princess Luna down below. “We’re all up here, Luna, What’s going on-” Twilight quickly had to abort her attempt at waving to her fellow Pony Princess, in favor of clearing some space. Barely refraining from letting out a sound of surprise, she blinked as Luna quickly set her hooves down on the second floor, having swiftly ascended with a quick beat of her wings. The Moon Princess gave a quick turn of her head towards Twilight, as if to greet her, before visibly having her attention caught by the lounging Changeling Queen in the room. Pursing her lips and furrowing her brow, Luna quickly stomped her way to the very apparently unconcerned Chrysalis. Twilight only had a scant moment or two to notice that Princess Luna was wearing her own, apparently custom-tailored, pajamas, in lieu of her usual regalia. And another moment to connect that one thought to a certain changeling’s own pajamas. Twilight certainly preferred the star-spangled pajamas, adorned with only slightly embellished constellation, to the pajamas Chrysalis was sporting. She didn’t get much further than that with her train-of-thought, as Luna came to a stop at the edge of the pile of blankets and pillows and shot an expectant look towards Chrysalis. “Luna...To what do we owe the pleasure?” Chrysalis finally asked, with a smirk. “Do not think to play the fool with us, Chrysalis! We know fully what deeds you have been getting up to this day, and we will not be having anymore of it.” Luna stated firmly, and rather loudly. The stomp of her hoof that she punctuated her words with set the fluff ball on her own nightcap dancing. Taking a moment to push away the soft little ball hanging in front of her eyes with her hoof, Luna refocused back upon the target of her ire. Just in time for Twilight to come trotting up, with the very apparent goal of mediating “Princess Luna? I’m not really sure what-” “Is it not obvious, Twilight? This one has absconded with the royal bedding! No doubt as some facet of an immature prank on her part!” Luna quickly pointed an accusing hoof towards the Changeling Queen, even as she turned to respond to her fellow Pony Princess. To which, Chrysalis gave a huff and an upturn of her nose “Oh, yes. Of course, I am once again the first suspect for anything that might go wrong in the castle. I know I make an easy target, Luna, but perhaps you should think about providing some evidence, if you’re going to accuse me of such things.” Still sitting in his own spot to the side, next to Hard Note, Spike very pointedly glanced around at the large pile of blankets, sheets, and pillows “Can’t imagine where she’d get the idea that you swiped her blankets...” Luna very apparently agreed with the little dragon’s assessment, as she gestured her own hoof towards the collected pile of coziness. “Chrysalis...” Twilight said in a tone that was as much a sigh as anything else; her tone was positively parental in its exasperation. Holding her own hoof up towards the changeling, she asked the obvious question “Did you take Princess Luna’s...royal bedding?” “And the royal pillows.” “Yes, and the royal pillows...” “Of course, Twilight. I should think that would be obvious.” Chrysalis replied with a smirk, and her own gesture at their surroundings. “Wha- Then how can you possibly feign innocence?! You readily admit that-” Luna began. “That I did indeed take your royal bedding, yes. I am definitely guilty of that.” Chrysalis easily agreed, before Luna could get up to speed once more. The Changeling Queen leaned forward a moment later “But it certainly wasn’t a part of any sort of prank, on my part...Your chambers were simply the closest ones available at the time.” Luna’s brow knitted at the changeling’s attempts at splitting hairs, before giving a shake of her head “No. We have had enough of your shenanigans this day, Chrysalis. Enough time has already been spent on tracking your water fowl.” There were several moments of silence shared by the rest of those in the room, at this last declaration from the Moon Princess. Twilight in particular was left confused for a moment, not entirely wiling to rule out the possibility of Chrysalis releasing wild birds into the castle as a distraction. It finally came down to Spike, as the dragonling held up a claw, with a visible look of understanding coming across his face “...Oh! She means she’s already wasted enough time on wild goose chases.” “Yes, that is what I just said...” Luna agreed in quieter tone, as she just now seemed to be wondering if she had gotten the phrase wrong. Turning back towards the changeling in the room, she re-focused back on the task at hoof “We have already wasted several hours traipsing about the castle trying to find this one. And we refuse to allow her to vex us any further with her shenanigans.” “Oh, please. Do you really believe that I’ve been hiding from you all morning, setting up various false leads and decoy trails, just to annoy you?” Chrysalis countered in what was surely as condescending a manner as she could manage. “I believe that exactly.” Luna quickly affirmed. “Yeah, I’m kinda thinkin’ that too now.” Spike agreed from her side, raising a claw to his chin in thought. Chrysalis pursed her lips at that, before shrugging “Alright, yes. That does sound like something I would do.” “Is that something you did, Chrysalis?” Twilight asked in a knowing tone. To which the changeling gave an easy nod, leading to her letting out a heavy sigh. Rubbing her forehead with her hoof for a moment, before gesturing back towards Chrysalis “Did you not just say that your stealing of Luna’s pillows and sheets was incidental? Why would you go through the effort of setting up false leads, if you hadn’t planned everything from the start?” “Well...just because I did it on a whim, doesn’t mean I didn’t think it would annoy her.” “This is the last straw, Chrysalis!” Luna gave another stomp of her hoof, apparently quite incensed by this indifferent response. Her wings fluttering with agitation now, Luna tilted her own head up, before leveling a hoof towards the changeling “If you can’t respect the sanctity of our personal quarters, then we will no longer be sleeping together!” It took a moment for Twilight to process that. “...Wait, what?” “Yeah?” Spike quickly followed up, with a curious glance between the two eldest royals “You two are sleeping together?” “No more! From hence forth, she will need to warm someone else’s bed when Celestia is busy!” Luna continued on, at what Twilight thought was a too loud volume. “Okay...” Twilight abruptly said, taking to the air, before holding her hooves up to forestall anything further being said. Seeing that she had gotten everyone’s attention “...before we go any further. Luna? When you say that you and Chrysalis have been sleeping together, you mean-” “Oh, Twilight. Is your mind once more wandering towards-” The Changeling Queen began to croon towards the young princess. “Nope! Not you, Chrysalis. Just- Just let Luna answer. I already know what kind of thing you’re probably going to say, Chrysalis. So...no.” Twilight quickly held up her hooves again, stopping Chrysalis from continuing, before turning back towards the slightly confused Luna expectantly. “Twilight, I’m not quite sure what is...” Luna began hesitantly, raising an eyebrow at Twilight’s seemingly strange behavior. A moment later, she seemed to visibly grasp what was being asked of her “Oh...I do believe I understand now. You’ve somehow inferred that we have been canoodling with Chrysalis here.” “C-canoodl- What? No!... I mean, kinda. What I mean is-” Twilight quickly started, very visibly trying to stay neutral about the topic they were discussing. “Nothing of the sort is happening, Twilight. Certainly not without any say-so from Celie.” Luna replied in such a casual manner, that the young princess very much was still struggling with the conversation. Luna, seemingly quite oblivious, gestured her hoof towards the amused changeling “Chrysalis here has merely been forcing herself into my bed as of late, on account of her sleeping longer hours during the day.” “Oh, that makes sense.” Spike chimed from the side, apparently satisfied with this explanation. “I-...I’m not sure that it does...” Twilight began, still somewhat put-off by Luna’s explanation. “Sure it does, Twilight.” The little dragon reaffirmed, as he stood up from his spot in the blanket pile “Don’t you remember how all the changelings were worried about living in the Crystal Empire?” “They were kind of worried about that for a number of reasons, Spike.” “Well, yeah. But I’m talking about them being worried about living in the cold. They were really worried about that, until you explained about the Crystal Heart, remember?” The young princess had to blink, as her Number One Assistant successfully jogged her memory. Like with most creatures, living with colder weather tended to require that changelings burn more of their energy, just to stay active. This was a somewhat greater problem for changelings, given that their normal methods of replenishing their energy reserves required that they harmfully feed on others. And even with a supply of ‘Love’ available, most changelings still felt more lethargic and drowsy when cold. “So, it’d only make sense that Chrysalis would be having sleepovers with Princess Luna, right? Princess Celestia can’t stay in bed with her all day, and she probably gets pretty chilly on her own.” Spike continued in a very genuinely casual tone. “Uhm...right. Of course, that makes perfect sense, Spike.” Twilight hesitantly agreed, glancing between Luna and Chrysalis, somewhat embarrassed now. Given how much of the research on changelings she’d spearheaded herself, she really felt like this explanation should have occurred to her. Granted, Chrysalis loved messing with Twilight so much, it was no wonder that the Changeling Queen didn’t bother to try to steer her towards that conclusion. “Uhm, excuse me?” “Hm?” Luna found herself glancing side-to-side in brief confusion, before finally tying the young voice to the same general vicinity of the light tugging on her pajamas. There was a small, strange colt staring up at her. “Uhm, hello?” The Moon Princess hesitantly replied, even as she kept herself from pulling back. Somehow in the midst of all of the recent ruckus, she had failed to notice the foal, nestled as he was amongst the pile of blankets. “Hi.” Hard Note very plainly greeted Luna, letting go of her pajama sleeve to briefly wave with his hoof. Looking up at the towering figure before him, he gave a tilt of his head “Are you really the Princess of the Night? And, like, the Moon?” “Yes?” Luna replied a moment later, her own head tilted in bemusement at this. “Oh! Princess Luna, I haven’t introduced you to Hard Note here.” Twilight proclaimed, as she awkwardly shuffled over between the two. Gesturing a hoof towards the brightly colored colt “He’s visiting Chrysalis here in the castle, as her...friend?” The purple princess had to furrow her own brow, and send a questioning look towards the Changeling Queen, wondering if that was the appropriate term. Chrysalis merely shrugged, in a rather unhelpful way. “Anyway...his father works here in the castle.” Twilight finished a moment later. To which Hard Note gave a vigorous nod, before looking back up to Luna “Yeah, he says that you’re supposed to be really nice. But that you’re also really shy, and that’s why we never see you.” Twilight found herself ducking her head briefly, in mild embarrassment for the foal’s blunt words. Likewise, Princess Luna seemed far more hesitant and unsure of herself, at the colt’s comments. It was a far cry from her forceful demeanor from before, when she merely thought she was dealing with an annoying Changeling Queen. Opening her mouth, she closed it again before finally giving a reply “I, uhm-...Yes, I- We suppose that is a fair assessment of things...Though, we are often busy through the night, so-” “Doing stuff with the Moon?” Hard Note chimed in excitedly. “...Among other things, yes.” Luna agreed with a nod after a moment. Clearing her throat, she took a moment to adjust her night cap with her hoof. “So, uhm, which one weighs more?” The colt followed-up, without missing a beat. “I’m sorry?” “You know? Which is heavier, the Sun or the Moon?” Hard Note quickly clarified. Holding up a hoof, he continued “Fine Vintage says that the Sun’s heavier, because it’s brighter. But that’s dumb. Being bright doesn’t make things heavy, does it?” Luna could only furrow her brow in bewilderment. “But Fine said that’s what his dad told him. And I was like...if the Sun’s heavier, how come both of them float up in the sky? They’d have to weigh the same, right?” He continued excitedly, his blue and pink mane bobbing up and down with his words. “Uhm, I’m not terribly sure that-” The dark alicorn began, pursing her lips as she tried to process the questions she was being peppered with. “But then, Miss Keen said that Fine was right, and that the Sun is heavier. So, then I asked how she knows that and she said because she’s the teacher. And then I was like...that’s not a real answer!” Hard Note punctuated the last declaration with a stomp of his little hoof and a very determined look on his face. After a few seconds of silence on the part of the room, it was Chrysalis that gave a wave of her hoof “Well...he’s not wrong.” “Right?” Hard Note perked up at that, with a pleased look for the Changeling Queen. Which was quickly replaced with a more dour look, as he looked back down at his hooves “Anyway, that’s how I got detention...” Princess Luna was very unsure about what had changed with children in the last millennium, but she resolved to look into the issue. “Oh...so, is the Sun heavier than the Moon?” The colt eventually asked again, having remembered his original question. Luna furrowed her brow at this, both trying to think of an answer to the question and cautious of the foal going off on another strange tangent “I...I’m honestly not certain about that, young Hard Note. We...that is, my sister and I, have never really spoken of such things before.” “Oh...Okay then.” Hard Note very easily replied. “Wait.” Spike said from the side, standing up to gesture a claw towards Hard Note “After all that, you’re fine with just an...’I’m not sure’ for an answer?” “Well, yeah.” Hard Note replied, his own eyebrow perking upward at the question the drake was posing. The colt gave a tilt of his head at this “I mean, if the Moon Princess doesn’t know if the Moon weighs more than the Sun or not, then Ms. Keen definitely doesn’t know for sure.” “Huh...good point.” Spike conceded after a moment of thought. “Is it though?” Twilight had to ask, her own brow furrowed and feeling quite thoroughly puzzled by all of this. “Well, not that this hasn’t been fun, but...” Chrysalis started, briefly drawing the attention of the others. “Oh, oh! I almost forgot!” Hard Note exclaimed, before again looking up to Luna once more “You do stuff with stars too, right?” Getting a bit used to the foal’s abrupt manner now, Luna settled for giving a simple nod at the question. “You can pester her with questions later, Hard Note.” Chrysalis declared a moment later, before the young colt could jump into another series of questions. “I- We really aren’t bothered by it. We’re just not so very used to-” Luna began, glancing up towards the now slightly irate changeling still sitting in the pile of pillows. “I’m sure it’s not a bother for you.” Chrysalis countered before the dark princess could finish “But it’s something of a bother for us. You’re interrupting the story.” Hard Note was the first one to react to that, turning towards the Changeling Queen, before a look of recollection crossed his face “Oh, right! I’d almost forgotten about that too.” The colt failed to note the look of displeasure that briefly flitted across Chrysalis’ own face at that nonchalant admission. For Princess Luna’s part, she was too thrown by the accusatory tone coming from the changeling to notice, before ducking her head in embarrassment “O-oh...I wasn’t aware that I was-” “Chrysalis!” Twilight snapped in an admonishing tone for the changeling “The only reason Princess Luna is even here, is because you stole her sheets and pillows.” “It’s only stealing, if I don’t return them.” Chrysalis easily replied, before turning her gaze back towards the Moon Princess in their midst. A moment later, her horn lit up with a dull green light, with a matching aura lining a particular portion of the collected sheets and cushions. With a light flick of her horn a large star-spangled length of blanket rose up out of the pile. Right out from underneath Twilight, leading to an awkward shuffle of hooves from the youngest royal, before she gave a quick flap of her wings. Ignoring the annoyed look from the purple princess, Chrysalis quickly used her magic to retrieve two fairly large pillows. A few moments later, she dropped the sought after prizes in front of the mildly surprised Princess Luna “There...Now you can be on your way, and we can get back to the story I was telling.” There was a brief look of hurt that crossed Luna’s face, as she watched her bedding plop down in front of her hooves. She quickly recomposed herself and gave a firm nod “I-...Very well. It seems that we have-...achieved the goal of our search. We can now be on our way...” “Wait, does she really have to go?” Hard Note quickly asked, looking up towards Chrysalis and Twilight hopefully “Can’t Princess Luna just stay and listen to the story with us?” Luna couldn’t help but let her ears perk up ever so slightly at this “I wouldn’t wish to intrude. And I’m not even certain what story it is that Chrysalis is telling and-” “It’s about Princess Platinum!” Hard Note quickly supplied with a grin and a nod of his head. After a moment’s thought, he pointed a hoof towards Twilight “It’s all in this book that Miss Twilight was having trouble reading!” “Twilight was having trouble reading a book?” Luna blurted out, utterly dumbfounded by the notion. “I know, right?” Spike quickly chimed in from the side, before Twilight could clarify the matter. “Spike, it’s not that I’m having- I can read the book, it’s just that I’m...having a bit of trouble comprehending what’s written in it.” Twilight eventually finished, turning towards Luna as she tried to explain. Princess Luna could only sport an uncertain look at this, turning towards Spike once more for explanation. “The book’s in Draconic.” The drake casually replied “Oh. Well, that explains it then.” Luna agreed with an easy nod at the simple explanation. She only paused for a moment as a thought visibly occurred to her, as she turned towards Chrysalis “And you’re reading this book aloud for Twilight, or perhaps-...” The Changeling Queen merely stared back unhappily. Perhaps not being able to really read the social situation, being a young foal, Hard Note excitedly waved to get the Moon Princess’ attention again “Uhm, it’s- Chrysalis already knows the story.” “Oh? Is that so?” Luna asked with a slight lift of her eyebrow. “Uh-huh!” The colt added with an excited nod, before gesturing a hoof towards Chrysalis “She was just about to get past all the boring parts too! Right, Miss Chrysalis?” Chrysalis stared back at the colt, sparing a brief glance for the awkward Lunar Princess at his side, clearly considering whether or not to let this latest arrival join them. Judging by the sour look on her face, her preference was clear. She was only broken from her ruminating, when Twilight sidled up closer and gave the changeling a nudge with her hoof and an imploring look “Chrysalis...” “What?” The changeling tersely and quietly replied, while sparing a glance for Twilight. Now it was Twilight’s turn to sport a sour look, leaning in as she countered Chrysalis’ annoyance with disapproval “We’ve talked about this...It’d be a nice thing to do.” Chrysalis responded with nothing more than a wry look at that. “But, why not?” Twilight asked in a slightly louder tone at the non-verbal repsonse, and with a small gesture back towards the idle Princess Luna “I thought you two were getting along better?” The Changeling Queen pursed her lip at that, not entirely denying it, but not giving any ground. Twilight had to frown at that, before furrowing her brow briefly in thought. Sparing a brief glance for Hard Note, she looked back to Chrysalis with a tilt of her head “...You’re not jealous about Hard Note paying more attention to-” “Fine.” Chrysalis abruptly declared, before turning towards Luna and jabbing a hoof in her direction “You can stay and listen.” “I- That shouldn’t be a problem.” Luna replied a moment later, somewhat put off by the changeling’s tone. Though she didn’t get much of an opportunity to take issue with it, as her attention was once more drawn by the colt at her side’s excitement. “Cool! You can sit here if you want, Miss Luna.” Hard Note happily exclaimed, as he gestured to what seemed to be a particularly comfy spot among the pillows and blankets. He quickly plopped himself down excitedly, before looking back towards Princess Luna “And don’t worry. I already know most of the story, so if you don’t know what’s going on, you can just ask me!” “Well, that’s...very generous of you. We might just take you up on your-” “Listening means being quiet and paying attention. Not interrupting me with a bunch of questions.” Chrysalis interrupted, evidently still fairly vexed by this turn of events. “But, Princess Twilight gets to keep interrupting the story with all of her questions!” Hard Note pointed out in a plaintive and pitiful tone, even as he pointed to the youngest royal of the group. “Well, yeah. But Chrysalis keeps browbeating Twilight whenever she tries to ask a question anyway, so I don’t think that counts.” Spike quickly chimed up from the side, before the purple princess could try to defend herself. “...She’s what-beating Princess Twilight?” The colt asked the young dragon, a perplexed look on his face. “Browbeating. It’s when someone bullies someone else with words.” Spike helpfully explained. “Oh, for the- Just give her the notes Twilight’s been taking!” Chrysalis snapped at the small drake, jabbing a hoof in Twilight’s direction. Or more specifically, in the direction of the small pile of scrolls that Twilight had already filled with her own musings, questions, and points of interest in regard to the tale being told. “Wait, what?!” The young princess blurted, taken off-guard by this sudden demand, but still reflexively using her magic to draw her notes closer. “Hey, yeah! Princess Twilight’s been writing down all kinds of stuff since she got here!” Hard Note excitedly agreed, happy at the idea of a solution for this issue. “Huh. That could work.” Spike agreed with a tilt of his head, after a moment’s consideration. Taking a sip of his hot chocolate, he gave another nod at that “Nobody takes more thorough notes than Twilight...Apart from yours truly.” “This truly feels like more fuss is being made than-” Luna began, glancing between the others with a frown. “Spike! I can’t just show someone my notes! Not right away, at least!” Twilight exclaimed, even as she started lifting her notes up in the air with her magic. Unfurling one scroll after another and glancing between each of her scrawlings, she leaned towards the young dragon “You know how long it takes to get my notes properly organized...” “Oh, this again.” Spike replied in a dry tone and a roll of his eyes. “Yes, this again!” Twilight snapped back, even as she hid her collected notes to one side with her magic. Frowning, she spared an apologetic glance for Luna, before turning back towards Spike “You remember what happened the last time I shared my notes too soon...” “Uhm...what?” The drake eventually replied, with a lift of his eyebrow. “They were a complete mess!” Twilight abruptly shouted, waving her hooves around to punctuate her outburst. Taking to the air without thinking, she gestured her forehooves from one side to the other as she continued “Nothing was alphabetized! There were no citations! My grammar was awful! There was no index! And there were so many snippets penned into the margins!” “...Uh-huh.” Spike’s eyebrow climbing even higher as he looked up at his friend. “Spike! If Princess Luna tries to read these notes now, she’ll probably end up even more confused than when she started!” “I don’t think that’s remotely possible.” Chrysalis interrupted in a bored tone, her own green magical aura quickly scooping up Twilight’s notes. “Hey!” Twilight exclaimed, futilely reaching a hoof towards her stolen writings. Before she could do anything about it, the Changeling Queen’s magic deposited them at the confused Luna’s hooves. “There. Problem solved.” Chrysalis declared with a great deal of finality in her voice. “Chrysalis! You can’t just-” The affronted Twilight began. “Enough!” “If you would just give me a few minutes, I could-” “No.” “If I just organized-” “Sit down, and let me tell the story!” “But I could-” “Now! Or I’m taking back that book I gave you.” Twilight’s mouth snapped shut at that, a bit of color leaving her face, as she was clearly shocked by the threat being leveled against her. Overcoming her surprise, she furrowed her brow as she looked up at the changeling. “You wouldn’t.” “You absolutely know that I would.” The purple princess held her ground for a few seconds, before her ears drooped. The rest of her soon followed suit, as she bowed her head and let out a long sigh. Turning a morose look towards the still very confused Princess Luna, she spoke up in an imploring tone “Please, just...just don’t judge me too harshly by what you see in there, Princess Luna.” The Moon Princess stared back for several seconds, quite unsure as to whether this was peculiar new social norm or if she was just surrounded by weirdos. Eventually, she settled for clearing her throat and picking up the dropped notes in her own magic “I-We wouldn’t dream of judging you so harshly over something like this, Twilight.” “Thank you...Try to ignore all the scribbles and lack of punctuation when-” “Last warning.” Chrysalis flatly interrupted Twilight, before she could go to far. Twilight again snapped her lips shut, though this time she followed it up by settling down among the cushions again. After a moment’s thought, her purple aura quickly lit-up around the aforementioned tome and brought it over to her side. A few moments later, Spike leaned over towards Hard Note and gave the colt a tap to get his attention. “See? Browbeating.” “Now...if there are no more interruptions?” Chrysalis finally asked, glancing at all those present, with her gaze lingering on Luna until she too eventually settled in her own spot. Giving a nod, as she found that she once more had everyone’s attention on her “I’m going to be skipping ahead a bit...” “There is actually one thing we would like to say.” Luna chimed from her spot in the blanket pile, holding up a hoof to garner the changeling’s attention. “...What?” Chrysalis asked through clenched teeth. “We just wanted to say that we approve of the pajamas that sister had made for you. They are quite lovely.” Luna replied with a gesture of her royal hoof towards the changeling’s sleepwear. “...They are quite nice, yes.” Fifteen hundred years ago... “Ah, Princess Platinum. You don’t know how honored we were to find out you would be gracing our humble home with your royal presence.” That very royal pony arched one of her finely manicured eyebrows ever upwards, as she surveyed the supposedly humble home she was visiting. Carefully cobbled paths, smoothly carved stone walls with detailed crenellations along the edge of the roof, tall towers, and servants and statuary in equal measure. The only thing truly humble about the estate, were the normally well-tended hedges and colorful flower bushes. The frigid temperatures had ensured that no amount of care could leave them as anything more than barren twigs jutting out of the soil. She was fairly sure that she had even spotted a few bite marks on some of the branches, presumably from servants sneaking a snack during these lean times. Lazily turning her gaze back to her host, Platinum made a point of visibly slapping on a pleasing, yet obviously fake, smile for her host. Paying no mind to the clank and rattled of the armored unicorn trailing behind her, she cantered across the cobblestones towards the main entrance to the manor and the waiting host. “Lord Towering Shield...I can’t begin to tell you just how much of a genuine pleasure it is to be visiting you here in your lovely home.” She called back in a saccharine for the patriarch of the noble estate. She had no doubt I her mind that Lord Shield was in anyway unaware of her opinion of the older stallion. He was no doubt as experienced in the backbiting and false, nearly sarcastic pleasantries that aristocrats loved to exchange in. He especially was a recurring target for such ‘niceties’ being the especially influential stallion that he was. In fact, it was a recurring joke among his detractors that his name, Towering Shield, was more in reference to his condescending to everypony else, rather than being a comment on his height. Indeed, Towering Shield had always had a spare frame and a reedy voice; the lord of the Shield family has never been possessed of the stature and muscle that so many found attractive. He was a thin, short stallion, whose dull blue mane and tail had always been more wispy than anything. ’Of course, most of them rarely had the spine to make such jokes to his face...’ For all that he would never be a force on the battlefield, Towering Shield was a calculating and shrewd player in the King’s court and everypony knew it. “I daresay the lovely princess here speaks truly...the idea that she could spare a genuinely kind word for anypony is laughable.” And then there was the Lord of the house’s son, Silver Shield. A well-built, athletic young stallion with bravery and good looks to spare, Silver Shield would be the apple of any noble’s eye...if he could ever learn when to shut his mouth. As was only appropriate, she gave a very polite, very light chuckle at the younger stallion’s words, before waving them away with her hoof “Oh, sweet Silver Shield. I do believe that you’ll find that the only time I run out of nice things to say is when you are around.” The younger stallion leaned back at the retort, furrowing his brow and opening and closing his mouth a couple of times “I- Well perhaps you should-...go read a book to learn some more nice words to-” He also wasn’t much for the wordplay and verbal sparring that these interactions usually called for. Thankfully, for everypony present, he was cut-off from his rambling attempt at a reply, when his father set a hoof to his son’s chest. “Son. Surely we are not such rude hosts that we’re to leave our guest out here in this frigid weather. Be a gentlecolt and show our Princess Platinum the door.” Towering Shield told his son, his calm, easy smile never wavering as he kept his gaze on his royal guest. Silver Shield frowned, letting his ears drop slightly, as he realized that he’d already lost this exchange of words “...Of course, Father.” “Excellent. No point in celebrating such a wondrous occasion out her in the cold.” Towering Shield nodded, even as he gestured for Princess Platinum to join him. Giving a small sigh, Silver Shield shuffled his hooves to the side, before pointing towards the large double-doors leading into the manor “There’s the door.” There were several seconds wherein both Towering Shield and Princess Platinum stared at the younger stallion in disbelief. Even Princess Platinum’s knightly escort was tipping their head in confusion at this. “...What? Father, you said to-” “Open the doors for Princess Platinum, and then welcome her into our home.” Towering Shield patiently clarified for his son. “Oh. Oh, right...” If anything, Silver Shield’s ears seemed to drop even further, as he realized his blunder. All the same, he quickly cantered to one side of the entrance to the large home, before using his own magic to open the doors for his Father and Princess Platinum. “Such a gentlecolt...” Platinum noted with a light chuckle, as she passed the embarrassed Silver Shield. Towering Shield spared only a glance at the comment before giving a light wave of his hoof “Yes, well, he tries.” Silver Shield let out another sigh, and was almost ready to follow them in, when he had to stop short. He was left furrowing his brow in momentary annoyance, as the Silver Knight escorting Princess Platinum trotted in ahead of him. Finally free of anymore guests to welcome into his own home, he followed with a quiet huff. “Now, your Highness, let me take your cloak.” Towering Shield said in a kindly manner, as he deftly used his own magic to collect the frilled, though damp, cloak sitting across the princess’ back. Watching as the cloak floated away, she gave a tilt of her head to the Lord of the house “Ah, I now see where your son gets his charms.” “Indeed, indeed.” The older stallion chuckled, failing to notice the annoyed look coming from his son, even as he deposited the outerwear with one of his waiting servants. Cantering forward now, he gestured for Platinum to join him in heading down a hallway “Let us go find somewhere more comfortable to chat, now that we’re indoors. If it would please, your Highness?” “I do think it would, Lord Shield.” Princess Platinum responded with the appropriate nod and smile at the invitation, as she trotted after him. She only stopped, upon noticing the hard-to-miss sound of her armored escort following after. Clearing her throat, she sent a dry look to the knight that was trying to trail after her “I do believe I can take it from here. Feel free to take a few moments rest, while I speak with Lord Towering Shield.” Pausing briefly, and clearly expecting this conversation to be trouble, the knight visibly swallowed before responding “Begging your pardon, your Highness. My orders were not to let you out of my sight.” “Oh, nonsense. There is scarcely a safer place in all the lands, than right at my side, good sir.” Lord Towering Shield proclaimed with a wave of his hoof. “All the same, your Lordship, I can’t simply-” “I will not have you insulting our host like this. After Lord Towering Shield has welcomed me into his home, I won’t shame him by traipsing around with an armed bodyguard.” Princess Platinum sharply rebuked the unhappy knight, before he could continue. “Now, now. There’s no need for such harshness.” Towering Shield said, as he approached the knight. Waving over one of the nearby servant, he looked back towards the knight “Here, let me send for something warm for you to drink, while you wait. You can warm yourself up, while we waste our time on pleasantries.” Glancing, between the two, his brow furrowed in worry, the knight briefly looked back towards the idle Silver Shield. All he got from him was an indifferent shrug at his plight. Knowing how troublesome it could be to hold is ground now, he bowed his head at the offer “That is very kind of you, Lord Towering Shield. I shall wait out here, in case there is any need for me.” “Excellent, my lad. We’ll try not to leave you waiting out here for too long.” Lord Shield told the knight in a warm tone, that just barely avoided coming off as patronizing. Sparing a few quiet words for the servant he waved over, presumably to secure the knight his warm beverage, he quickly set down one of the halls without a moment’s hesitation “Now, let us be off to find somewhere a bit more private to chat, your Highness.” “It would be a pleasure, Lord Shield.” Princess Platinum agreed with a light nod, as she trotted after the older stallion, paying little mind as Silver Shield trailed behind them both. In short order, they arrived at what seemed to be the threshold of a well-furnished parlor, with a small fire happily crackling away in the fireplace. Holding the door open for Princess Platinum, Towering Shield gave a courteous nod to her as she entered the room, only pausing a moment longer to wave his son in after her. “Now, before we start, is there anything you would like for me to send for, your Highness? Perhaps a light snack? Or a drink to settle the nerves?” Towering Shield asked of the princess, even as he spared a brief look of disapproval, when he noticed his son sitting down before anypony else. “No. No, I don’t think we need to waste anymore of our efforts on false pleasantries...” Princess Platinum noted, as she lazily turned her gaze back towards the elder stallion. Her earlier pleasant demeanor dropping away with startling quickness, she stared back in a dull, impersonal fashion “I’d sooner have us focus on the issue of how we’re to overthrow my father.” Likewise, Towering Shield’s warm demeanor melted away, leaving behind a sour and openly scrutinizing gaze on lord’s countenance. “On to business then.”