Year 1024 Alternia Regency AKA 24th Year of the Equestrian Triumvirate (ET) or 1024 Common Era, Her Majesty’s Airship (HMA) Voulge - Buzz class Cruiser
Since the Eastern Sea Crisis, Equestria had been expanding the Canterlot airship docks. Now, huge gantries stuck out from the side of the mountain, with hundreds of different airships—civilian and military—sitting atop them, secured by heavy ballast weights and ropes to their parking spots.
One of these vessels was the Buzz class cruiser, Her Majesties’ Airship (HMA) Voulge. With an aerodynamic gondola and a sleek, fish-shaped balloon, the ship looked a bit like a shark, with four large propellor engines strapped to the rear of its gondola.
Yet, the Voulge was clearly a battered shark. The front of the warship’s steel gondola gave way to a patchwork of wooden planking that covered where the bridge would have been. The guns on two of the ship’s six main turrets were mangled and twisted, with the turrets themselves being ripped apart, it’s armored steel torn open to reveal blackened interior. The rigid balloon that kept the airship afloat was patched in many places.
The ponies, changelings, griffons, hippogriffs, a few yaks and kirin that filed out of the ship over the gantry and onto solid ground were dead-eyed, and exhausted. Most were dragging their land bags over the ground, as if they didn’t notice.
The last figure off the ship turned around and gave the warship a forlorn gaze. She was a tall changeling queen wearing shoes of silver. A silver tiara studded with emeralds adorned her brow, whilst a pearl necklace held up her bun of blue hair. On her chest, she wore a wide, wing-patterned peytral that covered her shoulders and chest. Similar emeralds also gleamed in insets on the peytral.
“Captain.”
The changeling turned around and saluted a griffon. He wore a medal-studded jacket over his white and red plumage.
“Admiral Wandering Skies,” she glanced over his shoulder, and noticed that he didn’t have any guards with him—which was unusual.
“At ease, Captain. We need to talk.” He narrowed his eyes. “In private.”
Frozen in her seat, Mirage stared at the admiral, “You’re what?”
“I’m sorry, Captain, but we’re going to relegate you to administrative duties before standing you down, pending further evaluation,” said Wandering Skies, not unkindly, but in a firm tone.
“Sir—” Mirage bit her lip and putting one hand over her chest, she took a deep breath. “If I could have handled the hunt for the SS Shear better I would have, but we—”
“Princess, there was no other way for you to handle that operation better after it went sideways.” The griffon shook his head. “I’ve actually put in a commendation for you to be awarded a medal for rescuing a mission that had gone so wrong.”
The queen blinked and frowned. “Then why put me on desk duty and stand me down?”
“First, the after-action debriefing and psyche evals we conducted at Rainbow Falls aerodrome concerned us, as well as reports from your counsellor, Wisteria. We realized you and your crew are long overdue for leave and that to put it bluntly, you’re all exhausted.”
“How did you—right, I did give her permission to pass those reports onto to high command when absolutely necessary.” Mirage sighed. “Well, I can’t deny that desk duty and some leave would be very much appreciated.”
“That’s unfortunately, not the only reason.” Wandering Skies groaned and met Mirage’s eyes. “I’m sorry, but there’s no other way to say this. We believe you are in the early stages of developing PTSD. That possibility and your long overdue leave is why we are standing you down.”
Mirage stared at Wandering Skies. “What?”
“Wisteria is flying to Canterlot as we speak and will meet you later to explain why we reached that conclusion and your next steps forward. Your marefriend, Captain Furtiva, is also on her way so you can speak to her about this.” The admiral pursed his lips, looking at the silent, wide-eyed queen. “Take your time, Captain. If you have any questions, my office is always open.”
The princess took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, sir. My family won’t be informed right?”
Wandering Skies frowned. “Under military regulations, we need to inform family members of serving members if they develop dangerous mental conditions whilst on service.”
Mirage stood up and shook her head. “You won’t.”
“I’m sorry?” asked the admiral.
“I’m using my authority as a Princess of Equestria to file this as royal business. Yes, I know I will be scrutinized later, but I promise you, I will tell my parents myself,” snapped Mirage.
“We have no guarantee that you will,” said Wandering Skies evenly.
“Then give me two months. I just—I just need to get my life back in order before I drop this on them.” She looked at her commanding officer, desperate. “Please sir.”
The admiral sighed. “Two months it is.”
Mirage sighed in relief. “Thank you, sir.
Later that night…
The formerly busy Canterlot airship docks were now empty, but for one figure approaching the Voulge. The figure was an equine heavy jacket; hood drawn over her head, so that only her crooked horn showed. It was a very cold night after all. Trotting up the gangway, she gingerly opened the reinforced door and entered the vessel.
Passing machine-gun emplacements and quickfire gun turrets, she walked toward the front of the ship, up to the door of the captain’s cabin, and knocked.
The door swung open, Mirage, with her tiara of, regarded the figure and smiled.
“Kyria?” Mirage asked.
“Who else?”
The figure yanked off her coat to reveal a much shorter changeling queen with purple hair. She wore silver regalia of the same kind as the larger changeling.
Chuckling, the pair embraced briefly, before Mirage stepped back and welcomed Kyria into her cabin.
“Nice digs sis,” said Kyria, looking around the room. It was cramped, but cozy, and it had its own bed, desk, and even washroom and shower off to the side. She spied a photo in a frame bolted to the wall and trotted up to it.
“Thank you. Being the captain has its perks. It’s been busy though. Bloody griffon pirates are always at it,” muttered Mirage.
Kyria nodded. “Oh… I remember that trip. You just made… Lieutenant?” she asked, gesturing to the photo.
“Mm hmm. How could I forget! After all, about a week after we arrived in the Crystal Empire, Mom got called away when Godmom - uh, I mean Godmother Tethys - and Novo got into a disagreement with the Flim Flam corporation,” said Mirage grumpily.
“Oh? I recall something where they were violating Mount Aris’s waters with some kind of oil-drilling thing and when they tried to do it all sneaky like, Queen Novo and Empress Tethys evicted them. What happened after that, and why was Empress Godmom involved anyway? It wasn’t in Aquestrian waters,” asked Kyria.
Mirage pursed her lips. “It goes back to when and why the Hippogriffs and Aquestrians signed their alliance and why. So, Mount Aris is isolated in the Eastern Sea, and so by necessity, they tried to get on Empress Tethys’s good side by offering to help take in some pollution-stricken seaponies. Tethys accepted the free medical care, but nobody really accounted for the Storm King.”
“Oh, him,” muttered Kyria with a grim look.
“Yeah, he’d been raiding Mount Aris, but he decided to launch a direct attack, right when mom and dad were visiting Mount Aris, probably because he wanted to capture mom—who was pregnant with me at the time—but also because the Hippogriffs had just discovered this strange pearl that could transform them into seaponies.”
Kyria blinked as a look of realization came over her face. “Ohhh but when his armada attacked, the hippogriffs defended the seaponies, and that’s why Tethys intervened.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that. She was already on her way with Aunt Luna to visit Alternia, and because Tethys wanted to discuss the pearl with Novo. Fizzlepop Berrytwist, who defected from the Storm King, found them en route and let them know about the attack. This led Tethys to race to Mount Aris and join in the defense.” Mirage sighed. “While that pearl was lost, and the Storm King did escape to cause more trouble, Novo and Tethys found common ground on that day and signed an alliance, with the agreement to share and protect the waters directly around Mount Aris.” Mirage chuckled. “And I got Empress Tethys as one of my many godmothers after she helped stabilize mom from going into premature labour.”
Kyria snorted. “She’s the weirdest of your godmothers isn’t she?”
“You don’t have to remind me! She’s very much on the tough love and she’s damn proud. Sometimes she mentions she’s going to eat me and I can’t tell if she’s lying or not.” Mirage snorted. “Hell, there’s still some bad blood between her and a few of our aunts. But well, I think that Tethys is making her amends. I mean, she’s healed Aunt Luna, Dad, cousin Lamia, and then shared kelpie medical discoveries with Equestria.”
“That is true.” Kyria coughed. “Anyway, I don’t think you asked me to sneak onto your ship to discuss the past, Mirage.”
“Okay... maybe a little.” Mirage took a deep breath and met her sister's eye. “How are mom and dad?”
Kyria sighed. “They miss you. Mom more than dad. I think it’s because dad gets it as a former soldier. Mom... you know how mom really wants her family to stay close.”
“After the free fall that her family took? Oh I completely understand,” said Mirage. She pursed her lips. “That’s... well it’s related to what I want to talk to you about. You know how Starlight—when she was crazy bad—tried to do a time spell to break up the Elements of Harmony, right?”
“Uh huh. Starlight... really hates to talk about that. Though, I swear some of it is because of how embarrassing it was for her to go a full year without magic,” said Kyria.
“Thank Equestria that Celestia had put homing beacons and warning spells on Starswirl’s old scrolls. If she hadn’t teleported in and cast a counterspell… can you imagine if she managed to screw with the timelines?” asked Mirage.
Kyria shuddered. “I don’t want to. But get to the point, Mirage.”
“Okay. Well, mom's birthday is coming up in a few months and the whole family—all of our aunts, their children, our cousins—they’ll be there.”
“Even Retariusil and her wife, Dogess Sebastiana?” asked Kyria.
“Even them! Anyway, I was thinking... we can create a time-observation spell.”
Kyria frowned. “Can you elaborate?”
Mirage nodded. “I want our family to see our grandmother. Actually see her.”
The younger changeling princess frowned. “Weren’t we just talking about messing with the timeline?”
“Hence, a time-observation spell. A spell that can let us go back in time to see as intransient, invisible, visitors, to our grandmother's era. We can see them, we can hear them, but we won't affect the timeline!” exclaimed Mirage.
“Is that even possible?” asked Kyria.
“I’ve been researching this for... well, a while, and have been corresponding with Moondancer, Sunset Shimmer, and Sunburst. I even asked Starswirl for advice—”Mirage chuckled “—He actually was the most enthusiastic about the project. Which I get, but seriously... hear a changeling out.”
“And you want me to ask Starlight if she knows anything about time travel, how she got that spell in the first place, and how did she figure out how to activate it?” asked Kyria.
“Why aren’t you a smart little sister!”
Kyria frowned, lips pursed in thought. “But... but why Mirage? Why this... I mean... I get why. Mother... Aunt Chrysalis, Aunt Simulacris and Aunt Belladonna... they all really miss Grandmother. But this seems... extreme.”
Mirage's smile faded. “You've... you've had a lot more time with mom than I ever had, Kyria. Mom got hit with a succession of crises shortly after I was born. You remember when the politician Cozy Glow tried to seize power, and when Tirek tried to steal all of Equestria’s magic. While mom and our aunts put a stop to both quickly enough, there was a lot of reconstruction work.”
Mirage took a deep breath. “My point is, and I bet you've seen this happen quite frequently. Mom loves us, and spends all the free time she has with us, but she always works for Equestria. I’ve lost count of how many family vacations have been interrupted, and her own personal retreats never running their course. She’s always working, spending time with dad, or teaching us. It’s gotten better with Aunt Celestia and Luna taking more duties, but she... she’s given so much to Equestria and to us... that I just want to give her something invaluable back.”
Kyria nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to Starlight.”
Mirage blinked. “That was fast.”
“You're not alone, Mirage. Mom's less overworked now, but she—she still feels guilty for missing parts of your life, sis.”
Mirage’s face fell. “I—she never mentioned—”
The younger queen grimaced. “Of course not. She’s Alternia, High Princess of Equestria and its Commonwealth. She's the most hard-working and wisest changeling in the land. She never feels guilty or worried.”
“Kyria!” Mirage hised.
“Sorry.” Kyria sighed. “Basically, I’m with you. Mom deserves something special every year. This year... we'll do the impossible, if that’s what it takes to bring another smile to her face.”
Mirage grinned. “Thanks sis.” She shifted in her chair, adjusting her posture. “How are you by the way? I heard you and your friends at the School of Friendship’s Mysteries club discovered another mystery.”
The younger queen blinked, looking a bit lost. “Mysteries club—Oh you mean our ‘Historical Investigations and Mythological Mysteries Club.’ Yes! We did find something weird.” Kyria winced. “Unfortunately, we’re kind of stuck on it at the moment. It’s a supposed map to the lost city of Mare-dorado, but we know that’s a legend made up by too greedy diamond dog prospectors who wanted to explain why they couldn’t find enough gold in the Maretania valley. Except… this map’s a bit too accurate to be a fake. It’s left us in a bit of a quandary. We might have to set out and follow the map’s clues ourselves and see where it leads us.”
“You’ll solve it. You’ve already found the ruins of Loamhedge. And you found the legendary sword of Rosewall. You’ll solve this one,” said Mirage.
“And hopefully it won’t unleash some calamity onto the world,” Kyria quipped. She sat down on the chair in the room and leaned back on it. ““By the way, before we get back to the palace, can you let me know about the hunt for the pirate ship Shear?”
Mirage blinked. “Surely you’ve read the news reports, Kyria? Besides, it’s a bit late isn’t it?”
There was also the matter that the older princess was worried she might tell her sister some of the… more unpleasant aspects of her most recent mission.
“Please, sis? They don’t really tell the full story,” begged Kyria, widening her eyes, puckering her lips, and flattening her ears like a kicked puppy.
The older changeling sister bit her lip, she spluttered, she winced and shut her eyes.
So Kyria added a whimper and to seal the deal.
“Oh alright alright! Just, oh just stop giving me that face!” groaned Mirage.
Kyria grinned and pumped one hoof. “Yes!”
Snorting, Mirage pursed her lips. “Where to start?”
“August 31. You set sail from Rainbow Falls,” said Kyria.
Mirage blinked and recognition dawned on her. “OH! Right. Well the wind was pretty good and....”
A month later...
“We all set?” asked Mirage.
Starlight Glimmer looked up from the scroll she’d been looking at. “Seems so. Safeguards in place, we’ve tested it out, we have the intent and incantation figured out. I say we’re good to go.”
“Awesome! Can we go again? I want to see Great Grandmother Zagara again!” squealed Kyria.
Years ago, Starlight would have asked Kyria if she could have joined her. Now, she arched an eyebrow. “Kyria, you should check the time, you need to go to the reunion.”
Kyria’s eyes widened. “Oh, right! Mirage, hurry!”
“We will, but first—” Mirage turned to Starlight “—Are you absolutely sure this will work? I mean I checked with Sunset, Sunburst and Starswirl and they all think it’ll work, but I want to hear it from you.”
“Yes, but be careful. We have thoroughly tested it, but it’s still technically experimental as it hasn’t been academically peer-reviewed.” She had a pensive look. “Based on all the tests we ran and the fact we could even see further back than a thousand years, I do think it’s safe, though, and I’m being honest here. It’d be a chance in a million if something actually went wrong.”
“Alright, thank you so much, Starlight,” said Mirage.
Starlight grinned, “You’re welcome, Mirage.” She checked the scroll again and hoofed it to Kyria. “Of course, show this to your mother, father, and aunts first. If they give the go ahead, then use it.”
Nodding, Kyria took it in her magic and tucked it in her peytral. “Thank you again Starlight.”
“You’re welcome. Say hi to Twilight for me,” said Starlight.
Mirage buzzed her wings furiously toward one of the peaks in Canterlot mountain, fighting the mountain’s blustery winds that not even a pegasi weather team could entirely stop.
The heavy peytral she wore was making her flight, and of her sister’s, quite difficult, but nobody in the line of succession was allowed to take theirs off as they contained important emergency safeguards.
Luckily, if she remembered correctly, the entrance to their family’s private retreat was—
“Mirage? Why are you flying up?” Kyria asked.
The princess blinked and turned to see her sister descending toward the foot of the mountain they were flying to.
“Um, because that’s how we’ve always gotten to the retreat,” Mirage frowned. She knew she hadn’t remembered that wrong because the retreat was built into one of Canterlot Mountain’s peaks.
“Oh! Right! You haven’t been there in a while. Queen Lamia’s expanded it and built tunnels connecting it.”
“What does she have to do with the family retreat?” Mirage asked, now completely confused.
“Well she’s not in the retreat. She’s under it in the old crystal mines under Canterlot, and while she was doing that, she also linked her hive the family retreat, ” Kyria said cheerfully, “We now have a nice elevator that can take us up there.”
In a deadpan voice, Mirage asked, “Sooo, she set up her hive in the crystal mines where aunty Chrysalis decided to trap aunty Cadance in during the Canterlot Wedding?’
“Yes that-one…” Kyria blinked, “Oh, wow that is awkward. Well, at least aunty Cadance is in the Crystal Empire at the moment.”
Mirage chuckled as they landed in front of an open vaulted oak door set into the mountain. She would normally admire the craftsponyship of the changeling figurines and images on the door, and the leaf patterns on the doorframe, but she was in a rush.
They trotted in a large welcoming hall, lit by torches. As her eyes adjusted, Mirage could spy a green-maned changeling queen trotting up to them.
“Lamia!” exclaimed Kyria. She flew forward and barreled into the older queen, wrapping both hooves around her.
“Hello Kyria. Hi Mirage,” said Lamia, looking up to Mirage.
“Hey Lamia.” To Mirage’s discomfort, the name felt a little odd on her tongue, but joy at seeing her cousin made her grin. “Is everyone here? How is your leg? I remember you telling me it was itchy after Godmother healed it.”
“Just about. Your mother and father said they’ll be running a bit late,” said Lamia. “As for my leg, Empress Tethys told me that the itching will fade in time.”
Kyria released Lamia, pouting just a bit, “Mom and dad are late again??”
Lamia sighed and led them down the hallway to an elevator, “Negotiations with the Queens Council. You know how it is.”
The unpleasant memory evoked by those words made Mirage hiss, “Do I ever,” as she followed Kyria and Lamia into the elevator.
Lamia shut the gate and pressed the button, “Oh? You sound like you had to talk to them recently.”
“One of their member’s hives suffered collateral damage while we were fighting against the pirates. How was I to know we shot down a pirate airship on their hidden hive? For crying out loud, we were fighting for our lives and they just stood there and watched us d—” Mirage opened her mouth to say more, but saw her sister and cousin’s looks of curious surprise, and swallowed, falling into silence.
Kyria frowned. “Mirage, you didn’t mention that when you were telling me the story—”
“They hadn’t mentioned it to us at the time.” The princess waved her hoof. Sorry, I really do not want to talk shop right now. Tell me about the changes you’ve made to the place. I mean, wow, a lift?”
Mirage could tell Lamia was giving her a ‘we’ll talk later look’ but her cousin nodded. “Well, our family keeps getting bigger, and we have a lot more children. There are four queen-daughters in our generation alone, not counting our more distant cousins.”
“Right, you, Mirage and I, Leticia, and—”
Just after they opened the elevator’s door and stepped out, a smaller changeling queen, about thirteen years old, trotted into view from the hallway. Like Lamia, she had green hair, but she also wore thick-framed purple glasses and carried a set of books in her magic.
The moment she saw the three, she froze and gave a sharp squeal.
“Kyria!”
“Melly!” cried Kyria, dashing past Lamia. She met the queen mid-air with a hug and the two spun around, giggling with glee.
Mirage blinked, staring at the queen her sister was hugging.
“Chamelia? Oh Celestia you’ve grown!” she gasped. But then again, as her mind reminded her, Chamelia II, or Melly to her family, was now thirteen years old. The last time she’d seen her aunt Chryssy’s second daughter was almost two years ago.
That realization made her heartstrings twang, but Mirage forced a smirk on her face, and burrowed that pain as Melly let go of Kyria.
“Mirage! Oh Creator you made it!” she squealed, hugging Mirage.
“I finally did,” Mirage quipped. Swallowing, she returned the hug. “So… How’s school?”
Melly squealed. “It’s been amazing! I loved Captain Gallus’s class on 'aggressive negotiations.' But I also really liked Professor Ocellus’s class on 'The History of the Unspeakable Times.' Though, it’s kinda weird that we’re actually all related to the participants of that changeling war.”
“It is rather odd,” said Lamia, picking up the books that her sister had set aside.
“Well hurry up, everybody’s here!” Melly exclaimed. She grabbed Mirage’s hoof and led her forward.
Mirage followed her cousins and sister into a large chamber shaped like a sphere, but with its top and bottom flattened. About three stories high, with railings fencing off two sets of circling balconies, the retreat’s newly renovated living room boasted a roaring fire on the ground level, a small kitchen on one of the levels, a radio, lots of comfortable couches and cushions, and a large round table for family game nights. Right now, it was packed with changelings, and the occasional pony.
As her sister and cousins rushed forward to greet their family members, Mirage found herself freezing in place.
There was so just… so much family. She’d seen them, on and off, in the breaks she managed to sneak. To see them all here, though. The joy she felt warmed her heart, and yet, the fact that she knew they were going to see her in a moment smashed down on her like a barbell crashing on her back.
Oh and there was also the fact she might have—oh who was she kidding—she probably had PTSD. How was she going to tell them? What would happen if they found out? What would they think of her? One of her two months was already up!
She was already turning around, and galloping back into the corridor, not really looking where she was going.
And immediately she slammed into a warm figure. Already muttering apologies, Mirage looked up and stared.
“Mom?” she glanced down, “Dad?” she croaked.
Before she knew it, Alternia had wrapped her legs around her and she was smelling her mane, and the flower-scented shampoo she used. Feeling like crying, but feeling too happy to cry, Mirage settled with hugging her mother and reaching out to hug Harlequin.
“It’s been too long,” Alternia said.
“I missed you,” whispered Mirage.
Kyria had a list of relatives to visit and first on them was aunty Chrysalis, who was sitting on a couch, quietly listening to the radio. Beside her was a changeling soldier, sleeping, head on her shoulder. She switched it off and gingerly got up to greet the sisters with an embrace. The changeling soldier's head smacked down, jaw-first into the couch when she did so, and yet somehow, he didn’t wake up.
“Getting up to mischief, you two?” Chrysalis asked.
“Not too much mischief!” said Kyria. She glanced at Scarab, Chrysalis’s mate, a former soldier, who still sleeping. “I’m tempted to play a prank on Scarab, though. You know… reenact that interrogation that mom put him through when she and aunty Luna caught him after the Canterlot Wedding.”
“That would actually terrify him. Is it bad that I’m considering it?” Chrysalis asked.
“Maybe? Mirage what do you—” Kyria turned around and frowned. Her sister was nowhere to be seen. “That’s weird, she was right behind me.”
Before she could go search for her sister, Queen Belladonna, their mother’s youngest sister, trotted up, her daughter Leticia sleeping on her back.
“Hello Kyria, I have heard rumors you and Mirage were working on something,” Belladonna said, giving her niece a knowing look.
“Secret!” Kyria hissed, sticking her tongue out. She looked over her other shoulder. “But seriously, where’s Mirage?”
Suddenly, there was a rap on the door and it swung open for Harlequin, dressed in a comfortable blue velvet jacket, to buzz in (his wings had been healed by Tethys as part of her efforts to bolster relations with Equestria). He looked a bit tired, but was smiling cheerfully.
He was followed by a blue-maned, green-eyed queen, whose eyes lit up the moment they saw Kyria. Behind them was Mirage.
Kyria zipped over and gave her mother and father both a quick hug, somehow at the same time. Her short legs somehow stretching across both of their necks. “Mom! Dad! You’re finally here! What kept you?”
“I’m so sorry dear. Negotiations with Queen Sarar of the Queens Council dragged on,” said Alternia quietly, nuzzling her younger daughter’s cheeks.
“You sure seem excited about something,” chuckled Harlequin as he kissed his daughter’s cheek.
“Oh yes! I can’t wait to tell you what Mirage and I managed to do!” exclaimed Kyria.
“First, though, why don’t we introduce your sister to her future niece or nephew?” Alternia said.
Mirage blinked. “New niece or nephew?”
Kyria stared at her sister, “Aunty Simulacris is pregnant, Mirage. We sent you a message.”
“We were maintaining radio silence protocols when we were hunting the SS Shear. It must not have been passed to me when we docked again,” said Mirage, her voice uncertain.
Alternia and Harlequin gave understanding nods, but Kyria frowned at her sister, briefly, but that look made Mirage avert her gaze.
“Well that explains it. Why don’t we move along to see your aunt, girls?” said Harlequin, cheerfully, breaking the silence.
The family trotted deeper into the room, greeting their friends and family as they went past them.
To Kyria’s own frustration, she felt a pang of jealousy as they all greeted her older sister with overwhelming enthusiasm. It didn’t help that Mirage looked a bit lost and responded to the embraces with a rather stilted—if sincere feeling—smile. It was as if her older sister didn’t appreciate that everybody missed her.
But finally, they made it to where a heavily pregnant Simulacris was resting on some pillows. She was being attended by her current mate, Pharynx, formerly one of Chrysalis’s changelings.
“I wonder if it’ll be a queen. If that’s the case, we’ll be having a bumper crop of changeling queens this decade,” mused Mirage.
“We theorized that it could be love related. We’ve never been able to harvest this much love so consistently before. Albeit, oddly enough, it’s now our workers and soldiers who are harvesting love either from changeling-centric industries like gel production or law enforcement,” said Alternia.
“We might have to factor in the increased birth rate of queens into our long term policy then,” Mirage mused. “Maybe we could…”
“Kyria, good to see you,” said a voice behind her.
Kyria jumped, startled, and spun around to see a unicorn with golden hair. “Oh! Uncle Blueblood! Sorry, I didn’t expect well—didn’t expect—”
“Anybody to ask how you were doing?” Blueblood asked, his voice understanding. He steered Kyria aside, away from the crowd around Simulacris and Mirage, and towards a batpony, who pushed a glass of water into her hoof.
“Oh, thanks aunty Romana. How are you?”
Her uncle Blueblood’s wife smiled. “We’re good. We heard that you took an emergency first aid training course. How was the test?”
“Oh, it was a breeze. How are you both?” Kyria asked.
Blueblood smiled. “We’re good. We were just visiting Bluebell in the hospital. She’s bored, but recovering.”
Kyria stared at her uncle and aunt. She had been wondering where their daughter, Bluebell was, but—“Wait, cousin Bluebell is still in the hospital? What happened? Mirage told me she was wounded in the hunt for the Shear, but that was a month ago!”
Her uncle and aunt exchanged looks with one another, a silent message passed between them, only possible thanks to the years of their secret courtship.
Blueblood sighed. “I think when Mirage was telling you the story, she downplayed just how dangerous the battle was and how severe Bluebell’s injuries were.”
Romana shivered. “And from what Bluebell told us, Mirage was nearly killed.”
Kyria stared at her uncle and aunt in horror. Her sister had never mentioned that in her story, but now that she thought about it, it made way too much sense. The Voulge did look a rather battered.
“She… she didn’t tell me that,” whispered Kyria.
“She probably didn’t want to scare you, Kyria. And as to why your parents didn’t tell you… I suspect it’s because they thought Mirage would tell you eventually. You see, the Voulge’s bridge sustained a direct hit. It was rapidly patched up, but… if it hadn’t been for the emergency shield spell in Mirage’s peytral…” Blueblood winced.
Kyria swallowed, but it did nothing to wash away how horrible she felt. Her sister could have died, and was probably just having a natural reaction to seeing family she hadn’t seen in ages, and here she was, feeling jealous of her.
Of course it was incredibly frustrating that Mirage didn’t say anything about this to her, but then again… that wasn’t entirely surprising.
“Hey there, it’s alright to feel a little jealous, just remember that your mother and aunts do know how close Mirage came to dying,” said Blueblood, hoof on his niece’s shoulder. “How’s school been?”
Thinking back to her classes, Kyria chuckled, and took the distraction. “Oh, well school’s been…”
Mirage sagged into a couch, feeling both exhilarated, and exhausted. After two hours of chatting with family she hadn’t seen in ages, she felt like she’d run several laps around an air base’s field. She just needed a moment to herself to feel better.
But then her sister, looking ready to explode, flew into the centre of the room.
“Right! I can’t hold it in any longer. Everypony and everyling! I have an announcement!” exclaimed Kyria.
“Really. Now?” asked Mirage, arching an eyebrow.
“When else?” asked Kyria.
Mirage nodded. “Oh alright,” she forced herself to rise to her hooves. “As some of you may have suspected, Kyria and I have been working on something.” She took a deep breath. “It’s a way to see grandmother Chamelia.”
No changeling or pony spoke as they stared at the two princesses.
Mirage grinned. “It’s true, and what’s more, we know it works. Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, and Starswirl have all contributed to the spell matrix and we’ve tested it thoroughly, with no ill effects.”
Kyria nodded eagerly. “Mom, dad, with your permission, we’d like to let you all use it.” With that, she levitated the scroll out of her peytral and extended it to her mother.
Both sisters could feel the simultaneous apprehension, and joy bundled up in their mother, and see her look at the scroll with wide eyes. She examined it slowly, reading over the script and the spell. Then they saw her stand up and trot over.
“Mirage, Kyria this… I-”
She threw her legs around the both of them. Mirage smiled as she returned the embrace, whilst Kyria squealed in joy. Both were so close they could practically feel the joy and love their mother was radiating to them.
“I can’t thank you enough. I… I am just so proud of you.”
“Wait, Alternia, shouldn’t we think about this for a moment?”
A tall figure stepped forward, behind Alternia, one with a green mane.
Kyria and Alternia looked like they had been shot, and Mirage couldn’t help but glare at Chrysalis, even as she schooled her expression into a stony mask.
“Chryssy, can you explain?” Alternia asked.
Chrysalis swallowed, “How do we know if this spell even works?”
Kyria pointed to the signatures on the bottom of the spell. “Starswirl, Sunset, Sunburst and Starlight all worked on it with us, and performed the necessary tests. We’ve even saw Great Grandmother Zagara teaching our grandmother! Can you imagine, Great Grandmother Zagara!”
Chrysalis’s eyes widened and she frowned, but it was pensive, rather than apprehensive. “How does it work?”
“The spell’s a very advanced scrying spell that works with changeling portal magic to show the user that moment in time. It’s similar to how Starlight’s time spell creates this portal that takes the user back into time. Of course, this spell makes it so the user is only experiencing the moment, not actually affecting time itself, but it’s possible to cast the spell and not step into the portal for a glimpse,” said Mirage.
“Oh… that’s…” Chrysalis swallowed and hesitated and then sighed.
Mirage suspected she knew why. In the face of such evidence and arguments, Chrysalis’s fears had been placated, but she still felt guilty. Still, her aunt had probably caught her mother’s wide-eyed, pleading look, and the sheer hope that was emanating from her.
“Alright,” said Chrysalis.
“Good idea! Stand back evercreature!” instructed Kyria, taking the scroll out. As Mirage took her position, Kyria glanced at her and mouthed “thank you.”
“Anytime,” whispered Mirage. The pair took a deep breath and levitated the scroll together.
“On my mark, One.”
Kyria nodded. “Two.”
“Three, and mark,” said Mirage. With that, both changeling queens shot beams of blue and purple magic right at the scroll.
As Alternia’s heirs, Kyria and Mirage were public figures and beloved by most of Equestria. Mirage’s work as an Equestrian Airship captain, and Kyria’s charity work helped that even further, so Mirage knew they had enough love to fuel the spell.
But as they started to send their beams of magic at the scroll, she frowned. She could feel the spell taking effect and it drawing on her power, but… it was drawing a bit more magic than they had done previously.
Well, that wasn’t exactly unexpected. When they had seen Zagara training Chamelia, it had taken more power than usual. The spell seemed to be dependent on how far back they were trying to view. All they needed to do was adjust.
“Kyria—”
“I know, I’m pushing more in,” said Kyria grimacing.
As expected, though, perhaps a little later than last time, a circle of magic widened around the scroll. The wah-wah sound of the magic beams grew louder, with the odd sparks hissing and popping from it.
“Is that normal?” asked Chrysalis.
“Yes,” said Mirage, biting down with strain and concentration.
All of a sudden, the portal, now blazing blue-purple and the size of a changeling queen, let off a high pitched whine. It was as if a train at full speed had it’s brakes suddenly and ruthlessly applied.
A chance in a million that things could go wrong...
“Kyria, abort now!” snapped Mirage.
But it was too late. A crack like a whip cut through the air, and the beams of magic that connected the two young changeling queens to the portal suddenly reversed their flow. Magic now began to pour out of the portal, and for some reason, Kyria and Mirage found themselves dragged toward the gaping wound in time by their horns.
Mirage grabbed the nearest hoof, her mother’s. She was going to reach out her right hoof for Kyria, but her mother beat her to it.
“Kyria, Mirage! Hang on!” screamed Alternia. Her horn glowing, she wrapped them all in magic and cast what seemed to be a traction spell on herself. Harlequin addes his magic onto his two daughters, holding on for dear life.
“Trying!” Mirage grunted. She looked up and blinked. “Wait, it isn’t sucking anybody else in.”
Indeed the portal wasn’t. Her cousins, uncles and aunts were crowding around them, panic-stricken, but trying to help, some even trying to hold on. Some grabbed Kyria, whilst others grabbed Mirage. Those that were taking care of children had ducked for cover. The rest of them cast traction spells on themselves and held on, but even then they just managed to barely stop the pair from sliding forward.
“Mirage, what’s going on? Why aren’t the failsafes kicking in? We stopped providing it with magic!” screamed Kyria.
Her muscles straining, Mirage shook her head. “I don’t know! Someone fetch Starlight and Sunburst! They should still be in Canterlot!”
Chrysalis added her magic to the aura around Kyria and Mirage. “Our hives are on it! Murmillar! Do something about that damn portal!”
Murmillar, Simulacris’s granddaughter and one of the more learned queens in their family, shook her head and jumped back from the portal as it sparked. “I don’t know what it is doing! I’m not a temporal spell expert! Time magic is notoriously unpredictable in its effects!”
“Well we need to do something quickly! We can’t hold on forever! We’re playing tug of war with my daughters as ropes!” yelled Harlequin. He blinked and his jaw dropped. “Oh shit, Kyria, Mirage, how badly does it—
“It hurts worse than basic! How can it be worse than basic?” screamed Mirage.
Kyria was sobbing incoherently, her tears somehow dropping to the ground even as she inched forward, despite the best efforts of those holding onto her for dear life. “Mom, Dad… Everybody… please don’t let go?”
Alternia gritted her teeth. “We won’t let go.”
“You’re going to be alright,” hissed Harlequin, managing a smile.
Mirage felt her heart flutter with hope, until Sebastiana’s grip faltered for a second and she budged forward. For a moment, her head didn’t feel like it was going to be ripped off her neck, before those holding on quickly renewed their grip, and the agony returned.
And in that maelstrom of pain, she realized something, something from her training.
Must prioritize VIPs.
“You all need to let go.”
“What?” hissed Lamia.
“You need to let go! All of you! We can’t lose you as well!” snapped Mirage.
“Mirage, have you gone insane?” screamed Kyria.
“Do you want to risk Mom, Dad and our Aunts?!” roared Mirage.
“Mirage, this is no time to be playing the hero! I know you’re trained to protect us but you’re my daughter. I’m not letting go of you!” Alternia roared.
Mirage swallowed, but even that was an effort as her neck was that tightly stretched.
“I love you all. Save Kyria.”
Alternia’s eyes widened in horror and Mirage’s eyes instantly moistened as she felt the terror in her mother.
“No! Mirage, don’t—”
Although it was her horn being dragged, Mirage could still use magic. It was frightfully easy as all she had to do was cast a low-power electrical shock spell on those hanging on to her. They fell back reeling, and those trying to hold Mirage with her magic found her wrenched from their telekinetic grip.
The changeling shot forward, the ear-piercing scream of her mother ringing in her ears.
But even though Mirage disappeared into the portal, it showed no sign of shrinking.
Kyria, still whimpering from the pulling force on her horn, howled as somehow, the force yanking her forward increased.
“Kyria! You can hold on! We won’t let go!”
“Kyria! Sunburst and I are here, hold on!” yelled Starlight. The two unicorns raced up to the portal eyes narrowed.
“Hurry,” croaked Kyria, blinded by pain, not even able to scream anymore. Her throat was hoarse.
Starlight blinked. “Where’s Mirage?”
Alternia shut her eyes, “She’s gone.”
Sunburst’s eyes widened. “Oh no. Nononono.”
“If you don’t do anything, Kyria will be next, so do something!” hissed Retariusil.
Starlight swallowed as she stepped away. “We… we can’t.”
Everybody flinched as Harlequin - mild-mannered, dorky and even-tempered Harlequin- bellowed, “What do you mean you can’t! You made this happen!”
Staggering, Starlight sat down on her hindquarters, hooves trembling. “I don’t know why this is happening. It shouldn’t be possible. The spell’s opened a vortex in time to the targeted period that will drag anybody close enough. Because of this, a specific failsafe kicked in. The vortex will only drag the casters toward it.”
Nobody spoke, they either stared at Starlight in horror.
“What possessed you to do such a stupid failsafe!” screeched Diamondshell, the changeling currently the captain of the Royal Guard.
“Because you’d all be dragged in if we didn’t write it! But whatever happened to the portal, it’s warped the failsafe! When we wrote the spell matrix, we intended it to only draw the caster towards the vortex as long as the vortex is active. Time vortices are unstable after all and collapse easily. Within seconds in fact. However, somehow, whatever happened changed the intent of the failsafe. It will only be sealed if both casters are drawn in!”
The last of Kyria’s faint hope imploded, both by that statement, and by the sheering pain in her neck and legs. It didn’t help that her family was holding on to her as tightly as possible.
“Please, Starlight, Sunburst, there has to be another way. I can’t… I can’t lose both of my daughters,” whispered Alternia.
Harlequin said nothing, but despite her terror, Kyria could sense her father’s heart breaking. It felt horrible, like the smashing of stained glass windows.
“There… is some good news,” said Sunburst.
“What good news?” demanded Harlequin.
“They will end up at the target period. All they have to do is stay low and not disrupt the time stream. We can get them out!”
“But… we… aimed it at the Everfree Hive, at around 1000 years ago, not long after Mom was born, we’ll… we’ll affect the timeline,” croaked Kyria.
“Yes, that may happen, but it’s our only hope! We can’t hold Kyria like this, not without breaking her body! But if we let her go, we can get her back!” Starlight exclaimed.
Alternia turned to Harlequin with tear-filled eyes. He swallowed and nodded, before turning to his daughter. “Kyria, what do you think?”
She didn’t want to go into the past. It was filled with hundreds of unknown dangers. There would be no changeling tolerant Equestria. There’d be no changelings that would respect and work with ponies. There would be no advanced medicine, and so many useful spells hadn’t been invented yet. They were… they were going to be going into a very dangerous time.
The only thing she and Mirage had going for them was that their wise, and compassionate grandmother was in the past, but they couldn’t tell her. If they did...
But anything, anything had to be better than this agony.
“Okay.”
Harlequin nodded. “I’m giving you my revolver and ammunition. Everybody, hoof Kyria your Emergency Survival Kits.”
Eleven satchels with black crosses marked on them were hung around Kyria’s neck. Meanwhile, Harlequin produced a polished revolver from his jacket along with a belt of ammunition and put it into her peytral’s storage spell.
“But… what if someone takes off her peytral and notices the runes for the storage spell? They’d find the gun,” said Chamelia II nervously.
“It works by will. Kyria can prevent anybody from fishing around into the petyral’s storage spell,” said Cyndra (Lamia’s drone sister) gingerly.
Alternia wasn’t listening, gingerly, making sure she was braced, she kissed Kyria’s cheek. Harlequin did the same.
“Stay safe, we’ll come for you,” whispered Alternia.
“I will.” Kyria swallowed. “I love you all.”
Chrysalis swallowed. “On three, we let go. Ready... One… two… three!”
Alternia, Chamelia II, Cyndra, Diamondshell let go, whilst the queens holding onto Kyria with their magic let go of their grip. The changeling shot instantaneously into the portal, and vanished.
And immediately after Kyria’s hooves had disappeared, the portal snapped shut, like it was never there.
Alternia, stood, lifted the traction spell from herself, and walked to the spot where her daughters had disappeared, her eyes moist.
“Mom… they’re… they’re in your hooves now.”
The first thing Kyria hit was the ground. She slammed into it on four hooves and somehow managed to keep her balance as she slid across the… oddly earthy ground.
The second thing that hit her was how oddly earthy it smelt.
The third thing that hit her was Mirage’s backside.
“OUCH! Mirage!” she whined, now sprawled out on the floor, which seemed to be made out of packed earth.
“Quiet,” hissed Mirage as she sprang to her hooves. “Where in Tartarus are we-” Mirage froze, around the time that Kyria’s jaws dropped open.
They were in a long hall lit by pale flickering changeling flame lights ensconced in crystal braziers. There were roots hanging from the low ceiling, which was dimly lit, and gave it a rather dirty, but oddly primal atmosphere.
At the end of the great hall, was an upraised dais made from steps of packed earth, and on top of it, stood an obsidian chair.
Said obsidian chair was still there a thousand years later, but the earthy floor? A thousand years later, that floor was replaced with carpeted red tile. The roots? Still there, but encased in glass with metal and concrete supports to preserve the room’s longevity and structural integrity.
The most striking difference, though, was that instead of the obsidian throne being empty like it always was, it was filled with the seated form of the last changeling queen they simultaneously wanted to see, and really, really did not want to be seen by.
Queen Chamelia was nothing like her statue in her mausoleum. That was a cold, poor representation of the queen in front of her. That statue had been crafted to represent the queen as a caring mother, a great, but warm leader. Towering over them was Chamelia, the de facto leader of the Queens Council, the daughter of the Great Hive Mother Zagara. In her prime and currently looking down on them. In her magical grasp, she held a bearded axe with a wickedly sharp blade.
She wore an almost amused expression, her lips slightly curled, but her eyes... those brilliant green eyes, so much like Aunt Chrysalis's, were in some ways, scarier than the pitch-black eyes of Empress Tethys. For they belonged to someone who was incredibly intelligent.
It didn’t help that Chamelia was a character that their family had told hundreds of stories and legends of.
Oh, and they were also surrounded by narrow-eyed changelings, all armed with poleaxes, warhammers, and spears.
“I do not know who you two are, and I do not know the reason for why you are here, but I would advise you surrender, and disrobe your regalia,” said Chamelia in a stern voice.
Scrambling to her hooves, Kyria pressed up close to Mirage, who was standing shock-still. Chamelia… sounded eerily like their mother.
What do I do? What do I do? We can’t escape. We’re surrounded, and we can’t fight our way out! Not only can she counter it, we don’t know what kind of time travel we’ve done. If we change the past by hurting grandmother, or any changeling here… then the results could be catastrophic thought Kyria.
“Unless of course you would rather my guards undress you?” asked Chamelia wryly.
“No, of course not, Your Majesty,” stammered Mirage. She bowed her head. “We surrender.” She unbuckled her peytral, took off her tiara, and stepped out of her hoof shoes. Slowly, she set them on the ground, where they were pulled away by the changeling guards.
She glanced to her side. Kyria had done the same, albeit, with far more trembling.
“Good. Guards, blindfold them and escort them to the cells.”