//------------------------------// // 12-4: No mysteries left // Story: Changelings in Silver Sunlight // by Nameless Narrator //------------------------------// It’s the next night in Canterlot, the evening summit of the nervous rulers is over, and the city is mostly peaceful. In my wildest dreams, I wouldn’t expect that to mean that some of my changelings would get bored. No, seriously, I’m happily asleep, Gem is resting, and Three is curled up around her head.  Cryo, though, has been politely asked to move her sessions with Rutherford elsewhere, because the Royal Guards didn’t have time to clean their mess early morning. Though I did receive an anonymous letter that some long-term problematic recruits who had to do that few days in a row straightened up immediately. Eleven has started a little experiment of his own after the series of attacks, and after recharging through the day he waited for the night not to bother anyone to use his remaining bodies in order to keep up his connection between the body inside Bright Star’s estate and the others inside Canterlot castle. Right now, he’s got several bodies spread along the way, because he knows he straight up can’t keep the connection up between two as distant points as the estate and the castle. Two is helping, keeping an eye on the bodies along the way, namely the one hiding on the tower of the paladin headquarters. There are two more together further into Canterlot keeping an eye on each other. Two wanted to be close enough to the castle in case of trouble. One wing of the door of Bright Star’s estate gets kicked inside, the cracking of wood and quick but loud clank of ripped off hinges resonating loudly through the building. A robed figure of roughly One’s size and build enters, and roars: “BRIGHT STAR, YOU TRAITOR! GET OUT HERE AND FACE JUSTICE!” Eleven wakes up instantly, and slides out from under Bright Star’s bed. “Eeep!” a mare’s voice comes from above. He finds himself looking up at a light blue pegasus mare with grey mane whose green eyes are locked on him. Four legs belonging to Bright Star land next to his head. “Love, stay here and hide,” hisses the paladin, “Eleven, come with me.” Bright Star doesn’t have any armor in his bedroom, so he only levitates a pendant with the symbol of the sun, puts it around his neck, and then his paladin sword floats off of the bedside table. With the sword next to him, he opens the bedroom door and jumps into the hallway. “I CAN HEAR YOU, RACE TRAITOR!” screams the furious voice again, “STOP CRAWLING AROUND LIKE A BUG-LOVING COCKROACH THAT YOU ARE!” “...Star Trail...” whispers Bright Star, “...he can’t get straight into the castle anymore, so he’s here...” “I’ll call the boss,” says Eleven. “Do it. If he’s crazy enough to break into this place, there has to be something more than meets the eye. If there’s one thing we know, it’s that he’s been growing stronger with each attack.” “Boss, Two, anyone!” Eleven’s faint voice wakes me up.  “Eleven?” “Star Trail is attacking Bright Star’s estate-” “I’m on the way,” Two interrupts us, “And I’m taking my Eleven with me. The others will stay where they are to provide communication.” “I’m coming,” I say, “Gem is weak and exhausted right now, and Cryo is just too slow.” For the love of holes, don’t let this be a distraction. “Gem, wake up,” I softly shake her. She’s opens her eyes immediately, “Stay here, be careful.” Not waiting for an answer, I rush out of the room, find the nearest balcony, and fly up into the night sky. “Eleven, that one with Anvil,” I order, “Wake her up, and both of you go protect Gem.” *** “Star Trail, what did you let Arcane Hex do to you?” Bright Star’s jaw drops when he sees his ex-colleague. The estate is fairly small, V-shaped consisting of only two stories with six rooms each, three on each side of a triangular lobby. And in the center of the lobby stands Star Trail and yet not Star Trail. It’s a unicorn with facial features of the ex-paladin, but like last time, his horn is a crystal set in a metal contruction on his forehead. He’s much bigger and broader than even when Gem fought him recently, and a new, prehensile tail is swinging behind him with a sharp blade the length of half a classic sword fused into its tip. His mouth is also resembling a changeling one now, split from ear to ear and filled with sharp fangs. With morbid curiosity, Bright Star wonders how it’s possible that Star Trail can speak with that kind of muzzle. “I’m not the monster here!” hisses Star Trail, “I’m not the one selling out my country and my princess!” “You attacked Celestia,” Bright Star signals to Eleven to stay hidden behind the top floor railing, and starts descending the stairs. “You let the bugs get to her! As we speak, Chrysalis’ filth spreads through this land.” “I’m not a fan of hers either, which is why I don’t particularly associate with her.” “There is no difference between the bugs,” Star Trail rips off his robe, and levitates his own sword, “They are all parasites.”  Seeing his new, chiseled and muscular body, Bright Star frowns. It’s pretty obvious that he’s going to lose in a contest of strength. He needs to be careful. “Honestly,” Bright Star flourishes his sword which lights up with gold flames, “They are more silly than sinister, most of them. And you were reprimanded by Celestia herself. You are the one threatening this country with a war. What did you think would happen, you idiot, if you tried to assassinate the rulers?” it’s a bit of a long shot with zero proof, but it’s clear that Star Trail had to be involved somehow. “They might have been angry with the princess at first,” Star Trail shakes his head, “but they would quickly understand that changelings were the problem all along,” he bares his fangs, “Changelings AND SYMPATHIZERS LIKE YOU!” he lunges at Bright Star. With a loud pop, Bright Star teleports behind him and lets him crash into the stairs at full force. He has to block an instant slash of Star Trail’s tail with his own sword. Star Trail recovers almost instantly, his own weapon swinging in a wide arc to force Bright Star to block. The blow isn’t dangerous as such, but to an unarmored unicorn who has to be careful every single time it’s a threat he can’t underestimate. It’s quickly clear that Star Trail just needed cover to get closer to Bright Star who can’t teleport around. The first time it worked because he was ready, but mobility spells really aren’t his speciality. However… The amulet around Bright Star’s neck flashes as the paladin shoulder charges the much bigger pony. In burst of flames, Star Trail recoils and stumbles backwards, both blinded by the bright light and surprised by spikes of pain surging through him. He didn’t think he could feel pain anymore, not in this body, but this feels as if his soul was being straight up ripped apart. “I forgot, a protection magic specialist. I won’t make the same mistake twice,” Star Trail hisses, backing off. His horn flashes as well, and a blue shimmer washes over him, dousing the fire Bright Star’s defensive spell caused. “Seriously, Star Trail,” Bright Star concentrates, “Do you still not get it? The country you swore to protect accepted changelings. The princess you pretend to serve brokered peace and leads Equestria to a future without predators hunting in the night. You are the only one who chose to stay behind in the darkness, and you serve someone who wants to KILL Celestia!” Star Trail growls but hesitates. “The changelings have to fall, but the lich has to fail as well. That’s the only way. Only then I will finally have peace.” That makes Bright Star blink in surprise. “What?” “I didn’t choose this!” Star Trail breathes out, “I wanted a way to finally save Celestia from her own kindness which will ultimately be her downfall. I wasn’t planning on her being a target, but she’s the only one with enough-” his voice fails him with his mouth still open. He pauses, and shakes his head, “Nice try to buy yourself some time, but the execution for your crimes awaits.” Star Trail pounces again. Bright Star dashes to the side while blocking Star Trail’s sword, his magical armor aura stops the swipe of Star Trail’s clawed foreleg, but the whipping tail following the swipe finally adds the force to make the paladin stumble backwards. There is no recovery time. Star Trail doesn’t care about any risky movements or damage to his own muscles. Bright Star can barely regain his footing while instinctively blocking with his sword before the expected swing comes. Star Trail, though, simply continues the onslaught by grabbing Bright Star’s leg and throwing him away like a doll. Bright Star screams as he lands on his freshly broken foreleg. The next attack isn’t instant, thankfully, as Star Trail’s flesh is being seared and burned by the progressing golden fire one more time. However, Star Trail can still douse the flames again much faster than Bright Star can patch up the broken bone. The paladin tries to shuffle backwards, but Star Trail simply punches him so hard the back of head cracks against the wall. The faint, orange shimmer tightly surrounding Bright Star’s body fades. Immediately, Star Trail grabs Bright Star by his neck, raises him to his head height, and squeezes. In the next instant, something lands on his head. It’s not heavy or anything, it just latches onto his mane, and- Tiny, needle teeth rip off Star Trail’s ear and a chunk of his mane instantly despite his hardened flesh. Unfortunately, that’s about the extent of the damage Eleven can cause before the handle of the flying sword swats him on the floor. The surprise attack does serve its purpose, and Star Trail let’s Bright Star drop on the floor. “I will end you, bug,” growls Star Trail. “I’m not a bug, I’m a feature!” Eleven jumps back on all fours just as he feels telekinetic grip around his hind legs swing him through the air and back against the floor. A flash of golden light cushions the impact. “No...” croaks Bright Star. “No, Bright Star,” grinning Star Trail’s magical hold brings Eleven into his claws which easily wrap around the tiny changeling’s neck, “This is how it ends for you as well as for this monster.” The crunch as Eleven’s spine and carapace break as one is almost inaudible. What follows is silence and darkness. *** Two feels the wrongness in the same moment as the legs of Eleven on her back lose their grip on her back, and the limp body drops like a rock. “Eleven?” she asks, and switches into the hive mind, “Eleven?!” There is no answer. There’s only one link she can sense clearly this far from the castle. “DAD! ELEVEN-” “I know,” I say, just passing above her, “Gather all of them and go back to the castle.” “But Star Trail-” “GATHER ALL ELEVENS AND GET THEM BACK TO THE CASTLE!” I shout. She’s so close to Bright Star’s home, she could help… After brief thought, Two growls at the nearest wall, quickly scoops the limp body of Eleven, and flies off to the last know locations of the others. “Be careful, dad...” I barge through the broken entrance of the estate so hard the other wing of the door flies off just in time to see a hulking monstrosity of ‘improved’ Star Trail towering over Bright Star bleeding from open fracture of his foreleg as well as the back of his head, judging from the smear of blood on the wall behind him. Star Trail turns his head, but by that time I’m already in front of him, kicking myself off of the wall straight into him to get him away from Bright Star. As we tumble back towards the door, I’m glad to know that I’m faster. The blade of his tail slides harmlessly against my chitin as I pummel his face while rolling around. He might be stronger and faster than before, but it’s still nothing compared to the reaction time I can reach while burning love, and burn love I do. It’s not a fair fight for him, really. Not that I care. Still, his hardened, cold flesh is resisting even my enhanced strength without taking too much damage, which leaves me with only one option. Straddling his chest, I raise my foreleg, and summon a burning love blade from my hoof.  The love comes out as a fiery, emerald bar stool this time. Doesn’t matter, down it goes, its seat straight through Star Trail’s skull, and burning into the floor tiles underneath. I immediately block the following swipe of his claws from the side. “...chest...” whispers Bright Star, too weak to be heard by anyone without the senses of a changeling. Still sitting on him, I focus on the dwarven chainsaws, and the love chair… love seat? Anyway, the love bar stool coming from my hoof transforms into the silent menace of grinding teeth which I ram into Star Trail’s chest. His tail is whipping my back, he’s flailing his forelegs in an ineffective attempt to rip my throat open, and then… ...then everything stops at once. He doesn’t weaken slowly like a dying pony would, he straight up shuts down. Bright Star groans, which makes me jump off of Star Trail, and rush to him. “...don’t… let me… fall… asleep...” he stares blankly ahead, “...concussion… won’t wake up… again… Celestia… so warm...” I can’t shake him, that would only make things worse. I can kill a monster, but how do I save a friend? Hive knowledge, save me! It comes, the unconscious levels of my mind sorting drawing on knowledge of others. Not direct memories and skills, I’m too far from everyone for that, but echoes, fragments saved inside me. Gem’s knowledge of chemistry and biology. High doses of adrenaline form in my saliva, and I bite Bright Star’s neck. In few moments, his eyes shoot open. “Is there anyone here? Servants, wife?” I ask, “You can’t be living here alone.” “...wife… my room… second floor...” “Don’t you dare fall asleep! I’ll be right back,” I jump up to the second floor, an yell, “MISS BRIGHT STAR! YOUR HUSBAND NEEDS HELP!” No answer. Eleven’s last memories prove a key, I find the right room immediately, and raise the bed to find the terrified pegasus mare. “Come with me, I need someone to keep Bright Star awake while I call the guards.” She only whimpers. Screw it, no time. I bite her, making her obediently follow me downstairs. She shudders when she notices Star Trail’s mutilated corpse, but focuses on Bright Star smiling weakly while propped against the wall. “Keep him awake no matter what,” I repeat and run outside. *** Daylight slowly washes the terrible night away as I’m sitting on the roof of Canterlot castle, absent-mindedly stroking the broken body of Eleven.   I don’t know what to do, so I’ll stick to the facts. None of the other collapsed Elevens moved since Star Trail killed this one. There has been no reaction to any mental contact I or Gem tried to establish. Not even Chrysalis had any idea what to do. Is there a good part to this? Maybe. The other bodies aren’t dead, just in deep hibernation and unresponsive. That gives some potential for a good outcome, but also the possiblity of having to deal with ten more blank bodies. I couldn’t give anyone the broken body to dissolve for love, or even bury it like the ponies do. I’ve just been sitting here with it since coming back to the castle. As far as Bright Star goes… he’s not much better off, but he’s alive. However, his body is exhausted from being this close to death twice in far too short time, so no amount of healing magic will get him back on his hooves quickly in case of further trouble. With a sigh, I have to come to terms with the idea that I’ll have to attend another pointless summit session in few hours. I just want to go home, but I also know I need to stay here until the end to show good will, whatever little I have left at this point. A buzz of wings nearby makes me twitch and cover Eleven’s body with my own. “Heya, boss… I thought I would find you here. Just like in the old castle.” Hearing Three’s voice so lifeless, without his usual high-pitched tone of pure joy, is worse than any punch or spell Star Trail could throw. “Morning, Three,” I lean away from Eleven. Three looks at him… ...and just keeps looking in silence for some time. “Why would someone do this, boss?” he asks. “Star Trail hates us just this much, Three,” I answer. To my surprise, he shakes his head. “That’s not what I meant, boss. I meant - why? Why all this? Why can’t we get along? We haven’t done anything-” I raise my hoof, which silences Three. All this time I’ve been trying to protect Three, keep up his optimism, but the thing is… that he’s much stronger than he looks. “We killed several dozen paladins, Three. I understood it over the years from Bright Star, just how horrible what One did was. You see, most paladins are very old, two or three pony lifetimes usually. Knowing they will outlive everyone they know, it’s hard to make friends for life. It’s just inevitable pain, especially in their dangerous line of work. When some evil entities can’t attack them directly, they attack their families, friends, loved ones. Other paladins are often the only friends paladins have, and in the wake of a tragedy which scarred most Canterlot ponies for life, One wiped out over half of the paladin order in one move.” “But they went after us,” says Three in a tone that doesn’t disagree with me or anything, just tries to understand a complex situation, “And they didn’t stop until they killed me, Nine, your egg that miss Comfort was pregnant with, which judging by what Gem achieved could have been an amazing changeling.” “You know Cryo’s story, or what little she herself could remember and told Two. You know that Canterlot was the place where the great changeling war against the world really ended. One or two of the paladins we killed might even have been there. Star Trail isn’t that old, actually, but he’s lost friends over and over, family too, mostly to changelings. I know how I felt when I lost you, Three, when I lost Nine, and now it’s here again. It’s the feeling that this will never end, that the hate will never end. No place will be completely safe, and the enemy just needs to be lucky once to remind me of my own hate and make it worse. Now imagine living like that for decades or centuries in case of the really old paladins. That is why it’s so hard to break the cycle, Three. It might even be impossible. If this really is the end for Eleven… I might never forgive Celestia for taking too long on the magic protections, Star Trail, or even ponies in general. Hole, now I understand how Cromach feels. Eleven like this… it brought everything back. Even the pain I remember from memories that aren’t mine. We changelings have been through a lot, but we gave back equally as much.” Three sighs, and curls up next to me, careful not to slip on the lightly sloping roof. “There’s just so much pain on all sides...” he mumbles. “Yeah, that’s what makes it difficult, and being able to see the point of both sides doesn’t make it easier.” “Do you think Star Trail can understand that you know how he feels?” “Maybe,” I shrug and shake my head, “but it wouldn’t change anything. Someone just can’t be saved if they don’t want to be, Three. Sorry.” “Boss?” “Yeah?” “You mean that? That no matter what, no matter how hard we try, we can’t befriend someone? That some creatures just can’t do it? And I don’t mean predator and prey stuff, but genuinely smart creatures who don’t need to be enemies but are anyway.” “There will always be disagreements-” “No, that’s not what I mean. You can disagree about things if you don’t know for sure, right? But if I say that I’m a changeling, no one can disagree with that. If you don’t know something, the best way is to work together to figure it out who is right, or no? Am I being stupid here, boss?” Technically, he’s a magical construct, but I’m not about to say that.  “No, Three,” I sigh, “The problem is that right now you’re being way smarter than most. I wish it worked like that even among friends, but just take Granite and the council, right? They are our best friends, and we still can’t do things the smart way because of their rituals, habits, beliefs despite me trying to persuade them on the common meetings even though I’m a practical changeling if nothing else. And… I can’t entirely blame them again.” “How come?” “If I was to be completely practical, I would end up like Chrysalis - killing weak changelings early, not waste love and resources on anyone without early promise. I wouldn’t be risking this summit. Gem wouldn’t be here, you know how she was when she was born. So, I can’t give up on taking emotions into consideration. And unfortunately, I’m afraid that fear is a much stronger emotion than hope. Even with you here with me, after everything we’ve gone through, I can barely think about anything good happening in the future when there’s the fear of losing you. It’s really difficult to keep some perspective.” “Boss… if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that you’ll make the right thing. I would like to say that about miss One or miss Comfort, or even Gem, but I can’t. You are the one in charge because, well, you’re the right one to be in charge.” “I don’t know, Three. Fear and hate are much easier to breed than to end.” “Which brings us back to my original question - why?” “I can only give you my opinion on that, but I think it’s because it’s easier to focus on fear, and fear breeds hatred. That’s because hope is uncertain in the end result, but fear… you are most afraid of things that are fatal, the complete end of everything you built.” “Hehehe,” Three chuckles, much to my surprise, “I’m not afraid, boss.” “You’re not?” “Boss, I told you this before. I told you even before Star Trail killed me. Thanks to you, I’m living the best life a changeling can have. Without you I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t have met miss One and the others. Where you see scary things everywhere around, I see the best time of my life, and I challenge any changeling who ever lived under bad mom to argue about it with me. Of course it hurts to see Eleven like this, but same thing I just said about me goes for him. Under bad mom, a strange changeling like him wouldn’t be allowed to exist at all. And we don’t even know if it’s over for him or if there’s just something we still need to figure out. Trust me on this, boss - if Eleven knew he would end up like this, he would be with us all again, no hesitation. That’s just how much more hope and happiness you’re bringing to all of us. Death? Been there, done that. If you find a way to put Eleven together, I’ll have someone to talk to about it. Fear can go unhug itself!” Three… Fuck it, I don’t have anything to say to that. Wrong. I do. “You’re right. Eleven is just unresponsive. It doesn’t matter that no one could connect him yet. I’m being stupid and wasting time grieving when I could be incessantly poking others to do stuff.” “That’s my boss!” Three beams. In the morning light reflected off of those white teeth, the events of last night seem almost like only a bad dream. Standing up, I grab Eleven’s body that starts rolling away. “I still don’t think we can heal this particular little guy. The body had been damaged for too long without hibernation.” “Do we need to?” Three raises an eyebrow, “I mean, if I had a broken leg we wouldn’t know how to fix, I would have someone cut it off, come back to the Crystal Heart, and then grow a new one.” I freeze. Could it really be that simple? But where would we find an empty changeling body? *** “No,” Gem shakes her head vigorously. “Crap, I thought Comfort taught you how to do it-” I frown. “She did. I know exactly how to do it. I’m saying I won’t do it,” she catches the eyes of Three riding on my back, “And you stop staring at me like that.” “Why?” “Are you listening to yourself?” Gem raises her voice, “Do you understand what you’re asking me to do? You want me to kill a newborn changeling, a tiny, defenseless critter with untapped potential, which is basically what blanking out a body is. Do you understand how it relates to a certain changeling daughter you might know?” I sigh. I suppose she’s right in a way. “Would you be willing to teach that?” I give it another shot. “Why don’t you ask Chrysalis?” she scowls at me, “I doubt she’d think twice before doing something like that. She’s used to crafting changeling for her needs.” “ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME LOOK LIKE SOME IMMORAL ASS LIKE SHE IS? DO YOU HAVE A BETTER IDEA?!” I scream in her face, “BECAUSE ALL I’M HEARING IS A LOT OF COMPLAINING. I’M LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION, AND THE ONLY THING I’M GETTING FROM YOU BASICALLY TRANSLATES TO ‘FUCK ELEVEN’.” Gem stares at me, mouth open.  “Boss?” Three pats my head, which helps me gather myself. “Sorry...” I breathe out, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to say that you wanted Eleven dead.” “But you did...” she whispers, and looks away, “Of all changelings… I though you would understand the most.” “And that’s the problem!” I raise my voice a bit again, which makes Gem shiver and take a step back, “Can’t you see it? Three here says that if there’s anyone who can fix everything for changelings, give them better future than Chrysalis then it’s me. If there is someone able to save Eleven then it’s me. Now you want me to do all that without sacrificing anyone AND without even compromising your morals. I’m not a fucking GOD, Gem! I can’t just stomp a hoof and make the whole world work the way I want.” Gritting my teeth, I turn around. “Where are we going?” asks Three quietly. “You’re staying here. I’m off to grovel in front of Chrysalis,” I reach for the door handle, “I figured out that there’s one thing I don’t need to solve this problem to the satisfaction of everyone else, and that’s my own dignity.” When I open the door, I find myself facing a wall of chitin behind it. The wall looks down at me. “Cryo?” I ask. Somehow, she looks even bigger than I remember. Must be all that love from Rutherford. “My ears hurt,” she says. All three of us look at her leaning down through the door frame with incredulous expressions. Like really… we don’t know what to say. At least until Two slinks into the room between Cryo’s legs. “What she’s trying to say is that we heard you through the wall,” she says. “I’m sorry,” I look down at the floor, “It was my fault.” “Ahem,” Two clears her throat louder, “Let me rephrase that, dad. What I meant to say was - BOW BEFORE YOUR GODDESS! MUHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!” We stare. “Wrong timing?” asks Two, “Wrong timing, okay. No more jokes for now,” Two pokes my chest, “You aren’t going anywhere near head bug slut,” next she points at Gem, “And you are going to help me fix Eleven.” “Two, I’m not-” protests Gem. “That wasn’t a question, Gem, that was a statement,” Two grins, “because if you’re looking for blank changeligs… we got those,” she points at Cryo’s belly. The queen sitting in front of the door cranes her neck to looks at herself. Closing my eyes, I breathe in and out before saying: “Both of you, come inside before I- nevermind, just come inside.” “Excellent,” comments Two, “Speaking of which, what did you do with Eleven?” I point at the pile of changeling bodies in the corner. “I meant the dead one,” she says. “I melted him in the end.” “Good, I’d hate to leave anything of ours here. Now,” she pats Cryo’s side, “Exhibit A here is a warrior queen filled with eggs that can hatch with some love.” “How?” I ask. “Rutherford...” Gem breathes out in realization. “Bingo!” Two winks at her, “And while our queen is of perfectly sound body, which will likely be true even for her spawn, I wasn’t able to identify even the most basic semblance of mental activity unlike when mom was about to pump out the new drones back home.” “Like me!” Cryo beams, “No beard at all.” “That’s… kind of sad, actually,” mutters Gem. “Don’t look a gift bughorse in the mouth,” I say immediately. “Agreed,” adds Two, “But as I said, I’m going to need help. I have no clue how to guide a mind into a new body, and with someone like Eleven this could get pretty nuts, especially when said mind isn’t exactly responsive either. Plus, we need to induce birth right now, which will require love.” I poke Three who hops off of my back. “Here’s a battery you can use.” “I can even glow and do that electric buzzing noise!” he, of course, immediately proves that, “Bzzzzzzzz.” “Dad?” Gem, ears drooped, speaks up, “Mind leaving us alone? The less minds I need to replicate the knowledge to, the less chance of a mistake while we try to figure out what we can do here. I wish we could summon Comfort somehow, but we can’t.”  “Sure. Look, Gem, Two. No matter what happens, I know you’ll do your best,” I leave the room, and close off all my hive links. *** “I would like to welcome you to the final day of this year’s summit,” Celestia starts the meeting off in a way that makes me raise an eyebrow, “Ah, it looks like some of you haven’t heard the news. Last evening, I received several requests to cut the summit short for varying reasons. I will be honest with you, some were regarding security, definitely,” she looks at Ivanov, “but not all. I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to share, so let’s leave it at that. I intended to inform queen Chrysalis and king Beard today, because this year’s business of the northern hive was to be seen and to introduce themselves as king Beard said, and I believe they’ve proven to be valuable friends or at least allies despite eariler… hiccups. In light of their expertise and testimony, I will no longer be holding queen Chrysalis even in house arrest. Of course, the summit ending doesn’t mean that I’m asking any of you to leave before the official date. I will be more than happy to see you at the finishing ball. I will be arranging a small soiree for this evening before those who have to leave do so.” “We thank you for your hospitality,” says Vargaz, and gives her a short applause which I join, if only to be polite because my mind is elsewhere, namely one floor above. I could connect to Two or Three to see how they’re doing, but I promised not to bother them, and I’m keeping that promise unless it’s absolutely necessary. And so, it’s time for more diplomatic nonsense. Thankfully, no one really wants anything from me, so I just listen and ponder the situation. Namely, what could be happening with One. The only thing I was told by Luna was that the portal led far away from Canterlot. Where? That was impossible to figure out. On the other hole, she was with Cromach’s team, and he had confidence in them. So, unless they killed each other, they are probably fine, just too far to get back here within the few days like we did. Top secret ultra-fast airship and then a direct portal across third of the world definitely did help. During a break in the proceedings, after a quick walk to stretch my joints, I seek out Cromach who is currently sitting in the corner of the room, casually eating some smoked salmon. “Hey,” I nod at him. “Hello,” he ravenously finishes off the piece he’s been holding, and winks at me, “Happy for all this to be over?”   “It’s far from over, Cromach,” I sigh, “One is gone. What’s going on with Eleven is a total mystery, Star Trail will be back, and Arcane Hex is still out there as well. We survived another day, that’s all.” He shrugs. “In my line of work, that’s a valid reason to celebrate.” “Aren’t you worried about your guys?” “Will me freaking out and torturing myself by imagining every single horrible thing that could have happened to them help anything?” I sigh. “You’re right, of course.” “Speaking of which, are you leaving?” Shaking my head, I momentarily ponder the edibility of the meat. I mean, Cryo sure seems to like it a lot. “I’ll wait here until the end just in case One comes back. That said, I think I’ll either have us sit inside the castle all the time, or organize some group outings.” “You know, I haven’t asked, but what happened last night? All I know is that those Eleven guys Anvil and I had with us suddenly collapsed, and then your angry little redhead grabbed them both.” I tell him everything about the last night’s attack, including Eleven’s current state. “-Gem and Two are upstairs attempting something no one has ever done before,” I finish, “Who knows how long it might take, and I can’t leave before then anyway. Speaking of which, do you know why any of the other rulers are leaving, or was Celestia just being polite when she said it wasn’t all because of the attacks?” “Oh, she wasn’t,” Cromach shakes his head, “Believe it or not, majority of diplomats and rulers are used to some kind of assassination attempts. I had a chat with Vargaz and Zarach yesterday, and they both have trouble brewing at home. Thankfully, nothing that looks like it could become my job. Ivanov is a not-so-secret unicorn supremacist, so he sees any second he has to spend in a room with a ‘lesser species’ as tarnish on himself. I don’t know much about Ember and the dragons, but they are so used to being the top predators that someone who can actually get to them can’t be a pleasant thing to think about. Sheng Po-Ne and the rest of the chineighese guys don’t talk to anyone outside of business hours, but as far as I know, the far east is rife with nobility uprisings, assassinations, warlord coups, and political marriages. It’s quite possible that their whole country changed leadership five times while they were here and now they’re all on the beheading short list as the servants of the last dynasty,” he shrugs, “As far as Darkhorn goes, you should be telling me what’s going on rather than the other way around. So no, Sunbutt wasn’t just blowing smoke.” I sit on the chair next to him, and finally try the meat after adjusting my internal plumbing a little. Not bad, actually. I can see where Cryo is coming from. “You know… how would you deal with an enemy who keeps reappearing after you destroy him over and over?” “Your Star Trail guy. Well, I think we secured the castle enough, and Bright Star is in the infirmary under observation and heavy guard. That’s a good step one.” “How do you stay informed about everything?” “Three came to me at night after you disappeared with Eleven’s body, asking if I knew where you went. I obviously asked him some stuff, and he just kept talking and talking. I’ve never seen a creature so...” he searches for words, and in the end just shrugs, “so like him. And I used to have a puppy when I was small.” I chuckle. “Speaking of which, you didn’t say if you were leaving. I assume you’re not.” “You assume correctly. From what Three described to me Star Trail looked like, it’s clear his bodies are being grown somewhere and his soul is being moved between them. While I don’t particularly care about him, I’m worried about Arcane Hex and void rifts,” he smirks as if realizing something amusing only to him, “Funny, I actually prefer him being competent in that regard. As Magnus said, the stuff that can crawl out of the void if someone incompetent gets involved is much worse than any powerful lich in the world.” “You know, we got them both several times already. Does it mean Star Trail has to be somewhere close if his soul can come back to a new body after being killed over and over?” “I don’t think so,” Cromach shakes his head, “Souls are weird. Sometimes it seems like they obey only their rules no one else knows. I wish Void was here.” “But you just said-” “Void with a capital V, the alicorn of Death, not the place. He knew the flow of souls the best, and his natural influence significantly limited the power necromancers can have. Since his disappearance, necromancers have been cropping up all over the place, more powerful than ever. Literally, actually, because Void was one of the primals.” “How do we get rid of them then? What can we really do?” “To kill a lich, you need to destroy their phylactery. It’s an object that binds their soul, thus there can only be one at a time, and it allows them to recreate their body if it’s destroyed. Once the phylactery is gone, then the lich will be vulnerable. Destroy the body then, and the problem is solved. As far as Star Trail goes, I think Arcane Hex is skilled enough to just keep bringing him back, and seems to have the resources and an equipped lab to keep making fresh bodies for him.” “So killing just Star Trail and then leaving you to deal with the rest isn’t a thing...” “Yeeeeeah… no.” “I hate everything. Why are there no simple solutions?” “Welcome to my world.” The door of the ballroom slams open, a bunch of Royal Guards accompanying four Crystal Guards rush in with two stretchers. Cromach’s eyes go wide and he jumps from his chair, immediately running to the group. “Astray, Bubbles?!” he calls out. The satyr looks withered, huge chunks of his naked body charred and rotting black, the hair on his legs missing in clumps. The visibly exhausted demonette is on the next stretcher, holding his hand with her claws, unwilling to let go. My jaw drops, and I realize I must have missed this because of my closed links, but there’s a solitary changeling with them whose eyes well up with tears of relief when spots me. “Six?!”  “BOSS!”