Chapter Sixteen
They were led through the other end of the border station with a pair of wolves wearing the same blue sashes holding open the doors for them, each puffing their chest out with pride.
The exit led them into a tunnel, and when they had reached its end, Twilight looked out to see much the same lack of scenery as there had been on the other side of the border. She could tell there was a clearly marked path ahead of them, leading to more forest some distance away, and she could also tell that Applejack was visibly disturbed by this lack of plantlife. Still, the other mare was keeping quiet.
Finally, as their escorts reached the edge of the forest, they stopped. “From here on, the good Ambassador will lead you,” one of them said.
Twilight nodded. “Thank you very much for all your help,” she said.
The wolves dipped their heads in return, and then moved behind the eight, clearly watching as they entered the forest before returning the way they’d come.
Twilight kept quiet as she and Swift-Pad led the others, but once they were far enough in, she heard a quiet “Ahem” from Applejack, and turned back to look at her. “Yes?”
“Twilight, Ah know Princess Celestia said they don’t appreciate usin’ magic to grow stuff here, but why in the world would they not do somethin’ about those huge bare patches back there?” Applejack looked genuinely distraught.
“Security reasons,” Swift-Pad said before Twilight could. “There are those who have sought to use stealth to sneak across the borders. The open areas help to negate such things, by removing terrain that a foe could hide themselves amongst.”
Twilight nodded at him. “My brother used the same tactics in his role-playing games, and later in his time with the Royal Guard,” she said. “I admit I was confused when I first saw it here, but then I remembered his use of this method.”
“Ah,” Applejack frowned at that but still nodded her head in understanding. “Ah guess that makes sense. Y’all want to protect yerself.”
“Exactly,” Swift-Pad said. “We take our security very seriously, no matter the nature of the possible threat.”
“Have the Packlands ever had to deal with serious magical threats?” Rarity asked curiously.
Swift-Pad shrugged. “If you mean such creatures as Discord or Sombra, no,” he said. “Discord had never shown an interest in this land during his brief reign over Equestria, and their Graces dealt with Sombra before he could reach this far south. We have had occasional incursions by magical creatures like hydras or ursas, but they are typically met with trained runewolves like myself and redirected into uninhabited areas where they could cause no harm.” He then rolled his head to the other side as they continued to walk through the forest. “In fact, this is one of our more defended borders and we’ve rarely had any issue with illegal crossings with it.”
Twilight felt he was omitting things from his statement but decided not to press just yet and instead took in her surroundings. While she had been in multiple forests before, this felt like a mixture of the wild Everfree forest and the tamer White Tail Woods. There was a lack of magic in the air which was off-putting to her unicorn senses but it still felt alive and peaceful without being overpowering, which seemed to envigor some other senses within her. Looking over at Applejack and Pinkie Pie who were both looking rather at ease with their surroundings, Twilight closed her eyes for a moment and reached, feeling the flow of magic within her body - not the unicorn magic she’d grown up with, or the pegasus magic that Rainbow Dash had made an effort to help her with, but the third kind, which she’d barely tried to use since her ascension.
It feels like home, she thought. My Earth pony magic… it likes this place.
Fortunately, she’d maintained enough control to keep her magic within herself so it wouldn’t start affecting her surroundings, but now that she recognized it, it was hard to keep from feeling the sheer amount of life in the areas around her. Opening her eyes, she found the others staring at her curiously.
“Is there something the matter, your Grace?” Swift-Pad asked.
Twilight shook her head. “There’s just so much life here, and for the first time, I can really feel it,” she said with a smile. “It’s amazing.”
Swift-Pad smiled at her before looking over at Applejack who had a bit of a glazed look. “Is everything okay?”
“Partner, this land is calling to have stuff grown on it,” she said as she went over to examine a tree, leaning over to place a hoof on it before she stopped herself. With a light laugh and a faint blush as she rubbed the back of her head, she looked back at him. “Farmer’s instincts almost took over there,” she said. “And Earth pony instincts too. Ah get exactly what yer sayin’ about the life here, Twilight.”
“Soooo,” Rainbow Dash said after a moment of silence. “Getting off the Earth pony magic thing that I don’t really understand… who were those wolves at the gatehouse? Part of your pack?”
“Oh no, no,” Swift-Pad said with a laugh. “There are many distinct packs in our lands. As your friends Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack know, my own is the High-Leap pack, while much of our fish is brought in by the Dive-Deep pack. They, the ones at the gate house, belong to the Strong-Defend pack.”
“Wait wait wait,” Pinkie bounced over in front of Swift-Pad. “Didn’t you say that you’re named by your parents for doing something cool?”
“Yes, that is correct,” Swift-Pad replied.
“But that would mean Dive-Deep would have…”
“Would have swum far below the surfaces of the waters when he was a pup,” Swift-Pad said. “Indeed, he did so, well over a thousand years ago, in what we now know as the North Luna Ocean. He later became founder of the pack named for him, and while few of our kind have ever gone that deep since then, his descendents and their friends remember that day well.”
“I can’t imagine it went over too well at first,” Rarity said. “Wet fur of any kind…”
“I expect there was indeed some distress at the time, but given his accomplishment, his parents were rather proud of him and chose to focus on that aspect of his deed,” Swift-Pad replied. “Since then, of course, his pack has become well known for their fishing skills, though the Swim-Well pack has also achieved much fame in that area.” He shook his head and continued to walk into the forest. “In any case, we will first stop at the village of Strong-Defend’s pack. They have traditionally protected many of the borders, ever since Strong-Defend himself led a large wolfpack to fend off an attack by griffons who sought to claim these lands for themselves… I believe they intended to use them as one of many bases of operations from which to surround Equestria and take it over.”
“That’s disturbing,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
Swift-Pad shrugged. “If my memory serves me right, this was a renegade band that predated King John by many centuries, rather than one supported by the griffon kingdom’s official leadership of that era.”
“Still disturbing.”
Twilight decided to speak up. “Speaking of nations that have had problems, Princess Celestia told us that the hippogriff kingdom used to be friendly with Equestria, but one day they said that something had come up back home and recalled their ambassador. Do you know what that might have been?”
Swift-Pad frowned. “I recall the incident you speak of,” he said. “Their ambassador in our lands was also called back, but declined to give details, beyond that some problem had arisen and all of their kind were being called home from around the world. Since then, we have attempted to contact them from afar and to reach Mount Aris in person multiple times over the years, but none of our ships have ever been able to come within range of that land to properly investigate. It is as if something is purposely preventing us from getting there and discovering what happened to them, and we find it most worrisome.”
Pinkie’s mane flattened a bit. “So do I,” she said. “I think… I think something really, really bad must have happened to them…”
Twilight laid a hoof on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out,” she said. “Some day, somehow.” She then looked at Swift-Pad. “Do we have your permission to share this information with Princess Celestia?”
“You do,” Swift-Pad said. “If it is regarding the safety of an ally nation of both the Packlands and Equestria, then yes, you may inform her Grace of what we know.”
“Thank you.” Calling a quill, ink and parchment from her saddlebags, Twilight began writing. After several minutes, she had completed the letter, ensured the ink was dry, wrapped it up and gave it over to Spike, who instantly sent it while she put her supplies away. The fire spiraled in the air for a while before finally making its way over the mountain before stopping again and dropping down.
“I see that the protection spells are still in place,” Swift-Pad said, raising a paw to Twilight to halt her questions. “If you give the runewolves at the mountain’s top a moment, they will examine it before releasing it.”
“I see,” Twilight frowned, uncomfortable with someone else reading her messages.
“As with other measures at the border, it is for security reasons,” Swift-Pad said. “I am certain, given the information you intended to send, that it will be released very quickly - ah, there it goes.” He gestured, and Twilight saw the fire spiraling again before moving east very quickly. “The main purpose of this is to prevent harmful magics or other effects from being sent on or in such messages,” he continued. “There was an incident many, many years ago in which a rare renegade of our lands attempted to use his methods to send letters with… potent combinations of runes that, had they been activated at their destination, would have resulted in much danger for the intended recipient. Ever since then, we’ve kept a watchful eye out for such things.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s… disturbing, that someone would use magic for such a purpose.”
“I quite agree,” Swift-Pad replied. “The one whom had done such acts was caught and determined to be dangerously… corrupted, by some of the darker magics he had studied. In that case, we took steps to reverse the damage he had done to himself; he was prohibited from ever working magic again, but other than that, he was eventually able to live a productive life as one of our civilians.” He curled his lip. “Had he been found to be that way on his own, rather than through exposure to outside sources, the results would have been quite different. But I fear I am disturbing you with such talk, so let us change the subject, shall we?”
Twilight nodded again, but said nothing for a minute. Finally, with genuine curiosity, she looked at him and asked, “So what are your villages like?”
“Ah, I was wondering when you would ask,” Swift-Pad smiled at her. “While I could tell you, I can just as easily show you. We are here, after all.”
Twilight turned her head to see that they were reaching a large clearing with a number of houses already visible and an actual stone road in front of them. They were lower to the ground and more square than the houses in Ponyville with more uniformed building material structures but what really caught her eye was the number of non-wolves walking around among the wolves. There were all different species walking around; griffons, diamond dogs, donkeys, minotaurs, a hooffull of Saddle Arabian horses, and even a few creatures she didn’t recognize, including a pair who had bipedal bodies, pony-esque faces, bat-like wings and thin, tasselled tails, and who looked to be chatting quite amicably with one of the wolves.
Idly Twilight noticed there were no ponies among them but she held back on asking that and instead turned to Swift-Pad for an explanation when a black carapace turned around the corner of the street they were walking down.
“Changeling!” she shouted with her horn glowing with a spell to contain the emotivor before she was aware that Swift-Pad was suddenly in front of her, glaring at her with his teeth bared in a snarl.
“Your Grace, dispel your horn now before you start an international incident,” he spat, causing Twilight to turn her head and see that everyone was staring at her with anger. It took her a moment, but she was able to force herself down, and then looked at him.
“Ambassador, why are there Changelings here?” she asked quietly, barely restraining her temper.
Swift-Pad gave her a steady look. “In the Packlands, we welcome all races,” he said. “That includes the changelings, so long as they behave themselves.”
“You are aware of what they did to my brother’s wedding and what their Queen planned,” Twilight shot back, doing her best to keep her anger under control as she could see the crowd was still in that delicate stage where a town riot could unfold - Ponyville had taught her that one and not Celestia - and the last thing she wanted to do was cause an entire mess before her first day was even finished.
“We are aware of what her hive had planned and we took measures to see that those of our citizens who participated in the attempted coup were punished,” he answered with Twilight being able to read between the lines.
“And when are they to be transferred over?” Twilight asked while trying to get her breath under control.
“I, unfortunately, do not have access to that information or the exact reasons to delay in informing Equestria,” he replied which made Twilight aware he probably knew the reason and was just being evasive. It also made Twilight think of what Blueblood told her yesterday and she had to remind herself that despite Swift-Pad being a friend of hers, they did not have the same unified goals for each other.
Taking another deep breath to calm herself, she straightened her posture and looked him in the eyes. “I hope,” she said, trying to imitate Celestia’s most diplomatic tone the best she could. “When we meet your Elders and pack leaders, they can inform us.”
Swift-Pad dipped his head slightly with his body posture relaxing. “Perhaps they can,” he said with his paw in the air and flicking away, with the crowd finally starting to dissipate, though they gave her and her friends dirty looks and Twilight could hear a few of them muttering about typical pony arrogance. Once they were alone, Swift-Pad turned around to stare at the drone and sighed loudly, dropping his head with a paw covering his face. “For the eternal hunt, why are you here Maxilla?”
“Are those glasses, Swift-Pad,” the drone asked, leaning into Swift-Pad’s face with the wolf’s face reddening a bit before he shook his head. “They look nice on you.”
Swift-Pad shifted on his paws, looking away. “Thank you, Maxilla,” he said in an embarrassed tone. “But seriously, why are you here? You said you got your yearly contract with the western Strong-Defend village.”
“Well I heard that you were coming back through here and I thought I’d pay you a visit,” the drone said with a smile on his face before it was replaced with a more serious and curious look. “And, I was wondering, if you-”
“I still need time, Maxilla, please,” Swift-Pad pleaded before he tilted his head to the Equestrian entourage before he let out a louder sigh. “Everyone, I would like you to meet a very old and dear friend of mine, Maxilla.”
“Hello ladies,” Maxilla said, walking past Swift-Pad and Twilight to greet her friends, starting by shaking hooves with Rarity before moving onto Applejack and the rest. Twilight was aware that was this was not proper decorum for foreign visitors but reflecting on how she had reacted to his appearance, she could understand the slight. He finally stopped in front of Twilight with an expectant look on his face with Swift-Pad groaning into his paw again.
Thinking carefully and pushing back on her desire to apologize directly, Twilight held her hoof out to the drone and said, “I am regretful in my initial reaction Maxilla, but I have had very bad experiences with extremely hostile members of your kind in the past, and I am afraid I let those events colour my initial response to you.”
“Is that what amounts to an apology in Equestria?” Maxilla asked sharply with her friends breathing sharply and Swift-Pad groaning louder and muttering Maxilla’s name under his breath.
Before Rainbow Dash could finish pulling up into the air or say anything, Twilight shook her head. “No, it is not and while I would give a proper Equestrian one, I understand that the Packlands have different social agreements to an apology and I cannot give you one as I do not yet believe I will be able to prevent similar responses in the future.”
Maxilla stared at her before he started to smirk and laugh, shaking his head as he slapped a hoof on Swift-Pad’s back. “It seems that you taught her well, Swifty,” the drone grinned wider with the wolf grumbling at the changeling.
“Did you really need to do all of that, considering how important all of this is?” Swift-Pad shot back with Maxilla chuckling as they began to walk deeper into the town, with Twilight and her friends following.
“Maybe not but it did show you’re doing a good job at your job,” Maxilla said, leaning into Swift-Pad with the wolf sighing again but in a much happier tone now.
“So Ah take it this is yer special someone?” Applejack said with the wolf and changeling halting in place with nearly everyone walking into them.
“So you did mention me?” Maxilla asked with an excited voice with the wolf looking sheepishly.
“Once,” he admitted. “When a certain mare suggested I would make a good partner for her granddaughter, and I had to explain why that was not a possibility.”
“What did you say?”
Swift-Pad looked even more embarrassed. “That I… sort of had someone, and that it was complicated and I did not wish to go into specifics,” he said.
Applejack shook her head. “Given our history with changelings, Ah can’t blame you for holding back,” she said.
“It’s less of the fact I am a changeling and more of the fact of how we got together,” Maxilla said, looking at Swift-Pad for approval before changing his form into that of a wolf. “A few years ago,” he said in a much more feminine voice now, “I got into a bet with a few other changelings and I lost. The result was that I had to keep a form a single year without breaking character and they chose this for me.” The changeling waved a paw over themselves with Rarity letting out an Ah while Twilight was still trying to figure out what the issue was. “I ran into Swift-Pad and we started to date. We were getting close, very close and I could tell that he was falling in love with me.”
“But you-” Twilight began only for Rarity to hush her and wave her hoof at the changeling to continue.
“He had invited me to share his house for the winter which generally means the relationship between two wolves is serious,” the changeling looked at their paws before looking at Swift-Pad. “I couldn’t take advantage of Swift-Pad and reverted back before we shared his bed and told him everything. Of the bet and my feelings for him.”
“And while I am straight, I couldn’t deny my own feelings for… Maxilla,” Swift-Pad said. “So I asked my friend to give me some time to think on it and what it meant. Because while I do have love for Maxilla, the fact…”
“That he is still a he is throwing ya off?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Exactly,” Swift-Pad said. “I am uncertain if the feelings I have developed are for the form or the individual who wears it.” He looked at them curiously. “This does not bother you, does it?”
All of them shook their heads, and Spike spoke up. “Nah, that kind of thing hasn’t been a big deal in Equestria for ages. Hay, back in Ponyville, there's these two mares, Lyra and Bon-Bon. They say they're just best friends, but even I can tell they've got the hots for one another. So can most everypony else, and nopony's been bothered by it yet." He shrugged. “Of course, I have something of the advantage in that case. Lyra used to live in Canterlot and go to school with Twilight, so I knew her and how she swung even before we moved to Ponyville.”
Twilight gave him a look, but then sighed. “I guess I was clueless about it as always,” she said. “Now that you actually say something about it, I know what you mean, but… well, I wasn’t the most observant when it came to social interaction.”
“In any case, Swift-Pad I also need to tell you something important,” Maxilla said, stepping in front of him with the changeling frowning when the wolf looked away. “Look at me. I went to my Queen and she has permitted me to perform the Seal spell if you truly cannot move beyond the fact I am male.”
“The Seal spell‽” Swift-Pad barked out, snapping to attention. “But that’s… that would mean…”
“Being stuck in one form forever?” Maxilla nodded. “For you, it’s worth it.”
“I-i -I don’t know what to sa-” he paused before leaning over to kiss Maxilla on the lips with the changeling returning the kiss before breaking it off and bapping Swift-Pad on the nose.
“And you keep forgetting that except for our queens, changelings are genderfluid,” Maxilla said, swishing their tail with a smirk on their face. “If I have to be female to be with you, then that’s fine with me.”
Swift-Pad snorted and rolled his eyes, rubbing against his friend. “You are correct Maxilla, but I still need time.”
The changeling giggled and leaned over to nip Swift-Pad’s ear. “As long as you remember that I’m always right, I won’t hold it against you.”
The two laughed with Twilight smiling at the sight. Then she sobered somewhat as the two drew apart, and Maxilla looked at her.
“I do hope this has given you a new way to look at changelings,” they said. “I meant every word, by the way.”
Twilight nodded. “It has,” she said. “But… I do have some questions, if you don’t mind.”
“That depends on what you have to ask,” Maxilla replied. “Also, seeing as Swift-Pad is still showing you around, we should probably move on a bit.”
Twilight nodded, and the group, now nine members strong, began walking again.
Finally, Twilight asked them, “You said ‘queens’. There’s more than one hive?”
Maxilla nodded. “I don’t personally know how many, but there’ve been many over the ages. Not all of us get along either. My queen, Metamorphia, is actually pretty easy-going; it’s why she moved us to the Packlands several centuries ago.”
At that, Twilight felt her heart ease more. Not with Chrysalis then, she thought. Out loud, she said, “That’s good to know. The one queen I ever met was…”
“Yeah, Metamorphia heard about that,” Maxilla said with a snort. “She thinks Chrysalis is an idiot for trying what she did. Of course, she thought that even before we got wind of it, but that just proved her point even more.” They leaned in close. “Not every hive feels that way though, so you might want to be careful about voicing that thought around other changelings.”
“I understand.”
“Has Swifty here told you about how others feel about ponies?”
“He has,” Twilight said. “I… I must admit, it came as a shock.”
“Now take with the fact you are partly responsible for our race becoming known to the entire world,” Maxilla said with Twilight wincing. “A lot of us have issues with that, but just as much with Chrysalis over what she did.”
Twilight bowed her head. “I don’t know what to say,” she said. “I can’t apologize, because we were acting to protect ourselves. Had a hive approached and acted peacefully rather than how Chrysalis did, things might have been different. But her actions gave Equestria a generally negative opinion of your species, and I have no idea how long it would take to change that.”
“And Equestria isn’t Equu-” a passing member of the bat-winged species muttered only for Swift-Pad to glare at him with the individual gulping and rushing off.
“So,” Applejack said loudly, walking beside Maxilla. “Ah got a question for ye; how come there’re so many other critters around?”
Maxilla gave her a look. “Because the Packlands don’t traditionally try to force their ways on other races?” they said. “No matter the race, as long as they aren’t trying to cause trouble, all sapients are welcome here.” They then tilted their head to the other side. “In addition, working with a clan is one of the easiest ways of gaining permanent citizenship. In exchange for helping take care of their villages during the time they go hunting for the winter, we become welcomed members of a pack.”
Applejack nodded at that. “Sounds reasonable.”
“Um, while we’re all asking,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “What was that guy who passed us a minute ago? I’ve never seen anyone like that.”
“That was a gargoyle,” Swift-Pad replied. “They are not common on this continent, but they do visit occasionally.” He looked contemplative. “The gargoyles and centaurs coexist in a shared kingdom across the western sea; one of that land’s most famous kings was a gargoyle named Scorpan, who took the throne after his father died and his brother attempted to conquer all of Equestria and seize its magic for himself, an act which revolted Scorpan and resulted in his siding with the ponies, enabling them to banish the elder brother to Tartarus for his actions.”
Fluttershy, who had been quiet, looked distraught. “How… horrible,” she whispered.
Swift-Pad nodded. “King Vorak himself had earlier punished one of his own citizens for attempting hostilities against Equestria, which is one of the reasons that Scorpan sided with the ponies. That, and the friendship he had formed with a unicorn sorcerer of considerable fame. Starswirl the Bearded, he was known as.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Really? I had no idea… Princess Celestia once told me that Starswirl never understood friendship like I did, but if he was able to befriend Scorpan…” She trailed off.
Swift-Pad chuckled. “His understanding may not have been as great as yours was, but he must have known something of it, at least, if Scorpan called him a friend.” He shook his head. “At any rate, the centaur and gargoyle kingdom has been at peace ever since, but they mostly stay away from Equestria and its people, since they remember well what Tirek attempted and they do not wish to be viewed with suspicion because of his actions, even all these centuries later.”
Twilight couldn’t stop herself from wrinkling her nose but she was slowly getting used to this unfavourable reputation that Equestria had.
“I’m surprised that they didn’t close off all ties considering that the Princesses banished one of their princes,” Spike said.
“Considering that Scorpan himself condemned Tirek for his actions, and King Vorak had done so as well when he found his son studying forbidden magicks years before, the royal family was most understanding,” Swift-Pad said. “The majority of the kingdom agreed that it had had to be done.” He grimaced. “There is also the fact that King Vorak was much beloved, and the suspicion that Tirek was responsible for his early demise made him very unpopular among his own people.”
“Well I thank you for telling me about this,” Twilight said with a smile. Then she suddenly looked more serious. “I had never really heard of this story before, and I can’t help but wonder how many other old enemies Equestria has that I’ve never been told about… I didn’t find out about Discord or Sombra until they’d already returned. Or...” She suddenly fell quiet.
“Or?” Maxilla asked curiously.
“Somepony I met soon after my ascension,” Twilight said. “They… weren’t exactly an ancient enemy, and they were more misguided. I was able to talk her around though, and she’s in good hooves now.” Or hands, she thought to herself.
Swift-Pad shrugged. “I do not pretend to understand her Grace Celestia’s reasons for not informing you of such things sooner,” he said. “Nor is it my place to speculate on such at this time.”
Twilight nodded. “In any case,” she said before turning back to Maxilla. “There was another thing you said, about all your race but your queens being… genderfluid? I’m afraid I’ve never heard that particular term before.”
Maxilla nodded back. “As a race of shapeshifters, it’s just the way we are,” they said. “Queens produce the eggs and are mentally female no matter what shape they take, even if they look male. But the rest of us, gender’s usually just a matter of choice. Some may identify more strongly with one than the other, and some may primarily identify as one yet have days when they feel more the other and change as necessary, but for the most part it’s just a matter of what they want to be or feel they need to be.”
“As you have shown so well,” Rarity said with Maxilla nodding their head in agreement with a smile.
“Are you guys hungry by any chance?” Maxilla asked with a flick of their tail. Rainbow Dash nodded eagerly, and the others all voiced their assent. “Then come along; there is a farm nearby.”
“Sounds like your kind of place,” Rainbow Dash joked, elbowing Applejack. The other mare just gave her a look.
“‘S long as Ah remember to keep mah magic to mahself,” she muttered. “This land… like Ah said before, the ground here feels like it’s just callin’ out to me. So… full of life.”
Twilight was looking away from Applejack in time to see Swift-Pad and Maxilla share a concerned look before Maxilla walked in front of them. “Then come along, everyone.”