“So, what did you find underneath the throne, mom?” Mirage asked.
Several days later, Mirage was taking tea with her mother. After she had been debriefed on their excursion to the past, her family had managed to wrangle out some leave for her to “recover after a traumatising ordeal.” It left some time for Mirage to start finally catching up with her mom, and for Alternia to start teaching her eldest daughter about how to rule Equestria.
Alternia shook her head, the amazement clear in her voice. “Mom… she must have guessed that we had forgotten a few of the legends and stories of the changelings from long ago. She had granite slabs carved with the legends of changeling queens, stories of the Unspeakable Times, stories of the Great Queens, cookbooks, and even firsthand accounts of regular changelings living in the hive… she left a treasure trove of changeling artefacts, just sitting under her throne.”
Her eyes bright, Mirage took a deep sip of her tea to try to steady herself. “Grandmother and grandfather… they were amazing. I… you told us stories, but to meet her in the flesh. To fight alongside them—” Mirage blinked “ —Oh, sorry mom, I… perhaps I shouldn’t bring them up—”
“I am only a little envious, Mirage.” Alternia leaned over the table and nuzzled her daughter’s forehead. “I miss them, but I am honestly just so glad you got home safely.”
A teenager Mirage would have resisted the nuzzle, but the older, wiser Mirage shut her eyes to savor it. “I made a lot of mistakes, though,” she said.
“You also saved my life. You saved our lives, and by doing so, saved our future.”
Mirage chuckled. “Kind of weird that it was a closed loop, isn’t it.”
“Mm hmm. It is, but Starswirl and our researchers confirmed it and—” Alternia grinned “—I had a chat with Celestia. We pulled some of the memories I implanted in her when she returned to ruling.”
“I thought you said your mind—because of Shi-Nihalar—was too unstable to have the memories in Celestia copied back to you,” Mirage said.
“My mind is too unstable to take back all of my memories, but we just needed to copy a few—” Alternia chuckled “—I can now distinctly recall two changeling queen babysitters, and a blue-haired queen who really inspired me to use the halberd.”
To Alternia’s surprise, her daughter’s eyes dropped to the table. “Mirage?”
“You do realize that we—we could have stayed, and intervened when aunty Chrysalis pulled her coup, and—offered to take Celestia’s place,” Mirage stammered. “We could have stayed, and helped you.”
Alternia pursed her lips for a moment, deep in thought. “You could, but it’s better that you didn’t.”
“But mom—”
“Mirage, I do regret some of my mistakes, but I would never have wanted you to sacrifice yourself to save me. Neither would the me of the past. Would I have appreciated the help? Of course. But I am satisfied with what I did, what I survived, and what I enjoyed during my rulership as ‘Celestia.’” Alternia touched Mirage’s hoof, allowing her daughter to feel her sincerity and her contentment. “So let this be your first lesson. A queen should regret her mistakes, and can ask how they could have done better, but they need to also accept what happened.”
Her daughter nodded, and managed a brief smile, but Alternia could still tell there was something she was holding back, something she needed to say.
And so Alternia simply waiting, letting her hoof rest on her daughter’s, and the ambience of the Canterlot morning rest in the room.
Mirage closed her eyes, “Mom… do you know I’m taking counselling because I-I am showing signs of PTSD and panic attacks?”
“I had my suspicions. Your fillyfriend was rather tight-lipped, but she only revealed that you were seeing a counsellor,” Alternia said.
Mirage took a deep breath, eyes opening to meet her mother’s. “You’re not disappointed in me?”
That question felt like a dagger had grazed Alternia’s heart. “Mirage… why would you feel that way? I mean—” the princess blinked furiously and wiped a hoof across her eyes “—how could I not be proud of you? You always work so hard, always trying to achieve the best grades at school, then at officer’s academy, and then as a princess and airship captain. In the last year and a half alone, you led more combat missions than I might have in fifty years of rule!” Alternia took a deep breath. “Honestly, your work ethic scares me sometimes.”
Her daughter nodded, slowly, her eyes now wide open. “I just-I just feel like I could always be doing more. Grandmother, grandfather, you, our aunts and hell my godmothers, you did so much for Equestria, and for us… you’re just… all so amazing. I just want to do even half of what you all do.”
“And would that make you happy, Mirage?” Alternia asked.
Her daughter blinked. “It-I think it did at one point, but not now. Now, thanks to grandfather and grandmother, I know I need to step back, to-rest, take care of myself, and be with those I love. At least, part of me knows that, but I-I wasn’t sure what you might think.” A smile returned to Mirage’s face. “I think I know now.”
Alternia buzzed over to her daughter, drawing her into a hug. “Oh Mirage, you silly mare. You make me proud every day.”
“I know, mom, I… I think I actually know now.” She glanced up and blinked at the time. “Oh, mom, may I be excused? I have an appointment with Furtiva.”
Alternia nodded and passed Mirage her teacup and two biscuits. Muttering a quick thanks, Mirage downed the tea and tucked the biscuits into her peytral. “See you tomorrow for my lesson?” she asked as she trotted to the door.
“Our lesson, Mirage.”
The young princess paused mid-step, “Uh, what?”
“Because I am always learning from you, my daughter,” said Alternia.
Mirage blinked at how the statement seemed to ring so true, and smiled. “Huh. That’s food for thought.” She grinned back. “Love you mom!”
Alternia waved her eldest off, and while she didn’t have a mirror, she knew she was grinning as well. Once the door shut, Alternia quietly took away Mirage’s tea set and heated up another pot, but didn’t put away the biscuits. She only wiped the table and arranged for a new tea set.
A few minutes after she finished pouring another cup of tea in the new set, Kyria knocked on the door and Alternia called her to enter.
“Hi mom. Was Mirage just with you?” Kyria asked.
“Yes. How did you know?”
“She always arranges the pillows just so.” Kyria pulled a few extra from the pile by the fireplace, her magic quickly replacing and re-shuffling the seat. “So, what’s the occasion mom? I mean, yeah of course a mother can ask her daughter to visit, but it’s in the middle of your work day, and while I don’t have school, it’s not like you to cut time out in the middle.”
Alternia’s smile faltered, but then again, she had long decided it wasn’t a good idea to keep up a smile for what she was going to talk about.
“Kyria… Mirage told me something I need to talk to you about.”
“Mm hmm?”
Equestria’s changeling princess sighed, “I’m sorry that I have favored your sister over you.”
Kyria stared at her mother, smile gone, but there was no anger from her, only surprise. The young queen swallowed, and said, “Mom. I know you’ve always loved Mirage more, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t love me. I know you do. There’s no need to say sorry.”
Alternia shook her head. That’s no excuse for my behavior. I know I never intended to treat you two differently, but I clearly have, and you have noticed it.” She met her daughter with a resolute look. “I will be better from now on out, and you should let me know if you notice my favoritism in the future.”
“Oh,” Kyria blinked owlishly, but found herself mirroring her mother’s smile. “Thank you mom, and you should know… I really don’t hold it against you. Some creatures are closer to certain creatures than they are with others. And you always have shown that you love me too.”
Alternia found herself staring at her daughter in awe. “When did you grow to be so gracious?”
Her daughter sheepishly scratched the back of her head. “I had a wise and caring mother.”
“And I have two very wise daughters indeed.” Alternia finished her tea and poured herself another cup. “By the way, do you know that among the relics left by your grandmother, she left us several books of changeling recipes with notes on the ones you loved the most when you were with her?”
“She did? Oh thank the Creator! I thought I would never taste those treats again!” Kyria exclaimed giddily.
The princess chuckled. “Well, I was wondering, would you like to cook some with me after we finish our talk?”
Kyria squealed, nodding eagerly. Her mom was not the best cook, but she kept a cool head and at least she had a sense of taste. That, and time spent with her busy mom was going to be time well spent.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” said Alternia. She took a sip of her teacup. “There was also another reason I wanted to ask you to visit me.” Half-lidded eyes examined Kyria’s bright smile. “I just want to give you an opportunity to just… talk about what you experienced, more than in your official debriefing.”
“You were there during the debriefing,” Kyria said, one eyebrow raised.
“And so were far too many ponies and changelings who were trying to figure out if the timeline was being thrown out of whack. This is just you, and me, and anything you have to say is staying in this room. Your father will also be talking to you and Mirage later tonight, but honestly I suspect he’s just going to play board games with you both to help you de-stress.”
“That’s dad, but then again… I’ve really missed playing board games with him,” Kyria said. She paused, looking down into her cup. “There is one thing.”
Alternia nodded, quietly waiting for her daughter to speak.
“I… I don’t know if I used my time well when staying with grandmother and grandfather,” admitted Kyria. Alternia nodded, feeling the sadness and guilt from her daughter flow through her hoof. “I did my best to enjoy and spend as much time with them as possible, but with Atracina’s attack, there was only so much time we could spend with them. And now… we’re never going to see them again.”
“I think there’s no need for regret, Kyria,” said Alternia. She nuzzled her daughter. “We will never spend enough time with our family, and with the ones we love. The only thing we can do is to make the most of the time we did spend with them. Did you feel that you did that with your grandmother?”
Kyria pursed her lips. She thought back on the meals they shared, the conversations they had. She remembered how Chamelia has mediated her and Mirage’s argument. She recalled the talks they had over the link.
The young princess nodded. “Yes. I did make the most of my time with them. Thanks mom.”
“Anytime.” Alternia passed Kyria a biscuit. Her daughter opened her mouth instead of taking it and so Alternia plopped it into her mouth. “Are you ready to go back to school?”
“Yes! Professor Ocellus assigned me some makeup homework, but…”
Lying in their shared bed, Facere rolled over to face his mate.
“Chamelia, how long do you think we have to prepare our daughters for their trials?” he asked.
The queen pursed her lips, and shrugged. “I’m not sure, Facere, so we will do everything we can.”
“You will prepare them,” the changeling chevalier nodded. “Yes, you will have to prepare them.”
The queen blinked. “Dear?”
Facere sighed, touching his wife’s hoof. “There are still many of Ragnar and Atracina’s changelings that have escaped. I suspect—no, I know I will have to hunt them down for our daughters to be safe. If they are to see this bright future.”
His wife didn’t say anything, but he could see that her eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“Facere, do you think that is why you weren’t around while they grew up?” Chamelia whispered.
“Don’t be sad my dearest. I know they will meet me again in the future. I know that they will have a bright future, even if there are trials along the way.” Facere chuckled. “I must admit, it is rather disconcerting that … well we have an idea as to how our own stories end.”
“But we also know that they are about to begin theirs, and that we, through them, because of our love for them, will help… so many.” Chamelia smiled. “Isn’t that comforting?”
Facere nodded and leaned forward to nuzzle his queen. “It is a rather nice thought, my dear.”
Fin