//------------------------------//
// Four And Three: Barren, Part 1 
// Story: Five Weeks Till Nightfall 
// by DualThrone 
//------------------------------//

“Colonel Tin?”
 
“Mmm?”  Verde blinked sleepily at the dark blur swimming in her sleep-fogged eyes. “Erg… what the hay do you want?”
 
The blur, which was swiftly resolving into a pony face, showed a line of white teeth. “I just made some tea and thought you might enjoy a cup.”
 
Verde blinked the sleep out of her eyes and the blur finally resolved itself into the normally-placid face of one of the Canterlot Royal Guard, presumably one of Princess Luna’s, based on her silvery armor and rich, violet-blue coat. And, of course, because it was a mare and because that mare was grinning, which was more expression than Verde had ever seen from one of Celestia’s. “Oh. It’s you.”
 
“Yes, ma’am, I do believe it is,” the mare replied politely. “The tea is just now steeping.”
 
“What kind?”
 
“A Barrens delicacy, which is locally known simply as ‘ambrosia’.”
 
“Well, with a name like that, how can I refuse?” Verde rolled out of the bed and summoned a smile for the guard.
 
“You shan’t regret it.” The guard turned and trotted towards the rear door of the sleeper car and Verde stretched, popping a couple joints as she pushed herself towards full awareness. It was hard to believe that it’d only been a few days since the successful test of the shield generator (and total demolition of the machine bunker) and they were already hundreds of miles west, ready to meet with the changeling queen. After quickly packing a haversack, they’d arrived at the station, fully expecting to meet the ‘special representative’ but the only pony there was the solemn Guard mare who informed them that the representative of the Dual Thrones was already situated and that she, the guard, would be riding along in their car with them.
 
Astra, who had an understandable antipathy towards humorless authority figures--they reminded her far too much of her bloodless father--immediately responded “Hay no!” which was when they realized that the Guard wasn’t cut from stone: she’d immediately started laughing… and she had an amazingly pleasant laugh, almost lyrical. Astra had still insisted that the pegasus remain in the rear of the car but with the very ordinary response, she seemed to accept the armored pony’s presence, even if she didn’t exactly welcome it.
 
Verde, stuck with the Guard by default, had found that she was bizarrely gregarious for the ordinarily stoic Royal Guard. However, she gently refused to give her name, explaining that it simply wouldn’t be professional for a lowly Royal Guard to be overly familiar with a pony of Verde’s rank. This struck Verde as odd but although the other mare didn’t give her name, she was more than happy to talk about herself, her home, siblings, interests, and pretty much everything else.
 
“I was actually born in Ponyville,” she offered on the second day of travel, laying comfortably on the bed behind Verde’s.  “Unusual, I know, for a pony of my status to come from such relatively humble circumstances but I suppose Princess Luna saw something in me that recommended me to her.”
 
“Is your family still there?” Verde had asked, resting her chin on the simple wooden frame and watching the other mare.
 
“My mother still maintains a small residence for when she can get away from her work but… Ponyville is part of my past.” Turquoise eyes had become sad. “I regret that. Ponyville was the site of so many wonderful memories. Family, dear friends, defeats and triumphs, and more Nightmare Nights than I can count. Would you believe that I actually knew the six Ministry Mares before they were given their appointments?”
 
“Really!” Verde eyed her. “You don’t strike me as being that old.”
 
The Guard laughed. “I’m grateful for the flattery, Colonel, but it really wasn’t as long ago as you’d think.”
 
Verde felt curiosity bubbling to the surface despite her best efforts. “So what were they like?”
 
“They were, and are, fully worthy of the Elements they bear. Very special ponies; if the world were just, each would have a noble title and estates to their name instead of such things being wasted on the unworthy creatures that pollute the Courts to this day.” The Guard sighed. “Far too few are like Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis were, old-blood nobles with a proud lineage of charity, service, and personal courage.”
 
“Huh… I’d always heard that Fleur was more of a… well… a trophy. Shallow, not particularly intelligent, a pretty showpiece.” Verde mentioned skeptically.
 
“She was just shy,” the pegasus said with a shrug. “The point is, she and Fancy Pants are a prime example of the kind of noble I’ve always appreciated being around.”
 
“You mentioned your mother has a place that lets her get away from her work,” Verde mentioned. “What does she do that she’d travel to Ponyville to get away from it?”

“She’s… err… highly ranked in one of the Ministries,” the Guard replied, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

Verde noticed. “You look like you don’t want to discuss it. Is she one of Morale’s…?”

“No!” The mare exclaimed with sudden vehemence. “No, my mother would never associate herself with that Ministry, with what it does. She’s… she works in Arcane Sciences.”

“Ah, as one of Mare Sparkle’s researchers?”

“Um… y.. yes…” The Guard tapped her hooves together nervously.

Verde’s brow furrowed. “I’m getting the impression that if I know who your mother is, I’ll instantly know who you are.”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t want me to know that.”

“Yes.”

Verde frowned. “Why don’t you want me to know?”

“Because knowing who I am will obligate you to act differently towards me,” she replied. “Except for very dear friends, everypony sees me and instantly treats me differently no matter how much effort I put into being as normal, friendly, and approachable. I enjoy being approachable and treated as just another pony and because I can conceal my appearance this way, ponies tend to be at ease around me, and I can be one of them.”

Verde blinked at this and furrowed her brow. “That sounds like…” she began, but trailed off as Night gave her a silent, pleading look. “...that sounds like something I won’t think too deeply on. You’ve been very friendly and I wouldn’t want to ruin things for you. Is your father also off-limits?”
 
“No,” the Guard replied with a shake of her head. “My father, if you could even call him that, envisioned something for me that I eventually realized was not what I wanted for myself. I don’t fault him—for a very long time, he could not clearly see how wrong he was—but the fact remains that if I had fulfilled his vision of the kind of pony I should be…”
 
Verde waited for a polite few seconds. “Yes?” She prompted.
 
The other mare shook her head. “I don’t want to think about it. All the good I have done and may still do… gone, and even worse, turned to utterly evil purposes. I can safely say that I’m the pony I am because of my mother, not my father.” She smiled a little. “I suspect your companion could say much the same thing.”
 
“Exactly the same, actually, minus the entire ‘all the good turned to evil’ part.” Verde looked at her for a moment. “If you don’t mind my asking, what did he envision, exactly?”
 
“I don’t mind the question, Commander, but the mere thinking of it makes me feel tarnished, so I beg your forgiveness for refusing to answer.” She tilted her head and looked across with an expression of genuine, almost innocent, curiosity. “But what of you, Commander Tin? What do your parents wish of you?”
 
“My father wishes for me to be raised by and live with my mother,” Verde replied. “Not because of any lack of love for me, but because he feels that Mother needs to have her daughter near. And my mother? My mother envisions a daughter that is her confidante, peer, and a tool in her hooves to make Equestria a better, safer, happier place.” She smiled broadly. “Mother wants to make a hero of me.”
 
The Guard laughed softly, a laugh that was palpably happy. “Your mother sounds very much like mine, then. My mother saw immense potential in me and worked to guide me to be the kind of pony that would use that potential for good. To, as you put it, make Equestria a better, safer, happier place. I’d like to think that I’m doing so, in my own small way.”
 
“You seem so friendly that it’s a shame not to be able to call you by a proper name,” Verde mentioned. “And it would be a joy to meet your mother, if she’s still alive. If she’s like mine, meeting her would be a pleasure.”
 
“I have no doubt that if you’ve not already met her, you’ll treasure the experience when you do,” the Guard assured her.
 
From there, the conversation went on to other things and Verde began to regret that their journey was due to end soon. It had been fortunate to have the Guard and Astra for conversation because the Barrens were just that: they looked like little more than barren wastes. The armored train they were traveling in could roll at a very high speed for a very long time due to its fairly new gem-powered locomotive, but it would still have been agonizingly long without her companions.
 
A cup of tea that smelled absolutely mouth-watering brought Verde back to the present and the sound of the brakes screeching softly as the train slowed down to drift into the station. The tea turned out to be aptly-named: it was light, sweet, tasting of honey and nutmeg and other wonderful things that Verde couldn’t quite place. “Thank you,” she said to the Guard as she finished the cup.
 
“Always a pleasure, Colonel.” The mare replied as she accepted the empty cup and put it back next to the teapot. “I hope this isn’t inappropriate, ma’am, but I notice that you’re traveling with a zebra companion, a corporal by her rank markings.”
 
“You may not want to call her a zebra in her hearing,” Verde pointed out. “Why do you bring it up?”
 
“It strikes me as unusual for an agent of the Ministry of Morale to keep company with a zebra,” the guard pointed out. “It’s rumored that the Ministry is very… harsh towards zebras.”
 
“As it should be!”  Astra proclaimed from where she was just putting a clean cup down and starting to pour some tea. “Bunch of religious zealots and traditionalist blockheads in stripes. I, happily, am very much a pony.”
 
“Weren’t you just expressing distress the other day over the fact that the only thing between your father and a memory wipe was my mom?” Verde asked.
 
Astra shrugged this off. “I’d do it to him myself if I could; that wasn’t the point.”

“So what was the point?” the Guard inquired, her head tilting very slightly.

“The point was that good Equestrian citizens who happen to have stripes can be dragged in and have their memories ripped out,” Astra retorted, a faint hint of irritation creeping into her voice. “Sure, I’d feel unsettled and angry if it was done to my own daddy dearest, but that’s because there’s no escape from the fact that he sired me. I have nothing but hate for him, but his half is still as much a part of me as these abominable stripes, much as I wish it was otherwise.”
 
“For being a zebra yourself…”
 
“No!” Astra abruptly slammed the tea cup down hard enough that the handle snapped off. “I am not a zebra! I’m not an ignorant, mindless, babbling religious fanatic who’s scared to death of a few fucking constellations. I’m certainly not the brand of witless thrall that’s so bone ignorant that they can’t see that Nightmare Moon is so full of hugs and nice that you could get diabetes from the sight of her.”  She raised a hoof and pointed it at the guard. “They are not me. I am a pony; they are zebras. Get it right.”
 
The guard, by now, was looking thoroughly confused and not a little unsettled.  “You look like a zebra and sound like a zebra… but aren’t a zebra. And you have a very strong antipathy towards zebras.”
 
“Got it in one,” Astra replied with a nod.
 
The guard sat with this a moment while Astra deftly downed the tea in the broken cup before walking the remains over to the nearest rubbish bin. She looked up at the striped mare. “Why?”
 
“Because daddy dearest is a zebra and that’s all the reason I need,” Astra responded, not looking at her. “Everything I need to know about stripes, I learned from my own fucking dad.”
 
The guard would clearly have asked more but Astra continued in the direction she was going, to the front of the car, a little more stomp in her step than usual. The pegasus watched her walk away for a moment before looking at Verde.
 
“Don’t look at me, Guard; after nearly twenty years, I’ve learned to stay miles away from the subject,” Verde told her. “I’ll just say that Uncle Zoast is pretty much every bad thing you’ve ever heard about zebras… except for the affection he shows towards his mate, my Aunt Scarlet Knife. As I understand it, open affection towards your wife isn’t regarded as proper in traditional zebra social customs.”
 
“I wouldn’t know; the only zebra I ever knew was female and single.” The guard mare glanced out a window. “Well, we’re about to pull into Lepi Mountain. If you’ve never met a changeling before, Colonel, you may want to brace yourself. Their natural appearance can be slightly… unsettling.”
 
“Is it true that they look insectoid?”
 
“Somewhat,” the guard admitted. “A mix between pony and insect, really. Most of the insect appearance is in their faces and wings although if you get close enough, you realize that they also have chitin instead of fur.”
 
“Do you have any idea of what we can expect when the doors open?” Verde inquired.
 
The Guard looked thoughtful. “Not really. I’ve personally always wondered if the changelings have any particular traditions or rituals for greeting visitors. I know that the Court of the Dual Thrones traditionally has delegations take the long path through the gardens so they can see representations of the Princesses and their victories, defeats, and achievements before meeting them personally. Friends of the Thrones just walk up to the doors and ask admittance; friends, naturally, know the Princesses well and need no introduction.”
 
“I guess we’ll see,” Verde said as the train stopped and the door onto the station platform opened. She’d been expecting to see one, maybe two people waiting for them. Her greatest hope and an irrational one, she knew, was that Chrysalis would greet them herself and they could get right down to business, preferably somewhere pleasant.

The last thing she’d expected, however, was that the platform would be filled with changelings… each one holding a weapon of one type of another and pointing it in their direction.
 
“OK, not what I expected.” Astra commented, going carefully still at all the guns pointed at her. “What the hay?”
 
“You are not welcome here!” One of the larger changelings, dressed in light armor with a badge of rank, hissed. “The Barrens are ours, not a playground for the thugs of the Ministry of Morale.”
 
“Thugs of the…?” Verde stared at him. “This is a joke, right?” She quickly threw a glance over at the Royal Guard, who looked strangely placid for a pony that had a host of guns pointed at her. Something told Verde this meant something but she pushed it aside, returning her focus to the changelings.
 
“It is no jest, Morale.” The changeling spat. “You are not meant to be here. We will have none of our foals dragged away to your torture chambers. You will not seek traitors here, as your mad Mare bids.”
 
Verde upgraded her stare to a gape. “Have you totally spit your bit? We’re here to discuss a military matter with her highness, Queen Chrysalis, and…”
 
Several changelings gasped, their eyes widening, wings twitching agitatedly. The changeling who was apparently their spokestallion upgraded his angry look to something just short of murderous. “You will not get anywhere near our queen, thug.” He hissed again. “You will not touch her, you will not even lay eyes on her. You must kill us all before we permit you to…”
 
“I think, Captain, that that is my decision.”

Verde knew that the resplendent white unicorn bearing a jagged crown and a stunning gown of velvety black had not been there a moment before; in the sea of black that were her changelings in their natural shape, she would have stuck out like a sore hoof. Having gotten the attention (and the stunned silence) of those around her, Queen Chrysalis let her guise melt away, revealing a slim elegant, black-coated beauty with luxurious sea-blue locks spilling over her shoulders and a long, jagged horn jutting from her forehead. She smiled at the three ponies on the train before her attention went to the changeling she’d called ‘Captain’.
 
“I know that you mean to protect me, Captain Droso, but these are not the agents of the Ministry.” She told him, her tone gentle but with just enough of a chiding touch to make him look ashamed of himself. “I recognize Colonel Verde Tin and Corporal Astraylzenika of Grey Brigade and they do not serve at the whim of Mare Pinkamena Diane Pie of the Ministry of Morale. They have legitimate business with me, and they are welcome in my kingdom.”
 
“I… do not know what to say, your Majesty. I heard that the Ministry of Morale was sending ponies out this way and I thought…”
 
“…that Mare Pie was ignoring the agreement we have with the Dual Thrones where we would be permitted to monitor ourselves and punish our own according to our laws and customs.” Chrysalis nodded once as the changelings around her began to disperse, looking genuinely ashamed, a few looking towards the three ponies with real contrition. “Your intent was good, Droso, but you concluded evil when you knew very little. But you have my forgiveness if you have theirs; it is they whom you offended.”
 
Droso hung his head before turning towards them, sheathing his weapon as he did. “I beg your forgiveness, ladies. I treated you as enemies without cause and spoke ill of you without merit.”
 
“It is a time of fear, Captain Droso, and of great evils hiding in the shadows,” the Guard replied before either of them could. “I will not hold your fear against you; where the Ministry is concerned, it is not irrational.”
 
“Um… what she said,” Astra added, looking askance at the Guard mare.
 
“I’m actually quite flattered that you thought you needed so much firepower to stop us if we were hostile,” Verde remarked to the captain, smiling slightly. “Being treated as a power to be reckoned with and feared can be seen as a compliment, and I’ll choose to see it that way.”
 
“I am pleased to see the matter resolved then.” Chrysalis smiled warmly, her attention turning from the captain as he turned and walked away. Her eyes were a vivid green, slit-pupiled with a large band of brighter green around the first iris. Verde noted that unlike the other changelings, her body didn’t appear pockmarked, as if holes had been drilled through limbs and various appendages, but had very subtle patterns of divots and indentations in her chitin that Verde had to look for to actually see. Where her subjects had one pair of wings, she had the tandem pair of a dragonfly, a pair that vibrated slightly as the Queen of the Changelings looked upon the three ponies still on the train.
 
“I apologize for your initial welcome, representatives,” she said. “I feel that I should make up for it by inviting you to an afternoon meal so that we may speak on more familiar and comfortable terms.”
 
“It wasn’t your fault, Your Majesty,” Verde assured her as she stepped off the train onto the virtually-deserted platform. “I wish I’d realized that the Ministry of Morale isn’t normally welcome, or I’d have tapped a message ahead.”
 
“I neglected to inform Droso, Colonel Tin, so the fault lies in me,” Chrysalis said firmly. “He is extremely protective of me, as are all my people, and while I appreciate their devotion they can allow their zeal to overwhelm their good sense. Now, how does deviled cacti with prickly pear sound to you?”
 
><><
 
“I can’t believe I thought the Barrens were composed of wastes,” Astra commented as she leaned back, patting a slightly distended belly. It turned out that the changelings used cacti and prickly pear fruit much the same way that ponies used daffodils and apples, as a staple food with seemingly endless variations. And it was possibly the most delicious fare Verde could remember.
 
“Like my people, the Barrens are not always what they seem to be, Corporal.” Chrysalis said pleasantly.
 
“You may call me Astra, Your Majesty.”
 
“And I would be delighted if you called me Chrysalis, Astra.” The queen looked between the three of them. “And that goes for you all; you are not my subjects and this is not a matter of state, at least not at the moment, so some informality would do no harm.”
 
“That’s good to know, Chrysalis,” Verde acknowledged. “And it’s nice to converse with a relative stranger who’ll let me call her by name.”
 
“I did explain my reasons, Colonel,” the Guard reminded her gently.
 
“And they were good, if thin, but don’t you think it only polite to let the Queen we’re conversing with know you by name?”
 
The Guard eyed her thoughtfully before smiling. “Well, I saw what I wanted to see and it was a singular joy to know one of the ponies who fights the battles of the Dual Thrones better. You’re right, Verde; being recalcitrant no longer has any purpose.” She treated Chrysalis to a broad smile. “You may call me ‘Night’, Chrysalis.”
 
“A pleasure to meet you then, Night,” Chrysalis responded.
 
“And an even greater pleasure to know you, Milady,” the pegasus replied. “The tale of your life and what you’ve overcome is well-known and greatly celebrated in the Court of the Dual Thrones. To meet you in the flesh is the highest honor and one far too long deferred.”
 
Chrysalis looked taken-aback at this. “My life story may be interesting, Night, but celebrated?”
 
“There’s ample reason,” Night returned seriously. “Even as much of a villain as she was, Nightmare Moon was still a pony, eating and drinking and living the way a pony does. Not only were you of such a character that you could be redeemed by the love of another, you had to choose to be something entirely different than you were. We regard this as cause to celebrate you and your story.”
 
Chrysalis looked uncertainly at the pegasus before a small, shy smile appeared on her muzzle. “Thank you.”
 
“You’re welcome, milady Queen.” Night bowed deeply to her. “It was a singular pleasure to receive permission from Princess Luna to accompany Colonel Tin and Corporal Astraylzenika.”
 
“Speaking of Luna, you seem to resemble her quite a bit,” Chrysalis mentioned, looking curiously at the pegasus. “Except for the eye color and lack of a horn.”
 
“And believe you me, she takes full advantage of it,” Night said ruefully. “She loves to imprint a simple visual and audible illusion on me so that she can slip out and spend some time enjoying her creation instead of having to listen to the whining of pampered nobles all the time. I think it says quite a bit that the idiots don’t care enough to notice that Luna and I have very different demeanors and personalities.” She paused. “Have you met Luna? Really and truly met her?”
 
“I know her well, in fact,” Chrysalis replied. “We speak regularly as she has frequent need of my people.”
 
“Frequent need of your people?” Astra asked, scooting over so Night could join them as Verde did the same. “Why?”
 
Chrysalis looked amusedly at her. “Surely that’s fairly obvious, Astra.”
 
“Not especially.”
 
The queen eyed her skeptically. “Surely you’ve heard of the defining trait of changelings.”
 
“Sure,” Astra replied as Verde lifted a cup of prickly pear juice and sipped it. “Four-petal cooches.”
 
Verde promptly choked on her juice and began coughing. Chrysalis gaped at the perfectly straight-faced zebra mare before she burst out laughing. Night used a wing to bosh Astra on the head as she lightly thumped on Verde’s back. The moment Verde got her coughing under control, she kicked Astra in the flank, getting an expression of wounded innocence in response.
 
“Oooh… oh... oh dear…” Chrysalis responded, wiping a tear of mirth away from an eye. “Do they still tell that one?”
 
“Seeing as how I know it, yeah,” Astra replied, grinning. “There’s lots more, although that one’s my favorite.”
 
“But you actually do know what Chrysalis is referring to?” Night inquired, trying to suppress a grin.
 
“Of course; virtually perfect disguise.” Astra said. “It requires unusual perception or spells to see through the deception, although the better a changeling is at the skill, the harder it is to spot the imperfection. For example, Chrysalis, the only reason your white unicorn guise didn’t hide anything is that you weren’t trying to hide yourself; I’m guessing that it’s a favorite shape.”
 
Chrysalis’ expression, still tinged with amusement at the ‘cooches’ comment, fell. “Much more than merely a favorite shape, actually. It’s more of a second natural shape; I don’t even think a spell can penetrate it, although I’ve never asked a sufficiently talented pony to make the attempt.”
 
“A second natural shape?” Astra glanced over at Verde with surprise. “That wasn’t in the…”
 
“For a very good reason,” Verde interrupted her. “I’ll explain later, dear.”
 
Astra looked at her for a long moment before turning back to the subdued queen. “I take it you’re a bit different than most changelings.”
 
The comment drew a grin from Chrysalis. “Well, my being their queen would be an excellent example of that.”
 
“Chicken and egg.” Astra waved a hoof dismissively. “I meant the full dragonfly wings. The lack of pockmarks or the appearance of large holes torn through your body. The less obvious chitin and disproportionately smaller fangs. A full and, if I might say, rather luxurious mane and tail. I’m sorry for being so inquisitive, milady, but until the briefing from my cousin three days ago, I didn’t realize that the Western Reaches were a kingdom separate from Equestria under the rule of a totally different people.”
 
“It doesn’t bother me,” Chrysalis assured her. “The shortest answer is that I’m the… purest example of my people. The more pony-like physical appearance appears to be something that faded after my grandchildren’s generation.”
 
“Wait… you’re…”
 
“Related by blood to every changeling?” Chrysalis smiled. “Yes. Granted, the connection is extremely diluted due to the preference many have for marrying into pony families, but I’m the primogenitoress of this changeling race in addition to being their queen.”
 
Astra looked Verde’s way strangely and Verde chuckled. “Sorry, dear; that all changelings are related to their queen…”
 
“That’s not it at all,” Astra interrupted. “I’m not the brain you are, cousin, but I can do simple math. What you’re saying isn’t possible given the timing you’ve told me about. If the Thrones didn’t recognize that the changelings were no longer a danger to Equestria until twenty…”
 
“Excuse me?” Night interrupted.
 
“Verde’s briefing indicated that official recognition that the changelings were no longer a threat to Equestria came twenty years ago,” Astra replied.
 
“That is true but it was not due to the Thrones,” Night told her emphatically. “Celestia recognized the end of the changeling threat well over forty years ago.” Her expression grew slightly stormy. “It took twenty bucking years for the arrogant, petty, nobles that pollute our Court to pry their horns out of their hindquarters.”
 
“What made them…?”
 
“What made them extend recognition?” Night jaw tensed in controlled anger. “They decided that the passing of what they believed to be the last changeling’s husband of twenty years was the perfect time to cheerfully announce the end of the changeling threat to Equestria. Luna was furious when she learned of what drove the timing of the decision and she let the nobles hear all about it. After several minutes of them cowering before her wrath, she ended by stripping them of their titles and all but a fragment of their estates.”
 
Chrysalis was the first to break silence. “…wow... You’re very… passionate about this. Like it’s very personal to you.”
 
The anger dissipated almost as quickly as it’d appeared and Night smiled very slightly. “I’ve become rather close to Luna during my time in the Court and I admire her for being the people’s princess. She’s never been able to fake patience with the antics and pettiness of the nobles, and I must say that I deeply respect her for that lack of patience.”
 
“And for a time, many of my people wondered why I felt such affection for the Thrones.” Chrysalis shook her head, smiling. “Celestia came to console me in my bereavement and Luna has always shown me warmth and understanding. Nyx… I’ve always felt a sisterly kinship with.”
 
Night grinned. “So should I tell her that when she meets you, she can call you ‘Chryssy’?”
 
Chrysalis eyed her. “I… suppose. Is there any nickname that she prefers, just so we’d be on equal terms?”
 
“I’ve heard that she likes to be called ‘Night’ by those closest to her.” Night replied. “I think the reason I share that nickname is that the combination of my eye and coat color reminds others of Princess Nyx.”
 
“Night as in…?”
 
“Nightmare Moon, yes.” The turquoise-eyed pegasus smiled broadly. “As she’s put it, she destroyed the villain that bore it and claimed the name by right of conquest. Perhaps one day, they’ll tell little foals the story of how Nightmare Moon was turned from a very bad pony to a good pony through a mother’s love. I sincerely hope so; I can think of no other pony that could see an evil foe of Equestria in an innocent filly’s eyes and still take her in and call her daughter.”
 
Verde seized the segue. “Speaking of Mare Sparkle, Your Highness, our purpose in coming to the Barrens is related in part to a joint project between her Ministry and the Ministry of Wartime Technology,” she said. “I trust you’ve heard of the successful completion of the Alishield generator?”
 
“The defensive shield that’s slated to be installed in all the Ministry hubs?” Verde nodded. “Then yes, I’ve been informed.”
 
“And have you heard of the success of General Manestein breaking the cordon around Stalliongrad?”
 
“Yes, and of the initial success of General Derian’s campaign to pin and destroy the besieging forces.”
 
“Good. The situation is thus: three days ago, a significant improvement of the Alishield was powered up at the Ministry of Wartime Technology Fetlock Installation. Preliminary results indicate that it’s an order of magnitude more powerful than the first version, enough that even when full power activation only lasted two seconds, the shield was strong enough to totally demolish a heavily-reinforced concrete bunker without the ponies in the bunker being harmed at all. Now, to verify that the shield is actually as powerful as it appears to be we…”
 
“…need a relatively barren and lifeless section of land to conduct a live test involving the detonation of a Mark Ten at point-blank range from the fully-powered generator.” Chrysalis interrupted.
 
Verde was momentarily taken-aback. “You were informed of our purpose before we got here?”
 
“Not at all,” she replied with a small frown. “I’ve suspected your purpose since I received word that you were coming. I’ve been considering the possibilities but there are few of them. In all but a few places, the various winds and crosswinds make it so that any megaspell test will poison vast amounts of changeling lands. But those few places are completely unsuited for tests involving megaspells.”
 
“How so?”
 
“Extremely mountainous,” Chrysalis replied. “The terrain is so rough that I can’t see it offering a practical test for your shield generator.”
 
“I have a thought about that, actually,” Astra offered. “I remember that way back when, the changelings’ home was referred to as a ‘hive’, right?”
 
“Yes, we used to live in a large warren of caves. Well, more accurately, I used to, along with the others of my race; my children have never even been to the old hives.” Chrysalis looked thoughtfully at the zebra before a smile began to play at the corners of her muzzle. “You are quite the clever one, Astraylzenika. I believe I know precisely what you have in mind and… it could work. In fact, if there is a single place in all my kingdom I would more want to offer for these tests, I cannot think of it.”
 
“You’re eager to see your old home get vaporized?” Astra eyed her. “That… seems a little odd.”
 
“It’s an artifact of a different time, a different me, and a different changeling people,” Chrysalis told her. “I once used it as a symbol of where I came from and how far I’ve traveled from my origins but now…” She smiled a little. “Now that it’s just a collection of old caves with unpleasant memories; destroying it would be catharsis itself.”
 
“Are there any potential complications in doing so, Chrysalis?” Night asked. “I get wanting to destroy every trace of bad memories and an unpleasant past but there’s nothing to be gained from poisoning the future with the debris of the vaporized past.”
 
Chrysalis laughed at this. “That’s rather poetic, Night.”
 
“I know, pretty cool huh?” Night grinned cheekily. “But seriously… if we’re going to use your old hive, can you think of anything we might need to do to prepare the ground so irradiated dust doesn’t escape into the wind currents?”
 
“I haven’t been there in years; too busy living my life and being a good queen,” Chrysalis admitted. “But it’s easy enough to get fast transport in that direction.”
 
“How fast?” Verde asked. “I’m sure you can appreciate our fears and why we would seek this meeting, Your Majesty. With the breach of the cordon around Stalliongrad and the possibility of trapping and annihilating two entire armies, the analysis I’ve read estimates a high probability that the zebras will take drastic measures to regain the situation.”
 
Chrysalis laughed softly again. “Commander, I’m well aware of the analysis. Captain Droso submitted it to me for approval before sending it along, after all.”
 
“Oh.” Verde felt herself flush slightly, embarrassed that she hadn’t seen the obvious connection between the fact that the changelings were natural shapeshifters and the warm relationship between the Queen and the Dual Thrones. “I suddenly feel sort of foolish.”
 
“You needn’t, Verde. Few ponies and almost as few of my own people look at me and conclude ‘spymaster’.” She chuckled. “To most ponies, I’m simply an attractive and pleasant changeling mare. To most changelings, I’m a wise and considerate ruler. That I act as Equestria’s spymaster, answering directly to the Dual Thrones, is known to almost no one although your own mother, Viridian Rain, knows me as a colleague.”
 
“I’d always wondered who ‘Cee’ was…” Verde said idly. “At any rate, how fast is the transport you can arrange?”
 
“It’s a high-speed rail system we use to cross large stretches of arid territory,” Chrysalis replied. “I’ve heard it called a ‘bullet’ train, although the only part that resembles a bullet is the conical front. It uses gems enchanted to keep it within a certain distance of the tracks so the cars can travel much faster than your armored trains could.”
 
“No doubt, although armored trains are supposed to be force multipliers, not fast transport,” Verde pointed out. “I don’t know where we’d be if developing a gem-powered engine hadn’t been one of the first things the Ministry of Wartime Technology did. So many victories won by well-nigh invulnerable armored behemoths providing fire support…”
 
“Yes, Stalliongrad was said to be an incredible battle to behold,” Chrysalis nodded. “Speaking of the fast transport, if you’ll follow me, I remember that the train towards the coastal rock farms, which has a stop near the old hives, is scheduled to depart in thirty minutes.”
 
“That’s pretty impressive, remembering off-hoof when a train is departing for a particular place without even checking the time,” Astra commented as they turned and left the small café where Chrysalis had invited them for lunch.
 
“It’s not as impressive as you’d think,” Chrysalis admitted. “I’ve been taking the fast transport to the coastal farms thrice a week for years. I… enjoy the ocean.”
 
Their party lapsed into silence as they wound their way through the city of Lepi Mountain. Given that the Changeling Kingdom hadn’t even existed until thirty years ago, their second-largest city was amazing. Wide, spacious avenues combined with fountains, architectural features, green spaces (composed of a spongy, carpet-like plant instead of grass), and low walls bordering stone walks that ran alongside the myriad of shops to make it an extremely welcoming city. 

Verde was surprised to see that zebras and ponies were at least as common as changelings and not one of the zebras they passed seemed to be bothered by the presence of a Royal Guard and two ponies with the clear decorations of black ops soldiers. Verde had to giggle a little at the reaction of Night to the city: she was trotting down the street looking around with childlike wonder, almost glowing with curiosity and fascination with her surroundings. Verde couldn’t help but think that the youthful Guard, who was probably older than her, looked positively adorable when she was gazing around like a filly who’d never been in a city before. Lepi Mountain wasn’t as colorful as most pony cities but it was apparent that the changelings hadn’t let any grass grow under their hooves when the Dual Thrones officially acknowledged that changelings were now Equestrians like any other pony.
 
“You seem to really like Lepi Mountain, Night,” Chrysalis commented, barely restraining a laugh, after several minutes of watching the pegasus’ obvious wonderment.
 
Night flushed slightly, shyly. “Something I inherited from my mother: I love knowing things and I’ve never seen an open-air city built by changelings. All sorts of information about a changeling hive, of course, but you’re the first queen to build cities, Chrysalis.”
 
“There was little choice, not that I’m at all upset about it.” Chrysalis smiled happily. “My people could find love for themselves and form the loving and deeply nourishing connection with a mate that wouldn’t be parasitic. And having found love among ponies and even among zebras, why would they want to return to dark, dank tunnels instead of relishing the sun and feeling the breeze through their manes?”
 
“You know, I’m starting to get the feeling that there’s more than one kind of changeling,” Astra remarked. “You mention living in a hive but say that none of your children have. You talk about your people finding love for themselves as if it was a new thing and specify that the bond wasn’t parasitic, as if it could have been otherwise. I mean, I don’t even know how being in love could be parasitic. Nights talks about you being redeemed somehow, but redemption from what, and why would the Dual Thrones ever think changelings were a threat to Equestria?”
 
There was a long awkward silence, Chrysalis looking conflicted, Night looking uncomfortable, and Verde worried that her cousin may have accidentally offended the queen by asking something so personal. After several seconds, Chrysalis appeared to resolve whatever conflict she had. “It’s quite a story and an equal explanation, Astra. I’ll do what I can to satisfy your curiosity when we’re settled aboard the fast transport.”
 
“Wonderful,” Astra smiled. “I might not be insatiable but being ignorant about something as important as dear allies of Equestria unsettles me.”
 
Chrysalis smiled back and Verde breathed again. “I appreciate that. Frankly, it’s probably about time that an honest history of who I am and what has passed in my life is told to a fairly ordinary pony.”