//------------------------------// // 11: Heart to Heart // Story: Mother of the Hives // by law abiding pony //------------------------------// Velvet felt great about pushing things along ahead of Blitz’s ponderous timetable. I waited too long to do this. I won’t accept another day! As the hours passed she rode that high right up until the train pulled out of its Ponyville pit stop. The heat of the moment chilled with every click-clack of the train as it sped towards Phoenix Roost.  Twilight Velvet kept her eyes peeled out of the window, as if even glancing at Lyra would make her rethink her decision. No. no, too late to turn back now. This needs to happen. For good or ill. The wild green of the Everfree Forest at last gave way to the constantly advancing steel walls along the edges of controlled land. For a moment, it looked almost modest, until she saw a section actually move forward. The gap revealed a tractor-like machine was attached to not just the moving section, but the entire wall was made of sections, each had grooves allowing the dozen other tractors to reposition them.   Some of the walls bore red phoenix emblems in various stages of sun beaching and flaking. A transient wall. How strange. The train clattered by one tractor that was being attacked by massive tree roots and a team of flamethrowers were fighting back. Further afield, a regiment of regular troops accompanying loggers and some of the tree-ponies Velvet had heard of in passing. The scene was flying by too quickly to see what they were doing. “Have you ever actually been here?” Lyra half-shouted over the rising noise of the train engine and approaching lumber mill.  Velvet’s view of the facility was cut off as the train turned off the main line, leaving her sight filled with rows upon rows of cargo trains waiting their turn to leave for places beyond.  “No,” Velvet said, resisting the urge to look at Lyra. She could feel the hybrid’s judging gaze burning into the back of her head. The train whistle blew loud and strong, causing both of them to flatten their ears.   Lyra grumbled with overt irritability and joined Velvet at the window.  “Really wish you hadn’t forced us to leave Bonny behind.” “To be fair, I was trying to leave you too so you wouldn’t stop me.” Lyra’s frown deepened, and she huffed before the train’s brakes made her rock on her hooves.  “We’ll be there soon, so cover up. Since you’re so committed to this, follow my lead and at least try to keep your mind clear.  The whole train is buzzing about who could be the source of all this dread anxiety.” The cabin door sliding open grabbed both mares’ attention.  In stepped two bipedal purple drones wearing marine warmage uniforms.  “Indeed we are,” said the one on the right. Lyra tried to mask her sudden fear with an amused snort.  “Were you outside our door waiting for one of us to say that?” “So what if we were?” The left one replied with a sly smirk.  “When are you going to show me that trick you did with the umbrella Green Machine?” “Save it, Slicer,” his partner chided lightly. “Momma’s got business with your charge.”    “What are soldiers doing here?!” Velvet gasped, and tried to not cower behind Lyra.  “Same reason as always,” Slicer replied as if not understanding the purpose of the question. “The Everfree has attacked the trains too many times to leave them unguarded.”  Not waiting for Velvet to think of ways to stall any further; the two marines stepped up, and placed a hand on Lyra and Velvet respectively. They pulled out a pair of melon sized arcane crystals from their backpacks. A flash of their horns and crystals later, all four of them were teleported away. The group flashed into existence atop a skydock’s balcony overlooking the breadth of Phoenix Roost.  A circle of five mage drones fell backwards from acute exhaustion from the teleport. The two marines stepped back from the crumbling remains of a beacon sigil on the steel floor. The crystals, now spent, broke and disintegrated into glassy dust that scattered to the fair wind.  “Stay here.” “Even me?” Lyra half joked, trying to hide her vertigo from the unexpected long range teleport. “All I had to do was get her here.”  Velvet, however, was old and long out of practice, and felt outright queasy.  She had to force herself from heaving her breakfast by leaning heavily on the nice and cool metal railing.  “Yes,” Slicer chuckled.  “Because momma wants to know the umbrella position too.  She’ll be along shortly.” With that, the pair either physically aided the mages in standing back up, or magically hefted them to their hooves so all seven of them could leave.  Slicer turned and winked at Lyra before passing out of sight.  Velvet forgot all about her tossed stomach at the sight of it all.  The hive stretched out for miles in all directions in many low, squat buildings. Drones and a scattered few other species filling the city’s arteries and airspace.  The din of buzzing wings, conversation, and the humming octavia engines of a passing airship reached their ears. Velvet stood in amazement at the strange blend of Canterlot architecture and industrial colors. There were even a plethora of mechanical ponies sweeping or otherwise maintaining the streets below, much to the marvel of newcomers and children alike. The numerous engines and clanking gears made it seem almost as if the city was breathing.  Mechanical advertising signs of all shapes, sizes, and colors vied for attention. The black roads were much wider than Velvet thought necessary until she saw a ponyless carriage pulling a cargo trailer slowly through the crowd that scattered to the sides to allow it passage.  The crowd itself was, to her surprise, mostly ponies.  Lyra stepped up to join her. “Coming back to this tourist trap is always pretty cool. You know they change the signs every two or three years to keep things fresh?” “I didn’t.”  Velvet sorely wished she had. Such bizarre artistry.  And yet… it feels so much like what Twilight would think of as art.  Memories of tugging a young Twilight through a science fair, back when neon signs were only starting to become commercialized. Velvet remembered with a smile at how enamored Twilight was with them. Isn't it amazing, mommy?  They put different gas into the bulb to make different colors. Do you think they could make me one of my cutie mark?! A note of sorrow hit Velvet. I should have gotten it for her. All those fearmongers saying neon lights were dangerous were way overblown in the end. The deep bass of a steam horn sounded the hour, pulling her out of her memories and towards the castle.  It was not quite the towering edifice that Canterlot castle was, but it was indeed much wider, squat even, much like the rest of the hive.   It was truly alien to Velvet’s eyes, in that it looked vaguely like an airship, and was completely metal. The castle sported a brass finish, and even from this distance she could see several moving gears and pistons. Stand out amongst it all was a breathtaking mural of a crimson phoenix painted on its face with its wings flared out to reach the castle end to end.  Velvet saw the beak close when the hourly horn went silent. Oddly, she saw a carpet of greenery crowning the palace. Movement pulled her eyes north where no fewer than twelve cargo airships were lined up in a queue at the southern airdock that was already servicing ten others. Above them all sat an imposing sight of five warships, four small ones surrounding the chilling visage of the newly christened battleship Sword of the Hives. Velvet was pulled back to last year when she had visited Whinnyiapous for the first Equestrian air show to feature the warplanes she had read about in the papers. She had gone there as covered up as she was now to avoid the attention of any drones, and thus her daughter.  Seeing the fast war machines for the first time still left her trembling at the thought. Yet what really got the crowd’s attention were big things, and the public unveiling of the Sword of the Hives was a show stopper. It's like they took the Deception and grew everything about it to three times the size.  I hope tensions with the Federation don’t get worse. Lyra started whistling a soft tune, pulling Velvet back to the present.  The lime green mare’s gaze never left the skyline. “I hope I have time to visit The Bolt’s Bacon Grill.” Velvet had to sit down as it all overwhelmed her.  “She’s built so much in so little time.” “Beautiful isn’t it?” came a stern voice from the room behind them. They turned to watch a taller bipedal purple changeling pushing the curtain aside while keeping one hand outstretched at Lyra.  Upon seeing her, Lyra quickly dropped into a kneeling bow. “My queen.” Velvet frantically joined Lyra in a bow of her own.  “Your highness.” “It’s been a while, Vee,” Aegis said mockingly looking down at her.  “How’s the archive been treating you?” Velvet shakily removed the hood from over her face to look up at Aegis’ guarded face.  Velvet could feel the magical power that roiled around the queen, and felt as if a single word stood between her and a storm.  “I - Ah… The work has been agreeable, thank you, your highness.” Aegis absently drummed her fingers on her holstered flamethrower, trying to word her next question properly.  “No offense, my queen, but why are you sticking your hand at me,” Lyra commented, breaking Aegis’ train of thought.  More importantly, she wanted to pull attention away from Burny. She was deeply worried Velvet would start to freak out over fearing it being used on her.  Aegis wrinkled her nose.  “I’m making sure Blitz doesn’t puppet you.  If she really wants to join in on this conversation,” she said looking up and to the right with a sly grin.  “She’ll have to do it in person or at least with somepony else. I want you to stay with us on this one.” Lyra stood back up and leaned against the railing once more.  She lifted a hand up casually. “Couldn’t Queen Blitz just let go of my mouth every time I need to speak?” “Well yeah, sure,” Aegis replied as she tried to cling to her royal mystique in front of Velvet.  “But no matter how this little talk ends, you don’t have the time to recover from PPO.” It was Lyra’s turn to tilt her head inquisitively.  Aegis let off a long sigh. “It’s a new acronym I’m trying out for Post Puppet Orgasm.” “That sounds more like an insurance plan,” Lyra deadpanned.  But she started to let a grin worm its way onto her face.  Aegis fumed a bit.  “Would you stop trying to derail me?  And besides, acronyms rely on context too ya know.”  Aegis hesitated, and narrowed her eyes at the musician. “Do what?!” Aegis cried out, and pulled back both hands. The sudden yell made Velvet give a jittery jump. Seeing this, Aegis dropped her hand, and turned back through the curtains leading further into the building. “You! Come here!” She yelled at someone neither Velvet or Lyra could see. A few moments later, “Get your mom on the strings.” Using both an arm pull and a spell, Aegis yanked the erstwhile Queens’ Guard through the curtains and set him down on the balcony.  It took a second or so longer before the blue soldier possessed his mother's eyes. Aegis chewed on her cheek until the puppeting was complete.  “Blitz, what in Tartarus have you been filling their heads with?!” “The truth,” Blitz shot back with equal indignation. “You know how much mom hates any pony she sees as a traitor. Kreesus gets it bad. What do you think the “blood traitor” is going to get? A massage?” Velvet’s ears wilted at the title, but she remained standing, awaiting whatever wrath Aegis would surely direct her way.  “Aunty’s not stupid, Blizzy. She might kick her out of the hives,” Aegis grumbled as she covered her eyes out of embarrassment. “But murder?  Really?! You really need to stop blowing things out of proportion.” “I am not!  I’m playing it safe.” “‘Playing it safe she says.” Aegis rolled her eyes as hard as she could. She turned to Lyra and stuck an exasperated thumb at her sister-queen. “Don’t tell me you believe this mess.” Lyra threw her hands up. “Don’t look at me. You two know the High Queens better than I do.” “Alright, look.”  Aegis took a deep breath through her nose. “Vee, what was the whole plan on you coming here?” Blitz made as though to speak, but Aegis yelped at her and used both hands to force the puppet’s muzzle shut. “I want to hear it straight from the pony’s mouth.” “I—” Velvet had to take a moment to compose herself. Honestly didn’t think I would get this far if I was caught before reaching my little filly.  “I came here hoping to reconcile and face my daughter’s justice if need be.” “Justice? You mean for the whole PCE fiasco and the kidnapping at the monastery?” Velvet nodded shakily at how frigid Aegis’ tone had gotten. “I submitted to the crown’s justice, and now I’m here to face whatever price my daughter requires of me.” Aegis narrowed her eyes and scrutinized Velvet. In that moment, Velvet vividly saw not Aegis, but her daughter’s face, much as it had been during study sessions.  “Uh huh…” She looked at the other changelings. Neither Lyra nor Blitz seemed to show any problem with that statement. At that, Aegis shook her head.  Ignoring her sister’s further protests for the moment. “Vee, how much of the trial do you actually remember?”  A slight cold sweat beaded on Velvet’s brow upon hearing Aegis’ mild exasperation.  “Roughly what I told you just now. I - I admit I was not in the right mind to remember everything.” “Figures.  Well, I hate to break it to you, but you already faced mom’s justice, so that plan’s out.” Aegis had to admit to getting some amusement out of the utterly confused expressions from Velvet and Blitz’s puppet.   Of them all, Lyra felt more or less indifferent.  Eh, as if I could be asked to keep that in my memory crystal. “W-what do you mean?  It was the princesses who passed my sentence!”  “You really don’t remember?” Aegis snorted in partial amusement. She waited until Velvet’s quizzical look lasted too long. “Celly and Luna may have been the ones to pass judgement, but mom was the one who suggested you go to the asylum.”  With Velvet dumbstruck, Aegis indulged in some morbid amusement and leaned in close. “Had it been up to Luna, she’d have had you petrified and put on display in Penance Garden for two hundred years. Discord said he was very much aware of the passage of time during his imprisonment.” Aegis leaned back to stand normally again. “If you want, I could give Luna a letter saying you want to do that too.” Velvet clamped her mouth shut at the prospect. Real terror robbed her of speech. She stood there shaking on her hooves to the point she nearly fell over.  “Aegis,” Blitz growled.  Lyra mirrored her queen and huffed. “Aunty A, please stop teasing her.” “You two are no fun. Don’t I get at least a little bit of vengeance for being called an abomination for years and getting shot at?”  When neither of them backed down, Aegis let off a defeated groan. “Fine. Vee, I’ll put in a good word and have your sentence commuted. Because you know, I am the nice one.” “Aaaaegis…” “Okay, okay.”  Aegis threw her hands up in surrender as she backed off, giving Velvet some space. “I didn’t realize there was a statute of limitations for attempted regicide.”  Aegis leaned against the railing, joining Lyra so she could look out over the castle. “But yeah, you’re just going to have to wait until dinner time to see momma if you absolutely must. Tomorrow would be better though.” Velvet made as though to acquiesce, but Blitz cut her off. “No, she needs to see Light Rain.”  Aegis looked at her incredulously. Blitz grit her puppet’s teeth. “It’s the only way mom can share in the catharsis.” “And also have Rainbow’s disgust for traitors color everything?”  Aegis rebuked. “No. Vee’s big reveal is going to wait until the split and that’s final, or I’m teleporting her to the hospital and giving her enough anesthetics to make sure she stays out cold for two days.” “You wouldn’t dare!” “I don’t mind waiting,” Velvet chipped in nervously.  “See?” Aegis smirked in victory. “Now we know where momma got her smarts.” Lyra furrowed her brow and cast glances between the two queens. “Wait. Who is Light Rain anyway? Why would we need to see her?” “You haven’t even told them yet?! Exactly how did you think this was going to work Blizzy?” Aegis fluttered over to her sister’s puppet. She put a quieting finger on the stallion’s lips. “Alright hush. By the time I explain everything to the old nag, it’d be dinner time anyway and then it wouldn’t matter.” Blitz grumbled and refused to start pouting as all her plans threatened to go up in smoke. “Not my fault she had to run off to a train and ruin my timetable. I was improvising!” “A skill which still needs work apparently,” Aegis ribbed her sister. “Let’s go have a quiet lunch so we can bring Vee up to speed. Deal?” Far off into an isolated, barely controlled part of the Everfree Forest, a quartet of Queens’ Guard were watching out for hostile wildlife that took every opportunity to kill unwary drones. And especially keeping an eye on the robed pony that reeked of brimstone.  The group were sitting atop a reinforced steel watchtower. This section of the forest faced a sheer cliff, and would serve as a convenient natural barrier. The top of the covered tower was spartan in its accommodations, little more than a few roughly forged stools and weak lights. The only luxury—a few moss-covered recharge stations—were not for the living, but the three clockwerks stationed there.  Intel was the only one handling Schadenfreude’s package. It had come in a box of mahogany and crushed jade. The items themselves were two mostly matching crowns, necklaces, and a pair of tail wire ornaments. Intel was using holy magic to prove the items were clear of any lingering demonic taint.  She set the crowns down and was about to grab the necklaces when Light Rain arrived via personal shuttle.  Upon flying down to join them, she only took a moment to check her surroundings before spying the items and Schadenfreude. “At last. Did you get everything on the list?” “As per our contract.”  Schadenfreude bowed respectfully. “So long as both of your bodies are wearing at least a crown, pendant and/or tail ribbons, Twilight and Rainbow Dash will be themselves as much as possible.” Intel handed the crowns over to Light Rain. “Here, these are safe at least. Not even a trace of residual demon magic, and I don’t see any trap enchantments.  But it would be deadly for any pony but you to wear them.” “Naturally,” Schadenfreude commented with a sly grin. “I don’t know of any pony else around here that has a merged soul.  You might want to put a warning label on them.” Light Rain scrutinized the crowns. They had their respective owners’ cutie marks in gems set in a platinum frame. The crowns made accommodations for their horns and the natural crown-shaped antennas on the back of their heads as well. “The craftsmanship is exquisite. This looks like work done five hundred years Before Equestria I believe. Dare I ask who the creator is?” “You may, but he is one of the Elders. Pronouncing his name tends to leave ears a bit bloody.” Light Rain critically eyed the smirking demonologist. In the end, she couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. “Nevermind then. I won’t ask. If he is an Elder, did he manage to make it so my soul splits back apart into Twi and RD?” “No. These artifacts only act as a prism. You are permanent. Twilight will be able to keep her thoughts away from Rainbow Dash, and vice versa, but such efforts would be wasted if they ever take these off.  The only way to reverse you, would be to submit to the same ritual that Grogar did. Tell me, do you see much of his old self in whom he has now become?” Light Rain chewed on her lower lips and slowly shook her head. “None. A fact for which I am grateful for.” Intel handed over the platinum necklaces and tail ornaments. “Here you are, my Queen. They seem safe.” Schadenfreude let off an overly dramatic sigh. “Your caution is both understandable and unnecessary. Neither the Elder nor I can act against the contract.” “That doesn’t mean you can’t make mistakes,” Intel countered.  Schadenfreude gave her an unreadable look, yet elected to remain silent.  Light Rain took off the crown and circlet she had been wearing and gave the two new ones a final scrutiny. “Well. Let’s hope this was worth the price tag. I’ve had to postpone the completion of Sword’s sister-ship for the next three years thanks to this.” Light Rain planted the crowns on her heads. In an instant her eyes returned to their original colors and both bodies felt struck as if the wind was knocked out of them.  They doubled over, but between their horns and antenna, the crowns didn’t so much as budge. The Queens’ Guard jumped a bit and started to brandish their weapons at the demonologist. Rainbow Dash sucked in the first breath and patted Twilight on the back. “Holy First Mother, that was a ride.” Coughing up a lung, Twilight slowly righted herself up. “Too much of one if you ask me.” Intel and the others almost forgot about Schadenfreude as they closed in around the two queens. “Mom, are you yourself again?” “I hope so.” Twilight looked at Rainbow who did the same in turn. “What number am I thinking of?” “Uhhh. Twelve?” “Nope, the color purple.”  Twilight roped Rainbow Dash in a crushing hug. “So glad that’s over.” Rainbow snickered and returned the affection. “Right back atcha.”  The two were dogpiled by their personal guards. Twilight would have been content to stay there for the rest of the night. However, something nagged at her. She could feel both Rainbow’s and her guards’ love, but Rainbow’s love, as strong as it was, felt hollow, unfilling. She pulled back and saw the same worried look on her sister’s face as Twilight was wearing. Sensing the change in mood, the drones pulled back as well. “Self love. The only type we can’t feed on.” Rainbow tried to add some snark. “Too bad too, or I could have fed myself all along.” The sun deck, as it was now called, of Phoenix castle had been converted from a militaristic gun deck to a sprawling garden and dining plaza. On the bow, the throne room’s sunroof and a few scattered roof access points broke the greenery.  The elevated palace park had the distinction of being the hive’s cornerstone tourist destination. It’s whole design centered around making it feel like a floating park in the skies.  As such, beings of all species and nations toured its hedgerows and flowers that took root in the demilitarized turret mounts and catwalks. Only the plethora of sealed up doors, sternly guarded entrances, and the occasional patrolling police gunship poked holes in the fantasy that there wasn’t a palace under the visitors’ feet.  It was evening now. The last tours were over, and the palace staff were ushering guests to leave. Twilight, Rainbow, and Blitzkrieg were dining on some much needed food.  “Well, I’m glad it’s working,” Blitz said, muffled by a mouthful of shrimp and grilled mushrooms.  “Me too,” Rainbow said between bites of bacon pizza. The blue mare hummed in immense satisfaction with every bite. “Sorry, Twi, but Light Rain had too many of your tastebuds. Can’t believe she said this stuff tastes gross.” Twilight felt the need for greasy food as well and opted for some immaculately cooked hay topped hamburgers. “I’ll have you know it was for our own good. If she had put that,” she cringed a bit at the spinach laced cheese stringing from the pizza, “in my body, I’d be forced to go on a diet.”  Rainbow shrugged uncaringly. “And make you join me.” “Not happening.” Blitz roped in another piece of shrimp. “So are you two going to try being Light Rain every so often?” “Could be useful.” Rainbow wagged a pizza slice in Twilight’s direction. “Next time we have an argument, we could just fuse back and let LR decide.” “Take all the fun out of a debate why don’t you,” Twilight teased. “But I guess if we’re pressed for time that could work.” Rainbow stared past her plate for a long moment. “Honestly though, I remember everything LR did. Her thoughts, motivations. It was weird. I was her, and she was me. But at the same time I—” “Knew I wasn’t the same,” Twilight finished. She took another big bite of burger. The two elder queens were knocked out of their shared brooding by Aegis teleporting in. The purple biped gave everyone a once over. “So how’d it go? You actually back or was that hive-wide announcement just for show?” Rainbow flicked her mane and struck a heroic pose. “The Cool Queen is back in action!”  She yawned dramatically and rubbed Twilight before she could speak. “And so is Book Bug.” “You read your fair share of non-Daring Doo books too, Cider Brain,” Twilight stuck her tongue out playfully.  Aegis so desperately wanted to squash both of them into a hug, but she couldn’t distract herself away from the plan. Still though, she bubbled with excitement. “Awesome!  We need to throw you a welcome back Pinkie Party.” “The hive still hasn’t recovered from the last one,” Twilight quipped before patting the cushion next to her where a plate of curry chicken was waiting for Aegis. “Come on and eat before it gets cold.” Aegis wasn't willing to jump at the food just yet and stood there in front of the table. “Before I do, do you want the good news or bad news?” Rainbow groaned and rested her head on a hoof. “Is this about the new clockwerk model?  The good news I guess.” “There is no good news!” Aegis shouted while conjuring a can just so she could kick it. “Only bad news and weird news.” That got the elder queens’ undivided attention, and earned a magical slap across the back of the head from Blitz. <’Cause you blackmailed me!> “Okay so what’s the bad news?” Rainbow asked cautiously.  “Apparently the boys in the lab stored the prototype in the wrong closet, and the janitor thought it was refuse and had it shipped to the scrapyard before the crew knew what happened. Our prototype is now a neat little cube and was seconds away from being melted down.” “Dare I ask what the weird news is?” Twilight asked with an utterly bewildered grimace.  Aegis fluttered away to stand on the plaza mosaic. “We got a surprise visitor.”  Blitz suddenly got up from her seat and roped her mother into a tight hug and pressed her face against Rainbow’s own. “Hey momma, remember that really cute stallion you liked? I convinced him to do a three-way with Rock Solid.” “What?” Rainbow’s bafflement was written all over her face. “Wait, is he the surprise?” “You guessed it, come on!”  Rainbow tried to push her daughter out of her face. “Sounds fun. Wait! Hold on now wait a second, I—” Firmly deciding to ignore her protests, Blitz teleported Rainbow and herself away. Leaving Twilight sitting there wide eyed with a confused frown.  Twilight directed a suspicious raised eyebrow at the grinning queen. “What game are you two playing this time?” “I’ll direct that question to the guest herself,” Aegis answered in a suddenly sober tone. Aegis lit her horn to act as a beacon. A moment later, three magi teleported in with Lyra and Velvet as passengers.  Recognition struck Twilight dumb, letting the magi bow before teleporting away.  Twilight hid her mouth behind both hooves. Ignorant of the conversation, Velvet was equally paralyzed. Here, in front of Twilight, all of her speeches abandoned her. Her eyes were watering badly enough she had to blink the tears away. “Twily—,” Velvet felt dirty using a nickname she had no right to use. But she couldn't stop the indulgence. “Why are you here?” Twilight blurted out as old wounds were cut open by Velvet’s very presence.  “I - I - ” Velvet lost her voice. Flashes of her time in the PCE, her hate, her lies, and worst of all, her willingness to kill Twilight all came flooding back. Now that she had been clean of the PCE’s influence for so long, Velvet was sick to her stomach.   Initially, Lyra would have been more than happy to stay out of it. However, she could sense Twilight’s aura of shock and sad pain was slowly morphing into anger at the continued silence. Why did you have to drag me into this? Lyra flew over to stand slightly in front of Velvet. “Your Majesty, she’s here to start over.” “Start over?!” Twilight finally acknowledged Lyra’s existence. “If she really wanted that, she should have tried as soon as the asylum released her.” “How could I?” Velvet whispered before finding her voice again. “I couldn’t. I lost my nerve once Arvatus moved on to other patients. I thought we’d both need more time.” “You’ve done that all my life,” Twilight growled. “Tried to do the thinking for both of us. It was always your plan I had to follow.”  “No offense, mom,” Aegis cut in. She didn’t wither under the harsh glare she got for it. “But I never saw you in any hurry to see her either.” “I had a hive to run, what’s her excuse?!” Twilight slammed the table, rattling the cutlery. “No. I don’t need this, I have things to do.” Twilight lit her horn to teleport away, but Aegis was faster and shot out a counterspell that earned a surprised and slightly painful gasp from Twilight. Aegis bore a furrowed brow and worried frown. “Blitz was right. This really has been eating you up.” Twilight took a long angry breath through her nose. “Stop this, Aegis.” “Not until you have an actual conversation with her.” Aegis kept her counterspell active, and stared Twilight down with equal resolve. “Blitz needed to kick her in the tail to come here. It’s only fair I do the same to you.” “Well sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t want that kick!” Twilight rebuked harshly. “I was perfectly fine with leaving her alone in Manehatten, and ignoring her existence.” Aegis dropped all pretense of good humor and stared her Twilight dead in the eye. “Mother. I have always been your little protector.”  The sudden shift brought Twilight up short. “This,” Aegis pointed at her crown. The very thing she worked for years to earn. “Never changed that.  Now, please let me do what I was named to do.” Listening to this, Velvet shamefully averted her eyes to the floor.  Renewed tears stained her cheeks.  Twilight could have just walked or flew away. She doubted Aegis would go that far to stop her. Yet, Twilight’s maternal pride, and Aegis’ words kept her grounded. Twilight didn’t want to so much as look at Velvet, but managed to banish the arcane wings she was surprised she had instinctively activated. Aegis stood her ground against her mother’s heated glare. “I can’t believe you’re making me do this. You’ll pay for it, mark my words,” she jabbed a weakly irritated hoof towards her first child.  “With hugs and kisses later, no doubt.”  Aegis at last flashed a devilish smirk. “Now, am I going to have to actually push you?”  As if to clarify herself, Aegis grabbed Velvet’s left leg and dragged her along towards the table. Velvet offered no real resistance, but she was torn out or her shame-induced stupor. “Or will you do it on your own?” “A queen getting bossed around in her own hive,” Twilight fumed angrily.  Aegis only made it worse by blowing a kiss.  Aegis made it to the table. She magically grabbed a chair and an untouched bowl of salad for Velvet. Lastly, she forcibly plopped Velvet in the seat in front of Twilight.  “There. Can I trust you to not run away if I leave you two alone?” Growling, Twilight sat back down. “You’re going on the list… I’m not going to be chased out of my own castle.” “Perfect.”  Aegis clapped her hands and made her way down to Lyra. “Guess I didn’t need you much after all.”  Without preamble, Aegis outright picked the musician up and carted her away. “Come on, then.”  Twilight watched Lyra cry out in feeble protests as they disappeared. Left alone, Twilight scanned her surroundings. No one was present, save for Intel who was hiding quite well behind a nearby hedgerow, but not close enough to be within speaking distance. It was only when her Guard Captain pinged her that Twilight felt safe. Eventually, she dragged her eyes down to Velvet. Her mother was shrinking into herself on the wooden chair. Now that she was so close, Twilight saw how old she was now. Madness and years of depression had not been kind to her. Velvet’s knees looked thin, and she was greyer than before, and had sunken jowls. For a unicorn, Velvet looked beyond her years.  Aegis had left enough salad in the serving bowl for Twilight to collect another helping for herself.  It took more than even this for a queen to lose her appetite. “Well, you made the first step, more or less. Might as well say what you came here to say.”  As revenge against Aegis, Twilight opted to steal the plate of curry and shoved a fork full of chicken in her maw.  Swallowing, Velvet forced herself to speak, shuddering at first. “What can I say that you don’t already know? I was such an utter blinded foal back then. I should have trusted you were still you. That your heart was, is, still Equestrian.” Twilight couldn’t blind herself to the deep blue depression of Velvet’s aura now that Aegis had forced her to talk.  “I listened to the wrong ponies. I believed lies over my own daughter. I couldn’t see you clearly like your father does.”  As she spoke, it became easier to let all the recriminations out. “After Arvatus freed me from my own delusions, I didn’t have the nerve to see you. Not after trying to kill my own daughter…” Velvet was choking up. Each word tumbled out faster than the last. Each sentence, a whiplash against her heart. Stubbornness allowed her to get one last bit out. “After I disowned you.” Velvet couldn’t take it anymore. She was reduced to a whimpering mess, and covering her face. She kept whispering “I’m sorry,” over and over again.  “Stop.”  Twilight couldn’t vent her raw emotions over the Link without revealing her distress to the whole hive mind. Velvet didn’t hear her, so Twilight flew over the table to place a restraining hoof on Velvet. “Stop it! I can’t…” Velvet’s voice hitched, she was afraid to look up. Even so, she forced herself to do so. It ended up being Twilight who looked away, now that silence reigned. But this was her hive and she was Queen, so she stood her ground. “Do you know what you really did to me?  The last time I saw you, I felt no love from you at all. Just hate and revulsion. That hurt worse than any vitriol you screamed at me.”  Twilight tried in vain to keep her royal dignity from breaking down completely. But reddened eyes and a quiver in her voice betrayed her. “If I had been a pony, I could have simply believed your - your insanity was your love for me all twisted up. But no. I could see your emotions plain as day. I couldn’t deny what I saw from you.  “So why should I listen to you now?”  Twilight felt a resurgence of self-loathing spewing out of Velvet’s aura, and had to step away from her to avoid getting sick.  Velvet tried to blink her eyes clear, but film clung to her vision. When she finally spoke, she used every ounce of resolve she could muster to be heard clearly. “Because Arvatus showed me what it was like to be reborn.” She hesitated.  Twilight retreated a few more steps to be far enough from the nauseating aura surrounding her mother.  “Before Arvatus came, I was lost in my delusions. I was so set in my own personal bubble that I started to convince myself a physically separate Twilight existed. One who ascended to alicornhood. And that she fought you everyday to free me. Other doctors gave up. I was too far gone, and for anypony else, they’d be right.” Velvet fell into a rhythm of sorts, speaking became easier, even as uncalled tears marred her vision. The world around her fell away as her confession continued. For her part, Twilight couldn’t bring herself to leave or ignore Velvet.  “He broke through to me, and nearly killed himself in trying. After that moment. That crescendo as he called it. I felt almost… detached. He locked my memories away, save for everything before you first left for the jungle, except for the wedding invasion. He showed me news articles, along with recordings of the Princesses’ addresses, and your speeches. I was finally able to see it all without the lies and rationalizations I so readily believed the first time.” A twinge of disbelief danced in Twilight’s mind, and it was allowed to show in her tone. “If that’s true, why wouldn’t you just think the same nonsense when you found out I wasn’t a pony anymore? Or when he restored your memories?” Velvet took strength in her daughter not throwing her out or dismissing her. “He was upfront about masking my memories. About why I was in the asylum. He said I needed better context before he would unlock my memories bit by bit.  That I needed to see what you’ve done without Chrysalis or the PCE’s lies tainting your every action in my mind.” “I was so proud of you by the end,” Velvet said with the very barest hint of a smile. “Then he started unlocking my memories. I was horrified at myself. Arvatus finally let me see the ugly nag I had become.” Twilight’s heart ached. She squeezed her eyes shut trying to wrestle with her emotions. “I can’t do this. It’s too much. Please, I need time to sort this out.” Expecting worse, Velvet nodded silently. “...I’ll see myself out.” Twilight kept looking at the ground until Velvet’s hooves drifted away and came to a stop. She looked up to find the unicorn wiping her eyes and looking around for an exit, completely lost. Twilight wiped away the snot that was leaking from her nose. Blitz had watched it all from the eyes of a drone in a patrolling gunship. Her real body sat in her royal suite deeper in the castle. There was a slew of empty chocolate wrappers from her stress eating. Rainbow had not been easy to keep back once Twilight saw Velvet.  I’m glad she trusted Aegis and I to stay out of the meeting until it was over.  We should have guessed mom would have been able to feel Twilight’s emotional distress. Technically being one person and all. Now I just have to wait to see how much trouble we’re in after Twilight tells her everything that happened.  Who knows. Maybe they’ll just take the crowns off for a minute or two to save time. Blitz cracked a smile and shook her head. I’m a full queen in my own right and I still fear mom’s ire. I kinda hope that never goes away. With Rainbow out flying to keep herself distracted, and away from Velvet or Twilight, that left the room with only two of them. With the meeting now over, she turned her approving gaze upon Lyra. The green mare had her own stress coping. She was practicing a new composition for her next tour. The music had done much to calm Blitz’s nerves where the chocolate cake up short. Lyra stopped playing, furrowed her brow, and put a hand on her hips. “A test? You mean Velvet?” Blitz nodded. “I thought I was your only choice because I used to be a pony.” “That’s true.”  Blitz magically pulled a lounge chair over and plopped down with a tired sigh. “You can’t imagine how much work it took to keep LR from finding out about my plans. I had to cajole Pear Butter into staying quiet.” “You make yourself sound like an evil mastermind.” Blitz crackled a genuine chuckle. “Lies and diplomacy are one and the same, right? Only how we use it.”  Lyra joined her queen after storing her violin and harp in their cases. “Should be second nature.” Groaning all the while, Blitz rolled an annoyed face to her lime green drone. “Doesn’t mean it’s easy. Just easier.”  Blitz took a few moments to rest before pulling herself back up to a more regal posture. “Lyra,” she said with sudden weight. “It’s not just your former status as a pony that made this possible, nor is it the only reason for the test.”   Blitz hesitated, and tried to reword her speech. “I simply love your music. It is something of an oasis in a sea of horrendous dancers and unenthusiastic musicians.” “Oh.” Lyra smiled proudly, and ignored the seeming change of topics.  “What can I say? I was already a music lover as a girl, and becoming a pony only made music more natural for me.” “So I’ve gathered, Lyra, you have a gift nopony else in our bloodline possesses.  I just needed to see if there was more to you than that.” Blitz gave a sweeping wave towards the window. The setting sun brought out the neon lights and the city came alive. “We’re capable of great works of art and architecture. But somewhere between mom and Twilight, we have four left hooves and no talent for music.” “Pretty impressive since we only have two legs now.” Lyra couldn’t stop herself from smirking.  “You know what I mean,” Blitz fumed, only to shake her head to clear away the flash of annoyance. “So to improve the bloodline I need one of two things from you.” Lyra’s ears wilted. “Are you willing to become a full time consort?” Lyra cringed at the thought. “I really couldn’t, unless it’s an order. It would throw my singing voice off, I’d have to learn how to dance all over again, probably wouldn’t be as good, and… no offense to my brothers. I love them, but I really don’t want to join them.” Blitz nodded knowingly. “I understand, and to be honest, I expected that answer.  It’s funny. You remind me of Aegis and I when we were drones. But,” she quickly added before Lyra could give more excuses. “I remember your wish pre-rebirth to not become a queen, and let’s be honest here, a hive half filled with musicians is a bit much. So I have a counter offer. “I’ve been working on a new type of royal changeling. I call it—” Blitz stopped herself.  “Lyra. What do you think of the Equestrian nobility? Specifically, how they are structured within the government.” “Structured?” “Yes,” Blitz nodded. “You lived in Canterlot for most of your life as a pony. What is your take on them?” Lyra scratched her neck and looked around as if she would find the answer. “I kinda tossed a lot of those memories away for my rebirth. I mostly kept my time with Bonny, what little I remember of my human family. The rest of the crystal was for my pony family. But… aren’t the nobles just rich families?” “These days, you’d be mostly correct.  My researchers discovered the nobility used to be centered around a scant few bloodlines and all were sworn to the Alicorn throne. These days, those traditions are long gone. Historical records show the inner government was exclusively administered by the nobility, and now it’s mostly commoners. The nobility don’t even complain about the prestige and power they lost. Their modern influence comes from their wealth and celebrity status. Neither or which have any tradition of higher morality the nobility used to possess. Were it up to me, I’d, well… I’m getting off topic.  “Sunset Shimmer sent over many of Earth’s history books and I admit to being fascinated by Earth’s old nobility, those families didn’t just advise the queens or emperors, they protected local land and acted as mayors or generals, even elite soldiers.” Lyra’s first reply died on her tongue as curiosity got the better of her.  “I kinda remember something about that. But umm, the human nobility died away too. Are the pony nobles going out the same way?” Blitz grinned at Lyra retaining some knowledge. “Well, a bit slower anyway. Equestrian commoners have little desire to overthrow the crown as the earthers did. So the pony nobility is only withering, not meeting an, how should I put this… an abrupt end.” A thought struck Lyra like an arrow and she looked at Blitz with more than a little shock. “You’re not seriously trying to ask me to become some sort of changeling noble are you? Doesn’t that go against the queen-drone thing we have going?” “Yes and no.”  Blitz winked at her. “The thing is, we queens are, ehh, a bit inflexible in our mobility. We can travel of course, but we’re more or less bound to the hive if we want to keep egg production quotas met. I don’t think our instinctual imperative for thousands if not tens of thousands of children should be unspoken either. Personally, I hope Aegis and I break over half a million living drones and then some.  But that really highlights the problem even further.  “You see, Gloss, our diplomat to the Federation, has proven that the Link has its limits. Aegis and I had to develop a strain of relay drones and park a few of them in Stratholme so we can keep Gloss connected to the hive mind.” “Oh wow, she’s still kicking?” “She refused retirement. And not the response I was hoping for,” Blitz grumbled. “The point is, Gloss revealed a glaring weakness in the hive mind for future expansion. Even drones are limited to a certain range from the hive. Or it could be a symptom of the psionic dampening towers the sphinxes litter all over their territory.  Either way, the conclusion is the same. I believe there needs to be a lesser, mobile version of a queen.” “Oh.  Huh.” Lyra felt her queen’s good humor had fallen away for direct seriousness and tried to match her mood. “That makes sense.  But I don’t know if ‘lesser queen’ is a good title.” “Yes, I came to the same conclusion. Which is why I’m naming the caste, Duchess. Apparently it was a type of higher nobility from Earth that was often considered below that of a queen in standing and control.  “This whole idea was just wishful thinking until I actually paid attention to Grandmama Cadista’s status within the hives. She is basically a sterile queen with some other, less relevant differences. Even then, a changeling duchess was only theoretically possible until three years ago when I may or may not have stolen a leg or two from one of Chrysalis’ breeding drones.” That earned a worried, raised eyebrow and a morbid cringe out of Lyra.  “A leg? You mean a leg leg?” Blitz nodded with a smug smirk. “Dare I ask why you couldn’t go with something smaller or the whole drone?” “Not unless you want details not even a… nevermind, no.  You don’t. Suffice it to say, that allowed me to perfect my formula.  I’ve been looking for candidates ever since.” “So, no being rooted to a hive?” Lyra’s wings buzzed with curiosity and her tail started swishing. “Sounds interesting. What form and jobs would a duchess take, exactly?” A proud, scholarly, and yet also mad scientist grin crept on Blitz’s face. “Duchesses would fill the more niche roles that Aegis and I feel would need a dedicated royal to focus on, exploration being chief among them. I don't want the Alliance to be blindsided by another Federation. Not only that…” Blitz looked up at the stars that were starting to poke through the twilight. “One day, our people will reach the stars. And with such distances, our unified hive mind would be impossible to keep. And yet the idea of limiting ourselves to a single world is anathema. So it would be up to duchesses to lead such isolated exploratory spaceships. Admittedly, you would be a test run for the future.” The idea of advancing the changeling species to such a degree struck a deep instinctual cord within Lyra. It got her blood hot and her mind racing. Some part of the back of her mind reminded her this was not what she had wanted. Lyra closed her eyes, and Blitz let her have time to think.  I still remember telling myself, before being reborn, I should stay as a drone. Just be a musician again. Were it so easy. Lyra’s heart begged her to accept Blitz’s proposal, and in the end, she didn’t struggle against it. They told me my instincts and wants would change. Why fight what I signed up for? Lyra took a long, slow breath before looking at her queen with conviction. “So what would I be like?” Pleased, Blitz cracked a toothy grin.  “Biologically, from the outside, you would function much like a very early stage protoqueen. Only capable of two eggs per day, you’d only be slightly taller than a drone. Mostly to accommodate your new organs and set you apart from them. You would have royal eyes, but more importantly to the Summit, you would not have a crown. So you would have no place there. You shouldn’t feel any instinctual desire to form a hive in the first place, and your base need for children should fall away as early as ten children.  That should leave you capable of thinking more practically on how many drones you truly need.” “So basically all you have sheet music and need a certain musician to play test it.”  Lyra felt rather proud of herself for wading into eggheadland once Blitz smiled, but shook her head.  “Not quite, but I’ll get to that later. Going back to your future progeny I’m not willing to strictly limit your brood’s size.  It’d be rather unconscionable. Plus, you would also be a solo royal.” Lyra’s face fell into a contemplative one. “How could I support so many kids without a hive?” “Tradewinds would support you in all things. You would have more mental independence than a drone, but not as much as a queen. A hierarchy must be maintained.” “Naturally.”  “Easy for you to say that now as a drone.” Blitz didn’t want to linger on that line of thought, and moved along. “I would still prefer if you could raise money on your own to cover costs once you feel you have enough adult children. Concert tickets, merchandise, however way you can.  The more logistically independent the better.  “There are a couple of big caveats I must warn you about.” “And here comes the other shoe,” Lyra muttered under her breath.  “You won’t technicality be the first duchess, but the second.” “Not what I was expecting,” Lyra said with a dubious frown at such a overblown warning. “Your original test dummy, I’m guessing?” Blitz scowled weakly at her. “I wouldn’t say dummy to Slide Ruler’s face, even if it would unfortunately be rather apt. She was the one who allowed me to make sure the duchess works on a biological and mental level where as you are a true trial run." Blitz's scowl shifted to a slight frown. Unfortunately, the constant alchemical experimentation on such a radical new caste took its toll on her mind.  She is… diminished.” “Oh. I’m sorry.”  Lyra puked her tail over to hug it like a security blanket. “Will she be okay?” “I hope so,” Blitz said at length. Her gaze became distant for a few moments. “Once I gather enough ingredients I’m rebirthing her into an honor guard.  For you.” “Me?!” “It’s what she wanted.”  Blitz swelled with pride at the memory of it. “I made no illusions that Slide would stay a duchess. For now, I’m reserving it for especially rare drones with truly unique talents among the hives. For now, that means you alone. So she requested that role instead, and I must say I was touched.” Lyra let go of her tail and stared blankly at her knees. Geez that’s heavy. If I said no, then everything my sister did would be for nothing.  “...You said there were two caveats?” “Yes. Additionally, duchesses are also a backup plan in the event that the queens are ever eliminated.”  Blitz’s tone became very sober. “We’re obvious targets and we can never know what the future may hold. Should the worst ever happen, a duchess can change herself into a queen by having more than two hundred drones under her, and drinking plenty of hard royal jelly cider. That would trigger you to change into an actual proto-queen.” That’s the pitch. She seemed to like it. but what if she’s just playing along because I’m her queen?  Blitz tried to control her carefully crafted emotional aura to keep from betraying her anxiety for Lyra’s answer. I really meant it. I don’t have any pony else who’d be good for this. Lyra had indeed fallen quietly contemplative after Blitz stopped talking, and made no effort to mask it. Her earlier self-pep talk was souring in her mind.  “So…” Blitz started carefully.  “What say you?” Lyra knew she wasn't hiding her jumbled feelings very well at all. Part of her was chomping at the bit to please her queen and improve her species, but the other hung on her pony-self’s wishes harder than she thought. “Sometimes I’m shocked how much trust and love you put in me.” Lyra’s heart ached to pull out of the hug, but pull back she did. She met Blitz’s proud, caring gaze with a cautious one of her own. “I didn’t hatch from one of your eggs after all.” Blitz cracked a smirk. “Mom wasn’t born a ling either. And nopony can say Twilight or Grandma love or accept her as one of us any less for it. Rut, she’s one of the Prime Matricarches!  And she still has all of her memories as a pony.” “Y-yeah, true.”  Lyra played with her thumbs for a bit. “But her royal instincts kinda drove her into that right?  I - I know I think differently as a drone. But the same thing happened when I became a pony too. I just didn’t realize it until I met with my mirror half last year. How many more big changes can I go through before I lose what makes me, me?” Blitz eventually nodded slowly. “Fair enough. You know, mom used to cry a lot in private. About much the same thing.” “About flying fast?” Lyra asked with a head tilt. “I never really saw her much in Ponyville, but Bonny used to say she was the absolute best of our generation.” Blitz snort-laughed. “Oh trust me, you hear mom talk, she’s half convinced some rival of hers planted that circlet in that curio shop just so somepony else could have a chance to shine in the Wonderbolts.  And it’s true,” Blitz added with a grim tone, “that mom is no great flier anymore. A queen’s body simply isn’t built for it, and our wings can’t compare to a pegasus. And to be fair, after I read some of her old journals, I can tell mom is certainly a different person now; species notwithstanding, but she is still the old Rainbow in her core. Or…” Blitz faltered. “Maybe not now with the whole Light Rain drama, but I think it is safe to say that counts as extenuating circumstances.” Lyra giggled openly, feeling some tension loosen up. “True enough. Still, if you don’t mind, I want to speak with Bonny about it first. She’s the one who I first opened to being born a different species and has been my best friend since I came here. It’s only right I tell her first.” “I assumed you would.  True friends are as rare as dragons.”  Blitz hugged Lyra as tightly and with all the love she did with all her children. “Treasure them.” Lyra could feel the mother’s love from Blitz, for the first time, was happy to fully accept it. “Just signal me if and when you’re ready to begin. I must admit, I’m eager to see what you can accomplish with a whole orchestra.”