I didn’t get back to the tower until well after dark. Which was nice. What was less nice was going back inside and into our brightly lit quarters.
While the night vision was nice, going from dark to bright was less than nice.
Ignoring it, I crossed the room and gave Luna's wing a small nuzzle at where she was sitting by her desk, “Hey.”
She smiled and looked away from her papers, “Hey… did you enjoy the reception?”
“Ughhhhh…” I answered and leaned against her, “If I ever get such a brilliant idea again, tie me to the bed.”
“That sounds fun…” Luna mused.
I glanced up at her and shifted my wings, “...Keep that thought for later,” I told her and pulled back before I stretched again with a groan, “Something strange happened though.”
“Which sort of strange thing?” Luna asked, putting her current paper down to look at me again with a curious look.
“Chrysalis showed up. She brought Skitter along,” I said and slipped my cloak off, starting to remove my uniform, “They are both invited every time, but Chrysalis had never showed up before.”
Luna frowned and looked down at her desk for a moment before she looked to me again, “What do you think she is plotting?”
I folded the jacket and shook my head, “I’m… unsure. I think it might just be Chrysalis being Chrysalis, I think it has something to do with the other hives, but I don’t follow her logic at the moment.”
Not that it meant much, Chrysalis was squirrelly at the best of times and what more, she was a changeling, she didn’t really think like a pony.
What more, she was smart. Very, very smart. Smarter than me.
Luna nodded and jumped off her chair, “The other hives…” she said thoughtfully as she moved over to pour a pair of glasses of warm cider, “You have located all of them?”
I nodded, “Mostly,” I said and sighed, “But the next step is going to be tricky and is going to need Chrysalis to buy into the entire idea. And who knows how that’ll work out,” I admitted and took the glass in my magic when she offered it before taking a sip.
Oh, Luna, that’s good.
“You do know the Changelings better than anypony else, you understand them,” Luna admitted and sipped her own Cider and moved to jump onto the couch.
I moved to join her, jumping up to lay down next to her, leaning against her side with a small sigh, “As much anypony can,” I admitted and then sipped my cider, “I’ll talk to Skitter tomorrow, see what she knows. How was your day so far?”
Luna sighed softly, “Consisting mostly of paperwork,” she answered and rested her head against the top of mine, “...I think it may be multiplying.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised if it was,” I admitted and sighed, “I miss computers. Would make things so much easier.”
“I remember you telling me of those. Would they really make things simpler?”
“...Yes and no,” I admitted, “Moving all of this stuff digital? Would be an absolute nightmare and need the entire process rebuilt. And then everything to support that…” before I sighed, “...So yes, when everything was done, it really would. But that would be a process twenty years old and that’s after a hundred years of industrialization to support it unless we want to import everything through the mirror.”
And knowing what that process did to the human world, I wanted to bring that to Equestria about as much as I wanted a hole in the head. The majority of the pros already existed from magic and I bet we could get the rest with time. A sample would likely be enough to get Sparks wanting to build her own anyway.
“Barely seems worth it,” Luna said and slipped her wing over my back, pulling me closer.
“Well, there are pros,” I said and then rolled onto my back, looking up at her with a smile, “I do kind of miss late night gaming. I remember going to lan parties when I was younger.”
“‘Lan’ parties?” Luna asked, raising her eyebrows, “What is that?”
“Imagine a bunch of caffeinated teenagers staying up for three days, leading simulated armies, blowing each other up in a virtual world and just plain eating enough greasy food to feed a small equestrian army.”
Luna looked amused, one eyebrow stayed raised, “...Really? And that’s fun?”
“Was amazing fun,” I told her with a grin, “Kind of grew out of it after a bit,” I admitted before I frowned, “...Or maybe technology moved on. Before I ended up here, well, the internet was fast enough that you could play the same way while staying at home.”
Luna nodded, “The communication network you talked about?”
“Yeah. I miss the internet,” I sighed and ran my hoof along her wing, stroking her feathers, “It was just so convenient, so much fun. Imagine having any book you’d ever want, anytime you want, instantly.”
“That sounds c-convenient,” Luna said and I could feel her tremble softly as I teased her feathers.
I smirked at that, “I’ll show you whenever the mirror opens next,” I said and nuzzled in to nip softly along the side of her neck.
“P-page…”
I pulled back and stretched a bit, looking up at her with a smirk, “Yeah, you’re right, I should let you get back to your paperwo-eep!”