//------------------------------// // Arc 1, Interlude 3: Anticipation // Story: Crimson Heart // by Starkeeper_Ponyfic //------------------------------// Sclerite breathed a sigh of relief when she finally reached the changeling base. Her temper had almost gotten her to slip up and reveal more than she should have to the ponies. She buzzed into the heart of the base and identified herself to the guards at Queen Chrysalis’s door. “Why have you returned so soon, Sclerite?” Chrysalis asked. “I believe your assignment was to remain until I gave direct news of the invasion date.” “My apologies, Your Majesty, but I have a very important piece of information that required coming immediately... and I almost allowed my temper to break my cover,” Sclerite admitted. “But I must warn You... a new chess piece has entered the board. A human.” Chrysalis blinked. “We will discuss your break of character later. For now... continue,” she commanded. “A human has made its way into the good graces of the heroines You warned me of as well as the captain. It seems to have a power that allows it to tell if a pony is truly a pony, or one of your drones, my Queen,” Sclerite explained. “However, the human lives in Ponyville, not Canterlot, so Your plans may not be significantly altered should You manage to keep the human away from the capital until it is too late to do anything.” “Your break in character is forgiven, my loyal drone,” Chrysalis commanded. “This information is far too valuable to merely disregard. A human... Guard!” “Yes, Your Majesty?” a changeling guard asked after entering. “Contact my drone in the Canterlot Library,” Chrysalis dictated. “Have him search his archives for any information on humans.” “As You command, so shall it be,” the guard replied with a solemn bow. “As for you, Sclerite... Hm. It is rather unfortunate that we will no longer be able to use Swan Song’s form. For now, I will have you return to the hive and guard the young,” Chrysalis said. Sclerite bowed and rushed out before Chrysalis could change her mind. There was a specific reason Queen Chrysalis was not known for her merciful spirit. ❤︎ Shining Armor patrolled the walls surrounding the castle, his sharp eyes searching for any crack, crevice, or chip in the shield. Once satisfied it was all smooth, he recast the spell, strengthening the shield again. The clicking of horseshoes against the top of the wall suddenly filled his ears and he grinned. Shining Armor turned to the pink alicorn walking behind him and bowed his head. “Captain,” she nodded. “Princess,” he replied. Then he looked up and chuckled. “Is that the shield’s light on your face, or are you blushing?” he asked flirtatiously. “Oh-ho!” Cadance giggled. “I can’t tell which is smoother, your flirting or my aunt’s mane,” she retorted. Shining Armor laughed as he nuzzled his fiancée. “Celestia’s mane, probably. I like to think I’m good, but not as good as Twily says the human she’s taken under her metaphorical wing is.” Cadance’s eyes widened. “A human? Please, tell me!” she begged. “Well, their name was Frisk...” Shining Armor trailed off, telling Cadance about the drop-in from beyond Equestria that had saved Ponyville and alerted him to the threat against Equestria... or, well, caused the threat to reveal itself to him. Cadance chuckled at hearing Shining’s retelling of Twilight’s account of Frisk’s victory over Discord. At the same time, she pondered where he could be. Was he keeping his promise? ❤︎ “I am, in fact,” Discord chuckled, “a very talented knitter! Here, this is a scarf I made a few days ago.” “Oh, how lovely!” Fluttershy exclaimed. She was very startled by Discord’s appearance an hour earlier, but when he revealed he had only been starved for company she welcomed him in for tea. The chaos god proved to be an excellent conversationalist, with a ton of knowledge on a lot of the subjects Fluttershy was passionate about– nature, exotic animals, even sewing and knitting. They’d spent the time rather pleasurably, and when Discord finally took his leave at sunset Fluttershy found herself hoping he’d return soon. Suddenly Frisk hurried up the path and gave her an invitation to Spike’s birthday party the next day. She instantly wrote “RSVP” on the paper and Frisk grinned before jogging back to the library.