Flurry Heart awoke to the gentle morning light from the balcony being obscured by Spike’s wings. “Breakfast,” he announced quietly, setting a bowl of soup on the nightstand. It was closer to water than actual soup.
Flurry blinked her eye while Spike pulled the alicorn upright in bed and propped her head up with extra pillows. Her wings laid listlessly beside her, stretched out on the bedsheets. Occasionally, the feathers twitched. Flurry grit her teeth and gathered her legs under her body. Her muscles shook from the effort, but Spike was too busy with the soup to notice.
Spike blew a small flame across the crystal bowl and stared critically at the soup. He scooped some of the thin gruel up with a small crystal spoon. It looked absurdly small in his large claws; he pinched the spoon between two talons. “Shake your head if it's too hot,” the dragon advised.
Flurry opened her mouth and swallowed. It is too hot, she thought, but kept that assessment to herself. It would mean waiting an hour for the soup to grow cold, like yesterday. Flurry relished the chance to taste actual food again and not have a tube rammed down her throat. She cast a baleful eye at the ventilator and respirators along the wall of her parent’s bedroom, next to the other assorted medical equipment.
The bare patch of fur on her right hock itched underneath the bandage, and she slowly rubbed her leg against the sheets. Spike noticed the gentle movement. “No more needles,” he assured her, “and the attendants reported your breathing has stabilized during the night. No more tubes.” The dragon spooned up another helping of soup. “Is it too hot?”
Flurry shook her head and continued to eat. Spike moved glacially slow, waiting to make sure she swallowed without difficulty and offering a glass of water with a straw after every spoonful. It took an hour to finish, and Flurry felt a pressure in her stomach. Her hairless tail nub twitched.
“Bedpan?” Spike guessed.
Flurry shook her head in denial and stared towards the bathroom door. She had to fully turn her head to look at it; her right eye was wrapped in gauze. Spike picked the alicorn up off the bed and carried her into the bathroom. Her legs dangled uselessly.
The dragon set her down slowly, waiting for Flurry to set her hind legs down and lean against him. He looked away while she did her business, and her muzzle crinkled as she felt something run down her left hind leg at the end. Spike cleaned her with a towel before carrying her back to the bed, then retrieved a brush. He ran it delicately through her fur around her chest and flanks, then carefully fixed her feathers with practiced claws.
“You know, I had to preen Twilight’s wings for the first year,” Spike said, repeating the same information for the ninth day in a row. “Her magic was too clumsy.” Flurry Heart looked at her reflection in a wall mirror, brought in by Spike after the second week.
A pink, maneless, naked alicorn with patches of missing fur on her muzzle stared back with one weary, blue eye.
Her ponies had to shave the fur off in places to remove the hardened rivulets of gold. Pale, pink fuzz grew back at a glacial pace. Flurry was unconscious when they removed the gold from her right eyelid. Her right eye was fine, but the eyelid needed to heal. Her mane and tail had completely burned away from the magical surge; all that was left was a small bit of charred hair that was shaved off. Only the faint stubs of purple and blue hair could be seen, if one squinted. It would take months to grow back, and it itched badly.
Her eye flicked up to the three black rings that surrounded her horn, preventing her from casting magic. Officially, it was to prevent surges as her magic system slowly recovered, but Flurry suspected that Spike ordered an additional two rings as insurance. She couldn’t cast any spells. Her magic was there, faint, but it exhausted the alicorn to even try to call upon it.
Flurry Heart was the first pony in history to survive Magical Depletion. Not even during Tirek’s magic-stealing rampage had there been a pony totally exhausted of all their magic, to the point where their muscles and limbs could no longer support themselves and internal organs shut down. Flurry spent several days with more wires and tubes running into her than her mother under the Changelings, as the magic and spells from the machines kept her alive until her body could recover enough to take over.
Her heart had stopped for eight minutes.
It stopped the moment before the wave of the Crystalling engulfed the city, and Flurry became the only creature in the city not to be Crystalized by the power of the Heart. Ponies, changelings, and griffons shone with translucent energy for days. The changelings looked the strangest; their black chitin vibrated with every color of the rainbow, including Thorax. Griffon feathers sparkled and caught the light, radiating colors that matched their fur. The effect had gradually worn off over a week, except on the crystal ponies. Their crystal coats remained bright.
It'll be a problem during the war, Flurry groused. They’ll make good targets. We’ll need heavy uniforms. She looked over at Spike’s arm. His new scales were a light purple, almost pink color, and he scratched at them whenever he thought Flurry wasn’t looking.
There were explanations for her survival, though none were quite satisfactory. Far Sight guessed that the magical surge from her cutie mark gave her enough residual magic to survive the burnout, or Thorax had somehow managed to share magic with her like she was a changeling. Some of the more religious griffons believed that Boreas interceded, and one of the nurses asked if Flurry saw anything after her heart stopped. Flurry had a tube in her mouth, so she couldn’t respond. She blinked twice for ‘no.’
Most called it a miracle, and left it at that.
Spike finished brushing out her fur. “There’s a meeting,” he said softly. “It’s on this floor today. Rainbow and the pegasi finished the reconnaissance sweep. Thorax can give you the notes later.”
Flurry shook her head and broke eye contact with her reflection.
“You want to go?” Spike asked.
Flurry nodded.
Spike retrieved the specially crafted harness and folded Flurry’s large wings into the slings, clipping it together. The harness was loose and her wings sagged slightly. Her flight muscles hadn’t recovered enough to hold her wings to her side, let alone fly with her pegasus magic.
Spike set Flurry on the edge of the bed. He pulled out a pair of baggy black sweatpants for her hind legs and flank to protect her modesty. Her tail was gone and hid nothing. Spike set it in the wheelchair, more an oversized cart that a proper chair.
Flurry swallowed. “I’ll walk,” she rasped in a faint whisper.
Spike stared at her with a frown and bit his lip.
“I will walk,” Flurry whispered again, looking over her shoulder at the dragon. Her hind legs dangled off the edge of the bed. She slid down to the floor and they shook with effort.
“Wait,” Spike said and pushed the cart away. He walked over to the stacked medical equipment and rummaged through it. “I’m not Helping Hoof,” Spike called over his shoulder, “but I know how to set up the braces.”
Flurry groaned as Spike walked back with four metal leg braces to help keep her legs rigid and support her weight. They had to be extended to account for her height. Every two days, Helping Hoof and four other worry-eyed nurses would watch Flurry shamble around the room until her coat frothed with exertion, offering the alicorn vapid praise for accomplishing tasks a foal could do blindfolded. They rushed to help her with every stumble.
Flurry bit her lip as Spike affixed the braces to her hind legs, then slid her forelegs into them. He put the baggy pants on over her hind legs and braces, taking care to tuck her tail nub in. Flurry watched as the pants covered the shielded, burning Crystal Heart on her flanks. “Balcony,” Flurry said when he was finished.
“That’s a longer walk, Flurry,” Spike reminded her, staring at the door to the bedroom opposite the balcony.
Flurry swallowed and accepted a drink of water. “I want to see,” she rasped.
Spike carried her and pushed open the balcony doors with a swing of his tail. The two pegasi guards saluted and flew away to give the dragon and alicorn room. Spike slowly set Flurry down, waiting for the braces to click into place before releasing her barrel. Flurry gasped and took a deep breath as she felt her weight strain her legs, then stared out over the city.
The entire horizon was tinged pink in every direction. Clouds drifted inside the shield, high above the spire of the Crystal Palace. Small dots of high-flying pegasi and griffons gathered the clouds together. Flurry looked beyond the outskirts, seeing the distant smoke column of a train making its way from the east. She would need binoculars to see the fields outside the Crystal City, but the ground was brown with diminishing patches of snow. Small, colorful dots tended to the fields, and Flurry could already see furrows from lines of seedlings. She took a breath and tried to guess the temperature.
“Warmest winter on record,” Spike quipped. “At least under the shield. Outside, it’s the second coldest.” He patted her shoulders and checked the harness for her wings. “Rainbow’s got more details.”
One hoof at a time, Flurry turned around, listening to the bracers click. She stared at the door, all the way across her room. Spike stood beside her, waiting. “I can carry you there,” he offered. Flurry knew he knew she wouldn’t accept it. She stepped forward.
It took ten minutes to reach the doorway.
Spike opened the door ahead of her and waited. “Down the hall and on the left,” he explained. “The private dining room.” He held her glass of water in one claw and lowered it. Flurry gulped down a mouthful and coughed, then exited into the hallway.
The guards all along hallway bowed as one, including the two at the door. The Aquileian griffon nearly slammed her beak into the crystal floor and splayed her wings low with one claw clasped to her chest. The unicorn genuflected with his horn and bowed low enough to tap the tip to the floor.
“Rise,” Flurry coughed, but the griffon and pony did not. They only did so once she passed by, slowing moving down the hallway a hoof at a time. The guards ahead of her stayed down, bowing low.
The walk to the dining room took Flurry a minute in her memories. She spent at least an hour making her way down the hallway. The guards stayed bowed until she passed them on shaking hooves. Her coat was sweaty and developed a light froth by the time she made it to the blue crystal door. She panted, mindful that Spike was behind her, waiting for the alicorn to stumble. The two crystal ponies guarding the door were old enough to have served her parents, but their coats practically glowed with light.
“Rise,” Flurry gasped, taking a ragged breath. The mare on the left stood up suddenly with fierce eyes and slammed her hoof three times into the floor. The sound echoed down the hallway and everypony repeated the gesture. The griffons slammed a fist against their chests. The mare on the right opened the door and stepped aside. Flurry blinked, bewildered by the display, but pressed forward on trembling limbs.
As she entered the room, it was clear that the stomp was a signal. Papers, charts and maps had been pushed into the center of the table and everyone stood at attention beside their stools and chairs. Duskcrest, Dusty Mark, and Rainbow Dash stood on one side of the table. Thorax, Heartsong, Barrel Roller, and most surprisingly, Jacques, stood on the other. Jacques’ chair stuck out oddly at the end, as if he had been an unexpected addition. All of them wore dress shirts and pants, or purple uniforms. Waste of cloth, Flurry snorted to herself.
One cushioned crystal stool sat at the end of the rectangular oak table, next to Jacques’ chair. Flurry Heart sighed with relief. It was the closest end to the door, but still a good few body lengths away. As one, everyone dipped their heads to the floor and bowed. Beaks and muzzles scraped the floor.
Flurry took a few shuddering steps so Spike could close the door. “Rise,” she forced her voice to sound louder, and coughed from the effort.
They did not stand back up, not even Rainbow. Her mohawk bobbed slightly.
“Rise,” Flurry repeated, annoyed, and shook her head at Spike’s offering of the glass of water. She took another step forward and suppressed a grimace. Taking a deep breath, she rasped, “The Changelings…will not wait…for me to reach that stool.”
“Perhaps not,” Jacques admitted from the floor, “but we will.” He looked up with smug yellow eyes, but didn’t take his beak off the floor. He laid prone like a pony with arms extended, unlike Duskcrest who held a claw clasped to his chest.
I am going to hit him, Flurry promised herself and trudged forward. Flurry’s harsh exhales and the clicking of the metal braces filled the room with every step. Spike’s claws followed her, clicking quietly against the crystal floor and matching her pace.
Five steps to the stool, Flurry stumbled. She swayed, but stayed upright. The braces did their job and prevented her legs from buckling. Spike’s free claw grabbed under her right foreleg and held her up. He began to lift the alicorn and drag her to the stool. “I’m fine,” Flurry rasped and weakly resisted.
“Release her,” Jacques said softly up to the dragon.
“I don’t take orders from you,” Spike growled down at the prone griffon.
“You take orders from your Princess?” Jacques asked back.
Spike looked down at Flurry. He was along her right side, so the alicorn had to turn her entire head to make eye contact. “I said I’m fine,” Flurry gasped. Spike let go and the alicorn swayed, then took a moment to steady her hooves. Everyone waited while her breathing steadied.
Flurry Heart took the last five steps to the stool in one movement, then collapsed onto it. She barely managed to heave her forelegs onto the table. They laid flat; the bracers prevented her from folding her legs, and Flurry lacked the strength to move them. Her forelegs were shaking badly and covered in froth; her hind legs were equally bad, but the sweatpants covered them. Spike set down the glass of water and refilled it from a pitcher. He tapped the straw with his smallest talon to angle it towards her muzzle. Flurry leaned in and took a long sip, then rasped, “Rise.”
Her advisors took their seats, pointedly not looking at Flurry’s trembling forelegs.
“It is good to see you up and about, Princess,” Barrel offered.
“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed. “You’ll be up and flying in no time.”
“Your crystal ponies will be overjoyed,” Heartsong said.
“We were just wrapping up,” Thorax lied. “I was going to come by and let you know.”
“You look great, Princess,” Dusty said.
“Much better,” Duskcrest added. He opened his flask and took a sip. Flurry smelled strong coffee, but no liquor.
“You look like shit, Little Flurry,” Jacques scoffed. Flurry smiled at that.
Everyone stopped to stare at Jacques, and Spike slapped a large claw down on his shoulder. Jacques didn’t break eye contact with Flurry. “It is true, Sir Spike,” he said absently.
“Punch him for me,” Flurry ordered the dragon.
Spike obliged, hitting the Aquileian across the beak hard enough to knock him out of his chair. Jacques laid on the floor for a moment before sticking his head up. “Flurry hits harder.”
“Why are you here and how are you not unconscious?” Spike asked and shook out his claw.
“I’m here to give an update on the coast, and I have a very thick skull,” Jacques replied. He stood and stumbled slightly. For a moment, his eyes crossed, but he managed to return to the chair. “Let’s give the Princess the short version.” He snapped his talons on a claw and gestured to Rainbow.
“Right,” Rainbow nodded. She wore a flight suit and a pair of snow-crusted goggles hung around her neck. “We’ve scouted the shield. This is where it is.” The pegasus pushed a large map forward and it was passed down to Flurry. She scanned over it with her eye.
It was a map of Equus, the whole continent, with a large oval drawn over the entire north. It looked like it had been redrawn and erased several times. It stretched almost to the coast of Nova Griffonia, nearly to the far northern peninsula and uninhabited arctic islands, then down into northern Equestria. The western edge actually crossed into the Changeling Lands, but just barely. The entire Crystal and Yak mountain ranges were under the shield.
“The map’s not to scale,” Thorax said. “That’s why the edges might look odd. The shield covers almost a third of the continent.”
“The shield is high enough that we have our own clouds and weather system,” Rainbow continued. “Temperature’s gone up inside it, but it’s almost Hearth’s Warming. We’ve spotted wild storm cells in the north, and Equestria’s weather is going to take more of a beating with this giant thing in the way.”
Flurry tried to tap a hoof on the map over the Changeling Lands. Her foreleg just shook. Everyone ignored it.
“How’s the border?” she whispered instead.
Jacques leaned forward, as if looking at the map. “The borders are doing well, Princess,” he said in a loud voice for the rest of the table.
“The Changelings have been pounding the shield with artillery and bombers since the first night,” Heartsong said. “Mostly along their own border. The little sliver of bug land we hold doesn’t have anything of value, but it must stick in Chrysalis’ maw.”
“Edvald and the Herzlanders have advanced to the ruins of Stalliongrad,” Jacques tapped the map near the edge of the shield. “The Reich has seized the port of Petershoof and stopped along the shield.” Jacques tapped a talon on a port city beyond the shield, then drew his claw along the shield edge.
“Attack?” Flurry asked softly.
“The Reich has not attempted to attack or cross the shield,” Jacques said loudly. “Josette and our fliers have spotted their navy in the northern ocean, but they’ve kept their distance.”
“Nopony, no creature, has ever seen anything like this,” Duskcrest said. “There’s never been magic like this.”
“Not without the Elements,” Rainbow countered. “Useless hunks of rock that they are now.”
“We’ve monitored the Crystal Heart for cracks,” Heartsong added. He licked his lips. “It burns, Princess. Ponies feel warmth and heat when they stand close to it, and the surface flickers like there is flame inside. We’ve never seen anything like this.”
Flurry closed her eye. The shield covered the north. She opened her eye and said, “The Heart will hold.”
"Of course, Princess," Heartsong replied with absolute faith.
“With the warming weather, we’ve sent earth ponies out into the fields. We can get crops growing, mostly hay and potatoes,” Thorax said. “We’ll tighten rations, but the permafrost is, well, not as permanent as expected.”
“There are,” Duskcrest searched for a word, “questions about the shield.”
“Far Sight has explained what he knows,” Dusty rebuked the griffon next to her.
Duskcrest clacked his beak in annoyance and shook his flask. “Far Sight has taken up my drinking habit. The crystal ponies found him drunkenly shouting at the Crystal Heart three nights ago.”
Heartsong whickered. “He denies what he sees; it is a miracle.”
“What question?” Flurry sighed. She swallowed and brushed her muzzle against the straw in the glass of water, accidentally knocking it away. Jacques leaned over and grabbed a report, knocking the straw back towards her with his elbow.
Duskcrest hesitated. “Is it safe to pass through?”
Flurry blinked her eye.
“For griffons, I mean,” Duskcrest clarified.
“I made it through fine,” Jacques offered. “If any griffon should have problems, it would be me.”
“Why?” Flurry asked.
“She doesn’t know,” Thorax explained. “I haven’t told her yet.” He laid his hooves on the table and stared at her. The changeling was undisguised and wore a purple uniform and jacket, but his holed hooves still looked shiny. His head fin caught the light in the room and glittered.
“Flurry,” Thorax began softly, “several Changeling garrisons were trapped under the shield when it formed. A few ran east or south, trying to reach the Hegemony’s front line.”
“Our scouts caught up to a couple,” Rainbow chuckled.
“The ones that weren’t caught tried to cross,” Thorax gave Rainbow a dark look. “They burned.”
Flurry waited.
“They melted into ash,” Thorax met her look evenly, “burning with blue fire and arcs of electricity, like your shield spell. Some stripped off their uniforms and threw down their weapons, but they still burned.”
“The Reich soldiers must have seen it near Stalliongrad and spread word, because no griff has tried,” Jacques added.
“Equipment can’t pass through,” Dusty said. “Trucks and trains and everything. We’ve experimented with tossing bullets and grenades, nothing.”
“Hard shield,” Flurry whispered.
“I am…reluctant to ask a changeling to cross,” Thorax admitted.
“And griffons are worried about their families and friends along the coast,” Jacques added.
“Ponies?” Flurry asked.
Rainbow nickered. “Ponies make it through fine. We’ve already had several thousand runners from Equestria.” She laughed. “Saw one earth pony run up to the shield only to bounce off in blue flames. Turns out the thing can tell if the bugs are disguised.”
“Do you think it is safe to cross?” Duskcrest asked Flurry.
Flurry sat for a moment and took another drink as she thought. “I don’t know,” she admitted.
“Sophie has volunteered to cross over,” Jacques supplied, “and we aren’t sure if any griffon has tried on their own, but no griffon has come forward.”
“Except you,” Duskcrest pointed out.
“Well, yes,” he shrugged. “But one good example is an anomaly, not law.”
“It may just be changelings,” Thorax responded.
“I’m sorry,” Flurry apologized. Her voice cracked as forced herself to sound louder.
“Not your fault, Princess,” Thorax immediately answered her. “I’m more worried about the garrisons and the supply lines.”
“Once the Crystal City’s factories are up and running, and the fields are set, we have our supply lines for the entire shield.” Heartsong rapped a hoof on the table.
“Garrisons?” Flurry asked.
The table shared concerned looks. “There are still Changeling troops under the shield,” Spike admitted. “A few of the oil fields and mining towns revolted when the shield appeared, or the Changelings just ran for the shield wall.”
“There’s strike squads of pegasi and griffons flying patrols, but we need unicorns to cast the detection spell,” Rainbow added.
“The shield does a good job of catching changelings coming from the outside,” Dusty said, “but we already caught a few trying to blend in with the pony refugees. Most were killed immediately.”
Thorax licked his fangs and levitated a smaller map over to Flurry. “Rainbow Falls is a large city. Used to be a tourist site. It has a significant slave population working the factories, and it’s close to the southern edge of the shield. A lot of the later Changelings have gathered there after realizing they couldn't get through.”
“Numbers?” Flurry gasped.
“We’ve already encircled the city,” Heartsong stated. “Only a few thousand Changelings in total, at best. Including changeling civilians. Thousands more in ponies.”
Flurry waited.
Thorax heaved a chittering sigh. “They’ve demanded a way through the shield, or they’ll slaughter the ponies. They’re using them to stall an attack.”
“We can take the city,” Barrel said. “It’ll be bloody, but we have the unicorns for the spell.”
“We also have thousands of artillery shells,” Dusty said quietly, “and the guns to fire them.”
“We’re not going to do that,” Spike growled.
“Shell the city,” Flurry ordered, then took several gasping breaths. “Give the Changelings…one chance to surrender. If they give up…take them prisoner.”
“It’s not a well-fortified city,” Barrel said. “An artillery strike will kill thousands of ponies.”
“If they refuse…shell the city,” Flurry repeated slowly. “Tell them that. Tell them…if they harm my ponies…they all die with them.”
The table was quiet.
“They won’t accept that, Flurry,” Thorax said sadly. “They’ll think it’s a bluff.”
“The next time it happens,” Flurry rasped. “They will know it is not.” The alicorn took another drink of water and painfully swallowed. “They will always use…my ponies against me…as long as they believe…I will hesitate,” she enunciated, gasping after every few words.
“The Princess has spoken,” Heartsong intoned.
“None of the other Princesses would give that order,” Barrel sighed, laying his head on his hooves. His lone ear was pinned back. Despite his words, his tone was neutral.
“That’s why we lost,” Rainbow snorted. Barrel didn’t reply to the other pegasus.
“We should discuss that title,” Dusty said.
Spike groaned and Thorax buzzed his wings. Everyone else looked vaguely positive.
Dusty hopped off her stool and stood up straight. Her gray eyes locked onto Flurry. “Princess,” she stated and dipped her head. “I spent my life studying the ancient ruins of the old Crystal Empire in the north.” Her lips quirked into a smile. “Imagine my surprise when the Crystal City returned. Unlike that hack, Daring Do, I spent years doing research.”
“Hay!” Rainbow protested. “She was great! She died a hero for the ELF!” Her metal wing twitched.
“She was a good soldier,” Dusty agreed, “and loyal to Equestria. But she was a terrible researcher, more interested in raiding tombs than preserving them.”
“She fought Caballeron and Ahuizotl! What did you ever do?”
“Rainbow,” Flurry coughed. The mare snapped her jaw shut and settled for glaring at Dusty.
“We know nothing about the early Crystal Empire. The ruins predated Equestria’s founding. Time and Sombra destroyed the records.”
“We remember little,” Heartsong added quietly. “Only your ancestor, Princess Amore.”
You do not deserve the Heart, Usurper. Flurry kept her muzzle still.
Dusty inhaled. “Your shield covers the furthest extent of the ruins I discovered, in every direction. You now control the old borders of the ancient Crystal Empire, reborn under the power of the Heart. You were born under its shadow.”
“You gained your mark with it,” Heartsong stated. “The Empire is yours, by birth and blood and destiny.”
“You have every right to name yourself Crystal Empress,” Dusty finished. “The true heir to Amore.”
Amore would disagree. Flurry leaned forward and took another drink of water, then swallowed and leaned back. She scanned over the room with her eye, judging reactions. Everyone except Spike and Thorax seemed enthusiastic.
“We don’t know anything about the old Crystal Empresses, but they were surely as stubborn as you to live in the Frozen North,” Jacques laughed.
“Claiming the title subordinates Equestria,” Spike advised. “By birth, you are the Princess of the Crystal Empire, Princess of Equestria, and Princess of Ponies. Celestia and Luna never took a higher title so they could rule together.”
“She can still rule Equestria,” Dusty whickered and her gray tail lashed.
“What about Twilight?” Spike asked. “You expect her aunt to be under her?”
“Twilight is dead,” Dusty replied.
“Shut your mouth!” Rainbow snarled. Barrel looked equally offended.
“I will not believe she is dead until I see her body,” Spike answered. “And there is Celestia and Luna.”
“False Princesses,” Heartsong spat. “Cowering a world away. Surely the world knows of this shield. Have they come?”
Spike hesitated. “I wrote Celestia a letter."
“Well, Sir Spike?” Heartsong asked the large dragon.
“She’s concerned about the war,” Spike admitted. “Travel is dangerous.”
Jacques cackled and an argument erupted between the table.
“Claiming the title would put you on equal hooves with the Kaiser,” Thorax said neutrally, “for future negotiations.”
Marriage. Flurry raised her foreleg and let it drop. The bracer clacked against the wood in a dull thump. The sound was barely noticeable, but everyone shut their mouths and waited. Flurry panted from the effort it took to raise her leg. “I do not rule over crystals,” she coughed. “I rule over ponies.”
“And griffons and changelings,” Jacques added, “but I see your point.”
“The Princess of Ponies, the Princess of the Crystal Empire, and the Princess of Equestria,” Thorax nodded.
“The Princess has spoken,” Jacques echoed. “There are other things, but they can wait for now. The radio works, at least. I’ll signal Josette.” He turned to Flurry. “With your permission, Sophie and the Aquileian volunteers will return to the coast. We’ll see if Commander Altiert explodes, but I suspect not.”
“If it is safe, many Nova Griffonians will want to come to the frontier and the Crystal City,” Duskcrest added.
“The shield offers hope,” Heartsong remarked.
“I need to go on the radio,” Flurry said slowly.
“Of course!” Dusty exclaimed. “Ponies will be ecstatic to hear you.”
“I got patrols with Duskcrest to set up,” Rainbow shrugged.
“And I need to manage the refugees with Barrel and Heartsong,” Dusty added.
Flurry nodded. "You may leave," she coughed.
Everyone remained seated. Spike stood in the corner of the room with his arms folded.
Flurry’s legs shook on the table.
“Ah,” Jacques clacked his beak. “I’m sure you want to look over our expected crop yields and reports from the scouts.” He gathered some papers and set them between Flurry’s forelegs on the table.
Flurry slowly bobbed her head.
Jacques stood, bowed low, then left the room without glancing behind him.
The others followed his example, leaving Flurry with Spike and Thorax.
“Do you have anything you need to do?” Spike asked the changeling.
“Interrogations,” Thorax answered. “Some officers surrendered in the northern garrisons in Yakyakistan.” He laid his head on his holed hooves and huffed.
“They gonna live?” Spike snorted.
“No,” Thorax answered bluntly. “The yaks refused to yield, so Chrysalis ordered them wiped out. Rainbow’s scouts already found Yakistown buried underneath years of snow. The Changelings thought there were still survivors in the mountains. I’m pretty sure I can figure out where with some information.”
Spike growled and breathed a small jet of flame. “You want help?”
“Later,” Thorax deflected. “You have anything?”
“Always,” Spike laughed. “I have a lot of numbers to crunch and organize.”
“I need a few minutes,” Flurry said softly.
Spike blinked and noticed her empty glass of water. He grabbed the pitcher and refilled it. He did so quickly and soppily, and some of the water spilled onto the pages between her forelegs.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Clumsy claws.”
“I wasn’t reading them anyway,” Flurry whispered.
Spike stood quietly beside the sitting alicorn, waiting. His tail slowly wrapped around a leg while his wings twitched.
“I was meaning to check-in with the Princess,” Thorax said. “Go ahead, Spike.”
“Uh, right,” Spike confirmed. “I’ll be back later, okay?” he promised. Flurry didn’t watch him leave behind her, but the dragon exited slowly, and Flurry knew he kept looking over his shoulder. The door closed with a thud.
“He loves you very much,” Thorax commented.
“I know,” Flurry whispered. “I don’t want to keep you.”
“I’m not in a rush to torture ‘lings to death,” Thorax deadpanned, “even if they deserve it. I’m tempted to take one of them to the shield and see what happens.”
She forced the words out. “I’m sorry, uncle.”
“Oh, Flurry,” Thorax chittered. He walked over and leaned against the alicorn, nuzzling her. Flurry felt the surprisingly warm chitin rub against the bare patches on her muzzle. “That’s not your fault. I’m not stuck in here, neither is Arex or Gold Muffin or any ‘ling else. We’re right where we want to be.” The changeling pulled back and smiled. “Gold Muffin’s back in Stalliongrad. The ponies left there are happy to see him. A lot of the Herzlanders have communist sympathies, you know.”
“You didn’t tell me he was a communist,” Flurry accused softly.
“You don’t care,” Thorax retorted.
Flurry laughed, and it devolved into a cough. Her chest rattled. Thorax lifted up the glass with his green magic and let Flurry take a few sips. She stayed seated with Thorax next to her for several minutes.
“I need your help,” she finally said. She glanced at the glass of water. “Bathroom.” I won’t make it in time by myself.
“Of course, Princess.” Thorax helped her stand and let the taller alicorn lean against him. “One hoof at a time.” With the changeling’s help, she made it to the doorway in half the time.
Before he knocked on the door for the guards to open it, Flurry stopped him with a nuzzle. “I’ll need your help in the bathroom,” she admitted after a deep breath and closed her eye.
Thorax nuzzled her back and knocked on the door.