//------------------------------// // 13: Return to Canterlot // Story: Anon von Bismarck // by WojakWriter //------------------------------// I laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. The sun had risen, and pulled me out of my fitful dreams. Soon, I would need to get up and prepare to board the boat that would take me back to the mainland. My little 'vacation' was over, and it was time to be the leader of the country once more. The warm weight laying on my chest keeps me from rising immediately though. Since I had woke, I had been doing nothing but thinking about her. Every conversation replayed, every little gesture brought back, tiny snippets of talk pored over as though I was looking for grains of salt on a white sand beach. Despite my apprehension about a relationship, I couldn't deny my attraction to her, and certainly it seemed she felt the same feelings for me. But a lingering barrier remained, despite last night. The knowledge that, no matter what, I could never show this feeling before anyone else. Even Luna, as accepting as she had been about the casual contact and closeness the two of us shared, could not be allowed to see this new facet of us two. A stirring on my chest brings me back to the present. Quill gazes up at me, a tired smile gracing her face, her mane mussed in an adorable way. “Good morning, Anon.” I returned her smile and stroke; her ruffled mane. “Morning, Quill. Did you sleep alright?” She nods and lets out a great yawn. ”Yeah, I feel like a whole new pony.” With a foalish giggle, she nuzzles against my neck and stretches her legs out. This mare and her nuzzling. I chuckled softly and shifted so I was sitting up against the backboard. “Well this new pony in my bed had best be ready to get up to catch the boat back to Baltimare.” She gave me the strongest pout she could muster at this early hour. It's strange that a pony so stoic like her was suddenly acting so goofy. It really was like a totally different pony had woken up beside me. But I quite liked it, I had thought to myself as I ruffled her mane and swung my legs off the bed. “Come on now, we still have a country to run. And as much as I wish it were possible, we can't do that from bed.” I stood up, and Quill hopped from the bed beside me. After stretching out, I took a suit from my suitcase and dress myself quickly. I carefully folded the white uniform that had been my attire for the past few days and stash it away in the luggage. As much as I liked it, I couldn’t wear it everyday. Otherwise it would lose its appeal to the masses. Quill gave me a cheeky grin as she brushes her tail against my legs on the way to the door. I grabbed my luggage and followed her out the door, giving the luxurious suite one last glance before shutting it behind us. The two of us quietly walk past a sleepy looking barmaid and left the inn. The misty streets glowed like fire with the rays of the sunrise. I saw a few ponies as we were walking down to the docks, mostly anglers and sailors it seemed. It made sense, no one who didn't have to be up would be after a night like the last. Even if I hadn't taken part in the revelry, I could practically feel the weight of the near universal hangover. Ponies could party hard. But the warm morning was quickly dispelling any poor feelings that had been set on my chest. The cries of gulls mingle with the faint horns of ships in the outer harbour, and the smell of the sea grows stronger as we approached the docks. A great many military ponies crowded around the great cargo ships that we're waiting to bring them back to the mainland. Not wanting to be on in a large crowd, I approached one of the smaller boats, the small crowd of junior officers letting me pass by without comment and a brief salute. Many of them were bandaged in various ways, and shy away from any contact from me or their fellows. The wounded and lame. They were going home. I pushed down the lump forming in my throat, and approach an earth pony in the uniform of a captain. I smiled at him as he turned to address me. “Good morning, sir! Have you got room on your craft for two wayward travelers?” He looked at the two of us and let out a weary sigh. ”Of course sir, we're not quite overloaded yet. We'll be boarding in ten minutes, please feel free to mingle with the others while we prepare.” I don't question the abruptness of his speech, he looks utterly exhausted. Instead, I just walked to the edge of the dock and gazed out at the mouth of the harbor. Quill sat beside me, and the two of us watched the masts of ships breaking above the still foggy seas. Before long, the captain of my vessel calls out for boarding, and I joined the line of injured ponies. Remind me of when I had left Vietnam. It's a quiet, solemn endeavour, the captain calling out names, and the other ponies responding quietly. The silence when someone’s name was called, and there was no response, was palpable. Not long after I had settled my luggage in the hold, I heard the call for the lines to be cast off. I quickly ran up the stairs, just in time to watch the ships pull out of port as one, and blast their foghorns into the misty morning. The cries of gulls accompany the ships as they form a line and sail out from the port. After some time, the sun has fully come over the horizon, and the only noise comes from the rumble of the engines and crashing of waves against the bow. Quill walks up and stands beside me at the side of the boat. We shared the quiet air, relishing in the quiet moments we both knew would so soon be coming to an end. After a while, she placed a hoof on top of my hand. “Come on, Anon, let's find a place to get settled below. We ought to be ready for our arrival.” I simply nod, and followed her below decks, taking one last look at the port of Trottingham slowly fading into the fog behind me. It's late in the day, as the train clacks along the tracks on its way to Canterlot. Quill is napping on one of the bench seats as I stared out the window at the passing scenery. I decided that I had been sitting long enough, and as quiet as I could, I left the seat and wandered about the train. As I crossed into another car, I caught the eye of a pony wearing the uniform of the Wonderbolts. A grey coated mare, her wings are braced and bandaged, taking up most of the bench she's sitting on. I slid into the seat across from her, giving the mare an easy smile. “How're the wings doing, soldier?” She returns the smile, and I saw the tips of her wings twitch. ”They're alright sir, just a touch sore now. The doc says I should be winging around again in a few months.” My smile had broadened at the mare's easy temperament. “That's good to hear. What is your name?” Her smile falters and her wingtips twitched again. ”Second Lieutenant High Winds sir, Wonderbolts First Squadron lancer.” I held out a hand to her, a glimmer in my eye. “Anonymous, King of Equestria. And may I say, it's a pleasure to meet a pony that was serving under General Luna personally. You and yours did damn fine work in Trottingham.” Her smile grew again as she shook my hand with a hoof. “Thanks very much sir, and I gotta thank you for the new equipment. It kept me from being hurt too bad.” I swallowed hard as I glance towards her wings. “So uh, if you don't mind me asking, what happened?” She grimaced and stroked the bandages with a hoof. ”I don't mind sir. It was griffon grapeshot, the bastards somehow managed to elevate one of their cannons up. Got off a shot at me before we could take them out. The plate took most of it, but my wings...well they're a little harder to armour up so a few balls got into them. Hurt something awful, but the rest of the guys busted that crew and got me out before they could get to me. Made a real mess of things for me, though, but I'm still here.” I nodded along with the story, and Winds looks forlornly out the window, quieting right up. ”I feel like I'm abandoning them though, sir. Even with busted wings, I'm sure I could do something.” I laid a gentle hand on her withers. “I know what you’re feeling. You're doing the best thing for them right now, Winds. The absolute best thing is that you recover and get back to them ready to fight. Hard to do that with injured wings, right?” She looks back at you a bit confused. ”What do you mean by ‘I know what you’re feeling’ were you a soldier?” I grimaced. I would have to talk about it now. “Yes, I fought in a war back home that I never wanted to fight.” Sensing my apprehension, she didn’t ask further questions. “Well, thanks for the advice sir.” I pat her back gently and stood up from the bench. “Don't you worry, I bet you'll get back to your squadron just in time to take Griffonstone.” Her grins grows and she nods eagerly. I said my goodbyes and walked back to the car I had come from. There were many wounded, ranging from shrapnel wounds to missing wings. It's a strange feeling, knowing that there were others like her who had been hurt in the fighting, but still wanted to press onward. Partially inspiring, but there's something terribly tragic about it as well. These ponies reminded me of humans too much. I sat down beside the still sleeping Quill, and return to watching the hills pass by in the fading glow of the sunset. I rested a hand on my sleeping friend's back as I gazed out the window. And I could only pray that she never ends up that way. Ends up like the Wonderbolt. Ends up like me. Ah Canterlot, as little as I was looking forward to getting back to work, it was good to be back. The train platform was crowded with well wishers and families welcoming their brothers, sisters, and fathers back home. The atmosphere is electric all through town, like a reflection of how Trottingham had been. Banners of the various units taking part in the campaign waved all through the streets. Streamers were hung from the gutters and blew in the gentle breeze that flowed through the winding streets. As I was walking to the castle, a great deal of ponies stopped me to ask questions or give their congratulations. On any other day, I would have paused to entertain their curiosities for a moment or two, but today I had a little too much on my mind. So instead I employed every ounce of skill to dodge around their questions and move on. It still delayed me by near a half-hour. Fortunately, my train had made good time to Canterlot and I still had a few minutes to spare before I had called for a general assembly. It was a bit more than the usual minister meeting, encompassing not just the heads of ministry, but high level nobles, ranking officers of the general staff, even some industry leaders A properly full house, and allowing proper use of the audience chamber for the first time since I’d first sat on the throne. It also marked the first occasion I would actually be sitting upon the throne. The first time I would cement my rule. That was something I had avoided since taking Celestia's place, I had wanted to be seen as a caretaker rather than a ruler. But now I had come to understand, symbolic gestures aside, I was the new leader of Equestria. And I needed to start truly showing it. When I finally reached the castle foyer, I sent Quill off to clean herself up, and I went to do the same. Twenty minutes later, and I’m in the already packed audience chamber, sitting atop Celestia's throne dressed in my white regalia. Every seat at the round table that had been brought into the room is filled, and a great many more ponies are standing to the sides of it. Even knowing how many had been invited, the crowd surprises me. From the lowliest house, to nobles the likes of Blueblood. But before long, the doors are shut with a dull crash and I stood to address the ponies gathered before me. “Good evening, everyone. Allow me to first give my congratulations and thanks to the leaders of industry that have made time in their hectic schedules to appear with us. Your diligence has given Equestria a strength in arms that no others can equal. And to the nobility, who have endured the hefty taxes that these unfortunate times have forced upon us, I thank you for the bits that sustain the defense of this great nation. And of course, my fellow ministers, I am grateful for your assistance in ensuring this nation does not crumble into chaos.” There's a scattering of polite applause that dies down quickly. “But I have not called you here only to give you praise, no matter how well deserved. For as the leaders of Equestria, we must look ever forward to the dawn, even in the darkest of nights. I have invited you here this evening because we must discuss the future of the nation, beyond this vile war we have been thrust into. We must have a plan for development beyond war industry, for construction beyond warships, for training beyond rifle drills. And so we assemble here, in the audience chambers of the princess sisters, so that we may plan a bright future for the country they have protected for millennia.” Another round of quiet clopping accompanies the end of my little speech, followed by low murmuring that fills the chamber. I allowed the chatter to go on for a few moments, but soon it's time to get back on track. “Now then.” The ponies quiet up immediately, gazing up at the throne with various expressions. “I would like to first ask the ponies of industry, what sort of development along economic and logistical lines might you think of? Perhaps something to do with the rail system, or a new idea for research? Please be courteous to your fellow industrialists and raise your hooves with suggestions.” After a moment of awkward silence, I see a hoof raise from the right side of the room I gestured vaguely in the direction of the outstretched limb. “Yes, the mare with the beige and brown mane, please.” The mare in question widens her eyes and hesitantly begins to speak. ”I-I'm Shod Hooves sir, manager of Aurora Rail, the largest rail corporation in Equestria. We've recently begun preliminary plans to twin the rail lines across the country, and for the expansion of switching yards in the larger cities. With the resurgence of domestic production, and the movement of the military and contracted trains, the lines have been quite entangled. To twin the lines would allow greater volume of cargo and ponies to be moved across the land, and the expansion of the yards would ensure a smooth transition of cars to other lines.” Despite concluding in a firm tone, there's a clear display of worry on her face. But I smiled good-naturedly. The idea had crossed my mind before to twin the rails, but there had never been a great deal of support when there was no need. But now, the idea may gain some traction with the clout of the leading rail corporation. “Thank you for the suggestion, Ms. Hooves. I cannot speak for my fellow ministers, but we shall certainly take the idea under consideration. Please have your engineers and managers submit a full proposal the moment it is prepared.” She nods her head eagerly and steps back, melding into the crowd again. I gazed around the room, and see a white hoof thrust up into the air, waving earnestly. With another gesture and little encouragement, the pony speaks up. ”Sir, Furious Fire, I'm the lead engineer of the Canterlot Armoury. Though my development is usually arms focused, most recently a member of my crew has come up with a way to reduce the soot produced by any coal burning apparatus. We would like, if possible, to receive research assistance from the factory engineers to expand on this technology. It would be of great use for maintaining air quality as more foundries are built.” I scratched my chin at the suggestion. Environmental impact of the industry hadn't actually been considered too serious, but if there was a way to nip pollution in the bud, it was best to start looking at it sooner than later “Thank you very much Mr. Fire. We'll look into devoting some researchers to the technology. Next?” And on it goes, well into the night. Some of the suggestions are excellent, such as standardizing safety measures across workplaces, others are ludicrous like issuing larger and larger coins for progressively greater sums. I’d seen how that one did on Earth. Inflation. A dollar losing its value. Never again. But Quill faithfully writes down even the most mad suggestion. More than a few opinions were voiced on the war itself, and though I allowed the ponies to say their piece, I avoided talking about it as much as possible. This forum was for planning the national economy, not its defense. And besides, that was up to me and the General Staff alone. Many hours later, and I’m exhausted, but yet another hoof rises from the audience. I pray to whatever pony god there and my own god, that it's the last one. Without prompting, the stallion speaks in a strong, if oddly scratchy sounding voice. ”Well sir, I haven't heard what plans there are for the changelings. If the griffons took Celestia's absence for a sign to attack, could they not as well? Perhaps it's best we move to find them now, and sort them before they become a problem.” I narrowed my eyes at the stallion, an odd feeling of suspicion creeping into my gut. It's hard to put a finger on it, but this wasn't right. He seemed oddly aggressive, especially for nobility, who were normally passive compared to other ponies. “I'm sorry, sir, I missed your name.” He stomps a hoof on the marble tiles of the chamber. ”That's not important, sir. What's important is a solution!” I shared a sidelong glance with Quill before turning my attention back on the pony. “Well despite their attack on Canterlot, I don't believe any aggressive action is in order. If possible, I'd prefer to engage diplomatically with them and come to a resolution that doesn't needlessly endanger anypony.” The stallion heaves a great sigh...of relief? Yes, that was definitely relief. This wasn’t good. “Thank you, sir.” Without further hesitation, he's engulfed in sparkling emerald fire. The ponies immediately near him scream led and backed away as rapidly as the crowd allows. A general atmosphere of panic begins to pervade the room, and a number of guards surrounded the drone with rifles at the ready. Finally, the flames dissipate and standing before me is a changeling. He appeared larger than the average drone, and bore a pair of bright eyes the colour of dried amber. But as I looked closer, I saw that he was in far worse shape than depictions of his species were shown. Along his side, ribs could be seen pressing against the soft areas of his midsection, and his legs seemed to be shaking with effort. The captain of the guard looks up to me, and I raised a hand for him to hold fire. “Do not shoot him unless he presented an immediate threat to your men or the ponies, captain.” The guard nods as I rise from the throne, slowly approaching the changeling. To his credit, the chitinous creature holds his head high, not betraying any kind of fear or even discomfort with his situation. But when I stood before him, he lowers his head to me. Either in respect or fear, I didn’t care. ”Lord Anonymous, I come before you on behalf of the great hive queen Chrysalis. She believes that, with the change of Equestria's throne, a peaceful resolution between our peoples may be possible. She acknowledges the wrongness of attacking Canterlot, and prays that you might forgive past transgressions in order to forge a new, prosperous relationship.” He sounds earnest and honest in his address. But moreover, it carries a pleading tone, one born of desperation and hunger. I didn’t trust him yet. “Tell me, changeling, why does she send an emissary now, and more why did you come before us as a spy, disguised so no one could see? Just who was it you have replaced with yourself?” The changeling keeps his head bowed as he speaks. ”The queen believes that, with your recent war, you may be more willing to engage in diplomacy, instead of interrogating me and gaining the location of our hive to crush us underhoof. She acknowledges she may be wrong of course, and preparations are made for their continued hiding. As for coming in form, I would not be allowed to enter Canterlot as I am now, so a form was required. Worry not, he was a pony of no stature from a town far West of here, and he is at home with his family. A simple trick of hypnosis allowed me into the great halls, and nopony has been harmed by my actions. I do apologize for the subterfuge, but it was necessary to address you directly, lord.” I considered his words, gazing around the hall at the shocked expressions. But in those fearful gazes, I saw more than a few looks of curiousity. It's hard to fault Chrysalis' logic in this situation, with a war already ongoing it would be difficult, nigh impossible, to open another front, especially one born of aggression, without a great deal of ill will. And it wouldn’t go over well with the people. Attacking the griffons was seen as a noble cause, they attacked first. But attacking the changelings would open up a second front, and a cowardly gambit. I looked specifically towards my fellow ministers. Their own shock has faded, and was replaced with varying gazes of everything from disgust to interest. I decided that this could wait, at least for long enough for the shock to fade. “I cannot answer you immediately, changeling, but nor will I turn you away. Though it pains me to begin a potentially beneficial relationship with aggressive action, you will be kept in the cells until we can address this tomorrow. I do not believe my fellow Equestrians would tolerate rash judgment in matters such as this.” The changeling lowers his head further, in a bow. “As you see fit, lord. My queen has ordered me to be at your service until such a time as I receive an answer. I shall abide your decision.” I gestured to the guards, and they form a box around the changeling and lead him out of the audience chamber. I yelled as they left. “Make sure he’s safe and fed!” When the doors shut behind the troops, I smiled widely at the ponies in the room. “Well ladies and gentlecolts, I believe that's quiet enough excitement for tonight. I thank you all for your valuable contributions to the development of the nation, and look forward to the implementation of the ideas you have brought forth tonight. I wish you all a pleasant evening.” The guards that remained in the chamber open the door once more, and amidst a wave of murmuring, the ponies exit the throne room. As the last ones exit, I trailed behind them, accompanied by Quill to my bedchamber. Before entering my room, one of the guards stopped me. “Sir, we have the weapon you asked for.” I gave the guard a small smile. “Excellent. Have it sent up to me tomorrow. After turning from the guard and entering the room, Quill began looking around furtively, she entered the room behind me, doffing her bags and hopping onto the bed. I massaged my aching temples and collapsed on the bed beside her. She laid her head on my chest and let out a low chuckle. ”Who would have thought that, after all these years, the changelings would be back and suing for peace. It's like some kind of farce is being played out before our eyes.” I let out a low chuckle myself. “You're not kidding, I nearly had a heart attack when he showed up. At least it put a cork in anymore questions for the night.” I could feel Quill nod against my chest. “I can't believe some of their ideas. I mean, expanding the grounds of the Canterlot Gardens. Where, off the side of a cliff? Honestly, some ponies...” She trails off with a laugh, but begins breathing deeply. After a few minutes of silence, I gave her side a gentle poke. All I got is a sleepy murmur, and a twitch of her legs. I sighed and made myself more comfortable in my bed. I hadn't planned to sleep with Quill tonight, but I certainly wasn’t going to wake her up and send her away. Besides, I thought as I yawned, I could hardly deny myself the comfort of curling up with a warm pony after a long day.