The following morning, Princess Celestia sat at the same table that she and the changeling delegation had sat around the day before. Servants were bringing various platters of food for all to enjoy, from eggs to bagels to hash brown potatoes to pancakes and waffles. There was even a cart with some sliced fruits and another with drinks ranging from coffee and tea to milk and fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Coming in through open doors was Princess Luna, who let out a yawn and rubbed some sleep dust from her eyes. She took a seat near her sister as she used her magic to grab a cup of coffee and gather up a bowl of various fruits.
"I would ask if you slept well, sister," Celestia began, "but I believe we both know the answer to that question."
Luna snorted as she took in a mouthful of the fruit, then took a generous sip of her coffee.
"We still deal with nightmares from the wedding day," Luna replied a sad look on her face. After a few seconds, she turns to her sister with a smile. "Of course, I was granted a reprieve in the form of watching our nephew being chased by the two of us and a creature I believe was Miss Rarity brandishing a million or so hat pins."
Celestia blushed upon hearing her of her nephew's nightmare. "I surely didn't want to leave that kind of an impression upon him."
"He is most deserving of that, which is why I not only let the nightmare play out, but also conjured some popcorn to enjoy while I did."
Celestia scoffed at her sister, but also fought back some giggles. "Sister, that is horrible!"
"Perhaps, but at the very least, I think he will be out of our manes for a few weeks, if not more."
Celestia smiled a sad smile. True, she had wanted to punish the colt for his overinflated ego and very rude manner, but had no desire to make him fear Luna and herself.
"Surely you do not regret what we both did to our nephew?" Luna inquired.
Celestia thought on it for a moment, but then shook her head. "His behavior has been poor for as long as I can remember. Even as a foal, he acted in ways that were not becoming of his station, and I fear those behaviors have only worsened as he has grown into a stallion."
"Yes, I've heard of the proposal for the new maid uniforms. I believe that was a few months before I returned?"
"It was. When I saw the proposed new design, it took everything within me not to set it aflame right in front of him. I kept my composure enough to tell him that I would think on the matter, but as soon as he was gone, I retired to the lavatory and... cleaned myself with it."
Luna smirked. "I would think wiping with that would leave you much filthier than when you went in."
Celestia let out a hearty laugh at that. "Too true, sister! Too True!"
Both sisters laugh for a bit, but the laughter eventually dies down between them.
"Do you believe it was wise for us to host the changeling king here in the castle?" Luna then asks Celestia.
"I do" Celestia replies. "The castle has the best defenses from attack, magical or otherwise. We have the best trained of all our guards, and we have taken all countermeasures against potential attack or infiltration that we can."
Luna looks away. "Sometimes I doubt the effectiveness of those measures."
Celestia floats a piece of toast with blackberry jam over to her sister.
"I admit fault for what happened up to and during the wedding" Celestia tells her sister. "Had I been paying attention to Cadance and not the external threat, I would've seen the wolf in sheep's clothing that was hiding in plain sight. I can only thank harmony that Twilight was more observant that I was."
"I... also must offer a better apology for my doubting her when she raised concern about Cadance" Celestia adds with a saddened tone.
Luna takes her turn and levitates a piece of toast with raspberry jam over to Celestia.
"I believe the best way to thank her is to give her the opportunity to be at the forefront of knowledge here in Equestria" Luna says with a smile.
Celestia looks at her with confusion. "What do you mean sister?"
"Tia, are you so distracted by guilt that you do not see the opportunity for your pupil sitting right before you?" Luna asks as she uses her magic to summon a lump of clay that is then shaped into the general shape of a changeling.
"Twilight is like a changeling when it comes to knowledge" Luna continues. "She hungers for it always, and is never truly satisfied with what she knows. Always she seeks out new things to know, and now, we have a whole civilization that ponykind has never seen before, with customs and traditions that would otherwise be alien to us."
"If you wish to make amends with your student, I do believe the best way would be to include her in these affairs and allow her a chance to study them."
Celestia thinks over what Luna has told her and smiles. "You are right, sister. That would be the best apology and way of making amends with her. I fully intend to do so, but only after we have an actual peace established. As it stands at this moment, the agreement is still only in principal. We, meaning us and King Apidae, still need to sign it for it to be official."
"And sign it we shall" comes the voice of the changeling king, who has entered the dining hall with his entourage. He is dressed in the red vest and has a shine on his chitin.
"Good morning, King Apidae" Celestia greets the monarch. "I trust you slept well?"
Apidae nods and takes his seat. "Your guest beds are quite comfortable. Our sleep was quite restful."
The changeling king, who had been smiling, drops his smile to a more neutral expression.
"However, something happened last night that I believe you both should be aware of."
Celestia and Luna look at each other for a moment before looking back to King Apidae.
"What has happened?" Celestia asks the king.
King Apidae pours himself a cup of coffee, dropping in two sugar cubes and stirring it, and then takes a sip from the mug. After putting it down, he looks at the two princesses.
"Last evening, I was visited outside my quarters by a drone not of my hive. It was one of Queen Carnation's subjects."
Celestia and Luna both look alarmed.
"Are we to expect an attack?" Luna asks, already planning defensive strategies in her mind.
King Apidae shakes his head. "I do not believe so," he replies, "but I think it is best that I take my leave after we have concluded business here today. You see, the other hives are aware of my actions here today, and to put it plainly, they are not happy about it."
"Do you suspect that they may do something to you and your subjects?" Celestia asks King Apidae.
"I cannot rule that out as a possibility" King Apidae concedes. "As unhappy as the other hives are about the circumstances, taking some kind of major action would be very ill advised. I suspect, if anything, they will send more drones out to perform reconnaissance before making any kind of decision. I believe that, for the time being, my subjects are not in any immediate threat."
"But it is still possible?" Luna infers.
"Nothing is off the table," Apidae responds, "but anything like an all out war would be costly for many reasons. Even joint efforts are too costly. Besides the resources involved, troop movements would be obvious even to the average pony citizen of Equestria. They would never take a chance like that."
King Apidae then takes a sip of coffee and smirks. "Besides, I gave Carnation a figurative, and also rather literal, bit of food to chew on."
Celestia and Luna both look at each other with confusion. "What do you mean by that?" Luna asks.
Apidae takes another sip of coffee and answers her question.
"I gave Carnation a sample of the love my subjects have gathered under the new philosophy I have been pioneering. She was quite unsure how to feel about what I provided her."
"I'm sorry," Celestia says while raising her hoof, "but you said before you were visited by a drone, but then talk about this Queen Carnation as if she was there."
King Apidae chuckles. "I forgot to explain that part" he says and then drinks some more coffee. "King and Queens have the ability to take control of their drones. I personally don't like to do it because it intrudes on their autonomy. Queen Carnation has a bit less compunction in regards to that matter."
"When the monarch takes over the drone's body, they experience all of the things that the drone experiences in real time, even feeding. It was why she was able to experience everything that I had shown her."
"So your kind can take over drones at will?" Celestia summarizes. "Why didn't you contact us through Aulus before?"
"In matters such as these, I believe the personal touch is far more meaningful" Apidae replies, finishing off the last of the coffee in his cup.
"Yes, it does hold a greater meaning" Luna agrees as she finishes her own cup of coffee.
The three rulers sit in silence for a moment before Celestia elects to speak.
"King Apidae," she begins, "I would like to apologize for what happened involving my nephew yesterday. He was told explicitly that my sister and I were not to be disturbed, but he chose to ignore that and seek us out for what was more than likely a very trivial matter."
The king pours a second cup of coffee and prepares it to his liking before having a sip. Once finished, he sets the cup down and looks at Celestia.
"I appreciate your apology, but it is not necessary. I have seen many a pony like Prince Blueblood over the course of my life, and I am quite confident I will be unfortunate to meet many more before my life expires."
"We still feel it is owed to you," Luna chimes in. "Not only did he interrupt a private meeting, but he also said some insulting things that were quite uncalled for."
Apidae nods. "True, he did say some rather uncouth things, but with the ambiguity of the origins of my kind, we may very well be a product of something that came from Tartarus."
"That still doesn't excuse our nephew's behavior."
Apidae takes another sip of coffee before speaking again.
"I don't hold his actions against you. He has made his own opinions and chooses to act on them."
"We appreciate that you don't feel his actions are a reflection of us, but we do. He is very much a noble in the sense that he views the common pony as being beneath him, and he also has rather..."
"Vain tendencies?" Apidae offers.
"Yes, that would be the most polite way of saying it."
Apidae takes another sip of coffee before responding.
"Prince Blueblood has the potential to affect a great deal of change and improvement in Equestria. Instead, he squanders that potential on maintaining an impeccable appearance that is designed to win over hearts and minds without any actual effort, and reaping the benefits of such actions."
Apidae then chuckles dryly. "It's ironic that that is the modus operandi of most changelings, and he calls us filth."
Celestia and Luna both look at each other with unease.
"As we said," Celestia continues, "we apologize for his behavior and hope that it does not affect the outcome of this meeting."
Apidae laughs again, bit this one is warmer than the time prior. "I'm not going to let our talks be ruined by a stallion most mares should give a wider berth of than a skunk with its tail flagged."
At that, both sisters have to laugh. "That is something I am glad both of us can agree on," Celestia tells the king.
After the laughter dies down, there is a bit of silence as ponies and changelings enjoy their breakfast, the king's advisors quietly taking a bit of food and eating at their assigned places.
"I would like to revisit the ambassador situation," Apidae tells Celestia and Luna.
Celestia and Luna both look at each other in confusion before Celestia turns back to address him.
"I thought that we had established everything for that already?"
"We did, more or less" King Apidae responds. "What I meant was that I decided on which drone should fill that task."
"Oh?" Celestia says. "So soon?"
King Apidae nods. "In fact, I believe that you all are familiar with each other in some respect."
Both Celestia and Luna look to each other again in confusion.
"Are they one of your advisors?" Luna asks.
"No" Apidae replies. "I have chosen Aulus for this role."
Celestia and Luna both look surprised. The drone had been the first changeling to approach them in a peaceful manner, and now he shouldered the responsibility of helping to improve the relations between his people and Equestria.
"Is he up to the task?" Celestia asks Apidae.
"I believe him to be so" Apidae replies. "He has studied political science and is a trained infiltrator, which means he has education in the cultures of various nations and their customs. Aulus should perform his task well and with honor."
"Then we shall see to it that he is kept as safe as we can possibly make him" Luna tells Apidae.
"I trust that you will" Apidae responds while taking another sip of coffee.
"There is something else we would like to discuss" Celestia then interrupts.
"Oh?" Apidae responds.
Celestia takes a breath before speaking. "I have a pupil who lives in Ponyville currently. Her name is Twilight Sparkle. She studied under me personally since she was accepted into my school for gifted unicorns."
"She also happens to be the younger sister of my guard's captain, Shining Armor."
"Ah, yes" Apidae realizes. "She was the one who saw through the rogue queen's failed attempt to replace Princess Cadenza."
"Yes, that is her" Celestia confirms. "Well, I feel that I have alienated her a bit with my actions prior to the wedding, and I wished to make amends with her. With you having approached us about peaceful integration, I believe that you may be able to help me, as well as our combined efforts to establish peaceful coexistence."
Apidae thinks over what Celestia has told him.
"I believe I know what you wish to ask me" Apidae deduces. "You would like for your student to learn about our society from us either by interviewing Ambassador Aulus or visiting our hive along the border to the Dragon Lands?"
Celestia nods. "As I said, I believe this will be something she would be eager to be involved in. However, I also know that she was one of the ponies most hurt by the rogue queen's actions, so she may be a bit apprehensive, if not near totally opposed to the idea of the integration of our societies. I am not completely sure how she will react, but I would like for her to meet with you and your advisors before we announce what transpired yesterday, and what will hopefully continue to transpire today, to our subjects with our radio broadcast."
"I believe that would be wise," the king agrees, "but to my understanding of what drones have seen of her, she is a rather gifted magic user, if rather overly emotional at times. I fear what a first meeting without any prompting before hoof could result in."
Celestia nods. "Yes, I am aware of her tendency to be more... reactive to situations, and not necessarily take the time to think things through so that a more logical and less impulsive solution can be found."
"I believe you are referring to the Want It, Need It fiasco?" King Apidae says with a knowing smile.
Princess Celestia's cheeks redden as she chuckles nervously. "You, uh, know about that, do you?"
Apidae nods. "One of my subjects sent report of it to me, right before they avoided Ponyville for a solid month for fear of what might have happened should they have even a glance at the young unicorn's doll."
The blush on the princess's cheeks deepens. The king chuckles.
"Well," Luna interjects, "we would not allow such a situation to occur again, and to that end, we shall inform young Twilight Sparkle of the events that are to transpire here today and have her full understanding and agreement that she is not to cause harm to yourself or any of your subjects. In fact, the both of us shall chaperon this meeting and have shield spells at hoof should my sister's pupil decide to attack you before having made proper introductions."
"Yes, I believe that would be wise" Apidae agrees after taking another sip of coffee. "That also brings up another matter I wanted to discuss. You suggested yesterday that I be introduced over a radio broadcast. While this certainly would help in regards to assuring my personal safety as well as the personal safety of my subjects, I fear it may not have its intended effect."
Celestia lets out a sigh.
"Yes, there is no guarantee that our subjects will accept anything you say," Celestia concedes, "but that is why I plan to make this broadcast after we have captured the rogue queen Chrysalis."
Apidae looks a bit confused. "I apologize, but I was under the impression that our treaty was to be announced at the earliest convenience?"
"Technically speaking, it is" Celestia answers. "I believe it will have its best chance at accomplishing what we intend it to do once she is locked away in a dungeon or, and I say this as being the absolute last resort, cast into the aether."
The changeling king blanches a bit. "I was to understand that you and your sister no longer practiced capital punishment."
"We don't," Luna answers, "as tempting as it may be to reinstate it in this instance. No, we leave that outcome as a possibility for the simple fact that Queen Chrysalis may choose not to be taken alive and will fight to the death if absolutely necessary."
Apidae sighs with a small amount of relief. "I am glad to hear you intend to make the taking of her life the absolute last resort. No offense to either of you, but I have heard tales of your more violent acts during earlier years of your reign."
Celestia and Luna both look at each other uncomfortably. King Apidae frowns.
"My apologies" he addresses the two princesses. "I did not mean to bring up unpleasant memories."
"It is okay" Luna responds. "Our actions in the past are a result of many things combined. Young and inexperienced leadership, a lacking of patience, many parties vying for power and power enough to usurp our throne, and regrettably, some of the earliest seeds of strife between my sister and I."
Celestia nods. "Yes, our past actions are very much a result of the times and circumstances. We have strived to do better, even if we've hit some stumbling blocks along the way. It also didn't help that we had such different views back then on how Equestria should be ran."
"I remember this from reading history books from long ago" Apidae says as he points his hoof at both princesses. "Celestia wanted to promote the agriculture of the kingdom, and Luna wanted to bolster the military."
"Our motivations were a bit more nuanced than that," Luna responds, "but that is a rough summary. Celestia wanted to care for the people by improving things such as agriculture, and I wanted to ensure that the unification we helped establish would last by having a strong military to dissuade and stop any enemies that threatened to destroy what we helped create."
"You did eventually come to agreement and compromise" Apidae pointed out.
"We did" Celestia answers. "My sister and I drafted the basic policies and practices of our modern royal guard, and we agreed to the holding of royal courts to allow petitioners to come to us with proposals that could benefit the nation."
"Well, it's good to hear that you were able to come to a solution that served both of your goals in some capacity" Apidae tells the royal sisters.
"It is" Celestia says as she finishes her tea and places the cup back on the saucer. "Now, I think it's best we have some of this food before it gets too much colder."
King Apidae laughs as he grabs some food and places it onto his plate. "Yes, let us enjoy this most important meal of the day!"
After enjoying breakfast, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and King Apidae all stand around a podium, with several banners serving as a backdrop.
The first is white with golden accents and has a large sun printed on the center of it. Next to that is a navy blue with silver accents and a large crescent moon in the center. After that is a blue flag with two alicorns chasing each other around a sphere. The last is a black flag with a lime green symbol of a bee inside a flame.
Off to one side are the advisors of King Apidae, now joined by Aulus, who had been presented formally with the offer to be the ambassador for King Apidae's hive and graciously accepted the new responsibility.
Ms. Inkwell stood off to one side, examining a clock on a nearby wall.
Prior to this moment, Princess Celestia and Luna sat down with a photographer that worked in the castle for the two of them. They briefed this stallion on what his role was and made him sign the oath to keep what he saw and photographed today a secret, even amending the basic document to include the forfeiture of the film stock until the princesses had made a formal announcement of the treaty that they were about to sign.
The treaty itself sat on the podium, with several lines at the bottom and the names of everypony who would be required to sign, as well as some lines of a few ponies who would bear witness.
A door off to the side of the room opened and in walked the photographer. He was a unicorn, a beige color with a mane reminiscent of the mare known as Vinyl Scratch, except the mix of colors was brown instead of blue.
He levitated in two cameras. One camera was a normal still picture camera, while the other was a moving picture camera, a full reel of film stock loaded into the device. He also had a few lenses for each camera, though the moving picture one had an apparatus on the front to allow for the quick interchanging of lenses as needed.
"J-Just give me a m-moment, y-your highnesses" the photographer said in a shaky voice as he wrestled with the tripod of the moving picture camera.
"There is no rush," Princess Celestia said in her motherly sort of tone, "and there is no reason to be nervous. No creature here will attack you."
"I can attest to that very much" King Apidae added, causing the stallion to flinch a bit and the camera to nearly topple over. It avoided hitting the floor when a green aura surrounded it.
"Might I offer you some assistance?" Aulus asked the photographer, stepping forward just a bit.
The photographer flinched and backed up a bit. "I-It's okay" he told Aulus. "I have things w-well in hoof."
The changeling rolled his eyes, though it was imperceptible to the ponies in the room, as he proceeded to set up the camera, doing everything but aligning it for the shot it was required to take.
"Oh" the stallion says in surprise. "Th-Thank you."
"Not a problem" Aulus told him. "Haven't seen one of these new cameras before. Looks kinda cool."
"Th-They're really expensive" the stallion comments. "I-I could b-barely af-afford this one."
Aulus smiles as he steps back into place. Princess Celestia goes over to the stallion and looks him in the eyes with a soft smile.
"I meant what I said earlier" she tells the photographer. "King Apidae and his subjects are not here to cause us harm. In fact, they are here to help us prevent further harm. Do you trust me, my little pony?"
The photographer doesn't say anything for a moment. "I... I want to."
Celestia quirks her brow. "You want to?"
"I-I do," the stallion confirms, "b-but I'm afraid that they may have gotten to you."
Celestia realizes what he means and chuckles. "You're afraid that I'm under a mind control spell, right?"
The stallion doesn't say anything but nods.
"Let me ask you something" the princess says next. "If the changelings had mind controlled my sister and I, why would they go to all of this trouble of putting on a show in private that they intended to keep in privateand risk having one of the ponies here in the castle run off and sound the alarm for not only every pony in Canterlot, but for all of the ponies in Equestria."
"I..."
The stallion doesn't have an answer. "I don't know."
"Then the simplest answer is that they are genuine about this" Celestia concludes. "My sister and I ask you to trust us. We, meaning King Apidae, Princess Luna and I, have spent a good bit of time establishing this peace treaty, and even without it being formally signed at the moment, both King Apidae and his subjects intend to honor it."
"In fact, the king has put his hive at risk in order to do this thing he is here for today."
The photographer looks at Princess Celestia with surprise, and then past her to look at King Apidae.
"Your princess speaks the truth" the king tells the stallion. "My actions in revealing myself and my hive to your princesses breaks several laws maintained between all of the changeling hives. There is a chance that my subjects and home could face consequences for what I've done here today."
"In truth, I had intended to establish a peace further off into the future, but the attack during Princess Cadenza's wedding forced my hoof to act now and prevent an already unfavorable view of us to perpetuate further. You have nothing to fear of me or my subjects."
The stallion thinks over what he's been told, and eventually, he relaxes a bit.
"I suppose I can trust you if the princesses do" he finally admits.
"They are wise in a way only years of experience can make," Apidae affirms, "even if their emotions sometimes get the better of them."
The photographer finishes setting up his equipment, allowing Aulus to help with a few things, though the pony is still a bit nervous to be up close and personal. Once his equipment is set up completely, Raven begins the formal ceremony.
"Mares and stallions, we are here today to bear witness to the signing of the Equestria-Dragonlands Hive Peace Treaty. This endeavor is the result of amicable communication between the two nations, and with the treaty signed into law, will guarantee protection to both the ponies of Equestria and the changelings of the Dragonlands Hive."
Raven turns and faces the princesses. "Princess Celestia, will you step forward and sign the treaty?" she asks.
"I shall" Celestia responds in the affirmative, stepping up to the podium and taking one of the quills in an inkwell and signing on the line next to where her name is printed out on the parchment. She then replaces the quill and steps back.
"Princess Luna," Raven turns to the night princess, "will you step forward and sign the treaty?"
"I shall" Luna answers, stepping forward and repeating her sister's actions, signing next to her name on the treaty before putting the quill back and stepping away.
"King Apidae," Raven turns to the changeling ruler, "will you step forward and sign this treaty?"
"I shall" the king replies as he moves to the podium. However, rather than take a quill from the provided ink pot, the king removes a pen with a metal nib from his vest. Then, in a shocking move to the princesses, he pricks his frog with the pen, wincing slightly as he holds it there. Once he is satisfied that the pen has enough "ink" in it, he holds it above the paper and recites a pledge.
"I swear this oath, honor bound by the Mother Tree, that I shall uphold this treaty I sign here today to the best of my abilities. May great misfortune befall me should I fail in this endeavor."
With that, the king signs on the paper next to where his name is printed.
"That was... unexpected" Celestia remarks, clearly taken by surprise at the king's actions.
"What you have seen me do is swear a blood oath to the Mother Tree" Apidae explains. "It's one of our oldest traditions and the most serious pledge that changelings can make. I do this now to demonstrate once again how serious I am about the establishment of peace between our subjects."
The changeling advisors and Aulus all bow their heads to their king, an apparent show of respect for his actions.
Celestia smiles. "We have no doubt that you will do your best to uphold this treaty, and I also add that we will do everything in our power to uphold it as well. If there is any one thing I hate as much as attacks on my subjects, it is the loss of an ally."
"And since you are the first allies of my kingdom," King Apidae concurs, "I must say that I too would be greatly hurt to lose your trust"
Celestia smiles at the king's promise. Raven clears her throat and continues with the ceremony. "I shall now step forward and sign this treaty as a witness to the event."
The pony steps forward and takes a quill, signing her name on one of the three witness signature lines. Placing the quill back, Raven looks to the photographer.
"Sir, will you step forward and sign your name?" she asks him.
The photographer looks around nervously; he did not expect to be called to sign such an important document. As he looks around with uncertainty, his eyes meet Princess Celestia's own, and she gives him a smile and nod.
Without delay, the stallion agrees and signs his name: Wide Angle.
"Would a member of the changeling delegation please sign this treaty as a witness?" Raven asks the five advisors. The group discusses, and once finished, they face Raven.
"We nominate Andromeda to sign this treaty as a witness" Nero informs Raven.
"Andromeda, will you step forward and sign this treaty as a witness?" Raven asks the drone.
"I shall" Andromeda replies, and steps forward, repeating the same actions as her king, swearing a blood oath to support his efforts to carry out the terms of the treaty.
Raven takes the signed document and reviews it. Once she is satisfied, she turns and faces the photographer and cameras.
"With these signatures, the treaty between Equestria and the Dragonlands Changeling Hive is now official" she announces. "May peace and prosperity follow for both nations on this day."
"May peace and prosperity follow" Celestia, Luna, Apidae and all of the other ponies repeat.
Raven then takes the treaty and rolls it up into a scroll, then places a seat over top of said scroll. Using her magic, she duplicates the scroll, as well as replaces the seal with one that mimics the same "bee inside a flame" motif that King Apidae has chosen to use.
"Here is your copy of the treaty" Raven tells the king while giving him the document.
"Thank you, Ms. Inkwell" Apidae says as he takes the scroll and then hands it to Andromeda. "Please take care of that until we return to the hive" he instructs her.
"I will, your majesty" Andromeda replies as she slips the treaty into a set of saddlebags placed off to the side.
Princess Celestia and Luna both approach King Apidae. "We understand that you would like to return to your hive now that we have this treaty signed and official," Celestia begins, "but we were wondering if you could perhaps stay at least one more day to work on a few other things."
King Apidae deduces what they mean rather quickly. "You wish for me to meet with members of your royal guard and brief them on what we know of Queen Chrysalis and where she may be hiding."
"That is one part," Luna concedes, "but there are some other things. For instance, my sister intends to write a letter to her pupil to see if she can return here to Canterlot this evening or tomorrow morning. She will brief her on what has happened and introduce you to her so that she can be aware of how things are going to be moving forward."
"Yes," Celestia chimes in, "but there is something I must admit that I have overlooked. You see, young Twilight is one of the bearers for the artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony. There are five other mares that wield these elements, and Twilight is friends with all of them. If we tell her of you, she will ultimately tell all of her friends about her meeting you, and I fear that that could have a rather negative effect on our situation with the establishment of a peace treaty."
"So, instead of just Twilight Sparkle, I will be meeting with five other mares that share the burden of bearing these elements you speak of?" King Apidae summarizes.
"Yes, that is the long and short of it" Celestia responds a bit sheepishly.
King Apidae sighs. "These two days are the longest I've been from my hive" he tells the princesses. "Truly, I do not wish to be away any longer than necessary. I believe that it would be best to put off a meeting with these six mares until I can better accommodate it. I do not wish to show any disrespect, but with my absence from the hive, there is a bit of a vulnerability. While I train my soldiers to be the best they can be, I am still the most powerful changeling by leaps and bounds. Only a king and fight off another king or queen."
Celestia listens to what the king has to say and nods somberly. "Then I will not keep you any longer. But I do have one question for you."
"And I will be more than happy to answer" King Apidae responds.
"How will we contact you from now on?" Celestia asks. "I cannot just send a courier to your hive, especially since we have no concrete ideas of its exact location."
King Apidae chuckles. "If you wish to contact me, then you may do so through Aulus."
The king turns to the drone in question. "Do you have your scarabs, Aulus?"
Aulus nods. "Yes, your majesty" he replies as he reaches into a small pair of saddlebags on his back and fishes out four pieces of what appear to be obsidian, and all of them shaped like beetles.
"This is what we call the Scarab Relay" Apidae explains. "We can use this to communicate with the throne rooms of any hive in Equestria. Simply align them as Aulus is doing and they will immediately create a communication spell that allows you to see the pony or changeling on the other end, and they you."
"Remarkable" Luna says as she watches Aulus arrange the beetles. Once they are in place, the beetles open their elytras and project green beams at one another, which quickly form into a lattice that projects a circular portal-like viewing screen about two hoofs above them. Inside the viewing screen is a changeling drone that looks a bit surprised to see ponies in front of it.
"Your majesty?" the drone asks, a clearly feminine quality to it.
"Persephone," King Apidae addresses the drone. "We have succeeded in establishing a peace treaty with Equestria and will be returning soon. Please inform the hive."
Persephone bows her head. "That is wonderful news. I shall inform them immediately, your majesty."
Apidae smiles. "Also, I would like for you to meet Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. These are the two current rulers of Equestria. I expect they'll be communicating with us quite a bit in the future, so I expect them to be greeted cordially at the least when they seek to communicate with us."
"They shall, your majesty" Persephone nods and faces the two sisters, bowing her head to them.
"I am Persephone," she introduces herself, "and I am the head of communications for the Dragonlands Hive Defense Force. My duties are to set up and coordinate communications for the entire hive, as well as preparing the communications equipment that is used by our reconnaissance teams. If you have any questions or if you should wish to speak to King Apidae, I will be more than happy to answer those questions or put you in touch with his majesty."
"Thank you, Persephone" Celestia tells the drone. "I am Princess Celestia, the solar princess of Equestria. This is my sister Princess Luna, the lunar princess of Equestria. Together, we rule over the citizens of Equestria and do all we can to make it a peaceful and prosperous nation."
"I am pleased to make your acquaintances, your highnesses" Persephone responds.
King Apidae clears his throat. "Both myself and the advisors will be returning soon. I wish for the hive to know and prepare. I will be giving a speech to inform them all of the specifics as to what has happened here these past few days, and what they can expect going forward."
"I shall do so, your majesty" Persephone says with a bow. "Do you wish us to prepare the throne room for this announcement or would you prefer elsewhere?"
"I believe the announcement hall will serve this purpose well enough. Have it cleaned and prepared for when the delegation and I return and have had a chance to clean up from the journey.
"As you wish, your highness" Persephone responds, continuing her bow.
King Apidae steps forward and presses down on one of the beetle stones, discontinuing the spell and causing the stones to close their elytras and go dormant again. Aulus then picks them up and places them in his saddlebags again.
"A rather interesting piece of technology" Luna comments.
"It is," King Apidae responds, "and I invite your subjects to examine and reverse engineer it to produce a working version for themselves. I imagine that they could produce something that is more efficient and compact than this, given enough time to experiment."
"Then I appreciate the sharing of this technology with us" Celestia tells King Apidae. "I should hope that we are able to share our technology with you in the future and have it be of a benefit to your people."
"There is no need," King Apidae responds, "but the gesture is appreciated."
The king then turns and faces his advisors. "We shall make leave during the night" he tells them. "We shall do it by carriage out of the city limits, and then transform into thestrals so that we may make the journey back as quickly and quietly as possible."
"Agreed, your highness" Nero says with a bow, the other advisors joining him.
"Since you shall be staying with us for a few hours more," Celestia chimes in, "perhaps you and your delegation will be interested in a brief tour of our city?"
"I think that would be a good idea" Luna adds. "I would love to show the king some of the best sights that Canterlot has to offer. What do you say to this King Apidae?"
The king smiles as he and his delegation are consumed in green fire, which fades quickly to reveal the same pony disguises that they arrived in.
"By all means, Princesses," the king responds, "lead the way."