“I will not have this argument with you again, Sister!” Luna shouted.
It had been so long since Luna had actually raised her voice toward Celestia that she was near in denial that it had even happened. Confused, she went on, “What argument, Luna? Why would we be arguing? All I came to do today was to discuss a plan of action. Why would there be a need to argue?”
The Queen’s office had always felt so foreign to Celestia. When she ruled over a thousand and two hundred years ago, the Queen went down to see her people, the people didn’t come up to her position. These polished floors, these fancy rugs, these gilded photographs: this was part of the culture that developed without her, the world that her children were born into, the world that she was not a part of. And yet, she was the only one who understood it.
Standing from her chair, Luna put her hooves on the desk. “Another plan of action, another military campaign, another targeted attack on our rivals! It’s always this! Can’t you listen to your daughter even once? We do not need to spark conflicts to keep the status quo!”
Celestia could feel the migraine coming on. “Are you not the adult in the room? Twilight still hasn’t recovered from the war for Luna City seventy years ago. She still doesn’t understand. If we do not keep up the pressure, your ‘status quo’ can never be maintained. Not that I ever understood why the ‘status quo’ was good enough for you.”
An irritated breath escaped the Moon Queen. “Very well. Perhaps 'status quo' is not the word I’m looking for. Maintaining peace should not require… sneaking destruction to bring about setbacks. We are perfectly capable of defending against anything the world can throw at us. This loss of life is unnecessary.”
Angrily, Celestia clapped. “Perfect, something we can agree on. I, too, believe the loss of Equestrian life is unnecessary! Take a moment to look at these pictures, won’t you?” She floated a series of photos of changelings unloading crates off of trucks filled with very large, unusual mechanical structures from all ports going into Black Hive on the southern continent. “Black Hive has been receiving parts of some kind from all over, a great deal of which comes from White Hive on the Morning continent. My spies–”
“Your own son who you send out on these missions like some kind of disposable agent, you mean.”
Celestia gritted her teeth. “Dusk is perfectly capable for his position. As he and his team have captured these pictures, they’ve also gotten a chance to study some of the parts going from White Hive to Black Hive. We’ve never seen anything like this before, Luna.”
Finally, Luna paused to really look at the images. Neither of them really wanted their sons to enter the government or the military, but somehow, that’s where they both ended up. The boys tended to side with Celestia more often than not though, which gave her a bit more sway when it came to decisions Luna didn’t agree with, like targeted military campaigns. Only, this one was going to be a bit more explosive if it were to work, so getting her on board was a necessity.
Confusion washed over Luna’s face as she studied the pictures. “What am I looking at here? A leg?”
Celestia studied the same photo. “That’s what I believe, but for what I can’t say. Considering the number of changelings that are carrying the thing, it must be at least seven meters long.” A single leg that long would make whatever it was connected to at least five times the size of either of the elder alicorns. If it ended up the shape of a regular pony, it could reach ten meters.
Luna rubbed at her temple. “So Chrysalis III is building a big toy. What of it?”
Celestia ran her tongue across her teeth. This is the part where all of Dusk’s charisma needed to be hers. “This, whatever it is, will not end up ‘just’ some big toy. They are building a war machine, Luna. When the little pegasus climbs up the beanstalk to find a house in the clouds, there he encounters a giant who had been stealing his family’s livelihood. The big strong monster could find, crush and eat him without a second thought. They are going to bring this fairy tale monster to life, and we are the little pegasus.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “Then why trample on the poor changelings serving their queen as opposed to simply slaying the giant when it comes? Or is there some reason that we or our armies are incapable of this?”
Celestia gaped at her sister. “You cannot be this naive!”
“We have done enough killing, Celestia! If our power is sufficient to simply defend, then we should.”
Taking a deep breath, Celestia recentered herself. “Did we, or rather, since I wasn’t on the planet at the time, you have the power to simply ‘defend’ when the Hippogriffs bombed Miyako in the 19th century?”
Luna gritted her own teeth. To this day, she regretted how she responded then. It wasn’t a retaliation in kind, it was total, overwhelming destruction. Two cities, half a million people in each. They had both been military ports, but they housed a great deal of civilians too. Frozen in an instant. Everything had been destroyed. The land had been tainted with magical radiation and the remaining ponies either died out or had been deformed by the lingering poison. It took them half a century to recover.
“The times have changed, Celestia. We have better technology now, we could prevent another disaster like that. We do not have to take the onus to create a new one.”
Celestia licked her lips. “That’s right, Luna, the times have changed, and we are not the only ones with new technology! If we do not send someone in to sabotage or destroy the pipeline to make this machine, we could be dealing with not one, but an army of giants! Do you think that the Changeling Queen doesn’t understand who she’s dealing with? Do you believe she’s dumb enough to go without testing this thing? To make sure it can’t withstand our weapons and our magic when it finally does come for us? She doesn’t have the heart that you do. She’d willingly sacrifice her people just to find out! Just like Chrysalis II before her, she will find a way to hit you where it hurts and then you will suffer the same regret you did three hundred years ago.”
Softening, Celestia put her hoof on her sister’s. “I don’t want you to go through that pain again. I came back to share your burdens with you, remember? Just approve this for me and I will take care of the problem before it comes.” She slid her mission package across with the signature line alone revealed.
Luna sighed, then took the rest of the page out to read it over. Her eyes widened. “You cannot be serious.”
I knew this would be a fight. Celestia sighed. “I am totally serious. White Hive is a problem. If it is to remain standing, we cannot leave it with a 60% changeling population or the current government must be removed.”
Luna threw the page back on the desk. “We cannot incite a revolt in White Hive! Just because we will not be the ones doing the killing does not mean the killing will not come!”
Celestia rose. “The killing will come one way or another! It cannot be prevented so long as Chrysalis controls White Hive. I’d rather that killing not come on Equestrian soil, you understand.”
Luna shook her head. “There does not need to be killing! I can stop whatever comes at us, with or without your help, and I will not be responsible for destabilizing a free city!”
“You do not know that you can stop this thing! What happens when it comes and they’ve finally reached the point where they can match our power, Luna!? Are you going to die for this nonsense you’ve committed yourself to? Just because you regret one war where you were forced to take action!?”
Luna pushed back. She took hold of Celestia’s mission package in her magic and set the corner on fire. “I would rather take my chances than throw the lives of ten million people into chaos.”
Taking a deep breath, Celestia stepped away from her sister. “Very well then. Take your chances. But when the worst comes, you get to deal with it by yourself.” Turning, she moved to leave Luna’s office.
“I am perfectly capable, Sister. I have been for a thousand years. I appreciate your advice, but please respect the authority you dropped in my lap.”
Biting her lip, Celestia didn’t respond. I’m sorry, little sister.