It was during a day that Gustopha was covering for Celestia, that a guard would approach her somewhat frantically.
“Princess, we’ve received word that the Changelings have occupied Keel River,” The guard explained.
This, admittedly, caught Gustopha off-guard; not only the occupation itself, but the word of Changelings… That was not a term Gustopha was familiar with. She nodded a bit, thanking the guard for his word, and going to get Celestia.
“The Changelings?” Celestia asked, “This might be serious… They’ve been quiet for a fair while,” She expressed, “We’ll ready some pegasi to accompany us on an express visit to Keel River, and leave immediately.”
Gustopha nodded and readied herself for the worst. She wasn’t hoping for the worst, of course, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared. She hoped that this was just ill timing, and not the start of something terrible.
As Gustopha and Celestia settled themselves near the edge of town with their escort, Celestia looked at her small group.
“Alright, everypony. The Changelings thrive off of misdirection and isolation. Stick together, and try to keep an eye on at least one pony if you can,” Celestia instructed.
Gustopha and the guards nodded, preparing to walk into the town.
Gustopha was struck by just how normal everything seemed. Sure, some of the townsponies perhaps looked tired, but Keel River was a fairly large settlement, so that was bound to happen. Gustopha did, however, heed Celestia’s advice.
A few ponies approached them. “Oh, Princesses! What brings you here?” One such pony asked; a unicorn, it seemed, with striking scarlet eyes.
Gustopha opted to let Celestia speak.
“Oh, we’ve just come to see how Keel River is doing; it’s quite a ways from the capital,” Celestia explained kindly.
“Oh! Well, everything’s just peachy,” The unicorn promised, “You don’t need to stick around.”
Gustopha’s eyes shifted around as Celestia and the unicorn bantered back and forth. She thought she saw movement in some of the darker alleys. Leaning down, she spoke to the two pegasi guards closest to her in a whisper. “Watch the alleys,” She ordered quietly.
The two nodded, eyeing the alleys with suspicion.
“Oh, but we’d just love to stay a bit longer,” Celestia insisted, “After all, it’s quite a trip, even by wing.”
The unicorn seemed a bit annoyed, but forced a smile regardless. “Of course!” He replied, voice slightly strained, “Please, let us show you to the inn.”
Celestia nodded, and led her small entourage deeper into the town, following the small congregation of ponies.
Gustopha felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach; a similar feeling to how she had felt when she went into the cave with the blight in it. The feeling of being swallowed by something incomprehensible.
Gustopha’s eyes drifted to one of her guards, just in time to see him disappear into one of the alleys. Her eyes widened, and she lightly stamped her hoof as she walked, catching the attention of the other few guards, as well as Celestia and their “guide”.
“Excuse me, I’m not used to walking on bricks,” Gustopha reasoned, faking recovering from a stumble.
The guide huffed a bit, but one of the guards leaned against her. “Stay close,” Gustopha insisted softly.
He nodded and quietly relayed the orders to his fellows.
When they got to the inn, the unicorn smiled at them. “Here you are! Princesses first, of course,” He said kindly.
Celestia politely nodded. “Thank you,” She replied curtly, gesturing for Gustopha to follow her in.
Gustopha hesitantly followed, giving the briefest of glances to the guards. She had a feeling that they wouldn’t be following them inside.
She leaned into Celestia as they walked in touching horns with her adopted sister. Telepathically, she asked, “What’s the plan?”
“We need to find their queen. You and I will be busting out of here once we think they’ve gone off to deal with our escorts,” Celestia silently replied.
Gustopha nodded a bit, standing still inside the seemingly empty in.
She then heard the sound of hooves skittering on the floor.
“You shouldn’tve come here,” Sneered a changeling, their piercing eyes becoming visible in the dark end of the hallway, followed by several more pairs.
Celestia turned to the door, her horn igniting and firing a beam that blasted it apart.
“Now!” Celestia bellowed, charging outside.
Gustopha followed close behind, just barely catching the buzz of a changeling charging at her.
Celestia’s horn illuminated, shielding herself and Gustopha. “Stay close!” Celestia ordered.
Gustopha nodded, looking around. “Where would the queen be?” She asked.
“Usually in a building with a large atrium; look for a church or schoolhouse,” Celestia explained, grunting as several changelings harshly slammed into her shield. The glowing translucent sphere sparkled from the impacts.
Gustopha’s horn illuminated, and a thick tether of golden aura connected her horn to Celestia’s. “It’s a magic-sharing spell,” Gustopha answered pre-emptively, “Just keep your focus!”
Celestia nodded as they ran through the town, looking for any sort of building that matched their description.
Changelings chased after them, loudly banging and thumping against the shield; though with the magic flow of two alicorns keeping it operational, there was little the small swarm could do.
The swarm, however, grew larger with each passing moment. A handful of Changelings turned into dozens in a matter of minutes, Celestia straining to keep the shield active in the face of the ever-increasing onslaught.
It was hard to see though the dozens of black bodies swarming the shield. Gustopha thought she saw a chapel of some kind, but it was impossible for her to tell.
Celestia panted a bit. “I’ll blast them away,” Celestia said, “You hurry up and find a likely spot for the hive.”
Gustopha’s eyes widened. “But what about you?” She asked.
“I know how to fight. You don’t. Thus, you press onward,” Celestia insisted.
Gustopha nodded a bit, breaking her tether with Celestia. “Alright,” Gustopha said determinedly.
Celestia’s eyes closed, and with a bright flash of her horn, the shield erupted into a large blast of light, knocking the swarm away.
Gustopha immediately took off like a rocket on her wings, listening to the sounds of the changelings snarling and hissing around her. She didn’t dare look back, setting her eyes on what seemed to be a schoolhouse of some sort.
She braced herself for the impact.
CRASH!!
The alicorn tumbled through the door, rolling flank-over-teakettle.
She was surrounded by several large changelings; not as large as her, but significantly sized compared to the vast majority of their kin.
As she shook herself off, she caught a glimpse of the largest changeling. This changeling was not entirely black; instead, she had almost ethereal purple hair, and highlights of dark green and blue in her chitin. Gustopha supposed that seemed regal enough.
To her surprise, though, the changeling queen did not immediately order some kind of seizure. The second it opened its mouth, it started hacking and coughing, spitting up what looked like silt mixed with blood.
Gustopha’s eyes widened. She’d know that sight anywhere.
The royal guards only now started encroaching on her, growling.
Gustopha quickly paced towards the queen. The guards grew closer, and Gustopha’s eyes closed, horn illuminating in a bright, dazzling light to stun her potential attackers.
The changelings hissed and growled, and she could hear the thumps as they attempted to blindly lunge at her. She shook one off as it managed to grab her, and opened her eyes, pressing onward as her horn dimmed.
“N-no closer,” The changeling queen hissed, sneering at the alicorn.
Gustopha shivered a bit. She could hear the royal guards gearing up to have another go at her. It was time to put her studying to the test.
“I-I’m not here to hurt you!” Gustopha yipped, eyes squeezing shut in anticipation of a new attack.
This, surprisingly, seemed to get the attention of every changeling in the room, including the queen.
Gustopha’s eyes slowly and hesitantly opened. “I was… Called as a doctor,” Gustopha said, now officially into ‘faking it as she made it’ territory, “Because the ponies in town were very concerned. Since you were sick.”
The changeling queen looked at her with a cockeyed expression, but waved a motion to its guards. Surprisingly, they stood down.
Stepping forward as gingerly and carefully as she could, Gustopha sat next to the changeling queen and grabbed it firmly, pulling the changeling queen close.
“Unhoof me, pony,” The queen sneered, writhing in her grasp.
“It won’t take long,” Gustopha insisted. She was now in her element: Comforting a patient awaiting treatment, “Just relax.”
Gustopha’s horn illuminated as she began dowsing for blight. Changeling biology was very strange compared to pony biology; the flesh was permeable, and breathed through thousands of tiny holes. This was good news for Gustopha, actually: Impaling would not be required to remove the blight.
The queen struggled and fought her, even biting at her leg, but Gustopha’s grip held true.
“It’s okay,” Gustopha promised, “It won’t hurt.”
The queen snarled a bit, but slowly calmed in Gustopha’s grip. “Just what are you doing to me?” It sneered, followed by several hard coughs, accompanied by more bloody mud.
“I’m just figuring out what you’re ill with,” Gustopha insisted gently. Not entirely truthful; Gustopha knew it was blight, but the dowsing spell did technically fulfill such an application. She supposed it must’ve been an odd sight to the royal guards, who were now sitting passively as a foreign princess had their queen in what was effectively a firm embrace.
“Now, just take deep breaths for me, okay?” Gustopha requested, as her horn began to glow brighter, “And you tell me if it starts to hurt.”
The changeling queen snorted a bit, but nodded, and began to shakily take deep breaths. Each breath was followed by a hard cough, but the now steady pulsing of Gustopha’s horn began to loosen the ill’s grip on the changeling’s body.
Gustopha focused on her own breathing and regulating her magic. Each slow, steady pulse of her horn drew more blight out of the queen’s body.
The changeling queen’s coughing began to lighten after a few moments; a few moments during which Celestia and the pegasi the two alicorns had brought with them were brought into the church, bound tightly in what seemed to be silk.
The queen gasped softly as she began to breathe truly freely, and Gustopha’s horn dimmed as the spell melted away, removing the last of the blight with it.
“Isn’t that better?” Gustopha asked gently.
The changeling queen sat idly in her embrace for a few moments, before looking to her guards. “Let them go,” She insisted.
A few of the changelings hissed and sneered in protest, but the queen repeated her orders more firmly: “Let them go.”
Slowly and hesitantly, the changelings unbound Celestia and the guard.
Hesitantly, Celestia walked up to the front of the room, before the changeling queen.
“...Frenela,” Celestia greeted softly.
The queen sneered softly. “I know what you want, Celestia,” She huffed, “We will be leaving… As soon as this ‘doctor’ of yours stops coddling me like an infant.”
Gustopha blushed a bit, but released her hold on Frenela. It was an oddly intimate position, perhaps; but in the absence of a proper operating surface, proximity didn’t hurt. The closer the target was, the easier the spell was to apply.
Frenela immediately went to stand up, but Gustopha looked at her.
“Wait,” Gustopha began, “We know why we’re here, but why are you here?” She asked.
Frenela stood dumbstruck by the question. “...You do not know anything about us, do you?” She asked with a slight sneer, glaring at Celestia.
Celestia shivered at the intensity in the changeling’s gaze. “The changelings are…” Celestia tried to find a word that didn’t have certain connotations to it.
“We are parasites, in pony words,” Frenela sneered, “Or at least, my children are. I would feed them myself, and leave your precious towns alone. However, that creeping sickness has inhibited my ability to do so.”
“What do you feed them?” Gustopha asked.
“Magic,” Frenela huffed, “They can generate trace amounts on their own from food, but they will still starve eventually. I will not let that happen.”
Gustopha stood up, taking a deep breath. “Then neither will I,” She reasoned.
Celestia and Frenela both stared at Gustopha for a long moment.
“Gustopha, what are you suggesting…?” Celestia asked.
“If Queen Frenela is having difficulties sustaining her own kingdom, and I possess the means to help her…” Gustopha trailed off, hoping that blank was easy to fill.
Frenela looked as though she was about to accost the pony princess for such an idea, but then looked around at the dozens of changelings that now lined the walls of the room. “...And what would you expect in return?” Frenela asked lowly.
“Only the obvious,” Gustopha reasoned, “We simply wish for our towns to remain unharmed.”
Frenela stepped close to Gustopha and leered hard into her eyes. “How do I know you’re not just trying to scheme?” The changeling asked.
“That’s… The hard part,” Gustopha admitted, stepping back a pace, “You have to trust me. I can’t force you to do that; I can only show you as as many gestures of goodwill as I can.”
Frenela thought for a long moment. “...I will offer you one such ‘gesture’ in return,” She began, “You will return to the hive with us, as a sign of your trust in us.”
Celestia’s eyes widened. “You can’t be-” Gustopha hushed her with a hoof.
“Very well,” Gustopha replied, “If that’s what it takes for the safety of our ponies, then I’m willing.”
Frenela cocked a brow. “...You are willing? With no further stipulations? No guard, no company…?” She asked, bewildered.
“You wish for me to trust in you,” Gustopha replied with a small smile.
Celestia and Frenela shared a glance; it was harder to tell who was more bewildered.
“Gustopha, you really should think this over…” Celestia expressed.
“I’ve thought about it all I need to. If some days on my behalf will save both of our kingdoms potentially centuries of struggle, then I need to do this,” Gustopha expressed.
Celestia sighed a bit at the determined, level look on Gustopha’s face. “...Very well,” She replied, before looking sternly at Frenela, “Do not betray her trust,” She huffed.
Frenela simply nodded, a bit confused by how quickly that negotiation had gone on her favor. “Of course, of course. We will be out of town by nightfall,” Frenela sneered.
Celestia pulled Gustopha into a firm hug as the changelings all gathered up to depart. “You do not have to go through with this, Gustopha. No one would blame you,” Celestia whispered.
Gustopha hugged back, but shook her head. “I would blame me,” She insisted softly, “You said I had the potential to be a diplomat, so let me conduct diplomacy.”
Celestia bit her lip, but nodded as she pulled away. “Safe travels, sister… And you, Frenela,” Celestia bade.
Gustopha left the building with Frenela and the changelings, beginning to fly with them.
It was a quiet flight; none of the changelings seemed to be particularly talkative, and Frenela was too deep in her own thoughts to speak. Truthfully, Gustopha was a bit nervous about going to a foreign place compried entirely of creatures that had just tried to attack her, but Gustopha felt determination coursing through her veins: The resolve to do what she believed was best for her subjects.
The changeling hive was a strange structure for any pony; a collection of slowly melting and moving walls and chambers, merging and separating in odd ways.
Frenela herself led the Princess through the perplexing structure.
Gustopha looked around with wide eyes; oh, how she wished she could write this all down. Her apprehension completely melted away in wide-eyed intrigue.
Frenela tilted her head a bit at the princess’ almost childlike wonder. “...Most ponies find our hive disconcerting,” She remarked.
“Disconcerting?” Gustopha asked, “It’s fascinating. I’ve never seen architecture like this.”
Frenela nodded slowly, realizing Gustopha’s initial panic in the church was either a particularly convincing front, or a brief lapse in a more normal state of mind.
Frenela led the alicorn to her chambers, staring at Gustopha as Gustopha just gazed around the room, taking everything in; including the half a dozen large royal guards that stood dutifully around the room.
“...When you are done ogling my home, we have diplomacy to conduct,” Frenela reminded.
Gustopha perked up a bit. “Right,” She replied, stepping closer to the changeling queen, “I take it you’d like to be the first recipient?” She asked.
Frenela nodded a bit. “What do you need to share magic with me?” She asked, “I have been told nothing is without cost.”
“Just proximity… I have been honing a tether spell, so it doesn’t need to be direct touch,” Gustopha explained.
Frenela scowled a bit. “You will not be casting spells on me,” She snorted, “You will transmit the magic directly.”
Gustopha was, admittedly, a bit confused. First Frenela didn’t want to be touched, now she didn’t want to not be touched. However, Gustopha just nodded, stepping closer. “I… Don’t know much about changeling magic, so you’ll have to let me know if things start getting uncomfortable.”
Frenela nodded a bit and settled herself on her bed, and Gustopha carefully paced next to her, sitting face to face with the changeling.
“I’ll start slow, since you’re probably still a bit weak from the blight,” Gustopha reasoned, leaning her horn forward.
Frenela allowed Gustopha’s horn to slip into one of the gnarls of her own, forming a stable connection.
“Three… Two… One…” Gustopha counted slowly, her horn illuminating.
Frenela jerked slightly at the sudden kick of magic entering her body. It didn’t hurt, but such a direct sensation caught her off-guard. “...You need to practice easing into it more,” Frenela remarked.
“Sorry,” Gustopha huffed, continuing, “Is the flow okay, though?”
“You can do a bit more,” Frenela replied, “I am not that frail.”
Gustopha nodded, horn glowing brighter as she steadily ramped up her output. Eventually, Frenela hissed a bit from the mounting pressure. “That’s enough,” She seethed.
Gustopha dialed back her flow just a bit to leave some wiggle room in the event something surprised her. “Alright, we stay at that pace, then,” She reasoned.
Frenela felt her eyelids begin to droop. The feeling of hunger, in whatever way the changeling queen felt it, was finally subsiding. Fresh magic coursed through her veins, and it relaxed her thoroughly.
“Still okay?” Gustopha asked softly, “I don’t want to overburden you.”
Frenela let out a small, distant, “Mhm.”
Gustopha’s eyes twitched as she felt a light weight press against her nose, and she cracked open an eye. Frenela’s eyes were now closed, and she was slumped forward, her muzzle pressing against Gustopha’s.
“...Frenela?” Gustopha asked softly.
The changeling queen didn’t reply, though Gustopha could feel her soft breathing. She was asleep.
Gustopha’s horn dimmed as she halted her flow of magic. She could have continued with the changeling queen asleep, of course, but this treatment was diplomatic in nature moreso than medical.
Gustopha gently helped the large bug under the covers, endeavouring not to wake her, before carefully pacing from the bed and looking at one of the guards.
It sneered at her. “You do not leave the queen’s chamber without her permission,” It insisted.
Gustopha nodded a bit. There wasn’t much she could do with Frenela asleep, then, so she settled herself on the floor to rest. She wasn’t particularly drained from the magic sharing; it was the most magic she had shared directly, but her capacity as an alicorn exceeded the queen’s own. However, sleep still found her easily, despite the odd scenario she found herself in.
Gustopha awoke to the smell of food; food she hadn’t smelled in a long time. It reminded her of the smells in the old fort, when Rolling Simmer was the sole cook responsible for feeding her.
Her eyes stirred open. Several changelings were gathered around her; not the large royal guards, however. Smaller changelings. Workers, perhaps.
She looked around at the small congregation. “Good… Morning,” She greeted hesitantly.
“Do not crowd her,” Frenela’s voice sneered from behind her.
Gustopha turned her head to see the changeling queen in her peripheral vision as most of the smaller changelings scattered some distance away.
Frenela walked to her side and sat next to her. Gustopha noticed that omething about her demeanor had changed. It seemed less… Hostile? Standoffish? Just a bit less aggressive.
“We are preparing you something to eat so you can continue your duties,” Frenela explained, “It will be ready soon.”
“I can live a day or two without food,” Gustopha attempted.
“It is in our best interest, for a variety of reasons, to ensure you are in peak condition,” Frenela sneered, “...Chief among them, earning your trust.”
“My trust?” Gustopha asked, “I thought I was supposed to be earning yours.”
Frenela huffed a bit. “Trust is not something that can be demanded. It must be built up,” She sneered, “We have decided you are a wanted ally, and thus you are deserving of what little hospitality we can provide.”
Gustopha blinked a bit, but nodded slowly. “Well, if you’re sure…” She supposed softly.
There was a look in Frenela’s eyes that Gustopha had a hard time describing.
“...Is something wrong, your highness?” Gustopha asked.
Frenela tensed. “...No,” She replied sharply.
Gustopha didn’t want to push the issue too much, but couldn’t shake the feeling that Frenela was troubled over something.
Frenela looked at Gustopha analytically for a moment. “...For what purpose do you wish to seek peace with us?” She eventually asked, “There must be some angle you are attempting to work.”
Gustopha thought for a long moment. “Well… Peace is its own reward,” She reasoned, “I’ve seen firsthand what happens when war allows ambition to go unchecked.” Gustopha’s ears drooped.
Frenela tilted her head a bit. “I see,” She replied, going quiet for a moment. “You are the first pony to make an effort to negotiate with us in a long time,” Frenela remarked, “And the last ones were conniving. They sought to take our magic for themselves and manipulate us into servants.”
Gustopha bit her lip. “That’s awful…” She replied, ears further drooping, “I can understand why you were hesitant, then.”
Frenela nodded a bit. “I am wary for the good of my subjects, not to hold an act,” She expressed, “I have watched my kin suffer too long in hunger.”
Gustopha thought for a moment about Frenela’s reasoning. “You love them,” She reasoned, “You love your subjects, as Celestia and I do ours.”
Frenela stared at her for a long moment, silent.
“Beyond that, you’d do anything you can to see things improve for them. You’d push boundaries, make sacrifices… Mistakes,” Gustopha’s waned at the last word, and she looked at the ground, now pressing her front hooves together.
“...And, for them, I’d put aside my pride, if I saw a better way that was not my own,” Frenela added.
Gustopha looked at her for a long moment.
“They are already doing better, now that I’ve dispersed the magic you gave to me last night,” Frenela explained, “Thank you for your service.”
“I have more to give,” Gustopha expressed, “I’ll stay here several days if I have to, in the name of peace.”
Their conversation was interrupted as a pair of changelings entered the room with several plates of food aloft in their magic. The plates were set before Gustopha, and the pair looked at her expectantly.
“Did you cook this?” Gustopha asked softly, looking at the plates.
One of the changelings nodded.
“Thank you,” She replied gently, horn illuminating to take a plate for herself.
There wasn’t much on the plate that was familiar to her; fried eggs, sure, but they were accompanied by thin strips of a brown substance, and vegetables the princess didn’t recognize.
She did, however, start eating. It all tasted quite good, really; perhaps a bit bland, but Gustopha didn’t mind. She was cognizant of the fact that being royalty gave her access to fancier food than most ponies would ever see in their lives.
“It’s excellent,” Gustopha praised, “Thank you.”
The changelings seemed a bit bashful at the compliment, but didn’t speak.
“I’m surprised,” Frenela remarked, “I wasn’t aware ponies ate meat.”
Gustopha froze. “...Meat?” She asked.
Frenela pointed to the thin, brown strips, which Gustopha had already eaten several of.
Gustopha’s mind raced, and she dropped her plate. She hadn’t ever let it click in her head that she was eating meat, before today.
“Princess?” Frenela asked.
Gustopha bit her tongue. “I’m just… Caught off-guard, that’s all,” She excused, “I ate meat quite a bit, growing up, but was never told that’s what it was.”
Frenela rubbed Gustopha’s back. “You won’t offend us if you don’t eat anymore,” Frenela excused, “We’re aware that pony society has reservations about eating such things.”
Gustopha shook her head, magicking one of the thin strips of meat to her mouth. “It’s fine,” She excused, “Like I said, I have had meat before…”
Compared to how heavily she overthought so many other things in her life, Gustopha wasn’t particularly bothered by the meat. She figured that she had eaten it before without issue, so it wasn’t a problem.
Gustopha continued to eat, eventually emptying the three or four plates that had been brought to her. It had been a while since she had eaten so much.
Frenela was a bit surprised at how quickly Gustopha had moved past the shock. She’d expected a more violent reaction. Then again, food was food, one could suppose.
“Thank you,” Gustopha eventually said, bowing her head respectfully to the two changeling cooks.
The cooks collected the plates and skittered off, leaving their queen and the alicorn alone again.
“Would you like me to share more magic with you, now?” Gustopha asked, looking at Frenela.
Frenela nodded a bit, and they again moved to her bed; no sense in putting themselves in physical discomfort for no benefit. They touched horns, and Gustopha’s horn illuminated, beginning to share magic with the queen once again. This time, Gustopha took more care to ease into the flow, rather than starting it all at once.
Frenela watched Gustopha with intrigue. The alicorn’s body was entirely focused; her eyes were closed, her posture was stiff, and her breathing was even. Frenela admired that in a pony: Dedication.
Gustopha, meanwhile, didn’t let herself think too much, just focusing on keeping the flow magic through her horn steady and even.
Eventually, Frenela felt some pressure building against her interior. “That’s enough,” She said.
Gustopha halted the flow and pulled away. “Feeling better?” She asked with a small smile.
Frenela nodded, and stood up. “Come with me,” She requested, before speaking orders to her royal guards, “Get everyone in the atrium again.”
The guards nodded and left the queen’s chamber quickly.
Frenela led Gustopha through the hive, and again, Gustopha allowed her curiosity to pique. Frenela smiled a bit, but didn’t say anything, allowing the astute alicorn to observe.
Gustopha looked out over the balcony of the large atrium she’d been brought to.
“This is where I address all my subjects,” Frenela explained.
“The scale of the room is breathtaking…” Gustopha murmured, looking around at the atrium. Gustopha wasn’t entirely sure exactly how big it was, but it comfortably fit what now seemed to be thousands of changelings, all neatly sat or perched on the floor or banisters above.
Frenela waited another few moments, before starting the magic sharing ceremony. Her body became enveloped in an aura of deep pink energy, and tendrils of said magic spread around the room to what at first glance looked like simple crystalline lamps. From each lamp came forth dozens of smaller tendrils, connecting to the horns of each and every waiting changeling.
Gustopha watched in awe. It was a particularly impressive display of magic; a magic sharing spell unlike any other. For a brief period, the entire hive was directly linked to its queen.
The spell subsided, and Frenela panted a bit. The changelings seemed more energetic than ever; particularly the royal guards that sat on the balconies just before the queen’s.
“...And just a bit left over for me,” Frenela said with a small chuckle.
Gustopha walked to her side, offering a Frenela hoof to steady herself with. Frenela took it and smiled gently at the princess. It was warm and genuine, but still carried a faint weariness.
“On behalf of my kin, thank you, Gustopha,” Frenela expressed, “It has been a long time since I’ve been able to fully feed my hive.”
Gustopha returned the smile. “Of course,” She replied softly, “That’s what diplomacy’s about: helping each other so we can all move forward.”
Frenela felt a twinge of something in her chest. She knew what it was, despite how disoften it came to her. She leaned into Gustopha and took a gentle breath.
“Frenela?” Gustopha asked, blinking as the changeling queen abruptly got quite close.
Frenela blinked and pulled away. “Er- yes,” She huffed softly, “You’re free to go. I can handle things from here.”
Gustopha took a step back and smiled gently at Frenela. “I can come back some time, if you need more aid,” She promised, “This doesn’t have to be goodbye forever.”
Frenela looked away a bit, a smile on her face. “That sounds agreeable,” She replied, “I will send a messenger, should the need arise.”
Gustopha nodded a bit, looking to a hole at the top of the atrium.
“It was nice to meet you and your kin, Queen Frenela,” Gustopha said, bowing to the queen, before standing back up and preparing to take off.
“Take care, Princess Gustopha,” Frenela bade softly.
Gustopha took a run up and left the hive, flying back towards the castle. She allowed herself to get lost in thought during the flight; Frenela’s behaviour that morning was entirely unlike the day prior. She wondered just how much of it was desperation; she couldn’t imagine running a kingdom where her entire kind’s survival hinged on her ability to provide. Gustopha could only imagine the amount of stress involved in that sort of scenario.
When she returned, she was immediately approached by a procession of guards. “Err… Hello?” Gustopha greeted.
“Princess Celestia wishes to see you as soon as you’ve returned,” One of the guards explained.
Gustopha nodded. “Very well,” She replied, following the guards towards the throne.
Celestia walked down the steps of the dais, approaching Gustopha as she walked into the room.
“Is everything okay?” Celestia asked, “Did they try to hurt you?”
Gustopha was caught off-guard by the urgency in Celestia’s voice. “Well, no, not at all,” She replied, “They were lovely hosts… Surprisingly so, actually. I woke up to breakfast and everything.”
It was Celestia’s turn to be caught off-guard. “They… They were?” Celestia asked.
Gustopha nodded. “It was tense, perhaps, but I never felt endangered at all,” Gustopha expressed, “And the hive’s architecture… Goodness, it’s a marvel.”
Celestia stared, dumbfounded. Was Gustopha just trying to put her mind at ease, or was she really that impressed with the hive?
“So they didn’t try to imprison you, they didn’t use any force…?” Celestia trailed off, leaning in a bit.
“Well, I wasn’t permitted to leave until morning, but no roughhousing was involved,” Gustopha recounted, “Imprisoning feels like a strong word, though.”
Celestia sighed a bit. “We haven’t sent diplomats to the changelings in a long time,” She admitted, “I assumed the worst because of the occupation; they haven’t occupied any town of ours since before the war. Then, to demand you go with them to conduct diplomacy…” Celestia shivered.
“I have a feeling that Frenela was just as afraid of that eventuality as you were,” Gustopha admitted, “Afraid that we’d attempt to take advantage of any perceived trust. It’s a form of negotiation, if a botched one. Usually the ground is supposed to be neutral in that sort of scenario.”
Celestia cocked a slight smile. “You’ve been studying again, haven’t you?” She asked.
Gustopha nodded. “Not as much as I’d like, but I’ve had time to read up on the basics of negotiations,” She explained, yawning a bit, “I’m definitely tired after this morning… She could absorb a lot of magic.”
Celestia nodded a bit. “Go ahead and get some rest,” She replied, “I’m just glad to have you back, safe and sound.”
Gustopha nodded. “It’s nice to see you again, too,” She bade, heading back to her room to rest.
As she laid down, though, her mind swam in a torrent of mixed thoughts. She couldn’t seem to get it to settle enough to sleep, which was quite unlike her. She took a deep breath and got up from her bed, walking to her balcony to get some fresh air. Gustopha stared up at the night sky, and thought for a long moment.
“She said she could take it from there, so why did she seem so uncertain…?” Gustopha asked herself, leaning on the balcony railing and sighing deeply, “I’m sure she’ll be alright. She said herself, she’ll send a messenger should she need aid.”
It was only some time later that Gustopha headed back to her bed and curled up under the covers. Her mind was still surging with thoughts, but she at least managed to quell the ratrace enough to sleep.