//------------------------------// // Politicking // Story: Babel // by BaeroRemedy //------------------------------// Part Two: The Moon Cheerilee woke up in a painfully empty bed. Of course, there was no one to blame but herself. She had a quite willing stallion that slept in her front room, one that was here specifically to solve that problem. The problem was not him, it was Cheerilee. How long had it been since Cheerilee had been with a stallion like that? Years. Even she lost track of the exact amount of time. She had become very adept at dealing with her more primal urges and hadn’t really felt the need to seek the help of a stallion in a long time. The closest she had come in recent times was that little incident with Big Mac instigated by Scootaloo and her friends. She was just very nervous about all of it. That kept her from taking the next very necessary step and Muddy was far too polite to push her. He just kept saying that they would do this at her speed, not his. It was incredibly understanding and wonderful and it made Cheerilee feel less than worthless. She had been so eager for this opportunity, for this chance to start a family. Where was her zeal now? She should be getting plowed like a field, not in bed alone! This wouldn’t be her first time, so why was she as anxious as she was back then? It was so stupid. She was a grown mare, this shouldn’t be this big of a problem! “Cheerilee?” Scootaloo’s voice came from beyond her door and a knock accompanied it. “Yeah, I’m awake.” Cheerilee grumbled back and got out of bed. Sleep had not come, too many worries and far too much self-loathing had filled her night. It had been like this since Muddy had shown up and it was getting worse by the day. “Some more royal guards delivered something to the mayor and she wants everypony outside!” That made Cheerilee move a bit faster. She stepped into the bathroom attached to her room and made sure she looked semi-presentable and then hurried herself out into the hall. Scootaloo was there waiting for her, a groggy frown on her face. “Are you okay, Scootaloo? You look tired.” She gave the young pegasus a soft smile and rested a hoof on her back. Scootaloo pushed against the contact and Cheerilee lightly rubbed right between the filly’s wings. “No…” Scootaloo answered with a heavy sigh. “Rock and Roll were up all night doing something outside of my window…a lot of banging with hammers or something.” Scootaloo’s little wings bristled and she glared towards the back of the house. “I tried to see what they were doing out there but they told me I wasn’t allowed to! What’s up with that?” “I’ll talk to Muddy about it.” Cheerilee said with a smile and nod. “I’m sure they’ll let you join in whatever it is they’re doing.” “I don’t even want to join them!” Scootaloo protested and stomped her hoof against the floorboards. “I just want to know what’s so important that they have to be out there all night and keeping me up! Some of us have jobs even if they don’t!” “You’re sounding more and more grown up by the day, Scootaloo.” Cheerilee said with a chuckle and patted her charge on the head. “I’ll talk to them and get them to keep their construction to more reasonable hours, okay?” “Okay…” “Now come on, let’s go see what the mayor wants.” Cheerilee started off down the hall. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get back and I can make us all some breakfast.” “Muddy already made us breakfast.” Scootaloo followed closely behind the mare. “Scrambled eggs!” “Where in the world did he get eggs from?” Cheerilee hadn’t even seen eggs since…since before The Event? When was the last time she had even seen a chicken? It seemed like forever ago. “I don’t know but it was so good…” Scootaloo trailed off, lost in the memory of a hearty breakfast. “It would’ve been even better if we had ketchup...” “Ugh.” Cheerilee’s face twisted in disgust and she stuck her tongue out. She could abide wistfully reminiscing about past luxuries, but there was a line. The least Scootaloo could do was wish for something a bit…less weird. “Really? Ketchup on scrambled eggs? Gross, Scootaloo.” “It’s good!” Scootaloo jumped in the air, her little wings buzzing furiously as she defended her taste in food. “You put ketchup on ‘em, then mix it all together until it’s all orange! It’s the best way to eat scrambled eggs!” “If you say so…” Kids were weird. Cheerilee knew this. She also knew the best way to get out of a potential spat was to bow out before you got them too riled up. If Scootaloo wanted to fantasize about horrid food combinations, then Cheerilee would let her for now. The pair made their way out of the house and into the streets beyond. The same placid weather greeted them, the same government mandated limbo between summer and fall that greeted them every day. In the south Cheerilee could see the teams of pegasi taking away the clouds that had been used to water the fields overnight. The sun greeted them in the east, barely over the horizon now. Despite the early hour everypony was outside, even the ponies who didn’t have to be up yet. The whole town was built in one big circle with a fountain at the center. A small stage often used for assemblies had been pulled out of storage and set up by the fountain. The townsponies gathered around that and looked up to Mayor Petals who was reading over a piece of parchment in her hooves. “Cheerilee.” Muddy seemingly appeared out of thin air and at Cheerliee’s side. The mare jumped, but a strong hoof on her back settled her down. “Did you know we have unicorn guards in charge of this sector?” “Yeah, Rhine is his name I think.” Cheerilee blinked and shrugged. “We had a little problem with him recently but we got it sorted out thanks to Scootaloo. He’s a good pony, I think. A little intense, maybe.” The same could be said for almost every guard, though. Cheerilee could understand Muddy’s, as well as most ponies, hesitancy when it came to unicorns. They made Cheerilee’s skin crawl too, but she also knew that it wasn’t their fault. She had seen how what happened tore up those poor ponies, she had heard from them during The Event what it was like for them. So she did her best to push through that pervasive nervousness and at least try to be friendly to any unicorn she happened to come across. Not everypony was Cheerilee. “I don’t like it.” Muddy grumbled. “They come into a nice town like this and scare ponies, that’s all they do.” He added something else under his breath, something that sounded like ‘that’s all they’re good for’, but Cheerilee wasn’t sure. “Well we see them when they come to get the food and that’s it, really.” She gave the stallion a smile and patted his side with a hoof. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to deal with them at all. That’s Mayor Petals’ job.” “She seems alright, I guess.” Muddy conceded. “She is.” Cheerilee then looked around. Scootaloo was still by her side but she didn’t see Muddy’s colts anywhere. “Where are Rock and Roll?” “They’re working on their project in the backyard. I told them they didn’t have to come since this is grown up business.” He turned to look at Cheerilee. “Why?” “Well…” Cheerilee wilted as he looked at her. She really didn’t want to upset him or do anything to drive him off. “...I was hoping that maybe you could talk to them about keeping their activities to business hours.” Muddy raised an eyebrow. “Just, y’know, we have a lot of ponies around here that have to get up early to work and-” “I understand.” Muddy’s features brightened with a smile. “They’re just excited to get it finished. I’ll make sure they don’t keep the neighbors up all night.” “What are they working on anyways?” Scootaloo chimed in as she hopped up and down in a bid to get a better view of Mayor Petals. Cheerilee crouched and allowed the little pegasus to climb onto her back. “It’s a lot of banging…” The former teacher rose to her full height and felt Scootaloo’s hooves rest on her head between her ears. “They’re making a clubhouse out of our extra wagon.” Muddy answered curtly. “Won’t you need it?” Scootaloo asked, cocking her head to the side. “No, not really. It was a spare we found on the way, abandoned on the side of the road.” Muddy turned his gaze to the stage. “I don’t really care what they do with it.” He nodded. “Looks like it’s time to quiet down and listen up.” “Alright everypony!” Petunia Petals bellowed out in her thick Whinnyapolis accent. “We got a big’n here, straight from the princesses themselves.” A curious murmur shot through the crowd. “I’ll just read the whole thing, because it’s…a lot.” “Ponies of Equestria,” The Mayor started after clearing her throat. “Our great nation has prospered under one thousand years of peace. Yes, we’ve seen our share of troubles and strife, but nothing like this. The Event has left the capacity of the state crippled and has caused chaos and confusion across Equestria. It is not easy to reckon with, but for the first time in over a millennia the crown is not enough.” A ripple of shock went through the crowd. Cheerilee felt her blood run cold. What did that mean? Abdication? What would Equestria do without a princess? Or would Twilight take over? The thought of a world without Celestia or Luna in charge of Equestria was a bleak one, certainly. “We have asked much of our ponies since The Event.” Petunia continued. “Food has been rationed, lives uprooted, and we have asked you to fight through feelings that no pony should have to ignore. You have done this with the faith that we, your rulers, could figure out this dire situation and set Equestria on a path towards recovery. That is not the case. Despite our best efforts, the situation has not improved. The task is far too daunting and expansive for even us to handle properly.” Petunia took a deep shaky breath and shook her head before continuing. “We must ask of you, our loyal ponies of Equestria, for more. When we were asked to administer the government of the united tribes, the government that would become Equestria, we did it because it would provide stability and unifying figureheads during trying times. Now, for the first time since Equestria’s founding, the normal citizens of Equestria are asked to return to the halls of power.” “What?” Cheerilee was in shock. She was not the only one either, as confused and scared mumbles went through the congregation. “We’re…we’re not alicorns. We can’t possibly help run Equestria.” Ponies could run towns, but a whole country? That was the job of alicons, of princesses. There were four of them now, surely that was enough. “Your town has been tasked with selecting one pony to send to Manehattan to represent its interests. This delegate will participate in a gathering known as The Stables, where they will vote with others from across the country on issues facing the ponies of Equestria. We know this is a lot, but we ask that you join us in this endeavor to get Equestria back on the right track. It will be difficult and there may be disagreements, but we have faith that the magic of friendship will guide us through. Eternally in your service, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.” There was only a stunned silence. “We need to have this figured out by next week. So for the next four days we will be accepting nominations for our delegate.” Petunia spoke to the crowd as she fought through her own deadening shock. “On the fifth day we will have a primary to select the final two candidates, then on the sixth day we will have a final vote.” She waited for a moment. “I’ll have a box set up in front of town hall for nominations by midday. Feel free to stop by if you have an idea…” The mare looked around for a moment, her voluminous purple curls bouncing as she did. “Uh…dismissed.” “It should probably be her.” Muddy nodded at the mayor as she descended from the stage. “She knows what’s what. Good strong pony too.” He nodded a little more. “We need somepony who represents our interests.” “I think this is supposed to be for all of Equestria, Muddy.” Cheerilee stood by the stallion even as the rest of the crowd began to dissipate. “I agree that Petunia is probably the right choice, but because she’s kind and compassionate. She knows that ponies are hurting and she’ll make the right choices when it comes down to it.” “Hmm.” Was the only response she received. “Okay, well I have to get ready for work!” Scootaloo hopped off of Cheerilee’s back, careful not to put too much weight on her bad leg as she landed. “The mail won’t deliver itself!” “Bye Scootaloo!” Cheerilee waved to the filly as she trotted off. “Good luck and stay safe!” She couldn’t help but smile as the little pegasus went, a swell of pride filled her chest. It felt good that Scootaloo wasn’t a layabout and was eager to go work. It meant a lot that she was willing and able to contribute to the town. Equestria would need that spirit going forward. “Hey.” Cheerilee turned to Muddy and felt something else swell in her chest: embarrassment. Her heart fluttered and a blush crept up her cheeks. “I have an hour before I need to go out to the fields…do you want to…” She trailed off, sure that Muddy could pick up the trail she was laying in front of him. “Are you sure?” Cheerilee nodded. This was not only for her, but for Equestria. It was a patriotic effort, and they would need that going forward. —- Scootaloo’s day of work was short that day. With everypony gathered in the center of town, scores of ponies stopped by the post office to pick up their mail rather than wait for it to be delivered. That meant the former Ponvyvillian was able to get through her pile of work quickly and head home to enjoy some time off. The scooter stopped in front of the house and Scootaloo hopped off and tied it to a metal pipe she used as a hitch. Just as the filly started off towards the front door, she heard a familiar banging. Her ears twitched and swiveled until she located the direction it was coming from. It was in the backyard, which meant that Rock and Roll were working on whatever their project was. Instead of heading inside and getting some lunch, she decided to investigate what the colts were exactly up to. Heading around the side of the house, she opened the gate of the fence and trotted into their sparingly used backyard. What had once been a wagon had been thoroughly disassembled into its constituent parts. Planks of wood, all a variety of purple, gold or blue, laid around the yard. Some had faded stars on the purple field, while some had telltale scorch marks of magic on the non-painted sides. In the middle of space Rock and Roll were taking the wood and building what looked to be a fort. Right now it was nothing but a floor, the same floor that had once been in the wagon with some additions, and the beginnings of a wall around it. Haphazardly written on one of the half-built walls was ‘No Boneheads! No Featherbrains!’ Rock was busy hammering away while Roll was looking at a piece of paper. They didn’t see Scootaloo as she approached and didn’t hear her over the hammering of nails even as she called out. It wasn’t until she knocked on the wall vigorously did they even look in her direction. Rock dropped the hammer and stood up, leveling his cold gray eyes right at the younger pony. “Can’t you read the sign?” He asked in a monotone drone. “Yeah, no featherbrains!” Roll chimed in and stuck his tongue out at her. “Hey, this is my backyard!” Scootaloo puffed her chest out. “I can be back here if I want! I just won’t be in your dumb little fort!” She huffed and glared right back at the brothers. “I was just coming back here to see why you two are being so loud all of the time!” “Because we’re busy building a cool fort for earth ponies!” Roll spoke up again. “We’re going to put spikes on it to keep out the unicorns!” “Whatever…” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Not all unicorns are bad, y’know. Some of them didn’t even turn into monsters.” If there was one thing Scootaloo hated, it was a pony with a closed heart. The Event was hard and awful, but it was like that for everypony, not just earth ponies or pegasi. The unicorns had it just as bad, if not worse, than the other tribes. It was easy to be scared of them given what happened, but they were just as scared of themselves. They needed kindness and friendship now more than anything. “Nu-uh.” Rock shook his head and grimaced. The scar that ran from one corner of his mouth seemed to make the frown extend down the length of his body. “My dad said every unicorn turned. None of them were safe.” “Well your dad’s wrong!” Scootaloo bristled and her wings flared out. “I was with some during The Event and they never turned!” She had to mentally count just how many had been in Cheerilee’s castle. Did Princess Flurry Heart count as a unicorn? “Three! There were three that never turned with us!” “You’re lying!” Both of the colts said in unison. “Am not!” Scootaloo defended herself. “One broke his horn before he could get turned and then we had one of those ring things that stops unicorns from using magic! It stopped them from turning into monsters!” “You’re just making that up.” Roll insisted with his chest puffed out. “We never saw any unicorns who weren’t monsters!” “Well I was-” Scootaloo stopped herself. She wasn’t supposed to tell anypony she was in Ponyville. She had made that promise to Princess Luna and it wasn’t one she was going to break. “-I was somewhere a lot different than you!” The little pegasus was steaming mad, mad enough that she could feel her face turn hot. “Whatever. Have fun building your dumb fort.” Just as Scootaloo turned to leave, she heard the brothers whisper to one another briefly. “Wait!” It was Roll who called out. “I guess we could use some help building it.” “Yeah, it’s not like you can fly. So you’re like…an honorary earth pony if anything.” Roll added. Scootaloo was wounded by the words as they were ones she had heard before, too many times to count really. It always stung to hear it, though. It was a direct stab at her heart. However it didn’t come off as an insult this time around, instead it almost sounded like the two colts meant it as a compliment. The words ‘I’m still a pegasus’ were on her lips and a familiar stubbornness raised in her throat. It died there, though. She didn’t have the energy to argue with them about this as well. It was like that one barb drained all of her emotional fight. She just shrugged instead. “You can join us, but you have to promise to help us keep the boneheads away.” Rock waved her in. “C’mon.” They might be a little weird, but they were potential friends. Maybe Scootaloo could convince them that the other tribes weren’t so bad. She could be just like Twilight Sparkle with Starlight or Fluttershy with Discord. This was a chance to spread the magic of friendship. —- Chitinous hooves struck stone repeatedly as Elytra paced about her room. Her wings buzzed beneath her shell and her eyes flitted about the spartan accommodations. Every fiber of her body was telling her not to do what she was about to do. It was yelling at her not to betray the trust of the Equestrians she had been through Tartarus with. It was not something she could afford to listen to, not now. Princess Luna was on her way to the Hive now. Elytra had wasted enough time worrying and fretting over this decision. It was time to do it or shelve it and hope for the best. Thorax was about to be neck deep in negotiations with Princess Luna and Dragon Lord Ember. It was an open secret that the Changelings had something the Equestrians wanted and needed, more bodies to throw at their problems, but it was also known that the Changelings weren’t going to get much out of the deal. The talk around the hive is they might get a little territory off of Equestria but a bulk of their leverage would be used to help the dragons get what they wanted. They needed something more, something to really benefit the Hive. They had the right carrot, they just needed a bigger stick. That was something that Elytra could ensure they had. While she didn’t know the exact specifics as she had been too busy almost dying from having her leg ripped off, she knew some of the generalities. Twilight Sparkle had caused The Event. A princess of Equestria. An alicorn. Everyone knew an Equestrian was responsible for it of course, but not who. Thorax could use this during negotiations as something to push Princess Luna in the right direction. Then for this information Elytra could have a meeting set up between her and the Equestrian princess. From there…well, Elytra would have to rely on her own abilities to convince Luna to take the changeling back to Equestria and to tell her if Cheerilee was okay, and if so where she was. It needed to be done. It had been a long time since The Event for Cheerilee, but for Elytra it seemed like it was still just a few weeks in the past. She had been knocked out far below the ground and woke up back here, not so much as a few moments passing. The promise she made to Cheerilee was still fresh in her mind and it needed to be fulfilled. With a decision reached, Elytra’s shell opened and her gossamer wings unfurled. She took off through the window in her room and into the arid air of the wastes. The hot sun overhead was not something she relished, in fact it was something she despised. It reminded her too much of her time in Ponyville. It was quicker than hobbling through the labyrinthine interior, though. The aquamarine changeling buzzed through the air and spiraled around the massive stone monolith that was the Hive. Other changelings were doing the same and said hi to Elytra as she passed. It wasn’t until she got near the top where she encountered something other than friendly greetings. She landed on the balcony to King Thorax’s chambers and was stopped by the dual guards who stood outside. “Halt!” One of them called. “What business do you have with King Thorax? He’s busy preparing for the upcoming negotiations.” It was a more diplomatic way of saying ‘buzz off’, but Elytra wasn’t keen on taking that. “I have something he should probably know.” Elytra wasn’t keen on telling these two what it was. ‘The walls have ears’ took on a completely different meaning when every creature in the hive could transform into a wall. She needed to be selective with who and where she shared this information. “Yeah, I’m sure.” One of the guards replied with a roll of his eyes. “Can you please tell him that Elytra needs to talk to him.” She asked with a frustrated sigh. “Tell him it’s about Ponyville and that it’s important.” That was all she was willing to say, and it seemed like just enough. One of the guards gave a shocked little nod and disappeared into the opening behind him. It was less than a minute before the guard re-emerged from the darkened interior with a short nod. “Thank you.” Elytra trotted past the two very diligent bugs and into an antechamber. There was one of these on either side of Thorax’s office so you didn’t have to only approach it from the crowded interior. She went straight for the door on the other side of the room and knocked on it firmly. The double doors swung open in response. King Thorax was sitting at his desk, something that had been pilfered from some travelers who knew how long ago, with Lord Commander Pharynx by his side. The top of the desk was littered with papers and charts and things that made less than zero sense to Elytra. Light streamed into the room through windows set high up on the walls at angles to make sure that the desk was always illuminated throughout the day. Besides those two features, this was as unremarkable as any other room in the hive. “Yes, hello Elytra.” Thorax looked up. While his visage portrayed only the same kind leader he always appeared to be, the taste in the air told a different story. It was the bitter and curdled taste of panic and it filled the space. Then there was also the lower undercurrent of frustration that only spoiled the broth of emotions further. “What can we do for you?” “I have information.” Elytra spoke slowly as the heart in her chest picked up in pace. She could feel it beating against her shell and threaten to crack it open from the inside. The two brothers, the rulers of all of Changeling kind, stared at her expectantly. “A-about…Ponyville.” Words were beginning to fail her. “You told me you didn’t know anything.” Pharynx stepped out from behind the desk and looked down at Elytra. He narrowed his eyes. “You said you didn’t understand what they were talking about.” He began to advance on the much smaller changeling. “I-I don’t know everything.” Elytra clarified with a nervous chuckle. It was beginning to feel like she was back in Ponyville right after being revealed by Applejack. That was not a feeling or moment she wanted to relive or relitigate. “I know some stuff, but I was…” She looked down at her missing leg. “I wasn’t around from some of the specifics.” Elytra took a deep breath and steadied herself. “I don’t know if you can use it, but…Twilight Sparkle started The Event. I don’t know how or…that’s all I know about that. She caused it.” “What?” Pharynx turned to look back at his brother. “A princess of Equestria caused it?” Thorax could only groan and let his head hit the table, his dual horns pushing some papers off of the desk. “Are you absolutely sure, Elytra?” “Yes.” She nodded. “Princess Twilight went somewhere up north, and when she came back she was sick. Ponyville was ground zero and all of the unicorns turned. It spread from there.” Elytra took a shaky breath in and let it out. A mix of excitement, anxiety and relief flooded her words and she knew that her two superiors could taste it just as she had their panic. “Wh-when Twilight was explaining how it happened I was…I had just lost my leg from saving her. Then everything happened all at once and I just…never heard how.” “That’s fine.” Pharynx waved a hoof at her. “The fact that we know Twilight caused it is enough we can-” “We’re not using this against them.” Thorax set up straight and leveled a very annoyed glare at his brother and Elytra. “What you just said, Elytra, stays in this room. I mean it.” “What?” Pharynx gawked at his brother. “Are you crazy? If this got out-” “It would be very bad for Equestria, I know.” Thorax cut off his brother and held up a hoof to silence him. “The old changelings would use this against them, but we’re not them anymore. We don’t blackmail our friends, Pharynx. We’re going to get the deal done the right way or it’s not going to get done at all.” “Fine.” Elytra said with a nod. “But if you want me to stay quiet, then I want an audience with Princess Luna when she’s here.” “What did I just say about blackmail?!” “I think this is bribery.” Pharynx said with a smile. “Or extortion. One of them.” “I could have you thrown in the dungeon, you know that right?” Thorax finally stood from his desk and rose to his full height as he glowered down at Elytra. She wanted to shrink at first, but something deep down in her shell solidified. She had faced down things much scarier than the king of her people. She had gone toe to toe with a monster alicorn! She had held off an entire army of feral unicorns with her magic! “You won’t, though.” It was a gamble to say this, but Elytra had to take it. She stared right back at King Thorax, her eyes locked with his. There was no malice in her look, but there was an obvious challenge. “Yeah, I won’t.” Thorax blinked first. “I’ll…I’ll do what I can to get you a meeting with Luna, okay?” The king sighed and sat back down with a hefty sigh. He finally let his grip on his appearance slip and it revealed just how tired he looked. His shoulders slumped and his thin wings hung at his sides. His colorful chitin was scuffed in numerous places and it was clear he hadn’t been taking care of himself. “Just…don’t let this get out. Princess Luna has a temper and the last thing we need is her having a temper tantrum.” He then grumbled. “Why couldn’t we get Celestia or Twilight…why did it have to be Luna…” “Ignore him.” Pharynx began to usher Elytra out of the room. “That’s not a suggestion, either. That’s an order. Ignore what he said, it was never said in your presence.” “Understood.” Elytra confirmed with a nod. No sooner than she was out of the door was it slammed behind her. She was not deposited back on the exterior side of King Thorax’s office, but instead the interior. The sprawling hive lay before her, bugs flitting to and fro. Despite the hustle and bustle, Elytra stayed focused on herself more than anything. She was one step closer to getting back to Equestria.