//------------------------------// // 40: Up in the Air // Story: Death of a Queen, V2. // by Arkane12 //------------------------------// “Twilight?”  Shining’s voice fell on deaf ears. Twilight’s focus lay on the horizon, where the sun started sinking below the skyline. Her eyes reflected the empty, burning sky.  “Twilight?”  What would she do when she found Chrysalis? More importantly, how would Chrysalis react? Could she really condemn a pony she loved to a life she didn’t want? A pony she loved.  Love. The word repeated over and over again in her head, sweeping through her thoughts like a natural disaster, uncontrollable and unbidden. Preferring her life of quiet learning and research, Twilight had never even considered searching for love. And now, over the course of a few days, she was here saying she loved Chrysalis.  “Twilight!” Shining’s touch shattered Twilight’s trance.  “Don’t sneak up on me like that,” Twilight said, brushing her brother’s hoof away.  “Sneak up on you?” He recoiled. “I’ve been calling your name since I walked out to the deck. It looks like you’ve got other things on your mind, though.” He joined her, resting his forelegs on the rail as they looked down at the Equestrian countryside.  “You could say that,” Twilight bemoaned.  “Chrysalis?”  “Yeah.”  Shining blew a puff of air through his teeth. “Something you want to talk about?”  Twilight shook her head.  “Well,” Shining continued. “You know that if you need to talk, I’m here for you, either as your brother or your captain. Alright?”  “I know, Shiny.” Twilight sighed. “Everything’s changed so much. I don’t know what to think anymore. I don’t know how things are going to end. For Celestia’s sake, I’m not even sure I know how I want them to end.”  Shining bit his lip. “What do you mean?”  “Two weeks ago, I was just another pony in Ponyville, living my life one day at a time.” Twilight’s eyes took on a silvery sheen. “Now Celestia’s life is in danger, Luna and I fought off a dream monster, and I think I’m in love with a villain that tried to conquer Equestria.”  “Please don’t use the word love when talking about Chrysalis,” Shining groaned.  “I’m serious. What am I supposed to do, Shiny?” Twilight asked, leaning on her brother’s shoulder.  “I wish I had answers for you.” He rested his chin on his sister’s head as she nestled against his shoulder. “Do you really love her?”  Twilight chewed her lip. “I don’t even know. What does it feel like when you fall in love? Do I really feel that way about her, or is this just because of my dream? Am I in love with her, or am I in love with the perfect version of her that only exists in my head?” “I don’t know what to tell you, Twily.”  “Yeah. And the more I think about it, the more confusing it all gets. Every thought is like a little thread, unraveling me the more I tug at them.” Twilight spied Ponyville in the distance. Even from a ship high in the sky, she could see her castle. “Life doesn’t make sense sometimes, Twilight. You’ve just got to do what you think is right, regardless of what anypony else thinks.” Shining chuckled. “What was it mom said? You have her permission to ignore me? Something like that?”  “Yeah.” The memory of her mother’s words injected a bit of warmth into Twilight’s freezing form.  “Well, mother knows best, yeah? In the meantime, I’ve got a room prepared for you below deck. It’s nothing amazing, but it’s all set up if you want to lay down for a while.” He looped his hoof around his sister’s shoulder, pulling her in close for a sibling squeeze. “We’ll be at the hive before you know it. And when we find Chrysalis . . . I have faith that you’ll know what to do.”  “Thanks, Shiny. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you to say.”  Shiny sighed. “It really wasn’t.”  The two of them stood together, watching the world pass them by. They floated through a sea of clouds, feeling the ground sway as the wind picked up. The cold breeze sent Twilight digging for warmth in her brother’s fur. By the time the sun was half gone, Twilight was shivering and tired.  “Alright. I think I’ll take you up on that room,” Twilight said, giving an experimental tug on her saddlebag straps. “I could use a nap.”  “Right this way, Your Majesty,” Shining announced, bowing and motioning her forward toward the ship’s steering cabin. As the two of them stepped inside, the temperature raised drastically, allowing Twilight a moment of respite from her shivering. Every station in the room had a pony standing nearby, calling out coordinates or pouring over maps. Captain Shield stood at the steering wheel, his hooves secure on the wooden spokes, and Twilight greeted him as she passed. Shining Armor took his sister down a staircase narrow enough to force them single-file, into a hallway that wasn’t much wider. He led her past groups of soldiers eating dinner at cramped tables or sleeping in hammocks hanging across the corners. Their path took them down another flight, to one of the lower decks of the ship. These hallways stretched on for the length of the ship, lined with doors on either side. Most were open, revealing soldiers resting on the cots inside.  Shining stopped at the only door on the far wall. “Here we are.” Using his magic, he threw open the door, revealing a rather sparse, though spacious room. Twilight stepped inside and looked around.  Several cold lanterns hung from wooden pillars around the room, leaving the room bathed in shadow. The only light speared in through the glass windows along the back wall, where the moon watched them from its perch along the skyline. Barrels and crates were stacked along the walls, their cargo forgotten or unused. The cot in the center of the room looked bigger than the others she saw, but appeared about as comfortable as a pallet of bricks. A finely-crafted writing desk sat beside the bed.  “It’s the biggest room the ship has.” Shining explained. “I think it used to be a cargo hold, but was refurbished into a bigger room. I know it isn’t much compared to those fancy cruise ships, but . . .”  “It’s fine, Shiny. Thank you,” Twilight said, tossing her brother a carefree smile.  He nodded in return. “Alright. If you need anything, Captain Shield and I will be up on the bridge. I had Thorax holed up in the next room over, too, if you feel like bothering him at all.” Scratching the scruff on his chin, he paused for a long while. “I think that’s everything. I’ll get out of your mane, now.”  Twilight watched her brother leave before closing the door behind him. With a heavy gait, she walked over to investigate the bed. True to her initial inspection, the mattress felt like a pile of rocks wrapped in a sack cloth bed sheet. A quick search of the room yielded a dusty sheet and a lumpy, off-white pillow.  Setting those aside for the moment, she unbuckled her saddlebags and heaved them onto the desk. With their weight lifted from her shoulders, she lowered herself onto the edge of the bed. The bedframe groaned under her weight. Each uncomfortable shift only echoed the squeals of protest.  “Just fantastic,” Twilight muttered. Taking a deep breath, she leaned back and rested her head against the bare sheets. Several times, she tried to close her eyes and rest. But every time, she inevitably found herself staring at the bare wooden planks of the ceiling above her. The constant swaying of the ship as it chugged along through the sky didn’t help calm her frayed nerves.  Yet, for nearly an hour, Twilight lay in bed, struggling to purge the constant stream of thoughts that barreled through her mind. Once her patience had worn thin enough, she sat up and climbed out of bed, burying her head in her hooves and stifling a yawn. The moon had barely moved through the sky, but by now, the mountains of Canterlot were gone from sight.  With a groan, Twilight forced herself to stand. She staggered over to the desk and collapsed into the chair. She opened her bags and rifled through them, retrieving her writing tools and one of the books she packed. 101 Herbs: A Study of Mythical Flora and their Uses was written in gold text across the front cover. A hoof-painted image depicting the various parts of a rather basic flower decorated the rest of the book’s face. The moonlight flowing in over her shoulder provided just enough light to read.  Licking the edge of her hoof, Twilight flipped the book open, skipping past the foreword and landing on the index. After taking a moment to rub her eyes clear, Twilight scanned the list of herbs, looking for anything that might be of use. She didn’t recognize most of the names. To her own surprise, this brought a smile to her face. Each new piece she learned might hold the key to healing Celestia.  She breezed through another chunk of pages, stopping when she found what she was looking for. Marking the page with a scrap of paper, Twilight studied the drawing. This particular herb, The Dragon Lily, as the chapter title called it, was known for playing havoc with local creature’s magic. A promising start.  Twilight quickly went to work, taking notes as she read.  Several hypotheses burrowed into her mind, driving away any thoughts of her current predicament, as well as any thoughts of Chrysalis. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a quiet voice questioned if such denial was healthy, but Twilight ignored it.  She had filled out nearly three pages before a knock at the door threw off her groove. “Twilight? Are you in there?” Thorax asked from outside. Twilight didn’t answer. Salvaging what she could from her broken line of thought, she finished her current line with a flourish of penmanship.  “Twilight, I really need to talk to you. Please?” His voice sounded weak.  Twilight returned her quill to the inkwell and set her notes to the side to dry. “I’m here. The door’s not locked. Come on in.”  Thorax remained silent as he opened the door and slipped inside. He slid up next to Twilight’s desk, and she motioned for him to take a seat on the edge of the bed. He complied, making himself comfortable before bowing his head. “You can’t sleep either?”  Standing, Twilight turned her chair toward Thorax, then sat back down. “Nope. And not for lack of trying,” she said, yawning noisily. Thorax nodded slowly. “Was it because of the ship, or something else?”  “That’s part of it. I’m not really used to the whole world swinging back and forth.” Twilight waved her hoof in the air for emphasis. “But no. That’s not it.”  “Are you thinking about Chrysalis?” Even as he asked, Thorax went out of his way to avoid meeting Twilight’s gaze. “Or just about any of the craziness of the last few days?”  “Yeah. I was thinking about Chrysalis,” Twilight groaned. That single admission broke the dam, flooding her mind with the thoughts she’d been so desperately trying to force back. “Me, too,” Thorax muttered. “Truthfully, it kept me up last night, too. And the night before that. And the night before that.” Thorax sighed. “I don’t know what to make of any of this anymore, Twilight. Do you?”  She shook her head silently.  Thorax deflated. “Yeah, I figured that would be your answer.” He clapped his hooves against his cheeks, pulling downward until it looked like his face might fall off. “Look, I need to ask you something, Twilight. And I need you to be honest with me.”  “I don’t commonly lie to you,” Twilight snarked. “Right. Sorry. That didn’t come out right.” He paused, struggling to organize his thoughts. With a huff, he threw his hooves up. “Twilight, what do you think about Chrysalis?”  “What do I think about her? In what way?” Twilight asked, leaning forward in her seat.  “I mean . . . “ Thorax started tapping his hoof. “Are we just wasting our time here? Do you think we can really change her? Set her back on the right path? Or do you think she’s just toying with us?”  “Wasn’t this your idea?” Twilight asked, raising a brow.  “Yeah,” he growled. “And so far, all that’s happened is that I’ve almost gotten all of you killed. Along with myself, of course. Did I make the wrong choice?”  “What’s all of this about, Thorax?” Twilight demanded, her lips curling into a frown.  Snarling, Thorax jumped up from his seat, pacing back and forth between the piles of abandoned cargo. “When Chrysalis came to visit me yesterday . . . she said a lot of things. Things that I’ve never heard her say before.”  “Like what?”  It took the changeling king a few tries before he could finally choke out his words. “Like . . . things I never expected her to say . . . things I didn’t know she was capable of saying. Things like . . . I don’t know . . .”  Twilight rolled her eyes. “We’re never going to get anywhere being secretive like this, Thorax.” She watched him pace. “I have work to do. So, just say what you came here to--”  Thorax turned fast enough to startle Twilight. “What is she to you, Twilight? A friend? A rival? Is she some sort of proof that you can take even the nastiest of creatures and help them see the error of their ways?” He collapsed into a seated position. “What is she to you? I need to know.”  “I . . .” Twilight crossed her forelegs over her chest and tried to hide behind them. “I couldn’t tell you. I’m not sure I know the answer myself.”  “Do you hate her?” Thorax asked with a shrug. “No--” “After everything she’s done to you, I wouldn’t blame you.” Thorax drew inward. “We don’t belong with ponies, Twilight. Even after we split from Chrysalis, there are ponies that hate us. They think we’re monsters.”  “You’re not--” “We are.” Thorax’s eyes flickered in Twilight’s direction. She lost herself in their inky void. “We are monsters. We’re parasites. I keep trying to tell myself that it will just take time for ponies to accept us.”  “It won’t be easy, but--” “I’m not worried for my sake, Twilight.” Thorax’s wings buzzed, lifting him from the floor. He returned to his seat on the edge of the cot. “I’ve got my hive to support me. We’ll survive. We always do. But Chrysalis is alone. Even those who are sympathetic to us will never accept her.”  Twilight’s words caught in her throat.  Taking advantage of her silence, Thorax continued. “And she won’t change. Not even for you. She can’t change. She’s the Queen of the Monsters, Twilight. You might be able to help her bury those impulses, but they’ll never really be gone.”  “Not all changelings were monsters, Thorax. You’re not,” Twilight said definitively, reaching out toward her friend. “You’re just nervous, Thorax. The things you’re saying aren’t making sense.”  He swatted her hoof away. “It’s not like that. Do you remember what I told you? About Chrysalis caring for me when I was younger?” Twilight nodded. “She couldn’t protect me forever. I might have been born with a conscience, but that never stopped me from doing what it took to survive. It just made me feel guilty for it.”  “That sounds horrible,” Twilight whispered. She tried to reach out again, but thought better of it and withdrew. “Twilight, I need you to understand. I need you to know what you’re getting into. And you need to realize that whatever you’re thinking, it’s not going to be that simple. I . . . ” Thorax stared at the floor. “I want to tell you a story . . .”