There was very little time to myself after we got Twilight's coronation ceremony in order, what with all the tasks to be handled. Chorion, Exonia. Arachni, and Namata would play the part of flag-bearers at the crowning ceremony, wearing a disguise that looked eerily reminiscent of Fluttershy ad Rarity's mutant offspring. Discord steered clear of me, though that was more a scheduling miracle than any malice. From the final recordings the Deceiver left to me, in perfect English, mind you, I could gather he and the Deceiver shared some bad blood over the eons. It was midnight before I had a moment to relax, and I did so in the one place I was sure to find peace.
“Well, dear friend, we've come a long way.” I patted the massive war machine that was Leviathan, feeling the spirit thrum happily at my touch. Poor thing had driven to Canterlot to find me, and Celestia bunked it in my old workshop. The tank and I had been through a lot, if you count an invasion and a desert skirmish as such. “Hard to believe we almost killed Chrissy once, isn't it?”
“Lord, if anyone saw this, they'd think I'd lost my mind.” I laughed, of course. Tomorrow was a wonderful day, if a bit unremarkable to me. I mean, I've seen a royal wedding already, so crowning a princess means nothing to me. Yep, a full year in Equestria and I'm still American, alright. Talking to centuries-old war machines was a bit of a wonderful hobby to have, really; it's not like they can judge you or anything. Unless they have a machine spirit, in which case, don't ever fuck inside one, because they see that. Take my advice on that one.
“... and that's how I met your mother, Scipia.” I looked at the changeling larva with adoration only a parent could know. Larva being the changeling equivalent to foal, it only made sense to be proud. I was nearing ten years in Equestria, and Twilight's coronation was the last time I'd been needed for anything short of the war about five years back. I still wore the Deceiver's armor when needed, though it mostly just collected dust in the master bedroom.
“Dad, couldn't you have stopped at the invasion?” My daughter was a bit green, and it wasn't from blushing. Apparently, the graphic nature and coarse language was a bit graphic for a changeling who just turned eight. With now Deceiver to change Grand Matrons, Scipia would likely live for thousands of years, and hopefully out live her mother and I by centuries. “And how did you know about the parts you weren't there for?”
“Ancient human secret, sweetheart; you wouldn't understand.” The only reason I really bothered telling her this was because she asked. She probably had a childhood crush on a classmate or some such, well, I actually knew she did, hivemind synapse and all that. However, the object of her affection was a young colt I had barely considered being a possibility before snooping through Scipia's little noggin. I was none other than Candied Apple, Applejack's own son and our nearest neighbor. He, like Scipia, was attending Ponyville's only school, though he was a year younger. Now he was quite the bitch conceiving; you wouldn't believe how much work I put into getting the genes to zip together to produce a viable foal that could in turn reproduce. “Now, aren't Candy and Gingersnap coming over soon?”
“That's right, I totally forgot!” The little hellion flew up the stairs as quickly as she could. She and Candied Apple, whom I often called Candy, had the common trait of being sired by primates. I'll allow three guesses to who fathered the colt, but I doubt they'll all be needed. Don't ask me how they hooked up; all I know is they approached me a week after Scipia was born and asked for my assistance. Now the tawny little shit is after my own flesh and blood, and I'm not being defensive for the same reasons most fathers would be. It's not her getting her young heart broken, but when she's just becoming an adult, Candy will either be old or dead, and that would be a terrible pain to her.
“I must say, I don't quite remember so much profanity in those days.” Chrysalis had developed the wonderful ability to slink around me and evade detection. She blew on my occipital uplink, sending a cold shiver down my spine as the cybernetics adapted for windy conditions. “But maybe I'm only remembering the nice parts.”
“Whats not nice about killing bandits in Cuatla, or being placed under an illusion while a cyberneticly-modified god puts his armor on you, then sends the room filling with lava as a last hurrah?” I joked of course, but there was something to be missed about those days. Adventure was merely around the corner, and Equus was much more dangerous. Nowadays even the warhawk griffins didn't raise hell, and I pissed on a patrol from our side of the border. I may be nearly thirty, but I still get up to shit now an then. “Well, we certainly have a bit more on our plates these days, anyway.”
“Well, a little fun every now and then would do us some good, maybe get the old band back together for some daring raids through ancient jungle ruins?” Chrysalis nuzzled into neck, a smile plastered across her features.
“Bye Mom, bye Dad!” Scipia rushed through the front door, completely killing the moment. She was good at that, having inherited my love of sneaking and Chrissy's adoration of sabotage. The Grand Matron and I shared a laugh.
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“Guys, I think my dad tried telling me where foals come from.” Gingersnap was the group's pegasus, and had lived in Trottingham before moving to Ponyville two years ago. She was a dark orange with a bright green mane and tail, with a single cookie displayed on each flank. As much as she like baking, she was actually pretty awful right now, but her cookies were pretty good.
“At least your dad didn't ramble on about his old mercenary days.” Candied Apple had nothing but respect for his father, but sometimes the old man cold really grate his nerves. Sure, his parents were heroes, so were Scipia's and nopony made a big deal about that. Candy had actually talked to Scipia's dad once, and he seemed more interested in the future than the past. “I can recite the reports from the Second Battle for Canterlot in my sleep.”
“And your dad never tries to make you right in Levy.” Scipia was referring to her family's tank, Leviathan, though it acted more like a dog than a war machine. The young queen was a bit frightened by the lumbering titan, but knew it would be destroyed before it allowed harm to befall her. “So, where to today?”
“I'm thinking No-Return Bog, myself.” Gingersnap had a love of dangerous things, and the fetid pools were one of the few places nopony had been in over a decade. Adventure must have run in the family, because Scipia and Candy agreed outright. Scipia's parents lived in a large chateau in the Everfree, and most animals ignored them, barring the occasional quarry wolf. Still, there were some things forbidden by the insectoid alicorn's oddly-lenient guardians.
“Fine, I'll race y'all to the water!” Candied Apple didn't wait for a response as he kicked up dirt in his wake. The two fillies did their best to catch up, but wings weren't allowed in these little competitions. The brown colt laughed as he gained a quick lead, his eart pony endurance showing as he sprinted for more than a hundred yards before stopping. The end of the race was not voluntary; something sticking out of the ground had tripped him.
“What is that?” Gingersnap was a smart cookie, but she didn't know what the half-buried, white cylinder was. In fact, the thing looked like a thermos without the cap, or maybe that was just underground.
“It looks like something from my dad's sketchpad.” Scipia had seen her father's take on the idea of a dream journal: a large artist's sketchbook filled cover to cover with hand-drawn schematics for everything imaginable. Green magic enveloped the unusual item, easily releasing it from its earthen prison. It was white, covered in dust, and almost as long as her dad's forearm.
At that moment, Scipia realized the importance of what she'd found.