Equestria? Running smoothly.
International politics? Easy going.
State of the kingdom? Boring.
As much as Princess Celestia enjoyed the peace and quiet, she was beginning to miss the noise she had acclimated to, ten years ago. An entire decade, time had seemingly slipped away from the immortal. Had it really been that long? Even as she gazed into her sister's night sky, the alicorn began to wonder if the universe was just pretending to be at ease to lull her into a false sense of security. In reality, she knew only Discord could pose a threat at this point, and he was completely reformed now. Well, more or less.
Adventure. The word just seemed to call to her, like a chilling breeze slicing through the heaviest of coats, but just as similar to a warm hearth. The regent huffed, fogging her window for the briefest of moments. Non, she couldn't just go and have an adventure, not now, not when Equestria was vulnerable to outside attack. Honestly, her ponies had grown complacent in the peace, lacking even the occasional rampaging monster that had once been an almost weekly occurrence. Really, all it would take was Spike becoming greedy for a day to whip everypony back into shape. Sadly, that was easier said than done, given his disciplined nature these days.
A shooting star arced across the night sky, and Celestia briefly entertained making a wish. She found the tradition ridiculous, knowing the true reason the specks of light fell from the canvas that was the sky. The common pony even knew this, that gravity pulled rocks from space, yet the superstition that wishing on a shooting star would ensure it came true persisted. But, even with her knowledge firm in hoof, a small part of her wanted to, just to feel like a filly again. A chuckle drew the diarch from her thoughts, its source surely the only being capable of going where he pleased in the palace.
“Princess,” Discord practically purred, obviously enjoying the fact he startled the immortal. The draconequus was perfectly aware of what the regent had been “You know as well as I that you should be careful what you wish for.”
“Oh, what's the harm in entertaining a few playful thoughts at this hour?” The alabaster alicorn was feeling tired, and truly saw no problem in making the tiny request to reality. Equestria, and the planet of Equus in general, was a bit of a cosmic dumping ground for the multiverse. Things, little odds and ends, ended up on the world, and often in the kingdom's borders. There was even a tank in Ponyville at the moment, and that was far from the strangest thing to randomly appear.
“I recall a number of insidious villains, conniving thieves, and grim assassins.” The mismatched male cocked his head to the side, blowing a small bubble as he spoke. He wasn't chewing gum; it was just something he did.
“You aren't seriously suggesting adventure is going to fall from the sky, are you?” Celestia asked, skeptical. That very thing had happened on numerous occasions, but the immortal wasn't about to jump the shark.
“I'm merely saying stranger things have happened, Tia.” With that, Discord left the alicorn to her own devices. Insomnia had been plaguing Celestia for the past couple of weeks barely allowing her even the precious little sleep she needed. Something was brewing just over the horizon, and it was hardly related to the weather. The tension was what kept her from sleep, though seemed lost on her younger sister. The alabaster alicorn had noticed her younger sibling even sleeping better during these past few weeks.
Celestia believed it had something to do with her reality's unstable fabric, the invisible... stuff that decided what was what. She just controlled the local star, which was, admittedly, much smaller than one might think. Her knowledge of the multiverse, or what separated universes from each other was lacking, to say the least. The diarch also knew she was the only one feeling it; one of her closest allies was also having trouble sleeping. Odds were he was still awake, or pretending to be asleep so his wife wouldn't worry.
She could always contact him the way she had a decade ago, a method that, when put in its simplest terms, equated to a magic, immaterial telephone. It was much faster than sending a letter through Spike, though required significant concentration or expenditure of energy. For some odd reason, he possessed no magic of his own, but managed to sever or create new connection with the princess of numerous occasions. A single spark shot from Celestia's horn, binding portions of two minds, for the moment.
I trust everything goes well? The regent always did her best to be polite, caring. There was the equivalent of an annoyed sigh on the other end.
Still can't sleep, either? What do you figure it is this time? The male voice was, as always, extremely blunt and forward. Though, there was a noticeable lack of obscenities coloring his inner voice; he was likely just as sleep deprived as Celestia.
Perhaps it's one of your kin, coming here by unconventional means. The so-called alien on the other end chucked at the notion the immortal put forth, which only registered as a slight skip in the signal, the equivalent of radio static. A chill ran through both of their spines as they recalled the last little incident. The palace still hadn't been fully cleaned, that was over three months ago. He smelled too much like cheese for my liking, thinking back.
Tia, I know you have a good reason for this, I really do, but this is the third time this week you have bothered me in the middle of the night. It was true, every word. Perhaps she was just looking for some advice, a listening ear. Or maybe she just wanted to know she wasn't the only one dealing with this. Either way, it was unclear. If it is something, and I'm not saying it is, we can do what we did the last time something big came to play.
You know I have no idea what you're talking about. Not entirely true, she had a passing knowledge of what he meant, but nothing truly certain. Quite a few records from the last decade had gone missing, and more than a few reports had mysteriously disappeared en route to her throne room. There was a faint burst of static as the voice chuckled, sure of himself and his own wisdom.
Wait until it blows over, or hope he or she lands in griffin territory. A bit morbid, to be sure, but certainly not out of character. A slight anxiety rushed through the connection, though not enough to end the conversation. It seemed Celestia's friend had a bit of a problem. The alicorn stifled a giggle as she realized what went wrong.
It seemed the voice said that last bit aloud.
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Today was a good day for me, or at least so far. Things aboard the Skyward Valkyrie were pretty calm; the boss had us relaxing for now. Still, the vessel's owner, a posh man by the name of Frederick Delray, was unintentionally making things difficult. His crew was comprised mainly of servitors, with only three or four actual humans. Still, the ship was large enough to warrant the hands of a man, the experience and gut instinct a machine just couldn't replace. Shipmaster Delray was kind enough to offer his vessel, as well as a small portion of his cargo hold, to my boss and colleagues.
I had my feet propped up, resting on a crate of consumables when the boss walked in. He was a scary, gruff looking man, with eyes that seemed to gaze through anyone who had the misfortune of falling under his scrutiny. Between you and me, I'm glad I was on his side.
“Amos,” he began. “Have our strider ready; we'll be entering realspace directly.” Such was my employer's demeanor. He was actually a very dedicated man, and only seemed callous to the casual observer. Presently, we were approaching Telroth, a planet covered by a large, calm sea, peppered with three-hundred large islands-states, and countless ones that barely registered on most orbital scans. Hopefully, our target would be there; we've been chasing him around the sector for nearly two years.
It was just another day at the office; what were we not prepared for at this point?