Dear Princess Celestia,
As I informed you in my last letter, I’ve been researching the origins of my people. After a… minor incident that I would rather not get into at the moment, I found a spotty, yet still rich treasure trove of knowledge. Ah, you should have been there, after the incident, to see it all. The records of a lost era, all waiting to be discovered.
Anyway, the point of this letter is to inform you that my findings have pointed me towards Canterlot, of all places, as a possible location to my species’ birthplace. More specifically, the crystal mines that sit below the capital.
Strange, I know. Given the mines’ history, I’m hoping the prospectors left something intact, or better yet, that they never unearthed my ancestors’ primary living quarters. With that and the political climate of Equestria in mind, would I be able to bring my hive ship, the Ashes of the Phoenix, into Canterlot without causing a panic? The last thing I want is to repeat the wedding invasion in ponies’ minds.
I am adding a full written account of my findings in this letter.
Your faithful friend and ally,
Queen Twilight Sparkle
Twilight scanned her letter before deeming it fit. After rolling up a copy of her findings in with the scroll, she burned it. “There we go. Wouldn’t want the princess left with the political nightmare of my hive rolling into Equestrian airspace unannounced.”
The lavender queen stretched like a cat before peering at a desk clock. “Ooo, I have more than enough time to make it to my dinner date with Rarity.”
Twilight trotted over to her mirror to primp her mane and inspect her wings. As Cadista had before her, Twilight left her crown sitting on the nightstand. No need for it in my own ship.
Once her appearance was perfect, Twilight departed for the port upper decks where the primary mess halls were located. However, Twilight was not just walking through the ship; life was never so simple for a changeling queen. Every second of every day, two thousand minds conversed within her half of the hive mind, working together, gossiping, shop talk, researching, schooling, all of it passed through Twilight’s brain, and she loved every moment of it. No, she lived for it.
Yet even with the roughly four thousand minds of Cadista’s drones also occasionally passing through, it wasn’t enough. Oh no, not by a long shot. It was laughably easy for Twilight to direct her hive mind, not only because her drones were more than capable of handling the vast majority of tasks on their own, but also because a queen was built to expand, and expansion was always on her mind.
I wonder how large of a hive I can support in a decade or two… ten thousand? Maybe fifteen? Since we don’t need to feed on outside sources for love, if I get an excellent location for the hive to settle, I might be able to support a few hundred thousand in a century or two.
A dreamy look crossed her features. To hear the voices of a quarter million children… that would be a dream come true. I might even get to hear a million if I raise a few royal daughters.
Twilight halted in her steps as a thought struck her. <Mother, does a royal daughter mature in the same way as a drone?>
Cadista took a few moments to respond. <Certainty not. A royal goes through a rather lengthy… childhood, I guess is the most apt term. A royal daughter will remain a princess for roughly twenty years before maturing into a proto queen.>
<Really?> Twilight’s face scrunched at the thought, before continuing to the mess hall. <Why did I not even take a month?>
<Well, it takes time to develop a brain that can handle any number of drones. The growth of a royal daughter is slow to ensure she can handle the load a hive mind places on a queen’s mind with ease. You were a special case in the fact that you were already a full adult pony when you were converted. That, and you already had an acutely strong predisposition for organization.>
Twilight snickered at herself. <I guess I really was the perfect candidate then. So what’s the general process to create a royal daughter?>
Cadista hummed as she handled a few matters in person. <Well, despite what you may think, you don’t take a normal drone egg and convert it into a royal via alchemy. The parent queen has to suspend normal egg production and ingest royal jelly for the three day oviposit period. That’s mostly so you don’t end up laying thirty six royal eggs. The alchemy bit comes later after you’ve laid one. You should take extreme care in this though, as a royal daughter requires far more love than even you do now. Case in point, once you started needing love, you devoured the love surplus that I had been stockpiling for the past three centuries within a single month.>
Twilight tripped over her hooves and face planted the floor, but that was least of her concerns. <Three centuries worth of love!? Are you kidding me?>
<Afraid not. Compressing fifty years’ worth of development into two months was only possible because of the vast stockpiles I had, and that you were already an adult. If I had been able to select a less… politically important pony in your stead, she would have remained in the chrysalis for at least forty years, and even then she would have put a sizable dent in my surplus. Converting a pony into a royal is not cheap.>
“Woof,” Twilight said in a daze. <Okay, I’ll keep that in mind. Good thing my hive produces love naturally.>
<Indeed. Why the sudden interest?>
<Oh, just wistful musings of what the future may hold. It is my purpose after all.>
Cadista tried her hardest to project her flat look over the Link. <Twilight, my daughter, just because you’re the first love producing queen to exist, doesn’t mean you need to start producing more royals right away. I know the instinct to expand is enticing. Believe me, every queen feels that same motivation you’re feeling right now.>
<You said it’d take half a century for her to mature, and there’s still the alchemical planning stage. If it took Yumia and you so long to plan my rebirth, then I might as well start now, right?>
Cadista grew weary of Twilight’s chipper tone. I don’t think she’s really listening. <…I suppose that’s true. Since you are your own queen now, I can only advise you to take things slow. Give yourself a few hundred years to consolidate your power, find your hive’s equilibrium after colonizing somewhere, and don’t overpopulate. Just because you think you can support a hundred thousand, doesn’t mean you can.>
Oh, theoretically, I can support over three hundred and fifty thousand. Twilight mused. <Yes, mother, I know. Don’t worry, I’m a paragon of organization,> she retorted with a self-satisfied grin.
<I’d rather you extend that to caution as well.> Twilight’s grin faded. <Just be sure of the consequences. The Summit will not turn a blind eye to you producing a princess so soon after earning your crown. Now, I’m afraid I have some issues that require my attention, if you have any other questions, contact me after the Day of Mourning.>
That tempered Twilight’s enthusiasm. <You’re right… I’ll talk to you later then. Bye, mother.> After Cadista ended contact, Twilight refocused her attention. <Gentle Touch, I have something new for you.>
The drone was in the middle of delicate work, but the inflection of Twilight’s communication stilled her complaint, somewhat. <You mean on top of my other duties? Please, mother, you have other drones.>
<Come now, Gentle, you’re getting a promotion.>
The caretaker was dubious at Twilight’s coy tone of voice. <I didn’t realize there was room for any more advancement in my field.>
<There is now. You are hereby relieved of your duties as Chief Caretaker, to be promoted to Attaché to the Crown. I will let you pick who replaces you.>
Gentle Touch tried to stammer out a response, but words failed her for several seconds. <Attaché to the Crown? Thank you, mother, but what of my work with the consorts?>
<Given the nature of such work, and the title, you will remain in charge of that in addition to your new primary duty. You and I are going to work on planning out a royal daughter.>
That explains why she would pick me, of all Lings. <Begging your pardon, my queen, but isn’t this a little premature?>
<Nonsense,> Twilight retorted cheerfully. <This is just the planning phase. This isn’t going to happen for a while yet.>
Thank the First Mother for that. Gentle heaved a sigh of relief. <I’ll get started right away, then.>
<Perfect, now I just nee—> As the lavender queen rounded a corner, a certain upside-down cyan pegasus collided painfully with Twilight’s horn. “Ow!”
Twilight rubbed her pained horn while peering at Rainbow Dash, who was dangling from the ceiling. “Rainbow? What are you doing up there?”
Rainbow grunted in pain as she tried to keep from falling to the floor. “Oh, hey, Twilight! Was just trying out these suction shoes. Doesn’t work as well as I had hoped.”
<Gentle, I’ll have to get back with you on this later tonight.> Twilight lent a hoof and held her friend in her magic while popping her hooves free of the ceiling and gently placing her on the ground. “Why do you want to do that anyway?”
Rainbow shook her shoes off and placed them in her saddlebag. “Are you kidding? You guys can walk on walls and you don’t prank with that? It’s criminal negligence I tell ya.”
“I’m sure you’ll rectify that in short order,” Twilight quipped.
“It’s my civic duty,” Rainbow replied with a flourishing bow before her tone sobered in an instant. “So, what's this I hear about a Day of Mourning tomorrow?”
Twilight’s ears drooped a little. “It’s something Yumia started. On the first Sunday of every other month, the queen of the hive leads a service for all the drones who died in the past two months.”
“Oh,” Rainbow replied with a downcast, yet perplexed expression. “How come you never told me about this before?”
“Well, it’s not held every two months. Only when a drone dies. Both Cadista and myself were unlucky and we both lost children in the same month.”
“Why not hold funerals for them individually?”
A weak smile crossed Twilight’s lips. “It’s mostly for my benefit; well, Cadista’s as well. As time goes on, and old age starts to claim my children, I’d be in mourning every day if we did that. So I save my grief for the Day of Mourning, so that I can rule the hive without constant distraction.”
“I guess that makes sense. Any chance I could attend?”
Twilight shot her friend a slight frown. “I would love nothing more than to take you up on that, but it might be kind of difficult. The service is held entirely within the hive mind.”
An angry scowl fell on Rainbow Dash. “Why? Crate Altair was a good friend of mine! Are you not even having a burial?”
Twilight halted in her steps. The carefully wrapped box of grief threatened to unravel. “We bury our dead wherever they died, if possible. Rainbow, I know it’s hard to explain, but there is little that can compare to a grieving hive mind.”
Darn Changelings use that brain web for everything. “Well, what about Rarity and me? Isn’t there some way to be a part of that? If only for the service?”
A tilted head was Twilight’s only reply for a second. “You mean join the hive mind? Rainbow, there’s no way for you to do that. Not without being rebirthed as a changeling, anyway.”
“We’ll see about that,” Rainbow muttered.
“What was that?”
“I said forget about it. I’ll just hold my own personal memorial for Crate by myself. Rarity can come too.” Not desiring to remain on such a dour topic, Rainbow derailed the conversation. “So, I hear we’re going to Canterlot!”
It took a solid minute for Twilight to mentally switch topics like that. “Ah, yeah, that’s right. I sent a letter to the princess already, so we should hear something soon.”
“Great!” Her thoughts drifted to the Ebony Castle. “And this time you have no excuse to leave me behind.”
Some of Twilight’s good cheer returned. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Twilight and Rainbow Dash stepped into the port side mess hall, but it was truly only called that for semantics. Like Stripped Gear, the dining area dominated nearly the entire port side of the deck, with the various kitchens and other services taking residence in the starboard side.
The dining area was nearly three stories tall, with quite a few tables occupying the ceiling. Of course, Twilight’s eyes scanned only those along the floor. “Do you see Rarity anywhere? She said she’d be here early.”
“Maybe she got caught in something,” Rainbow offered.
“Yooohooo!” a call came from above. Twilight and Rainbow looked up to find Rarity sitting on a rigid underswing ceiling chair with a cup of tea wrapped in her magic. “I’m up heeere!”
Changeling and pegasus alike shared a puzzled look before flying up to meet their fashion minded friend. “Rarity! How did you get up here?”
“One of your charming sons lent a hoof, or wing as it were, to help me up here. Seasoned Leek, I believe his name was. I must say, Twilight, the view from up here is nothing short of spectacular,” Rarity gushed as she pointed at the window. The entire port face of the second and third stories was a single glass plane overlooking one of the propulsion engines and the sunset-lit jungle below.
“I simply can’t get over the aesthetics your hive puts into its engineering work. I truly have half a mind to forget about Canterlot and set up shop here on the Phoenix.”
Twilight flipped upside down and secured her hooves on the metal ceiling while a drone flew over to attach an electromagnetic chair for Rainbow Dash, who gave the apparatus a skeptical look. “Are you sure this thing is safe?”
Rarity answered before the drone could. “Oh, phsaw, darling, look at it.” She tried to rock her seat loose with a few strong telekinetic hits, but her chair didn’t budge an inch. “See? Perfectly safe… for a couple of hours anyway.”
Rainbow eyed her ceiling mounted chair with a wary eye before settling down on it. “If you say so.”
Twilight relayed their orders before all three turned their eyes back to the window. Rarity swooned over the cascade of oranges and reds scattered along the clouds. The Phoenix briefly passed through a dense cloud layer that gave the onlookers a sweeping view of the majestic sky.
“Twilight,” The queen gave Rarity a quizzical hum. “When you pick a place to settle, are you going to keep the Phoenix in the air?”
“I don’t think so,” Twilight replied lazily, her gaze never leaving the view. “It’ll be easier to simply ground the ship and let it act as a central hub and palace.”
“Oh… a pity.”
“Why don’t you just make a flying shop then?” Rainbow suggested offhandedly. “You’re going to dismantle the engines after you ground this thing anyway.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! Once that happens, the engines will be dismantled for parts, but if I saved a couple and built you an airship home, you could have an entire boutique on the go. You could travel anywhere in Equestria, and never leave your shop!”
Rarity gasped at the idea. “It’s a generous offer, but I don’t know the first thing about engines, let alone how to pilot such a home.”
Twilight paused as the waiter delivered their meals. She noticed the lingering eye Rarity cast towards the muscular drone, and spoke once he left. “You could hire an engineer. I’m sure you could find one who would be more than willing to join you.”
“Twilight, that is still such a generous offer. I couldn’t possibly accept that of you.”
Twilight laid a hoof on her alabaster friend’s foreleg. “Rarity, I’m basically the ruler of a city state. One little house is the least I can do for all the support you’ve given me over the years.”
“A little house indeed,” Rarity bantered playfully before giggling at the possibilities. “I can’t possibly thank you enough, Twilight. After spending so much time looking out across the clouds, I can see why Rainbow and you love to fly.”
“Very true,” Twilight commented. “So did you like the pictures I sent you of the Ebony Castle? I’ve barely heard from you for the past four days.”
“I’m sorry, dear, they’ve hit me with such inspiration this is actually the first time I’ve set hoof outside my little corner shop. I have a whole line planned out for the three of us and your personal guard for when we arrive at Canterlot!”
“I hope you’re not planning on stuffing me in one of those ultra frou-frou dresses I saw in your shop,” Rainbow countered with a half scowl. “I have a reputation to maintain, after all.”
Rarity let off a ladylike humph. “Never fear, Rainbow Dash, I am perfectly aware of your radicalness requirements.” She eyed Twilight conspiratorially. “Incidentally, those ancient changelings had such a dark color palette. It's strange really, some of the patterns were almost familiar.”
Rainbow was too distracted by the arriving food to pay Twilight’s intrigued reaction any notice. “Familiar how, exactly? Nopony’s ever set hoof in the Ebony Castle, and none of the other excavation sites had any preserved dress or artwork.”
Rarity cooed at the tantalizing aroma, but still managed to give Twilight’s question some thought. “Not sure. I could simply be mistaking it for a bygone fashion a few years ago, or I might have seen something similar in one of the museums around Canterlot.”
A museum… Yes, the crystal caves were a mine long before the wedding. It might not be such a bad idea to check any historical relics that might be in the city. I’m going to have to write a second letter.
The group gnawed on their meal while exchanging small talk for over an hour. Little things like that eased the burden of Twilight’s crown, an object that did not need to sit on her head to weigh down on her. Yet this peaceful moment in time was just that, but a moment. Gentle Touch brushed upon Twilight’s mind while Rainbow regaled about the latest adventures of Daring Do.
<My queen, I’ve finished my survey and projections for the next several years, and I have a list of consort candidates ready for your purview.>
Glad I can multitask well enough to keep up with my friends’ conversation. <Already? You certainly didn’t waste any time.> A nonverbal shrug somehow managed to traverse the Link in response. <Right… how many candidates, and from what strains?>
<Four candidates have been made available for your use as of right now. They are all members of gene strains that my projections deem will still be needed in three years’ time. I have ten volunteers willing to undergo rebirth. I made sure to screen the volunteers to those with… out of date strains, and who have suffered, shall we say… unfortunate luck in social interactions.>
<You raided the personnel files? You’re not authorized for those.>
The caretaker nervously teased a lock of her mane. <I—I know, but since the rebirth process naturally wipes their memories clean, I figured it wouldn’t matter once.>
To think she’s leveraged her attaché status so quickly. Twilight wasn’t sure if she should be impressed or worried. <I’ll let this go for now, but next time, ask me before you do that.>
<As you wish, my queen. In any event, I will let the candidates know they’ve been selected as consorts. Which strain would you wish to start breeding first?>
Twilight was about to focus on a mild dispute in the engine room, when a cyan hoof waved in front of her. “Hey, Ling Queen, you awake?”
“Huh? “ Twilight blinked before fully returning to the present. “Oh, sorry, I guess I got a little… sidetracked by my assistant.”
“Care to enlighten us, dear?”
“Well… I’m not exactly sure how you’re going to take this, but…” Twilight furrowed her brow as she tried to think of the right words. “Gentle was heading up a selection process for my consorts.”
“Consorts?” Rainbow replied with a tilted head. “I thought you were already hitched with Ratchy.”
“I am,” Twilight replied with a nod. “But he and I talked about it… at length,” she grumbled just loud enough to be heard. “We decided that he would take the position of prime consort.”
“So ahh, where exactly are these consorts coming from, anyway?”
That was the one question Twilight feared most, but that didn't stop her from groaning at her prismatic friend anyway. “Girls, you know where.”
“Right,” Rainbow replied off handedly while casting a glance at Rarity. The fashionista found her hoof exceptionally fascinating at the moment while Twilight fretted over her friends’ response. “Not like it bothers me any that Rachy’s your brother and I’m guessing the consorts would be your sons…”
Twilight placed a tentative hoof on her prismatic friend. “Of course it bothers you, Rainbow. But please remember that changelings don’t work the same way ponies do. Getting consorts from another queen’s hive is politically not going to happen, Cadista notwithstanding. In addition, those drones would be incompatible with my hive. I…”
She sighed slowly to try to think of the proper words. “Its pragmatic, is what it is. As queen, it’s my duty to see the hive’s workforce is fit and able to operate, and I do that primarily through genetic manipulation. I’ve told you girls about alchemy a bunch of times.”
Rarity leaned back in her chair, her eyes drifted back to the window. The sky had darkened to the point where she could only see herself reflected in the glass. “You have, Twilight. It’s something that takes getting used to, that’s all. However, I must say, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years since that day I was chosen to be one of the elements, it’s that friends can come from unlikely sources.” She turned her gaze back to her friends. “But here, on this wondrous ship, I learned that doesn’t have to extend only to personal friends. All of your children have proven to be good ponies…or changelings, at heart. I see no reason why, despite our differences, ponies and changelings can’t be good friends with each other just as we are.”
Rainbow was taking a long drag from her stein before slamming it down empty. “Hear hear! We can be Hearth’s Warming Eve, take two!”
Twilight smirked between bites of an amazingly good beef stir-fry. “So we have Equestrians and my changelings, who’s going to take the third slot?”
Rainbow tapped her chin for a few seconds before the figurative light bulb switched on. “Why not Luna’s little group… what are they called again? Bat ponies?”
“Thestrals, darling. And that won’t work because they’re already Equestrian citizens.”
“Yeah, so? Aren’t Twilight and the whole hive citizens too?”
Both mares looked to Twilight who found her meal had lost a bit of its appeal. “I’m not sure if we are. It’s been a while since I reviewed citizenship laws, so I can’t tell you if my children are citizens. But regardless, why mention Thestrals in this?”
“Get with the program, Twi. Sure they’re citizens, but nopony really knows anything about them. In all the times I’ve been to Canterlot, I’ve never seen a bat pony outside of the Night Guard. Makes a pony think they’re even more secretive than you changelings.”
Twilight hummed at the mention of the thestrals and detached herself from the ceiling to come into a hover near the table. With a whoosh of lavender-orange fire, Twilight remade her appearance. Her purple coat took on a much darker shade, with the same happening to her mane. Her gossamer wings were replaced by leathery ones, and her horn vanished along with all the holes in her body.
Rarity cooed over the new look. “My word, you make a simply gorgeous Thestral, darling.”
Rainbow whistled. “Gotta say, the fangs look better on a darker coat.”
Twilight summoned her hoof-mirror and primped in front of it. “You think so?”
“I know so,” Rarity gushed while leaning over in her chair to get a closer look. “I do have an eye for that sort of thing.”
“Interesting…” With a brush of magic, Twilight’s changeling features returned, but her coloration remained the same. “What about now?”
“You look alright to me, maybe a bit spooky though,” Rainbow blurted out while Rarity took a much longer appraising study.
“I don’t know… maybe if you added some lighter colors to your mane. You are named Twilight after all, maybe you should do something to play off of that.”
“I thought her original coat already did that.” Rainbow muttered as Twilight reverted most of her coloration back to normal.
The lavender queen focused on her mane and changed back to her original pony coloration. Then she changed a lock of hair on the left side of the pink stripe to a hue of bright vanilla. After that, she darkened the rest of her mane a shade or two . “There, what do you think?”
“Simply dazzling!” Rarity gushed, nearly falling out of her chair. “Oh you simply must keep it that way. And in return, I’ll make you an outfit to proclaim your new look to the world.”
Rainbow looked at it through half lidded eyes. “She only changed a single stripe of hair. Hardly seems worth making a whole new dress over.”
“Oh, don’t listen to her, Twilight, poor Dashie doesn’t have the eye for this sort of thing. Eh, no offense, dearie.” Rainbow merely shrugged before chowing down on her meal.
Twilight smiled at her reflection before casting the mirror back to her quarters. “It’ll take a little time for the new color to set in permanently, a week or so at most.” She turned around to make the same alterations to her tail, which also caused her to look at her purple and orange cutie mark. I'll keep the orange there. As a reminder of where I came from.
Her primping was cut short by a series of movements in her abdomen as more eggs were finally ready to be laid, but unlike her time as a proto queen, she was able to keep from having to lay at that very moment. Blah, it still makes me feel a little bloated though. Still, it’s not enough to drag me away from dinner.
Right as Twilight resumed her meal, Gentle Touch pinged her mind. <Yes, Gentle?>
<Sorry to disturb you if you’re busy, my queen, but my clock said the next clutch should be ready for fertilization, so I took the liberty of having one of your new consorts report to your quarters.>
Twilight heaved a heavy sigh at her half eaten meal, prompting Rainbow to cast her a concerned look. “You okay, Twi?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Twilight partially lied with a nod. “Some queenly duties popped up. You mind continuing this at tomorrow’s dinner?” I need to work up a mating schedule after this.
“Yeah sure, can’t hog you all day.”
“I’d love to, Twilight, it’ll give me a chance to catch up on some back orders anyway.”
With Twilight helping Rarity reach the ground floor, the trio split up. The lavender queen couldn’t keep her mind from wandering towards Ratchet. So it came to quite a surprise to find him waiting for her just outside the mess hall. “Ratchet! I was just thinking about you.”
“And I you,” he replied with a smile before nuzzling her.
Ratchet never failed to warm her heart, or her passions. Twilight pecked him on the snout with her eyes lingering on his. “How’s work?”
He cocked his head and flashed a coy grin. “Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing.”
Twilight’s smile faded. “Gentle asked you to meet me, didn’t she?”
“Aye, that she did.” Twilight’s expression sank as she started walking towards her quarters with Ratchet following after her.
“Ratchet, are you really okay with this whole consort thing?”
The drone suppressed a sigh and head shake to exude the warm compassion he knew she needed. “Twilight, if anypony has reservations about this, it's you.”
Twilight didn’t answer. She couldn’t, not when she knew he was right.
“Twi, you know what I think? You’re just being jittery. Give the whole consort thing a week. By then, it should be as natural to you as laying is.”
Twilight’s ears wilted. Well, I’ll admit to enjoying the act of laying now. “Are you sure?”
“Do I even need to mention the first day you returned to Ponyville, and the bathroom scene?”
“Ugh, no.”
“Or how you freaked out when you had a hive mind of fifty adult drones, thinking you’d never be able to manage it all?” he said with mild teasing.
“How was I supposed to know my physiology made it so easy?”
“Because mother told you, constantly. What about the time you started using alchemy to do more than just scan and repair genetic defects?”
Some of Twilight’s confidence returned, along with an eye roll. “I know, I know, I was almost catatonic after thinking I did irreparable damage to an egg.”
“You want me to stop, or list out the twenty other times—”
“No, no, you made your point…” Twilight chuckled at herself. “Thank you, Ratchet.” She leaned in to kiss him in that slow but passionate way that he liked so much. “I needed that.”
“Anytime, my love.” When they arrived at the door, he stood off the side. “Now go on in and do our hive proud!”
Oh for the love of… Twilight glowered at his snickering face. “I look forward to having fun with you later tonight.”
Ratchet jabbed a wing at the door. “Only if he doesn’t tire you out first.”
Twilight did a double take. “I—is that a challenge!?”
“It is.”
Twilight played the offended mare and stuck her nose in the air with a harrumph. “Well then, the game is ahoof.” Twilight leveraged her bravado to shore up enough confidence to step inside. With the Phoenix being a predominantly civilian vessel, the queen’s cabin was quite large, but only half as much as her old quarters in the Stripped Gear palace. At the foot of her bed stood a rather imposing lavender drone that Twilight instantly recognized as one of her soldiers.
The new consort was fiddling with a clockwerk leg when Twilight cantered in. He yelped and hastily put the leg back and stood at attention by the desk. “Sorry, my queen, I ahhh…”
A small grin graced Twilight’s visage. “That’s quite alright, Iron Sight. Curiosity is the mother of invention.”
That helped the soldier relax a bit, prompting Twilight to make her way over to the bed. “Let’s get started, shall we? The sooner this happens, the sooner I can lay.”
The following morning was the Day of Mourning, a day Twilight had been looking forward to since the last one. To an outsider, one would only see the lavender queen meditating on a pile of cushions. There was no special gown, no ceremonial paraphernalia, just a queen, her pillows, and the hive mind. It was the Link that made all the difference.
Within the mindscape of the hive mind sat a verdant field of golden grain, with the sun shining down with a gentle light on a cloudy day. The high rising cliffs of the caldera which houses Stripped Gear lay to the south, with the Ashes of the Phoenix hanging in the skies above it.
Twilight stood in the field of grain swaying in a gentle warm breeze. She watched a living cloud of pale silvery motes of light pass overhead in a vast blanket above. The cloud was adrift in the slow wind towards the crescent moon which presided above a majestic mountain city of gleaming silver. From her earthbound position, the vast Silver City seemed to stretch on forever as the mountain reached to touch the moon itself. Dozens of endless waterfalls cascaded down the city’s elegant streets. Roaring bonfires dotted the city, forming patterns not unlike the constellations of the stars above. Were one to listen during a northern wind, they could make out singing in the breeze. Pale white trees and their night blue leaves rustled in the distance as distant figures danced around them.
She watched the slow progression with tears slowly dampening her fur and a sorrowful sob passing through the swaying wheat. Cadista entered the mindscape silently behind Twilight and rested a comforting hoof upon her daughter. “I should have expected you to recreate The Gateway early.” Twilight turned to embrace Cadista, her grief abated somewhat at her mother’s touch. “Losses in battle are always the hardest to bear.”
Twilight had no words to give. She let her pent up grief since the fight for the Chamber of Chitin pour out into Cadista’s withers, just as she in turn, did the same to Twilight. This was one of the very few times and places where the crowns were absent. The two royals wept for several long minutes, but Cadista found a thread of joy.
When Twilight’s tears abated, Cadista maneuvered them so they stood side by side to face the Silver City. They leaned on each other for strength. “Twilight… I know I’ve said this every other time we’ve been here, but I’m glad I’m no longer alone here, on the edge.”
Twilight searched the wisps as they drifted towards the city. “Do you ever see Yumia out there?”
“I imagine it every so often,” Cadista confirmed. She wondered if Twilight recreated the image of a distant queen every now and again for her benefit. “It was…” she choked back a sob to speak more clearly, “difficult, at times, to keep from ending it all to join her. But I still had a purpose to fulfill.”
“And now?”
Cadista gave Twilight a weak smile. “Now I have a new purpose. Yumia was always a patient changeling; I know she won’t mind waiting a bit longer.” A worried look crossed Twilight’s face, but she ultimately said nothing. “We should prepare ourselves. The drones will be joining us shortly.”
The lavender queen lingered with her mother. “Does it ever get easier?”
“…Controlling your emotions does,” Cadista replied after a few seconds’ thought. “In the sense of keeping the grief in check, at least. It’s one of the disadvantages of intelligent drones, we get attached to them as much as ponies do to their foals, and it’s one I gladly bear.”
“And I as well,” Twilight answered back.
Both royals steadied themselves and waited. Within less than a minute, drones started appearing by the dozen. A large cloud of grey bodies flew in from Stripped Gear, while a smaller group flew in from the Phoenix. Being within the mindscape of the hive mind, the drones moved with unnatural speed to take their place in a semicircle around the pair of queens.
The rapidly growing audience gave the royals a few meters of space as they filled the air. There was little chatter among them. Half of them were there as personal friends to the fallen, while the others were there to support their queens.
Being so completely immersed within the hive mind, Twilight could feel the waves of shared grief and anguish washing over the gathering. Yet there was immense efforts to comfort and console as well.
I think we’ve waited long enough, Cadista mused before turning to Twilight. “This is your first Day of Mourning as queen. Would you care to do the honors?”
“I would, thank you.” Twilight took a step forward and lit her horn. Not to use magic, but to signal the start of the ceremony. From the depths of the hive mind, Twilight pulled four changelings into being, all of whom had died in the caverns under the Ebony Castle. Cadista followed suit and summoned three drones of her own.
Tears streamed down Twilight’s face, but her voice was as even and regal as ever. “Today, we commemorate those who have died in service to our united hives. We queens have judged them, and they have been found…” She choked up for a moment as her eyes drifted to the still figures of her children, brothers, and sisters. “Deserving. I release them from the Link, to join the honored dead in the hallowed silver city of Havengaal. May they find peace within its walls.”
Twilight paused to collect herself, as an errant leaf danced across the field. Silence filled the air as the assembly of changelings sat in breathless anticipation of the time-honored tradition. When Twilight opened her mouth again, she did not speak.
Twilight’s voice danced over the rolling hills, filling the air with melodious tones and evoking a myriad of emotions in the gathered changelings. Her voice was at once soft and powerful, gentle and mighty, hitting each note with practiced ease. One by one, the changelings that had perished drifted upwards, shedding their mortal forms. They joined the cloud of glowing white wisps floating towards the silver city as Twilight sang farewell to her fallen children. Then, it was over. As the last echoes of her voice escaped over the mountains, Twilight smiled at the procession.
Slowly, the gathered changelings departed the waking dream of The Gateway after they grieved all they could. Four hours later, only the queens remained behind. But even they could not remain here forever, and soon they too returned to the waking world, feeling emotionally drained, but happier nonetheless.
The Cresnox jungle was a place riddled with danger the likes of which would make the Everfree Forest look like a petting zoo. Carving a hive out of such densely predator-riddled lands was dangerous enough, so clandestine meetings were even harder to organize. Even if they were held in the skies above.
Far above the writhing woods, an ebony drone waited with the patience of stone. After what seemed like hours, a tan-colored drone buzzed in through the clouds and stopped in front of the first. Both drones barely gave each other any acknowledgment before both sent word to their respective queens.
Polybia assumed control first, and her drone’s eyes dimmed to reveal their reptilian slits. She did not have to wait long for Chrysalis’ to do the same. “Alright, Chrysalis, what’s so important that you had to drag me all the way out here? You know this is Fire Hornet territory.”
“No small talk? I was hoping I could hear how your heir was shaping up.”
Polybia groaned. “I would rather not waste time flying a second drone out after this one is killed by the hornets, just for some small talk.”
The black drone nodded sympathetically. “I see you’re in a foul mood. Perfectly understandable after hearing what that Equestrian in changeling chitin…or fur, as it were, did to the First Mother.”
The tan drone growled in anger. “I already know! That bumbling idiot of a queen killed the First Mother’s shadow! She should have accepted Her judgment rather than defy her.”
“Yes… a pity. You were right, you know,” Polybia’s puppet shot her a questioning glance. “About how the First Mother still watched over us all.”
“You called me here to patronize me?! You are nearly as bad as Cadista and her spawn.”
“You’ve got me all wrong, Polybia, even my eyes can be opened to the truth when it shines right in front of me.”
Polybia’s expression did not improve. “That’s all it took to make you do more than lip service? An old mind imprinted security crystal?”
A sidelong smirk crossed Chrysalis’ puppet. “You don’t honestly believe that, do you? That wasn’t a security system, it was a conduit for the First Mother herself!”
Polybia furrow her brow. “That’s not what the Home Guard report said. It was just a mind crystal lying dormant.”
“Now whose eyes are closed to the truth, hmm? Don’t you think it was awfully convenient that none of the Home Guard were there to see this alleged crystal while it was active?” Polybia’s eyes narrowed as Chrysalis continued. “Who else but the First Mother herself could take control of another’s drones without severing the link to their queen first?”
“It’s been done,” Polybia countered with a smug grin of her own. “I remember hijacking some of your sister Yeelindrus’ brood during the last border dispute we had. I still have a few of her drones left on display in my palace.”
“Taking a few drones is one thing, Polybia, but commanding a whole hive to follow you in an instant, and then being nearly successful in controlling some of Twilight’s drones as well? You know how hard it is to forcibly command those damned intelligent drones. The First Mother nearly succeeded in taking all forty of them at once, through a conduit no less!”
Polybia turned away to think. “You make a good point. Those devoted to the First Mother are granted a portion of her gift.”
“Velterantie, the Voice of Command. I’m telling you, Polybia, Twilight Sparkle willfully lied to the Home Guard, and by proxy, to us all. The First Mother obviously wants whatever Twilight is trying to find to remain hidden, and that Equestrian is ignoring her!”
“What of the artifacts of the true homeland then?” Polybia questioned as she turned back around. “Surely she does not want us to be without them.”
“Yet another one of Twilight’s lies,” Chrysalis replied with a snarl. “Don’t you see what’s going on? Twilight’s trying to cover her flank. She falsified her ‘findings’ from within the Chamber of Chitin to point towards Canterlot of all places. Canterlot! As the birthplace of our race!? She must have suffered some brain damage from the fight if she thinks the ponies’ capital is our birthplace.”
The real Polybia destroyed a few walls and columns in a fit of rage, but none of it showed forth in the puppet. “So,” she said after regaining her composure. “I assume you’ve discussed this with the other queens.”
“Most of them, but so far most are hesitant to see the truth.”
“To see the truth? Or stare down the guns of the Phoenix? Are the others still so afraid of the machines of Stripped Gear, even after three hundred years since the Battle of Dentar?”
Chrysalis gave her a scathing look. “You were still a princess back then, Polybia, a young one at that. I’m not surprised your mother never told you of the humiliating defeat Yumia inflicted on her. The Fernal Alliance collapsed after that, you know.”
“So what are you suggesting, then? If you truly wish to honor the First Mother, then we cannot stand to let the blasphemer live.”
“What I suggest is that you show no overt hostility to Twilight nor Cadista, and in the meantime, I need to you build an army.”
“With what?” Polybia challenged. “I have enough love for maybe another few hundred drones, but I can’t support more than that unless my collectors expand into Griffin lands.”
Chrysalis snickered at the thought. “Don’t worry about that. I can have dozens of prisoners transferred to you with but a word. You could siphon enough love off of them to satiate five armies.”
“How did you arrange that?”
“It was simple really,” Chrysalis tittered. “For all they champion the virtues of harmony, ponies have quite a few prisons that nobody likes to talk about. All it took was a few greased hooves, some lined pockets, and some prison transfer orders. And it’s not just with the ponies either. The griffins, zebras, and minotaurs are more than happy to empty their jails for me. You ally with me, and you’ll have all the love you’ll ever need.”
“Alright, Chrysalis. You have a deal. But I want your assurance that Twilight will pay for her crimes.”
“Ha! Oh, don’t worry, Polybia, she will pay.” But she won’t be alone.
Before either of them could say more, a swarm of burning hornets fell upon the drones, burning both of them to cinders before they could utter a cry of pain. Not that either queen cared, the messengers had served their purpose.
Two days later, Twilight was standing on the bridge, gazing out of the massive forward view of Equestria it provided. A powerful sense of belonging wafted over her. Finally, I’m bringing my home back home.
Twilight pilfered a spyglass from beside her throne and looked ahead to find Canterlot off in the distance. I’m sure Celestia and Luna wouldn’t mind a little social call while I investigate the cave ruins.
She closed the spyglass as an errant thought came to her. But then again… She turned to one of her daughters, who was dressed in a smart, crisp uniform, courtesy of Rarity. “Captain Veselov.”
The drone moved away from the radar station. “Yes, my queen?”
“Have somepony work up a shore leave rotation. The kids need to go outside and play.”
Veselov gave her a critical eye, but Twilight knew her brood well. Veselov’s irritation slowly melted away into childish delight. “Any chance I can get on the rotation?”
Twilight inwardly chuckled. They may be adults by drone standards, but they still have a child’s wonder. “Absolutely.”