Princess Celestia liked to think she had an air of regal majesty that exuded confidence. She was right. Standing on the western airship docks, alone with her sister, Celestia watched a distant arrow shaped thing suspended in the air several kilometers away. Unfortunately, her confidence was slipping at the sight of the metal monster.
“Sister,” Luna inquired discreetly, “I know the aristocracy have a thing for… airships, I believe they’re called, but what is that?”
“That, dear sister, is Twilight’s hive ship.” Celestia stole a glance at the huge crowd of ponies waiting behind them. News of a giant airship coming from south of the Appleloosian Mountains spread so fast that Celestia barely had time to give a public address before panic set in. I’m not going to make Twilight feel unwelcome by telling her to wait outside of Canterlot, let alone Equestria’s borders.
Luna witnessed a small dot break away from the airship and start moving closer. “That thing dwarfs even the largest griffin airship I’ve ever seen!” she hissed to keep from appearing worried. “I knew Twilight was renovating a vessel for herself, but this is ridiculous.”
“Not to mention frightening to the civilians.”
A thought crossed Luna’s mind, an idea she had not entertained for nearly a millennium. “Sister, if Twilight could build another one of those vessels, we could finally destroy the chaos spawn to the north. Changeling technology could be the key to bringing peace to those lands.”
A frown creased Celestia’s face. “Is peace won at the point of a spear truly peace, or simply delaying war for another time?”
“We’re not talking about a rival civilization, or things even capable of building one,” Luna rebuked with a slight condescending scowl of her own. “The chaos spawn are a collection of freaks that need to be put down for good. If they ever possessed the capacity for civility, they lost it long ago. They do not acknowledge honor or peace, only blood.”
Silence fell over the royal sisters as Celestia mulled over Luna’s words. I’ve come this far to escape my bloodied past. Is she really so eager to return to it? ...Or perhaps I’ve been too aloof to the northern troubles.
The shuttle’s droning engine could be heard well in advance of its arrival, sounding much like the train engines most ponies were used to, only with far more clanking and whooshing, and with less chugging. As the shuttle closed in, paparazzi started filling rolls of film to catch the gasbag-less airship settle down and the hatch open with a large exhale of steam.
The Royal Guard standing behind the Sisters redoubled their vigilance over the crowd as Twilight and four drones emerged from the shuttle. She calmly walked over to the alicorns where she dipped her head in formal greeting. Her horn lit up to carry her voice to everyone present. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, the S.G.C.S Ashes of the Phoenix requests permission to enter Canterlot airspace for matters of state and shore leave.”
“Permission granted,” Celestia replied warmly.
“Welcome back to Canterlot,” Luna added.
“Thank you,” Twilight nodded a second time before sending a silent command to the ship. A few seconds later, the Phoenix’s guns fired off a twenty one gun salute to Canterlot. While the Royal Guards and aristocracy were familiar with the traditional greeting, many of the other ponies were a bit spooked by the distant thunderclaps.
As the guns fired off, Twilight inwardly sighed at the presentation. I know that’s usually done with spells, but it served the same purpose. Still, to think I had almost escaped all the pomp and ceremony when I moved to Ponyville all those years ago.
Once the salute finished, Twilight sent her captain a message. <Alright, move her in, and let the first rotation of shore leave out to play.> After hearing a reply, she briefly glanced at her personal guards, and noticed Aegis’ squad was out of rotation. I hope she behaves herself.
Aegis stood near the front of a long line near the port hangar deck. Her usual squad of four bodyguards was with her as the line moved efficiently along. Ferrum buzzed in the air with a grin that kept widening with every inch he moved closer to the banker. “Can you believe the other hives don’t have currency?”
Intel leaned over Aegis. “You mean outside of SG right?”
“Obviously,” he countered. “Could you imagine living a life like that? All work, and you sleep for fun? Baugh, that’s terrible.”
Aegis pushed her brother off of her. “You forget that they don’t care about that kind of thing. Be glad Mom’s the kind of queen to give us a vacation.”
“Did granny Caddy give vacations to her drones?” Ferrum asked.
Intel shrugged. “I don’t know. She probably thinks the downtime our aunts and uncles get is good enough. Besides, don’t go thinking this is going to be a common occurrence. We’re also doing this to show the ‘civil’ side of changelings to the locals.”
Aegis flicked Intel’s snout with a wing. “Don’t be such a downer about it. All that means is we have to behave. Easy as pie.”
“That’ll be the day,” Ferrum replied derisively before turning to the banker and grabbed his allotted coin purse and promptly buried it in his mane. “Get your flanks in gear and let’s go!”
Aegis smirked and grabbed her allowance before chasing after him. “It’s a shame Riposte’s stuck in the infirmary. We should get him something nice while we’re down there.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Intel replied with a nod. Ferrum voiced his agreement as well.
By the time Aegis reached the crowded hangar, the Phoenix was less than a kilometer from the dock. One of the officers at the front was making an announcement. <Alright, listen up! The princesses just gave us free reign in the common areas around the city, so stay away from the castle or guard posts. You are to remain grounded while at the docks and you are to go directly to one of the landing points. After that, you may go where you please. Jump off is in ten seconds!>
With cheering and whistling heralding the way, Aegis joined the gathered drones in swarming out of the hangar in a mad dash for the docks. With Ferrum and Intel right alongside, the trio followed their brethren to the surface and galloped through the docks and into Canterlot proper. Never before in her short life had Aegis seen so many non-changelings, let alone so many different colored ponies. However, she noticed quite a few hostile faces amongst the crowd.
<Guys, I think we should go keep an eye on mother.>
Intel’s cheer faded a little at Aegis’ frosty tone. <What’s wrong?>
Ferrum scanned the crowd. They were still close to the docks, so quite a few drones were still flowing into the city, but his attention was on the ponies. Most stood between fascination and fearfulness, while others pushed their foals away from the drones or outright refused to say a kind word. <You’d think four years could ease the memories of a single attack.>
<Don’t be so sure,> Intel warned. <The other hives skirmish against one another as tests of strength. These civilians probably haven’t seen much actual war.>
<And we have?> Aegis countered, drawing her brothers’ attention. <We’ve seen one probing attack on the western hunting grounds, and the Deception took care of that without even going to general quarters. The only thing close to real battle we have is from mom’s memories of the invasion and a few other scraps.>
Intel gazed upon the ivory towers of Canterlot Castle. <Well we can’t go bother the queen, she’s already made her way to the castle, and unless we’re on duty, it’s strictly off limits.>
<Fine…> Aegis groaned with an eye roll. <Then why don’t we look for an artifact shop?>
The two stallions shared a puzzled look while Aegis checked her map before zipping off, leaving her brothers to chase after her. “Why?”
Intel caught whiff of Aegis’s reasoning and ran close enough to speak. “You really think we’ll find an artifact of our ancestors in some random curio store?”
“Probably not,” she replied with a wing shrug, “but you never know what might be there.”
“We’d get some serious brownie points if we did,” Ferrum added with a greedy glint in his eye.
“Exactly!” Aegis agreed as she poured on extra speed.
Twilight Sparkle’s laughter danced around the small castle lounge. Celestia snickered behind a hoof while Luna chuckled. “So, then I tell Count Da’monaa exactly where he can stick his ridiculously self-centered tax reform. Tactfully, of course.”
Twilight barely managed to carefully drop her wine glass between her laughter-shaken magic. “How did he think he could get away with raising the price of bananas by three bits a bushel?”
“Perhaps he believes he’s the only one who pays attention to market fluctuations,” Luna added mockingly before sighing contently with another sip of wine. “It’s been good catching up on you Twilight. I think you carry your new title rather well.”
“Thanks, although it was really little more than a formality at this point.”
“And I must say, I love what you did with your mane,” Celestia commented with a grin.
“It is rather fetching,” Luna agreed playfully. “Did you change it for yourself, or for your stallion?”
Twilight teased a lock of vanilla blonde hair. “A little from column A, a little from column B. Rarity wanted to make a dress for the occasion, but she couldn’t finish it in time.”
“I’ll have to host a ball later, so you have a chance to flaunt,” Celestia replied. “If your hive’s going to be joining Equestria, you’ll need to get the nobility used to the idea of having changelings residing in court.”
“I don’t see why,” Luna retorted with a huff. “Those windbags are quickly becoming obsolete.”
“Either way,” Twilight tactfully interjected, “I can suffer a few high society events for the good of the nation.” At least until I can con some of my drones into doing it for me.
"Your findings from the Ebony Castle were an incredible read. To think there might have been changelings living under Canterlot for centuries. Right under our very noses.”
“That would explain how they kept infiltrating our cities before my… episode.”
The royal sisters shared a brief, almost imperceivable glance. “The only question I have,” Twilight said to break up the mood, “is whether or not my ancestors left a long time ago, or the miners drove them to leave out of fear of discovery.”
Celestia nibble a bit of cake. “When I got your letter, I had my aides dig through the archives to find any records we still have on them. Luckily nopony bothers with the caves anymore, so you shouldn't receive any interference.”
“Perfect, th—” Twilight’s response was cut short by a royal guard knocking on the heavy oak door before poking his head through.
“Begging your pardon, your highnesses, but the heads of House Sparkle are here.”
Twilight was instantly filled with equal parts joy and dread as she addressed the quartet of drones behind her. <Okay, you four, let’s put on a good face for your grandparents, and stand back a bit so I have time to properly introduce you.>
The drones dropped the books the princesses had given them to comply. Luckily, the lounge was furnished for minotaur dignitaries, so there was plenty of tall furniture to tactfully hide behind as Night Light and Twilight Velvet entered the room. The three rulers stood up, with the alicorns stepping towards the rear exit. “We’ll discuss your findings later,” said Luna as she and her sister bid farewell.
Velvet stood back while Night Light bowed to the princesses before bounding over to Twilight. “Holy Toledo Twily, your letters said you had grown, but don’t think you're too big to give your old stallion a hug.”
Twilight’s heart soared at her father’s warm welcome, and they wrapped each other up in a crushing hug. “Maybe an inch or two.”
Night Light pulled out of the hug to take stock of his daughter. “Well, you’ve certainly filled out at least. You’re as big as the Princess now.”
“Part of the package, I’m afraid.”
“You still look as lovely as ever.” He moved to the side to give his wife a pleading look. “Well, honey, are you going to say hello? It’s been years since you talked to each other.”
“That depends,” Velvet replied coldly as she slowly walked over to inspect Twilight, “on whether or not there’s anything left of my little filly in that thing.”
Twilight bristled, along with her drones. Night Light bore a look of conflicted pain with a dose of impatience mixed in. It was the drones’ presence that worked a wiry smirk on Twilight’s face. “That’s rather rude of you, mother, especially since I brought some grandchildren with me this time.”
Night Light was more than happy to entertain a distraction. Both of them had received letters about Twilight's brood. Well, Night Light had, at least; Velvet never received any letters from Twilight.
With Twilight dominating their attention, neither unicorn noticed the four drones slip out from behind the lounge’s tall furniture until they surrounded their queen. <Smiles, I at least want to stay on good terms with father.>
The drones obeyed with mixed results, but Night Light didn’t mind. All he saw was four young drones looking nearly identical to Twilight did four years ago. “Bless my soul, I’ve heard of a child looking like the spitting image, but you four take it to the next level. I—” He presented a hoof. “I guess that makes me your grandfather, I’m Night Light.”
The drones nudged one of their number forward who shakily shook his hoof. “Powder Charge, but... most ponies just... call me Powder.” When Night Light’s smile only grew, Powder’s nervousness began eroding away. “I’ve – eh – we’ve heard a lot about you from momma.” Powder briefly cringed at referring to Twilight so informally, but all it took was a gentle touch upon her mind to soothe any worries.
“Only good things, I hope,” Night teased. Velvet tsked dismissively, only for it to go unnoticed.
Powder nodded hastily. “Of course, she—I mean ahh—” She looked to Twilight for help, who only gave her a raised eyebrow of amusement. Buck it! Throwing caution to the wind, Powder tackled Night Light with a hug. “I’ve always wanted to meet you, granddaddy!”
Night quickly found himself under a giggling changeling dog pile. Twilight was about to call them off when Velvet walked around the drones to approach her daughter. “Twilight, honey, may we talk privately?”
The lavender queen’s eyes bounced between her drones talking to her father, and her fretful mother before nodding slightly. “…Sure.”
Velvet led Twilight over to a distant chaise lounge and sat down. “Twilight, honey, I’m very scared for you.”
Gee, I wonder why. Twilight hid her snide remark behind a threadbare smile in an attempt to remain pleasant. “Whatever for, mother?”
Velvet swallowed her bile and cradled Twilight's hole-riddled hoof. “This whole changeling business has gone on long enough. You’ve had your way. There is peace between Equestria and the Queendoms, there are even rumors flying around that Cadista’s hive might be granted dual citizenship soon. You’ve done what you wanted to do. Now please, I beg of you, come home.”
Twilight sighed heavily. “I already have a home, mother, it’s currently floating above Canterlot.”
Velvet grappled Twilight in a desperate hug. “Don’t do this, Twilight! You were supposed to be the next archmage, the princesses’ right hoof, a unicorn! Come back to Equestria, Twilight! Come back to me!”
It took all of Twilight’s self-control to keep her voice civil. “We’ve had this argument for the past four years, and I’m sick of it! I am a changeling queen. That is what I am now, and it is what I always shall be. Nothing you or anypony else says will change that.”
Tears started running into Velvet’s fur. “P-please, Twily, my little foal. Don’t do this. Don’t let whatever Cadista did to your mind control you. If you just let me cure you, you’ll see reason, I only—”
“No!” Twilight growled while inadvertently flashing her fangs. “How can you justify your ‘fixing’ would be any different than whatever fantasies you believe Cadista did to my mind?! It's always 'unicorn' this, 'change you back that'. Well, I’ve had it!” She slammed her hoof down with enough force to rattle a few pieces of pottery, drawing Night Light's and the drones’ attention. “I am staying a changeling, period!”
Velvet was on the edge of breaking down as she watched Twilight storm off towards her father. Night Light was at a total loss for words. Velvet bolted out of the room’s other exit before anyone could hear her sobs. She looked back at her daughter as the doors closed behind her. I will save you Twilight, even if you hate me for it.
Twilight scowled at Velvet’s departure, even as a pit of guilt burrowed into her stomach. Damn it all. Why can’t she let me live my own life? “Dad, I thought you said she would be civil.”
Night rubbed the back of head and heaved the tired sigh of a worn out soul. “I’m sorry, Twily.” He flopped on his rear, true fatigue showing through his formerly jovial face. “She promised.”
Concern and guilt fully replaced indignation as Twilight cantered over to sit beside her father with the drones still nestled around their grandfather. “What’s going on, daddy?”
Night fell silent as he stared absently at the floor. “Your mother is very troubled, Twilight. She worries about you night and day.”
“I understand daddy, but she keeps worrying over the wrong reasons. Why can’t she see I’m not the monster Chrysalis tried to make us out to be?”
Night Light shook himself to bleed out of some of his fatigue. “You know your mother, she’s more stubborn than a mule, and she may never agree with your choices in life, but I doubt she’d do anything regrettable.”
Twilight glanced her drones, who were either sitting quietly or shrugged at her. “Maybe, but if I was anypony else, she’d have caused a diplomatic incident by now.”
“If you were anypony else,” Night replied reproachfully. “Velvet wouldn’t be fighting so hard.” Much of Twilight’s ire deflated, along her father’s. “She won’t cause a public scene, I promise you.” I won’t let her.
Twilight tentatively nuzzled her father. “If you need anything, anything at all, you let me know right away, okay?”
Pride cut through his dower expression. “No, no, that’s quite alright. You already have a ton on your plate, and distracting you won’t help. Now,” he swept a hoof towards the door. “I don’t know about you, but I haven’t eaten yet, and I haven’t sampled the palace cuisine in ages.”
“Nor have I,” Twilight giggled, grateful to have some mirth return to the room. “Come along kids, I won’t have my guards going hungry.”
*Ding a’ling*
Aegis nosed the door open of an out of the way curiosity shop to find a strangely darkened room, given the late afternoon daylight. The heavily shuttered windows and scattered candlelight gave the room a mysterious, yet strangely alluring atmosphere. The air carried a faint whiff of incense that dragged Aegis inside, her curiosity getting the better of her.
“Hello?” she called out experimentally as her brothers followed her in.
No one answered as the door closed behind Ferrum and the trio began snooping about. “Are you sure this place is open?”
“The sign said it was,” Intel pointed out, “and the door was unlocked.”
“I don’t know guys. The last thing we need is somepony thinking we’re breaking and entering.”
Aegis turned to chide her brothers when a grey stallion’s face appeared in front of her. “My, my, what do we have here?”
“AH!!” Aegis buzzed into the air, while instinctively groping for her missing pistol.
The other two drones took up defensive positions, but the stallion merely leaned against a shelf and snickered. “Somethings strange have wandered into my shop. Are you strange-things seeking strange things, perhaps?”
The male drones let go of their tension as Aegis landed next to them. “You’re not exactly normal yourself, Wrinkles.”
“Ha! Strange knows strange, it seems. You may call me Curio,” he said with a flourishing bow.
“…Aegis,” she said while gesturing first to herself then the others. “My brothers, Ferrum and Intel.”
“A pleasure,” Curio replied while adjusting his half-moon glasses, only to hum in bemusement. “I must say, hearing about fur covered changelings was one thing, but to see not one, but three enter my humble shop is something else. Pray tell, what brings you here?”
<And he called us strange,> Intel remarked.
Ferrum nosed his way past Aegis. “We were exploring the city. You saw our ship come in didn’t you?”
“Aye, that I did. Tis a shame the vessel is so big, I’d love to have it in my coll—” A greedy glint caught his eye. “Say, why don’t the three of you take a look around. I’m sure you might find whatever it is that truly guided your hooves my way.”
“What do you mean by that?” Intel called after him as Curio meandered over to the register.
“You’ll know when you see it.”
Left with questions they were not inclined enough to seek answers for, the changelings glanced around the store. After Curio lit several more lanterns, the group could see the plethora of trinkets, book, and baubles that occupied the shelves.
“You don’t mind us looking around?” Ferrum called out.
“Not at all, your bits are as good as any other.” Curio glanced up from his ledger. “You do use bits, right?”
Aegis removed her coin purse and telekinetically tossed a bit onto Curio’s desk. “That we do.”
The grey pony flashed a toothy grin and swept a foreleg at his shop. “Then by all means, let your curiosity, be sated.”
The trio of changelings shrugged before splitting up. Ferrum saw a collection of enticing books, while Intel was drawn to an unusual set of armor made for a minotaur, and Aegis sniffed her way around a few odd rings and amulets.
Most the objects Aegis looked at held her interest for a minute or so before the next items drew her away from the first. Items ranging from gold to lead, wood, bone, iron, and everything in between laid before her. Many were almost too enticing to go home without, but her coin purse was too light for much more than window shopping.
There’s so many treasures here… if only my allowance was bigger, she whined to herself as her eyes fell upon an iron circlet. It bore a simple filigree along its band with two small diamonds set above the wearer’s eyes. She was about to continue her search, but stopped when she felt the object tug on her mana.
Aegis picked it up to inspect it more closely. There’s something about this thing. Feels like its sucking on my mana a little. Aegis tried to probe the object with her magic, but the circlet refused to give itself up.
She continued to scan the object with both her mundane and magical senses until a voice spoke right in her ear. “Find something you like?”
“Ahhh!!” Aegis shrieked as Curio watched her bounce back into a solid wall. Ferrum flew over with a dozen small objects in his magic. Intel remained on the other side of the store looking over from an ancient sword. When he saw no one was in danger he returned his attention to the blade.
“You’re really jumpy today, sis. Hey Curio, what is all this stuff?” He levitated his loot over to the shopkeeper.
The grey stallion was more than happy to answer. “Ahh, my lad, what you have here are the shattered fragments of none other than Swift Fire the Red’s battlemage staff. He served the Diamond Kingdom for an age before being felled in the War of the Ring when a pegasus Legionnaire cut him down.”
Aegis grumbled to herself as Ferrum studied the fragments in a new light. “So why didn’t you fix them yet?”
“I haven’t the skill, nor do I know of anyone who would, save for maybe the princesses. I can let you have it for say… fifteen bits.”
“Sold!” <Wait until mom hears about this thing guys!>
Aegis shook her head in mild disgust at Ferrum’s antics, and returned her attention to the circlet. It stopped draining my mana… or at least it's so faint I can’t tell anymore. Could it have been a mana battery? She waited for her brother to finish paying for his broken staff before presenting her circlet. “What’s this thing?”
Curio furrowed his brow as he took the iron circlet from her. “Ah, yes, of course, this is Fleet Wing’s Boon. An old little piece of iron enchanted to make anypony faster in the air…provided you have wings, which—” he spied the long gossamer wings on Aegis’ back. “Shouldn’t be a problem for you. I could let this little performance enhancer go for… eighty bits.”
Aegis eyed the circlet as Curio gave it back to her with a little enticing shake. “I doubt it would work for me. Sounds like something meant for feathers,” she added while buzzing her wings.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Curio rebuked with a smile. “But I might be inclined to drop the price to sixty bits, surely you have somepony you could gift this to.”
I do actually, Aegis thought while maintaining an increasingly disinterested expression. “All the friends I know have wings like mine… but it looks pretty, barely. I could give twenty bits for it.”
“Fifty bits.”
“Twenty-five,” she countered flatly.
“Thirty.”
“Deal.” <Intel, can you spot me ten bits?>
<Why are you trying to spend my bits?>
<Come on, you owe me, remember?>
<You’re impossible, Aegy.> Intel flew over, with a sheathed sword in hoof. “I’ll give you the extra ten, but only if you can give me this sword for fifteen.”
Curio removed the blade from its scabbard, only to scoff in amusement. “Sorry my colt, but this is skysteel from the pre-Equestria era. I couldn’t possibly let it go for anything less than thirty five hundred.”
Ferrum did the math, and didn’t like what he came up with. “Hey, why are you using my bits now?”
<This sword’s for Riposte. You guys know how much he loves swords.> Intel replied, earning quick acceptance from Ferrum and Aegis.
<Even if we pooled our cash, we still wouldn’t have enough for the sword though,> Aegis pointed out.
Intel stared at the blade for a few seconds before making up his mind and pulled his watch out. “What if I throw this in? An authentic timepiece of the Jevruun Vrunningee. Only twenty have ever been made, and it keeps accurate time without magic.”
A sly grin crossed over Curio’s features. “You’re a member of the Queen’s Guard?! …Very well, I accept.”
Intel gathered his siblings’ coin into a single pouch. “How do you know Vespid, shopkeeper?”
“Just a few phrases, really. When somepony travels as much as I do, you pick up a thing or two. I hope you three enjoy yourselves now.”
Intel tested his latest acquisition’s edge, and found it to be a little dull. That can be fixed. “I’m sure we will.”
As soon as he had his bits and new watch, Curio squirreled away to his register to count it out. That gave Intel an excuse to nudge his kin out the door. Ferrum deposited his prize in his saddle bags. <What are we going to do without any cash? Go back to the ship?>
Aegis bounded into the city street with her eyes to the sky. <Not yet, I want to find Rainbow Dash.>
Intel was itching to return to the Phoenix to sharpen his blade. <Can’t wait ‘till tonight?>
<She’s a member of the Wonderbolts, remember? She might get reassignment orders, and I don’t want to miss my chance to give her the circlet.> Aegis queried the hive mind and it pointed her towards the western half of the city.
Understanding danced over Ferrum’s features as Aegis bolted off towards Rainbow’s location, with her brothers running to catch up. <So that’s why you wanted that thing?>
<Yeah, I figured since this thing is legit then she’d love it. And for all the flying lessons she’s given us over the years, we owe her at least this much.>
<What makes you think he didn’t just rip you off?> Intel challenged. <That thing could be junk, for all you know; like that shattered walking stick.>
<It’s a war staff, not a stick,> Ferrum growled.
Aegis shot a happy grin towards her brothers. <Only one way to find out!>
Long hours in front of a desk, a candle burning down to its base, and yellowing old pages from the palace’s reliquary ledgers brought such a strong sense of nostalgia to Twilight Sparkle that she barely managed to break away from her studies long enough to look up and sigh contently.
The window to the left of her yawned open to reveal the day had long since given way to nightfall. Has it really been half a decade since I lived in this tower? Her gaze fell upon one of her personal guards.
Despite the Night Guard patrolling the skies and hallways of the Royal Palace, Twilight’s last visit in Canterlot still left a bad taste in her mouth, and she had brought her guard with her. Twilight’s eyes shifted to Aegis. She quietly admired her child’s dedication, but sensed Aegis was more chipper than usual. <I take it you enjoyed Canterlot.>
Aegis glanced at her mother for a moment before returning her gaze at the sky. <It has its charm. Kinda primitive in a lot of ways though.>
“Is that so?” she replied tersely. “Like what?”
Aegis’ ears drooped and her wings flickered nervously. “Well, they’re not nearly as technologically advanced as us.”
Nice save. “Then that means we have something to offer them, and they might just surprise you in turn.”
I better get her back in a good mood. “I found that out today, actually,” Aegis commented, succeeding in derailing some of Twilight’s irritation.
The lavender queen returned much of her focus back to the ledgers. “And?”
Aegis silently ordered Intel to take her place by the window so she could canter over to Twilight. “And I found out a valuable lesson in bartering.”
Twilight’s eyes dilated a bit, and she put her ledger down again. “Bartering?”
A knock on the door interrupted Aegis’s reply. A Night Guard thestral poked his head in. “Announcing her highness, Princess Luna.”
Twilight’s drones scurried to stand at attention while their queen stood up to greet the lunar diarch. “Princess Luna, I thought you’d be busy dreamwalking.”
Luna gave the drones a nod of acknowledgement before gliding over to their queen. “Normally, but the dreamscape is why I’m here.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your hive made a strong impression today.” The collected changelings gave their undivided attention at that. “The dreamscape has seen a sharp decline in nightmares about a second changeling invasion, but I don’t know how much of that is due to fear of the chaos spawn to the north.”
“Well, it's not like one day would fix everything,” Twilight replied, “but I thought Equestria has the spawn under control.”
“We do, but some of the nobility’s been fear mongering the public with the Canterlot Times,” Luna commented with a shadow of worry as she walked over to window Aegis had recently vacated. “Since the modern world believes in free press, and they aren’t exactly lying, I can do nothing about it.”
Twilight abandoned her old desk to join the lunar princess. She wordlessly told her guards to give them some space. “I get the feeling something else is bothering you.”
Luna’s gaze turned south towards the noble district. “…Not me so much. The last dream I walked was that of your mother, Velvet.”
The lavender queen groaned while rubbing her temple. “Let me guess, she has nightmares about the horrible monster I’ve become.”
“Indeed, and I fear this one was not the first. I did what I could to try and alleviate her troubles, but once she knew I was there, she rejected my help out of hoof.” Luna heaved a heavy sigh. “I fear she may do something everypony will regret.”
Twilight recalled what she knew of her first mother. I better give word to the ship to triple security, just to be on the safe side. “Princess, I won’t act preemptively against her. As…” she had to fight to keep her voice from breaking, “much as Velvet hates what I am, I won’t make the first move.” Twilight gave Luna a stern glare. “But I will defend my hive.”
I was honestly expecting more. “Reminds me of my sister’s reasoning before I fell to nightmare. I trust you remember how close I came to drowning the world in shadow.”
I thought I’d never get the taste of potion out of my mouth. “To be fair, Luna, you’re an alicorn princess and Velvet’s a unicorn.” The lunar diarch gave her a flat look that needed no words to convey her message. “…But I’ll take your warning to heart.”
“That is all I ask. I needn’t remind you that we are at a critical juncture, and I wouldn’t want an incident to taint your future proclamation to join Equestria.”
“Nor would I.”
“I thought as much. Now, I’d prefer to move on to a lighter topic. I’d like to join your little venture into the caverns tomorrow; not only as a friend, but as a show of cooperation to the public.”
Twilight beamed a fang filled smile. “We haven’t had a chance to spend time together in too long. I think it’ll be fun and relaxing.”
“Glad to hear it, I’ll see you then.” Without any further ado, Luna headed for the door before pausing. “Hopefully we won’t run into a second unliving queen.”
“Don’t jinx it,” Twilight tittered.
“Until then, Twilight, I will watch over your dreams,” Luna replied before spying the bat signal and departing into the night.