Twilight Sparkle stood behind a large pane of reinforced glass with Ratchet at her side. Since much of the Phoenix was being cannibalized for construction, that left large areas entirely cut out and empty. It was perfect for some of the more dangerous experiments Twilight’s engineering corps was known for.
The room beyond the glass used to be a mess hall on the starboard side of the forward hull with the three decks above it completely gutted for parts. Standing on the now unfurnished floor was a Clockwerk hitched up to a six pounder cannon that was mounted in a cart being held aloft by a glowing lavender propeller engine. The Clockwerk itself was a little larger than normal, roughly the size of a changeling princess, which were already a full head higher than most drones.
A whole team of engineers was being represented by two of their number; one was rechecking the artillery’s hovercart, while the second had just finished going over the Clockwerk itself. The engineer swatted at her partner before addressing Twilight. <Thank you for coming, my queen. I wanted to present you with my-> her partner lightly jabbed her in the leg. <Our contribution to your expeditionary force to the chaos lands. While airships provide excellent fire support to our infantry, they simply can’t be everywhere at once. Our forces in the chaos lands may very well find themselves in danger without the ability to call in for heavy support.> Both engineers swept a foreleg at their contraption. <To fix that, we give you the Hovarty! Field artillery worthy of the hive’s finest.>
Twilight looked to her prime consort, her spoken words were lost to the engineers. “Sounds useful. What do you think?”
“A hovercart for artillery? This should be good,” he replied sarcastically.
“You never know,” Twilight teased. <Go ahead, Second Engineer Gadget.>
With a nod, Gadget addressed the robot. “Clockwerk unit Theta, instructions, deploy weapon facing the exterior.”
“Affirmative.” The Clockwerk faced the bare-bones outer wall and spread its legs apart with spikes within its hooves anchoring it to the ground. The hovercart flew up to the machine’s back where the Clockwerk opened a large section of its armor to allow the cart to dock with it.
Ratchet whistled in approval while leaning over towards Twilight. “It won’t have any close quarters capability, but I think this is a worthy tradeoff.”
Gadget couldn't help but hover in excitement while beaming a huge smile as her partner stood proud. <Due to the weight of the artillery piece, it is impossible to have one permanently attached to a Clockwerk without making them the size of small shuttles if we want them to remain flightworthy.>
The second changeling picked up a large mallet and took a few good swings at each of the Clockwerk’s legs. None of them even budged. <As you can see, my queen, when anchored, the Clockwerk is practically immoveable, a perfect firing platform.>
<This apparatus can be applied for logistics as well to keep a ready supply of shot and powder on hoof for the gun crews,> her companion added with a hint of amusement from an inside joke.
<Very impressive,> Twilight beamed with pride. <Not only will this be useful for the expedition, but I can see several civil applications for this as well. Excellent work, all of you. You’ve no doubt saved the lives of many of your brothers and sisters with this.>
<Thank you, my queen,> the changelings replied with glee.
A few minutes later, Twilight was cantering through the hallways of the Phoenix to grab something from her quarters when Rainbow Dash contacted her with a worried tone. <Hey, Twi, you remember when you said I should be laying sometime soon?>
Twilight stopped in her tracks. <Yes.>
Rainbow couldn’t keep the strain out of her psychic voice. <And that I should watch out for abdominal cramps that last all day?>
<Hold on, sis, where are you?> Twilight pinged multiple drones to try and locate her sister, only to have Rainbow do it for her.
<I’m in my quarters trying to draw up a training schedule for the Queen’s Guard.>
I think it’s about to be Queens’ Guard soon. <I’m on my way.>
Twilight summoned the caretakers and bolted through the hallways until she felt she was close enough to her sister’s quarters to teleport straight there.
She found Rainbow Dash near her desk and arching her back with one sky blue egg already laying on the carpet. Twilight barely had time to react before a second egg joined the first. She rushed over to lay a supporting hoof on her sister. “You’re doing fine, Rainbow, just let it happen and keep pushing.”
“Like,” *grunt* I got much choice.” A few more seconds saw the third and finally the fourth egg enter the world.
Rainbow Dash didn’t feel as physically drained as she expected and stepped back from the clutch of blue eggs laying next to each other. Scattered papers from when it all started were lying around them, but nothing else mattered to either royal.
Twilight’s breast swelled with pride and joy at the quartet of future changelings, but Rainbow was paralyzed by them. The former pegasus tried to shore up her courage by feebly tapping her sister in the sides. “This is payback for the library all those years ago isn't it?”
A great sense of calm washed over Rainbow Dash who instinctively looked to her sister as the source. “Technically you did this to yourself. Besides, egg laying isn’t nearly as bad as you thought it’d be, now was it?”
Rainbow couldn’t stop squirming on her hooves, and the messy damp fur of her backside was not helping. “Okay Twi, I get that this is kinda normal for you, but those things just slid out of me! I knew I was an insect now, but I didn’t feel like one until… Gahhh.” She couldn’t stop fidgeting at the whole experience. “Oh frek, oh crap, I’m a mom! I’m a bug mom!” She messed up her mane by running her hooves back and forth over it. “What am I going to do Twilight!?”
The calming effect from Twilight wasn’t enough and Rainbow’s train of thoughts was going a million miles a second as she started to shaking uncontrollably. To anyone else, Twilight might just let them sort it out on their own, but due to Rainbow’s royal blood, she was starting to cause a buildup of psionic panic on the hive mind. Twilight bent down to eye level with Rainbow and shook her hard enough to get her attention. “Hey, hey! Snap out of it!”
Rainbow was starting to hyperventilate as the image of hundreds of thousands of sky blue eggs crowded her mind’s eye. “But- ah- Twilight! I’m not ready for this!”
“I know you’re not, Rainbow, I know.” The cyan changeling eyed her sister with a mixture of terror and confusion. Twilight adopted a soothing tone as she gently stroked her sister’s mane. “We used to be ponies, and we didn’t get the luxury of being a purebred royal changeling. Instead of decades, we both got less than a month before we became proto-queens.” Rainbow started to calm down a little, giving Twilight a chance to shift to compassionate understanding. “My first month as a proto-queen was terrifying, Rainbow, it really was. It gets better, a lot better, I promise it does. You just need to give yourself time to get used to what and who you are now.”
I’d rather face down a few hydras right about now. Rainbow gulped loudly and nodded slowly. “R-right.” She slowly turned to the four sky blue orbs. Just as Twilight before her, Rainbow saw them as a point of no return. Her imagination saw them hatch and four miniature Rainbow Dashes jumped out and ran over to her crying for her to love them.
She physically shook her head to scare the mental image away. “So I – ah – guess I have to be the one to feed them love, right?”
“You remember how I showed you?”
“…I do.” With Twilight giving morale support, Rainbow Dash slowly approached eggs. For every step she took forward she had to fight herself from taking two steps back. Get it together, RD! Twi said she’s going to help me through it, and she did all this stuff with Cadista all the way back in Stripped Gear. If she can do it, then so can you! Gritting her teeth and muscling past her fear, Rainbow stepped up to her eggs and bent her head down to point her horn at them.
Pulling upon her overflowing love reserves as if it was a ball of taffy, love wrapped in magenta mana poured from her horn towards the eggs.
Twilight watched on with an odd sense of fascination. It’s strange seeing somepony else feeding eggs. Mother showed me a few times in memory recordings, but we never got around to a live demonstration.
A few moments later, a grin spread across Twilight’s muzzle at the sight of the four glowing eggs as Rainbow severed the flow of love. She let her sister stare at them, no doubt burning the event into her memory. It did not take long before the rest of the world intruded on the moment, and Rainbow Dash was still messy after laying.
To that end, Twilight laid a hoof on her sister’s withers, snapping her attention away from the eggs. “Why don’t you get yourself cleaned up, RD. You don’t want that stuff staining your fur.”
“I don’t mind being dirty, but this isn’t what I usually have in mind...” The mention of it caused the new proto-queen to start squirming again, before nodding and running to the bathroom. <Thanks for helping, sis.>
Twilight glanced at the door and summoned the waiting caretakers. <That’s what family does. Oh, and take the rest of the week off. You’ll need some time to adjust to daily laying.>
Twilight received a shaky affirmative as she watched Gear Ratio and one other caretaker enter. “I bet you never expected to tend to a proto-queen’s first clutch, did you?”
“No I didn’t.” Gear was slow to take the eggs, and savored every second of it. To think, I get to be the one to care for a proto-queen’s first clutch, and with them belonging to Aunty as well. By the First Mother, I am not worthy of such an honor.
As her partner rolled in the egg cart, Gear Ratio took a soft wet cloth and cleaned the fluids off the shining blue orbs with a reverence that surpassed her usual methods. Every little spec of dirt, awry bit of thread from the carpet, and drop of fluid was meticulously cleaned with a special oiled fabric. While she did this with every clutch she processed for the incubators, this clutch was beyond special. Gear Ratio felt so honored that she wept tears of joy as each blue glowing orb was placed to engineered perfection on the cart and secured for transport.
Who can blame her, Twilight mused with a motherly grin. There’s something almost holy about the first clutch to a caretaker. She dipped her head towards Gear Ratio with the pair bowing in return before departing with a piece of changeling history that would not be repeated in her lifetime, or several should she be rebirthed.
Twilight found a clean cushion and sat down to wait for her sister to emerge. The air stank from the freshly laid eggs and the soiled carpet, but the changeling queen was used to it. As such she bore it without complaint.
She did not get much time for reflection before Gear Ratio pinged her mind. <Yes, Gear? Everything going well?>
<Yes, my queen. The eggs will be sequestered away shortly. But I wanted to beg for a favor.>
Twilight’s brow rose out of curiosity. <What do you want?>
Gear stuttered, trying to phrase her request perfectly. <W-well, I was hoping against hope that, if I’m ever marked for rebirth one day, that maybe today’s memories could be preserved for my future incarnation?>
<Hmm. We’ll see when the time comes. For now, you can transcribe your memory to a mana crystal for the archives.> It might be amusing to show it to Rainbow one day. Gear sent her thanks as Twilight nestled back down on her cushion to wait for her sister’s return.
A month later, Twilight Sparkle was lounging on a blanket atop the Phoenix. The hot summer day had just been preceded by a torrential downpour for the last three days, so the sweltering humidity reminded her of her jungle home. Aegis and Ferrum stood guard nearby more out of formality than any real threat this close to the heart of the hive. As a result, both drones were reading books procured from Everfree Castle.
Aegis glanced at her mother and tilted her head in amusement at the sight of her queen curled up around a large tome while resting on a blanket so she could bask in the sun’s warmth more than anything else. In the skies above, Rainbow Dash was Twilight’s polar opposite and was racing in between the clouds with wild abandon.
Aunty always was one for crazy stunts. I hope she doesn’t end up damaging her eggs by doing – The cyan proto-queen preformed hair raising acrobatics unbefitting a queen. Not that Aegis could ever talk her out of it, and Twilight was more than happy to let her sister have her fun.
Despite all outward appearances, Twilight was far busier than simply reading a book. To Aegis, she was only aware of her mother’s patented ‘Motivation Meditation’ pushing her to want to do something constructive, but within the safe inner confines of the hive, there was little for the Captain of the Queens’ Guard to do except study old magic tomes and watch Rainbow Dash try to kill herself with manic stunts.
Aegis started sweating out of fear the longer Rainbow Dash continued, with each stunt more dangerous than the last.
“Um, momma, shouldn’t we stop Aunty before she hurts herself, or the eggs she’s producing?”
Twilight looked up to see her sister was actually struggling to do stunts she used to do with ease. “You know she won’t listen,” Twilight frowned at her sister coming to a halt to stabilize so she could zip off again.
“I ahh,” Aegis shifted on her hooves and looked to her brother, but all he contributed was a ‘you brought it up, you stop her’ look. “I – I don’t presume to tell you what to do, my queen, or Aunty for that matter. But I don’t think she’s had enough time on those wings to be doing that sort of activity.”
“I know,” Twilight sighed with mild irritation at her sister. “Believe me, I tried. But RD isn’t going to give up being a stunt flier.”
Aegis ducked as the proto-queen flew overhead so close to the deck that the tips of Rainbow’s hooves brushed Aegis’ horn. Even Ferrum couldn’t ignore it any longer and walked over to Aegis’ side. “Permission to follow Proto-Queen Rainbow so we can at least save her from a crash?”
Twilight tried to track her sister through the cloud layer, but it was too dense to keep sight of her for long. “Go,” she commanded curtly, worry threading in-between her voice of command. “Don’t try to stop her, but grab her if she’s about to crash, if and only if it happens.”
“Aye, my queen” Ferrum replied with a crisp bow. Both drones took to the air as Twilight summoned two more of the Queen’s Guard to stay by her side.
As it turned out, Aegis and Ferrum didn’t have to go far as Rainbow gripped a cargo shuttle’s cockpit to do a quick turnaround. Unfortunately the pilot freaked at the sudden appearance of a prismatic blur across his windshield and pulled the nose up just enough to throw off Rainbow’s aim.
Instead of flying a meter off the Phoenix’s deck, she spun out and careened towards the bulkhead. “Whhaaaa!” The steel plate, the sky, and the ground kept spinning in circles as Rainbow tried to correct herself, but the ship was too close. She tried covering her face in a vain hope to protect herself.
An overbearing force gripped her, and Rainbow came to a sudden stop in midair. She cracked an eye open to find the bulkhead was scant inches from her face and the whole of her vision had a lavender-orange filter superimposed over it.
Now that the danger had passed, Rainbow discovered her sister and both guards had caught her in their magic. Ferrum and Aegis let their magic fade, allowing Twilight to deposit Rainbow in front of her blanket. Rainbow Dash shot her sister a smug grin and lightly kicked a loose screw off the deck. “Thanks for the save Twi, that was a bit too close.”
The lavender changeling tapped her left front hoof in agitation and her scowl only mirrored her mood. Her gut reaction was to nag her sister about her duties as queen, but she checked herself. RD won’t listen to that sort of thing. Maybe I need a different approach. Her expression softened with a sigh. “I’m just glad you’re not hurt, Rainbow.”
Whew, that’s a lecture dodged, Rainbow cantered over and wrapped a leg around her sister. “As long as I have Lings like you watching my back, what’s to worry?”
“Perhaps.” Twilight gently separated from the hug and nestled back down on her blanket. On the way down, she saw Rainbow’s wings quiver from overexertion. She’s really pushing herself, and I don’t want to sour that drive. “But I’m beginning to think you need to reevaluate your priorities.”
So much for missing the lecture. Rainbow rolled her eyes in preparation. “I crashed all the time as a pegasus. I can’t improve if I don’t push these wings to their limit.”
Twilight made a show of humming in contemplation. “Maybe they are at their limit. Those wings simply aren’t built for the kind of acrobatics you’re used to.”
“Shows what you know,” Rainbow replied tersely. “I fly ten times, no twenty times better than any other changeling to date. And it’s not like I have much choice with these things. I’ve tried disguising myself with pegasus wings, but it's just a stupid illusion!”
“You misunderstand me, sister. What I mean is; why don’t you improve your wings through alchemy?”
That cut Rainbow’s rising vexation to a dead stop. “I can do that?”
Twilight shot her sister a smug grin of her own while flipping her purple bangs still bearing the orange and bright vanilla stripes. She flicked her tail forward to show that the vanilla stripe was present there as well. “It was a minor alteration, but this is my hair’s permanent color now. Haven’t you noticed my youngest nymphs share the new hair colors as well?”
“I thought you just kept dyeing it.” Rainbow thought about it for a moment before her eyes dilated. “Are you saying I can alter my wings without having to be reborn?!”
“You’re a queen, Rainbow, well proto-queen. It’s one of the perks of our royal blood.”
“That…” Rainbow sat on her rump, her mind going in a million different directions. “I could really design my own wings?”
“Think about the possibilities, sister.” Twilight pointed at the hundreds of drones going to and fro. If you design wings superior to what we already have, which I have every confidence that you can,” she added with a warm smile. “Every one of our children, would proudly wear your new superior wings, myself included.”
A toothy grin crossed Rainbow’s features as the idea resonated with her queenly instincts that were taking firm root in her mind. The prospect of improved wings was impossible to resist, and served to cement those instincts into Rainbow’s psyche. “That would be a huge improvement to the hive.”
“And we queens…” Twilight trailed off with a knowing smile.
“Live to improve our race in any way possible,” Rainbow finished automatically, as if it were common knowledge. A troubled thought halted her bubbling excitement. Damn queen bug hormones! Her grin vanished. Just how much of it is me wanting to help the hive, and this stupid body of mine changing what I want?
Rainbow Dash debated with herself for a few minutes. The others around her passed it off as brainstorming and let her be; simply glad she wasn’t risking her life for the moment. Queen brain juice or not, better wings make better fliers, and I’m not settling for mediocre, she grumbled as she turned to inspect her featherless wings. I’ll have to figure out how to keep the prism effect though. If I have to rock bug wings for the rest of my life, they’d better be radical enough to be worthy of growing out of my back.
Twilight had been reluctant to push any alchemy instruction on Rainbow Dash for fear she would get bored and neglect it. The sour frown that was slowly shifting into a manic grin on her sister’s face alleviated her concerns. All she needed is the right incentive.
Rainbow ignored her burning wing muscles and started hovering in circles around Twilight. “How soon can we get started!? It’s gotta be right now, I need better wings!”
“This sort of things takes time, Rainbow,” Twilight warned. “Have you laid today’s clutch yet?”
“No, but.” Being the athlete she was, Rainbow was very good at understanding the nebulous signals her body told her, and having to lay eggs every day for the past month had given her plenty of practice. “It should be coming any minute now. I’ll head down to the hatchery and come back.”
Twilight squealed with bookish delight. “Sounds great, we’ll make a day of it!”
“Alright, see ya soon!” At least the prize is worth suffering another one of her boring lectures. With that, Rainbow darted off with a spring in her wings.
Ferrum walked over with a dumbfounded expression written all over him. “Did you just get Aunty to study magic with you willingly?”
“It’s all about finding the right angle, my son,” Twilight answered with an amused smile. “Everypony works differently. Now, could you please fetch my alchemical notes in drawers A and F?”
“I’ll do it,” Aegis volunteered before finding a hatch and diving into the ship.
Twilight nodded to Ferrum for him to resume sentry duty as she started creating a mental teaching plan that would work for her sister. Mother may have had her doubts about Rainbow, but I think sis will make a fine queen one day.
Twilight Sparkle laid on her back on a sun baked grassy hill. Although the cloudless sky above was perfect for flying, there was little point in the Linkscape. Her mother, Cadista was at her side, giving Twilight someone to nuzzle. Even if it wasn’t real, Twilight could feel her mother’s warm fur across her cheek, and the pride that emanated from her.
“I must say, my daughter, your hive’s steady growth is most impressive. Thanks to having no worries about hostility from Equestria and the sheer size of the forest, you’ll outpace Stripped Gear in a decade or so.”
Twilight hummed in thought. “I doubt it would be that quick. We still have a long way to go before that happens.”
“True. How fares your sister? She should be a full queen by now, correct?”
“Physically, anyway. She laid her last clutch as a proto-queen few days ago as a matter of fact. Although, RD seems… reluctant to lay willingly.”
Cadista shifted in place so Twilight could lean against her a little easier. She paused for a minute to enjoy her daughter’s presence. Although love could not be given over the hive mind, Cadista was more than happy to just be there for her. “Do you know why?”
“I think she’s terrified.” Twilight’s tone was more out of resignation than anything else. “Rainbow was always a free spirit. Sure she was willing to put a lot of it aside for the Wonderbolts, but a queen is wholly dedicated to the welfare of the hive.”
“She sees that dedication in you, and fears becoming it?” Cadista let off a sad sigh as her daughter gave a confused shrug. “It is as I feared. With her memories and personality still intact from being a pony, it might take a long time for her to come to terms, if she ever does.”
“Rainbow will cheer up eventually,” Twilight attested definitively. She stood up to stretch, momentarily forgetting she was not physically there. “She’s like a puzzlebox that way. I just need to find out the right things to say and at the right times to help her along.”
Cadista hummed approvingly, and summoned several orchard trees to sample some fictitious fruit from them. “Perhaps you’re right. I get the feeling you’ve been trying to hammer in the duties that come with queenhood, tactfully I’m sure,” Cadista added with a smirk at Twilight’s inward frown. “I think it’s high time Rainbow Dash gets to enjoy some of the the greater perks of queenhood. And I can think of no better perk, that isn’t directly tied to our biology, than an airship to call her own.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea! RD loves airships… Wait.” Twilight’s smile vanished and she pulled back to look at her mother. She made several quick inquires with her brothers and sisters back in Stripped Gear. “You haven’t built any more ships since the Phoenix. You’re not taking a ship off your defensive line are you?”
“I have a vessel in the design stages,” Cadista retorted evenly. “But some of the queens are getting impatient with you. They have begun scrutinizing you more closely now that your hive is taking root.”
“I’ll double the sentries then, but what about you? You need every warship you have to keep the other queens from invading.”
“And you need a ship to survive the Chaos Lands, with the Phoenix grounded and the Golden Harvest is by no means capable of the task at hoof.”
Twilight scowled at the elder queen. “And what of the other hives? You think they won’t pounce on you the moment they see an opening? I – I already lost one mother, I couldn’t stand to lose you too.” Cadista’s reply was cut short by Twilight hugging her tightly. “Especially to some opportunistic queens.”
“I could say the same thing about losing you to some random chaos spawn, Twilight.” She pulled head daughter in close for a long embrace. Twilight held on tight as if her life depended on it. “Both you and you sister mean more to me than life itself and I will not let anything jeopardize either of you.”
She stroked her daughter’s mane with a gentle loving touch. “If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll have the Hive Guard tripled. With the overwhelming number of love crystals you’re sending me, I can afford to nearly double my population.”
A ghost of a smile traced Twilight’s lips as the weight on her heart lifted. “I’m glad I’m finally able to give you something back in return for all you’ve given me. A new life, guidance, three ships, and a chance to experience the utter bliss of queenhood.”
Cadista let off a warmhearted chuckle. “I feared that as a former Equestrian, you might end up hating what you’ve become.”
“The amnesia helped,” Twilight replied wistfully as she rolled back over onto the grass. She altered the Linkscape to mimic the heat and humidity of the jungle. The change in climate was just right for her changeling physiology to feel relaxed in. “I rebuilt myself as a changeling from the ground up. Looking back on it, even as I reclaimed my memories and identity as an Equestrian…” She turned to face her supportive mother. “I never stopped thinking of myself as changeling where it mattered,” Twilight said while patting her heart. “I guess what you told RD is true. Once you’re a changeling, you are one for life.”
“Has your sister come to terms with that? She did not get the same rebuilt foundation that you had.” Concern more than curiosity colored Cadista’s tone.
“…in a manner of speaking,” Twilight said at length. “Once RD saw her first eggs hatch and heard their voices on the hive mind—” She paused at the memory. The profound wonder and joy that Rainbow Dash experienced from that moment touched Twilight deeply. She couldn’t help but to smile at how it echoed her own memory when Aegis hatched in front of her. “But I think it also scared her though.”
Cadista furrowed her brow and hummed curiously. “In what way?”
“She’s scared of becoming like me,” Twilight replied sourly. “I like laying eggs. Bah, who am I kidding, I love laying eggs. Each one is a future child, and each egg that hatches is one more drone that adds their voice to the hive mind.” Twilight sighed contently as she immersed herself in the Link. The din of the hive mind was like a song to her. Each drone added to the choir that brought blissful joy to her heart. As she laid there, three eggs hatched, and the additional voices on the Link only added to the sonnet tugging at Twilight’s heart.
To Cadista, Twilight’s form was starting to fade away as she lost herself in the hive mind. She scoffed before prodding her daughter, snapping her back to the present. “Am I to assume your sister doesn’t want to lay eggs?”
Twilight blushed sheepishly as she sat up straight, and rubbed the back of her neck out of embarrassment. “That’s just it. She does want to lay eggs, but she’s terrified that her body is reshaping her mind into someone other than Rainbow Dash.”
“Change is inevitable for all things, and for us it is a part of our very nature,” Cadista preached, not that it was necessary to her solitary audience. “You might do well to remind her that ponies change quite frequently as well, even if they never notice it.” Cadista allowed a weak smile to shine through. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much though. Your sister is a very strong individual, but does not have the benefit of a true rebirth to allow her mind to have a changeling foundation. It may take months or even decades, but I have full confidence that you can help her acclimate to her new place in life. She might even surprise us and find her center much earlier. For now though, I must bid you farewell. The Deception should be entering Everfree’s airspace any minute now.”
Twilight’s worries over her sister came to a screeching halt and she jumped to her hooves. “Y-you sent your flagship?! I can’t accept that!”
“Too bad it’s not your gift to deny,” Cadista replied with a superior smirk. “It’s your sister’s ship now, and if I’m reading her correctly…” An amused smile crossed her features. “She’s practically drooling over it right now… No, she’s actually drooling on it.” She physically shook her head to clear the mental image out of her brain. “I even had it renovated slightly to have twin queen quarters.”
Twilight’s copyrighted Fanged Pout of Seething Irritation had no effect on the elder queen. “Does she know what giving this ship to us means for your hive’s defense?”
“You worry too much, my daughter,” Cadista chided lightly. “Stripped Gear does not stand alone, nor is the Deception my only warship. I have several allies and agreements with other queens, and strong ties with Equestria as well. Not to mention I have spies everywhere. You should be more concerned with your own defense. Nearly all royals end up dead before their hundredth year.” Twilight’s pout slipped as her mother continued unabated. “Furthermore, you’re going into a region that hasn’t been charted in recorded history. I won’t have you going there on hoof.”
“Just promise me you’ll be careful.” Twilight nuzzled her mother’s neck, and relished in her touch. She didn’t care if it was only in the Linkscape, it was real enough for her.
“Anything for you, my majestic daughter.” The pair remained with each other in silent reverie. Twilight couldn’t remember the last time she had physically been in Cadista’s presence, let alone her embrace. Thankfully, the Linkscape allowed them a few precious moments to bond.
Alas, the duties of a queen were never at an end, and the two eventually separated with the serene Linkscape collapsing behind them.
The Deception was a small vessel compared to the Phoenix, barely reaching a third of the colony ship’s length. Yet that was perfectly fine for Rainbow Dash as it had more than enough firepower for its size. It’s sleek dagger shaped design only added to its appeal, while the aura of technological prowess it exuded sang to the technophile within her. Of all the mental changes her royal changeling blood had inflicted upon her, Rainbow’s adoration of machines was the one she embraced wholeheartedly.
Rainbow Dash’s training regiment for Twilight’s drones lasted for several weeks before she felt they were ready to fully replace Cadista’s crew who were sent home with fond farewells.
Loud thumping music played over the loudspeakers as Rainbow Dash personally drilled the gun crews in firing at distant targets: both balloons in the sky, and drawn targets on the ground. <Come on mares! You think a swarm of Frothing Bats is going to retreat from a near miss?! Next salvo, on the double!>
The warship fired a deafening broadside that rocked the vessel on its side before its engines could compensate. Well over half of the ten remaining balloons were hit and all but one of the nine ground targets were struck by harmless smoke canisters.
<Now that’s improvement I want to see.> Rainbow announced as she scanned the fields with her binoculars on the bridge. Several cheers rain out from the gunners who hit the mark. <But it’s not good enough!> Rainbow quickly shouted with steel. <I want two more volleys before we hit the mess hall.>
<Yes, Our Queen!> the drones called back before going to work reloading the cannons.
Rainbow Dash watched the clock hanging above the wheelhouse and waited for each crew to signal their readiness to fire.
Captain Veselov’s ears were pinned back at the gut pounding music that grated his nerves. <My Queen, is it really necessary to play this Canterlot… ‘music’ on my - your ship? It must be hampering crew response and accuracy.>
Some of the crews were starting to report in, and Rainbow used her burgeoning ability for high level multitasking to speak to him. <That’s the point, Captain. If these guys can’t handle a little bass drop or two during drills, how are they going to function when Eagle Ants are swarming the ship and trying to bite their way through the hull? This is foal’s play.>
Even with the training and knowledge granted to him by Cadista’s naval drones, Veselov was hardly experienced compared to Rainbow Dash. <Some of your Wonderbolt training methods, I presume?>
She shot him a smug grin and nodded before refocusing on the gun crews. <Alright, secondary teams, pony those guns! Those who score highest will get to crew the main cannons on day shift.> She faced the gramophone and switched it off with a burst of magenta magic before addressing expectant captain. “I guess letting the music play all the time would negate its effect after a while. At any rate, we’re about as ready as we’re going to be. If my sister’s done with the logistics then we’re good to go.”
“Speaking of which…” Veselov looked towards the stern to find Twilight Sparkle hovering above the warship’s surface deck as the last shuttle degorged its cargo. The drones around their queen rushed about to lower the supplies into the cargo hold via elevator.
Twilight held a series of scrolls and clipboards in her magic as she checked, double checked, and checked again, the supplies she had available. <Steel Crate, what’s our status?>
The drone in question tapped his hoof on the perfectly stowed away cargo as more came in. <This should be the last shipment we need to get underway, assuming Aunty doesn’t burn our ammunition all day.>
Twilight ignored the comment to look towards the bridge. <RD, are we on track?>
The more militant queen pinged her various crews before smirking in satisfaction. <So long as the secondary gun crews test well enough, we can leave by day’s end.>
<Perfect!> Twilight buzzed in the air cheerfully. <I know we’re going into a dangerous place, but I’m really looking forward to seeing our ancestral homeland.>
Rainbow flopped into one of the two queen’s chairs on the bridge, which were larger and sat behind Veselov’s captain’s chair. <I guess. Makes me wonder how long dead Theserials built a kingdom smack in the middle of Discord Central.>
<We just might find out when we get there. As for Discord, Fluttershy says he didn’t do it.> Twilight left the work crews do their jobs and flew off to join her sister on the bridge.
<Suuuure he didn’t.> Rainbow found three pale green tennis balls nearby and wrapped them in her magic. She started her personal training by orbiting them around her head. <Can’t Celestia just tell him to fix the damage he did so we can just mosey on over and grab the old junk we need?>
A sudden spike in outside noise heralded Twilight’s arrival through an opened window. “Discord claims he’s innocent, and the princesses are loath to force the issue, lest he revert to his old ways.”
Rainbow’s reply was interrupted by Twilight nuzzling her sister. Rainbow rolled her eyes, but didn’t pull away from her sister’s affections. Desiring to return the gift of love to her sister, she gave Twilight a quick but heartfelt hug. “Just as well,” she said as Twilight moved to her chair. “Discord’d probably just make things worse for us if he bothered lifting a claw.”
Twilight nodded her agreement right as Ratchet pinged her mind from the engine room. <All boilers are burning hot and the engines are purring like kittens. We’re ready to go on your order, Twily.>
Twilight relayed the message to her sister. Rainbow shrugged before pinging her gun crews. <The final drill is canceled. We shove off for Fort Saddlebelt within the hour. And from there,> She adopted and overly dramatic tone that would make Rarity proud, <the Chaos Lands.>