Luna pursed her lips again. “My apologies.”
“It's okay,” Twilight assured her.
“It's cute,” Celestia teased as she poked her sister, who shied away from her and rolled her eyes.
They were gathered in a three-point circle beside Celestia's bed. The door was shut and a magic seal had been put over once more to keep their privacy. There was a balcony to the room but the door was shut and the open curtains revealed them to nopony due to the angle and the encirclement of the castle's design. The day was still bright, with sunbeams casting into the room to warm it.
“Are you certain you don't want the others here?” Celestia asked for affirmation from the smallest of them.
Twilight nodded, breathing in and out deliberately to keep herself from throwing a fit over the never-ending troubles she seemed to be caught in. “I've already spoken to all of them about it except for Applejack. I plan to talk to her too. This is nothing they don't already know.”
Celestia understood but looked sadly at the spot in between them, as if there should be something there that currently wasn't. Perhaps a small table of tea or perhaps one with a stack of books that Twilight was trying to get through for the day. It reminded her of the time when Twilight was just a filly and she was teaching her all sorts of things every day. She tried not getting caught up in the memories since they would detract from the present.
“This is about Chrysalis,” Twilight proceeded. “I think Luna just happened across what I was preparing to tell you about. It has to do with changeling hiveminds.”
“I suspected there may be some issue with that,” Celestia voiced her thoughts. “But her rescue was your initiative and I trusted you would do what was necessary to handle it. You certainly never failed any task I gave you.”
Twilight blushed at the praise. “W-well, I hope I've done a good enough job. You see, when a changeling is exiled, they lose access to their hivemind. Chrysalis told me it was like having a void.”
Luna said nothing and seemed to still be cross.
“Chrysalis isn't the first to be exiled,” Celestia extrapolated from her past. “It's never a good thing.”
Seeing Twilight's curiosity rise again, the elder mare indicated it wasn't a subject to breach at the moment.
“Well,” Twilight continued, “Chrysalis can make things with her changeling magic. I don't know if it was because she was a queen or not but she managed to get something to work. For creating a hivemind,” she added when she realized she had lost a bit of the topic's obviousness. “I have my own hivemind now.”
Luna widened her eyes. “You mean that hivemind was...?”
Celestia was far more relaxed, however. “Interesting,” she put it simply. “I hadn't thought of that before. It sounds experimental, though.”
Twilight frowned, realizing she was disappointed that it was true. “Yeah,” she admitted. “It hasn't been everything a changeling hivemind would be and sometimes I can't help but think it's kind of...broken. I wasn't even aware Luna had attempted accessing it.”
“But all is going well?” Celestia inquired as if she were a mother asking her child about a school report.
Twilight scooted over on her cushion so a particular beam of sunlight would stop baking her right flank. “As much as could be expected. Actually, there are a few problems and Luna's convinced me I have to do something about it.”
“I would certainly like to know what happened,” the white alicorn looked over to her younger sister. She didn't feel well with how her sibling was acting. She was supposed to have had an enjoyable little dream venture.
“Chrysalis was beyond rude,” Luna made a sour face.
Twilight took another deep breath to keep herself collected. “I understand she can be that way. Believe me, I know. But I'm sure she meant well. Since I saved her, she's never done anything that she didn't believe was in my best interests.”
“What was the problem?” Celestia interjected for clarification.
Before Luna could detail anything, Twilight answered. “Spike. And herself, I think. She's been hiding something from me. You mentioned Spike, right?”
Seeing Twilight turn to her, Luna nodded. “He was there. I broke down the cloaking magic and found him and the changeling. They both had form but Spike did not seem to be conscious.”
“Hmm,” Twilight hummed and then voiced an unexpected query. “Why were you trying to get into Spike's dreams?”
“We were just trying to help,” Luna said and then noticed the grinning looks she got in return. “My sister and I,” she added to prove she wasn't using the “Royal We” again.
“Indeed,” Celestia agreed and kept her grin as she explained to Twilight. “We thought it would be a good idea to help Spike learn more of his magic and control it accordingly. I'd still like to do that if we could work something out.”
“Of course!” the small pony queen wound up saying far louder than she intended. “Sorry,” she blushed. “It's just that I've been wanting to help Spike for so long. He's always been so loyal and helpful to me that I've felt bad all I could ever get him to learn was his magic breath. You could help him do more?”
Luna lightened up a little with that. “Magic dragons may lack wings but they are the strongest of all dragons. In fact, you might say they lack wings because they don't need them once they master their teleportation magic.”
Twilight beamed with hope for her little assistant.
Celestia savored the look on her former student's face. It warmed her more than her own sun to see the grown-up filly so excited again and for someone else other than herself. She was proud of what Twilight had become. “Spike's kind have always struggled with their aging magic, though.”
Seeing Twilight's mood lower was enough to make Luna cut in. “She means their concept of it. They are the only dragons that can change their physical age consciously. It lead them to have very unusual customs regarding it.”
“You mean like the time Spike's greed changed him?” the queen tapped her chin.
“Yes,” Celestia confirmed. “I'm sure you must have arrived at the obvious conclusion. Or, at least the one that would be obvious to such a studious young mare,” she winked with the compliment.
Twilight's cheeks burned with all the praise Celestia was giving her. She hadn't thought she had done anything so terrific as to merit it but it made her heart kindle all the same. She still craved Celestia's approval more than anypony else's.
“So it's true then?” the Element of Magic knew it must be true even before she voiced it as a question. “Spike could theoretically control his greed and thus control his form?”
“Not theoretical,” Luna corrected. “It's fact. Magic dragons are less instinctual and more self-aware than others of their kind. They can define their greed however they choose, limit it, and wield their magic as intentionally as any grown unicorn.”
Celestia held up a forehoof before Twilight could open her mouth again. The golden horseshoe on the end of it glimmered in a passing beam of sunlight. “Before you wonder about it, Twilight, you need to know that magic dragons do not have the same kind of magic as unicorns. Some things may indeed be similar, such as teleportation and levitation. But they cannot wield all the same abilities. Neither can we wield all of theirs. Spike will still have to discover these things on his own. We simply wanted to provide an opportunity for him to do that by giving him something he can safely redefine his greed with.”
Twilight turned halfway between contemplative and concerned. “It sounds risky. What would work?”
“The risk is acceptable,” Luna assured. “I have seen Spike's dreams many moons ago, after my return and before this hivemind of yours. The aging incident that happened in Ponyville was unfortunate but it has made him stronger. His willpower has grown far beyond his current body size.”
Twilight brought up her tail along her side as she sat in reflection. “He's certainly done some crazy stunts for me and the girls...”
“And that is how he must redefine his greed,” Celestia revealed. “For all of you. You, Twilight, in particular. I'm sure you know what it means when a dragon hatches from an egg and beholds the hatcher.”
Twilight looked down to her two forehooves she shifted back together in front of her on the cushion. A smile of a different sort etched upon her countenance. It was a gentle one she had never used on any but Spike when he was still a hatchling and sometimes when he was good. “Imprinting,” she said modestly.
“You are his mother, whether he actually admits so or not,” Celestia said. “That fact will always burn in his heart...and yours too, I think...”
Twilight looked up to see her former mentor. “Don't make me tear up,” she warned the larger white mare. “I'm...sensitive about it, okay?”
Luna grinned playfully. “Sensitive about being a mother? I think it's quite admirable to see the instincts of one in a mare who's only become one so indirectly. But you are not the only one we thought to help Spike focus on.”
“Oh?” Twilight tilted her head.
“Your friend Rarity,” Celestia supplied.
That made the young queen tighten her expression. “But isn't that cruel? She's just his crush. It'd be toying with his feelings.”
“If,” Luna tutted, confident in her dream-centered expertise, “those feelings were only temporary or one-sided. Neither of which his and hers are.”
A pale ghost of a look started creeping across Twilight. “Wait. What are you saying?”
“I believe my sister's indiscretion,” Celestia spoke quickly and regrettably, “has to do with recent events. You do have Spike within this hivemind of yours, correct?”
“Yes,” Twilight came back with an inflection that weighed with a heavy catch. “But I've never seen him – his representation or whatever. I mean, I've never really connected to him. I think it's something Chrysalis has been keeping from me.”
“Hm,” Luna reflected on how her revelation about his feelings might now seem very inappropriate. There was no taking it back, though. “What about Rarity?”
“She's thinking about it,” Twilight answered. “I don't think she's too keen on the privacy concerns. She's the first one that's actually been put in a position to think about joining or not. The others were all...let's just say 'special' circumstances.”
“I'm sorry,” Luna apologized. “I didn't mean to violate her privacy or Spike's. I jumped to the conclusion that you already knew.”
“No, no,” the lavender alicorn dismissed it. “It's no secret how Spike feels about Rarity. Everypony can tell. And, to be honest, I kind of suspected Rarity was holding something back too. She's dropped too many hints not to be at least a little suspicious. You're sure you can help Spike control his greed?”
Celestia held her head high as she looked to her little sister.
“I have thousands of years of dreamwalking practice,” Luna held her head just as high, though inevitably lower on positional distance due to her smaller frame. "I know what is and is not possible."
Twilight thought a bit longer and finally consented. “It's not as if I'd wished you talked to me about it before. I know the both of you are far more capable than I am. But I'm glad we talked about this anyway.”
“I imagine,” Celestia began to joke to lighten the mood, “you won't want to talk about anything at all for a long while after you get back to Ponyville. You've certainly done plenty of it with us.”
Twilight and Luna both laughed, though Twilight's was more of a giggle.
“What's that?” Celestia finally pointed gingerly to the book at the small mare's side.
“I thought you'd find it interesting,” Twilight felt a little embarrassed about it now. “It's The Alicorn Theory. It has all sorts of speculation in it about alicorns, what they can do, and where they came from. Just brought it with me on a whim because I thought you'd find it interesting.”
“Oh really?” Celestia stiffed a giggle. She loved hearing all of the fascinating if sometimes crazy things her subjects invented about her and her sister. With a bit of levitation magic, it hovered over to her in a light yellow glow. Some pages were flipped.
“It even has one theory that suggests you and Luna are from another planet,” Twilight mentioned slyly.
Luna's right eye twitched. Twilight noticed.
“It's...not true, right?” the smaller alicorn asked a little unsure.
Celestia made a clicking but polite “tut” with her tongue. “Star Swirl once told me something I've found to be quite true. He said it doesn't matter where you come from or even where you're going. What matters is what you are doing in the present.”
“Huh,” Twilight pipped as she contemplated all possible meanings.
“Wasn't that after he discovered that time traveling spell?” Luna stretched out her limbs where she laid as she asked her sister.
Celestia put her forehoof to a place on the open book she was reading. “Yes, I believe it was. He mentioned it again after he went back in time to tell himself and I that...which makes it only one time, I suppose. I was never good with figuring out time magic.”
“It's best left alone,” Luna rolled her eyes.
Twilight couldn't stop her own energetic nod. She wouldn't go near those kind of spells for the rest of her life. Not after the last incident. Wanting some closure, she began to stand up.
“Well, I trust your judgment with Spike,” she announced in conclusion of their discussions. “You did save his egg in the first place.”
Celestia and Luna both stood as well.
“Thank you for confiding in us about everything, Twilight,” the older sister said. “It means a lot to me that you still trust my sister and I.”
The queen gave her response in the form of a courteous smile. She didn't know quite what to say to that.
Luna's horn started to glow and another book hovered over to them, this one from beside Celestia's bed. It was small, black, and emblazoned on the front only with three dark rubies. “I write details on my most important walks as well as ones I must plan extensively ahead of time. This is the diary I keep for Spike's dreams. I'm sure you understand why I would make one especially for him.”
Twilight nodded, received the small book, and did not open it.
“Since I cannot walk his realm myself right now, you will have to implement our plan personally within this hivemind of yours. Do not worry, Twilight. I said that I had thousands of years of practice and I would not give this to you if I did not think you were capable.”
“I've never done anything like this, though...” Twilight bit her bottom lip.
Luna grinned. “I was in that hivemind for a moment. If you've been in there before then you have dreamwalked. It's not so different from what I saw you doing...before I was cut off, that is.”
Twilight looked back to the small book. The black canvas on the outside was foreboding but she knew that the contents would likely fail to live up to the mood if they contained notes on Spike's dreams.
“I support Luna in this,” Celestia added in. “Considering the nature of hiveminds, it would be a far better idea if you were the one to do this. Not to mention it would be a valuable thing to learn, wouldn't it?”
Twilight brightened up at that suggestion. Her former mentor still knew how to word things to Twilight's interests.
“Before you leave,” Luna spoke up again before Twilight could begin turning to the door, “perhaps you might do my sister and I a favor?”
It seemed such an odd thing, especially from Luna. Celestia had a new and very sudden uneasiness about her, trusting her sibling not to say more than was necessary at this point. They both knew Twilight was overwhelmed as it was with what she had in her hooves. She didn't need full knowledge of their impending absence to worry her.
“Of course...” Twilight trailed on, more than willing to help the princesses but clueless as to what they could possibly need her help with.
Luna put the mystery to rest. “We have many duties to fulfill as acting sovereigns of Equestria. Sometimes it's all a bit more paperwork than we can handle.”
Celestia glanced back to her desk and sighed. Twilight offered her sympathy.
“We would wonder if you might be willing to help us with the simpler things, such as signatures for court rulings. All you would need to do is review the case summaries and stamp a signature. It's easy, but the volume keeps us rather busy.”
“Um,” Twilight made some fast calculations in her mind. It was a big responsibility to sign cases from the Royal Court. On the other hoof, Luna seemed to indicate it might only appear to be more than it really was. Celestia too. “Sure, I can help.”
“We won't give you a stack – just a few to get started,” Celestia assured her as she stepped over to her desk and used her magic to sort some out that would be simple enough for Twilight to begin on without posing much stress. “I'll have them sent to your home in Ponyville and the Court staff will send one or two every now and then after a few days. I don't want it to be a burden on you...”
“It won't be,” Twilight assured the elder princess in turn.
Luna placed one of her forehooves on the lavender pony's shoulder. “Thank you, Twilight,” she appreciated. “It really is a big favor.”
“I'm just glad I can help with something that takes my new title into account,” Twilight thought aloud and kept herself from thinking of “queen” over “princess.” That was an entirely separate list of responsibilities. Twilight knew because she was very good with lists.
Celestia came up to her too. “Can I keep this book for a while? I'd like to read it for enjoyment,” she remarked with a rare lapse on hiding her enthusiasm.
“Of course,” Twilight brightened at the idea of her former mentor looking forward to reading a book simply for enjoyment. It had been all those years back when Twilight was still just a filly since she saw or heard Celestia do such a thing. As sensible as it was for the tall mare to be busy with professionally-minded reading, that same sensibility was also dull and in need of a joyful offset. “Keep it as long as you like.”
“I suppose you will have to arrange something before I may visit the dreamscape of anyone within your hivemind?” Luna inquired as Twilight started for the door.
The queen compiled her mental checklist. “Yes,” she confirmed. “I'll have Spike express you a letter when I sort it out, so you'll know when it's possible.”
“Letter?” Celestia cut in as they stopped in front of the door. “Why not just tell us?”
Twilight paused, brought a forehoof to her head, and closed her eyes. It was a healthy moment before she opened them again and breathed deeply. “Somepony will probably rope me into going somewhere with them this evening and I don't want to spend too much time here since I'm certain the girls have things they'll need to get back to in Ponyville. And, honestly, I'm a little worried about Fluttershy. She was one of the first I connected with and I know with a ninety-eight point thirty-seven percent probability that she's worried to tears about what's going on here.”
“That specific?” Celestia joked and nudged Twilight playfully. “Alright, my little princess. Just be sure to tell us where you go if you leave the castle. I...have to keep records for royal visits.”
Luna gave her sister a secret look of mischievousness that Twilight finally failed to perceive. “I look forward to the letter.”
Such were the last words exchanged before Twilight was making her way back to her own chambers further down the castle wing and on the ground level.
“What now then?” Luna asked as she jumped onto her sister's bed, all past mannerism thrown to the wind. She relaxed far less than her sibling did around Twilight due to her reduced familiarity with the mare.
“Now,” Celestia smirked with conspiracy, “we get the Soleils ready and figure out this trip of ours.”
Luna saw the white alicorn draft up a quick note and pop it out of existence with her sunny-hued magic. Probably sent off to the East-wing head maid who was currently in charge of keeping the banner mares in line.
“The trip,” Luna sighed with less enthusiasm about it. She was excited beyond words at leaving the troubles of Equestria to go on an adventure with her big sister, but the end destination was dreary at best and downright dreadful to be more likely.
“Oh, what's that tone, Lulu? You should be more excited about this. I know I am!” Celestia had her back to her sister as she shuffled the papers at her desk, so Luna thought nothing of the odd ring to her voice. Something was a little off about it even though it mostly sounded like her.
“Of course, I am. It's just-” Luna was suddenly interrupted.
“Who was that?!” Celestia looked around the room, quickly whipping her head this way and that from where she stood at her desk.
Luna could now see her sister's face and it looked worried. “Huh?”
“That wasn't me. I didn't say that,” Celestia seemed greatly disturbed. “This room is supposed to be sealed!”
“Heh heh, I can keep a secret,” sounded an overly sweet version of Luna's voice.
Luna looked over to the source of sound to see a duplicate of herself laying next to her on the bed. She shrilled an “ee” and fell off the side.
Celestia charged to the side of the bed, horn aglow, and eyes dire. “Who are you?!”
“Aw,” the fake Luna droned in disappointment as it rolled its eyes. “And here I was hoping you'd go straight to thinking it was Chrysalis. You've spoiled my fun. And still grim as ever I see.”
Celestia relaxed again and her horn's magic whiffed out in a puff of smoke. It had prepared a massive amount of energy and had to smoke it off. “I'd prefer you not scare us like that. Don't you honor privacy yet?”
Luna peered over the sheets from the floor. “Ugh,” she found her simultaneous realization most distasteful. “I'll vaporize this pretender for both our sakes.”
“Peace!” the fake Luna held its forehooves in front of itself in defense. “I was only a scratch of paint on the wall until a second ago!”
“I suppose that's some joke about the walls having ears?” Celestia rolled her eyes.
Fake Luna wilted. “You even ruin my jokes now. No fun. No fun at all.”
“Stop taking my form, you fiend,” Luna turned sour. “It's unsightly.”
“I could pass for a changeling, you know. But very well,” the double sighed in the most dramatic fashion. The very air around its body wriggled and glared. A dozen irrelevant noises sounded off, clearly having no reason to do so other than for the transformer's unpredictable whim. What laid in a mocking pose on the bed afterwards was certainly no female.
“Master of Chaos at your service!” Discord announced himself without getting up but with all the energy that indicated he might have had he not thought it boring to do so.
“Why are you here?” Celestia made good time to the point.
Discord blanched, gaped, and held his mouth open far wider than possible for anything but a draconequus. “W-why? Why?!” he sounded terribly hurt at the question. “I was summoned! You summoned me. You did summon me, didn't you?”
“I was planning to but hadn't gotten around to it yet,” Celestia narrowed her eyes.
Luna added in her two bits. “You were just eavesdropping.”
“Oh, please,” Discord shook his hips after teleporting behind Luna. He began sprinkling fresh leaves over her, materializing them out of nowhere. “I stay strictly to leavesdropping. Anything else is bad for my health.”
“So why are you here? Be honest,” Celestia sat on her haunches and crossed her forehooves like a stern mother waiting for a misbehaving child to explain why they did something bad. It made Discord stop what he was doing and mope.
“Oh, c'mon, Tia. Lighten up. It'll keep the wrinkles away.”
Both sisters waited.
“Fine,” Discord threw up his suddenly detached arms and caught them with a fresh pair. They turned into two saddle packs, one with the sunnier hues of the rainbow and the other with a midnight pattern. “A little birdie told me my favorite pair of princesses had planned a road trip. And,” he tossed the sacks at the ponies and began dancing around like a school filly. “They. Were. Going. To. Invite. Me.”
Celestia dropped her cross mood and hid a giggle as she looked over the saddle pack he had given her. The moonwalking that Discord began was actually getting to her. It was either that or how absurdly enthusiastic he seemed to be about the affair. Luna shook her head and looked over her own pack with no small amount of nervous suspicion. She had every reason to believe it might morph into a shark or something else less dangerous but equally absurd.
“I made all the reservations in advance,” Discord stopped and then snapped a tropical shirt on and held a tourist map that hung down into a pile on the floor. The style was complete with a straw hat, sunglasses, and a dab of sunscreen on the tip of his snout. “Used up twice my strength to make sure our feathery little queen stays all safe and cozy while we're gone. Why, I even removed all those troublesome Plunderseeds that were finally spouting up in the Everfree. Saved that poor tree you stole the Elements from – not that you seem to care about my perfectly angelic deeds.”
Celestia made an “O” with her mouth as she did a double-take. Was Discord serious about that? Could he actually be capable of doing something good on his own initiative? Besides that, how did he know so much about the trip to begin with?
“And another thing. You really shouldn't have used that little dimensional trick of yours without making sure I was turned the other way,” he stated in a stately tone of voice as he pretended to study the map intensely. “I might learn a new trick – start monitoring everything with that immeasurably useful observation space of yours.”
Luna stared deadpan at her sister. “He's used the All-Seeing Dimension.”
Celestia winced and banged her head against the nearby bed post. “I forgot to keep him busy!”
“Oh my,” Discord faked shock and gasped. “Tia displaying regret? Goodness gracious me! How could you let your perfectly reserved nature drop? Not that I ever worry about such things.”
“Get to the point,” Luna bit out.
Discord teleported from his spot over to the other side of the bed where he seemed to be decked out in a heavy suit of armor while polishing a rather large lance. He fiddled with the sharp end of it. “Point?” he giggled in that special way of his that seemed only to indicate he was scheming something new. “I thought the two of you already made it. Oh, how flattered I am that you wish little old me to be your Shining Armor.”
Celestia's tone leveled to match that of her sister's. It was the kind of voice that one might have when agreeing sarcastically to a proven murderer that “yes, they didn't do it.” In other words, hardly amused. Especially about the blue mane he now sported in the exact fashion of the former Captain of the Guard. “No, Discord. You are no Shining Armor. My former Captain of the Guard has-”
“Former?” Discord pretended to appear shocked as he lost the mane and dropped the lance carelessly on the floor. It exploded into a candy cane upon contact. “Oh no! What foul fate has taken him?”
“He's a prince now,” Luna answered dryly.
The draconequus gasped dramatically, which may very well be the only way he knew how to gasp at all. “I might have known. The worst fate!”
The ensuing guffaws of laughter ground on Celestia's patience. Luna's eye twitched.
“Oh, come, come,” Discord tutted and reverted back to his tropical apparel. His body slunk around the bed and slithered back up into a standing posture before them. “My little ponies, you must lighten up or we'll never live together on this vacation of ours.”
“It's not a vacation,” Luna argued. But her conviction came out more as broken hope for the trip rather than correction. She pouted again.
“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your wittle fewings, Wuwu,” Discord babbled as if to an infant and patted Luna's head reassuringly. “Here. Maybe some candy will make you feel better.”
Luna steamed, both cheeks puffing up in agitation. Still, Discord leaned down to eye level and held out a candy bar in front of her.
“Stop it, Discord,” Celestia stomped her hoof. “You will not patronize either of us. Understood?”
“Ah,” the being of chaos said simply but didn't move. He kept holding out the candy bar. “Only I wasn't patronizing Luna. I'm really quite serious. It won't turn into anything bizarre, I assure you.”
Celestia stared, completely unconvinced.
Luna waited a moment. Silence. She grabbed the candy bar with her magic. Nothing happened.
Discord splayed out his hands of different species as if to indicate he had been completely undeserving of the doubt. He even gestured towards Luna and the now successfully half-eaten candy bar. The smaller alicorn's face was having a hard time keeping its annoyance from turning to joy at the tidal wave of flavor that was the best candy bar she had ever tasted.
The Mare of the Sun sighed. “I'm trusting you, Discord. I hope you understand how important that trust is.”
“I admit I'm feeling a little drained after all the other unmentionables I had to do for our dear Twilight,” he remarked and crossed his arms. A rare tenor of seriousness working its way into his speech. “But I'll be fully rested and able again long before we're half there. As for trust, you have nothing to worry about. Ever since Fluttershy showed me friendship, I've realized the most important truth about life and taken it deeply to heart.”
“What's that?” Luna said around the candy bar in her mouth.
Discord grew his playful smirk again. “Friendship is magic.”