//------------------------------//
// 30 - Ascension is Inevitable 
// Story: Hive Alive 
// by BlackWater 
//------------------------------//









The guards had wound up with the first spa they had come to. The others were all gone and now only Centurion, Direway, and Flash Sentry remained. That was actually how the two eldest of them wanted it and certainly how Midnight Strike had planned for as well. With the other spas being further up the miniature mountain, anypony attempting to get to the princess would have to pass their spa first. Pegasi could be spotted in the clear sky and unicorns could only teleport finite distances.
The door was open and Centurion kept a weather eye upon the Garden grounds visible from the cliff edge. Direway kept an eye on the passage outside of the door and Flash Sentry kept both his eyes upon his seniors. He was trying to learn how they managed to split their attention so easily, enjoying the spa with one half and keeping fully alert with the other. It appeared more an art than a science.
“It seems our princess still surprises me,” Centurion admitted from where he slunk smoothly into the warm water of the center pool. He sighed in delight as it relaxed him but kept one of his powerful hooves on the rim in such a way that he could fling himself out in one move. “Even Princess Celestia never treated us to this.”
“She has very little appreciation for political subtlety,” Direway stated as a matter-of-fact. He also slid into the pool. “And I fully mean that as a compliment. She'd make an incredible guard. All practical, no non-sense.”
“She sure handled those bouncers like that,” Flash added in as he walked gingerly around the edge, trying to find a spot he liked between the two others. Something in his tone indicated he might have fallen for the mare even more for her handling of the situation. “It's like she's perfect.”
“I'd be careful if I were you,” Direway warned. He might have meant that two-fold since he was carefully watching Flash's hooves on the very edge of the pool. “Everypony has flaws. Some matter, some don't.”
“Some are even interpreted as strengths,” Centurion agreed. “I have to wonder if Princess Celestia has kept our own princess from getting into too much hot water by only delegating less than she's fully capable of.”
“Are you saying our queen deserves more power?” Direway smiled and shifted forward in the water.
“Queen...?” Flash trailed.
“I'm sure you'd have no problem, Sent,” Direway grinned over to the younger. “But your thoughts might embarrass her.”
“Here now,” Centurion brought his submerged forehoof above the water with a loud splash. “Don't be pushy. The lad deserves some respect.”
“No,” Flash wilted and his head sank down to the water. He blew some bubbles in it. “I've had nothing but Boot and backwater paper-fights since I joined up. I hardly deserve any respect for never lifting a hoof outside of sparring.”
“It's peacetime,” Direway assured him. “Most guards these days haven't seen two drops of blood in their life. Count yourself lucky. Centurion here will back me up.”
The oldest of them tapped the light red coat of his chest, where not a few scars laid barely visible beneath. He also agreed with a few unnecessary explicatives. “You don't want to be stuck behind enemy lines using deceased comrades to hide your half-dead flank as you bleed out two broken legs in a ditch. Trust me, lad. This is the life you want.”
“I'll take your word for it,” Flash gulped. He then cringed at the fact that he had just gulped a bit of the pool's water. It was crystal clear and doubtlessly clean, but sharing it with two other stallions wasn't much of a positive balance in his opinion. He was in love with a mare that just so happened to be his charge.
“Should we call the masseurs?” Direway asked openly.
“Can you get from the massage table to the door in less than four seconds if needed?” Centurion squinted.
“That a joke?” the gray pegasus grinned at the challenge. “Special taskforce, remember? I can do it in two.”
“Call 'em.”









“Weren't we just at one of these?” Spike asked as he walked over to the stand of towels and lotions. The cyan glowlight nearby made everything just visible enough that he could find what he had been sent for. For the most part, the moon was doing the majority of the illumination.
“Yeah,” Rainbow droned, half submerged in the pool and smacking the water aimlessly. “I bet you were if you were with Rarity. I'm pretty sure she goes to one every twelve hours.”
“I am right here,” Rarity pretended offense. “You should not talk about a lady as if she were absent when she is not.”
“Oh, sorry, your majesty,” Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“What has you in such a dire mood?” the unicorn pressed.
Midnight Strike stayed safely on his third side of the pool, not daring to engage in a fuss between the two mares. He tried simply relaxing instead and noticed Spike leisurely making his way back over with some kind of bottle in his claw.
“Dire? Pfft,” Rainbow wanted to roll her eyes again but felt it would make her dizzy and instead opted to start paddling the water. “I was just thinking. Why does the changeling get so much of Twilight's attention? I mean, she's not even slightly attractive.”
“Ah,” Rarity concluded for herself.
“Don't tell anypony I said that,” the light blue pegasus suddenly looked back up at her friend.
Spike shook his head and slipped into the water next to the fashionista, setting the bottle on the edge next to them. “The way Twilight's going with the hivemind, nobody will need to. She'll just find out anyways.”
Rainbow muttered something foul under her breath.
“I understand there have been some...well, some feelings going about,” Rarity chose her words daintily and found a wet lock of her prized purple mane quite fascinating for some reason.
“Feelings? Like what?” Rainbow turned very interested and a tad worried.
“Oh, darling,” Rarity's lips turned sideways in concern. “I had not meant any in your disfavor. Actually, it would seem there might be something between Twilight and yourself. I suppose I might understand better by tomorrow but I would like to hear it all the same.”
“Like if there was something between me and Twi?” the rainbow mare shrank back a bit. Her wings twitched beneath the clear but lightless water. Whenever the ripples slowed, one could even see the stars and moon reflected on the surface.
Rarity resumed her attentions with her mane. She seemed intent on directing where it waved around underwater, almost to the point of it making her seem shy. “You certainly have no obligation to say anything. We are all friends, however. There will not be anything but encouragement between us, I am sure.”
“Yeah...” Rainbow appeared less sure and sank until half her face was below the water.
“Speaking of,” Rarity gave her friend some space to collect, “Midnight Strike is your name?”
The stallion straightened up at being addressed. Before the hivemind link, he might have felt out of place in a spa pool with two mares. Now, it hardly crossed his mind. Spike's presence was a help in that regard and one of the two mares he was with he knew more comprehensively than most husbands knew their wives. It wasn't strange for him to know that, however, because it was a respected understanding through the hivemind rather than some suggestive affair.
“Yes, ma'am,” he answered.
“Oh, no need for that,” Rarity smiled and waved her hoof up through the water. “I was hoping to meet some of these guards Twilight was supposedly going to get. In fact, I found the prospect to be rather inviting. We have all been friends for so long that the lack of any stallions in our little group was beginning to make me nervous.”
“Seriously?” Rainbow popped up and hung her mouth open with a look of distaste.
“It is rude to interrupt, darling,” Rarity tutted. “I was about to put my words in context. You see, even though Spikey here is quite exceptional in every sense-”
The dragon beamed but kept silent. He knew better than to break across Rarity as Rainbow Dash had. He relented to blowing little flames into the water and watching the liquid and magic fire meet and fizz out in green sparks beneath the surface. He knew Rarity would protest if he used normal air from his lungs, but the magic fire was hardly unclean and it was fascinating to watch. Not that anypony was paying attention.
“-it made me uneasy that I might be losing touch with proper male opinion. Do not interrupt again, dear. You are simply going to keep taking my words the wrong way,” the unicorn brought her patience to bear. “I simply mean that I have a boutique to run and even if most of my clientele are female, I still must be aware of male opinion. I do make clothing for stallions, after all, and it is just as important if not more so to know what a stallion thinks of a mare's apparel as compared to the mare herself. Perspective, you see. Not to mention I had not the faintest idea what Spike would like.”
“Huh?” Rainbow and Spike both voiced at the same moment.
“Oh, I do not mean fashion. Though that does pique my interest as always. I meant, what would he like to do?” she clarified and then turned to that very dragon. She clearly redirected the conversation from Rainbow to Spike and had forgotten Midnight somewhere in the mix while she dominated the conversation. “This is precisely the problem, Spikey. I feel I have neglected you. We have only done things that I might do myself or with the girls. What do you like to do?”
“Like...a date?” Spike braved the question.
Rarity giggled if only to needlessly warm his cheeks. “Not necessarily, though I have no objection to it. But let us suppose we were simply friends looking to spend an enjoyable afternoon together. Nothing complicated. And suppose I would unquestioningly want to go anywhere you would – do anything you would.”
“I'd first pinch myself to see if I was dreaming,” Spike replied instantly.
Rainbow laughed. Apparently, she had finally lightened up a bit.
Rarity did much the same but repeated her inquiry differently. “Suppose you had me at your whim. What would we do?”
The small dragon had no trouble getting excited at the idea. “Where to start?” he grinned. “First, we'd have to go gem hunting so we'd have some snacks...er...well, it's basically money too. And I could give you the biggest one! Maybe another ruby!”
Rarity's face contorted. It was a combination of shock and disturbance, a mix of emotion from realizing just how thoughtful and generous he was as a dragon. A little water formed at the edges of her eyes, but it was unclear if it was from the reaction or just from the steamy water. Rainbow couldn't fathom what was going on in the unicorn's head that would make her that way because Spike honestly hadn't said anything that wouldn't be expected to come out of his mouth. He always had Rarity in mind, especially of late. Even Tank, the flying turtle, could figure that much out and he was slow as Tartarus with everything.
“S-Spike,” Rarity recovered, “I was asking what you wanted. You shan't think of getting me anything.”
“Well, that is what I want,” the dragon shrugged and almost slipped under the water. He carefully corrected his seating position. “I'd definitely save some for snacks. Emeralds are great for nights like this. The clean air and clear sky gives them the perfect inner balance.”
“At risk of losing the topic,” Rainbow rolled her eyes with the words of utter sarcasm, “how does the air affect how a jewel tastes?”
“Non-jewel-eating pegasi might find the answer to be a little beyond comprehension,” Rarity chipped in with a snide glance at her friend.
Rainbow's mouth crooked open at the return crack.
Spike chuckled to himself. “Rarity's got a point, Rainbow. Even if I told you, it wouldn't mean anything to you because you just don't eat gems.”
Midnight Strike made the rare occasion of speaking up. “Do different gems affect your magic?”
Spike opened his mouth, began to point, closed his mouth, and dropped his claw. “I never considered that.”
“Not that I know anything about dragons,” the stallion clarified, “because I really don't. I just thought I'd ask for the sake of curiosity.”
“I'll have to run some tests,” the reptilian concluded to himself, the sparkle of Twilight's scientific obsession twinkling in one eye.
“My question...?” Rarity reminded and Spike got back on track.
His next idea, oddly enough, involved traveling.









“And then I was all like 'whoo-whoo' and she was all like 'nyah, s'right' which I totally didn't get at first because-”
“Pinkie!” Twilight Sparkle raised her voice.
Finally the pink Earth pony quieted and slipped back into the pool from where she had risen out of for her quickly escalating story.
“I know you're excited, but this is supposed to be a place to relax,” Twilight lectured her. “I would appreciate it if you appreciated it.”
“Yes, ma'am, captain, ma'am, sir,” Pinkie saluted with the titles and flipped some water about when she brought her forehoof out of the water.
“Now,” Twilight noted Chrysalis slinking further into the steamy water with closed eyes. “I'm glad you have such an interest in the more complicated aspects of magical theory, but knowledge without discipline will only lead to trouble. Do you truly understand this?”
“Of course I do, silly,” Pinkie waved her hoof nonchalantly. “It's like baking cupcakes. You have to be very careful to measure and mix the ingredients right or else they could turn out bad. If you don't cook them long enough, you can even make ponies sick. It's a very serious business.”
Twilight was glad to know her friend had some grasp of it. Perhaps she had underestimated just how much discipline Pinkie actually had. “Excellent. Then you will bring any ideas you have to me first?”
“If it involves stuff I got from your brain!” Pinkie said gleefully. “But even if it didn't! And it's not like you wouldn't already know anyways. I mean, I get to be around a super awesome immortal alicorn queen now. And she's my queen. But she will always and foremost be my friend.”
Such sentimentality from the mare gave Twilight a heart-warming sensation. Or perhaps that was just the effects of friendship lifting her spirits. “Thank you, Pinkie. And, actually, I think Chrysalis might be able to help you with your latest contraption.”
When the queen looked over to her changeling, she saw the black pseudo-pony submerged fully except for the upper half of her long jagged horn and the floating tangles of her bluish mane. It moved around.	
“Chrysy...” Twilight facehoofed.
The faint sound of an underwater giggle came up. The horn turned away from Twilight and towards the center of the pool, where it began to slice forward like a shark's fin.
“Chrysy,” Twilight repeated in long-suffering tone. “That way,” she directed towards the edge of the pool between her and Pinkie Pie.
Chrysalis must have seen the pointing because that's where her horn began moving to. Twilight also noticed Pinkie suddenly missing, a dotted line momentarily blinking where she used to be sitting at the inside edge. A pink tangle of mane joined Chrysalis' in moving over to Twilight, who facehoofed again.
Chrysalis was first to attack. She grabbed her queen's rear legs under the water and started shaking her. Pinkie Pie erupted from the relatively shallow depths with a “rar” and a cardboard shark fin taped to her back. Where she got it was irrelevant. Shark Pie couldn't hold in her laughs and giggles as she threw her forelegs around Twilight's neck and pretended to gnaw on it. Chrysalis did the same to Twilight's legs beneath the surface, her two fangs intentionally doing nothing but tickling her.
“Alright you two!” Twilight tried commanding seriously but had a hard time keeping her own smile from showing. “Pinkie might always be a goofball but I'm not sure I can handle another one, Chrysy.”
Twilight slid down on her spot so she could lift her rear legs out of the water. Chrysalis became visible, still hanging on with her mouth and looking every bit like a caught fish on the end of a line.
“Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed from her queen's neck. “Looks like you caught a big one,” she snorted in laughter.
Twilight used her magic to encase Chrysalis completely in a purple aura and levitate her out of the water and off her leg. She hovered over the center of the pool. “As punishment for nomming on me, you must help Pinkie work safely on her new invention and ensure she doesn't blow anything up. Unless it's with her party cannon.”
“Nomming?” Pinkie asked with her usual vibrant cheer. “Never heard you use that one before.”
“I got it from The Dictionary of Emerging Modern Terminology,” Twilight responded with all the pleasure of using her book smarts.
Chrysalis was making poses as she was suspended in the air. She wasn't getting Twilight's attention until she attempted laying sideways and making kissing faces. She then dropped unceremoniously into the water as Twilight's magic promptly ceased holding her.
“You-” Chrysalis gurgled as she flailed about, water and hooves splashing around chaotically. “Your wish i-is my c-command!”
Twilight removed Pinkie and ducked under the water when she saw Chrysalis slip down, though she never really worried about her safety. She had already proven to be an adequate swimmer, nevermind her magic, and Chrysalis was tall enough to have her head above the water no matter where she stood in it. She could see the changeling already rocketing to the inner edge of the pool where the depth shallowed and allowed them to sit leisurely. They both came back up.
“Oh, a firefly!” Pinkie cheered as her attention was diverted to a glowing bug. It hovered into their spa area.
Twilight started arranging Chrysalis' soaked and dripping mane so that she could see the face beneath it. “This is why I don't normally have you and Pinkie in the same group,” the queen joked. “She rubs off on you.”
“I regret nothing. You said you wanted to relax, so I was just indulging you. And the taste was exquisite,” Chrysalis buzzed merrily. When her last strands finally parted from her eyes, she could see Twilight shaking her head with that look that said “oh you.”
They both rested again against the water, the time giving Twilight space to consider whether or not to call any masseurs. Also, whether or not to pursue continual speaks with Pinkie regarding application of difiguration principles. The latter idea was eliminated as she saw the Element of Laughter bouncing about their walled-off cliffside, dripping about and singing “lala” as she followed the firefly aimlessly around.
“This reminds me,” Chrysalis whispered fondly as her head titled up to the sky. It was crystal clear with the exception of a few small and thin clouds that had drifted in, one failing to cover the bright moon. A faint but cool breeze was moving them along.
“Of what?” Twilight asked.
“When you saved me,” the changeling answered with a warm smile. “We looked up at the stars together.”
“Yeah,” Twilight breathed out slowly, relaxing and finding herself melting against her changeling's side. “I still remember that night sky...”









“I can't believe it!” whispered one in boundless energy.
“I can! It's our princess!” whispered another.
“The paper said 'queen!'” whispered a third.
“Only because 'princess' was crossed out with a red marker,” whispered still a fourth.
Four ponies tip-toed their way up the scraggly slope. The first spa they came across only had a trio of guards. Said guards had been quite quick to stop them and request identification. Princess Celestia had apparently anticipated such a thing because the quadruplets were happily able to provide four hoof-signed documents from the princess that proved their citizenship and new occupation.
The second spa they came to still did not have the pony they were looking for. There was another guard there that stopped them for the same reason and let them continue. They knew they were getting closer because this spa had their princess-elevated-queen's dragon assistant. The next spa they found was quite a ways higher and one could tell the air was getting thinner. Thankfully, not so much so that it was hard to breath. It was colder too, but there was a warmth radiating out of the door of the third spa...
One face peeked around the frame as a hoof gently prodded the door open just the tiniest bit. Two more faces joined for a total of six eyes peeking into the spa. The fourth face complained about not being able to smoosh its way between the others.
A joyous squeal, a quiet awe, an “Oh Celestia” of happiness. The fourth pony said to Tartarus with it, threw her siblings aside, and burst into the sectioned off cliffside as if she were a mountain troll returning home after a bothersome day. Three sets of eyes locked onto hers. Three sets of eyes also bore into her back, where her sisters grumbled and got to their hooves again.
“Y-you're...” Twilight Sparkle stuttered from where she was previously relaxing in the warm spa pool. Her mind was quickly placing the face. It was easy since her coronation hadn't been so long ago and there was something strikingly unique about the four white mares that had bore her banner during the ceremony. Perhaps it was the fact that they were all identical, or perhaps that they shared a very similar mane style with Fluttershy. It could also have been their Prench accents. Rarity had made a fuss about it.
“Mistre-” the eloquent white mare began and was immediately pummeled to the ground as the three behind her charged straight over her body.
“My princess!” cried one as she galloped to the purple alicorn.
“My queen!” shouted another.
“My love!” raved the last with psychotic obsession in her eyes.
“My pony!” Pinkie Pie added, obviously feeling she was required to join in.
Twilight had no time to react. She felt at a total loss, five ponies lunging at her. She hadn't even thought she'd ever see the banner mares again and yet here they were.
Chrysalis moved to intervene. She grabbed Twilight, drew her in close, and warded off the oncomers with a holey hoof. “Back! Back!”
Two of them halted at the edge of the pool. Pinkie and the third banner mare leapt over them and collided with Chrysalis. They wrestled in the water with the changeling to get to Twilight until the fourth, previously trampled near the door, snuck around the tangle of limbs and grabbed Twilight from the other side.
“Mistress!” she proclaimed to Twilight's confused expression.
The confusion, however, was finite. At last, Twilight shook her head and blasted a bright light from the tip of her horn. Everything shifted and the occupants of the spa found themselves suddenly teleported into an obsessively straight line against the wooden separating wall that stretched out on either side of the door. “Huh” and “what” were had in plenty as everypony but Twilight found their equilibrium again.
“Alright,” Twilight spoke up with resolve in her voice as she faced the line. She was dripping wet but had teleported like the others and was no longer in the pool. She even had to flip her wet mane out of her eyes, where it hung over heavily. “Can somepony tell me what's going on?”
A mangled response came from the four white mares as they answered “yes” all at once and in different ways.
“Just one of you, please,” Twilight ordered. “Actually, I could use some names first.”
They started talking all at the same time again.
“Ah!” Twilight shut them down. “Left to right! One at a time.”
As if to surprise the alicorn, the first of them spoke up quieter than the rest. “My name is Soir Soleil, your faithful servant.”
“Midi Soleil!” declared the next. She was brimming with a smile almost but not quite as big as Pinkie's. “I love you!”
“Matin Soleil,” bowed the third. She winked at Twilight when she leaned back up.
“Minuit Soleil,” the fourth identified coolly and shifted her hooves beneath her.
“You're all sisters,” Twilight said more for her own clarification of the situation than any need to know.
“Quadruplets,” Soir agreed. “We were born at the same time but in the order we introduced ourselves.”
“You're the oldest?” the purple queen inquired.
“Technically. But it matters little.”
“What are you all doing here?” Chrysalis asked as she rolled her eyes, fed up with standing quietly in a line she didn't need to be in.
“I was getting to that,” Twilight pursed her lips.
Midi knifed in the answer first. “We have been maids in Celestia's house for years but we have finally been assigned our own dignitary to serve outside of the castle!”
“Dignitary?” Twilight wrapped her mind around the situation. “So why are you here? Is this individual in one of the spas?”
“Indeed she is,”  Minuit smiled and narrowed her eyes in a conspiratorial manner.
Chrysalis groaned. Pinkie Pie hugged each of them in order and said something about welcomes and parties. Twilight was going to have them move on to find this pony or other being of question.
“It is you,” Matin stated blunt but crisp. Her accent came off as exotic but her words were pronounced with clarity as clear as the night sky above them.
“I have four new maids?” Twilight looked from one of them to the other.
“Yes,” all four enthused.
“For the rest of your life,” Midi added in excitement. “What are your first orders, Mistress?”
Any idea of an order slipped Twilight's mind. At the moment, she could only voice one thing.
“Oh dear.”









“Do not tell me you planned this, sister,” Luna said as she went about her room looking for her mysteriously missing brush.
The hour was late and Luna's already dark room was now illuminated only by the magical lights scattered about the walls and ceiling. They did a very good job of making the room appear identical to the night sky. Luna lit the room a little brighter using the moonlight glow from her horn.
“I am no stranger to politics, Lulu,” Celestia explained as she vaguely followed her younger sibling about. “I hate political games, but Twilight needs all the bolstering she can get before we leave. We are actually quite fortunate she has become more firm lately. She will need that disposition.”
“Having an increased number of servants will increase her respectability?” Luna questioned incredulously.
“Not directly, but banner mares do have an influence with crowds,” the Mare of the Sun giggled while recalling something Luna did not. “I'm thinking Twilight's interior title of 'Queen' might not be such a bad move upon her temporary ascension in our absence.”
“You can't be serious,” the dark purple alicorn finally stopped and turned to face the taller mare.
“Oh, quite,” Celestia tapped her sister playfully on the nose, making the other scrunch it up. “We may have vowed never to ascend to it in honor of our parents, but Twilight has no such obligation.”
“But she is so much younger,” Luna argued. “It wouldn't make sense for her to have a higher title than our own.”
“Need I remind you that she has already done things we never could? There's also the matter of our future,” Celestia's expression turned hopeful. “I believe our dream for Equestria may be fully realized in Twilight Sparkle. Our time to move on may be closer than we think.”
“One dream to another...?” Luna remarked as she considered the notion in terms of her dreamwalking. “Anyway, help me. I can't find my brush and I'll need it for when I wake up.”
“Of course,” Celestia replied and started searching the room.
“About our picnic you promised,” Luna began as she resumed her own search. “Perhaps we might do it tomorrow morning? The air is so nice right before sunrise.”
“Sounds perfect to me, Lulu,” her sister smiled in agreement.