A few months later…
By the tradition of earning her crown, Twilight Sparkle was the very last royal to enter the Summit theater, save for any heir she had. So it was, that the gossiping and/or bickering between the gathered royals to came to a dead silence when Rainbow Dash stepped in right behind Twilight.
With the weather being hot and humid even this far above the tree canopy, the burning sun above only added to the intensity of the royals’ scrutiny. At least it would have, but this kind of weather was extremely comfortable to changelings.
After her unusual introduction at her first Summit, the other queens dissected Twilight Sparkle’s life and put everything under a microscope. Everything from who her friends were, family, eating habits, fashion sense (found to be quite lacking), they examined all they could to learn about the new potential rival.
As a result, everyone present knew who Rainbow Dash was at a glance. However, her status as a royal, let alone a queen, shocked all present, except one. As Twilight Sparkle approached the center of the Summit floor, Rainbow Dash proudly strutted over to sit next to Cadista with a bit of sass in her step. The cyan queen was practically drinking in the stunned atmosphere. Heh, I bet some of them might be pissing themselves. She actually started looking for such reactions as Twilight studied Silandrus.
Of all the other queens, Twilight saw no flash of surprise quickly covered up. No, instead she saw the grin of an old crone who loved to see others getting flustered. Not that the ancient queen tried to hide her smug grin at her rivals giving furious glances between themselves. Twilight Sparkle stood at the center of the Summit, awaiting Silandrus to officially recognize her. The old changeling left her waiting for at least a minute or so. The second part of the crowning ceremony was beyond sacred. No one was allowed to speak, not even the supplicant, until Silandrus willed it.
For her part, Twilight mostly ignored the other queens. Thankfully, Rainbow Dash kept a stoic posture, but all it took was a single whiff of her aura on the Link to know Rainbow was inches from taunting Chrysalis. I hope she keeps herself under control, the last thing we need is her making a scene. Twilight shifted her attention towards Silandrus, who was studying Rainbow with amusement. Why didn’t she show any surprise at RD? I thought we had been careful about hiding her queenly status.
After receiving a dozen boiling stares from the other queens, Silandrus finally allowed the proceedings to move forward. “You simply can’t help but to cause a stir wherever you go, can you, Queen Twilight Sparkle.” The old queen let off a dusty old laugh. “I half expected you to try and hide her for at least a little longer.”
Twilight didn’t need to turn around to feel Rainbow basking in her sudden infamy. By the First Mother, I think she might be getting heated by this. “In my defense, Queen Silandrus,” she said politely, if only to ignore her sister’s antics. Much to her dismay, Rainbow Dash had the uncanny ability to look like a model parade soldier, while also exuding smugness. “I abide the Summit accords, and would never hide an heir from the Summit. However, we have decided upon being co-rulers as sisters instead of her forming a separate hive later on.” That lessened the look of worry from many of the queens. Even though Twilight and Rainbow Dash knew co-rulership was seen by many as a sign of weakness on Rainbow’s part, they were obligated to inform the Summit. “In any event, I was within my rights to conceal the matter until now.”
“A fair point,” Silandrus conceded easily. If only because of how much drama it was causing the other queens. “The matter of Rainbow Dash’s status can be settled later. For now,” she cleared her throat to focus the rest of the royals’ attention away Rainbow Dash who outwardly looked as stoic as any other hardened soldier. Yet Rainbow was not quite able to hide her snarky emotions. “I suggest we move on to the reason you’ve called for the Summit to gather.” Before someone tries to dive too deeply into that cyan mare’s emotions and gets insulted. It’d be amusing, but it would waste too much of my time.
Several queens grumbled at not being able to voice their outrage, but the sooner Twilight finished speaking, the sooner they could.
“I agree.” Twilight kept herself from looking at Rainbow Dash while speaking to her. <If you really have to make a mule of yourself here, you should at least direct most of it towards Sticky Spit.>
Rainbow Dash casually slid a condescending eye at Chrysalis and her sisters. She made no overt movement, aside from sitting properly. <Oh, I intend to.>
Ignoring her sister’s Rarity-level subtle insults, Twilight pulled out several scrolls from a satchel she had brought. “It took me a few months to get everything prepared, and I have my full report on our species’ history should any of you desire it.” Not likely, but you won’t see me skimp on academic thoroughness. The disinterested look on the faces of many of the queens confirmed Twilight’s musings. “For the purposes of this summit I've also brought the short version for all of you."
Twilight squared herself as she slipped fully into lecture mode, complete with red framed glasses. Not that she needed them, but they completed the look. “We as a species were created not by choice, but through an act of willful sabotage.” Despite their genetic predisposition for disinterest in the past, drama was always an attention grabber. “In the events leading up the creation of the first mother, who was actually named Feec'tul'ea, the thestral royal family ruled a desert empire. In an attempt to bring life to the desert sands, they worked for roughly fifty years to build a country wide arcanum array, what we now call alchemy. The Family used the ley lines as the array itself to make sure neither weather nor malcontents could disrupt their work. However, a member of the old thestral pantheon, a being named Gethar the Justicar, despised alchemy quite venomously. From what I gathered from the living thestrals I rescued, and journal entries from Rookhaven, I discovered that Gethar damaged the array in an attempt to nullify it completely.”
Twilight looked up from her scroll to glance over the crowd. Although silent, the gathered royals’ reactions thus far spanned a range from disinterest, to intrigue, and in a few cases, outright rage. Polybia’s probably going to raise a fit at me later. “Because of Gethar’s hatred for alchemy, he didn’t know how it worked, so his sabotage ended up making the array go wild. Most citizens of Rookhaven were corrupted in both mind and body, along with all but two of the thestral pantheon.”
Twilight flipped her scroll over, if only to ignore Polybia’s burning gaze. Chrysalis remained overtly neutral, and waited for Twilight to finish before rendering judgment. “As you might have already guessed from my previous reports, the royal family became roughly what we are today.”
One of the more lackadaisical queens could sense Twilight slipping into lecture mode and groaned loudly. “Spare us the minutia and just stick to the important bits.”
Twilight’s ears twitched, and saw Rainbow shooting the vocal queen a dirty look. Twilight expected such disinterest and skipped a few paragraphs. Apparently I didn’t make it short enough, she tsked at such disregard for knowledge. “I suppose I can for time’s sake. The bottom line is that I believe Feec’tul’ea is the first mother, or at least I would consider her to be.
“The thing is, yes, Tia’vil’yet was Feec’tul’ea’s mother. However, numerous journal entries from both individuals tells me that Tia’vil’yet was driven insane from her transformation into a changeling. Most of the other royal family was trying to adapt to their new situation where she only saw madness and evil.” She suppressed a shudder at the memory. “Some of the translations were… disturbing.”
Twilight shrugged her ill at ease away. “Not everypony can come back from such traumatic events. At any rate, Tia’vil’yet later laid Feec’tul’ea’s egg. By the time Feec’tul’ea was an adult, Tia’vil’yet had almost entirely lost her mind and started planning to kill off the rest of the royal family. I won’t bore you with the details, save to say that she used surprise to win. Barely three days after her first murder, only she and Feec’tul’ea remained. She was planning on killing her daughter and then herself, but Feec’tul’ea managed to overpower her.”
“Not wanting to kill her own mother, Feec’tul’ea interred Tia’vil’yet’s mind in the Chamber of Chitin to act as a guardian. It was around that time that Tia’vil’yet had gone completely mad. Desiring to give her mother at least some purpose, Feec’tul’ea stabilized her mother’s mind, within the crystal, enough to focus entirely on defending what records Feec’tul’ea felt she would need later in the Chamber. In addition, she also felt that the other members of the royal family weren’t exactly sane either, so she believed the events leading to our creation was too dangerous to remember.”
Twilight could see some of the queens’ attention was already starting to wander. Such disregard for history is so sad. Leaving her personal feeling aside, Twilight wrapped up her conclusion. “All told, there is no way to tell if Feec’tul’ea was the first royal to hatch, but she is our only ancestor to survive Tia’vil’yet’s purge. Therefore, I believe that she qualifies as our true First Mother.”
Of all the queens she expected to take questions from first, her least desired option was Chrysalis. So naturally, Chrysalis voiced the next question, now that tradition allowed as such. “I for one, will decide who I view as the First Mother on my own terms. However…” She briefly skimmed the scroll Twilight had given to every queen upon starting her lecture. “I would like to know more of this Feec’tul’ea.”
“I have my full report and copies of every translation onboard my ship. My crew is unloading them onto the docks as we speak. You can see the evidence for yourself.”
“Humor me,” Chrysalis replied with teasing contempt.
“Yes,” called a second queen, one of the younger queens, Twilight recalled. “You never brought up Feec’tul’ea in your previous findings. Why do so now?”
“I didn’t have the whole picture at the time,” Twilight replied calmly. “I originally thought she was a minor figure until I cross referenced enough information to discover her true role. She was the one who ultimately gave rise to the rest of us, and tried to erase much of our pre-changeling history. Thankfully she was too busy bringing us into prosperity to finish the job, or else I would have never found my way to Rookhaven.”
“Or secured the rights to your crown,” Kreesus commented with a carefully crafted grin. “So what of the artifacts we were promised?”
Much to Rainbow’s mild displeasure, the topic of artifacts drew all attention away from her. Ah well, my time to shine will come soon enough.
“We were lucky,” Twilight replied with a slight smile. “Due to Rookhaven being in a time-lock, all of the artifacts I was able to recover from the palace were in one piece… more or less. The destructive force of the grand array's mana detonation was absorbed into the structure of the palace itself. A consequence of the palace being structurally reinforced by magic in the first place. I have the first shipment of artifacts already unloading and the Home Guard is now taking it in for processing. Once everything is sorted, I’m sure Captain Thoran would be more than happy to distribute them as he sees fit.
“As for the artifacts themselves, they may not look it, thanks to the time-lock, but all of them predate our existence as a species. I believe that will suffice for my payment.”
Silandrus tapped her chin in contemplation. “I will have one of my escort drones go down and investigate them, and I suggest the rest of you to do the same.” She looked out at the crowd. It was rare for there to be a quick consensus between the royals, and Silandrus waited for the others to nod their compliance. “I noticed you had a second vessel along with… what was it called, the Deception?” Twilight nodded. Through the eyes of Silandrus’ drone, the vessel that the Deception was escorting was twice the size of the frigate, and as ponderous looking as Fluffy. “How many deliveries can we expect?”
“All told? Four. The old imperial family had a penchant for collecting artwork.” Twilight noticed a few queens took note of the implication that the warship was under her command, rather than Cadista’s. I hope mothers’ spies can give her enough warning before an attack. Or at least her new flagship can be completed and launched first.
Silandrus liked what she saw and heard from her puppet drone at the docks. The relics were not at all what she expected, but most of them brought a materialistic glint to her eye. “Excellent. Well then,” she shouted a bit louder, “I call for a vote. Since we can all see the scale of what Twilight Sparkle has delivered to us, and assuming we find no fault in the validity of her research.” Also assuming the lot of you bother to read it. “I move that the matter of Twilight Sparkle’s crown be closed in her favor.”
To no one’s surprise, and Twilight’s lament, almost none of the gathered royals wanted to dive any deeper into her research. Not even Chrysalis wanted to go beyond the cliff notes. Ugh, I swear that mare is painfully long winded in her writing. I might be forced to make an intelligent drone or two just to see if Twilight failed in her research. She stroked her chin at the thought. No… I’ll let her have this one. This is not the battlefield I want to fight on. Her eyes drifted over to Rainbow Dash. Now that the matter of Twilight’s crown was resolved, the floor was open to any other discussion. She faced Polybia, fully expecting her to lash out, and yet the tan colored queen was nose deep in the scroll Twilight had given out. Chrysalis’ slight sneer started to falter the longer it took Polybia to voice the righteous indignation that was surely coming.
Chrysalis was hardly the only one expecting a reaction out of Polybia. Twilight was observing her as well while Polybia read her notes. The more Polybia dove into the document, the more unstable the mix of hate and confusion spread over her face.
In the end, if Polybia had any objection, it was thrown to the wayside when Yeelindrus, Chrysalis’ youngest sister, tossed the scroll away with complete indifference and jabbed a hoof in Rainbow Dash’s direction. In hindsight, Chrysalis was rather proud of her for not speaking during the finalization of Twilight’s right to her crown, lest she commit a crime against Summit Law. “Fine, you have your stupid crown, but what is she all about?”
Sensing the perfect time to have some amusement, Silandrus answered for both former ponies. “Yeelindrus, surely you know of Rainbow Dash. Former Element of Loyalty.” She leaned to the side of her chair with a smirk. “That cloud and lightning… what are they called again, plot mark?”
Twilight and Rainbow’s expressions fell a little, with Twilight giving a tactful reply. “Cutie mark.”
“Right, that,” she replied dismissively, “the mark is a dead giveaway.”
“And for the record,” Rainbow barked hastily, only to calm a little at Twilight’s silent insistence for respect. “I’m still the Element of Loyalty. Even if I don’t have the necklace anymore.”
“I don’t care about your stupid element,” Yeelindrus raged. She glanced accusingly between Cadista and Twilight, neither of which gave anything away in their carefully constructed neutral expressions. Gaining nothing, Yeelindrus refocused on Rainbow. “Why are you a queen?!”
A mottled green and grey queen sitting on the other side of the room stood up to be seen. “Despite Yeelindrus’ tactless blustering, she voices a sound concern. It is my understanding that you have barely started building your hive, Twilight Sparkle. We,” she swept a hoof at the other queens, fully inviting anyone to refute her, “have seen no evidence of you sending out love collectors. Not only that, but I find it hard to believe that Cadista could support both hives, and rebirthing another equestrian into a royal.”
The speaker left out the obvious question as to why Twilight would do so. The royals of the jungle were not blind to the world outside. Rainbow’s partial rebirth was old news due to loose lips and prying eyes. Only her royal status came as a shock to all, save Silandrus who was enjoying every moment Twilight squirmed. For all her years under Celestia’s tutelage, Twilight still found such heavy scrutiny cringe worthy.
Rainbow Dash’s military bearing faltered a little under her sister’s nervousness. <Are you sure we can’t just say it’s classified?>
Cadista remained outwardly emotionless, but her inner tone of voice was remorseful. <We could, but the backlash of them finding out on their own terms could be disastrous. Not to mention this is not something we can hide for much longer anyway.>
<Nothing else for it then.> Twilight took a long calming breath. “The reason you’ve never seen me send out any love collectors is because we don’t need them.” She looked up towards Silandrus with a hint of a smirk to match the old queen’s own. Let’s see if the spymistress herself knows about this. “Nearly every changeling, both royal and drone alike, who belongs to my bloodline is capable of producing love.”
Ancient beings often times think they can no longer feel surprise. Not something shallow like being startled, but deep profound shock was supposedly beyond Silandrus, or so she had thought. For a race so devoted to the shadows and concealment, everyone’s first thought was that she was lying. She had to be. Had Twilight said those words anywhere else, no one would have believed her.
Yet the Summit was as close to a holy place the changelings possessed. Only here within its walls were the lies and deceit forbidden.
Silandrus respected Twilight enough to know the young queen would never dare to bend such sacred laws, let alone break them. Yet despite that, she couldn’t help but to lean forward in her chair and ask the question that had already been answered. “You truly produce love?”
“Yes, we do,” Twilight confirmed. A rise in Rainbow’s humor over the hive mind drew Twilight’s attention. Allowing her to know Rainbow’s question before she voiced it. <No, they don’t need a list of your accomplishments, racing trophies, and medals.>
<Bah, you’re no fun,> Rainbow tossed back after her ego deflated a little. <Just means they don’t care about real talent. Only love production.>
Once the initial shock wore off, the whole chamber erupted in chaos. Twilight could hear some queens accusing her of lying before the Summit. Others were demanding proof, while more suddenly found many of their schemes were worthless against her. Only two queens remained silent. Silandrus was still in the throes of shock, and was quite enjoying the novel feeling. Cadista would have been silent, but she was busy trying to pull a couple of queens from Chrysalis’ camp and onto her side. As for Chrysalis herself, she was caught on one question: how?
She looked to the one person who would have the clearest answer. “Cadista!” she shouted loud enough to silence the room. “There have been hundreds if not thousands of ponies who have been converted into changelings.” All eyes bounced between Chrysalis and the smug Cadista who sat there with a superior grin. This was one of the moments that gave Cadista reason to continue drawing breath. “Tell us, how did you create a changeling, let alone royal that can produce love!? I demand to know!”
A cruel and vile scowl, the likes of which Twilight had never seen on her mother’s face before, marred Cadista’s face as she addressed the object of her old hatred. “You can ask Yumia how I did it when I send you to the afterlife. Assuming you’re worthy of even looking upon the Silver City that day.”
“You have to tell us!”
“We deserve the truth!”
“The Summit demands it!”
Silandrus jolted out of her enjoyable stupor to take to the air and caused a mini thunderclap with her magic to silence the chamber. “No, it does not!” she roared, having missed who spoke last. She glared at each of the gathered royals, making sure not to skip the few scattered princesses either. “We each have our secrets. There are some that must be shared, such as a new heir, and there are those that do not. Or else we would have to share all of our alchemical knowledge with one another.”
“This is more than just creating a better drone,” Jstrul, Chrysalis’ middle sister challenged. “If we could all produce love, then we wouldn’t have the same restrictions we have now! We could finally spread as far as the might of our armies could take us.”
“Is that all you can think about?” Twilight spat with contempt. “Conquest? It’s no wonder none of you could ever produce a loving royal daughter.” Well, that and genetics, I’m sure. The comment had the desired effect. Many of Chrysalis’ allies had brief looks of contemplation before quickly hiding them as Twilight continued with steel in her voice. “Have all of you truly forgotten what love actually is?” Twilight glared at the assembled queens with borderline disgust. “It is something that living beings share and give to one another!”
The vast majority of the royals scoffed or silently dismissed Twilight’s accusations, save Silandrus. The old spymistress rolled the young queen’s words around in her head. Is there more to that than Equestrian self-righteousness, or is she just pratilling her beliefs?
As Twilight took a breath to continue, one of the more neutral queens huffed disdainfully at her. “If you’re so high and mighty about giving, why don’t you give us the secret to love production?”
Chuckles rang out from a few princesses who saw the sarcasm. Twilight simply resumed her neutral posture. “It is not an ability that I can simply give. Nor is it possible to reproduce via alchemy. However, I will say this. Retaining this ability limits what I can do to alchemically alter my drones. I’ve had a few clutches who lack the ability, so even I do not fully know the extent as to what I can and cannot do.”
A slow clap from a single pair of hooves resounded through the hot and humid room. Chrysalis stopped after the sixth one when she had everyone attention. Even the other queens retook their seats. “I must say. Bravo, Cadista, bravo. Despite, or maybe in spite of your failings, you’ve managed to produce the single most important evolution in the history of our species, outside of the hive mind perhaps.” She stared at Silandrus.
It took a moment for the old queen to understand the unvoiced request. What? Oh, now someone actually cares enough to ask for the floor properly? With a lethargic sigh, Silandrus heaved herself into an upright position. “The Summit recognizes Queen Chrysalis.”
Twilight gave a troubled look between Chrysalis and Cadista before taking her seat to Rainbow’s left. Chrysalis didn’t bother walking to the center, and opted to hover above it. “I say we let them keep their little secret. Not that it will remain one for long,” she added with a lethal glare towards Twilight and her family. “Now that we all know it’s possible, we can start our own research anew.” At least now I know what that little project Cadista and Yumia were so focused on for so long. “Not only that…”
Chrysalis contemplated the matter for a few seconds. Each moment saw a slow grin cleave her muzzle. “This will be an excellent test for the future of our kind, don’t you all agree?” She scanned the crowd, looking for anyone who came to the same realization she did. A few caught her meaning, but the majority didn’t. I suppose I will have to be blunt. She looked at Twilight and Rainbow Dash with fire in her eyes. “You two have changed the rules of the game. Let us see who among us are capable of adapting,” she turned to a number of queens who Chrysalis deemed were one step above from failures, “and who will be left behind.” Chrysalis glided back to her seat. “I have nothing further to say,” she added with eerie cheer.
The rest of the Summit revolved around more questions about Twilight’s bloodline and her love production. Predominantly questions crafted to try and tease out details about how to replicate it, but the other queens ultimately gained little. It was around early evening as Silandrus stewed in her chair while the other queens started pursuing the artifacts Thoran had brought up.
Bah, this is no longer a Summit, it’s a damn flea market. She slammed her gavel several times before everyone stopped bickering over who got what. “If we have nothing further to add to the day’s Summit, I call this session to a close.” She received no objections. “Very well, Captain Thoran. I suggest we move all of this to one of the large halls. It is insulting what you’ve turned this chamber into by bringing the artifacts up.”
The drone in question dipped his head in submission. “My apologies, Chairmare.” He whistled loudly and waved a hoof at his subordinates who quickly picked up the goods and started moving out. Several queens snatched choice bits as the drones left.
Cadista saw her opportunity. <Twilight, Rainbow, we should take our leave.>
<Good idea,> Twilight replied and quickly chased after her mother as she took the north exit.
Rainbow Dash frowned deeply at the whole situation as nearly every royal followed, tactfully of course, after Thoran and the artifacts. <Bah, whatever. I really thought they’d be all weirded out by me.> Maybe Twilight’s first show and the whole love thing stole my thunder.
With the Summit over, Rainbow let her military bearing fall away completely and sprinted off to join her kin.
She caught to them as Cadista was talking with her daughter. “Now we must be more cautious than ever before. Your drones especially, will be targeted for foalnapping so the others can learn the secret of love production. It doesn’t mean they will from such actions, but they don’t know that.”
The group rounded a corner as Twilight replied with a worried look. “We can’t barricade ourselves in Phoenix’s Roost. The others would just see it as a sign of weakness and fear on our part.”
Rainbow Dash spied one of Chrysalis’ drones trying to conceal itself as the trio marched towards the docks. <Heyya, shouldn’t we talk about this over the brain link?>
Without looking behind towards Rainbow, Cadista hissed reply. <We just had to give away our best secret. I’d rather not make it known that we’re still linked.>
<Oh, gotcha.> “So ah, how about them Colts?”
Twilight and Cadista actually came to a dead stop to give Rainbow a bemused and sour face respectively. Rainbow nudged Twilight with her side. “Okay, fine, I know you don’t like sports, but come on granny. You can’t tell me you don’t watch hoofball through a proxy.”
Twilight chuckled softly. “Come on, RD, you know she’s too busy for that sort of thing.” She turned to Cadista for confirmation, only to find her mother wearing a mask of slight embarrassment. “Wait…” Twilight’s eyes widened at the realization. “You do?”
Rainbow started snickering, only causing Cadista to give up the ghost. “Pah, okay so I do. I have to admit equestrian sports are rather entertaining. I’ve been thinking of making a team or two from my soldiers.”
“But a… wha…” Twilight had to shake herself just to speak properly, yet she never got the chance when Rainbow interrupted her.
“Sweet! We should totally make teams of our own, Twi. One for each of us!” Something finally registered in her brain, making her enthusiasm diminish slightly. “Why only the soldiers?”
Clearing her throat to regain her sense of regal bearing, Cadista started walking again. “Two fold. First to see if it improves the quality of life for my children.”
“You can bet it will, Granny.”
“Grr, stop calling me that!” Cadista rolled her eyes and forced her tone back to normal. “The second as a test bed for different strains. There are many aspects a hoofball player has that would also benefit a soldier. Endurance, mental agility, toughness, the list goes on.”
Worded as such, Twilight’s bafflement melted away to intrigue. “Yes, yes, I see what you mean. I’m sure it would be a popular addition to the hive.”
“Ha ha! Oh yes!” Rainbow pumped a hoof and started flying above her kin. “We should totally send them to compete with Equestrian teams too!”
The group stepped out onto the castle’s docks, which had been built by the Home Guard specifically to cater to Yumia and Cadista, only to find Polybia waiting for them.
All sense of joviality evaporated at the sight of her. Grinding her teeth at the expected challenge, Twilight stepped forward, with Rainbow staying by her side. <We’ll handle this, Momma.>
Saying nothing, but giving her support nonetheless, Cadista allowed her daughter to stand on her own. She’s done well so far. She needs to be able to stand on her own.
Twilight scanned Polybia’s neutral expression. She’s masking herself better than last time. “I assume you’ve taken offense to my findings.”
Heavy wind blasted past the royals as the engines of the airships started spooling up for launch. Polybia had to shout to be heard over the chopping turbines. “I don’t know what to think about you, Twilight Sparkle. On one hoof, your findings are heretical to the extreme, and on the other, I cannot see you lying to the Summit. For what it’s worth, I believe you hold true to the Honor of Queens.”
“So you agree to disagree or something?” Rainbow queried with thinly veiled dismissal.
“You can not simply pull a new queen out of a hat, and expect anyone to accept her as the true First Mother.” Polybia’s control over her indignation was starting to crack.
“Maybe I wasn’t clear,” Twilight started with a touch of exasperation. The crews picked a bad time to start take off procedures. She ignored the growing backwash and cast a spell to make conversation easier to manage. “I was lucky to get Feec’tul’ea’s name at all. She was extremely thorough in expunging old records.”
“Honestly, I thought you’d be more pissed off to find out Tia’vil’yet wasn’t the pure soul you keep making her out to be.”
Polybia growled at Rainbow’s flippant comment, yet it was lost in the wind. “There are no saints in the jungle, Rainbow Dash.” She glanced in Cadista’s direction. “Never have been, and never will be. But that does not give either of you the right to mock Tia’vil’yet, nor take away her status as First Mother!”
Fuming all the while, Twilight tried to maintain a diplomatic air. “I never said Tia’vil’yet was out and out removed from her status as First Mother of us all, only that my interpretation of the facts leads me to the conclusion that her daughter, Feec’tul’ea, better fits the role. If you read what I’ve given you, and you still see Tia’vil’yet as the proper First Mother, then so be it.”
Polybia stamped the wooden dock with enough force to smash through the planks. “Don’t you get it! You’ve split us up! Now there will be queens honoring one or the other! You’ve divided us in the worst way possible, Twilight Sparkle.” She spat her name out as if it were poison. “You have made an enemy for life.”
“I only offered the facts in the most unbiased way possible. I only added my opinion in my speech, not my report.”
Polybia spat on the ground as she yanked her hoof out of the floor. “So I’ve seen. Despite the damage you’ve caused this day, you did deliver factual knowledge of the First Mother’s life, no matter how grim it might have been. And for that gift of knowledge, I present one of my own, from one enemy to another.”
Rainbow Dash shared a quizzical glance with her sister. “I’m not sure we can trust your word if you're declaring yourself as an enemy.”
“I wouldn’t expect an outsider like you to understand.” Polybia faced Twilight and brought up one of her scrolls. “If what Twilight Sparkle’s rather heavily redacted report on your transformation says is true, you didn’t undergo a true rebirth. As much as I despise you, Twilight Sparkle, I will at least acknowledge you as a true changeling, but you, Rainbow Dash, are but a pony in changeling chitin. You will always be an outsider.”
Twilight brushed a hoof against Rainbow’s chest. “Let her speak, RD. We still stand on the grounds of the Ebony Castle. Polybia won’t lie to us here.”
Polybia gave a slight nod and snort of shared respect. “You should know, Twilight Sparkle, that your first foray into our jungle was hardly a secret, no matter how much your dear mother wished it to be.”
Upon hearing her name, Cadista flew over, but did not interrupt just yet. Polybia eyed her carefully before continuing. “I always have a scout watching the trade caravans Cadista sends between Stripped Gear and her little outpost by the chasm. I know I’m not the only one either, because it was Silandrus who made the attempt on your life that day.”
“Damn, I knew it had to be her!” In her anger, Cadista grappled a wooden crate off the dock and flung it at her airship with enough force to shatter the box. “I thought it was too convenient that none of the attacking drones were there when I arrived.”
“So Silandrus tried to kill me…” Twilight mulled over the news. “Yes, she was the one in charge of information control about our race, and it sounds like something she would do. What about the big shape or beast that I can never remember properly?”
Polybia tilted her head with an amused smile. “That would probably be the Silence Behemoth she prodded over to clean up the mess her drones left behind.”
Cadista and Twilight gasped at the audacity of it, while Rainbow was left in the dark. “Umm, anypony mind telling me what a Silence Thing is?”
“A Silence Behemoth,” Cadista replied with fear trembling her voice. “The worst kind of monstrosity the Jungle has ever seen, even more so to us changelings.”
Twilight was rubbing her forelegs as the memory resurfaced. “Those building sized monsters have the ability to numb everypony within half a kilometer around them from the hive mind.” She gave her sister a troubled look. “No changeling can recover quick enough to defend themselves from it before being eaten. If it wasn’t for our airships, the Silence Behemoth would be the apex predator here, not us.”
“By Celestia’s sunburnt plot, are you serious?!” Having been fully integrated into the hive mind for months, the mere thought of being numbed to it sent chills down Rainbow’s spine. “I bet you five bits Silandrus made sure you were poisoned before sending that monster at you.”
“You’re more astute than I give you credit for,” Polybia rolled the compliment off her tongue as if it was an insult. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure how to take it, not that Polybia gave her a chance to respond. “I doubt the Ghast Spider venom was the only thing you were poisoned with. But even if that was the only toxin running through your veins, The Silence Behemoth's overwhelming strength is sufficient to overpower anyone alive, Discord notwithstanding... perhaps. What I find unnerving was Silandrus being able to command one, even indirectly.”
Without elaborating, Polybia cast a ring of fire around herself. “I have said my piece and have nothing more to say to you.” With contempt replacing her scowl, Polybia sank into the portal.
Rainbow Dash huffed dismissively and rolled her head over to her sister. “So what do we do about Silandrus?”
“We do nothing, Rainbow Dash.” Cadista flew over to land in front of the younger queens. “The last thing we need is to make an enemy of Silandrus. Just be glad she no longer requires your life, my daughter.”
There was a war going on in Twilight’s mind. All that her transformation had taken from her, the loss of Velvet as a loving mother, her simpler life in Ponyville, all the pain she had suffered to establish herself as a queen quarried with all she had gained. Her beloved children, the fulfillment of being queen, wrestled for control of her emotions.
“I… I think I need to sleep on this.”
As Twilight brooded her way onto her airship, Chrysalis, Jstrul, and Yeelindrus picked through the pile of choice artifacts they absconded with. The trio was in one of the lower chambers, waiting for their small army of drones to fly in to carry the items away.
Chrysalis was fascinated by a massive four meter tall, and ten meter wide oil painting that depicted a panoramic Rookhaven in its pristine glory. The frame was made from a golden wood from a long extinct tree, more than sufficient to satisfy her with its glory alone. The rest of the artifacts were simply icing on the cake. I wonder if Twilight had to teleport this beauty inside herself.
Jstrul had her own favorites, but she was only half focused on appraising it while the rest of her mind was centered on the love issue. She briefly looked at Yeelindrus who was primping herself in a silver inlaid mirror. The item had been cracked badly from the incidents at Rookhaven, but Twilight’s drones had repaired it so it was impossible to tell. “Chrssy, what are we going to do about Twilight and Rainbow Dash? They could amass a limitless army if left to their own devices.”
“Very true, Dear One. But attacking them now would be problematic. Every other queen will be dedicated to unlocking their secret of love production.” She narrowed her gaze at one of the streets in the painting, and noticed that the artist had actually drawn in little figures. “They’ll be stumbling over each other to try and snatch a drone to test on. But they will fail, all of them.”
Yeelindrus overheard her and carelessly dropped the mirror. Luckily it landed on a pile of cushions. “Why? We know it’s possible, we should just take a drone, rip out the secret and then breed an army of drones that can feed themselves.”
“Because that won’t work,” Chrysalis replied at length. Maybe I’ll have to expand my personal chambers to accommodate this exquisite art. Satisfied with her acquisition, she moved on to a grand, meter long string instrument she had never seen before. “If we could have teased love production out of alchemy before, we would have done so already. Not to mention Twilight is no fool. She knows we’ll be hunting her drones now. It would be folly to try and take them on multiple levels.”
Jstrul pondered the issue, realizing her elder sister’s wisdom as truth. “What if we took one of her consorts?”
“Consorts?” Yeelindrus queried. “Why would they be any different than a simple drone? Especially when we can simply activate them into consorts?”
“Tsk, tsk, Young One,” Chrysalis kindly scolded. “You should already know only a drone’s egg mother, or that mother’s direct royal daughter, can convert a drone into a consort.”
“But if we kidnap one, our pheromones would be enough to keep the consort fertile.” Jstrul put her prizes down to look at her sisters. “Assuming they can be taken before self-destructing.”
It was common practice for a consort’s body chemistry to have a potentially unstable element. All it took was a simple command from the queen, or by the drone himself for his body to necrotize itself, starting with the reproductive system.
Yeelindrus tittered behind a hoof. “That weakling, Twilight, is too soft to give such an order. Even if she wasn’t, a simple charm with a follow up Link sever could easily net us a love consort.”
“She’s soft, that much is not in question,” Jstrul commented with a contemplative hum. “But even she would at least keep the destruction of the gonads part intact in the event of a consort being severed from her.”
“That is my assessment as well,” Chrysalis agreed. Several dozen drones burst into the room and immediately started taking the artifacts without a word. With silent direction, the queens sorted their prizes so the drones knew which hive to take them too. “Besides, it is not a matter we can risk revealing to her before securing our prize. Therefore, we’ll need to try a different approach.”
Yeelindrus hissed at a pair of drones who were about to take an ornate porcelain doll. They cowed away, and she snatched the miniature thestral to inspect it. “Why don’t we trick them into mating with one of us? We’re bound to get at least one egg out of the clutch that can produce love.”
Both Jstrul and Chrysalis were taken aback by the idea. Not only because it was sickening, but by the brilliance of it. The source of such an idea didn’t help much either. “Even the village idiot has flashes of wisdom,” Jstrul muttered to her older sister.
Yeelindrus overheard part of the remark, but Chrysalis walked over and draped a loving hoof over her younger sister before she could speak out. “Well done, Yeelindrus. It may be disgusting to mate with another queen’s consort, but considering the prize, it will be worth it.”
Jstrul was far less enthusiastic. “Disgusting is right. Love production would be a game-changer, but isn’t that a step too far?”
“Sacrifices must be made, Dear One.” Chrysalis gently stroked Yeelindrus’ cheek, showering her with affection. The youngest sister leaned into the touch. “To gain, one must be willing to pay for it.”
Jstrul flushed at the attention Yeelindrus was getting. “And what of Equestria and the invasion plans?”
Much to Yeelindrus’ instant dissatisfaction, Chrysalis stopped petting her and walked over to a globe. Or at least the closest analog one could obtain to a globe with the assumtion that the planet was flat. It was woefully out of date, showing only the Moonlit Empire with mountains surrounding it. “We no longer need to bother with them. As soon as we secure a breed of drones capable of love production, our kind’s greatest limitation will be gone. Once that happens…” She hummed teasingly as she slowly spun the globe. On opposite sides of Rookhaven sat a glorified moon, and a simplistic sun. Chrysalis could feel the craftsman had begrudgingly added the incandescent orb only because he had to. “I say we finally claim the entirety of the Jungle for ourselves.”
“What do you mean?” Yeelindrus queried with a furrowed brow and a tremble of excitement.
Ever the drama queen to rival Rarity, Chrysalis glanced about conspiratorially while ordering her drones to make sure there were no eavesdroppers. “Tia’vil’yet’s reasoning for killing all of her kin was foolish, but it does give me an idea.”
Chrysalis jumped up on top of a large silver colored chaise lounge. “We are obsolete, sisters. There is no getting around that.”
Being called obsolete was a grave insult, but coming from their older sister made it worse. In addition to the evidence, the truth finally drove the proverbial blade into their hearts. “You don’t really expect us to just lay down and die, do you?” Jstrul challenged with growing disgust. “I refuse to let those Equestrians be the new face of our species!”
“Yeah, what she said! We gotta take that power from her!”
Chrysalis tsked at her middle sister while waving a condescending hoof. “Yeelindrus is exactly right. We take that ability, refine it, produce a princess with that ability, and then we enact a culling.”
The younger sisters were stunned. Jstrul couldn’t help but to stutter her next words. “A-a culling? W-what of our allies?”
“They must all die. Once our love producing daughters have stabilized hives of their own, we must never again lay a royal egg. This is our purpose, dear sisters. It has always been our purpose, only this time, the jump in evolution is too monumental to allow the other queens to live. Even our allies.”
“What of Twilight and Rainbow Dash?” Yeelindrus queried with concern. “Neither of them is obsolete, and it will take forever and a day before our daughters could compete with them.”
“A good point,” Chrysalis conceded smoothly. She took to the air and started slowly orbiting her sisters. “The war to conquer Equestria will have to be put on hold. This is far too important for the future of our race, and knowing Celestia, she’ll probably start downsizing her army if her fears of a changeling invasion prove unfounded for too long.”
She didn’t like it, but Jstrul could see it was the best course of action. “The two queens of Phoenix’s Roost will probably do the same. Allies or not, those ponies would never trust an arms buildup right in the middle of their territory.”
“Sooo… That means we’ll be left alone to clean house here? I like it.” Yeelindrus squashed the doll with her magic, only to find that the porcelain encompassed the entire doll, rather than just the face. She caused a few cracks before stopping. What I don’t like is breaking my toys!
“Precisely right.” Jstrul snatched the doll away to try and mend it with her magic. “And those two will only have the Everfree Forest, which isn’t even half the size of the jungle,” Jstrul replied absently as the cracks started to close. “Not to mention those two are so peace-minded they’ll never think to take advantage of our daughters.”
“Just so long as we raise them correctly,” Chrysalis cautioned. “We’ll still have to make sure Phoenix's Roost doesn’t become too powerful. For now, we should focus acquiring the services of one of Twilight Sparkle’s consorts. After that, Cadista needs to be dealt with before we can move on the rest of the hives.”
With the last of the artifacts cleared out by the drones, the Chrysalis sisters departed the Ebony Castle. Visions of the future danced in their thoughts. The idea of ushering in the next incarnation of their species burned in their hearts, giving them a sense of purpose far stronger than ever before.
No matter how much she saw it, Arya still possessed a profound sense of wonder whenever she explored every facet of Phoenix’s Roost. Sadly, it was not a sentiment shared by most of her fellow Tea’la.
The entirety of the plant pony tribe was gathering at the south gate of Phoenix’s Roost. Arya and barely a dozen other Tea’la were standing within walls' boundaries, while the hundred or so others stood outside the threshold. He’la, chief farseer, and the elders stood with the majority. “You cannot convince us, sapling. The visions have come. If all stay here, we bring calamity and despair. Is better we tend to the forest.”
“But what if vision wrong?” Arya challenged with a searching gaze at her kin. The handful of changeling guards on top of the walls watched on, but did not interfere. “You no can say visions always right!”
“Maybe yes, maybe no,” Vel’it, eldest of the elders replied with a raspy brittle tone. “But we do not belong here.” He feebly tried to wave a hoof at the hive, only to nearly tumble to the ground had an aide not caught him. “Imperials did great service to us. They save us from the cursed wood, but we are not one with that tech-no-gee. We only get in way.”
“We learn!” Arya barked back. “We are Tea’la! We are strong and wise. Twilight and colorery sister help make us strong, and then we make them strong. Just like with the flowers and the bees.”
“Nay, Seedling,” He’la said wistfully. She cantered forward and placed an honoring hoof upon the young druid. “It is not our way. Maybe someday, but not today, and not tomorrow.” She could see Arya had started to tear up and her lower lip quivered despite her efforts to stop it. “We are of the woods, but you must walk a different path than the tribe.”
Arya’s brow furrowed and her wings rattled in confusion. “What you mean? Am I banished?”
He’la hugged her junior, making sure her tears never reached the ground. “Nay, never. Do not trouble yourself with Gethar’s flight. You are my best student, and bravest of all. The spirits spoke of these things as you help save our people from Gethar’s fury.”
Arya sniffled and tightened her hug on her mentor. “What would they ask of me?”
He’la separated from Arya, but kept a wooden wing under her student’s face to ensure any more tears did not touch the ground. “This tech-no-gee is powerful, massive, dangerous. The forest is just as powerful, and massive, and dangerous. But imperials prove the stronger. So the spirits desire you to keep the tech-no from being too black and dirty. Help the imperials be green like the oak, and flowing like the river.”
Arya looked around at those who decided to stay with the hive as well. All of them were saying their goodbyes as well. “How will I do that? I know nothing of tech-no-gee. Why they listen to me?”
“Not be easy, I know.” He’la looked to the various trees that lined the streets of the hive with a warm smile. “But methinks they listen, you need only to tell them.”
“Try I will.” Arya sniffed to hold her tears back. “Where will all you go?”
He’la turned south, trying to see past the cleared patches of forest. “There are calm woods Queen told us of. We go there. When we find it, I send messenger to you so you can find us.”
With one wing crossed in front of her, the other pointing towards the sky, Arya bowed deeply to her mentor. “Proud, I will make you. No fear in that.”
“Know this, I do.” He’la returned the honored gesture, prompting both to rise a moment later. “Is why the elders and I name you Chief Druid of those who stay.”
Arya stood a little straighter at the praise, her branches rattled in satisfaction. “Lead well, I will.”
The two groups waved their final goodbyes before He’la walked over to the front of her group and started the long trek to more peaceful woods. Arya remained at the threshold of the gate with the others, not wanting to lose sight of them. The road the changelings had been working on went northwest towards Ponyville, but not the straight westward path the Tea’la needed to go to reach White Tail Wood. As such, it was not long before He’la’s group disappeared into the vegetation.
Aegis flittered down from the wall to hover next to her Arya. “Are you guys sure you couldn’t take an airship to White Tail? We’d have been more than happy to take them.”
The druid shook her head. “Nay, visions say they must walk this path. It is our way.” She turned to look at Aegis. “Many thanks to the bright and dark princesses for letting us stay in their land.”
“There’s barely any of you at all. They’d have taken you in anyway.”
An alert across the hive mind made Aegis look up towards the southern skies. “See ya later Stick Wings.” She shot up high above the trees to find the Deception and the Column of Spring entering the hive’s airspace. Mother’s presence on the Link is pretty chipper at the moment, I think now’s the best time to ask before she gets too busy with hive business again.
Sprinting off, Aegis reached the descending warship within minutes, and smoothly slid right onto the bridge after a sibling preemptively opened the side hatch for her. “Thanks, brother.”
“No problem, Captain.”
The recently promoted shipmaster, Rourke, swiveled on her captain’s chair. She bore the same naval hat Veselov wore before her. Unlike her predecessor, the cigar in her mouth wasn’t lit. “What brings you here in such a hurry?”
“Nothing critical, but I wanted to speak with mother face to face before she swamped herself with work.”
“Hmm?” Rourke rolled the cigar in her mouth. The flavor was quite enjoyable, yet that was set aside for Aegis’ odd request. “She’s in her quarters. No doubt getting ready to leave them.”
“Right, thanks,” Aegis almost left immediately, but stopped at the exit to face the shipmaster again. “You’re still on for that poker game tomorrow night right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Rourke with a smirk before spinning her chair back towards the bow. “And try not to cheat this time.” Before Aegis could protest, she made a shipwide announcement, effectively dismissing her. <All hooves, make ready for docking procedures.>
“I never cheat, you loon!” After being thoroughly ignored, Aegis bolted for Twilight’s cabin. Fortunately, it was fairly close to the bridge. For changelings, there was no knocking on one’s door, so Aegis pinged Twilight and was allowed entry shortly thereafter.
The queen was in the middle of brushing her tail while she was closing a large tome. She was also passively overseeing a construction crew begin groundbreaking on a second domicile for the fifty thestrals who opted to remain with the hive. It was barely taxing her multitasking abilities, so this time ended up being a sort of break before the true work began anew. She smiled at Aegis’ entry. “Good afternoon, Aegy, I was just finished talking to a far away friend of mine.” She sniffed out Aegis’ inner giddiness was mixed with apprehension. “I take it you want some quality time?” she added with a motherly smile.
Grinning ear to ear, Aegis raced over to glomp Twilight. Between the warmth of a mother’s love and her fur, Aegis felt a few precious seconds of bliss. Twilight sighed contently. She had been so preoccupied, that Twilight had let her love reserves slip to just under healthy levels. My egg production isn’t exactly helping preserve love. Aegis’ timing was quite good.
“So how was the Summit?” Aegis asked after a few minutes.
Twilight separated from her daughter with a mild grumble. “As well as could be expected, I guess. I had to give out our secret of love production to explain Rainbow Dash’s royal blood. The others would have discovered why eventually. At least now we know that they know.”
“And your crown?” Aegis looked at the silver crown with amethyst studs perched on Twilight’s brow. She had it recolored to reflect the moon rather than the pitch black it had been before.
“All rights reserved.” Twilight eyed her daughter carefully. “As often as you try to sneak in momma time with me, I get the feeling there’s something else you want to talk about.”
Damn, caught red—hoofed. Aegis bounced away and into a low hover, and facing away from Twilight. “Well, I have been thinking about something for a long time. Since around the time I hatched from my chrysalis.” She slowly rotated to look at her mother. “You know how you’ve got these plans to have future royal daughters claim the chaos lands for their hives? That’s still a go right?”
“Ah, well, yes it is. RD, Ratchet, and I were talking about that on the way back from the Summit.” Twilight resumed brushing her tail. A quick ping from Rourke informed her they would be docking soon. “Why, do you have any ideas on that?”
“I – ahhh, I do, actually.” Leveraging her military professionalism, Aegis kept from rubbing her forelegs nervously. I only have one chance to pitch this right, or she’ll veto it for sure. “I’ve been thinking that we can’t just let random chance determine who the next royal will be.” She glanced between Twilight’s face and her crown. “Each queen is too critically important to risk them having a bit too much crazy in them.”
A dour pale fell over Twilight as she considered the problem. “That’s true enough. That’s why royal daughters are genetically tailored to such a degree, but the mind is less cooperative in that regard.” She laughed at herself before giving her daughter a sardonic eye. “I only have to look at how different all of my children are from me. Even among those who were not altered by alchemy, such as yourself, have such a vast array of different personalities. Sure, there are common themes, but not that many.”
“Exactly!” Aegis half cheered as she landed on the bed, mucking up the carefully made sheets. “So I was thinking that maybe you should rebirth somepony into a royal daughter, sort of like what Granny did.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Twilight refusal caused Aegis’ whole body to slump. “If there’s one thing you should take away from Equestrian society it’s the three strike rule. My rebirth was a matter of life and death. Even if Rainbow didn’t undergo a rebirth per say, everyone thinks she might as well have.” Twilight shook her head at Aegis. “Even if I publicly announce a… I don’t know, contest or something, to find somepony who fit the right criteria, it would only ruin what rapport we’ve built with the public.”
Aegis took a slow deep breath. It’s now or never. Sweating bullets all the while, Aegis turned towards the window to hide her tremor. “I was thinking more along the lines of rebirthing a… drone, perhaps?”
Twilight’s brush halted mid-stroke. She turned to Aegis with puzzlement on her lips. “A drone?”
“Ah well, yeah, I mean, we’d be perfect for it.” Aegis hoped her sweat wasn’t too noticeable as she faced her mother. “There’s no risk that any of us would have hidden allegiances, like a pony might. You already know us well enough to make a judgment call. Not to mention a drone, like me for example, wouldn’t have to adapt from a pony life to a changeling one.”
“A drone into a royal…” Twilight mulled over the idea and finished her brush stroke so she could think more. It was a favored pastime of hers after all. “That could work. First Mother knows Rainbow and I had far too much family drama to work through after our change in species. And it would eliminate the unknown element of the royal’s personality to an extent.”
Aegis remained quiet throughout Twilight’s internal debate. Twilight’s eyes may have been looking through the window, but her gaze went far beyond it. Okay, Aegis, you seeded the idea. Let’s hope it takes root.
“The only real problem I see is that such a rebirth could cause many to see such a rebirth as favoritism.” There’s already enough of that going around as it is. It’s not my fault some of my children never work up the nerve to come spend quality time. The thought troubled her. And here I thought I was approachable to everypony. I guess I’ll have to make the time to visit some of my… less-social drones. Twilight’s lament didn’t have much of a chance to sour the idea when Aegis spoke.
“I don’t think it would, mother.” Twilight arched an expectant eyebrow. Aegis couldn’t stop her wings from vibrating nervously. “I’ve talked to a bunch of my siblings, and none of them so far even want to be a queen.”
“I’ve noticed that as well.” Twilight shrugged at the dead end idea. “Mostly catching conversations in passing.”
Crap! If I let her keep thinking along these lines, she’ll just dismiss it. She’d never force this on any of us. “I’d like to though.”
There it was. The desire had been aired to the one person who could make it happen. If Aegis had been sweating bullets before, she could have sworn watery cannon balls were rolling down her neck. The damp clingy fur wasn’t helping either. Twilight became unreadable, even to Aegis. The mare was in such deep thought for the longest ten seconds of Aegis’ life, that she thought she’d die from anxiety, or dehydration from sweating, whichever came first.
“I think…” Twilight said slowly before stopping again. Aegis had to suppress a groan of nervous energy, not that she could really hide it from Twilight at this close range. “That might not be a bad idea.” Aegis’ heart started to soar, and a massive ‘yes’ was forming on her lips. “However, I need to plan this carefully.”
The ‘yes’ fell flat and morphed into a, “you mean plan the alchemy?”
“Oh that’s the trivial part. Gentle Touch has already hammered out much of what I wanted in a royal daughter’s genetics. No, I need to screen my hive for candidates.” She caught Aegis’ patented Sorrowful Frown of a Million Crushed Hopes and Dreams, and her heart went out to her. “If it makes you feel any better, yes I consider you in the running. Just remember, even if you want it more than anypony else, it’s my job to make sure my future royal daughter is the best possible for our species.”
Aegis’ ears and smile flew straight up. It wasn’t a no, it wasn’t even a ‘I’ll think about it’, it wasn’t even a maybe. Aegis had a chance. No, it was a sure thing, in her mind. I have to win this. I swear, if somepony like Intel who doesn’t even want it wins, I’m going to explode. “That sounds fair, mother. Would you like me to help you screen for candidates?”
Twilight arched a knowing eyebrow and leaned forward to give her daughter the stink eye. “That sounds like a conflict of interests. You wouldn’t want to sabotage others, now would you?”
“O-f course not,” Aegis replied a little too quickly. Twilight’s knowing eyebrow never fell. “I just want to make sure they actually want to be a royal. If you’re the one who asks them, they might say yes out of queen pressure.” Confusion danced over Twilight. “You know, like peer pressure, only from you.”
“Hmm… I guess you have a point. I’ll have Gentle Touch handle it then.”
That’s the best I could have hoped for.
A slight rumble and several loud clacking sounds of metal on metal rattled through the ship. “All hooves, this is the captain. Docking procedures complete, we have forty eight hours until the next escort mission back to the Ebony Castle.”
Aegis laughed at Rourke repeating the announcement over the hive mind. “Why does she even bother with the PA system?”
Twilight was up and gathering her things into a large duffel saddlebag. She didn’t need to make every delivery herself, so she made ready to leave. “Because I told her to. We have both Tea’la and now thestrals trying to adapt to hive life, and there’s no way to link them into the hive mind.”
“You mean besides the circlet?” Aegis commented with faux innocence.
Twilight scowled so heavily at Aegis a black hole almost formed. “That causes way more trouble than its worth, and it’s staying in the Canterlot vault.”
Aegis waved her hooves in surrender. “Just checking. Not suggesting.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes at Aegis before dropping the issue. “Anyway, we have to make it a habit to accommodate those outside the Link, even if none of them are here.” With her bags precision packed to perfection, Twilight cantered to the door. “Come along, if we’re going to make this selection process happen, we should start immediately.”
“I’m all for that!”
As the Deception cooled down in its berth in front of the Ashes of the Phoenix’s bow, a small group of thestrals had gathered. Every last one of them wore a black bandana with a red phoenix on various parts of their body. Twilight trotted off the gangplank trying not to focus too much on the clothing, and instead noticed Rainbow Dash buzzing over from the bridge. <Over here, Dash.>
<Ah there you are, and I see we got the typical welcoming committee.> Rainbow slid into a pacing hover next to Aegis and Twilight as the group reached the first of the thestrals. Aegis noticed the lead stallion was the priest she named Clown back in Rookhaven.
Clown looked up from his bow as soon as Twilight stepped off the gangplank. His bandana was draped over his head with the fiery bird proudly displayed on top. With a carefully crafted diplomatic smile, he spoke in fluent Vespid. “Your Imperial Majesties, how may the Loyalists serve you this day?” The changelings around him balked a little in surprise.
<Lemme handle this one, Twi.> Rainbow stepped forward to eye Clown carefully. “That’s pretty good. Since when were you guys learning our language?”
Pleased that he had spoken correctly, Clown lamented briefly that he had to slip back into Thestrian. He touched the small gem on his necklace to speak again. “While we are eternally grateful for your enchanted gems that allow us to speak to you, my people and I feel it is best to learn your tongue if we plan on staying with the rightful imperial family.”
He looked to his brethren for confirmation. Every last one of them flourished a bow towards Twilight and Rainbow, causing the latter to groan. Blaugh, not even the drones bow this much, and they’re the only ones to have a reason to.
Sensing her sister was at the very short limits of her diplomatic skills, Twilight fluttered over to give the ponies a gentle smile. “We appreciate your efforts in helping to unify our two peoples. However, there’s no need to greet us every time we return to the hive.” Rainbow Dash was more than happy to step back and let her sister do the talking.
Clown dipped his head in repentance, while trying to keep the word ‘hive’ from ranking him too much. “My apologies, Your Graces, but we didn’t actually come for the sole purpose of greeting you back home. But rather to request the opening of a school.” He hesitated for a moment. “That is to say, one that could accommodate our foals. The education system you have in place for your young is a little… fast for us.”
Twilight eyed the group of thirty ponies all crowding the docks, much to the dockworkers’ dissatisfaction. All told, only fifty thestrals remained with the hive, the ten not currently in attendance were teens or younger. “Education is the highest pursuit, but I think that school would need to be for all of you. Not just the foals.”
The priest was not the only pony to give her strange looks. When confusion was the only response Twilight received, Rainbow decided to throw in some blunt clarity. “Basically, you guys are in bad shape. We need to bring you up to speed if you you’re going to make it here as anything but menial laborers."
Aegis could just see the mounting ill-at-ease in Clown’s face. It was an expression that was shared by most of the ponies. <It’s not going to be easy teaching an old pony new tricks, Momma.>
<We all have to keep learning if we want to grow.> Twilight tapped a hoof, waiting for an answer.
Eventually Clown nodded. “I feared as much. I will do all that I am able to learn your ways.” He turned to address his following. “As will we all?”
“As will we all!” the imperials cried back.
Rainbow Dash snorted approvingly. “Well there you have it, Sis.”
“Indeed.” <I suspected they just needed a few months to figure out what they wanted to do with themselves in the modern world.> Twilight looked off into the clear blue sky, and breathed deep as Aegis and Rainbow Dash drew the ponies off to begin planning for the school. With their request being granted, the ponies departed with gratitude.
The mention of school brought Rainbow’s mind towards Scootaloo, eliciting a happy chuckle. “Why not send a few nymphs and adults off to Cheerilee’s classroom? That way the kids can learn how to make a proper school for these guys.”
“That’s not such a bad idea. I fear anything I try to model after myself or the university’s curriculum might be too far advanced for them right now.”
“I second that motion.” Before Twilight could glower at her sister, Rainbow sprinted off. <I’ll take care of this one, sis.>
Glad she’s willing to try civic duties for a change, even if it’s only to get under my skin. Leaving Rainbow to figure it out, Twilight gazed out across her hive, relishing in its constant growth. Nearly all of the drone domiciles were complete so only a scant few were still housed within the Phoenix. Off in the distance, the last section of a wall expansion was nearing competition. This would give the hive enough room to begin construction of its first airshipyard.
Twilight couldn’t help but to giggle at herself and took her crown off to inspect it. “To think. All those years ago when I first set hoof in the jungle, and now look at me.” Polybia’s declaration of hostility skirted the edge of her thoughts, but they were not enough to scare away Twilight’s good humor. I have the rights to my crown. For that at least, I will forget that zealot and Silandrus for the day.
A warm yet slightly concerned grin crossed her lips as Ratchet finally disembarked the warship and was flying off. Twilight replaced her crown and buzzed over to intercept him. With a diabolical giggle, she playfully tackled him in mid air before squashing him into a tight hug. “How’s my Love Bug?”
*Erk* “A bit short of breath.” Twilight loosened up her grip with a sheepish smile. The same smile she had back on the shield tower all those years ago. He couldn’t help but to give her a squash in return. “But otherwise fine. The crew can manage turnaround duties for the rest of the day.” He nuzzled her cheek rather awkwardly given her side grip on him. “How about we go ‘play’ around for the rest of the day?”
After planting a longing kiss planted on his lips, Twilight purred while teasingly rubbing his chest. “I’ve been waiting to hear those words all week.”
With a shared sultry laugh, the pair flew off to enjoy each other’s company, content in the knowledge that for the time being, life was quite good in Phoenix's Roost.