//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: We Are Going to Need a Bigger Boat // Story: Equestria’s Changeling Queen and the Abyssal Empress // by vren55 //------------------------------// One month later, RENS Llamrei, Eastern Sea...                  RENS Llamrei, the first of the newest class of Equestria’s battleships to cruise the seas, was a fine seaboat and very stable. She had to be after all to fire her main battery of four twelve inch guns accurately. That being said, Sunset Shimmer could never quite get used to the rocking of the battleship as it cut through the waves. That, and being cooped up in her cramped cabin with its hammock bed that she could never get used to, lit only by dim ship lighting, was often too much to bear. So she had forced herself to make the long trot up to the compass platform right above the bridge, the highest point of the ship apart from the crow’s nest. This was where she sat, her telekinesis nursing a mug of hot coffee as she watched the sun rise over the horizon. On occasion she would glance to the port and starboard to examine the three ships escorting their warship, the cruiser the RENS Mustang, and their destroyers, the RENS Hellcat and the RENS Audacious.         “Why art thou awake at such an early hour, Sunset Shimmer?”         Sunset nearly dropped her mug of coffee as she spun around to find Celestia standing behind her. “Your highness! I didn’t expect you!” Celestia raised an eyebrow, smiling as she took a place next to Sunset. “Thou could hardly expect us to arrive unless thou had eyes on the back of thy head.” At a momentary loss for words, Sunset decided that taking a sip from her coffee would be far more discreet instead of simply staring at one of her sovereigns. “So, what were thou doing before we interrupted thy thoughts?” Celestia asked. Sunset chuckled. “Well, I don’t like my cabin very much, your highness, so I come up here to watch the sunrise.” Celestia’s smile widened. “We are touched that thou admire our work so much.” The alicorn paused for a moment as she glanced to the side. “And we cannot thank thee enough for accompanying us to Venecia, my friend. We were not sure if we could embark on this Royal Visit if thou did not express the desire to accompany us. We might have asked Luna if she would like to stay for longer, but she has been away from Equestria for too long, and we understood her desire to return.”         Sunset blushed. She never imagined that she could become the friend and advisor to a princess, much less the actual Princess Celestia, and to be included in her first foreign expedition was beyond her wildest dreams. For with the relief effort nearly complete, it had been decided by the Equestrian Triumvirate that Luna would return home for a much needed rest, while Celestia would go on a Royal Visit to gain some much needed foreign experience. It couldn’t have come at a better time too. The pirate menace had died down inexplicably, and while the disappearances of ships were still a concern, the Eastern Sea was much safer now. As this was actually Celestia’s first Royal Visit to Venecia, there would be quite a lot of pomp and circumstance involved. So Sunset hadn’t expected to be asked by her friend to be part of her retinue, but she had been, and she still poked herself just to make sure she wasn’t sleeping. Well… once upon a time, in her youthful arrogance, she would have expected this honor to be granted to her. Now though...         “That’s what friends are for, Celestia, and you know that. You really don’t have to thank me for it,” insisted Sunset. She winced. “Besides, I’m glad you’re my friend as well. I’m not the most sociable of ponies.”         Celestia turned to Sunset, one eyebrow raised. “Forgive us if we do not believe thee, for thou hast such a good understanding of friendship.”         “Oh, I do have friends, but never really close ones I clicked with. I doubt that I would have found even them had Princess Alternia not talked to me about my attitude.” Sunset swallowed suddenly and fell silent, as she bit the edge of her lower lip.         Her brow furrowing, Celestia lowered her head so she could talk to her friend at a more even level. “Dost thou wish to tell us, Sunset?”         Sunset sighed, and placed her coffee down next to the compass array. “I was a big jerk when I was in Celestia’s… well, your school for gifted unicorns. I was the smartest student, and the most powerful, and… well being abandoned at an orphanage and having no parents to check me didn’t help.” At Celestia’s understanding nod, Sunset swallowed and continued. “That was me, until the day you—I mean, Princess Alternia—came to pick a student from among the class during the annual examinations. I pulled off a brilliant presentation. So, I thought I would become her student, her protege. I thought I could gain the power I deserved, the status that came with it, and to have the eyes of Equestria on me.”         Sunset shook her bowed head. “Except, when I asked about my chances of becoming her student and told her of my wishes, she told me something puzzling. She told me that ‘A truly great pony is not one who is the best, but who recognizes those less talented than herself and is able to help them shine.’”         Blushing, Sunset rubbed her head. “I kinda obsessed over that statement for a while before I tried putting it in practice… which was when I realized I had been a jerk to everypony around me. I didn’t realize how many ponies I had hurt when I was a filly, and I didn’t like it. So I stopped doing that, and tried my best to make some friends. It was a bit too late in elementary school, but I did manage to make some friends in mage school. I still can’t help but regret what I used to do though.”         “What matters is thou hast turned over a new life, Sunset Shimmer,” said Celestia.         “I know… I just need a reminder once a while.” Sunset glanced at Celestia and smiled. “Thank you, your highness.”         Celestia didn’t reply immediately, but after a moment, she cleared her throat and said, “Thou can call us Celestia, Sunset.”         Sunset’s eyes widened before she burst into a grin and she bowed. “Thank you, Celestia.”         The princess returned Sunset’s grin, before suddenly her grin faded and her eyes narrowed at something over Sunset’s shoulder. Frowning, Sunset turned and found herself also narrowing the eyes at the distant object on the horizon.         “What the heck is that?” she asked.         Celestia shook her head. “We have no idea, but we believe we should investigate.”         The object was actually a ship, or at least what remained of one. It was a destroyer, but its funnels were ripped off and the rounded forecastle deck had several holes smashed in. All that remained of the lifeboats were woodchips, the railings and ship fittings were ripped off and mangled, and there were several large dents in the hull.         As their battleship pulled up next to the ship, Sunset could hear Captain Smith, the Llamrei’s commander, whisper, “What in Tartarus.” If she wasn’t so puzzled by the nature of the damage, she would have said the same thing out loud.         “We do not believe this is one of our ships,” Celestia said as she looked over the destroyer.         “No, it isn’t, this is a Griffonian destroyer,” said Sunset, as she pointed out the tattered remnant of the Griffon navy’s flag, flapping in the breeze on the end of the vessel. She could barely recognize the double-headed black eagle, so torn was the flag. “The boarding party is ready, your highness. We will go in there and clear the ship first,” said the guard captain. Celestia thanked the pony and watched as gangplanks plonked down onto the destroyer’s deck and the Royal Guard swarm across them. Several achingly long minutes passed until a guard came out and gave the all clear. Only then did Celestia and Sunset trot down the gangplank and onto the ship. “Did thou find any survivors?” asked Celestia. “No, nor any bodies for that matter,” said the guard. That made Celestia and Sunset glance at one another. No survivors was one thing, but who would remove the bodies from the ship?         “Thank you. Document everything you find on this vessel and compile a report, we’ll have a look ourselves,” said Celestia as she trotted down to the doorway into the destroyer, and gingerly ducked under the bulkhead. The door itself seemed to have been ripped off its hinges.         The guard nodded and rushed off as Sunset and Celestia entered the bowels of the ship.         The interior of the vessel fared no better than the exterior. The pockmarked floor was peppered with dried blood and strewn feathers. Sunset cringed at the sight, but Celestia didn’t stop, so she kept following.         Oddly enough, at points within the main corridor, there were what seemed to be the remains of makeshift barricades compiled from furniture within the ship that had been bodily torn apart. Celestia and Sunset followed this trail until they reached the heart of the vessel, the engine room.         A griffon destroyer would use a pair of what is called a triple-expansion (a type of reciprocating engine) steam engines. Each engine comprised of three vertically mounted cylinders fed by steam from the boilers, which pushed pistons up and down, spinning a crankshaft that led out to the propellers. Under steam, these powerful engines could power a ship forward at a good twenty-seven knots, and reverse it if necessary.         But these engines wouldn’t be doing those twenty-seven knots anytime soon. The crankshaft of one of the engines had been snapped in half, the cylinders had hundreds of holes punched into them, and the pistons themselves were ripped from the cylinders.         “The villain that attacked this ship wanted it to be useless,” Celestia said in grim disgust.         “Yes, but that rules out pirates. They usually try to scavenge vessels instead of outright destroying them, and capturing a griffon destroyer with all its machinery would be a grand prize. Not something to be thrown away like this,” said Sunset.         As her eyes swept over the mangled engine room and the Royal Guards that were busy examining it, Sunset noticed from under a pile of mangled sheet metal, the corner of a book. Trotting forward, Sunset yanked the metal away with her magic and levitated a large leather-bound volume. At the sight of the title, Sunset’s eyes widened.         “Celestia! I found the ship’s log!” The alicorn was over by Sunset in a flash, her eyes examining the logbook closely. “The RGS Argo… May I?” Sunset let Celestia take the book in her telekinesis. Opening it, Celestia flipped to the last entry of the logbook. “What does it say?” asked Sunset, Celestia had levitated the book a bit too high for her to be able to glance into it. “Oh. I’m sorry, I’ll read it aloud.” Taking a deep breath, Celestia spoke, her voice filling the engine room. “This is Lieutenant Blake, first officer. We’ve been boarded and are lost. Only ten of us are left. We’ve sealed the bulkheads and doors to the engine room, but they will not hold for long. This is what happened. “We were on patrol near Venecia, scouting the waters in an attempt to figure out why our fishing boats were disappearing. The first indication that anything was wrong was when our propellers jammed. They had tangled the props with something. I don’t know what, but the moment after that, the night watch officer… he just turned into a monster. Sunset blinked as Celestia’s eyes widened as she read on in a tremulous voice. “The monster were equine in shape, with a hard exoskeleton like a changeling, but colored blue. We actually thought the monster was a changeling at first, but the tentacles that writhed around its body, its seaweed mane, rows of shark-like teeth, black pupil-less eyes, and its long shark-like tail told us otherwise. “The monster wrapped its tentacles around the captain and and sank its teeth into his throat. We charged the monster, but that was when the rest of its fellows leapt onto our deck. Blue, some purple, some sea green, abominations with a variety of tentacles, and crab-like pincers. We didn’t stand a chance. It was night, and only some of us were alert, so most of the crew were slaughtered in their sleep. Only we few managed to barricade ourselves here, but the door is not going to hold much longer. We have no food, no water, we’re going to die.” Swallowing, Celestia read the last sentence. “Mom, dad, I’m sorry…” A grimace forming, Celestia shut the book and gave it to a Royal Guard who had astutely retrieved an evidence bag. “What in Tartarus was he describing?” asked Sunset in horror. “It doesn’t sound like any monster I’ve ever heard of,” “Oh, we know what these monsters are,” Celestia said, her voice low and full of worry. Sunset turned to Celestia, eyes wide. “What are they?” Celestia’s jaw locked as her teeth ground together. “Kelpies.” Later that evening, Celestia’s letter to Alternia and Luna by magical fire… Dear Alternia and Luna,         By now thou should have received the news that thine three squadrons of warships, including three battleships, six cruisers and six destroyers, have all been diverted to escort of the latest Venecian relief convoy upon my orders, and that our own flotilla is making its way to the convoy at full speed. We mean no disrespect, but we have found out the reason for the strange disappearances of the ships in the Venecian sea, and we are greatly worried for the safety of the convoy.         Whilst we have no clear evidence that what we found today is connected to the later disappearances, just eight hours ago from this letter, our flotilla by happenstance encountered an empty Griffon destroyer, in a similar state to the fishing boats found by our dear sister, Luna, though far more damaged. The log entry of the warship revealed that creatures known as kelpies attacked the crew. If thou art not aware of what a kelpie is, it is because the knowledge is particularly rare. The kelpies are a race of equine-like shapeshifters that live in the waters of the Eastern Sea. Like changelings they have an exoskeleton, but their shapeshifting capability comes from an ability to morph their forms. It is an altogether more powerful kind of shapeshifting than the changeling kind and makes them far more subversive. The most terrifying aspect about the kelpies, though, is that they are carnivorous and love to hunt intelligent prey. In bygone years, ponykind as well as other species that have lived close to water have been attacked by kelpies. Alternia, thou must be asking now why thou hast not encountered these monsters during thy regency. That is because Samudra, the Sea Pony Empress of Aquestria, and my good friend, kept them under control. She prevented the kelpies from harassing the shores of Equestria. Somehow, though, she appears to have lost control of their kind. Hence, we have decided to take the utmost precaution with escorting the convoys. If they are so brazen as to attack warships with impunity, we can only imagine that their attacks will continue, and that they might no longer be content with attacking lone vessels. Yours sincerely, Celestia Equestria, Alternia’s chambers…         Fortunately Luna was in my chambers when we received the messages. She and I, as well as Twilight and Spike—who had come up to Canterlot for a visit—Harlequin, Buzz, and Cyndra had been playing a relaxing game of cards. I say this was fortunate because the shock I felt could be shared by Luna and our companions, for we quickly realized we had received the same letter and read it out loud to our friends.         “Did you know anything about this, Luna?” I asked when we finished.         Luna shook her head, tearing her gaze off of the letter. “No. I heard of Empress Samudra, but my sister was the one who handled negotiations with her. Don’t you remember our sister’s conversation with her?”         I shook my head. “No. I met with Samudra for what seemed like the first time in your sister’s life, a little after you were sealed because I didn’t recall Celestia having any conversations with her before that.”         “What was she like?” asked Twilight.         I cast my mind back almost a thousand years ago.         “Samudra was friendly, though guarded. I don’t remember much about the conversation because we didn’t discuss anything important. She arranged the meeting by way of emissary and when we talked, we introduced ourselves, talked a little about how the ponies should not pollute the ocean and that’s it.” I frowned. “Yet, Celestia said they were friends… Perhaps she has an answer for that.”         Luna nodded. “Indeed. Did you receive news about the new orders for the dreadnoughts?”         I grimaced. “No. They must not have informed me thinking it was a joint decision on our part.” I pursed my lips briefly. “What do you think of that decision?”         Luna frowned for a moment in consideration. “We think her decision is strategically wise. The kelpies have avoided attacking warships until now, and the fact that they are starting to is something of great concern.”         “It seems a bit hasty for Celestia to do so, though. If the kelpies have a government, then surely we can negotiate some sort of cease fire?” I asked.         “I don’t know. We’ll have to ask Celestia that,” Luna said, standing up.         I rose with her. “Yes. I’m sorry, Twilight, we’ll have to continue this later. The matter is too urgent…” I blinked. Twilight’s brow was furrowed in thought, while Buzz, Cyndra, and Harlequin all looked noticeably concerned. The nervous biting of the lip of my changeling niece, and subordinates in particular just begged me to ask them, “Is there is something you’d like to add?”         Twilight and my changelings glanced at each other, daring the other to speak first, until Twilight shrugged and went ahead. “Well… when I was doing research on the changelings, I came across a shapeshifter with many of the same qualities and abilities that Celestia described. When I and my friends found out that Queen Belladonna was Zecora, she identified them as kelpies, but did not say more.” “My sisters know of the kelpies?” I asked Harlequin, Cyndra, and Buzz. “I don’t know,” said Buzz slowly. “It's just that my mother told me stories about creatures called kelpies chasing after changelings and eating them as a scary bedtime story.” “Same here,” said Harlequin. “My mother… well she did that too for me and Lamia, but she always warned us at the end, repeatedly, that I should stay away from water, and be ready to make a loud noise, as if she was warning us about something.”                  I paused for a second to recollect my thoughts. “Cyndra, contact your mother and my sisters and inform them of this new development. Ask them about what they know about the kelpies, and if they can meet with me to discuss this.” Cyndra nodded and trotted off, while I turned to my student and her assistant. “Twilight, Spike, when you return to Ponyville, can you send me a report of what you found out?”         “We can do that. I’ll also check on my old library to see if I missed any books. Think you can help me with that, Spike?” asked Twilight.         “Of course! Let’s go!” said Spike enthusiastically.         As the pair exited, I levitated a piece of parchment from my desk and spread it out in front of Luna and I.         “Well, let’s get writing.”         Alternia and Luna’s reply...         Dear Celestia,         By happenstance, your message reached us when we were together, and for time’s sake, we are penning our joint reply to you.         While we believe your decision to be strategically sound, we do have a few questions regarding the kelpies and Empress Samudra.         According to Alternia, she met Samudra once after the events of a thousand years ago for what appeared to be the first time, according to what she remembered of your memories. Hence, we are greatly puzzled as to why you name her as a friend.         Furthermore, we would like to inquire whether the kelpie race has a government or not. While we can certainly see the danger in dealing with them, we do not think it would be wise to undertake any aggressive action that may lead to full out conflict unless all diplomatic solutions have been exhausted.         Finally, we would like to inquire your opinion on how shall we explain this situation to the Griffon monarchy, and whether you can forward the investigation reports to us.         Sincerely, Luna and Alternia Celestia’s reply…         Dear Alternia and Luna,         The reason for which Alternia does not recall my friendship with Samudra was because I chose not to give her those memories when we first met.         Samudra and I were close friends, and as such, I would not threaten her by revealing information about Aquestria to just anypony. This was likely why your first meeting with her was so brief Alternia. She realized something had happened to me and that someone else had taken my place. It is likely that she had you watched for a while, until she realized you were not a threat.         I apologize for this deception, but I hope thou can understand that we had our own, thankfully unjustified, reservations about thou and revealed no more than it is absolutely necessary to prepare thee for thy regency.         As in regards to thy query about whether the kelpies have a government. I asked Samudra this years ago and she told me that they have none. While they are equine in shape and similar to ponies and changelings, they appear to be fiercely independent and have none of the empathy that characterize even some of the worst of those races. Hence, there is no diplomatic option to exhaust, as they have no government, and even if they did have leaders, it is unlikely that they would consider negotiation as an option.         On the subject of informing the griffons, my fleet is currently towing the destroyer. We believe that our government should inform the Griffon ambassador, and share with him our investigation reports, as well as our current hypothesis of kelpie responsibility. We should also tell them that should the griffons wish to collect it and conduct their own investigation we will leave the ship at Venecia. For now, attached to this letter are the documents of our investigation which we believe will be of great interest to you.         Yours sincerely,         Celestia As I looked up from the letter, I noticed from the corner of my eye that Luna was glancing at me in concern. “Alternia?”         “I’m fine,” I said in a level tone. Taking a breath to calm myself, I closed my eyes briefly and relaxed my facial muscles. “I should have known that Celestia would have not been so open with her memories. Frankly, it puzzled me for a while why she was so willing to share everything. Besides, it wasn’t so important, and at least she admitted her mistake.”         There was a light touch of a feather on my back and I turned my head to see Luna extending her wing over me. “But you are bothered by it, are you not?”         I sighed. There was just no hiding from Luna sometimes. She could be highly perceptive and considering I didn’t wear her sister’s mask anymore, I suppose some of my feelings were coming through. “A bit. I will have to talk with Celestia when she gets back, but I can tell her heart was in the right place.” I smiled at Luna. “Thank you for asking me about how I felt. It means a lot to me.” “You’re welcome, sister,” Luna said happily.         To my surprise, my sisters had immediately told Cyndra they would be arriving at Canterlot as soon as possible. They didn’t tell Cyndra why, but she did tell me they all seemed rather shocked by her news.         So a few days later, I was in my personal chambers with Diamondshell, re-reading The Lady of the Necklaces, waiting to receive my sisters, when I heard the click of the doors opening.         My sisters gracefully stepped into my chambers. Oddly enough, they weren’t accompanied by their guards. No matter, I was very glad to see them.         “Chrysalis, Simulacris, Belladonna; I’m sorry for having to call you on such short notice,” I said, putting my bookmark into the book and getting up.         My sisters smiled, but to my worry, theirs didn’t quite stretch across their faces. Their hugs were just as strong, but I could tell by the condition their manes were in that they had travelled hard and fast to get here. “We should get started soon, Alternia, do you mind dismissing your guards?” asked Belladonna. I frowned. “I see no reason as to why I should do such a thing. They know about the existence of the kelpies already, as do the rest of my government officials.”         “They cannot know what we are about to tell you unless the situation is dire,” said Simulacris in a low tone.         I wanted to ask my sister what could possibly warrant such secrecy, but I decided that question could wait.         “Diamondshell, take some time off with the rest of the door guards. I should be quite safe with my sisters,” I said.         Diamondshell flinched and swallowed. “With all due respect, your highness. I can keep a secret.” “That may be, but we cannot risk any other changelings knowing what we about to tell Alternia,” said Chrysalis in a calm voice. Diamondshell’s eyes narrowed briefly at her former queen. I was aware she still harboured some anger against Chrysalis for not helping her enough through her troubles with her own hivemates. “I’m not the same changeling that once served under you, Queen Chrysalis,” returned Diamondshell. “Diamondshell.” I spoke in a warning tone. At my voice, Diamondshell blinked, realizing that she had spoken out of line, and her head drooped to the floor. “You know I trust you,” I said in a softer voice. Diamondshell met my eyes and bit her lip as she nodded. I smiled. “Trust me to bear the burden of this secret, whatever it may be.” Diamondshell swallowed and nodded. “Yes, your highness.” Turning to Chrysalis, Diamondshell bowed. “I apologize for my tone and for speaking out of line, Queen Chrysalis.” “Apology accepted,” said Chrysalis curtly. Diamondshell nodded, and with a final bow to me, trotted out of my room, and shut the doors. A moment later, I had cast a sound-sealing spell around the room. “How in mother’s name did you get Diamondshell to accept you as her queen? I was a bit worried about her being a bit of a headache for you, as capable as she is,” exclaimed Chrysalis in admiration. “Oh, I gave her the job of guarding me as I slept.” Chrysalis stared at me, blinking twice, but my smile didn’t waver. “You’ve got a death wish, Alternia,” Chrysalis said in a deadpan voice. “I prefer to call it ‘making a calculated risk,’ much like how I strolled into your hive one day and asked if you would like to make a treaty,” I responded with a bit of a smirk. Chrysalis chuckled, “I concede your point.” Her brow knitting itself together, Chrysalis glared at me. “But in our mother’s name, I implore that you don’t do a thing like that when dealing with kelpies.” “Why is that?” I asked. Sure, the kelpies were dangerous, and I could deduce that from the damage to the Griffon destroyer, their reputed abilities from Celestia, and their carnivorous nature. But why were my sisters being so solemn about this issue? Simulacris answered this question “Because kelpies have a hunger for hunting, killing and eating changelings. You can call us their favorite food.” It took a moment for me to actually comprehend what my sister had just told me. I could have sworn she said that kelpies liked to eat changelings, but that wasn’t possible. Sure some species like dragons and even gryphons could be carnivorous, but none had such barbaric habits in which they would devour sapient creatures on purpose! But the hard looks in my sister’s eyes only confirmed what I had heard. “Oh, damn it.” This was disastrous. With the changelings of my sisters’ hives being able to walk in public, and actually enjoying cordial relations with my ponies, especially with the positive publicity of my Mirror Guard, and the changeling trap boats, the appearance of kelpies put my race, and my ponies who interacted with changelings, all in peril. Chrysalis nodded. “Correct. There haven’t been any serious sightings of kelpies for a long time. On the rare occasion we’d get single ones, or small groups of them, coming once in a while from the coasts to prey on lone infiltrators or parties of changelings. They have never dared to come out onto the surface in force though, and not with such impunity that they’d attack surface warships.” “I understand, but how do you know all of this?” I asked. Scratching her head, Simulacris raised an eyebrow. “We’re actually surprised you didn’t know anything about this. Mother taught us everything she knew about kelpies, which was not much, but she did emphasize the threat they could pose to a hive, and reminded us several times by way of bedtime stories.” Now that Simulacris mentioned it. I could very vaguely remember Chamelia mentioning kelpies… but as I closed my eyes to try to recall the moment, I found I couldn’t remember precisely what she said about them. I sighed. “I believe my memory is still a bit damaged from holding Celestia’s memories. Not to mention I hadn’t had a use for that information for over a thousand years.” Belladonna tilted her head to me, a grateful smile on her features. “Don’t worry about it, Alternia. We’re really glad you brought this to our attention. The change in the kelpies’ behaviour has been so drastic, we’ll have to alert the other queens and discuss our response during the council.” My mind ground to a halt and I raised my hoof to halt my sisters. “Hold on. What council?” My sisters looked like little fillies caught with their hooves in the cookie jar as their eyes widened and flicked between them. Chrysalis in particular, reacted extremely poorly, as her head bowed and teeth began to chew on her lip. I took a deep breath for what seemed like the fifth time today and swallowed down my anger. “Chrysalis, Simulacris, Donna, what exactly have you been hiding from me?” A low groan escaped Chrysalis’s lips, but she couldn’t look me in the eye. “Alternia, there’s a Queens’ Council, a council of changeling queens from all the hives that meets every so often when there are major crises that shake the changeling world.” Simulacris took over. “We contact each other to schedule these meetings by means of a special crystal that mother granted to us before we left the hive. It somehow amplifies our telepathic abilities and links all queens based on the fact that we all descended from the Great Hive Mothers, who descended from The Creator. I’m not sure how Chrysalis got hers…” “Before I left, I searched mother’s chambers, and found out that she left behind a crystal for Alternia and myself as well as the instructions as to how to make one.” Chrysalis inclined her head in thought. “It’s remarkably simple actually. Just a bit of your own blood and a complicated, but doable spell to bind it to a green crystal…” “I don’t need to know the details,” I said in a low voice, my eyes were narrowed, and I couldn’t help it. I was not happy about this development. There was a council of changeling queens, queens like me, who I had never met and never thought I would meet for a thousand years, and my sisters had kept their mouths shut. Chamelia, my mother, had left me something, and for some reason, my sisters hadn’t told me. “What I want to know is: one, when is this next Queens’ Council; and two, when were you planning to tell me?” All three of my sisters froze again for several seconds, until Belladonna relented. “The Queens’ Council is a little more than a week from now, and we didn’t know how to tell you.” “What!” My sisters recoiled as I sprang to my hooves. Belladonna’s and Simulacris’s eyes were fixed firmly on the floor, while Chrysalis trembled, her wide, quavering eyes fixed on me. At the sight of that the rage that had momentarily gripped me dissipated in a flash and an overwhelming sensation of remorse hit me. “Oh mother... I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to lose my temper like that.” “It’s alright, Alternia. We really should have told you earlier. I really should have told you earlier, as this is really all my fault,” said Chrysalis in a flat, dejected tone that broke my heart. “Look, Chrysalis, it was a mistake, a big one, but I’ve forgiven you for that.” I walked to Chrysalis’s side and wrapped my hooves around her. She flinched for a second, but didn’t resist as I held her. “You helped save my life, and you’ve been helping me start my own hive. I can never repay you”—I glanced at Belladonna and Simulacris—“as well as Belladonna and Simulacris, enough for that.” We stayed like that for a few seconds, until Chrysalis gently pushed me away, her smile back on her face. “Thank you, Alternia.” “Well then, if we are finally done with all this sappy lovey dovey stuff, do you want to know anything particular about the Queens’ Council?” Belladonna asked with a bit of an annoyed tone. I could tell though that she really wanted to just get past this stumbling block. “I do believe we should make a plan, particularly since we are presenting you at the council for the first time,” added Simulacris, smiling widely. “You don’t want a hug first?” I asked teasingly. Perhaps I shouldn’t have asked because Simulacris glomped me, followed shortly by Belladonna and Chrysalis. Needless to say, it was a while until we could finally got to discussing what I needed to expect for the Queens’ Council. However, it was really comforting to have my sisters near me as we tried to work through this recent crisis. I had a feeling that I would need all the help I could get in the near future. Later that day…         Harlequin, Buzz, Diamondshell, and I were seated at a table with Admiral Marenitz, who had several folders with her. Each of them had three pictures of three different ships on top, and she passed these out to myself and my guard captains.         “I’ve been reviewing your request for a flotilla of ships, and this is what I could get.” I recognized all of the ships on the folders, but I opened them to see if any had undergone refits. My chevaliers were far more scrutinizing, their eyes narrowed, they examined every clause and sentence in the papers within the folders, even as Marenitz explained them.         “First, we have a battleship, The Hornblower, commanded by Captain Hotspur. She ain’t as new and fancy as those Llamrei-class ships we just got, but she’ll do the job with her two twelve inch guns, and two ten inch guns. Not to mention she has a pretty respectable secondary battery.”         Marenitz pointed to the smallest ship in the group. “Then we’ve got the destroyer Jack Sparrow, commanded by Captain Black Pearl. Pearl’s a pretty trustworthy captain, used to escort missions, so she’ll be an asset wherever you’ll be off to.”         Finally, Marenitz pointed to the last of the ships, a civilian liner. “And your old diplomatic craft, the trusty old Neptune, commanded by Treasure Bones. We recently added more armor plate to her hull, and reinforced bulkheads for extra protection.”         I smiled as I looked upon the picture of the familiar craft. I had spent a lot of time on the Neptune, negotiating with various leaders and entertaining them. It would be good to get back to sea in her.         “Why haven’t you put any deck or naval guns onto the Neptune, admiral?” Harlequin asked, his eyebrows furrowed.         Rolling her eyes, Marenitz snorted. “Because that’d belie the point of the Neptune being a diplomatic craft, Captain. Besides, have you seen the guns on the Hornblower?”         “Those aren’t going to prevent the kelpies from boarding us,” said Harlequin.         Marenitz grinned. “Turn to page five.” Harlequin frowned, but did so, as did his fellow chevaliers, while I chuckled. I knew exactly what was on that page.         “The Neptune may be a diplomatic craft, but she sports armored cabins and hallways, as well as strategically placed bulkhead doors that will allow your guard to withstand any hostile boarding action without too much trouble. Plus, she has a state of the art armory.”         Buzz blinked. “I thought you said this was a diplomatic craft! The armory inventory says it has among other items: tripod mounted repeater crossbows, barbed wire, and magically-reinforced tower shields.”         The grin that Marenitz was wearing had stretched so wide, it was almost shark-like. “Like I said, she’s a trusty ship.”         “But we don’t know what the full extent of the kelpies abilities though, Admiral Marenitz.” I turned to Diamondshell, a bit surprised that she was taking such a keen interest in my protection. Over the last month though, I could tell her devotion to her position, and to me, had grown. “As we know from the griffon ship’s log, the kelpies  were able to slaughter the crew of the destroyer without too much trouble. Therefore, are you sure the protection on this vessel is sufficient?” asked Diamondshell. Marenitz was about to retort, but I spoke first. “We can’t cover every contingency, Diamondshell. The longer we try to do so, the more time we spend in port, doing nothing when we can be solving this crisis.” I smiled. “Thank you for your concern though, Diamondshell.” Diamondshell still didn’t look too happy about that, but nodded in assent. “Understood, your highness.” Turning to me, Marenitz frowned. “You still haven’t told me why you need these ships ready for next week, your highness.”         I smiled. “Call it instinct, or a hunch, but I have a very strong feeling I might be personally setting out to the Eastern Equestrian Sea sometime soon. Too much mystery surrounds that area and with the news of the kelpies on the loose and given their abilities, I believe that a diplomatic settlement may be the only possible solution, even if they have no government to speak of. In addition, it is also possible I might need to contact Empress Samudra of Aquestria, and the only way to do that is to set out to sea.”         I dearly hoped, though, that if and when I did finally set out to sea, I would find Empress Samudra and not the kelpies. The same night, Port Royale… Ostensibly, the Royal Equestrian Intelligence and Naval Service maintained a small fleet of airships, a mix of non-rigid blimps, and rigid zeppelins for reconnaissance. In this, their airship fleet performed their role admirably, able to spot threats on Equestria’s borders long before they became dangerous. It was one of these blimps that was responsible for sighting the two hundred Equestrian First fanatics a few months ago, allowing the Royal Guard led by Shining Armor and Alternia to intercept them.   To be utterly frank though, using pegasus scouts and Equestrian rangers was actually a bit cheaper and far less likely to be affected by adverse weather conditions. The airships did have better range and staying power, but a more well-versed observer might find it odd that the REINS possessed no less than twenty relatively fast zeppelins and twenty slower and smaller blimps.   So why did Equestria maintain such a large airship fleet, if not for reconnaissance? The answer was espionage. Airships were remarkably useful for Equestrian espionage operations, especially overseas. One might ask why the pegasi didn’t just create a cloud fort, but clouds can’t carry equipment, they are notoriously difficult to form without proper weather equipment, and natural clouds couldn’t be bunched together easily enough.   The zeppelin The Big Boss, demonstrated this unique ability of airships quite well as it quietly descended under cloud cover and through the night towards the island where Port Royale lay. Painted black, with searchlights off, and cabins lit only with red light, it was nearly invisible. The only sound from the ship was a light thrum of its engines, as its propellers had been shaped specifically to cut the air silently. If necessary, cloud and smoke generators could be activated to further camouflage the airship. Yet, as they drew down toward the island, the personnel on the airship realized that something was up. “Director, is it me, or is that island way too quiet?” asked Lieutenant “Jason” Bjorn (pronounced Bourne), a pony agent from the northern parts of Equestria. “Nikita” Meers, one of Equestria’s best agents and one of their intelligence directors, didn’t give a direct answer. She did however, frown and look through her night vision binoculars. A griffon, Meers had defected from the Griffon Intelligence Service to Equestria’s REINS, courtesy of Admiral Marenitz and Princess Alternia and was directing this mission. Bjorn was right; the island seemed oddly quiet for a pirate base, and she couldn’t see any lights that would indicate any kind of activity. A trap? “Have The Big Boss halt its descent. We’ll do a flyby of the island before we drop off Agents ‘James’ and ‘Natasha’,” ordered Meers. “Affirmative,” said Bjorn. The Big Boss continued its course to the island, and the Equestrian agents kept monitoring the island with their night vision goggles.         Suddenly, Meers, still peering through her goggles, gasped.         “Bjorn! Turn on the search lights!” she ordered.         “What!? We’ll be breaking cover! Do you want them to see us?” demanded Bjorn in shock.         “Argh, see for yourself!” snapped Meers, shoving the goggles into Bjorn’s hooves. Bjorn, still frowning, looked through the goggles and winced.         “Damn it. Lights on,” ordered Bjorn. The airship crew, slightly confused, complied and The Big Boss’s search lights revealed what the agents had seen. Port Royale and the atoll it stood on was utterly destroyed, and it looked like it had been for a while. Debris was scattered all over the shore and some still floated in the waters of the bay. Houses, buildings, and ships had been ripped from where they stood or lay and thrown all over the place. Most of the atoll’s crescent ring itself was submerged as the sediment that had put that part of the atoll above sea had been carried away. Meers could barely even pick out what used to be the old foundations of the forts that had stood at the entry to the atoll.         And all over what remained of the atoll, Meers could see the decomposed bodies of pirates: mangled, crushed, drowned, and rotting. Some of the victims though… were young, just fillies and colts. Perhaps they were children of the pirates or kidnapped victims. The tsunami, for Meers was quite sure that was what had hit the base, had made no differentiation between the innocent and the guilty. Turning away from the sight, Meers turned to Bjorn. “Radio the Admiral. Code, Dead Ponies Tell no Tales. Repeat: Dead Ponies Tell no Tales.” Depths of the Eastern Sea…. “Your majesty, a scout has reported in with urgent news.” “What is it?” “A great fleet of gryphon ships has crossed our western borders and are making full steam in this direction.” “How long do we have until they near Aquamaris?” “At their current rate of travel, it could be a week or more depending of weather and seas.” “I see. Slow them. Rough seas, cross currents, whatever it takes. I will send warninge to the gryphons to recall their fleet. If they do not heed our warning then it is war.” “War, your majesty?” “They are moving a fleet of warships through our sovereign water after ignoring my message. We shall sink those overblown tubs and show them we will not be cowed by their mechanical monstrosities. Fetch my generals, we have plans to make.” “Yes, your majesty!” “....” “He’s gone, Ebb. You can come out of the shadows.” “Empress.” “I have a feeling the gryphons are going to be difficult so I need you to head to find Beastmistress Anema and have her get the dragon turtles ready. Have her report to me when she’s done.” “Anything else, your majesty?” “Head to Vol Oros. We may need the leviathans to ensure our victory.”