Chapter Six
Wherein Ponyville is Visited
The train ride was awkwardly silent. It was a mix of nobody wanting to say anything, and nobody knowing what to say in general. Luna watched as King Phoenix seemed to be meditating, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. His disguised horn was glowing very faintly, and he seemed to be very focused on something. Noticing that Mirror was cooing happily at Star as her husband held him, and especially noticing the way Shining was glaring at King Phoenix, Luna decided to step away from where she had been nursing a cup of tea on the royal train car’s table.
“Excuse me,” she said softly, sitting next to Mirror. It was far easier to commune with a calm mother, rather than an angry Shining Armor.
Mirror looked up at her princess, and bowed. “What can I do for you, princess?” Mirror had to pause and kiss her son’s forehead to get him to stop whining for her attention. It worked long enough for Steelfury to take over.
“I have a few questions regarding your king, and your position as a night guard.”
Mirror swallowed a bit, but nodded. “What would you like to know, princess?”
“Assuming that we -- my sister and I -- find that your hive is as peaceable towards us as your king claims, and that you do make for a trustworthy ally of Equestria, would you return to your position as a member of my guard?”
“Yes,” Mirror answered instantly.
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because I have sworn my life to you, and I plan to keep that promise.”
“And what of your king’s opinion?”
Mirror smiled. “He’s the one who suggested that I become one of your guards in the first place.”
At this, Luna blinked, glancing towards King Phoenix with a look of mild surprise on her face. “Really? He did? Why?”
“Because ever since you came back, the night sky became so much better. I’ve... always had a bit of a preference for the night, even as a nymph. So when you came back and put out a general request for guards to call your own... well, my king came to see me and suggested it. I’ve been a member of your guard since, and I always will be.”
Luna felt pride swell in her heart at Mirror’s devotion to her, even in the face of so much doubt from so many ponies around her. Rather than let her pride show, Luna kept her face calm and strict as she glanced towards King Phoenix again.
“As for my other question, Mirror... what exactly is your king doing right now?”
Mirror smiled. “He’s speaking with the hive mind, having them prepare for our arrival.” She giggled for a second. “He wishes for you to know that he can hear everything you’re saying, and that he would like to remind you that no matter how much you try to hide your pride, we’re changelings. We can sense it.”
Luna blushed a bit at her momentary lapse of attention to detail. “I... see.”
“It’s alright, princess. Not very many ponies know the intricacies of our abilities.”
“Well, I thank you for answering my questions.”
“Have I satisfied your curiosity, princess?”
Luna opted to ignore Mirror’s cheeky smirk. “For the time being, yes. I will have questions later, no doubt.”
“Feel free to ask whenever you wish,” Mirror paused long enough to bow. “Mistress.”
Luna smiled and bowed in return, before heading on back to sit with her sister. Celestia gave her a questioning look, and Luna leaned in to whisper what she had learned. Celestia nodded in return, deciding to continue keeping an eye on King Phoenix. As she went to sip her tea, Celestia glanced at the way Shining Armor had yet to take his eyes off the king. It took some time, but Shining finally noticed that his princess was watching him, and sighed slightly. Celestia waved him over with a wing, and after he whispered to his wife for a second, he obliged.
Once he’d seated next to her, Celestia spoke. “Is something the matter, Shining?”
Shining snorted. “Everything and nothing, princess. I know that King Phoenix has not given any reason for it, but I don’t trust him.”
“Your wedding?”
He nodded, his ears pinning back for a moment. “I just can’t trust him, princess, no matter what he may say or do. I know we have spells now specifically designed to take down changelings, and I know that King Phoenix has done his best to try and placate my fears, but... he’s still a changeling, and I can’t trust them.”
Celestia nodded in understanding. Glancing around, Celestia noticed that King Phoenix seemed to not be paying attention to them. Cadance was glancing their way every so often, although Starlight seemed to be able to hold her attention far better. Mirror and Steelfury were focused entirely on their colt, especially enjoying the way he laughed at Cadance’s cooing. Seemed that no matter who the parents, Cadance was easily distracted by cute foals.
Returning her attention to her worried captain, Celestia had one more question. “Do you have any other concerns?”
Shining frowned slightly, then nodded. “I do, princess; but I want to save it for when we’re about to disembark. It... has to do with the way we’re going to be trying to get my sis and her friends to trust the king.”
Celestia nodded in understanding. “That time may come sooner than you think, Shining. Look, Ponyville is in sight, and the train is beginning to slow.”
Shining blinked, and glancing out the window near the table proved the princess right. As if on cue, there was a soft chime through the royal car, followed by a voice.
“Your Majesties and guests, we are arriving at Ponyville Station. Please gather your belongings and prepare to depart. Thank you for riding with us today, and have a nice day.”
With a soft click, the voice ended. Not a minute later, there was the unmistakable squealing of metal tracks and metal wheels being forced to slow down. It took another minute or so for the train to slowly glide into its proper position in front of the station, before coming to a gentle stop. As the ponies stood and stretched, with Mirror and Steelfury making sure their foal was ready, Shining stepped up to King Phoenix. The king had taken a few extra moments to move out of his meditation, ceasing his time in the hive mind. Phoenix raised an eyebrow at the emotions he was sensing from Shining Armor, as well as the determined look on his face.
“Is there something I can do for you, captain?”
Shining took a deep breath. “I would like you to go through Ponyville undisguised as you lead us to your hive.”
The other ponies and changeling in the train car had varied reactions, ranging from moderate surprise to outright shock. For Mirror, that shock quickly shifted to anger.
“Captain Armor, who do you --”
Phoenix held a hoof up, silencing her easily. Despite his own bewilderment, he had enough state of mind to speak. “May I ask as to why, captain?”
“I still don’t believe or trust you,” Shining began. “But if you truly want peace between your hive and Equestria, then sooner or later, your changelings will be able to wander our streets undisguised... I want you to be the first. Prove to me that you mean it.”
Phoenix looked Shining in the eye for a time, before nodding and releasing his disguise. “Very well, I accept your terms, captain. Are you satisfied?”
Shining nodded, and rejoined his wife. Cadance whispered to him for a moment, before Celestia caught their attention as she opened the door to the train car. The solar diarch had the sense to forewarn her student and her friends about their impending visit, along with the fact that they would have guests with them. Celestia had also seen fit to tell said guests that they should expect a small welcoming party that would no doubt include all six Bearers of Harmony.
Of course, no matter how much warning everypony may have had, Twilight Sparkle and her friends still only saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna step out of the royal train car -- and bowing respectfully, of course -- and they were followed by...
Rainbow Dash, being the fastest pony alive, was the first to react. “Princesses! Behind you!” The princesses didn’t even have time to react before there was a rather solid thud behind them followed by a grunt.
Phoenix looked up from where Rainbow had floored him. “Was that really necessary, Miss Dash?”
Rainbow flinched back, realizing that the changeling was little more than winded. “How did you do that?! I hit you at full speed!”
“I’m a lot tougher than you expected.” Phoenix very gently put a hoof on Dash’s chest, making her friends tense.
Applejack didn’t take too kindly to it. “Get yer hooves offa her, ya filthy changeling!”
Phoenix ignored her as he gently moved the still-stunned Dash off him, and stood up, brushing himself off. The girls watched in shock as the cracks that Dash had created very rapidly sealed. “That’s kind of impossible, considering that she tackled me, Miss Applejack.”
Twilight looked incredulously at her mentor in between glaring at the large king. “Princess, why is there a royal changeling behind you?!”
Celestia took a deep breath. She should have planned for this, the welcoming and all, to help mitigate the hostility that even she could sense as clear as day. It didn’t help that she hadn’t been forewarned of Shining’s challenge to King Phoenix.
“My faithful student,” she made sure to emphasize that to try and convince her student to trust her in this. “Do you recall the letter I told you about a changeling hive requesting a meeting for peace talks?”
Twilight nodded, frowning mildly before making the connection. “Wait, you mean that he’s...?!”
“That would indeed be me, Miss Sparkle,” Phoenix confirmed offhandedly. “Are you alright, Miss Dash? I know my chitin can be rather tough.”
Rainbow shook herself out of it, and hovered back over to her friends. “Pfft, you’re nothing. I’ve hit harder things and been fine.”
Phoenix nodded, then bowed to the Bearers. “Greetings, Bearers, I am King Phoenix Embers. I apologize for the surprise, I had not intended to frighten you. But it was a request of Captain Armor, and I obliged.”
“Captain Armor?” Twilight parroted. “My brother’s here?”
Shining stepped out of the train car. “I’m here. Sorry sis, I was waiting to see how he was going to react.”
Phoenix chose to ignore him and the way Cadance went right over to Twilight and began their greeting dance. Instead he turned to where Mirror and Steelfury were holding Star together and nervously eyeing the door. While the Bearers caught up with Luna and Cadance on what had been going on the past few days, Celestia’s attention was caught by King Phoenix. She watched as he didn’t even say anything, he simply stood there waiting.
Even so, Mirror slowly approached the door, her ears pinned back and her grip on her son tight, with her husband close to her side. Even at this distance, Celestia could see how tense Steelfury was; how ready he was to protect his wife.
The group’s voices slowed as they were noticed.
Rarity frowned at them. She was about to scold them for stealing a foal, but was promptly interrupted by Pinkie Pie hopping over. While Pinkie had not been all that pleased about the changelings appearing again, she could tell they were innocent of the Canterlot Invasion. Plus that foal was just so cute!
“Awwww!” Pinkie cooed, leaning down to grin at Star. He smiled back. “He’s so cuuuuute!”
Mirror couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you, Miss Pie.”
“Pinkie’s just fine! Miss Pie is my mom and my sister and my other sister!”
Star giggled at Pinkie’s enthusiasm, making her coo again. “What’s his name? And his birthday?”
“This is Starlight,” Mirror said, smiling wider as Star reached for Pinkie. Letting her take him, Steelfury and Mirror both grinned as Star was immediately captivated by Pinkie’s mane. “And he was born only a few months ago.”
Pinkie nodded, making a mental note to have a party for him in her mental “Super Important Party Notes” folder.
“But, Princess...” Twilight finally said. While she was happy to see that the new couple was approved by Pinkie Pie—as big of an approval as any—she still had her questions. “Why did you bring them here, anyway?”
Celestia moved to answer, but Phoenix beat her to it. “If I may, Miss Sparkle.” He wisely ignored the way Twilight tensed when Phoenix stepped closer. “We came here in order to give everypony here a tour of my hive. If you and your friends wish, you are free to join us.”
Rarity frowned, finally speaking. “And why would we do that?”
“Because I am hoping that bringing you all on a tour of my hive will put to rest your fears of my changelings.”
The girls glanced at each other in confusion. Rarity continued when none of them asked the question on their minds. “Why would we be afraid of your changelings? I can see clear as day that you have no relation to Chrysalis’ hive.”
Phoenix’s answer consisted of merely nodding his head in Fluttershy’s direction. The girls looked over, and Rarity had to fight back a wince at how her point was so easily disproven. Fluttershy was currently hiding under one of the train station’s benches, her hooves covering her eyes and her entire body shivering.
“That would be why, Miss Rarity,” Phoenix commented calmly. “I will admit that I am sad that you fear us so, Miss Fluttershy, but if you do not wish to join us, you do not have to. Otherwise, if we are ready...?”
“Well...” Twilight began, glancing at Fluttershy. “I don’t want to go without Fluttershy. She’s my best friend.”
Fluttershy removed a hoof from her eyes and smiled to Twilight. Her voice was soft, but strong enough to faintly reach Phoenix’s ears. “I... as long as I have my friends...”
Phoenix nodded. “Shall we, then?”
The girls looked at each other and nodded. Applejack stepped forward, however. “I’m still gonna keep an eye on ya. Ah still don’ trust ya.”
Phoenix shrugged. “Fair enough. Follow me, I’ll take you to my hive.”
At last, the large group of ponies and changelings headed on through Ponyville. The various ponies in town were ecstatic to see their princesses, but without fail, as soon as they spotted the two changelings, they would tense up and either move to cower behind whatever cover was nearby, or flee back into whatever building was closest.
Phoenix did his best to ignore it, but his ears still pinned back every time. Each time a little longer than the last. Thankfully, Twilight took the time halfway through to interrupt his thoughts.
“So, umm... King Phoenix? You said we were going to visit your hive... where is it located?”
“If you don’t mind, Miss Sparkle, I would like to leave that as a surprise.”
“Er, well... okay.”
The rest of the trip was traveled mostly in silence, most of which was rather awkward. There were a few moments of Pinkie giggling at the silly faces of Star, and especially enjoying how ticklish Star was. It was as they arrived that the girls all froze.
“Wait.” Twilight began, her eye twitching. “Your hive is below Ghastly Gorge?!”
Phoenix nodded, already leading the way down into the gorge. “And it’s well protected as a result. And before you say it --” he paused to look at how Applejack was about to complain about this -- “my hive’s been here for 1,300 years longer than Ponyville has existed.”
Applejack snapped her jaw shut with a click at those words, but she still appeared rather sour about not being told beforehoof. As they continued down into the gorge, Rainbow froze.
“Wait!” She cried, noticing the large holes in the walls of the gorge. “The Gorge Eels!”
Phoenix smirked at that, going towards one of said holes. Changeling king or not, Rainbow had no desire in seeing someone get eaten by one of those eels. She cried out a warning again, and was about to knock him out of the way, when she paused at how calmly the eel left its dwelling. It slithered out, growling slightly at Phoenix, before starting to almost purr when he started to scratch it under the chin.
Rainbow, along with most of her friends, kinda froze and gaped. “Uh. What? How?”
Phoenix chuckled. “They can be dangerous, yes, but not when you know their secret spots. This one likes it right here, under the chin.”
Fluttershy’s eyes sparkled at the idea, and she zipped forward in a blur. “Aww! May I, King Phoenix?”
He chuckled again. “Of course you can, Miss Fluttershy. This is Kendra. Her favorite scratching spot is right in the center of her chin, right here.”
Fluttershy listened intently, scratching right at the indicated spot. Kendra promptly purred like a little kitten, leaning in to it.
Rainbow just hovered in place, gaping. “Buh... wha...?”
Phoenix grinned. “They’re part of why I picked Ghastly Gorge as the place above my hive. We have a mutual agreement. They help guard my hive, and we take care of them.”
Fluttershy nodded in understanding. “Mutually beneficial. You get natural guards, they get free food and plenty of care.” Her eyes twinkled as she smiled at Kendra’s cooing and purring. “King Phoenix, can you teach me?”
“I could, but I don’t actually know all that much. I have a few changelings that specialize in taking care of them, I can introduce you.”
“Oh yes please!” Fluttershy exclaimed. In her excitement, she found herself hugging Phoenix and no longer scratching Kendra. Kendra whined at this, causing Fluttershy to squeak and apologize, before returning to her previous action.
Phoenix just rolled his eyes. “You’re being spoiled, Kendra.”
Kendra gave Phoenix a half-hearted glare.
Celestia stepped forward. “Aside from the eels providing protection, where exactly is the entrance?”
Fluttershy sighed, knowing that they were going to be moving on. She quietly cooed to Kendra, causing the eel to nuzzle her for a moment, before retreating into her home. Phoenix stepped forward, carefully using his magic to part the thorned vines as he guided the little group towards the giant pile of rocks in the back area of the gorge.
“The entrance is right here. Originally the boulders weren’t here, but thanks to Miss Dash—” Rainbow blushed slightly at the reminder of her pet race “—the rock slide provided even more protection. Who in their right mind is going to bother a potentially precarious pile of boulders?”
Even Shining had to agree with that. “It certainly does provide quite a few defensive options.”
“Except for this spot right here, Captain,” Phoenix said. He promptly shoved a hoof through one of the boulders -- with no sounds or reaction from said rock. “This spot is an illusion. Immobile boulders don’t make sound, so a silent image is all that’s needed, making it also very simple to make and maintain.”
Twilight blinked. “That’s... actually brilliant.”
“Thank you, Miss Sparkle.” Phoenix removed his hoof from the illusion. “Alright, so we’re going to be going through here. It’s going to be spiralling downward for quite a while before we reach the actual hive, and you’re going to need to stay close to myself and Mirror.”
Cadence frowned in confusion. “Why?”
“Because the entire path down is filled with more lethal traps than I can count.”
The ponies started. Phoenix held up a hoof to stall anything they had to say.
“It was necessary to protect my hive. We have been under attack numerous times from various sources, for reasons that I don’t want to go into. So to protect ourselves, we set up the traps. The only way to safely deactivate them is to be a part of my hive, or to be in the presence of someone from my hive. If you aren’t with one of us, then they’ll go off. So please, stay near.”
The group of ponies glanced at each other, a few of them swallowing. Fluttershy felt herself shrinking down again, but the promise of being able to learn about the eels from one of Phoenix’s changelings helped her calm down enough. Mirror took the rear of the group while her king took the front, and they all filed in. The tunnel itself was surprisingly well lit, clean, and well taken care of.
Even so, the ponies all shivered at the strong magic that washed over them.
Phoenix gave them all an apologetic look. “Sorry, everypony, but it’s gonna be like that the entire way down.”
The ponies once again had a shared look of uncertainty, and the group settled into an uncomfortable silence.
“King Phoenix,” Celestia finally began to say after several minutes. “What... if I may, what do your traps do? How are they lethal?”
“I don’t know,” Phoenix answered immediately.
Shining frowned. “How can you not know about your own traps?”
There was a shrug. “I didn’t make them.”
Cadance blinked in confusion. “So? Can’t you use your hive mind to access any memories about them?”
“No. Any changeling that works on the traps have a specific portion of the hive mind that even I can’t access. After the traps are updated, cleaned, or any other kind of maintenance, all of those memories are put onto paperwork, hidden somewhere in the hive that I don’t know about, and then purged from the hive mind.”
“But why would you go through such lengths to keep knowledge of your own traps from you?”
“Just in case someone forces their way into the hive mind. Can’t be too careful.”
Cadance gasped at that. “There are ponies who would do that?!”
Phoenix said nothing, but it was enough of an answer. The awkward silence returned with a vengeance, but then Phoenix seemed to smile as the tunnel widened.
“Everypony,” he began, smiling to them as he stopped at the edge of a large hill crest. “Welcome to my hive, Smoldering Embers.”
Mirror came forward to stand next to her king, whispering to him while the rest of the ponies stood in awe. Before them sat an enormous, sprawling hive, positively buzzing with activity. At the foot of the hill stood a large wall and a glowing gate. There were several red-maned changelings standing guard at the gate. Even at this distance, Shining could see that they were all well armed and armored, covered hoof to head in well-polished chitin-like armor and wielding a variety of weapons.
Behind the gate sat miles of streets and buildings. Up above the hive sat large crystals of varying colors embedded in the ceiling, carefully filtering light in from somewhere far above the cavern. The various lights reflected off all the water flowing throughout the hive. There were several dozen artificial rivers flowing through the hive, sourced by the large waterfall that roared behind the large castle at the far end of the cavern. The castle itself was large, nearly reaching the cavern ceiling with its main spire. There were a few other spires attached to the main portion, and they flowed beautifully, especially with the waterfall as a backdrop.
Phoenix was dragged out of his whispered talk with Mirror when he noticed Rarity suddenly holding a notepad and a stick of graphite. He chuckled, getting her attention.
“Getting dress ideas just from one look at my hive, Miss Rarity?”
Rarity coughed once, sending her notepad back to where it had been on her desk. “Well, it’s a very well designed, er, hive.” As she spoke, her eyes regained the same spark they’d held as she did her sketches. “The way the waterfall frames your castle, the crystal lights, the water -- oohh, it’s just so beautiful!”
Phoenix smiled. “Thank you, Miss Rarity. I’ll be sure to pass your compliments to the architects. In the meantime, shall we? I have an appointment at my castle, and it is one that I would loathe to miss. It will also give you a closer look at my hive’s design, Miss Rarity, so if you wish to summon your notepad back...”
Rarity didn’t even hesitate to do so, her eyes practically shining with all the possible dress designs she could make. Chuckling again at her enthusiasm, Phoenix restarted the tour, leading the way down the hill. The group of ponies followed. Phoenix could faintly hear Princess Celestia and Luna whispering to each other, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. The guards at the gate to his hive merely nodded to their king, a gesture he returned. They did the same for Mirror and Steelfury, but they were also more than willing to smile and wave to Star. Little Star giggled at the way one of the guards took the time to make a face.
Shining noticed, and after the gate was closed, he spoke up. “King Phoenix, are all your guards that relaxed?”
“You mean with the waving and silly faces? Sometimes.”
Shining frowned. “That doesn’t seem all that professional.”
Phoenix shrugged. “Different ponies have different standards of professionalism. For Star, that standard is a smile, wave, and a goofy face.” He smiled to Star. “Keeps the foals relaxed around the guards, too.”
Shining opened his mouth to respond, but then paused as he thought about it. Then he leaned in to whisper to Cadance. As they walked along, Phoenix was more than happy to point out the various buildings, mentioning on the side that they were going down the main road and would be going through the market. As soon as they entered the market, however, Phoenix was promptly run into by a small changeling.
“...Oopsie,” it said quietly. The voice instantly identified it as female.
Looking closer, the ponies noticed a small bag of candies being held tightly in the changeling’s magic.
Phoenix raised an eyebrow at the little filly. Her face flushed, but that quickly vanished when a larger, male, changeling came running over and she ran behind Cadance.
“Give that back,” he growled, skidding to a stop. “It’s not yours.”
The little filly peeked out from behind Cadance, scowling slightly. “But I paids fer it!”
“With money that isn’t yours!”
“Was too! Momma and Dadda gave me that money!”
Right as the adult was about to say something else, Phoenix held up a hoof. The two of them stopped fighting, the adult giving a bow to his king.
“My king, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there!” The adult paused. “And with guests.” He bowed to the princesses as well. “I apologize, that was unbecoming of me.”
Phoenix raised an eyebrow. “Yes it was. You know very well that you can sense her honesty.”
The adult paused for a moment, frowning, before sighing. “I honestly did not sense it. It’s been a long day, and that somehow escaped me.” He turned to the filly, smiling gently. “I am sorry, little one.”
She stepped out from behind Cadance, smiling back. “‘Is okay.”
The adult nodded, bowed to his king and the princesses once more, then turned around and headed back to his candy stand. The little filly looked up at Cadance to thank her for being a reliable hiding spot, and promptly gasped.
“Yer Pwincess, umm... ummm...” she scrunched up her face trying to think.
“Cadance,” Phoenix supplied, trying his best to keep from laughing.
“Yeah! Pwincess Cadance!” she cried out. “Mah favowite! I’m Snow!”
Cadance blinked. “I’m... your favorite?”
“Yeah! Yer so pwetty!” Snow bounced around Cadance for a bit, her candy bag following her the entire time. “I wanna be a, uh... umm...”
“Crystal Guard?” Shining offered.
“Yeah! A cwy... cry... that! A that!”
Cadance smiled at the filly’s enthusiasm. “And why’s that? Why would you want to be my guard?”
Snow gave Cadance a look that might as well have called her silly. “I said that. It’s cuz yer pwetty. Pwetty pwincess needs protecting!”
Cadance couldn’t think of a way to argue with that logic. Not that anything she would have said would have dissuaded Snow’s logic, considering how old she must have been. Instead, Cadance put a hoof on the little one’s head, causing her to stop and look up with a wide smile.
“Work hard enough and you certainly can be,” Cadance told her.
Snow nodded fast enough to worry Cadance that her head might snap off. A moment later though, the little filly hugged Cadance tightly, and then ran off, most likely to home with news of meeting her hero and to treat herself to her bag of candy.
“Well done, Princess,” Phoenix complimented. “You’ll make for a wonderful mother.”
“Thank you, King -- wait.” Confusion crossed Cadance’s face. “What do you mean by that last part?”
Now Phoenix was confused. “What do you think I mean?”
“I’m not a mother yet.”
“Not yet, no, but it’s not gonna be much longer, right?”
Everypony froze and stared at Phoenix. He blinked as he realized what that meant. “You... did know that you were pregnant, right?”
Shining’s legs collapsed under him and he sat down hard. Cadance shook her head, trying to not do the same as her husband. “No... I mean, we’ve been trying but we didn’t... oh gosh...”
There was an awkward silence for a bit, before Phoenix gave them a bit of an awkward smile. “Well, uh... congrats! You’re pregnant!”
Cadance sat down next to her husband, as the two of them tried to let that news sink in.