Chrysalis smiled at the younger queen, as the jubilant filly pounced upon one of the guards' tails, then gripped it in her jaws, and began to march towards her mother's throne, though she only got half a meter before the tail in her mouth was pulled taught. She still tried to transport her prize though, and only released the tail when her mother beckoned her over.
She quickly ran to the center of the throne room, and bowed before the elder queen, as she had often seen other changelings do. She glanced up from the floor, and flapped her plated wings, though she didn't take off. She still ran to her queen's lap, and gently nuzzled into her mother's hoof.
She was growing so fast. Chrysalis was delighted with every new action the princess performed, with every step she took, with every little thing she did like her, and some things she did unlike anything else. Her wings, for example, were marvelous in their design, but the princess had been taking especially good care of them.
Though the filly's almost constant habit of cleaning her teeth was a bit foreign to her, she found it cute, how she would turn around to speak with one of her agents, and when she looked again, the princess would be picking at some plaque on her small fangs with a hoof.
Unconventional, and not very much like a leader to do that in front of her court, but she was still young, and none of the guards would be around to remember that when she was ready to become co-queen, much less question their leader.
She would be ready for her first suitor soon, and the empire would see a higher increase in population growth than it had ever known. Perhaps the elder queen could even take a break once in a while, and arrange for the princess's hapless father to receive another "visit" from his wife.
Chrysalis scowled at herself, then smiled mischievously, licking her lips.
She looked up as a drone raced into the throne room, falling to her knees before the queen. The drone remained still for a moment, and awaited permission to rise.
The queen asked, "What is so urgent?"
The messenger stood up immediately, and dug through the bag slung over her shoulder with a hoof. She produced a scroll for the queen, and set it down on the floor. She bowed again, and slowly backed away, head still lowered to the floor.
The queen's curved horn glowed a sickly shade of green, and she motioned a hoof to beckon the drone closer. She glanced at Chrysanthemum, who was busying herself by playing with a hatchling, who had likely escaped from the nursery. The two younglings were sitting facing each other, and tapping their hooves together in the space between them, as though attempting to claw at one another.
Chrysalis looked back at the messenger, who had stopped just short of the elevated platform upon which the throne rested, and encouraged the drone to come closer. As the timid changeling crawled towards the throne, Chrysalis opened the scroll she had brought to her.
As her eyes scanned over the letter, she became less and less pleased, then more and more aggravated. She reached a hoof to gently rest on the forehead of the trembling messenger, and hissed as she read the signature. She growled, and the scroll erupted into a moment of green fire, then scattered throughout the throne room as black ashes.
The drone yelped as the queen's magic grasped her. She tried to back away, but found herself held in the air by a firm, magical grip. She closed her bright blue eyes as the queen's muzzle approached her eyes, a wild look of rage on her lips.
That was when the drone should have died.
Chrysalis blinked at the hoof that had pushed against her chest, and looked down at the bright red eyes that defied her. She snarled at her daughter, daring to question her.
The princess drew in a heavy breath, and puffed out her chest, before looking directly into the queen's eyes. Though her mother's eyes burned with ire, and her snarl dripped with rage, Chrysanthemum held her gaze, and only looked away when her more sensitive ears heard the messenger scramble out of the throne room.
That was when the cracks began to form.
Nocturnus drew a deep breath as he looked out upon the plane, and lifted his left hoof to his chest.
To the north, the short grass that wavered in the gentle breeze stilled as the world began to relax. Beyond the grasslands upon which he stood, to the farthest reaches of the republic he so dearly loved, lay The Crystal Empire, and the great mountains beyond.
To the east, even the great falls crashed in near silence, and the shimmering light of the moon cast a beautiful glow across the land. The outline of Cloudsdale drifted further south across the sky, and the tip of the floating city blocked out the lowest edge of the moon for a brief moment.
To the west, a cliff face rested, and the line of trees that stayed as they always had, calm. The forest past that stilled as all creatures fell into sleep, and the audible crashing of waves on came to a halt as the sea came to rest, agreeing to a truce with the land it had assaulted for all of the day.
To the south, the rolling hills seemed to calm as a wave of peace washed over it. The farmland beyond and the orchards and fields that filled with grain and ripe apples went silent as the songs of the night that still echoed lulled them to sleep. And the very heart of the republic, where the hippodrome sang with cheers of "VINCO" while the fans jeered at one another, ushering their demes forward, could be seen with fine eyes.
In such a moment of peace, even he could feel the great lullaby of the land coursing through his being, and the call of blissful sleep met his ears. Even he, so detached from the nature of things, so separate from the other creatures, so a strange from the rhythm of the world, could feel the cloud of sleep beckoning him.
Oh, how the world sang.
He could almost hear the familiar cry of victory from his beloved Selena, from her box in the hippodrome, as the thundering of hooves on earth came to a halt. The cheering of the fans grew more intense as flowers were thrown upon the victor. He could even hear the familiar voice of his love announcing the victory over the intercom.
He sighed, and wished good fortune to the blues.
Time lost meaning, and the cheering of the crowd grew silent again as they returned to the streets, and filtered into their homes and bars to drink cider and revel in victory, and even loss. Everyone was happy, no matter which deme had won.
And then, as he opened his eyes, the ground began to shake.
A messenger hurried to his side, and panted as he lifted a hoof to silence him.
Nocturnus lifted his helmet over his head, and the LEDs on the pointed tips of his ears emitted a cool blue light, so the computer he carried could track them more easily. He turned around to face the line of soldiers before him, and flicked his ears to signal the computer to sing.
He marched up and down the line, stomping his hooves in time with the rhythm of his words, and turning around to face the enemy's hordes. "The enemy draws near. Scratch that. They're here. Load your weapons. Ready your spears. Raise your shields. Prepare for war. Don't forget what you're fighting for," he sang.
"Know that the enemy is large, and be prepared to..." he added, pausing.
The cloud of dust kicked up by the armies of King Sombra thundered out of the woods to the west, leaping off the great cliff and rolling as they landed expertly, never losing speed. They never faltered as they raced forward, green eyes glowing as they approached the waiting army.
The soldiers of the night all stomped their front hooves in unison, causing the ground to tremble, shaking the grasslands and mountains and hills. The clicking of their guns priming filled the night, and the sound of their tanks rolling forward drowned out that of the crystal cavalry.
"CHARGE!" he declared.