Chapter 16 - The Declaration of Detestation.
~Chapter 16 - The Declaration of Detestation.~
7:02 AM, June 22nd, 2 S.E.
The Canterlot Castle.
“Princess Celestia, Do you know where Twily is?” Prince Shining Armor trotted into the throne room, frowning as he continued walking towards the regent of the sun. He unfurled a newspaper with his magic, holding it forward. “And what’s this of some changeling queen taking residence in Canterlot?!”
Princess Celestia sighed, shifting from her throne as she trotted down towards him. “Your sister, Captain Shining Armor, has returned to Ponyville to be with her friends.”
Shining nodded before scrunching his face together. “Not to question your judgement, Princess, but why is there rumoured to be a changeling queen in Canterlot?” He said firmly. “You know they can’t be trusted. They’re a threat.”
“I admire your concern, Captain, but the so-called threat has also left this morning to return to her hive in the Everfree Forest.” The princess calmly responded, halting in front of him.
“But that’s near Ponyville! That where Twilight is! That queen needs to be-” Shining Armor stated, forgoing formally for his sheer will to protect his younger sister.
“Captain, for your safety I suggest you leave the changeling queen alone. Enigma changelings can be extremely protective of their queens and princesses. They’re like siblings.” Celestia smirked a little. If Twilight decided not to tell her brother, that was her decision, not her’s, the solar princess thought, watching as Shining Armor frowned yet again.
“But-”
“If I didn’t think your sister could handle herself, do you think I would send my favourite protégé into danger, Shining Armor?” Her voice had become stirn as she raised an eyebrow at him.
The stallion shut his mouth, pausing. He opened it a moment later. “No Princess, I don’t believe you would. I apologize for doubting your judgement.”
Celestia smiled, dragging a wing over the white unicorn. “I think nothing of it, Shining Armor. Now, Cadance has told me some amazing stories about things in the empire. Perhaps you’ll enlighten me with some more?”
7:10 AM, June 22nd, 2 S.E.
The Everfree Forest.
Twilight Sparkle shifted on her forehooves, watching and waiting. A few changelings disguised as royal guards shifted through the bracken in front of her as they led her through the forest. The forest was surprisingly peaceful as they headed towards their destination.
Thorax trotted at her left side along with Applejack, who was still maintaining her usual disguise, and Midge walked on her right. The two changelings on her right were engrossed in conversation, chatting idly as they walked. “-And then the nymph fell off the balcony, tipping the bucket over!” Midge chortled, letting loose a loud snort. Applejack laughed too, smiling for the first time in a while.
“Ah remember that. It took days for them to clean out that paint outta the titles.”
“Tell me about it! They made me scrub for ages!” Firefly, one of the changeling’s Twilight hadn’t officially met, spoke, trotting forward with Bee in tow.
She knew the other six’s names due to the hivelink but she had yet to speak with them personally. Firefly, like the other five, were simple drones, either harvesters or builders. She knew Firefly, Skitter and Dune were harvesters of some kind and that Glider, Webby and Dune were builders. Twilight felt it would be rude to learn anymore through the hivelink than she needed.
Did her mother feel the same way? Was it normal for her to feel uneasy about things so minor like this? She hadn’t felt this panicked since Celestia’s last big test. Applejack seemed to notice her displeasure, nudging the disguised queen in the side. “You alright, Twi’?”
“Yep! Perfectly fine.” Twilight squawked out. Multiple eyes darted towards her, seemingly unconvinced.
“Seriously? I leave for like a second and you’re already lost.” Rainbow Dash stated, descending from the canopy with her hooves crossed.
“We are not!” AJ snapped.
“Yeah, ya did!” The rainbow maned pegasus retorted back. This continued on for a few minutes, some of the other changelings turning their attention towards the scene.
“Are they normally like this?” Thorax questioned.
“Yes.” Twilight, Midge and Bee all responded, turning towards Thorax.
“Alright you two, enough fighting or I’ll get you to help Spike sort books back at the library.” Twilight pouted, crossing her hooves. Applejack raised an eyebrow and so did Thorax.
“That ain’t much of a punishment Twi’.”
“Ugh. No. Nerd stuff is boring.” Rainbow Dash grumbled, landing among the bracken. “Fine.”
Twilight and Applejack let loose a laugh, much to the confusion of the other changelings. There was a rustling in the bushes as a pair of figures emerged from the underbrush. A few changelings instantly got into defensive stances. A striped mane peaked out as Zecora made her presence known. “Why hello miss Twilight, what brings you at dawn’s light? Have you come to see me, changelings I think you three?” Zecora questioned as the second figure stepped out of the shadows. Fluttershy’s eyes grew wide.
“Oh my! Hello girls.” She meekly chirped, eyeing the defensive stances of what she presumed to be royal guards. “I thought you were in Canterlot, Twilight.”
“Do you know these ponies, ma’am?” Thorax whispered. Twilight nodded and her changelings stood down.
“Uh guys, I think I found the tunnel.” Rainbow Dash popped back up, Twilight letting loose a startled yelp. When had she gone off?
“Tunnel? What tunnel?” Fluttershy tilted her head, shifting her hooves.
“A changeling tunnel you see, hidden by an oaken tree,” Zecora stated, directing a smile towards Applejack. “My ancestors were friends, and I wish to make amends. For no past actions, gives me great dissatisfaction.” The zebra stepped forward, pulling back the ivy to reveal a dark tunnel deep into the ground. “My mother did not bother. She did not assist, merely wanting to co-exist. My mother, I am not, for I will not forget.”
Twilight took a hesitant step forward before stepping into the tunnel, sparing a final glance at Zecora and Fluttershy as they waved goodbye. The other changelings followed swiftly behind her and into the darkness. Dust was the first thing that greeted her as it assaulted her lungs. She let loose a cough, the decades of grim flying up around them. She lit her horn with its usual magenta glow, bathing the walls with an eerie light. The sconces lined the tunnel, old beeswax candles frozen in time. Plantlife and moss had taken root in the many cracks and crevices of the tunnel, whatever had been there before coated in grime and filth.
She closed her eyes, casting a spell as the candles burst to life once more. A warm, greenish glow lit the tunnel as the full expanse of the tunnel was revealed. At the end was a large courtyard. And then she saw the rubble. “A lot of the tunnels collapsed when it happened,” Bee whispered, the other changelings that were there, grimacing and frowning.
“What happened to cause so much destruction?” Twilight heard Thorax mutter in the silence.
“An attempted genocide.” Applejack said bitterly, Rainbow Dash placing a wing over her AJ’s side for reassurance. The group split off, seemingly to go do repairs or to simply guard the entry. Twilight silently continued to walk through the tunnels and into the courtyard, Applejack following swiftly behind.
Decrepit and destroyed homes and shops lined the courtyard, glancing upwards it spiralled up for three more stories. A large archway led into the next room where more homes and shops lined the walls. She glanced down at the shattered tiling below and saw a large depiction of Luna’s moon. Rubble lay everywhere, changeling’s belongings scattered around the area and covered in decades worth of dust.
Carved into homes and shops were the same crescent moon symbol, a fountain in the centre of this courtyard. The statue standing on the fountain was chipped, half the stone changeling’s face lost to time. Four large wooden beams supported the mismatched buildings, flowers and magical bulbs hanging limpy from them. The tunnels continued, opening into a collection of large rooms.
Peering into one of them, Twilight saw that it looked like a storage room, boxes and cobwebs scattered around the room. As she walked, she discovered more and more rooms were blocked off until she reached a large blockage, debris filling the tunnel completely. “What’s through here?” She whispered.
“That’s the Royal Wing.” Applejack said hesitantly, flinching a little. “It’s where… yer mother died.”
“Oh.” Was all Twilight said, staring at the rubble.
“My Queen, we’ve discovered that the Lunar Wing is almost completely unscathed. It seems the enchantments and runes are still intact as well.” Skitter, one of the harvesters, said as he bowed slightly.
“The Lunar Wing? Oh. Oh!” Twilight questioned before Celestia’s story came flooding back to her. “I know this one! It’s the wing Lantana made when Luna was banished to the moon.”
“Well, yes, but Twi’, it’s also a-”
7:20 AM, June 22nd, 2 S.E.
The Enigma Hive.
“-LIBRARY! Oh my Celestia! This is incredible. It’s as big as the collection in Canterlot Royal Library, perhaps even bigger than the one in the Crystal Empire!” Twilight was beaming from ear to ear, undisguised wings buzzing wildly as she trotted up and down the gantry that was etched out of rock and resin.
“By Enid, she’s an odd one,” Thorax mumbled, watching the changeling queen dart back and forth between rows of books, levitating some with her magic as she went.
“Oh, you should have seen what Queen Odonata was like.” Applejack chuckled, earning a small laugh from Nova. AJ frowned a moment later, shaking her head. “Ya know what, Nova?”
“What?”
“Twilight ain’t nothing like her mother. She sure ain’t as brutal for no reason like Queen Odonata was.” Applejack lowered her haunches, sitting down on the dusty floor. “Twi’s better than that. Much better than that.”
“I mean, we grew up during Celestia’s early days of peace, right? It was only like twenty-seven, thirty C.E wasn’t it? Things weren’t too peaceful until, like, two-hundred C.E.” Nove responded, waving a holed hoof around. “How can you talk to her so easily, Alyssum?”
Applejack sighed, rubbing a hoof under her chin. “Twilight’s always been mah friend first, not mah queen. And ah’ll stand by that statement till the end.”
10:02 AM, June 23nd, 2 S.E.
The Canterlot Castle.
A white hoof came crashing down against the papers pinned against the wall, the owner of the hoof in question frowning further. His mane stood on end, untamed and neglected. Shining Armor turned to stare at the door as it was opened, hastily closed. “Ah, Blueblood! About time!” He frantically mumbled, ushering the other stallion closer.
“What is this about, Captain? You seem… unhinged.” Prince Blueblood hesitated, narrowing his eyes at the other stallion.
“You’ve heard tales of that changeling? Right?!” The other rambled, nodding his head up and down.
“I’ve heard the staff talk, yes. Aunty says it’s nothing to worry about.” Blueblood responded.
“She’s saying that because she’s been brainwashed! See!” Shining Armor slammed a hoof onto the corkboard beside him, a few photographs falling down. Slightly startled, Blueblood took a step backwards.
“Are you insinuating that Aunty is…?“ Shining nodded. Blueblood raised a hoof to his chin. “I can see what you mean, Captain. I have heard of what happened during your wedding and what these things are capable of.”
“Yes, exactly!”
“What do you require me for? I can hardly convince Aunty to do anything about it.” Blueblood pouted, crossing his hooves together.
Shining chuckled insanely, pointing another hoof towards the board. A crudely drawn picture of something that remotely resembled Queen Chrysalis but pink. “We’re gonna kill the source.”
He laughed again. “We’re gonna go murder a queen.”
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<sigh> i really dislike it when Twiling stories take this route, it never ends well and always seems more that a little shoehorned...
10527155
What do you mean by that? I'd really like to know what you're personally displeased about with my story.
Twilight looks blind in the cover art. You should fix that.
10527257
Oh yes, I'm aware.
I've been meaning to redraw the cover art again for a while but I currently can't due to technical issues with my device.
I thank and admire your concern.
10527250
the 'well meaning, but misinformed loved one trope' and the 'blind bigot trope', both of them frequently appear in 'X is a Changling' type stories or similar stories, and both can feel very forced. in this case, Shining Armour is being blinded by concern for Twilight and a lack of pertinent information that would allow for a much more accurate assessment of a situation.
now, this can work on a narrative level, but Shining is a career Soldier, of Command Level rank. u dont get that high in the military, ANY military, by being overly reactionary and acting without as full a data set as possible to make informed decisions. information is always the greatest weapon one can have, and any competent CO, which Shining is implied to be, would know that and not go off half cocked assuming that his Commander in Chief, the Princess, has been compromised without hard evidence, and even if he did, military protocol would have him going to the next in the chain of command, Luna. Blueblood has no link to the military that has ever been shown. so going to him would serve Shining ill and thus it feels forced.
speaking of Blueblood, he falls into the 'blind bigot', he has no real reason for hating a thing, he just hates it because it is that thing. in this case, Changlings. as a character, the blind bigot is flat, two dimensional...an obvious bad guy that the reader isnt supposed to like but is also supposed to be someone to be taken seriously as a threat. not that Canon!Blueblood has given us much more but still.
personally, i find both these tropes to be fairly uninteresting, but they can work if done well...so many r not though, we will see...
10527250
I think its the lesson zero Shining
10527327
I'm gonna start off by saying, I completely understand where you're coming from and I do plan on clearing things up and changing things after I comment yet I'm going to lay out my reasoning.
Firstly on the fact that Shining being misinformed, you need to remember that Twilight stated she didn't want him to know. She's his younger sister, she would know how he'd react to news like that knowing his past experience with Chrysalis. She'd probably think that, unlike Cadance, telling Shining would not go well and he'd probably have a much more adverse reaction to the news.
And now for the military thing.
You've got to logically presume that if Shining thinks that Celestia has been compromised, so has Luna and then Cadance. He'd logically turn to Blueblood, who would still hold the most political power. He doesn't need the military power as he believes there's no one he could turn to for that other than his own soldiers.
The basis on their dislike for changelings is logical, Blueblood would have been in Canterlot for the wedding as well due to it being a royal wedding. Therefore, both would have not so pleasant encounters with changelings in the past. The wedding left an overall distasteful view of changelings for not just them, but for most of ponykind.
10527342
I've figured that.
this can't end well
10527342
Agreed. Shining is gonna be in for a really really rude awakening soon. Either way the bigot shall soon face his own lady and the tigress decision.