An Aita Hearth's Warming

by AizakkuHorooee

Chapter IV

“Areola! Wait!”

I try to reach out to Areola as she flies away from the hive. Then I remember I have AIta on my throne. I know it’ll hurt but I have let Areola go. I turn around and reluctantly kick the sand behind me. I teleport back to the throne.

“Chrysalis, where’s Areola?” Aita asks.

“She’s left the hive.”

“Left?!? But why?!?”

“I teleported out with Areola so that you wouldn’t be caught in the middle of me calling her out on stretching the truth. I could tell that she was hurt, that she just wanted you to have a good time, but teacher or not, I will not stand to sacrifice honesty for the pleasure of others.”

“Shouldn’t you reach out to her?”

“Later. She left to recoup, so we must let her do that, as you learned from Sunburst and his mother.” Aita looks down in front of the throne, obviously worried for Areola. So I sit down wrap my wing around him. “I can only imagine how hard it must’ve been for you when you had to step between us. I always thought we’d quarrel, but not drive each other apart. I only hope she’s okay at least.”

“Me too.”

“...Should I continue the story without her?”

“Maybe give her some time, Chrysalis.”

---

The flight to Ponyville goes pretty smoothly, thank goodness. It only took an hour. But when I get there, I see Twilight out and about.

“Hey Twilight!” I call out, getting her to pause, turn around and see me.

“Oh! Areola! What a surprise. Long time no see. So how’s your first Hearth’s Warming in fifteen years going?”

“Well… not the best…”

Twilight gasps in concern. “What? Why not?”

“Because my old student and I needed some space.”

“But what about Aita? Is he okay?”

“Yes, thank Chrysalis she at least remembered what happened at Aita’s birthday party.”

“Okay, what did you do?” Twilight asks playfully.

“Chrysalis and I were recounting our first Hearth’s Warming pageant, and I tried to make it more similar to a special he watched than it already was.”

“You do realize Aita is not very fond of lying, right?”

Suddenly, I feel a tingling sensation in my wings, and it seems like the sun is glaring off them. I also hear a shimmering sound.

“Twilight, what is this?”

“No. way. Are you- we are… a-… a-…” Twilight’s jaw drops when she sees my wings glowing, and stops short when she sees her cutie mark doing the same.

“Wait a minute. I recognize this. My student’s crown glowed when one of these were solved.”

“To the map!”

Twilight leads me to her castle and races into the throne room. Holograms of her cutie mark and my wings hover over the changeling kingdom as displayed by the friendship map.

I bury my face behind my hooves at the edge of the table at what this entails. “Oh no. Really? I came here to recuperate, not to get summoned by the map.”

“Do you think this has to do with why you were here to begin with? But why would the map be calling me as well? This seems more to be you and you alone.”

“Hm. Maybe it’s something different. Could it be Carve? Pharynx? Cervix even?”

Twilight’s pupils shrink when I mention Cervix. “N-no, I’m pretty sure it’s Chrysalis.”

I gasp playfully when I notice Twilight’s reaction. “Seems like you should add Cervix to that after all.”

---

At the hive, Twilight and I are walking through the nest halls until we come across one area. There is a gap on the floor, and a note inscribed on the wall beside it.

“What is this?” Twilight asks.

“I never knew this was here until the day I first moved back in. Chrysalis leaves this hall like this as a reminder of how she got her throne back.”

“So this is what caused Thorax to be overthrown?”

I nod.

“You see that note across the gap? That reads Va cut’ra Solaz.”

Twilight and I hover over the gap and continue on our way to the throne room. When I hear a familiar hiss coming from behind, the two of us turn around. Twilight flinches at the sight of the changeling before us while I approach without hesitation. Judging by the way Twilight reacts, this must be Cervix.

“Hey Areola, what’s up?”

“Just showing Twilight around. We were called by the map.”

Cervix looks confused. “First Chrysalis, then Aita, now you? What’s next? Pharynx?”

“Not sure if that will be in a while. So Cervix, encounter any friendship problems for us to solve?”

“I can’t say I have, Areola.”

“Well, maybe you might want to talk to Twilight for a bit. I don’t know if that will help.”

“Twilight? …oh yeah,” Cervix starts pawing at the ground like Aita did before. “I guess I owe you an apology for what happened last year. I was under order to impersonate you, same as Brand with Spike, and the other ten drones that replaced your friends and family. We promise it won’t happen again as long as Chrysalis and Carve rule the hive.”

When Twilight hears Cervix’s promise, she freezes then runs over and gives her a hug. Cervix is caught off guard by the embrace, but returns it. “Well Cervix, if that’s true, then I’ll gladly invite you and your friends to my party at the castle. One of Matilda’s friends might look familiar over there.”

I look around, waiting for Twilight’s cutie mark and my wings to glow again, but deep down, I knew the friendship problem that triggered the map hasn’t been solved.

“Anything?” Twilight asks.

I sigh. “Nope. But we’ll keep looking until we-”

“I think I know what’s going on, Areola. You can’t put off reuniting with Chrysalis. That has to be the friendship problem.”

“But this is ridiculous! Why would I need to reunite with someone so uptight about telling a story the right way?!?” I see Twilight and Cervix giving me smug looks at my wording, making me realize exactly what I just shouted. “Oh… I think I may have missed the point there.”