The Fall of Morninglight

Chapters

Aurora's Journals - Page 391, Volume XVII
Aurora's Journals - Page 400, Volume XVII
A Loose page of Parchment
Another Loose Page of Parchment
Aurora's Journals - Page 1, Volume XVIII
Aurora's Journals - Page 5, Volume XVIII
Shakily written on a scrap of parchment
Aurora's Journals - Page 9, Volume XVIII
Aurora's Journals - Page 12, Volume XVIII
Aurora's Journals - Page 15, Volume XVIII
Aurora's journals - Page 16, Volume XVIII
Aurora's Journals - Page 18, Volume XVIII
Aurora's Journals - Page 25, Volume XVIII
Aurora's Journals - Page 37, Volume XXII
Written upon Royal stationery

Aurora's Journals - Page 391, Volume XVII

(( This entry is dated August 19th of last year ))

Morgan Castle in the Empire of Roanoak

These last few weeks have been rife with new discoveries, even for one as old as I. And no small amount of insight into the character of a few ponies within my court as well.

But, as always, I must begin at the beginning and proceed through the events of late. This is a must if future readers are to have a proper understanding of the situation I find myself in…

It all began some few months ago, when the Empire gave solace to six members of a destroyed Changeling hive that was located some distance to the west, well beyond the borders of Roanoak.

From a purely diplomatic point of view, those six Changelings I allowed to live amongst us were no different than any other race resident within my Empire… The Griffons from the far north, the few Dragons from the far south, the Kirin from the Tiber peaks on the western shores of this continent, and the Deer from Cervidas across the ocean are all dissimilar cultures born of both their inherent natures and the lands they hail from.

In this regard each race is unique, with unique wants, needs, and desires. But no matter how different they appear or act – at the core of every sapient race I have encountered over my many long years, there is a singular driving force to seek a peaceful existence.

But that peaceful existence tends to be broken when the driving force of one race encounters that same driving force from another race. And this will often lead to another, less favorable aspect of all sapient races – disagreements, conflict, and yes – even war.

So it falls to us, the Elder Alicorns, to in effect Wage Peace in the world – to bring our power to bear to resolve these conflicts of ideals and to help channel the efforts of the various races into a congruent, harmonious accord.

This is why, after investing no small effort in determining that their intent was simply to survive, and that they offered no more threat than any other race living within my lands, that I offered solace to those six surviving Changelings of the Hive west of Roanoak…

Yes, they do feed on emotions – but all things being equal, their ends are best met by promoting the wellbeing of that which feeds them. When not pressed by over-population or over-predation, they will inherently seek to lift the spirits of those they encounter, especially those they grow close to. And to even defend the flock as it were.

It is my understanding that the positive emotions of love and happiness are more sought after, but harder to come by and require effort. Meanwhile fear and anger are quickly and easily fostered, but not as fulfilling.

I find no quarrel with this notion, just as I find no quarrel with the Dragon’s requirement for red meat - it is a function of the species and therefore is not inherently evil…

Evil is a choice, not a way of being.

So, given this understanding I allowed these six Changelings to live among us – in secrecy – because their kind is not well understood and after the event in Canterlot they are justifiably feared, and I did not desire a panic.

But once the proverbial ice was broken and the citizenry did not immediately turn on them, these Changelings began to be more open with their existence. Some acquired work in the nearby town of Morninglight, a few even found employ in the Imperial Guard. But in doing this they began to attract others of their kind, and within a week the six had become ten.

It was about a month after they arrived that a new Changeling came forward, but this Changeling was a Queen, one who is a leader of their kind and far more powerful that the others. She also happened to be a romantic interest of one Lieutenant Ruby Spark.

At the time, Lieutenant Spark was an up and coming member of the Imperial Guard, highly decorated, and a veteran of several Imperial actions abroad. So after several intense discussions between Imperious, the Captain of my Imperial Guard, and myself, it was decided to leave well enough alone and to see just how this would turn out.

You see Lieutenant Spark, as a member of the Guard, is highly monitored and supervised by the chain of command. As such we felt that this turn of events might give us a bit more insight into the Empire’s newest citizens. So we, in effect, determined to use Lieutenant Spark's affections as a research subject...

I do admit it does seem rather disingenuous of me to use someone so, but as I have made mention in my journals past – mine is a path of difficult choices and unfavorable decisions for the greater good of all. Each decision I make is done with the knowledge that my ponies may think ill of me – until sufficient time has passed for my reasons to become evident - which may be generations - and is one of the burdens of the crown…

But shortly after this those ten Changelings became a dozen, and then two-dozen…

And with this increase in numbers came an increase in complications…

You see, Changelings come with a bevy of odd and somewhat frightening talents; mind control and the ability to assume the shape of anyone they come across being chief amongst them. And these talents generally serve to keep ponies rather paranoid... After all, any odd behavior is immediately suspect when you cannot determine if your friend is under Changeling influence, or in fact a Changeling.

There are also rogue elements to consider, as not every Changeling is quite so willing to simply coexist as the first six I encountered… I have seen reports indicating there may be operatives from two other Hives working within Roanoak now, for reasons that are not yet apparent to those who are investigating.

The complication for us is that we cannot accurately determine one Changeling from another, given his or her ability to be anyone at a moment's notice. So while I may have given sanction to six, there are now many, many more of them and we cannot tell them apart or isolate them with any certainty…

And many of them have been using this to their advantage, sowing fear and discontent amongst the local ponies to feed upon.

This, of course, has resulted in a lot of calls for the Guard… And when the Guard is forced to detain a Changeling for either questioning or crime, it becomes something of an issue for everyone on both sides of the fence. Some see the Guard not doing enough to safeguard them from a menace that wants to use them for food. Others see the guard as singling out Changelings for things that a pony would never be arrested for.

Ultimately, this ‘wagging of tongues’ has the general population thinking that the Guard is spending a lot of time persecuting versus prosecuting – especially to those who live and work closely with the Changelings.

This is, of course, about as far from the truth as one can get; but memories are short, fragile things and only the more outlandish items stand out over time… So the public opinion has become one of the Imperial Guard, and by extension myself, having a vendetta against Changelings.

And here is where things begin to get complex…

Roughly a month after her appearance, Miss Silvermane – the Changeling Queen I mentioned above who had taken to using the name of her pony disguise – approached me with a request to access the catacombs beneath Castle Morgan, citing that the dark seclusion of being below ground was comforting to her.

As she has never been anything but honest with me, even revealing her true self to me early on as to allay my suspicions, I agreed to her request as a small token of my trust in her.

Two weeks passed, and then the Castle Guard informed me that on a patrol of the catacombs they discovered she had created a full Changeling Hive beneath my castle…

I was, needless to say, quite cross with regards to this bit of news.

She and I discussed this, at length, after the fact – and during these discussions she cited ‘instinct’ as the reason for what she did. This somewhat worries me as I do not know what else her ‘instincts’ will lead her to do in the future without my blessing… But I did eventually come to the conclusion that her goal of simply creating a place for her people is something I can both understand, and condone - in its present form.

If she deviates from the plans she has outlined to me and ill comes of this, the trembling of the earth as her Hive is destroyed will be felt in Equestria…

And while this was going on, the Equestrian Diarchy had offered the leader of my Imperial Guard, Captain Imperious, an assignment in Equestria and he had accepted it. So now he and I needed to find a suitable replacement for him whilst he was away for a few months.

Lieutenant Spark was the next in command, but as I mentioned earlier the Lieutenant was also very romantically involved with the Changeling that just built a Hive under my castle without so much as a hello…

This is widely considered to be a less than optimum method for advancement.

But Lieutenant Spark has a simply stellar record, and while a bit soft yet by Imperious' measure the Lieutenant has the marks to make an excellent leader. So it was eventually determined between Imperious and I that both Lieutenant Spark, and one Lieutenant Diomades Concord, would jointly lead the Imperial Guard in his absence.

Lieutenant Concord is a wanderer who washed up in Ronaoak many moons ago, joined the guard on a whim, and has since proven to be a very forthright and soldierly pony as he has risen through the ranks.

The thought was that Lieutenant Spark could offset Lieutenant Concord’s lack of experience, and Lieutenant Concord could act as a line of defense between anything Lieutenant Spark’s relationship with Miss Silvermane, and her instincts, might decide to do.

Remember, mind control is a very real aspect of Changelings, and the most powerful of the local Changelings is spending every day with someone who will be one of the two leaders of the most powerful military south of Equestria.

Personal feelings aside - this is a rather immense security problem.

I was taking a huge risk in this, but my heart was telling me everything would be alright – after all, while Miss Silvermane had erred with her Hive under my castle we had reached an accord, Lieutenant Spark was a decorated hero in the Imperial ranks with no prior indication of sedition, and there was still a failsafe in place by way of Lieutenant Concord.

And so this plan was enacted a week ago as Captain Imperious set sail for Equestria.

And here is where everything takes a turn…

I discovered last evening that, apparently, it is possible to transform a pony into a Changeling - as unbelievable as that sounds. And Lieutenant Concord sought audience with me to seek my permission to undergo this conversion and join Miss Silvermane’s Hive.

Everything crumbled at that moment. The buffer we had put in place to prevent ceding control of the Imperial Guard to a foreign power not only had failed – it was willfully looking to cede control.

Ultimately I informed Lieutenant Concord that I would not stand between him and his desires… But I would not willingly turn over control of the Imperial Guard to his new Queen either.

He is, as always, free do to as he wants, but he has to weigh the ends that his means will create: Should he pursue this course of action, I will be forced to remove him from command…

After he departed to think about all that we had discussed, my next guests for the evening arrived; Lieutenant Spark and Miss Silvermane, who sought to discuss the same thing as Lieutenant Concord.

This meeting did not go very well, mostly because Lieutenant Spark my misgivings of Lieutenant Concord’s opinion that he would continue to have free will as one of Miss Silvermane's drones.

To Lieutenant Spark, my worries were moot; nothing like that could ever happen…

During this debate I was compelled to tell Lieutenant Spark the truth behind the odd co-leadership that happened when the Captain departed. And the Lieutenant did not take my stating that Miss Silvermane was a security risk to the crown very well – which I understand… But as the Lieutenant got upset enough to threaten resignation, it merely illustrated my point; the Lieutenant’s bearing and reason had been severely impacted by even calling Miss Silvermane into question.

At that moment it became painfully clear that if Miss Silvermane actually became a problem – Lieutenant Spark would not be able to serve the Empire, or its citizens, in an adequate capacity.

So, in one night both of the leaders of my Guard had been compromised to an extent I did not even feel was possible. And Imperious was somewhere, on a mission for Canterlot, and unreachable.

I have made note in the past of the flaw that we Elders possess – the Flaw of Heart as we call it. We are nearly ageless and incredibly powerful – yet we are cursed to feel the same emotions the other races feel, and we often allow those feelings to steer our judgment… This gives us the potential to make the same mistakes anyone might, save that our repercussions can be orders of magnitude greater…

In this case I had allowed my desire to see fairness for a few, six to be exact, to cloud my vision of what is best for all of my ponies...

The Flaw of Heart…

I cannot allow this to continue…

All of this has served to illustrate that my dislike of the plans Imperious proposed is simply another failing of feeling, another Flaw of the Heart. As the situation progresses and my Empire buckles under the strain of Changelings, there simply must be a method for identification; a tally of potential unit strength on both sides and a way to determine who is loyal to whom.

Imperious was right. Tomorrow I shall commence the enactment of the Changeling Registry.

Aurora's Journals - Page 400, Volume XVII

(( This entry is dated August 26th of last year ))

It is another brilliant morning within the Empire.

I had the opportunity to spend some all too rare quiet time on the balcony of my chambers this morning, simply enjoying the fine chocolate mint tea that has become one of my favorites of late.

With all that has been happening these last few days - it was very nice to be at peace, if only for a little while… To simply feel the wind in my mane and the world slowly turning beneath my hooves is a fleeting pleasure.

The Changeling issue has reached an interesting point of rest, though I do not see this lull in the storm lasting for long, unfortunately.

Yesterday morning I received another missive from the Equestrian Diarchy... This one was in regards to Princess Luna’s unannounced weekend visit to Roanoak, wherein she took it upon herself to avoid official channels and opted to directly query a few citizens about Miss Silvermane’s hive – and then write me a letter regarding that what she had heard was giving them pause.

This I find rather humorous. I do not believe Luna has completely come to terms with this modern age and its complexities of political geography. Hers seems to be a rather brash and direct style – easy to read, and just as easy to lead. And it is a potential political weakness that I sincerely hope does not cause the Equestrian crown any dire troubles in the future.

As for the end results of Luna’s little visit – Roanoak and Equestria are old neighbors who share a laugh and a cup of sugar over the back yard fence. There are few legitimate secrets between us, and the agreements in place are mostly of a loose and convenient nature. This ‘open door’ policy between us could explain her temerity, but ultimately it has little impact save for the smile it gives me.

I do need to respond to their recent letter though … I shall do that a bit later.

What has brought about this lull in the drama and intrigue of late? I will guess my final determinations for the Changelings in Roanoak.

After seeking the thoughts of those closest to the situation, hearing the impassioned pleas of both sides, and enduring the seeming endless deliberation of every angle I could find, I determined it was best to recognize the sovereignty of the Silvermane Hive.

So, with this act I have granted the Silvermane Changelings the same status the other visiting races enjoy, which means the Silvermane Hive has embassy status within Roanoak.

The reasons for this determination are many and convoluted – but in general it satisfies my legal requirements under the Roanoak Constitution, which stipulates the recognition of foreign leadership. It also places the Silvermane Hive into a category where it is only subject to action at an Imperial level… And given the sensitive nature of this gambit, I feel it is best if any action comes by my own hoof versus that of an unruly mob.

Last evening, as I spoke of this ruling to Miss Silvermane, the look on her muzzle was priceless and is something I shall carry with me for as long as I can. She is so impossibly young and inexperienced for one who is to lead a people – but we must all face our destinies when they come to us, and that is rarely when we are ready…

That the sharper edge of this decision did not appear to occur to her does give me pause, but I shall give guidance as I can, and hopefully this will work out as well for her and hers as it was intended to for me and mine.

The instant I signed that writ of sovereignty the Changelings of the Silvermane Hive were no longer Roanoak citizens, and became the subjects of Queen Silvermane. This means that if there is an incident, at worst Roanoak can only be accused of harboring them. Our destinies are no longer entwined and the decisions of Queen Silvermane, or her people, do not as heavily impact Roanoak.

Now, they still live within Roanoak and in that regard I am still the regent of authority for all international issues. This allows me to hold them under my wings and protect them from the unsure footing of the international stage – until such time as they are ready to stand on their own.

The final piece to this gambit places any legal proceeding against a changeling within their Queen’s purview. This means she has the right and privilege to intercede on any legal action.

If she does, the political turmoil with the wronged party belongs to her and her alone… If she does not, then by default she is in agreement with Roanoak and this means Roanoak cannot be called into question.

In either case, there shall be no more talk of the Imperial Guard persecuting Changelings.

Whilst Miss Silvermane was in attendance I detailed the function of the Registry detector that was recently finished, and the laws I had just finished drafting for its use. She was in agreement with me that its use is fair for all involved – and as the regent for her people, this is law.

In short, the Registry Detector is a magical apparatus that can sense and record the infinitesimally finite magical signature of a being placed within its field.

Everything alive in our world has a unique magical signature, a bit of random chance in the magical flow that sustains them – and the Detector can sense this. Unfortunately the apparatus is quite large and is immovable, and as such it has been placed in the area of the holding cells in the lower levels of the castle.

Its use is regulated to those who volunteer to be catalogued, and those who are brought in on charges. Once catalogued, anyone placed back in the field can be identified with 100% certainty – regardless of any disguise, magical or otherwise.

This means we now have the ability to directly identify any Changeling that has been found to be a troublemaker, or anyone who desires to be able to have their identity verified with certainty – such as myself.

I was the first being catalogued by the machine, and afterwards signed a decree that Imperious can call for my verification before executing any Imperial order if he feels it is out of character.

A Loose page of Parchment

(( The following is written upon loose parchment in Aurora’s curious flowing script, rather than the usual bound tome and precise lettering of the permanent journals. ))

The town of Morninglight and Morgan Castle Overrun

It has been two months since the signing of the Changeling Accords, the accords that granted the Changelings access to Roanoak, the accords that appear to have been our downfall.

I do not believe that even their Queen, Relic Silvermane, realized the sheer numbers of her kin that would be called to the hive beneath Morgan Castle when she brokered her peace…

Within a fortnight Morninglight was overrun by the Changelings as the various hives that had squabbled amongst each other for limited sustenance suddenly found reason to flock to the region; the draw of a food source without the threat of retaliation spurred an invasion… It was a mostly passive invasion, but an invasion nonetheless.

Looking back upon it, it was a perfect storm – a confluence of timings that culminated in sending the Empire reeling. With Captain Imperious’ departure the Imperial Guard was turned over to a leadership with intrinsic ties to the Changelings. And even though this was not a direct issue, the mistrust this sowed amongst the Guard began an almost instant decay of the command structure. And within the vacuum of Imperious’ departure, recovery currently seems impossible.

The leadership of the mighty Imperial Guard was compromised so very quickly, and not by Changeling infiltration, but by internal mistrust and a lack of confidence.

Currently, the Imperial Guard is divided and there are several factions within it… The three major factions are the Changeling guards and those who have sided with them, those who feel the Changelings are a threat to the established order and seek to reform the Guard without Changeling influence, and the Argent Factionnaire – my personal Guard – ponies beyond such politics who are hoof-picked by Imperious to see to my safety.

And so the most powerful, well trained, and well-armed force in the land is currently at odds with itself – and emotions are running high... Of course Changelings feed on emotions, and without the threat of reprisal they seem to be drawn to the conflict like moths to a flame.

As the Guard turns on itself, the local citizenry are taking notice… And with this turmoil in the Guard and the increased Changeling presence, fear – fear the Changelings are also drawn to – has begun to run rampant. This has left Morninglight, the town closest to Morgan and therefore the Silvermane hive, virtually deserted. To the south, various town militias are on high alert – and for the first time in Roanoak’s history towns are barricading the roads leading into population centers. These militias are currently performing Changeling Checks at the points of entry in an attempt to separate refugees from infiltrators – to keep the invaders in the Morninglight region.

The Changelings present a difficult faction to counteract, for even my vast power is useless against a force I cannot recognize or separate from the innocent… Unlike the Dragon conflicts, where the enemy was an external, easily identified force moving against targets of tactical significance; the Changelings were already here – and typically look just like everypony else. All I can do is try to ease the escape of the citizenry from Morninglight, aid in the screening to separate Ponies from Changelings, and eventually cordon off the region.

Yes, I must fall back... With the Imperial Guard so fractured and without leadership, I have no force with which to retake the Morninglight region, for the Changelings are simply too numerous to face head on in our current state. Fortunately they too are fractured and disorganized, for their queen, Relic Silvermane, seems to have vanished a fortnight ago. And with her guiding presence missing, the various hives are once again fighting amongst each other… But it would not take much to give them a common enemy in the ponies of Roanoak.

In this regard, soon I shall place a series of powerful wards along the Nisean River and the bridge the main road uses. Morgan castle, the town of Morninglight, and the area around them from the Nisean River north to the Leylands, will become Changeling territory.

The Nisean River will then become a proverbial line in the sand until such time as Roanoak has recovered and I can logistically support an extended campaign to retake Morninglight.

Though my wards are quite powerful, they are by no means impenetrable. And whilst they will halt anypony, or any Changeling, from flying over the river, they can only slow their crossing on land… Therefore various members of the nearby militias are being conscripted to operate patrols along the river.

It is an imperfect solution and the determined will get through, but it should keep the vast majority of the Changelings separate and away from the citizenry and control the immediate threat.

And this is the most concerning for me, as there are a number of the citizenry who have sided with the invaders, who are not escaping to the south, and who will be walled off with the Changelings. I have no way to know what lies ahead for them, but I am assured they have been given every option.

Of note, I do not hold Queen Silvermane accountable for what has transpired here, as it was not her desire to sack Roanoak. While I do believe she had the best interests of her people at heart, in the raging torrent of circumstance the numbers of her own people overwhelmed her and she lost control of the situation. It seems, from what I observed, that Changeling drones will congregate to the nearest Queen, even if she is not of their hive. So in a matter of a fortnight the Silvermane Hive went from a few dozen to an almost uncountable number of Changelings.

I, unfortunately, was not in a position to aid her in regaining control as the Imperial Guard failed with the same speed the Changelings presented a threat, leaving the Morninglight region open for conquest by the famished hordes of invaders.

I also do not hold Lieutenant Diomades accountable for this outcome, as his actions were also in the best interest of others. His drive was a desire to try and bridge the two populations into a harmonious whole, and that caused him to seek Queen Silvermane and accept her offer to bring him into her number. This did drive the final wedge into the Guard though, and the division it caused ran all the way to its core.

For my part, my error was in believing the guard to be on sound footing and able to take this blow without falling… I was wrong.

This morning the Argent Factionnaire came with a request to relocate the crown to the port city of Ardennes in the south of Roanoak. I keep a summer home there, the castle Astur, in the western hills above the town, and they tell me the advance guard has made the location safe for my occupation.

I do not desire to quit the field here in the Morninglight region, but I am assured that, due to Roanoak’s current inability to wage a full-scale conflict, the best course of action is to fall back and regroup…

I am told that the advance guard and the local forces need another week to ensure all have escaped and that our position in Ardennes is secure. As soon as I am given the word all is as prepared as can be, I shall seal Morninglight off from the rest of Roanoak until such time as I can return – and reclaim my land from these invaders…

Another Loose Page of Parchment

(( The following is written upon loose parchment in Aurora’s curious flowing script rather than the usual bound tome and precise lettering of the permanent journals. ))

Castle Astur, west of Port Ardennes

The Argent Factionnaire has relocated me to my summer home, the castle Astur.

As my movements were kept in the strictest of confidence, the staff here did not know of my arrival – and as such most of the furnishings are still under protective sheets and a layer of dust, and there is a slight musty smell of old wood and even older stone present.

There is considerable activity around the castle now that I have arrived though. It makes me somewhat uncomfortable that there are so many displaced by this event, and yet here are ponies begging for my forgiveness for not having my bed made yet.

I am unused to seeing the preparations that go into making ready for my arrival at a place… My attendants cleverly hide the fact that the staff work tirelessly, always in the background, to ensure my departures and arrivals occur with the minimum of fuss. My attention, it is said, is better spent on whatever it is that brings me to wherever I am, so I am not to be troubled with the thought that a small army has spent a week unpacking, sweeping, and polishing prior to my arrival.

It is humbling to see these events that are so often hidden from my view.

And this is not my only humbling experience of late, for similar happened during the three days that were spent with a caravan of ponies; both merchants and refugees from Morninglight, as we traveled overland to reach Ardennes…

We had left Morgan Castle as the sun reached its zenith, a time when the majority of the Changelings would be secure in some dark hole somewhere, probably under the castle, and we proceeded south along the Great Road, south, with much haste.

The Argent Guard was pulling the royal carriage with surety and speed, and with planned rotations the trip was to be made without pause to get me to the safety of Astur as quickly as possible.

Outriders came and went with reports of anything unusual in the path of our travel, and staccato hoofbeats eventually faded into background noise for me.

This is how the day progressed as we cleared the Nisean Bridge, and soon after passed beyond Trotsdale.

As evening began to settle in amidst the trees lining the road, one of the outriders galloped up with a report of a caravan about a candle mark ahead; refugees and merchants, with no sign of weapons or hostile intent…

It was after I mentioned that I would so love to stop and stretch my legs that the guard captain determined that we would meet up with this caravan, share the evening with them, and then be off again, with haste, at sunrise. His reasoning was that a random delay in a random location could be used throw off anyone expecting us to be somewhere on the route at a specific time…

Upon the arrival of my carriage the ponies that made up the caravan’s company stopped their camp preparations to pay deference to my presence. I bid them rise as I stepped down from the conveyance and strode over to speak with them, much to the consternation of the Argent Guard captain who insisted I remain near the carriage and the guards...

There, arrayed before me, were six families; mares, stallions, and foals all carrying their worldly possessions, and two merchants with heavily laden wagons – and all were bound for Ardennes.

I quickly discovered that whilst the merchants were happy to allow these families to share their fire this evening, the families were not part of the caravan. This was due to their possessions making their progress quite slow, and there was no room on the wagons for more weight to help them along faster.

So at sunrise these families would be making the long trek to Ardennes unaided.

After some pleasantries I returned to the carriage and pulled the Argent Guard captain aside to explain that he was having a change of plans… My carriage would be loaded with the cargo of these families, and if possible the foals would ride as well, and we would travel as a group to Ardennes.

His look was, well, priceless – right before his perpetually stern expression returned to his muzzle and he categorically refused to allow his Empress to sully her hooves on a several day march to Ardennes. I retorted with the fact my delicate hooves had traversed much of the known world in ages so long past that some cities I took shelter in no longer exist. And, drawing myself up to my full height and assuming my most regal visage, he was informed that he could either load those supplies onto my carriage or not, as he saw fit, but either way I was not leaving these families alone in the wilds between Trotsdale and Ardennes.

So that night the Imperial Carriage became a refugee wagon, and the following morning we all headed off to the south as a makeshift herd; the merchants, the families, a fancy ivory and gold carriage filled with a menagerie of boxes and bags, the Empress’ Factionnaire with their gleaming arms and armor, and the Alicorn Empress of Roanoak all moving southward at an easy trot along the Great Road.

It must have certainly been a sight to see…

As the royal carriage is really only intended to carry me and my personal effects, it was not quite large enough to hold everything and all of the foals at once, so I had the most fun carrying each of the little foals for a time... Their eyes would get so big when I picked them up in my magic and settled them upon my back. And once secure I would turn my head to look back at them, smile and wink, and with a great leap and thrust of my wings take them up above the trees for a few slow circles amidst the thermals – and allow their laughter displace my worry and buoy my spirit for a short time… As long as I ignored the scowl from the Agent Guard guard captain who was convinced I was disclosing our location to the enemy with every flight...

It was upon those few short days, where I eventually ceased being Empress and became just another pony to these few citizens of the Empire, that I vowed to spend more time amidst the citizenry, amidst my people… And not allow myself to be quite so walled off by position and title as I had been.

In the end we made the trip in three days versus one and all arrived safely, and now I stand amidst the carefully preserved furnishings of Astur Castle… And I take stock of my position and my strengths and weaknesses as an Empire.

The High Council is as fractured as the Imperial Guard currently, and I am exercising my emergency powers as defined by the constitution to try and recover the military, and following that the government. Ardennes has a maritime training facility on the north of the town, one that has fallen into disuse since the Imperial forces were centered in the north and had little truck with surface ships… But it can be made serviceable quickly, and that is what I require. I have opened the royal coffers to bring the facility up to a functional state, and workers have been tirelessly repairing and rebuilding for several days now.

I have also been in contact with Captain Imperious in distant Canterlot, and I have been offered a proposition for assistance that I cannot currently refuse... Imperious shall be sending a force here from Canterlot, specifically the 13th Legion, who will operate as a shared force under his command. His reasoning for the 13th Legion is that it is comprised of many ponies who followed him to Canterlot from Roanoak, and who are therefore familiar with the land and myself.

The Legion will be recruiting from the locals of Ardennes and looking for members of the Imperial Guard who are salvageable, and then setting up operations here at the maritime base.

It is imperative that merchant trade be revitalized as quickly as possible, and key to this is a strong military presence to counter the fears left standing when the Imperial Guard collapsed. The 13th Legion should be able to fulfill this requirement quickly and efficiently, and get trade running smoothly once more.

In that regard I will also be investing heavily in local shipping in order to give the crown a controlling interest, so that I may staff the ships with trained military to ensure security for imports and exports. I cannot have simple piracy impacting the recovery of the Empire…

Less governmental, I have noted on my way through town that I recognized quite a few familiar faces. Many ponies, and others, that I have come to know from the northlands are apparently finding their way here and will undoubtedly have the needed resolve to get lives and situations back in order.

The citizenry of Roanoak is not easily daunted, and they shall rise to the occasion as they always have. They are a gift to me that I cannot replace.

I worry some about the current political climate with regards to some I have come to trust, who may find the road forward more difficult now for certain well-justified fears. It is one thing to hear about the Changeling invasion in Canterlot, and quite another to have lived through one in your own city – and the citizenry may not be willing to give the benefit of doubt for quite some time.

Beyond this I shall be playing it a bit by ear. Eventually, I plan to re-take the Morninglight region, but that will be a future endeavor… Right now the citizens of Port Ardennes need to adjust to all of the new faces, and get used to the fact they are now home to the Empress, her retinue - and her army…

Aurora's Journals - Page 1, Volume XVIII

(( This entry is dated November 23rd of last year ))

I begin this volume before the last was finished… It somehow feels right to be beginning a new book given all that has transpired of late.

The stiffness of the binding, the crispness of the parchment, the flat, unspoiled expanse of the pages awaiting whatever the future may hold through the lens of my quill.

A new volume is always a bit of a meditation for me as I hold the book aloft and try to envision what I shall write within over the long years.

The world yet turns, the Sun and Moon still rise and set, and Roanoak endures despite the Changelings.

Ardennes is as lovely as always, Astur suits my needs perfectly, and all around ponies are beginning to settle into the day-to-day of the busy port town.

Truly, the Changelings are the only outstanding issue… Granted, they are a large issue, but one that can be resolved with time and the 13th Legion.

The stickier issue is the apparent division within the Changelings. On the one hoof, the Empire sits occupied by an enemy force and an entire region has fallen to them. On the other hoof, we have come to recognize that a select few mean no harm and have, in fact, been working for the Empire for many years in some cases.

It is a complicated political conundrum to work around. Most of the Changelings are conquest driven predators bent on finding more food for their teeming masses. But a hoof-full, while still being conquest driven predators, have learned to, somehow, coexist with Ponykind. The issue is, of course, that there is no way of telling them apart save for offering one’s proverbial neck and seeing which predator asks permission.

And then there are the citizenry... Some have come to know a specific Changeling as safe, and therefore measure them all by the same staff and find the Guard taking one into custody to be an issue. While others have been injured by Changelings and find them all worthy of exile – regardless of connection – and say the Crown is not doing enough.

It is stressful. Both for me, and for every Pony and Changeling involved.

In this regard I have spent the last few months researching the Changelings, carefully pouring over old tomes, scrolls, maps – my entire collection – looking for references to trace them back to their origins.

Repairing an issue involves finding the root, and working upward from there. So I must find the root of the Chagelings; where they come from, how they have moved, how long they have been in existence.

And I believe I have discovered their origins in a very old mare’s tale that has its origins in an area to the distant northeast, beyond even Equestria’s extensive borders…

The tale goes something like this…

It was a thousand years ago, as most such tales tend to be…

In a far off land an Alicorn Queen ruled over her Kingdom and her people with fairness and kindness. And in return she was much loved by her people, and her lands prospered under her gentle rule.

And love her they did, for they held great feasts and elegant balls in her honor, and ever her hooves did settle they doted upon her adoringly and gifted her with the finest fare they could manage, despite her humble and gentle protests.

But as time moved ever onward the Queen began to revel in the adoration of her subjects. Their doting upon her was as a balm for an ache that would be soothed for a while, but would always return and always slightly more urgent to be eased.

Soon enough she started to desperately crave the attention and the adoring eyes at the various balls and feasts, and so she began to commission ever more elegant finery and jewels to keep her subjects attention fixed upon her.

But such excess in the name of vanity will eventually wear down even a Kingdom. And as the Queen sought more and more lavish gowns, jewels, and the parties with which to show them off, the coffers of Kingdom slowly emptied until there was nothing left.

And as the ponies of the Kingdom started to go hungry, they began to migrate away to better places – until all that remained was a tattered old castle, and an equally tattered Alicorn on a dilapidated throne.

It was late one year, as the winds had begun to draw cold and snow had started to tip the nearby mountains, that a strange pony requested an audience with the Queen. He was dark of coat and of mane, with the carefully groomed appearance and the silver tongue of one accustomed to affairs of the Royals.

As there was nopony left to tend the disheveled castle, the Queen herself let the pony in and saw him to her throne room.

As he stood before the throne of the land he fairly gushed about her radiant beauty and how he could not understand how her ponies could have turned their backs on such a gracious and adoring Alicorn as she.

She fairly swooned from his attentions, feeling his words sooth the ache within her that had grown so strong since she was deserted by those ungracious, uncaring ponies. And as he spoke she leaned forward ever so slightly, her eyes heavy with pleasure as a smile crept over her muzzle.

He wove a tale of a most wondrous gem that came so close to her own beauty that it bequeathed to its bearer a perfect, magical countenance. And this would guarantee the adoration of one’s subjects…

He produced it from a pocket and held it aloft in a forehoof for her to see…

This wondrous gem, this artifact of infinite beauty, was a faintly glowing yellow-green stone set in a fine platinum setting, and it dangled from delicate silver chain; and it just happened to currently be in his possession…

As she began to reach for it with a forehoof he casually placed it back in his pocket, shaking his head. He smiled as he mentioned that the gem’s magic was not without cost. It had a small curse, nothing major – hardly noticeable really…

He continued quickly; the gem would grant her adoration unsurpassed. Her exalted beauty would become such that ponies would never leave her again. Any who saw her glory would rightfully fall in love with her radiance and seek nothing more than to fulfill her wondrous will.

And, he would freely give this bauble to the Queen. If she were to simply wear it, she would gain the power to be perfect in any eyes she desired, loved by all she cared to be loved by, and any she desired would follow her forever.

He produced the artifact once more and held it aloft.

She leaned back on her throne slightly. A curse? This worried her… But was she not already cursed? Those who once loved her had deserted her, leaving her miserable and alone. What curse could be worse than that? What is a little curse for the opportunity to be adored by all who laid eyes upon her?

She nodded, accepting his offer and once more reached out to take the gem. He did not pull back, and as she reached, he turned his hoof over and let the gem drop into hers.

It was heavier than it appeared to be, and warm – like a living thing.

She picked up the necklace in her magic and carefully placed the chain over her head, letting the gem settle heavily just over her heart…

What seemed like an eternity existed between heartbeats as the room became deathly silent. Nothing moved, even the dust in the air seemed still as the gravity of what had just happened seemed to stop the very world around her.

It began as a sharp pain in her chest that caused her to inhale sharply and her eyes to go wide. She surged to her hooves and stumbled down the shallow steps from her throne to stand on the flagstone floor, weaving as if drunk. A whimper escaped her as her head lowered and each step carried her closer to the odd pony… Between one step and the next she froze; one foreleg lifted pensively as she began to shake uncontrollably.

She looked at the pony before her with panic in her eyes… Her mouth opened as if she were about to say something, but just then the gem flashed a sickly green and all that came out was a slight gurgle.

The pony wore a wicked, feral sort of smile as greenish flames began to flicker over the form of the Alicorn. “Just a slight curse – a trifle really…”

As the fire obscured her vision and her form twisted and shook, the curse took hold.

The agony lasted a lifetime.

The Queen was an Alicorn, and as such she was a direct reflection of the progenitors of Light, and hers was the power to shape the old magic of the very world itself. But as she stirred as if from a fitful sleep, that which rose slowly to its strange hooves was a mockery of the beauty she once was... She was more insect than Pony – stiff translucent wings attached to an armored carapace, and the horn upon her brow was twisted and misshapen. Her form possessed a mane and tail, but they hung limp and lifeless, full of large holes that matched the ones the cut though her long legs.

And there was the Hunger…

From the moment her large eyes with their slit pupils opened, the Hunger defined her. She could taste what she required upon the breeze, cloyingly sweet and tantalizing, and she looked about for the source of it.

She stood in the ruins of a castle, the forces that went into her creation having leveled the old stone edifice. Somewhere, deep inside, she knew the jumbled collection of wood and stone should mean something, but it was quickly replaced by the Hunger that twisted her lips into a wicked grin that bared her fangs.

With a clumsy leap she left the ground, buzz of her stiff wings loud in her misshapen ears, and headed towards the two ponies she could taste in town.

She would drain them completely, and use their strength to build the first of the chrysalis chambers that would convert them into her drones. She would be loved, without reservation, by the cold blue eyes she would bring into this world.

And her hive would feed.

In the rubble of the throne room, at the foot of a crumbling dais covered in the tatters of gold-trimmed velvet, a dark, lifeless gem set in platinum caught the moonlight for a moment, and then lay quietly amidst the ruin…

This would seem to be the origin of the Changelings, and if it is true then they are not a natural creation of our world. The race may well be the result of a thousand year old curse. And curses may be broken, given enough information and power…

My instinct is that the truth is here; at the core of most myth is truth. There are tales we use as allegory for the ascended that caution against vanity and pride, and they read very similar. The call of pride is very dangerous for the ascended given our power and potential spans of time.

If I assume the tale has a kernel of truth, then a few things become apparent – the fact this is a curse, the mechanism for the curse’s transmission, and a suggestion that the mechanism is separate from the Queen in the story.

If that talisman did exist, and can be found, then it may be possible to break this curse.

The scope would seem to be a single pony, or Alicorn in this case, which would make breaking the curse applicable to a single pony.

I would need to know more to determine the scope of such a thing, and I do not even know if the talisman truly exists.

Aurora's Journals - Page 5, Volume XVIII

(( This entry is dated November 25th of last year ))

Last evening I had a most interesting talk with Zealous Heart, one of the Argent Factionnaire who is sworn to my protection.

Initially I called him into my study to discuss his thoughts on an upcoming mission with the remnants of the Imperial Guard, as it places him in a potentially difficult situation and I desired to ascertain any complexities that would arise from this. His mission will put him into a situation with Lieutenant Diomades… It is widely known that the brothers Zealous and Stone Heart bear little love for the Changelings – and the Lieutenant is now a Changeling.

Zealous Heart is a very decisive pony. For him there exist only two states of his being; that an order I have given shall be executed, and that he shall report to me when it has been completed – so for him it is a foregone conclusion that all rogue Changelings will be caught, will be tried, and will be exiled; for this is my will.

And as the topic was one of Changelings, I had the opportunity to question Zealous Heart about his near-legendary dislike of the creatures.

It was enlightening.

For one, as I pressed for information I managed to pierce his stony visage briefly and discovered a pony who bears a lot of internal torment stemming from a military action some eight years in the past. And for another his tale coincided with my own research into the present Changeling issue.

I did not want to cause him undue upset, so I drew the line of questioning to a close before I was truly finished – but not before some fortuitous information was given to me… This military action he was involved in some eight years prior was with regard to Changelings, and took place within the Forsaken Forest region noth of Equestria proper. The Forsaken Forest is the only un-monitored egress into Equestria from the North, as it lies between The Griffin Kingdoms to the west and the Minotaur Lands to the east.

Geographically, the southern end of the forest is where the ruins of Tambelon lie. And Tambelon, as we all know, dates back over a thousand years… But while the castle has been held within the Realm of Mists since Grogar’s defeat, the town that surrounded it was largely ignored and reclaimed by the forest in the interim…

The legends around Tambelon keep most ponyfolk away, and as such the dark catacombs under the ruins would be a logical location for a Changeling Hive to establish a hoof in Equestria.

Could this military route Zealous survived eight years ago have been the first encounter with the Chrysalis Hive? If so, this means they came from the north…

The north…

There is an old legend regarding the fall of a glorious kingdom that existed far to the north. Its fall was caused, according to said legend, by a mass exodus of its people into what would be the northeastern tip of Equestria today. Little more than this is known, save that the legend simply refers to this place as “The Forbidden City”.

I believe it is there that I shall get some answers to this riddle.

I shall have to find somepony willing to brave such a trek into the northern wilds. I would simply send the Imperial Guard, if they were not in such a bad state and already overworked simply keeping the peace in Roanoak. My personal guard is right out – Imperious would never agree to the risk – especially for what may be nothing more than a wild goose chase based on the ramblings of long departed ponies and the over-active imagination of the Empress.

But, those are my options I am afraid… I shall ask Diomades Concord if there is anypony he can spare.

If I fund the airship flight as far as Canterlot and the party was to secure local transport north to the ruins of Tambelon to check for any clues, it may cut the journey short… There would be no need to press northward if my suppositions about the Hive’s origins lying in that direction were disproven at Tambelon.

If there were evidence though, it would mean a long trek into the mostly unknown northern end of the continent, to a city only mentioned in thousand-year-old legends – on a hunch. And should this “Forbidden City” actually align with the story of the first Changeling, then all we have to do is find a talisman nopony has ever seen, that is no bigger than a hoofspan in size, within it.

The proverbial needle and haystack, indeed.

But first I need a pony or two willing to undertake this journey…

One plan at a time.

The remainder of the discussion with Zealous Heart began with an inquiry into his side of the events that led to the confrontation with Ruby Spark and his dismissal from the Guard. In short, his hatred of the Changelings runs very deep and very swiftly, and this is, as I surmised, the root cause of the conflict.

Given some small understanding of the situations he endured those eight years ago, it is understandable that he would view the events of Imperious’ departure as if the Empire were being turned over to the Enemy. After all, there was a Changeling Queen under our very hooves, and the two leaders of the Imperial Guard had close ties to her.

I then offered him the opportunity to ask me questions related to those events, for turnabout is fair play…

I must clarify for any who read this, that I place certain requirements upon the Argent Factionnaire with regard for how they interact with me; they are not to bow to me as this takes their attention off of the surroundings – a simple nod in deference to me is enough. In private I am to be addressed by my name – for a millennium of ‘your majesty’ makes one desire the familiarity of his or her own name. And they are to speak plainly and without hesitation in my presence – for neither I, nor they, have the luxury of pomp and circumstance when a situation arises, so I prefer to simply do away with it completely.

In this, Zealous Heart has the right to ask his Empress any question he likes with the expectation he will receive an honest and direct answer… And his question was, simply, why the Changeling Queen Relic Silvermane and her consort, the Changeling Diomades Concord, were not in prison as the other Changelings shall be soon.

My explanation appears to have shaken him slightly…

Allow me to explain.

We Elder Alicorns exist as a conduit between the old magics of the world and the dreams and desires of the ponies we serve. Our purpose is to bring harmony to the world, and we stand as Lights in the Darkness; a balance struck in time immemorial between the forces of Creation and Destruction.

I am younger than many of our kind – far younger than a few – and as such I am a bit avant-garde… Despite my elders cautioning me against my efforts with the Changelings – I moved ahead with my grand ideal, to attempt to bring the Changelings into Harmony with Ponykind.

This was a mistake. There can be no balance here; there is no possibility of a harmonious coexistence.

And my admitting my failing and error caused Zealous Heart’s moment of trepidation.

Zealous Heart is an old soul. He sees us Elders as gods, as we were seen oh so long ago; worshiped, beseeched in prayer, and the objects of offerings. But I have never been comfortable with this notion, for my work is to guide ponykind to a place where they no longer require me. A ‘god’ is at once an image of perfection unattainable, and a reason to blame for when things do not go to plan – and this is contrary to my goals.

So, are we ‘gods’?

A true deity would not suffer the Flaw of Heart; would not feel elation when, against the odds, things worked out. Nor would a deity suffer remorse and be left to ponder ‘what if?’ for eternity. A deity cannot be burdened with such emotions in the execution of their purpose.

At least, I like to think this is the case.

So, are we ‘gods’? I cannot say, as I have never met one. But all things are made up of perception and perspective, and if that is how we are perceived, if that label helps even one pony achieve a higher purpose, then I will bear it. But I will also simply be the old and, hopefully, wise mare in the equally old castle on the hill who has a penchant for exotic teas.

In the end, Zealous Heart seemed to understand this; that he is completely correct in his devotion to the Elders as he sees us… For we bore the trappings of deification for many hundreds of years and as we are unchanging, this is still technically correct. But I believe he also sees that I am flesh and bone, with a heart that both beats and feels, and that my corporeal state means I am at once more, and less, than an ideology.

Shakily written on a scrap of parchment

The Changelings grow bolder – bold enough to even attack me openly and just out of sight of Astur’s walls. Granted, I was alone and without my personal guard – but it was merely a walk to town and well within the boundaries of what I assumed to be safe.

Imperious will most certainly frown furiously at me for being so careless.

They, the Changelings, numbered six that I could see, and they set upon me from the forested hills on either side of the Great Road. They looked, to me, the same as any other Changeling – so I do not know if this was an incursion from the north, or a group from within our midst.

Hopefully this can be discovered by way of the Guard’s investigations of the scene of the attack.

As for the Changelings themselves, their ability to drain emotion – to syphon the very will to carry on – is very powerful. I have never encountered such a thing; it was as if all of the happiness and love in the world seemed to vanish from me, spinning away into a void of despair and loneliness… I can see now why they are so feared by those who have faced them.

And if they had not been so quick to attack I may very well not be here now…

I feel I must try to describe the effect while the event is still fresh; at first I merely felt as if I were a bit under the weather, an achy tiredness that crept upon me as I strolled. Very quickly I began to feel sleepy, but this was not a desire to simply rest – it was a desire to simply give up. To stop moving and just be still until the end came for me…

I understand now this was the beginning of their assault; an insidious weakening of the will of the prey before they physically attack... Fortunately, as their malaise came over me I caught a hoof on a loose stone, and stumbled – and I can only guess they felt I was done for, for the next thing I knew there was loud hissing and bared fangs all around me.

Instantly I raised a barrier to thwart their attack, but my wards against various magics had no effect on their power, and I continued to slide down that slope of crushing despair towards a welcome oblivion.

I can remember lowering my head, and feeling my knees start to buckle as the world was growing dim around me. But Imperious was ringing in my ears, louder and louder; the hours of his endless practicing and drilling for just such circumstances forced a final spell from me, throwing the creatures back into the forest.

The next thing I remember is the Canis Celestialis’ roar that seemed to shake the very heavens, and a flurry of movement and sound as he routed the creatures. I can only assume their powers do not work upon him, and so they were simply no match for Starswirl’s ancient creation.

I do not recall much after this. I did see the resultant damage I did to the road and the nearby trees as I was led back to castle Astur… I fear in my desperation I may have overextended a bit, and the repairs will take some time…

I now recover in my chambers – slowly but certainly. I have bid my aides to alert the Guard by way of Diomades, what happens from here is in his capable hooves.

Aurora's Journals - Page 9, Volume XVIII

(( This entry is dated December 9th of last year ))

These last few days have seen a whirlwind of activity around castle Astur; the guard is very visible since the attack and the rattle and squeak of arms and armor once again fills the main hall. Outside, several tall watchtowers have been erected in the courtyard to oversee the bridge and the steep slope of the mountains to the south, and the pass to the north, where the Great Road enters Ardennes, is likewise patrolled.

My departure from castle Astur is just as restricted as the citizenry are from entering currently, and while this does not make me happy on both counts, it has afforded me quite a bit of quiet solitude with which to study the vagaries of certain problems.

And time to recover.

My physician tells me I will be right as rain in a few days, and that he can find no lasting injury from the Changeling attack I was subjected to, which is good I suppose. The bite I received on my foreleg had been seen to, and well bandaged, and it was really the only lasting pain from the ordeal. Luckily, Zealous had some field remedy he had acquired from his time up north that involved common daylilies… The application of said remedy has a bit of a bite to it, but it seemed to ease the pain and prevented infection, so my physician has allowed me to once more be mobile around the castle.

Zealous’ skill is to be commended. He attributes it to a lifetime of patching up his brother; I likewise attribute it to the medicine of practice, versus the practice of medicine.

So I have been biding my time; healing and studying in the great room of the castle, enjoying both the view of the snowy hills through the tall leaded windows, and the warm fire in the hearth.

But, my time has not all been a warm hearth, hot tea, and a good book… The night before last was spent discussing the tale Lieutenant Concord returned with from the Forbidden City north of Equestria, the creature he met there, and the talisman he brought back with him.

Yes, it does exist just as in the tale, and it is now in my possession.

And it is well and truly evil…

I dare not physically touch it, for even having it in the castle I can hear it whispering to me, telling me of how my guard is turning against me, or how my ponies no longer love me, and how it can assure these grievous problems are set right if I merely allow it. Simply place it around my neck and all of those who seek to do me harm will be bound to only lavish praise upon me.

I feel it is driving the Changeling attacks, trying to force a state of unrest to weaken my resolve, to give it a moment of weakness to exploit.

That is how it works, you see; it seeks out those who lead others and corrupts them, and by this spreads the curse to those who follow them. It expands the will of the one who bears it to encompass those who follow and it feeds upon their adoration to empower it, and in turn the followers begin to feel a hunger for love as well – seeking to take it from others to replace that which has been taken from them by the curse.

The form is merely a corruption that facilitates the feeding, but the curse itself is insidious – and well beyond anything I have ever encountered.

And in that regard the talisman must be destroyed.

So, while I cannot fully comprehend the spells at work in this curse, for they are well beyond my abilities - disrupting the spells and destroying the talisman are mere foal’s play. It is a thing easily done.

But, as the form is merely a corruption, I surmise that if a changeling were wearing the talisman as I destroy it, it will revert the changeling to the form of a pony. Even the hive-born Changelings are based upon ponies, hence the reason their basic shape mimics ours. In this my supposition is that if a hive queen were to be wearing it, and the curse centers around the corruption of the will of the followers, its destruction may well revert the entire hive that follows the queen.

So the plan is simple – as I must destroy the talisman, why not attempt to free a hive of its influence as well?

This is where miss Silvermane comes into my arrangements. If she wears the talisman as I break the curse, it should free all of the Changelings she holds sway over. And this is an added good to an act I must perform no matter what.

The issue is that the Talisman does not want to be destroyed, and it will try to use miss Silvermane to prevent my acting upon it… And it is frighteningly powerful.

If it were any Changeling but miss Silvermane, I would not even risk the conflict. I would simply end the existence of the talisman this instant, and sleep all the better for it this evening – for it is helpless without a host. But, she has already bested her nature to attempt to broker a peace for her kind. And I this I feel she has the ability to not be an easy tool for the talisman to use, for while it is extremely powerful, it can also be defeated – as Lieutenant Concord has proven when he relinquished it to me.

In this I trust her to not aid the talisman against me without a fight, but I do not expect this to be an easy contest of wills – for either of us.

As the evening drew to a close and the Lieutenant went on his way, I was left to once more ponder the directions my decisions were taking me…

The next morning, yesterday morning it would have been, I met with the current leader of the Ardennes weather team; a younger colt, sharply dressed in a uniform that seems to be part of his office. He presented quite the stack of documentation to me and spoke of not quite being sure to report to now that the Empress herself was in residence. I asked who he typically reported to, and that is where we got into the discussion of his being relatively new to the position here in Ardennes.

Three things of note came from our discussion; one in that I need to speak with the Ardennes mayor and ensure we are both clear on expected duties, another that I officially requested the night of the 21st to be clear and cloud free for the midwinter event, and the last that I extended the Royal Commission for the local weather team another year… It is far too soon in our relocation to be shopping for weather team proposals, so as I have heard no complaints about the current team, I opined that there is nothing here that needs fixing. In a year’s time we shall revisit this decision and see if it held merit.

Following the meeting with the weather coordinator, I had a bit of an impromptu meeting with miss Somniloquence. The once-analyst seems to be quite taken with her new career as the president of the local bank.

Our discussion was little more than a follow-up on our previous meeting. Goldfleur seems to desire to dabble in war bonds now, and I was pitched everything from loans to advanced arms and armor from his company’s research and development works.

Frankly, as the discussion had little to do with finance and more to do with the war effort, I forwarded miss Somniloquence to Captain Imperious and my aide, Praefectus, as this is more within their bailiwick than mine.

While we discussed this, the chimney sweep arrived and was being looked after by Zealous, and the next topic miss Somniloquence wanted to discuss was of a more private nature… So I escorted her to my study where we resumed, away from the stomp of armored hooves and the discussion of readiness plans.

In short, she merely wanted to apologize for her research into the Changelings possibly leading to the situation we all find ourselves in currently. I tried to assuage her fears regarding this by explaining that we both based our research upon Changelings who had, somehow, come to find coexistence before we even knew they were here. So only seeing a hoof full of what turned out to be truly odd Changelings skewed our view of the whole. In effect, we found a single flower to be quite fascinating and worthy of study, but neglected to realize there was an immense field of poisonous flora all around us.

While we discussed this Zealous entered and explained that a local colt had reported seeing Changelings in a nearby cave, and he sought my permission to depart immediately with his brother to visit some justice upon them. I agreed on two conditions; that the castle would be secure in his absence, and that Lieutenant Spark, who was also at castle Astur, would be dispatched immediately to town to deliver word of this discovery to the 13th Legion.

He agreed to the conditions and departed, leaving miss Somniloquence and myself to finish our chat in a quickly quiet castle.

Once we finished and she had left to return to town, I moved back out to the great room with a fresh cup of tea to resume my study into the spells I will employ in a few days…

The Empress' great room within Castle Astur

A few hours passed before Lieutenant Concord was once again before me. He came to ask me if I recalled a meeting with Lieutenant Spark that morning, to which I answered that I had not.

He immediately cautioned me that it appeared a changeling was assuming the forms of local ponies, and as this took familiarity to accomplish, it was obviously a local Changeling.

This was dire news as it appears now that our conflict is on two fronts, one with an external enemy, and one with an internal enemy.

Zealous returned from the nearby caves whilst we were discussing this, and they both discussed the implications of this briefly before it was decided the best course of action was to simply lock down the castle. While I am not in agreement with this, as I do not want to be isolated from the citizenry at a time like this, I was eventually convinced to lock the castle’s doors and limit access to a select few ponies.

After this Lieutenant Concord departed Zealous examined the bite on my leg. Once he was satisfied and had pronounced that I would live, he also departed on his rounds. For my part, I took advantage of the momentary lull in caretakers to escape castle Astur and fly into town…

My goal was a simple one – to oversee the lighting of the winter fire pit in the park. A few ponies showed up, the fire was lit, and it will hopefully stay burning through spring, as is the tradition. And, once the official-ness had been dispensed with, I decided to take a few moments and take in some night air…

And that was when a strange hooded and cloaked pony approached me…

I am typically wary of anypony who keeps themselves hidden in such a manner and will not even give me so much as a fake name by which to call them. But this fellow had an air of one accustomed to dealing with Elders such as myself and his cloak was adorned with lunar court symbolism… And his odd way of not directly facing me when he spoke reminded me of a pony I knew years ago – one who lived on the outskirts of Trotsdale.

I had no way of proving this point to myself, of course, but it did put me at ease enough to continue to converse with him for a few moments – until others arrived to enjoy the fire as well and he moved off into the shadows.

Mostly out of curiosity, as he departed I mentioned that I would return to castle Astur within the hour, and if he were to meet me there, I would endeavor to answer his questions.

And sure enough, somehow completely unseen by the guards this cloaked pony was waiting for me as I entered the great hall. So, assuming that if he wished ill of me he had wasted his opportunity, I bid him enter the great room, warm himself by the fire, and ask me his questions.

He simply desired to know everything about the crystals found in the Leylands to the north of the Empire, the crystals that Baron Goldfleur has taken such a shine to…

And I do mean everything…

So, over the course of the next hour I explained all that I knew about the crystals, and he offered very little in the way of any information about himself. I did manage to glean that he was from Canterlot, as he had specific knowledge with regard to locations and events that only one from the white city would know.

When he was satisfied with the information I had given, he politely excused himself out of the rear door to the great room and vanished into the frozen night on leathery bat wings…

Ultimately I shall pen a letter to Captain Imperious to see what he knows of my mysterious visitor and his desire for such complete knowledge of such an obscure topic.

So, with his exit and my acquisition of a fresh pot of tea, I settled in once more to resume my study – which is when Relic Silvermane appeared in the hall.

The remainder of the evening was spent chatting with her with regards to the talisman, the curse, and what we hope to achieve with regards to herself and her hive. And in the end I do believe she understands the gravity of the situation, including the fact she may become a weapon against me - and yet still desires to move ahead with the plan.

She is exceptionally brave, for herself and for her followers, and I shall do my utmost to ensure nothing unexpected happens.

Aurora's Journals - Page 12, Volume XVIII

(( This entry is dated December 11th of last year ))

As if the Changeling incursion up north were not enough, there seem to be plots within plots happening on an international scale at the present time.

I wrote the other day about being visited by a mysterious hooded pony who asked me many odd questions pertaining to the Leylands crystals, and who espoused to be part of a secret organization working towards goals that he did not make exceptionally clear.

I had mostly excused this oddity for being exactly that, an odd pony seeking odd information; this is not uncommon for me with the unique history of Roanoak and the archives and collections I keep. But with the inclusion of an odd scroll of parchment with my breakfast yesterday morning from a second of their group, it does appear there is a very real secret cabal of ponies at work here.

This incident has also resulted in a complete reorganization of the castle staff and a full questioning of everypony involved with seeing to my needs. My personal guard did not take well to an infiltrator managing to tamper with my breakfast – for some odd reason.

Once the letter was analyzed by the talented magister of the 13th Legion for both magical taint and clues of origin, it was given back into my custody later in the afternoon. This letter I reference bid me destroy it after I had read the contents, but as it implicated that this organization most certainly has Equestrian origins, and it claimed that this cabal is operating under the auspices of Princess Luna herself – I felt it best to take this discussion to her directly.

I dispatched a letter to her Royal Highness via spell, carefully avoiding any indication of urgency as to not cause her to be awakened before evening, and I settled back to resume my research whilst I awaited her response.

Moments after I settled into my pillow before the fire, Baron Goldfleur and his personal guard were shown into the hall by Zealous.

I will admit that my first thought as the Baron was announced was that this was to be another impromptu sales session regarding the war effort. I have already forwarded his bank manager to Praefectus’ office, and I assumed this was to be a more direct approach by the Baron to secure some lucrative contracts.

But as I set the weighty tome I was researching aside and had the opportunity to examine the Baron, well, let us just say he was in a terrible state. He was bedraggled, wet, and wore more of the road to Astur than I assumed to be possible.

I was so taken aback by this image that I could find nothing to say beyond general pleasantries. To see the normally impeccable Baron standing there, dripping upon the parquet, was so incongruous that it literally stunned me into silence.

And then he spoke. The typically unflappable countenance of the Baron was a shattered ruin, and this echoed in his words. He launched into a tale of how he felt his life was in danger, how his business was in danger, and even how the Empire was in danger – and then in the same breath pressed me for information regarding my mysterious visitor from last evening.

It is well known that I do not merely speak with another. Every word is carefully weighed, analyzed, and applied to a veritable chessboard of strike and riposte, and I control information like a Diamond Dog controls a gem mine.

I shall add here that the baron is very good, quite possibly the best orator in recent pony history, and his skills with the spoken word are very impressive…

But he made a fatal mistake in his opening…

“A cloaked pony who was allowed entrance into the guard compound, one that I have been told came to you asking of Leyland crystals. About me.”

With those last two words he let it be known that everything that followed would be a careful ruse, for none but myself know that my mysterious visitor asked about the Baron, specifically. Yet he somehow had discovered this, and as such I knew a game was afoot.

We diced a while; he pressed for information that he already knew, namely the gender and distinguishing characteristics of my mysterious visitor. I coyly answered his questions truthfully to create an air of trust. He angled to involve me directly in resolving this for him with threats of pulling his business out of Ardennes, I countered with exposing his angle by calling his circumvention of the guard into question and referencing treason. He backpedaled, apologized, and changed the subject to the resuming of the High Council sessions.

And he soon departed after an exchange of pleasantries.

I do so enjoy my time with the Baron. He is a true product of Canterlot high society; a society that breeds incredible skill and determination for acquisition, something not often seen in Roanoak, and as such he keeps me sharp and well polished. He, like any weapon, has his uses for both good and ill – the difference being that the Baron is both wickedly sharp and willful, and as such requires careful control.

It worries me that I cannot fully see what game he is playing at. He understands the limits of my vision; that I can only see and comprehend so much, so he fills the world around himself with an incredible amount of activity, rumor, and outright disinformation.

Which, I will admit as his occasional opponent, is quite wonderful. And I am reminded that I need to send him a Hearth’s Warming Card.

Shortly after the Baron’s departure I received a reply from Luna asking if I would like to discuss with her in private within the White City of Canterlot. So I set about preparing myself for the cold airship journey northward, and within moments of finding my scarf a courier from the 13th Legion was shown into my chambers. He bore a letter from Imperious that, in his typical fashion, was short on words and long on potential problems.

The letter simply stated that he had discovered the identity of my mysterious visitor, and had a question regarding the veracity of a note left on his desk. The note on the desk claimed that I had authorized the movement and change of venue for a prisoner – and was ostensibly penned by my mysterious visitor.

This created quite a quandary. On the one hoof, if I said ‘no’ Imperious, knowing who the mystery pony is, would simply end them for treason. On the other hoof if I said ‘yes’ I was authorizing actions I had no real understanding of…

At this I decided to skip the airship trip to Canterlot and option for faster transport… It would tire me, but time was of the essence.

Canterlot, the White City and seat of the Equestrian government

I appeared at the train station in Canterlot in a blaze of spellfire, scaring two local ponies in the process and leaving a bit of a scorch mark on the alabaster of the loading platform. I apologized for my abrupt appearance to the two ponies – who merely stared at me slack-jawed – and I headed, as best as I could tell, towards the castle.

Canterlot always confuses me; hectares of smooth, featureless white stone separated by seemingly random doorways and dead end alleys. As I do not tend to fly in Canterlot – the stone buildings are entirely too closely spaced for my wingspan and I am terrified of injuring myself just to get into the air – I settled in for the long winding walk up to the castle proper.

Once you make your way up the road to the castle far enough, and you clear the rooftops of the town proper, some of the views are simply astounding… I can see why the Equestrian Diarchy had the castle built there, but my word is the walk arduous. I truly feel for the Earth Ponies who desire to see their Princesses, for one would almost have to plan on camping along the road on the way back due to running out of daylight.

I did eventually make it to the drawbridge though, and from there was escorted by two of the Equestrian Guard to the throne room where I was met by Princess Luna… We exchanged brief pleasantries after she dismissed the guards, and then she showed me to their chambers as to discuss in a more private setting.

Our first topic was the complications of this secret society operating in her name. I shall not go into detail here for diplomatic reasons as it is an Equestrian issue pertaining to Equestrian ponies, and as such I was happy to cede jurisdiction to Luna to resolve it.

From Roanoak’s view, there is no assumption of malice from Equestria in regards to these events, and she and I closed the discussion with the acknowledgement of such between us.

The second topic was one more involving my seeking Luna’s wisdom regarding the talisman and the Silvermane hive.

I explained the malevolence of the artifact and how I was fighting a battle of attrition against its will by it simply being near, and in this it must certainly be destroyed simply to prevent the turning of another of our kind to the evil of the Changelings. But while this is easily accomplished while the amulet is separate from a host, I also seek to free the Silvermane hive – which means giving the talisman to Miss Silvermane…

When Miss Silvermane places the cursed thing about her neck, she may succumb to the evil inherent to the artifact, gain its considerable power, and complicate my desires greatly by trying to end me instead of the artifact… Which would, in effect, be finishing the job that was started at Morninglight.

Luna asked many questions, approached the problem from many angles, and eventually offered to aid me with this plan. Shortly after this Celestia returned from her duties and asked to be caught up on the reason for my visit – and a few minutes later had also pledged her support.

So with Celestia and Luna’s power pledged so, I no longer fear for the outcome of this plan, for myself, but I do remain terrified for Miss Silvermane.

With these two problems well in hoof though, I leapt from the balcony outside the Princess’s chambers to fly up and over Canterlot proper, opened a gateway to Ardennes with the last of my strength, and amidst what I am sure was a spectacular light show returned whence I came.

And I slept better last evening than I have in a very long time…

Aurora's Journals - Page 15, Volume XVIII

(( This entry is dated December 13th of last year ))

Tonight shall be the attempt to sunder the Changeling talisman and free the Silvermane hive.

Curses are a relatively unknown form of magic for me, as it goes against the Accord to practice such inherently evil magical methods… But, I have had some luck in acquiring both written works and the aid of a Unicorn who has worked with the magical technique extensively – and who desires to remain unknown for obvious reasons.

With his help, and with information given to me by both Miss Silvermane and Princess Luna regarding Changeling limitations with certain emotions, I have managed to find an exploitable weakness in the layers of spell that the talisman contains…

A weakness that I shall detail here for future reference.

In general principle, a curse is a binding ritual in that it requires the acquiescence of the recipient. This acceptance can come as outright approval, or a simple heart-felt belief in the curse. But once that acceptance is in place, the curse is immutable and the stipulations of the fate adjustment occur.

Oddly, both of these illustrate the flaw I shall exploit this evening; for a curse to function, there has to be an element of trust. Either a trust that the reward is worth the curse’s cost, or a trust that one’s fate has already been altered by the curse and therefore a foregone conclusion.

According to both Miss Silvermane and Princess Luna, Changelings have a difficulty with trust, as it is immutable. It is an emotion that cannot be changed from what it is; it is an absolute. Trust may be misused, and trust may even be broken, but it is always the same – it either exists, or it does not.

Being as the curse itself is employed by way of an element of trust with regard to the Changelings, this leaves a bit of a disconnect that can be used to unravel the spells within the talisman. I have to guess that whomever created the enchantment was assuming the corrupt nature of the Changelings would never allow them to accept or offer trust, but Miss Silvermane can – and I shall use that to our advantage.

My only worry at this point centers mostly on the Changelings themselves. We still do not know what will happen when the curse is lifted. I assume they will be reverted to ponies – through and through – but there is no way of testing this theory before we attempt it. I also assume that as this curse works via the will, that any Changeling belonging to Miss Silvermane, wherever they may be, will be affected.

I need to remind Miss Silvermane to psychically tell her drones to stay grounded and ensure they are someplace safe before we begin – it would not due for one to be mid-flight and revert to an Earth Pony…

The last piece of the puzzle is Miss Silvermane herself… I will be applying considerable energy to ending the enchantments within the talisman, and she will be directly bonded with it. When the enchantments fail, there could be an extremely dangerous and ungrounded backlash of power.

I shall simply have to trust that fate’s desires shall be done this day. All involved have been made eminently aware of the risks; I have hid nothing – all that I know is known to all who participate.

That does not make this any easier…

Aurora's journals - Page 16, Volume XVIII

(( This entry is dated December 16th of last year ))

The Empress and the Equestrian Diarchy break the Changeling Talisman

A new day has dawned; a day I have worked towards for many months – verily, since meeting Miss Silvermane in fact.

The breaking of the talisman was a success – and in this action the Silvermane Hive is no more. In its place is now a small band of ponies bound together through this adventure.

A family, of sorts, and they now have that equality with ponies they sought.

This did not happen as I had intended those many months ago when Miss Silvermane brokered her peace with me… In fact, the road to reach this place was certainly the one less traveled, fraught with much peril and difficulty. But the view as I watched some dozen new ponies cavort around Miss Silvermane after the transformation was simply astounding…

History measures us not by what we achieve, but more by how we achieved it. The happy ending of the legend is moot without an understanding of the travails involved in getting there.

And in this there is indeed history to recount, legends to be written, and a tale to be told.

As I sit here in my study and enjoy my afternoon tea, I think back over all that has transpired; the grand affairs of state as Roanoak and Equestria fussed over plans and ideals with regard to the Changelings, the turbulence within the Guard as Imperious departed leaving the Empire in the care of Changeling loyalists, and even the individual hardships that were endured as Morninglight fell to a fanged invasion... A perfect collection of events that all led, inexorably, to this one outcome.

Along the way friendships were forged and tested, allegiances were put to trial, and the course of an entire nation was changed. Both sides – not just the victors, are writing this history for the war is on going.

With this resolution for the Silvermane Family though, the lines in this conflict can be re-drawn. No longer are the guard tied to the difficult task of determining friend from foe when they can appear to be anypony. No longer shall there be worry of who is an acceptable risk and who is not. No more complications with regard to who is loyal to pony-kind and who is merely seeking to feed off of us…

With the option given to any Changeling who truly sought to exist in peace with pony-kind, to aid in some small way without bringing harm, to have a kinship with us to stand with Miss Silvermane as we ended the curse – those who were ‘protected’ in this conflict are no longer in the line of fire. And this means Imperious has been freed from the complexities of friendly casualties and the politics thereof.

We are now free to fight back, to carry this conflict to the Changeling invaders and remove them from our lands.

Saber rattling aside, this event has also had other repercussions – namely with regard to Miss Silvermane...

It took the combined power of the Equestrian Princesses and myself to unmake the Changeling talisman, and the resulting explosion of arcane power when it was sundered appeared to have resulted in the unmaking of Miss Silvermane as well.

The unmaking of the Changeling Talisman

As the light faded and the ringing in our collective ears abated, all that was left where the Changeling Queen once stood was a glowing burn mark on the carpet of my throne room.

Something akin to panic set in for the newest additions to pony-kind as they discovered that it appeared that I had completely and utterly destroyed their queen.

After a short time though she returned in a blaze of light to the place the Changeling Queen had once occupied; though smaller and much more of a pony than before – a pony that bore the mantle of the three tribes.

Ascension has certain rules: a natural leadership ability, a unique mastery of talent, demonstrated perseverance in the face of evil, and an encompassing humility that tends to have the newly ascended disbelieving that they could even achieve such a thing… And a pony must meet all of the criteria before there is even a chance of ascension, and even then it is exceedingly rare.

As I have come to know Miss Silvermane quite well, I can see how she would meet the requirements for ascension.

Her sacrifices to try to save her hive, which culminated in placing herself in harm’s way and being subjected to the forces that sundered the Changeling talisman seems to have been the catalyst.

As it is customary for our kind to both try to find and guide those who may be worthy of ascension, and to take them under our wings when they are found, I have made such an offer to Miss Silvermane as well.

And of last evening, after careful consideration on both our accounts, I granted her title within Roanoak and shall set about her education… Henceforth she is to be referred to as one with title in my lands, as according to the writ of law she is now my niece.

Fortunately for me, like Miss Sparkle, Miss Silvermane has a group of friends already with which to ‘practice’ upon. But I do require her to learn the vagaries of court and the methods of rule, and as such she will be spending much time at my side as I attend to matters of state.

It shall not be easy for her, for there exists nothing in this world with more weight than a crown.

So, in this I now have two students; Solstice, a princess in line for the throne in Andalusia and Silvermane, a princess in peerage for Roanoak...

This seems to mirror my contemporary in Equestria, Celestia, for she was at once training Cadance for the throne whilst Twilight studied magic at her hooves. In that regard, Solstice is my Cadance – she has courtly upbringing and a grasp of what is expected of her, some day, and is simply here to learn more from another mentor. Silvermane, on the other hoof, is my Twilight – for while she is older than Equestria’s newest Princess, this world of ponies is entirely new territory for her.

She has such a spark of life, such curiosity and a desire to do some good with the chance she has been given…

I am at once honored, and humbled, to guide her along this path.

Aurora's Journals - Page 18, Volume XVIII

(( This entry is dated December 30th of last year ))

My sojourn to the east, to Cervidas, was indeed a wondrous week spent abroad - but I am happy to have returned to my own lands and to be amongst my own trees once more.

The Cervidas King, known to me as Kian and known to the Cervidas deer simply as “the Lord of the Forest”, bid me visit their lands for a year’s end celebration and to show off his land and his people… And, of course, whilst I was there and so enjoying a holiday he hoped to engage me on refining the taxation I levy to Cervidas exports that travel through Roanoak.

I was happy to oblige him on all accounts.

You see, the primary export of the Cervidas people is soft, precious metals. And while Canterlot’s profusion of Unicorn jewelry smiths have access to Equestria’s wealth of fine crystals and gems; this serves to highlight Equestria’s limited precious metal resources…

Meanwhile Cervidas has very limited coal resources, and what they do have cannot fuel forges of sufficient scale or heat to meet their growing industrial needs.

As Roanoak is easy landfall across the ocean from Cervidas, and the forges of Roanoak produce very high quality steel, this brings about our shipping arrangements with them… I convert precious metal into steel for Cervidas, and make my profit on the movement of gold and silver into Equestria.

It is a good arrangement that produces favorable results for all three Lands.

The topic His Majesty desired to discuss was the taxation I levy upon private resellers. To protect my shipping interests, I tax the movement of goods to and from Cervidas though my ports by any third-party… This allows free enterprise by way of specialized resellers, but keeps their costs of doing business in smaller quantities or privately somewhat universal, as they all must cover the same taxes. And this serves to keep their costs parallel to Empire costs, so the variations in expense on either end remain relatively the same despite the carrier.

He seeks to have me raise those taxes based on increasing private shipping to and from Cervidas, to deter such free enterprise… For Cervidas culture is rather isolationist, and he is finding the increase in exposure of his lands to be – unpleasant.

Of course, he also desires to increase his price for his exports accordingly as to absorb the financial excess the elevated taxation will create… And in this his ultimate desires are rather transparent…

But, enough about the drudgery of commerce and the vagaries of international politics… I have spent the last week discussing such, and it is a topic best left for balance sheets, not personal journals.

With regard to Cervidas itself, it is a wondrous place of vast ancient forests – a bit cold for my liking though… We ponies do not have the thick seasonal coats the Cervidas deer do, and I was ever thankful for my heavy petticoats, scarves, and hats. And, as the Cervidas deer are entirely a woodland race, they have something of an aversion to open fires… So my overall impression of the land is simply one of cold…

But the Cervidas deer are extremely warm and friendly – once they get to know that you are not a danger to them. For as a general rule the Cervidas deer are very skittish and wary, and do not take well to strangers.

This was made evident upon my arrival in the capital, Concordia. Typically my arrival at a place is met with a certain ‘pomp and circumstance’ of crowds and sharply appointed officials. But as I stepped from the airship and onto the wooden platform, there were actually more of my attendants than there was delegation to greet me…

In attendance to welcome me was just the King himself, two armed and armored bucks, and a doe that seemed to be some sort of functionary who was tasked with remembering everything that was said or happened.

I shall return to this doe in a moment, for she truly fascinated me. But before I get into that, I really must describe Concordia – or at least as well as I am able…

I mentioned above that the Cervidas deer are a woodland race… This needs to be clarified; for you see while ponies may live in a wooded area and therefore be known as ‘woodland ponies’, the Cervidas deer will change one’s opinion of the term forever.

As it is winter in Cervidas, as I stood on the deck of the Imperial airship in my full regalia, and several layers of warm clothing I was told by the Griffon Captain of the vessel, whom I assume to have been piloting such things since he was old enough to reach the wheel, that the approach to Concordia was not something I should miss.

He is gifted with both his piloting skill, and understatement…

We approached what can only be described as a very large forest in fall, but as we continued to draw closer for a span of nearly a half an hour, very large became a term I could no longer use… The trees were immense, hundreds of meters tall in fact, and as we slowly sailed past the periphery and into the gigantic branches, the world all-around took on the colors of autumn… And I began to feel a bit like a small bird amidst an endless forest.

Looking down between the branches as they passed under the hull I could see the loamy ground below, and it appeared we were some fifty meters above it, but if one merely looked ahead, one could easily be forgiven for assuming they were merely piloting down a tunnel – if said tunnel were made entirely of tree branches…

For what must have been another hour we sailed on through the trees, which once one becomes accustomed to the thought, becomes much like traveling amidst the tall spires, buttresses, and bridges of an immense castle. And, as one becomes accustomed to the oddity of that thought, one begins to notice what would appear to homes… These are not immediately evident, for they appear to be mere extensions of the trees – as if a house, windows and all, simply grew in that spot.

But, once you see one of the homes, the rest becomes apparent: spiraling walkways, vast gardens, lanterns that glow with a golden phosphorescence, and pathways along the immense branches. Even small shops and other businesses are nestled amongst the branches… Concordia is an entirely arboreal city.

But as amazing as this was, it does not prepare one for the approach to the Great Tree.

At the very center of Concordia lies the single largest living thing I have ever seen in our world. It is a tree of such magnitude as to be rather unfathomable in fact. The trunk of it is of sufficient size as to make it appear flat, and the bumps and whorls of its bark appear to be a craggy cliff face…

And as the airship turned and moved along the surface of the tree towards an obvious landing area I was struck by the incongruent image of flying next to a mountain, but knowing that what I saw was a living thing.

We soon landed and the airship was tethered, and I stepped from the airship onto a wooden platform… But it was not ‘lumber’, no element of it was cut or assembled and my hoof falls did not echo as they would on dried wood. This was simply a round, flat area that appeared to be little more than an immense tree branch that was quite conveniently the right shape and size to act as an airship landing.

As mentioned, only the Lord of the Forest, Kian, two of his personal guard, and an assistant, met me. And as we exchanged pleasantries I could not help but to keep looking about at the world I found myself in – which elicited a polite chuckle from His Majesty, and a blush from myself.

Immediately afterward though, as my stevedores lifted my baggage magically, the King’s eyes grew wide with wonder and he faltered in his welcome speech. I recalled at that moment that the Cervidas people do not have such visible magic – and I took the opportunity to politely chuckle as well.

As a people, the Cervidas are a bit taller than the average pony, but far more lithe. I would guess they, in general, weigh about half to two thirds as much as a pony, with the bucks being definitely larger than the does. And the antlers on the bucks are quite astounding, and an obvious point of pride as they tend to be polished and decorated.

The Cervidas deer are also very, very agile – amazingly so even. I am known for my fluid movement and attention to both place and time, but during my visit I continually felt as clumsy and gangly as a foal. The deer leap about their forest with nary a care, using their cloven hooves to find purchase where none could be seen and simply bounding back and forth between branches to gain higher levels of their arboreal home, or dropping ten meters at a dead run as if it were nothing.

Even with my wings, I could not move about the forest with as much quickness as the deer did.

And so, that evening was spent in rather informal discussions with His Majesty over all manner of things not related to laws and treaties - mostly because we both desired to know more about each other as a people.

I discovered that the true magic of the Cervidas deer is their mastery of the forest. They can influence and shape the very trees of their land to create their homes and gardens, as they require. And I witnessed this power first-hoof as His Majesty simply willed a shelf to appear in his study to place my gifts of maps and books of the Manelands upon. It was … magical to see.

The power was subtle and to an untrained eye one would not know how such a feat was performed. But if I am anything it is observant of magic, and as such I noticed the faint green lines of power radiating out from where his hooves touched the tree... And the patterns his spellcraft created there were beautiful.

I also discovered, by way of my gifts of maps and books, that the written word is highly treasured in their society. Writing for them is difficult given the lack of materials to fashion a workable quill or ink, and as such reading and writing are not prevalent. In this regard they have cultivated an oral tradition, and as such they have astounding memories.

The assistant I mentioned earlier? Her purpose is to observe and remember, in exacting detail, everything the King does or says… A living journal trained from an early age to miss nothing, and remember it all. And their powers of observation are definitely equal to this task, those large eyes and ears miss – nothing.

They also venerate nature, in all of its forms, and for them there are no holier days than the first of spring and the last day of fall. The event I was there to see was a ceremony to ‘call back the sun’. For a week after our Longest Night, the deer have a ceremony where a fire is kindled on that night, and held aloft in the main hall of the Great Tree for several days.

Four deer, in daily rotation, cause the Great tree to grow a complicated weave of new shoots and branches that contain the fire and hold it aloft in the middle of the hall – but this must be done with care as the fire consumes the new growth. Too slow, and the fire falls and potentially sets the place on fire. Too fast, and the fire is smothered by the tree.

The first four deer are bucks, and they both kindle the fire and hold it aloft from midnight until dawn, and the other shifts are does and they take over from dawn until the next dawn. And on the final day the first four bucks take over at dawn, their antlers covered in vines and plants, and they each in succession relay the fire from the hall and walk it slowly down the great spiraling path to the forest floor, holding it above them in their antlers as they cause the vines to maintain it. This procession ends at a nearby river where the fire is extinguished.

I was to observe the final day, walking solemnly with His Majesty behind the bucks that would relay the fire down to the river. It was a very solemn affair, with the winding path to the river lined with deer that were there to pay their respects to the sun.

For my part, I got no end of curious looks. I am told that for many I would be the first pony they had actually seen, and an Alicorn at that… They all know of us, of course, but few had ever actually seen or been so close to a pony. And as the event was to signify new beginnings, his Majesty thought my being there, walking the path with him before his people, would fall in line with this new beginning and be a powerful symbol.

The procession was moving, His Majesty’s speech was empowering, and when he suddenly announced me and stepped aside so that I may speak – frightening.

I am told it is their tradition to speak from the heart and to avoid overly wrought words. And by putting me on the spot like that, his people would hear truths that may otherwise be hidden under layers of pre-arranged diplomacy.

Now that the shock and fear has subsided, I think I like this tradition…

So I stepped up onto the dais and, as I always do, flared my wings to get attention – and the several hundred deer before me nearly bolted into the forest… The panicked intake of breath practically created a breeze in that clearing – and I still feel horrible for giving them such a fright.

But, other than that one issue, the rest of the event went well. I am told I gave a good speech and it strengthened the belief that Pony-kind was not out to hurt Cervidas.

The remainder of the trip was uneventful. Hours discussing taxes and tonnage, and working out the vagaries of payments in both directions…

Ultimately, I believe I shall have to visit Concordia again in the future. For I believe we have definite friends there across the ocean.

I wish I could say my return home was so uneventful…

Apparently, whilst I was away there was a bit of an insurrection with regard to both the Imperial Guard and the resident 13th Legion from Equestria.

I am still reviewing the report and gathering information, but it seems various elements of the Guard were working on ferreting out a plot to attempt and bring another Changeling hive into being upon Roanoak soil…

Being as this worked so well up north in Morninglight, Imperious took this as a clear and present danger and had all of his available resources working on discovering the perpetrators…

Oddly, three of the perpetrators turned themselves in on the evening of the 23rd.

Questioning ensued, testimonies were acquired, and evidence was corroborated; which all led to the apparent return of a very dangerous Changeling known as Sans Serif.

During this, somehow, a portion of the citizenry and two off-duty guards appeared in the barracks, armed, and attempted to either escape with the prisoners or interfere with questioning.

This leads me to believe they are, or were, part of the group responsible for this attempt at sedition and as such, by action, are culpable for treason. I come to this conclusion based on two observations:

One: Three key members of the Changeling cell turned themselves in and were offering information for amnesty.

Two: The citizens and off-duty guards involved attempted to stop the divulging of this information.

The complication here is that due to the armed nature and the numerical advantage of the ponies invading the barracks, the Guard was forced to use lethal force to maintain control of the situation. As such, questioning of some of these seditionist elements is no longer possible.

Even more complicating is that one of the deceased, according to reports, was an agent working for a recently shuttered intelligence-gathering agency for the Equestrian crown.

I know that Canterlot has no love for the Changelings, but these events do lead to some disturbing questions that I need to have answered. Questions regarding how far one must go in the chain of command from the Diarchy before they begin to hear Changelings are not all that bad.

In closing, while I do find these events upsetting for I do not revel in the extinguishing of a life – any life – I also do not have the luxury of a moral high-ground in this. Weighed against the potential evils of a Changeling hive and its insatiable appetite for my people, those who have sided with the Changelings should take this event as a sobering portent of their future…

To those who side with the Enemy I shall simply state: Believe what you will, follow those you will, see the world as you will – but if you are seeking to turn my people into mere cattle for Changelings, if your purpose is in any way contrary to the wellbeing of my ponies… You need to be prepared to meet a similar and unwavering fate.

So mark my words.

Aurora's Journals - Page 25, Volume XVIII

(( This entry is dated January 5th of this year ))

The New Year has settled in amongst the towns and villages of Roanoak, and a tentative feeling of peace has come with it.

This last year has been rife with both change and travail, and I am most anxious to put it behind us and move forward into a brighter time… Roanoak has been tried, and though the difficulties have been many and we may have staggered, we still stand…

This time last year there were growing pains within the various towns and principalities as population rose. Ponies who were seeking to better their place in the world moved into the regions quite quickly, and this created both housing shortages and the need to annex land for business.

There were the upheavals in the Imperial Guard as the command structure changed – and this brought with it many issues of personality conflict.

There were the Changelings that caused huge rifts in the social structure of Roanoak. Ponies became heavily divided over who was willing to be food and who was not – and this resulted in ponies fighting ponies in the streets whilst the Changelings watched and laughed.

And ultimately the Changeling Invasion of Morninglight happened; an event that found us all uprooted and moved to a new land with an entirely new set of problems to overcome.

But overcome them we did. And we are still here.

Not every event of the last year has been quite so fraught with peril though, and there are a host of bright lights I shall carry with me for as long as I am able…

The various events, plays, holidays, and long summer nights spent in idle conversation in Morninglight… And watching the ponies learn and grow, friendships form, and adventures of all shapes and sizes come and go.

These are the things that bear remembrance.

One such is the freeing of the Silvermane Hive… This is an event of recent import that has born fruit of both incredible use, and some of bittersweet tragedy. While I was successful in lifting the physical curse, it seems that the fangs of the Changelings are not so easily removed from some ponies.

This situation still has my attention, and is a work in progress.

On a more national scale – relations with Equestria are stronger than ever since the invasion, and the Equestrian Diarchy and I have been communicating much more routinely. And we now share a peacekeeping force, the 13th Legion, which links the two nations together for conflict resolution and keeps military matters jointly controlled. This has lead to a drastic reduction in Changeling-related activity in both kingdoms, as information is now a shared resource.

With the 13th Legion comes the return of Imperious. Once the Captain of my Imperial forces, he has returned to us from his time abroad as the Warmaster of the shared Roanoak – Equestria forces. In this there have been many changes wrought with regard to the Imperial Guard, which now operate under his guidance.

One such recent action was the offer of amnesty for anypony under warrant by the Guard for questioning or infraction… And this seems to have turned up quite a few familiar names.

The first to accept this offer were three ponies implicated in the attempted creation of a new Changeling hive on Roanoak soil… As referenced in my previous entry, this was not without some complication.

Everything dealing with Changelings has incredible amounts of complication…

The latest pair to take advantage of this amnesty offer is Bit Amour and his daughter, Mercy.

These two were wanted for treason relating to an Imperial intelligence operation some six months ago. And the night before last they were brought before me so that I could hear their defense against the charges…

Bit and Mercy arrived at Castle Astur at the appointed time, were searched and declared unarmed, and escorted before me. I laid out the charges, namely treason against the Empire, and then identified the pony who leveled the charges and the observers for the record – the former being Warmaster Imperious and latter my guests: Lady Silvermane and Lady Solstice.

Their side of the tale was long in the telling – some half an hour of carefully recounting events that transpired six months ago and half a world away. Much of the testimony aligned with the records I had received from Imperious, and included them both admitting to the treasonous act without duress.

But it was their reasoning for the act was most intriguing… They state that the reason they divulged operational intelligence to the party being investigated was because Imperious, drunk, had revealed the identity of the spies to one Chikt Tristar, a bat pony who was, at the time, under the employ of the group being investigated.

As soon as they had concluded I asked Imperious for his rebuttal, and he spent a few minutes refuting their accusation that he is the reason they committed treason.

Once he had finished I asked the accused for their closing statements, carefully reviewed my lengthy notes, and patently ignored the posturing and blustering between Imperious and Bit as I thought on the problem.

My ruling was; given that both parties agree that the treasonous act did occur, but there is some confusion on the circumstances that brought it about, which alters the severity of the crime, that I need more information. As both accounts hinge upon the testimony of one ‘Chikt Tristar’, the final verdict is suspended until he is brought before me to answer some questions.

In this regard I have remanded Bit and Mercy into the custody of the 13th Legion, but in light of their voluntary surrender and show of good faith I have pardoned them from direct incarceration and they are merely not to leave Ardennes until the investigation and deliberation is complete.

I have received word that Mister Tristar is once again in Ardennes and I must see to getting his side of the tale… I am willing to bet, given Mister Tristar was allegedly with Imperious who was allegedly drinking, and that said event was some six months ago, that his recollection of the event will be sketchy at best. I have already made plans to speak with Eagle Eye, the proprietor who was under investigation at the time of the event, and his assistant Bell Igerant with regard to this event as well.

Hopefully many viewpoints on the event will paint a more complete picture.

Ultimately the investigation was not harmed by the information divulged by Bit and his daughter, so I am convinced the severity of the crime is not quite as dire as it was made out to be. Yes, treason is not a one-time thing… Those who engage in it are not to be trusted ever again – but on the other hoof once you know, you can simply prevent them from coming into contact with sensitive information ever again.

This is preferable to an agent offering information that is harmful, and you do not know about it.

The final bit of news for this entry is that the Council sessions have resumed.

Last evening we had the first council session of the New Year. Given the lack of notice, which led to most of the council not being able to make it, I still feel some good did come of it.

Firstly, the public announcement of the bids for Ardennes mayoral candidacy happened last evening. I am curious if there are any civic-minded ponies in Ardennes willing to do the work – as I doubt it will be a ‘fun’ job… Ponies can be very demanding.

The next item on the agenda was with regard to the proposed increases in taxation for Cervidas shipments originating or ending at Cervidas ports. As much of the council and those who attend such sessions are business ponies, this caused some mild discussion. They have a few days to bring their concerns to me, so that I may finalize my response to Cervidas.

After this the floor was opened for discussions, and the remainder of the evening passed with little issue.

So, all in all, I feel this New Year will lead to pleasant days and prosperity – as long as the 13th can continue to make inroads against the Changelings, and we can collectively work to prevent any new insurrectionist issues.

Aurora's Journals - Page 37, Volume XXII

(( This entry is dated November 29th of this year ))

It has been a year since the north of the Empire fell to the Changeling menace – a year that the crown of Roanoak has been residing in Ardennes. In that time I have stabilized the Roanoak economy, rebuilt the Imperial Guard, solidified several agreements for aid both material and marshal, and have set about planning to remove the scourge that has vexed me since the Changeling Accord…

In this, the efforts of my network of brave scouts and spies have produced fruit it seems, and the stalemate I am in with the Changelings is beginning to have options...

Allow me to begin at the beginning…

Several months ago I set about acquiring the efforts and skills of various Ponies, and others, who were comfortable working in the shadows and dodging ever-present danger. My task for them was simple: infiltrate the Changeling controlled north of Roanoak, gather actionable intelligence on the Enemy, and return that information to me in any way possible.

For this I have been offering quite handsome pay upon delivery of said actionable intelligence. And whilst I make every effort to ensure those I send into harm are both cognizant of the danger, and capable – there are entirely too many I have lost to this mission so far.

But, events seem to finally be turning in my favor…

Two days ago I received a missive from one “Beryl Flash”, a Unicorn and occasional instructor at the Canterlot Royal Academy - and a Pony who I am told is something of a burr in the tail of the administration there. His credentials for my needs were exemplary, as he has most recently returned from delving some Dragon temple in the Scorched Lands to the south – not only with a wagon-load of artifacts, but also with his hide largely intact…

One does not simply wander into those lands and live to tell about it, let alone leave with ancient Draconic treasures in tow… And as such I am impressed.

Even more curious to me was his requested fee.

Others have insisted on a payment that would set them up for life if they were successful… Beryl simply wanted to keep any artifacts he could recover from the more secure catacombs under Morgan – places where I keep things I have found on my travels that I deem too dangerous for the world at large.

I initially declined, as the potential of having those items loose in the world was too much. But as he correctly pointed out – the Changelings have had a year to penetrate every inch of the catacombs and they are far more liable to do bad things than a Canterlot researcher…

We hope.

Eventually we hit a middle ground where, should he be successful in returning and with items from the catacombs, I have first right of refusal and he has the option of stipulating further agreements for acquisition.

That agreement is academic though as he has not returned…

What has returned is his assistant, one “Tumbleweed Jackpot” whom insists on simply being called ‘Weeds’. This Weeds fellow is a mountain of an Earth Pony – not too bright but loyal to a fault – and he seems to be Beryl’s ‘hooves on the ground’ for their misadventures.

But back to the subject at hoof: Weeds appeared at the doors to Castle Astur about two days ago bearing a missive from Beryl in a sealed parchment tube. In his typical less-than-loquacious way he let it be known that Beryl was alive the last he saw, but had been captured and hauled off to Morgan castle by a dozen or so Changelings.

Beryl did manage to acquire some information before his capture though, and had Weeds deliver it to me.

I am guessing that the acquisition of this information undoubtedly lead to his capture…

You see, Beryl’s primary goal is getting into the catacombs - I know this and he knows this. And getting any information for me is secondary to his goal of finding dangerous artifacts. While in pursuit of his goal he managed to discover that the Changelings have added tunnels from the original catacombs all the way to the town of Morninglight. And he supplied a map of the current state of the town, and a potential method of ingress in the form of a closed off room in a collapsed building…

Both the notes and the maps are very hastily penned though, so I assume he had some measure of understanding of his fate when creating them.

Up to now we knew that a new queen had either arrived from elsewhere, or was somehow created when the Changelings reached a critical mass – and we know she has been secured in the very bottom of the catacombs. We also know that assaulting Morgan to remove her is a fool’s errand for many of the reasons Castle Morgan was built… It was designed to protect me against all threats, and in this regard it is all but unassailable - and has even withstood full assaults by Dragons in its time.

A ground army will be ineffectual against Castle Morgan – and that is all I have currently.

Given this new information though, it may be possible to send in a small, highly skilled force via the tunnel from Morninglight, and completely bypass the thousand or so Changelings safe behind the walls of the castle.

If the queen can be dealt with, we know the swarm will fragment once again and disperse, making containment and defense possible…

The catch is getting the strike force into Morninglight… Walking there is right out, as it is a day by hoof though enemy territory, and the Changelings have somehow cut off the town magically. I am certain they know of my talent with portal magics and desire to not allow me to simply deposit my army in their midst…

But I am what I am and if little else I have done a lot of research in my time, and I may have an idea that can overcome their magical dampening… It will undoubtedly mean a one-way trip for the force I am sending in there though.

So... I get one chance at this.

And this means I need Imperious…

Unfortunately Imperious is amidst some sort of … situation, and I have not been able to locate him.

In that regard, I do not believe he and his immediate command have been ousted from Canterlot for daring to travel to another kingdom, as is the public story currently. I think both he and the Diarchy are up to something though, and the dismissal and disavowment are a cover for something… I am guessing he and his command need to gain access to some group that will see his removal and expulsion from Canterlot as a good sign.

Whilst I do not wish to interfere with whatever they may be up to, I have a small window of opportunity – therefore I shall personally head to Avarin, where he was last seen, and seek him out myself.

My airship departs in the morning…

Written upon Royal stationery

(To be transposed into volume XXII upon my return to Roanoak)

I am writing this from my stateroom onboard the Invictus, which is currently holding station in international waters just outside Avarin at about three hundred meters above the ocean.

I took my personal launch into Darktide this evening, tying up at the docks in the castle district… I figure the area right around Ruina’s throne is probably safe enough for me to go without escort, as the bulk of the city constabulary are based there, as well as the significant military presence around the castle itself… One would have to be very certain of their plan and have it involve dozens to attempt anything there.

My first order of business was to check in with the local police – the Enforcers as they are called in Avarin. Visiting dignitaries, especially ones such as myself, are expected to follow certain decorum, and part of that is announcing one’s arrival in another sovereign territory.

Technically I should have told them I was coming weeks ago – but I honestly did not know I would be in Darktide until yesterday.

They shall manage with the short notice I think.

The city of Darktide, the capital of Ruina's realm - the kingdom of Avarin

The architecture in Darktide is so dramatic – dark chiseled granite, pointed spires of marble, and severe arched windows of leaded glass abound. It is quite marvelous in its austerity and commanding presence, and the city around the castle district has a distinct no-nonsense feel imparted by the foreboding stonework.

The walk from the docks to the Enforcer’s headquarters, a place known as the Citadel, was pleasant enough – though Darktide illustrates just how rural Roanoak is... There is a great amount of business transaction in the capital, and all manner of races were about in the streets bartering for many things I could not recognize. The coins of a dozen cultures exchanged freely between hoof and paw and talon, the methods of dress were as varied as the cultures represented.

All in all I am afraid I was as wide-eyed as a foal as I traveled the main thoroughfare through the Old City, known as the Gold Road – which makes perfect sense now that I have seen it.

Oddly, I was not paid much attention – which I suppose is a blessing of sorts. I am quite used to my height attracting so much attention, but in Darktide I was pretty average; the northern isles ponies are all quite large, the minotaur are all immense, and the bigger diamond dogs literally tower over me.

In many ways it was as if I’d gone back a thousand years and was once again in a strange city I’d never seen full of wonders beyond imagining, disguised as a simple Unicorn mare as to not cause a commotion.

It was … nice.

Eventually though I had made it through the throngs of the Gold Road and across the canal bridge into the seat of the government. And from there it was a quick trot past the prison to the Citadel.

Upon arrival I was shocked at just how large the building is, and once though the doors at just many ponies and others were involved in maintaining the peace in Darktide. It is an immense enterprise – apparently the peacekeeping force in Avarin is fully state-run, while in Roanoak we have a more localized system of town/city constabulary overseen by Crown forces at a more disconnected level.

Avarin’s method certainly has its advantages – information and problems kingdom-wide are available to every peacekeeper everywhere, while in Roanoak the Imperial guard does not normally know about a problem until it reaches a point where the locals cannot handle it. But autonomy has its advantages as well; where local people with a better understanding of the ground-level situation resolve the problem over Avarin’s one size fits all approach…

Avarin’s methodology has certainly given me food for thought though.

Enforcement policies aside, I entered the foyer of the Citadel and was promptly seen to by a grey furred mare in some sort of clerk capacity. I explained that I was visiting from Roanoak and in Darktide for personal business, and had no need for Ruina’s attention.

She nodded, explained that given my status she was not authorized to handle my entry paperwork, and then bid me to stand over near a large window while she went to locate her superior.

I would guess about ten minutes had passed before another Enforcer approached me, this one in full uniform – which includes a muzzle covering red cloth and a curious peaked helm – and asked me to follow him into a nearby office to handle some paperwork and ask me a few questions. I of course followed him, intent on making my visit as official and drama-free as physically possible.

Once in the office and behind closed doors the Enforcer removed his helmet and muzzle covering to reveal none other than Diomades Concord!

I assumed something was brewing within Canterlot to have the Legion depart, dismissed, and branded traitors - but to find Diomades in Darktide was both a shock and a relief. He mentioned that Imperious had him in Avarin on assignment some time before the Legion arrived, but he’d had no contact with them since their arrival. He then mentioned that the Enforcers had captured Stone Heart’s betrothed a few days ago, and he had been working on getting her out of Darktide, as well as finding where the Legion was hiding before the Enforcers work it out. He then asked if I had heard from the Warmaster recently… To this I could only respond that I had heard that my missives were being delivered to the headquarters in Canterlot, but I was told they are opened and inspected by agents of the Diarchy before being placed on an ever-growing pile of untended correspondence.

I mentioned to him that if he was intent on getting anyone loyal to my crown out of Avarin, that the Invictus was just off-shore, and getting them to my launch whilst I am in Darktide and to the flagship would be their best bet… I am unclear on the severity of the situation, but worst-case even Ruina would think twice about firing on the Invictus.

I was then informed about somepony named ‘Metus’ who seems to be largely involved in the complications with the Legion and Avarin. This Metus had apparently figured out who Diomades was, figured him for a valuable asset, and made him some deal with regards to this.

Given that Diomades was still undercover even though said cover was seen through, causes me to wonder at who is pulling his strings currently. If this Metus knows who he is and left him in-play, and is apparently making motions to capture Stone – he must ultimately be after Imperious. There are too many pieces involved in the game with a common point of interest to be otherwise.

Diomades then informed me about a town to the south of Darktide called ‘Southshire’, where Stones’s wife mentioned she had a small shop set up. If she is based there, Stone is based there. If Stone is based there, the Legion is based there…

I must remain either in Darktide or on board the Invictus... It would cause mischief if I were to begin gallivanting across Ruina's domain. So partly to be my hooves outside of the city, and partly to test his allegiance, I charged him with bringing Imperious, his command, and others loyal to the Crown to me aboard the Invictus.

My flagship cannot remain offshore indefinitely though, and the timetable is tight with regard to the Morninglight campaign for even a small army must take time to get themselves in step. I told Diomades that will remain offshore for three days and asked him if he thought he could manage to reach the remnants of the Legion and convince them to come with him in that amount of time…

He seemed convinced that while difficult, it would be something to attempt.

He also mentioned that Zealous was working for Ruina, and that is what was holding Stone within Avarin… I am uncertain what this bodes, as I have seen nothing of Zealous since the Legion followed Imperious to Canterlot.

At that moment the door handle behind me began to turn and I wheeled to block the opening door with myself… Even in Darktide I am still large enough to fill a doorway. A gray furred batpony mare poked her head through the opening and right into my chest, causing me to flare my wings slightly in surprise, filling even more of the doorway…

It was the clerical mare from earlier, who had apparently heard voices and was investigating. Upon seeing me she exclaimed that she was looking for me and asked how I got into this office. I interrupted her with my most officious tone to inform her that I was looking for some stationary and the good stallion in the room with me was kind enough to escort me to a desk.

The delay was long enough for Diomades to get his helmet and such back on, and I continued to berate the poor mare for the quality of service, for the delays, and even for the gloomy weather whilst Diomades wandered casually away – once again invisible by familiarity.

So now I wait and see what happens…