Chapters Hot Chocolate Comes to Town
The sun shone out of a clear blue sky onto Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo who were all talking excitedly amongst themselves and with their elder sisters, or in Scootaloo’s case, honorary elder sister, as they walked playfully down the road to Ponyville Station. Rarity had to go to Manehattan on business; something to do with her shop there. However, nopony else in the party truly understood the detail, but the point was she was going to Manehattan .
As soon as the CMCs had got wind of this, they hurriedly set about concocting an excuse that bore at least some passing resemblance to a legitimate request to allow them to travel along and meet up with their friend and fellow Crusader, Babs Seed. They had finally persuaded Rarity by explaining that because Babs was the Head of the Manehattan Branch of the CMCs, it was time for their Annual General Meeting, and that such an event happened by pure coincidence to be during the time that Rarity would be in Manehattan.
She had been impressed by the sincerity with which the three fillies had put their case and smiled inwardly at how grown up they were beginning to sound. In truth, she was flattered, and needed very little persuading to be the centre of the three fillies’ attention, especially as it gave Sweetie Belle an opportunity to proudly display her big sister’s generosity. There was good natured banter overflowing as each of the mares chipped in with their own recollections of Manehattan and the fillies grew wide eyed in wonder, while in return they regaled their elder sisters about all the adventures they had enjoyed with Babs. The anecdotes were tripping out of the mouths of all six ponies in a chaotic tumble, but somehow everypony managed to get their turn.
By the time they had arrived at the station, the fillies were simply bursting with anticipation and properly wound up for the forthcoming train journey. AJ picked up on how excited they had all become and felt sorry for her friend, offering to accompany the party, but Rarity for her part just smiled and politely refused on the grounds that her friend would probably be more needed on the farm, and besides, she confided that it was fun to be surrounded by such enthusiastic fillies. AJ tipped her hat as a mark of respect for what she felt the fashionista could be letting herself in for, but to be honest, she was happier on the farm anyway. However, her conscience was clear; she had given a genuine offer.
The train could be seen approaching the station and its eager passengers from some distance off, the sight of it winding the fillies up beyond the fever pitch they had already reached. Gouts of steam shuffled off from either side of the locomotive and the clanging of the bell could be heard louder as the slowing train approached the platform, engulfing all those waiting in swirling eddies of sweet smelling steam.
The solid sounding metal latches opened and the passengers spilled out, porters rushing forward to assist those who looked like they needed help or could most afford a generous tip. For a few minutes, the platform resembled organised chaos and in this time Rarity shepherded the fillies aboard while Rainbow Dash had flown over the train and was pulling faces through the window on the far side making everypony laugh. This left AJ stood alone as the platform thinned out around her and she waved a forehoof to her little sister and her friends as they prepared to set off on their adventure.
“All aboard!” shouted the conductor, and once the last doors had been slammed shut, the locomotive made the first deep loud chuffs that signalled its departure and the bell clanged its appreciation. AJ felt a tear start to form in the corner of her eye as Apple Bloom’s waves disappeared from view, but her face soon grew a wide smile when she saw Rainbow flying alongside the carriage the friends were in, continuing to pull more silly faces. The orange farm pony allowed herself a quiet laugh and shook her head at the madcap antics of Ponyville’s favourite Wonderbolt as she turned to leave.
AJ walked slowly up the platform towards the exit and as she looked up, she noticed the silhouette of somepony else on the platform in the fading steam. Little by little she could make out more of the new figure; she carried two bags, one on wheels and a larger valise by her side. As the steam dissipated, she could see that she didn’t recognise this unicorn; her colouring was so unusual, that she would have definitely remembered. Her coat was a combination of two light browns in large patches and her short two-tone tail matched the colour of her long mane, most of which hung freely except for a solitary long braid, giving her an air of casual self-confidence similar to that which AJ radiated.
“Howdy stranger” AJ offered “New to these parts ain’t yuh?”
Chocolate picked up the bags in the pale blue aura of her magic and AJ caught sight of the monogram on the valise.Haut Couture or somethin’ fancy like that.”Heavy Case ; if it wasn’t for my magic I probably wouldn’t even be able to lift it!”
The two exchanged small talk and banter as they walked, and were soon relaxed in each other’s company just like old friends, as they walked side by side out of town towards the vast rolling orchards that the Apple family had tended lovingly for generations.
The first signs that they were approaching managed land was the appearance of white painted ranch style fencing separating the track from the orchard beyond; tree after tree bearing the most appetising looking apples for as far as the eye could see; doubly so for those who hadn’t eaten and were looking forward to lunch. Shortly, another white fence joined on the other side of the track, funnelling them towards a welcoming arch festooned with bright red blooms and a sign suspended underneath bearing the cut out silhouette of an apple. Ahead lay a cerise painted wooden construction farmhouse with bright white paintwork highlighting the external timbers.It all looked perfectly idyllic.
“I’m guessing that the Apple on the sign is telling us that this is your home?” enquired Chocolate.
The two ponies followed the path that led up to the kitchen to find a kindly looking old green mare hard at work putting the finishing touches to lunch. As they entered, she looked up from the task she had done thousands of times during her long life and spied the stranger alongside her granddaughter.
“Oh my, ain’t seen colouring like that for many a year. If I’m not mistaken you’d be a Palomino Tobiano Pinto” said the green pony with a forensic look in her eye, revealing that her mind was as sharp as ever it had been.
“Sorry Missy, I got so carried away I clean forgot to introduce myself; the name’s Granny Smith and my grandchildren all keep me in line.”
“Anyhoo, it’s coming on time for lunch young ‘un” cackled the green mare “Big Mac’s out in the west orchard, so he’ll be wantin’ somepony to take it out to him. I reckon we’ve got time to feed you two first, and I just so happen to have somethin’ ready.”
With that, the two young mares gave their thanks and started demolishing their meals hungrily as instructed, Chocolate acknowledging silently that Granny Smith had been more observant than she had given credit; it had indeed been a long time since she had eaten this well, and was very grateful for her unfaltering hospitality. As she tucked in appreciatively, she thought how different this country generosity was when compared with the cold impersonal nature of the big cities.
Granny Smith looked on and missed little as she forensically eyed up the outsider, rounding off her assessment with an affirmative and unseen nod of her head and then set about preparing her second lunch of the day.
Within a fraction of the time that the meals had taken to prepare, both plates were spotless and there were two happy smiles looking back to the Apple family’s matriarch who smiled back in return.so hit the spot” complimented Chocolate “Would you like a hand tidying up?”
“That’s mighty kind of y’all” said AJ with a giggle covering her guest’s discomfort “I’m so used to putting them bags on, I just kind of did it as matter of habit is all. I guess we’re not used to having a unicorn round here helpin’ out are we Granny?”
With smiles all round, the two young mares left their hostess to finish preparing her lunch in peace and set off to the west orchard; AJ feeling a little naked without her saddle bags, but at least giving her guest an opportunity to feel that she was contributing something in return for the friendship she had been offered since her arrival.
Hot Chocolate Comes to Town
The sun was coming up to its zenith and casting the smallest shadows under the two ponies as AJ led them unerringly through paths between the trees that were invisible to non-farming folk, giving the impression that she was using some kind of direction finding magic of her own. Although being guided through an apparently featureless forest of laden apple trees, Chocolate felt complete confidence in her companion and would have followed her to the moon if that was where she had led them.
The conversation was easy as the two swapped stories and anecdotes getting to know a little about each other. All the stories met with at least a ripple of mirth while the funniest resulted in great roars of laughter, and on one occasion Chocolate was left fighting for her breath and sounding more like a pterodactyl than a pony when she was finally able to breathe again, tears rolling down her muzzle.
After a long walk that Chocolate didn’t really want to end, she spied a large red earth pony hard at work and at a call from her companion he stopped and raised his head towards them. As soon as he could see he had company in the form of a new mare, he hurriedly tried to stroke his dishevelled yellow mane into some semblance of order with a forehoof, but his results only created spiky tufts of mane sticking up untidily.
Hearing this compliment in front of the new mare, Big Mac suddenly went all sheepish and AJ recognised a blush breaking out across his face. Chocolate couldn’t make it out against his red coat, but immediately caught the sentiment as he tripped over his words and found it difficult to look at her.
“Hello Big Mac, we’ve come to bring you your lunch. May I put it down?” asked Chocolate.
“I’d be happy to keep you company while you have your lunch if you’d like” offered Chocolate.
AJ went to her brother’s side and sat down with him, giving him a reassuring hug as he fought a losing battle in trying to muster his composure and just simpered.
As the giggling entered a lull, AJ’s ears pricked, and she looked up quickly trying to locate the source of something she had just heard.
The barest wind rippling through the trees sounded like somepony shuffling a deck of cards near a microphone and the song of a rising lark would in that instant have rivalled the loudest siren for its sheer incongruity. After a few seconds of intense focusing – there it was again! It sounded like the desperate cry of a foal. With no further information to go on, the group rose as one and galloped off in the direction it appeared to be coming from, the two fit farm ponies soon leaving the unicorn far behind.
The closer they got, the louder the cries rang in their ears, the trees starting to thin out as they approached the extreme limits of Apple Family land. Finally, from between the tree trunks the ponies caught sight of a young pegasus by the side of a well, screaming loudly and running in frantic circles. The brother and sister jumped over the ranch fencing each with a majestic clear leap and landed with a heavy thump on the other side, the ground beneath them reverberating to the shock of their impact before reverting once more to the steady thunder of their galloping hooves as they continued on.
The yellow and white pegasus filly seemed oblivious of their approach and continued running round screaming, clearly panicked, only taking notice once the farm ponies were right up alongside her.
Out of breath and only now having arrived at the fence that the other two had jumped with such ease less than a minute before, Chocolate caught sight of the panicking white pony and forced her panting body to climb over the fencing when something caught her eye and made her stop. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she had seen a flash out of the corner of her eye and stopped midway over the fence. It may have been her exhaustion or how far she was away, but suddenly the pegasus filly didn’t seem to be quite the same as she had been a moment before.
Rueing her lack of fitness, she rested her breathless weight on the top rung of the fence which promptly collapsed under her as she toppled unceremoniously onto the meadow, her gasp of surprise mingling with the crack of the fence, making such a noise that the mysterious pony turned suddenly to face her. She hit the ground face first, but rose quickly, her ears pinned back, trying to focus on the pegasus filly once more. Although she was a little concussed trying to focus on what had caught her eye just a moment before, she could have sworn she saw another flash of green light before the whole scene resumed the normality she had witnessed as she had run up to the fence in the first place.
The whole episode seemed so unbelievable that Chocolate dismissed the idea. She must have mistaken what she had seen. After all, it was a bright day and the other two were way ahead of her in focusing on the priority of helping the filly. She was increasingly certain that the unaccustomed physical exercise coupled with the bright sunshine was playing tricks on her. Also, she didn’t want to say anything out of line unless she was absolutely certain, because she was trying to get accepted and didn’t want to make a fool of herself. She must have mistaken what she had seen.
Chocolate ran up to the well, ensuring that she kept the pegasus filly directly opposite her; just in case. The filly’s young eyes looked up into those of the suspicious unicorn, who suddenly felt an uncomfortable feeling course through her that she couldn’t quite pin down. Whether she said something or not, this felt wrong and she made a mental note to keep the filly in sight at all times. Scarily, she felt that the filly could read these thoughts even without her needing to vocalise them.
She illuminated her horn and sure enough saw a form in the bottom of the deep dry well and aimed her magic aura past the descending bucket levitating the subject of the filly’s concerns and raising it upwards.shoot! ” said Big Mac dejectedly “I just ain’t as quick with the bucket as you are with your magic.”
The light blue aura seemed shockingly bright within the tight confines of the dark well and Chocolate couldn’t make out too much detail of the victim she was retrieving, but brought her carefully up the narrow shaft, the bucket coming to rest gently on the inert form as it ascended, until eventually she leaned back as her load approached the lip of the well. While Big Mac and AJ fretted over the motionless yellow pegasus filly, carrying her down onto the ground, Chocolate instead looked towards her white companion who just stared wordlessly straight back at her. This was most unnerving and she felt a shudder inside, but was determined not to show it.
In an instant, the white filly broke away from boring into Chocolate’s mind and suddenly became the caring sibling worried about her sister, making a fuss and trying to crowd past the farm ponies to get in. Something was wrong here, quite badly wrong she mused, grateful for the numerical advantage that she and her new friends had over the two strange pegasi.
Under the continued fretting of the white filly, her sister came gradually round, smiles of relief breaking out over the earth ponies.
“You could probably use a little somethin’ right about now to make y’all feel better” fussed AJ
By now both pegasi were staring unblinkingly at their rescuers and the two earth ponies exchanged glances, AJ thinking fast.
“So where is it you two are from then?” she enquired conversationally.
At this, she and her brother moved forwards, pretending to show concern towards the yellow pegasus, then suddenly both leapt, AJ pinning the yellow one to the ground while Big Mac grasped the white one round her middle, lifted his forehoof and brought it down hard on her head.
Chocolate could not believe what she was seeing; one second they all looked to be getting on and next the two earth ponies had assaulted the young pegasi. Something told her that her new friends knew what they were doing, and once the white filly had been knocked out she witnessed it transforming into a sinister looking black creature with big featureless blue eyes and holed legs like it had crawled out of a nightmare.
Its yellow colleague was struggling hard now, and AJ held it firm while her brother delivered another hard blow to its head, causing it to reveal itself in its true form, just like the other one.
“So anyways Big Mac” said AJ taking a pride in her knotwork “I can’t say as I remember no well over here, can you?”
“I hope you know about fences too” said Chocolate a little bashfully “You see, I kind of broke one a bit …”
"You know” she said, feeling that as the changelings had now been unmasked “I thought I saw a green flash around one of the changelings earlier, but wasn’t sure so I didn’t say anything.”
Big Mac set off and strolled unhurriedly to the broken fence, stepping daintily over the remaining bar and then heading unerringly back to the tree where his packed lunch still lay waiting faithfully for his return. He picked up his lunch and then set course for home, the two young mares following along behind, sharing more stories and keeping a watchful eye on their prisoners, AJ taking delight in giving a casual thwack over the back of the head of any that showed signs of waking up.
Hot Chocolate Comes to Town
When the happy trio arrived back at Sweet Apple Acres, Granny Smith heard their laughter and came out to meet them, a little surprised to be seeing them back so early. This surprise was however as nothing compared to what she felt when she saw what her grandson was carrying.
“Looks like them bugs are growin’ bigger over in the west orchard” she commented dryly.
The two mares made the walk back towards town and instead of turning off for the station, pushed deeper into the bustling conurbation. All the ponies they met were friendly and most wanted to stop and chat to the new arrival, especially given her unusual colouring and unique cutie mark, but AJ had to take an increasingly firm line with them as now really wasn’t the time for socialising; there was no doubting that Pinkie Pie would see to that as soon as she found out.
Exercising all of her tact, AJ finally extricated the two of them from the hordes of inquisitive and welcoming ponies and navigated them to the Golden Oak Library. She knocked the door and there was a theatrical creak that betrayed the time since the hinges had last seen any oil. Chocolate had to look down to see who had opened it for them, and staring back up at her was a pair of bright green reptilian eyes set in a lilac head. She didn’t mean to, but nonetheless jumped back involuntarily as the baby dragon frowned slightly.
“Hey AJ” he said with a distinct male edge to his juvenile voice.
“Spike, don’t be so cheeky!” chastised a more refined female voice from further inside.
“Don’t worry, it is a little unusual, but at least you didn’t try to lick it – seriously you’d be surprised how often that happens!”
Chocolate looked up to see a lilac pony trotting over towards her.uninvited guests over at Sweet Apple Acres.”
Twilight looked expectantly to her country friend and waited for her to speak.
AJ stood back and Chocolate followed her lead as Twilight lowered her head and started pacing furiously, mumbling to herself all the while. Abruptly she stopped and raised her head “I must contact Princess Celestia at once!” she deduced fixedly.
While Twilight scratched away on the unfurled scroll, a silence fell over the others in the room.
“We’ve got some ponies here in Ponyville with sweet cutie marks a bit like yours – Mr and Mrs Cake, Bon Bon, and of course, all the Apple family. My favourite is Rarity - she’s got three blue diamonds. Hmmmmm”
“Tell me Spike” asked Chocolate, throwing him a social lifeline “Do dragons get cutie marks?”
***
Princess Celestia was at a formal working lunch that she was starting to find a little trying. Well, if she was honest, it had probably been dull from the outset. She found herself wishing for some form of diversion that would enable her to make excuses and leave, and next thing there was a flash as a scroll appeared.am working well today” she thought.Then she started to read:
Dear Princess Celestia, Two changelings have been captured near Ponyville and are currently being held by Granny Smith and Big Mac at Sweet Apple Acres. Please come soonest. Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle
Immediately she rose from the table and proffered excuses to the assembled dignitaries before departing, issuing orders as she trotted down the castle’s corridors to rouse both the Royal Guard and the Night Guard, ready chariots, wake her sister and then reeled off a list of names rapid fire of teachers and academics from the School for Gifted Unicorns, and do it all NOW!
She strode into a large briefing room and accompanied by only a pair of aides reached for a scroll and wrote:
Twilight We will be with you this afternoon with full support. Prevent the prisoners from escaping until we arrive. Celestia
She reviewed its simplicity and directness just one more time before sending it. This was not the normal communication with her faithful student, following the expected frills and artistry from a ruler versed in tact and blessed with a gift for expressing herself through the medium of words. No, these were instead the words of a general; a leader.
She paced the stage, fragments of plans spinning around in her consciousness, then starting to take root in her head, coalescing into a coherent plan while she waited for those who had been summoned to arrive.
Celestia turned to one of her aides and requested her battle armour; Luna giving a gentle nod to confirm that her sister’s request went for her too.
The room started to fill with military officers, intelligence specialists and a slow trickle of miscellaneous unicorns, mostly greybeards from the School. When Celestia was happy that those she had summoned were in attendance, she outlined what she knew and proposed a strategy. Once her briefing was complete, she threw the table open to discuss the options she had laid out and the attendees entered into a discussion, weighing up the merits of different approaches.
During the course of these discussions, four Royal Armourers came in carrying battle armour for the two Princesses and without pausing were directed to their Diarchs onto whom they proceeded to strap the various items of practical yet stylish protection that were required.
All present could sense that time was short and mercifully avoided going down paths of needless conjecture, sticking to the necessary facts and developing a military response to the clear and present danger being ranged against Equestria. By the time the two sisters had been kitted out in their battle armour, everypony in the briefing room knew it was time for the Princesses to agree and announce their plan.
“Thank you for all your informed debate” announced Celestia “We will fly to a farm known as “Sweet Apple Acres” just outside Ponyville where the two prisoners are being held and see what we can learn about our enemy’s location and strength. We will fly directly with pegasi from the Royal Guard who will lead in daytime engagements and Princess Luna’s Bat Ponies who will lead in night time operations and low-light underground combat. Furthermore, we will be travelling with the most able unicorns who can land a magical punch as strong as the brute strength of our brave guards. In parallel, a contingent of earth ponies and unicorns of the Royal Guard will make their way down by train to support the advance force and provide reinforcement. In this way we will be ready for the challenge that faces us.”
The instant the briefing was dismissed, the highest ranking officers began barking a succession of quickfire orders to their respective entourages, apportioning their forces between those that would be stepping up their alert status to protect Canterlot, and those that would be embarking on the mission. This was quickly followed by another round of orders that concerned what equipment they would carry with them, and what would be taken by train with the reinforcements. To the untrained ear it sounded like a jumble of unrelated commands being shouted at random, but to the highly trained guards it was like looking inside a clockwork watch, every little piece apparently doing different and unrelated jobs, but all coming together to deliver the desired result with finely tuned precision.
While this had been unfolding in the briefing room, the guards had all been mustered for full inspection and were awaiting orders; they did not have to wait long.Celestia and Luna appeared on the balcony overlooking the courtyard where the assembled army stood expectantly. Many of the seasoned professionals waited eagerly, aching for an opportunity to prove themselves once more, while some of the more recent recruits could be seen to be shaking slightly at the first sight of their leaders in battle armour.
Row upon row of ponies wearing highly polished metal armour and many more of midnight blue stood to attention to hear their leaders’ address. There was not more than the slightest breeze rippling across the assembled display of military might, not enough even to tease the crests that adorned the helmets of the Royal Guard.
“Ponies of the Night Guard and the Royal Guard, defenders of Equestria!” began Luna “It has not been long since our borders were invaded by Queen Chrysalis and her changeling army. On that occasion we were caught by surprise and were only saved by Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor. Today we have received word that changelings have been captured near Ponyville and we cannot allow such an incursion to pass unchallenged, for the sake of all of us who live in peace in Equestria; our families, our friends and all those of many different races who live and work happily alongside us. We have the advantage; any attempt at a surprise attack has been unmasked and we are ready; ready to act, ready to defend ourselves and free ourselves from the threat of their attack.”
“Time is of the essence” roused Celestia “We must strike before they have had a chance to react to being discovered, before they can muster their army to full strength. I do not know what we will face, but I know we have the bravest fighters and the most able unicorns with us, so we will rise to any challenge and we will prevail!”
Her last words had no chance to die away peacefully, but were pushed forcefully aside by loud cheers from everypony present.
They were motivated.
They were ready.
Hot Chocolate Comes to Town
The diverse appearance of the hoofpicked unicorns from Celestia’s School clashed in stark contrast to the polished metal and blue uniforms that dominated the courtyard as the ramshackle looking bunch of misfits was escorted into the waiting chariots.
Luna and Celestia shared a last few words with their generals and then Luna came down to conduct a brief inspection of the guards, exchanging the odd words of banter and adding to the esprit de corps , while Celestia checked on the personally appointed unicorns, some of whom looked a little unsteady at the prospect of flying to Ponyville when they would clearly have much preferred to take a train.
From across the courtyard, the two Royal sisters exchanged a look and nodded to each other, then issued the command that everypony, except possibly for a few of the unicorns, wanted to hear and sprang into the air, displaying to everypony present the sun glinting majestically off their battle armour as they led their armies to their destiny.
Citizens of Canterlot looked up in awe as wave after wave of Royal Guards and Bat Ponies appeared over the city, all following their steadfast aim towards some point in the distance. The sheer might of the display sent shivers of both pride and fear through those who saw it and sparked many a speculation as to what was happening, but most believed it to be just an exercise. Meanwhile, back in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, a number of substitute teachers had been drafted in to give lessons that afternoon without being given a reason as to why.
Whilst the aerial armada looked impressive from the ground, it was even more awesome to be part of. The guards very rarely conducted exercises on this scale and being part of such a massed force brought a glow of pride to everypony involved. At the front, the two sisters were pleased that morale was so high; it would mean that they would be all the more effective when they faced what was waiting for them. Both knew to treat their adversary with the greatest of respect; the changelings had captured both of them and subdued the Royal Guard last time they met, and although it had turned out alright, there was no room for complacency.
They made good time considering that they were encumbered with armour and weapons, but although none would dare to admit it openly, they were all looking forward to a rest by the time they approached their destination. The sisters had routed their flight path around all major towns on their route, and as such approached Sweet Apple Acres from an unfamiliar bearing over the orchards rather than from over Ponyville.
The Royal sisters made their approach side by side and flared by the end of the path that led to the front door of the Apple family’s farmhouse. Next to come in were the chariots that needed a longer runway than the guards who circled protectively overhead while the precious cargo beneath them could line up for their approach. With the unicorns safely down, the guards descended in a seamless and perfectly synchronised procession with the ground attack companies and platoons landing first, leaving the combat air wings and squadrons in the air until last just in case of surprise attack while they were particularly exposed during landing.
Granny Smith’s interest had been aroused when she had first seen the silhouettes of pegasi flying low overhead and come out to greet her guests, although she had been taken aback by the numbers arriving which was so much more than had attended even the biggest ever Apple family reunion.
Granny Smith showed the two Princesses in to the parlour where the hogtied changelings were under the closest scrutiny of three young mares. At the arrival of her mentor, the lilac pony gave one final check of the prisoners, then bounded over to give her a nuzzle, but was thwarted by the battle armour and just rubbed muzzles instead.
Just then, the door opened again and four unicorns walked in, all of whom Twilight knew from her school days, but now rather than wearing the persona of friendly teachers, their demeanour was more business-like. Twilight’s initial wide smile sagged as she realised that out of the closeted context she had known them in the past, they were here now in a fundamentally different role, that of protectors of Equestria. She still received smiles of recognition, but the cheery words of greeting she had intended died in her throat.
“Can you wake them?” asked Luna.
The changelings’ big blue eyes flicked open and their first vision was of the Royal Princesses just a few feet away in full battle armour and recoiled immediately. They instinctively reached out for love to feed off, but there was none in the room to be had and they both hissed in a mixture of frustration and fright.
“Luna, please take the one of your choosing into another room and seal yourself in so that neither sound nor psychic communication can transfer between them. Then do as you will to find out what it knows.”
Celestia cast a quick sideways glance towards the two unicorns who had stayed in the kitchen with her and confirmed that they were both prepared with scrolls and quills at the ready; nothing that came out of this interview was going to be missed. Then she cast a similar spell the one Luna had just done in the next room and sealed off the kitchen.
“Well then” said Celestia with an overt hint of menace in her voice “To start with; tell me about the location of your hive, where its entrances are, how many of you there are, what tactics are employed to defend against attack, who your queen is and why you are here.”
The changeling, now utterly isolated from its companion knew what happened to those that failed to perform as required in the hive and had to assume that ponies kept order in their communities in much the same brutal way, and that their leaders probably meted out even harsher punishments to their enemies. It could only guess what fate awaited it here at the mercy of Equestria’s rulers and concluded that it was right now facing a life changing or life ending experience, and so began reluctantly to tell what it knew.
When Celestia had learned all there was to know and scroll upon scroll had been filled with writing and diagrams, she returned the changeling to the same enchanted state that she had received it and pushed against the spells that isolated the scullery, just enough to let her sister know that they had finished. Shortly, the spell dissipated and the door opened, a grim-faced Luna leading the unicorns through with the changeling floating along behind.
“Sister” she said darkly “It is indeed fortunate that our young friends have been able to secure us such willing informers.”
Within only a few minutes, the unicorn returned with four senior looking military types; two resplendent in their shining Royal Guard uniforms and two similarly distinguished looking Bat Ponies.
“Thank you, Sister. Following the defeat of Queen Chrysalis in her attempt to invade during the wedding of Princess Cadence to Shining Armor, she retired to regroup. Apparently, she has released more queens to set up their own hives and thereby create a number of independent changeling armies, any or all of which could rise up once their numbers are strong enough.”
“Our two friends are members of a hive that lies underground to the west of this farm; land that is sparsely populated and has allowed them relatively free access without being seen until now. The well where they were found on the boundary of the farm is in fact one of the entrances to the hive; they are that close to us! ”
“Apparently, when they were spotted, they were returning from a reconnaissance mission, but the hive entrance was blocked and they were caught in the open, so while one tried to clear the blockage, the other pretended to be a filly in distress, and who among us would not want to help in such a situation? Their plan had been to lure the unsuspecting ponies close to the well and while they were looking over the edge, tip them in, but they were thwarted by a third pony turning up after the others and raising the alarm.”
“The queen of this hive does not yet have a name and she is referred to only by a number. Apparently, names are issued as recognition once the hive has established itself, in this case through earning victory against us. They are still building strength and are not yet ready to mount an attack, but it is clear that this is their eventual aim. Does this accord with your information, Sister?”
“Yes Luna, all too clearly. We are facing an unknown number of hives in locations known only to Chrysalis and if we can act decisively against this hive, then we may be able to deter and dissuade her from her plans.”
“As a matter of top priority, I request the Royal Guard mount a reconnaissance of the hive entrances to determine what threats and opportunities each affords us as we build up a common operational picture. We will need to know how close we can get without being seen and the rate at which we can mount an incursion through each of the entrances.”
At this, one of the Royal Guards rose and accompanied by a pair of scholarly unicorns, each carrying a cluster of rolled up scrolls with rough maps of the changeling hive in their magic, headed out the door for the ad hoc briefing room that had been set up in the barn.
Still holding the attention of the remaining military officers and scholars alike, Celestia looked each in the eye as she gave them one further point to dwell, upon:how we should attack and whether our aim is to kill or simply rout the changelings. I will expect your opinions when we reconvene.”
With this ethical dilemma forefront in their minds, the meeting dismissed and everypony departed leaving the two sisters alone. Shortly, orders could be heard being barked outside.In the artificial calm of the farm kitchen, Luna turned to her elder sister:
“I know Luna, I know” sighed the Sun Princess massaging the space between her eyes “But at what point do we cross the line and become the monsters?”
Hot Chocolate Comes to Town
The first reconnaissance pegasi started returning in quarter of an hour due to the closeness of the hive, but others had taken longer, a lot longer as they had to keep their distance from the entrances they had gone to see due either to guard activity or lack of cover.
While they waited, Granny Smith had allowed the assembled army access to the orchards for a supply of food, and the barn bustled with activity as guards were briefed, Twilight busying herself with every aspect of logistics to ensure that everything went smoothly.
She was also acutely aware that the influx of platoons of guards in smart uniforms was going to be a big attraction to the inquisitive young minds at the school and did not want the exercise marred by some foals going missing, so ventured to Chocolate that they might go to the schoolhouse to alert Miss Cheerilee.
When they arrived, the teacher had the foals in a semicircle and was reading a book to them. Whilst the arrival of a librarian would not ordinarily have caused her to stop in her duties, this librarian had taken on Nightmare Moon and if she felt it necessary to call during school hours, it would be worth stopping to listen to.
As Twilight began telling the teacher about the forthcoming event, Chocolate caught Miss Cheerilee’s eye and motioned to the open book. Absent mindedly, she nodded ascent and Chocolate picked it up in her magic, resuming from where they had left off. Her reading style was very animated, enhancing the story by giving each of the characters strikingly comic accents and quickly had the class enthralled. By the time she neared the end of the book, she looked up and noticed that her audience had increased by two more.
Twilight immediately picked up on her empathy with the foals.
The teacher beamed her approval and watched as Chocolate set up the classroom for a game of bean bag toss. Twilight shared a parting smile with the two mares and then set off back to oversee and organise the pegasi and Bat Ponies who had become the unexpected guests of the Apple family.
As the afternoon had worn on, the train carrying the earth ponies and unicorns arrived, and it had been difficult to mask the numbers alighting at Ponyville Station as the rumour mill geared up. Only personal intervention by Celestia to the Mayor had managed to seal off the routes to Sweet Apple Acres before the actual scale of the troop movement could be discovered and reported.
It was almost dark when the last of the reconnaissance flyers returned to the kitchen which was serving as the field headquarters. Finally, the last few pieces of the puzzle could be put together and Celestia summoned her key military staff and unicorns once more. Within a few short minutes, the four military officers from the earlier briefing returned along with the highest ranking earth pony and unicorn Royal Guards who had arrived on the train and the most senior unicorns from the school to hear the news and consider the way forward.
As they filed in, they saw Celestia and Luna sat at the table, waiting for them, a unicorn just behind them putting some feverish finishing touches to a large drawing that nopony could quite see from where they were. One of the first in was Twilight, an honour bestowed by the others due to her size, and Celestia recognised her faithful student immediately, summoning her to the head of the table with her sister.
With space at a premium in the kitchen, the sisters waited as they jostled into any spare space they could find. Once everypony was in and had a view of the Princesses, they began by inviting a unicorn to raise a large map of the hive that drew tighter the two changeling accounts along with the intelligence gathered by the pegasi that afternoon. It was a comprehensive and accurate drawing only just finished with the return of the last pegasi, and gave the first proper understanding of what they were up against.
As it was now dark, Luna took the lead and rose to narrate the features on the map, providing a clear picture of which exits and entrances led to what, why they were there, what defences could be expected at each, and where the changelings could be expected to be and in what numbers.
Luna handed back to Celestia who now rose, commanding even greater respect within the confines of the kitchen:
“No, I must protest” chimed in a scholarly unicorn “We cannot simply kill every being with whom we disagree, otherwise we would have torched the Everfree years ago. No; just because we disagree with other races does not give us the right to simply kill them when we disagree over something, at least not until they start killing our kin, then, and only then, should we even begin to consider using lethal force.”
“Thank you all for your contributions; it is not an easy issue to grapple with, but the solution is not necessarily binary.”
“There is a way” she said, scanning her eyes over everypony, all of whom had their eyes fixed on her “Luna, with your permission?”
Gasps of surprise and snorts of approval were raised and Celestia continued:especially if it is at her hoof . Changelings live off love and there is none to be found on the moon, if you excuse my observation Luna.”
“Since she does not have the power to bring them back herself, she will be forced to listen to the plaintive cries for help being radiated down to her and every other changeling in every other hive, wherever they all are; no leader, not even Chrysalis, can afford to tolerate that for long. Consequently, she must enter into a commitment that we find satisfactory before they are returned, or the cries of her changelings will continue. Further, time is totally on our side, for as long as they are away from Equestria, the immediate problem is removed, and we will only allow them back if we are convinced they will not present any risk to us.”
Murmurs of approval rang around everypony present; from those who had advocated leniency and those who had preferred extermination. Luna also gave her sister a nod of respect for her suggestion.
“Very well” said Celestia “We will infiltrate the hive using non-lethal force except for when absolutely necessary to defend ourselves. If we could use insertion parties of guards to force their way into the hive protecting a unicorn at the centre of their party, then in short order before they can muster their defences, the unicorns could all link magic and blast them with a love spell like Cadence and Shining Armor did in Canterlot, but use the power to stun rather than banish them. Once we have done this, then we gather them up and simply send them to the moon. OK with everypony?”
Sounds of approval were evident from everypony and so Celestia continued:
“Twilight” she said, turning to face her protégé “I have counted the number of chambers in the hive and the number of gifted unicorns available and noticed that we are one short.Would you like to be part of this attack?”as an equal ?”Princess !” she squeed, wrapping her forehooves around her mentor’s neck and giving her a big hug. Those unicorns who saw were touched at the sight, but all tactfully looked away. They all knew the young unicorn was up to the task and was glad that Celestia had given her a chance to prove herself.
Hot Chocolate Comes to Town
Bat Ponies from the Night Guard used their unparalleled night vision to guide their respective insertion parties over the moonlit fields on their way to one of the various hive entrances. Luna led one of the biggest parties to the rear entrance while a Bat Pony guided the other bid group led by Celestia to the front. Every entrance was to be assaulted in a synchronised plan that reflected who had to be where by when for unicorns to link together to overwhelm those stationed inside.
There was a slight breeze, sufficient to cause a ripple through the trees and the long grasses, conveniently masking the sounds of advancing ponies from the guards that were bound to be posted, maintaining the element of surprise.
They waited.
All were in position.
High in the sky, a slow shooting star traversed the nocturnal sphere. Its path took it across the sky in such a position that it could be seen by all of the Equestrian forces, but hidden from the guards at the front entrance by the hill in which the main tunnel to the hive had been bored.
Flying over the darkened landscape was a Bat Pony carrying a large bottle of fireflies, each of which flickered on and off creating a most beguiling and unmistakable sight. On this signal each of the groups began a countdown calculated with Twilight’s help to ensure that each started to move at exactly the right time so that all would be in place poised to break into the hive at precisely the same time.
All ponies in their turn prepared to move forward or down as the case was for each of them, then once poised in position everypony just had time to swear an oath to Celestia, to Luna or to whichever deity they believed in before beginning their part of the assault.
Unlike most of the other access points, the front entrance had no appreciable cover and as the time counted down, Celestia surveilled the interminably long wide open expanse in front of her. Everypony, whether battle hardened or not would be feeling the same tension, a weight that would only be lifted once they began their run in and the adrenalin rose to drown out all other sensations.
They waited.
They waited.
Then, at a time precise to the second, the order was given and Celestia rose into the air, eyes fixed ahead on the guards at the entrance. She did not look either to her side or behind, but could feel the combined might of Night Guard and Royal Guard pegasi escorting her closely. She could feel their determination as a palpable entity, but knew not by which sense this was being delivered; sound, smell, she didn’t know, but its presence was unmistakeable and she allowed herself to relish briefly the tingle that ran through her.
The changeling guards raised their weapons and Celestia had no doubt they were being pointed at her, but she kept on wringing every ounce of power she could from her magnificent white wings. Her horn glowed yellow and streams of magical energy shot forward, disarming the guards who stared stupefied for an instant before each felt the uncushioned force of a full grown pegasus slam into them, ending their defence.
The force led by Celestia swooped in through the entrance line astern, only to emerge a few seconds later into a large chamber from where they came under attack from the air and from the ground, individual dogfights breaking out while the outnumbered attackers held their enemy until the earth ponies and unicorns galloped in behind, pitching in to help out as soon as they were able.
One of the smaller groups containing Twilight burst in through waste disposal; the startled changelings staring in surprise for no more than two seconds before turning to face their attackers, hissing menacingly. The Bat Ponies, and earth ponies allocated to provide the muscle in this group spilled through the entrance, literally smashing their way through anything and everything in their path, the changelings being steamrollered or thumped as they were encountered, one even being drop kicked into the wall by an earth pony practicing his apple bucking skills.
Twilight’s calculations had been so accurate, that each insertion party burst into the unsuspecting changelings at a time separation synchronised to no worse than ten seconds; all except one.
Luna led the other major assault force, that which took on the other major entrance at the rear. The approach was concealed by trees and shrubs so allowed them to get quite close, and superficially it looked to be quite an easy assault. At the allotted time signal, Luna led her force in and overpowered the guards, washing over them like a tsunami and then drove on deeper into the tunnel only to find her way barred by piles of debris.
The headlong momentum of the forces rushing in behind couldn’t stop in time and there was a pile up along the tunnel as the attack foundered. Seizing the opportunity, changelings emerged from holes in the sides and the ceiling of the tunnel, mounting a series of attacks along the disarrayed column, picking off individuals wherever they could.
They were under attack and Luna’s first duty was to her guards with whom she was fighting alongside at this very second. Her sister’s much vaunted ethics may have had their place in diplomatic negotiations, but this was the fog of war and her guards were being cut down around her. Immediately, she switched into deadly force; too much was at stake to risk losing by showing restraint. She promised she would apologise to her sister if they survived, but that was for later – for now it was a fight for survival .
The insertion party could not afford to be stuck here, exposed to asymmetric attacks along the column and had to break free before mounting casualties became an issue; not only that, but Luna as one of the key spellcasters had only a limited time to get in position to ensure that the spell would reach maximum coverage within the hive.
Cornered, she ordered her forces to break through the walls using magic, hooves or anything else they could marshal to find a way out. After some desperate efforts, holes started opening up around where the changelings had been mounting their sneak attacks. Bit at a time, brave ponies fought their way through into the reality that awaited them on the other side, with no prior knowledge of what it would be; only that it was not the killing field that they were in currently, and that was a good enough reason.
One at a time ponies found their way through, widening the holes as they went and taking their revenge for what had been done to their colleagues; Luna had been the less forgiving of the two sisters from the outset, and now with a red mist descending, she was venting her wrath in a truly frightening display of sword skill and magic in her quest for retribution.
Abruptly, she felt her bloodlust begin to falter, not out of any fit of conscience, but instead of a magical summoning demanding her attention and dragging her away; the others had started and she wasn’t ready !
“No! No! No!” she cursed, feeling increasingly helpless as the magical vortex gained momentum. She needed to add her alicorn magic or there would not be enough power to perform the task that they had set out to achieve, and then they would be overcome by the changelings’ superior numbers. She just had to get free to focus and quickly !
Her horn began to glow, not with the usual blue, but instead with a combination of all the other auras that were reaching out to her at that moment. She was acting as a conduit and beginning to absorb all the power being generated by the others! She could feel the individual auras of her sister, of Twilight and many more that she recognised but could not name. They were waiting for her, they needed her and she had to start transmitting her aura too before she became overpowered.
Luna’s breathing became rapid and she started to hyperventilate as her eyes suddenly flashed white. Unicorns around her could feel the aura, but were not attuned directly; they could however see what was happening and shouted a command to protect the Princess. Luna was now powerless to decouple from the rising magical power and had to either start transmitting or absorb the power overload on her own. She had no choice and focused her power to join the others, although she was nowhere near where she should have been and she and her group were dangerously exposed.
Those nearest to the Princess fell as more changelings piled in, but her Bat Ponies and Royal Guards remained unswervingly loyal even in the face of such danger, buying her time that she desperately needed. Her aura shook off the multicoloured hue it had carried and instead turned its rightful shade of blue as Luna gasped with the force of her concentration.
Finally, all synchronised, the linked unicorns with their two alicorn leaders set about weaving the love-based spell that they had planned. As one at a time, the pieces drew together, the power being created changed form until a humming could be heard and then felt. Something caused the changelings to suspend whatever they were doing in mid-action as they all braced expectantly for something, but they didn’t know what. If their faces could have shown confusion, now would have been the time.
Suddenly there was a blinding pink flash and the changelings were bowled over, coming to rest in untidy heaps as so many discarded rag dolls.
The spellcasters lost the strange luminous moonstone glow from their eyes and returned to their normal forms, although physically and mentally exhausted.
While the guards took a moment to tend to their injured and fallen colleagues, the Princesses each made for the queen’s chambers at the heart of the hive. Celestia arrived first and composed herself before walking in to survey her defeated enemy, but before she could take in the scene in front of her, a bolt of green magic crackled through the air and hit her in the heart. Her eyes opened wide in surprise and her mouth fell open in shock as her forelegs buckled and she fell heavily to the ground, completely unable to shield herself.
Still the evil energy poured into her body, directed from the horn of the black changeling queen who looked just like Chrysalis and was staring at her malevolently as she kept her magical grip tightly around Celestia’s stopped heart. The Sun Princess gasped for breath while she felt the magical grasp like icy fingers clenched around her heart squeeze ever more tightly as her adversary began a maniacal cackling laugh, throwing her head back in triumph.
Suddenly the grip was released, but the barely conscious Celestia was unaware as to why, feeling that the coup de grâce could not be long from being delivered, ending her reign, even her immortality. She struggled to face her adversary for what she expected to be the last sight she would carry into eternity, but instead saw the familiar dark blue coat of her sister.
Luna was angry. She had lost brave and loyal guards and now this evil queen was trying to kill her sister. When she had been Nightmare Moon, she had merely sought recognition, now she felt a much stronger motivator; revenge. She braced her forehooves into the floor, lowered her head and shot a beam of purest blue from her horn, channeling a rage that exceeded any she had ever displayed during her time as Nightmare Moon.
The queen tried to redirect her magic, but it was so wrapped up with torturing the white mare in front of her that she couldn’t extract it in time. Before she could react, Luna drew upon the power of the darkness, a power as infinite as the universe and directed it into the queen, where she began ripping all the evil magic from every part of her body, even out of her very soul. She writhed in agony, screaming at the intensity of the pain wracking through every fibre of her existence, even calling for mercy as for the first time in her life she felt real fear.
Her body was smouldering where Luna continued to focus the infinite power under her control with forensic precision to rip her entire being apart, and her screams had now transcended from those of extreme torture to the incompletely formed gurgles emanating from her throat. Still Luna’s rage was not sated, and she focused more and more power into the smoking body that now only twitched before her and started to distort under the intense heat, the beam of blue magic relentless in its pursuit of her utter annihilation.
Celestia, still unable to move, begged her sister to stop; she had beaten her opponent, there was no need for this gratuitous display. Luna heard, but was in no mood to comply.
She left the queen’s eyes untouched as the rest of her body was destroyed piece at a time, just so she could stare upon the face of her nemesis; the last thing she would ever see being the pure unforgiving hate in Luna’s eyes.
Behind her, somepony else entered the chambers and Celestia directed the lilac pony to Luna with a weak wave of her forehoof, desperate to stop the carnage before it was too late. Twilight’s eyes grew wide in horror as she instinctively raised a forehoof to cover her gaping mouth. Sensing the urgency, she shouted at the top of her voice “STOP!”
Twilight, the brave little unicorn who had challenged Nightmare Moon and restored Luna to her rightful place in Equestrian society, was the only pony whom she would even entertain listening to at the moment. Exasperated by the interruption, she stomped her forehooves indignantly and abruptly terminated the power that coursed through her body, contemptuously surveying the incinerated remains of the queen whose terrified eyes remained fixed sightlessly towards them, her body twisted in a distorted parody of what she had been only a few minutes before.
Luna turned to face Twilight still wearing the look of pure hatred and gave her a sustained evil glare of the kind that would have made the most battle hardened guard run under the nearest table whimpering. Twilight crumbled inside but kept her gaze fixed on Luna, not betraying how close she was to breaking herself.
“Sometimes Twilight” scowled Luna with barely supressed anger “Being a Princess is not just about knowing how to smile and wave.”
Twilight stood resolutely staring the much larger mare down, a fixed frown on her face staring back into the most frightening sight she had ever seen and didn’t say anything; she couldn’t.
Luna turned and stomped off to organise the recovery of bodies. Once she had gone, Twilight’s knees buckled and she collapsed, shaking as the adrenalin bled out of her and she started to cry. What had she just witnessed?
Celestia struggled over to her protégé and despite the pain that wracked through her, draped a wing over the lilac unicorn and snuggled her trembling body. Luna’s actions had frightened her too, but for now she was grateful for Twilight’s intervention and knew her duty was to comfort her.
Behind them, the charred remains of a changeling queen stared into space. She never would get a name now.
Luna knew why the changeling queen had not been subdued. If it wasn’t for the blocked tunnel, she would have been able to get into position before the spell was cast, thereby providing the complete magical coverage of the hive as planned, but because she had failed, her sister had almost been killed. As she berated herself, she thought about what she had just done; she questioned whether she had been right, then saw a pony from the Royal Guard being wrapped up in a body bag and felt fully justified. She may not have done right by her sister, but at least she felt she had done right by her guards, and by herself. Doubtless, words would be exchanged at a later date.
She summoned the senior officers and issued orders for all ponies to be put to work gathering the changelings into the main chamber once they had taken care of their own. It took time, but the military and academic unicorns worked well together in clearing the hive. The next step was to have been Celestia’s to take; sending them to the moon. Luna mused how this was a spell that had been first used a little over a thousand years ago, but felt no bitterness towards her sister now, just the strength of an immortal sibling bond.
Celestia was unable to provide any magic to help out, so Luna enlisted the most talented unicorns present, including Twilight to assist. If the lilac pony felt any residual animosity towards the Princess, she kept it to herself and focused on the challenge at hoof. At Luna’s command, they formed a circle around the pile of changelings and lit their horns, their auras combining to levitate their captives before Twilight’s pink aura shone in prominence to release the changelings from their enchantment, followed shortly by Luna’s that initiated a bright blue flash, and suddenly the chamber was empty.
Luna went back to check on Celestia, her heart feeling lighter than it had at any time since the start of the attack.
Hot Chocolate Comes to Town
A Royal chariot drawn by two white pegasi descended at the main entrance to the hive and Celestia was carried out to be loaded aboard, accompanied by one of her most trusted teachers from her school. After having secured the vacated hive, the guards withdrew; pegasi flying in formation while the earth ponies and unicorns waited for the train. Although some of the more sensitive unicorns in nearby Ponyville had sensed something happening, the inhabitants were mostly unaware of the dramatic struggle that had played out on their doorstep.
Pinkie Pie had finally gotten wind that there was a new pony in town and was busily pulling together a belated welcome party for Chocolate, but before any of that could happen, Twilight extended an invitation for her to catch some rest and recover at the Golden Oak library.
Spike kept the library respectfully quiet during the day, even by library standards, and it wasn’t until evening that the two mares awoke.
“Hey, Chocolate” greeted Twilight warmly “Come have a look at the moon.”that little incident, trust me !”
***
The party was one of Pinkie’s finest, everypony eager to find out not only about their new arrival, but also her role in having saved Equestria from the recent changeling threat.
Rarity had returned from Canterlot with the CMCs and Chocolate demonstrated her talent for getting on with the fillies, earning the respect of big sisters, and honorary big sister alike.
As the evening drew on, there was a knock at the door and two ponies stood silhouetted against the moonlight, the revellers stopping abruptly when they saw the large white alicorn and her slightly smaller dark blue sister enter.
Everypony was stunned, and immediately stopped what they were doing to kneel down in front of the two most powerful ponies in Equestria. Occasionally, they may have seen Celestia come to town on a Royal visit, but coming to an informal party was unheard of, and to compound matters, Luna was with her, and she was barely ever seen in public outside of Nightmare Night.
“News of the changeling conspiracy has travelled quickly “said Celestia “Along with word of three ponies here tonight, without whom such a positive outcome could not have been achieved. Do we have Applejack, Big Macintosh and Hot Chocolate here please?”
The three ponies tentatively stepped forward to receive personal thanks from both Princesses and then a Royal aide opened a box within which were three golden medallions each on a dark blue and white ribbon trimmed with gold and silver, representing the personal accolade from the two Princesses.
“On behalf of the grateful ponies of Equestria” announced Celestia “Please would you accept this award for having played your part in defeating the changeling invasion.”
With medals awarded, Celestia asked if she may have a glass of punch before she left and Luna joined in too, the two sisters mingling informally with everypony present until late. As the evening drew to a close on Pinkie’s best party ever, Luna looked to her sister to confirm she was ready to depart and leave the ponies to get to their beds.
As they turned to leave, she shot Celestia an enquiring glance.the entire cake ?” accused Luna reverting to her olden tongue for emphasis.
“I honestly have no idea what you are talking about” said Celestia, eyes swivelling in any direction other than her sister and licking the chocolate surreptitiously off her lips.
