Approaching Apotheosis

“Nothing in the south,” Thrips swirled a glass of wine, sniffing it before putting it down. He shooed away someone outside the vision of the communication device, “No, no. The patrols are fine. No, you can see your King later… As I was saying, Your Majesty, we have not dared venture south of Canterlot. You know better than I how that goes.”

I slowly rolled a glass ball between my hooves, “Yes, I have. No friends were made in the path of our invasion.”

Thrips tapped the rim of his glass, “But in every other direction, the news is good! We’ve gobbled up every bit o’ property that’s promising from here to… somewhere distant! All that’s left are the ponies who are holdin’ out for the tunnelshake’s end, so to say. I got my girls and boys putting the pressure on ‘em, but following the new way of doing things is a bit restrictive.”

I raised an eyebrow, “Meaning?”

He chuckled nervously, “Gotta keep reminding ‘em that we don’t bust kneecaps no more.”

“Fantastic,” I deadpanned. “I don’t want any diplomatic incidents, Thrips.”

“I know that, My King.”

I paused, “I have some news. In three days, the New Harmony Coalition will announce the vote to end the Prohibition. It’s going to get stalled, but only for a week at most.”

Thrips froze, “... That’s bad news for us.”

“How much of the loan is left?”

“‘Bout hundred and ten mil’ bits, King Phasma.”

I couldn’t help but smile in surprise, “You spent one hundred and ninety million bits in three weeks?”

“We already spied out the prospects, if ya ‘member,” Thrips returned my smile. “The hard work was done, we just had to lure ‘em out with a big ol’ bag of bits. What should I tell the lads now? Get those sales in before the news hits?”

I scowled, “No. That sounds awfully like insider trading, or… something illegal. I don’t want to abuse Celestia’s secret intelligence to make money.”

“Why–”

“It’s bad,” I cut him off. “Morally wrong.”

“Ah.”

“Just… finalize any sale that can be finalized in a day. For the rest, let them stall out and die.”

He took a sip and considered my orders, “... What about the rest of the dosh?”

“We’re gonna pour it into the Diamonds’ workshop and industrialize. Diversity of our portfolio and all that,” I said, reaching over to pet a calculator sitting on Luna’s desk. “You are gonna make us so much money. Yes you, yes you are!”

The doors of Luna’s study chose that moment to open, and I pulled my hoof back like it was on fire. Sitting up, I saw my tall, dark, and beautiful mare enter the room. The quiet rumbling of Luna’s emotions derailed any thoughts I had about business.

“Thrips, I gotta go. Keep up the good work. Or, uh, stop the good work. You have your orders.”

“Yes, boss,” he saluted.

I pulled the beetles apart, ending the magical looking glass. Luna walked up to the desk and deposited a thick tome onto it, pushing my little beetles to the side as she did so. Only then did she glance at me. I opened my mouth to speak, but found that I couldn’t quite start the conversation. Luna turned away from me and headed for the door.

Quickly, I scrambled out of her chair and ran after her.

“Luna!”

She slowed to a stop, peeking over her shoulder back at me, “Phasma.”

Any plan I had to address our argument faded into white noise.

“I… How was Vanhoover?”

She set her jaw, “Our venture went well. Our subjects were glad to see us, and We them.”

“Don’t,” I faltered. “Don’t talk like that.”

“Should We not?” Slowly, Luna turned to face me, looking down her nose despite being significantly shorter than me. “After all the lengths you have gone to ensure that We are both cognizant of our duties?”

I could feel the sadness in her. I was drowning in it myself, both my own emotions and hers. My hooves itched to hug her, but I didn’t think that would have been received well.

“You know what I meant, Luna. I wanted some breathing room- the ability to do a day’s work without being tethered to you. I didn’t mean staying apart in a city halfway across the continent for two weeks.”

“Hmmph,” Luna grunted. “Are you certain? Last I recall, you stormed out and left me alone.”

“You weren’t listening to me,” I said slowly, secretly grinding my hoof against the carpet. “I can’t rule in my court and yours at the same time. If I have to spend more days inside the Crystal Caves, then we need time apart.”

“Oh? That must make it all alright, then,” Luna pursed her lips. “I was not listening, so you had to take your leave and abandon me.”

“Abandon?” I hissed quietly. “I was the one who chain-teleported all the way to the nearest city, and rode by train to Canterlot! You still had the airship to take back home. It was your decision to take it to Vanhoover instead.”

“That does not matter!” Luna growled, stepping close and pressing her nose against mine. “You left me there! You walked away from me! I was alone! All the comforts in the world would never replace a much needed friend, and you were not there. Did you envision that I retired back to the bed, to enjoy wine in silence? Or that I would simply sit by the fire for the weekend, fit to return and forget your trespass?”

I felt heavy, like I was being pulled towards the floor.

“I didn’t think–”

“No, you did not,” she agreed.

I started again, “I’m sorry, Luna. I was frustrated, and still am, but I never wanted to leave you alone. Not in that way.”

She looked away, mouthing silent words before speaking again, “You know what I fear most, Phasma.”

“Waking up back on the moon,” I answered.

“For a moment, I wondered if that was part of the nightmare. To be promised reprieve, only for it to slip away. For everypony to slip away from me. I miss you, Phasma. I want to embrace you, but you have hurt me.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” I repeated. “I want to make you happy, Luna. I don’t want to leave you alone like that, but…”

“But what?!”

“But a drowning mare will drag their helper down with them. How–”

The corner of her lip rose in a snarl, “We are supposed to be a team! We are supposed to be there for each other. Is this what I should expect, for you to run at the first sign of trouble?”

“Let me rephrase- I cannot tell the difference between enabling and supporting, Luna. I cannot undo one thousand years of pain, and it is unreasonable to demand me to be present with you at all times every single day. Not when we have duties beyond each other. I want to help you, Luna, but that means things must progress forward. If we keep as we are, how long will it go on?”

She seemed placated somewhat by my answer, scanning the floor for answers, “I shall speak to my therapist about making progress. Perhaps the current method of attack is impotent.”

Shame dogged at my heels, and I felt compelled to apologize.

“We should be talking about these things,” I realized. “I should’ve come up with solutions rather than just complain. I’m sorry, Luna, I will try to do better by you.”

Luna dabbed at the corner of her eyes, “I shall accept your apology, so long as you do not pull a stunt like that again. I cannot continue if I fear your disappearance at any moment, Phasma.”

“What about our royal duties?” I asked, squirming in place. “With fights growing in Manehattan, changelings are going up against local law enforcement more often. I also have to deal with drones breaking our own internal laws. Until I get a court system set up, I have to micromanage everything. This is on top of every other duty as a King. I am going to be spending most of every day in the Fifth Hive. How can I promise to be there for you if I know that’s a lie?”

“That is… fine,” Luna said slowly, scratching her foreleg fitfully. “I will survive with the company of others, and will rest easier knowing there are several tonnes of rock and numerous guards between you and danger. And by teleporting, you can eliminate the risk during transit between here and there. So long as I have you during my morning, evening, and nights, I can go without during the day. But you must promise to never turn your back to me like that.”

“I promise,” I made a cross-motion across my heart. “I give you my word.”

Luna nodded once, “Let this matter be settled. Should you bring forward grievances like this, we will both endeavor to figure out solutions, rather than ignore them till they fester. Speaking of ignoring, how goes your therapy, Phasma?” At my silence, she continued, “When was the last session you attended?”

I did not have an answer to that.

“See to it that you fix that. I shall see you at supper,” Luna finished, heading for the door. “My sister has something to discuss during it. Do not be late.”

A city was being built under the hooves of the people of Canterlot. The homes were still being claimed from rock and crystal, and the beginning of a marketplace was slowly forming in the central chambers, but the city was earning its spirit. Grass, flowers, glowing moss, and small shrubs were now welcome in the avenues, gardens, and corners of the Fifth Hive. Doors of wood and windows of glass and metal had been fitted to the honeycombed facade that lined much of the main chamber. The far side from the grand entrance was marked out, original plans scrapped to introduce a magnificent space for a market and park, from which the subterranean city would spread off like shooting roots. Each prominent space had been claimed by a drone with intent to create something where before there was nothing.

Great banners of split blue and green silk edged with gold now hung in the corners of the grand chamber. A field of red, interrupted by a two winged orange phoenix, crying up and to the side. My sigil, my symbol, my story.

The city was lived in. A steady stream of carts bearing stone and crystal shards hauled away debris from the excavation to be stored in warehouses, but now finer goods accompanied them in wooden crates. The changelings’ crafts were simple, with no great skill, but they were ours. In time, with the newly found abundance, skill and personality would come into being with each piece of art, tool, or good.

The Crystal Caves were a hold now. Nascent and crying out to the world for the first time, but they were truly a mountain hold. What few visitors had been approved to enter spoke in hushed tones to their friends and fellows of a city of gold and crystal, a hidden jewel underneath the great Canterhorn mountain. They spoke of the changelings warmly, as a people breaking their backs to make something worthy of being loved. They spoke of the King Under the Mountain, the once Dread Prince.

To many whose lives were overturned in my wake, they still placed that moniker upon me. A divide in Equestria was widening, its borders drawn by my conquest half a year ago.

Lacewing pressed her hooves against the furled up parchment, fighting its urge to curl.

“The markets and park will intermingle,” she was explaining, “out here in the main square. It shall have three layers– Goddess knows what we shall do with so much open space. Ramps, staircases, vast open air shafts will connect them all, marked here, here, and so on. I have left the centers of each side blank for further expansion, should we ever need more.”

She piled more scrolls onto the table, covering up the plans for the central park, “As for the lower layers, progress is good. We have sealed the way to the Underhive, as per your request. We are still contracting trustworthy wizard towers to enchant the steel gate, but the way is now shut. This leaves two ways in and out: the King’s Gate in Canterlot, and the Queen’s Gate at the base of Canterhorn, near the village of Spree. We expect the Queen’s Gate shall see more activity in time once its construction is done, as most economic activity will shift to… ah, you know what I’m talking about Phas. I imagine you’ve got plans on plans for that.”

I nodded, giving an encouraging smile to a team of drones who passed by with picks.

“Yes. Once the freight elevators are done, we will no longer have to lug materials through the city and down the mountain. Spree’s about to get a whole lot bigger and richer in the next century, I think.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Coxa said, lounging on a chair next to us. “Can’t wait to see what– oh wait, only one of us here’s gonna live for centuries. What’s the ETA on the elevators getting done?”

“Two years,” Lace said.

“Two years? Might as well be old and infirm by then,” Coxa griped.

Lace giggled, “We’re working hard, mossbreath, but digging is a world away from designing elevators capable of carrying literal tonnes, not to mention powering them and training lings to operate and service them. We can get stairs and a ramp down to the base alongside the elevator shafts within a month if we pause excavation on the central chambers, but why bother?”

“Nehhh,” Coxa groaned, “and here I was hoping that we’d be self-sufficient in the foreseeable future. How’s the court thing coming along, Phasma?”

“Painfully. Having to pick out candidates for judges and lawyers out of the hundreds you’ve sent me is… slow work. Add that to actually being a judge myself for lawbreakers– oh yeah and ruling a kingdom– and everything just eats up each other’s time. I have a war to prepare for, a kingdom to rule, another kingdom to be a diplomatic envoy to, a corporate empire to manage, a city to build, an education and training regime to complete, and a marefriend to please. It’s a wonder I have the time to blow it all off and make it other people’s problems while I hang out with you guys.”

“You never had a problem with delegating before, why start now?” Coxa grinned up at me.

I wilted, “Because it messes up my underlings’ plans and schedules? Every time I do something like this, I know for a fact that a minimum of three people are going home late.”

“I know,” Coxa continued to grin. “It’s fantastic! Vacation time, money that we don’t know how to spend, improved healthcare, better rooms and more food, and a King that will actually listen to complaints rather than threaten anyone who annoys them. Life has gotten so much worse for the average drone.”

I considered the idea of starting to take censuses and making Coxa’s life even more miserable. That led me to ponder on the political activity of my Hive.

“... What are the Lodges up to?”

Lace coughed, “So successful that they don’t know what to do with themselves. They had to constantly fight the loyalist faction within Chrysalis’s Fourth Hive, and now with no real opposition they just kinda sit around and draw pictures in the dirt.”

“They’re going to be busy when the Fifth Hive’s Parliament is established,” I pointed out. “Coxa, what’s the status on that?”

Coxa looked like he bit into something fowl, “Stalled. That’s the one thing the Lodges are doing. They want you to have absolute power, and the idea of elections for a body to make laws once you grant it the power to is… unpopular.”

“The drones don’t want democracy?” I questioned.

“Not if they can have your absolute monarchy instead.”

I growled, “Those bastards! I wanna sit back and do nothing but get fat after this is all over! They’re going to ruin my retirement plans!”

“Speaking of retirement,” Lace cut in, “have you heard from Thorax, Phas?”

“That has nothing to do with retirement,” I said.

She nodded, “Yeah but I needed to segue into asking about him. You still correspond with him, right?”

“Correspond?”

She frowned, “You do write to him? Or talk through magical portal thingies?”

“No?”

Lace facehooved, “So Thorax left weeks ago and you haven’t checked up on your best friend at all?”

“He said he wanted the space!” I tried to defend myself. “You think I should ignore that and try to contact him?”

“Perhaps not,” Lace acquiesced, “but I would go patch things up with Luna immediately if I were you.”

I rubbed my head, “Yeah, yeah. She just returned today. Moving onto topics that I am not embarrassed to talk about, how are we faring with the raids from Division-P?”

Lace looked around, “Can’t talk about that in public, Phas.”

“We’ll speak tonight, then,” I said, reminded of our relatively public place.

Our piece said and progress surveyed, we retired to the royal wing of the Crystal Caves to spend the afternoon drinking around a fireplace. Thorax’s absence was sorely felt, but I welcomed the chance to take a breather and enjoy time with friends.

When I returned to the Palace that evening for dinner, Celestia had two surprises for me.

“This came for you in the mail,” Celestia levitated over a white envelope to me.

I took it gently, putting down my knife and fork. My meal was more or less a sample of what the Princesses were eating, more so to try the fancy cooking than anything else

“I’m sure I get a lot of hate mail,” I said, looking the letter over.

“Some,” Celestia admitted, “but this one came by dragonfire.”

I looked at her, “... From Spike in Ponyville?”

“I know of no other dragons who send me letters.”

Luna’s eyebrows raised and she leaned across the table towards me, “For what reason would your protégé write to Phasma, sister?”

“It wasn’t Twilight,” Celestia smiled.

“Sweet Apple Acres,” I read the return address. “That’s…. Element of Honesty Applejack, right?”

Celestia nodded, “Correct.”

“The mystery deepens,” Luna said, failing to hide her curiosity.

I took a clean knife from an empty spot next to me and opened the letter. Cadance clapped her hooves in excitement.

“This is wonderful news! Perhaps a chance at making new friends!”

I chuckled, “Considering how we last parted, it’s more likely a death threat than anything else.”

“Ponies do not send each other death threats,” Celestia glared at me. “... Most do not, at any rate, and the Bearers are exemplary models of character. We can all learn something from them– indeed, many things.”

The writing was in cursive, and while tough to read, I could parse it just barely enough to not have to ask for help. Catching a whiff, I brought the letter close to my muzzle and sniffed it.

“Pie? Why does this smell like pie?”

“The Apples are renowned for their apple products, especially baked goods,” Luna recalled.

‘Wait, why did I sniff a letter sent through the mail? This thing could’ve had a biological disease on it, like Anthrax…. What am I kidding, ponies don’t have Anthrax. Though I wonder if there are magical poisons that could kill through inhalation…’

“Uh, Celestia?”

“Yes, Phasma?”

“Does your staff check letters for any… poison?”

Celestia hissed and recoiled, “As a matter of fact, all pieces of mail are sterilized before they reach out hooves. Too many, ah, enthusiastic devotees of my royal figure.”

“You’re not the only one,” the Princess of Love added, staring into her wine goblet.

I tried not to think about that, “And letters received from Spike?”

Celestia shrugged, “If somepony malevolent is sending letters containing poison using Spike, we have bigger things to worry about. In addition, I am lazy and feel that implementing security measures against such an event is not worth it.”

“I guess no one wants to kill you, just me,” I said. “This is… an invitation?”

“Friends!” Cadance cheered.

“To what?” Luna asked.

“Dinner,” I read. “Applejack is asking me over for dinner tomorrow. Why?”

“I suspect nopony knows except the mare herself,” Celestia smiled coyly. “You will just have to attend this function and ask her yourself.”

I sat back in my chair, staring off at the far wall, “I guess so. Luna, would you like to come with me?”

“Does the letter mention a plus one?”

I glanced down, “No.”

She shook her head, “Though the Apples would never turn me away, I would never presume.”

Confused and full of questions, I set the letter down on the table. Clearing my throat, I addressed Celestia.

“Your sister mentioned some important news?”

Celestia dabbed at the corners of her mouth, “As I have kept you informed, the New Harmony Coalition seeks to end the Prohibition in three days. Our loyalists will succeed in only delaying this vote, as they lack the support needed to smother the vote before it starts.”

My ears flicked, “Why is that? Seems strange to vote against something Daybreaker implemented.”

“That’s because of what comes next,” Celestia said. “Immediately following the repeal of the last of Daybreaker’s far-reaching policies, our spies that have infiltrated the New Harmony Coalition have discovered a plot to introduce a vote of No Confidence. For our own protection against foreign influence, the ponies seek to shut out the Princesses from our own government.”

Cadance and Luna stared in shock. Luna’s anger grew to match Cadance’s confusion.

“Insolent pups!” Luna growled. “They’d dare to usurp our right to rule?!”

“That’s drastic,” Cadance gasped. “To throw away all that they look up to is… paradoxical.”

Shining spoke up for the first time tonight, “What’s a declaration like that gonna do? The alicorns are our rightful rulers, by appointment by Harmony itself. We can just ignore that nonsense!”

“It’s not that simple,” Celestia explained. “A vote of no confidence passing would legally limit our power considerably. To simply ignore it would delegitimize our government, our rule. The common pony would be a lot more hesitant to trust the government. Members of the Parliament loyal to the crown would not appreciate the idea of their power being ignored, and we would lose their support. Truly, if it passed, we shall ignore it, but the consequences would be dire. At best, our government will be immobilized while individual loyalties are tested.”

“And at worst?” Shining shrank in his chair.

Celestia shrugged and took a sip of wine, “Faith in the government falters completely. Bonds will be devalued, taxes dodged, we will immediately slide into an economic recession, and every institution will be scratching their heads and battening down the hatches for a terrible storm. Interest rates go up, loans get harsher, and every pony suffers in daily life because a few nobles think that we are being mind controlled.”

“There could be a run on the banks in that scenario,” I ventured. “A bad recession with no faith in the government could lead to ponies pulling money from banks. It doesn’t sound likely, I will admit, but everything I’ve seen points to ponies being far more prone to mass panic than humans.”

Cadance tilted her head, “What happens if there is a ‘run on the banks,’ as you put it?”

“Things go from not good to very, very bad,” I replied. “If we are preparing for a deadly war, an economic depression will cripple the war effort.”

“So what are we doing to put an end to this madness?” Luna asked her sister.

“I am gathering every bit of political sway I can,” Celestia straightened her back. “Every favor, every loyalty, every coercion I can muster. Even if sways these ponies away from us afterwards, we cannot allow the vote to pass. As Phasma pointed out, the crown cannot falter while facing this upcoming war. I believe we stand a good chance of shutting down this vote– but next time they push it forwards, it shall be even more difficult to kill. We will have to smother Division-P and its political ties before that happens.”

“How are we faring on that front?” Cadance asked, looking to me and Luna.

“Division-P is scaling up its attacks against changelings,” I recalled Lace’s report. “I will find out more tonight, but anything in the South is becoming tenuous to protect.”

Shining leaned closer, “Their activities are limited to the South?”

“And Manehattan,” I added. “Gang warfare is escalating there, too. Lots of ponies with grudges against the new top dogs in their town.”

Shining pressed, “How about infiltrating Division-P itself?”

“Plans are in motion,” Luna confirmed. “It is hard, these ponies are paranoid of infiltration. We are limited to replacing arrested agents, and those opportunities are few and far between. We are lucky there are no spells to detect changelings, but there are many conventional methods to make infiltration difficult.”

“Difficult, but not impossible,” I pointed out. “We have the best spies in history. It’s slow, but it’s happening.”

“S.M.I.L.E. is operating on the outside,” Celestia joined in. “We have several leads to follow, and I believe we have a positive identification on where Lord Artful Acumen was during his communication with us on Lantern night. We are working to confirm it, but Marquess Deep Pocket’s father in law has a manor with a deep wine cellar that matches the description. If this is true, then we have an avenue to limit the New Harmony Coalition’s support.”

“Anything to change the tune would be helpful,” Luna nodded.

“Speaking of which,” Celestia winked, “we have a plan. Cadance and I came up with it, and it’s quite a good one.”

We all leaned forward, save for the Princess of Food who already knew the plan.

“Is that so? A plan for what?” Luna asked.

“We need to keep the public from supporting Division-P’s side,” Celestia said. “Anything we can do to keep the New Harmony Coalition off their hooves and stumbling is good. To steal the spotlight, on the day they announce the vote of No Confidence, we shall end the trial of the former Queen Chrysalis and announce her verdict and sentencing.”

“You had my attention,” I smiled, “and now you have my interest. You have come up with sentencing?”

Cadance nodded quickly, “We have. This is what we’ve been delaying sentencing for. Us three judges have come up with a few prospective sentences, but we are confident you will support our main proposition.”

‘It’s happening. It’s finally happening! Chrysalis is finally getting what she deserves for trying to scoop my brain out. Or rather, for trying to kill and resurrect me. Goddess, she is a messed up nutcase. Is that better or worse than– nah who am I kidding, anything is better than locked-in syndrome.’

“Well?” I leaned over the table. “What are you waiting for, a dramatic cut that ends the scene before you reveal your plan? What will be Chrysalis’s fate?”

Cadance smiled at me and took a deep breath, “Queen Chrysalis will–”