Chapter Thirteen

A clatter of hooves sounded through the hallways of Canterlot Castle, though Twilight of course tried to quiet the sounds. She followed the path of the Princess only a little bit ahead of herself, making it remarkably easy to find the room Luna was walking to. Surprisingly, it was a fair distance from Celestia's. Sighing, she watched Luna trot away silently, though most likely brooding, before arriving to a door. Twilight quickly stopped, as not to startle the Princess, and Luna walked through them. As they closed, Twilight stepped up to them.

The extremely finely made, rich mahogany doors seemed almost ancient, though most certainly cleaned and well kept. The only sign of their age was the occasional bump of some sort of filling in the cracks. Lining around the doors and strange, silver-like metal seemed an almost blue color, carving out shapes with it's contrasting color to the brownish door.

Slowly, Twilight let her hoof raise and knock on one of them. Three times, she knocked, and during them, she could swear she heard something of a shuffle, someone maybe trying to get rid of something quickly. Twilight, tentatively, asked, "Uhm...Princess Luna?"

"Yes?" Came the, of course, well refined and confined voice of the Princess of the Night. Knowing better, Twilight quietly inquired, "Princess, are you...okay? Can I come in?"

A moment of silence, before, "Why does't thou wish to join us in our quarters. In the middle of our night."

Oh. This sounds a bit bad. Wrinkling her muzzle a bit, Twilight didn't enjoy how it sounded like some cheesy romance story right now, "Well, you seemed like you were upset, and I just wanted to see if I could-" Twilght was cut off mid sentence with a resounding, "No. We are fine, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight stood there for a moment, not too sure how to proceed. Pushing this any further could result in Luna simply becoming frustrated with her for budging into their business, but leaving would not help Luna in any way. Or maybe something more, Twilight thought to herself.

Then again, she never said to leave, "Princess, do you want me to go?"

Silence. Twilight waited a minute or two, then another couple. No sound except what she assumed was Luna shifting in either her bed or some sort of seating, "Do you want me to come i-"

"No! We...mean no, we would appreciate it if thou did not come into our quarters." Luna answered quickly. Well alright, if you don't want me to come in, how can I stay here?

Rubbing her head a bit with her hoof, Twilight asked, "Princess, your room has a bathroom, right?"

A small 'Mhm' had been heard beyond the door, making Twilight slightly confused. May as well say it while I can, Twilight reasoned, "Well could I stay in there and just...talk to you?"

The door she was speaking through got an indigo glow around it's edges, slowly sliding open to reveal Luna's room. The lights were off, save for the bathroom's lights, and the door there was open as well. It was nearly impossible to see anything but that, but Twilight could spot the lump in the bed, just to the center of the room. Without another thought, or time to make one, Twilight trotted to the bathroom and sat on the rather comfortable rug that adorned the floor.

Surprisingly comfortable, Twilight thought. Before she did much else, a small bean bag-like chair laid itself next to her, which she took to quickly. The warmth of the bathroom was surprisingly also room temperature, so she was mostly comfortable, and Luna began to speak in a quiet voice, "Twilight, does't...thou ever get into arguments with thy older sibling, Shining Armour?"

Twilight got a small smile, deciding to crack a joke, "Well, no, of course not, everything always hunky dory."

No dice. Twilight chastised herself for sounding like a fool. Trying once more, she said, "Of course, I mean, we don't get into major arguments that often if at all, but..."

"We see. Well, if thy sibling had, at some point, not only disregarded but also insulted your idea for a solution to a rather queer problem, what would'st thy reaction be to such...anger?" A hint of sadness broke the constant royal and upper class tone of her voice. More so than the usual, slight dip.

The unicorn's head cocked a bit to the side as she attempted to piece together what had happened between Celestia and Luna. Though, not wanting to seem rude, she answered with a drop of curiosity, "More than likely, I'd get angry too, and we would have to separate ourselves for a little while to...cool our heads?"

Silence dominated the airwaves inside the room for a unprecedented amount of time, leaving Twilight to simply sit and think about what she'd seen and heard from Luna. The Princess was, below all those calloused layers of royalty and proper acting, just a pony. And like any other pony, or living thing, she needed some form of love, something to keep her from feeling alone.

While loneliness was not Twilight's forte, as she rather preferred isolated times to herself, she did need her friends most of the time to keep her from becoming a recluse. They kept her on her hooves, sure, but more than that, gave the interaction she never knew that she even needed. More over, Twilight realized much of her want and need to study came from the fact that she had little else to do that was entertaining.

With the slight introspection done with, the unicorn was snapped back to reality by the sound of a slightly worried Princess Luna, "...Twilight, art thou feeling well?"

Shaking her head, Twilight responded quickly, a tad too hurriedly as she had slurred her words a bit, "Hmmyes, yes I'm fine! Sorry Princess, I got stuck in my thoughts..."

The mare smiled sheepishly, feeling her cheeks warm a bit in embarrassment. The display would've probably made Luna either roll her eyes and smile or facehoof while smiling, but she was quite a bit out of sight, so Twilight felt even more ridiculous. With a small grumble to herself on trying to pay attention more, Twilight asked, "So...have you thought about what I said Princess?"

Luna nodded, though Twilight couldn't have possibly even caught the movement slightly, so she simply said, "Yes, we...did think on it, Twilight Sparkle. And as much as the disagreement is some measure more serious than some debate between siblings, we thank thee for thy input. It is simply...tiring, is all."

There was a small release of breath, as if decompressing, at the end of Luna's sentence. Twilight groaned inwardly, realizing she was getting nowhere, she took a risk, "Princess, I realize we don't always get along, but I was around when you sort of...stormed out of Celestia's study, you looked and sounded so upset...I just want to help, and I guess I'm not gonna get anywhere without just saying it. So there you go. Please tell me what happened?"

A shocked face had broken the mask of indifference. Luna stirred up, sitting up and looking to the bathroom, the light providing just enough light to see Luna's outline if Twilight looked close enough. The Princess quickly said, her voice having an underlying suspicion and timidness, "Twilight..."

More so than anything, Twilight scared herself into thinking within moments that Luna was upset with her. Immediately she spoke up again, trying to remedy a situation that needed none, "O-of course, I was just...passing by, you know, I just...overheard..."

A quiet air, thick with worry from Twilight settled for a brief period before Luna spoke again, "No need to feel threatened, Twilight, we simply aren't used to others displaying even the slightest knowledge of our more personal matters."

However, after the short conversation, neither mare said anything. Both were simply laying down in their respectable areas. It didn't take long before Luna heard the pony inside her bathroom snore, telling her that she had passed out. She can't stay up all night, silly mare, Luna mused to herself. She silently flicked her head a bit as Twilight's body blipped away with a teleport spell, placing her comfortably in her bed. Leaning back in her bed, Luna felt her eyelids hang, wishing to close.

Perhaps it is time to sleep. Luna slowly laid herself down, doing her best to get comfortable and in a position that wouldn't make her neck hurt.

The sun shone brightly over the grassy lands of Equestria, giving a pleasant look to just about everything. A midnight blue Alicorn sat atop her balcony, a bag packed behind her, though set aside, as she no longer needed it. The pot of the substance was, however, being broiled slowly in the kitchen, so she would be ready to send Marceling home once they got a hold on her.

Turning around and walking out into the hallway, Luna moved to the castle doors, her Sister and Twilight waiting for her. She inquired with only the slightest hint of worry, "Where is't Trixie? Is she not coming with us?"

A simple shake of a head was her only answer from Celestia, who walked towards the chariot which landed just in front of them. Twilight elaborated further, "She needs rest, and I don't think it'd be fair to bring her there personally, I thought it would be okay to leave her in the room. And only in her room."

Chuckling lightly, Luna got into the chariot, taking a seat opposite of her Sister. As Twilight got on, she looked between the two and sat on Luna's side, the small and minuscule detail registering somewhat on the elder alicorn's face in the form of some distress.

The three ponies remained completely silent along their trip, with Celestia occasionally asking the pegasus drivers how much longer it would be. Luna looked blank, not really registering the cold winds lapping at her fur as she simply stared down, letting her mind fade to other matters. Twilight avoided eye contact with Celestia, not wishing to spark a debate with her, and Celestia herself was nervous about confronting Twilight, especially in her sister's company.

Before long, the weather became somewhat more arid, though with the winds moving through the open canopy, it was a fair temperature, not to mention being fairly high up. Twilight got up and trotted slowly, carefully, to the railing and looked over, seeing a large expanse of desert and, strangely, jungles popping up every now and then, though it was more like a small oasis from the harsh weather. Somepony, probably Luna, had told her the trip would last about an hour or two.

How long had it been? About an hour, I think, Twilight sighed inwardly, leaving the standing point and sat back down where she had before. One of the guards called back, surprising Twilight, "Brace yourselves, we are heading below a storm line."

Without time to react, the chariot suddenly dipped, though not enough to be anything more than some sliding. That sliding however was not stopped for Luna, and she nearly slammed into Twilight. Technically she did, but Twilight put her hooves out to hold her in place, both of them compacted slightly against the wall. Snapping out of her small daze, Luna scooted backwards, giving a small apology with a nervous smile.

A giggle caught Twilight's attention, coming from the white alicorn. Luna also heard it, both of them looking up, catching Celestia attempting to stifle her small bit of laughter. Waving her hoof a bit, she said quickly, "I'm sorry, just, it was a little funny."

Twilight was about to roll her eyes, but Luna merely signed in resentment, her horn lighting up, pulling a rope mechanism hung on the wall, a leather cover pulling over them. Almost as soon as she did, the sound of rain hitting said leather was heard, surprising Twilight but causing Luna want to sleep even more. It was one of her favorite pass times, after all.

Something shook Luna's shoulder, which she bat away with a murmur. It would not go away however, and just as Luna was about to grumble and yell at it, she heard Twilight's voice, "Princess Luna? It's time to get up..."

The rain? It'd stopped. That or they were inside. Slowly sitting up, Luna rubbed her groggy eyes, yawning as she attempted to pat her hair down a bit. A large bump ran through the chariot, causing Luna to bite her tongue and yelp lightly, Celestia raising an eyebrow in question, Twilight doing the same.

"We bit our tongue." Luna said simply, sitting back and rubbing her jaw a bit. The canopy was no longer active, and the walls around them were black and resembled the chitin she was all too familiar with. Great, we're already here, she said to herself.

After just about another minute, the chariot slowed to a stop, all three ponies disembarking rather quickly. The two pegasus drivers looked soaked, but happy they made it here without much complication. The three walked past, each giving a small thank you to them before Celestia passed, giving them a tip of a few bits for the trouble of the storm.

Their hooves rang out at each slightest contact due to the small amount of noise, the echos seemingly going on forever. There were other sounds, but none as loud as the two large double doors opening for them, a changeling greeting the foreign princesses and their friend with a small bow. Twilight felt uneasy about being so close to them, but the mare decided to simply ignore it, she was with the princesses, what could go wrong?

"Hello, Lady Luna and Lady Celestia. We are pleased to see you again, as am I personally." Said the changeling in a rather polite manner. Celestia was the first to reply, "Thank you, Mazer," Turning behind herself, she gestured to Twilight, "This is my student and friend, Twilight Sparkle. She's no Princess, but I'd appreciate if she's treated just the same."

Mazer nodded, moving one of the doors open more for them, the Princesses moving in one after the other. Twilight smiled to the changeling, albeit nervously, and he, or she, smiled back. Genuinely. You know you have a problem when you can't display emotions more real than a Changeling, Twilight said, her somewhat biased view on them slipping in for just a moment.

As Twilight walked in, the word 'surprised' would be an understatement to her reaction. The walls were beautiful, if she were to be honest, donning large pillars and arches of the same black material, as well as what she assumed to be stone bricks. A very gothic style, the few statues that she could recognized depicted several large, female looking Changelings, which she assumed to be Queens.

Much as she would imagine, the whole kingdom was buzzing and busy, just like a bee hive, though she did catch something that looked like a bar, a store, even a mall. While it all seemed more young and less advanced as Equestrian society, it certainly wasn't anything too bad.

Twilight snout stopped her thinking as it poked Celestia's behind, having been walking without noticing where she was going. Twilight quickly backed up and apologized several times before Celestia told her it was quite alright, though the alicorn's face had gotten a slightly red tint for just the slightest moment.

Another pair of double doors, this time to a large, spiraling building she assumed to be a castle, opened. One of the more steriotypical Changelings greeted them, looking almost like a butler or maid, letting the three in without a word. Instantaneously, she heard the voice of one of the most vicious rulers in Equestrian history, "Well, this is quite a nice surprise. How are you...three?"

Looking to her left, she saw Queen Chrysalis, sitting back in something like a throne behind a table of several foods, though it seemed mostly for her as nopony else was around. Celestia was about to speak up, but instead Luna did, "We have reason to believe you took one of our friends while'st we were out on a trip, someone not exactly...a pony."

A slightly surprised look took residence on the Queen's face, before it fell and she smiled, obviously trying to brown nose her way out of this, "Oh, who? I have no idea who you're talking about."

Luna got aggravated, and with a small glare Chrysalis sighed, "Fine, fine. I was trying to lighten something called a 'mood', but I guess not. We realized she was one of your friends once one idiotic drone told me that there was a small group of ponies with her, so I've kept her asleep until you came to get her. I was too busy to deliver her myself and I didn't want to risk waking her up."

The instant spilling of information took Twilight off guard, and she wanted to put up a wall and say the Queen was lying, but really, she had no reason to. If what Luna and Celestia had said was correct, Queen Chrysalis would be nothing more than a playful liar for now because of the treaty, though Twilight hoped against hope that it would stay that way. A small part of her questioned if she could be considered a racist for being so biased towards them.

While she wondered, Celestia asked, in a more polite manner, "Where would Marceline be?"

The Queen thought for a moment before clapping her hooves, a servant coming from a door behind her, "Hetts, can you show Celestia and Twilight to Marceline? She's in the medical house, and if not there, check the left most guest room downstairs."

"Yes M'lady," Hetts replied, he gestured for them to follow as he walked out the door to the left, holding it open with the glow of green magic. Celestia left shortly, and Twilight took a moment to sort everything before following.

Luna and Chrysalis stood in the room, alone, and both felt a small tug of a smile as Chrysalis said, "So, do you like being in a room with me, or am I reading this wrong?"

The Lunar Princess rolled her eyes, taking a seat, "Don't be coy or smart with us, Chrysalis, We need not your witty commentary on the situation."

The Queen scoffed a bit, "Why is it every time I try tot make anything funny or even remotely better than it was, you always have to shoot me down instantly?"

Mockingly, the Princess simply said, "Because We hate thou, and thou'st knows We hate you, yet thou persists."

Crossing her back legs, the Queen simply raised one of her eyebrows, giving a cynical look, "Of course you do. I hate you too, Lulu."

Hearing the nickname only drove Luna more, making her bicker more. The Queen got a kick out of how easily Luna was irritated, and she could even literally taste it, though she never did like spicy food. Deciding the best course of action would be to get eating like she had planned before they arrived, the Queen bent down and took up one of the many assorted plates of food, hers mostly taken up by cake, and took a fork to it.

Luna soon followed suite.

Author's Note

Ha ha wow, I think I may be forcing this just a tad. Oh well, the more I do it the more practice I get.

So, there's this chapter now. We're getting past the whole changeling thing about now, so we'll be moving onto the next arcs, there will be two actual arcs at the same time as well!
Thanks for reading, have a good afternoon/day/evening/night/morning!