Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Welcome to Part Three! The date is August 3, 2014. Despite what I said, Legend of the Goddesses is not finished yet… still working on it. But I had to come back today, as it's a very special occasion. It is my Mere-versary. One year ago to this very day, a remarkable young woman named Meredith posted a review to this story. She encouraged me to get a DeviantArt account so we could talk, and swiftly became my best friend in the whole world. Mere's support and encouragement is the reason this story is still alive… and the reason I'm still alive.

And on top of that, she introduced me to her other best friend, Nathalie… Naty and I quickly fell in love and have been dating for a little over seven months now. Mere has expressed concern about becoming our third wheel, but no, there's no chance of that—she's our rock. We've agreed she's going to be the best man at our wedding (not the maid of honor, the best man; I called dibs on her) and the godmother of our children. Not to be overzealous or anything.

Anyway, I owe Mere more than I could ever pay back in one lifetime, but I'll start by making sure her favorite fanfic of all time never dies and stays hella good. Love you, Merezy!

Chapter One Hundred and Eleven

"This is an outrage!"

Cadance, sitting on the throne of Canterlot Castle, turned her head in exasperation toward Prince Blueblood, the only other occupant of the throne room, who was pacing back and forth furiously.

"It's always been understood that should something like this happen, it should be me that succeeds them to the throne!" Blueblood continued. "I was the heir to the royal title. It was all I had. Then you had to go and get married, and left me with nothing."

"That's a very morbid ambition, cousin," Cadance said calmly. "To want something to happen to our princesses who bring us the sun and the moon? This could end very badly. I'm only sitting on this throne because it's my duty."

"And when do I get to do something significant?" Blueblood demanded. "Everywhere I look, it's you getting new duties and responsibilities. What's my royal duty?"

"Right now?" said Cadance. "Your duty is to realize that I'm the heir, and live with it."

"But that's not even true!" Blueblood whined. "Who in the world is Princess Annaialara?"

"I have no idea," said Cadance. "But if she's supposed to come along and be here instead of me, I like her already." Under her breath, she added, "Not to mention she's an extra step between you and the throne, you weird… guy."

Blueblood heard her, and glared harshly. "Would it really be the worst thing if it was me sitting there? I mean, clearly you don't want to do it…"

"I'm just doing what Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna asked me to," Cadance said dully. "I suggest you accept their judgment. They tend to make good and wise decisions, you know."

"Hmph!" Blueblood snorted. He thrust his nose into the air and began strutting out of the throne room.

He crossed paths with Twilight at the huge doorway, and stood to block her path, scowling at her. She flinched and stared up at him nervously.

"With all the arbitrary rules around here," he sneered, "I bet you fall in the line of succession before I do." He brushed past her and stormed out into the depths of the castle.

"I don't see how that's… possible…" Twilight muttered after him, almost inaudibly.

"Twilie!" Cadance said excitedly, getting up off the throne and galloping toward Twilight.

They embraced. "It's good to see you… Your Majesty," Twilight said playfully.

"'Majesty'?" Cadance laughed. "Please. The real princesses, Celestia and Luna, they're 'Your Majesty'."

"Going with 'Your Highness', then?"

"Actually, I always saw myself as more of a 'Your Excellency'," Cadance said, holding her head up grandly.

They both giggled. "So, how are you feeling?" Twilight asked.

"Nervous," Cadance said, flinching. "But you knew that. The whole country knows it. They've all seen me stammering and freaking out about this whole thing, that's no good… no good at all… there'll be riots in the streets, I just know it."

"You'll do fine, Cadance," Twilight said gently. "You're a relatable and down-to-earth sort of princess. It's different from what Equestria is used to, but it's not a bad thing. Nopony can blame you for not having the confidence that comes from a thousand years of being number one."

Cadance smiled sadly. "So… I don't suppose you know who Princess Annaialara is?"

"Annihilara," Twilight corrected. "And yes, I do. She's in the picture I gave you from the Gathering. Here, I think I keep a copy in my purse." She pulled a coin-purse out of her saddlebags, and pulled the group photo of the goddesses out of a little pocket in the purse. "That's her," she said, pointing at Annihilara, in the center of the photo. "Celestia and Luna's first cousin. She's something of a goddess of death."

"Oh," Cadance said breathlessly, backing away at the sight of the fearsome face. "Do you… do you think she'll turn up?"

"I don't know," said Twilight. "She might not have seen or heard the message. They don't have any idea where she is, she could very well have gone to sleep again. Before the Gathering, she'd been sleeping for decades."

Cadance frowned. "Do you think she could… or should… be here instead of me?"

Twilight considered that carefully. "I don't know how well she'd do," she said slowly. "But I do know you. So I'm more comfortable seeing you in this position than I would be with her. I know you're going to do great."

Cadance sighed, shifting on her hooves uncomfortably. "So… how went the mission?"

"It was… well, it was a bit of a disaster, to be honest," Twilight said, pained. "Discord turned on us and joined up with the changelings."

"Oh no!" Cadance cried out, devastated.

Twilight nodded, her eyes closed sadly. "We weakened them significantly, I think. But their leadership is still alive, and they still have every reason to want a war with us."

"I see," Cadance said solemnly.

"I know this is the last thing you need on your plate just now," Twilight mumbled. "When you're already nervous enough about holding onto the throne…"

"Twilight," Cadance said with a little smile, "you said before that you know me. Well, I know you better. So I know that you did everything that could possibly be done. And for that, I thank you, and Equestria thanks you. Whatever comes next, we'll prepare for it."

"All right," said Twilight, inhaling deeply and finally opening her eyes. "I did something else, something unrelated to the mission, while I was there. I'd like your opinion on it. Not because you're here in Celestia's stead, but your opinion specifically."

"Okay," Cadance said nervously.

Twilight opened her saddlebag and produced five pure-white spheres, soft and moist in texture and the size of tennis balls. She arranged them in a straight line, hovering them between herself and Cadance, presenting them to the princess and looking at her with pleading, expectant eyes.

Cadance stepped backward, her eyes wide in shock, and cowered. "Changeling eggs?" she demanded. "Are you nuts?"

Twilight pouted. "I must be, because that's not the reaction I expected."

Cadance was breathing heavily in surprise, and slowly calmed down. "…I'm sorry," she finally forced out. "Erm… bring me up to speed, Twilie. Why on earth do you have changeling eggs?"

"I stole them from the hive," said Twilight. "I was protecting the nursery area from an explosion… an explosion of my own making. I wasn't going to take the lives of the changelings' young. While I was saving all of the eggs, I thought maybe I could save some of them… in another way. So I took these eggs. From what I've learned from your notes, these eggs will continue growing, expanding steadily for about half a year before hatching. I'm going to tend to them until they do so… and then I intend to raise them among our society."

Cadance stared at Twilight, open-mouthed.

"I wanted your advice about this plan," Twilight said. "You're the expert on these things, after all."

"These things," Cadance repeated dully.

"I mean the power of love," Twilight clarified. "If I love these changelings as they grow up, teach them what it means to be a citizen of Equestria while also being completely honest with them about where they came from… then maybe, years and years down the road, they'll serve as a bridge between our kingdom and the changeling empire. If not, I'll still have saved them, they'll have grown up far away from the tyranny of their queen, they'll get to live out the kind of life that Equestria offers to all creatures—and that's worth something."

Cadance shook her head rapidly to clear away some of her shock. "Well… Twilight…"

"Yes?" Twilight said hopefully.

"Well, for starters," Cadance said, clearly choosing her words with caution, "you are absolutely right that the love that stems from bringing up a child is the mightiest love of all. If these eggs belonged to any sort of creature but changelings, I'd be commending you for having a brilliant idea, and weeping with joy at your willingness to experience that kind of love, but… but they're changelings."

"Cadance," Twilight pleaded.

Cadance lifted a hoof. "Don't misunderstand me. I would never begrudge an entire species for what occurred on my wedding day. It's my belief that all creatures are inherently good. But changelings aren't natural creatures, their biology doesn't work the same way creatures of our world do. So while I'm sure there is goodness in the hearts of their children… if you give them your love… won't they just… feed on it?"

Twilight flinched.

"I mean, I'm sure that at some point, when they're old enough, it could be communicated to them that draining the essence of living things is wrong. They could learn to control themselves, take only what they need for sustenance… in theory. But could they be taught such a thing in time? As newborns, they wouldn't know how to stop. How many would have to die for the sake of this love study before the changelings learned self-control? And you, Twilight…" Cadance swallowed, her eyes quivering. "If you loved them, they'd suck the life out of you in an instant, and that chance for you to raise them right would never happen. It's just… it's how they eat."

Twilight shivered, overcome with emotion. "…Maybe," she stammered. "Maybe the only possible outcome to this undertaking is that I would get consumed along with all of my love. But it's worth trying. A very small number of them in a populated place like Ponyville… I think that they'll be able to feed on all surrounding feelings of love without causing anypony any ill effects. Let's just say I have a reason to suspect that, I'm sure you know what I mean."

"Of course. Go on."

"My love for them would make me a target for their hunger, for sure," Twilight went on. "But considering my proficiency with magic, I can protect myself and others until they're old enough to be taught concepts like restraint. If I nurture them properly and don't suppress their true nature, I can make this work and give them a better life… maybe make a better world for us all."

Cadance stared blankly, biting her lip for several moments, before sighing and shrugging. "You could be right, Twilie," she said. "I just have no way of knowing how it might end up. There's no precedent. But as far as I can tell, it's a very kind and noble thing that you're doing, and you might just be the one pony who's equipped to pull it off."

Twilight shrugged back and gave a tiny smile. "Well, given the choice between blowing them up or allowing them to be raised in the changeling empire, I figured that, for a handful of them at least, I could try a third choice."

"Well, you've touched me," said Cadance with a big smile and slight tremor. "This is an act of love on a scale I've never seen before. I really want it to work now. You've actually made me desperate to see it happen."

"So then," Twilight said mischievously, "do I have your blessing, as the standing monarch of Equestria, to proceed?"

Cadance giggled. "Yes."

"Great," Twilight chuckled.

Cadance examined the eggs, which were still floating in the grasp of Twilight's magic. She cast a tiny spell, waving her horn, and her blue-green magic aura touched each egg lightly, causing them to glow from within.

"Huh," she remarked. "Twilight, did you sex these?"

"Hmm? No, I wouldn't know how to do that," Twilight said absently. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that you have two queens here."

"Really?" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yes," said Cadance, examining an egg carefully. "Three females, unsurprisingly… and two queens."

"Wow," Twilight breathed. "I had no idea."

"Did you take them from someplace special?" Cadance asked.

"No, no, I just picked five clutches of eggs at random, and randomly selected an egg to take from each."

"Wow. What are the odds?" Cadance remarked. She paused for a second, then said dryly, "You're actually calculating the odds, aren't you?"

"Well, it's not like it's hard," Twilight said jovially. "If one in ten thousand changelings is a queen, the odds of there being two in a randomly-chosen group of five are—"

"Can we just say it's a very surprising act of fortune?" Cadance laughed. "And it's certainly fortunate for them. I suspect that Chrysalis doesn't allow new queens to live very long after hatching. You've saved these two young queens' lives to an even greater extent than you've saved these other three from their fates."

"So, you can determine their sex while they're still in the eggs?" Twilight said with interest. "Can you show me how to do that spell, so I can keep track of which ones are queens?"

"Sure, I'll write down the spell for you," said Cadance. "In the meantime, I'll just do this…"

With a puff of magic, she produced a five blue-green ribbons, and wrapped each one around an egg. Three of the ribbons were tied with tiny knots, the other two with huge glittery bows. "The ones with the big bows are the queens," she explained.

"Awww…" Twilight said sweetly.

"They'll outgrow them in no time at all, but until then… look how adorable they are!" Cadance gushed. She beamed at her handiwork, then turned to Twilight, still with a bright smile. "You'll keep these eggs safe, sister?"

"Of course I will," Twilight said proudly. "I'll guard them as if they were my own children. …And you know, it's the strangest thing, I already love them as if they were."

"Well… maybe that's what they are," Cadance said lovingly.

Twilight nodded, and floated the eggs one by one back into her saddlebag. "Can this stay a secret for a while? I told you first because you understand love, and you understand changelings… but I'll need to be a bit more cautious about approaching my friends with this."

"I completely understand," said Cadance. She stepped over to Twilight and pulled her into a hug. "Good luck to you."

"Best of luck to you, big sister," Twilight whispered back.