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A Princess and Her Queen

by kildeez

Chapter 14: Chapter XIV: Equestria Arrives

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Celestia glared at the maps unfolded on the table before her. A gust breezed through the tent’s flaps, a few flurries blowing along the ground and sweeping a few icy tendrils of air up her back. She didn’t shiver.

“Princess,” one of her Solar Guards entered and bowed, taking stock of the tent. For the abode of Canterlot Royalty, one couldn’t get much simpler: it was just a large tent, big enough for her to stand on her hind legs without scraping the tip of her horn against the fabric, with a heavy table setup in the middle, next to a few trunks of extra supplies.

Sighing, the Princess lowered her forehooves from the table and turned to the guard. “Report, if you please,” she said, her royal manners somehow not suffering from being in the middle of the largest military campaign in recent Equestrian history.

Still saluting, the guard stepped inside, pulling his military-issue parka tight around his body as he dropped the scrolls in his grip. “More maps of the Crystal Empire from the Canterlot Archives, Princess: looks like these have the detail on the market district you were searching for.”

“Ah yes, perfect,” she mused, adding the scrolls to the steadily-growing pile on her table. “Now, any reports on the siege?”

“Yes, ma’am: we have secured all main exit points and have pegasi patrols circling overhead. Nothing will get in or out without our knowing it.”

“And…” her voice tightened slightly before she said the word, as if just saying it might cause her to bring the sun itself down to scorch the planet clean. “…the changelings?”

“They’ve already secured the city, Princess,” he sighed, staring at the ground dejectedly. “We’ve spotted fortifications going up within the castle gates, and they appear to have sentries watching the walls and skies.”

“They’re doing what we’ve done,” she snorted, turning back to the table and glaring down at one of her maps. By the look of her, one would think she was trying to stare a hole through one of the crumbling pieces of parchment. “Nothing gets in, nothing gets out.”

“There’s more, Princess,” the guard added. “The changelings left something in the middle of one of the city’s drawbridges. It appears to have been meant for you.”

Arching an eyebrow, Celestia turned as the guard held up a small object, shaped like a beetle with an ominously green, glowing body. “It’s been tested?”

“Yes’m,” the guard nodded. “We tried our best to scan it for any traps; the unicorns say its magical signature is too low to pose any threat to one of your power, although…we never were able to get inside.”

“Why not?”

“It…” he bit his lip nervously. “It appears to be keyed to your magic specifically. It will only open if your solar magic is used to open it.”

“Of course,” she gave a quick chortle and shook her head as she lifted the little object up in her magic, turning it over. All horrors and war crimes aside, she had to hoof it to Chrysalis: the old wench had style. “Guard, remain outside. If I am incapacitated in any way, shape, or form, I fully expect you to inform my High Generals.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the guard kneeled before trotting out, standing vigil at the tent’s entrance. Celestia shivered and placed the object on the table before her, its green carapace shimmering in the light from the sputtering candles on the table.

Carapace… she grimaced at the thought that the word had come to her, but there it was. The damned thing on the table in front of her looked just like a bug, so what other word could she have used for it? Well, let’s see what the evil wench has for me this time…

Tapping her horn against the small, green body, Celestia listened as a few gears whirred into place, a couple pins dropping into their holes. All at once, the thing sprang open, parting down the middle. The body separated just like the wings on a beetle, its two halves swinging away to reveal a tiny ball of light, projecting a shimmering beam upwards. She took a step back, not out of shock, but out of caution. It wasn’t needed, as a few words in shimmering green text appeared in the beam, hovering in front of her eyes. The message was short, simple, and curt, as could be expected of the changelings:


SUPPLY CARAVANS WILL BE ALLOWED IN ONCE DAILY

0600 HOURS

PONIES ON THEM WILL BE SEARCHED AND RELEASED

WILL SEND ENVOYS TO NEGOTIATE SUPPLIES AND TERMS

WE HAVE THE NIGHT PRINCESS

WE HAVE THE ELEMENT BEARERS

WE HAVE THE CRYSTAL HEART

DO NOT TEST US


The moment Celestia’s magenta eyes scanned the last word, the light vanished and the beetle snapped shut. A moment later, it was gone, melting into a sizzling pile of goo that evaporated within seconds. Celestia took a deep breath, inhaling slowly, then exhaling through her nose. “GUARD!” She barked.

The guardstallion practically materialized just within the tent’s entrance, hoof already raised to his brow in salute. “Yes, ma’am?”

“Gather my High Generals, we’re going to need a tribunal started five minutes ago,” she stated, her manners finally starting to pack their bags and head south for warmer weather.

“Yes, ma…“

“In addition, have every unit commander work out rotating shifts for their unit. I want every one of them capable of presenting at least five extra soldiers every morning at 0500 hours, sharp.”

“Yes, m…“

“And contact the quartermasters attached to each supply company. I want a tally of every single spare MRE, water canteen, antibiotic dose, anything we can conceive of that a regular, civilian-packed city might possibly need, as well as wagons enough to transport them all, and I want that tally on my desk by sunset.”

“Yes…“

“And send couriers to Canterlot. Tell them we need a steady chain of extra supplies traveling here ASAP. I don’t care how they work it out, just tell them we need convoys bound for the Crystal Empire in motion by this evening, and make sure they know this is an order directly from me.”

The guard and the Princess stared at one another for a few moments, the guard running his tongue along his lips as he raised an eyebrow expectantly. Celestia rolled her eyes. “That will be all.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He barked before rushing through the tent flap and into the cold, perpetual winter that dominated the North.

The Princess sighed again and swooned the table, her back hunched, her eyes holding a steely glare to them. Her ivory-white feathers quivered with each breath as she rested her head in her hooves, careful not to put any stress on her horn. Finally, she tapped a hoof against the wood of the table three times, gave a short pause, and then knocked twice.

Slowly, one of the chests next to her bench creaked open, the old hinges squeaking. A green cloud of mist poured out as a long, snake-like form materialized from inside, humming an odd little tune that escalated as he stretched himself out, eventually stepping into the light with his hands held over its head. “Da-da-da-DAAAAAA! You found A BOYFRIEND! Press START for sex and snuggles!”

The Princess deadpanned completely. The draconequus arched an eyebrow, and then uncoiled himself to swoop down next to her ear. “Just so you know, by ‘start’ I meant my penis,” he whispered.

“Report,” she said with an exhausted sigh, her eyes going half-lidded just to hammer home that she was in absolutely no mood for his games.

Discord’s smile faded. “Right,” he said, straightening up, popping every bone in his spine at once. Suddenly, his usually naked form was clad in a long, blue jacket with frilly, yellow shoulder pads and blanketed in medals that had such descriptive pictures as ice cream cones and clasped monkey hands. Donning a pith helmet and covering his face in camo paint, the draconequus looked his lover right in the eye.

“Ma’am, them thar bug bastards have done taken the whole gosh-durned city. Ah cain’t, fer the life a’ me, find a single weak point in their defenses. That thar bug bitch has this place locked down tighter’n yer mama’s pussy the day after yer daddy buys her a set a’ golf clubs fer her birthday.”

“Were you able to enter the city proper?”

“Naw. Erry gate’s got a whole mess a’ magic detection spells on it, mostly alarm-type spells. Felt too risky t’even hang out that long.” He sighed and snapped his fingers, the helmet, jacket, and camo paint vanishing in a sudden burst of yellow light and sparkles. “Not to sound like I was afraid, perish the thought! But I didn’t want to risk missing something and triggering an alarm. I know I’d be perfectly capable of defending myself no matter the situation, but the girls…the hostages…”

“No no, I understand,” Celestia nodded sagely, her eyes closing. “You made the right choice. It would have been foolish to risk the safety of the hostages for the sake of a recon mission.”

To the outside observer, the Princess would have appeared to be the picture of strength: head held high, eyes closed in contemplation of their next move. It didn’t fool the draconequus one bit. He caught the mild quiver in her wings, the tiny glisten near her eyelashes that could only be tears, the near-imperceptible hitch in her voice.

“Tia,” his voice grew surprisingly gentle as he slowly laid a bear paw against her face. She nuzzled into his touch, eyes opening to reveal tears welling up. “She’s going to be okay. They all are. Chrysalis may be an evil bitch bent on global domination, but she isn’t stupid enough to try and shorten an Alicorn’s Christmas card list like that.”

“I know, I just…” her breath came out in quick, shaky gasps as she wrapped her forelegs around his midsection, sinking to the bench with him as tears continued to soak his chest fur.

“I know,” he whispered, stroking a talon through her mane, which slowly dimmed with the setting sun.

Next Chapter: Chapter XV: Flutters 'n Switch Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 54 Minutes
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