I stand at the top of the balcony overlooking the main chamber, the new queen by my side. She’s nervous, but I hope I can give her the confidence she needs. I call the attention of the entire hive, and soon they are all gathered to hear what I have to say.

I want to make this as impressive as possible, make sure none of them forget what I’m about to say. I need to speak with power and authority, not just with my words, but in tone. I will not speak to them as a simple human, but as something much much more.

I Spark up, the glow radiating from me as usual, bathing the nearby area in a slight cyan tint. I focus on this power, putting it into my voice. Then, I speak.

<I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE!>

Immediately every changeling turns to me, looks of shock and fear. Good.

<I HAVE DECIDED TO APPOINT MYSELF AS PROTECTOR OF YOUR NEW QUEEN! SHE WILL LEAD YOU AS SHE SEES FIT, AND ANY WHO MAKE AN ATTEMPT ON HER LIFE OR DISOBEY HER SHALL FEEL MY WRATH. AM I CLEAR‽>

The crowd below me squirms and frightfully gives their agreement.

<YOUR NEW QUEEN SHALL GIVE ANY ORDER OR MAKE ANY REQUEST SHE PLEASES AND YOU WILL OBEY! WHETHER HER INSTRUCTION BE TYRANNICAL OR BENEVOLENT, YOU WILL DO AS SHE SAYS! ANY ASSASSINS THAT TRY TO TAKE HER LIFE, NO MATTER THEIR REASON, SHALL BE DEALT WITH BY ME. PERMANENTLY! AM I STILL UNDERSTOOD‽>

More acknowledgement from the crowd. I continue.

<I WILL LEAVE THIS HIVE FOR NOW, BUT DO NOT THINK THAT MEANS I WILL BE UNAWARE OF WHAT TAKES PLACE HERE. YOUR NEW QUEEN WILL BE GRANTED THE POWER TO REQUEST MY PRESENCE AT ANY TIME SHE WISHES, FOR WHATEVER REASON SHE MAY HAVE.>

The changelings look absolutely horrified, and some look confused as well. That’s not my problem.

<AS A SYMBOL OF HER RISE, I WILL GIVE YOUR NEW QUEEN A NAME TO BE RECOGNIZED AS.>

I turn to the young queen beside me. She looks really happy. Names really are a big deal for changelings, I suppose. I put my hand lightly on her shoulder.

<HENCEFORTH, HER MAJESTY WILL BE KNOWN AS QUEEN RENAISSANCE, TO DENOTE THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA, THE END OF THE TYRANT CHRYSALIS, AND THE REGROWTH OF YOUR HIVE. MAY SHE LEAD YOU WELL, AND MAY SHE LEAD YOU BRAVELY! ALL HAIL QUEEN RENAISSANCE!!>

“All hail queen Renaissance!!”The entire crowd echoes back, bowing their heads in respect. I lean over to the new queen and whisper in her ear with my normal voice.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll just call you Ren for short.”

She has the biggest, happiest smile I’ve ever seen on a changeling. “Oh th- thank you so m- much! I have a n- name!”

She lets out a little squee and I chuckle, stepping back to let Ren make her first speech to her subjects. It seems having a name and a protector has given her a bit of courage. Her words are still shaky, but she’s lost a bit of her fear.

I’ve left the hive, and it seems that the changelings are going to behave. And Ren seems like she’s not going to be a bad ruler, she just needs a bit of experience. Maybe I could ask Celestia or Luna if they have any tips. It might not apply but, hey, help is help.

I’m not walking down the usual path back to Ponyville, even though there isn’t much of a path. Hopefully once the hive is more accepted, the way might get some more traffic. But then, this is the Everfree forest. Except I don't see the problem. Seriously, I could wander around here for hours and not have any problems. These ponies are way too superstitious. That said, the quiet of the night mixed with the gentle glow of dusk let me see poorly if I didn’t have my body lit up for light.

I see, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of shining white in the deep greens and browns of the forest. I figure I might check it out. I part some bushes and I see a statue of a pony. Wait a second...

The statue is immaculate, and detailed beyond belief. As I step towards the shining, alabaster statue of Rarity, I am awed and disturbed in equal measure by the level of detail. The statue has a look of mild surprise on its face, and I can see that each hair in the careful couture is carved individually. Whoever made the statue was an artisan of incredible skill, grace, and memory... and also likely very disturbed inside, to have made such a perfect statue and put it in the middle of the forest. It was so lifelike, I could mistake it for the real Rarity if it wasn’t pure white from one end to the other.

I bet it must have taken ages to do this. I think about taking it with me. I could give it to Spike and say it’s the closest he’ll get... nah. I’m sure it’s here for some reason. Guess I should head back home before it’s really dark.

I make my way back to Ponyville, and once I’m finally back at the library, I feel rather tired. It is kind of late. I head up to my little add-on of a room and get in bed. The lyre is still exactly where I left it. Under the mattress. I figured the most obvious hiding place would be too obvious to check first, so I figured that was safe.

I get under the covers. Luckily, fabric can be cut to any size, so the blankets are big enough, even if the bed is slightly cramped. I’m thinking of getting a custom mattress or something, but that can wait. Right now, I wanna sleep.

Breakfast is pretty plain, just some dragon-toasted bagels and some cream cheese. Twilight at least gets good snack foods, I have to say. Maybe I can get Rarity to finally spill the beans about who she has a crush on? That’d be pretty cool, I’d finally have closure on that. I give Spike a sideways glance. Could it be him...? Nah. I’m sure Rarity knows how much he likes her. If it was him, they’d probably already have something going on.

I decide to head over to Carousel Boutique after a few hours. I’m not sure exactly when it opens, so I figure I’d give Rarity some time to wake up and ‘put her face on’ as my sister said when she was getting ready to go out somewhere. I’ll never understand makeup.

Knocking at the door around noon, The door opens, and Sweetie Belle answers, looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Literally, as her tail is a fluffy, tangled mass of hair, and her eyes look like she’s gotten into the entire cookie jar. And maybe the ice-cream, too.

“Heya Sweetie. You certainly look... energetic today.”

“Hiya!-I-totally-didn’t-get-into-the-cookies-I-swear!” The manic, crumb-covered grin said otherwise. She hopped in place a little.

“Now now Sweetie, remember what I said about lying? You need to avoid specific denial, and I suppose I should mention to get rid of any evidence. Wiping the crumbs off your face, for example.”

“Right-sorry-I-just-feel-so-hyper-and-wow-the-world-so-bright-today!”

“Ah, sugar rushes, they rock. Until you crash that is. I guarantee you, you’ll be hungry and ready for a nap in about five hours. Anyway, I’m here to see Rarity.”

“Oh-she’s-not-here-today-last-night-she-went-to-get-star-spider-silk-’cuz-they-only-swarm-near-ponyville-once-a-year! And-she-didn’t-come-home-which-is-why-I-got-into the cookie... j- jaaar.” Sweetie yawned, and her eyelids drooped. “Wow, I’m really tired.”

Huh, my estimate was off. It took about ten seconds. That’s either a quick metabolism, or she’s been ‘rushing’ all day.

“Star Spiders, huh. Well I suppose you know where they are?”

“Uhm, they’re, uh...” she yawned again, blinking owlishly. “So tired... they’re in the Evevfee... frrrst...” Sweetie sort of tilted her head forward and began snoring softly.

Heh, sleeping standing up. It took me until I was sixteen before I could do that. Guess more legs can come in handy. I pick her up and take her back to her room yet again. I think about Rarity going into the forest. Heh, what if she found that statue of herself? I wonder if she’d keep it... nah, she’s not that egotistical. Or is she?

Once Sweetie is tucked into bed, I leave for the forest. I decide to check in on Fluttershy again. Her reaction to my story and the vision were... pretty bad. I just wanna make sure she’s okay. I walk up to the cottage door and I see a note. It says she’s gone to the spa with Rarity, because it’s Tuesday. Huh, I haven’t been to the spa yet, and they did give me a little bonus in the mail. Sure, why not. I thought Rarity would be in the forest though... Eh, spas are nice too I suppose.

After stopping a few ponies for directions, I’m in front of the local spa. I walk in and take a look around. The entrance room has the usual counter, and there are some benches. I assume it’s so ponies can wait without forming a line. Oddly, Fluttershy is in the waiting area, quietly knitting something.

“Heya ‘Shy.” I say, calmly. I don’t want to spook her or anything. My mom always just completely zoned out when she was knitting, and I wasn’t sure if it’s the same with Fluttershy.

The little yellow mare started for a moment, looking up from her knitting project to look at me. She broke out into a small, pleasant smile. I’m fairly sure that everyone seeing that smile would feel their day get brighter.

“Hello, Anthony. What brings you here today? Uhm, if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Aww come on, ‘Shy, you can ask me anything. As for why I’m here, I was going out to find Rarity. Sweetie Belle said she was in the Everfree, so I figured I’d stop by your cottage to say hi. Then I found your note. Also, I like spas.”

“Oh, that’s nice. But Rarity hasn’t shown up today, and she’s the one who usually pays for me. I just brought my knitting, because she sometimes comes in a little late. It’s no bother though, but I wish I knew why she was so late today. Our usual appointment time is almost over.” the pegasus seemed to realize how much she’d been talking and blushed. “O-oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dominate the conversation like that.” She offered a sheepish smile.

“Fluttershy, you could do just about anything and it wouldn’t upset me. Just don’t call me ugly.” I give her a grin. Then something hits me. “Well, if Rarity isn’t here, then she must be in the forest after all. I suppose that since it’s an event that only happens once a year it’d be important... but Rarity doesn’t seem like the type to drop an appointment without warning.”

“Wait, the Star Spider spawning? But that ended yesterday - we had to call her back from harvesting the silk for the meeting. She should be done by now. Uhm, I think.”

That gets my attention. Serious business time. “Fluttershy, I’m going to go to the forest and see if I can find Rarity. It shouldn’t be a problem for me, but tell Twilight that if I’m not back in... one hour, the rest of you should come looking for us. And be prepared for danger.”

The timid pegasus looks at me with fear and worry in her eyes as I stand to leave. “B- be safe, Anthony!” she calls, as I stride out the door, already picking up speed.

I rush back to the forest, and begin calling for Rarity. Surely she could hear me... Unless she couldn’t move or speak. By random chance, I come upon the very-detailed statue of Rarity...

A quote came, unbidden into my mind as I looked at the sparklingly white statue. ‘I have no mouth, yet must scream.’ It referred to someone being left for eternity without any outside connections... like a statue.

Ohhhhhhh crap. Next Chapter: Chapter 66 Estimated time remaining: 26 Hours, 11 Minutes