Celestia awoke, calm and rested. She looked around lazily, seeing the drab grey walls around her. She raised her head, feeling Lieia’s arm drop from her shoulders. She looked at the sleeping woman and smiled half-heartedly at the careworn face. The task of being a queen was taking a toll on Lieia, though she would always stubbornly deny it. That only affirmed Celestia’s doubts and suspicions that Lieia carried a dark secret in her thoughts. Her eyes wandered over Lieia’s chest, the blouse she now wore half-opened, and the clear, surgical cuts on her skin barely visible in the dusky room. The small incision above her left breast was half-obscured by the fabric and she pushed it aside, dragging her finger along the line. To her, Lieia’s scars were a testament of the woman’s resolve and persistence, each and every one of them a hard-earned mark of her resilience.

“Hello, Princess Celestia.” A quiet voice drew her attention and she turned around, seeing an Asahi sitting calmly on a nearby chair, regarding the mare in disguise.

“Who are you?” Celestia sat up, casting a worried glance at Lieia.

“I am Nell-Tiray. Worry not; I am not here to cause harm, to either of you. I simply wish to talk to you.”

“I guess we can talk.”

“I shall not tarry and get to the point. I know that you and Lieia are in love.” She raised a hand to halt any rebuke Celestia would make. “Alikera told me. Know that what Lieia claims is true. Ayra Alexi is a traitor. Alas, we cannot prove it.”

“But you are-“Celestia tried again.

“Almighty? Able to do anything? I am not. The Asahi are not. I am the Guardian of the Well of Knowledge, but I cannot control it, only take the occasional peek in its waters and ward off those with evil intent in their heart. It is controlled by forces far greater than me. But I am getting off-topic. The coming times will test the forces of good. Your own people will have their mettle tested. There will be a war the likes of which may rend this universe apart.” She stood up, still holding Celestia’s gaze, pointing at Lieia.

“Hers are not scars that can ever be fully healed, nor will their damage be easily made undone. Remember that, Princess Celestia. Your mutual love will be tested to its limits.” With that, Nell-Tiray vanished, leaving Celestia alone with her thoughts.

“Cel?” Lieia stirred sleepily, blindly grabbing at empty air.

“I’m right here, my dear.” Celestia whispered, letting Lieia pull her down, pulling her in a hug, one that she returned happily. A small blush crept on her face as her face came to a rest in Lieia’s cleavage, but she giggled softly nevertheless.

“Oh, Lieia. I love you so much.”

“Anything wrong? You sound a bit worried.” Lieia’s quiet, calm voice reverberated through her chest.

“It’s nothing, Lieia.” She snuck her fingers inside Lieia’s blouse, making the woman chuckle softly.

“Celestia, remember what happened to the last person who groped me?”

…broke his arm, knocked two of his teeth out and kicked him in the balls…

“Ah.” She hastily pulled her arm back.

“Well, you’re the only one who has permission to do so, actually. So, if you want to go and do things to me, go ahead. Things that are definitely of the sexual kind.” She smiled, pulling Celestia on top of her, her right hand settling on Celestia’s butt, just as she was about to kiss her. Their faces knocked together.

“Ow! Sonuva…!” Lieia muttered indignantly, rubbing her forehead, while Celestia fell on her back, wincing. Pretty soon, though, they both were laughing at their clumsiness.

“Ooohkayyy… Strike two.” This time, Celestia managed to kiss Lieia just below her nose.

“Third time’s the charm.” This time, they struck the proverbial gold. Lieia’s arms wrapped around Celestia’s waist, and they both rolled around in the bed, making out like there was no tomorrow.

The rather long-winded makeout session came to a halt after a while when Celestia announced she needed to have sex. Plainly, that sentence had rather rattled Lieia.

“You sure, Cel?” Lieia cast a somewhat nervous glance at Calypso. The creepy little fucker was sitting on the table.

“Oh, definitely. I want her to watch. Oh, it makes me feel so dirty.”

“Right, once we’re finished, I’m drugging you and educating you on abstinence. You’re getting out of control.”

“Do you not enjoy it when we make love, Lieia?” Celestia pouted, putting on her best puppy eyes.

“Sheesh, alright. I do. Sex with you is just amazing. Like, best thing ever.”

“Then there is no problem, Lieia.” Celestia chuckled playfully, pulling off her shirt, her shapely breasts bouncing slightly.

“I’m still sedating you lat-” Lieia was silenced as Celestia kissed her, slowly unbuttoning her blouse and slipping the bra straps off her shoulders, a somewhat unsettling smile on her face…

The door slid open, and someone walked inside and Lieia fired off a curse.

“Fuck! Who is-“ She rolled over, covering Celestia, glaring at whoever had gone against her ‘Do Not Disturb’ order.

“Denaros? What the hell are you doing here?” She offhandedly refitted her bra, buttoning up her blouse, as Celestia quietly hid under the blanket.

“I am sure you know why I have sought you out, Grisova. This petty rebellion of yours has gone on too long. You are tearing the Coalition apart. And who is that woman in your bed?”

“That would be Celestia. So watch your mouth, Lord-General.” Lieia nearly snarled.

“Back to my reason of this visit, I insist you stop this foolishness. You will bring ruin to us all. You have few allies and cannot stand against us.” Celestia interrupted then.

“You forget me, Wersian. As of this moment, I stand at Lieia’s side. The Rebels shall have Equestrian support immediately.” The Loyalists’ leader growled angrily, finally venting his anger.

“Y-you damn horse! After all I have done for your little world, you betray me like this? You owe me, Princess!” A hovercam showed up at that moment, just in time to record Denaros getting backhanded to floor by Lieia.

“Fuck you!” The Rebel Queen shouted angrily, looming over Denaros. The small video clip later became famous in Coalition space.

“You dare?”

“You’re damn right I do! I’m done playing nice! Next time any of you assholes show up anywhere near my territories, you’ll be free-floating atoms! I am the Rebel Queen! And I am a queen that bows to no one!” Celestia glowered at Denaros disapprovingly.

“I owe you nothing, Lord-General. It was not me who yapped at your heels to be part of your alliance. Your fleets no longer shall have passage through Equestrian space. My wealth and armed forces are at Lieia’s disposal.” Denaros shot them both a hateful glare, slowly standing up, before looking at Lieia again, a sort of grudging respect in his eyes.

“God, you’re stubborn.” He turned around, just as a security team arrived to manhandle him away.

“You got that right.” As soon as they left, hovercam in tow, Lieia closed the door and turned to Celestia, rubbing her face sullenly.

“This day just keeps getting better and better…”

“There. Araek Desert.” Lieia pointed at the sandy brown landmass encircled by a thin strip of lush green. Celestia snuggled closer to Lieia, their naked bodies pressing together, bathing in the afterglow.

“And there’s the Tikai rainforests.” Lieia pointed at a dark green mass emerging over the horizon, partially obscured by clouds.

“Winterhold’s up all the way in the north. Home of the mountain eagles. Biggest damn birds you’ll ever see. Skiing is good there, though. Snow-filled valleys and mountains as far as the eye can see.” Celestia sighed softly, content with listening to Lieia’s quiet monologue.

“I’d like to go there someday, Lieia.”

“Well, first we’ll see if I survive this war.”

“Oh, do not talk like that, my love. You have me worried as it is.” She paused for a moment. “I believe you, Lieia. About Ayra Alexi.” She heard Lieia’s sharp intake of breath.

“Why? You have no reason to believe me.”

“Let’s just say it’s a secret, but I know you are right about her. Besides, she is so ill-mannered she puts my nephew to shame. She would make a terrible leader.”

“Oh, right. Blueblood. What happened to him, anyways?” Celestia smiled, glad to discuss a different topic.

“He’s in jail.”

“Uh…” Lieia looked at her surprisedly.

“Turns out he was responsible for that Diamond Dog army.”

“Bullshit.” Lieia’s curt response made Celestia snicker.

“I am quite serious. He sunk a lot of gold in funding their forces.”

“Really? Son of a bitch. I am so going to wring his neck one day.” Her attention was drawn to a myriad of flashing lights on Linv’s surface.

“Ooh! There it is, Cel. The Ring.” That jogged Celestia’s memory some.

“The home of thieves, maniacs, whores and smugglers. From all around the galaxy, right?” Lieia grinned crookedly.

“Totally.”

“Think we have time to pay a visit there?” Celestia muttered quietly, a note of hopefulness in her voice.

“That place ain’t for the timid or faint-hearted. Or those serious of temperament. I wouldn’t be able to protect you at all times. Even though I am the Rebel Queen, I cannot get all the gangsters, smugglers and other assholes to stop causing trouble occasionally. If you want to go down, you’ll need some serious kit.”

“As you wish, my Queen.”

“You don’t have to call me like that, Cel.”

“As you wish, my Queen.” Celestia repeated, deadpan.

“Oh, I’m going to regret this, I just know it.”

“Sexual innuendos aside, how long do we have?”

“Two weeks.”

“Seriously? That’s great news. Oh, Lieia, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to have some time alone with you. Just you and me. Nopony else.” Celestia kissed Lieia, a content sigh escaping her.

“Celly? You don’t have to join the Rebels. I won’t think any less of you. I don’t want to ruin your chances at consolidating yourself in the galaxy.”

“The political backlash for trying to subdue a single planet would be serious, I’d say. Alikera would not react well, either.”

“Politics make everything so damn complicated. Luckily for us.” Lieia muttered, slowly sitting up, pawing at the floor in an attempt to find her underpants, succeeding moments later, and finished dressing a minute later.

“C’mon. Let’s make like a banana and do the splits. I shall take you to the place where debauchery, greed, corruption and sin are plentiful to be found. Oh, and violence. Dirty, bloody gang violence.”

“When you put it that way, it sounds even more… exciting. And dangerous.”

“That’s the point. Get your clothes on. Linv waits for us.” She said with aplomb in spades.

“If you’re so much as to even show your face on The Ring, you’ll need a gun and some body armour. We’ll need to sell you off as a badass. Some tattoos and a wild haircut. A scar or two.”

“What?” Celestia looked at Lieia surprisedly.

“Merely cosmetic.” She assured the surprised princess.

“What else? Ah, a gung-ho attitude. But you already have that largely covered. That leaves guns and appearance. C’mon. I know a good shop or two that can help us out.”

“Shops? Aboard a warship?”

“It’s a warship-slash-city in space, you know. People have to make a living somehow, Cel. Well, aside from those booze stills. And black market dealers. I hate those dicknuggets. Grey market’s fine, as long as no one gets killed. I always need to have SWAT teams on the clock, rooting out the seediest nests.”

“SWAT?”

“Special Weapons And Tactics. A hard-ass bunch, but they get shit done. We’ll have a squad of ‘em covering you while we’re planetside. They make a lot of noise, but can be helluva sneaky when they want to be.” They boarded a tram.

“When I’m done with you, you won’t recognize yourself, Cel.” Next Chapter: Chapter 29 Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour