Celestia uncoiled, trying to stretch her legs out as far as they went and she yawned. Unwillingly, she sat up, blinking in the sunlight.

“Well hello, there, beautiful.” She heard Lieia’s voice from the driver’s seat. She was eating something from a plastic box, but smiled warmly at Celestia nonetheless.

“You looked so adorable while sleeping, Celly.”

“Really?”

“Yep. C’mon. We reached Keypoint a couple of hours ago. I pulled over to catch some shut-eye at that point. Got us a bit of grub, too. Want some?”

“I suppose so. Can’t hurt.”  She sat down in a more comfortable position as Lieia scooped up something with her fork and extended it towards Celestia. A big, goofy grin split her face as she leaned forwards a bit.

“Here comes the train, Celly!”

“You’re treating me like a foal, Lieia.” She grumbled, but opened her mouth anyways.

“Mmph. What is thish?”

“Rice and chips. With curry.” Celestia swallowed thoughtfully.

“I haven’t ever tasted anything like this. Is there more?”

“’f course, Cel.” She rummaged through a bag on the floor, lifting out another plastic container and passing it to Celestia.

“There ya go.” Muttering a quiet thanks, Celestia opened the tray and her nostrils quivered as a cloud of steam billowed forth, bringing with it a wave of spicy flavours.

“Hmm. That does smell rather delicious.”

“Be careful, though. It’s still somewhat hot.” The alicorn tossed the fork aside, opting to eat the somewhat-belated breakfast without it.

“There’s some stuck to your nose, Cel.” Lieia chuckled.

“Really?” Celestia dropped the tray, squinting.

“Yep.” She leaned forward, dragging her fingers across Celestia’s muzzle and showing the small clump of rice to her. Without much thinking, the white mare started licking Lieia’s fingers, her tongue curling aroung the slender appendages, her eyes never leaving Lieia’s surprised gaze. As soon as she’d finished, she pulled back, looking away shyly, embarrassed by her oddly erotic actions.

“Well, that was… strange, but a good sort of strange.”

“I have no idea what came over me.” Celestia muttered, blushing furiously.

“Nah, it’s okay.” Lieia cracked a small grin, leaning forward and planting a kiss on the alicorn’s forehead, nudging the horn with her nose for a moment. Sure, it was a small gesture, but to Celestia it told volumes that she was loved. Cared for. Appreciated.

“Now, if you’re quite done being the irresistible seductress, Cel, we should get a move on.”

“Right.” They sat quietly for a few moments before Celestia spoke up.

“Lieia?”

“Hmm?”

“Want to have sex?”

“I don’t see why not.”

And things happened.

Celestia was simply stunned. The surrounding landscape was a lush, vibrant field of undulating hills and barely noticeable depressions, while a snow-capped mountain range stood proudly in the distance. The Serriat Plains covered most of Enar state, as Lieia had explained her some time ago. Though The Ring was alight with industry, the rest of her homeworld’s surface remained relatively rural, save for the capital cities. The Thundercharge rolled slowly down the narrow dirt road. Celestia had noticed Lieia became rather somber and quiet as they progressed.

Celestia fought her unruly mane for a moment as it billowed in the wind. The sun was slowly sinking towards the horizon as Lieia stared at the burnt-out husk of a house.

“We’re just about slap-dash in the middle of Plains, Cel. Dad built this with his own funds. Whenever it was sunset, I used to climb on the roof and sit there until the sun disappeared.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah… I’d think about things and suchlike.” She muttered quietly, starting to walk slowly. Celestia fell into step at her side as Lieia approached a tree that bore a wealth of shiny red apples. She plucked two, offering one to Celestia.

“If I feel down sometimes, I come back here. Reminisce a bit in the memories of the good old days. Climb a tree. That sort of stuff.” She did so immediately, looping her legs around a branch, hanging upwards. “Anything to clear my mind. But all I ever saw was ashes and broken dreams. I couldn’t talk to anyone, either. They’d freak, thinking I’d gone crazy or soft in the head. Stuff like that.” Celestia stepped forward, softly rubbing her muzzle against Lieia’s cheek.

“You know you can talk to me about anything, Lieia. Anytime.”

“I know. I’m just one helluva stubborn jackass, right?” She grinned, swinging to and fro gently. With a grunt, she swung herself upright, landing effortlessly on her feet in front of Celestia. Her brief smile was replaced with a rather wistful expression.

“Everyone expects so much of me, Cel. It’s almost impossible to keep ‘em all happy. The Loyalists are just waiting for me to fuck up. They’d pounce immediately and wreck everything I’d worked for. Me, I’d be put up against the wall and executed.”

“But-“

“Celestia, what I committed when I went AWOL was a capital case of high treason. There’s no second chance for me. Once the war’s over or I mess up somewhere…” She dragged her thumb across her throat. “That’s that for me.”

“I will not let them. Denaros will not lay a finger on you.” Celestia interrupted heatedly, holding Lieia’s gaze firmly. “I will not let any harm befall you, Lieia.” The woman in front of her stared at her blankly for a moment before smiling gratefully.

“Thanks. Hearing you say it means a lot to me.” She leaned forward, giving Celestia a peck on the nose.

“I am with you, Lieia. For better or worse.”

Celestia opened her wings with a rustling whoomph and took off at a slow trot, eventually galloping at full speed. With a powerful flap of her wings, she took to skies, quickly gaining speed and altitude. Her joyful voice echoed slightly.

“It has been quite a long time since I’ve last flown!” Lieia’s eyes followed the agile alicorn hurtling through the slowly darkening skies. Celestia was pulling off all sorts of loops; corkscrewing, weaving and generally being awesome too look at.

“Cel, that was effing awesome!” Lieia cried out in awe, as the sonic rainboom dissippated above them and Celestia was coming in for a landing, her wings flaring as she slowed down, her hooves thudding across the ground as she came to a halt in front of Lieia, panting from the extertion, but smiling radiantly nevertheless, her mane tousled.

“Well, I could use the exercise, my dear. It does me no good to not use my wings now and then.” She nuzzled Lieia’s cheek fondly, sighing happily.

“Either way, thanks for the air show. Was real nice.”

“So, where will be going now?”

“To Maerne Lakes.”

“Do tell.”

“Well, there’s a yearly occurrence that can only be best viewed from there. I’m fairly sure you’ll enjoy it.”

“Oh, you tease. Why cannot you tell me what it is?”

“Because then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it, Cel?”

“I guess.” She sighed, climbing back inside the Thundercharge, Lieia joining her a moment later. The engine came to life and they continued down the road, Lieia feeling much better, having confessed to Celestia about her own fears. She would not admit this to anyone else, but Celestia always knew how to make her feel better – it was like a mountain removed from her shoulders.

“Eelah barianda, weaz’ti!”

“T’rema, minetwu’sal! Biwal’te valarin!”

“Niriaka! Soem’ra ta melera prittan’ma!” Lieia retorted, but the wizened man in front of her stood his ground, shouting back at her defiantly. A wad of paper currency was clutched in Lieia’s fist. She tried again, intending to give the ferryman half of what she had in her hand, but he shook his head furiously.

“Nera! Firenda’kir! Hul’me tarriende, sur’ta Kore Swar!” Celestia watched, speechless, as the two of them kept assaulting each other with their rapid-fire language. She could barely separate out words, let alone understand their accents – Lieia’s was more sharp and pronounced, though, her ‘e’s and ‘a’s leaping off her tongue without preamble. Eventually, though, she managed to reach a compromise with the old boatman, passing him about third fifths of what she had in her hands. They shook hands and Lieia turned to face an intrigued Celestia.

“What was that all about?”

“Haggling. I tried to keep the cost as low as possible; he had to get it as high as possible.”

“Why not just give him enough money?”

“Haggling’s in our blood, Cel. If I were to give in to what he asked so soon, it’d be an insult to his honour. And mine, too.” She climbed inside the car, starting it and slowly rolling it on the ferry. With a wheezing cough, the ancient, rickety vessel came alive, casting off and turning to slowly chug across the expansive lake, a thin string of smoke trailing from its exhaust. Soon, they were surrounded by clear blue water, a plume of foam left in their wake.

The timbers creaked under the car’s weight as they disembarked in the Thundercharge. The ferry’s owner waved cheerfully at them as they left.

Several hours later

"So, it's a yearly occurrence?" Celestia turned to the quiet woman sitting across from her.

"Yep. More or less happens on the same night, every year. You've seen meteor showers, right, Cel?" Lieia responded, pulling herself upright, turning the small yacht's engine off. The clatter of anchor being dropped momentarily drowned out everything else and Celestia waited until the clamour had subsided.

"I have indeed. But what you're telling of is quite something else. A crystal shower?" The Rebel Queen grinned crookedly.

"No one knows where they come from. Hundreds of teams have spent years probing deep space, not even using phase drives, relying on sub-light engines. And they have found squat. Billions of credits down the drain. If I had to guess, I'd say they come from Lower South-Eastern Wastes. Surveyors can never get a decent reading on ores there."

"What are the crystals used for?"

"Well, most of the chunks burn up during planetfall. But good-sized lumps remain behind. They've a very tough mineral composition, which is why we use 'em for laser focusing arrays on our warships, like Cobalts, Arcovas or Cielos. They last longer than synthetic ones, too. Logic, eh? When our technology wasn't as sophisticated as it is now, Linv was a hub for crystal merchants. Now, everyone and their dog can grow synthetic crystals. Organic ones don't provide as much punch as synthetic ones, but the molecular structure allows for the laser bolt to travel further before it starts to lose cohesion." A flicker of purple lights shimmered across the calm water.

"Oh. It’s starting now." Celestia grabbed her binoculars, focusing on the small specks in the night sky. Her breath caught as she saw the fiery shard of crystal soar through the atmosphere. Without warning, it split, sowing a glimmering sea of smaller shards in its wake.

"It's so beautiful..." She murmured, awestruck. More crystals followed, leaving criss-crosses of shimmering trails behind them. Some even collided as they fell, leaving plumes of quivering glow. She watched as a massive brute of a crystal got struck by a smaller one, punching right through. The strange trails the red-hot crystals left in air as they plummeted in every direction forever remained a vivid memory in her mind.

Two hours later, they were moving again, the last of crystals having made planetfall. The small vessel steadily cut through the water.

“That was simply a breath-taking spectacle to behold, Lieia. Thank you very much.” Lieia grinned at that.

“Nah, ‘s nothin’. It’s one helluva tourist attraction, though.” Celestia leaned closer to her, planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Well, that’s it for the day, Celly. We’ll continue tomorrow.”

“That seems reasonable.” The alicorn yawned, unable to ward off her sleepiness anymore and sat down more comfortably, settling her head on Lieia’s shoulder, slowly drifting off to sleep. Next Chapter: Chapter 33 Estimated time remaining: 24 Minutes