Canterlot Revisited

I stepped into the palace of Canterlot, prepared for my audience with Princess Celestia. All was well in Ponyville, Rarity had delivered my newly tailored clothes, and Doctor Whooves was set to receive his suit, and ask for a date, that night. Spike had, true to Twilight's words, sprouted a set of two diminutive wings from between his shoulders. Dragon flight, along with a pegusai's was fuelled mainly by magic, and so by the day before I was set to leave for Canterlot he was able to hover about to feet in the air under his own strength, though he could make no horizontal movement.

With this meeting I hoped to begin the extension of the library in earnest, Twilight had already found several workers to build the extension, all I would need was to provide the lumber. Applejack had been quite supportive when I told her I would be working slightly less at the farm, glad that I was 'Findin' honest work elsewhere as well' and that she would all the same miss my help. Applebloom and the Cutie Mark Crusaders offered to help me on occasion, but Applejack put her hoof down, affirming they would only do so if there was another adult present, my work would have prevented me from managing the three active fillies and I was grateful for her intervention.

I walked through the streets of Canterlot in the daylight, alone, in a set of clothes I had yet to wear. Oddly, or perhaps only from outside perception, my stride was confident, I was fitting into life nicely. All the same I drew a great deal of stares, though again, no perceptible screams or declarations of the end of time. I reached the gate to the royal palace and held Princess Celestia's letter before the reticent guard, casting a glance at it, he gave a curt nod, stood aside and uttered the word "Enter." As I did so.

I had no real problem of finding the audience chamber once more, a servant had been willing to speak with me when I explained my purpose. As I stepped into the grand hall I noticed the distinctly empty throne, and no petitioners, I pulled out a watch that Rarity had seen fit to include with my clothes. I had been unable to return the watch, as she had slid it into a pocket and when I attempted to return it to her later, she claimed it was the least I could do for having helped inspire her so much, and recommend Doctor Whooves to her for a suit. The watch read that I was half an hour early, it had always been a problem with me, I had always been the first to arrive at formal occasions even on earth. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a faint knock from above and to my left. Looking to the source I noticed a staircase leading upwards. With nothing better to do I climbed up the stairs, the guard at the entrance had made no specific instructions, and so I assumed I was free to find my way around the castle of my own initiative, excepting specific instruction from a guard.

The staircase spiralled upwards and I figured it must have been going up a tower when I again heard a slightly louder knock. I rounded a corner and saw a massive door before me, flanked on one side by a single guard. The guard looked at me and asked. "What business do you have here?"

"I have an audience with Princess Celestia in a half hour, and I heard a noise up here, is anything wrong?" The guard tensed.

"The Princess is currently resting, she will see you at your due time of appointment. Until then, I suggest you return to the audience chamber and wait." the white pegasus declared, for it was very clear it was such.

Turning to go I had one more question. "Aren't there usually two guards at any one post, in case one has to run a message or for rotating shifts or something?" At this the pegasus guard twitched in irritation and opened his mouth, but before he could offer a response another loud know emanated from within the room, accompanied by a rapturous male voice.

"Oh Goddess, you truly are the sun, for my nethers burn for you alone!"

All that could be done for a few moments was a continued awkward silence between the guard and I. It was the guard who spoke first. "You didn't hear anything."

"Didn't hear what?" I asked, offering an obvious wink to confer that the question need not be answered, and my silence was guaranteed, what we just heard was between the guard, myself, the Princess and whatever lucky bastard, or poor sod, she was with. It was also between us and the walls, the desperately in need of soundproofing walls. I began my way down the stairs and called back one last statement. "Tell him I said congrats." I soon returned to the audience hall, checking my watch I saw I still had twenty minutes to wait. The time dragged on for me, but this was counteracted by the fact that, somewhere above, time was going rather quickly for two ponies. If Princess Celestia truly was a god, and immortal at that, it was comforting to know that she had at least something to which us mortals could relate.

****

Trixie had, over the last week, aided Zecora in a number of tasks, from gathering ingredients, to cooking and cleaning. She was glad to have found a use for her illusion magic in the back woods on one occasion, creating a cacophony of light and sound to ward off some timber-wolves that were less skilled at stealth. Today was the day the two had agreed to go into Ponyville, that Trixie might confront Twilight and offer an apology for her past actions. The two mares set off, striped leading blue through the forest. Trixie had grown used to the feeling of being constantly watched in the forest, she knew that so long as she was not alone, and on the trail no less, that this close to the edge of the forest, most creatures would not even make themselves visible. Much deeper in the forest however, far more insidious creatures dwelled, and Trixie shuddered at how she had almost become an unwitting victim of them.

****

Many miles further into the forest, said insidious creatures, the changelings, had made a new nest, deep within, a matriarch was meting out discipline to two drones.

"Warp, Stretch, what is the meaning of this? You were supposed to bring food from any fools who attempted to use the road through Everfree."

The two addressed drones cowered before their dread mother, if the ponies had a skewed gender ratio favouring females, then changelings were beyond mere opposites. Females were exceptionally rare, and all the male members born of one would become part of that queen's swarm, setting out to gather food, tending to the maggots, or performing duties of the hive.

Stretch looked down at the blackened floor, not coloured so from flame or nature, but by a black slime changeling drones produced when well fed. Retching it up and covering whatever it touched in a soon hardened layer of chitinous exo-structure. He hoofed at the ground with the perforated appendage as his matriarch glowered at him. Finally it was his clutch-mate, hatched at the same time as he, who spoke. "There were no travellers except one unicorn, but she managed to escape, but she led us to a zebra we could catch."

At this Stretch came to Warp's defence. "Yeah, we just needed to wait for the right moment before you beckoned for us." Changelings had, amongst their own, something akin to telepathy, though it only went so far as convey demands from queen to drone at large distances.

"And you think this excuses you from shirking your duty and failing to feed your own mother!?" The shadowed figure called from atop her perch and the two drones cowed in response. Males, being so frequent, would, in a usual hive, been near infinitely expendable but this hive had been scraped together from the remnants of a failed attack on the Equestrian capital. The changeling queen descended from her organic spire and loomed over the two wretched, pathetic servants before her. "You are to leave the hive, never to return until you start bringing me enough love that I can rebuild my army, and march upon Canterlot, and by my own will topple the very mountain it is built upon." Chrysalis stepped forward into the gentle glow of a nearby torch. "Do I make myself clear?"

The drones nodded and stood to leave, their punishment could quite readily have been a death sentence. But the queen could benefit from this arrangement. If the two succeeded, she would be closer to her once sought after victory, if they failed, then she would be rid of the two dolts, how such inconceivably daft oafs had been born of her glory, she knew not. All the same the drones were in a predicament, they needed to find a pony with great amounts of love, both to give and receive, as whoever it was would be replaced by a changeling, as the actual pony would be drained of all being. The alternative was to somehow conquer an entire village, an option that was ruled out by Stretch and Warp. Their lives, and those of their queen`s swarm was on the line. They needed to find somepony that was universally loved, and loved universally.

****

I rose as Princess Celestia entered the room, a regal grin planted upon her muzzle. I bowed, and greeted. "Greetings Princess Celestia, I thank you for seeing me today, and, might I say you look quite content with yourself."

Taking a seat on her throne the Princess tilted her head. "Content? How so?" She inquired.

"In that you look as though you have ... lit a fire within one of your subjects, driven them to great deeds. One could say that whoever last received your attention now has a burning within them to see the world, themselves, and your great nation improved, for reasons I might dare say would be of a personal nature." I was taking a huge risk, but politics be damned, I was never one to waste a double entendre, especially a politician.

Celestia raised her brow, and her smile widened, nodding her head. She seemed approving, likely she was relieved that there was someone in the world, even if they were not of it, who could share some plebeian humour in the halls of court. The guards along the hall, if they understood what I was implying, showed no sign of it as Celestia spoke. "As for improving the lot of those around us, I would agree that you are doing much the same in Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle has informed me of some of your deeds, and I am happy to see that you have fit so well into your new position." The white goddess continued. "As regards to your asking permission to gather lumber from the Everfree forest, you have my permission. However ..." At this the princess stopped briefly, causing me no small amount of worry when I heard the grand door behind me open. The next voice that spoke was not Celestia's, but of her azure sister.

"We would request of thee to take this token, that it may aid you in your task, and forge ahead even greater deeds. As the Princess of the Night stepped by, I notice a large axe, single headed, in tow behind her, attached was a loop of leather by which the axe might be fastened to the waist. Looking at it I noted it was rather plain, except for a line of emeralds, amethysts, and rubies lining where shaft met the blade. "Humans have a tendency to war, more than ponies, but it is slowly becoming clear that you are properly guided on the differences of great and terrible things. Thus we present to you this axe, that you may become an engine of improvement of this world." The axe floated towards me and I grasped it.

"I thank you for this, but ..." I paused, curious over something. "You said that there have been other humans here before myself, and I am curious, was the Everfree once larger?"

"It was." It was the only response, this time from Celestia.

"And when was it last brought low?"

At this Celestia smiled. "Oh, a little under two hundred years ago, the last fellow was quite romantic on the notion. He was quite glad to have a chance to do some good after having died of fever in your world."

At this the aura surrounding the axe dissipated, and I truly gained a feel for its heft, I was not overly strong, and proper use of it, even as a simple lumber axe, would be difficult at first. I turned to go after bowing to the two Princesses. When I heard Luna call out "Guard yourself well, even at its borders the Everfree is willing to expel great peril to those who face it." As I left Canterlot, my mind turned to a certain mentioned zebra who was also willing to brave the forest for the sake of the good.

****

Twilight was content in organizing the library, Spike had left for Rarity's again, the task had been much easier since the introduction of Edmund's simplified "Dewey Decimal" system. For it Spike had all the more time to go out and spend on his own terms, that it was spent seemingly with Rarity so often came as no surprise to the mare. However, many times when Twilight had gone to Rarity's to pick up the purple and lime dragon, she had been informed that he had gone off with the Cutie Mark Crusaders or Sweetie Belle. Twilight was glad that Spike was making friends of his own, rather than obsessing over the alabaster Element of Generosity. Spike had also developed an unconventional use for his wings, using them as additional appendages while he practised on the piano in the basement. His skill had improved substantially over the years, he was quite musical. Perhaps that had rubbed off on him from Sweetie Belle, she had quite a good voice, though she used it far too seldom.

There was a knock at the door that stirred Twilight from her thoughts as she went to the door. Opening it, she was surprised to see Zecora, garbed in her usual brown travelling cloak. Behind her, eyes cast low and hoof scratching the ground, was a blue unicorn mare with a silver-white mane. Twilight glanced at her and thought she saw .... no, common coat and mane colours were common among ponies, but in conjunction with the same Cutie Mark? That was almost unheard of. As Twilight tried to think of some explanation other than the most simplest, the powder blue mare raised her head and spoke.

"Twilight."

"Trixie."