Less than an hour later, Chrysalis and Chitin were sitting in front of the entrance to the hive, watching Aglowing Shell walking alone towards the unicorn, who was turning its back against them, facing east. Chitin was worried about leaving the little queen alone with Bitter Truth after the Pepper episode, but it was the queen's will.
She kept going over and over it in her head, that moment in her daughter's room, that expression of jealousy as she turned her face away, unable to answer the question that had just been asked to her. Her daughter never had such a fearful reaction towards her. The monster thought that jealousy was irrelevant, she had made a big mistake. Now that the question was asked, she, who excelled in the art of manipulation, had a better understanding of her daughter's attitude in recent days. Moreso, she knew why Aglowing was distancing herself even more now, locked in a bubble of silence and unable to look her in the eye. What could she say to her child to dispel her fears? Nothing. And the mother hated it.
Aglowing Shell was approaching at a slower pace than her small legs would allow. Even though she was going to be able to meet and talk with this pony, her mother's question was still in her head. Was she afraid her mother would steal her friend? Yes. Yes, she was afraid, and it infused painful anger into her heart. Changelings are predators; they take, they never ask. And it was her mother, the queen of the hive. What could she say to prevent her friend from being stolen away? Nothing. And the child hated it.
Sitting next to a rock, Bitter Truth sighed with relief as the ice bag on his right eye worked. Certainly, because of the badlands' weather in the middle of the morning, it was already hot to the point that the ice cubes were only fresh water. But it was enough to ease the pain. Next to him was his travelling saddle, to which something wrapped in large white cloth was attached. He observed the child who was sitting on his left with his still functional eye. "Why such sadness, Your Highness? Is your mother's question what makes you so upset?"
Aglowing remained silent. She was usually so curious about new things but right now had no heart for anything.
"I was right to come with somepony with the same concerns as you. The three of us can talk about this problem that hurts your heart."
The young hybrid's attention was drawn to them, but she saw no one else. "I only see the two of us here." When she turned her attention back to the stallion, she found herself face to face with her reflection, a mirror in a simple wooden frame, came out of one of the saddlebags in the travelling saddle, almost as big as her. At first she made a gesture of retreat, and realised that the child she was seeing was imitating these gestures, she approached, squinting her eyes, and put a hoof on the mirror. "Is that me? Is that how I look like?" she asked, looking towards Bitter.
"Indeed, Your Highness. Before I start with my duties, I shall introduce myself first" He got up, dropped the ice bag on the rock, made a bow, the horn touching the ground. "My name is Bitter Truth. And I bring you gifts, mine to start with. And before you ask, a gift is something you give for a reason that differs from case to case, but always more to please the one who receives the gift.” Following this explanation, he deposited a large notebook and a box of grease pencils. "Consider this like the mirror of your heart. Use the fat pencils on these white sheets to colour whatever you like. For example, your friend would be a good choice for the first page."
The child used her magic, which manifested itself in a green/yellow aura, to open the box to pick out the purple, blue and black pencils. But she was stopped by the magic of the oracle.
"Please, You Highness, not right away. I also bring a gift, one offered to you by somepony who cannot deliver it in the flesh." At these words, he loosened the strings that held the object still wrapped in the saddle and placed it in front of Aglowing Shell, placing the book alongside the hybrid. "It was the princess of the sun who wanted to offer you this."
This term revived memories of the night she learned the truth. "The princess of the sun? But she's Mother's enemy!"
"The princess of the sun, like all the princesses of Equestria, believed more than anything in harmony and friendship. She was a single-minded altruistic pacifist who never considered herself anyone's enemy. She has always sought to discuss before using force. The real concern is that the respective desires between the princess and your mother were not the same, and she only defended her kingdom."
Aglowing observed the gift without touching it, thinking about the words, and she realised a contradiction. She looked up at the unicorn, her eyebrows frowned. "You're lying! Nightmare Moon says she's the Princess of the Night, but what she did to the mother's hive was far from being friendship!"
He sighed. "Her Highness Nightmare Moon." He remained silent for a few seconds. "It's not good to talk about somepony who's not here, but in this case, it could be beneficial. A long time ago, the princess of the sun and the princess of the night were friends. Together, they ruled equally on Equestria. However, as the subjects of their kingdoms only played during the day, and slept at night, Her Highness Nightmare Moon became more and more jealous. She was afraid of having her nobility title stolen by the princess of the sun. She did not understand it at that time. Then fear became anger, blackening the heart of the night princess, to the point of making it darker than her coat. When her heart was corrupted by this anger, she became a queen. Then she shoved aside all the precepts in which she had believed until then. It grew to such an extent that she no longer even believed in friendship, convinced that power was the only solution to her problems. After a fight with the Sun Princess, she was banished from Equestria. Two years before your birth, at the end of her banishment, she returned. The princess of the sun gave back her title of princess of the night, making her cumulate both titles, being Princess of the Night in Equestria’s eyes, and Queen of the Moon in Broncoliande’s eyes."
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This account of her friend's past upset Aglowing, and throughout this story, she was able to put words to the unpleasant feeling that surrounded her heart. But part of that story frightened her more than anything. "She no longer believed in friendship. But she believes it now? Friendship, between her and me, it's for real, isn't it?"
"Yes. And that's why the Princess of the Sun wishes to offer you this gift." He watched the child use magic to cut the string that kept the linen around the object, he continued. "She apologizes to you for what you have experienced, she considers herself the main responsible for your suffering. This gift will allow you to defend everything that is dear to your heart."
After untying the strings that held the fabric in place, the child observed her gift. It was a claymore in a night blue, stained leather sheath, decorated with silver threads sewn in the shape of stars. The weapon was huge compared to the small changeling, just the handle alone was as big as she was, and literally as figuratively, Aglowing didn't know how to take this gift. "I can't use this."
The oracle smiled, "Don't worry about that now. Included with this gift is a request, by the Princess of the Sun, a promise from you."
"What is a promise?"
"A promise is based on honesty. For example, I made a promise to the Princess of the Sun that this gift will be given to you, and I did. Now the Princess of the Sun asks you to promise to use this blade only to defend yourself, or others. Never to hurt someone who hasn't done anything to you. Facing the sun, can you make such a promise?"
She remembered her mother's explanations. Honesty, to never lie. She could not see why she would want to harm anyone for nothing, and defend those she loved, she had not been able to do so in the past. But as a queen in the making, she could not remain inactive. A queen must watch over her hive, and one day it will become her duty. And she had to be at her strongest to protect those who swore to serve her. Resolutely she turned her gaze north, facing the sun. "I promise to do so."
He smiled again. "This blade is yours. The Sun Princess wishes that your friendship with your friend will shine brighter than the friendship she failed to preserve in the past. Do not allow anypony else to use it to fight. Now, are you still afraid your mother will steal your friend from you?"
She lowered her head. "Maybe a little." she admitted with a pout. Suddenly she froze, turning to the unicorn. "How do you know I'm jealous because of my mother?"
He shook his head briefly. "It's not a detail that deserves your curiosity." He pushed the claymore with his hoof, to make it slide towards the child. "Tonight, exceptionally, use this blade, fight your friend, in the name of your friendship. Don't be afraid, you can't hurt your friend with this sword, let alone with your lack of experience in handling it, but the more dangerous you look, the better. However, keep this in mind. If you fight your friend, keep the moon to your left. Always. To avoid hurting somepony else, it is very important that the moon always stays to your left." He moved the rock under which he had previously dug a cavity large enough to hide the claymore. "Let's hide your weapon here. It's an ideal hiding place for when the time comes, you'll see." After placing the weapon and putting the rock on it, he laid his valid eye on the child, who remained both silent and uncertain at this proposed idea. "Any problem, princess?" he asked in a teasing tone.
She was looking at the hive’s entrance, at her mother, but the question drove her thoughts away. "I'm not a princess, I'm a queen!" Aglowing corrected.
"Do you even know the difference between a princess and a queen, Your Highness?"
"No." admitted the child.
"Queens use their strength to direct their subjects according to their own will and do as they please, princesses use their kindness to make their subjects live happily and harmoniously. If you still have doubts, ask yourself this question. What Queen Nightmare Moon did to your mother's hive and what you experienced then, would you do that to others?"
Aglowing looked down, thinking about the question. She thought back to those dark days, her forced confinement, the heavy loneliness, her mother's cries, the misunderstanding, her growing fear. Could she do this to anypony? Her heart tightened by the emotions that overwhelmed her, she looked up at the mirror, she saw herself, trembling lips, tears rolling on her cheeks, the crackling energy around her horn. No, she could never dare do that to anyone. "So I am a princess?" she asked uncertainly, her eyes lowered.
Bitter Truth telekinetically took out an embroidered handkerchief from the bag. "Dry your tears with this. You are a queen by birth, but you are a princess at heart. You think you're weak, but your friendship, your feelings, make you powerful." He sighed, smiling. "The Princess of the Sun gave me an answer to that question. She discovered the solution to this riddle a very long time ago, shortly after she and your friend became princesses. During her travels with a particular form of magic, she met another kind of queen. A Cæsar. Few people know this title of nobility today. You, your friend, and me." He deliberately avoided talking about Luna." To the rest of the world, it is meaningless."
"If it is meaningless, I would no longer be respected as a queen!" she said fearfully.
"It is up to you to forge the meaning of the title of Cæsar Nobility. Chitin, your mother, your friend, will always respect you as much as ever, believe me. Your choices, your actions, your words, the sum of all this will give meaning to others as Cæsar. If you act accordingly at every occasion, everycreature shall consider you as a queen with a princess heart."
Dizzy about the extent of such work, lost as how to do it, Aglowing instinctively turned to her mother, but remembered her behaviour towards her, which was aggravated when the question was asked.
"What's the matter?" Bitter asked, putting the notebook and pencils next to the child.
"My jealousy. Did she hurt Mother's heart? If so, how could I tend the wound?"
"Often, when the problem is not too serious, such as a cold between a mother and a child, the best way to solve it is a hug. It's a good way for monsters to show that they're sorry, without saying it openly."
She couldn't believe it was that simple. "Just one hug would be enough?"
"Take the book and the pencils, run and hug her. Make sure to not forget where this rock i-"
Suddenly she couldn't hold it in place. She used telekinesis to grab the unicorn's gift and ran as fast as she could to reconcile with her mother who was waiting there. When she had covered three quarters of the distance between them, she left her notebook and pencil box behind her, and jumped to hold onto Chrysalis' neck. She didn't want to hurt her, but being sorry was a sign of weakness, and she did not want to disappoint her mother by showing herself weak in this way, so she remained silent, and offered her a hug with all her strength.
Bitter Truth didn't pay attention to the scene, the mirror in the bag, the saddle on his back, the ice bag on his eye, he was already a figure galloping north.