Candles watched the Crystal Empire from beside the Crystal Heart. Here she was, waiting for her long-time friend. She closed her eyes, and tried to tune into the inaudible hum of the ponies. She rubbed her ears, jealous of ponies that could hear the sounds around them. Here she was... waiting for her fellow Changeling.
Cerali slipped over to her. "hey" she said through hive communication (if that's what it was called. I forget )
(Hive mind, silly ) She beamed, "Cerali! I missed you~ I guess that horrid mess-up from a little while ago is fixed? Is your Hive rebuilt?"
(I can't think right now ) Cerali nodded, smiling back. "yeah. Karaman's overseeing things right now"
She nodded, "I grew up here. I work here," She stared wistfully into space, thinking of past memories with her now-dead father.
Cerali stood silently beside her for a minute. "....Karaman is going to come as soon as the preparations are all done"
"So...you want a tour of the castle? You might want to better disguise your Changeling-ness, though,"
"So...let's fix up that costume of yours. The crystal gleam needs to shine brighter-Crystal Ponies are very proud of their shiny coat, so you need to be too!"
She led them through the doors of the castle, yabbering about Crystal Pony history. But of course-they all knew the real purpose of this trip. Crystal Ponies carried immense amounts of love. Love for the Princess. Love for each other. Love for the Empire. The purpose: Stock up on love for Cerali to bring back to her rebuilt Hive.
