//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Diplomacy for the Strong // by Wages of Sin //------------------------------// Contrary to her expectations, the flood of griffons she anticipated was not so. There were plenty of griffons seeking her audience, yes, but unlike the unruly mobs of nobles and commoners that fought (sometimes literally) their way into Celestia's day court chamber, the opening of the great doors had revealed an orderly sequence of griffons, sometimes accompanied by young and sometimes not. Even more surprising, if only because she had not known what to expect, was that the actual offerings were proceeding into mid-day without issue. She had not known to what level she would need to be involved in each offering, but she had quickly discovered that it was actually quite minimal. For each, the process was nearly identical: after the previous would leave, the next would enter the hall, make a deep bow, give a name for herself and her young (if applicable), a short introduction to the name of those desired released, and when that was complete: an offering. As said, all offerings to this point had been coinage, and to her subtle relief, not much escalation was occurring in the values, though she knew not if this was because the ranks had yet to increase past the common wing-soldier, unless the ranks were subtly transitioning before her without notice. Regardless, other than a few words here and there to recognize offerings or subtly reassure the more skittish, Twilight had found she needed to do very little. Levitating the small pouch of gold to the not-so elegant pile building in the corner, she took the second before the next supplicant arrived to survey her advisers. "How many do you think we've gotten through so far?" She asked idly. "Our pace has been surprising, I must say, but still, with how many there are to deal with I fear that we may still-" his words were cut off as a squawk echoed into the hall, followed by an impact and the sounds of a struggle. Looking to the door, the three beheld a ball of griffons flying through the passage. A few more followed in as the ball hit the ground, the core of which shook off the others clinging to her. The protests of those shaken off apparently attempting to calm or dissuade the central figure. "Think of what you-" "You dishonor-" Jerking her beak to the speaker who had clung to her wing "Dishonor?" She roared a derisive laugh "A pony would never understand honor!" And then, like that, the assembly went dead silent as the griffoness's words reverberated throughout the hall. Time stopped. Twilight processed the words, the meaning sinking in as the meaning began to sink in. If it were possible, time seemed to move even slower as Twilight's mind tried to process what to do. She could feel the pressure of the room, building up as if to an explosion. In the molasses that was time, Twilight could see the others processing the declaration just as she had, some beginning to turn up towards her in fear, others transitioning from looks of shock to those of anger, and a few, notably those who had taken physical action to stop the intruder, began to raise clawed talons and paws. Time folded again as processing took over for perception. What could she do? What would Celestia do if a pony burst into her court? The scenario broke down as she substituted aggressive griffons for fearful ponies. Ok, what would a Griffon do? There was no choice. All at once the pressure released as Twilight came out of her teleport. A crack resounded as the griffoness's beak slammed into the ground, propelled by the sudden hoof atop her head. The other griffons reeled, backing off whether in shock or deference, but keeping at the ready. "You dare to mock me!" Twilight shouted to the griffon whose head was pressed beneath her fore-hoof. Twilight confirmed the audience in the hall draw back, though as she would later note, rather than adding to their shock or fear her angered words seemed to calm the crowd. "You will leave this place and never return. My honor remains unscarred, but should I see so much as a feather from you in my presence again, you will not be so lucky!" A final press with her hoof brought a whimper from the griffoness, who refused to raise her eyes as she turned and ran. "Court is dismissed!" Twilight announced as she turned and began walking back up to her throne. "But-" "Dismissed!" She shouted, not bothering to look back to whoever had objected. Griffons fled by claw and wing from the room, orderly, but with appropriate haste. By the time she was back upon the throne the room was clear. She looked down to her advisers, who looked back. Outwardly both had stony neutral expressions, but Twilight could see the faintest smirk on the face of the former empress. Which made her own scowl melt, and slowly morph into as look of horror. "What did I just do!" "Empress-" "I panicked! All I could think about was what you said about how seriously everyone takes honor, and I saw everyone's claws out and I thought they were going to- and that book said a show of- I couldn't- and the I just-" Twilight pleaded as she began to hyperventilate. "You acted exactly as you should have." The former emperor declared, marching up to the panicking pony, and laying a fore-claw on her shoulder in a calming manner "She insulted you to your face, had you not acted the others would have to preserve order. She likely would not have made it off of the palace grounds had you not done as you did." "But all she did was- I mean- I attacked her!" "No, you subdued her, and had you not, she likely would not have been able to walk out under her own power, if at all. Do not discredit my eyesight for my age, I saw what you did there. The one who spoke of honor would have taken her claws through the belligerent's neck had you not intervened as you did. A chipped beak is a favorable trade for an un-severed throat." Seeing how little his words seemed to affect her, his mate sighed, also climbing the dias, "Empress, if I may presume to diagnose the issue here?" Looking to the griffoness, Twilight's grimace tightened, and she nodded. "You think too much. You over analyze your actions and regret them. Even when what you did was best, you try to find faults, even if none existed, and obsess over them. In the moment you have control, focus, and confidence in your actions, but given to reflection, you crumple in the face of impossible idealism. There was no way in which that griffoness would leave here without some recompense, there was no perfect solution, and there is nothing that can be done to change what has already occurred, even if there had been a better path to take." Though she did not visibly react, Twilight stayed silent for a time. Her conflicted expression changed a few times as she fought herself internally, though she eventually just dissolved into resigned weariness. "So what happens now?" She asked, "I canceled court and we only got to a fraction of those who were supposed to come." The former emperor shook his head, "It matters little, the rest will simply do as they would have, and simply seek you out whenever possible, or whenever another of these courts can be scheduled." "But you said that they have to leave tomorrow because the City's normal population will return! Will they be able to attend another court? How will they seek me out? How will they keep in order, how will they know when to come! I messed it all up!" Twilight whined, starting to sob. To Twilight's surprise, the former empress backed up, placing a claw on each of her front shoulders and looking her straight in the eyes. "Did you have any better ideas at the time?" She asked firmly. "I- Ah-" Twilight sputtered, "No! I didn't! I panicked! All I could think of was a book I read earlier and how everyone looked ready to pounce! I just had to intervene somehow! I had to do something!" "She challenged you and your response swiftly put her in her place, a fair tactic. But why did you decide to act as you did?" "Because that was all I could think of that would be fast enough! If I had just stunned her- well, I was worried about what the others would do." The griffoness smiled, "There you go, you made the best decision you could and acted. There is no use fretting about that. Retrospect serves to aid us in the future, regret serves no purpose. I know you cannot simply dismiss your worries, but rather than regret in yourself, focus on how what you now know will improve you in the future. The next time you begin to worry about something like what you did while saving that upset hen, instead you should focus yourself, on what you will do next time, accepting you cannot change the past." Twilight nodded at the sage advice, processing it and taking it to heart, before her head froze mid-nod and eyes widened. Jerking to the griffoness, she looked aghast, "'What I'll do next time!' What do you mean next time?" The griffoness's own confused expression did not comfort the exasperated alicorn. "Well, I mean next time some griffon needs to know their place of course. Surely some will approach you similarly until your validity as Empress is universally and undeniably accepted. Today has gone a good ways to that, word will spread of much today." Still stuck on the previous point, Twilight still sputtered, "But I- I can't! I won't! I refuse to lay a hoof on anyone other than to protect!" she began confidently, though it did not last long "But you're right, I will have to do something in the future..." she straightened up, "I will respond, but not with violence. I'll do it peacefully." "Not to doubt you, your majesty, but how do you seek to respond to threats and challenges without violence?" The griffoness asked, more curious than challenging. "I'll figure out a way... somehow..." she suddenly looked up at the main throne room doors with a spark in her eye, "somehow... hmmm..." The griffoness could see the intensity in the alicorn's eyes as she thought, lost to the world, "Well, with your leave then, I'll go prepare a meal." A fair bit of time later Twilight awoke from her planning by the sound of her stomach rumbling. "Hmmm... Guess I really do need Spike to tell me to eat." Though Rainbow's chides were confirmed, she would never admit it. Rather, she decided that as soon as Spike was back with her she would suitably thank the drake for his vigilance in normally not allowing her to eat less than a single ration pack for fear of nerves and then proceed to engage in diplomacy, binge study all night, and hold court the next day culminating in a hoof-fight, all without eating. She rose from the throne, pacing her way to the side door, to begin the not-so-ideal task of finding the kitchens in this labyrinth of architecture. When she reached the side door though, the faintest smell of something caught her nose from the right. Close to ten minutes of wandering later and as it turned out, that something was a fine soup of some indeterminate kind. She wasn't sure what was in it, but its strong smell had managed to guide her almost without error to the kitchens. Or rather kitchen, as the humble arrangement was more adequately called. Along the way she had wondered if the kitchens would be as massive an arrangement as back in Canterlot, and to her surprise it was, but more so because of her parent's kitchen at the Sparkle household rather than Canterlot Castle's grand arrangement. "I expected, I don't know, more?" Twilight half-joked as she walked through the door, drawing the attention of the griffoness away from the pot she was stirring. "Oh, your majesty, I was just about to go get you. The soup is simmering nicely." She nodded to the pot before her, "I'm interested to see if you'll like it." "I cannot say I can place the smell, though at this point, I could eat anything. What is it?" "Oh, I'll keep that a secret until you try it. It will let you keep an open mind." Twilight looked skeptically between the griffoness and the pot, "That makes me-" she froze, ears turning, "did you hear that?" She asked, suddenly alarmed. The griffoness looked similarly surprised, but exclusively at Twilight's sudden question. "What did you hear?" "I thought I heard... knocking?" Twilight looked around but shook her head, "I guess it was nothing, never mind." The griffoness was just as happy to dismiss the sudden interruption, grabbing bowls from the cabinet behind her and ladling up some soup, revealing the milky-off-white broth with chunks of some kind within. She placed the bowls on a cart and nodded to the door, "If you would precede me your majesty." Twilight went to the gestured door, opening it with magic and entering an large, ornate room with finely crafted wood-paneling around, gleaming marble floors, and a few paintings of various elder-looking griffons, all surrounding a massive wooden table. Looks appeared deceiving though, Twilight noted, for while it was enormously built, it looked like it was only meant for a maximum of ten, if the six chairs currently around it and the four in the corners were any indication. Meanwhile, the griffoness made her way passed the still magically held door into the room. "Have a seat your majesty," the griffoness requested, pulling out a chair and gesturing to it. She did so, finding the chair and table built to griffon proportions to be a little large for her still growing alicorn form. A bowl was placed in front of her and spoon laid beside it. "Dig in your majesty." The smell was growing on her and she was severely tempted to do so, but she resisted, looking to the griffoness, and to the second bowl on the cart, "Are you not going to join me?" "Oh no your majesty, I ate earlier and have been sampling the soup along the way. Besides," she added, gesturing to the bowl, "I think you'll be wanting this soon enough." Twilight thought about contesting, but the enticing smell before her and the hunger she was intensely aware she was feeling conspired against that thought. Giving in, she looked down at the soup, magically grasping the spoon. "Here it goes..." She said rising up the deeply-dished spoon of broth and chunks to her mouth. There was barely any hesitation as she partook, returning the spoon to the bowl as she considered the flavor. It was... good? She couldn't place the flavor, or even the consistency, but it was good, she decided. "It's good," she said, looking over to the griffoness to further her comment, but stopped upon seeing the oddly ecstatic smile on her beak. "You enjoy it?" she asked in a tone that sounded a little too excited for a simple complement on the quality of her cooking. "Um, yes?" Twilight responded "Could you please tell me about it? Like what's in it?" "Of course! It's a common dish here in the Empire, though for you I had to substitute carrots where potatoes are typically used. It's most common near the eastern coast, though we've been having trouble with the main ingredient lately due to the recent increase in Minotaur-" she could not finish her thought though, as a massive, and familiar, Crash! resounded through the complex. "That was the-!" Twilight began to shout before she noticed the tip of griffon tail darting out the door was her only audience, "main doors again." She finished flatly. She was up immediately, quickly leaving the griffoness in her dust through teleports. Arriving at the chamber side door, she encountered the former emperor, also apparently intent to find out the source of the commotion. He kicked the door open and they ran through together. Her first glance was towards the once-destroyed doors, though re-destroyed was more apt now. Her eyes raced across the shattered remains, this time the doors not so much obliterated as simply tossed aside. Of course, then her eyes reached the centerpiece of the room. Large and grey, she would have thought it a boulder that had rolled through the doors had it not been visibly moving, a head turning down towards them. It was huge, maybe not the largest she had seen, but a truly massive beast nonetheless. It towered above them with not so much "seeping wisps" as "billowing clouds" of smoke pouring from the edges of its mouth. Before them was a truly impressive sight, as in the chamber was a full-grown and visibly upset dragon. Twilight dropped into a bracing stance, preparing a shield to cast over herself and the former Emperor. He, on the other hand, took a different approach. "How dare you violate the imperial palace!" He shouted, marching right past her towards the draconic intruder. A small part of her felt validated at his use of her earlier approach, but the larger part wanted to grab the apparently suicidal griffon and run. The dragon, turned threateningly, but rather than attack, to Twilight's surprise, he spoke. "I meant no disrespect, Emperor." He said dismissively, "Though I must say, it is quite nice to have confirmation that the rumors of your death, at the very least, have been exaggerated. Now if only you could put the rumors of aggression and war to rest and I will leave you to your peace. I would hate to have to report to the elders that the Griffons have once again..." The dragon's booming words died as he broke his staring contest with the Emperor for a moment to glance at Twilight. "Oh?" He then looked back to the Emperor, this time noticing his shackled claw and considering it for a second. "Ah!" He laughed, "Ha ha! Alicorns put you in your place already did they?" He did not respond, merely keeping the gaze of the much-larger being. "Still as feisty as ever though I see." He then turned his focus entirely to the alicorn, "Goodness, where are my manners? My name is Centraga. I nest in the northern Egglayer Mountains, and am among the senior dragons who reside within the empire." He looked around, "It seems everything is under control here, so I'll just chalk this up to another regime change. No need to convene the elders over this, right?" He asked Twilight knowingly, "Well, I may as well introduce myself to the new Emperor. Have you selected the new Emperor yet?" The former Emperor re-injected himself into the exchange, walking between the two, though not doing much with the height that the dragon had on him. "You address her now." He said. Slightly annoyed, the dragon glanced at him, "I see no-" he jerked, freezing as his eyes re-locked on Twilight, and then to the crown still atop her head. "Is this true? You, a pony, have taken the throne of the griffons for yourself?" "Yg-" her throat clenched at her first words since the dragon's arrival. She wanted to explain the situation in detail, how she was forced, or that it was a misunderstanding, but under the dragon's sudden intense scrutiny all she could answer was a shaky "Yes". The dragon stared at her, stone-faced. Seconds passed as Twilight considered trying to explain herself, or better yet, running away, but she did neither. Eventually the dragon turned towards the open gateway, "The council must hear of this." He said as he stepped away, unfurling his huge wings and taking off as soon as he was past the doors. Back inside, Twilight took one last wide-eyed look at the former emperor before promptly losing consciousness.