An Inky Jay Story

Twilight is selected as Ponyville's ambassador after a massive flying capital ship descends over the settlement. She finds herself attempting come to an agreement with the ship's creator, a mysterious allicorn named Aurora Streak, while simultaneously trying to uncover the secrets of the mare's past along with the motives for her scientific endeavors.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Mane 6 resort to their own methods to decode the intentions of Aurora.

All will come to a head with the arrival of Equestria's rulers, as Aurora enacts her final plan.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Credit to the wondrous Lapis-Lazuli for the chapter names.

A diplomatic crisis arises between Equestria and the small, poor kingdom of Tarandroland, ancestral home of the reindeer. Celestia and Luna agree that it is time Luna takes a more active hand in foreign relations again, and Luna brings Twilight with her as someone she actually trusts and can talk to. But the mission turns out to be much more than political discussions - if scheming unicorn courtiers, unfriendly surly reindeer, bloodthirsty pirates, ancient sorcery and dangerous monsters weren't enough, our heroines must deal with something old - older than Luna. And is Luna really ready for diplomatic action, will Twilight learn to use a fan properly, and exactly how wrong are Spike's superhero comics about reindeer mythology?

Now has a TV tropes page