Savannah and Celestia sat at breakfast. It had been quiet as they waited for the food. Celestia had already explained the illusion and cover story. To the other ponies, Savannah was the unicorn mare Tenebrae. She was a student at the Trottingham College, here on a visit to observe the princess for a thesis on political science. Her special talents had to do with being sneaky and Celestia was the sneakiest of them all, even if she did everything in the full light of day. Unofficially the two had a challenge to see who could pull more pranks on the guards. There wasn't anything likely to come of it, but Savannah appreciated that the princess knew how to have fun. Pranking wasn't really her thing, Eric was the prankster in the group, but if the princess started anything she had to be ready to play along. It was probably a means of keeping her under control, making sure that her powers didn't recover or anything.
The food finally came and Savannah put all thoughts of political intrigue aside. It was hard to think about backstabbing and underhanded deals and the silly plumes on the guards' helmets when there were delicious pancakes available. She opted out of the hay bacon strips saying she'd had a bad case of hay fever when she was a filly. For a little while the two ate breakfast in silence. Celestia was the first to say something. “You seem to have adjusted well.”
“Pardon, Your Majesty?”
“Talking ponies, pegasi, having to manually raise and lower the sun.”
“Oh, that. We've been around, had our own share of difficulties. This certainly isn't the first time any of us have come across new forms of life or been in the presence of gods.” Savannah looked up thoughtfully, chewing on a syrupy fork. “Although, I think this is the first time I've had breakfast with one.”
“And this is the first time I've had breakfast with humans.”
“But not the first time you've seen us. You mentioned a few times that you knew about humans. From what I heard from Daniel, it sounds as if they used to live here a long time ago.”
Celestia nodded. “It was a very long time ago, before the time of the three tribes.”
“So the tale is true?”
“Every legend has a grain of truth to it. Personally, though, I prefer the tale to the truth. It's much more interesting and makes a nice play.”
“Is there a legend or story about the cutie marks?”
The alicorn shook her head. “No. Cutie marks are a fact of life here in Equestria. They are part of the magic of the land.”
Savannah thought on that. “It feels like there is a lot of that kind of magic around.”
The princess nodded. “All creatures in this world are extensions of the natural magic of the land. It is woven into their very being and many of them draw upon it for support.”
“Sounds like Earthpower,” Savannah mumbled.
“Like what, now?”
“In my world there was a series of books about a magical land that had some similar properties. The land and the creatures there were infused by a force of natural magic called Earthpower: the living blood and magic of the earth. It made the land healthy and beautiful and without it the land would become corrupt and die.”
“I suppose that is similar to the natural magic of the land here, though our magic is more passive. Luna and myself are really the only ones who can actively shape and work with it, though many other creatures use it everyday.”
“Such as the pegasi?”
The princess nodded. “Exactly. The natural magic of the land allows pegasi to walk on and manipulate clouds. The same power gives earth ponies their strength and endurance and allows them to grow crops better than any other pony.”
“What about unicorns?”
“Unicorn magic is different, probably more similar to your own. Unicorns have little connection to the magic of the land. It is because of the natural power that they receive a cutie mark and special talent, and it allows them access to their own magic, but otherwise they are severed from the land.”
“Doesn't their power make up for that?”
“For many of them, yes. There are always some, however, that can't quite understand the connection to the land and its creatures that other ponies have. I suppose they are the most human-like of all ponies. It's where they got the idea for nobility and an upper class.”
“So ponies that can't understand the land or relate well get rewarded with power and fine living?”
Celestia smiled her trademark half-smile-that-meant-she-had-10-plans-at-once-and-one-of-them-was-poking-you-sharply-in-the-side. The locals knew it as her dangerous smile. “I wouldn't really call it a reward. Each of them gets exactly what they deserve and they never get a break. They may feel privileged, but if they let down their guard, another pony kicks them to the slums.”
“I'm not sure if that sounds any better.”
Celestia shrugged. “They have the choice to change. The best of them are the ones who choose to explore the connection that they are missing, such as my student Twilight Sparkle. And at any rate, such unicorns are rare.”
“Is that how you see humans?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said the unicorns who couldn't understand the connection other ponies had with the land were the ones who were most human-like. Then you described their society as cutthroat and cruel, blaming it on their own choices not to try and gain wisdom. That's what you think humans are like, isn't it?”
The princess sighed and stood, her breakfast finished and her appetite gone. “We must get ready. My court lasts longer than Luna's and I still have some things to check on. In the meantime, the guards will lead you to the library. If you want to understand Equestrian society, you should examine weather management theory.”
Savannah was not pleased with the lack of response, but assumed it represented the response she didn't want to hear. Celestia had already made it plain that she didn't approve of humanity, there was no reason for her to come out and say it. Still, that remark was almost tempting enough to start that prank war, but she restrained herself. It would do her no good to start proving the princess right. Instead she calmly finished her breakfast and walked out, following the guards. The walk to the library was quiet, as were most things in her life. She didn't like drawing much attention to herself, though she had made admirable strides in socialization over the last few years. Gaining a new family and a new set of friends had helped tremendously. At any rate, she was back to her lonesome old self now, and in a library of all places. She was never the researcher of the group, but she might as well read up on this place. She needed to find a way to convince the princesses to let them go, and she didn't really have any idea how to go about that. Maybe she'd just go ahead and start with weather management theory after all; the princesses had sounded very concerned with what they had learned about human civilization and progress. Comparing the two societies' approach to weather seemed as good a place to start as any.
* * *
Rainbow Dash sighed as she watched the Canterlot pegasi shift clouds outside. Today had been just as boring as yesterday, except for the weird thing with the dawn. She wasn't usually an early riser, but one of the guards had woken her up early, saying there was something she should see. The big stone hadn't been new, every pony who had ever been to Canterlot knew about that, but this morning had been the first time she'd ever seen it used before. And the way the princesses had spoken, it made her want to go flying more than ever before. She needed it, and being cooped up here was just torture, especially with those other ponies flying around outside. “Arrgh, I can't stand it anymore!” She zoomed to the door and threw it open. “I don't care if I'm not allowed, catch me if you can!” she shouted to the guards, expecting an exhilarating chase, even if she knew it would end in the dungeons or something.
“Really, Rainbow Dash, wouldn't that be too easy for you?” A calm voice said from below her.
“Huh?” Rainbow paused and turned around to see the pastel-haired alicorn below her. “Princess Celestia!” She landed and bowed, feeling embarrassed now.
“It's alright, Rainbow. Come on in and let's talk. I have a special job for you.”
“A job? For me?” Rainbow's earlier itch to fly already replaced with curiosity. She followed the princess into the suite and the doors closed behind them.
* * *
Savannah was beginning to get bored with this line of inquiry. Weather management theory had held her interest for all of half an hour. She understood the basic gist of things, why delve into it much further? All she had learned was that weather in Equestria, for whatever reason, didn't happen on its own. It took the pegasi to create and manage the weather, basic stuff that every filly and colt already knew, and all of it was monitored and carried out by Cloudsdale. So the ponies had an extremely strong vested interest in avoiding pollution and keeping the climate working. Yes, that was markedly different from the way the humans looked at the weather, but the whole world was different as well. Humans could only affect the weather and that either took a lot of magic or a lot of time. Even with a sixth of the population able to assist, Savannah estimated, it was unlikely that they could control the weather, although it might make them think more about it.
The next topic she looked into was farming. As she expected, there wasn't much there for beginners that wasn't directed toward foals. Most of what was there was advanced studies and reading over crop yields and statistics was incredibly boring. At least the weather management theory had had some science to it and she felt like there was something to learn. The only thing she could get out of another half-hour of dull statistics was that the only real farmers were earth ponies. No one talked about why that was or what it was like for other ponies trying to farm, but she assumed it wasn't very productive. She couldn't even find any studies or productivity comparisons. Giving up in frustration she turned to fairy tales. There were plenty of other topics, but she wanted something interesting and fairy tales fit the bill. Not to mention the fact that many of them were rather dark and she was needing some metaphorical darkness right now.
As expected, the fairy tales relaxed her and told her a lot of what she wanted to know about Equestrian culture. As with earth, the foundations of civilization resided in two things: survival and stories. She knew about survival by now, but the stories she was unfamiliar with. Many of them were fables expressing similar morals as earth, though the one about cake-throwing was just strange. She read over the now familiar tale of Hearth's Warming Eve and the story of Nightmare Moon. She couldn't find anything about the great stone plinth from this morning, but there were dark tales of changelings that satisfied her. The ending notes contained references to another book which she had spent ten minutes looking for.
It was a very old book and the cover alone promised chills with it's eerily grinning changeling face, entitled The Stallions Grimm: Equestrian Fairy Tales. She settled in with the ever-present cup of tea and read. The tales were dark indeed, and very old. Stories of changelings and of dragons, which she was a little surprised to read. There was the obligatory sleeping beauty story and another about a little duck who could turn into a dancing pony. But there were two stories which captured her attention the most.
The first story was about a creature named Discord. From what she could tell it happened far before Nightmare Moon and was one of the very few stories to mention a night princess. It detailed the rise and fall of the strange creature, the one out in the garden. It also mentioned some interesting details about the princesses. Savannah made a mental note to ask about those later. The second story was the big one, the one she had been looking for: a story about humans.
She couldn't say when it took place. Since it featured Celestia and Luna it seemed like it should have been after Discord, but there was no mention of the familiar Equestrian landmarks or places which put it in the time of the Three Tribes. Despite all that, there were very few ponies mentioned. The tale focused on the humans: how they lived in towns and warred with each other. The royal sisters worked with them to help them advance and learn peace, but the humans were greedy. They spread across the land taking everything they could and fighting with each other. The sisters eventually chose two men, a wizard and a king to unite the people, and it worked for a long while. But the men were betrayed by the king's own family and destroyed. Strangely this united the humans but not in peace, instead they turned on the pony sisters and their people, spreading lies about the ponies and the other creatures of the world. They ensnared griffons and dragons in their cause and went to war with the royal sisters. Beyond sorrow, the princesses defeated the humans and they were not seen again. Similar to the other stories, it ended warning little ponies to behave or else the humans might come back and gobble them up.
It was a strange ending, almost feeling out of character, but the authors had nothing to say about it save that it was old. None of the other tales mentioned it either and Savannah couldn't find any references in the other books on fairy tales. It seemed this was the only story and the only clue she had on it was the place of origin, which the authors had listed as “ubiquitous...oldest versions come from hamlets in the eastern forests.” That wasn't even very reliable as they also noted that no version of the story gave a location for the humans. So that was it, an old tale about the evils of humanity: they appeared one day and disappeared the next and the only clue she had was forests in the east. Even if she could leave, going out there to look wouldn't be useful. The story was so old that the forests and towns probably didn't exist anymore and the authors didn't give any point of reference so she didn't even know what the forests were east of.
Savannah humphed and set the book back on a re-shelving cart: librarians were picky about those things. It had been almost two hours since she'd arrived and there was still no sign of Celestia. The library was big enough to wander, but as far as she could tell there weren't any secret rooms. The whole place was well lit, but at least it kept her out of the sun. As Daniel had warned her, the daylight felt unusually draining. The light coming in from the windows was too bright and it felt like it was trying to dry her up like an apple slice. The urge to see more of the palace was tempting, but that would probably mean venturing into that light and she didn't want to do that just yet.
She wandered back into the main room to find the princess had arrived. “I see you found some interesting reading. Not a fan of weather management?”
“Sorry, Your Highness, I'm not a weather gal. Eric, Nathan, Naomi, they'd like it but all I'm really looking for is basic cultural information. Of course, when pegasi have been managing the weather for millenia, why write a beginner's guide to it? It just got too technical for me.” She shrugged and looked over some of the books she'd put on the cart.
“If you are looking for a book to take with you, I recommend this.” Celestia levitated a dark red book over to Savannah. The girl took it, examining the title, The Duke, by Neat Shale. She nearly face-palmed at the similarity to her world and took it. “Since you are posing as a political intern, it wouldn't make much sense for you to have a book on old fairy tales.”
Savannah nodded and opened it, scanning the table of contents. “I suppose not. Besides, someone else might want to read that one,” she said. The princess let her look through the book for a moment longer. “Alright, if nothing else it might be worth a look later. Is it time for Day Court?” The alicorn nodded and walked out. Savannah followed with her appropriately political book in hand. From what she had heard from Daniel, it seemed unlikely that she would be noticed, at least not until Celestia asked for her advice on something. Come to think of it, she realized she didn't really know what areas of government Celestia focused on. If anyone did talk to her, she'd need to know some background.
“Princess Celestia?” The princess looked back at her. “Before we begin, is there anything I should know about? Like what areas of government you handle?”
“I take handle the needs of the people, like my sister does. I usually have to handle more policy, though, as many ponies are not used to Luna yet. My responsibilities include diplomacy, the military, commerce, law, transportation, public works, and so on. And of course there are the ponies whom I must refer to my sister.”
“Diplomacy? Commerce? I was under the impression that Equestria was practically the only nation here.”
“Not exactly. There aren't other nations with the level of development that Equestria has, but there are other species and factions in the world, some of whom consider themselves nations in a sense. There are dragons, griffons, diamond dogs, and even other ponies out there. But most of the diplomacy and commerce I was referring to occurs within Equestria. Distributing food is the biggest part of our economy and was the driving force behind the development of the railways.”
“I suppose materials such as lumber and ores are shipped via rail as well?”
“When the need arises, though demand for those items is not like what it is in your world.”
“So in other words, you are in charge of technological progress and urban development. You make sure the ponies don't become like the humans,” Savannah accused.
Celestia smiled. “I protect my little ponies and I protect the land. It is what I was born to do.”
“Born or summoned?”
“Does it matter?”
“Not to me, though it might matter to certain other members of my family.”
“Then all you need to know is that I am here to protect my subject from whatever threats arise.”
“Apologies, Your Highness,” Savannah said. That seemed to end the conversation and the two continued into the throne room. It was very large and elaborate, as one might expect of the ruler of the day. Gold and alabaster shone everywhere and several advisers had already found places for themselves. Savannah found a cushion to the left of the throne, near the wall and settled herself down. It didn't give her the best view of the court, but she would be left alone back here, and there was some shade as well. There were stained glass windows around the room, but they still let in a lot of light.
Around her ponies began filing in to take their places around the room. Most of them appeared to be nobility, if the fancy clothes and high noses meant anything. Not for the first time she wondered why nobility showed up to court. They did it back home as well but generally the person on the throne only wanted to hear from the appointed advisers. Occasionally one of the nobles would offer to assist but Savannah suspected they were just there to talk amongst themselves, not to assist the court in any way.
Court began as most of them did back home. There was a herald to announce things, some modest fanfare, and then the petitioners began entering. At first it seemed as if the petitioners were all similar as well and she almost started reading that book. Then they began discussing the weather. Back home, both on Earth and in her kingdom, when people discussed the weather it was either appreciative or complaining and in either case it was passive. When the ponies here talked about the weather, it was with a more active tone. Some of them were farmers come to complain about the pegasi and other were pegasi asking to change the schedule. It was always about needing a storm here or there and the limited supply of water. At one point somepony asked if they could bring in more water from outside Equestria. Savannah hadn't realized just how much management there was in the weather here. Most of it was referred to Cloudsdale, but there were some things Celestia handled personally, making a recommendation here or there. The biggest thing Savannah noticed was that Celestia was always calm and loving with the petitioners. That really drew her attention.
Court continued for a while with the small things: ponies with civil suits, weather management, and request for magical assistance. At one point she heard a pony asking for assistance against something he called a parasprite. That had gotten the attention of the court and Celestia immediately dispatched a squad of guards and specialists to deal with the problem. Savannah knew better to ask and make everyone suspicious, but she made a note to get a hold of a book on Equestrian zoology as soon as she could. Of course, as she made the note, in walked a griffon.
The premise was simple enough. The griffon in question was seeking damages from a group of pegasi who had settled out on the southern borders, apparently a little too close to the griffon's nesting grounds. There were several others with her who shared complaints about how the pegasi were altering the weather and hogging the good clouds and disrupting local wildlife. Savannah gathered that much of the problem was centered around the issue of the nesting grounds, as griffons were highly protective of their young. Hearing them, it sounded like the pegasi should just go ahead and move, especially since their homes were on clouds. Nonetheless, the princess asked the settlers what they had to say about the whole thing. According to them, that particular location was settled near some good cross-winds but could itself sit right outside without any problems. It was also near a fresh stream so they had access to water and the mountains provided shelter in case they needed it for anything. It was a great location and it wasn't too far away from the heartland that they were cut off. They'd tried to avoid the griffons' nests and claimed that the griffons claimed a much bigger area than they needed.
As Luna had, Celestia proceeded to question each side in turn. Did the griffons really need a large amount of airspace? Did the pegasi really need that many clouds for such a small community? Had the griffons tried working with the wildlife? Had the pegasi thought about expanding their settlement to the ground so the earth ponies and unicorns could join? Certainly farmland would be important to the new settlement, and unicorn magic would be able to help the pegasi alter the local winds. Once both sides had calmed down and were willing to admit issues and listen, the princess outlined some ideas and asked one of the nobles to help the group with the rest. A few others offered some resources and the princess nodded to them. Together the group left and made way for the next petitioner. So that's why the nobles were there, because every so often some of them had resources to offer. Savannah wasn't sure the exact nature of the exchange, but no noblepony would offer services or resources without something to gain, most likely some sort of royal favor.
Savannah settled down again, her book next to her, waiting to see what the rest of the day would bring. One pony came to report on the railways, indicating there had been some disputes recently between grain suppliers and distributors near Fillydelphia. He didn't ask for anything aside from a potential statement if the situation wasn't resolved, but he also explained the negotiations they were in and estimated the whole thing should be resolved by tomorrow. The princess nodded and the railpony left. None of the other ponies seemed to mind, so Savannah assumed this was relatively routine. And indeed, the next petitioner had an even more dull report on quarterly figures on Manehattan exports. As uninterested as she was, a few of the nobles were paying close attention and left with the economist.
Savannah was about to give up on court and try pranking the guards a little when the last petitioner came in: a pony with a curious electrical invention that he claimed could store electrical energy. Savannah perked up at this one, the invention of the battery was a pivotal moment in any civilization. The inventor rolled a large pile of metal in and connected some wires to a small crystal. Savannah didn't know what the crystal was for, but she recognized the rest of it. It was a basic battery: a stack of alternating copper and zinc disks with each disk separated by paper soaked in saltwater. The inventor explained all this and then went on to say that when connected properly, the crystal would glow as the energy passed through it. There were many skeptical murmurs around the hall at this claim. Savannah risked a glance at Celestia, expecting her to disapprove, but her face was calm and serene as usual. The inventor wasted no time demonstrating his claim and sure enough the crystal began to glow to the applause of the assembled ponies.
The inventor practically glowed with pride before hushing everyone and claiming that he could reverse the process by taking a setup which produced no energy and then charge it up. At this claim the assembled ponies gasped in disbelief. Savannah again looked to Celestia but still saw no sign of disapproval. Surely this was the kind of thing that she would disagree with if she wanted to keep the scientific growth of ponies slow. As the inventor readied his next setup, Savannah debated whether or not to sabotage the inventor. She had a good guess that his setup would work and if she could subtly break it, Celestia was sure to give him words of encouragement to keep at it, if only to try and bolster his confidence after the court laughed at him. On the other hand, if he was successful, Savannah couldn't see Celestia doing anything positive. She'd probably say something nice but then turn it against the poor inventor to make sure his inventions never went commercial.
In the end, the thought of what the rest of the family would say to her if she interfered convinced her to sit and wait. She wouldn't sit by idly, though, and made sure to step forward to get a better glimpse a this, knowing Celestia would easily see it. The inventor had a second, smaller cell ready and he connected it to the spectators to show that it couldn't light up the crystal. Then he hooked up the large pile to the smaller and explained that it needed some time to charge. As it did, he went on about some of the other details he'd found, such as the fact that if one the metals was rare it worked better, but for the most part Savannah tuned him out, uninterested in a lesson in electrochemistry. After a few minutes he unhooked it and demonstrated that the energy had indeed been transferred to the smaller pile by lighting up the crystal. Again with the large applause from the crowd. Apparently this really was new. Even better, the inventor was an earth pony, which was apparently unusual according to the gossip she was hearing.
Enough of the gossip. Savannah looked up to Celestia to see what she had to say. For a moment the alicorn said nothing and the talk slowly died down. “This is a true advancement, Voltin.” The inventor smiled and puffed his chest out, smiling smugly. “I wonder, you said this can store energy?”
“Of course, Your Majesty. Shall I demonstrate again?”
“Oh no need,” she smiled her trademark danger smile, but the inventor was too busy readying another demo to see. Her horn began to glow and the noble ponies backed away a little nervously. Surely the small device couldn't possibly hold the power of the princess. “I'd like to try it for myself,” she said softly. The inventor turned around just in time to see her horn glowing with far more power than his device could handle.
His mouth dropped and he was about to duck when a dark colored pony jumped out in front of the court, putting herself between the princess and device. “Princess!” she said, glaring up at the monarch.
“Tenebrae. I am surprised at this. Whatever is the matter?” Celestia said.
“Sorry for the outburst, but there's no need for you to test it, Your Highness. Allow me.”
“A bold move, Tenebrae, especially for one whose specialty is shadows.”
Tenebrae nodded. “Professor Wilhelm says that bold moves are necessary to hide true intentions.” She turned to the professor and sent a much smaller stream of power into the crystal connected to the smaller cell. As she did that, she looked back to the guards and their shadows began to darken as she prepared a third spell.
The princess raised an eyebrow and her horn glowed again. “Really Tenebrae, I expected more subtlety from you. Guards.” She looked back to the two guards and they saluted and stepped to the side, except their shadows didn't. The court gasped and the two mares smiled as the one dispelled the shadow trick and the other released her spell.
“Ah, it was worth a chance,” Tenebrae said, releasing her stream of magic into the battery. “There, sir. Try your device now. Let's see if it stored the magic.” She stepped back as the confused inventor reconnected his device. True to his promise, the crystal was glowing as it pulled power from the metals, only this time it was glowing a dark purple, the same as Tenebrae's magic. The crowd was most impressed at this and gave them a great applause. Even Celestia had to smile in approval. Tenebrae bowed to the inventor and looked back at Celestia. “Your Majesty, I'm sure it is late notice, but surely Princess Luna should see this as well. It would have a profound effect on ponies' ability to appreciate her nights if they also had a portable source of light.”
Several ponies murmured excitedly at that and the inventor began to look bashful, finally sensing that maybe this wasn't the safest place to be. “Of course, what a wonderful idea, Tenebrae. I will let you write up the proposal this evening,” Celestia said. As always, her face was serene and her voice steady. Only her oldest advisers could tell how put off she was by this strange mare's boldness.
Tenebrae bowed to the princess and trotted back to her side. She had barely returned and already had to fend off admiring ponies. When she finally looked back to the court, the inventor was heading out of the door quickly. Ah well, at least the princess hadn't yet noticed the real prank on the guards. As much as she didn't think she'd need to rely on that cover story, it had come in handy for saving her flank today, and hopefully her third spell had been successful in actually pulling that prank off. Court continued in the meantime and while she couldn't zone out, she earned a nice conversation with some minister to hold her through. By the end of it, nearly an hour later, she was feeling quite tired and hungry and eager to get away from all these faces. Faces she hoped she would see again tomorrow. Apparently the rest of the ponies were quite worried she might end up being banished to the moon or something. It sounded very silly but she was beginning to be concerned.
After promising several times that she'd be fine, the rest of the advisers and nobility finally left. It was just Savannah and Celestia now and they stared at each other for a moment. “The guards,” Celestia said, watching them leave. “When did you...?” Savannah looked over and smiled. The guards had left behind hoofprints made of shadows in the floor as they had left.
“I may not know a Professor Wilhelm, but I know how to be sneaky. We're at 1-0, Your Highness.”
Celestia laughed a little to herself as she walked to the door, the shadows already disappearing. Then she turned to look at the human by her side and her face fell stern again. “That was a very bold move, Princess. Why risk it?”
If Savannah was surprised by the title, she didn't react. “You would have destroyed his work. You could have used a small amount of power, but you were readying a blast that would have ended terribly. Oh I'm sure you would have apologized and suggested he keep working, or maybe you might've given him a project or a stipend, but he would have stopped his research into batteries.”
“So you interfered. Is that normal for your family?”
“No. But it was necessary. The ponies need to be able to advance. Besides, batteries could really help out the quality of life for the ponies. What do they use for light now, fireflies?”
“Who are you to decide what is good for my people?”
Savannah shook her head. “No one, and I do not intend to decide what is best for your people. I just want to show you that technology and advancement isn't that bad.” She looked over at the alicorn and gave a warm smile. “Especially when they have someone like you who loves them so much.”
Celestia blinked. “Of course I love them. How could I not?”
“None of my family can go through court with as much love for our subjects as you can. I've never heard of any human monarch or head of state who has done that outside of legend. If you can sit through all the silly disputes those ponies bring, you can handle a battery.”
Celestia paused in the corridor, gazing steadily into Savannah's eyes. “You are my prisoner. I have stolen your power and made you walk with me in the day. I could chain you in a room as bright as the sun. I could even arrange to send you to the sun.”
“You could,” Savannah said.
“And you are not afraid?”
“Nope.”
They stared at each other for a moment. “Then you have earned my respect, Princess Savannah,” Celestia said. She bowed her head just a few degrees as was appropriate for another national leader.
Savannah returned the gesture. “Thank you, Princess Celestia.” She would have said more and made a bit of a flowery speech there, but a rather loud rumbling interrupted the moment and she blushed a little, scratching the back of her head. “Ah, sorry, Your Majesty. I guess breakfast was longer ago than I thought.”
“It's alright, I am ready for dinner as well. Come, let's see what the royal chefs have prepared for us tonight.”
Throughout their conversation, neither of them noticed the rainbow leaving the castle.