4
The World Friendship Summit had drawn emissaries from more lands than Celestia thought it would. The vast majority were representatives from the various pony city-states, though those within Equestria chose to be represented solely through Celestia, much to her chagrin. Germane, Saddle Arabia, Trottingham, Marexico, and a few dozen others from around the globe were there. Non-pony lands had also sent emissaries, among them Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan, Dragon Lord Ember of the Dragon Lands, King Thorax of the changelings, and emissaries from the griffons and the camels. The camels, especially, were a surprise. It warmed her heart, initially to see them all gathered within the large auditorium within in Saddle Arabia’s capital.
Then she saw the discomfort of the non-ponies gathered, their forced smiles, and the sheer number of pony representatives when compared to the non-ponies. The donkey and zebra representatives looked somewhat resigned, lost in a crowd of similar-looking ponies who bickered between themselves, while the dragon, griffon, and changeling representatives tried and failed to look at ease. The camel representative looked particularly disgruntled.
Things only went downhill from there…
“It seems to me that the border between Saddle Arabia and Cameloo moves further east with every season!” the camel representative shouted at his Saddle Arabian counterpart, “Yet every time this issue is brought up, they insist they are not attempting conquest!”
“Because we are not!” the Saddle Arabian sneered beneath his shawl, “We simply take lands that are open to us, that welcome us!”
“And you force the camels there in to live as second-class citizens!” his Cameloo opponent roared.
Celestia felt herself painfully reminded of her failure as the leader of all ponies to address these issues a millennium ago.
“If we treat them as second-class, then we must still treat them better than you!” the desert-dwelling pony laughed, “They do not flee from us nor threaten secession to return to your dying state!”
“Arrogant pony!” the camel snapped, earning disapproving glares from the overwhelmingly-pony gathering, “First you absorb the donkey and zebra populations, and now you’re taking the territory from the buffalo tribe, as well as my own citizens, and likely a dozen others! What’s worse, you’ve allied yourself with these… these thugs to strong-arm us! No one can dare stand against you, now!”
“Thugs?!” Ember roared, fire leaking from her lips in rage. The griffon representative was similarly incensed, but Thorax kept calm.
“We’ve changed our ways to be kinder and more open to diplomacy,” the changeling ruler explained, “We prefer to avoid all hostilities if possible, and resolve these issues in as humane a fashion as possible.”
“Big words from a race that, for the last several centuries, has been trying to conquer and feed on everyone’s love…” the donkey representative muttered.
“Hold your tongue!” the Marexican representative snapped.
“I was not aware we had to obey your commands,” the zebra representative stated, flatly, earning glares from neighboring ponies, “I believe we have a right to question their demands.”
“The yaks wish to raise issue,” Prince Rutherford declared, drawing disdainful eyes in his direction. Celestia seized upon the chance to set an example for her subjects.
“Of course, Prince Rutherford,” the Princess of the Day said in all her regality, letting her compassionate voice carry over those gathered, “We are gathered here to address issues and redress wrongs, naturally.”
“Yes, wrongs…” Rutherford murmured before revealing two stallions behind him and shoving them forward. Celestia vaguely recognized the twins. “Princess Twilight demanded we take care of these two until heads cool. Night in Yakyakistani snow certainly cool enough. I demand they leave – very annoying.”
“How in the world did those two get all the way to Yakyakistan in the first place?” the Germane representative asked, recognizing the pair, “Those miscreants usually hide out in Equestria!”
“They fall from hole in sky,” Rutherford explained, “Princess Twilight put notes in vests, telling us to look after them. We oblige because of friendship with great Honorary Yak Pinkie Pie, but we feel wronged at being ordered by foreign power.”
“That… doesn’t sound like Twilight…” Celestia mused aloud.
“You call yaks liars?!” Rutherford stood to his full, impressive height, shaggy hair bobbing.
“No!” Celestia said, trying to placate him. A murmur of dissension was growing in the assembly. “I’m merely surprised, is all. Princess Twilight has always been so tactful. Princess Ember, you’ve spoken with Princess Twilight before – surely you agree she is incapable of making such demands.”
“It’s Dragon Lord Ember,” the dragon corrected, sternly, “and didn’t she conquer a village and force everyone into her harmony cult?”
The room exploded in gasps of horror and arguments both agreeing and disagreeing with the sentiment. Oddly, the ponies were most vocal in their gossip; other races merely exchanged questioning looks since they had met Twilight and were confused by Ember’s description. Celestia tried to keep her panic in check as things continued to fall apart around her.
“I believe you are referring to Starlight, dear,” the Princess of the Day chuckled, making sure her voice carried over and quieted the arguing, “Starlight Glimmer.”
“Oh yeah,” Ember murmured, “Twilight’s student. They’re very similar.”
“Am I to understand Princess Twilight took a despot as a student?!” the camel representative asked. The assembly exploded into more arguing at this revelation, except amongst the parties already aware of it. “Look at how calm the dragon, yak, changeling, and griffon representatives are! This proves collusion between Equestria and the most aggressive races!”
“Even I, a proud loyalist to Her Majesty, am horrified by this apparent transgression!” the Trottingham representative declared, outraged.
“You jump to unnecessary conclusions!” the Germane representative snapped, “Celestia’s teachings preach forgiveness and redemption! Have faith in our immortal ruler!”
“She does not rule Marexico,” the Marexican representative asserted, “We are a republic! We are allies with Princess Celestia – not her vassals!”
“All ponies are her vassals,” the Saddle Arabian representative asserted, “She is divine and we owe her our submission.”
Celestia gaped as the ponies broke into arguments amongst themselves about her divinity. The donkey representative rolled his eyes as they prattled on, while the zebra representative shook her head in disgust. Dragon Lord Ember, Prince Rutherford, and the griffon representative looked disgruntled, having been shut out by the personal squabbles of the pony city-states. King Thorax only watched with growing sorrow.
“I think,” he spoke up, drawing attention solely by the fact he had hardly spoken, “what we all need right now is to sit down, take a deep breath, and express our concerns in a feelings forum. We could make crafts, too!”
“Is he supposed to be a king?” the Trottingham representative laughed, “He behaves like a child!”
“It’ll take more than some glue and pipe cleaners to fix this mess, Pretenderkönig!” the Germane representative sneered.
“That’s it!” Ember snapped, slamming her palms on the table and drooling flame, “Ignoring us is one thing, but insulting us is unforgivable! Apologize to Thorax now, or I’ll torch your little Summit!”
“Ember, don’t-” Celestia tried but was talked over by her fellow ponies.
“And so the façade of civility crumbles,” the Saddle Arabian scoffed, “The dragons are just as violent as ever!”
“What made them think they could behave like ponies in the first place?” the Trottingham representative chuckled, “They have about as much civilization in the Dragon Lands as they do in Cameloo or Yakyakistan!”
“Ponies’ behavior disgraceful!” Prince Rutherford roared, his massive musculature pulsing with restrained rage, “You speak of Celestia’s teachings, but you not follow them as Honorary Yak Pinkie Pie does! If this how rest of ponies behaves, we rescind Yakyakistan’s pledge of friendship!”
“Good riddance!” one of the other representatives shouted.
“Come on, Thorax!” Ember snapped as she moved to join a furious Prince Rutherford in his departure, “We don’t need to stand for this! You two, too! These pony jerks don’t deserve our friendship. We’ll just form our own Summit!”
“I’ll sign on for that!” the griffon representative agreed, joining them. The camel representative was surprised to be included, since he had started the proceedings by accusing them of collusion. After a moment, though, he nodded and shot one last, venomous glare at the Saddle Arabian before joining them.
“B-but, we owe it to Spike to…” Thorax began.
“We owe it to Spike to save him from these... hateful creeps!” Ember asserted, pointing accusatorily at the ponies.
“Princess Celestia, say something!” Thorax pleaded. The departing representatives stopped, turning to look upon the Princess of the Day. Even now, they respected her opinion.
Celestia stood tall, flawless white wings outspread. The sunlight was behind her, haloing her in majesty, and her magic flowed through her, making her glow with such golden warmth that even Ember was momentarily awed. Complete silence welcomed her to speak, and she looked imperiously down upon her fellow ponies.
“I am very disappointed in you, you representatives who claim to follow my ideals and teachings,” she said, evenly, “Have I not taught you to be inclusive and welcoming? Have I not taught you to work together in harmony, not to wallow in division? Yet, here you are, insulting our friends from other lands. It shames us as a race.”
“But, Your Majesty!” the Germane representative spoke up, “Is it not implied your way is the only way? Are you saying we should tolerate aggression and lack of civility in other cultures? Welcome them as brothers even while they refuse to adopt our ways?”
“We have adopted your ways!” Ember snapped, “Why would I even come to this stupid Summit if I wasn’t trying to set an example to my kin to embrace your teachings?!”
“Pretenders!” the Marexican representative scoffed, “Just because you take a few of our customs and some lessons from Celestia, it doesn’t make you our equals.”
“I see we’re dealing with a bit of a superiority complex, here…” Celestia said through gritted teeth, “I never said ponies were superior, or that no one else can adopt our teachings…”
“Why should we?” the dragon demanded, surprising Celestia, “Your kind refuse to accept us as equals, and they’ll only ever see us as pretenders! Why should I try and force my subjects to give up our ancient customs and practices, try and change our laws? I’d be giving up our identity just to be rejected by yours!”
“You will be accepted, Princess Ember, I just need to-” Celestia tried to say.
“DRAGON LORD!” Ember shouted, “I’m not a princess anymore! In my culture, a princess is not the highest authority! Quit trying to push your titles on me!”
“I-I wasn’t trying to!” Celestia looked shocked.
“Now they insult our divine Princesses!” the Saddle Arabian roared, incensed.
“Glorious Princess Celestia has extended her hand in friendship, only to have it slapped away by these ungrateful curs!” the Germane spat, “This affront is almost too much!”
“Yaks have seen enough,” Prince Rutherford muttered, leaving the Summit.
“If you Saddle Arabians come any further into Cameloo, there will be war!” the camel declared, “We will not be bullied any further!”
“I will ensure the griffons support the camels in any war with you ponies!” the griffon added, earning a thankful nod from the camel. With that, both left the Summit.
“Come on, Thorax!” Ember ordered, “We’re really leaving this time.”
“I… I think I’ll stay,” the Changeling King said, giving Ember pause.
“You… you’d stay with these ponies rather than join us?” Ember asked, “They hate changelings!”
“Not all of them,” Thorax smiled, “Besides, I don’t want to pick a side. I like Celestia’s teachings; I think the changelings are better for them, but I’m also fine with how you guys do things. To each their own, right?”
“Alright…” Ember stood there for a moment, feeling awkward. She tended to feel awkward around the Changeling King; he was so… different. He seemed weak, and childish, and overly-kind, and she should have hated that, but instead she found it sort of endearing. Ugh. Pony sentimentality was weakening her. “Well, if neutrality is what you’re going for, you should come to our meeting, too.”
“What if the Summits schedule something at the same time?” Thorax frowned, “I can’t pick a favorite… Oh, I know! Would you be offended if I made Pharynx my emissary to your meetings?”
“Pharynx?” Ember blinked, “Why?”
“Well, I can’t be in two places at once, and he is my brother. Technically, that makes him royalty and the best choice for these kinds of things,” Thorax explained, “Between you and me, I’d rather go to the meetings you’re at…”
Ember felt her cheeks flush, so she scowled in an effort to make it seem like anger.
“B-but that would mean Pharynx would have to meet with the ponies in my stead,” Thorax added, hurriedly, “He, um… he might not get along with the ponies, but I think he’d like you and the others. It’s easier for him to relate to your warrior cultures.”
“Well… that does make sense,” Ember muttered.
“Unless you wanted me, specifically, to attend, of course,” Thorax offered, “It’d be poor form if I ignored the personal request of another leader.”
“Personal request?” Ember arched an eyebrow, “You might be one of my few friends, Thorax, but you’re right; we shouldn’t mix that into politics. Pharynx would be the better representative at our Summit.”
“Oh, okay,” Thorax nodded, smiling. In truth, he had hoped she’d order him to join her at least one more time. Ember would never do that, though; she was a strong leader, a leader who put the needs of her kin above personal interests. There was a bittersweet emotion blooming in his chest that Thorax didn’t feel like exploring yet. Perhaps when the fate of the world wasn’t in the balance.
Ember nodded again and followed the others out. Thorax returned to his seat, earning glares of suspicion from most of the ponies. Celestia was about to thank Thorax for his commitment to the Summit, but before she could open her mouth the donkey and zebra representatives stood and began leaving.
“Where are you going?!” one of the pony representatives demanded.
“This has been an interesting Summit,” the zebra said, slowly, “but perhaps today we shall not commit.”
“What the rhyme-spinner is saying,” the donkey stated, “is that we’re going to see what their Summit is all about. We don’t want to be the only non-ponies at these things. World Friendship Summit, indeed!”
“B-but…” Celestia began.
“Please excuse us, Princess,” the donkey managed to keep too much venom from his voice out of genuine respect, “but our races were promised their sovereignty and I think it’s time we started acting on it. Good day.”
With that, two more representatives left.
“What about you, Boy-King?” the Germane asked of Thorax, “Will you not flee with the others?”
“The changelings will send representatives to both Summits,” Thorax smiled, warmly, “I believe it is in the best interests of my kin to build bridges between all the races, rather than pick any one group over another.”
Celestia felt her heart soothe a little at Thorax’s words. Here was someone talking sense! Surely the sincerity of his actions would inspire understanding from-
“He’s probably a spy!” the Trottingham representative snapped, “Changelings! You can’t trust them!”
Celestia threw her head back, her mane blazing with white-hot flame, screaming with the intensity of her Royal Voice. The violence of her voice was so powerful, her fire so bright, that even the non-ponies who had left and were already some ways away, stopped and looked back in awe at the building whose windows were portals of white light. Then Celestia suppressed her anger, glared at her fellow ponies in the darkest of disapproval, and left. Panic-stricken, the redheaded twins who had unintentionally set negotiations into a spiral chased after their ride back to Equestria.
The ponies and Thorax were so stunned by this that they sat in silence for several minutes, several of them temporarily blinded from having looked at her intensity. Finally, someone spoke.
“See?” the Germane said, “Even our Goddess is disgusted by the insult given to us by those non-pony heathens!”
…
“I thought you needed to return to your family reunion, Discord?” Luna sighed as she lost another round on the arcade machine in her personal retreat.
“Oh, don’t be a sore loser,” the God of Chaos chuckled, but it was obviously forced, “Shouldn’t you be attending to your nightly duties right now?”
“I’ve already replaced the lavender,” Luna said.
“You know I’m not talking about the flowers.”
“Hunting monstrous beasts, then?” the Princess asked, “I do have a dungeon crawl game on this machine…”
“Luna, quit dodging the issue!” Discord snapped, “Yeesh! And ponies say I’m shifty! Why have you been avoiding your dream duties? Why haven’t you even touched that scroll you wrote while with Twilight?”
“Why are you still here?” Luna retorted, “It’s been two days, Discord. I admit, it was fun having someone around to keep me company at first – especially someone who can hold their own against me in Slaughter Pony Deathmatch: Armageddon – but two days seems imposing, don’t you think?”
“I don’t know,” Discord smirked, “maybe I just like your company.”
“Your flirting makes my skin crawl,” Luna grimaced as she turned and walked away from the arcade machine, “and it gets less funny with every snide attempt.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop!” Discord teleported in front of Luna, barring her path, “But you need to address these issues! Fluttershy is completely ignoring me!”
Luna stared at him flatly.
“She never ignores her friends, not for two whole days! And certainly not to hold a petty argument with one of her closest compadres!” Discord explained, “Rainbow Dash is her oldest – and, if I’m being completely honest with myself – dearest friend; they’re practically sisters. I’ve never seen them so… bitter.”
“You surprise me,” it was the Princess of the Night’s turn to smirk, “You seem almost afraid of this… disharmony.”
“Ha-ha, Luna,” the spirit of anarchy rolled his glowing eyes, “Yes, I am afraid. You do realize all of my rehabilitation, all of my progress in Equestria, my new friends, everything I have become, is all the direct result of Fluttershy, right? I don’t like how this division is affecting her, or my other friends for that matter. I’m worried it’ll change things for the worst!”
Luna frowned at his concern and ultimately sighed, caving into his desperation. She nodded slowly, trying not to cringe at his eager, gnarled-fanged grin.
“Alright,” she agreed, “I will return to my dream duties. I want something in exchange, first.”
“Anything, just name it!” Discord nodded quickly.
“Please return my room to its original state and leave,” Luna laughed, looking down at her floor from their place on the wall near the ceiling. A bookshelf was floating somewhere near the window. “No gravity was fun, at first, and this has been a delightful distraction from an otherwise mundane job, but perhaps it is time things return to normal.”
“For once,” Discord snapped his fingers and they were standing in the middle of the room, gravity restored and all furniture where it was supposed to be, “I completely agree.”
“Thank you,” Luna said. She prepared to enter the dream realm as Discord readied a snap of his fingers to return to wherever he wished. The Princess of the Night stopped him by calling his name and he looked at her. “Please, don’t be a stranger. I know Tia would love for you to visit sometimes; it gets terribly droll in Canterlot, and you tend to liven things up.”
“I suppose a thousand years isn’t too late for us to start having tea parties,” Discord smirked, “Arrivederci, Lulu! Give Tia my warmest regards!”
With that, Discord left. Luna stared at the place he had been a moment earlier for a few seconds more before returning to her spell. It was almost insulting that Discord had been the voice of responsibility between them and urged her to perform her required duties. With a deep breath she threw herself into the dream world…
…and she recoiled at the horror.