Prince Blueblood slowly finished a sip of his soup, dabbed his muzzle with a napkin, then looked calmly across the breakfast table of his crystalline hotel suite. "Now why in Equestria should I give up my prized royal speedster to the likes of you?"
Soarin fidgeted upon hearing that.
Flash Sentry on the other hoof—with a twitching smile and a flicking tail—swiftly retorted: "You're not giving up anything, Your Majesty! This is a matter of simply lending us your skiff so that we can make a quick pick-up!" He winked. "Trust me. It'll be for the good of Equestria... and to liven up these festivities even more!"
"I thought you and the Wonderbolts had taken charge of the festivities."
"We have!"
"Then why are you having to abandon the Crystal Empire so suddenly?" Blueblood arched an eyebrow. "Have you not summoned all of the caterers and decorators that you need?"
"It's not a matter of abandonment," Flash said. "This is the most important function in Equestrian politics to date, is it not?"
"Well, I certainly cannot deny that—"
"Then we wanna make it as awesome and prosperous for everypony as possible!" Flash Sentry waved a hoof. "And what made it possible for unification in the first place?"
"You would ask such a question?" Blueblood enjoyed a hearty chuckle. "Why—it's the agreement made between the Equestrian representatives and canines of High Paw." He sat tall and proud, smiling. "One may even say that a certain royal equine's timely intercession kept Fancy Pants from ruining the entire scenario with stubborn indignity."
"Snazzy!" Flash Sentry paced a bit across the foyer of the suite. "Soooooooo you of all princes should know how important the diplomacy has been! And how important it will be!"
Soarin nodded, adding his two bits: "It is the spirit of harmony and peace that brought us to this moment, as exemplified by the likes of you, your majesty."
"Right!" Flash pivoted to face Blueblood from afar. "So—in the same spirot of harmony and peace—I propose that you let Soarin and I go fetch the members of the Hawkeye Pack and bring them here so they can enjoy the festivities as well!"
"Yeah, because—" Soarin did a double-take, then gawked at Flash. "Wait... what the buck?!"
"Isn't that brilliant?!" Flash grinned, full of teeth.
Blueblood's brow furrowed. He reached out, grasped a chalice full of orange juice, then drank liberally. Once he was done, he exhaled, placed the glass down, and voiced: "Bring the diamond dogs here. To this city. With my skiff."
"Exactly!" Flash squee'd.
"Flash..." Soarin grimaced. "Bro... what in Tartarus do you think has gotten into you?" He whispered hoarsely to the younger stallion. "This celebration is too important to mess up now by doing something stupid..."
"In truth, I rather like it," Blueblood said.
"Uhhhhhh..." Soarin blinked wildly at the prince. "You do?"
"Indeed." Blueblood folded his napkin neatly and stood up from his breakfast seat. "While it's absolutely splendid that we've won the favor of the crystal ponies with this move..." He paced around the suite and moved towards the two stallions. "...my goal has always been to promote profitable coexistence with all factions of the Equestrian landscape. Making trade with the Diamond Dogs was just the first step. I still have dreams of making sweet with the denizens of Griffonstone. Appealing to the Yakyakistanians." He scuffled to a stop, smiling handsomely at the two. "Maybe even salvaging what's left of the Storm King's scattered factions—through money and friendship, of course. But mostly money."
"Could you imagine?" Flash Sentry beamed. "Allowing the Hawkeye Pack to witness the glory of the Crystal Empire with their own eyes? To see who they're making friends with... and how welcoming and inviting all equines can be?"
"Orrrrrrr show them how frickin' easy it would be to invade the crystal bastions!" Soarin stammered.
"My dear Wonderbolt!" Blueblood frowned at him. "Where are your manners? Haven't we learned from our journey that thinking so xenophobically is antithetical to the very notion of harmony?!"
"With all due respect, your majesty..." Soarin sighed. "While it's a wonderful thing that we made sweet with the diamond dogs, the truth is that they still don't think and act like ponies. I—for one—am totally for keeping the peace with them. But bringing a bunch of them into the heart of the Crystal Empire? Especially after they just recently learned not to assassinate ponies with a catapult? Well..." His eyes sliced towards Flash, glaring. "...it's still a dumb... stupid... risky move..."
"Yeah..." Flash grinned wildly. "Isn't it exciting?"
Soarin's lips pursed. "Did you sniff something since the last time we saw each other?"
"You mean besides the Prince's bitchin' apartment here?" Flash took a long, deep breath. "Mmmmmmmmm... lavender... the aphrodesiac of princesses..."
"Flash—I mean Brad—"
"Gentlecolts."
Both stallions looked at Blueblood.
The Prince stared them down. "I am no fool. I know that Captain Spitfire acquired permission from the stewards of the Empire so that you could do—under the authority of the Wonderbolts—what none of us could agree on. 'Us' being myself, Mr. Pants, and Mr. Rich, of course. And yet... it seems no small coincidence that my ardent desire to hire the best royal caterers from Canterlot to oversee the festivities has been completely and utterly ignored for favor of this... Ponyville agenda."
Soarin nervously cleared his throat. "Your Majesty..."
"Save it." Blueblood lifted a hoof. "You're only doing what's best for Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and I won't sour the whole matter with my own ego. However..." He paced about. "...the House of Blueblood stands to prosper from this endeavor one way or another. Otherwise, how will I afford the prestige to expand upon our harmonic and economical pursuits? This is something that Mr. Pants and Mr. Rich don't understand. In the end, it's about more than just bits and culture. It's about inspiration... and that's something written into my blood."
"Poor hemoglobin." Flash smirked. "Having to play second-fiddle."
"Bradddd..." Soarin growled aside.
"In short." Blueblood pointed. "If I can come out of this having greater prestige with the diamond dogs than the rest of my associates... well... let's just say that it's something I would greatly desire. And I would like to think I already set the foundation for that back at High Paw." His eyes narrowed. "If you can procure these Hawkeye representatives and bring them here to enjoy the time of their canine lives... I'll do my best to ingratiate myself to them. The awe and grandeur of this celebration shall become inseparable with the majesty of my influence. Why... I could end up becoming Canterlot's chief representative to the diamond dog embassy... once I have one built, of course!"
"Wow..." Soarin droned. "...such a harmonic outlook."
"I know, right!" Blueblood practically giggled. A cough or two later, and he stood tall and masculine once again. "I, Prince Blueblood of Canterlot, hereby give you permission to commandeer my skiff and summon the members of High Paw. Make sure it is members of the Hawkeye Pack in particular. Now—be quick about it. The Celebration's barely thirty-six hours away." He waved his hoof. "My servants shall bestow you my seal along the way out to present before the aircraft operators. Now be gone!"
"Gone-gone-going!" Flash Sentry eagerly dashed out of the suite.
"But... it...!" Soarin grimaced, the flailed to follow the other stallion. "Brad! Flash! Wait up!"