Techbird was getting more than a little frustrated. After her initial excitement at getting so many fresh leads on her quest for the answer to her Question, she had quickly run into more brick walls, dampening her enthusiasm. The biggest problem was that this world had undergone a decades-long war of attrition in the centuries past that had taken its toll on not only cities but on whole continents. As a result, much in the way of knowledge and artefacts had been lost or destroyed. While there had been many efforts to preserve science during the Gene Wars in order to create weapons and defenses, other disciplines had suffered. Her efforts to recover this knowledge had dredged up folklore, myths, fantasy, superstition, hearsay, and just a few grains of truth. Her quest had taken her away from the most likely place to find her answer, to the opposite side of the world.
Australia had fared far better than most other nations due to its size and isolation, and the libraries there were far better stocked. However, also due to their location, they tended to focus more on the aboriginal myths and legends. While those also had to have had their roots in the magic of the past, they were not very helpful to her investigation. Sorting through the remainder was a tedious and time-consuming task. She badly missed the changeling network that had helped her to process vast quantities of information and correlate it while aboard the Cosmic Lotus. Galena and her few drones were simply not up to the challenge. For the first time since she had been given a new lease on life due to the capricious benevolence of Flix, the griffoness was becoming impatient.
Techbird slammed shut the book in front of her with a frustrated squawk.
Galena looked at her partner with concern, tasting her irritation. “What’s wrong, Tech?”
“This is a waste of time. Almost everything points to there being nodes of mana-based power, but the only real clue as to where to find one was back where we started in England.”
“Didn’t we already exhaust all our lines of enquiry there?”
“Not quite. We can still do this the hard way.”
The changeling princess’s face frowned in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”
“This world is relatively mana-poor. That should not be the case as the background mana radiation should have brought that up to normal levels long ago. Something is drawing it away. I believe that if we can find out where it is going, we might get a lead to get us back on track.”
“So – why England?”
Techbird held up her talons and counted off on them. “First – the message in the bottle was written in Celtic runes. Second – the markings on the six moonlets around the space portal were based on the same Celtic runes, even if we haven’t figured out what they all mean as yet. Third – legends of dragons, unicorns, pegasi, and other species from Equus originated in the European area, many in Britain.”
“What’s the plan then?”
“Like I said – we’re going to have to do this the hard way. We’re going to have to find and trace those power drains. Hopefully, we can find one of those power nodes that way, or if not, perhaps more clues.”
“How much help can we expect to get from the locals? The Terran world government has been fairly cooperative so far, but are we wearing out our welcome? They’re not under any obligation to ferry us around and expedite other matters for our benefit.”
“I suppose that depends on how the negotiations with the Federation are going. They are understandably as eager to get hold of our magitek as we are to find answers to our investigations. Acquiescing to our whims is trivial under those circumstances.”
“The last I heard, the Cosmic Lotus had arrived back at Equus along with the Pegasus. The first round of talks should have begun by now.” Galena looked thoughtful. “I wonder how those are coming along?”
Boyce and M’Lai were relaxing in one of the private gardens of Canterlot Castle. The weather was perfect – unnaturally so according to the Admiral’s knowledge and experience, but the fact that pegasi managed the weather made a mockery of his expertise. When he had learned that fact, he had been skeptical in spite of what he had seen the ponies do already. Controlling weather on such a scale had to be a gigantic undertaking, but in spite of his expectations, the pegasus weather teams were doing exactly that to the point of it being a humdrum day job for them. It did not stop him from taking advantage of the unique climate this high up the monolithic mountain, and he and his wife were currently seated in chairs under the shade of a tree, sipping cool drinks and enjoying the snacks that the castle staff had provided.
“Forestwalker doesn’t know what shi’s missing,” M’Lai said with a soft purr.
Boyce shrugged. “It was hir choice to research Equian biology rather than take a day’s shore leave. I can’t fault hir for dedication to hir profession.”
M’Lai snickered. “I may be dedicated to mine, but with nobody sick, I’m not going to sit around the ship when I can be watching the scenery down here.”
Like many parts of the castle grounds, their present location overlooked parts of the city and the valley below. Pegasi occasionally flew past on their business, while some obviously were just enjoying themselves. Ponies plied their business in the streets below, interspersed with some griffons and other species. While open to everyone, unicorns still dominated the population of this city on the side of a mountain, and casual acts of magic abounded. The visitors found it all endlessly fascinating.
“The sun’s getting low – I reckon that the diplomatic meeting will be winding up soon,” Boyce commented.
“What are the plans for this evening?”
“Princess Celestia has invited us to dinner along with many of the Path family and the head of the Federation ambassadorial party. It will be more formal than at Twilight’s castle. I’m obliged to go, but you don’t have to if you don’t wish to.”
“And miss a royal banquet? I don’t think so!”
Boyce chuckled. “I didn’t think you would.”
Just then, their attention was drawn to the sound of nearby fluttering wings, and they looked up to see a blue-coated thestral coming in for a landing next to them. Penumbra folded his tan leathery wings and nodded at the two.
“Good afternoon. I hope that I am not disturbing you?”
The human shook his head. “Not at all. I take it that the conference has finished for the day – how did it go?”
“It has, and it went quite smoothly after the initial unpleasantness. I wish to apologise for having to reject Ambassador E’Laki.”
Boyce waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. E’Laki was a jerk and deserved to be thrown off the ambassadorial team. I didn’t like him either.”
Penumbra tilted his head quizzically. “May I ask why not?”
“You may have heard that he’s contemptuous of the lack of pants on most ponies, let alone the total lack of clothing for the majority. Two of my wives are chakats who also don’t wear pants usually, and they are empaths. You can imagine that E’Laki did not endear himself to them.”
The thestral chuckled. “Having met them at Aunt Twilight’s castle, I can imagine that quite well. How did such a person get to be the Chief of Mission to our world though?”
Boyce sighed. “E’Laki is a career diplomat who spent much of his career assigned to worlds such as Raksha and Renzar. Both of those catered much to his Voxxan ideals and predilections, and he built quite a network of contacts and was owed not a few favors. When an ambassadorial party was being assembled to come here to Equus, E’Laki used his seniority and called in those favors to not only be chosen for the team but to also lead it. He knew that it would be a huge boost to his career to bring Equus into the Federation. Unfortunately, he also brought along his arrogance and prejudices.”
“I see. At least his true nature was revealed before the talks got underway.”
“Yes, I heard about the little ruse you used to expose him. What made you decide to do it?”
“That was done at Lord Path’s recommendation, but he did so as a result of talking with Goldfur while shi was visiting us.”
Boyce smirked. “I can imagine. Goldfur is a very practical person with no illusions about the nature of some of the citizens of the Federation. Shi brought hir family to Chakona due to the deteriorating situation on Earth in spite of their ties there.”
Penumbra’s eyebrow rose curiously. “You’re not doing your Federation any favors by telling me this, you know?”
“Am I telling you anything that you haven’t already learned?”
The stallion chuckled. “No, we’re not quite that naïve. We know that the Federation has a lot to offer but there are strings attached. We won’t be rushing into any agreement, although I assure you that organizing assistance with the Swarm situation is our top priority. Equus has many races to placate though, so we need to work through this carefully. House Path has a lot of experience with this kind of situation, so rest assured that we will be trying for the best outcome for all.”
“I have no doubts about that. The more that I learn about House Path, the more that I am impressed. You’re such a large and varied lot. It’s hard to believe that you’re Prince Destined’s son.”
Penumbra grinned. “Yeah – I take after my mother.”
“Who is normally a stallion, I believe. Your magic does some mind-boggling things.”
“And yet you’re the sire of foals with three different species. Are you sure you don’t have magic too?”
Boyce shrugged. “Since meeting the Cosmic Lotus, my thoughts on that have changed considerably.”
“Even if you don’t have magic in the classical sense, I still find your civilization just as mind-boggling, as you put it.”
“Why? We can’t do half the things that you do as an afterthought.”
“Because you’ve built an enormously successful multi-planet and multi-species society without the benefit of magic. I can’t even imagine doing that, and I’m not even a unicorn.”
“Well. When you put it that way, I suppose that much of our science is pretty amazing, but I reckon that if you lack something, you put more effort into the things that you do have to compensate.”
The thestral nodded. “While we’re on the subject of fascinating Federation things, may I ask something about Alexa Mountaineer?”
“What about her?”
“That! You called Alexa ‘her’, but I noticed that she’s not just female, is she?”
“You’re right, shi isn’t, but I normally try to refrain from using herm pronouns when referring to hir.”
“Why is that?”
“Alexa is technically what we call a stellar foxtaur of the mountain breed kind. However, while hir sire was also a mountain breed stellar, hir mother was a red foxtaur vixen. As many of the genetic characteristics of the stellar foxtaurs are hyper-dominant, of course, Alexa was born a mountain stellar too, but shi inherited hir mother’s long legs, slightly more buxom figure, and psychological attitude. Alexa considers hirself to be female in spite of having both male and female genitals. Let me clarify that – shi does not dislike being a herm but hir self-identity is very strongly feminine, so shi prefers to be referred to as a vixen. So shi is a she for all of those who interact with hir.” Boyce then gave Penumbra a stern look. “Now it’s my turn to ask – is that a problem for you?”
“What? Oh no, not at all! I’m bisexual like my mother and both aspects of her appeal to me. I just did not want to embarrass myself or her by acting in ignorance.”
M’Lai spoke up suddenly. “You like her!”
Penumbra gave them a sheepish grin. “Ah, yeah. She’s pretty and smart, and I liked how she handled herself during the meeting. I talked to her a little bit during our lunch break, but I think I might like to know her a lot better. Do you think that she would be interested at all in a thestral stallion?”
Boyce shrugged. “That I can’t answer for you, but as a human who has found love with three different species, I certainly can’t deny the possibility. Heck, I’ve seen stranger things. One of my crewmembers fell in love with a griffon! A rabbit with a predator species, and yet they totally have the hots for each other.”
“That’s an interesting expression – I may not exactly ‘have the hots’ for Alexa, but I would like to know if she would be interested in a date.”
“You don’t think it might be a conflict of interest?”
“I’m merely the moderator of this meeting – I don’t push my opinions – I only offer options. Besides, we probably do things a little differently here on Equus than in the Federation.”
Boyce nodded. “I won’t presume to tell you how to do your job or how you interact socially with anyone. I just hope that you’re prepared to step away if she’s not interested.”
Penumbra looked a little sad for a moment. “I’ve had my share of rejections from mares over the years, Admiral. I can cope with that.”
“Haven’t found the right one yet?” M’Lai asked.
“No, I haven’t. It isn’t easy being a prominent member of a famous House. You either get status-seekers or mares who can’t cope with their stallions always in the public spotlight.”
“And you think maybe a foxtaur might be the better choice?”
The stallion chuckled. “You’ve met my family – we’re infamous for unusual matings.”
The Caitian looked thoughtful for a moment. “Let’s see – besides various pony types, there are griffons, changelings, dragons, and even a zebra. Nope – nothing unusual there,” she said drolly.
All three laughed.
“I had better get going,” Penumbra said. “I’ll see you at dinner?”
“We’ll be there,” Boyce replied. As the thestral spread his wings, the human added, “Good luck, Pen.”
“Thanks, Boyce.”
Penumbra took off and the two watched him head off into the castle.
“Do you think he has a chance?” M’Lai asked.
Boyce shrugged. “I have no idea. Alexa’s preferences are a mystery to me. However, she’s a very open-minded person, so maybe she’ll be intrigued.”
“I hope so – Penumbra’s a very nice stallion.”
“That may be so, but no matchmaking from you, dear.”
M’Lai merely poked her tongue out at her mate and started thinking of new possibilities.
Boyce sighed and leaned back in his chair to resume watching the scenery. He knew who ran the family and it definitely was not him.
While the gathering was nowhere near as big as it had been the previous evening, the core of the Path family were still present for dinner at Canterlot Castle, with the conspicuous addition of Celestia seated by her sister. The main subject for discussion was, of course, the diplomatic talks.
“So you’re saying that the talks didn’t really accomplish much today?” Wandering asked Penumbra.
“Not exactly,” the thestral replied. “Basically all parties introduced themselves, their roles, and what they intend to bring to the table. After that, we had to work out an agenda.”
“And that took all day?”
“Yes, it did. Welcome to the world of diplomacy, Uncle.”
Wandering shuddered. “No, thanks. There’s a reason why I preferred captaining a starship.”
There were many laughs from around the table before Celestia posed a question.
“Now that you have accomplished your mission, what do you plan to do?”
Wandering gave the older alicorn a thoughtful look. “Actually, I don’t think the mission is finished at all. While it’s true that we have done many of the things that we set out to do, we came back with more questions than ever before. The Cosmic Lotus was designed to operate for decades more, and I don’t see why it can’t keep exploring, especially since its refit with warp drive.”
Celestia smiled warmly. “You have a good point, and it’s good that you’re still passionate about your work after all these years, but surely you want to take a break for a while?”
Wandering looked over at Starry who nodded in wordless agreement to the stallion’s thoughts. “You’re right, Auntie Tia. Starry and I definitely wish to connect with family again for a bit, but we won’t set any long-term plans until the situation with the Federation and the threat of the Swarm is dealt with. However, there is one thing that you can do for us right now.”
The Alicorn of the Sun raised a curious eyebrow. “And what would that be?”
“You know that Starry and I decided to get into a relationship, and now we are mates. Well, there’s one step further that we could not take while we were travelling. Starry and I have discussed this and we agreed that when we returned to Equus, we would get formally married. Aunt Celestia, will you do the honors and wed us?”
Celestia was surprised by the sudden request, but her pleasure was obvious. “I would be delighted to officiate your wedding. When would you like to do it?”
Starry spoke up, a grin on her face. “Right now, right here with our family here to witness and my mother as my Best Mare,” she said, beaming at Luna.
“And my mother as my Best Mare,” Wandering added while looking in Twilight Sparkle’s direction. The purple alicorn clopped her front hooves together excitedly and looked ready to burst with happiness.
Celestia chuckled. “I get many requests from the nobility who want to make an ostentatious show of getting married, but I think I will enjoy this informal gathering far more than all of those put together. Shall we proceed, or are there any preparations you would like to make?”
Wandering got up from the table. “Everything that Starry and I would want to do, we have already done. All that remains is the commitment ceremony.” He held his hoof out to Starry who took it in hers.
Luna and Twilight took their cues and came over to stand with their children, a wing over their barrels to show their approval and support.
Celestia stood up and her demeanor shifted into proud and regal Princess of Equestria. She gazed benevolently at the couple. “My dear nephew and niece – this evening you undertake to commit yourselves to one another for the rest of your lives. As unaging alicorns, this is no small thing, so I ask of you, are you certain of your decision?”
Starry and Wandering replied in unison, “We are.”
Celestia looked at her sister. “Princess Luna, do you approve of the union of your daughter to Wandering?”
“I do,” Luna said proudly.
Celestia then turned to face the purple alicorn who had been almost like a daughter to her. “Princess Twilight, do you approve of the union of your son to Starry?”
“I most certainly do,” Twilight replied, teary with joy.
“Starry, make your vow to Wandering.”
Starry gazed into Wandering’s eyes. “From the time that I said that the only stallion who had ever interested me was you, that has never changed. I love you, Wandering Path, and I wish to spend the rest of my life with you as my mate.”
Wandering smiled happily at her words. “When you confessed your love for me, I was surprised to realize that my feelings for you were not in vain. You filled a gap in my life in the best way possible and that has only got better as the years have passed. I love you, Starry Path, and I commit to spending the rest of my life with you as my mate.”
Celestia gave them an approving nod. “Then, by my authority as a Princess of Equestria, I declare Wandering and Starry Path to be husband and wife.”
Starry and Wandering kissed as the rest of their family cheered and applauded, but they hardly heard any of it. Their spouse was the center of each alicorn’s universe at that moment, and that was all that mattered.
Boyce and his wives cuddled, caught up in the emotion of the moment. The human reflected that despite the enormous differences between the Equians and the members of the Federation, some things were universal and love transcended all.
Alexa had wondered why she had been included in what was obviously more a family event than a formal royal banquet, but now she felt that she had been given a look into the true Equus separate from the halls of diplomacy and tearing away the veneer of pomp and ceremony. This was what made Equus strong, and that was why the Federation needed it as an ally.
It had been agreed that the situation with the Swarm had to, by necessity, take precedence in the diplomatic talks. Unfortunately, that was as far as the agreement extended. Factions within the Equian delegations were in disagreement with what actions were to be taken if any, and they were quite vociferous in their stances. Various parties were moving up and speaking, some of them advocating for giving assistance to the Federation, or even joining it, but then there were others who called for isolationist mandates, opening up talks with the Swarm, or closing the portal to the Far Star and leaving them to their fate. Even with the support of the crew of the Cosmic Lotus, no motions either way were being passed. It remained a deadlock for three days, but then Long Path asked to be recognized. Only then did the yelling stop and a hush went across the room as the grey earth pony walked toward the central podium accompanied by his griffon companion.
Path smiled at the delegates as he leaned on the podium in a rather informal manner; his trademark style was one of the things that made him so approachable. “You know... I remember the days when the House was still young, still trying to grow. It was such a fight to create the tenets and amendments that the House goes by – the same ten tenets and seven amendments that stand to this very day. In fact, I’m fairly certain that all of you know many of them. It’s what gives the House its honor, its purpose as the Shield of Equus. Think about that statement: The Shield of Equus. Sworn to protect all civilizations on Equus, and then it was updated when Lunar City was established and the Lagrange point stations. Free, would you remind the delegates what is the tenth tenet?” The pony looked over to Free Agent.
The griffon changeling pulled out a large heavy book embossed with the symbol of House Path from his saddle pack and opened it up to the specified page. “House Path is sworn to protect all those who claim shelter under the House Path banner. Those that swear to uphold the tenets need never fear duress, strife, or agony. Tenet Ten, Revision Four. 54 AP.” Free looked up to Path.
“Can you read the third amendment to tenet ten please?” the pony requested.
“House Path will never ignore the plea for help from a civilization if it is in imminent danger.”
“Hmm... and why did we include that?”
“It was in response to the famine caused by the failed crops in the Zebrica Empire. It was voted on by a full complement of the heads of each branch and it passed 17 to 3 in favor of the amendment.”
“Is there any factor within the amendment to limit the scope or location of the civilization?”
“No, there is not,” Free replied.
“Then House Path’s course is clear. If during these debates the Federation petitions to ally itself with House Path to claim sanctuary under the great shield, then their application will be fast-tracked and it will become a House matter. Until then, please feel free to continue the debate.” He nodded to the assembled delegates and started to walk off the stage followed by Free. After a respectful silence, argument started to rage once more with no end in sight.
Alexa, however, sat back and considered just what had happened. Even the most contentious of those gathered here today had quietly and respectfully listened to this otherwise ordinary grey pony. There was true power there, and it had sided with the Federation in no uncertain terms. Suddenly the stellar foxtaur felt reassured that her mission’s major goal would be a success irrespective of whatever else was decided this day. There was still a lot of work ahead of her and the other envoys, but now she could put aside that niggling worry.
And maybe she would take up that request for a date from Penumbra afterwards. She had something to celebrate, after all, and she preferred to do it with interesting company.
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