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// 64 - Getting Together 
// Story: Fading Suns: A New World 
// by David Silver 
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Laud sat at the dinner table. Across from him were his wives: Twilight, Bon Bon, and Lyra. Next to him were Gregor and Spike. It was boys versus girls as arrangements went, which was not what bothered him.

Lyra was chatting amiably with Gregor. "Wow, you're important for humans, huh? I play music." Her lyre appeared over her head as her horn glowed gently. "I can play you a song?"

Gregor laughed amiably. If not for the guards that stood post around the edges of the room, he would be but a merry visitor. "I would be delighted to hear it. Princess." He had turned his attention to Twilight, shifting the topic without a pause. "Your people are most curious. Even now, I struggle to place them precisely. In some ways, I feel as if I have been transported to an angelic realm, filled with equine cherubs that move with an innate humility and tranquility. Surely it is not as idyllic as it appears?"

Laud's left hand clenched lightly. There it was. Judgment. Would it be favorable? That was a prying question.

Twilight, on the other hoof, laughed it off. "Of course not. We are alive and free-thinking, which means sometimes what one pony thinks is not what another pony thinks. We do fight and squabble, as intelligence seems to almost require at times." She rolled a hoof at him. "But we can usually work it out. When we can't, we have agents, like myself, who are eager to assist."

Gregor paused, listening to the soft music that Lyra produced. He seemed perfectly happy to listen and eat for a time, savoring both properly. "Mmm, you are spoiling me. Now, in what way do you serve as an agent of harmony?"

Twilight brightened. "I didn't expect you to know the ways of harmony already."

That caught Gregor off-guard a moment, but his smile returned easily. "Ah, that is right. It was mentioned before and perhaps I recalled it without thought. The mayor mentioned your people hold harmony high as a principle to be emulated and pursued."

"It wasn't always that way." Twilight sat up in her chair. "I am a 'bearer of the elements'. I used to wield ancient artifacts comprised of a small bit of harmony itself. That has stopped, but my duty remains. I am summoned by the cutie map now to address problems of disharmony and guide the ponies back into harmony and set friendship problems at ease."

Spike raised a hand suddenly. "Ooo, I was called by that once."

Bon Bon shook her head. "It's only called a small number of ponies, and one dragon. It's quite... selective."

Lyra tilted her head, her music slowing a moment. "It's never called me. Pity, because it sounds like tons of fun."

Gregor slapped the top of the table with a loud guffaw. "You admit to the presence of a great magic artifact; but its purpose? To create harmony and help people be friends? My peers would think I had partaken of too many libations were I to share this story with them as it is." He looked to the quiet Laud. "And you; you are master of this table. Come, join us in conversation."

He doubted that on several levels, but Laud dared not remain quiet after a direct invitation. "It was mentioned before that I had taken pony brides." He gestured across at the three mares. "Here they are; Princess Twilight Sparkle, Bon Bon, and Lyra Heartstrings." Each mare nodded as her name was said. "Twilight is the highest ranking member in this room by a considerable step, making her the mistress of the table."

Lyra burst into soft giggles. "What would you have of me, oh mistress of the dinner table?"

Spike thrust both of his thumbs back at himself. "Hey, I cooked all of this. I say I'm the master of the dinner table. Twilight just happens to own everything else."

Twilight waved a wing at the whole thing. "Yes yes, I concede tonight's dinner to Spike, long may he reign." She reached out a hoof across the table and rubbed the top of his head. "Don't let the power go to your head."

As the natives of the world laughed and joked, Gregor seemed thoughtful, if smiling. "You are very informal." He nodded towards Twilight. "Towards your lessers, you are--"

"--Their Friend," finished Twilight with a smile. "Just because I have other responsibilities does not diminish that." She tilted her head a little. "I gather that is not normal among humans?"

"I must admit this is true." He put a hand on his chest. "As you can see, my guards wait, likely hungry at the sight of the feast we enjoy. They do not ask questions; they dare not. I am their superior, and they defer to it. There are others above me, to whom I would have to bow my head and treat in much the same fashion."

"Like Celestia!" Twilight sat up. "I mean, technically she's, uh, a peer now... I can't shake off that feeling."

Gregor spread his hands. "And who is this?"

Twilight began an eager explanation of Celestia and how wonderful of a pony she was.





Ember lay on a bed of stones. She was weak; injured and barely awake. She expected another dragon to come snatch her crown away from her at any moment, but it had not happened so far. The scepter rest beside her, untouched by others. One of her 'friends', as close as the term could be used to address any dragon that was not Spike, came in once in a while. She tended to Ember's hurts as best she clumsily could.

The next time she came in, Ember grabbed at her wrist. "Stop. What's going on? Why hasn't somedragon snatched up the scepter and run off with it already?" The suspense was the worst part.

Her friend smiled awkwardly. "They'd have to get past the others. They only let me in because we're, you know, not bitter rivals. Are you feeling better?"

Ember let her hand go slack. "No... It hurts like hell. What happened? Did we win?"

"We sent them running." The dragoness smiled gently at her injured leader. "Look, uh... not to... imply you're not super strong or anything, but... you're hurt, real bad... Maybe... We should get help?"

Ember felt the burning desire to yell at her almost-friend, to chastise her and scream and hop up to her feet and show them all how strong she was.

Pity she couldn't do any of those things... "Maybe..." But who? Oh, of course... "It's time to give little Spike a visit, as a courtesy. It has nothing to do with my condition, you realize..."

She smiled, grasping where Ember was going. "Of course not. That little pony-dragon needs all the help he can get. You're so generous to take time out of your schedule to visit him. He'd be lost without you."

"Exactly." She sat up with some effort, clutching her side where the weapon had hit her from so far away. What it was, she didn't know, but it hurt! "Let's go."

Her friend rubbed behind her head, watching Ember struggle to rise a moment before offering a claw. "I won't tell a soul," she promised quietly.

Ember softly growled, but accepted the claw, pulling herself up with her friend's help. "Thanks... Look... Just... thanks... I won't forget this."

She snatched up Ember's scepter, only to pass it to Ember quickly. "You need to be holding this when dragons see you."

It was a small thing, not even that heavy, but it felt heavy. Ember ended up holding it in both hands as if she were about to clobber someone with it. It was just enough to keep a good grip on it. "Ready."

A flight of dragons took to the air. Ember rode on the back of the largest dragon there,  her father. "I thought you retired?"

"No retirement is strong enough to keep me away right now." With a powerful flap of his wings, he carried them closer to Equestria. "Those ponies had better treat you properly, or I will personally raze their entire country to the ground."

"Dad..."

"Fine, just the hospital that fails to assist you."

Ember rolled her eyes softly.





Dinner had passed and Laud was on his way to his room. Things had, overall, gone fairly well... Were things really just... working out? Perhaps he should not question his blessings.

Bon Bon was in front of his door. Lyra was not. She had a little frown on her face, perhaps pensive.

"How can I help?" inquired Laud as he came closer. "I was about to retire for the evening. You did well at dinner."

"Thank you." She inclined her head. "I did not feel like disclosing all of our secrets, though the others were not as... reserved." She gestured towards the door. "Can I come with you?"

"I would be a questionable husband to refuse my wife from my bedroom." He pulled the door open and gestured inside. "Not that I imagine you are here for that." He only really expected that from one of his wives.

Bon Bon's cheeks colored faintly. "N-maybe." She trot past him purposefully, hopping up on the bed. She sat down facing him, watching him enter the room. "We are husband and wife. It isn't the ideal situation for either of us... You're a sharp person. You know what I prefer, don't you?"

"You enjoy the company of Lyra." He sank down beside Bon Bon. "The concept of same-sex attraction is not alien to me." True, normally only nobles had the luxury of entertaining such things for long, but... "And yet, here you are. You did it for her, in the end, did you not?"

"In part." She perked an ear at him. "I'm also curious, about you. Look... we are husband and wife. That's a promise." She put a hoof to her chest. "And I don't welch on promises. If we're married... we should mean it."

"What are you proposing?" He studied the mare beside him. That alien, and yet human, female that didn't meet his gaze.

She reached up and put a hoof right on his face, covering his lips. "I'm proposing we turn off the lights. You get rid of those clothes, and we... do what a married couple does. I then propose some pillow talk where we discuss our dreams and desires and get to know each other better. Or maybe you'll fall asleep. I hear that's a thing with stallions." She smirked a little. "Either way."

As it turned out, he did not fall asleep.





"So, you see." Twilight gestured at her school, down below from the balcony they were perched on. "My students are incredibly curious about humans and want to meet them. They're a wonderful set of children, and I'll be there to help keep them in line, but first, is it alright? And second, can we be sure nobody will be too... on edge and start a conflict that results in hurt children?"

Gregor rubbed at the soft stubble on his chin. "Well, I'm not one to disappoint little eager souls in pursuit of proper learning. Especially if that involves a trip to a holy vessel and perhaps hearing the word of the Pancreator. I'd be honored and delighted to serve as a host for them. Are they ponies, I presume?"

"Some." She wobbled a hoof. "Also a yak, a changeling, a--"

"Changeling? I know what a yak is, though how one would be a student, I can only presume in much the way a pony can be, but what is a changeling?"

Twilight shook her head quickly. "There are many species of creature on this world besides ponies. Changelings are insect-like creatures, pony in basic shape, that can shapeshift on demand. This particular changeling is a young female, a little shy, but completely sweet."

Gregor raised a brow. Was every species of that strange land blessed with some strange power? How they got along without coming to blows was itself another mystery. "I see... I also understand better why you were concerned." He clapped  his hands loudly. "Let me prepare. I will have a space for them, and see the soldiers are properly briefed. Let's give the little ones an experience they will remember fondly for all their days."

Twilight raised a hoof towards him. "Fantastic! I had a good feeling you'd be on board for this."