The gavel smacked down hard on the table top, emitting a resounding clack.
“The 14th Trottingham Interim Congress is now in session,” a woman with dark-purple hair, pronounced glasses, and a rather joyless look on her face stated as she set the gavel down. She was seated at the head of a wide, long, rectangular table in a rather ornate and well-maintained room. Between the room's style, with high ceilings and large windows, the choice of décor, and the older, warmer-looking furnishings of wood and cloth rather than iron and padding, it looked like it was set in a royal palace rather than the more colder, utilitarian types of rooms that modern society embraced.
Stretching in front of her, all the way along either side of the table, were an assortment of people who looked about as mirthless as her. They were a mixed variety, and some of their dispositions were less friendly and casual than others, but all were dressed in suits or other attire of state. The ones closer to her were of a different sort than ones seated further down, however. They seemed to be more of the secretarial or bureaucratic type.
She adjusted her glasses before taking up a pen and looking at a ledger open in front of her. “Let’s start with role call. Lady of Mancanter?”
“Here,” one of those at the table spoke up.
“Lord of Braystol?”
“Here.”
“Lady of Oxenford?”
“Here.”
“Lady of Portssnout?”
“Here.”
“Lady of Derby Downs?”
“Here.”
“Lady of Swan’s Sea?”
“Here.”
“Lady of Trottin’-On-Tees?”
“Here.”
“Lord of Reinbridge?”
“Here.”
“Lady of Whinnychester?”
“Here.”
She paused for a fraction of a second. “Lady of Queen’s Lynn?”
Silence from the table. For a moment, the woman’s eyes looked up and drifted to a seat on her right far at the end. It was vacant--the only seat at the table that was so.
She let out a muted sigh, as this was something she was used to. Making the final note in the ledger, she placed her pen to one side. “As always, we shall start this Congress with matters of defense and military. Afterward, we shall move on to-”
“Regent Cinch.”
The woman went silent; her eyes narrowing a little at the interruption. She looked up and down the table to find one of the ladies on the far side looking back at her just as sternly, if not more so.
“I believe we should start this Congress with discussing matters of the interior. In particular, the economy. I have some findings I believe you will find very interesting.”
The older woman gave her a stony glare for several moments. “I tend to believe that matters of defense, considering the fact that they determine not only our nation’s sovereignty but survival, should take the most precedence, Lady Swan’s Sea.”
“Lord Speaker, I tend to believe we won’t have much to defend or to provide for defense if we ignore the wealth and livelihood of the nation.”
The silence over the table was palpable. The other members looked intently back to the Regent, waiting to see how she would respond. For a long time she didn’t move, just stared at her fellow peer, before she simply adjusted her glasses.
“We have our precedent schedule, and we are in a time of war. Furthermore, I am Lord Speaker, and therefore I shall set the agenda. You will have to wait, Lady Swan’s Sea.”
She didn’t look away or change in her expression, but she slowly eased back into her seat. The Regent looked to one of the individuals nearer to her. “First and foremost, how goes the war effort?”
He cleared his throat. “The ground forces remain at a stalemate at the border. No new pushes were made from the Dragonlands on the infantry front in the past month. The admiral reports continued success on our attacks, but there have been increased reports of buildup along the borders of defenses. We’ve having to push higher and higher to launch our own sorties and refueling is becoming an issue.”
“And to the Southwest?”
He looked uneasier. “The general does report that, following the last reported incident of a Nighttouched attack, that Appleloosa is being stretched thin. Nevertheless, he said that we cannot hope to carry out an offensive with only two divisions. They are poorly equipped, poorly fed, and twenty percent of the trenches are riddled with disease. At the bare minimum, he requests airship relief.”
“Every last man, woman, and child in Trottingham is having to tighten their belts, minister.”
“With all due respect, Lord Speaker…that’s the same answer we’ve been giving him for five months.”
She barely suppressed rolling her eyes as she exhaled, before turning to the speaker’s fellow minister. “How likely can we satisfy the general’s request?”
“Completely impossible. All four shipyards are understaffed and suffering from resource shortages as it is.”
“How about the armors?”
“Right now 90 percent are guarding the No Man’s Land between Trottingham and the Dragonlands. We might be able to pull some away, but if they notice…”
“New armors then?”
“We’ve sunk most of the treasury into the shipyards. Even if we did have new armors, we wouldn’t have the manpower to use them.”
“Not unless we issued a draft of the girls along with the boys…” the Lady of Oxenford muttered with an eye roll.
The Regent sighed and adjusted her glasses. “How about training existing soldiers?”
“Half of the soldiers are so raw they’ve seen less than two years of service as infantrymen. Running our larger armors is a task that requires a trained engineering crew…”
“Ugh...I don’t mean to interject,” the same representative spoke up, loud enough to get everyone’s attention, “but it looks like all we're doing is the same thing we’ve been doing for nearly eight years now: seeing if we can find any more rocks to squeeze blood from.”
“And I don’t think I need hardly remind you that we’ve done quite well with that policy you so dismally assess,” the Lord Speaker responded coolly. “Far better than Cloudsdale and Mount Eris, to be sure. Innovative Independence has carried us past the aftermath of the Lunar Fall to be on the cutting edge of technology.”
"Oh right! We've been doing just absolutely fantastic!" the Lady of Mancanter spoke up in a perky, cheerful voice, before it instantly reverted into a sullen scowl. "If by 'absolutely fantastic' you mean we're so broke we can't afford anything."
“The Regent talks of technology and her ‘Innovative Independence’ policy as if they are practically constitutional values to uphold," the Lady of Swan's Sea spoke up again in a bitter monotone. "Frankly, I think over the past two years almost every pound sunk into our innovation has been misapplied. In my district we had a major project to build mass refrigeration. Eighteen months later, we have warehouse-sized compartments that can keep hundreds of tons of produce fresh, and no produce to fill them with. We invest millions into upgrading the shipping industry and docks and we haven’t a single partner in Greater Everfree with which to trade. All it’s gotten us is an unprotectable set of shipping lanes for black marketeers to bring in every good we can’t provide.”
“And it's getting worse,” the Lady of Portssnout spoke up. “We've been getting by eating cereals and sugar beets for three years now. People will pay 20 pounds apiece for things like melons, spices, and even potatoes by now. Not to mention we can't get decent cloth, porcelain, or tea anymore now that we can't import it. This Innovative Independence thing may have kept us going after the Lunar Fall, but now it's kind of worn out its welcome.”
The Regent paused for a long time before she folded her hands in front of her and straightened in her chair. She now had three of the representatives staring hard and critically at her, but the others were also keeping their eyes on her intently waiting for her response.
At last, she focused fully on the Lady of Swan’s Sea. “And I suppose you believe you have a solution to all of this that you wished to share and that you’re simply not wishing things were better?”
“I do,” she readily answered. “Trottingham need to increase its wealth at once. We need trading partners.”
“Oh, we do now.” Her voice was measured, as if humoring a child...not too much of a stretch considering the Lords and Ladies were less than half her age. “And who, might I ask, is there to seek a partnership with? Appleloosa? The ones who placed soldiers on their borders when the Dragonlands made their first move to ensure we wouldn’t be pushed into their land? Mount Eris? Perhaps there are some survivors yet in the rubble of the capitol who have nothing better to do than sign contracts. Or the Manehattan-Fillydelphia alliance, perhaps? The very ones who stand the most to see us torn apart by Dragonlord Ember. Perhaps we should share our innovation secrets with them upfront so they have even less reason to humor us.”
The representative frowned, clearly not liking the push back. “If we cannot trade with the major parties, we can trade with the lesser ones. Ones like Hoofheim. Or across the ocean-”
"Ah," Regent cut her off with a smirk, "so that is your grand solution to our current dilemma. Simply trade with whoever we can. Why not? I’m certain Appleloosa and the Manehattan-Fillydelphia alliance will think nothing of us sailing through their waters to Hoofheim and anywhere else to grow rich and more powerful at their expense. And across the ocean, you say? You’re thinking of trading with the Zebralands, I take it? Well, why not?” She snorted. “What’s the current exchange rate for ‘wampum’ and bushmeat? Please, don’t stop there, representative. Are there any other remote possibilities you can think of that we haven’t dismissed long ago?”
The Lady of Oxenford stiffened her jaw and straightened in her chair. “There are much simpler routes to take to get to trade partners. Ones that don’t need rely on the sea.”
The Regent's smirk vanished. “I don’t believe I follow you.”
“We have the means to take roads that no one else can use…”
The older woman's look grew dark as her own lips pursed. “That is an option completely off the table. Our defense needs all the airships we can muster with that capability if not more.”
“Then I think we should put some of the technology that has been used exclusively for the military to more domestic matters.”
At once, the Regent's face tightened and she slapped a hand on the table hard enough for the nearest ministers to pull away. “Absolutely out of the question. This technology is a matter of national defense and I will hear none of it.”
“And what good does that do if we collapse from being poor and starving? We've got an edge that no one else in Greater Everfree has!”
The Regent’s face remained firm as she leaned back in her seat. “That’s enough, representative.”
“Why shouldn’t we use it? Why should the Military’s Research and Development hoard everything to themselv-”
“I said that’s enough.”
The sharpness of the last word was enough to render the whole room silent, although both the Lady of Oxenford and the other representatives continued to look at her darkly. Some of them even looked frustrated. However, she remained calm as she folded her hands again.
“As I have stated time and again, due to resource limitations and the need for secrecy, all Military Research and Development will be kept to the strictest of need-to-know conditions. I myself am not privy to the secrets behind this technology so I am in no way less in the dark than the rest of you, but I trust our developers and I trust them when they say they cannot risk these secrets getting out.”
Two of the representatives eased a little at this, although the others remained terse.
“I don’t think I need remind you all that Trottingham possesses, and will continue to possess, a unique status. We are the only nation on Greater Everfree that has nothing to fear from the Light Eaters. Now then, this Nighttouched attack as of late…” She turned back to the ministers. “They believe this is a sign of a greater attack coming, do they not?”
There was a moment of hesitation, before the minister nodded. “Yes. All indications point to another surge. This one on Appleloosa.”
“There, you see?” She turned back to the representatives. “It is simply a waiting game. We let Appleloosa and the other nations weaken, identify their most vulnerable spots, and then strike. And with the routes we possess we can always outflank them. All we need is a little patience, and with any luck we can seize the Dodge Peninsula. And once we have it, all of our agricultural production problems will be solved.”
Silence from the table. More of the representatives eased back into their seats, as this seemed to pacify them, until only the ones from Swan’s Sea, Oxenford, and Portssnout remained. After a time, the latter of the two joined the others, although both of them still looked hesitant. Finally, never ceasing from staring at her darkly, the Lady of Swan’s Sea leaned back.
“Now as I said before I was interrupted,” the Regent went on, “we shall start with military business…”
Four hours later, the Regent had removed her glasses and was rubbing the bridge of her nose as she walked down a different hall of the Royal Palace of Trottingham. This one still had the decorations of suits of armor, coats of arms, and portraits of the past kings, queens, and princes--every last one of them quite obsolete but an indication that the hall hadn’t been converted to an official purpose yet. While there were three aides flanking her from behind and members of the guard at every end and turn, it was far more private here and therefore an easier place for her to collect her thoughts after such a tension-fueled meeting.
Her thoughts were still brooding over what had transpired when she turned the corner, but as soon as she did she slowed in her step so much her aides looked puzzled as they were forced to do the same. She didn’t notice. Her eyes were on the end of the hall.
She had been headed toward the door to the royal study in order to properly unwind. However, as soon as she saw it, she noticed a familiar figure clad in official ornamental armor with a gleaming, brassy finish. An equally archaic spear was posted to his side, and his eyes were set perfectly forward from underneath his brushed galea.
He was the only member of the mostly-disbanded official Royal Guard who still subscribed to official dress. And wherever he was, she was never far away.
“Leave me at once,” she spoke to those behind her without turning. “I’ll call you when I need you.”
The aides had heard this request before, especially when the Royal Guard member was there. Not only did they immediately comply, but the other guards posted in the hall left their stations and withdrew as well. Only the man with the spear remained standing there. It wasn’t until all others were gone that the Regent drew herself up, smoothed out her attire and hair, and walked the rest of the way alone. Her eyes glanced at the Royal Guard member, but he kept his own forward the whole time.
On reaching the door, she exhaled once before opening it up. She quickly stepped inside and shut it again before looking forward.
It was the warmer time of year in Trottingham and she hadn’t started a fire that day. Nevertheless, the fireplace in the study was blazing brightly. Seated in one of the two chairs nearest it, turned almost into a shadow by the glow, was the figure of a woman with voluminous, flowing hair, a custom-tailored uniform of the Trottingham Aerial Navy that incorporated a good amount of black leather, and her head turned toward the fire. On the arm table nearby was a drink she had helped herself to and largely finished. Her legs were crossed, one idly bouncing up and down on top of the other.
“Have a good meeting, Regent Cinch?”
The casualty of the tone made her visibly stiffen before she began to walk forward; far more slowly than before. “I expected to see you there. You are the Lady of Queen’s Lynn now.”
A light chuckle. “Now don’t tell me that you actually wanted them to see more of me in the palace.”
“If they knew you were here and you didn’t attend, you would undermine my authority as Regent. Especially if you were here the whole time sipping tea and curled up in an armchair.”
“Just enjoying some of the perks of my position, Regent. After all…”
She slowly turned away from the fire.
Cinch slowed on seeing her vivid cyan eyes in the dim light. Framed against the fireplace, her hair’s equally-fiery-colored tone appeared to radiate. The woman’s lips curled into a cool smile.
“You know all about enjoying the perks of a new position. And the Lunar Fall was kinder to both of us than most, wasn’t it? I’d even say,” Her teeth flashed in a grin. “We both came out further ahead for it, didn’t we?”
Cinch said nothing, although her jaw clenched just a little. She finished walking in silence over to the chair across from the young woman and sat down in it. “Someone in your position and title has certain obligations to the head of state. Failing to do so is a sign that my authority is undermined. That’s the last thing I need right now.”
She snorted. “And this is the thanks I get after all I’ve done for you?”
“Done for me?” she scowled back. “You haven’t lifted a finger to help me with the current economic crisis. Or with the Dragonlands.”
“You don’t really expect me to clean up every one of your mistakes, do you? I gave you security on the border to Equestria from everything except the occasional Nighttouched. I gave you the power to traverse Equestria itself without fear. I even gave you a handful of magical weapons. What else do you want from me?”
“What you promised!” Her volume rose as she snapped. She took a moment afterward to reassert her self-control, then continued in a more measured voice although her face remained tightened. “I need it now more than ever. The representatives are breathing down my neck.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” she coolly responded, reaching into her outer jacket. She emerged with an envelope on which the seal had already been broken and casually tossed it into Cinch’s lap, a bit to her surprise. “Read that at your own leisure, but I’ll summarize. Three of your representatives requested that I join in with them on a coalition to start overriding your authority; leaving the option open to depose you through a vote of no-confidence.”
Cinch went wide-eyed. She snatched the envelope up, nearly ripped the letter inside out, and quickly glanced over it. She scowled even further as she set it down. “After everything I’ve done for them, this is how they respond. Stabbing me in the back.”
The young woman shrugged as she reached into her jacket again, coming out with a cigarette tin and flipping it open. “Perhaps you should be thankful I didn’t attend today’s Congress. You’re right in saying you’re running low on time, but you did dig yourself into this hole. I only gave you technology. It wasn’t my idea for you to poke your nose in where it didn’t belong in the Farmland War and turn every country left on Greater Everfree against you.”
“That was the only decision that could be made,” she snapped bag with a hint of anger. “Dragonlord Ember wants to see me destroyed and Trottingham with me. The world is a different place after the Lunar Fall. Now it’s every man and woman for themselves. I wasn’t about to risk letting the world think we were so weak and staggering that they could just sweep in and finish us off. I was not going to let what happened to Cloudsdale happen to Trottingham. I’m trying to make decisions that ensure our sovereignty and those children of dead nobles in that Congress are complaining the people can’t get potatoes.”
“I don’t really care for your reasons one way or another, Regent. I just know that you stayed in power and now the economic condition, to say nothing of the military one, is in your hands and on your neck.”
“And I expect you to help me do something about it. I expect you to keep up your end of our arrangement. I’ve helped you in every way you’ve requested. You have your position in the military, the lands and titles of the deposed Lady of Queen’s Lynn…which I might add I also helped in…your personal resources, your ability to come and go as you wish… Even those very ‘magical weapons’ you pointed out belong only to those under your command. I expect more back.”
The fiery-haired woman had a cigarette in her mouth by now and produced a match to light up. Cinch’s nose wrinkled in disgust, obviously not caring for her smoking, but not able to say anything about it as the younger woman took in a long drag and blew the smoke directly in the Regent's direction. “And what did you have in mind?”
She took a moment to waft the smoke away before glaring at her again. “Something. Anything. Applying your technology to commercial airships. Enhancements for our armor. More magical weapons. Whatever can give us an edge on the military or recover the economy.”
“Heh, I had no idea I was your genie all of this sudden,” she took another drag. “Besides, you’re lying. That’s not what you want.”
Cinch raised an eyebrow. “Oh, it isn’t?”
“No.” Her voice lowered as she looked Cinch straight in the eye. “What you want is what I have, and you want the ability to use it and give it to anyone you please. That’s what you wanted ever since I demoed it and offered it to you, isn’t it?”
Cinch’s face eased. Her expression grew a bit more uneasy just at the thought of it, but also with a hint of a covetous gleam in her eyes. She spoke in a whisper; both for a desire for secrecy but also with a note of reverence.
“Magic.”
The young woman nodded. “Magic.”
“Real magic.”
“Not a fairy tale. Not a children’s drawing. Not a parlor trick or a magician's sleight of hand. Power to change the world. Power to direct the world.” She smiled wider. “I told you from the start that this wouldn’t come cheap.”
Cinch’s momentary reverence broke, her frown resuming. “And exactly how many more price tags do you expect me to pay before you share with me those secrets?”
“Patience.”
“I’ve had patience for six years!” Cinch snapped, again losing control of her temper.
Before she could continue, the young woman held up a hand to stop her. “I’m serious this time. First, however, I need to know something.” She leaned back in her chair again, taking another drag. “There was another attack recently, wasn’t there? That’s what has the western half of Greater Everfree all abuzz?”
Cinch looked even more vexed that she was changing the subject but she forced herself to be calm and leaned back yet again. “What of it?”
“There’s a rumor going around,” she idly answered, looking at the fingernails on one hand while she took another puff. “Rumor that an actual Light Eater came through with this one. Rumor…”
She paused a moment, turning her hand over. It wore a leather, studded, fingerless glove over it, but her eyes focused on the back of her hand for two full seconds.
“…that something killed it. Or rather someone.”
Cinch raised an eyebrow. “As a matter of fact, that rumor has been going around. At first I dismissed it as nothing, but apparently something happened if such an outlandish claim is circulating. Personally I find it impossible to fathom.”
“And…is there any other information about who this person supposedly was?”
The regent hesitated. In spite of the young woman’s normally smug and confident look, she picked up that this was clearly a subject of interest to her. And as she thought of it, she began to realize something else...
“It’s just a rumor that it happened in the first place. You can’t expect any hard facts from hearsay. That being said, the more detailed ones mention a young woman. It occurs to me…” She folded her hands in front of her. “If there was any young woman in the world that would be able to destroy a Light Eater single-handedly, I’m looking at her.”
The fiery-haired woman was quiet for a fraction of a second, but then smirked once again to herself. It took her a bit longer to turn back to Cinch. She took another drag as she straightened up. “Well then…I believe I am ready to make good on my word to you. That is…after I receive one last favor from you.”
“And what favor that would be?”
“In addition to the Rising Sun, I’ll need two fully outfitted airships and two additional battalions.”
The regent nearly sputtered. “Two more airships? And battalions?”
“That’s not all. I’ll be needing your leave for International Operations. In other words, I use our routes through Equestria to come and go into other nations as I please.”
“To what end?”
“Mass assassinations.”
“Are you out of your mind?!” Cinch shouted, no longer able to contain herself as she snapped forward again. “As strained as I am you want me to not only give up resources but give other countries reason to have grievances with me? The audacity of asking for two more airships and crews is more than enough! To take them across the border for covert military operations? I’m still trying to find an excuse for giving you your own private airship!”
She shrugged indifferently. “Well, it is your decision at the end of the day, regent.” She took another puff as she leaned back, flicking her cigarette ashes off the arm rest. She didn't care at all that they landed on the carpet. “But I know what you’re thinking right now. You’ve thought I was, more or less, unique until a little while ago, but you know full well the only way anyone could kill a Light Eater would be if they were someone like me. And you know, if there are more like me, exactly what that means for your plan to be the only one with magic in Greater Everfree.”
Cinch eased a little at that, her angry look giving way to a grimace.
“I can give you all the magic you could ask for and more, but it won’t do you much good if your latest ‘innovation’ is copied by every other country. The world can’t be directed by more than one steering wheel. If you want to be the only one with magic, then I’m afraid you don’t have any choice but to make sure there aren’t any other individuals out there who have it…one way or another.”
She smiled slyly.
“And here I am offering to do the job for you, just so long as you give me the means to carry it out. Who else should it be besides me? Someone who not only is almost a ghost in Trottingham to begin with, but has the power to make sure the job is done right?”
Cinch didn’t answer, although she leaned fully back into her chair. Her former angry look had also faded. Her eyes turned to the crackling fire and stared as her mind ran over this.
The fiery-haired woman patiently waited, with a look so confident it had to already know the answer.
It wasn’t until the main hatch of the Rising Sun was sealing behind them, and the scent of metal and oil and the sound of boilers and steam were about them, that the Royal Guard addressed the fiery-haired woman at last.
“How did it go?”
“Exactly as I knew it would,” she smugly smirked as she kept leading the way. “People are easy to predict when you know exactly what they want. Control only requires a little more effort at that point.”
The two continued to walk down the service corridor toward the bridge area. The lower deck was filled with various engineers and soldiers under the fiery-headed woman’s command. Each of them stopped what they did and saluted her when she came; often with a burst of speed indicating anxiety or fear. Normally she would have relished in that, but today something far better had put a smile on her face from ear to ear.
She did, however, react when she passed by two individuals in particular. A pair of higher-ranking soldiers, yet still in the “grunt” class, had been coming down a horizontal hall and nearly run into her when they froze in their tracks. Neither appeared to be too terribly intelligent. One was tall but lanky and the other was solid but squat and rotund.
She slowed to a stop and looked at them. “You two. You made sure those letters I wrote will be ‘found’ by the proper members of the Regent’s staff, right?”
Both of them smirked and saluted. “Aye-aye.”
“You can count on us, Sunset!”
Her smile waned as her eyes narrowed.
“Uh…Lady Sunset!”
She didn’t smile again as she reached into her pockets and came out with a small set of lumped clay halves. “Souvenirs from our little stop at the capitol. I made the clay mold while I was in the regent’s study.” She tossed it to them, causing the squat one to fumble as he caught it. “Have it cast and use it to seal the letterhead I already gave you. Make sure those inquiries into dissolving the council get placed in the right departments.”
It took the two a moment to get what this meant before the two smirked devilishly and went off to do the task. Sunset continued to lead the Royal Guard forward.
“You got what you want, my lady,” he spoke up again after a few steps. "Is that necessary?"
“I’ve been working them for a solid four years. Why stop now?” she smirked again. “I thought you of all people would look at the world and see the best way to come out ahead is to make sure everyone else is too busy fighting among themselves. Besides, it doesn’t matter to me anymore if Cinch and the representatives eat each other alive and burn Trottingham down in the process. I’ve got what I want.”
Beneath the visor plate of his helmet, the Royal Guard grimaced but kept following.
A minute later, they were emerging onto the spacious, glass-windowed bridge of the Rising Sun. Framed in the view were the aerial docks of the main city of Trottingham, and beyond it the cityscape lined with smokestacks and soot clouds for another busy day. Beyond that, however, the sky was clear and the setting sun had turned the day red. Most of the crew was already there on stand by, and as soon as Sunset came in they all quickly snapped to life, especially the one nearest the entrance. He quickly stood tall with chin high.
“Captain Sunset Shimmer on bridge!”
As one, everyone quickly rose to their feet and faced her at attention. She kept her confident smirk as she strolled up to the staging area for the CO. She ignored the seat for the moment and instead grasped the bracing rail surrounding the front of it.
“We’ll be assembling into a fleet formation with the Prodigy and Legacy. As of now, I will be acting as Fleet Commander. Make all preparations for departure immediately. We will be setting a straight course for the Fillydelphia-Equestria Border. All ground units should make necessary preparations for combat. The day we’ve been waiting for is here.”
The crew scrambled to execute the order. She smiled wider as she took her own seat, holding her hand in front of her again. She flashed her teeth as she looked at the back of it.
“It’s finally time to get what I should have received eight years ago…”