Calling the mood in the EEA audience theater chilly would have been an affront to glaciers everywhere.
The shadowy multi-tiered gallery was lit only by the sepulchral glow of reading lights. From their seats the EEA council ponies gazed down, stern and unmoved, as Twilight wound up her presentation.
"I think you'll find my proposed curriculum meets all your requirements, Chancellor."
"Doin' great, Twilight!" Spike whispered.
"Hush, Spike!" Twilight hissed back, but with a grateful smile.
From the high seat Chancellor Neighsay glared down at her, steely-eyed and distrustful. The goateed unicorn's magic riffled quickly through his copy of her proposal, as he speed-skimmed it with disconcerting ease.
"And can we trust you," Neighsay replied at last, "to follow through on this plan? Or will you leave the school unattended to gallop off on your... adventures?"
"My journeys beyond Equestria have shown me firsthoof the need for a school like this," Twilight warned. "The potential threats out there are greater than we could imagine -- if we do nothing to prevent them, that is. And to do that, Friendship is clearly our best course of action. So," she concluded, "if we want to keep our land safe and create a friendlier tomorrow, we need to teach the Magic of Friendship far and wide."
The EEA members were whispering among themselves. Chancellor Neighsay sat in stony silence, apparently taking a reading of the room.
"So..." he summarized cautiously, "a school for ponies to learn how to protect themselves?"
"Uh, more like respecting differences and communicating," Twilight said. "And it wouldn't just be ponies. There's a need for this kind of school in lands outside of Equestria as well. So we propose to open our doors to students from other nations as well, so students from all the various lands can learn from each other, and..."
"Wait!" Neighsay interrupted, glaring at her in righteous outrage. "Let me get this straight... you propose to allow non-ponies to attend? Dangerous creatures, who by your own acknowledgement lack the fellowship we take for granted? Creatures who would not have our best interests at heart?"
"We would welcome students," Twilight replied carefully, "of all lands that can benefit from the lessons we hold most dear. This school would teach all of us to work together through friendship..."
"You would simply gift them with everything we've learned, without knowing what they intend to do with that knowledge? How do we know these... creatures," Neighsay interrupted, "won't take what they've learned about us, about our way of life, and use it against us? "
Twilight stared at him in disbelief. "Friendship isn't just for ponies!"
"It should be." Neighsay shook his head dismissively. "I am afraid, Princess, based on what we've heard here today, the EEA cannot grant even provisional approval for this... Friendship School. Your request, therefore, is hereby... denied!"
The glint of his magic lifted the lesson plan books that Twilight had distributed to the council members into the air... and flung them into a disordered pile at her hooves.
"Thank you," he said coldly. "And good day... Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
Twilight stared at the discarded books, and then up at Neighsay, shocked.
Her head drooped, her shoulders fell.
"I failed, Spike!" she whispered.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dressed in formal armor, her berry-red double-lightning-bolt mark on the flank plates, Commander Tempest Shadow stalked down the landing ramp of her flagship and onto the meadow behind the Friendship castle.
Beside her, Grubber padded along, wearing his own best tunic and gazing around happily. He grinned up at her. "Nice to be home, eh, boss?"
"Yeah. Even nicer being able to say it." Tempest looked up at the tree-like castle, its magenta crystal walls gleaming in the warm sunlight. "I wonder if they even missed us while we were gone?"
"Heh, you know ponies! Probably throw a surprise party soon as we walk in the door."
"That wouldn't be all bad. I just hope that offer of a room is still open. A warm bath might be nice too." She glared disapprovingly at Grubber. "For you, as well!"
"Hey! I washed behind my ears this morning."
"Amazed you could find them." Tempest said, distractedly. She stared up at the castle again.
And smiled, in a way she hadn't smiled for a long while.
"Come on, Grubber..." she said, at last. "Let's go get ourselves partied to death."
Trotting around to the main entrance at the Friendship Castle's base, Tempest raised an armored hoof and rapped thrice. The doors swung open smartly, the hulking scarlet-furred, mask-faced soldiers standing just behind them coming sharply to attention.
"At ease, Fred. It's only me." Tempest stepped inside, with Grubber at her hooves.
Before her in the entrance hall, another soldier materialized out of thin air. This one's fur was barred in gold and black stripes. He bowed respectfully. "Welcome home, Commander Tempest!"
"Strife... I spoke to you on the ship not two minutes ago."
He gently shrugged. "Merely playing my part as your adjutant, Commander. Helping you to feel welcome."
"More like buttering me up to be taken off probation," she said. "But it's appreciated." She glanced around. "So... where is everypony? Where's the never-ending party?"
"Ah..." Strife looked uncomfortable. "It would seem that the Princess has cancelled her appointments and asked to be left by herself for a bit. She's received some... distressing news."
"I see." Tempest frowned. "Grubber!"
"Yeah, boss?"
"Permission granted to go stuff your face."
"Hey, thanks! Uh... sure you won't need me?"
"The Princess has asked to be left alone. I'm going to presume this doesn't apply to her personal bodyguard. But it does apply to you. Go make a nuisance of yourself somewhere."
"Gotcha, boss!" Grubber willingly ambled off towards the kitchen.
"So..." Tempest went on, turning her attention back to Strife. "Where exactly did the Princess ask to be left alone?"
Strife pointed. "In the map room."
"Then hold my calls."
Tempest strode over to the map room door, and gently shouldered it open. Inside, she found Twilight sitting on her chair by the map-table, and staring gloomily at the books and papers stacked in front of her. Spike was sitting on his own chair beside her, clearly trying his best to comfort her without getting himself sent away as well.
At the sound of the door opening, he leaned around to look. "Tempest! You're back early!"
Twilight looked around as well. She tried to smile welcomingly, but her drawn face spoke of an extended bout of crying.
"Hey, Tempest," she said in a small voice. "Welcome home."
"Princess." Tempest stepped into the room, coming smoothly to attention. "Permission to make my initial report?"
Twilight frowned at the formality, but then nodded.
Tempest quickly summarized the swift progress that Capper and Mama Orcina were making in reorganizing Klugetown along friendlier lines, and then her own brief tour of Abyssinia and other regions attacked and oppressed by the Storm King. "Most of them were just relieved to know the Storm King wouldn't be coming back," she finished. "But I made sure to offer our help with reconstruction and the like. I may need to take one or two of the ships back down there, once the requests start to come in."
"That's great, Tempest," Twilight said, her tone flat and lifeless. "You're doing a wonderful job. I'm really proud of you."
Tempest waited a moment. Then she sighed.
"All right, Princess, formality has been satisfied. Now, speaking as your bodyguard -- and your friend -- you are going to tell me what's bothering you, so I can go do something about it. And I don't need to remind you how difficult it'll be to get me to leave the room."
Twilight didn't even put up a token objection. She just gestured with a hoof toward the documents on the table. "I wanted to found a School of Friendship," she said. "Where we could teach what we've learned to a new generation of students, pass on the wisdom we've gathered and the values we hold important."
Tempest nodded. "Sounds like a great idea... but...?"
"... but to do so, the school needs accreditation from the Equestria Education Association. And Chancellor Neighsay has made it very clear he doesn't approve of my School's intended mission: to teach lessons about Friendship to everyone... including the other nations outside of Equestria."
"Excuse me?" Tempest looked puzzled. "I may have been out of it for a while, Princess, but isn't that a rather... un-pony attitude for him to take?"
"He's just afraid." Twilight grimaced. "They all are, of things they're not familiar with... afraid of change." She slammed a hoof on the table. "I tried to explain that was the whole point! It's only by meeting other species, getting to know them, seeing how they're like us -- and unlike us -- that we can get past that fear and learn to work together!"
Tempest eyed her. "You don't need to convince me, Princess."
"Sorry!" Twilight's head drooped again. "But I wasn't able to convince them. So they won't grant approval for the Friendship School. After all my hard work, all my effort... I failed to convince them. I failed, Tempest!"
Tempest's expression darkened. Her jaw set tightly. Her broken horn crackled with arcing electric light. "Well..." she said silkily, "if it would help, Your Highness, I could always take a couple of squads up to Canterlot, find this Neighsay, and make him see reason..."
Twilight merely looked up at her sadly.
Tempest's horn silenced. She snorted in amusement.
"Wow. They must have really gotten to you, Princess. You didn't even hit the ceiling that time."
Twilight shook her head. "I honestly felt this was the right thing to do, Tempest. Being able to spread the magic of Friendship to students everywhere, including outside of Equestria. It's what I should be doing, as Princess of Friendship. I've been a student most of my life. I wanted to start giving that back to others. The School seemed like the perfect way to do it..." She gestured sadly to the lesson plan documents on the table. "And now it all seems like such a waste of effort, like there was no point even trying."
Tempest nodded. She thought quietly for a moment.
"Princess, I have a suggestion... and like all my suggestions, feel free to ignore it if it seems inappropriate, but..."
Twilight looked up at her, clearly willing to listen to anything that might help.
"... have you ever heard," Tempest asked, "of a riverboat casino?"