The Friendship Express rattled along its tracks as the train went north. On its usual course, the locomotive carried the typical assortment of riders, and today was no different…except for the off-limits train car that was towards the front of the whole assembly. Typically, this wasn’t a normal configuration for the train, but today was certainly not a normal day, not for the three individuals riding in the Royal Car.
Under different circumstances, Rarity was sure that she would have enjoyed the elite treatment of having such a posh car virtually all to herself. However, there was little luxury to be had, as the car had been turned into a mobile workshop for her. Even now, as she sat at her sewing machine, putting the final touches on one of the dresses that was being prepared for tonight’s event, she hardly heard her MP3 player playing in the background. A shame, too, as it was one of her favorite songs: “Everything Changes”, by Valotte. She wasn’t one to often admit it, but if there was one older gentleman that made her go weak in the knees, it was him. He was a heartthrob when he was around her age, and even though he was now decades older than her, he still had his father’s striking looks and had certainly inherited his talent, especially his singing.
But no matter, she thought to herself as she moved to place the dress on the mannequin one last time to make sure that everything was to proper precision. Satisfied, she turned to one of the other two in the car. “Coco, dear, what do you think?”
The young mare stood up from where she was studying Rarity’s 3D printer; it was an amazing device that nopony could have come up with, even though they had magic to cover that sort of contingency. Still, the science of humanity was leaps ahead of nearly all pony technology and understanding of science, as far as she knew. She was glad that she was now in the hive of her new queen, the unicorn Rarity, or else she might have unintentionally been under a geas to find a regular changeling queen and report on this.
Coco looked at the dress and nodded with appreciation. “It looks elegant and refined, Miss Rarity,” she said, reminding herself that this was not her queen, and even if she was, the Rarity she owed her allegiance to was just the same as this one. It was why she was sent here to go with them, after all. “I don’t think I could have done better myself.”
Rarity gave her assistant a smile. “Oh, this is just a rush job, Coco dear. I’m quite sure that given enough time you could have come up with quite the masterwork yourself. For that matter, I’m quite sure your employer has done a much better job than I have, as she’s been prepared for this for quite some time, whereas I didn’t have that much amount of planning.”
In the corner, a pegasus with a pine-green mane and pinto coat looked at the dress. She wore the duty attire of a Friendship Guard sergeant, and had been quiet for most of the trip. “It seems like it’s missing something,” she commented.
Rarity looked at her. “Oh?” she asked, curious. “And how would you know?”
“My grandmother was Cross Stitch, one of the best fashion designers of her time,” the pony commented. “Although I didn’t have her talent, she taught me a thing or two about understanding fashion.”
Coco perked up at that. “Cross Stitch? I learned about her from my previous employer. Suri had always said she wanted to even better than she was! Wow!”
The human girl thought about it for a second. “There was a famous fashion designer by that name well over a century ago where I’m from. As I recall, she was influential in the hastening away from corsets and towards the modern bra. Perhaps it was likely your grandmother’s counterpart?”
“I don’t know, as I really don’t know much about your world, Lady Rarity,” the guardspony stated. She walked over to the dress and added, “Perhaps if you added some ornamentation here, that would complete the look.”
“That’s brilliant!” the human girl commented. “I daresay that you’re better at this than you think, Sergeant.” She took the dress off the mannequin and moved back to her sewing machine. “Coco, dear,” she stated, “please hand me that swatch of burgundy silk. I think we can use that to best effect.”
There was a knock at the door and another guard came in. “Sergeant, we’ll be starting the ascent up Mt. Canterhorn in a few minutes. ETA to Canterlot is in fifteen minutes, if all goes well.”
The sergeant nodded. “Thank you, Trooper,” she said, and the door closed, the guardspony returning to his duties. The sergeant turned back to her charges. “Fifteen minutes until arrival in Canterlot, ladies. You don’t have to worry about packing anything up immediately, though. Once we arrive, this car will be moved off the train and over to a secure location.”
Coco nodded. “I guess I should check to see if the packages we have are ready, shouldn’t we?”
Rarity, already hard at work, looked over at her charge. “If you would be so kind, dear, thank you.” She then looked at the guard. “And thank you for your efforts in protecting us, Sgt. Pine. I know this must have been tedious for you.”
Sgt. Evergreen Pine nodded. “Just doing my duty, Lady Rarity,” she said with a smile.
In the tearoom, mother and daughter had a quiet moment together. Princess Celestia wanted to spend some final time with her daughter before this afternoon’s arduous events, and even now that she did, she wasn’t sure what advice she could give her foal. In fact, if she had to make a confession, she would have done everything possible to prevent her from enduring such a headache, but such was not the duty of the ruler of Equestria.
Sunset, her typical cup of coffee from Sugarcube Corner Café in her magic field, sighed. “This is going to be a pain, isn’t it?”
Princess Celestia looked at her daughter. “I wish you didn’t have to do this either, dear, but it’s something that all princesses must do. It was a tradition set up by the ancien régime of Unicornia and after what happened to your aunt, I felt it would be best to uphold it for no other reason than to assure the populace.”
Sunset stabbed a fork through her lettuce; she’d recently introduced the kitchens to the human meal known as Ceasar salad, and her mother had quickly seemed to have taken a liking to it. Sunset wasn’t sure she could eat it on a regular basis, but she did want her to be happy. “Mother, you don’t have to justify it to me,” she stated. “I get the idea of putting noobs through the meatgrinder. The tryhards want to pwn noobs and go all super sweaty and that’s just how the GG rolls.”
The elder alicorn blinked. “I’m afraid I didn’t understand half of what you just said, dear,” she admitted.
“Sorry, human terms of phrase,” the younger alicorn replied. “But what I was saying was that I know what’s going to happen: the nobles that think that I’m too young and inexperienced, fill in the blanks, etc. are going to try to challenge me all in the name of ‘preparing me for rule’, quote unquote. But in truth, they’re doing it just to be seen, improve their profile and try to make themselves look better. It’s all a game to them, regardless of what the true price is.”
“It’s more than just that, sweetheart. With Highfalutin’ in retreat, some of her erstwhile allies will attempt to fill the power vacuum and they will come at you hard. While they somewhat fear and respect both myself and Luna, they do not have much respect for either Cadance or Twilight…and given your recent reintroduction to Equestrian society, I am not sure that they’ll treat you with the proper accordance one should a princess.”
Sunset laughed it off. “What are they going to do to me? I’ve already been self-exiled, possessed by a demon, then died saving a universe. Do they honestly think that some yelling and posturing is going to bother me?”
Celestia smirked. “I seem to recall a little filly that once tried to attack one of her teachers with a fire spell because he’d pointed out that ‘the princess’ ward’ should be better than some commoner,” she noted.
Sunset’s ears downturned at that, as did her smile. “That…wasn’t one of my better moments,” she admitted. “Granted, in hindsight, what Prof. Notetaker stated was wrong, but all I did was prove his point.”
“Well, you have moved beyond that, haven’t you?” Celestia bent down and nuzzled her daughter. “And I am proud of you for the individual you’ve become. You’re now the mare I always knew you would be.” Now it was the solar alicorn’s turn to mourn. “And I was never a good enough mother to you—”
Sunset turned in her seat; the waitstaff, sensing a private moment was needed between the two, wordlessly stepped away for a moment to give them a small space. “Mother, we’ve both made mistakes, as has Aunt Luna, Cadance, and I’m sure all our relatives. We’re only human, after all.” She gave an awkward smile. “Besides, I recall somepony once telling me that making mistakes only means that you get to improve in the long run. If you don’t make mistakes, you have no barometer to know that you’re getting better.”
Celestia caught her daughter’s slip. “Human?”
But Sunset’s smile remained on her face. “And so my point is made.”
There was a knock at the door and then Kibbitz came in. “I’ve spoken to the Castellan and she states that the chariot to take you to Nobility House will be prepared in an hour,” he told them both. “I shall be leaving shortly in order to prepare the way for you both. And best of luck to you, Princess Sunset. I am sure you will do us proud.”
“Thank you, Kibbitz,” she told him. “And…thank you for everything.”
“No thanks is needed,” he began, but she held up a hoof in order to get his attention.
“No, I mean that. Over the years, you were more than patient with me when I didn’t deserve it and a veritable saint when I was at my worst. I didn’t treat you all that well and I didn’t compunct myself as I should as the daughter of the ruling princess. For that, I am sorry and I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done and everything you will continue to do for me.”
Though Kibbitz said nothing, the look in his eyes was everything that needed to be said. Finally, he cleared his throat, and with a smile on his muzzle, the aged pony bowed and departed.
As the maidstaff came in to clear the plates, Celestia looked at her daughter. “So…ready to show them what you’re made of?”
“I don’t have to.” The look on Sunset’s face was placid, enough so that it made Celestia wonder what her wayward daughter was up to. “They should already know that.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. I’m not just a princess of Equestria. I’m the Alicorn of Earth – and that means sovereignty over an entire dimension. They’ve no idea who they’re dealing with.”
As Rarity entered Octavia’s room, she found herself hugged by her friend. “Oh, it’s good to see a friendly face again!” Octavia chirped. “I mean, don’t get me wrong: I’m not having problems with the others, it’s just that….”
The fashionista waved a hand in understanding. “Oh, I quite understand, Octavia dear. We’ve missed you as well out in Ponyville, though I daresay it’s a bit…small…for my tastes. If anything, it’s similar to Everfree Glades, but without the upscale suburban charm, you understand. Still, it’s a quaint location in its own rustic way.”
Octavia gestured to a chair, and both sat down as the maid present brought them refreshments. “We have some time to talk before we have to get ready, right? Have a seat and tell me everything – don’t leave out a detail!”
“There’s not much that I can add, I’m afraid; I spent most of my time there in the company of my counterpart and her assistant, and we were working on the attire for the next few days’ events. However, that being said, I have to admit it’s been quite the experience, and one I will most certainly cherish. I honestly believe I found out a lot about myself as a fashion designer and as a person by meeting my counterpart; and needless to say, making the dresses for tonight was certainly more than enough of a challenge.” She picked up the cup of tea and took a sip from it, savoring the taste that came from the heated liquid. “But enough of that. Why don’t you tell me how you’ve fared these past few days? From what I understand, both Sunset and the triplets have been busy, so I suppose you’ve had to fill your time with other entertainments.”
“It’s been an adventure for me these past few days, admittedly. I’ve had almost no time to spend with Sunny or the triplets, and while I know that’s not their fault, it’s left me to my own devices for most of the time and as a result, not everything has been sunshine and roses, except for—” She suddenly covered her mouth and blushed, surprised by her own words.
“Oh?” A smile came over Rarity’s face. “I suspect there’s a story that I’ve missed, and since I’ve been regaling you about my time in Ponyville, I certainly think that turnabout is fair play, don’t you?”
“Um….”
“Octavia, dear, you know I’ve always held your confidence, even when you’ve had certain other issues that you didn’t want to discuss,” the fashionista reminded her friend, “and this one sounds like another that you need to get off your chest.”
“I…I’m really not sure how to explain,” Octavia told her.
“I am always here for you, you know that.”
“I know,” the raven-haired girl said gratefully, “and I appreciate that. But I’m not quite sure I know how to process this myself.”
“Well, I must admit that I do not have our dear Twilight’s talents at layman’s therapy, but I’m fairly sure that you need to get this off your shoulders, as it were. For as long as I’ve known you, you tend to let things that bother you consume you until they come out at the worst time. And I do not want that for you, my friend.”
“Yeah, you’re right, I guess,” Octavia sighed.
The next few minutes were spent with the raven-haired teen going over everything that had happened: from her unwanted wooing by the Inariese prince and his subsequent reactions, which had nearly cost an innocent kitsune vixen everything, including being exiled from her clan; her making friends with said kitsune as well as one of her guards, and the dinner the three had together, at which there had been an unexpected conflict. That had resulted in injuries to Amabile, as well as a perceived second failure by Whiskey that had made her nearly suicidal had not the triplets intervened. She then went on about Fujitsu’s masterminding of her kidnapping, which ultimately ended with the deaths of all her guards at the hand of horrible griffin mercenaries.
But the most surprising thing was her final words: how she was subsequently saved by Blueblood, of all ponies! She’d explained how different the local Blueblood was from the one that both of them unfortunately knew on Earth and how the unicorn of the same name was the gentleman that both of them had thought the boy would be. She explained how he’d taken her out to dinner at a nice place where they talked casually and how he’d felt remorse over what his namesake had done to her. Finally, she’d wrapped it up with a short explanation of their breakfast this morning, as well as how he’d gallantly escorted her around to her appointments and had been more than polite company.
“I see,” Rarity said in a tone that indicated she scarcely believed her friend’s words. “Forgive me, darling, but I’m…having a hard time coming to terms that this Prince Blueblood is such a gentleman. I mean, given what you and I had to go through with that…that…cur back at home, I’m just having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the whole concept. After all, the Blueblood we know is the son of a senator and from a well-heeled family and you would think that would make him as noble as one can be, and yet….” She shook her head and took another drink from her tea, as if that was enough.
“You can ask both Princess Twilight and your counterpart,” Octavia insisted. “Apparently the princess is an old friend of his and while your counterpart ran afoul of him during his ‘routine’, quote unquote, he later apologized to her and now she knows the full story. Besides, isn’t that other prince supposedly the polar opposite of the Divine Right we came across? Not to mention what we know of the local Sable Loam as compared to Ms. Celestia’s boyfriend?”
“Well, from what it sounds like, you’ve caught yourself your own beau – and a prince at that. I am a bit envious, admittedly, but as long as you’re happy, I am happy for you,” Rarity said with a soft smirk.
Octavia rolled her eyes. “Rarity, let’s be real here: he’s a pony – another species. And even if he wasn’t, well…as nice as he is, I still have too much baggage with the Blueblood we know. And while I know Blu’s not like that, it’s hard to square the two sometimes, you know?”
“And yet you yourself are the cousin – practically a sister – of a pony, one that our dear friend Pinkie is completely head over heels in love with,” the fashionista reminded her. “Plus, you talk about him as warmly as Fluttershy does about her Puppytails – you haven’t said anything even remotely negative since you mentioned him. Furthermore, you refer to him as Blu, whereas you refer to the other, ahem, ‘individual’, as Blueblood. It appears that you already separate the two in your mind, if you were to ask me.”
“I think you’re reading into nothing. Besides, even if I was interested – and I’m not saying I am – in a few days, we go home and I doubt we’ll be coming back on a regular basis.”
“You have a portal to this dimension underneath your home. It can’t be that hard to come here.”
“True, but there’s also the fact that he’s a prince with duties and responsibilities that I can’t really fathom, not to mention all the mares around here that constantly throw themselves at him. Lastly, he’s an adult. I’m not. Even if everything else was considered, I’d hardly think that my aunt and uncle, much less my parents, would approve of that.”
“Yet your cousin is thirty here…and seventeen back at home.”
“And we don’t know how age differences work between the two dimensions. You’re seventeen as well, but your counterpart is in her twenties. Razz is twenty-four, if I recall correctly, and she’s sixteen as a human…yet her counterpart, Ribby, is only fourteen. Let’s also not forget the differences between Ms. Celestia and Princess Celestia, or Ms. Luna and her counterpart.”
“I hardly think a pair of immortals that are thousands of years old count on the same level as two women in their fifties. Not that Ms. Celestia or Ms. Luna look bad, mind; I would swear the former was in her mid-thirties at most, and Ms. Luna looks even younger,” Rarity noted.
“Okay, let’s take a better example then: Divine Right. The pony, from what little I saw of him, I’d ballpark in about his mid-twenties. However, the man we knew had to be in his late forties or early fifties, right? Let’s take that theory and say Blu came to Earth to date me. Dating someone around my age is fine; even if he wouldn’t really be, it would be close enough not to cause scandal. Fluttershy dating someone a few years older than her is acceptable, and her parents are fine with that. But what if Blu isn’t the same as his counterpart? We’re assuming, after all, that the idiot who goes to Munechinger is Blu’s counterpart – but what if his actual counterpart is some guy in Europe in his sixties? That…would make things a little odd, you know?”
Rarity tapped her chin with a finger. “You do bring up a point there. But,” she said with a knowing smile, “if you weren’t interested, you wouldn’t be putting so much thought into this, would you?”
“Hey, you brought it up!”
There was a knock at the door, and without anyone saying anything, it opened, revealing Aria, standing there in her dress uniform. “Heya, Rares, how was Ponyville?” she asked.
“As well as could be, Aria, dear,” the fashionista commented. “I guess it’s time to go?”
“We need to be in place in about thirty minutes,” was the answer.
“Don’t we need an escort?” Octavia asked her cousin.
“I’ll be your escort to Nobility House,” came the reply. “Each of us has been assigned an escort duty and I figured it would be best if I go with you and Rares.”
“Well, then, that’s that,” Rarity noted. “I believe it is time for us to get ready, as it were.”
Octavia removed her clothing and opened the ornamented box, retrieving the gown that Rarity had made for her. She held it up, appreciating it. “Beautiful as always – you’ve outdone yourself.”
“Not really. I had to come up with something quick, so we’re all wearing matching dresses, dear. In fact, I would have put the triplets in dresses as well had they not insisted that they had to wear their dress uniforms for the occasion.” Rarity pouted slightly at that, then looked at Aria. “You would think that you and your sisters would have more of an interest in showing off your feminine side.”
Aria laughed. “I’ve always been a tomboy, Rares. Besides, I’m a military gal – this is about as formal as it gets for me. Maybe when I get married someday I might consider wearing a bridal gown, but until then this is as ornate as it gets.”
Octavia slipped on the formalwear, then turned her back to Aria so she could zip her up. “At least they act normal while they’re out of uniform, or else I’d go nuts.”
“You have a point,” Rarity said, slipping off her own clothing so she could put on her gown on.
“Ha, ha,” Aria drolled. “You’re a riot, Rares.”
A couple of minutes later, both were in their gowns. “There, perfect if I do say so myself…and I do say so myself,” Rarity commented with a grin. “Now, we shall look dashing together and just perfect for Aria to escort us.”
A thought then came to Octavia. “Just thought of something: what about the others? Aren’t they coming?”
“Given that ponies at large still aren’t too comfortable with humans yet,” Aria pointed out, “Sunny suggested that the others telepresence in.”
“Correct,” Rarity noted. “My counterpart sent Coco along with me to assist everyone here in getting ready, while she remained behind to help the others prepare at Princess Twilight’s castle. A group of Princess Cadance’s staff will be responsible for getting the group there ready, and thus everyone will telepresence in, whatever that means, when the time is right.”
“Well, we need to get going; while the chariot is waiting for us, we want to make sure we get there in enough time to avoid the crowds,” Aria stated, “as we had advance notice that the local media and other paparazzi are going to be out in droves.” She gestured out the door. “Ladies, if you’ll follow me?”
“Sounds lovely,” Rarity said to her friends as she grabbed her clutch purse and made ready to depart.
Octavia did the same, but then another thought came to her mind. “Where’s Whiskey? I haven’t seen her since yesterday and for some reason I would have thought that you would have assigned her as our escort.”
Aria gave a slight smile. “She’s escorting someone, so don’t worry, Tavi. You’ll see soon enough.”
In an office at the palace, the former kitsune prostrated herself before her escort. “I am here to provide escort services to you,” she said in a timorous voice, “though I must point out that this escort service is only a physical escort and does not include any pillowing or actions of that nature. I have no desire to do so and furthermore, even if I did, my princess has prohibited me from such a thing.” With clear hesitancy, the SIREN trainee nevertheless continued: “Prior prohibitions aside, Your Highness, I assure you that I will serve to protect you in all manners otherwise. Please do not—”
Blueblood rolled his eyes and sighed. “Did Auntie Lulu put you up to this?”
The girl looked up. “I’m…sorry?”
“This sounds like something my dear nocturnal aunt would do. She’s quite the prankster when she gets to it, though I must admit she hasn’t done anything like this before.” He tugged on his boutonniere. “I have to wonder, however, how she managed to convince Sunset to allow one of her guards to do this.”
The girl looked at him with complete confusion. “You…don’t want to pillow with me? For realzies?”
“I thought you said you weren’t interested?” A pause. “And what is ‘for realzies’?”
“It’s…something Cmdr. Dusk says all the time,” Whiskey explained hesitantly. “But you really aren’t interested?”
“Do you know who I am?” he asked her.
“I’ve…been told the stories,” she explained. “I was especially informed about the one with you and the kirin orgy that—”
“No such thing occurred,” he said in a tone that made her shudder. When he saw that, he added, “You know, I read your dossier, as well as the report of what you told Princess Sunset and your fellow SIRENs. And, quite frankly, it sickens me. By our standards, you are not even a fully-mature adult yet, so what happened to you can be classified as nothing less than foal abuse. And not only would I not add to your abuse further, now that I know you have been – to the point that you must feel the need to explain away the ghastly deeds done to you as if they were nothing and to thank Princess Sunset for doing what any common pony would do? I am strongly tempted to go down to the cell where we are holding Prince Fujitsu and geld that damn coward myself.”
She looked at him, stunned at his words. “But…but I was a servant! It was his right and—”
“No – you are in the equivalent of your teenage years by our standards, and you’re an Equestrian citizen now. Furthermore, while I suppose you suspect that your former culture sees things differently, I have read up on Inariese law, and I can assure you: they don’t: what he did to you was even dishonorable and inconceivable by their standards.”
She stared at him, slack-jawed, as if a great truth was revealed to her. What he had been doing to her was illegal? She felt as though it was a slap in the face – if it had been against the Emperor’s very laws, and yet her clan had wholeheartedly backed the arrangement….
Unaware of her thoughts, Blueblood went over to his desk and picked up a book. The book was a translation of the Gōhōsei no Shō, the code of Inariese laws. Opening it up, he read from a bookmarked section: “‘The laws shall not protect any lawbreaker, no matter how high he is or how many tails he possesses. The laws protecting kits shall be paramount.’ Based on this small preamble alone, the law makes it clear that he knew he was doomed the moment it became public knowledge. He hid behind his rank and privilege, and I suspect the only reason it is coming out now is because of what he attempted.
“Since his arrest, our legal teams have worked with the Inariese embassy and what we have uncovered? Let’s just say that there is a reason you have been given those shibuichi blades: They are the highest form of apology the Court of Nine Tails can give you right now without causing utter scandal for their emperor. I have been told that upon being given a full account of what has occurred so far, the emperor himself paled at what his son has done. What Fujitsu did was monstrous, and he should feel nothing less than utter shame at that!
“While I don’t know Princess Sunset’s position on things, I suspect she would agree with me: Don’t ever think what has happened to you was in any way your fault. You are a citizen of Equestria now and a member of its armed forces. And while we have made certain exceptions for you to join its military due to certain technicalities, I suspect Princess Sunset and your commanders will apply the rest to you accordingly.
He went over and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “The truth is, the last thing you need is for anypony to take you to bed or to heap more abuse on you. No, what you need…is somepony in your corner.”
She looked at him, completely and utterly in shock, unable to say a word. This…was not what she expected from a prince. From her princess, yes, but not from a royal of Prince Blueblood’s reputation. She had come in, prepared to tell him no, and had even been given orders by her captain to disregard anything that could stain the honor of the SIRENs. And yet, now, here she was, in front of a pony whose reputation was as salacious as that of her former master…and he was more worried about protecting her dignity.
“Now then,” he said, stepping away from her, “you have a duty to perform, do you not? I believe that you should do so.”
She rose to her feet, picking her swords up from the ground and bowing. “I will do my utmost then, my lord,” she told him.
And for the first time that she’d spoken those words to a prince? She meant every bit of it.
One of the oldest and grandest buildings in Canterlot, Nobility House was initially the original Canterlot Palace and had been Princess Celestia’s home for the first century of the city’s existence. She’d mainly built it away from the edge of the city, because she didn’t want to look at the Everfree Forest, which contained Castle Everfree: the ruined home that she’d once shared with Luna. The war had destroyed it as well as the then-Everfree Plains, not to mention the younger alicorn, and all now was a tangled, thick forest filled with uncontrolled magic, the result of zero-sum magical warfare between two deities.
As time went on, however, the pain lessened, the city grew, and the small forest encircling the plains had now completely taken it over, turning into a vast woodland, painful memories had been supplanted by other issues. Ruling the nation meant dealing with its fractured provinces and constant issues, and there were few royals within the realm, and even they could only do so much. That meant they needed to rely on the nobility to help rule the repairing nation, but even that was a problem: The nobles needed a place to meet and to discuss things and with the population of Canterlot increasing each year, there was only so much room to be had in the palace. Guest rooms became at a premium when things came to a head and nobles from the farthest reaches of Equestria had to come to debate and discuss issues with their peers.
Thus, in the year 121 Anno Alicornis, construction began on the present-day Canterlot Palace. Twelve years later, it was complete and Celestia moved her household and offices into it. In turn, she released the original palace over to her then-seneschal, Terra Cotta, who in her position as chancellor turned it into a meeting house for the nobility. Each noble’s provincial offices would be placed there, there would be room for nobles and their guests visiting from the far reaches, and most of all it would be a place where the nobility could meet and come to agreements without the need for the princess to constantly be involved in everything.
Since that time, both the palace and Nobility House had grown, and while provincial nobles now tended to live in their estates in separate parts of the capital, they still maintained their primary offices within Nobility House. Over the centuries, the venerable parliamentary building stood as a pinnacle of ponydom, the bastion where the Council of Nobles met. Plenty of vaunted names had met under this hall:
Procedural Vote, whose oratory had single-hoofedly stopped a war between the then-fracturing Griffin Kingdom and Minos;
Intellectual Bent, who had gone forty-eight straight hours arguing against a tax bill that would have bankrupted ponies across the land. Thanks to her efforts, the taxes had not been levied;
Gaterammer, former Captain of the Guard turned noble, who argued for peace and the acceptance of immigrants as King Grover’s death had turned the griffin homeland into a chaotic mess;
and finally, Magnus Cart, whose treatise on governance, Of Hoof, Wing and Horn, was a de facto required read for any young noble entering the profession of guiding and ruling over ponies.
Those hallowed names still meant much to the ranks of nobleponies which now sat within the main hall, gathering for what was most assuredly a rarity and what would be a day to remember: The Preparatory Presentation. Initially endured by Princess Platinum when she was still just the crown princess of Unicornia, she was given this trial by unicorn nobles who had wondered if she was as qualified to take the throne in the passing of her father, and if she could be as much a ruler as her ancestors. She had succeeded in that effort and had seen wisdom in the concerns of her vassals; and so, once she ascended the throne of the then-neophyte kingdom of Equestria, the young queen made it mandatory that any prince or princess wishing to take the reins of governance would have to prove themselves by way of said speech. Since then, given the relative dearth of either major or minor royal ponies, “The Preps”, as it would come to be known, was an occasion that practically all invested nobles attended.
And now, for the second time in just over two years, a new Major Prep – the Preparatory Presentation of an alicorn – was about to commence. Ponies were still discussing the one given by then-Duchess Twilight Sparkle prior to her official coronation as Princess of Friendship. The populace still marveled at how she seemed so calm under the rigorous debate given to her by senior members of the nobility, and how it had ultimately been her oratory – the famed “Won’t You Take My Hoof in Friendship?” speech – that had so captured the hearts and minds of the realm.
As she closed her copy of the book version of said speech, Black Cherry hoped such would repeat once more. As the Chancellor Pro Tempore – the one who led the Council of Nobles when Lord Kibbitz’s other duties prevented him from attending sessions – she took Princess Twilight’s words to heart. After all, even though they had never met, the two were roughly of the same age. Furthermore, Cherry herself had gone through troubles of her own: she wasn’t truly a noble in her own right, but instead exercised it on behalf of her grandfather, Colorata Cherry, margrave of the Northlands Province. Thus, she was often ridiculed and ignored by many of the nobles seeking power.
“Relax, Cherry,” Kibbitz told her. As he was in presence today, it would be he that would take authority, not her. She was glad for that; at least even the contentious nobles listened to him out of deep respect for both his position as well as his stature within the halls of Nobility House. Truth be told, she herself was a little in awe of the elder statestallion; even had he not been the Princess’ seneschal, as Chancellor, he ran a truly capable and effective governance for ponydom.
“I know they give you a hard time, but I assure you, my dear friend Colorata would not have sent you if he didn’t think you were most capable,” he assured her.
“Sometimes I wish he’d chosen my mother,” Cherry said softly. “She is so much better at this than I am.”
“Your mother is better suited towards running your family’s farms,” Kibbitz reminded her. “Recall that I have known Cherry Jubilee since she was a filly, and she is as happy on a farm as Lady Applejack is. Neither have the desire or inclination to rule, but your grandfather knows your skills and that is why you are here.” He gave her a paternal smile and added, “If you were to ask me, I suspect when the day comes that he journeys to the Great Pasture, you will be the next margravine of the Northlands.”
Cherry’s muzzle settled into an o of slight surprise. “I hope not,” she said softly. “I am not as strong as my grandfather.”
“No, you are not,” he agreed. “But you have the capacity to be stronger – and in time, you will be. Now, let’s watch this presentation, as I suspect we are about to see a Major Prep that will even outshine that of Princess Twilight’s.”
Row after row of seats were filled, both by nobles in governance and nobles who chose not to do so but nonetheless had the right to be here: the lowest-ranked knights, baronets and baronetesses, followed by the earls and earlines, counts and countesses, the bulk of whom were the non-governing nobles. Finally, the next rows up gave rise to the professional politicians and rulers of ponydom: viscounts and viscountesses, marquises and marquesses, margraves and margravines. Finally were those in pristine positions of power, the true movers and shakers of the Council, those of whom made up the Courts of Sun, Moon, Crystal and Friendship: the palatines, dukes and duchesses, as well as minor princes and princesses of the realm. Nearly a thousand ponies (with a small spattering of non-ponies who had also earned titles of their own) sat in audience, all facing the thrones of the princesses, before which was the lectern from which Baroness Sunset Shimmer – the future Princess Sunset Shimmer – would speak.
Escorted into a private room above the assembly, the humans gathered, escorted up by the House Guards, the smallest division within the EUP and whose duties it was to guard Nobility House and to keep and enforce the law on House grounds. The private rooms were used by visiting dignitaries and other representatives who were not allowed to sit in the grand assembly downstairs; this would allow interested parties to watch from above without issue.
Rarity, looking over the edge, gasped at the finery present. “My, I never thought I would have been here at such a place,” she said, her voice carrying a bit of awe.
“Yeah,” Octavia said warily. “All those ponies out there, many of whom have a bone to pick against Sunny.” Rarity looked at her friend and saw the protective look in the raven-haired girl’s eyes.
“She will be fine, darling, I’m sure of it.” However, Rarity wasn’t sure whether what she said was to comfort her friend…or herself.
Meanwhile, a worried look was etched on Twilight Velvet’s face as she looked at the crowd below before turning to her husband. “They’re going to eat her alive, Night!” she said, a catch in her throat.
Though he looked concerned as well, he nevertheless tried to comfort his wife. “I believe in her, and you should too,” he assured her. “I’m sure Cellie trained her for this eventuality.” He turned to look at the Celestia he was more familiar with. “You’ve spent the most time with her, Tia. What do you think?”
The response from Celestia was simple: she merely pointed down at the thrones, where the alicorns sat. All of them, including Princesses Twilight and Cadance, who were present via “telepresence” – a sort of astral projection that served as a magical sort of teleconferencing – had unreadable looks on their faces, the kind that clearly indicated that they, too, were worried but couldn’t allow themselves to show it. But the most impassive of all was Princess Celestia – whose eyes fought to keep the motherly panic off her face.
“You are not the only one suffering, Vel,” Celestia reminded her friend. “You are not the only one worried. Quite honestly, so are Luna and I.” She gestured to her sister, who sat in the corner, wordlessly looking at the audience with a hawkish, protective look on her own visage. “We are Sunset’s human family, and like her pony one down there, we would do anything to protect her. But this is something she must do alone.”
At last, carrying a stave upon which the flag of Equestria hung, Kibbitz approached the front and boomed out in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “HEAR YE, HEAR YE, THE COURT AND COUNCIL ARE NOW IN SESSION. ALL RISE BEFORE THE THRONES!” As one, the nobles and others present stood while “In Regnum Aeternum Solis” played, the grand melody sending chills through all present. The humans, watching from above, witnessed a rare moment when ponydom was truly at harmony: the ancient song seemed to resonate through the souls of all present, reminding them of their commonality as ponies, their universality as citizens and subjects of Equestria. Then as the last note played, the assembly came to a seat as one while Kibbitz stiffly and formally turned to face the princesses, bowing deeply before them.
In her most formal tone, Celestia spoke to her old friend, going with the theatrical motions of ceremony. “Has anypony come before Our Presence to speak, my good chancellor?” she asked him. It was odd, hearing the majestic plural being spoken by Celestia instead of Luna, but on this most formal of occasions even Celestia had to stick to the script.
“I do, Your Majesty and Your Highnesses,” raising his head as he spoke to her. “A petitioner has come before the Court and Council to stake her claim as a ruler of Equestria.”
“Then let the petitioner speak to this esteemed gathering of nobleponies,” Celestia intoned, tamping down a strain of worry in her voice, “and let the wisdom of the nobility prevail.” He could see the disconcert she had in those words and he could not blame her; he often wondered which puffed-up noble wrote the script ages ago to make it appear as though the world would fly apart at the seams if it weren’t for the ruling class. Worse, decades of the most egotistical and malignant of Equestrian nobility had taken that conceit and ran it to its natural conclusion, warts and all.
Bowing once more, he then turned to Cherry and intoned in a formal voice, “Send the petitioner in.”
She bowed in turned and shouted to the assembly, “FELLOW NOBLES, I PRESENT BEFORE YOU SUNSET SHIMMER, BARONESS WESTPHALIA. SHE HAS COME TO SPEAK AND TO PETITION FOR HER RIGHT TO RULE. MAY THE WISDOM OF THE NOBILITY GUIDE AND PREPARE HER!”
In the back, the doors opened, and in walked several humans, dressed in the SIREN dress blue uniform, sharply contrasting with those of the regular REN, whose attire bore the design of a century prior. At Sable’s call, the SIRENs marched to the sides and withdrew their ceremonial sabers, cutlasses (and in Whiskey’s case, her daito), raising them in salute. All who saw the humans, especially those of other species that for the first time were now encountering the enigmatic species, were completely astounded by the presentation.
A second later, appearing as if forged from the very flame of the sun itself, was Sunset, walking in and using her alicorn ability for everything that it was worth. As she moved forward, she appeared as if a newborn star departing its stellar nursery to shine before the cosmos. Her cyan magic flickered and reached out, dancing naturally around Princess Celestia’s own golden aura, the harmonic dance between mother and foal saying more than anything else she could have voiced at the moment.
Seated on her own throne, Princess Luna allowed herself the merest ghost of a smile. You knew how to shut down the crowd the moment you came in. If I weren’t already proud of you, my niece, this would most certainly do it.
Saying nothing more, Sunset continued her march to the dais, nodding to Kibbitz and Cherry’s deep bows, acknowledging them with gratitude. She then turned to face the audience assembled before her. Once, she had readied herself for this moment, and whether she wanted it or not now, it was finally here. Yet she knew that many of the nobles out there were ready for her to fail, both because of herself as she was and because of the proxy failure they thought it would present on her family’s behalf.
Unfortunately for them, she wasn’t the same mare she was the last time she’d been in these halls. She’d taken her seat in the highest levels of the room, and had watched the debates, “knowing naturally” that she would be a part of them, because it was her fate to rule as an alicorn. The alicorn she was now mentally laughed at the stupidity of her earlier self and had she been able to talk to that younger, spoiled Sunset, probably would have set her straight for the truth of what was to occur.
Sunset Shimmer, Baroness of Westphalia and Royal Ward of Equestria, had been an embarrassment.
Sunset Shimmer, Baroness of Westphalia, Imperial Princess of France and Alicorn of Earth, was a different story.
Time to make that perfectly clear.
She eyed her fellow ponies, giving them her most winning smile. “Ladies and gentlestallions, lords and ladies and princesses and princes, I present myself before you, a mare far different than what you remember. As you recall, the last time I was here, I was part of the peerage, seated amongst the barons and baronesses, a member of the nobility of Equestria searching for a way to better our ponies and the world around us. But even then I was not the mare you knew, because at that time I had started my plans to work on the secret project that Her Majesty had tasked me with. A project that would sorely and grievously wound both my mother’s heart and my own, as it meant I would have to turn my back on my family, my nation and my fellow ponies – to appear as the spoiled, selfish and ungrateful person that Equestria remembered me as for so long. It hurt – I will not pretend otherwise – but it was necessary in order to provide a cover for my duties, one that my mother had tasked me with and one I could not fail her in.
“I have spent the last five years in another world, another realm, learning from a species far different than any of you know. This species we only know through mythology and legends: from stories of the kind and generous Megan, to the dark and horrific tales of such human monsters as The Prelate, the Nameless Shadow and generic monsters on par with vamponies and shamblers. And I have spent that time learning from this mostly magicless people, whose skill at technology and science is so far above and beyond ours that they don’t need magic.” She paused for thought and from the shocked looks on the faces of the assembly, they hadn’t expected that. She chuckled inwardly; she’d made several speeches and noted that a few times during the week, and yet these nobles were just finding out. Clearly the majority of them didn’t read the news unless it immediately impacted them.
“But one thing I have found out about humanity that is more important than anything else…is that they are not the monsters that we have perceived them to be all this time. They are a good and honorable people and we can learn much from them. They love, they laugh, they cry and feel pain. They are very pony as a species and I am proud to be the alicorn that is responsible for that domain. They deserve the protection and aegis of one that will understand them, and I have come to love them as much as I do my fellow ponies. The poet Farthest Reaches once stated, ‘You don’t know how far you’ll go unless you understand what you don’t know’, and I have found that to be true: had I not taken that journey to Earth, I would not have understood myself, my species or especially humanity the way I do now. I have spent that time in growth, taking each step forward, both for myself and my species.
“Now, my purpose there is to carry on the task of Her Majesty’s wishes. Both that of my mother, Princess Celestia…and that of my grandmother, Queen Faust.” The mention of Faust’s name drew more than a few hushed gasps from the crowd, but Sunset paid them no mind and continued. “Though I am to be crowned as the Princess of Seekers, I already occupy a critical niche in that world: that of the Alicorn of Earth. I am a bridge between ponydom and humanity, a nexus between the two, and it is my honor to serve that vital purpose, so that both Earth and Equus may learn and grow from each other.
“Princess Twilight once stated in this hall, ‘Won’t you take my hoof in friendship?’ I offer both hoof and hand and hope that I may be as humble a princess to serve the needs of both, to unite both humanity and ponydom in alliance and amity, and I hope to do the same with the other species of Equus in time as well. There is much we can learn from them, and much they can learn from us and we can only do that if we are together in certain and common cause.” She paused once more, and stated, “I will now let my vaunted peers ask of me what they will, if they so wish.”
“LIES!” a voice boomed, the words echoing in the hall as if to stall the very walls with their dark nature. “LIES AND DECEIT!”
An off-white stallion with a black mane and beard and burning orange eyes stepped forward, his formal tailcoat shining with gilded gold against deep blue velvet. Looking at him, Sunset remembered the stallion well, though he now appeared older: Riven Oak, Marquis of Moyle, and a pony Sunset had never liked. During Sunset’s brief appearances in Nobility House the two had verbally sparred on more than one occasion, his cool demeanor always seemed to gain an advantage over her hot-headed nature. It didn’t help matters that as Baroness of Westphalia, her landholdings would be separated from him as the old pre-Moonfall province of Westphalia made up a good portion of the modern Moyle lands. Nevermind that her title was essentially one in name only and that she would never hold actual landholdings, not to mention the fact that she no longer had such interests in the first place; that mattered little to the petty stallion who had always scrabbled for power and clearly was still doing so. Moreso, given his attitude, it was clear that he was one of Highfalutin’s associates, clearly trying to take his place in the constellation of power that had been left by her recent downfall.
Kibbitz tried to intervene. “Lord Oak, you do not have the floor at this time,” the older stallion reminded him.
“Baroness Shimmer has offered it, and none of the dukes and duchesses have said anything, so it falls upon me to do so,” he announced as he stepped forward onto the floor, turning to face his fellow nobles, focusing on the crowd as he began his attack. “And you have all fallen for these falsehoods!
“We are gathered here to inquest upon the soon-to-be-crowned alicorn, but the truth of the matter is, this is all a lie!” With a practiced ease, he looked at each of them, his fiery eyes carrying the ire of his point. “My fellow ponies, I posit before you this: this is all a sham! We know that Princess Twilight has tamed the demon Discord, and she has healed our beloved Princess Luna from her madness, but do you actually believe that humans actually exist? The very demons that we have been told about in our bedtime stories, from our legends and myths. May I remind you that they are just that? Stories?”
He pointed at the SIRENs standing there. “They may look like the descriptions of humans, but we know better, don’t we? We know that we have shape-changers amongst us…changelings. And even if not changelings, other species have that same ability. See the supposed human mare standing there with the Inariese sword? That likely means she is a kitsune, a species whose ability to shape change is as natural as that of the changelings. I posit that we are seeing the result of exceptional amniomorphic spells, if not shapeshifting sellswords!” He looked at all of them and gave a feral grin. “We are no mere foals to be fooled – we have eyes and we can see, and when you look hard enough, you will see that this is nothing but a perfectly tailored mockery of the truth!
He looked at Sunset, but was not addressing her, instead, accusing her with his gaze. “In fact, I posit that our newest alicorn has never been off our world at all! While it is clear that we stand before an alicorn – of that, there can be no doubt – I hardly think that she has been off-world…because there is no other world to go to! There is only our fair Equus, not this so-called Earth, as if anypony would be so simplistic to name their world after the very ground we walk on!
“Now, I know many of my fellow esteemed nobleponies doubt my words, because we have reputed ‘evidence’.” He spat the word out as if it were an invective. “First, we have the reports regaling Princess Twilight’s claimed travel to this human world two years ago. But have any of you read it, other than the most fanciful and fictionalized excerpts? Of course not, because it is a heavily-classified report that is only held at the highest levels of the military and Crown officials. The majority of the Council has not seen this report, and it certainly has never been made publicly available in full! While I am sure that Princess Twilight is the Princess of Friendship, that quality does not exactly entail Honesty. That is under the domain of Lady Applejack, Knight of Honesty and I know she has stated she has never been there. I would wager neither have the other Bearers – and where Princess Twilight goes, so does her court. Then we have the reports of Archmagus Raspberry Beryl and that she spent three weeks there…but she was gone for the majority of the past year! We remember that hard year, my friends, and I remember Archmagus Beryl’s funeral, and the sorrow that came about that. And yet, she returned after nearly a year, which she stated was three weeks in their world. So, which is it? Between you and I, I think we know the answer: neither three weeks nor eight months, but instead none.
“Ultimately, I think that this is a coverup for a much grander crime: I believe that Princess Celestia, eager to forgive her wayward ward for her spoiled actions, came up with this grand lie in order to prevent us all from seeing the truth! That the Baroness of Westphalia has proven herself true and become an alicorn is not the lie, my lords and ladies, but that she was ever assigned at all! She probably ran off to Shibasaki or one of the other cities in Inari or Zhangguo or somewhere else in this world, far beyond pony cares or concerns, until she became an alicorn and had to return to rule. Note that our beloved princess claims Baroness Sunset as her daughter…but have you ever seen a legal document of adoption?”
In her seat, Celestia’s eyes narrowed slightly. She felt her sister’s hoof on hers, a silent plea for calm. While it would have been her unquestioned royal right to put Riven Oak in his place right here and now, it would also vindicate whatever he was saying. And so, angrily, she remained in her seat, letting the malignant stallion continue to spew.
“And now we have our other princesses roped into this travesty as well! We are forced to believe that Princess Twilight has traveled beyond the veil of time and space – a barrier proven unbreachable by no less than Starswirl the Bearded himself – to go to this other land? We are supposed to believe the words of Archmagus Beryl that she traveled to this same land – when in truth, the story of Raspberry Beryl’s own life is virtually a match for that of Sunset Shimmer’s? Are we all so foalish as to not see the curtain behind which the truth is hidden?
“I don’t know about you all, but I cannot accept this farce. We are the nobility of this land – we cannot afford to turn a blind eye just because it is politically convenient! We have a duty to protect our ponies from schemes, no matter how well-intentioned or good-natured they seem to be! If Her Majesty wishes to return her redeemed ward to the ranks of ponydom, then I have no issue. But to concoct a scheme where this alicorn is suddenly the daughter of our princess – and to be crowned a princess in her own right just because of that? Well, I have serious concerns about that – as should you all!” He turned to look at the crowd, his voice reaching a loud crescendo. “We have already had one alicorn go mad and now we are to give a crown to another who as a unicorn proved herself to be anything but worthy? I ask – nay, I DEMAND – DENY THE BARONESS HER CROWN UNTIL SHE PROVES HERSELF WORTHY OF BEING AMONGST PONIES AGAIN, TO SPURN THESE LIES ABOUT THIS SO-CALLED HUMANITY AND ACTUALLY PROVE HERSELF AS THE DAUGHTER OF OUR PRINCESS, OR TO ADMIT THAT THIS WAS ALL NOTHING BUT A SHAM AND MOCKERY PERPETRATED IN ORDER TO PUT ANOTHER ALICORN IN CHARGE OF US ALL!”
The room broke out in a cacophony of disturbing cheers, claps and stomping of hooves as Oak’s fellow accomplices sounded their approval. In their thrones, the four princesses remained impassive, though the angry glares in the eyes of the four made it clear just what they thought of Riven Oak and his little scheme.
He turned and gave Sunset a mocking smile. “Is there anything you wish to say to counter that?” he asked her coolly.
In a conference room at the Friendship Castle, a group of ponies and humans assembled, watching the proceedings.
“That jerk!” pony Rainbow Dash snarled. “How can he say that about Twi or Razz?”
“Or Sunny!” her human counterpart added, as a scowl also engraved itself on her face. She turned to Raspberry. “Razz, can you teleport us over?”
“Why?” the mulberry unicorn asked.
“Because I need me to be a Knight of Mars!” was the Latina’s reply.
“A what?” Rarity asked, the unicorn unfamiliar with the term.
“Beater of ass,” was the response from all the humans at once.
“Girls, I’m not sure violence is the answer,” pegasus Fluttershy nervously suggested.
“Oh, that’s tame compared to what I have in mind for that Goddamn motherfucker,” human Pinkie seethed in a tone dark enough that made everyone back up and especially made her counterpart worry, her hair becoming ramrod straight in a harbinger of ill-tidings.
Knowing damage control was in order, Twilight reached over and took Pinkie’s hands in her own. “Pinkie, do you trust Sunny?” she asked.
Pinkie looked at her friend, the younger sister of her true love. “You know I do,” she said softly, calming down.
“Then believe in her, like I do. She’s been up against worst things than this,” the teen scholar reminded her. “A blowhard with an attitude problem isn’t going to keep my sister down.”
Knowing the crowd’s eyes were on her, Sunset moved from her place, smiled and walked over to Riven Oak, each one of her calm, measured hoofsteps making him wonder what she was up to. As she approached him, he couldn’t help but note that the mare who had been much shorter that he was now towered over him as an alicorn, and it made him pause.
Cyan fixed onto burnt orange, and a sweet voice sang out:
“And of the sweet, sweet soul,
Let’s be certain
Of the deliberate monologue
As sure as if it will fall
Across you,
Unto you –
Will most certainly leave the doing undone…
Come on, undone”
The world plunged into darkness.
When light returned, chaos reigned on a scale even Discord couldn’t come up with. In their seats, three of the four alicorns’ jaws dropped, while the fourth merely giggled. Amongst the crowd seated, many gasped in shock, if not screamed outright in panic as they found themselves collectively at a crossroads of a place that should not be.
Amongst them, ghosts walked. Hundreds of humans, all of various sizes, skin tones and clothing, walked down busy streets. Massive metal chariots of designs unseen before in Equestria moved on, belching smoke and making loud noises on a scale that ponies had never seen. All of these passed by – and through – the ponies as if they weren’t there.
And indeed, they weren’t. Instead, great buildings, the likes of which they hadn’t seen outside of the largest and newest cities in Equestria, stood. Large palm trees lined the road and metal poles were festooned with strange lights that alternated in colors of red, amber and green. In the distance a large, clearly iconic building rose to the sky, and on each of the corners, were blue signs that helpfully read both HIGHLAND and SUNSET.
A voice behind Oak spoke in a way that seemed to both be and not be the Royal Canterlot Voice at the same time: “Welcome to Los Angeles. In terms of population, it is the thirtieth largest city on Earth, with a mere fifteen million humans living there. It is, in my time on Earth, the largest of the cities I have visited, though I understand that Tokyo has about forty million living there.”
Oak’s jaw dropped. Forty million? That’s impossible! And yet, seeing all these humans walking on, moving through their daily routines? There was no possible way for a spell this powerful to be cast, could it? Maybe it was being done in concert by all the alicorns and Discord? He turned to look the alicorns, finding all but Princess Twilight bewildered. As for the latter, she just looked in a strange sense of familiar wonder.
“Oh, this is real,” Sunset’s voice continued. “This is the corner of Highland Avenue and Sunset Boulevard, the busiest intersection in LA, or so a quick look at my phone told me. Google Maps’ realtime visual feed can be very helpful – good thing humans set up traffic cameras, right?” Oak turned to look in wonder, only to find a human mare standing in front of him, her long ruby-and-gold hair seemingly burning with the power of reality herself.
“Let me say that again: this is very real. What you’re seeing is going on now and is no figment of your imagination,” Sunset told him. “This isn’t an illusion, and as somepony with a horn himself, you can tell when a spell is being cast in concert. Well, it’s not – only Princess Twilight has been to the human world before and she certainly couldn’t cast a spell of this magnitude, could you, Twi?”
Twilight looked at Sunset, a wide smile coming to her muzzle. “Well, ponies might call me the Princess of Magic, but I guess they should call you that too, right?”
Sunset giggled. “Naah, I’ll let you keep that one. I have one more important to me.” Turning back to Oak, she said, “Do you know what I am, Riven Oak? I am the Alicorn of Earth. I am responsible for the protection and security of the few ponies and nearly eight billion humans that live in that realm. That means I need to be powerful. And I am – I am probably the second most powerful alicorn that ever existed, second only to my grandmother. And I would rather not test my power levels against her, simply because…well, you know how grandmothers can be.”
She bent down so that she was eye to eye with him once more. “I am responsible for the protection of every human life and every pony life. That is my duty, my domain and my calling. So, Riven Oak, Marquis of Moyle, you may say whatever you want about me. Because until the day that you have to abandon everything you’ve ever known and loved and to take on a mission of utmost importance to a realm that you cannot even comprehend, to spend years there learning, adapting and growing to love that world, and then to literally die protecting it from a madman the likes of which you can never stop, much less a demon that desired nothing less than total world domination? Well….” She patted him on the head as if assuring a child that everything would be fine. “When you can do that, then we’ll talk shop. Until then? Shut the fuck up.”
She snapped her fingers….
…and a second later, everything returned to normal, except for the horrified stallion in the center of the room, who was now busily soiling himself in front of all present.
“Now then,” Sunset, back in her alicorn form said, looking at the audience with a pleasant smile. “Is there anypony else with questions? Because I do believe I can show you Paris, next. It’s a lovely place.”
The remainder of the session went as expected, with Sunset’s presentation having been abruptly set aside to discuss other things of import to ponies, as well as for the janitorial staff to clean up the mess left by the now-catatonic Riven Oak, who had been taken to the infirmary for his own good. Though, admittedly, given the incredible display of power by the young alicorn, everything else was a subdued, nervous stammering that even the other alicorns had a hard time focusing on.
Everypony else just looked at Sunset the same way they did Celestia’s sun – a primal, elemental thing that they could not understand and likely never would. The other alicorns were their goddesses and rulers, and that, the average pony could comprehend. But the flame-maned alicorn at the lectern was beyond them, something that seemed as if out of a horror novel by the (in)famous pony author Love Craft.
After another few hours, the meeting finally started to wind down, with the intended noble’s ball to be held tonight, the first of several ramping up for the festivities in a few short days. As Kibbitz called the meeting to order one last time, he stated, “And now for an official vote on Marquis Riven Oak’s earlier inquest: do we submit a motion to the Crown to deny Baroness Sunset Shimmer of Westphalia her due as an alicorn? All in favor, raise your hoof and state ‘aye’.”
Not a single voice spoke.
“All against? Raise your hoof and state ‘neigh’.”
The room became a solid wall of voices all uttering the same word, as a forest of forelegs raised.
“Then let it be so.” He turned to Sunset and with a proud smile, stated, “In two days, you shall be due your accordance. Please prepare yourself…
…Princess Sunset Shimmer.”