Night Patrol 2: Final Arc Chapter 57
By Foxgear
Five years. A lot can happen in that time. For Equestria, they saw the rise of their sister nation in the Everfree Forest. Ruled by the younger sister of the beloved Princess Celestia, the Duchy of Evernight modernized the once wild and untamed lands.
There Duchess Luna Selene Solaris ruled with her husband, Duke Sixes, at her side.
The two rulers toured Equestria, promoting the new nation, and offering those who wish to, to move there. Many of those on the lower rung of society took the chance to start a new life. Braving the new frontier and making their claim.
Currently, there were five cities with populations of ten thousand or higher, with many smaller towns and settlements scattered through the still heavy forested lands. Not to worry, though, a well-planned railway traveled throughout the entire nation. Making travel between every significant city and those built along the tracks, easy and convenient.
It was not unheard of for a pony to travel from Night Orchard, the furthest southern city, and reach the Capital New Moon in half a day’s ride.
New Moon Castle, and the surrounding town, was located where the castle of the Two Sisters once stood. From there, one could travel on the isolated railway to Lunar Academia. The counterpart to Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns. Except this school was not so narrow in its education. The school’s slogan was ‘To those who seek knowledge, start here.’ Ponies of all races were welcome to study and learn whatever subject they desired with a library considered to be on par with that of Alexandra.
It was Evernight’s current (only) college-level Academy. All lower education was managed by respective cities and settlements. Yes, despite the odds against them, Luna’s nation prospered.
Yet, from her balcony dressed in a thin silk nightgown, the Duchess gazed upon her beloved moon with a troubled expression. An empty glass of iced tea on the table beside her, the sweating glass kept the latest article from Europona from flying away in the crisp autumn air.
“WAR REACHES NEW LEVEL OF DISASTER! FIFTEEN MILLION DEAD AND RISING! TWELVE NATIONS AT WAR!”
The tragedy of the Europona conflict was swelling even beyond her imagination. It almost made her feel guilty by how good things were here versus there. Yet she remained determined not to get involved.
Not even when the letters began arriving.
Yes, letters. From children or those that lost loved ones, begging her for help.
It was a cruel trick by D’Arcy to hook them in. One she was losing against, but thankfully, she had Sixes to deal with them. Though that was just as painful sometimes.
He didn’t read the letters, he burned them. Out of sight, but Luna knew what he was doing.
Luna remembered the night Sixes came home to find her crying in the living room, surrounded by opened envelopes.
His anger was fierce as a wildfire, but his approach was methodical. He pointed out more than a few, maybe even half or more, were fake. Or documented. Pointing out one that was supposedly written by a young child, who knew a lot of military slang terms and was very articulate in his writing. For being seven.
Once more, she read the letters and discovered similar patterns. The same pony or ponies were writing the majority of the letters—no doubt professional propagandist.
However, there were some genuine real letters mixed in, too, real heart-breakers. Mother’s crying for their sons and husbands, little sisters begging for their brothers and boyfriends to be returned safely. Things like that.
Even so, Luna remained determined not to intervene and sent a warning to her sister of the false letters. This had started three years ago, and Luna was impressed Celestia managed to hold out this long before breaking rank.
“Here’s the Manehatten Post.” Sixes all but spat slapping the newspaper on the small table over the old one. The headline reading ‘Princess Celestia goes to broker peace!’ The caption below was of Celestia standing proudly upon her personal ship, the Le fleur, on her way to what was hopefully a Peace Conference between the fighting world leaders.
“So, she went?” Luna remarked, resigned. “Well, I wish her luck.”
“We should have stopped her. It would have made a stronger statement if you’d both gone together, but no, she rushes off on her own.”
Luna smiled broadly, “My, you’ve certainly grown into political strategy over the years.”
“No, I’m just going off Topaz’s frustrated remarks. He actually said something less mild-mannered. A maid reported he even tossed his coffee cup against the wall.”
“Oh my, he’ll need a vacation, I suppose.” Luna shifted her gaze from the moon to her husband. Her eyelids half-closed, her smile softer. “You need a horn filing again.” She giggled.
For his part, Sixes merely blew the stray strain of hair from his eyes. His mane had suddenly exploded in growth, giving him almost a lion’s mane appearance. The most significant and more irritating change was the two black antlers on his head.
Antlers, his son, Crusader, once had.
“I wish I could snap these off,” Sixes fumed, gripping a horn with his claw, but restrained himself. The horn would only grow back. And at an unnatural rate. He was coming around to the fact he was stuck with them. “Still, there not as bad as these stupid things.”
Sixes indicated the black crystallized spikes protruding from his joints. He was an odd combination of Topaz and Crusader, and he was taller than Luna now. His muscles really filled out too, not quite bulky, but much stockier than before.
“They are rather pokey,” Laughed Luna with little humor, remembering the night the spikes suddenly grew and jabbed her in the side. The bedsheets were also torn. “Hopefully this is the last of the changes. Any advice from Kira?”
“No, she just said there’s no telling what new features will appear. I don’t know if I should take solace in the fact that the others are evolving too or not.”
In the past five years, there had been a rash of evolutions as Kira coined, among the older Rinin. This resulted in new features, abilities, and looks. There was very little standardization, each Rinin seemingly having a personal transformation.
There was a massive uptick in rinin magic users with Sixes among them.
“You know,” Luna thought aloud while nuzzling up to Sixes. “There seems to be a lot more Kirin in you, Rinin than originally thought.”
“I could have gone without the hair extensions.” Grumbled Sixes laying his head top hers.
“I kind of like it,” She grinned, burrowing into Sixes’ silky mane. “It’s better than the spikes.”
“I suppose.” He signed as they gazed at the moon together. “So about Sunny.”
“She wants to stay in that other world?”
“Yeah,” Sixes sighed tiredly.
Some time ago, a small adventure involving Celestia’s and Sixes’ lost grandchild, Sunset Shimmer, happened. It was a whole ordeal dealing with the lost Nico Vega’s children and Sunset Shimmers' friends.
The other world was an interesting one, the creatures there strange and exciting. Luna herself had even visited, along with Celestia. Both her husband and sister made trips to check up on Sunset, who was in line for the Equestrian throne.
However, despite her sister's efforts, Sunset seemed determined to remain in the other world with her friends. Ironic that the Magic of friendship would thwart Celestia in such away.
“I think Celestia’s being too desperate. I offered for Sunny to vacation here, but she turned me down.”
“Well, we have her room ready if she changes her mind.” Was Luna's response.
By all legal definitions, Sunset was her step-granddaughter? Or something along those lines. She wasn’t disinterested in the young unicorn’s fate but instead didn’t expect anything from her. Sunset seemed to be relieved by this considering what her grandmother wanted for her.
“Sorry,” Said Sixes after a moment of silence.
“It’s fine,” Luna assured him. “You said you would look out for her, and you are.”
“We could go visit her if you want.” Suggested Sixes, knowing how much Luna liked spending time in the other world. A world of new and exciting things to discover and places to explore. It was also a beautiful vacation spot.
Luna rested her head against his shoulder, “Tempting, but things are too chaotic right now for me to leave. I’m more relieved Sunset isn’t here and safe in that other world. Maybe it sounds cruel, but I hope she stays there. I don’t want what that future Dusk showed us. She can remain happy with her friends.”
It had taken all of two seconds for everypony to realize the alicorn fighting beside Twilight in Dusk’s vision, was Sunset Shimmer. The lost granddaughter of Celestia has yet to receive her wings, though. Piling on her future expectations.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Sunny’s better off in that world if that’s what waiting for her here.”
To lift the mood, Luna changed topics, “So how do you like your new Commander.”
“Oh, bug off.”
Luna smirked, “You’re just mad Kira proved you wrong.”
It took some time, years of training, and rising through the ranks, but Twilight Sparkle was finally a Night Commander. Candidate. There weren’t any open slots right now, but she was a Vice Commander.
There were several new commanders, six in total. The surge in recruits required the formation of three new units.
With Sixes as Commander in Chief of Night Patrol, the Commanders were Topaz Slicer, Fierce Fury, Trifecta, Lucky Shamrock, Essex, and Ruby Blaze.
The Vice Commanders were Gloves, Bulwark Bulldrake, AppleJazz, Goodnight, Smokey Haze, and Twilight Sparkle.
“We’ll see how she does. I would have preferred Bixin, but he decided to retire early.”
Luna shrugged; proud Twilight had done so well in Night Patrol. If only to hold it over, Celestia. “It was expected, Bixin is one of the older Rinin. It’s not surprising he retired after he married and had a foal or two. He wants to spend time with them. Besides, Twilight and Topaz seem to get along fine. They’re an excellent working duo.”
“Don’t go playing cupid now, sweetie.” Sixes teased. “Besides, I think she and Trifecta are a lot closer.”
“It doesn’t matter to me, and I’d never take Cadence’s job from her,” Luna said with mock offense. “Speaking of Cadence, did you hear? She’s pregnant!”
“That was fast. Then again, it’s been a few years since the wedding, there has been quite the baby boom lately.” Sixes silently counted off the number of kids with his claw, the total well over the number of digits available.
“Gloves and Fleetfoot, Goodnight and Sweet Dreams, Platinum and Bulwark,” Luna listed off. “I think Platinum is next in the betting pool, but Spitfire might beat her. Things are scorching between her and Fury right now. Oh, and Shamrock and Essex might finally be ready to have foals. I guess that means you’ll be an uncle.”
“Yeah.”
“You still uneasy about that? Shamrock didn’t mean… well, he was drunk when he blabbed.”
Sixes let out a long breath. “I always suspected it was kind of obvious, but I don’t know what to do now. I’m not the brother she knew, and I don’t remember her. I’m glad Essex isn’t pushing me to be a pony I’m not, but I don’t know how to act around her.”
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with just interacting and getting to know each other again. You can just be friends, can’t you? You’re already comrades.”
He sighed, “I suppose.”
Luna couldn’t help but sigh herself, hoping the issue would be put to rest. She patted Sixes’ neck, “Well, you can do better than my sister and I, at the very least.”
“It has been several months since you two last spoke to each other.”
This earned him a light jab in the ribs.
“We’re just busy! Besides the time apart is good for us, distance makes the heart grow fonder after all.” With a faint blush, Luna added. “Also, there’s less chance to get on each other’s nerves.”
Though there were still issues between her and Celestia, between both of them ruling over their respective nations, they really didn’t have time to but heads. For the first time in a long time, they were living apart from each other. Hopefully, as Cadence phases into the role of Queen of Equestria, the stable ground between her and Celestia would solidify.
“How soon before she has to retire?” Sixes inquired.
“I think by the time of Cadence and Shining’s first child. I think she has to at least step down to an advisor position. Really, I just want her to go enjoy life. I know she wants too, but the stupid war is prolonging things. I really hope she can talk them down.”
“Yeah…” A comfortable silence built up between them, but something began to nag Luna.
“Sixes…”
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t say… plan a covert mission without discussing it with me, did you?” She accused, only half-joking. “I’ve noticed I haven’t seen Topaz and select others today, or the past two days rather.”
“Not to the peace conference.”
“But, there is a mission?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Sixes suddenly found the stars really interesting, especially when they rearranged themselves into a question mark. Followed by an exclamation point and a vaguely angry face of a pony.
“Now, that’s just an abuse of power.”
“SIXES!”
“You’ll get the report when they get back, don’t worry about it. It’s not like it’s an assassination. That was discussed, though,” Sixes added quietly. At Luna’s frown, he pacified with her with the bare bones of details. Tried. Tried to pacify. “It’s just some intel gathering. From several hostile nations.”
Luna narrowed her eyes, her face wrinkling with a disapproving frown. Firmly she pointed to the couch.
“Really?” Sixes replied with an almost childish protest.
“I’m not in the mood tonight.”
“You know I have to oversee our new airship, The Selene, maiden’s voyage tomorrow, I’ll be gone for a week.”
Luna’s eye shrunk, clearly weighing her options. “Ok. Come to bed, but you go to the couch the moment we’re done!”
Despite Luna’s firm tone, Sixes did not, in fact, sleep on the couch that night. For Luna had entangled herself around him, preventing him from leaving, not that he had even attempted too.
Unfortunately, neither would get a full night’s sleep when Essex knocked on their bedroom door, completely frazzled. And glowing?
“We have a problem!”
“So, you’re gonna be an Aunt soon?” Goodnight asked from outside her door in the hall. Twilight Sparkle, Vice Commander of the Sixth Unit, adjusted her reading glasses, raising her head from her desk.
“Yes, so it would seem. Cadence is hoping for a girl, Shining Armor, a boy. Neither truly care, love them all the same, and that stuff. How’s your son, Goodday?”
“He’s fine. We just got him weaned off Sweet Dream’s teats. Though Sweetie has been telling me they're still swollen.”
“She’s probably pregnant again already. Are you two trying to set a speed record or something?” Twilight inquired while reviewing the day's reports. A quick look at the clock had her reconsidering. “I suppose this is a good stopping point. I’m going to go up to the third floor to relax, you want to come?”
“Library or game room?”
“Library, of course.”
Goodnight shook his head, “You know you can come play cards with us or go and try to beat Luna’s high score in the arcade. Tonight might be your only chance with Sixes going away for a week. The lady of the night will strike up the high scores even higher with her lover away.”
Twilight held in a snort, “I still can’t believe that. I never see her in there.”
“Try after midnight, usually between three or four o’clock.”
“Yeah, right, but I might check it out just to prove you wrong.” Twilight flashed a warily smile. “I guess Smash Ponies is kind of fun, is there another tournament coming up?”
“Every first and fourth Friday of the month.”
“It’s the third,” Twilight clicked her tongue. “I suppose I could go play a few rounds.”
“That’s the spirit.” Goodnight grinned as they trotted down the hall. “So, what’s Trifecta and Topaz up to?”
“Classified.”
Was this a test? Twilight wondered, eying Goodnight suspiciously. They were the same rank; he should know just where Topaz and Trifecta were. If he didn’t know, then he knew better then to ask her. He should be asking Sixes if he really wanted to know.
Rather than waste time wondering, she went right for the throat, figuratively.
“Did Sixes put you up to this?”
“That obvious?” Twilight nodded. Prompting a chuckle from the thestral. “Sorry, he wanted to see if you knew when to keep quiet. Also, a message, expect more tests.”
“I’ve been a Vice Commander for two months!” Twilight bit out with steam rising from her horn.
Goodnight could only chuckle, “Yeah, and I’m on year two, and he still springs this shit on me. Do you know what he did for my test?”
“What?”
“He put a flashbang in one of my drawers. Open my top drawer and bang! Blind with ringing ears. I tried to get him back because Fierce Fury told me too, so I tried to do the same thing to him. You know what he did?”
“I’m not guessing, so just tell me.”
“He calls me to his office and then throws the entire drawer at me! Tells me to do better, and then he threw the flashbang at me.”
“That’s rough, but you should have put more thought into it. I mean, it’s obvious when you think about it. That is the first thing I’d expect.” She adjusted her glasses, pushing them up the bridge of her muzzle. “I swear the stress of this job is why I need glasses now.”
“I thought it was because you burned your eyes out reading in dim lights too much. Or is it from the time you dropped three flashbangs in a row in training?”
Twilight puffed her cheeks like a squirrel. “Shut up!”
With a shared laugh, the duo entered the arcade, a Pondo connected to a gem projector ready and waiting for them. Seems somepony forgot to turn off the game console, letting the Smash Ponies play on the wall.
“Technology sure advances fast,” Goodnight whistled, taking up a controller.
“Yeah, I’m amazed how fast Nippon developed their game systems after seeing our arcade machines.” Twilight absent-mindedly clicked through the character selection, a heavy sigh escaping her.
“Missing, Trifecta?” Goodnight teased.
“No.” She replied softly. “We’re not dating.”
“But you want to, right? Sweet Dreams seems to think so at least.”
“I don’t know,” Twilight answered honestly. “We met during a very high-stress situation and get along ok; I just don’t know if it’s love or friendship. Speaking of Friendship, I’ve been terrible at it. I hardly talk to my Ponyville friends anymore.”
Goodnight waited to answer as they started their match, once he took the first round, he replied. “Well, when you spend all your time here, it’s no surprise. But your making friends here, right? Different life choices lead down different paths. I mean, Sweetie is making friends with other young mothers, and I’m getting to know their husbands by proxy. Things never stay the same.”
As they started the next match, Twilight said, “That’s true, I guess. Still, I should go check on them. Rainbow Dash got rejected again, I saw.”
“I saw that report too. Miss Rainbow does well on the physical test but fails the written. Kind of a shame to let that talent go to waste, but there is only one standard. I’m sure the Equestrian Airforce will take her.”
“You make that sound like an insult,” Twilight grumbled. “And she only wants to join Night Patrol because Spitfire and other Wonderbolts joined. Fleetfoot retired, though.”
“No,” Goodnight countered. “She’s on leave because Gloves got her pregnant, she’s doing desk work right now.”
“Right, right, I should probably go to sleep if I’m making mistakes like that.” She yawned, laying down her controller. “I’ll see you around, Goody, say hi to Sweet Dreams and Goodday for me.”
Goodnight sighed as Twilight left the room, “You can tell them yourself.” Twilight was already gone. “I see why I was asked to check on her.” He turned off the game system, leaving for his room.
Sixes had given him that test for Twilight, but it was Trifecta that asked him to keep an eye on the unicorn. Seems without the triplet around Twilight reverted back to semi borderline antisocial workaholic.
“Then again, how many relationships does a pony need?” He asked the ether. “Really, besides a core group of ponies, how many friends does one need?”
Whatever, Trifecta was unable to be contacted at the moment. So, Goodnight guessed it was up to him to prevent Twilight from reverting back into a recluse.
As he opened the door to his suite, his long pointed ears flicked at the sound of rushing hooves. Craning his neck, Goodnight saw Essex running down the stairs with Luna and Sixes hot on her tail. He debated on following them or not when the castle began to shake!
“What the hell?” Not able to ignore that, he broke off into a sprint, with several others hot on his heels.
The entire castle was in a frenzy, ponies scrambled to battle positions. Only to stare agape at what they saw circling the sky.
The fiercest creature in the world, the dread to all, winged beasts of flaming death. A dragon. Not just any dragon. No by the sheer size and scale of the creature, as well as the aura of power surrounding it, it was a Dragonlord.
It landed with little ceremony or introduction, taking up the entire courtyard and stretching up to the fourth floor of the castle. It’s glittering green scales sparkled in the moonlight. In its claw was a shaved oak tree, with a giant emerald a fixed to the tip. A dragon scepter. The symbol of the lord’s power and status.
Luna, Sixes, and Essex, with several others, arrived outside, all gazing up at the massive Dragon. The sight of it would have sent an average pony into cardiac arrest, but for Luna, she merely tilted her head.
“You’re not as big as Torch, or rather not as bulky maybe? Who are you, by the way? Why have you come here?”
The Dragon’s slit pupil gazed at the alicorn and then swiftly switched to Essex, a broad toothy grin on its face. “Essex, it’s good to see you again.” The Dragon’s tone was deep and gentle as it slowly lowered its head to the group. It’s eyes narrowing at Sixes. “I see some resemblance between you two, is this the one you told me of?”
Essex nodded, “Yes, Lord Oberon, this is my brother, Sixes.” She then buddied up to Luna. “And this is my sister in law, Duchess Luna, formerly Princess Luna of Equestria. Sixes, Luna, this is the Dragonlord of the Emerald isle, Oberon of Clydesdale.”
Oberon bowed his head, politely, “I am aware of the Alicorn of the Night and Dreams. Though I am younger, I am still old. Where is Shamrock?” Oberon asked, looking around, bringing his head extremely close to the balcony. Making the tense ponies tenser, but they held their positions, so they didn’t aggro the Dragonlord.
“My husband is away right now, what can we do for you this night?” Essex asked the Dragon. Luna and Sixes allowing her to handle talks.
Oberon grumbled, smoke billowing from his mouth. “Hmm, I had wished to speak to both of you, but this shall do. I need your assistance back home.”
Essex smiled while cocking her head sideways, “I’m happy to help milord, but what use could I be? I am merely a pebble before you.”
The Dragonlord laughed, “A pebble is what I need. My size is a hindrance in this matter, and I need creatures I can trust. Will you return with me to Clydesdale?”
“Forgive me, but you’re awfully vague. Can you clarify more?” Essex beckoned. Trying to understand what her old friend wanted.
A subdued grumble escaped the Dragonlord, “I will try, but we must be swift, my time here must be limited. Less my counterpart becomes involved.”
His counterpart was Torch, the Dragonlord of the Equestrian Dragon’s located at mount Firehorn. He would no doubt sense the presence of another dragonlord, and as would others who might seek to take control of Clydesdale in Oberon’s absence.
“My daughter has gone missing. The last one to see her speaks of a cave or dungeon. One too small for me to enter, and also too sturdy to demolish. I have minions that could go inside, but I fear for my daughter if they find her in a weakened state. Please, my friend, will you help me?”
To the shock of all gathered, Oberon bowed his massive head to the rinin no more significant than his talon. Essex patted the humble lord’s claw, “Of course I’ll help.”
“I will as well,” Sixes offered suddenly. He grinned sheepishly to his wife. “Could you arrange for somepony else to inspect the Selene?”
Luna could only roll her eyes, and perhaps feel a bit jealous, she wanted to go on an adventure too. If it was any pony else besides Essex, she would have protested, but this was once again Sixes making an effort to mend relationships. Something she’s been encouraging him to do.
“I’ll see who I can find,” She replied, shaking her head, thinking this night couldn’t get any crazier, and then it did when a particular pony called out.
“I wish to go as well!” Was the words of one Twilight Sparkle.
Meanwhile in the Neutral Nation of Freiberger
A large circular table, in a vaulted ceiling room located in a cool dark blue brick building, was the location of the International peace conference. The Nation of Freiberger, a neutral power, surrounded by all sides in the war. Played host to the visiting nations.
The small mountainous nation kept to itself, assuring their neighbors that any attempt to invade or drag them into the war would be a costly move. Like Germane, Freiberger was a mostly earth pony nation. A nation where almost every citizen was part of the armed service and trained to fight.
It was daunting to imagine having to fight an entire population well part of a prolonged conflict.
Still, even if Freiberger was a fierce contender, they didn’t have the clout to drag the Kaiser and D’Arcy into a room together.
No, the combined political pressure from Nippon and Equestria was needed to make these talks happen. To ensure there would be no funny business, only select ponies were to sit in on the conference. All Magic was sealed, save for the moderator, Princess Celestia.
On one side, sat D’Arcy, with three anti-magic rings affixed to her horn, and four to her legs to ensure she couldn’t tap into earth magic. D’Arcy’s bodyguard was equally restrained. He was a burly bearded yet handsome stallion dressed in the colors of his Queen.
He was Prance’s greatest warrior beside the Queen herself. The Protector of D’Arcy, the Barbarian Duke, La Hire. With the position of her bodyguard, he was allowed to carry his sword, the Cursed Blade Sangsue, also known as the Vampire Blade.
It was said Sangsue devoured the blood of the slain, gifting its user an incredible boost of physical and magical power.
La Hire stood firmly next to D’Arcy, like an overprotective father, it was understandable he would be like that. D’Arcy has been his charge since she was young. He had a stern look that suggested he feared nothing in this room. It was a look of a pony ready to throw everything away for their loved one.
Across from the Prench duo sat Kaiser Hades, he was equally restricted, with anti-magic bracelets on his legs. With no horn or wings, that was all he needed. The heavy cloak he wore was searched for any hidden weapons, and none were found.
Despite the situation, he had an easy-going smile. One that suggested he held all the cards, and perhaps he did. By every logical metric, he was justified, while Prance was in the wrong. Having started the needless war without warning or provocation. Whatever semantics D’Arcy might deploy, it didn’t change the fact, she attacked first.
What Hades feared most was the ‘impartial’ moderator. He found it laughable that Princess Celestia could be considered a neutral entity in this case, but with her public denouncing of Prance’s actions, he felt he had a chance. So, he appeared as friendly and reasonable as possible. Putting on a good show for fair treatment.
Even so, the others were on edge. They were wary, but not at the Kaiser. No, they were focused on the pony beside him. Many expected his Kaiserin would accompany him, that was foolish, she was the number two pony of the country. He trusted her to safeguard the throne at home.
No, the pony beside him was his own daughter, Titania, the killer of El Cid and his best warrior. His daughter observed the others with cold icy silver-blue eyes, her platinum blonde hair tied tight against her scalp in case of a fight, while her pale coat complexion gave her the ghostly appearance of a wraith.
However, in the right light, it could be said his daughter had the purest white coat ever seen, besides one other.
Now maybe it was foolish to have El Cid’s killer here, but the Kaiser was confident his daughter’s presence would make D’Arcy unhinged. Thus making his case easier to plead if the other ruler was ranting like a lunatic.
With his list of demands at the ready, the Kaiser eyed the ones that were the most important as the Freiberger representative called things to order.
“Let us begin the negotiations.” The Freiberger chancellor gestured to the opposing sides and then Celestia with a graying teal hoof. “Moderator, if you would please list the demands of Queen D’Arcy.”
Celestia felt a twitch on her brow, her teeth clenched tight. This was not how this was supposed to go, by legal law, Germane is the grieved party. It was their right to speak first.
Perhaps seeing her reaction, Kaiser Hades carelessly gestured for her go ahead. “It’s fine, white moves first in chess, right? Let the HOLY maiden speak first.”
Ignoring the barb sewn into that statement, Celestia passed the list of demands to Cobalt. At her suggestion, she thought it best they all speak via proxy. Hoping if the dialogue was delivered by a third party, every pony could keep a cool head.
(I see that idea is already smoke in the wind.) Celestia grimaced. The Kaiser speaking was perhaps a jab at her or rather a statement to his willingness to speak for himself. If that was the answer, she could not say, but his daughter did tap his shoulder with a stern look.
He laughed silently, waving off her anger with a cheery and loving smile. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Kaiser so… exposed before.) Celestia mused, finding the new side of the Germanian leader somewhat charming.
Meanwhile, Cobalt listed off Prance’s demands, “The Holy Orthodoxy of Prance, under the Rule Queen Jo-La D’Arcy, with this demands the following reparations for ending hostilities. Firstly, they wish for all lands taken by Germane to be returned to their respective nations. Secondly, a sum of nine hundred million gold bits to be paid over twenty years with a three and a half percent interest rate. Lastly, for the murder of El Cid, King of Hispania, the handing over of Titania Von Blunt for trial. That is all.”
The room was eerie quiet, all eyes on the Germanians. That cheery smile the Kaiser sported was gone, replaced with a deep vibrating growl. His daughter, on the other hoof, seemed almost bored.
The Chancellor gestured again to Celestia, “Please read Germane’s demands.”
Celestia passed the sheet to Cobalt, who gulped when he saw the page. His gaze fluttered over the Kaiser and his daughter. The King of Germane raised a brow, clearly confused as to why he was stalling, while Titania was upright, her form proper, her grin vicious as a shark’s.
Cobalt leaned in, whispering, “Ma’am, we have a problem.”
(What is it?) She replied via telekinesis.
(I think there’s been a switch, this paper only has one demand and it’s rather ambitious.)
(Let me see.)
“Is there a problem, Princess Celestia?” The Chancellor asked, concerned by the delay.
Celestia smiled while shuffling through her papers, “It seems there’s been a mix-up, Germane’s demands are…”
“A counted for,” Titania interrupted. “What is written is all there is. I get why you might be confused, but I assure you there is no mistake.”
“Titania,” The Kaiser mumbled warily. His voice so soft Celestia had to enhance her earing with Magic. “What have you schemed?”
Instead of answering, Titania encouraged Cobalt to read the paper. With great reluctance, he did, fearing any further stalling would result in the meeting taking an even worse turn.
“Germane demands that rather than waste ponies’ lives over a personal grudge, Titania Von Blunt, requests that she and Queen D’Arcy end the war with a duel to the death. Winner takes all. Should Prance win, all conquered territories will be surrendered to Prance, should Germane win, Prance will concede to three non-negotiable demands. Said demands are forgiveness of debt, reparations for the family of veterans, and pardons for all accused war crimes.
“My Queen…” La Hire warned, physically covering D’Arcy’s mouth with his hoof, muffling her obvious answer. “We request a recuse. Such talks need time to process, no?”
The Chancellor nodded, “Yes, it is still early, we will retire for today. Please take the time to reflect. And we’ll rejoin in the morning with cooler heads.”
Thus, the first meeting disbanded with the neutral party on eggshells and the opposing factions as ready as ever to kill the other. The Chancellor offered a flummoxed smile, but could not hide the disappointment in his eyes. Clearly, he expected Celestia to pull of some great feat of negotiation, but his expectations were far too high.
On that note, Celestia was disappointed in herself as well. All that prepping, and she fumbled almost right away? That bothered her. She didn’t expect things to go smoothly the first day, but ending the meeting within the first hour was rough. Rocky mountain rough.
“I don’t remember that paper in the stack.” She commented once in her room with an anti eavesdropping barrier up. “You checked the document, right?”
Cobalt took the Princess’s doubt and confusion in stride. “I am not Time Keeper, but I checked three times, that paper wasn’t there. Furthermore, the original list of demands we were given is missing. I know I had them when we walked in. To cut to the chase, the obvious suspect is the Kaiser’s daughter. She was all too happy to encourage me. She must have switched them somehow.”
Celestia frowned at her own reflection in the window. The rain outside was a perfect match for her mood. “She’s an earth pony, with Anti-magic bracelets. She had no means to switch the papers.”
“That we know of,” he countered. “Germane’s technology is advanced. We already know they have fake wings and horns. What if, say, they developed a small horn, one that could only use a select number of spells but was hidden from view?”
She huffed, finding the idea less than theory and more of a conspiracy. “Alright, I’ll bite. Where would this horn be?”
“Inside her head.” Cobalt answered flatly. “The hole required is the size of a coin, there’s plenty of space to insert an inverted horn. It could be easily hidden by one’s fur or hair.”
“The anti-magic…”
“Was set for earth magic.”
“Magic is Magic, even if we give it different classifications, it doesn’t change the fact she is an earth pony and was wearing anti-magic bracelets. She couldn’t have done it!”
Cobalt righted himself, he knew the Princess was playing devil’s advocate. If they were going to accuse the Kaiser’s daughter of anything, they needed a strong foundation. Right now, they might as well be standing in sand.
Inspiration suddenly hit him like a cannon shot. “What if…” Cobalt licked his lips nervously, carefully picking his words. “What if Titania is more then just an earth pony? Both of us know plenty of ponies that are more than just ponies. Sure, she looks normal, but what does that matter?”
Celestia’s frown deepened. “You might be onto something, but there’s still no proof.”
“Well, we do have some information on Titania Von Blunt. Some of it rather eyebrow-raising.”
“From Kira, I assume?” Their intelligence network was basically Nippon’s Shinobi. She didn’t like spying, but she also didn’t like Kira cherry-picking what information they did or did not get. However, when Cobalt replied, “No.” Celestia turned around to see him levitating a weathered envelope with a date and the mark of infinity. “Dusk?”
“It appears so, there have been reports of sealed material suddenly appearing. Sometimes we get them in the mail, you need to check your P.O box more often.”
Besides the realization she had a P.O box, Celestia wondered if it was ok to open the sealed message. What changes would come of it? Would they be good or bad short term or long term? “We must face forward.” She told herself, ripping open the seal.
Inside were two things, an old photo, and a birth certificate.
The photo was in black and white. That didn’t matter, the mare’s coat was so blindly white, it was apparent that was her natural color. The same could be said for the child resting against her side, clearly enjoying her mother’s warmth. On the back read, ‘To my little fairy, please forgive your worthless mother.’
With a massive gulp, Celestia reads the name on the birth certificate.
“Titania Apolla Whiteblood.”