There was something about speaking in front of a crowd that she did not like. Luna wasn’t sure if it was just a personal preference, built up from years of working with personal dreams and memories, or some deeper part of herself. Either way, returning to the weather conference and gathering the attention of every creature in attendance was not easy work.
She thought there was just one delegate from each kingdom, key representatives who would speak for their kind with a single voice. Of course, conferences such as this one were too important to leave to just one creature. Now, the auxiliary delegates which accompanied their speakers came out in force to show that they would not be pushed aside. Sitting beside Ashwind, two other dragons listened with stern faces. The changelings had returned to the conference with their full numbers as well. Six in total, double what the Dragonlord sent. With their position in the conference somewhat secure, only the hippogriffs returned to the conference with their single delegate.
Silverstream sat by the general, quietly encouraging Luna from the sidelines. For the sake of her responsibility, Luna spoke, halfway between a casual and royal voice. She commanded their attention with every word and used it to cover every detail of Silverstream’s plan that could be questioned.
The tropical storms that flew over Mount Aris in the spring were nothing like the light spring showers in Equestria. Luna explained their wildness and strength, details that Silverstream had given her after their talk at the cafe. She didn’t try to hide the dangers. The biggest risks were the hurricanes which swept over Mount Aris in the spring, accompanied by thunderstorms in-between.
None of the Wonderbolts dared to show fear at the prospect of directing such powerful storms, however, all their faces paled by the time Luna finished presenting the plan. On the other hoof, the changelings seemed ecstatic. They would get exactly what they wanted through Silverstream’s plan, Equestrian rain, with no extra risk.
The dragons, inversely, were apprehensive. Ashwing crossed his arms and leaned into the conference table. “You said it yourself, Princess, these storms are wild. How can we be guaranteed the right amount of rain to fill our lakes and rivers?”
Luna looked to the Wonderbolts for some of their expertise.
“With Equestrian rain, we’d have to fly our clouds that same distance anyway,” Spitfire said. “Trust me, we can definitely do it with a storm that’s already in motion.”
“Dragons don’t put too much stock in trust,” he growled quietly, “but I can’t argue with the pros who manage all of Equestria’s weather.”
The Wonderbolts unanimously agreed with their leader, on that and every other concern the dragons drafted up. Numbers were where they struck the hardest, questioning if Cloudsdales had the horsepower to turn a storm’s path. Each question was met with a terse answer. Spitfire, it seemed to Luna, didn’t like dragons trying to stick their noses into the weather.
Despite their apprehension, the conference was moving along. By the morning’s end, there was little left for the dragons to criticize. The delegates cast dirty looks to the changelings, who tried to hide their jeering smiles while Twilight was too occupied signing the final paperwork to notice.
By the early afternoon, the agreements had been sealed in ink and carried off by Rainbow Dash to be copied and filed in Canterlot.
“That was amazing. Almost went a too well,” Twilight said to Luna as they exited the conference room. Situated in the building just adjacent to the Mareiott, Luna could smell the fried cauliflowers from the hotel’s lunch menu. It almost took her attention off what she had just helped accomplish.
Luna turned back to Twilight. “You needn’t be amazed. Simply thank your student.” She pointed ahead to Silverstream, who was following General Seaspray through the hotel doors. “It was all her idea.”
“It was?” Twilight raised a brow. “Why’d she tell you about it and not me?” She caught Luna curiously looking at her and quickly doubled back on her words. “N-not that talking to me about it as opposed to you would be the better choice, of course.”
Luna laughed. “So princesshood hasn’t changed you at all. Good.”
“Maybe it has a little, but I’m still me.” Twilight smiled back. She paused. “It’s true I still think of myself as Silverstream’s headmare. I’m proud that she found a way to help the dragons and changelings get what they want. That really makes me want to thank her, but…”
“But?”
She shook her head like she was chasing the thought away. “I probably shouldn’t. Maybe she just never got the chance to talk to me. I don’t think I want to draw attention to her getting involved, the hippogriffs probably have their own royal protocol, like we do.”
Luna nodded. “I have to wonder, though. Does that mean she’s leaving immediately? The Nightmare Knights are playing in a few days.”
The last days of preparation melted together for the band as they fell into their usual routine. Poppin Mix, who usually would teleport back and forth from Manehattan, stayed in Cloudsdale to take over for Luna. Not to alleviate the work, of course, but to ensure the alicorn’s indecisions didn’t throw their setlist and backstage crew into a twist.
Sound checks and maintenance took up the bulk of their time when they practised on-stage. Everything being made of clouds in Cloudsdale, the speakers and instruments were constantly exposed to more cold and humidity than usual. So, each day started and ended with Svengallop inspecting every pony’s instruments.
“What would we do without you?” Luna remarked one morning, a day before their concert.
“You’d give Poppin way too much work,” he muttered, putting the screws back onto one of their subwoofers. “I’m already making it harder on myself already.”
“What do you mean?”
Svengallop pointed his screwdriver to all their equipment. “I thought bringing our own stuff would keep down rental costs,” he said. “No point paying for what we already have. But these aren’t suited for Cloudsdale. The cones inside are paper, not crystal or metal. Makes them soak up some water from the air.”
“Will they work for tomorrow?” Luna asked.
“Yep.” He patted the top of the subwoofer. “The storage backstage isn’t great at keeping out the cold and humidity. I’ll get Starlight to help me teleport all the speakers to my hotel room.”
“The hotel? Isn’t that going to be annoying?”
“It’s just one night,” he said, shrugging. “The Mareiott’s not meant for pegasi, so it has better insulation and heating. Anyway, it wouldn’t be my first time sleeping with my music equipment. At this rate, I should be buying them dinner first.”
“Haha,” Luna gave a small, but genuine, laugh. “Still, you shouldn’t have to do that.”
“Exactly why I looked into rental speakers,” he said. “Unless they’re totally incompetent, pegasi providers should have the right speakers.”
Svengallop wiped down his hooves with one of the many towels they had lying around for make-up removal. Dust wasn’t the issue, just the thin layer of moisture that formed now and then on cold surfaces. Luna looked around the backstage. Hoof marks from where he worked were left behind on everything, from Lightning’s drums to the case of Starlight’s guitar. “Checking equipment” was much easier said than done.
Luna checked outside, peering through the thick curtains to find Starlight and Tempest walking through their performance. They had a few movements back and forth on the stage to keep the audience engaged, and it seemed they were in-tune with each other’s movements pretty well. They didn’t need checking on, at least. And compared to the others, she didn’t know Svengallop as well.
“You ever think about what comes next?” she eventually asked. “As in, what happens when the Nightmare Knights aren’t popular anymore.”
Svengallop huffed. “We’re barely popular now. You should’ve seen the crowds that came for Countess Coloratura’s concerts.”
She scrunched her nose up, puzzled at whether he was boasting about his old job, or belittling his current one. Either way, he continued to inspect the next speaker without catching his own words, so Luna decided to let it go.
“You know what I mean.” She grabbed a stray fold-out chair and sat down, crossing her hooves. “We will have moments to cherish, ups and downs, as all things do, but eventually we will be done. You got any plans for what to do next?”
“We do things right,” he said, not taking his eyes off of the speaker, “my retirement’s what’s next. I want to move to an island, get a beachside bungalow and drink martinis every day.” He looked up, snickering at Luna. “Although, I guess we all can’t just wait for the sweet release of death, right?”
“That… That shouldn’t be funny. ” Luna chortled. “And is that it, just you? Or is there some pony special on this island of yours?”
“Ha!” he laughed, almost cackling. “As if I need one.”
“We all need ponies we can lean on,” Luna told him, “take it from me, after a thousand years, it’s better to have some pony around.”
“Never thought an ex-princess would be picking my brain for a crush like a school pony,” he said, straining as he tightened the screws and closed up the speaker once he was done. “I didn’t make Coloratura the biggest pop idol in Equestria by obsessing over things like finding a partner. I understand it, at least conceptually. I just don’t care about it myself.”
“Fair enough,” Luna said.
“You never asked about that before. Something else on your mind?”
“Maybe. My sister kept talking about how we’d spend our retirement together. She seemed to want to go on a trip around the world with me or something. I said no.”
Svengallop’s ear twitched, noticing a drop in her tone. “Sound like you said more than just ‘no.’”
“I did,” Luna looked down at her hooves. “But she said some things too. She doesn’t understand that I need more time to figure out who I am without a royal title. I never got a thousand years to see all that Equestria has to offer. Right now I suppose I’m worried if we’ll be on good terms once I’m happy.”
“Celestia does seem like the pushy type,” he said. “But if she doesn’t get that you need time, then I think it’s on her to be worried. I mean, if you just gave in and did what she wanted, wouldn’t you be miserable?”
“Thanks,” Luna smiled. “Nice to know you’ve got my back.”
Svengallop turned his attention to the speaker again. “Hm? What? I just need you focused on the band, that’s all. It’s not as if you pulled me out of a bad spot and became my friend or anything.”
Luna chuckled. “Of course. Can’t have us developing any semblance of working personalities. We’d lose our charm.”