Chapter Twenty-One
There was a lot of panic at the sound of the alarms, and Sunset looked around frantically. "What's going on?" she asked, her horn lighting up and pulling Spike close to her, which he barely had time to respond to, uttering only a startled "Hey!"
Then she saw a number of ponies in guard uniforms approaching, surrounding her.
"That's the source," one reported. "Take them."
"Wait, what?" Sunset was about to say more when Twilight suddenly appeared in front of her, so fast Sunset could have sworn she'd teleported, and she did not look happy. Fortunately, that scowl was directed at the guards rather than Sunset herself, which relieved her somewhat.
"Miss Sparkle, step out of the way," one of the guards said rather firmly. "We need to take this mare and her little companion into custody-"
Twilight's horn lit up. "I don't know what you think you're doing," she hissed. "But I am not going to just abandon my friends!"
Sunset's heart skipped a beat. "Twilight, you don't have to do this," she started. "I can explain myself, I really can!"
Twilight looked back at her. "Sunset, whatever magic you used, it was powerful enough to set off the alarms and draw the Security Department's attention," she said. "And they take those kinds of things very seriously. So I'm not leaving you, or Spike."
"But... Twilight, I can't let you get in trouble for this!" Sunset hissed. "You're their Head Director's student, you can't just put that at risk for me!"
"Sunset... you're worth it," Twilight replied.
She probably would have said more, but that's when somepony else decided to step up.
"What's going on here?" Shining Armor's voice boomed out, the Deputy Director of Security marching up to them in full dress, and with a very serious look on his face. Sunset wasn't quite sure when he'd had time to change into his uniform, but she could tell he meant business, and gulped nervously.
"Sir, he did something magical," one of the guards reported, pointing at Spike. "Whatever it was, it was big enough to set off every alarm from here to the Sextus dome."
Shining Armor regarded everypony there carefully, and then turned to his sister. "Twilight, step aside, so I can handle this," he said. "I promise, I will hear out all sides before I make a decision."
Flattening her ears, Twilight nodded, and stepped back until she was beside Sunset, her body still in a protective posture.
Shining Armor now looked at Sunset, and by the stern look he was giving her, she knew he was in his "stallion at work" mode and not speaking as a friend. "What. Did you do," he asked in a controlled tone directed at both she and Spike.
Sunset did her best to calm herself. "Spike has an enchantment on him," she said. "Unless he specifically concentrates on disabling it, if he burns something, it gets transported to a destination elsewhere. The default setting is to Princess Celestia, but he can send stuff to Cadance too. I just wanted to send her a quick letter, I didn't know it was going to cause this!"
Shining Armor nodded, then drew a piece of equipment out of his armor. "Spike, I need to scan you," he said. "This device is designed to read and analyze magic, and if Sunset is telling the truth, this should confirm it."
Twilight was clearly bristling at his remark, but Sunset nodded and gave Spike a little nudge. "It'll be okay," she promised.
Spike still looked nervous, but at Sunset's urging, he stepped forward. "Scan away, sir."
Shining Armor nodded and ran the scanner across him several times. Finally, he asked, "Can you generate a little of that sending flame, but not use it on anything?"
"Um... sure," Spike said. Taking a deep breath, he blew some of his flame, with Shining Armor running his scanner along it until it stopped. Studying the readouts, he nodded, and then turned to the other guards. "Scan complete," he said. "He did exactly what Sunset said he did."
Then he turned back to Sunset. "I wish you'd told us about this sooner," he said. "We could have prevented a lot of issues if we'd known about it."
Sunset ducked her head. "Sorry," she said. "I'm so used to having Spike send or receive letters for me, it never occurred to me that it might be a problem."
"Receive?" Shining Armor asked, his expression still serious but less stern.
"Yeah," Spike said. "Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance have this dragonfire spell they can use to send letters back to me for Sunset. Sometimes I'll just belch out a flame and it'll turn into a scroll they'd sent."
"I see." Shining Armor sighed. "Well, we'll see what we can do. In the meantime, don't send any more letters like that until we can fine-tune the sensors so they don't set off the panic alarms when you do use it."
Then he looked more serious. "I do need to talk to you in private though," he said. "So if you'll come with me. Spearhead!"
"Yes, sir!" the brown pegasus saluted.
"Watch over everypony else from Equestria for me, would you?"
"Sir, yes sir!" The pegasus saluted.
Shining Armor nodded, then led Sunset away. Before she got too far though, she turned and looked back at Twilight.
"I'll be okay," she said. "And... Spike? Stay with Twilight, and do what she tells you, all right?"
Spike nodded, and Sunset turned away and followed after Shining Armor, who was waiting patiently for her.
He led her out of the park and down the street, until they reached what was clearly a police station of some kind. A few words from him, and they were settled into a private conference room, the doors sealed behind them. For a moment, he sat in one of the chairs, studying her, then finally spoke.
"Sunset Shimmer. I know what you said before," he said. "But I have to ask, and I expect total honesty. Just what did you feel was so important that you needed to send a letter back home right then?"
Sunset lowered her head. "I... I needed to talk to Cadance," she said. "Ask her for some advice."
"What kind of advice?" Shining Armor asked.
Sunset buried her face in her hooves. "This is... kind of embarrassing to talk about, especially with you of all ponies," she muttered. Despite the muffling though, Shining Armor apparently had no trouble understanding her.
"Why with me in particular?" he asked calmly.
Sunset looked up, her face red. "Because I think I have a crush on your sister!" she half-said, half-shouted.
For a moment Shining Armor looked startled, probably from the volume, then smiled. "And you wanted to talk about it to somepony you knew was an expert in romance," he said. "I get it."
Sunset sniffed. "You aren't upset?"
Shining Armor shook his head. "Hardly," he said. "I could see you two were obviously close as soon as I saw you together, and so could Cadance. I'd be more surprised if you hadn't started falling for Twilight." He paused. "Though, as her big brother, I think it's only fair to warn you..."
"Yes?" Sunset asked.
Shining Armor leaned forward, giving her a look that made her very nervous. "I have a shovel," he said. "And if you break my baby sister's heart... I know how to use it."
Sunset gulped.
Then Shining Armor was smiling again. "But, I don't think I'll have to worry about that," he said. "It's obvious you're crazy about her."
Sunset looked relieved. "Believe me, if I somehow hurt her, you have my permission to give me whatever punishment you feel necessary," she said. "But... just me."
"Understood," Shining Armor told her. "So, let's get you back to my sister, okay?"
Sunset looked very relieved. "Yeah... I'd appreciate that," she said.
Shining Armor nodded, unsealed the door, and led her back out.
"You realize this is going to mean a lot of paperwork for me," he said as they walked together. "Try not to do anything that'll make even more of it."
Sunset nodded. "I'll do my best, sir," she said.
Shining Armor chuckled. "That's all I can ask for," he said as they left the station and headed back to the park.
And to Twilight.
Meanwhile, far below in Equestria, Celestia cursed herself for instinctively saying no. She had no idea what had possessed her to say no. For any other leader, she would have given over a letter that had caused such a stir from where they came from, but the way that Luna had said it set off some sort of reflex within her.
The damage was done though, and now she was the subject of more than one glare from a number of ponies in the room, many of whom possessed dangerous weapons. They were far enough away that this wouldn't set Discord free, thankfully, but the situation was poised to unleash him if it escalated much further.
"Princess Celestia, I need to see that letter," Luna barked at her, through clenched teeth. "All manner of security alarms were tripped when it passed through the Republic's sovereign boundaries. I need to know what those contents are; you and I know the full dangers that can come if you don't."
The whine of her followers' weapons grew louder and she could see her own guards preparing to leap to her defense. Those from the moon were fewer in number but they also had a significant advantage in weapons. If they did clash, it would be a tight, close and brutal fight and without a doubt unleash Discord while the Elements were still off planet.
"I am fully aware of the dangers, Luna," she said to her sister, narrowing her eyes again in anger and she felt her own choler rising. She could not afford for their feud to spill out any further; it was too damn dangerous. Instead, she looked to those with the advanced weapons and said, "Stand down and we can handle this peace-"
"Do not dare to order my ponies as if they were yours," Luna snapped, flaring her wings and sending a crackle of magic into the air. She lowered her head, her horn pointing straight at Celestia's; a clear challenge for any unicorn which all their guards saw and responded by tightening their grips on their weapons. "We made that decision to separate years ago, Princess and I am beginning to recall exactly why."
Celestia was about to respond when she suddenly felt a ripple of magic in the air, and looked about in confusion, trying to figure out where it was coming from. A moment later, she had her answer.
"That. Is. Enough!" Cadance roared, her horn glowing as the letter was whipped out of Celestia's grasp, and Celestia started. She had never heard Cadance use the Royal Canterlot Voice for any reason, outside of the practice session they'd had together when she was first taught it.
Right now though, the youngest alicorn was looking furious. "You are being completely out of line, Princess Celestia." The frosty tone and formal address made it clear just how mad she was. "This letter was meant for me, and you had no right to try and take it. I will read it, and decide whom it is appropriate to share the contents with."
Luna was clearly looking startled too, but at Cadance's words, she bowed her head. "By your will then, Princess Cadance," she said in a polite yet formal tone.
Cadance nodded, then unfurled the scroll and ran her eyes over it, giggling in delight as she did so. Then she re-rolled it and looked at both older alicorns. "This letter," she said calmly. "Contained no secret code or hidden message. It was Sunset telling me, as her older sister figure, that she'd developed a crush on somepony and was asking advice about it."
Luna smiled in relief at the reveal. "Good for her then," she said. Then she sighed. "Cadance, I apologize for my harsh behavior. It is your letter... but I hope you can understand my reasonings for wanting to see it. I thought one of our guests might have been trying to send an emergency message back about something, either on their own behalf or Twilight's, and as Head Director of the Lunar Republic, any major emergencies there would require my attention; if the letter had information on such a case, it would help me to be better informed before I went into the situation." She bowed her head. "And I should have explained that sooner, before demanding it as I did." She then turned to her guards around her and waved a wing at them. They moved their guns back to their sides, the whine fading away but there was still a faint hum showing they hadn't fully depowered them.
"I understand Director Luna," Cadance said, levitating the letter over to her. "I do expect you still wish to see it, to satisfy any lingering doubt?" Luna nodded her head, taking the letter as she quickly scanned it.
"Guards, stand down," Celestia finally ordered, stalking up to her sister. "You still need to inform those on the moon of what happened, Luna."
Luna gave a snort at her, her face scrunching up. "If I could, I would teleport myself. But I have spent a sizable pool of my reserves so far. I cannot do so right now."
"If you would lower the spells that present me from going there, I can-"
"Do what?" Luna snapped, with Cadance sighing angrily. "You truly think your presence would cause anything but even more dangerous chaos and strife?"
"How about myself?" Cadance asked stiffly, stepping in between them. "I'm a neutral side in these matters and I am sure that I won't be seen as an invading force or chaotic influence."
"Sorry but once I lower those spells, it will take myself some time to raise them again and I would not risk my subjects's lives by leaving an opening to the heart of my nation," Luna replied. "Under normal circumstances, I would be glad to let you go up to handle things, but as it stands it is not safe. That and you are still a Princess of Equestria, and I do not know how well you will be received. I would blame myself if anything were to happen to you."
Celestia shook her head, not raising to the bait. "Perhaps a much more simpler solution is available. Send a letter through Spike to inform your followers of what is going on, Luna. With your seal, to prove it is you. If a letter could come from him down to Equestria, it should be able to go the other way as well."
"If such a thing were to occur, all four of us would be willing to sign as witnesses," Onyx added from where he was standing. "But I think there is yet another solution that our Head Director is forgetting." He held up his hoof. "The same means we had to receive the initial warning."
Luna looked a little abashed, then nodded. "You are right, Director Onyx," she said. "If you will give us a few minutes."
Her followers and Cadance all surrounded her as she stepped off to one side of the room, and Celestia watched, no small amount of surprise on her face as a shining wall appeared from the device she was wearing.
So they were that far ahead, she thought to herself.
Luna began tapping on the screen that had appeared, and Celestia watched as carefully as she could. Her civilians, or one of her Others without her experience, might have concluded that the device must have some of the same functions built into it as one of the typewriters she'd seen among her people but never used herself, only far more advanced than any model they had in Equestria. And that was an accurate description. But Celestia knew it must have been much, much more.
Impressive work, she had to admit to herself. It was years, if not decades, ahead of anything she and Sunset had encountered in the other world, outside of their fiction. If the Lunar ponies had developed it without any of Luna's own knowledge of other worlds, and she highly doubted her sister would act against the Rules in such a bold fashion, it spoke much about their scientific prowess.
Finally, Luna pressed her horn against one spot on the floating wall, and the other four ponies did the same with a horn, hoof or wing, before Cadance pressed her own horn to it at Luna's beckoning. Then there was a whooshing noise from the device, to Celestia's brief confusion, before she realized it must have been a programmed-in sound effect to signify that the message-sending feature had been used.
"And done," Luna said as she pressed another button and the floating wall vanished. "Hopefully this will settle things." She sighed. "I am hopeful that with Deputy Director Shining Armor having been in charge of things in his Director's absence, this issue will be dealt with before it causes too much of a panic. I doubt Sunset realized that a high-magic spell like this one would set off an alarm, and I didn't think to warn her about such things myself."
"That's good to hear," Cadance said. "Why don't we all take a recess and return in an hour?"
Luna nodded quickly, hoofing the scroll from Sunset back over to Cadance before heading off to the door, and her followers immediately trotted after her, her guards included, while Fancy Pants quietly went around and encouraged the other nobles present to go somewhere else, following after them when the last had left.
With a wave of her hoof, Celestia dismissed the remaining guards in the room, waiting until they were all gone and it was just she and Cadance in the room. Finally, once she was certain they were alone, she looked at Cadance expectantly, with the younger mare sighing before she turned to Celestia, not looking quite as angry as she'd been before, but close.
"What is wrong with you?" she snapped. "I've seen you handle raging dragons and yaks with ease, you've been a pillar of stability, calm and poise for centuries. But right now, Blueblood could have gotten drunk off his plot and still done a better job than you just were. So what were you even thinking?"
Celestia winced. "I don't know what's got into me," she said, slowly. "It's just that Luna... she knows exactly how to get under my skin. And as much as I love her, it seems anything she does just... uurgh."
Cadance sighed again. "Well, you're going to have to figure out some way to not let her get to you, and try not to give her all those little digs you've been doing," she said. "I'm trying my best, but even I have my limits, and you two are really pushing it."
She did a series of motions Celestia had seen before, taking several deep breaths and pushing her hoof away from herself, before looking at her again. "Sunset's doing fine, in case you were wondering," she said.
Celestia felt a wave of relief. "That's good," she said. "And... this pony you said she's got a crush on? Do I know them?"
"It's Twilight," Cadance told her, smiling now.
"Thank the Creators," she said, relieved that she had a tie to keep the possible Lady of Magic within Equestria now. "Sunset deserves to be happy, and hopefully if Luna and I can manage to reach an accord, the two can work to develop their relationship."
Cadance suddenly looked frosty again. "One would hope," she said. "That they would be able to have a relationship even if you two can't settle things. Sunset deserves happiness, you're right about that, and while I've only known Twilight a short time, those two feel so right for one another."
Celestia instantly realized what the error was here and created a sound barrier. "The matter is more complicated between the two than I have let on, Cadance," she began with Cadance snorting loudly.
"Of course it is; you keep so many state secrets from me I that I am not even surprised at this point," Cadance said with a groan. "What exactly is it now."
"You know the means that we spoke of containing Discord?" Cadance nodded her head. "The means to do so are metaphorical in nature; my sister and I had the means to do so previously but we lost our connection to them when we had our falling-out. These means, the Elements of Harmony, each represent a special virtue; we both have very good reason to believe that Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity Belle, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are each one of these six Elements. And that Twilight or Sunset could be the last one. They both have the right character for that Element, all they need is the opportunity to awaken it."
Cadance's eyes blazed, and Celestia raised a hoof quickly. "Neither of us is going to force such an opportunity, or even set one up," she said. "It has to happen on its own; attempting to force a connection would only result in disaster. You know that a relationship built on falsehoods will only end terribly. Their bonds need to form naturally."
Cadance slowly calmed down. "So you aren't going to purposely endanger either of them all for the purpose of this..."
"If I tried, the consequences for all Equuis and beyond would be worse than you can imagine," Celestia said. "And if I knew of a safer way to keep Discord contained, a way that wouldn't involve either of them, or anypony else..." She sighed. "You have no idea how many nightmares I've had of what would happen if they failed and he got his claws on Sunset, or Twilight, or you. If they get hurt because I was unable to face him in their place, I'd never be able to forgive myself. If only his cage was stronger like the others..."
"Excuse me, others?" Cadance pounced. "There are others like him?"
Celestia winced at her slip of the tongue. "That is a lot more complicated and harder to explain on short notice; suffice to say, he is not the only one of his kind I have encountered, though the draconequui as a species are considerably fewer in number than alicorns, and..." She sighed at the old wounds opening again. "And you know how few we are."
Cadance nodded, and Celestia continued. "It is another reason why we keep him around; his presence keeps any and all others of his species from coming to Equuis. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the same effect on certain... other dangerous beings out there, who are of their own varying species and are all evil in their own way."
"There are more threats waiting to endanger Equuis?" Cadance asked suspiciously.
"Close to a dozen that I know of," Celestia confessed. "Some are locked in Tartarus, others have their own prisons elsewhere. I keep as best an eye on them as I can in the hopes of ensuring we won't be caught off guard, but if they do escape those prisons somehow, the Elements will be needed to deal with many of them as well."
She did her best to look as serious as she could. "What I know for certain is that none of them have any chance of escaping until after Discord escapes and is reimprisoned. And he will escape at some point. Which is why it is so important that the new Element-bearers be ready beforehoof. And why Luna needs to stop being so stubborn and quit fighting me over everything!"
"And yet it seems like you can't seem to stop sniping at her either," Cadance shot back, before the younger alicorn sighed. "I am trying to be reasonable, Aunt Celestia. But with all this... this constant back-and-forth between you, you are both driving me crazy!"
Celestia felt a distinct pang in her heart. "I am sorry, Cadance," she said softly. "I never meant to inflict all this pain on you, and I wish there was some way to make things better."
"Then stop. Fighting. With your sister." Cadance sighed. "The two of you need to just sit down, together, and talk. Get to the heart of all this... whatever it is that's making it so difficult for you to cooperate. And work things out. Please."
With that, she sighed again, then headed for the door, pausing there for a moment. "I have some things of my own to do for a bit. I'll see you again when it's time for us all to get back together," she said, and then left.
Celestia watched her go, and let out a sigh of her own. "Oh Cadance..." she said quietly. "If only it were that simple."
Cadance entered her room, closing the door behind her, and flopped down on her bed.
"Why can't they just get along, Ray?" she asked the leopard gecko, who was calmly perched on a rock in his tank. "What's it going to take?"
The little lizard shrugged, and Cadance smiled at him. "Thanks for being here for me," she said.
Then she unfurled the scroll Sunset had sent her before and read it over once more.
Dear Cadance, it began. It's been less than a day since we arrived, and I've had so much fun already. This place is spectacular, and I can't wait until Luna lets you come up to see it for yourself.
But there's more than just that. I think I'm falling for Twilight, I'm pretty sure she feels the same way, and I don't know how to react. Help?
Yours,
Sunset Shimmer
P.S.: Give Ray my love, 'kay?
Smiling, Cadance re-rolled the scroll. "I'm so happy for you, Sunset," she told the letter. "And I'll write back as soon as I can."
For the next while, after passing Sunset's message on to Ray (and once again being relieved that Luna knew who he was and wouldn't have been suspicious of the mention, having been present when Sunset asked Cadance to keep an eye on him for an extra few days while she was on the moon) and tucking the scroll away safely, she went back to her other self-chosen task of countering the avengers' propaganda.
News of the Lunar Republic was just trickling out now and she had all her agents on all known troublemakers as well as the city police to keep any of the worse ones out of the city for the duration. The last thing any of them needed was for one of that crowd to show up and attempt something. By the sun, if they tried that legal approach that more and more of them were starting to use, she wasn't sure how badly things would deteriorate, especially with how poorly Celestia was acting.
She let out a groan; in any other case, with any other leader, she wouldn't have to worry about her aunt messing up a simple diplomatic meeting or accidentally siding with racist bigots but as of late, she wasn't sure of that at all. She was of half a mind to go to Fancy Pants and Claret Holder to have them remove Celestia from the talks and install Cadance herself as the lead, but she knew it wouldn't work. For one, both Houses would likely see it as Equestria presenting a weaker front to the Lunar Republic and could have Fancy and Claret removed from their positions for trying to get the notion approved which would leave Equestria in a much weaker state. Secondly, as badly as Celestia was doing, she was also the only one with Director Luna's years of expertise on hoof. For all her own experience, Cadance was still not entirely certain of her own ability to single-hoofedly take charge of this event, and she felt that despite the family ties Director Luna claimed to have for her and the generally positive feelings she was detecting from the other mare whenever Luna looked at her, Cadance was under no illusion that her aunt wouldn't exploit all her weaknesses to push the Republic's agenda.
The question was, what was that agenda? Luna had said they wanted to reestablish ties with Equestria, but Cadance couldn't help but suspect there was more to it than just that. She could tell her long-lost aunt was holding something back (as was Celestia), but what?
She'd have to talk to Luna again, one-on-one this time, she decided. Maybe she could get some more answers then.
Finally, the time was ready, and she left her quarters, heading back to the room where they'd be meeting, and hoping that things would be calmer this time.
While all three alicorns had their own matters to handle, they were not the only ones in the palace who were taking the time to think on the recent event.
One pony in particular had his own concerns, and he was determined to speak to somepony else about it. But he had other issues to deal with before he could arrange such a meeting.
Finally, he'd taken care of everything, and firm in his resolve, marched to the suites where the visiting representatives were staying. Knocking on the door, he waited for an answer, and soon got one as one of the visiting guards looked out.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
The stallion nodded. "I need to speak to your boss," he said. "Guard leader to guard leader."
The other guard frowned. "Just a minute." He went back inside. Soon, Director Onyx Plate had emerged, and was looking cautious. He was still wearing that odd silver vest, which Flash expected to be an advanced form of armour. He wasn't sure what they had to protect the face or neck but he wouldn't surprised if they had some form of protection as well that he couldn't see.
"You wanted to see me, Captain Sentry?" he asked with the weight of authority that Flash still lacked. He still felt so unaccustomed to his new position; he knew he should apply for the officer's school so he could get more training but leaving his Princess's side now was out of the question.
Flash nodded in a hopefully confident manner. "My office, if you don't mind," he said. "I'd rather not discuss this in the open."
Director Onyx nodded, and followed after him. When they'd gone in, Flash winced. It was still in the midst of being redecorated and reorganized. With the unexpected death of Captain Hackpole and Flash being thrown into the captaincy by seniority and rank, he had been expected to take over for him. Captain Hackpole had been a shrewd and untrusting unicorn; all of the cabinet cases in the room had intricate unicorn locks on them with each drawer similarly locked to prevent anyone from reading highly sensitive paperwork. It had taken a lot of ponypower, including Princess Celestia, to unlock most of them, though his desk still had several locked drawers and undoubtedly hidden panels that he had no way of opening as he only had wings.
Gesturing for his opposite to sit down, Flash took his own seat and willed the chair not to spin for him. Like everything else in this office, it had been designed for a unicorn in mind; there was a locking mechanism to keep the chair steady but it was hidden away inside of the chair. Once they'd gotten sat down, Flash looked Director Onyx right in the eye.
"Tell me something," he said. "Is your Head Director usually as... short with her fellow Directors as my Princess was with her today?"
Director Onyx shook his head. "No, that's definitely not normal behavior for her," he said.
"Good." Flash sighed. "I hope you won't take our reactions back there personally, but when somepony, regardless of who they are, starts looking threatening towards our Princess, it's our duty to act to protect her. And I can understand that it's your guards' duty to protect your Head Director when the same thing happens. So, no hard feelings?"
Onyx chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "None indeed," he said. "You're taking this surprisingly better than I expected, given that we started making what could be construed as hostile movements first."
"Unlike some ponies, I can recognize ingrained reactions to basic training," Flash said. "Considering you had those alarms of yours going off, it's all understandable."
Then he looked curiously at the weapon Onyx was carrying. "So, does that have a knock-out spell built in, or what?"
"Something like that," Onyx replied, cautious now. "We don't like to use lethal force if we don't have to." His eyes wandered to the ceiling. "But it's a big universe out there, and the odds of there not being life in other star systems are much lower than the odds of there being other lifeforms in existence. Especially given the variety of life on this planet alone. So if something decides to come poking around with hostile intentions, we have to be ready for it. Rest assured, none of my guards here have authority to use lethal force right now."
"Good to know." Flash settled back. "To be honest, mine don't either most of the time, unless somepony actually tries to use it on them first."
"As it should be Captain," Onyx said. "We are guards foremost. We uphold the law and the peace."
"As it should be," Flash echoed him. "So, out of curiosity... how bad is the crime level up there? Nowhere near what I have to deal with down here, I expect."
Onyx snorted, shaking his head. "There are the occasional disputes between neighbors, though our Director of Housing usually takes care of those in a hurry," he said. "And don't get me wrong, we do have to deal with petty crime on occasion. No society is perfect, after all. But for the most part, the biggest issues are loitering and littering."
"Wish we only had to deal with that kind of stuff," Flash replied. "So, your Director of Housing... they train with you?"
"Even better." Onyx gave what almost looked like a smirk. "She's a mother of two, and that gave her all the experience she needed to deal with most of the problems that crop up."
Flash laughed, feeling at ease. "Sounds like a good strategy then," he said. "My mom can be terrifying when she wants to be."
"So can Director Velvet," Onyx replied. "And her son has more than earned his place among us; he's my Deputy Director."
Flash nodded. "Gotcha." He considered. "Wait - was he the white unicorn stallion my guards reported was with Princess Cadance yesterday? There's been some talk going on about how her new friend was supposedly one of your people, here to look us over before your Head Director showed herself."
"He was indeed," Onyx replied, though he was eying Flash carefully now.
Flash nodded. "Well, when it comes to being a good judge of character, Princess Cadance is one of the best in all Equestria," he said. "If she trusted your Deputy Director enough to bring him back here and then take him to the Summer Sun Celebration, I have no reason to doubt him. And between you and me, I think a lot of her agents would like to see him again. He painted a number of those miniature figures very well, apparently, and they are interested in seeing if he would be up for one of their games."
"I don't doubt that he would," Onyx replied. "He certainly does a lot of it back home when he's off-duty. Speaking of... you wouldn't happen to have one of their rule books, would you? I know he and his friends would greatly enjoy new material for their games."
"I'd be glad to share." Flash opened one of the drawers he'd had cleaned out for his own use and withdrew a book. "They're good strategizing tools, so I encourage my guards to practice with them. It's good preparation for learning how to expect the unexpected. Especially when Spike - you've met him, haven't you?" At Onyx's nod, he continued. "Spike's a really good Dungeon Master when he and Sunset drop by, and he's pretty creative with the stuff he makes up for us to face."
"He sounds like a very imaginative and creative young drake," Onyx said.
"Oh, he is," Flash said. "Much as he and Sunset read together, I'd be more surprised if he wasn't as good at coming up with stuff as he is." He smiled. "She takes really good care of him."
"So I have gathered, from the time I spent around them," Onyx said. "She spends time around the guards here?"
"Oh yeah," Flash said. "Princess Cadance encouraged it, so she'd get out and socialize more. It worked; she hangs out with some of us when we're off-duty and she isn't busy with her own stuff. And we may have inspired one of the spells she invented as a result after she saw some of them being... not so smart, shall we say."
"I see." Onyx looked at him, looking contemplative before he finally spoke again. "I have heard one version of events so far," he said. "I want to hear it from another point of view. How are the thestrals treated among your Guard?"
"About as well as any other of the tribes, really," Flash said. "Princess Cadance spearheaded the movement to encourage more of them to sign up some years before I became Captain, and by the time I was promoted to this rank and had any say in the recruiting, seeing them among the guard was considered normal. But even if I'd had a say earlier, I wouldn't have objected to it. I always felt that ability was what mattered most, and they've got that in spades."
"And the rest of Equestria?" Onyx asked.
"I haven't had any complaints from those of us who've seen what they're capable of," Flash said. "The civilian populace... is another story, and some of them are more outspoken than others. But those are typically the ones we're trying to arrest because they've committed crimes in the act of showing their bigotry."
He leaned forward. "I won't deny that there are some ponies out there who just don't like the thestrals because of old superstition. But my guards and I whole-heartedly support Princess Cadance in her mission to help them and all other ponies who are more associated with the night become more accepted around Equestria as a whole, just as much as we support anypony who's trying to counter ignorance and prejudice. That kind of thing nearly destroyed the Three Tribes long ago, and the last thing any of us want is a return to the tribalist and prejudiced thinking that predated the founding of Equestria." At Onyx's startled expression, he added, "In fact, comparing this behavior to that kind of thing is one of the tactics Princess Cadance has been using, and it's very effective on the majority of the ponies who hear it, except for the most stubborn."
"Hmm." Onyx nodded. "A smart lesson, I'd say."
Glancing at the device on his wrist as it made a sudden ping, he stood. "I am sorry, but we're being called back to the meeting now," he said. "Duty awaits."
Flash nodded, and stood too. "Those must be really convenient," he remarked as they headed for the door. "It would make getting calls for aid and coordinating things a lot easier. Think your people would be willing to share, at some point?"
"Always a possibility," Onyx replied as they stepped out into the hall. "Let me tell you something though. You might be impressed with our PCAs now, but the trouble with these things? They're great for communication, but lousy for privacy."
Flash nodded. "You and your spouse have had more than a few date nights interrupted, huh?" he asked, gesturing to the ring Onyx wore as the two started walking together.
"Far more than I'd care to remember," Onyx said dryly. "But then, Red Rocket knew what he was getting into when he married me."
Flash nodded. "I bet he still thinks it's worth it," he said.
Onyx nodded back. "Indeed."
Then he glanced at Flash. "You aren't bothered by me being married to another stallion, are you?"
Flash shook his head. "That's one prejudice that Equestria's pretty much long since gotten past," he said.
"Good to know," Onyx replied, before falling silent as they continued on.
Flash finally looked at him. "Besides, given my family, I'd be kind of a hypocrite if I didn't care for that sort of thing," he said. "After Dad died when I was still a kid, Mom started dating again, and... well, she's been happily remarried to a wonderful mare for many years now. It's their anniversary in a few days; I had originally asked to have that time off though I doubt I will be able to take it now."
"Ah," Onyx replied with a nod. "Hopefully we can manage to secure everything before then."
Just then, they reached the room where the next phase of the meeting was to take place, and with a promise to talk more later, went to rejoin their separate guard forces so the meeting of the two nations could start again.