//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Title 5 // Story: Twilight Sparkle, Princess-Regent of the Crystal Empire // by Eltirions //------------------------------// ‘’Luna’s headed for Vanhoover,’’ Crystal announced as Star entered the dinner room. How interesting. ‘’Of course she is,’’ Star replied as he sat down at the table. ‘’She’s going to talk with Velvet. Good morning, by the way.’’ ‘’Morning.’’ ‘’Good morning, darlings.’’ Rarity swept into the room. Star turned to face her as she sat down and pulled her into a long kiss. So very nice. ‘’Urgh,’’ Crystal gagged. ‘’You,’’ Star said after he broke the kiss, ‘’have absolutely no room to speak of anything in this.’’ ‘’True,’’ Crystal admitted like the cunt she was. ‘’Oh, Rarity? There was a letter for you from Canterlot.’’ How on Faust? ‘’It seems,’’ Crystal continued with a smirk, ‘’that Luna is aware of your new status.’’ She tossed the letter to Rarity, who caught it in her magic. ‘’Let’s see then.’’ Rarity opened the letter and cleared her throat. ‘’My word.’’ Well, now Star was curious too. ‘’What did our dear princess write?’’ ‘’She’s requesting my aid in designing new uniforms for the military.’’ Wasn’t that interesting? ‘’That’s a compliment if I’ve ever heard one…’’ he trailed off as he saw Rarity was slowly starting to panic. That wouldn’t do. ‘’Rarity-’’ ‘’Oh my gosh!’’ Rarity exclaimed. ‘’I’ve got to design! Tempest, I need to speak to her-’’ ‘’Rarity.’’ ‘’Acquire the right fabrics-’’ ‘’Rarity.’’ ‘’I must hire some extra hooves-’’ Fuck this. Star’s muzzle darted forward and caught Rarity’s lips in a kiss. After a moment of startled shock, Rarity kissed back. Brilliant. ‘’Now,’’ Star said after breaking the kiss. ‘’Take it one step at a time. No one gains anything if you panic.’’ Rarity’s eyes met his, and after a moment, she nodded gracefully. ‘’Thank you for reminding me of that, darling.’’ Star smiled. ‘’Anytime, love.’’ And he did mean it. ‘’Sappy,’’ Crystal remarked dryly. ‘’But Star’s right.’’ She tossed another pancake onto her plate. Star just smiled indulgently at her. ‘’Of course I am.’’ |-x-X-x-| ‘’Sunset?’’ Well now, what could Flurry possibly have to ask Sunset this early in the morning? The unicorn looked up from her food and smiled at Twilight’s nice. Twilight leaned slightly forward, curious. ‘’Yes, Flurry?’’ Sunset replied. Flurry shifted uncomfortably in her chair. It was something Twilight recognized from Cadence. ‘’It’s just…’’ the filly hesitated. ‘’It’s just… can I call you auntie?’’ What. ‘’Because you said you knew my mom a long time ago,’’ Flurry quickly continued before any of them had time to respond. ‘’And you weren’t friends but you still knew her and you’re friends with auntie Twilight and uncle Spike now and all of auntie Twilight’s friends said I can call them auntie as well and I don’t have many friends and I like you. So can I please call you auntie too?’’ Vaguely, Twilight heard Sunset reply that yes, Flurry could call Sunset auntie. Her niece didn’t have many friends. How had Twilight, the motherfucking Princess of Friendship for crying out loud, forgotten to ask Flurry if she had made any new friends yet? She had been in the Crystal Empire for a little over a month, already! ‘’Twilight?’’ Spike grabbed her shoulder. ‘’Twilight, you with us?’’ ‘’Huh?’’ she shot up in her chair. ‘’Sorry, what was that?”’ Belatedly, she noticed Sunset, Spike and Flurry were all staring at her. ‘’I’m fine,’’ she said unpromptedly. ‘’You’re not,’’ Spike declared. ‘’You just realized you forgot something important.’’ ‘’I did,’’ Twilight acknowledged his statement, before turning her full attention to her niece. ‘’Flurry,’’ she asked gently, ‘’have you made any friends in the Crystal Empire yet?’’ Flurry shifted again, and Twilight only just now noticed that Sunset had moved chairs to sit next to the foal, her right foreleg wrapped around Flurry. That was good. Flurry, though, didn’t meet Twilight’s gaze, and that plus her shifting told Twilight enough. ‘’Flurry,’’ she continued in the same, gentle tone she had used earlier, ‘’is there a reason you haven’t made friends with the other foals yet? Are they being mean-’’ ‘’They’re not mean to me!” Flurry unexpectedly shouted, before reddening. ‘’Sorry.’’ ‘’It’s alright,’’ Twilight soothed, meeting Flurry’s eyes and seeing tears forming at the edge. ‘’Flurry, you don’t have to make friends if that’s not what you want. But trust me when I say that it’s good for you to have people of your own age to talk to.’’ Flurry didn’t look convinced, but she nodded anyway. ‘’Okay, auntie. I’ll try.’’ Twilight hadn’t asked if Flurry had had any friends before Sombra’s return. On one hoof, she hoped she had. On the other… Sombra had used child soldiers in the defence of Crystal City. It would be easier for Flurry to find new friends if she didn’t have any old ones. ‘’Is there…’’ Twilight searched for the right words. ‘’Were you friends with anyone…’’ she tried. Flurry shook her head sadly. Sunset gently ran her hoof over the filly’s back. Twilight was going to have to get her something nice. Maybe a dinner for two, in one of the local restaurants. They could catch up with each other, and the crystal ponies could see Twilight wasn’t just the Princess-Regent, she was a normal mare too. Yes, dinner sounded nice. |-x-X-x-| Being the prince of a nation that had been democratic for decades was hard, to say the least. Still, Archibald Dawnfeather, prince of the Principality of Greifenmarschen, was confident he would be able to steer the nation to the same harmony that had united the ponies of Equestria. But to achieve that harmony, blood would have to be spilled. The Duchess’ reign still held in the lands surrounding Griffinheim, and with her recent marriage the Grand Duchy of Feathisia-Strawberry was firmly in her grasp. Add the loyalty of Bronzehill’s diamond dogs to the Grover line, and it was a power bloc without equal in the region. Archibald had sent messengers to the nations of the southern Herzland: Yale, Angriver, Romau and Katerin. He had not been pleased by the result. The weird prelate in Katerin had rebuked Archibald’s messenger gently but firmly, going on a long spiel about the Trinity. Oh well, at least the messenger had returned unharmed, unlike the poor griffon sent to Angriver: the baron had sent the griffon’s head back in a box. The messenger from Yale had yet to return. Likely, he was caught in a lecture by one of the rectors there. Archibald chuckled at his own joke. The only luck had been had in Romau: the messenger had returned with promises of an alliance. Romau had pledged it’s legions, which were steadily growing, in exchange for extra food shipments to be sent to the city. And if Archibald managed to unify the Herzland or parts of it into a larger realm, then Romau had been promised the same privileges it enjoyed as an Imperial Free City. Perhaps most important of all, the new Archon of Eyr had pledged the Temples’ support to Archibald’s idea of harmony among the griffons. ‘’Archibald Dawnfeather.’’ Archibald spun around and stared. He’d heard a rumour, of a glowing griffon proclaiming himself the ‘Herald of Boreas’, crossing through Yale seemingly without any goal. Archibald himself held the Old Believer faith, and he wasn’t overly religious anyhow. The glowing avatar standing in front of him, exuding an aura of divinity, was hard to deny though. Instinctively, Archibald bowed his head. ‘’Good evening,’’ he said softly. ‘’To you as well,’’ the ‘Herald’ replied. ‘’I come bringing the message of Boreas. Hear and listen.’’ He spread his glowing wings and stood back on his hind legs. ‘’Griffonkind is fractured. The City of Light and the Heart of Evi have both fallen to socialism, and the darkness inspired by Maar’s domains will soon envelop the South and the North as well. In the Heartland, the Empire lies broken, and neither the words of the fallen Archon now in Skyfall nor the promises of the Duchess will be able to mend the Heartland. A single spark of hope remains for the children of Boreas: the Heartland must be united peacefully, and connect with the Sun and Moon across the sea.’’ ‘’This, Archibald Dawnfeather, is your task. With the aid of Boreas, you will see that Harmony is to be found in the Heartland.’’ Sweet Celestia. Archibald went to his knees. ‘’I- I am honoured,’’ he said. ‘’But how am I to do this?’’ The Herald smiled. ‘’You will have the aid of Boreas,’’ he repeated. ‘’Come. We will travel north, to Griffinheim, and there we will unite the Heartland without bloodshed.’’ An arduous task for sure. Archibald rose from the floor. ‘’I will need to collect clothes and supplies, if we are travelling north.’’ ‘’Go,’’ the Herald commanded with the flick of a wing. ‘’Gather what you need and make what preparations you must. I will wait here. We travel by land to Romau and then set sail up the river to Griffinheim.’’ That seemed reasonable. Archibald nodded, then turned and left the room. |-x-X-x-| The easiest way to travel to Vanhoover was by train, or so Luna had been told. However, a train would also be easier to sabotage, and getting help if they got stuck in the middle of Ponderosa would be hard. So, Luna had decided on a compromise: she would take a train to Las Pegasus, and from there, sail with an escort from the Equestrian navy to Vanhoover. A navy that was only marginally better prepared for war than the army was. 37 ships for a coastline of over a thousand kilometers, not to mention the ocean between Equus and New Mareland? It was not nearly enough. And of those 37 vessels, only four covered the entire western coast: one docked in Las Pegasus, and three in Vanhoover. Admittedly, the powers of Griffonia had posed more of a threat for the longest time, but the Changeling navy was nothing to scoff at nowadays. That was why Luna had ordered half of the Celestial Sea Fleet to be reassigned to the Lunar Ocean Fleet, with which the Las Pegasus squadron would merge as well.  The ship docked in Las Pegasus would take her to Vanhoover, with one of the three ships docked in Vanhoover joining her escort in Applewood. Luna hadn’t yet stayed on a new, modern ship, and had only been on a ship a few times before her banishment. An experience to look forward to, no matter how the subsequent meeting with Queen Velvet would go. If she understood it correctly, Velvet and Luna both wanted this alliance. Olenia needed to rebuild after Johan’s misrule and the short but devastating civil war that ensured Velvet’s return, and Equestria needed a powerful ally on Equus that could help in a war with the Changelings. A part of Luna still hoped that admitting Olenia into the United Ponies’ Front, soon to be renamed the United Creatures Front, would be enough to deter Chrysalis from any aggression. But she knew that the changeling queen would not be deterred by something like. She hoped, but she already knew the answer. The landscape continued to fly past. In the distance, the Canter was visible, moonlight sparkling off the water’s surface. It had never occurred to Luna before how vast and empty Equestria truly was: since passing Ghastly Gorge - which had been on the other side of the river - she had only seen small villages. There was room for thousands of creatures here, but instead there was only nature. It was calming, in a way, to know that though Equestria might have been at war not two months ago, there were still sights like this, unmarred by conflict. Idly, Luna wondered how Celestia was doing. Her sister had extended her holiday in the Spa Islands to until Luna had returned from Vanhoover, and her last letter had described just how relaxing and serene the resort Luna (with a little help from her steward) had arranged for Celestia. A smile crept onto Luna’s muzzle. She honestly hadn’t expected Celestia to fold so easily, but fold she had. And ruling Equestria alone, while a change of pace from the calm Night Court, was honestly refreshing.  She could do without the nobles though.