//------------------------------//
// Settling into the Sunside House 
// Story: Rising Sun, Mending Heart 
// by Eltirions 
//------------------------------//

‘’Your Majesty!’’ Jet Set greeted excitedly, before bowing deeply. ‘’Welcome to New Mareland, your Majesty.’’

‘’Thank you for receiving us, Governor-General Set,’’ Celestia replied with a slight nod. ‘’It is good to be visiting here again, though I wish the circumstances were better.’’

‘’I believe all here do,’’ Jet Set observed, before looking down at Flurry. ‘’Good day to you as well, your Highness. Welcome to New Mareland.’’

‘’Thank you, Mr Governor-General,’’ Flurry said a little shyly, ‘’It’s nice to be here.’’

‘’I am glad to hear that,’’ Jet Set said, before looking up at Celestia again. 

The switching up and down must be Tartarus on his neck, Celestia mused dryly.

‘’Princess Celestia, the Sunside House has been fully prepared for your arrival. A car will take you there through the city,’’ Jet Set explained to them.

‘’Auntie, what’s the Sunside House?’’ Flurry asked softly.

‘’Later,’’ Celestia quickly whispered back, before continuing in a louder voice, ‘’That is excellent to hear, Governor-General.’’

‘’Please, this way then, your Majesties.’’ Jet Set seemed eager to get on his way, for which Celestia couldn’t blame him. There were, after all, a great many things to discuss.	

A car had been prepared, and it quickly bore Celestia and Flurry Heart, as well as their escort, from Pukwudgie Island through Sunset towards the Sunside House.

As they were driving there, Celestia gave Flurry a brief explanation of the Sunside House.

‘’So, Flurry,’’ she said, ‘’the Sunside House is where we’ll be staying for now. It’s a very big, very comfortable house, and it was built for when I came to visit New Mareland for the first time.’’

‘’How big?’’

‘’Not as big as your old home,’’ Celestia decided to answer, ‘’but bigger than the house we stayed in in Tall Tale.’’

 Flurry nodded, then frowned. ‘’My legs feel wobbly.’’

That was something Celestia had noticed too. ‘’They have to get used to being on land again, Flurry. Don’t worry, it’ll go away soon.’’

‘’Okay, auntie.’’ Flurry slid over and cuddled against Celestia’s side. ‘’Is it far to the house?’’

‘’No, it’s not,’’ Celestia replied. ‘’We’ll be there soon.’’

Indeed, some seven minutes and a steep climb to the top of the northern cliffs later, they drove through the gates of the Sunside House, which was surrounded by a tall hedge in which a fence was hidden. A few Guards of the New Mareland Royal Guard stood at the gatehouse and quickly checked their car as well as the ones behind them, but one look inside was enough to keep the Guardspony checking Celestia’s car to nod and wave them through.

Once that was done, the car drove a short distance until it was parked in front of the main entrance to the Sunside House, and Celestia could finally get out of the cramped car. Cars were decent inventions, but usually built a little too small for a pony her size.

Not that there are many ponies with my size, she reflected glumly as she watched Flurry hop out of the car onto the gravel road.

Flurry looked past Celestia towards the Sunside House and remained silent for a few seconds. Whether that was a good sign or not, Celestia had no idea.

‘’It looks like your palace!’’ the filly declared with enthusiasm.

Celestia turned to follow the filly’s gaze, only to see she wasn’t looking at any part of the building in particular. Still, she agreed.

The Sunside House was a sizable mansion, with an even larger garden around it, in which were placed a few statues, trees and a pavilion where dinner or lunch could be eaten outside. There was also a pool behind the House, between the House proper and the part of the hedge that had been lowered to half its original height, so one had a perfect view of the rest of the city.

The House was built from white stones, in the same architectural style that had characterised Canterlot since its founding over thirteen-hundred years ago, but there were also more slender, avian edges, which showed the compromise with Griffonian architecture that marked Sunset, and to a lesser extent other cities in New Mareland, as unique in the world.

Big windows allowed sunlight through, despite the cold winds that still often swept through the bay being a usual deterrent from such things when the Sunside House was first constructed. But wards had sufficed well enough to keep those winds out, even though they were too expensive to be used for the majority of buildings.

The House had four floors, including the ground floor, and all of them held a great deal of rooms, with equally as many purposes. Celestia hadn’t been to the House in a long time, however, so she couldn’t quite recall every room and its purpose.

‘’Indeed it does,’’ Celestia agreed with Flurry, looking down at the filly with a smile. ‘’Shall we go inside?’’

‘’Okay, but I wanna be on your back.’’

‘’Of course.’’

So said, so done, and once Flurry was properly on Celestia’s back the older alicorn walked up to the door.

It was opened before her eyes by a stallion dressed in an immaculate suit with an equally-immaculate manecut. ‘’Good afternoon, Your Majesty- Majesties,’’ he corrected himself after Flurry poked out her head from behind Celestia’s neck. ‘’Welcome to the Sunside House. I am Clean Sight, the Master of the Household. It is my pleasure to receive you here.’’

‘’Good afternoon to you as well, Master Sight,’’ Celestia returned the greeting. ‘’I am glad to be here.’’

‘’As are we all,’’ Clean Sight said, before stepping aside so Celestia could enter. ‘’The House has been fully prepared for you, ma’am. You will have every comfort while staying here.’’

There were a great many things Celestia could answer to that, but the only thing she did was nod her head. She’d have every comfort, yes, except the comfort of sitting down with her sister for a cup of tea while they talked about whatever subject came to their minds, or the comfort of corresponding with Twilight about small things that happened in Canterlot or Ponyville.

Her former student was out of reach, at large somewhere in Equestria, and Luna…

By the time Celestia dragged herself away from her memories, they’d walked through the central hallway and arrived at the main staircase, which led up to the first floor. There, Celestia remembered, were offices and rooms for the staff of whoever was visiting. The permanent staff of the house, of course, did not stay overnight, unless the situation demanded otherwise.

‘’Ma’am, I assume you are familiar with the lay-out of the House?’’ Clean Sight asked her.

‘’I am,’’ Celestia confirmed, ‘’though some of the details might escape. I have not been here in some time.’’

Over fifty years, as it stood, but bringing that up would serve no purpose beyond widening the gap between herself and her ponies, which was something Celestia did not want at all.

Ponies are already awed and intimidated by me enough as it is.

‘’Very well,’’ Clean Sight said. ‘’Is there anything I can do for you, ma’am?’’

‘’Not at the moment, Master Sight,’’ Celestia answered, before using her left wing to nudge Flurry. ‘’Flurry, do you need anything?’’ she asked.

‘’Ice cream.’’

Clean Sight opened his mouth, but Celestia cut him off with a chuckle. ‘’After dinner,’’ she reminded the impatient filly.

‘’Aww…’’ Flurry pouted. ‘’Okay, Auntie.’’

Smiling, Celestia turned her head back to Clean Sight, who was looking quite surprised at what he’d just witnessed. ‘’Please, if you’d show me the way to Flurry’s room?’’

‘’Of course, ma’am,’’ Clean Sight agreed immediately. ‘’It is right next to your own, ma’am.’’

Celestia inclined her head. ‘’Lead the way then, Master Sight.’’

Celestia’s room was the largest of all the residential rooms in the Sunside House, and was more luxurious than the average five-star hotel. Celestia would have been content with far less, but a Princess needed to appear regal, and all the pillows she received were wonderfully soft, so she wasn’t complaining.

Aside from a large bedroom with a balcony, it had a study combined with a living room, as well as a large bathroom and a walk-in closet with enough dresses to last any sane pony a lifetime. All in all, it was more than adequate.

Flurry’s room, just as Clean Sight had said, was next to Celestia’s room, and it held all the same accommodations that Celestia’s room did, on a smaller and slightly less expensive scale. Frankly it was too much for a four-year old, but Celestia didn’t want to put Flurry in a room far away from Celestia’s.

‘’So, Flurry, what do you think of your new room?’’ Celestia asked. The two of them were lying on the bed, Flurry curled against Celestia’s belly, her Whammy nestled in her forelegs.

‘’I like it,’’ the filly replied. ‘’It’s nicer than the ship.’’

‘’It is, isn’t it?’’ Celestia agreed. ‘’Do you think you’ll like staying here?’’

‘’Yeah.’’

‘’That’s good.’’ Celestia pressed a kiss against Flurry’s forehead, just under her horn, then nuzzled her. 

‘’Now, it’s time for me to head to a meeting with a lot of ponies,’’ she said once they stopped nuzzling each other. ‘’Do you want to come? You can also stay here. I won’t go far.’’

Flurry immediately clung to Celestia’s coat. ‘’I don’t want you to go, Auntie.’’

‘’I don’t want to go either,’’ Celestia admitted honestly, ‘’but I have to.’’

‘’Then I wanna come with you,’’ Flurry declared.

And that was that.




|-x-X-x-|




The meeting was in the Sunside House, which of course had a room designed for large-scale meetings precisely like the one happening just now. 

Celestia, of course, sat at the head of the long table, and Flurry sat to her left, on a chair that had been brought in from the dining room. Jet Set sat on Celestia’s right, an amused look on his face as he watched the filly opposite him. 

The table was then rounded out by other ponies; Admiral Stronghammer, Moondancer of all ponies, and a mare who had introduced herself as Sour Sweet, an expert on warfare production, as well as another mare called Sunny Flare, a big name in New Mareland's civilian industry. The Minister of Defence was also present, a stallion by the name of Quick Draw. 

‘’Good afternoon to you all,’’ Celestia opened the meeting once everyone had taken their seats. ‘’It is good to see you have all gathered here. We have a great many things to discuss.’’

‘’The most important question of all,’’ Jet Set immediately took over, ‘’is: what do we do now?’’

Quick Draw cleared his throat. ‘’The generals and admirals have told me they expect to hold the Spa Islands for a week or two before the next attack will come. They will not be able to repulse it, if it happens.’’

Celestia had expected that, but the confirmation still stung. Equestria had truly fallen. ‘’How is the evacuation proceeding?’’

‘’As well as can be,’’ Admiral Stronghammer answered. ‘’Most of the important personnel have been evacuated, and the rest will follow soon.’’

‘’What about the civilians?’’

Stronghammer glanced at Quick Draw, who glanced at Jet Set, who cleared his throat. ‘’We are doing all we can, ma’am,’’ he said, ‘’but we cannot save everyone.’’

Celestia knew that. She’d known it from the moment she saw Port Calm appear in her sight. And still, it stung. She should have able to protect her little ponies, but she couldn’t.

With a long sigh, she nodded. ‘’I see.’’

The room remained silent, everyone watching her anticipation. Celestia gave herself one moment, two, three, then raised her head again and looked around the table.

Time for action.

‘’Ensure the people will have food and shelter,’’ she instructed. ‘’Get them all passports and make sure they get jobs as well. Offer military service as a possibility, but do not force anyone into it.’’ She took a breath, then continued, ‘’I want to know what is happening in Equestria. I want information. Ladies and gentlecolts, any suggestions?’’

Nobody answered for a moment; evidently, Celestia had taken the room by surprise. Then Jet Set cleared his throat. ‘’We can form a department.’’

‘’Do that,’’ Celestia immediately commanded. ‘’We need to stay in contact with Equestria. There are still ponies fighting for Harmony, we can’t forget about them.’’

‘’I agree, ma’am,’’ Admiral Stronghammer spoke up. ‘’Anything we try to take Equestria back will require intelligence on the Lunarist defences. And local forces helping us would be beneficial.’’

‘’New Mareland’s industry is not prepared for war,’’ Sour Sweet stated. ‘’And it won’t be for a long time, because of some people not being willing to do what is necessary.’’ Her eyes flicked at Jet Set.

The Governor-General opened his mouth to reply to that, but Celestia cut him off. ‘’Let’s not fight amongst ourselves. We have a greater foe to face.’’

‘’Indeed,’’ Sour Sweet agreed.

‘’How long will New Mareland’s industry need to switch to a war hoofing?’’ Celestia inquired.

Sunny Flare shrugged. ‘’Half a year?’’

Not nearly as fast as Celestia would have hoped. ‘’Employ whoever you can to ensure the process goes faster. And we need more factories as well, if we are to supply the military as best as possible.’’

‘’For now, we are safe,’’ Quick Draw informed them. ‘’Our navy outnumbers that of the Lunar Empire, and we have the home advantage. However, they have access to a greater deal of resources and industry than we do.’’

‘’I am working with the Admirals of the New Mareland Royal Navy on a long-term strategy for defending New Mareland as best as possible,’’ Admiral Stronghammer said, ‘’but Minister Draw is correct in his assessment that we will eventually be outnumbered.’’

We need allies.

To the north of New Mareland was Aquileia, which had just come out of its second revolution as a new republic. However, it seemed to Celestia that the new President, Léonard Rodier, was too militaristic and expansionist for her preference. But there lived many ponies in Aquileia, and Celestia had never heard of them being mistreated.

The other option was to the east: The Kingdom of Wingbardy and its allies in the Karthinian Pact. While Aquileia was separated from New Mareland by the Mane Strait, Wingbardy and its ally Talouse had a direct land border with New Mareland. However, its king had taken over control from parliament after a period of political instability. Celestia had met Garibald Talonuel III twice, and while she liked him in person, she didn’t approve of some of his policies.

Most of the griffons that lived in New Mareland were Wingbardian, or at least closely related to that culture. Of course, ponies and griffons did not always get along, but as far as Celestia knew they lived together well enough in New Mareland.

Perhaps a visit to both nations would be prudent.

‘’We have time,’’ she finally said.




 |-x-X-x-|




The meeting took a few more hours, and so Celestia and Flurry had a later dinner than usual. They dined outside, seeing it was getting near-time for Celestia to lower the Sun, and she wanted to enjoy the view.

‘’Are you enjoying the food, Flurry?’’ she asked the filly.

‘’It’s very tasty, auntie,’’ Flurry replied. ‘’I like it more than the ship food.’’

‘’So do I.’’

Fresh hay with dandelions and some mashed potatoes. Delicious.

‘’Are you gonna lower the Sun soon?’’

‘’I am,’’ Celestia confirmed. ‘’And then we’ll go and have some ice cream, all right?’’

‘’Yay!’’ Flurry cheered.

The rest of the dinner was finished in comfortable silence. Then, Celestia rose from her comfortable spot on the couch and walked forward until she stood on the edge of the cliff.

She reached out to the Sun.

As always, touching it gave her a brilliant feeling of warmth and light, and the Sun immediately obeyed her wish, lowering itself and allowing for… Nightmare Moon to raise the Moon.

Celestia, as soon as she was done, stepped back from the cliffside. Withdrawing from the Sun always left her feeling cold; there was nothing quite like its warmth.

Flurry, by now, knew this, and so she hurried over to Celestia and gave her a warm hug. Celestia hugged Flurry back, of course.

‘’Thank you, sunshine,’’ she said. ‘’Do you want ice cream still?’’

‘’Yeah I do!’’

‘’Then we shall go and get it.’’

There was sure to be ice cream around here somewhere. And with a bit of luck, it’d be banana-flavoured too. Celestia would very much like that.