//------------------------------//
// The Eagle and the Sun 
// Story: Rising Sun, Mending Heart 
// by Eltirions 
//------------------------------//

It took a few days before responses to Celestia’s two letters arrived. Both King Talonuel and President Rodier were willing to meet with her, and due to the former also having to sort out the schedules of the Duchess of Talouse, Count of Francistria and Duchess of Arantiga, it was decided that Celestia would meet with Leonard Rodier first.

The details of this meeting were still being sorted out - it would be the first diplomatic meeting on such a level as this between Aquileia and Equestria since 990 ALB, and that had been between the Governor-General of New Mareland and the King of Aquileia. The former position was no less important than before, but the latter had been - both in practice and in legality - dissolved.

Of course, this meant that it would be a well-planned event, even if it was just a conversation between Celestia and the President. The location had yet to be chosen, but Celestia had cautiously suggested New Manehattan already. It was roughly half way between Sunset and Aquila, so it wouldn’t be too much of a journey for either party, and there were certainly enough suitable locales in that city to hold a proper diplomatic meeting.

And, of course, places to leave Flurry while she conversed with Rodier. There was no way in Tartarus she was leaving the filly behind in Sunset until she could defend herself, and Celestia was not going to teach a four year old anything about fighting under any circumstances.

Celestia was startled from her thoughts as she heard the sound of running hooves approaching. Lifting her head from the book on the Aquileian language she’d been reading to get herself acquainted with the language, she saw it was one of the Royal Guards, and he was carrying a telegram or letter in his magic.

‘’Emergency message from the Ministry of Defence, your Majesty,’’ the soldier reported as he came to a halt in front of her. ‘’Delivered by courier.’’

Celestia nodded. ‘’Thank you, Private. Please wait, I may wish to send a reply.’’

‘’Yes ma’am.’’

Celestia took the piece of paper from the stallion and opened it. 

To: Minister Quick Draw

From: Admiral Ryan Celer

Sir, I regret to inform you that the Spa Islands have fallen to a Lunarist invasion. We have evacuated as many as possible from the islands, but have been forced to leave some of those planned to be evacuated behind due to being surprised by the sudden appearance of the Lunarist ships. We have sustained no casualties but for light damage to two destroyers who first caught sight of the enemy, and are pursuing a course towards Cross Island now.

Well, that was that then.

‘’Send a messenger to the members of the War Council; I wish to convene within half an hour, here,’’ Celestia instructed.

The soldier snapped off a salute. ‘’Yes ma’am!’’

‘’Dismissed.’’

The soldier made off, and once he was gone Celestia allowed her head to droop.

Equestria has truly fallen then. My kingdom, broken again by my fallen sister. History is doomed to repeat itself, it seems.

The War Council was convened as Celestia had requested, minus Sunny Flare, who was on a business trip in Stratus Springs, and Admiral Stronghammer, who was assessing the war-readiness of Hoovesplain’s harbour.

‘’Good evening,’’ Celestia started the meeting. ‘’I apologise for the sudden and late hour, but some disturbing news has reached us all. The Spa Islands have fallen to the enemy.’’

‘’Damnit,’’ Jet Set cursed aloud.

‘’How did this happen, Minister?’’ Sour Sweet looked towards the stallion as she asked this, brow furrowed in thought. 

‘’We don’t know a lot yet, Miss Sweet,’’ Quick Draw replied. ‘’I received a telegram from Admiral Celer informing me that the enemy had taken over the Spa Islands via invasion, that not everyone eligible had yet been evacuated, and that he had suffered no losses to his command except for minor damage to two vessels. They are making their way here now.’’

‘’May we see this telegram, Mr Draw?’’ Moondancer requested.

‘’I sent it to Her Majesty as soon as I received it and read it,’’ Quick Draw replied.

‘’I have it here.’’ Celestia laid the telegram out on the table for everyone to see and read. ‘’See for yourselves.’’

The telegram was passed around.

‘’Apparently we cannot even repel a single invasion,’’ Sour Sweet remarked snarkily as she put the letter down. ‘’I am quite interested in finding out what Admiral Celer means by ‘not everyone eligible’ and ‘suffered no losses’. Did the garrison retreat without a fight?’’

Celestia, admittedly, had already considered that as a likely possibility, but had found she could not fault the Admiral for making that decision. At least, not yet. She would hear the full story from him and those under his command when he arrived in New Mareland and judge him on that. 

‘’I cannot say, Miss Sweet,’’ Quick Draw replied, ‘’but I do not think that Admiral Celer would have retreated without a fight if he was not certain of defeat otherwise. I’ve not known him to be a coward.’’

‘’So, what do we do?’’ Moondancer asked the room after a moment of silence. ‘’The ships are already making their way back, and do correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think we currently have the capability to retake the islands?’’

Quick Draw shook his head. ‘’We have no staging area to launch an invasion from, and in any case it is likely the islands will be garrisoned and well defended by the time we could have  force prepared. Of course, even if we managed to retake the islands they will likely be attacked again by the Lunarists, and we cannot repel continuous invasions.’’

Before the meeting could derail, Celestia cleared her throat. ‘’The influx of refugees should not be a problem, now that we have established a strategy of dealing with them. And I’m sure the Admirals are already working on a new schedule for patrolling our seas now that we have all our ships again. How are the new factories coming along?’’

That got everyone’s attention back on track, and the meeting continued without incident. 




|-x-X-x-|




In the end, Celestia and Flurry took a plane to New Manehattan almost a week after the Spa Islands had been conquered. The vessels that had previously patrolled around the islands would not arrive for a while, even with the most favourable conditions, so Celestia felt no obligation to remain behind and wait for them.

Flurry had been unhappy to be parted from her new friend Summer Blossom, who - accompanied by her mother, of course - came up to the Sunside House almost every day now. Celestia and Grey Flower held amicable conversation as the foals played together, in the pool, gardens or in Flurry’s rooms. During these conversations, Celestia found out more about Grey Flower: she and her husband were both originally from a village out in the countryside, but had moved to Sunset together in search of better jobs. They kept in contact with their parents via letters and occasional visits. 

Grey Flower and her husband, Golden Voice, owned a small flower shop near the beach, above which was their home. Celestia had not yet visited it, but had made plans to do so once they were back from New Manehattan.

In any case, Flurry’s displeasure had evaporated once they’d boarded the plane and gotten off into the air: Celestia had flown higher than the plane had, before, but the filly had not yet done so, and so was entranced by the view of New Mareland from the air. Admittedly it was a pretty view, but it reminded Celestia too much of the plains to the north of Canterlot, so she kept herself from looking outside and busied herself with a final refresher in Aquileian.

The flight only took three hours and they left just after noon, so it was a little past three o’clock when they landed in New Manehattan’s newly-constructed airport. The outbreak of the Civil War had seen its planned construction for later that year sped up, as it was connected to the new NMRAF airbase.

Once they had descended from the plane, a car stood ready to take them into New Manehattan proper. Celestia had, after some deliberation, chosen the Starhoof Tower, the city’s most luxurious hotel, as the location for the meeting. She had booked the penthouse suites, one for the President and one for herself and Flurry. The meeting itself would take place in the Tower’s Upper Lounge, which was located just one floor under the penthouses.

The Tower had, of course, been checked and secured beforehand. The Royal Guard had been deployed in force around the Tower, supported by the New Manehattan Police Department. President Rodier had brought his own guard, Aquileian griffons and ponies in dark blue uniforms, and Celestia saw a few of them standing alongside the Royal Guard as they entered.

Besides her, Flurry looked around, wide-eyed. The Crystal Palace was higher than most of the skyscrapers in the city, but that was just one building; this was Flurry’s first time seeing a skyscraper, and while New Manehattan wasn’t even half the size Manehattan was, it was still surely an impressive sight to anyone seeing it for the first time.

Inside the lobby of Starhoof Tower, the owner, Sunlit Starhoof, awaited them. He was a yellow-white pegasus stallion, with a mane of gold and eyes of aquamarine, dressed smartly in a black suit.

‘’Welcome, my Princesses!’’ He bowed low to both of them. ‘’It is my great pleasure to receive you here. I am Sunlit Starhoof, and I hope you shall enjoy your stay in my tower.’’

‘’Certainly, Mr Starhoof,’’ Celestia replied kindly. ‘’It is a pleasure to be here. Judging by the guards, I assume that Président Rodier has already arrived?’’

‘’He has, ma’am, but less than half an hour ago. I believe he is already in the Upper Lounge.’’

‘’Let’s not keep him waiting then.’’

Celestia and Flurry quickly made their way up the skyscraper via the lift, their personal effects brought to their rooms by hotel staff.

‘’Auntie, do I have to go to the room?’’ Flurry asked again.

‘’You do, Flurry,’’ Celestia replied. ‘’This is a private meeting, and it’s very important. But when the talking is finished, we can go and have dinner together.’’

‘’With the Président as well?’’

‘’Maybe,’’ Celestia answered. ‘’We’ll see.’’ That would depend on how the negotiations went.

She gave Flurry a quick hug. ‘’I won’t be long, alright?’’

‘’Okay, auntie.’’

‘’Ask one of the guards for help if there’s a problem,’’ Celestia instructed for the third time in as many hours. ‘’And have fun. I’m sure there’s lots of things to do in the room.’’

‘’Okay auntie,’’ Flurry said again.

The lift stopped, announcing its arrival with a ping. 

‘’Bye auntie!’’

‘’See you soon, sunshine!’’ Celestia briefly nuzzled the top of Flurry’s head, then stepped out of the elevator and made her way straight ahead.

The entrance to the restaurant was guarded by two broad griffons, armed with rifles and dressed in sleek dark blue uniforms. ‘’Bonjour,’’ one of them greeted. ‘’Le Président is awaiting you, madam.’’

Two Royal Guards had accompanied her, and they took up position next to the griffons as Celestia headed through the double doors, held open by one of the griffons.

The restaurant, as predicted, was empty of guests, except for one. Leonard Rodier, Président of the Second Aquileian Republic, seated at a table next to a window that looked out on the south, showing New Manehattan and then the Freeside Gulf. 

Celestia had seen pictures in newspapers, of course, but it was something else to see someone in the flesh. His feathers were dark blue, almost as black as his hair, and he wore a dark brown trenchcoat over what appeared to be his military uniform.

Well, he was a field marshal after all. Or still is.

‘’Good afternoon,’’ Celestia greeted him as she approached the table, which only had a glass of water on it. ‘’It is a pleasure to meet you, Président Rodier.’’

‘’Good afternoon to you as well, Princess Celestia.’’ The griffon’s blue eyes met her as she sat down. ‘’I assure you, the pleasure is all mine.’’

‘’I am happy you accepted my invitation,’’ Celestia began the conversation. ‘’We have much to discuss, of course, but I wasn’t sure you would have the time.’’

‘’I do have a busy life,’’ Rodier agreed, ‘’but I imagine you do as well, Princess. I would think both of us spent some time figuring out how to fit this meeting into our schedules.’’

Celestia inclined her head in acknowledgement. ‘’That is true.’’

Just then, a waiter came up to them. ‘’Good afternoon, your Majesty. Would you like anything to drink?’

‘’Water, please,’’ Celestia replied.

‘’As you wish, ma’am.’’ With that said, the waiter retreated again.

Celestia looked back at Rodier, who was watching her calmly even as he took a sip of his own water.

‘’So,’’ he said as he put the glass down, ‘’what do you wish to discuss, your Majesty? Your letters, while eloquent and polite, were quite vague as to the actual contents of this meeting.’’

‘’I wish to discuss the relationship between our two countries,’’ Celestia put forth.

Rodier nodded once. ‘’I see. And do you speak for Equestria or New Mareland?’’

‘’Both.’’

‘’Very well.’’

‘’As you know,’’ Celestia continued, ‘’Nightmare Moon has taken over Equestria. While I have, for now, been able to stop her from making the night last forever, I cannot do so forever, and she will surely wish to defeat me and take New Mareland for herself. I am sure you can see what problems that would cause for Aquileia, should she succeed in that.’’

‘’You think she would try to conquer parts of Griffonia?’’ Rodier sounded skeptical, but not dismissive. He was a military griff, he could work out the strategy himself.

‘’I think she would, yes,’’ Celestia agreed. ‘’Not for a while of course; she needs to rebuild Equestria in her image, and squash the remaining rebellious regions. But eventually she will come for Griffonia, if left unchecked.’’

‘’So you have a proposal?’’

‘’Let me continue first,’’ Celestia replied. ‘’The new King Thorax of the Changeling Hives is supportive of me and has promised me aid should I land in Equestria again, but his country is still rebuilding from their own civil war. He’s also sheltering refugees from Equestria and the Crystal Empire, including Princess Cadence and her husband. Should I attack the Lunar Empire, I would not be alone.’’

Rodier remained silent, so Celestia continued speaking. ‘’Answer a question of mine: Aquileia wishes to expand, no?’’

‘’Perhaps,’’ was all Rodier answered.

‘’You wish to defeat the Empire.’’ It wasn’t a very bold guess. ‘’I will also meet with King Talonuel of Wingbardy and the other leaders of the Karthinian Pact soon, just like we are doing now.’’

The waiter arrived, and brought with him Celestia’s glass of water. Once he was gone again, Celestia smiled at Rodier. ‘’And that is not all. New Mareland is rapidly climbing out of its economic depression; soon it shall be able to start producing weapons and ships in great quantities. But since we are not yet at war, those guns can be used elsewhere.’’

‘’Meaning?’’ Rodier asked.

‘’I would be willing to sign a deal,’’ Celestia explained, ‘’signing over a part of the production - a set amount or a percentage, whichever you prefer - of New Mareland’s new armament factories, in exchange for feedback on said weapons. This is apart of the other deal I have for you, Mr Rodier.’’

‘’What would the other deal entail?’’

‘’A full military alliance,’’ Celestia answered, ‘’between Aquileia and New Mareland. Possibly joined by the nations of the Karthinian Pact.’’

‘’And the scope of this alliance?’’

‘’New Mareland would support Aquileia in any defensive war it finds itself, and vice versa,’’ Celestia explained. ‘’Offensive wars the other party may elect to stay out of. Outside of war, our militaries will work and train together, and our inventors and researchers will share ideas and designs for new weapons with each other. That way, we all benefit.’’

Rodier leaned back in his chair. ‘’You have given me much to think about, Princess Celestia.’’

Celestia thought for a moment on how to best frame her reply. ‘’Of course,’’ she said finally, ‘’it would more of a problem if you did not.’’

Rodier’s beak twitched in amusement. ‘’Indeed,’’ he agreed, before asking; ‘’What timeframe do you have in mind?’’

‘’I wish to be back on the shores of Equestria by the summer of 1012 at the absolute latest.’’

‘’1012…’’ the griffon muttered. ‘’I will tell you that I did not plan to take back the Périphérie  before 1009. Aquileia needs to be rebuilt first, including its military. But with your assistance and possibly that of the Karthinian Pact, we may be able to shorten that time.’’

‘’That was my thought as well,’’ Celestia said. ‘’I know several companies would like to invest in Aquileia for sure. And we have many refugees from the war that need work.’’

‘’Yes, that could work out quite well,’’ Rodier agreed. ‘’And I do agree with your assessment; I know little of what Nightmare Moon is like, but if she is as much a tyrant as the Discrets then I cannot see her ambitions being contained to one continent only.’’

‘’Speaking of the Discrets…’’

Rodier sniffed disdainfully. ‘’Those that weren’t beheaded or died in the Revolution are serving a life sentence. As for the crown princess, we will deal with her flight to Les Méridiennes in time.’’

Celestia didn’t agree with that, but she was not in the position where she could afford her morals to dictate foreign policy, and most of the Discrets had been tyrants and scum. But she would ensure Crown Princess Vivienne survived, if nothing else.

‘’Very well,’’ she agreed. ‘’But that is for later. For now, monsieur Président, do we have a deal?’’

‘’I think we do, madam.’’  Rodier offered her his claw, and she shook it with her hoof.

‘’Now,’’ Celestia said as she pulled her hoof back again, ‘’how about we retire, and then meet again at dinner? Unless you have to leave again?’’

‘’I’ve time,’’ Rodier answered, ‘’and I would gladly have dinner with you, ma’am.’’

‘’Excellent. At seven, then?’’

‘’As you wish.’’

Once the door to her and Flurry’s room was closed, Celestia had a moment to let out a quiet sigh of relief before the filly pounced on her.

One down, one to go.