//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Diplomatic Solution 
// by Starscribe 
//------------------------------//

If Ocellus had her way, she would climb back aboard the ship and abandon this foolish mission. The cause might be just—spreading friendship to those who would otherwise be attacking allied creatures in the Stellar Compact—but it was also doomed. Like Cozy Glow, sometimes a creature was so evil they just didn't want to be friends.

But Twilight's desperation was palpable in everything she wrote. There was no denying that feeling might be shared by the other creatures of the Compact. Equestria hadn't joined the winning side, they'd joined the right side. The pressure of making sure they came into alignment was on her.

There was one play so audacious she didn't really believe it was possible. Here among the Zecrin, for the first time in many years, the Enti were nearby, and not trying to kill everyone. Maybe they were more reasonable than the Zecrin. They were apparently far less monstrous in appearance, even similar to humans in some ways. Could that mean they thought in some of the same ways, too?

Given the disaster of their first meeting, Ocellus chose against inviting everyone. She could sense the relief from Gallus when he wasn't asked, and something similar form Sandbar. Unfortunately for her, Silverstream wouldn't be escaping this one.

"We'll make it quick," Ocellus promised. "If it doesn't seem like we're going anywhere, we can leave. But we need to try. If we made it this close and gave up, I couldn't forgive myself. Think about all the innocent creatures fighting a war out there. They need us to succeed."

Silverstream nodded resolutely. She dressed again in her dignified coat, replaced her jewelry. "We should," she admitted. "It won't go anywhere, Ocellus, you should know that. We tried this with the Storm King, when he was threatening Mount Aris. Creatures determined to cause pain and do evil to grow their domain will do so. This war didn't come from a misunderstanding—the Enti just want to rule."

It's like the Canterlot invasion all over again, only we're the ponies this time. Celestia could never convince the queen to give up.

At least the Zecrin could keep their promises. When Ocellus and Silverstream knocked on the door and explained what they wanted, the guards rushed off to obey. It took them only minutes to return with a response. "The Enti Embassy will see you immediately," said one of the guards. They set off together through the pyramid. 

They did not have long to travel through that place—as they'd been told, the Enti were on the same floor. Yet even a short trip was too long for Ocellus. While the others only had to see the terrible things inflicted on the slaves here, Ocellus felt it. Every group they passed was overwhelmed with fear and despair, driven to work only because they had no other choice.

Even the old queen would have been furious with such treatment for prey, if only because it meant lower quality food. There wouldn't be much love harvested from creatures so badly broken.

The Enti had their own large living section, just like what the Zecrin had given them. There were no guards outside, just a doorway.

"Remember the doctrine," said the same guard Ocellus had spoken to. He had the feeling of active magic around him, probably the only reason he could understand. "No harm can be done to another being. The Embassy is the Enti's sovereign soil, but we expect beings of significance in the entire galaxy to obey the doctrine."

The door opened. Ocellus nodded in thanks to the guard, saying nothing.

Even without the warning, Ocellus would've guessed the instant she stepped into the Enti's territory. There was no jungle inside—every plant and seed and flower had been scrubbed from the stone walls. Inside, it reminded Ocellus quite a bit of the Stellar Compact's headquarters, with metal walls, fine art, and a constant breeze of cool air. 

But while humans kept reminders of nature with them in pots and painted scenery, the Enti had none. There were no living subjects on any wall, only complex designs of repeating mathematical patterns. Fractals, they were called. It smelled of heated metal and chemicals, and the lights were a harsh, unnatural red.

They made it only a few steps before they met a wide metal desk with a computer resting atop it. Waiting behind it was... a human?"

"The ponies, yes. Archduke Xender is waiting in his office." She waved one hand to the nearby hallway, made of a single sheet of glowing red glass. "Welcome to the embassy, honored guests."

"Why are you working for the Enti?" Silverstream asked, utterly tactless. "Aren't they trying to kill you?"

Ocellus winced. She opened her wings, blocking Silverstream from view. But she was too slow to apologize. 

The human laughed. "Kill us? Horse aliens of Equestria, you're mistaken. You confuse the Enti for the barbarians outside. The Enti will take their rightful place as rulers of this chaotic galaxy. That doesn't mean lording over ash heaps and graveyards." 

She pointed down the hall again, more insistent. "You should go. The archduke is eager to meet with you. He'll be more accommodating to requests if you catch him in a good mood."

Ocellus nodded gratefully, muttering an apology as they hurried past her. She felt at the human's emotions, though no more than she might for anyone else around her. It wasn't like she was overtly trying to spy. 

She actually believes what she's saying.

She couldn't tell Silverstream that, though. Not while they walked together down the hallway made from red glass. Strange orange and silvery lights flickered underneath, casting bizzare shadows against the metal walls. She imagined she could see images playing out under there, just faded enough to be impossible to identify.

"I'll handle this," Ocellus said. "Just don't make them angry."

Silverstream grinned back at her. If she resented being relegated to backup, she concealed her feelings well. "You got it!"

They approached a heavy metal door, like a slab of solid steel inside a fortress. She lifted her hoof to knock, and it swung open on its own. 

The office beyond was as opulent as anything she might've seen in Equestria. Or maybe it was more accurate to imagine places like this existing in Equestria a thousand years from now—magic and technology combined in perfect cooperation, in a way the Zecrin hadn't done.

There was a huge screen positioned prominently on the back wall, but the ceiling was illuminated with enchanted gemstones. A subtle music came from nowhere, carrying with it an emotional compulsion. It pressed down on Ocellus like a damp towel over a flame. Be calm, it said. We're all on the same side. Relax.

Silverstream sighed contently, wings relaxing slightly as she stepped in. Ocellus did the exact opposite. She jabbed one hoof against the inside of her own leg, causing a brief stab of pain. That jolted her from the compulsion, at least for a few minutes. 

We need a unicorn in the negotiating team. They could shield against something like this.

There were several chairs along the wall, each one made of rusting red metal. They looked like they might slice into the arms of anyone who grew too relaxed while sitting on them. And standing before her was Archduke Xender.

He was taller than any human she'd ever met, at least seven feet from head to horns. His skin wasn't just discolored from the red lights—it was a deep crimson, with complex swirling patterns of darker shades visible when the light struck it just right. Yet it was skin, he had no fur anywhere on his body.

Those eyes had a faint glow to them too, like a changeling casting a powerful spell every moment. He had two horns instead of one, emerging from the top of his head on both sides. They were white bone, and ended in a pair of sharp points.

When he spoke, it was with a resonant tone, his words plodding and deliberate. Yet there was no translation spell in it—he was speaking real Equestrian, albeit slightly accented. "Welcome, visitors. Younger siblings of magic, awakened to your potential at last."

Ocellus dropped into a bow, opening her wings to either side. Silverstream followed her lead, thankfully. "Thanks for seeing us, under... um.... right now. My name is Ocellus, and this is Silverstream," Ocellus said. "I'm sure you have lots of important things to do as the ambassador to the Zecrin here, so we... only want to talk for a few minutes."

He gestured to a few of the nearby chairs. "Tea, perhaps? I understand you metabolize the same proteins as we do. This is the case for all magically-capable species in the galaxy, as it happens. We all share biological similarities in kind."

So do lots of other species, Ocellus thought. Humans, Aljongs, Divensons. There were more exotic species, true. But most were relegated to relative obscurity by their strange biology. She took the offered chair anyway, nodding.

"We'd love to taste something from your world!" Silverstream said cheerfully. "They know so little about you back in Equestria. Only that you're trying to take over everything."

While they sat, the ambassador removed something from a shelf—a delicate tea set made entirely of glass, transparent. She could see the water waiting in the pot, the powder in one of the serving dishes. The ambassador took a seat across from them, then started working.

He didn't call a servant, but his hands moved with ritual precision. There was a spark of magic from his fingers, striking a stick of incense in the center of the dish. Then when he touched the teapot, the water within heated to boiling almost instantly. He spoke while he worked, not actually watching what he did. "That's a... simplistic, but accurate description, I suppose. If you did not have the misfortune of being discovered by humans first, you would understand. This emotion you attach to our governance is... misguided."

He poured three cups, their contents all clear. He held the tray towards them, without selecting one for himself. A subtle way of showing he wasn't poisoning them, perhaps. The smell was utterly unfamiliar to Ocellus—a hot spice, hotter than the beverage within. The hive would probably love having a spice like that to add to the drudgery of eating. "We're not very good politicians, Archduke Xender. Can we just tell you why we're here?"

He smiled back, revealing teeth that were just a little too sharp. More like a wolf than a pony. "I think I'd find that refreshing."

"Nopony has been able to talk to you for centuries," she said. "You never answer any calls, you return all the messengers, and you don't have an embassy with the Stellar Compact. We were hoping—and Equestria was hoping too, I suppose—that maybe everyone could stop fighting?"

Her wings buzzed nervously as she said it. Billions of creatures were dead in this war, numbers so vast that Ocellus didn't have room for them in her brain. Here she was, expecting it to stop because she asked nicely? She wasn't a pony, she was smarter than that!

She levitated her glass into the air, sipping delicately from it. It burned on the way down, but not from the temperature. 

The ambassador didn't laugh. He sat back on his chair, holding the glass delicately in fingers that could've wrapped all the way around Ocellus's neck and squeezed the life right out of her. He drank, without any sign of the heat bothering him. "You misunderstand, ponies of Equestria. Or perhaps more likely, your human allies misinform you. Enti are not Zecrin. We aren't barbarians who hide in our nebula and view the rest of the galaxy as beneath respect. That is the entire reason for our campaign; we want peace and stability for this galaxy. And we are the only ones who can provide it. If the Stellar Compact wishes for the war to end, that power is theirs.

"All they have to do is surrender."