Sometime later Arc looks inside at the wall clock. Standing, he turns to Ashe.
“Well, I should get a move on.”
“So soon?”
“I told Princess Twilight that I would join her for a business lunch today. Best not to keep her waiting.”
“That is understandable, yes. Um… but might I say something before you go?”
“What is it?”
“I… just wanted to apologize for… something I said some time ago.”
“Um…”
Ashe looks at the floor. “When I asked you to marry me for power and influence.”
Arc frowns. “Oh… right.”
“Please understand that I now know that was highly inappropriate and inexcusable.”
“What brought this on?”
“After learning about pony culture I’ve come to the realization that there’s more to life than fancy titles and authority.”
“That there is. A lot more.”
“Then tell me this. In your opinion, what is the most important thing in the world?”
“Important thing?”
“What are you striving for?”
“Friends, family, peace, and a happy life.”
Ashe raises an eyebrow. “That’s it?”
“Yup.”
“I don’t really understand all of that. Can we talk more another time?”
“Sure. But I do have a bit of advice for you.”
“What is it?”
“You told me once that you wanted to take over your country. Does that still hold true?”
“To a degree, yes. But my reasoning has changed.”
“Has it?”
“Before I wanted to rule in order to return the land to its previous glory. But now I only wish to make it more like Equestria. Rights for the citizens, education for all, and proper nutrition are at the top of my list.”
“To change the world, eh?”
Ashe shakes her head. “Maybe not the world, no. But my country at least. Did you have some kind of advice on how to do that?”
“Quite the opposite actually.”
“Oh?”
“I just wanted to say that you don’t need to change the world to make things better for others. Sometimes a simple gesture is enough.”
“Such as?”
“Why don’t you start with food.”
Ashe appears confused. “Food?”
“Find a way to make it affordable, nutritious, and widely available. Not just to the wealthy, but to everyone regardless of financial status.”
“How?”
“You know the Griffon Kingdom better than I do.”
“I’ll give it some thought, thank you.”
“Take care, Ashe.”
Arc leaves the room as Ashe returns to the balcony and looks out over the city before her.
“Food. While it wouldn’t fix the country I do suppose it’d be a step in the right direction.”
Meanwhile, Arc heads down the corridor toward the Dining Room. Arriving, the guards block his advance.
“Uh… the princess invited me to lunch.”
“Yes sir. However we were ordered to redirect you to her chambers for a private meal.”
“Oh? Any reason why?”
“We were told it was for security purposes, sir.”
“Very well. I’ll head there now.”
As he walks away the guards turn to one another and smile knowingly. Arc chuckles as he muses to himself.
“In her chambers. Not sure if Twilight is getting more forward or just wants some privacy from prying eyes.”
Arriving at the familiar door, the guards call out to him as he approaches.
“Sir.”
“I was told to meet Princess Twilight here for lunch. Is she inside?”
The guard nods. “Yes sir. But she asked us to pass on to you her desire for you to wait outside while preparations are made.”
“Very well.”
A few minutes later the door opens and a Hoof Maiden steps out pushing an empty food cart. She turns to Arc as the doors are closed behind her.
“You can go in now, sir. The princess will see you shortly.”
“Thank you.”
The guards push the doors open and allow him to pass. Arc looks around as the doors are once again closed behind him. He spies the open curtains letting in the noonday sun. A simple meal of sandwiches and milk sit on the table across from each other with a small cake under a clear carrier. Arc chuckles as he looks over the scene.
“Nice.”
A few moments later the doors open and Twilight hurries in breathlessly.
“Sorry to keep you waiting!”
Arc chuckles as he walks over to her. “It’s fine.”
Twilight gestures to the table as she and Arc head over to it. “I was held up in a last minute audience.”
“Oh, what about?”
“An intelligence report from Light’s Hope.”
Arc frowns as they sit down. “My base?”
Twilight nods. “Yes. Apparently Decimus’ forces are gathering there en masse.”
“How many?”
Twilight sighs. “A lot.”
Arc groans. “Great.”
“It gets worse. Apparently the Griffon Kingdom has sent its own forces to bolster Decimus’ ranks.”
“What?!”
“We don’t know why though.”
Arc shakes his head. “I thought I convinced them to stay out of this!”
“After lunch I’ll have to inform Ambassador Ashe of this new development, of course.”
“Perhaps she can talk some sense into them.”
Twilight instinctively lowers her voice “Do you trust her?”
“Kinda.”
“What does that mean?”
“From our conversations recently it sounds like she’s coming around to the concept of reality.”
“Oh?”
“A life spent in the lap of luxury doesn’t lend much to real life experience.”
Twilight puts a hoof to her chin. “I wonder if that’s why Princess Celestia didn’t want me to live here at the castle.”
“Maybe.”
“But that doesn’t really answer my question about Ashe.”
Arc shrugs. “Sadly it’s the best I can do. But I assume the law says we have to tell her about this?”
“Yes. And even if it didn’t she should still be informed.”
“Why don’t you leave that to me though.”
“If you want to, be my guest.”
Arc puts a hand to his chin thoughtfully. “Well… I just came from her office before lunch.”
Twilight tilts her head to one side, confused. “She asked to see you?”
“Yes, Ashe wanted a word about a few things. One of them was Admiral Gaston.”
Twilight grits her teeth. “What about him?!”
“She volunteered to help me take him down during the attack on my base.”
“Did you agree?”
“I did. Well, after she pointed out the language in the treaty regarding griffon representation for Gaston. But now her presence may be even more important.”
“How so?”
“With any luck she may be able to convince whomever is leading the griffon side of the attack to withdraw.”
“The less blood spilled over this whole ordeal the better. Our position with the Griffon Kingdom is precarious at best.”
“Agreed. We won’t be doing our alliance any favors sending their soldiers back to them in body bags.”
“In any case, your old base has been watched since I took over by our sages. They’ve been recording any movements made and reporting any large changes directly to Colonel Flash Sentry.”
“Good. We can use that information to help plan our attack. “
Twilight sighs. “Attack.”
“You don’t want me to do that, do you?”
“No, Arc. I’m still holding out hope that a peaceful resolution can be found.”
“Do you really believe that Celestia will go for that after all that’s happened?”
Twilight looks down at her hooves. “Hope is all I have left right now, Arc. Not just for peace to return to our land. But for my oldest friend and teacher to see the truth and stop this madness willingly.”
“I’d like that too, Twilight. But we both know that probably won’t happen.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Sorry for being a downer on this.”
He gestures to the food before them.
“Why don’t we eat? Give ourselves a few moments to process this.”
Twilight nods. “Yes, I think we should.”
Picking up their sandwiches, they begin to eat. Arc looks up at Twilight.
“This is pretty good.”
Twilight smiles slightly. “You can thank the kitchen staff for that.”
“It’s good to have something… normal to eat.”
“Don’t I know it. I’ve been spoiled with fine dining since taking this position.”
“Same as when I was the Lord Regent. But on the other hand, it was one of the things that made the job bearable.”
“Looking forward to the next meal?”
“That and a bit of time with Ember and Sereb.”
“Did you order the waitstaff out of the room too?”
“Usually, yeah. It just didn’t feel right to eat while they just stood there and watched.”
“I suppose we have that in common too.”
“There’s more?”
Twilight sets down her sandwich and nods soberly. “A lot actually.”
“Do tell.”
“Neither of us wanted this job, but had it thrust upon us. We both miss our friends while ruling the nation.”
She pauses and looks him in the eye before continuing.
“And we’d both like nothing more than to walk away from all this mess and settle down with those we love.”
Arc nods sadly. “Right on all counts.”
“I sometimes think about what would happen if we did it. Just turned things over to Cadance and Shining Armor.”
“While they’re both perfectly capable of making things work, I do believe that the land would take quite a bit longer to heal.”
Twilight sighs as she again picks up her food. “That’s what keeps me on the throne.”
Sometime later they finish their sandwiches. Arc cuts the cake and serves each of them a sizable piece. Twilight looks it over for a moment before picking up a fork and taking a bite.
“Tasty as I thought it would be.”
“Agreed.”
Twilight procures a bottle of milk from a bucket of ice and refills their glasses. Putting it back to stay cold she turns to Arc.
“There was another reason I asked you to lunch today.”
“Oh?”
“I need an honest opinion about something.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “And you can’t talk to our friends about it?”
Twilight shakes her head. “This is something that I can only ask you. From one ruler to another.”
“What is it?”
“Honestly… how am I doing?”
“Regarding what?”
“As a princess.”
“Fine, I suppose.”
“I want to be a better leader though. Any suggestions?”
“Kinda, yeah.”
“Please be brutally honest. I can take it.”
“When you’re giving audiences I’ve noticed that you seem to be unsure of yourself.”
“I’m worried I’ll rule in the wrong party’s favor mostly.”
“That’s always a possibility, of course. But you should let them do most of the talking.”
“But I need to ask questions.”
“True. However you can gain more information from reading their body language.”
“Reading?”
“See beyond their words. You can sometimes tell whom is hiding something in this way.”
Twilight puts a hoof to her chin. “I’ve heard of such a thing, but never really understood how to do it.”
“Well, you could always probe them.”
“How?”
“Let’s say that you believed one party to be holding back. You should ask them a question that, if answered truthfully, would hurt their case. If they’re lying they’ll make subtle hints. Looking away, voice changes in volume and pitch, nervous hoof movements, and sometimes literal twitches.”
“I’ll try that, thank you.”
“There might be some psychology books in the library that could teach you a thing or two about visual cues.”
“Reading a book to learn how to read a pony like a book. An interesting concept.”
“I probably should have done that myself.”
“You didn’t?”
Arc shrugs. “There wasn’t a chance for any real ‘me time’. At that point in time I was ruling alone. I mean, I had Raven and Kibitz of course. But no one whom I knew and trusted well.”
“Yes, you’ve said that in the past. But I don’t understand one thing about that time. Why didn’t you ask for help?”
“From you and the others?”
“Or Ember, Sereb, Shining Armor, Flash Sentry… anypony really.”
Arc sighs. “Looking back I wish I would have.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I thought it would have been too much to ask. After all, you and the others had your own lives to live. Your own tasks to perform.”
“So do you though.”
Arc nods. “Yes, Twilight. I know that how I handled things in the past wasn’t the best. Going it alone… only so much can get done.”
“I’ve been fortunate to have you and the others helping me. Truth be told, I don’t think I would have gotten this far without all of you.”
“Not sure how I did.”
“You were lucky.”
“Let’s not test that luck again.”
“Agreed.”
They are silent for a time as they continue eating their cake. Eventually Twilight breaks it.
“I’m sorry this has been more or less a business meeting.”
“It’s fine, Twilight. After all, you have to make every minute count sometimes.”
Twilight looks out the window to the east. “That is true, yes. My schedule is quite full lately. More so with the others back in New Ponyville these past few days.”
“I’m sure they’d rather be here.”
“True. But the residents there need proper leadership too.”
“They’ll be back soon.”
“Kibitz has seen fit to give the others a rough itinerary in an effort to keep their visit as short as possible. While I’m sure he just wanted to help them be efficient, they have friends and family there too.”
“Yes, I suppose they do.”
Twilight giggles. “He’s also seen fit to schedule me some private time every day after lunch.”
“That’s a good idea. Gives you a bit of time to do what you enjoy.”
“I’ve been using it to nap mostly.”
She looks up at the clock and stands before continuing.
“He’ll come to get me for afternoon audiences in exactly one hour.”
Arc stands as well. “I’d better let you get some rest then, Twilight. Thanks for lunch.”
Twilight calls out as he turns to leave. “Arc?”
“Yes?”
“Would you please… sleep with me?”
“But I thought you were supposed to be resting.”
Twilight blushes slightly as she smiles. “I am. And I can think of nothing more relaxing than falling asleep in your arms.”
“Well in that case, yes. I’d love to do that.”
Taking his hand, Twilight leads Arc over to the bed. They sit down on the edge together as Arc kicks off his boots. Leaning in for a kiss, Twilight closes her eyes as they meet halfway. Wrapping his arms around her back, Twilight puts her hooves around his neck as the pair lay back. They continue to kiss for a time before Arc pulls back and smiles at her.
“Why don’t you get some rest, your highness?”
Twilight giggles. “Only if you’ll guard me, sir.”
Arc puts the back of his hand to his forehead to keep up the ruse. “How can I say no to such a lovely mare?”
“Thank you, Arc.”
She yawns and rolls on top of him. Closing her eyes and laying her head on his chest Twilight whispers.
“Good night.”
Arc smiles and strokes her mane tenderly. “Sleep well, Twilight.”