Entering the palace, the king turns to Arc.
“I do hope you had a pleasant trip.”
Arc chuckles. “Well it was certainly short.”
Brightwing giggles. “Fun!”
Ember shrugs. “Portals tend to do that.”
Fiona nods approvingly. “Very efficient.”
“And how are things here in the capital?”
“Peaceful.”
“A pleasant change.”
Twilight turns to the king and queen. “Is everypony alright?!”
“Oh yes.”
“What transpired was nothing more than our nation being put on high alert. As a precaution, that is.”
Celestia frowns. “Trouble with the Griffon Kingdom?”
“Something like that.”
“An airship armada heading to Equestria made us uneasy.”
Celestia sighs. “Please forgive our country for that. Such was not our intention.”
Felix waves a paw dismissively. “It is in the past.”
Coming to the Day Room they sit on piles of pillow. Arc motions for his squad to leave the room. They do so, closing the door behind them as he turns back to the monarchs.
“Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”
Twilight smiles nervously. “Yes, we know you must be quite busy.”
Felix chuckles. “We are never too busy to see you, Lord Arc.”
Fiona nods. “Especially after all you’ve done for us and our nation.”
Celestia turns to the monarchs. “I’ve only been told the cliff notes on the past year or so. Might I hear what transpired from your point of view?”
Felix bows his head. “Certainly. When Lord Arc ruled your nation as the Lord Regent we sent a correspondence inviting him to Abyssinia for a meeting.”
“For what purpose?”
Fiona sighs. “To turn over control of our land to Equestria.”
Celestia appears surprised. “Oh?”
“We were beset upon by The Storm King whom had taken all that our land had. Valuables, art, currency.”
“But the worst part was when he took our food.”
“With our citizens literally starving we hoped to be allowed to be absorbed into the Equestrian empire.”
“In doing so we would have been protected by the Equestrian military.”
Celestia raises an eyebrow. “What about your own standing forces? Were they not enough to stop this beast?”
“We lost them in a failed attack on The Storm King.”
“Yes. He gassed them all.”
Twilight gasps. “Unspeakable!”
Ember shudders. “Things were pretty bad when we showed up too.”
Sereb growls. “Indeed. The citizens were barely able to leave their homes due to weakness from hunger.”
Arc sighs. “I entered one such home and found a mother and her kitten hiding under their bed. The little one was ready to die of malnutrition.”
Ember points a thumb over her shoulder. “Arc took them both back to the airship and had Nurse Redheart stabilize them.”
Arc nods soberly. “They told me the whole story about what was going on before I left to see the king and queen.”
“Upon Lord Arc’s arrival we immediately gave up our positions to him and begged for his help.”
Fiona smiles. “However he refused to take our lands.”
Arc shrugs. “I didn’t see it as being fair to those whom had already lost everything but their lives.”
Ember brandishes her claws. “So we went after The Storm King ourselves!”
Brightwing grins wickedly. “Make his insides… outsides!”
Sereb nods. “After giving food to the city from Equestria.”
Twilight sighs. “Arc told me some time ago that the enemy base was destroyed while their leader escaped.”
Arc grimaces. “Yes. He killed his own forces and destroyed the base rather than fight me himself.”
Celestia gasps. “Monstrous!”
Sereb grins toothily. “We shot his ship down, and he again came after us.”
Ember sneers. “That’s when Arc’s squad took him out. Knocked him over a cliff to what we thought was his end.”
Felix puts his paws together. “And thus our land was saved.”
Celestia looks around the room at the collection of expensive looking items. “But how did you recover? I assume the stolen goods were destroyed with the base.”
“Lord Arc gave us additional supplies which included the knowledge of how to grow plants and fish using ‘aquaponics’.”
Felix gestures out the window at the gardens. “Thanks to that we can now easily produce enough food to feed our nation.”
“And even have enough left over to store away.”
“Currently we’re looking at exports.”
Twilight smiles. “It sounds like you’ve come a long way.”
Felix nods. “Yes. And it wouldn’t have been possible without Lord Arc’s help.”
Fiona smiles. “He will always be known as our nation’s hero.”
“I’m just glad I could help.”
Felix grins. “And help you did. More so after that too.”
Celestia gasps. “There’s more?”
Fiona nods. “Yes. During a peace summit held in your nation some time ago, I… spiked a fellow diplomat’s drink with a certain herb which would cause him great embarrassment.”
Felix grits his teeth. “It was in retaliation for a… past matter.”
“However he accidently knocked Princess Cadance’s glass from her hoof a short time later and offered his own out of… courtesy.”
“She and Princess Luna shortly thereafter fell into mysterious comas.”
Fiona bows her head. “I confessed my crime to Lord Arc, and was willing to take the consequences upon myself for my actions.”
“But Lord Arc didn’t take my queen away.”
Arc shakes his head. “At the time I saw it as merely a coincidence, as the herb was not found in Princess Cadance’s blood at the time.”
Fiona appears relieved. “We were placed under house arrest in our rooms while Lord Arc personally investigated. However he was able to quickly exonerate me.”
Ember grins. “Exonerate you?! I’d have given you a medal!”
Brightwing flutters happily. “Hooray! This would be a good thing!”
Twilight chimes in. “That was a bad time for all of us.”
Celestia frowns. “But what was the cause of the comas?”
Arc sighs. “Poison in the princesses’ morning tea.”
“By a Hoof Maiden?!”
Sereb growls. “A fake servant!”
Arc clenches a fist angrily. “Yes. She had magically disguised herself, but was forced to reveal her true form when I caught her.”
Celestia grimaces. “A changeling?”
Arc shakes his head. “No. It was a mare named ‘Sunset Shimmer’.”
Celestia grits her teeth. “HER?!”
Twilight looks to her teacher. “You remember her from our days in you tutelage?”
“She was there with me in that base we fell back to! Her and a wolf partner!”
Sereb growls. “My brother, Kane!”
“I thought she had changed! That her time elsewhere had allowed her to grow and mature!”
Arc scoffs. “Oh, she did mature. With the humans whom held you captive.”
“WHAT?!”
Twilight groans. “Sunset Shimmer is known on Earth by another name.”
Ember nods soberly. “Colonel Diva.”
Celestia gasps. “That… that’s IMPOSSIBLE!”
Arc shakes his head. “She confessed it to us back at the peace summit.”
Sereb bares his teeth. “And that her, along with my brother, are working with the Council of Shadows.”
Celestia’s eyes grow wide. “Council of Shadows?!”
Twilight turns to her. “You know of them, Princess Celestia?!”
“Yes! They’re a very old group whose sole purpose for existing is to prepare for some sort of coming evil!”
Brightwing growls. “But evil is bad!”
Sereb raises an eyebrow skeptically. “But you don’t believe their defense is warranted?”
Celestia shakes her head. “No. They’ve given no proof of their claims nor have they come forth in any official regard.”
Arc frowns. “Then how do you know of them?”
“In the past, every so often I would receive a letter from them regarding the matter. However they were usually filled with unsubstantiated claims that the group could not, or would not, be able to prove.”
Twilight sighs. “Who sent them though?”
“They were always signed with a codename… ‘The Dark One’.”
Arc groans. “Him again?!”
Celestia turns to Arc. “Did he contact you?”
“I’ve met him.”
“So he’s real then?”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “Uh… if they sent you a letter, how did you think they weren’t real?”
“I assumed it to merely be a fabricated figurehead.”
Arc sighs. “Trust me, he’s real.”
Felix gasps. “Did he give you any proof of his claims, Lord Arc?”
“Just talk. But he’s certainly well connected.”
“Politically?”
“Yes. Also logistically and membership-wise.”
Sereb growls. “We should end them for good, Arc! “
Ember brandishes her claws. “I’ll help!”
Arc clenches a fist. “Believe me, I’d love to. When I was Lord Regent I even covertly sent out scouts to try and find their base of operation.”
Twilight sighs. “Nothing?”
“Nothing. Any idea where they are, Princess Celestia?”
Celestia shakes her head. “None. The letters were always delivered covertly.”
Felix grimaces. “Do you believe they pose a threat to our nations, Lord Arc?”
“I didn’t before they tried to sabotage the peace summit, no. Now though I’d like to hunt them down myself.”
Twilight sighs. “But Decimus, Tempest, and The Dark One can’t be killed!”
Brightwing hides behind Ember. “Scary!”
Celestia frowns. “Then we’d imprison them after fitting magic nullifiers.”
Sereb raises an eyebrow. “Are you certain that would work, your highness?”
“No. But I don’t know what else to do.”
Arc shrugs. “Some time ago I too suggested that. However I get the feeling The Dark One would figure out a way to escape.”
Ember grins. “But that wouldn’t stop us from trying.”
Sereb grins toothily. “Indeed.”
Fiona puts her paws together. “If we can be of aid please do not hesitate to ask.”
Celestia smiles at them warmly. “You’ve done more than enough for Equestria, what with taking in our citizens whom needed protecting.”
Twilight nods. “That’s the main reason we’re here, after all.”
Felix chuckles. “To check in on them?”
Arc nods. “And retrieve Hard Hat.”
Ember grins. “He’s needed to lead the effort to rebuild Ponyville.”
Celestia looks to the king. “Might we see him?”
Felix stands. “We shall escort you to New Ponyville personally.”
“New Ponyville?”
Brightwing grins toothlessly. “New is good!”
Fiona nods as she gets to her feet as well. “That’s what the citizens took to calling the camp.”
“Both ours and yours, that is.”
They head out an exterior door into the palace gardens. Celestia and Twilight marvel at the diverse plants found within.
“Extraordinary!”
“How is it possible to grow such things here in Abyssinia?!”
Felix chuckles. “It’s easy when you’re not using every spare bit of water for food production.”
Celestia raises an eyebrow. “But I thought your food levels were supposed to be adequate.”
Arc gestures with a wave of his hand. “The aquaponics system circulates the water without wasting much at all except for minor evaporation. And what the plants drink too, of course.”
Fiona sighs. “Before we had to water what few crops we had in the dead of night to avoid the hot sun drying it up before the plants could absorb it.”
Felix grins. “Which has left a substantial amount for pleasure filled activities.”
Twilight looks around. “Such as these gardens?”
“And something the Equestrians built. What was it called again, dear?”
“I believe they said it was known as a ‘swimming pool’.”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“The young ones use it during the day. While after work the adults usually go there to relax.”
Ember grins. “Gotta blow off steam somehow.”
Brightwing giggles. “Sounds tasty!”
Leaving the gardens, they enter the town. Felix and Fiona lead the group past the various buildings as Celestia and Twilight look them over.
“This place appears very well constructed.”
“Yes, it does.”
Felix nods. “A stallion by the name of Hard Hat organized their erection.”
“That he did. It was important to have them built quickly too, as the Equestrians were living in Lord Arc’s ship at the time.”
Twilight turns to the monarchs. “I know this might sound a bit strange, but might we see this pool you spoke of earlier?”
Celestia smiles at her student. “Looking to go for a swim, Twilight?”
“I’d like to see the how the foals and younglings are doing.”
Fiona motions with a wave of her paw. “Right this way.”
Leading the group to a large building they enter together. The smell of chlorine permeates the humid air. Arc opens the door to the room and spies a large number of fillies, colts, and younglings playing in and around the water. The orphanage staff watch them dutifully as they enjoy the amenities. Dinky spots her father peeking in as she swims with her friends. Her face lighting up happily, she cries out.
“DAD!!!”
Paddling as fast as she is able, the little filly reaches the edge of the pool and jumps out onto the tile floor. Without waiting to dry herself off she runs through the door and over to Arc to leap into his arms. The pair embrace for a long moment as Brightwing giggles happily.
“Friends!”
“Are you okay, dad?!”
“I’m just fine, Dinky.”
“Mom and I missed you so much!”
“And I missed you both so much as well.”
She grins hugely as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hurry through the door to join her. They giggle happily as Arc kneels to put Dinky down and hug them as well.
“Arc, you’re back!”
“Does that mean everything’s okay back in Equestria?!”
Brightwing giggles. “Yes, yes!”
“Things are certainly better.”
Twilight turns to her mentor. This is Arc’s…
She stops talking as a strange looks crosses Celestia’s face.
“Princess Celestia?”
“Y-yes?”
“Are you alright?”
Celestia smiles and nods. “I… I am. Just a bit of an… an old memory. Now then, what were you saying?”
“This is Dinky. She’s Arc’s adopted daughter. And these are her friends Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They’re…”
“…friends?”
“Yes, indeed.”
Apple Bloom nods. “We go to school together in Ponyville!”
Sweetie Belle sighs. “Yeah! Well, at least we did before the town burned down.”
Brightwing shudders. “Oh! Scary!”
Celestia nods. “I see. Um… I’d like to have a word with you three later when there’s time.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “What about?”
“Oh… a few things.”
Apple Bloom steps back nervously. “Are we in trouble?”
Celestia smiles warmly as she shakes her head. “Not at all. Now then, right now I’d like to speak to whomever is in charge here.”
Sweetie Belle motions back the way they came. “That would be Miss Pommel!”
Dinky giggles. “She’s the orphanage matron.”
Apple Bloom waves a hoof. “This way!”
The fillies lead the way into the building’s interior. Spotting the visitors, Natalya blows a whistle and calls out.
“Everyone out of the water! Line up by class!”
The foals and younglings quickly do so as Coco Pommel and the teachers hurry to approach them. Stepping forward, Coco Pommel kneels nervously before Celestia.
“Good morning, your highnesses. To what do we owe this visit?”
“I’ve come to see how my little ponies are getting on in this land, miss…”
“Coco Pommel, your majesty.”
Felix gestures with a paw. “Miss Pommel is the glue that holds the young of your land together.”
Fiona giggles. “They’re the most cheerful group I’ve even seen.”
Coco Pommel nods as she motions to her teachers. “It’s a team effort.”
She pauses momentarily before introducing them.
“This is Miss Cheerilee. She’s in charge of the foal’s education.”
Cheerilee nods respectfully. “It’s an honor, your highnesses.”
“And this is Miss Peachbottom. She was brought on to teach the griffon younglings whom were taken to Equestria.”
Peachbottom smiles. “It’s been a pleasure to serve, Princess Celestia.”
Cheerilee looks over her shoulder at the little ones. “Foal and youngling alike are a joy to teach.”
Celestia looks around. “Are there any other staff here?”
“Natalya and Gallus.”
Coco Pommel motions for them to approach. They do so at once as the matron continues.
“I was allowed to hire them to help bridge the gap between us and the new younglings.”
Natalya sighs. “No one in Equestria really knew how to care for griffons.”
Gallus shrugs. “So when they were taken off the streets of Griffon’s Gate we volunteered to help.”
Celestia nods. “After the first treaty?”
Ember grits her teeth. “Yeah. It needed to be done too.”
Arc clenches a fist. “Right. They were living on the streets and in garbage dumps.”
Brightwing gasps. “Oh no!”
Gallus groans. “It wasn’t a good situation.”
Twilight sighs. “I remember when they first came to town. Nopony really knew what to do or say to them.”
Sereb clears his throat. “Perhaps the princess would do well to look over these little ones though.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “Sereb?”
“She will be able to see with her own eyes their transformation.”
Arc motions with a wave of his hand as Celestia walks toward the younglings. Looking them over she nods approvingly.
“They appear well-fed and cared for.”
Ginny giggles. “We are!”
Natalya gasps. “Ginny, hush!”
Twilight shakes her head. “No, no. Let them speak. We’re here to learn, after all.”
Celestia kneels down to the youngling’s level. “Hello there. My name is Celestia. What’s yours?”
“Ginny.”
“Are you happy here?”
“Oh, very!”
Geoffrey grins. “We’re really well cared for!”
Gigi points a talon. “Just like the foals!”
Glynda giggles. “They even let us go to school!”
Gallus looks to Twilight. “It was a dream of theirs.”
“To go to school?”
Natalya nods. “Right. Such things aren’t a normal occurrence in the Griffon Kingdom.”
Celestia continues. “Are the foals nice to you?”
Ginny smiles. “Yeah! We all play together every day!”
Geoffrey pats his belly. “And get to eat too!”
Arc frowns. “Food was scarce for them when I found these four.”
Celestia raises an eyebrow. “Found them?”
Ember nods. “Arc and I saw them living at a dump.”
Brightwing gasps. “They must fly away, very fast!”
Sereb motions to the younglings. “We took them back to Equestria after one of them was gravely injured.”
Felix smiles. “A noble endeavor.”
Fiona moves to stand with her husband. “Agreed.”
Celestia looks Ginny in the eye. “There wasn’t anywhere else for you to go, little one?”
“Nope. Gallus took care of us back then though. And when we came here, Dinky helped us makes friends with the foals.”
Glynda sighs. “I think they were kinda scared of us at first.”
Gigi nods. “But Dinky convinced them that we were okay.”
“And you all feel safe and cared for?”
Geoffrey grins. “Very!”
Ginny appears suddenly apprehensive. “You’re not going to send us back to the Griffon Kingdom, are you?!”
Celestia shakes her head. “No, no. I only wanted to hear your side of the story and make sure you were all happy here.”
Twilight looks to Arc. “Maybe we should let them go back to playing.”
“Agreed.”
Coco Pommel turns to the orphans. “Everypony can go play now.”
They cheer and run back to the pool. As they continue their fun Celestia stands and looks to Coco Pommel.
“Might I ask you something, matron?”
“What is it, your highness?”
“What exactly happened to Matron Tempest?”
Coco Pommel frowns. “She was removed from her position by Hero of Light Arc, your highness.”
“Might I ask why?”
“For abusing hundreds of foals over the years! Myself included!”
Twilight gasps. “Wait! You were…?!”
Coco Pommel nods soberly. “Yes. I too grew up in the New Beginnings Orphanage under her so-called ‘care’.”
Arc folds his arms over his chest. “I recommended her for the vacated position after she was discharged from the hospital.”
Celestia frowns. “Hospital?”
Ember clenches a fist. “She was really badly malnourished from years of giving her own meals to the starving orphans.”
Brightwing shudders. “Pretty pony in danger?!”
Coco Pommel shakes her head. “I’m fully recovered physically now. But I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over my own past.”
Arc puts a hand on her shoulder. “But you’re still doing a wonderful job in your new position.”
Twilight sighs. “I remember hearing about that from Luna. She was the one whom allowed the construction of the new orphanage just outside Ponyville.”
Coco Pommel appears hopeful. “With luck the building is still standing. It’s a grand place of care and learning.”
Sereb nods. “Yes, it merely needs a bit of work to repair some light damage before returning.”
Dinky lets out a sigh of relief. “Good. So many foals and younglings called it home.”
Sweetie Belle smiles. “A lot of them saw it as their first too.”
Apple Bloom looks to Celestia “Can we go home soon?”
“I’ve already ordered Ponyville rebuilt, little one. We’re here to find the stallion whom helped build this place so he can lead the reconstruction.”
Felix motions with a paw. “He’s probably in the Town Hall with Mayor Mare, Princess Celestia.”
“Very dedicated, that one.”
Celestia nods. “Then let us head there now.”
She looks to the fillies and smiles.
“I’ll see you all again soon.”
Turning to walk away she heads for the door with the others as Dinky looks to her father.
“Can I come too, dad?!”
“Sure, Dinky.”
Grinning, she falls into step with the others. As they leave the building Celestia turns to Arc.
“Very impressive.”
“Which part?”
“Getting foals and younglings to not only tolerate one another but even become friends.”
Ember raises an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t they be friends?”
Brightwing flaps her wings happily. “Yes, yes! Tiny ponies and bird friends can do it without a doubt!”
Celestia sighs. “Years of animosity between our two nations, for starters.”
Dinky frowns. “But they didn’t have anything to do with that!”
Twilight nods. “Right. Their ancestors were to blame for that.”
Sereb nods toward the pool. “These little ones are blank slates. There are no preconceived notions in them of one another.”
Arc sighs. “I admit that there’s been things in the past that would make both sides looks bad. But this is the first step in changing things.”
Felix smiles. “Every journey begins with a single step.”
Fiona looks to the princesses. “Yes. Look at our nations. We haven’t always been on the best terms with Equestria due to the past.”
Ember folds her arms over her chest. “Neither has the Dragon Lands.”
Sereb sighs. “Or the Forsaken Tribe.”
Twilight look to Celestia. “It will take time, of course. But I too believe that there can be a brighter future for all nations if we can find a way to move past… the past.”
“Very well spoken, Twilight. I suppose there is much we can all learn from the orphans and their plight.”
Felix chuckles. “Common ground.”
Fiona smiles. “Indeed.”
Ember shrugs. “Some things are worth putting the past behind us.”
Brightwing giggles happily. “Keep little one’s safe! Yes?!”
Celestia nods with a smile. “That we will, ambassador. That we will.”