Isabella Windsong worked frantically to compose Princess Twilight Sparkle after the most recent explosive outburst from Sunset Shimmer. Unsurprising, Twilight was beside herself. Her wife just had a massive anxiety attack that ended about as well as anything that upsets Sunset Shimmer. Isabella was unsure of all the details, but they could be sorted out later. It was fortunate no one was hurt.
The griffon had dried the princess’s tears and tried to straighten the crown and regalia so that Twilight appeared as the calm, composed leader she usually was. Cadence was helping where she could with words of encouragement and that they would work together as a family to help Sunset once the opening meet and greet was concluded. Of course, Sunset was supposed to be part of said greet as well. If that was going to be an issue, they would soon find out.
The unity lounge was, by design, a place for large gatherings and relaxed conversation. The outside perimeter of the large, square room was intended for booths of vendors, when available, but also as a means of traveling around the room without disturbing the middle section where all the conversations would be taking place. There were several sets of short steps as the middle was recessed almost a meter below the perimeter. When arranged, individual tables and booths would be set up for seating. Or, in its natural state, the inside square was lined with plush seating that would comfortably accommodate all but the largest of dragons, who would have had difficulty getting through the door to begin with.
It was the second largest room at the temple next to the central atrium, located just adjacent. This allowed for many nations and species to enter without accidentally crossing over to another nation’s treaty recognized sovereignty without permission. One of the many facts that were running through Twilight’s head as she used the figures and history to help calm her mind and heart. Please. Please, please, please be okay.
The guards held the door open and Twilight entered just after Isabella and Commander Tempest. Already in the central square were the yaks, hippogriffs, badlands representative who was an Abyssinian, and the griffon ambassador. They turned and nodded respectfully. A gesture Twilight gracefully returned. At nearly the same time, or had been waiting for the right moment, the Dragon Lord, the deer prince, and the Saddle Arabians entered as well.
Twilight smiled brightly and nodded to the new arrivals. “Welcome to Mount Metazoa and the Hall of Unity, my friends. I know for many of you this is your first visit to these hallowed and historic halls. Please, feel free to explore all the grounds and open locations and make yourselves comfortable.”
Flurry immediately stepped around Twilight emitting a little 'eeeee' sound as she met Prince Thicket Whitetail who leapt from his retainers up to the light pink alicorn. They nuzzled one another and Flurry wrapped her large wings over, shielding both their faces for a few seconds of privacy before they both composed themselves again.
“Clearly, some introductions will not be required,” Twilight added with a smirk she could not suppress even if she had wanted to. Others giggled and chuckled as well. But not everyone.
“And yet I see you are missing an important member of your own, Princess Twilight.”
Twilight’s smirk fell instantly. She recognized that voice. Purple eyes searched and found Grand Vizier Muhasib among the many creatures, garbed in a shiny blue robe, his face neutral and yet somehow still displeased. The other Saddle Arabian just behind him was slightly taller, younger, and adorn in the finest silks and velvets with interwoven armor plates. Much like his brother, he had smooth, sandy yellow fur, however his mane was smokey black instead of brown. What was most different and striking were his cobalt blue eyes that made even Twilight’s heart skip a beat at how powerful and alluring they were. Calm, composed, exactly as a crown prince was expected to appear. The solar princess did not know him personally, but there was only one horse he could be.
Twilight smiled less genuine than she felt and nodded to them both. “Prince Alsame Aldhahabiu. It is my honor and pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
The prince did not bow his head again or smile, which caused Isabella to twitch and feathers to ruffle a bit. “I do not wish to play this game, Your Majesty, and pretend to be happy to be here. We both know the nature and circumstances of this peace talk. If our colleagues are not yet aware of what transpired prior they soon will be. You may tell them your side of events and we will tell them ours. They can decide who has the high ground and which side of the line their nation will fall upon.”
“I understand that this may seem like a ploy or spectacle. I thought the same thing in the past whe-”
“Where is Princess Sunset Shimmer?” the prince interrupted, causing several gasps to erupt at his bold and blatant disrespect. The prince ignored their reactions and Twilight's brain came to a crashing halt. It had been a long time since any creature dared to speak down to her. Even if it was a political strategy, the temperature in the air suddenly felt frosty. “It was our understanding that she would be here along with you and the alicorns of the Crystal Empire. Are we considered so beneath you that we are unworthy of the presence of all the mighty alicorns of Equestria? Perhaps my father was right and this is a farce and waste of valuable time and effort.”
Tempest, who had to remain on the outer perimeter with the other nation guards, scowled hard at the prince. A fact that did not go unnoticed by the prince’s personal guards. She turned her eyes to them and scowled harder, the gem in the center of her battle helm glowing brightly as it absorbed the excess buildup of energy from her horn stub.
Raven, who had been standing next to Tempest, let out an honest to goodness growl. “I do not like him.”
“You and me both,” whispered Tempest, still keeping a side eye on the Al Haras guards. She noted that they were on edge, strangely nervous for highly trained royal guards. She expected more stone faced discipline from the elite Al Haras.
Isabella started to reply when Twilight laid a gentle hoof on her assistant’s shoulder. “Princess Sunset is here, but is currently indisposed. She had some… bad quesadillas during the flight and needed to go lie down for a spell. I assure you. You will meet her soon.”
“She did?” All the eyes turned to the last creatures to enter the lounge. All the side conversations immediately ceased. “Well, no wonder she exploded into flame. That sounds simply dreadful.”
Belldandy rolled her clouded eyes and smacked Chaz on the shoulder hard enough for him to yelp and rub it. “How can you interpret the cosmic code of the tapestry in a matter of seconds and be so thick as to NOT read between the lines? Seriously, I’m the blind one here?”
“What?”
“Just be quiet, brother.”
“I’ve never had indigestion. Is it bad? Can one die from it? Did the news of the omega beast cause it?”
“Chaz.”
“Yes?”
“Shut. Up.”
“What in the world are those?!” shouted Dragon Lord Ember, eyes the size of dinner plates and jaw hanging open.
“Heh, funny story,” said Spike with a too wide smile. “Seriously, you are going to laugh, like, a lot.”
“The end of the world is a laughing matter? I seriously do not understand mortals.” Belldandy wacked her brother again.
“In our many years of knowing ponies, me, Prince Tarmont, has never seen pony stand up like that. So tall, like minotaurs. They are some kind of strange… stand up pony.”
“Well, if we are being formal about everything. Hello, I am Chaz and this is my sister, Belldandy. We are actually alicorn gods. Notice the wings and horns.”
“Bold creature indeed to call itself a god,” said Muhasib before whispering something to the prince who just nodded.
“To be perfectly honest, we never called ourselves gods,” Belldandy amended. “You and your kind gave Aine, our sister, that title. She just never saw a reason to refute it. Quite telling, actually.”
“Seriously? You brought gods with you to a peace summit, Twilight? Bold. I kind of like it.”
“Actually, Dragon Lord Ember, we brought ourselves. We have important information to share with you, all of you, the current world leaders. They were to address you on such matters... later.”
“If you are gods why must you look like ponies?” asked the yak prince. “How we know you are gods at all and not just magical pony mutants to scare us with honey coated words? Do you know any of our yak gods? Prove you are gods.”
“What exactly do you want me to do? Raise the dead or something? I don’t do that. I’m an artist, dammit.” said Chaz, sticking his tongue out. The entire exchange was getting out of control and she needed to wrap this all up to go find Sunset. Twilight needed to get every creature to focus. With a push of power, Twilight sent a small burst of energy up and let it explode harmlessly near the ceiling. The many overlapping conversations ceased.
“I apologize, but we are all getting rowdy and off subject. I understand you have many questions for our unexpected guests, but that will have to wait until tomorrow as scheduled. Every envoy received an itinerary set out by the welcome crew. Please review it.” A few started to protest and Twilight, in a rare example of force, slammed her hoof down on the floor. The sharp sound was felt as much as it was heard. “Again, more will be discussed in greater detail tomorrow. Please, have a good night and we will see every creature after sunrise for breakfast.”
Twilight turned around and glared at the two anthro alicorns. She then hissed through clenched teeth, “Move.” Tempest and Spike quickly hustled Belldandy and Chaz back out the way they came.
“Flurry, wait!”
Flurry Heart turned back to Thicket and smiled apologetically. “Hey, I know we haven’t had much time together since the wedding, but I got a family issue to deal with right now. I promise, I’ll make it up to you, okay?” Thicket grimaced, but nodded. The deer prince lifted Flurry’s hoof and kissed the top of it. Flurry Heart blushed and kissed his little brown deer nose once more.
Cadence smiled gleefully at her daughter. She was literally vibrating with love energy. Flurry, rolled her eyes and brushed past her mother.
“Not now, Mom.”
“You’re right, I know, but seriously, awwwwww! You two are so cuuuuuuute!”
“Ugh!”
Once the group of ponies were back behind several magically dampened doors Twilight turned around and unfurled her wings. “You two were supposed to stay here! I didn’t want to drop the bomb of, ‘oh, by the way, the Tapestry of the Universe stopped spooling and a great, big monster of unspeakable horror is coming to kill us all! These are two of six immortal alicorn gods who oversee that balance of our world, say hi to them, but one of them is a petty jerk and wants us all dead. Are there any questions?’ That was really the LAST thing I wanted to deal with tonight!”
“I was curious. I’m a curious creature. Seeing all of this with my own eyes as opposed to a piece of fabric… it’s all so different. Is it really so bad to be curious about the world I helped shape?”
“That went about as bad as I could possibly imagine,” added Isabella shaking her head and massaged her temples. “The Saddle Arabians are clearly insulted and now may feel we brought gods to the peace talks to try and bully or distract the others from the issues before us. Ember is clearly disturbed and possibly jealous. I’m not sure if that is good or bad. The yaks are most certainly more distrusting than they were before. As far as the rest, I did not get a good read on them after the room erupted like a convention panel.”
“I didn’t like the looks the Al Haras were giving us,” said Tempest with a growl under her breath. “They were more twitchy than they should have been being that we were all unarmed and on neutral ground. Or the fact that the grand vizier was poignantly suspicious at Sunset’s absence. It rubs my tactical senses the wrong way.”
“And we still need to find where Sunset teleported to,” added Cadence with added concern.
“How far would she have gone?” asked Flurry. “I mean, she wouldn’t have fled all the way back to Equestria, would she?”
“I doubt it. But there are many, MANY places here that a pony can hide out.” Twilight rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. She was exhausted already and they had not even begun in earnest yet. “We need to search the grounds quietly and carefully so as to not alert the other nations that something is wrong.”
“Leave that to me, Your Highness,” said Tempest. “I can have patrols set up to appear routine while searching for signs of Sunset. We have fliers that can start at the roof level and I can personally lead a team into the undercroft and grotto if need be. My magic may not be completely stable, but picking up on a powerhouse like Sunset when she is not in fully control would set off my senses easily unless she is actively masking them. Even then, I have my ways.”
“While we should leave no stone unturned, I do not think any of that will be necessary.” All the eyes turned to Raven. “I know Sunset Shimmer. This, unfortunately, is not the first time I have seen her completely crash and burn from panic induced anxiety, so to speak. One might even call it a personality flaw.”
“Raven,” Twilight begged, “I need to know she is okay. I can’t… my heart is aching.”
The MAU in disguise smiled empathetically before bowing her head to Twilight. “I understand your pain, princess. I care a great deal for her as well. She is the closest I will ever know to having a mother. Seeing to her wellbeing is and will always be one of my primary functions until I no longer function.”
“Sooooo, where do we start?” Spike cracked his knuckles, his snout squared and determined.
Raven consulted the map she had of the mountain and internally raged at how old and crude it was. She would need to make her own by exploring. “Where is the nearest open bar in this establishment?”
----------
As was originally planned, the representatives from the different nations and regions were given the opportunity on the first night to return to their reserved quarters or to mingle with each other in the commons. Given the surprise visit by the ‘alicorn gods’ most of the talk centered around why such beings were visiting, if they were what they said they were, and what it meant for their own religions and beliefs.
Most of that was happening in the lounge commons. Several floors below the commons was another neutral gathering location. This one had no windows and the atmosphere was more like an underground cavern. It was cool, moist, and only lit by ambient light that was dull like bioluminescence flora. The hollowed out cave was one of the first places restocked by the servants and soldiers upon arrival. It was lively and just as active with mingling and conversations while the politicians focused on their 'game' a few floors above. Down in the dark, the common creatures who served their leaders chatted and joked over cheap food, stiff drinks, and occasionally trying to one up the other with stories and bold displays.
Raven found her way to said cave bar after leaving Twilight and the others. Much to her surprise, Sunset Shimmer was not there. More than an hour later however, her logic circuits nagged at her processes to check once more after exploring all the way down to the ship grotto at the bottom of the mountain. Upon approach, the MAU detected that the decibel volume of the large gathering space had grown significantly since she left. Then, Raven heard that familiar voice she knew from the first day she had been registered to her owner.
“WHOSE GOTTA ANOTHER ROUND FOR MAMA!!”
Several creatures shouted and cheered. Though Raven could not ‘smell’ like an organic, her olfactory sensors were capable of detecting different odors and fragrances, separating them, cataloging them, and decerning if they were harmful or not to herself and organics alike. What Raven’s sensors were telling her upon approach was that there were many, drunk and perspiring creatures ahead. Hopefully no one lit a match… or a dragon performed any fire tricks. After a pause to acknowledge the MAU’s warning about the pungent alcohol scents, some of which would be poisonous to humans, she continued forward.
As Raven had originally suspected, her owner and adoptive mother fell back on her usual crutch when faced with unexpected and undesired harsh reality. Alcohol. She made another mental note on rising psychological similarity of humans and Equestrian ponies. Raven sighed and rolled her eyes. She accessed her detachable, short range earpiece that she had loaned to Twilight and called.
After several paging rings, the line connected. “H-Hello? Am I doing this right?”
“I found her, but you should be warned, she has been drinking. Copiously by this point. This may get ugly.”
“I thought you already checked the servant’s lounge?”
Raven had to pause so as to not disrespectfully snap at her mother’s new wife. Even AI needed to remind themselves of courtesy protocols at the speed of processing. “I came here first, but she was not in the room. Likely she went to vent somewhere outside first and then found this place.”
“She’s never been to Mount Metazoa before. I wonder how she found the bar so fast.”
“Sunset Shimmer can smell a drinking establishment a county away. I have detailed proof of this fact.”
“Something else her and I need to talk about later. I’ll bring Tempest and Spike. Just in case.”
“To clarify, we are at the Cave Bar or whatever this place is called. I did not find an official title on the map beyond sub-level two.”
The line disconnected and Raven began carefully weaving her way through the raucous soldiers, guards, and servants who were, hopefully, all off duty. She did not wish to overextended her patched, foreleg actuators and cause them to fail and her to slip and fall. That would be unbecoming.
“Try this one, princess. It’s a special batch that is only released from the reserved casks once every decade.”
“What’s it called?”
“Spicy Dragon’s Dick.”
Sunset was sitting on the top of the bar and grinning like an inebriated fool at the dragon who had passed her the glass of reddish amber liquid that, from a distance reminded Raven of Sunset’s mane and tail as it swirled around. Sunset examined the tumbler and then took a sample snort. Her eyes went wide and she howled before emptying the rest of it in a single gulp.
“Daaaaamn! That is hoooooot. Mmmmmm!!!! Cinnamon and a few flavors I don’t know off the top of my head. I loooove me some dragon diiiiick!” The gathered creatures hooted, laughed, and cheered. “Who else has some dick named drinks for me?”
“You ever had some REAL dragon dick, princess?”
Sunset snorted and laughed loud and obnoxiously. “Yeah, sorta, kinda, not really. I mean, I had a fake one. Was fleshy like silicone. A company made them… I guess that’s not a REAL one, but daaaaaaamn it was fun to play with sometimes.”
“Well… the night is young. I can show you the real t-”
*AHEM*
All the eyes in the room turned at once. Half of them went wide as saucers while many others ducked down and tried not to be noticed. Especially the pony guards and servants.
Sunset raised a glass that had been placed in her hoof and shouted, “BABE!”
Twilight, did not smile or holler back. She just continued to stroll towards the bar, parting the crowd by presence alone. None dared stand too close or attempt to delay her forward movement. Raven waited until Twilight reached her then fell into step beside the princess while Tempest and Spike stayed near the door and waited as they were asked to.
Sunset slid off the bar, nearly fell, but managed to catch herself with a bar stool. She eyed the drink that spilled slightly, shrugged, and downed the bluish green drink. She hissed and growled a bit from the burn, but did not fall over. After straightening her crown helm, Sunset stagger sauntered over several steps to meet Twilight near the center of the room. “Um… yeah, soooo… about earlier…”
“You didn’t raise the moon.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah… I… would have… eeeeeventuallly?”
Twilight wrinkled her nose, frowning hard. “You are drunk. Very drunk.”
“Damn right I am. I needed to let off some steam after earlier.”
“Not to sound too much like Isabella, but this… this is unbecoming of a Princess of Equestria.”
“Is it?” Sunset arched a brow and then spun around pointing at all the different patrons, regretting it immediately. The dragon guard who had been at the bar earlier helped steady her.
“Would you please take your claws off my wife?” The dragon immediately let go and backed away. As far away as he could get. Twilight was not sure if it was what she had said or how she said it, but the circle around the diarchs got wider as the outside of the crowd made for the door in an orderly panic.
“Annnnnd just like that, the fun is over. Pffffft. Never even caught the name of that last drink.”
“Sunny, this is not healthy.”
“Really, Twilight? You, you want to know what is not healthy? Being told by a bunch of… arrogant, meddling, stand-up pony alicorn GODS that the fate of the ENTIRE GODDAMN WORLD is in your hands… hooves, fuck… you know what I mean!”
“Sunny, there are better ways to deal with stress anxiety. Trust me, I go through it all the time and you and our friends are always there for me. You don’t need to do this to yourself.”
“Oh, yes, I do! Because the fact of the matter is… we are all ROYALLY FUCKED! OKAY? OKAY! Say it with me now, all of you who are left. F. U. C. K. E. D. FUCKED! It wasn’t enough for Void to come after us sideways like a punk ass little bitch with The Red Clover. Noooooo, that’s amateur hour shit. He went and got some great, big, world ending monster and now it’s coming for us and, and, and me… ME?! I’m the one who has to defend us?! All because he couldn’t win at the game of Life or some stupid shit like that! I didn’t even know any of this existed a few years ago and now I feel like I’m hog tied, on my knees, and having all this crap shove down my throat. I didn’t ask for this! Not… THIS!”
“Uhhh… what’s she talking about?”
Twilight turned to the griffon who spoke up and glared at his interruption. “You will all find out tomorrow. Whether you want to or not.”
“EXACTLY! Tomorrow! That is a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, I don’t want that on my shoulders or in my head. FUCK YOU, FATE or whatever your name is. I just want…” Sunset began to hyperventilate as tears began to roll down the sides of her face and she slumped to the floor, unable to keep standing up straight. The room had begun to spin unpleasantly.
“Twilight,” Raven spoke with a tone of caution to her voice. Twilight spared her a glance as she pointed at the numerous onlookers who were too shocked or curious to leave the room. Twilight understood the unsaid message and began preparing a shield spell.
“Sunny,” Twilight said gently lovingly, holding out her hoof. “It will be okay.”
“No, it won’t,” Sunset wept.
“Sunset. Come on, girl. You're better than this. You're stronger than this. You kept an entire mountain from falling on you and Flurry Heart,” said Spike loudly from the door.
“How? How will it be okay? How am I better than, than THIS?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE STRONG ENOUGH TO SAVE THE WORLD WHEN I CAN’T EVEN PROTECT THE ONES I LOVE?!” The tears fell freely. Sunset’s wings snapped open and shot flames into the air while her eyes fluctuated between glowing red and glowing teal. The strange sight along with the blast of uncomfortably hot air caused nearly all of the remaining patrons to find somewhere else to be. Spike and Tempest had to move from the door as many pushed and shoved to get out.
“I couldn’t save my mom. I couldn’t save Luna. I couldn’t save Prince Khayaliun. I COULDN’T SAVE SABLE! Shit… I barely saved you. That was… that was luck and more you saving yourself. Luck is not going to save the world. Not this time. WHAT GOOD AM I, HUH?! A useless guardian who can’t protect others. What is the point of fighting against it all when all I feel in my heart is pain for those I failed?”
Twilight fought down her own tears as her lover and wife ranted. She had to be strong, she had to be the rock this time. This had obviously been building longer than just from today. Soothing, familiar words repeated in Twilight’s mind, lending her their strength. She raised her hoof, took a deep breath, and let it out like she had done so many times before.
“Sunset, when you look at me, do you feel love or pain?”
“Love,” Sunset croaked through snot and tears. “So much love it burns me inside. It makes my chest hurt with how much my heart beats for you. But I am so, so damn afraid of failing you like I failed all the others I care for. I… I can’t… This… this is too much. I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough to shield the whole damn world from this kind of evil.”
And there it was. The heart of the matter. Twilight nodded. She stepped up to Sunset Shimmer and wrapped her fellow diarch in her forelegs and wings. Sunset tried to pull back for a second, but Twilight would not let her. She just held her wife close, stroking the side of her wet muzzle, nuzzling her ear where the marriage studs were shining even in the low light. Beautiful stones that were the balanced opposites of her own. The physical symbols of their bond.
“I’m sorry,” whispered Sunset through several choked sobs. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for. You did nothing wrong. Maybe did not handle this in the best way, but definitely did nothing wrong.”
“I’m… just so damn scared of losing you too. You’re all I have left.”
“Sunset, look at me.” Bloodshot and puffy teal eyes finally glanced up to meet calm, but also equally as moist amethyst. “We may be alicorns, but we are not goddesses. Not really. We were born, we grow, we age, we pass on… eventually. But more importantly, we live. And part of living is pain. But that is not all there is to life. You know that better than most. We both had the best group of friends in the whole world, who would have done anything for us. You had…” Twilight took a deep breath. Just say it. Say her name. “You had Twi, and together, had two beautiful daughters. You have loved so much and shared so much with all of us. We are blessed to have you in our lives.
“You are not alone. Not anymore, never again. Not as long as I’m here. Remember? 'There is no you or I, there is only us.' We are not like Belldandy and Chaz, bound to some loom thing. I don’t know why you feel you need to carry the weight of the world on just your shoulders, but you don’t. I do not care one iota what some godly tapestry says. You are not fated to face this alone. Like Celestia told me more than once when I felt like the world was crushing me too. We are stronger together. Friendship, family, love. These are our pillars of strength."
Twilight took a breath and a much needed moment to continue stroking her wife's face. Both their faces were stained with tear tracks, but their breathing had calmed and fallen into a familiar synchronization. “If you were to ask Celestia or Luna right now, I know they would tell you, Sunset Shimmer, that you did not fail them. They chose their moments to stand. They fought for us so that we could live on, together. You, me, Spike, Tempest, Flurry, Cadence, all of us. We will find a way to overcome this obstacle, just like we always have. Together.”
Sunset felt her racing heart settle, her sobs ceased, and a sense of calm warmed her chest. “I…”
“Shh. It’s okay. I know. Let’s get you to bed and we can talk about it tomorrow. There is still a lot of work to be done here, but we can handle it. Together.”
“Together.”
Twilight rubbed her horn along Sunset’s and sent soothing love energy to her wife. Sunset in turn sent some back. The resulting feedback shot small sparks into the air, briefly in the shape of hearts.
Tempest nodded to Spike who winked at the commander.
Raven, glanced back to the entryway, her eyes immediately focusing on the tall figure standing in the shadows observing the scene. He was nearly invisible under his cloak, but Raven could see clearly in any lighting condition, piercing the darkness that would have concealed his face to any other onlooker. Once Prince Alsame realized he was being watched he quickly moved on.
----------
The sun rose over the eastern horizon just as it was supposed to. Twilight stood on the balcony of her royal suite and took a deep breath of the cool morning air that was spiced with the salt of the ocean below. However, her clean, clear air was slightly fouled when her wife yawned to her left and the acrid smell of stale alcoholic morning breath wafted across, forcing Twilight to wrinkle her nose. She tried to fight it, but Twilight had to cough and waved a hoof in front of her nose.
The moon was safely below the horizon and where it should be. It had not even wobbled in Sunset’s magic, which was impressive. Bleary, bloodshot eyes that could barely stay open turned her way. Twilight placed a hoof on Sunset’s muzzle before she could speak again and poison the air once more. “Bath, brushed teeth, mouth wash... maybe twice, then coffee. It’s not a suggestion, it’s a royal decree. Oh, and good morning.”
Sunset grumbled and Twilight was certain she had heard something along the lines of, ‘I can make decrees too, princess,’ but chose to instead smile and help prepare her wife for the important morning meeting that would be taking place soon.
Half an hour later, at the exact scheduled time, there came a knocking on their chamber door.
“Is everyone decent?”
Twilight and Sunset shared a glance. Sunset briefly wished she had fingers so she could gesture lewdly to her wife with said digits being inserted in a penetrating motion. Instead, she said in a not so inconspicuous voice, “Tell her we are having hot morning sex and to come back later.”
“Come in, Isabella. We are just finishing getting Sunset ready.”
The griffon entered cautiously, quickly followed by Raven. The AI examined Sunset and cocked her head to the side a bit. “Sunset, are you feeling hungover?”
“A little bit. I need my coff-”
Raven slammed the door as hard as she could sending a powerful echo through the room. Isabella jumped and Sunset winced and groaned while holding her ears flat.
“That, was for making me worry.”
“Ow.”
Twilight sent a small healing spell she knew that was for stress and weather related headaches. It was safe to surmise that it would help take some of the edge off from a hangover until the effects passed. Sunset sighed and nuzzled Twilight again.
“Yes, if we are done with THAT drama, let us get right to it,” Isabella said with a shake of her head. She smoothed her crest feathers and continued. “Breakfast will begin serving soon and then we will finally have a chance to address the assembly about this Saddle Arabian ultimatum. That will be followed by time for deliberations and hopefully a resolution or at least the initial start of one should begin before midday.
“Following lunch, we have the large group presentation room reserved for Belldandy and Chaz to better explain what an ‘omega beast’ is and what steps will need to be taken to prepare for it. If all goes smoothly, we should have treaties and or resolutions drafted and ready to be official by tomorrow. Pending any counter arguments or demands, of course.”
“Optimistic.”
Isabella wanted to retort to Sunset’s comment, but she had her own doubts it would be that simple. “Plan for the worst, hope for the best, Your Highness. As Celestia would say.”
"Yeah, that sounds like something Mom would say."
With simple levitation magic, Twilight placed both hers and Sunset’s crowns upon their heads. She nodded in satisfaction. Twilight chose to wear her usual regalia of her polished peytral and golden hoofguards while she had helped Sunset into her full armor after having blasted the set with some fragrance sprays to rid it of last night's spilled alcohol stench. Now her wife smelled like strawberries and that was just fine by both of them. As a final touch, Twilight had attached both hers and Sunset's matching capes that they had worn on a few special occasions. The peachy pink garments were soft as newborn fur and looked good against both their flanks.
“It’s okay. We’ve got this.”
In order for no nation to feel left out or inferior to the others, the tables in the ballroom had been arranged into a perfect square large enough for all the diplomats and heads of state to sit at. Guards, assistants, and other retainers were to be seated at the second rows that were closer to the perimeter wall. Name plates had been predetermined and approved by the assistants based on age seniority. It was the most reasonable and fair means of arrangement. For better or worse, that put the Saddle Arabian prince on the near opposite side of the square of Twilight and Sunset.
Cadence sat between Twilight and Sunset, but as the one who had made the initial calls for the summit it was fitting she be front and center. With a smile and a gesture, the empress signaled all to take their seats.
As was custom, the food had been served while conversations remained pleasant and light, with a little bit of chatter about the alicorn gods, who were asked not to be present. Neither objected. Sunset overheard a few whispered comments about her ‘performance’ last night. It was not that large a temple. Of course, the guards and servants were going to talk about what they saw and heard. She had no excuse, but also had no intention of apologizing and would explain herself when the time came.
“So, Princess Sunset,” Ember began with a wicked smile on her snout. Sunset groaned inwardly, guessing where this was going already, “I heard you were not feeling well after the flight and found yourself enjoying a few Spicy Dragon Dicks down below.”
Twilight groaned.
Flurry snorted.
Many others murmured to their neighbors. Eager to hear the tale or explanation of the event.
Sunset gracefully wiped her face and took a long, delightful chug of her coffee that was so hot it was still steaming. Had she not been her, it probably would have burned another pony. The princess set her mug down, wiped her mouth on a napkin once more, and cleared her throat. “To clarify, for every creature who may not be aware, a ‘Spicy Dragon’s Dick’ is a blended liquor produced exclusively in the Dragon Lands. It had some good flavor. Pass on my compliments to the master distiller.” Ember continued to smile and nodded.
“Then I assume if you are feeling better, we should begin with deliberations,” said Grand Vizier Muhasib.
Sunset met the grand vizier’s hard gaze with her own and nodded. “Should we go first or do you prefer we flip a coin on it?”
“Actually,” Flurry Heart stood, drawing all the eyes to herself, “I don’t know if this will help, but I wanted to start off with a personal apology from me to Prince Alsame.”
The prince, blinked a few times and he glanced to the grand vizier, who was equally as surprised, but nodded for her to continue.
“Your Highness, when we first met I was told you were interested in courting me and I scoffed at the very idea of it. I am immensely sorry for the way I acted and it was wrong and disrespectful of me. I’m not just saying this because of where we are now. Twilight and Sunset did not even know I planned to say this.” Both diarchs looked at each other and nodded and shrugged. “To be honest, I was not in a good place, mentally, a few years ago. I know that may sound like an excuse, but it’s still the truth. I am better now. I’m not just saying that so that we can try again. I actually have a coltfriend. We’ve been dating for a few years now… he's sitting right over there, in fact. You... you probably didn’t need to hear that or maybe you already knew. I’m babbling. Sorry. What I wanted to say was I’m sorry. You deserved to hear that directly from me.”
Cadence stood and used a little of her power to send loving energy to her daughter. It helped calm the large alicorn as she retook her seat. “Thank you, Flurry Heart, that was a brave gesture of honesty and integrity. Perhaps when we are done here we can talk with Prince Whitetail about upgrading his status from coltfriend to fiancé.”
Flurry jumped from her seat nearly kicking the chair over, her face beet red. “Really, Mom?! Now? Right now, you want to have this conversation?”
Cadence smiled cheeky at Flurry and winked. “Oh, sweetie, I’m always ready for this conversation.”
Sunset leaned over behind Cadence and motioned to Twilight to follow. “What is happening right now, seriously?!”
Twilight rolled her eyes and stood, using her magic to force Cadence and Flurry Heart to sit back down. She glanced back and Isabella who had buried her face into her claws. At least Spike was giving her a claw thumbs up and a big, goofy smile. “Thank you, Princess Flurry Heart for that… wonderful opening statement of friendship and understanding.”
The prince arched a brow at Twilight before turning his blue eyes back to Sunset. Twilight, coughed lightly and continued. “My friends and fellow leaders, liaisons, assistants and attendants, and of course, every creature that worked hard to make this summit happen on such short notice. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle and I welcome you to Mount Metazoa, the Hall of Unity.
“We are here for two reasons. First and foremost, some of you may be aware, but if not let me explain. A little over one moon ago the royal court of Equestria was approached by the grand vizier of Saddle Arabia along with the sultan’s second son, Prince Hisan Khayaliun. The purpose of their unscheduled visit was to demand for Princess Sunset Shimmer to marry the prince, against her wishes and desires, and produce an heir.”
Twilight waited for the murmurs to spread before gesturing to Raven and Isabella to pass out sheets of paper that were quickly distributed to the dignitaries. “I have copies of the letter given to us by the grand vizier himself, which you now have. Yes, they were aware that Sunset Shimmer and I were already engaged to be married and still felt it necessary to move forward with their ultimatum.”
“We do not deny this and have made most of our fellows aware of that initial encounter.”
Twilight glared daggers at the grand vizier and, finally, he bowed his head shamefully. “You will have your turn to speak in a moment, grand vizier. The floor is mine and I ask that you respectfully wait.”
“Sawf takun samite,” the prince hissed at his advisor, causing the light gray horse’s ears to fold completely back.
Twilight continued. “While I will admit it was an unexpected and quite frankly hostile gesture, I believed it was only an aggressive negotiation tactic and that a resolution all could agree upon could be reached with time. Unfortunately, while the young prince was out touring the city with escorts including my Friendship Ambassador, Spike, they came under attack. The guards were killed, and the prince was taken and then also murdered by the assailant. A powerful necromancer and witch, named Datura. She has since been permanently dealt with.”
The prince raised his hoof and Twilight gestured for him to speak. “Do you have proof that this witch is no longer a threat? Some ponies have a bad habit of letting their enemies flee or simply locking them away in poorly made prisons only for them to escape again.”
“There wasn’t a single piece of her left to bury, if that is what you’re asking. I'm sure I could go back to Ponyville and scoop up some of the ash and mail it to you if that would make you happy, Your Highness.” replied Sunset, her eyes taking on a harsh teal glow, her mane whipping about with angry vigor. The temperature in the room noticeably spiked, but only momentarily. “She won’t be coming back from where her soul went. On that I am one hundred percent certain. ”
Prince Alsame visibly gulped and nodded for Twilight to continue. “Following the conclusion of that final battle, the grand vizier, unfortunately, made a hasty retreat before any additional dialogue could be had on the threatening ultimatum that was presented to us. We are here now because my fellow diarch and I received a new ultimatum that now demands marriage of an alicorn with intent to bear a foal or the life of a princess in exchange for the life of the prince. Saddle Arabia intends to enter open war with Equestria if their demand is not met.”
With nothing else to add at the moment and the facts stated, Twilight sat down. The leaders and representatives conversed amongst themselves for a moment. By the tone, Twilight was certain that many, nearly all of them were displeased by the demand and the directness of it. That sent a wave of relief through her, but she maintained her calm, regal neutrality as if she were sitting before the Canterlot court.
“I have to admit,” Ember began with a snort of smoke from her nostrils, “if it had been me you made a demand like that to, you would have only left my lands as a corpse for such a bold act.”
“I agree,” said Princess Dunona of the Seaquestrian hippogriffs. “You had better have a compelling counter argument for threatening one of our greatest allies with such rudeness even considering the death of the prince.”
With the permission of the prince, Grand Vizier Muhasib stood. “To begin with, I wish to thank the solar diarch of Equestria for her raising of the sacred sun this day and for her honesty. Every word she spoke was the truth, though unfortunately, missing some crucial details that she may not have been aware of.”
Grand Vizier Muhasib gestured to Isabella to approach. He then extracted a metal cylinder from his robe and handed it to her. “What your assistant is bringing you is the original copy of a centuries old document. Duplicates do exist, but I felt, even at risk of its further deterioration that you, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Princess Sunset Shimmer, deserved to see it with your own eyes.”
Carefully, Twilight unsealed the canister and removed the old parchment. As the grand vizier had said, it was highly fragile. Twilight had extensive experience dealing with aged documents. It hurt her soul just a tiny bit that preservation spells had not been woven into the material or applied after the fact. Doing so now would likely cause as much damage as rough handling however. Instead, she just had to use her deft talent and unroll it carefully with only her telekinesis, not laying a single hoof upon the paper document.
Twilight immediately began to examine every centimeter of the scroll, holding it just above the table before Cadence so Sunset could see it as well. Her first detail of note was that the script was clearly Celestia’s hornwriting. She would know it anywhere. The next item she took note of was the date.
“Nine seventy-six S.C.A.” This was signed before I was born. Before Luna had returned.
“I was four, four-ish,” said Sunset. “There is no exact date. At least, not one that I can…” Sunset trailed off as she had been reading the content of the letter while letting Twilight examine its condition. “No… she didn’t.”
“What? What did… she…” Twilight’s eyes went wide, her jaw hanging open. She nearly tore the paper in her power as her entire body went numb. Both Sunset and Twilight looked up at the smug, tight lipped smile the grand vizier was flashing them. Strangely, when Sunset glanced at the prince, he did not share in the pompous glee. The sandy horse just remained seated while frowning, one hoof on his chin, the other draped over the back of the chair.
“Allow me to explain what the princesses are now looking at. What is before them was once a highly classified document known only to the sultan’s family and their agents that had participated in, let us call it, clandestine information gathering.”
Sunset shot to her hooves and kicked her chair back. Cadence and Flurry both jumped back when Sunset’s wings snapped open and caught fire. “Call it what it fucking is! Spying, you two faced, double speaking snake in fine silks!”
The grand vizier did not flinch. “I, princess, was not even alive when this information was gathered and the proposition presented before Celestia.”
“Sunset!”
Sunset Shimmer fought down her anger and retracted her wings, but only because of the pleading look Twilight was giving her. Sunset took a deep breath and let it out, retrieving her chair with telekinesis. Cadence and Flurry retook their seats as well. They both gave Sunset reassuring expressions that they were on her side.
Grand Vizir Muhasib removed a copy of the document from his robes and began to read aloud. “Dear Sultan Miah Eadhba. I am replying to the correspondence you sent to me one moon ago. I know not how you came across this information regarding the young unicorn, Sunset Shimmer, but it greatly displeases me and sows bitter distrust between our nations that you have. Regardless, I will neither confirm nor deny the accusations that said unicorn is related to me. You may draw your own conclusions based on the information you have obtained through less than harmonious means.
“That said, in the interest of maintaining our current political and financial agreements I will entertain your proposal that your son, who is of equal age to Sunset Shimmer, be allowed to court her for the purpose of political marriage when both have reached the age of no less than sixteen. Should they find no offense or objection to the arrangement, their courtship will be no less than two years minimum and the ceremony held when both have reached the age of eighteen. I have nothing else to add to this matter and do not wish to hear further correspondence altering this agreement or regarding the unicorn under my care and protection. If insinuated rumors or accusations are leaked to the public then you can consider this most generous arrangement terminated. As well as risk my personal, furious, displeasure. With regards, Princess Celestia of Equestria.”
“I’m confused,” said Flurry while scratching her head. “How does some document that is as old as Sunset give you a legitimate gripe in all this?”
“He knew who I was,” spat Sunset, her eyes beginning to glow red. “They had spies in the castle or elsewhere around Canterlot. Maybe even on the council itself. They watched her, followed her, and they somehow learned that I was Celestia’s daughter even before I did. They blackmailed her into agreeing to an arranged proposal most likely at the cost of exposing the truth to the Equestrian public. The current sultan knew this as well. But he sent the prince to court Flurry years ago because I had completely fallen off the grid. Then, after they confirmed that I was back, he must have brought this up to both his sons and tried again.”
“But why?” asked Cadence. She turned her attention directly to the two Saddle Arabians. “Trust me, just because an alicorn can become pregnant that does not guarantee that the foal will be an alicorn as well.” Cadence’s bottom lip began to tremble and she fought down her tears. Tears she thought she had completely shed by now. Sunset Shimmer lost the glow to her eyes as she felt a wave of strong emotions wash over her mental barriers to keep from hearing their thoughts. But the level of anguish stabbed at Sunset's heart that she felt it like it was her own.
“Mom,” Flurry said gently. “It’s okay. You don’t have to do this.”
Cadence nodded appreciatively, but continued anyway. “My Flurry Heart being born an alicorn was a rare and extenuating circumstance by powerful forces that I was unaware of for the longest time. She is, as she always has been, my beating heart and the light of my life. However, most of you may not have been aware, but I had a second foal. Flurry Heart’s brother, Azure Light. My son, who was born a regular unicorn… and died when he was only twelve.”
Sunset blinked, jaw hanging open. All she could do was blink. All the frustration and fury building in her was completely snuffed out by a few unexpected, heartbreaking words.
In the human world. Shining Armor and Cadence had also had a second child bearing the name Azure Light. He, however had lived a long, full life. Sunset had known him well, in fact. He had come over often to play with his cousin, Aurora Shimmer, who were the same age. In addition, he always visited for major holiday gatherings and events.
Azure never married or had any children, but he had at least seen past age twelve. Sunset had not been aware that her cousin, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza had also had a second foal. Sunset had not asked about him and Cadence never brought him up. A mistake on both their parts perhaps. An issue for another day.
“What Princess Cadence is trying to explain and emphasize is that if Saddle Arabia’s intention in all of this is to create an alicorn foal of their own it is essentially a statistical impossibility. Even with the daughter of Celestia herself as the mother,” said Twilight with an almost monotone calm. Her mind was running on autopilot processing all the information while she carefully rolled the parchment back up and returned it to the cylinder.
“My heart weeps for the loss of any foal, empress. However, the fact of the matter remains, the former ruler of Equestria promised, with her own hoof, sealed in writing, that a prince of Saddle Arabia would be allowed to court a princess of Equestria. Specifically, Sunset Shimmer. The means in which the agreement came about are irrelevant. The agreement is in writing. We have been snubbed for more than a hundred years on this matter. Past sultans have even dismissed it as unnecessary. That was their choice as most holy. However, the current Sultan, his holiness, Al Hisan Ealia, knew of this document and invokes his right to see it carried out.
“Your current marriage, princesses, is an insult and a violation of this agreement. You went forward with your plans even after I personally presented the first ultimatum to call for a cease of action. And in that time, a holy prince was murdered while under the inadequate protection of the two princesses before us. Your failure to see to the safety and protection of a representative is a gross violation of international law, recognized in these very halls. Retribution and repayment for this loss is well within our rights. And we demand, by the order of his holiness, a princess for a prince. A life for a life. That life can join us in the holy land and bear a royal foal of the purest kind, alicorn or not, or they can die. The only question that remains, how many innocent lives are you willing to sacrifice for your egregious errors?”
The grand Vizier returned to his seat.
The room fell deathly silent.