I leveled my fiercest glare on Miss Seapony who floated in the nothingness above me. "What did he give you guys to allow that meeting?"
She frowned. "I didn't want to negotiate with h-"
"What did he give you?" I repeated.
"No one is more upset to have dealt with him than-"
"Yinyu!" I shouted.
She blinked. "You used my name. I don't think I have heard you address me by name in years." I didn't stop glaring, and she sighed. "He agreed not to interfere or obstruct the actions of, coerce, try to capture, or harm, certain individuals. We had a long list. He wasn't willing to accept restrictions on all those individuals. He gave ground on what he wanted, we shortened the list. This went back and forth a few times, and we finally got a list of about twenty protected. There are some big names missing from that list, but there are some important ones we can feel easier about now. No, I will not tell you who is on the list of protected individuals. If you become my little sister, you'll learn it that way."
I let my glare drop. "You did it to protect your foals. You wanted assurances he wouldn't come after them."
Miss Seapony sighed and floated down in the nothingness, practically curling into a ball in front of me. "Oh, how I wish their names were included, but they aren't. They were on the first few drafts of the list, but he wouldn't budge on them, and they had to be removed. We had to focus on who…on who was truly important. My foals still aren't safe."
"Were Sunflower or I on that list?" I asked.
"Would that meeting have been possible if you were?" she asked. I guess that answered that. She uncurled slightly. "Just because you didn't make the list, doesn't mean we won't do all we can to protect you. I'm fairly certain he won't try to harm whoever becomes Dreamwarden. He knows that death only makes us that much more formidable."
"But he could try for whoever doesn't get the job," I said, filling in what she hadn't said.
She looked away. "That is true. There are others we are more concerned about who also didn't make the list. Important people when it comes to the future of Earth and life. We had to focus on those individuals. There are people more important than us or our loved ones. Him hurting us is not as important as keeping the people who truly matter safe. In the big picture, we are but bit players. We provide what assistance we can, but we aren't the ones who will fight the important fights."
"And you protected twenty out of how many you started off trying to protect?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"Six-hundred forty-two," she whispered.
Holy crap! "How are there so many?!"
She gave a sad laugh. "Not all of them were essential. My foals, Phobia's family, the families of all our the five original top candidates, some individuals important to my brothers and Arbiter, even Sha'am's estranged descendants who are still living in India. Those all had to be stripped from the list. As for the rest– there are pencil pushers, teachers, engineers, scientists, members of militaries, politicians, inspirational individuals, and a fair number of individuals most wouldn't give a second thought to, including themselves, who don't know their true worth or potential."
"And you got the twenty most important," I concluded.
"No, we got the twenty we were able to negotiate," she replied. "That is better than none."
"And what did he originally want?" I asked, afraid to hear.
"He wanted me and Arbiter to abstain from voting, and him to get a vote in our place," she answered.
I frowned. That was an odd pairing. "Why you two?"
She uncurled fully and sighed. "Probably petty reasons. He doesn't like us in particular, and we don't like him in particular. The others don't like him either, but Arbiter and I have a special kind of loathing for him. You understand mine. Arbiter has her reasons for it being personal as well. They are none of your business. It doesn't matter. There was no way we were giving him that much influence, no matter what he offered. He has too much potential influence as it stands."
I figured as much. It seemed pretty brazen that he would even request something like that.
Miss Seapony started doing a slow swim through the nothingness. "That monster of a pony truly believes in all that Shimmerist crap and sees himself as the true heir of Sunset Shimmer. He studied the early work and ideas of Sunset Blessing extensively and models his Shimmerism on that– with some modifications. I will give him this, he truly does embrace meritocracy with his governmental appointments. Any pony or human Shimmerist who shows they have talent and capability, even if they are an immigrant or poor, can rise quickly through his ranks. He also is very ruthless in stamping out any corruption among officials, going so far as to stage public executions of anyone who is found taking bribes or abusing their positions to enrich themselves. It makes his government very efficient, and that much more dangerous a foe, the most dangerous Earth has to offer."
"Considering how much you conceded, it seems like you got the raw end of the deal," I said. "Couldn't you have gotten a better deal?"
Miss Sewpony swam up in front of me and tilted her head. "Why do you think we got a bad deal?"
"You tried to protect so many, and ended up protecting only twenty," I answered.
"And how many were protected before we made this deal?" she asked, tilting her head further. It was almost upside down.
"Well…none, but he got–"
Miss Seapony turned her head back to level. "He got to display to you how horrid he is. None of us believed that he had any legitimate chance of recruiting either of you, and he didn't either. He just wanted to learn more about you than his reports could provide. I suppose he got that, but how much help will it really be to him?"
"He said he was part of the security council and they get to vote if the Dreamwardens are split on their vote," I reminded her.
"And if it comes to that, and he does result in being the deciding factor, he simply gives the three of us who voted the same a victory. It will still be one of our candidates. We gained something of value, protecting life, which is always valuable. He gained very little in comparison," she concluded.
"Wake up! It's workout time! Hut hut hut! Pega-sa! Pega-so! Pega-me! Pega-yo! Go pegasi!"
I blinked. Julie was standing on the foot of my bed, wings flexed. I think she had been dancing. This was a new and interesting way to wake up.
She smiled at me. "You're up! Come on! Time for our workout together!"
Well, I had promised her I would workout with her, and she seemed so excited. I'd never been good at gym, but maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
I struggled to raise my hoof to knock on Lántiān's door. Everything ached. My legs didn't want to work. My wings were a little better, and that was how I'd managed to fly over here. Even that had hurt.
The door opened before I could knock, and Lántiān looked me over. "What is wrong with you?"
"Julie…she put me on a treadmill. It had to be going a hundred miles an hour," I said breathlessly.
She raised an eyebrow at me. "Treadmills don't reach that speed, and neither can you. Pony running speed is around twelve miles an hour for the average pony, topping out at around twenty-five miles an hour for an Olympic-level athlete. I can't even run that fast. The most I've done is twenty, and that left me winded after a minute. If I had to guess, given your physique, she made you run about seven– a run for a human, but that should be a light jog for a pony. Honestly, you should be able to do nine or ten while carrying a heavy load, if you were in shape."
"I'm in wonderful shape. Round is a great shape!" I protested.
She frowned. "You dance, correct? Drizzle says you dance."
I nodded. "Yeah. I love dancing. Dancing is fun."
She nodded. "Perhaps Julie is using the wrong approach to burning your calories. You'll never be an athlete like her or me, no matter how she tries. Not because it is impossible to whip you into shape, but because your heart isn't in it. You'll give up after another time or two if you haven't already. Regular workouts take commitment that you don't have. I think dance classes might be a better option. It can burn a lot of calories and might be something you would actually commit to. I'll speak to Julie about it. She has done dance in the past, and probably knows a good instructor."
I blinked. "That's a good idea. I didn't expect you to give me any help."
"It's partly for Julie's sake. I don't want her getting discouraged trying to fix a lost cause," Lántiān replied. "Plus, if you're so out of shape you get winded on a jog, how can I expect you to keep up with Drizzle? Drizzle can manage seven miles an hour. If you can learn how to properly dance, instead of whatever foolish thing you're doing now, you can teach Drizzle. She needs something to burn off energy, and I don't have a treadmill for her."
"I still think she made me run a hundred miles an hour," I muttered.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, luckily you'll have additional assistance today, and not just Jordan."
My ears perked. "Who else is going to be watching Drizzle?"
A human stepped into sight behind Lántiān and smiled at me.
"Hello again, Miss Riddle. I've been looking forward to meeting you again."
Jordan came into view, grinning. "Hiya Rebecca. Guess what? Auntie's here for a visit. Maybe she'll teach me more magic!"
Crud, it was Sunset Blessing.