Twilight looked up at her beloved ex-mentor, her jaw slightly dropping. Did she really just hear the Princess say that? The mare shook her head, one hoof coming up to rub at her ears. She must have misheard Celestia because there was no way she could possibly think that was a good idea.
"Ehehe, C-Celestia, do you think you could repeat that?" She asked nervously, squirming in her seat. "Because I swear I thought you said…"
Staring at Celestia, Twilight realized at once that this was no joke.
Twilight jumped up from her seat, eyes wide with confusion and denial. "Wait– you're serious? I-I don't want to marry Blueblood! I mean, no offense, I just… why BLUEBLOOD of all ponies?!"
Celestia remained composed, the warm aura that had once encapsulated her being replaced with something more cold and stoic. The alicorn idly scraped her fine china plate with her fork of silver as she collected the right words to say to her confused former pupil.
She slowly placed the plate and fork down on the coffee table in front of her, letting out a shallow sigh, "Twilight, I understand this is sudden. But this isn't a marriage made out of the love for two ponies. This is political…Twilight, consider this a lesson in court politics."
The alicorn rose to her hooves, gesturing for her fellow Princess to follow before leaving the crystal suite and into the castle's hallway.
"Blueblood is my nephew, and I am his aunt. That gives him a huge advantage regarding his consideration as King of Unicornica. As he told me, the clergy are deeply devout to my image of divine authority and see Blueblood as the rightful King by default."
"As for you?" she peered down at Twilight, her expression mute, "You're an alicorn, but not only that, you are the living embodiment of the element of magic. If you marry Blueblood, that will solidify Equestria's influence… and I could take over."
Her voice went cold as she stared toward the doorway ahead of them, "And finally atone for neglecting the ponies of Unicornica."
Twilight's jaw moved silently as if chewing on what Celestia had just said. She remained quiet for a moment, mulling over the information.
Celestia's logic wasn't flawed; it made quite a bit of sense, more than Twilight cared to admit. It wasn't as if Twilight wasn't aware of arranged marriages; she had been raised in Canterlot; it was hard not to notice the couples that trotted past, not even glancing at their partner. Despite her lack of interest in such topics, as a filly, she briefly wondered why a pony would get married if they didn't love their partner.
"But… surely there's another pony that would have been a better choice!" Twilight finally found her voice, "I mean– do you remember the Grand Galloping Gala a few years ago? He mistreated my friend Rarity. I was just happy she was angry instead of crying…."
"And how did Blueblood get there anyways? Did you… send him there?" Twilight raised a brow, craning her head to look Celestia in the eye.
Celestia nodded. "Yes, I do remember the Gala, which is why I sent Blueblood to Canterlot's Royal Guard Academy to whip him into shape. I couldn't have someone as important as him become another decadent noble looking only to service himself."
"Which is why I made sure he had no luxuries, privileges, or exemptions from what any other guardspony had to endure during service. On top of that, I was very, very clear on where I wanted him to be sent. "
"First, I sent him to the Mysterious South for his first deployment, then when the Crystal Empire returned. I sent him to help garrison the frozen borderlands of the Empire. Once you told me of Unicornica, I had him withdrawn from the guard and delegated him to Unicornica on a diplomatic mission."
"Officially, he's there to be reviewed as a candidate for the crown. But he's also been gathering intelligence and relaying it back to Canterlot. Simply put, he's changed quite a bit and more than capable of doing his duty for Equestria...and his aunt."
Twilight listened intently, hanging on Celestia's every word. She understood Celestia's logic; a noble pony with lineage going all the way back to Celestia and Luna would be more than perfect for a society of unicorns obsessed with their own purity. Still, she couldn't help but feel that any other pony, stallion, or mare would have been a better choice.
"But… won't anypony be suspicious that a mysterious Prince from Equestria suddenly arrives to become ruler?" The lavender mare began chewing her lip, her mind already going through thousands of scenarios of what could go wrong. "And myself as well– even if I am an alicorn, would they really just… let me walk in and… eugh, marry Blueblood?"
"You didn't… write him a letter of recommendation, did you?" The thought could have been almost humorous to Twilight if she wasn't so frazzled. "No offense, Princess, but… I really doubt your nephew has changed that much in such a short time…."
Celestia answered, subdly side-stepping Twilight's critique of her nephew, "Yes, I gave him a recommendation letter to Unicornica's council. The clergy took the letter and put it in their archives alongside other relics."
Celestia paused, noticing Twilight's growing anxiety and her growing distance from the alicorn. She let out a small sigh relaxing as the familiar warmth around the Princess returned.
"Which is why I have you and your friends working alongside me. Twilight, the nobles of Unicornica are not happy about Blueblood's submission to be King nor my meddling, which is why I have a suggestion for you."
The Princesses stopped at a set of large ballroom doors chained shut with an iron lock binding them shut. Celestia quickly summoned a small key before unlocking the door as the chains and lock fell to the floor. The loud crack and the large doors creaking open created an uneasy ambiance.
Stepping inside the old ballroom, it looked beautiful despite its age and neglect. Dozens of once beautiful flowers now lay shriveled and decayed in dozens of marble vases. A cloth banner hangs above with a message printed across.
'99th Annual Convocation of Creatures!'
Twilight looked up in awe at the ballroom; how had she never noticed this part of the castle before? As a filly, she had made it one of her goals to know everything about Canterlot Castle in a foolish attempt to impress her beloved Princess. The young filly hadn't seen even half of what the castle had to offer.
"Long ago before Luna and I had waged war with the world. Equestria was just another nation among many, Luna and I were just starting to rule the tribes when our ponies encountered some unfriendly neighbors…."
The Princess trotted past the many tables in the ballroom before pushing open another set of doors revealing the convention, full of old booths with the names of many ancient empires and kingdoms lost to time. With a few exceptions…
Celestia trotted over to a dusty old booth, wiping the dirt and grime off with a magic hand before revealing the letters.
'Griffinstone'
"Of course, we had to take care of that little problem, and we soon realized that Equestria couldn't simply keep itself isolated from the rest of the world. So Luna and I traveled across the world to establish formal relations with the many kingdoms, states, and republics that made up the world at the time."
"....We got pretty tired of flying around, so we just decided to host the first annual Convocation Of The Creatures. And every ten years, friendly nations worldwide hosted the convention in their capital cities. It was a way for the creatures of the world to peacefully meet and show off their culture, art, and most importantly of all… desserts." fawned Celestia as she reminisced.
Twilight couldn't help but let out a small giggle at that, shaking her head. "Seriously, Prin– er, Celestia, I know you like your sweets, but… that's just silly."
Celestia shared a small laugh with Twilight if only to ease the looming tension around their conversation. Enjoying the brief break between the serious nature of their discussion.
"But… that's truly amazing; you were able to gather all of the creatures and actually speak to them, one on one?" Her eyebrows shot up as she thought, "Honestly, I don't think I've ever heard of the 'Convocation of The Creatures'. How… old was this tradition? And when did it stop?" Twilight was more than sure that she would have noticed a plethora of different species visiting the castle, despite her antisocial behavior.
Celestia turned back to the dusty decreped booth sighing deeply as she rubbed the old wooden stand, "We held ninety-nine conventions, and we held that tradition for nearly a thousand years. But our pride and ego got the better of us, so we never had another." Celestia looked down, feeling a sense of shame and regret wash over her, "It was then only nine years later, just one year before the one-thousandth anniversary of the convention. War broke out and consumed the world."
"We only wanted to help; Luna and I just couldn't stand for the injustices that consumed the lands outside of Equestria and our influence. But… I now realize it was pigheaded of me to think I could fix the world's problems by strong-hoofing everycreature into cooperation, and not only that, but I could defeat all of those 'gods' and powerful creatures that stood in our way."
"We fought like rabid animals, and friends turned to enemies… and after all of it, after everything was said and done, what did we have to show for it? All those kingdoms, republics, and friends we made were gone now… by that time, I was alone. Luna had been exiled to the moon."
Celestia's expression fell into an empty stare, "So… after that… I withdrew from the world… and by consequence, so did Equestria… now I see I can no longer ignore this. If I won't fix this, then it seems fate will make somepony else make amends for my failure. I'm sorry it had to be you and your friends Twilight. If it were up to me, none of this would have ever happened…."
Twilight bit her lip, shifting from hoof to hoof before she finally trotted next to her fellow Princess. She only hesitated a moment before reaching out and wrapping her hooves around Celestia's swan-like neck, pulling her into a hug, "It's okay, Celestia." Twilight said softly before pulling away, "I forgive you."
Flashing her a smile, Twilight scanned the room again, "I know many ponies don't like to admit it… I know I sometimes have difficulty admitting it to myself, but…."
"You're a princess, but that doesn't mean you're perfect. You'll make mistakes and do bad things, but you're just a pony. An alicorn, yes– but still, just a pony." She gently laid a hoof on Celestia's shoulder, "You were just doing what you thought was best. And I, for one, think the Convocation of Creatures is a brilliant idea!"
"I think it's imperative to begin again and rebuild our trust with other creatures. Things have gotten this bad due to lack of communication, so we can only fix this by talking to them." The lavender alicorn nodded to herself, "And that shouldn't be too hard… right?"
Celestia did her best not to shed a few tears, it had been a very long time since she had touched upon those tender feelings of remorse and regret. But mostly pride and joy at Twilight's growth and kindess, at the very least she didn't make a mistake in making Twilight her sucessor and most importantly, friend.
Celestia smiled, "My Twilight, you read my mind. I was just going to suggest that you tell the Doge Of Swallowtail to host the first annual Convocation of creatures in over… my, nearly two-thousand years now…."
Twilight couldn't help the smile that rose to her lips, feeling a filly-like burst of energy. Compliments from Celestia always did that, although Twilight did her best to temper that excitement now that she was a mare. "Th-Thank you, Celestia. I suppose great minds think alike?" She giggled awkwardly.
Celestia tossed her small playful wink in reply before continuing, "Have the Doge host the convention, and I'll have Blueblood represent Unicornica since… the tensions between the two nations… well, I'm sure you're aware. You'll represent Equestria, and perhaps you should invite Gilda to the convention. Griffinstone has existed in some capacity and attended the convention since its inception."
"Then, when the time is right, Blueblood will announce his intention to marry you, and you'll accept. Obviously, you'll tell the Doge our plan so he doesn't think an alliance between Equestria and his arch-enemy is forming in front of his very eyes."
"Then once Blueblood is crowned King and you Queen, you'll surrender your crown and titles to me. Then I will take care of the rest. With this, Equestria will be able to rule a majority of ponies and have a hoof hold on Griffionia, and peace and prosperity will flourish after some time and rebuilding." explained Celestia.
Twilight's nose wrinkled again at the thought of marrying Blueblood, but she supposed if it was all just for show, she could… tolerate it. Sighing deeply, she nodded. "I don't really like the idea of marrying… Blueblood of all ponies… no offense, of course. But I suppose if there's no other way, then… I'll do it." the younger alicorn took in a deep breath, puffing out her chest. "But I won't tolerate him if he starts treating me like he did Rarity… also, I'd like him to apologize to Rarity as well. She definitely deserves it."
"I will make a note of that." assured Celestia, "I promise." she smiled.
Twilight beamed, "Sounds like a plan, Princess. I'll make certain the Doge knows what we are doing. Should we tell Gilda as well? It might be nice to have griffins on our side if something goes… wrong." Twilight shot up, giving Celestia a nervous grin, "Er, not that that's going to happen, of course! I'll do my best to ensure things go according to plan."
Celestia giggled softly, "If you feel the need to tell Gilda then you are free to act. But I'm sure you know that it's best if we keep this plan between as little creatures as possible....Oh! One more thing Twilight, if there's a better option or if you can find a solution that works better for you, then you can act on your own accord. I trust you will do what is best for everypony." Celestia peered down, giving her former student a gentle smile and a pat atop her head with a magic hand.
Celestia then slowly reeled back before sighing, "Well then, are you ready to go back to Griffonia? I can place you where ever you have been before."
Twilight nodded, almost bowing her head to her older Princess; the feeling of being safe and comfortable almost overrode any feelings of discomfort or anxiety. Smiling softly, she turned her gaze back up to Celestia. "Thank you, Celestia. I'm honored that you trust me with this, and I promise I will not let you down."
"Well, if you had any books on the subject of Unicornica, or really… any books on politics, or being an ambassador… that would be really helpful." The lavender mare sighed, "I miss my library…."
Shaking herself from her thoughts, she gave Celestia an awkward smile, "Er– never mind. I'm sure I can do it… and maybe they have some books back in Swallowtail…."
Celestia nodded, "Ambassador Twilight, hm… that has a nice ring to it…." With a flash from her horn, a large stack of books neatly wrapped in ribbon levitated in front of Twilight. The books ranged from different language dictionaries, to books on diplomacy and war.
Celestia then opened a portal to Swallowtail by placing a spell on the floor before them. Peering through the portal, Twilight could see the Great Tree standing proudly above her with the sounds of songbirds and music echoing below.
“Hm… sounds like fun; I wish I could visit….” Celestia sighed, "Perhaps you should consider speaking to Eyr about helping you… oh! And beware of Maar."
Twilight was practically drooling at the sight of the books, eagerly taking them into her hooves, eager to crack one open and have a good read. She quickly snapped herself out of her daydream as soon as Celestia began to speak again, paying close attention to her ex-mentor.
"I-I can try, but she wasn't particularly… nice? I mean, maybe she was just in a bad mood…" Twilight took in a breath, "Don't worry, Celestia, I promise I'll do my best and make sure things go smoothly…."
Stepping towards the portal, Twilight stopped mere inches from it before turning back. "Um… could you maybe tell me about Maar? The name sounds familiar, but…."
"Ah yes, I apologize. Ponies would know him better as the Grim Reaper or Death. Whatever he goes by, he is the incarnation of death itself. He has many forms, but he resides in Griffionia because of the looming war, I assume… Now go, gather your friends in Swallowtail, and get the Doge. We have a lot of work to do."
Twilight nodded as she turned back to the portal and gave Celestia a winning, if awkward, smile, "I promise, Princess, I won't let you down!" she said as she turned toward the portal.
Twilight let out a sigh of relief, feeling a little frazzled and worked up from the Princess' sudden appearance, "Well, here goes nothing…." Spreading her wings, the young alicorn took flight as she flew through the portal unsure of where to start. Perhaps the Doge first, then she would make Quill aware of what would happen. She just hoped that things would go over smoothly with the Doge…
"Good luck Twilight!" called Celestia one last time as she sealed the portal behind Twilight.
Finally catching sight of the palace, Twilight fluttered down until her hooves made contact with the floor, quickly trotting inside. Noticing one of the many griffin servants, she trotted up to him and gave him an awkward smile.
"Um, excuse me… could you perhaps lead me to the Doge? If he's available."
The servant nodded and, without another word, led her to the Doge's office. One swift knock on the door and it opened; Twilight quickly moved inside.
"S-Sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I have news from Princess Celestia, and… we have a plan."
Doge quickly shot up from his desk, nearly knocking over the dozens of papers that were stacked on top. Quickly moving away from the massive fire hazard before walking over to Twilight. The Doge was clearly not expecting her, wearing less formal attire. Doning a simple worn cloth shirt and slacks. Seeing the Doge of such a rich merchant Republic look so ragged was strangely quaint and charming.
Doge cleared his throat, "Princess, what brings you back so soon? Is something wrong? Are you in danger?"
Twilight offered the Doge a small, understanding smile, her horn lighting up to organize the papers on top of his desk. She knew just how frustrating paperwork could be. The Doge gave her an appreiative look in reply.
"Well… no. I mean, no more than I usually am." She chuckled, "No, no, I spoke to Princess Celestia just a few minutes ago. She gave me some news about Unicornica and a few other things…."
"But first, I want to ask you, have you ever heard of the Convocation of Creatures?"
The Doge quickly perked up his ears, flicking at the mention, "The Convo- but of course! It's been a pet project of mine to revive the tradition, but I have been swamped as of late…why?"
Twilight beamed, "Princess Celestia wants to revive it too. And we have an idea of how to get into Unicornica…."
The Doge seemed baffled at the notion of Celestia of all ponies wanting to revive the convention, "... Huh… ironic. I can appreciate the sentiment, I guess; I'll take all the help that I can get. What's her plan?"
"Well… I'm not entirely happy with it, but this is the idea,"
"We will hold the summit here and invite all of the leaders here, including Unicornica. They will send Princess Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood, as their representative. I will be here as Equestria's representative and obviously you'll represent Swallowtail."
She'd continue, "The main focus is to try and smooth tensions, but once we near the end, Prince Blueblood will stand up and… ugh, propose to me. Since I am already a Princess and an Alicorn, Unicornica will be chomping at the bit to try and have me rule beside him. Once the marriage is finalized, we will give our power to Celestia and overthrow Unicornica's nobles."
Taking a deep breath, Twilight sighed, her voice a little hoarse from speaking so much, "At least, that's the working plan. I'd rather not marry Blueblood, but… if that's the only way for me to get into Unicornica, I'll do it."
The diamond dog took Twilight's words into careful consideration, clicking his tongue and sucking air through his teeth as he clasped his paws together, "Yeeaaahh…. that's not going to work. The marriage bit? Sure, the influence and securing power from the hostile unicorns, okay? But having Equestria as a neighbor… eeeeeeeehhhhhh…."
The Doge slowly held his paws together, "Perhaps the territory should be given to Swallowtail or at least governed by someone who is a democrat and not an immortal absolute monarch." laughed the Doge.
"Oh, the Parliament would have a field day if I let Equestria just annex a third of the continent… but the Convocation could work as something more of an alliance between friends against Unicornica. We could just host the event with you, Queen Gilda, and myself and forage a plan to take Unicornica ourselves."
"Because no offense Twilight, but Princess Celestia is the last person I want to be my next-door neighbor."
Twilight reeled back, very much offended despite his kind way of putting it. Her eyes bulged in surprise, and she had to take a step back to steady herself, "Wh-What? Why wouldn't you want Celestia here?! She'd take care of everything, stop those horrible ponies from hurting more creatures, and imprison every single one of them! She'd probably banish them and imprison them where they were banished!"
She threw up her hooves, "Princess Celestia is one of the kindest, sweetest, most caring ponies I have ever met! Yes, she's our Princess, but she doesn't make all the choices! She has her council for that, dignitaries– what's wrong with Celestia?!" Twilight snorted, realizing at once just how excited she had gotten. Clearing her throat, she sat down on her haunches and blushed, giving the Doge an apologetic smile.
"I-I mean… I understand why you wouldn't want all of that territory to become a part of Equestria, but… she has the best intentions! She doesn't want more territory; she just wants to stop those unicorns from hurting ponies! She didn't say that she would be keeping Unicornica, only that she would take power… she never said it would be permanent."
Twilight hadn't realized during her tirade that his excellency had been laughing at her.
The Doge laughed, holding his sides as he quite literally howled in laughter, "Twilight Sparkle! I didn't take you for the naive type! Come now, Princess Celestia, maybe a sweetheart now; I don't doubt that a thousand years of isolationism tempers the heart."
"But the Celestia, I know? The Warrior Princess? The Unconquerable Sun? Sol Invictus? The one who led armies across the continent in an attempt to subjugate the land and fought with Eyr and Death himself just to rule and lord over us and force her beliefs unto us?"
"This sounds like a ploy to reinvigorate the idea of Equestria ruling the world. Many other creatures may have forgotten the War For The World. But I refuse to let My Republic and creatures fall. It is my sole duty as The Doge to protect my nation and creatures."
Twilight blinked; she certainly hadn't been expecting that. She still felt offended for her ex-mentor, but for some odd reason, she knew that what he said held some truth. Thousands of years ago, Celestia and Luna were warriors, protecting ponies from monsters and darkness of all kinds. Celestia had never attempted to shy away or hide away from her history or the actions she committed.
But still, somewhere deep down, Twilight felt the need to defend Celestia.
"Perhaps she did things in the past, things I'm sure she regrets now. But the Celestia I know is not a conqueror; she is not a tyrant. She was my teacher, the pony I would trust with my life. I can promise you, I can give you my word, that Celestia does not want to take Unicornica for her own."
"I understand that you have a duty to protect your citizens, but Celestia also has that duty. Ponies, griffins, dragons… who knows how many creatures Unicornica has harmed, enslaved, or even…." She hesitated for a brief moment, "... killed. You must understand that Celestia can't just sit idly by while that happens, right?"
The Doge was quick to retort, tempered by his years of debating and arguing with the parliament, "I understand her position, but I nor the Parliament would be comfortable with the idea. In fact, if the Parliament even heard or knew of this, they would accuse you of treachery and cast you and your friends out of Swallowtail entirely…." The Doge sighed, rubbing his temple and feeling the fire and passion in his heart's temper as he walked over to a small table next to the door and poured himself a whiskey. Lighting a cigar before puffing on the tobacco.
“Ugh…politics…. I'm sorry to be so…rude…I know you mean well, and I want you to understand that I want to end slavery across the continent; I would end slavery worldwide if I could. But I'm only one diamond dog, and Celestia, at the end of the day, is just one pony. And even if she's as old as time itself, she'll make mistakes, and worst of all, she'll have habits and biases that'll harm and affect the local creatures here."
"Have you ever considered the consequences of having an Equestrian Princess rule over formerly enslaved creatures who were terrorized, beaten, and brainwashed into fearing and worshiping Celestia? Don't you think even if Celestia herself personally rebuked everything taught to them, that fear will just go away?"
"No, they need to be ruled at home. By their friends, by their community, and Swallowtail can be that community. Twilight, I am more than open to Swallowtail and Equestria being friends, allies, but…from afar…. that's just the nature of politics."
He sighed, taking a drink of whiskey before pouring Twilight a glass, "It's messy…and impolite."
Twilight opened her mouth to give a rebuttal but swiftly closed it, her mind racing as she considered the Doge's words. It was true; if Celestia somehow showed up to Unicornica and simply blasted all the bad ponies away, the creatures underneath them would still be terrified and more than likely fall back into comforting familiarity.
The thought sickened Twilight, but she didn't know what else to do.
She slowly took the whiskey, too sick to drink. Idly swirling the beverage in her lavender magic as she spoke, "I… I see what you're saying, but how else can we stop Unicornica? They might listen to me, but I'm the youngest alicorn! I'm surprised some of them even consider me a 'God'... Celestia is far more powerful than I will ever be. At the very least, she could oversee what's happening? I'm sure we could do something…."
"But I don't see Celestia having biases. She's always been kind and thoughtful to every creature she has met. She doesn't look down on creatures; she wants to help them. And yes, she's made mistakes, but it's always with the best of intentions."
"I… I just don't think I have the authority to make them listen to me. I-I'm powerful, but not nearly that powerful…." for a brief moment, she wished her brother and sister-in-law were here. Surely Cadance and Shining could have been some help…
Shaking her head, Twilight sighed, "But if you don't want Celestia to… take care of this issue, then what can we do?"
The Doge paused, lowering his guard momentarily as he approached Twilight, gently patting her back. Giving her a reassuring smile, "There is no need to doubt yourself, Princess; I have a plan myself. As I said, we could rally Griffinstone to our side, and with their knights, Swallowtail's guard, and Strongfang's dragons, we could defeat the unicorns in a sweeping offensive."
"Ho ho, the thought of that makes me smile; friendship really is magical…" the Doge fawned, daydreaming of his and his allies, armies crushing the enemy unicorns in a glorious battle.
Twilight bit her lip– she didn't like that plan at all.
"Doge, forgive me, but… I'm no warrior. I was a scholar, first and foremost. I might have studied a few offensive and defensive spells, but I am nowhere near Celestia, Luna, or even Cadance's level." She shook her head, "I can't lead an army and ask creatures to endanger their lives. The only way we can do this is without bloodshed."
"And, if we did, we'd be no better than they are..." added Twilight.
The Doge sighed as he took a long drag of his cigar, letting the thick smoke pass through his nose and mouth, "Twilight, I admire your dedication to the preservation of life. But there are times where sacrifice is needed, and the mark of a great leader is knowing when to fight and when to remain calm and steady."
"Swallowtail has been fighting for its existence for well over a thousand years. We are not afraid of a fight if it means protecting our loved ones and our homes. I don't know Celestia personally, but I do know history, and Celestia nor Luna never shied away from a fight if it meant protecting their ponies, you said so yourself."
"Hell! Even if you and your friends fight, if it means saving the day, you KILLED King Sombra, did you not? What is stopping you now? Is it because the creatures we're fighting aren't immortal beasts of incredible power and just normal ponies capable of evil?"
Twilight hesitated, unsure of what the answer was. Whenever she and her friends fought against creatures that threatened to harm Equestria, she never really thought too deeply about why they did what they did or where they even came from. Perhaps even the changelings had loved ones if Thorax was an example.
Chewing on her lip, the alicorn sighed, "We didn't– Sombra's death wasn't intentional. We had no idea what would happen when the Crystal Heart was put back in place. Even now, there are rumors he is still haunting the Crystal Mountains….Doge, I don't know what creatures told you about my friends and me, but we never run into a situation looking for a fight. We do what we can to solve the situation amicably, and if we can't…."
She lowered her head, "Well… we do what we must. But we never, ever intentionally tried to hurt another being. I'm sorry, but I am not a warrior."
The Doge shook his head, "I never said you had to go fight and lead armies, just that you have to be brave and not be afraid to fight." the Doge rose to his paws, taking a drink, "Come, let's talk more about this. I believe we need a second opinion; perhaps that Quill fellow has a solution we can't see…." he gestured for the alicorn to follow before stepping outside his office and turning to one of his servants.
"Ready the guard for my descend to the ground!" barked the Doge.
The griffin servant nodded, quickly flapping away and out a nearby window. Twilight couldn't help but feel the growing anxiety and dread looming over her. It seemed that no matter what choice she made, somepony was going to get hurt or worse.
She could only hope and pray that Celestia's plan could work and that The Doge and the Parliament could see reason. A faint feeling of relief and hope passed through her at the thought of Quill possibly mending the situation. A local educated pony like him could devise a compromise that everycreature could work with....hopefully.
Her head perked up, Quill! She had nearly forgotten about Quill and the attack on the temple, "Er, Doge? Can we get down to the ground as quickly as possible?"
The Doge turned around, giving the Princess a firm nod before clapping his paws together, "Double time! Los, los!" shouted Doge.