As we were being lowered down into the Throne Room, there seemed to be some tension in the air. I couldn't quite put my hoof on precisely what was causing it, but I knew it had to be serious based on the number of soldiers in the room. I glanced left and right as we dropped down into the central chamber. Pipp was on her phone and Zipp looked a little nervous. I would later find out why, but that's not important right now. We touched down, and I checked my sunglasses.
Did I mention I had put sunglasses on before we had been lowered in? I sometimes use them to protect my eyes from the glare in the windows. They're very useful in that regard.
I spoke up to address our security personnel. "Guards, state your business," I said. "Pipp needs to rehearse, Cloudpuff here needs his bubble bath, and I need to practice my laugh." I then tried what sounded like a regal laugh, but the result was not up to scratch to say the least. "Still needs some work."
Zoom was the first guard to respond. "Your Highness-"
Oh dear. They were all doing so well. "Your Majesty," I corrected. "Ruling monarch is Your Majesty, anypony else is Your Highness."
Zoom looked a bit awkward, and bowed her head. "My apologies, Your Majesty. Slip of the tongue. But we apprehended these two outside the city."
I looked in the general direction of where she was pointing... and in that moment I knew precisely when I was. Held between several groups of soldiers were Sunny Starscout and Izzy Moonbow! On the one hoof, this meant that things had returned to the established course of the film's narrative. On the other hoof, I was rather worried, as it meant that we could have further problems on the way. Most important of all, I had to hide the fact I recognised the pair from the rest of those there.
As I adjusted my sunglasses, the perfect opportunity presented itself. I proceeded to inhale an incredible amount of air in the form of a gasp. "What in Faust's name?" I asked, trying my best to feign surprise and shock. "A unicorn, and an earth pony, in Zephyr Heights?" I topped it off with a sudden increase in volume. "Why are you here? Who sent you?"
Thunder spoke up next, the first words he had said the entire time. "We've got them both under control, Your Majesty. We fitted the shield, and this Earth Pony won't think to attack. Their capacity for logical thought is exceedingly limited."
I have to admit that hearing the directed bigotry being spoken out loud was still a shock, as much as I was aware it was always there. And that's coming from the mouth of a person who ended up as a pony who starts the film a bigot.
It took me a few seconds to come up with a response, trying to stick as closely to the script as I could in order to avoid suspicion. "Is this some sort of prelude to war? Or an invitation to dialogue? Nopony must know we have them here!"
Suddenly, Pipp spoke up. "Check it out, guys! Something that hasn't been seen in millenia!" I turned my head to see that Pipp had turned her phone to point at them, using the external camera to record the pair before us. And this was the exact opposite of what I had wanted.
I had to stop the broadcast to prevent hysteria, but at the same time had to hide my tech literacy. My solution was to make my way over to her and pull the phone out of her hooves and then hold it upside down. On purpose.
I addressed her followers on the stream she had started. "There's nothing to fear," I said. "They are under the custody of the army. We will protect you." I then tossed the phone back to Pipp. "Shut it off."
As I made my way back to my personal throne, Sunny spoke up for the first time the entire conversation. "Your Majesty, I have a few questions-"
As much as I wanted to answer them and get the ball rolling on solving this mess, I knew that doing so would look very suspicious. Instead I chose to take the safest path and continue following the script.
I swung back around and flared my wings out, shifting my face into the best approximation of anger that I could. "I'll be the one asking questions, not you," I said, and then looked to the security forces. "Process them to the holding cells until Military Intelligence can question them. And confiscate the book!"
A guard stomped over and took Sunny's book whilst I gave the order to be lifted back into the cable room. I could hear Sunny pleading for the book to be given back. I felt for the poor dear, I really did. But I could hardly afford to blow my cover.
As technicians disconnected the cables and harnesses from our bodies, I decided a joke would be the best way to ease the tension. "Well, that was rather a shock to the system. Fancy that! First one unicorn, then several ponies! It seems the other races are like buses- they all turn up at once!"
I saw Pipp and Zipp laughing even though the joke wasn't hugely funny. Zipp then spoke. "Mom, I could interrogate the prisoners for you. Being questioned by a soldier isn't always something that makes a pony open up, but a civilian like myself might be able to get some info out of them."
That was certainly an interesting prospect. "Well, if you're sure," I said. "But I'll have soldiers on standby round the corner to ensure you are safe. If they give you trouble, call for them. Understand?" We must always take precautions, after all.
Zipp nodded, and then headed off down the corridor. I, on the other hand, had work to do.
No sooner had I arrived in my office then there was a knock on the door. "Enter!" I said.
I turned to see General Gulfstream there. "Good morning, Your Majesty," he said. "I have a matter of grave importance to bring to your attention."
"State your business."
The General nodded. "The Earth Ponies are re-arming. Our spies have reported that large numbers of armoured vehicles and weapons are being made in their factories, and furthermore they are conducting large scale military exercises within their territory. And now that Earth Pony turns up- I am convinced she is a spy, probing our defences in anticipation of a large scale offensive. I strongly advise we execute her."
I blinked. Time to use some of the knowledge I'd picked up over my days in court. "That would be a bad idea for a number of reasons. Firstly, the death penalty was abolished in the Pegasus Empire centuries ago. Second, we have no proof that the Earth Pony is a spy. She may be an ambassador for the USEA, for all we know, and this may be a peaceful visit. If we were to kill her it would reflect badly on us- after all, countries rarely take kindly to their ambassadors being killed. And third, the Earth Ponies may be preparing to fight the Unicorns. Surely a military leader such as yourself can see that these two groups potentially wiping each other out benefits us?"
I felt awful saying that, but I had to appeal to him in order to stop him from doing something idiotic.
Gulfstream nodded. "Very well. But surely an increase in the military budget would do us well?"
I sighed internally. "That will be all."
"But, Your Majesty, surely you understand that we must be sa-"
"I said that will be all!" I said, much louder, flaring my wings as I did so to make my point.
Gulfstream looked noticably cowed, and backed away. "Yes, Your Majesty." He then left.
I sat down. "Some ponies can't take a hint." As much as Gulfstream seemed to be a jingoistic fool, I knew even he wouldn't disobey a direct order from me.
Later on, I started work on the speech I was due to deliver on the day of the Royal Celebration (which ended with the Party at the Palace). This was not easy, though, and figuring out what to say was pretty difficult. Not least as I lacked most of Haven's memories despite looking like her.
I had been working on it for what felt like some time when I suddenly heard a knock at the door. Clearly it was somebody important as the guards let them in. "Enter!"
I continued working on the speech as they walked in. "On this suspicious day- doesn't sound right."
"Auspicious?" the figure ventured. I glanced up from my notes and saw Zipp standing there.
I made the change in the notes. "Thank you, dear. How did the interrogation go?"
Zipp smiled. "Smoothly. They're not armed, and not a danger to us. I think an act of kindness towards them would help them to open up. As you know, the other races don't exactly like us, and accuse us of thinking we're better than them. Melting the ice could work wonders."
Of course, I already knew all of this, having seen the film. But I could hardly say that. "That seems like a reasonable proposition," I said. "But on the one condition this never becomes public knowledge. The publicist told me Pipp's broadcast nearly caused mass hysteria, and I'd rather not repeat that."
Zipp nodded. "That's fine by me."
Once she had left, I used the internal phone lines to contact the kitchens. Tonight was the time for something rather special.