Zephyr Heights
Zipp Storm groaned in her bed as the golden light of the sun crept in through the window, reaching across the floor and hitting her directly in the eye. She was fairly certain that, when her mother was still queen, she'd had the bed nailed to the floor in this exact spot to make sure the sunlight did that every morning, as Zipp was no morning pony, and her attempts to sleep in would be stopped by it. Another reason why Pipp should've been the heir instead, she was up by six every single day.
Accepting her defeat yet again, Zipp dragged herself out of bed, placing all four hooves against the floor and stretching her wings. Her crown was exactly where it always was, sitting on top of the ponnequin head on her bedside table. Zipp brushed her mane and tail into presentable condition, and lightly preened her wings (she usually did it as the last thing before bed, so they didn't need much) before plopping the crown onto the top of her head. She took a long look at herself in the mirror, making sure there was nothing out of place.
"You are a good ruler, even though Pipp probably would've had a better plan going in," she said to herself. "Everything is going to be alright."
She swallowed, hoping that she'd convinced the doubting part of her brain.
Turning on one hoof, Zipp strolled towards the golden doors of her bedroom, and pushed them open. On the other side were Zoom and Thunder, still loyally serving after all these years.
"Oh, Queen Storm!" said Thunder, hurriedly saluting. "Good morning. We've prepared your breakfast in the dining room."
"Thanks, guys," replied Zipp. "Have the diplomats from the griffon kingdom arrived yet?"
Thunder shook his head. "They're due in thirty minutes. That gives you just enough time to eat."
"Good." Zipp rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with one hoof. "I can't do international negotiations on an empty stomach."
Zoom and Thunder led the way to the dining room, where Zipp sat down to eat. Zephyr Heights palace food wasn't bad, but she still missed the cooking her and the others would whip up in the Crystal Brighthouse. Pipp still got to partake in that, and sure, Zipp got to visit them on occasion, but the confines of royalty meant Zipp couldn't live in the Brighthouse anymore.
"What's on the agenda today? Besides the meeting with the griffons?" she asked.
"Well, you cleared out a spot after noon to meet with Sunny Starscout and the others back in Maretime Bay," replied Thunder. "After that, there's an approval of a new construction site downtown, a three hour open court with the people, and the day ends with a newborn foal portrait. Honestly, the biggest thing of the day is the diplomatic visit with the griffons."
"And it's the thing I'm not looking forward to the most," Zipp groaned. "At least we're getting it out of the way early on."
Ponies had only recently reestablished contact with the griffon kingdom. After the dragons had all awoken from their long hibernation, it only made sense for ponies to reach out to the other sapient races that had once been allies of Equestria. According to the research Sunny's father had gathered from the time of Twilight Sparkle, that included griffons, yaks, changelings, hippogriffs, and many others. Nopony was sure why they'd broken contact with these other kingdoms in the first place, but Zipp was willing to bet Opaline, as well as the tribes of ponies breaking up, had something to do with it.
Zipp finished her breakfast in a timely fashion, before making her way towards the throne room, followed by Zoom and Thunder. She parked herself on the throne and waited for the representatives of the griffons to arrive. At the same time, she tried to mentally undo the knots forming in the depths of her stomach. She reminded herself this was just another diplomatic task that had to be done, just like the pegasus communication with earth ponies and unicorns. She could do it. At least, she hoped.
Within ten minutes, a flock of flying creatures were spotted approaching Zephyr Heights. The guards stationed at the outer edge had confirmed they were not pegasi. Soon enough, the flyers descended towards the castle, revealing themselves to be a squad of armored griffons carrying spears. The six guards landed in two lines along the landing zone Zipp had designated for them, standing at attention, as the two remaining griffons landed. One was clearly female, with feathers that were a bright blue color, wearing a black cloak, while the other was plain black and white, though some of the white feathers from his head were beginning to fall off.
"Presenting the leader of the griffon kingdom, King Greer III!" proclaimed the blue griffon.
Zoom and Thunder stepped forward to meet them, with Zipp coming up behind them.
"Presenting Zephyrina Storm, Queen of Zephyr Heights!" they announced, while giving the customary salute. Zipp stepped forward to meet King Greer.
"Greetings, King Greer," she said, with practiced formality. She raised one hoof. "Welcome to Zephyr Heights. I hope our talks today will lead to a brighter future for both our kingdoms."
Greer stared her down for a few seconds, his beak curled into what looked like an annoyed frown. Zipp felt the sweat begin to drip down the back of her neck, but forced herself to keep smiling. Eventually, Greer extended his taloned foot and grasped Zipp's hoof.
"Let's just get this over with," he growled, giving Zipp a quick shake. He then strolled past her, towards the royal meeting room. Zipp stared after him, confused as to what his problem was. As far as she knew, she'd followed royal protocol to the letter.
"Don't take it personally," whispered the blue griffon. "He doesn't really care for etiquette when meeting with other leaders. He thinks it's a waste of time." She shook Zipp's hoof as well. "I'm Grace, the Royal Advisor."
"Well, you're both welcome here," Zipp replied, keeping her voice as calm as possible. This meeting was already off to a less than ideal start.
Zipp and Grace followed Greer into the conference room. The six griffon guards all marched beside their ruler, making Zipp feel a little self-conscious that she only had Zoom and Thunder for her protection. Then again, perhaps it was better that she wasn't surrounded by soldiers, so it didn't look like she distrusted her guests. Zipp took a seat on one side of the massive golden table, while Greer took the other. He folded his talons as he sat down, and Zipp opted to keep her hooves on the table. She didn't want to present herself as aggressive in any way.
"Alright," she began, "so our first order of business is to reopen trade between our two kingdoms. As far as I'm aware, the griffon kingdom hasn't yet developed the Canternet yet, so if we—"
"Let me stop you right there," Greer cut her off. "As far as I'm concerned, our only discussion here should be about how we can convince you ponies to leave our kingdom alone. And I ain't just talking pegasi. We don't want earth ponies or unicorns, either."
Zipp paled. This was quite a bit more hostility than she'd been expecting. She was sure she hadn't done anything to offend this guy yet, so why was he saying this?
"I'm sorry?" she eventually managed to squeak out. "I thought this meeting was planned so we could reestablish pony/griffon relations for the mutual benefits of our two kingdoms."
"She's right, sire," said Grace. "I thought we agreed that—"
"No, you tried to convince me, and failed," Greer snapped, prompting Grace to clamp her beak shut. "Look, Queen Zephyrina, the griffon kingdom is doing fine, without pony help or interference. We want it to stay that way. Look, if you want gold, we'll fork it over, but only in exchange for your agreement to leave us in peace."
"B-but I don't understand," Zipp protested. "What has ponykind ever done to you? Ponies and griffons haven't been in contact for centuries, so there's no way we could've done anything to hurt you."
"It's not what you did to us," Greer responded. "It's what you did to each other. Look, I know you were one of the ponies responsible for reuniting the three tribes of ponies, or whatever it was, so this isn't personal. But what happens when ponies become divided by race again? When it happened after the time of Princess Twilight, we griffons were forced out of Equestria, due to the fact that ponies didn't trust any creature that didn't look like them. It cost us a lot last time, and I'm not willing to put my subjects through that again."
Zipp's heart fell. She knew the division of ponies would come up at some point, but she didn't expect it to be the entire thrust of the meeting. While ponies had moved on from their fear and paranoia of each other, evidently other races hadn't forgotten. The worst part was that Greer had a legitimate point. How could you trust a species that split themselves apart by race not once, but twice?
"W-well..." she stammered, "Equestria may have been a divided nation, but we've worked through that now. O-our leaders, myself included, are working to ensure that ponies are never divided again. We—"
"Can you guarantee to me that it won't happen?" Greer demanded. "Can you look to the future, and give me your word, one-hundred percent, that you ponies won't start hating and fearing each other again?"
Zipp swallowed. "I'm no fortune teller, but—"
"So that would be a no, then," Greer cut her off. "It appears we're at an impasse."
Zipp was crushed. This was why she'd never wanted to be queen in the first place. Problems like this didn't have one solution that she could just piece together, as she did when she was a detective in Maretime Bay. When issues like this arose, she didn't know what to do. Mom had always told her that a real queen would do what was best for her subjects, but what options did she have here?
"Perhaps we should adjourn, for now," said Grace, gently pulling Greer's chair away from the table. "After all, doesn't Queen Zephyrina deserve some time to adequately prepare herself for our demands that she wasn't aware of?"
Greer sighed. "Fine," he answered. "We'll be back tomorrow to discuss the permanent separation of our kingdoms."
Zipp opened her mouth, desperate to avoid humiliating herself in front of Greer, but nothing came out. She finally settled for a nod, while shooting a look at Grace that she hoped conveyed gratitude. Greer and his six guards began marching back towards the runway, while Grace, seemingly taking advantage of the fact that her king's back was turned, quietly scooted over to Zipp.
"I'm sorry, Queen Zephyrina," she whispered. "The truth is, not every griffon wants what King Greer wants. He just thinks it's what's best for us. It's not just ponies, either. He thinks every other sapient race is a danger for some reason."
"Grace! Attend me!" Greer called from the runway.
Grace looked at Zipp one more, apologetically waving her talons, before rushing out to join her king. Zipp responded with a half-hearted wave of her hoof, trying to pretend Grace's words had decreased the feeling of failure building up in her gut.
Crystal Brighthouse
"...and then he just left," Zipp finished. "I have until tomorrow to think of some way to salvage this disaster, or we'll never have any kind of meaningful relationship with the griffons again." She sighed and looked down at her hooves.
Currently, Zipp, minus her royal regalia, was seated at the kitchen table in the Crystal Brighthouse, like it was in the old days. Seated around her were Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, Hitch, Misty, and an older Sparky. Since the time when Zipp had lived in the Brighthouse, the green dragon had grown taller, to the point where he was the same height as Hitch. The group of seven had just finished off some of Sunny's fresh fruit salad, though Zipp wouldn't admit she'd only eaten in an attempt to ease her stress (it didn't work). She'd just relayed the events of that morning to her friends, desperate for somepony to help her with the issue.
"Well, uh..." Hitch fiddled with his old sheriff's badge, "that was an interesting meeting." Zipp shot him a glare, prompting him to add, "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say!"
Zipp flattened her ears against her head. "It's okay, Hitch. I didn't know what to say when it happened. I don't know what I'm gonna say when he comes back, either."
"There has to be something we can do!" Sunny protested. "If Twilight Sparkle could bring together ponies and all those other creatures, surely we can! We befriended the dragons, after all!"
"I think it's not exactly the same situation," said Sparky, chiming in for the first time. You had me act as ponies' ambassador to the dragons, and they heard my first-claw account of how good you all took care of me. The griffons have none of that."
"He's right," said Misty, "but there must be some way to convince them! With Opaline gone, there's no one to divide ponies again!"
"Yeah, but what's to stop somepony like Opaline from showing up? Somepony who wants all the magic in Equestria for themselves?" asked Pipp. "There could always be another villain."
Zipp groaned. "See, this is why you should've been queen, Pipp!" she complained. "You think of these things in the moment! I just stood there blubbering like an idiot the whole time."
Pipp actually gasped. "Zipp, I would've done way worse than you! I spend hours trying to figure out which mane style will appeal to the Pippsqueaks the most! Mom picked you because you're the responsible one, the one capable of making the hard decisions. I would freak out the second my popularity dropped! I'd be a terrible queen."
Zipp rubbed the space between her eyes with one hoof. "Well, my being 'responsible' isn't helping me now. How am I supposed to make the best decision for my subjects when I don't even know what that decision is?"
"Why were old griffons willing to look past the flaws ponies had?" asked Izzy. "Even back in Twilight Sparkle's time, ponies still had problems. Heck, they even had evil ghost ponies that fed on negativity and tried to freeze Equestria!"
"I'm not Twilight Sparkle," answered Zipp. "I don't know how to bring together so many different creatures under the banner of friendship. I tried, and I couldn't even convince Greer to give us a chance."
"It's not your fault, Zipp," insisted Hitch. "He didn't give you a fair shot. He pushed you aside before you even got your first word out. He put you in a really unfair position."
"Maybe I can look through some of dad's old research materials," said Sunny. "Maybe there'll be something about the griffons from Twilight's time. Something we could use to remind them of why they were friends with ponies in the first place."
"We won't give up," said Sparky, "and neither should you."
Zipp smiled a little, but it didn't manage to reach her eyes. The optimism her friends were displaying just couldn't reach her heart. "Thanks, guys," she said, sadly, "but I don't know if it'll do any good. Even if Greer's going against the will of his subjects, we'll need to convince him to get anywhere."
"Hey, sis," said Pipp, draping one of her fluffy wings over Zipp's back, "we've had problems like this before. Things are never gonna be one-hundred percent easy, but that's no reason to quit. You never gave up before."
Zipp opened her mouth, but her response disappeared from her throat. Her mind drifted back to a time in her past, when she wanted, more than anything, to fly for real.
"Don't give up, Zephyrina..."
"Don't give up, don't give up..." Zipp turned to find Izzy whispering in her ear again. "What? It worked once before, didn't it?"
"Yeah, but it's still kinda creepy," Zipp countered. "Thanks, everyone. Maybe there is a way to make Greer give ponies another chance."
"I'll go look at dad's research," said Sunny. "From what I understand, the Guardians of Harmony helped ancient griffons learn to see the value of friendship in some way. Maybe we could bring that up."
"We'll all help you look, Sunny," said Misty. "Seven pairs of eyes search faster."
For the first time since that morning, a tiny bit of optimism began to sneak back into Zipp's heart.
Zephyr Heights
The following day, Zipp found herself repeating the same morning routine. This time, however, she scarfed down her breakfast as fast as possible, in order to have some extra time to review the talking points she and the others had discussed.
"Uh, Queen Zephyrina? Are you alright?" asked Thunder, staring as Zipp shoveled fruit down her gullet.
Zipp swallowed. "Sorry, guys. Just need to get this out of the way."
Once she'd finished, she rushed over to where she kept the notes that Sunny and the others had come up with the night before. She quickly read all of them, making sure she had the important details memorized before Greer showed up again.
"Okay," she breathed, talking to herself again, "just remember: be polite, yet firm. Don't act like you're doing them a favor. Bring up the history as a last resort. Easy enough." Now if only her stomach would stop rolling long enough for Zipp to get her bearings.
Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long. Greer, Grace, and the squadron of soldiers arrived right on time, flying in just as they had yesterday. Grace didn't bother to proclaim her king's arrival this time. Perhaps she was expecting another quick visit, with Zipp begging Greer to reconsider, only to be shot down again.
Zipp stepped forward. "King Greer," she said, with practiced control, "I know we got off on the wrong hoof yesterday (or wrong talon, whichever you prefer), but I hope I can convince you to change your mind."
Greer snorted. "Honestly, I doubt that. Have you been rehearsing some speech to get me to change my mind? Because if so, you wasted your time."
Zipp resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I'll make it simple for you. Give me ten minutes to convince you that ponies and griffons can be friends, and if I fail, then I'll grant your request to leave the griffon kingdom in peace."
Greer frowned, but was distracted by a talon on his back. He turned back to Grace.
"Come on, sire," she said. "It's not like we've got anything to lose. Just listen to her."
Greer sighed. "I'm going to regret this," he grumbled, "but fine. I'll let you make your case."
"Thank you, King Greer," said Zipp. She shot a quick look at Grace that hopefully conveyed feelings of gratitude.
After Greer and his entourage had settled down in the meeting room, Zipp took her seat, mentally going over her plan of attack in her brain. As she'd previously said to herself, bringing up griffon history had been saved only in case everything else failed. She wasn't sure how happy Greer would be to be reminded of history he no doubt knew already.
"So, as you've stated, ponies do indeed have a habit of being divided by race," Zipp opened with. "However, I would like to point out that, before the time of Twilight Sparkle, even before they united in Equestria, the three tribes of ponies were still willing to cooperate with each other, with earth ponies serving as the producers of food, and so on. Plus, as one of the ponies who helped restore unity after our most recent split, I would argue that our ancestors were simply manipulated, and the culprit behind that manipulation no longer poses a threat."
"True," responded Greer, "but what's to stop some other pony from rising up and breaking up the tribes again? Yesterday, you couldn't guarantee that wouldn't happen."
Zipp nodded. She'd been expecting that response. "Fair enough. I would also like to remind you of the famous Battle of the Bell, in which the self-proclaimed Legion of Doom attempted to conquer Equestria. The battle required not just ponies, but griffons, as well as the dragons, yaks, kirin, changelings, and hippogriffs. It was the unity of all creatures that saved Equestria, and the world, that day. If, as you've stated, another threat arises, ponies alone may not be enough to defeat it. I am aware that the griffon kingdom is mighty, but you may require our assistance, as well as others, in the future."
"She has a point, sire," added Grace. "Plus, her and her friends were the ones that defeated that evil alicorn. Are we really willing to turn down that kind of assistance? What if some other monster seeks to conquer the world and we can't defeat it?"
Greer was deep in thought, his chin resting on his talons. Zipp kept her face looking stoic, but sweat was beginning to drip down her forehead. She quietly prayed he wouldn't notice.
"I suppose you do make a good point," Greer admitted, after a few minutes of deliberation. "However, you only give me reasons to reforge relations with the dragons and other sapient races of the world. If we have all of them on our side, what would we need ponies for?"
Zipp swallowed. She'd prepared for this, but she'd hoped Greer wouldn't be willing to take his defiance this far. What she had left would either convince him, or make him angry, and she didn't like the odds of the latter. Unfortunately, she didn't have any other options left.
"Very well, King Greer," she replied. "If I may change topics, then, I'd like to bring up some history. In ancient times, prior to Twilight Sparkle's ascension to the throne of Equestria, the griffon kingdom was little more than a disorganized mess, due to the loss of the Idol of Boreas causing the royalty to die out."
"Get to the point!" Greer snapped. "I know my kingdom's history."
Zipp felt more sweat drip down her neck, but pressed on. "Anyway, hundreds of years after the idol's loss, some of the Guardians of Harmony—specifically Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie—came to Griffonstone. It was through their efforts that the griffon citizens, who had become isolationists who only cared about themselves, saw the point of friendship. In fact, it was only a brief amount of time after Twilight Sparkle's coronation that the Friendship Ambassador of the griffons, Gilda, ascended to the throne as Queen Gilda I, restoring the monarchy of the griffon kingdom. I would like to point out, none of that may have happened if not for pony intervention."
There. She'd said it. During yesterday's planning, Zipp and the others had concluded that she shouldn't go as far as saying griffons owed ponies for something they did centuries ago. She'd come awfully close to saying that, but was trying to lean more towards how pony/griffon interaction had helped both races. Greer simply sat there, hopefully digesting what Zipp had said.
"Sire," Grace began, "she has a point. Meeting with ponies turned out to be good for our kingdom in the past. I see no reason why that wouldn't be true to this day."
Greer sat quietly, occasionally lifting up a talon to scratch at his head. Zipp wished desperately for someone to say something, anything to break the silence. The tension grew thicker and thicker with each passing second. Finally, Greer sighed, and stood out of his chair.
"Queen Zephyrina," he began, "I'm sure you understand the challenges of being a ruler. You have to make the hardest decisions, and the choices you make may not always be popular. Heck, maybe no one likes a choice you made. Plus, at the moment, you don't know if you made the right decision. Sometimes, you don't figure out that you did the wrong thing until it's too late." He looked Zipp in the eye. "Lucky for me, I'm getting informed of my mistake early enough to correct it."
Zipp's eyes brightened up. "You mean..."
"I'll give ponies a chance again," replied Greer. "You can tell everypony else. Just don't waste it."
For the first time that day, Zipp smiled genuinely. "So can we go back to the trade negotiations?" she asked.
"Absolutely," said Greer.