//------------------------------// // chapter1.3 // Story: My little pony:Adventure of Seresia // by Dreamy //------------------------------// After spending the afternoon in relaxing massages, Twilight and Spike began walking back to the Royal Castle, stopping halfway to buy some milkshakes. They arrived at the promenade and began to enjoy their drinks during a leisurely walk. "That was a nice experience! I'd like to visit there again sometime Spike." "Of course! I’ll have it arranged as soon as you can free up some time!" Spike cheerfully responded, glad that the fatigue and worry had cleared from Twilight's face. After taking a sip of the milkshake in his paw, he continued, "Any more plans for the evening?" "Lay in bed and get a good night's sleep for tomorrow!" "A good idea." "Uh... Princess Twilight...", a voice called, "There is an ambassador waiting for you in the parlor right now.", Interrupting Twilight and Spike. They stopped their journey heading through the halls towards their room, and looked up to see a guard running over anxiously. "What? Ambassador? a-ambassador!!??" Twilight froze in shock. "She says she's from Seresia and is here in Equestria for business and trade." The guard continued, stopping as he noticed Spike behind Twilight making frantic cues with his eyes and paws. "And what? Don't keep me hanging!" Twilight noticed the guard leaning over with his eyes fixated beyond her. But he was not looking at herself but at Spike, she snapped her head towards Spike causing him to hurriedly stop signaling the guard to shut up. "Restoring a friendship once severed." "Ah?!... Then why didn't you send guards earlier to inform me of something so important!!!" "Because…", the guard stammered, "Because the Royal Counselor instructed us before you left that we would not be accepting any more meetings today, and if anypony came they were to be told to come back tomorrow." After hearing this, Twilight immediately turned her head with a grumbling face back at Spike, who was now smiling awkwardly, looking as innocent as possible. "Don’t look me like that! I just want you to be able to get some rest!" "Guards, where is the ambassador now?" Twilight demanded, looking back at the guards while completely ignoring Spike's defense. "Waiting in the reception room." "Take me to her immediately." "Yes princess." Led by the guards, Twilight and Spike were ushered to a door outside the noble reception room, where foreign guests would arrive. Two ivory-white colored unicorns, one male and one female, stood strong in the doorway, blocking them from proceeding further. The two ponies wore a basilisk-crowned hat on their heads along with black cloaks that completely covered their bodies, revealing only their patterned collars. The male unicorn had a prominent crimson line in his long lead-white hair, with light red pupils gleaming and scarlet eye shadow. Twilight took a step back, having to raise her head as she looked at the them. The female unicorn, though shorter than the male, was half a head taller than Twilight. The female’s appearance and dress mirrored that of the male’s, only differing in color, having of indigo instead of red. Such a mysterious costume and the sense of oppression had Twilight frozen, unable to move her eyes. "This is Princess Twilight, she has come to meet with your ambassador, please make way." The guard spoke in a respectful tone. The two unicorns looked at each other, then both stepped aside, the female taking the initiative to help open the door to the room. "I've been waiting for you, Princess Twilight. Please, have a seat." a voice called. Twilight looked towards the end of the room, seeing a pony with a pale pink complexion and gorgeous clothes, second in size only to Princess Celestia, sitting down on the VIP cushion. Two bunches of violet-orchid-colored hair stuck up like mountain peaks before extending downward towards the sides. Behind his ear was a carefully organized section of hair, with a silver hairpin running across it to hold it in place. A flower with pink petals and silver leaves bloomed at the tip of the hairpin. Her eyes, deep and determined, were as bright as millennia-old amber, and she wore a smile. "I'm very sorry for keeping you waiting! Ambassador! I thought I wouldn't have any more guests this afternoon and had left to rest for a while, I sincerely apologize!" Twilight said hurriedly, as she took a seat across from the ambassador. "Your Highness has been working hard for days, a little proper rest is only natural." The mature female voice said, "Did the princess have a good time?" The ambassador's tone was light and witty, but Twilight couldn’t help but feel as if the pony in front of her was acting like Princess Celestia when she questioned a student if they had realized their mistake. For a moment she seem at a loss for words. "Ah, don't mind me, princess. You happened to brush past me on your way out and overheard you…" She trailed off, realizing that the question she had thrown out had embarrassed Twilight somewhat. The ambassador, after a quick glance at Spike, went on to say, "Your little helper let me in on what what you were going to do, though not intentionally. Forgive me for taking the liberty of staying in this room to await your return. Would the princess like some tea?" The ambassador picked up the teapot and gracefully filled a teacup before slowly pushing the cup towards Twilight. She then picked up her own teacup again and blew on the heat in the cup before taking a small sip. "Ah... Haha, it's okay" She responded after a moment of awkward and impolite smiles. Continuing, she began, "My name is Twilight–" "She is the newly appointed Princess Twilight Sparkle! The famous Princess of Friendship who saved Equestria countless times!!" Spike blurted out, introducing the ambassador in a boastful tone. The compliment made Twilight a little embarrassed. "You are the newly appointed Princess Twilight, pardon my intrusion." The ambassador once again bowed respectfully to Twilight, taking the window of privacy flashed a disgusted look at Spike, who responded with a grimace, "Please don't mention it, ambassador" "Please, call me Meng Yu, Your Highness." "Pleased to meet you ambassador Meng Yu! What brings you to Canterlot today?" "I come by the emperor’s request in the hope that your country will reopen diplomatic relations with the continent of Seresia. I hope we can reach a common ground during this meeting." Meng responded, lifting both hooves up and hitting the air ceremoniously. Out of nowhere an oriental female unicorn walked over slowly, levitating a reddish-colored gift box and placing it on the table. The unicorn then opened the box in front of everyone and took out the items inside and put them on the table one by one. "This pair of Hundred Treasure Glazed Vases came from the hooves of a master in Qingyuan Town and was fired with the finest materials. I present it to you as a gift." "Dear Celestia… This vase– It's so beautiful!!!" The body of the vase was as brilliant as a light shining through a perfectly cut gemstone. The surface was painted with dazzling patterns that sparked in her eyes. One vase contained a brilliant spirited pattern encompassing a phoenix soaring freely in the sky with firm eyes and smooth and gorgeous movements. The other vase was more subtle, but just as beautiful. A budding lotus flower caressed the vase with blooming lotus leaves dancing down the vase. Twilight had never seen such craftsmanship before, let alone as a gift to her. She was just about to put the box away when Spike had reached out and snatched a vase, cradling it lovingly in his arms. "Oooooooooooooooooh! Is this vase made of gems?!" Spike's face lit up, coming close to contact with the vase, just short of pressing his own eyes to it. He sniffed and scrutinized the design on it, even trying to get a mouthful of it, when Twilight saw this and immediately grabbed the vase back with her magic and put it in the jeweled box. "Spike! That's not food!!!" "But the surface of this vase is so smooth and shiny, what else could it be if it's not made of jewels?" Meng Yu couldn't help but laugh as she watched the two bicker. "These can only be made of a very special kind of clay, and with a precise process. It is first panned for impurities and then the modeled into the underlying shape. After air drying, it is colored by a master colorist and then covered with a layer of glaze. Finally, it is fired at high temperatures to seal it all together." Meng Yu patiently described the craftsmanship of the treasure vase to the two of them, but it was clear that they didn’t quite understand. "Princess don't be polite", Meng spoke softly, "Please accept them, I hope this gift will be the first steps paving the way re-establishment of diplomatic relations between our two continents." "Of course! Thank you for the gift ambassador Meng Yu! You must have traveled a long way to get here, stay at the castle today. I will have the guards arrange a comfortable velvet bed and quiet room for you. Dinner will be prepared by our maids. I don't know if it's to your liking, but I assure you we have some of the best chefs in Equestria." "Thank you, your highness, for your kind invitation. I thankfully accept your request." "If there's anything you need just let me know and I'll do my best to help!" Twilight said, a bit frazzled. Using her magic, she picked up her teacup and sipped it while thinking about what present to return. "A book? A specialty item? Maybe something else…" she thought to herself. "As a matter of fact, Princess Twilight, I do have a favor to ask. Our fleet has traveled thousands of miles across the ocean to reach Equestria with many trade goods on board, and we would like to seek a location to set up a marketplace for commerce. Would you be able to arrange this for us?" "How big of a site do you think you need?" "The larger the site the better the circulation of ponies, so of course the bigger the better if possible." "Hmm, let me think about it." Twilight fell into deep thought, but she couldn't think of anywhere that would serve as a suitable site in Canterlot. "There's a vacant lot near Ponyville, would that be enough?" Spike chimed in, scratching the scales on the back of his neck. "Eh... Right! That's a great idea you have, Spike!" "Oh? May I trouble Your Highness to show me around?" "Sure, Ponyville is quite the trip by train, so I'll take you to the observation deck where you can see all of Ponyville now. This way, ambassador." A few minutes later, Twilight's and company appeared on the balcony. She carried a telescope and pointed the lens towards Ponyville, adjusting the position a few times before settling it in place near the clearing Spike was talking about. "Ambassador, through this telescope you'll be able to see the location in the distance." "Thank you Your Highness." Taking the telescope, Meng Yu peered through the lens at a grassy field. Many thatched houses standing not far away, and ponyfolk of all shapes and sizes in the streets. Moving the lens to explore in all directions, she saw a tall, majestic, purple treehouse wrapped in crystalline trees, with flags hanging from the eaves and Twilight's cutie mark iconography at the top. "Is that a crystal castle I spy? It looks so beautiful and grand!" "Oh? Ah, that's the Friendship Castle, it's one of my residences in Ponyville. you may reside there when the time comes. As well, it also serves as convenient place for you to manage things in the market." "I think that is a very suitable place, Princess Twilight." Meng Yu said affirmatively, smiling while continuing to observe for some time. "Very well! Where is your cargo? I'll arrange for help." "The cargo is on our ships, Princess Twilight. The fleet is stationed in the harbor of Manehattan." "Wow, that’s... It could take days to move all the cargo here." Twilight pondered, unsure sure how much cargo was in their hooves. She knew it it would take quite a bit of time just to take a round trip, let alone with cargo on their hooves. "Rest assured princess, we have plenty of time to prepare." After her words, Meng Yu called out to the two unicorns that had guarded the doorway earlier. The stallion entered and walked up to her, before speaking softly in a language Twilight could not parse. " Princess Twilight, I have my subordinate ready to bring some goods a bit later. I would also like to ask the princess to send a pony to guide him throughout town." "Of course, no problem!" Twilight replied cheerily. Calling out to a nearby guard, she commanded them as the guide. The stallion saluted Twilight and the ambassador once before leaving the scene with the guard leading him straight away. "It's getting late, ambassador. Please follow me, our dinner is surely ready." "After you Princess."