Luna stood at the other end of the table from Vivienne, the queen dressed in her military attire. Warm coffee had yet to fully settle in the alicorn’s belly as she and Vivienne were surrounded by their own little groups of officers. On Luna’s side, her support staff were mostly younger ones, freshly graduated second lieutenants from the academy, or just barely at the cusp of graduating with an even mix of griffons and ponies. She looked at the griffon queen and her entourage of older, more experienced colonels, and general Sophie.
“You have me at a disadvantage,” Luna said as she glanced at the well detailed map laid out across the table. Obvious enchantment rolled across the wood that made it difficult for Luna to see past her side of it. “Representing the fog of war? Clever.”
“You are not the only one in need of teaching, princess,” Vivienne replied with a casual shrug. “You have the brightest of the Military Academy of Vanguardigo, but engaging in war games with their peers is one thing, engaging against a more veteran force is another.”
“And there’s no force more veteran than yours, your highness!” one of the young griffons besides Luna chirped out.
“You know the rules already, princess. Talk with your high command, make your decisions, then give your orders,” As she spoke, Vivienne passed folded papers to the officers on her side.
Luna scowled as she quickly took stock of the situation on the map before her. She turned to the arrayed officers who all stood there awaiting orders. “The queen may have a head start but I must remind you all of something. Though this may just be an exercise, I need you to treat it as if it were real.”
They all saluted. “Don’t worry princess, we know the drill! The queen talon-picked us for this assignment and we’ll do our best to ensure your victory!”
Time slowly ticked away as queen and princess went back and forth, discreetly writing orders off to their subordinates to move the representative pieces over the map. The geography was rather hilly and wooded, Luna recognizing it as Aquileia’s interior. Attacks, counter attacks, probing actions and more were undertaken by the combatants to try and push the lines. Rather than go back and forth, both teams operated simultaneously, leaving them to try and react to the other.
A stalemate was steadily developing and so Luna wrote out another set of orders for her officers. They looked at her with surprise, but went to work. Vivienne peered over in brief confusion as Luna’s units were pulled back bit by bit, increasing the distance between the two forces. The queen relayed her orders and Luna suppressed showing the joy as she watched as the officers made the moves.
“I believe this ends the battle in a pyrrhic victory for you,” the alicorn said in an even tone though her eyes were alive with delight.
It took a moment for Vivienne as she began to move from her side of the table over to Luna’s, looking over the setup. A scowl formed before her features softened and she looked up. “I have taken the objective.”
“By walking directly into range of an artillery bombardment, and with my air defenses moved up enough to keep your planes away. Oh, and one more thing.” Luna gave a cheeky smile. “The enchantment is very good, but I’ve been able to see past it since before we started.”
Vivienne’s beak fell open for just a moment before she snapped it shut and let out a low chuckle. “Ah, that is cheating, princess! But, in war one must take any advantage they can, no? One battle is not enough to turn the tide, usually. Still, I should reprimand you for breaking the spirit of the game!” the queen waggled a talon.
Luna turned to the young officers on her side and bowed her head to them. “Thank you all. Continue your hard work and you will no doubt achieve great things.”
The officers bowed to Luna in return. Vivienne called for all the officers to go get some food, leaving her and Luna along. A cigarette was soon in her beak as she continued to examine the battlefield before them. While her attention was on the table she deftly pulled out another with Luna taking the butt end into her lips.
“Do not think too hard about it, Vivienne. You won, at a potentially grave cost.”
“Your officers did not challenge any of your orders.”
A thoughtful hum came from the princess. “Indeed. Did any of yours?”
“No.”
“It is because they trust us to know what we are doing, assuming that we have the intelligence necessary to pull off a battle like this,” Luna swept her wing over the table.
Vivienned frowned. “If you were cheating why did you not press your advantage to victory?”
“Truthfully? I was more focused in learning about those under my command. It is important that a leader knows their subordinates, and being thrown together with them the day of? I will sacrifice one game if it means understanding whom I will be leading in future ones.”
“And yet you still managed to maneuver me into an untenable position,” Vivienne flicked her cigarette into the ash tray as she stalked around to the other side of the table.
“I have an excellent teacher.”
The queen gave a warm smile. “You flatter me, princess.”
“It is easy to, you have many fine qualities to compliment,”
Vivienne made a slight click of her beak as she walked toward the door. “You told them to treat it seriously, yet you did not?”
“The next one I will now that I have a better grasp on how to utilize them,” the alicorn said as she moved alongside the queen. “Given how things turned out, I have a good feeling for the next encounter.”
“As your mentor I underestimated you, though I am pleasantly surprised. I will not be holding back in future encounters.”
Luna let out a gentle laugh. “I would be insulted if you did! Now, let us go and have lunch with the children. We have been awake since before sunrise.”
The four were arranged around a small table with Tiberius nestled up in Luna's mane to relax while lunch was served. Luna and Flurry nibbled on their appetizer salads while Spike and Vivienne spread chicken pate on little bits of bread.
Vivienne took a bite and let out a pleased trill. "I must applaud you, Spike. You have learned to prepare some of our dishes very well. This pate is absolutely delicious!"
"Aww, thanks your highness! I just followed the recipes, I didn't want to do anything that could ruin it. Experimentation comes after mastery!"
The queen smiled at the dragon as she took another bite.
"Flurry, how have your own studies been?" Luna asked after a sip of water.
"Fine," the younger said listlessly as she prodded her salad with a fork before eating a bit of it. She sat her utensil down, feathers trembling. "C-can I be excused?" she choked out.
Before Luna could say anything her niece burst into tears and pressed her face into the tablecloth. Vivienne let out a squawk of surprise at the filly's outburst and sat there, dumbstruck, as Flurry Heart sobbed and wailed. Luna got out of her seat to hug Flurry, wrapping her wings around her bawling niece.
In the midst of her tears, Flurry tried to choke out some words that were muffled by the tablecloth.
"I miss them too," Luna whispered as she nuzzled Flurry, her eyes shut tight with moisture beginning to leak.
Vivienne watched as Spike joined in hugging the alicorns before she quietly wiped her beak clean with a napkin. As she got out of her seat Luna looked up at her. Their eyes met for a moment before Luna looked away and nuzzled Flurry some more as the queen quietly stepped out.
In Vivienne's office some time later, Luna was sitting with the queen's book on modern warfare. The alicorn flipped the pages idly though she wasn't focused on anything inside. Still, the rustling of the paper in front of her, as well as Vivienne dealing with the work on her desk, was soothing enough for her.
"I envy little Flurry," Vivienne admitted quietly as she scanned over yet another legal document. A cigarette hung precariously in her beak, ashtray half full with fresh butts.
Luna quietly closed her book. "She's a refugee far from home with only myself and Spike as her family to help her. What is there for you to envy?"
The queen's pen slowed to a crawl then stopped. "She is close with her family. Enough to mourn them so readily."
"You still have family."
Vivienne scoffed. "Uncle Dennis whom I still have in prison for his rebellion?"
"There is still your uncle Michel. Was he not vital to shaping up the Discret Code?"
The queen looked back down at her papers and shuffled them around. "We have not spoken in many, many years."
"There is still plenty of time. It is never too late to reach out."
Their eyes met and Vivienne leaned back with a frown. Smoke wafted out of her nares as she asked, "How are you good at this? At... being so helpful?"
Luna smiled warmly. "I just try to think what my sister would do to help others. Though I am a little more straightforward than Celestia. Sometimes she likes to be vague or cryptic."
With a click of her tongue, Vivienne shifted forward a bit. She folded her talons together and set her chin on them. "What would you do, Luna? Tell me, what would you do, not what Celestia would do."
Taken aback, Luna tilted her head slightly and shut her eyes to think. The queen watched as moments ticked by before Luna shook her head. "Forgive me, the only other thing I could think of would be to surprise him with a visit."
"Mm,” was the only noise the queen made as she looked down to the work on her desk.
Luna watched Vivienne for a few moments. “Ahem. I believe we should visit your uncle.”
Vivienne looked up, eyes slightly widened and her beak twitching. “I do not think that would be a good idea. There is much work to be done.”
“Then perhaps I shall take Spike and Flurry with me and visit him instead. I am sure Duke Michel would be happy to receive us. While there I can even take a look at the shipyard expansions for you.”
The queen’s expression shifted to a scowl for a moment before she shut her beak. “Perhaps it would be good for the children to have a little break from their work. Give them a little distraction,” Vivienne signed a paper as she spoke. “The shipyard expansions have been going slower than I would like too, but of course it would not do to have a guest oversee such for me.”