What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 1: A New Age of Heroes

by zelkova48

Chapter 13: Meeting Royalty- Part 2

"Twilight, dear? Are you feeling alright? Would you like to lie down?" Celestia asked her tired protege with a motherly voice, she must've been through so much today that she wasn't thinking properly "My sister and I can ask the staff to have a room prepared for all of you if you like. Perhaps some rest is needed after such a tiring day" Twilight shook her head at the suggestion, there was much to be done today and rest was not one of them.

"I'm positive I'm alright, princess. There is much to discuss at the moment however. Namely, clearing up the air of confusion that surrounds my new friends" Twilight said as she pointed at the door "Earlier today, they were attacked by a group of guards that you both ordered my brother to lead" she accused which caused the princesses to reel back.

"Yeah! That no way to greet somepony!" Pinkie added "You gotta throw them a party! Not send a bunch of angry guards silly" as surprisingly logical as Pinkie's reasoning sounded, now was not really the best moment to speak about parties since there is still a wedding to be put together.

"We have every reason to call down the guard upon them!" Luna retorted. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Which is?" she asked the princess of the night.

"Their cohort, the very same one that you mentioned in your letter attacked us without remorse!" Luna revealed which drew several surprised gasp from their peers "The fool crashed down upon the roof of the castle and then proceeded to attack us. Why, he ended up giving me a broken nose when we tried to retaliate!" Luna rubbed her nose when the memory of being struck by the flat end of his terrible blade "How else do you think the wall behind us ended up like that? He smacked me directly into it!" the group gasped again upon hearing the recent revelation, this will only serve to make their talk with the heroes much more difficult.

"But, that doesn't make any sense. Why would Sven attack you" Rarity asked "He wouldn't have attacked you without some sort of cause could he?"

"Maybe the feller was just scared" Applejack chimed in "I'd be thrashing around too if I just crashed into the ceiling like that from the sky. It could just be an accident"

"Aiushtha told me that he would only fight unless challenged or provoked. Something must've happened for him to go berserk like that" Fluttershy joined in.

Rainbow dash on the other hoof stayed quiet, there was something troubling her mind. Twilight could see her friends distress and decided to ask her what was wrong.

"What wrong Rainbow? You're not acting like your usual bombastic self" Twilight could see that Rainbow's head was hanging little lower than usual "Does it have to do anything with Sven and his attack on the princesses?" Rainbow finally took notice of her friends words and shook herself out of her gloomy state.

"It's nothing, nothing at all. I was just... spacing out that's all" she replied with her trademark attitude that all her friend knew her for. Twilight raised an eyebrow at her response "Really! I'm fine, don't worry about it" Twilight could easily see through her friends shallow lie like it was hiding behind a clean window. But she respected her friend's privacy and decided to leave it at that.

"Try as you might to defend your so called friends, we stand by the fact that they are a threat to everypony and all of Equestria. Hence forth, they will be detained, tried, and sent to Gladius prison where they will rot for the years to come!" Luna viciously exclaimed to her subjects "So go ahead, let them parley with us. In the end, they will be locked up and you will all be commended for bringing these disgraceful criminals to justice!" she righteously exclaimed. But just as she finished Celestia pulled her to the side and demanded that they speak in private.

"Sister, can I have a word with you?" Luna complied and walked over to Celestia by their thrones "In the mean time everypony, why not help yourselves to this little banquet?" with a clap of her hooves a group of maids and butlers entered the room with carts filled with delicious foods. From hay fries to pies and even a scrumptious two tiered cake. There was even a bowl of diamonds just for Spike whom lips were dripping with saliva upon the very sight of it's natural shine.

"You all enjoy yourselves while my sister and I talk about about your.... friends" Celestia and Luna properly excused themselves from the room but not before turning around and telling Twilight "Twilight, would you also ask your new friends to come in the castle. We will be meeting with them shortly" they then turned around and retreated back to their own chambers to figure out what to do with their new guest.

Twilight had a feeling that felt like a mix of excitement and uncertainty building up in her gut. On one side, the princesses were willing to meet the heroes on more friendlier term. On another, there's always the moon or the castle garden's collection of statues. Twilight shuddered at the thought of seeing her new mentor and his friends sent to the moon or frozen in an oblong position as a still, cold and lifeless statues around the garden maze she had traverse through so many time as the princess's personal student.

She turned to see her friends and her brother enjoying the little banquet that the princess had been so thoughtful to put out for the. To be honest, Twilight and the other's hadn't really eaten anything since they left in the early morning. The others were enjoying the food but that didn't meant that all was well. On each of their face Twilight could tell there was something bothering all of them, possibly involving their newfound friends. Twilight still can't believe how much trouble they got themselves in least than a week since they were accidentally thrown into Equestria.

She begins to wonder how they will be able to return to their own world once they get reunited with their lost friend. With that said, she still had to gather the others so that they can see if they really can be reunited with him at all. All the thinking and stress was starting to get to her head, there was also the wedding to think about after. Again, the same mixture of excitement and uncertainty curdled in her gut, it was beginning to feel a little too nauseous for her taste. Without haste she excused herself from the group and set off to tell the others of their audience with the princesses.

"I hope this wasn't a bad idea...." she silently thought to herself.

"Do you really think Twilight can convince these princesses to let us see Sven?" Aiushtha asked her friends who were casually conversing amongst themselves. Her words caught all their attention and they turned to voice their opinions with her.

"I hope so my dryad friend" Rhasta said "If we are going to try and return to our own world, then everyone has to be present. Just like on the battlegrounds we shall leave no ally behind. There may be five of us but we move as one!" everyone agreed with the wrapped shaman. Gondar on the other hoof has some doubts about the whole situation.

"I really don't want to sound like.... that guy but what if they don't let us see Sven?" his friends traded worried looks "If you think about everything up to now, our reception isn't exactly the warmest. The ponies back in Ponyville didn't seem to like us and that fight earlier didn't help our cause. Plus you heard that Shining Armor, the princesses sent that welcoming party to greet us personally. We ain't welcome here" the mood dropped a little, doubt was on everyone's mind. Rubick decided to brighten the mood by reassuring them about their new friends.

"Now's not the time to be so negative Gondar. We know how you felt when those guards attacked us and we are thankful for defending us like that, we also thank you for not killing anyone. That would've been horrific for our already bad reputation" the mood lifted back up again as Rubick continued his cobbled together pep talk "We must have faith in our new friends, Twilight is one of the princesses personal protege so I'm sure she could at least let us talk to them without fear of having more guards being sent our way"

"I certainly hope so my green friend, the thought of having a nation's rulers come down upon us is an unpleasant dream" Rhasta interjected "I've been chased by plenty of angry customers before, I don't want to have to run away from a enraged ruler. From what I heard from three young fillies, someone got sent to the moon before because of them" the others raised an eyebrow.

"Really? That doesn't sound very good" Aiushtha said with a hint of fear on her voice before returning to her cheery self again "Hopefully that doesn't happen to us, I can't help the denizens of the verdant woodlands on the moon!" Rubick on the other hand was quite interested on hearing about this.

"Really now? That sounds incredibly fascinating, Twilight did tell me that the princesses controlled the sun and the moon. I must research this if and when we are on friendlier terms with them" Rubick began to ponder the wonders of discovering such a intriguing use of magic. Although he wouldn't be unjustly sending anyone to the moon just to tickle his fancy, Mirana and Luna would have him skinned alive if he did. Gondar just rolled his eyes at Rubick as his inner scholar began to take over himself.

"Benevolent rulers that can control that sun and the moon eh? Of course you would be interested in that kind of thing" he mentioned before turning to Rhasta "Say Rhasta, you mentioned three fillies right? Kind of like the ones we met before leaving the train station earlier today?" Rhasta nodded.

"Hmm, yes, they are one in the same my yellow friend" Rhasta answered.

"Why don't you tell us what you did yesterday with them to pass the time? Sounded like you guys had one heck of an adventure while the rest of us were out doing our own thing. Me? I just slept the rest of the day" Gondar asked which gave Rhasta an even wider grin. Everyone turned their heads and gave Rhasta their undivided attention, there was nothing to do after all so a story was perhaps thing right about now.

"Ah, yes! A story to tell!" he became incredibly excited, he hadn't told a good story in a while. Most of the stories he'd ever talk about recently involve his actions with the ancients and the other heroes. It was quite refreshing to tell a new story to his friend "Well it all started when we decided to go our separate ways yesterday. When I found a good spot to sit dow-"

"WE HAVE HEARD ENOUGH!" Rhasta and the rest were taken completely off guard as the ground shook with a light tremor, nearly knocking over everyone else if they weren't already preternaturally aware of it. Everyone turned to look at the castle with a perplexed look.

"What the hell was that?" Gondar was the first to speak up. Rubick spoke with a voice that was less than excited.

"Sounds like our early invitational to the moon..." he darkly joked which worried everyone else. They shook it all off and looked to the brighter side of things, at least Twilight and her friends were making some sort of progress. If only they had known that it was Shining Armor that actually caused the initial reaction. They all looked at each other, not sure of what to do now with the sudden outburst of what was presumed to be very angry rulers. Rhasta tried to lighten the mood by continuing his story.

"Well, lets see where I left off. Hmm, ah, yes!" he remembered as all his friends paid attention to him again "I had just found a good place to sit down later that da-" Rhasta was cut off as he felt a tug pull on his wrappings. He turned around and was met with a very peculiar sight.

It was a older stallion of a unicorn. The stallion had a bright blue coat and had a auburn colored mane. Most of his features however were cover by an pristine robe of rose like red and lined with golden thread. From the back all the way to the hood he was cloaked in a brilliant robe that made him appear noble in a way.

The group just stared at him, was he one of castle staff? Or maybe some of the pony royalty? Their pondering was cut short when the unicorn levitated over a small little clay bowl that contained some pieces of coins, various shards of small jewels and a few pieces of bread. They all looked at the unicorn, was he offering them that? When Gondar reached out to try and grab the piece of bread he was stopped by Rhasta.

"No my yellow friend. You don't take, you give" Rhasta was the only one of the group who knew what the bowl was. It was an alms bowl. But the unicorn's appearance was misleading, he wore extravagant garments that represented the fact the he could wealthy, yet he accepts offering for an alms bowl. This raised a few concerns for the shaman. He could be a pony that wore good clothes but is poor, or a wealthy and greedy unicorn that only wants more. His train of thoughts were cut short when the pony began to speak.

"Greetings and salutations my fellow sisters and brethren of ponykind, alms for the cause?" the unicorn asked with a raspy yet bold voice "it would mean very much to us even if it was just one bits kind sirs and madams" the heroes continued to stare at him with a perplexed look.

"Forgive me for asking but who's this us you're referring too mister?" Aiushtha asked.

"Why, the descendants of course. Surely you have heard abou- Oh my goodness!" he suddenly exclaimed as he jumped back in surprise with his jaw slammed directly at the ground "You are a doe! I thought you and your kind were wiped out centuries ago!" he shouted yet Aiushtha just looked at the pony confusingly.

"Really now? Well I guess that makes me the last of my kind then doesn't it?" Aiushtha lied with carefully chosen words, making sure to stay as inconspicuous as possible without letting on the fact her knowledge of Equestria was limited. The Unicorn struggled to lift his jaw back up as he regained his composure, albeit with some shakiness laced within his voice.

"W-w-well it's a l-l-ong s-story, I-I wouldn't want to b-bore you w-with the d-details" he let out which only serve to strengthen the stares that he was still receiving from his peers. With a quick clearing of is throat, he steeled himself and continued with the donation.

"Apologies for acting like that in front of your friend, think nothing more of it" he thought he cleverly dodged some questions but the heroes were no fools. They could all tell that he was hiding something but they decided not to press on it... yet.

"If you still wish to know about who the descendants are then I would be more than willing to educate you on our glorious struggle for harmony!" he spoke with a staggering amount of zeal. Aiushtha, Gondar, Rhasta and Rubick expressed only slight interest in the subject. The unicorn just gave off some air of uncertainty after his little freakout with Aiushtha, but they all decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Well in short, we are the largest charity group in all of Equestria. We do our best to help the unfortunate all over glorious Equestria! We modeled ourselves after the original six pony who founded Equestria" he then pulled out a scrappy looking tome from underneath his robe and flipped to a page in the book that had a large picture that took up two whole pages.

"Our organization got it's name and ideology from the ponies in this picture" depicted in the picture was six ponies under one flag. Two earth ponies, two unicorns, and two pegasus were the focal point of the image. Even with the simplistic structure of the picture, the features and grace of the ponies were greatly exaggerated to showcase their excellence.

The unicorns were beautifully slender and had long, sharp almost needle like horns. The earth ponies were lithe yet there were obvious signs of sculpted muscle tone that appeared to rival that of a goddess. The pegasi were depicted soaring majestically above the other ponies with large enchanting wings.

The unicorn pointed to the first pair of ponies which were the earth ponies. One was dressed in average looking attire while the other appeared to have had a large bowl of pudding atop their head. Judging by the clothes, they were the everypony of the group.

"The one with the large bowl of pudding atop their head is Chancellor Puddinghead and her lackey, Secetary Smart Cookie" The group just couldn't believe those names "Adventurous and bold, these two are the earth ponies that helped with the discovery of our great nation He then pointed on over the pair of pegasi. They wore a set of silver armor that suggested they were quite militaristic in nature.

"The two here are none other then the mighty General Hurricane and Private Pansy" Aiushtha chuckled at the name Private Pansy "They were the pegasi of the group. Noble as they were courageous, they too helped to establish the foundation of Equestria" he moved his hoof to show the last pair in the picture, the unicorns. One wore a crown and magnificent cape while the other wore a raggedy robe, both with their horns lit up. They looked like a classic depiction of royalty.

"Finally, we come to Princess Platinum and her faithful companion, Clover the clever" he seemed to ooze upon mentioning their names, possible because of kinship considering the fact they were unicorns "Graceful and wise, they, along with everypony else worked together and historically settled the feud between the three pony races that had lasted for generation. Together, the six of them defeated the dastardly windigoes that plagued the old kingdoms and founded Equestria as the result!"

"Our organization was formed only half a century later. Because our ancestors were the original six founders, it only seemed natural that we named ourselves: The Descendants" the unicorn stopped to take a breather "We devoted ourselves to selflessly helping ponykind and to fulfill the eternal wish of our glorious ancestors" Aiushtha raised an eyebrow at the last statement, it just gave off some sort of bad vibe.

"Might I ask what is their wish? I'm fairly interested" the unicorn jumped back again as Aiushtha addressed him. He was freaking out again but he collected himself just enough to answer her.

"When our ancestors founded Equestria, they founded more than just a nation" he spoke with zeal "They found, a destiny!" Aiushtha felt distressed upon hearing more of his words "Yes a great destiny! A magnificent destiny! A destiny that only ponykind so rightfully deserves!" he hacked out a few coughs "...I'm afraid I said too much, you must find that out for yourselves. You can find out if you join our order, are any of you interested in joining? Save for the doe of course...."

The ponies words were dripping with venom as he talked about Aiushtha. She just turned her head and looked the other way. The other heroes however, didn't want to join some odd organization just because they don't know about some irrelevant destiny. They have their own hooves filled already.

"Uh... thanks for the offer but I kind of already belong to an order of maguses" Rubicked quickly retorted hoping to steer clear of the zealot "Why don't you just continue your story hmm?" the unicorn was saddened at the response but he shook it off and continued on.

"Eventually, our great nation was soon lead by the alicorn sisters. The story of how they came to power was forever lost by the ages but their presence alone stands as a testament to the power and might of the pony race" the unicorn's voice grew more and more zealous as he continued with his grand conclusion.

"Together, with hoof, wing, and horn, the ponies race will continue to expand our reach beyond the borders!" The group began to slowly back away as the zealot started to grew unsettling with his giddiness. Gondar decided to take action and drive the nutcase away. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a few pieces of coin and hastily tossed it into the alms bowl. As he did so, he also grabbed the pony and began to push him away from them.

"Gee, thanks for the insight buddy, here's a few coins for your troubles" he said as he pushed the zealot away "Well would you look at that? Time flies when you're listening to a story about..... something I don't really care about. Time to get going there, got a bunch of other ponies to beg to don't you?" he continued to push the pony more forcefully towards the castle gates. But before he left, the pony asked them a question.

"Say, now that I realize it, your clothes look kind of funny. Why is that guy over there dressed like a mummy? And why do you have a mask?" Gondar immediately responded to the questions.

"Uh.. We're from out of country. Just visiting some relatives that's all" he lied but his lie seemed to only pique the pony's interest.

"Just asking but, how long are you staying in Canterlot?" he asked. Rubick was the one to respond this time with his own brand of intellectual deception.

"I'd say a two months, give or take" he partially told the truth but that only made the lie all the more believable. Surprisingly, the response gave the pony a wide grin.

"Ah, good! That's good! You'll be around for it then!" he squealed with near tangible joy.

"I'm afraid to ask but.... around for what exactly?" Aiushtha asked the zealot who jumped again.

"Around for the great cleanse of course. The descendants have been waiting a good few thousand years for this!" he had on the wide grin once more "It will be spectacular! True harmony will be achieved the world over! The great Faust will smile down upon us once we carry out our ancestor's wish" he then turned to Aiushtha.

"It really is a shame a creature as beautiful as yourself won't be around to see it" Aiushtha reeled back in fear from the murderous aura that was emanating from the unicorn "But we all know how deceptive and greedy your kind is...."

Gondar had enough of this pony's incessant rambling. And to badmouth Aiushtha like that? A creature that was practically the living embodiment of kindness and beauty? This guy was just asking for a kick to the face, so that was what he did.

"Hey, I have a great idea to where you should go beg to next!" Gondar turned around and pulled his legs back "The hospital!" with all the strength he could muster on such short notice, he gave the deer hating zealot a poweful buck to teh face that sent hill rolling down all the way to lower Canterlot "Jeez, what a freak"

"Though I don't normally condone your actions Gondar, you did me a favor by getting that doe hater out of here" Aiushtha thanked Gondar. He acknowledged her thanks and returned to his spot where Rhasta looked at him inquisitively.

"Aside from the mysterious zealot, where did you get that money? I thought we lost everything when we fell in the dark depths of the black hole" he asked. Gondar then proceeded to pull out a large sack of bits out of his backpack and shook it around with a soft jingly sound.

"I may have relieved some of the guards of their coin when I defeated them. Figured since I was victorious I might as well help myself to the spoils" he put the bag back into his backpack as he chuckled ever so slightly upon reminiscing about beating up the group of so called elite guards. Just as he was relishing the memory, his enhance hearing picked up the sound of faint hoofsteps coming from the castle. They were light and had a rhythmic cadence to it.

"Shh... I think Twilight's coming" he told everyone. Together they all scrambled into position as they awaited to meet Twilight "So how'd it go Twi-" When the door slowly slid open they not greeted with the presence of the lavender unicorn. Instead, they were met with a pink alicorn who had a very shaky look upon her face. She pulled out of the door slowly with her eyes shifting about nervously, she immediately jumped upon noticing the three oddly dressed pony and the doe.

"Oh! H-hello there my loyal subjects" she hastily assumed a regal stance to address her peers "To whom do I owe the pleasure of meeting such.... unique ponies"

"A little unicorn named Twilight" Rhasta replied. The alicorn continued to look around again. She immediate caught her action and collected herself.

"Ah, pardon my rudeness but I must be heading somewhere. Please excuse me" Without haste the alicorn quickly dashed off towards the side of the castle and disappeared just like that.

"Well this day keeps getting more and more interesting" Rubick spoke the moment the alicorn was nowhere near them.

"You said it" Gondar then picked something up again with his elevated hearing, he was hearing hoofsteps by the door again. The castle doors swing open revealing none other than Twilight Sparkle. With a gentle smile on her face she motioned for them to come into the castle. One by one they entered the castle in a single filed line following their guide.

"So how was the wait? I hope you didn't get bored out of your minds waiting like that" she asked curiously as they trotted through the halls of the castle.

"It wasn't actually all that bad. Except for when we ran into a zealot with riveting tales and a nervous looking pony" Rubick replied. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"A zealot and a nervous looking pony? Care to elaborate?" the group looked at each other before replying.

"Well, some robed pony snuck up on us with an alms bowl" Aiushtha replied. Twilight began to think. A few seconds of pondering, a metaphorical light bulb popped atop her head.

"Ah! You must be talking about the descendants! They're the biggest charity organizations in Equestria" she answered "They mean well, they've been helping out the citizens of Canterlot ever since they formed around the time of the founding of Equestria. They're perhaps one of the kindest group I know in all of Equestria!" she beamed as she continued her exposition

"Aside from the princesses, who else selflessly devotes themselves to helping out all of pony kind! Did you know they based themselves off the original six that helped to find Equestria?" while Twilight was excited to talk about them, the heroes were indifferent toward the organization.

"Yes dear, the pony gave us an in depth lecture about their history..." Rubick wished he could erase that part of his memory "You may be right about most of that young Twilight, but we beg to differ about their kindness" Rubick spoke. Twilight raised her eyebrow again.

"Really? What do you mean?" Aiushtha stepped forth and became to explain the way the pony treated her.

"The pony kept on jumping whenever I tried to speak with him, he also seemed very... fearful of my presence. He told us that my kind was wiped out long ago. Near the end of our surprise meeting he acted so cruel towards me...." A small tear slid down from her face. As she silently cried the atmosphere took a dive for the worst. The Enchantress crying was a crime in and of itself, the one who committed the crime deserved to be quartered and sent to the four corners of Equestria.

All over Canterlot, Aiushtha's sadness took hold of the ponies. The citizens didn't know why they were so sad, but the feeling was unbearable. Some wept alongside the dryad. Others stayed silent in respect. While most simply stopped what they were doing. Even after Aiushtha regained her composure, everypony in Canterlot had a dark cloud hanging over their heads for the rest of the day.

Twilight couldn't believe what she just heard, how could a kind charity group act so hateful towards the enchantress. Rubick promptly explain how he only acted that way towards Aiushtha, to himself and the rest of the group he acted like they were his closest family members.

"This is strange indeed. Maybe he just wasn't used to seeing something that hadn't existed in such a long time?" Twilight tried to defend the descendants to the best of her abilities.

"Could be, Twilight, could be. Why don't we just forgot about it. Talking about this seems to be causing more harm than it should've" Rubick then remembered something else from their encounter "You wouldn't happen to know anything about a great cleanse would you?" Twilight shook her head.

"Sorry, doesn't ring any bells. What about the nervous looking pony?" Twilight asked "Can you describe them to me?" Rhasta attempted to recall the ponies specific features.

"Hmm, if memory serves, she was a female. She was pink and had long colorful hair. Oh, and she also had wings and horn. Does that help?" When Rhasta finished Twilight practically exploded with excitement as she hopped around the room again just like when they were strolling through the streets of Canterlot.

"I know for a fact that you just ran into the best foalsitter of all time!" she continued to hop around ecstatically like a little school filly who was just told they were accepted to the most prestigious school in all of Equestria. She stopped her incessant hopping after a while and collected herself

"Aw.... It's too bad I didn't run into her. I wanted to catch up her, remembering all those great moments we had together...." Twilight then began reminiscing about her foalhood and her past experiences with Cadence. Rubick had to wave his staff in front of Twilight's face to break her out of her trance.

"Uh, Twilight, dear? We're losing you here" Twilight snapped back into reality when she noticed the blobs of green substances that were floating around near her nose.

"Heh, sorry about that.... anywho, why did you think she looked so nervous?" Twilight asked.

"She was very easy to startle, when she noticed us her tongue got tied in a knot. Then she just ran away. Doesn't that count as being nervous?" Rhasta replied.

"Her wedding with my brother is only in a week. Wouldn't you be a nervous wreck too if you had to plan out a wedding let alone one where the entire nation might be attending?" the heroes traded nervous looks. Getting hitched wasn't on their list of priorities. Battling and going on with their daily lives left little time for other pursuits.

"The day someone comes to love a half troll, half unicorn, half.... something else will be the very same day that I come to fully understand the heavy burden your friend carries, Twilight. Eh heh heh ha!" Rhasta chuckled as he continued on with Twilight to the main court.

"If there aren't any other issues regarding your freak encounters, then maybe you would like to finally get a chance to eat something today" Twilight and the heroes approached a massive illuminated doorway that appeared to have been tirelessly crafted by some of the finest smiths and artisan from all over Equestria. When Twilight pushed open the door, the heroes were greeted with the same sight that their had experienced as well.

But the only thing that really caught their eyes was the banquet that lied in the center of the room. They all nonchalantly approached the wonderful spread and enjoy a much needed lunch break.

Even though some food and the company of friends helped to calm down her mind, the stress of knowing the princesses might disapprove of the heroes hung precariously over her head. For the rest of her meal, it felt like she was chewing on pieces of barbed wire, one agonizing bite at a time...

Celestia and Luna were in their own private chambers somewhere within the grand walls of the castle. Quiet and isolated from the rest of the world for the time being, they set to discuss the fate of five potentially dangerous ponies. While Celestia remained cool and collect during the whole conversation, Luna stamped back and forth in frustration that left deep palpable horseshoe markings all over the floor of the room.

"Honestly now sister, is it really necessary to well markings into the floor like that?" Celestia calmly asked which only served to enrage Luna even further.

"Enough of this! Did you really just drag me all the way here just so you can mock my righteous fury!" Luna ceased her stamping but the anger was still there "We shouldn't be in here having idle chit chat dear sister, we should be out in the court giving those conspirators what they truly deserve for nearly causing widespread panic all over Equestria. Not only that, they must be judged for attempting to murder us! We are the glue that holds this nation together!" she exclaimed with fire and fury.

"Without us, this world will fall apart!" even with slight use of the royal Canterlot voice, the room shook as if it was being hit by an earthquake. But Celestia remained steadfast, she was the older sibling and she knew how to handle her younger sister's tantrums. She simply stood up and walked over to the window. Luna, trying to maintain a cool head followed suit and walked to the window as well where they both stared at the whole of Equestria.

The window of their rooms had been designed to showcase Equestria in all of it's glory. With the city of Canterlot built onto the side of a mountain, the view from the window was absolutely breathtaking. As far as the eye could see it was the Land of Equestria, Using her magic, she appropriately perched the sun near the horizon during noon. The view went from breathtaking to absolute perfection of art. As they both looked over their homeland, Celestia greatly sighed as she turned to Luna.

"I brought you you here to talk about those conspirators, true. But I feel that there is much more to this than you and I originally perceived" She took a quick glance at Equestria again "It appears I had underestimated my student, it appears that I am the fool here" she looked to Luna and gained a look of seriousness "She wouldn't shout at us if it wasn't for a good reason"

"I don't trust these criminals anymore than you do, Luna, But if Twilight trust them, trust them enough that she would shout at us for being wrong, then I suppose we should give these conspirators the benefit of the doubt. To see if they are more than meets the eye" She looked back at Equestria again "Who knows? Perhaps we can all benefit from this" she mentioned. Luna raised an eyebrow.

"Benefit? How? Need I remind you that the blue one had the audacity to foolishly charge at us? And that one of his colleagues, just one, a mere earth pony! Defeated the greatest group of guards ever assembled all by himself?" she asked

"Twilight may be incredibly bright and her heart is pure, but I strongly believe she is making the wrong choice in the matter this time around. She and her friends freed me from my darkness, they stopped Discord, but she is going to try and prove some criminal's innocence? I feel as if our world is turning upside down sister.... " Luna couldn't handle the stress anymore, she levitated on over a pristine sofa and comfortably laid on her sides.

"I can assure you sister, the world is not ending just because my student has faith in her friends" Celestia lightly chuckled "I can also assure you we could bolster our defenses against the supposed Canterlot invasion during the wedding" Upon mentioning the Canterlot invasion, Luna immediately shot upright with eyes wide in disbelief.

"Whuah? How? In case you hadn't noticed dear sister, the elite guards are asking to be discharged from their positions just so they can become peaceful nomads! We lost our greatest asset to defend Equestria because of these miscreants! It would take months, maybe even years to build back the elite guards!" Celestia obliviously waved a hoof at the thought.

Luna just scoffed at her sister, she had grown soft over the years of her rule. Back in the day, crime to the throne was dealted with swiftly with extreme prejudice. But Luna was not a rock, she was flexible like any good ruler. She appreciated the notion of diplomatic solutions, but she just wished that Celestia would pick better times for talks of peace. Her train of thought was interrupted when Celestia began to speak.

"You really don't see what I see do you Luna?" Celestia had a smug look on her face, the kind that she developed specifically just to annoy her sister during times like these "Twilight and the others were prepared to go to Tartarus and back just to protect their friends. If these ponies really are as they say.... come now, figure out the rest" Luna didn't really know what her sister was talking about, she began to piece the clues together.

Her mind was working at maximum capacity. In her attempt to understand her sister, her face was scrunched up, making her look just like an omnipotent wrinkly blueberry. Slowly but surely the plan came together. When it finally did, Luna'a eyes beamed with a look of pride.

As it turns out, years of ruler Equestria had strengthen Celestia's mind rather than making her an inadequate ruler. If anything, Luna praised her for being so clever and witty. Born out of a problem was a solution that far outweighs the loss they recently acquired. It was a brilliant plan... if they could pull it off that is.

"Dear sister! I had no Idea you could come up with such a plan like this? Is there something in the air today?" she joked which elicited a laugh from her sister.

"I knew you would figure it out Luna. All it took was a little bit of thinking" Celestia then looked at the clock that was in the room, unlike yesterday they were on time with their talk. Punctuality is key to being a successful and altruistic ruler you know? "I believe that it is time to greet our new guest isn't it, Luna" she had a look of confidence on her face. Luna had more than a confidence, the fire within her had been stoked and they were burning brighter than ever.

"I believe it is, Celly" they both began to walk back to their court. Together, they gracefully trotted towards their new peers with the thought of victory in their minds. Victory against the futile invasion that will soon happen. Because they have a secret weapon aside from the elements of harmony themselves.....