//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: League of Nations // Story: Heart of Raven Black // by Vin Diesels Go-Kart //------------------------------// "Twilight! It's so good to see you!" Cadence yelled from across the hall. The two alicorns ran to each other and embraced, breaking off only to perform the ritual of their favorite rhyme. "Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" The two exchanged a laugh upon the conclusion. "I'm so glad you're here!" Twilight beamed. "Well it's good to be here. I heard the loud bang and saw the flash of light when coming in, but I had no idea what it was." "I do. I'll let you know the details when everypony is seated." Twilight's smile faded and she quickly reclaimed her serious demeanor. It was always great to see a good friend, but the princess couldn't get side tracked, especially now. Cadence walked over to the rest of the delegates in the conference hall. The other delegates, of course, weren't really delegates anymore than they were bureaucrats sent from various private sectors of the Equestrian free market. While Celestia was the main ruler of the kingdom, there were many other privately owned entities that liked to think they had power over decisions. Therefore, they often sent representatives to Canterlot whenever something unprecedented occurred, such as a city appearing in the sky. Twilight tolerated their presence, much like Celestia did, but deep down the alicorn didn't believe they had any real right to sit in on government proceedings. Twilight turned back to the entrance in time to welcome Malik, the Saddle Arabian ambassador. Malik was tall and handsome, and dressed in traditional attire. He bowed courtly to the princess. "It always pleases me to see a young ruler, such as yourself, head one of these conferences." "Thank you, Malik. With Celestia away and me knowing a fair amount of what's going on, I felt it necessary to call this meeting and inform you and the other delegates of what is happening." "Well in that case, I think I will just take my seat. I eagerly await this news you have." he smiled, walking past her. Twilight always felt he was far too positive for the position he held, but she figured he used the happy attitude as a buffer for his true feelings. Maintaining relations between countries and kingdoms wasn't easy. Twilight knew that first hoof, but he didn't seem to be at all disgruntled by it's daily taxes. The next individual to enter the room was none other than Kalder, the liaison from the griffon homeland. He was large and incredibly intimidating, even by griffon standards. Twilight didn't know his full story, hearing only bits and pieces from the princesses and other griffon delegates, but from what she gathered, Kalder used to be a general for the griffon military, leading a special force known as Talon Claw. They were the best of the best in matters of stealth and espionage, but also knew how to fight in full on combat as well. The griffon's face supported these rumors. There was a large scar running down the left side of Kalder's face, stopping just short of his eye. His beak was also chipped on one side, turning into a crack that was held together by two staples. The large griffon stopped in front of Twilight, looking down at her, but saying nothing. "Um, welcome to the conference center, Kalder." the princess hesitantly stated. He didn't take his eyes off her. "What is this about?" he asked coldly. Twilight had expected this kind of reaction from him. In the times she had seen Kalder, he always struck her as a griffon of few words, and one with a short fuse. "There has been an incident in the Everfree Forest. The hum....." "I'm already aware of the situation in the Everfree. My scouts have reported the presence of an alien city up there in the clouds." Twilight blinked, perplexed. "Have they made contact?" "No, they've been ordered to stay away from it until we have determined what they want." "Well that's what this meeting is about." Now it was Kalder's turn to look perplexed, though he was much better at hiding it. "You know what these creatures are here for?" "Well, I have a fairly good idea....." "Hmph, figures." he waved off. "You ponies always jump to conclusions as soon as some crisis occurs. You never stop to analyze a situation before deciding on a course of action. These brash decisions may have worked out for your kingdom in the past, but griffons conduct themselves with more reserve." he walked by Twilight, shaking his head. "I will stay and observe this hearing as requested, but I would advise you not to take any actions until more information has been gathered." The princess watched him as he calmly walked over and took his seat. If only you knew what I knew. she thought. Now that the final delegate had arrived, Twilight was ready to commence the hearing. She coughed a few times, clearing her throat, when she heard more voices echoing down the passageway. Quickly turning back to the threshold, the alicorn looked back just in time to see herself walking down the hallway with two guards. A castle assistant was leading them toward the conference center. "Right this way, princess. The other delegates are already waiting inside." "Good." Twilight heard in a voice that matched her's perfectly. "We have much to discuss." The castle assistant stopped immediately upon seeing Twilight standing in the doorway. He looked back and forth between the two Twilights, utter confusion plastered on his face. "B-but how?" Twilight looked just as confused, staring at her alternate self in shock. Her alternate self seemed much less surprised, grinning malevolently. She calmly strolled over to the entrance of the conference hall, her guards following closely. "If it isn't Twilight Sparkle, the newest 'princess' of Equestria." she laughed. Twilight backed up as she approached. "I never thought I'd be impersonating an alicorn version of you." "Who are you?" Twilight demanded. As if in response, the other Twilight erupted in a green column of energy. The other delegates looked away, the intense light causing them to raise their hooves defensively. Twilight had to close her eyes as well, the bright light blinding her. However, she had already seen enough to know who would be there when she opened her eyes again. As expected, when Twilight looked again, Chrysalis was standing where her mirror image had been. The changeling queen stood proudly before the delegates, smiling at their reaction to her. "Well you can't say I don't know how to make an entrance." she laughed, a sly look on her face. The queen didn't look much different from the last time she was in Canterlot. She stood taller than anypony else in the room, even taller than Luna. Her green hair and eyes stuck out against her otherwise black chitin, and her wings occasionally buzzed as her tail slowly waved back and forth. The two guards that had been standing next to her now revealed themselves to be changelings. They stood by their queen protectively as she spoke. "What are you doing here, vile creature?!" Both Luna and Cadence galloped to Twilight's side as nearby guards surrounded the three changelings. The two drones hissed at the ponies, but their queen merely laughed. "It's good to see you again, Luna! I was truly sad when I didn't see you at the wedding. I'm glad you're finally starting to come out of your shell." her green eyes turned to Cadence and her smile faded. "Though I will admit, I'm not entirely happy to see you again. That little trip over Equestria wasn't all that fun, but I did get a nice view of the countryside as I was screaming and flailing helplessly in the air." her smile returned. "Tell me, does Shining ever talk about me?" "Enough!" Cadence screamed, her horn lighting up. "How dare you come here and speak of my husband after everything you did!" "Oh please, it's not my fault I made a better you than you." Chrysalis said, rolling her eyes. The queen had a posture and attitude of dark, twisted regality. She held her head up high and stuck her nose even higher. "Anyway, I'd love to stand here and catch up, but I have bigger things on my plate." "What do you mean?" Cadence asked harshly. The queen maintained her grin, but walked over to a nearby chair and sat in it nonchalantly, twisting her hair with a hoof. "Well those clouds in the sky, for one thing. I'm assuming that is why all of these nice looking 'representatives' are here? Five of my scouts have reported strange things going on in the Equestrian skies, several have even seen strange objects flying around, so I decided to pay you all a visit to see what all the buzz was about." her wings buzzed as she said this. "After all, my changelings need a voice in matters such as these. If there is an outside threat to this world that I'm not aware of, I start to get very uncomfortable." she explained. "You expect us to believe that you're here simply because you want to stay informed?" Cadence asked, clearly not buying it. The queen gave her an annoyed look. "Do you honestly think I would walk into a room full of ponies with a mere two of my subjects if I intended to start a conflict?" "Of course not." Luna answered. "You changelings don't have the courage to fight in open combat. You use cowardly tactics of sneaking and lies to get what you want!" Chrysalis nodded. "While this is very true, I'm sorry to say it isn't the case in this particular situation. I really do just want to find out what's going on." Cadence stepped forward as her horn grew even brighter, causing Chrysalis to frown. "Still not sold?" "I'm going to send you back on that trip over Equestria so you can get a good look at what's going on outside firsthoof!" "Ooooh, Cadence. I may feed off of love, but I can sense quite a bit of hatred in you. It's actually making me consider switching diets." the queen jested. Twilight tapped Cadence on the shoulder, getting her attention. She then put a hoof across her chest and extended it slowly, exhaling as she did. Cadence nodded and mimicked the gesture with an audible exhale to match her frustration. When this was done, the princess seemed much more calm. "Thanks Twilight, I'm glad you remember that one." she smiled slightly. "Guess, you've gotten to the point where you're teaching me how to be an effective leader." "Just reminding you." Twilight said with a wink. She then turned her attention back to the changeling queen. "You can't stay here. I won't allow the safety of this kingdom to be compromised by the likes of you. "Au contraire, my little pony. It is you who will be endangering your kingdom if you kick me out." "What do you mean?" The queen smiled again. "Luna may have been correct in her statement about my usual tactics. Indeed, disguises and beautiful lies are how I usually get things done, but you of all ponies should know that my armies are vast and quite numerous. If I am denied a seat here today, I may then be inclined to declare war tomorrow. I'm sure the last thing any of you want is that kind of headache on top of.....whatever this is" She stood up and walked over to one of her subjects, rubbing it under its chin with a hoof. "However, if we were to establish some kind of temporary alliance, then maybe you would find us to be useful allies instead of crippling enemies." the changeling drone smiled blissfully as its queen continued to stroke it. "So what do you say, princess?" Twilight turned to Luna, who was giving her a worried look. "What do you think?" "I don't trust these creatures in the slightest, but I also don't want the Royal Guard dealing with them if the situation with the humans deteriorates." Luna replied. Twilight nodded. "And what about you, Cadence?" The other princess looked distraught. "If having her here will keep the peace, then I'm willing to tolerate it." she decided. "I still don't like it though." Twilight turned back to the changeling queen. "Alright, you can stay, but if you try anything, we won't hesitate to act." she warned. This decision was met with various moans of protest from the other delegates, who clearly didn't want the changelings present. None argued with the princess' decision, however, and soon the conference hall was called to order as the representatives listened to Twilight's explanation of the situation with various degrees of interest. Though as the alicorn's explanation went on, that interest was soon replaced with fearful apprehension. * * * Apple Bloom walked to the outermost fields of Sweet Apple Acres. After Applejack had brought her back to the farm, her older sister had been brought back into town with several guards, leaving the little filly with nothing but the general instruction to do chores. How Applejack thought her little sister would be able to do farm work after everything that had happened in the past few hours, Apple Bloom didn't know. She also didn't know why her sister had been called back to Ponyville, but she guessed it had something to do with the strange things that went on in the sky a while ago. The filly continued to walk aimlessly when she heard a caw in the sky. Looking up, the filly saw a flock of crows flying low over the fields. Hiding behind a tree, she noticed they weren't flying towards her, but over to a clearing in the south field. Now what in Equestria could they be lookin at? she wondered. It didn't take long for curiosity's alluring call to convince Apple Bloom to follow the birds. She started walking toward where the birds seemed to be gathering, watching as they slowly descended into the trees that surrounded the clearing. It was then that something strange caught the young filly's attention. Just over the top of the trees, Apple Bloom could see what looked like the top of a large dome. It looked to have a gold color with some kind of burgundy tarp draped over it. She quickly became hesitant to continue, but this thing was on her property and she would at least see what it was before running to tell Big Mac or Granny Smith. As the small pony neared the clearing, she noticed a few of the crows occasionally glance down at her. The birds were clearly aware of her presence, but seemed far more interested in whatever was parked just beyond the trees, as was Apple Bloom herself. She got closer to the clearing, getting lower and quieter with each step, like a predator stalking its oblivious prey. Bang Bang Bang Bang! Apple Bloom froze in place, hugging the ground as much as possible. Her ears were ringing as the sudden outburst of noise concluded and the clearing became silent. The crows had all dispersed, flying away in different directions, except for one that had fallen to the ground right in front of the filly. She examined the dead bird before her. It looked to be bleeding from somewhere, but it was too dark in the brush to see exactly where. "Goddamn crows! You can bet those things were sent by a fuckin Zealot." she heard a man's voice say. The voice was deep and Apple Bloom sensed the hint of an accent that she wasn't familiar with. "Who cares? We won't be here long enough for it to matter anyway, but quit shootin up the damn place. We don't want no unwanted attention." a female voice responded. It shared a similar accent with the first voice. "Well Daisy better get back soon. It was stupid of us to let her go alone." "Orders are orders. We wait here and guard the First Lady til she gets back, and we don't bitch about it." "Yeah yeah, I just don't like her running around here by herself." Apple Bloom started to slowly back away from the clearing, being sure not to make a sound. She stayed low in the patch of tall grass, hoping it was enough to fully conceal her, when she heard more voices coming from behind.