"Cumber, I should like to buy an airship."
"My good Prince, you are a bit young to be flying."
"Not to use of course, just to look at. Right now seeing that empty harbor every day is like visiting an apple farm with no apples." In truth, I could count the days to when I would be able to fly an airship on my own. I wasn’t much of a colt anymore.
"It is ultimately your decision, but your funds aren't that large."
I reviewed my astronomical budget in my head. "False."
"I see you've mastered the ledgers."
"Don't try to change the topic."
"And learned to outmaneuver me. Very well, you may buy whatever pleases you, so long as you can get permission from Magick to participate in public life long enough to shop for one."
"Never mind, I didn't want an airship anyway." Not that badly.
We lapsed into a silent stroll through the garden. At length I said, "Sooner or later this must end. I'm sure by now Equestria sees me as a shut-in, not to mention elitist, given those who I am allowed to speak with are officials or foreign dignitaries. I'm not a child. I can make my own decisions."
"Then you shall have no trouble at the banquet tonight."
Ah yes, the banquet. A letter from the Princess a few weeks prior had instructed me to host a banquet to bring together three separate nations to try and improve the relationships between them. It was the first time I would have so many individuals at my estate at the same time. Perhaps I should focus on that and return to my need for more free will later.
Several hours later I was alone in my master bedroom, by which I mean I had one attendant waiting on me.
She stood by the door while I reviewed my reflection in the mirror. The military training had done away with the scrawny colt. Instead there was an almost full sized white pony with combed mane and a smart purple and gold embroidered jacket.
I used my magic to pull a rose from a vase by the mirror, stripping the thorns in the process. The red petals faded to a shade of light blue. I pinned the corsage to my lapel and went down to greet the guests.
"A lovely touch," my attendant commented about the flower as I passed. "It goes with your eyes."
"Thank you."
The Saddle Arabians were naturally the first to arrive in an extravagant zeppelin pulled by a train of pegasi with graceful long legs and wings common to their race. Saddle Arabians looked almost horse-like, but it was a horrible offense to say so. Both horses and Saddle Arabians would become enraged if they thought somepony could not tell the obvious differences between them.
I greeted the young ambassador and her husband, along with several royals.
"Prince Blueblood," the ambassador returned the greeting. The tassels on her decorative bridle swayed as she spoke. "If I may have a word with you before the social hour is over."
Behind us the chariots from Canterlot were arriving.
"Of course." I dipped my head. "Perhaps now is best, before I go to greet the others."
"Very well. We've had some unusual disturbances in the kingdom related to Changelings as of late."
This was surprising news, given Changelings kept to themselves and lived quite far from Saddle Arabia. "That is odd. Nothing serious I hope?"
"We managed to banish them back to the wastelands. At least I may have some peace of mind knowing you have no such problem here, else we may have had a widespread infestation on our hooves."
"Have you spoken with the griffons?"
The Saddle Arabian ambassador to Equestria stiffened ever so slightly. "No. I was hoping to do so tonight in lieu of my colleague, who could not attend the occasion."
An interesting aside about griffons and Changelings: because the two share the same territory so-to-speak, it is not uncommon to hear scholars wonder if griffons are coldhearted and warlike because the Changelings feed on love. In truth griffons are as "civilized" as anyone else, and most of their battles are for sport, like jousting is for the Crystal Empire.
Changelings on the other hoof...
I bowed out of the conversation. "I will keep what you have said in mind. If you'll excuse me, I must greet the guests from Canterlot." As I welcomed each group of classy equines, the number of those filtering in to the great hall of my estate grew. Inside they would be able to entertain themselves with hors d'oeuvres and live music.
Well, that would be the case if the musicians had arrived, and at the moment I was starting to feel anxious. I'd almost run out of ponies to talk to on the front lawn when a mare pulling a carriage came tearing down the lane. She slowed so as not to alarm anyone and pulled up as close to the front doors as possible. Cumber took charge of the situation from his post at the door and I was surprised to see three, not two musicians exit the carriage.
I gave a small cough and used my magic to pull a white kerchief from my coat while one of the four ponies I was talking to went on about an up and coming high society pony named Fancypants. I dabbed my mouth with the kerchief and pretended to be distracted while I observed the extra musician. She was young, not older than myself, with a gray coat and dark mane. She would've seemed colorless but for the striking violet eyes that matched the treble clef cutie mark. Given the news I had just heard about Changelings I was unnerved by a pony I did not recognize, but the threat turned out to be nonexistent. One of the ponies in the two-piece ensemble was tutoring her and wanted her to network while her hooves were not full with an instrument for once. He apologized for not notifying us in advance.
At any rate, the griffons arrived late as always, right after the social hour ended and everyone convened in the dining hall for dinner. Now, ‘invite Saddle Arabians, Equestrians, and Griffons to the same function' was not exactly my idea of a safe plan, but it was thus far the only instruction I’d had from the Princess. With that on my mind I took my place in the dining room.
It was hard for me to see everyone from the head of the table that could comfortably fit about 40 guests. I was too young to be doing this, and greeting higher ranking officials as an equal earlier felt incredibly awkward. I ignored the urge to nibble at the blue rose pinned to my lapel. The first time I had done so in public, Cumber gave me a glare so terrible the nervous habit died before it ever had a chance to begin.
Tense, low conversation hummed around the immense table while each of the three groups tried to sit segregated from each other and failed. In the end the Saddle Arabians sat on one side and the Griffons the other, with the Canterlot ponies dotted here and there as the inevitable, uncomfortable go-betweens. It was my job to try and make this dinner survivable for everybody, so I cast a frantic eye at the gray music pony and she seemed to understand: the music resumed a few minutes after I began my formal welcome by ringing a small bell next to my table setting.
"Thank you all of you for being able to attend on such short notice. Now I know our three nations have not been on the best of terms lately, and yet all of you here at this moment chose to show up for a simple social and dinner together. So for the next hour there will be no talk of national affairs or internal problems and no mention of past grievances. Talk about anything else. Talk about your family, your childhood, the activities you enjoy doing, the foods you cannot stand. Look at the person across from you. You probably know nothing about each other. Please try to learn something new about that person tonight. That is all. Thank you."
The mood in the room had shifted from avoidance to stiff curiosity. At least for an hour many of the creatures here would set aside the anger they had for each other because of something ancestors they never knew did.
My staff brought the food out, and the rest of the meal was pleasantly uneventful. Due to the width of the table the ponies and griffons were required to speak up, and while no one moved from their half of the table to the other in order to hear better, I did notice the extra volume meant it was easy for groups to talk to one another over their dinner as opposed to the usual chatter with the left or right conversation partner. We weren't going to win any battles today, but it was a start.
Later that night after the last guest had left and ponies were busy cleaning up, Cumber approached me. "Well done Prince," he said. "You pass."
I had suspected it was some sort of test from the Princess. "If I may ask, what was I being tested on?"
Cumber's ability to keep a butlery appearance at all times always amazed me. "The Princess was seeing if you would get through the night without starting an international war. Do not look so alarmed. Yes it was a risky situation, but you were ready. Do you know why?"
I considered it and could not think of any one thing in particular. "No, I'm afraid I do not."
"Because you believed."
Behind us silverware clattered as a pony collected the utensils and tossed them into a washing bin. The wheels on a serving trolley squeaked. Plates stacked together clacked and staff members chattered about how unusual the griffons were and other snippets of gossip.
Cumber explained, "You believed in the possibility that species could set aside their differences for a short period of time. If you weren't sincere in that hope, then the likelihood your words would have succeeded in capturing everyone's curiosity is small."
"I suppose it is the same as an insincere apology, then. It is easy to tell when someone does not mean what they say."
"Of course. If you do not care about the words you speak, ponies will sense it. So either you must care, or you must make yourself care by learning why it matters or accepting a different point of view.” Cumber's eyes twinkled. "There is an alternative if none of those is possible. Be an excellent liar."
"Again," the Captain ordered.
I fired at the target on the basement wall. A weak blue beam streamed from my horn and touched the stones. I had my eyes rolled up as far as I could to see where the end of the beam was. Hopefully one day I would have an instinct for where the line hit, but for now I had to go by sight because I had no sense for where a straight line from my horn went.
The blue light traced a wobbly path from the wall to the target. A tail of smoke rose out of the target's outer ring. My mind felt like it was crawling with ants and I wanted to yell or scratch. The sensation became unbearable and the beam shuddered on and off and then died. The target had a charred smudge on it, like a fire slug had crawled three inches and gotten bored.
"Again."
I wrinkled my snout in anticipation of the crawling feeling. The Captain wasn't giving me any recovery time now, so at least my head was in the right position. I cringed and shot again, ants rushing into my brain. The beam struck the target and I let go. A hole smoked near the center.
My neck felt stiff and I lifted my head and shook it off. The Captain was not impressed even though after so many tries I had finally gotten this far. "Again."
I had the royal right to pitch a fit, but it would get me nowhere. I needed to learn this. Once more I aimed my horn at the same target and pulled at the magic, sending an azure shaft straight into the wall. I missed. I shifted my weight onto my right forehoof and ground it against the flagstones in irritation.
The Captain said "again" in the same tone he'd used the entire time. If his purpose was to make me angry, it was working. Again. Again. Again.
Spitting on the ground would be an improper way to express aggravation, so I balled the frustration up and weaved it into the spell, merging magic with emotion like the advanced spell books said to do. For the most part my feelings raged uselessly, but I felt the network of magic in me quicken a little. I bit down at the physical exertion this spell required, lowered my head, and fired. This time a strong blue beam went straight from the tip of my horn into the target. It was over quickly: a proper magic shot.
"That will do for now."
A bead of sweat trickled past my ear and I rubbed it away. I'd gotten the spell right, hadn't I?
"You need to learn to channel your emotions. Now come, Princess Celestia wants to see you and we can't keep her waiting or she will become suspicious."
I wondered in fright why she would be suspicious. Was the underground training facility something she was not aware of?
The Captain sighed and opened the way to the surface. Without his spell I could be trapped in the room indefinitely. "It was a joke."
And that is why military officers should never tell jokes.
Princess Celestia was indeed waiting for me outside the guard compound. Unlike the first time, when I'd been filled with excitement, now I only felt apprehension. What did she want? Was I doing something wrong? What was I supposed to be doing anyway? These thoughts bubbled in my mind as I stepped over the invisible threshold where my guard pony glamour began to fade until I was a regular old unicorn again. For some reason the magic didn't do that with the other guards.
I was standing in front of the ruler of Equestria. "Ah, oh, excuse my bad manners Princess. Good evening." I sank down on one foreleg in a deep bow befitting the ruler of Equestria. It had gotten late without me noticing in the underground chamber. "I am a bit surprised you wanted to see me," I said without lifting my head. "Is there something I've done wrong?" The worry slipped out of my mouth before I could reign it in.
"No," the Princess chuckled, "and you needn't worry about being so formal just now. There is nopony here who would be offended." I righted myself and opened my eyes to see the Sun's slightly mischievous smile. Indeed there was nopony around, save a few guards on duty who had no interest in royalty. Celestia turned. "Walk with me."
I had not been to the castle garden since I was barely a colt. Stone and marble depictions of famous ponies weaved in and out of sculpted bushes and beds of flowers. The garden was a popular destination for school field trips. It reminded me of the days I had friends and was not shut up in a secret room somewhere studying.
The alicorn who had lived over a thousand years tried to make casual conversation with me. It was so absurd as to be laughable. Imagine all of the things she could have said!
She spoke as any friend would. "How are your studies going?"
“They are going well,” I said, drawing the words out as does a pony who is not inclined to elaborate. I watched the falling sun cast orange glows on the statues in the castle garden. Surely Princess Celestia would need to raise the moon soon.
“It does not sound as though you are enjoying it much.”
“Oh, no, that’s not it at all. I love learning, it’s simply I don’t know what I am learning all of this for. Learning for the sake of learning is fine, but I believed the knowledge would also be useful. Can you not tell me anything more now that I am caught up in the promise I made all that time ago?” I looked at the Princess, but she had moved her head to see some distant spot in the sky.
“I can only say that we will need you more than ever soon. Too soon. Not soon enough.” She stopped walking and turned to face me. Long shadows drew sharp accents around her tired features, the features of a pony who has fought too many battles alone. My glimpse of that expression was fleeting, as it disappeared when the Princess spoke: “I am sorry I have not been able to meet with you sooner. I wish I could personally teach every pony who wanted to learn, but it’s not to be.” Celestia smiled. “And yet I have no worries, because for as many ponies as there may be, there will also always be those who guide others and those who need no guidance, only experiences to learn from. So I know you will be fine without me.
"Before long your path will become clear, and when it does, I am not certain we will ever be able to talk like this again. Is there anything you would like from me before we part ways?”
I was Equestrian royalty. There was no material thing I did not have that I could not purchase if I wished. My eyes drifted to the empty spot in the eastern sky. “Do you miss her?”
“Every night.”