Cadence and Sunset Glare had much to catch up with.
They talked about their lives after their parted ways, and Sunset was so happy to be reunited with his dear friend after so much time. The last time they met was under heart-breaking conditions, when Ambassador Meteoric first left for Krussia and took his son along with him.
"So, you've never tasted Krussian desserts?" Sunset Glare chuckled.
"No, not ever since Twilight bought that chocolate bar," Cadence explained. "She said it was the most bitter thing she had tasted in her entire life."
"It is, and I have to warn you, Krussian deserts sometimes have alcohol."
Cadence's eyes widened. "No way!"
"Yes. It seems that they have resistance to the effects of alcoholic beverages. You should see the size of their tars! Krussian tars are as big as barrels!" Sunset thought for a moment. "They're actully carved barrels."
Cadence smiled in delight. How she had missed this pony.
"I'm happy to see you again, Sunset," she softly said with a glint of happiness. "I truly missed you."
"Me too, Caddie." Sunset leaned closer to the mare with loving eyes. "Actually, there's something I wanted to tell you that time but I didn't get to. I've been wanting to tell you this for all the years I've been living here, but I didn't want to express it in a letter. I wanted to tell you personally."
"What is it?" Cadence was caught by surprise when Sunset Glare leaned even closer to her, the look of his eyes unchanging.
"Caddie..." Sunset Glare put his hoof on hers. "I lov-"
"Cadence!"
Interrupting Sunset Glare's sentence, Shining Armor rushed down the stairs, holding a wailing Blade Kiss in his hooves. "Help!" He mouthed the word while giving his wife pleading look. Cadence giggled and hopped off the couch, walking towards her husband and her foal, to take Blade Kiss from Shining's hooves and hold him against her. "Shhh, it's okay. Mommy's here, mommy's got you." As soon as he felt the maternal warmth of his mother's embrace, Blade's crying subsided and the foal snuggled against his mother's coat.
Sunset Glare blinked.
"Cadence, who is that?"
"Oh!" Cadence remembered she had left her friend with the words on his mouth. "I'm sorry! This is Shining Armor, my husband, and our foal, Blade Kiss."
Sunset Glare's eyes widened with shrunk pupils at the word 'husband', but Cadence assumed he was just surprised. Shining Armor decided to be polite -in case any of their Krussian hosts was watching- and extended out his hoof to the golden-coated stallion. "Nice to meet you."
It took a few seconds for Sunset Glare to react, he abruptly shook Shining Armor's hoof before quickly putting it back down. "Nice to meet you too." Shining Armor could swear Sunset Glare was attempting to contain disgust, but maybe he was imagining things. The least thing he needed was another fiasco like the one he had with Discord when he and Twilight were getting married. But Sunset Glare had eerily familiar to him, which made Shining Armor a feeling of dread.
"So, you married...?" Sunset Glare asked, attempting to dissimulate his discomfort as much as possible. "Shining Armor?"
Cadence nodded eagerly as she rubbed her head against her husband's body. " Yeah. You have no idea how many things we've gone through together."
Shining Armor didn't mind. He and Sunset Glare were exchanging glances at one another, but not friendly ones at all on Sunset Glare's part. It seemed like he had a little pang of jealously in his eyes.
"Excuse me," Sunset finally said, all playfulness gone from his voice. "I must go."
Cadence's mood changed instantaneously when she saw her friend head towards the door. "Wait! You just arrived!" She called out for him.
"I'm sorry, Caddie, I just remembered there's something father asked me to do." Sunset Glare quickly replied, pulling the door open with his magic. "I guess I'll see you later."
Sunset Glare nearly ran into a baby dragon accompanied by two soldiers. He paid them no heed and simply pushed the baby dragon out of his way, without even wincing at the sight of the two guards. He had already enough incidents withy the Royal Guard, so he didn't care if the drakes told him anything as he trotted away, stomping his hooves.
Spike was confused as to why the unicorn had pushed him out of the way in such a rude manner, rather than ask him to move aside. Needlemouth and Stormchaser seemed to be thinking similarly, for they started one of their 'talks'.
"Was that who I think?" Stormchaser inquired.
Needlemouth nodded. "Yeah, I think it was him."
"Who?" Spike asked. "How do you know him?"
"All members of t-the Royal G-guard know about him." Needlemouth replied, trembling. "He has b-been arrested fifteen times for v-violent assault." The mere thought of a mere unicorn bringing down a full-grown drake made him shiver.
"Don't forget the he also got twenty arrests for public disturbance, five for starting a fight in a canteen, two for harassing dradies, and the most recent, attempting to sneak into the Imperial Castle." Stormchaser recalled all the times that unicorn had spent a night in the dungeons of the castle. "Hehehe, they should put his name on one of the cells."
Spike sighed in dismay. He was starting to prefer being in Glacial and Rock's company rather than these two's. It was not that he disliked them, but Needlemouth was always worrying over the most ridiculous of things and Stormchaser almost always spoke too much and too fast.
The three of them failed to see a perched raven on a light post.
Twilight paced around the attic with a look of worry upon her face. That letter she had been sent a few hours ago was making her worry, plus the comment Catseye made about Pinkie Pie was very nasty. Thank Celestia the pink mare didn't hear that, even though Pinkie Pie wouldn't probably see the insult behind it.
"Maybe he didn't mean to denigrate Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy suggested. "Perhaps he said that because he doesn't want us to risk our diplomatic meeting."
"He called her evil, Fluttershy!" Rarity snapped back, wiping her plaster-like mint cream on her face to get ready for bed. "How could he say such a thing about such a sweet, cheerful, good-natured pony such a s Pinkie Pie?"
Discord peeked from behind the curtain separating the mares' side of the room from the stallions (According to Krussian tradition, males and females could not share a room unless they were married. Only Cadence, Shining Armor,Twilight and Discord had right to share a bed). "Hey, Twilight, Meteoric did mention that Pinkie Pie's behavior is not normal around these parts." He said, putting Night Charge to bed with his tail along with his siblings.
"DISCORD!!!" Rarity took a blanket and covered her face from him. "DON'T LOOK! DON'T LOOK!"
With a roll of his eyes, Discord went back behind the curtain.
"Seriously, Rarity!" Applejack rolled her eyes. "Are you forgetting we don't use clothes?"
There was a knock at the door. Rarity immediately levitated the whole blanket and hid within it, not wanting anytemnokt to see her in those looks. Rainbow Dash flew down from the rafts above and turned the knob with a little effort. She found herself face to face with the little Tinder, judging by the look on her face she was past her bed time. The pegasus noticed she was carrying a book in her teeth.
"Tinder? What are you doing with that book?" Rainbow Dash inquired
The hatchling placed the book on the floor and replied. "Miss Twilight said she wanted to read a book, so I brought her one now that mother and father are not watching."
At the mere mention of 'book', Twilight dashed from her bed and gently pushed Rainbow Dash aside. It was a thick book with a dark purple spine and cover, with the drawing of a dragon head on the cover. Luckily for her, the book was apparently written -or translated- in Equestrian. The cover title read A Drady's Guide to High Blood.
"It's about manners, at least that's what Lightfire says." Tinder explained. "Catseye mentioned that you're going to dinner with the King, so I thought you would need it. The least thing you'll want is him thinking you have no manners, right?"
Twilight grinned as she ruffled Tinder's head playfully, sending the hatchling away in giggles. The unicorn then closed the door and trotted back to her friends, book levitating next to her.
"A book for manners?" Rainbow Dash waved her hoof dismissively. "I don't need a book for manners! The King will recognize a super-cool pony when he sees me!"
"Rainbow Dash, I think their definition of 'cool' is different from ours too." Applejack countered as she fidgeted with her pillow. "I wouldn't be surprised if the King sent you away for considering you a bad influence."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know, girls, I wonder if the King has any pets. Lightfire told me he has a garden full of crittes, but it is usually not open to outsiders." Fluttershy sighed in wonder. "Maybe if I ask him politely, he'll let me take a look."
"Girls!" Twilight called their atention, flipping the pages of the book, searching for something useful. "According to this book, in presence of Royalty or High Bloods we must make them see we're refined, cultured and smart. A 'drady' who can neither conceive an interesting topic conversation nor articulate her thoughts on words or paper will soon gain the reputation of a featherhead." Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash for a brief moment before returning to the book.
"Twi, I think you're forgetting something." Applejack sighed, her stomach revolting at the thought. "We're going for dinner. Don't you think we should worry about what we're going to tell the King about our different gastronomic tastes?"
"She's right on that point, Twilight." Discord sided with Applejack without peeking over the curtain this time unless he wanted another little scene with Rarity. "We can't just go and say 'hey, Your Highness, I just wanted to tell you we do not eat meat because we don't like eating animals.' It would be rude!"
Fluttershy hid under her covers with a whimper. She did not want to speak about Krussian food.
"I assume they must know we do not like meat." Twilight replied, not taking her eyes off the book. "I don't think King Bittercold is inconsiderate enough to serve us meat for dinner knowing we won't be able to even look at it."
"Speak for Fluttershy on that one." Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath from her beam on the roof.
"Girls, I think the main point of discussion right now was Pinkie Pie and her effect on the Krussians." Twilight levitated the book to the night desk and sighed. "Maybe we should listen to Catseye's advice after all."
"Exclude Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash frowned at the suggestion.
"No, no, no! Just not take her to King Bittercold's presence, or at the very least we should ask her to try and not to get too excited around him. If Krussian high society is different from Canterlot's, then we must not risk our credibility. I like Pinkie Pie the way s he is as much as you do, but if you don't know her she can seem a bit..."
"Demented." Discord finished from behind the curtain. "Rarity, can I look now?! I feel awkward speaking to my wife from behind a curtain!"
"You should have thought that before deciding to be a boy." Was all the fashionista replied, putting on her eye blindfold for sleep and letting herself fall on top of her matress. Discord contained the urge to snap his fingers and turn her mane orange.
Twilight smacked her forehead.
Sunset Glare would have gone to a tavern to drink his frustration at his awful luck away, but ever since his arrest for starting a fight at a canteen, he was banned from any bar, tavern or any stablishment that served alcoholic beverages. So, the only place he could go was home, and hope there was still some apple cider in his father's minibar. Stomping his hooves as he made his way to the minibar, his horn glowed mint green as he levitated a tar and poured the apple cider from its special tank into the tar.
Sunset Glare drank the cider in a single gulp, just to refill the tar again and take another gulp. He internally cursed his bad luck. Encountering Cadence after so much time just to find out she was already married, and ascended to the throne of the Crystal Empire-which he had never heard about, now that he thought about it.
The Equestrian Embassy in Kruscow was built especifically for ponies to live in it. From the outside it looked like a Canterlot two story house, both to help pony tourists find it in case they got into trouble and to make the Equestrian ambassador feel a bit like at home. The Embassy was of the size the ponies were accustomed to, so if a Temnokt wanted to speak with the ambassador, he could only fit his upper body inside, thus Krussians didn't really like visiting the Equestrian Embassy. The interior had an elegant and simple touch combined. Soft yellow walls, dark blue rug over a mahogany floor, and purple-colored furniture with golden trimming adorning ther living room.
His father arrived a little while ago, but the old stallion was so worried about the next day that he paid his son no heed for now. Sunset Glare didn't care. All he cared about was getting rid of his anger and sorrows. Why did mares have to be like roses? Beautiful, but thorny. Sunset Glare was drinking his fifteenth tar of cider when he heard a loud knock in the door.
"Great, what now?" Sunset Glare muttered as he stumbled towards the door. What did the Royal Guard want with him now? Did he do something again, or had they grown to arrest him just because they wanted? He opened the door with a rather loud 'what?', louder than he intended. Outside, like he expected, a large drake stood. He wore no armor, however, meaning he was not from the Royal Guard. Blue eyes, black hair tied up like a feather, chalk-white underbelly. He had seen this dragon before.
"Sunset Glare, I presume?" the dragon inquired, then sniffed at the unicorn. "Yes. Ambassador Meteoric Sun has never been the type to overdrink."
Sunset Glare frowned. "What brings you here at this hour?"
"Some business is better done in the dark." The dragon replied.
Sunset's frown deepened. "What do you want?"
The drake smiled like a shark. "Speak with you, of course."
Glare's blood chilled. "I have done nothing wrong, so beat it." He tried to shut the door on him, but his claw was wedged in the doorway.
"Do not worry, for I am not here for official matters. I'm not of the Royal Guard, as you can see, even if you did something wrong it is not my job to arrest you. I'm just here to make you an offer. May I come in?"
"No, you may not."
"Sometemnokt might hear us if we talk out here."
"Then say it quietly."
"Do you not remember me? We've seen each other a couple of times, especially when you were just a colt." The drake gave him a fake smile. "I'm Hookbait, servant to Lord Clawblack Drakkon from the House of Clawstrike, and like I said, have a proposal for you."
"i'm not interested," Glare tried and failed to close the door.
"It was hatchling's play to find you," Hookbait said, leaning closer. "Have you not heard that we have ears in every single street of this city? Sometimes it's even in front of you and you don't notice. But maybe it would be best to speak with your father."
"He is not home-"
"Really? How curious, because I believe I just saw him enter the embassy a little while ago, or did my eyes deceive me?"
Sunset Glare leaned forward himself, butting heads with the larger dragon. "Now listen to me, pal! I don't care if your master is the Royal Advisor, if you put a claw on my father I will hunt you down like a dog and end your life in the slowest and most painful way possible. Do you understand?"
Hookbait's smile widened. "And I thought Equestrians were weak of spirit. If you wish to question me, you should ask why my master sent me to you, instead of telling all to your father."
Sunset tilted his head. "Go on."
"We're no fools. We know your father has not found out about the countless times you've spent the night in the dungeons, the times you've commited minor faults to our fair country. You want him thinking you're the perfect stallion and that's why you never told them all the times you've been arrested, instead making up stories about why you spent the night out of the house. You can't keep the truth hidden from him. Sooner or later the blindfold will fall off his eyes." Hookbait noticed Sunset Glare was stiffening. "But if you haven't changed your mind, maybe it'll be best that I speak with that pretty Alicorn princess."
Sunset Glare's eyes widened in shock. "How did you-?!"
"Every single street of this city." Hookbait repeated those words with a crispness comparable to the snow falling from the sky. "You know, it's been so long since my master tasted the sweet magic of a pony."
"You're a fool if you think you can harm Princess Cadence." Glare said. "I know your laws, Temnokt. Your kind is true to their hospitality, it is forbidden to harm outsiders, not to mention stealing magic from other beings was forbidden a millenia ago. A mere Unicorn would only give you a few days or months in the dungeons. But attacking and harming a delegate from another country, a princess, King Bittercold will undoubtely apply the Capital Punishment to you."
"But of course. Bittercold doesn't have the racist fear every other Temnokt has against Unicorns ever since he who must not be named came. And I never said I would harm Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Princess of the Crystal Empire, it is far too risky. But I didn't say I wouldn't tell her the terrible influence you would be for her little foal either. So, will yo come and hear my master's proposal? Or shall I see what gratitude spilling the soup to both your father and Princess Cadence might buy?"
Sunset Glare's jaw tightened. "I don't have muchy of a choice, do I?"
Hookbait's smile was unsufferable. "None at all."