//------------------------------// // Failure // Story: Winter Storm // by Snake Staff //------------------------------// Celestia I rise to my hooves as my old student enters my guest chambers in Ostflugel, a smile on her face. “Princess Celestia!” says Twilight Sparkle, her eyes alight with the endearing adoration that a filly shows her mother. Some things never change, which I find quite comforting. The warm smile I give her is, for once, completely genuine. “Now, you know that there is no need to be so formal with me, Princess Twilight,” I remind her as we hug. “I know, I know,” she scratches the back of her head awkwardly. “But, you know, old habits die hard and all that.” “Indeed they do,” I smile again. “But I am certain that you can overcome this small problem with a little more time. You are Twilight Sparkle, one of the most talented mares that I have ever had the privilege to know.” She blushes at me praise, smiling up at me. Ah, still so young, so trusting. What would she think of me if she knew of everything I’ve ever done? Hopefully, that is a question that I will never have to answer. I’ve worked hard to preserve her innocence for all this time, as it has always been a trait I find desirable in my little ponies. If I get my wish, she will never have to face the cruelest realities of rule. I should hope I don’t grow as attached to my future grandnieces and nephews. I don’t think I could bear to send a pony like Twilight out into the world to usurp a nation. A flaw, I know – a ruler should always be ready to do anything and everything for her subjects’ well-being. We hold our hug for a few more seconds before I release her and sit down on a sofa, bidding her to do the same. She sits down across from me, and I pick up my tea cup. “I know that you’ve had a long journey,” I say, taking a small sip. “Would you care for anything? Tea? Cocoa?” I give a knowing smile. “A hayburger? I made certain that they are available even here.” “No thank you,” she shakes her head. “I’m not hungry right now.” “You didn’t miss any meals on my behalf, I hope? I know that this was a demanding task to suddenly spring on you…” “Oh no, it was fine! I’m always happy to do my part!” What a giving spirit. Would that all ponies had such an attitude towards duty. “Still, I must apologize for eating up so much of your valuable time,” I take another sip of tea, remembering with distaste the frustrating lead up to my request. “If there had been anypony else that they would have believed, anypony at all…” I shake my head. “Both sides were so worried about the potential political alignment of the geologist that they could agree nothing short of an alicorn princess. And of us all, I knew that you would be the best suited.” Twilight blushes again. “Really, Prin- Celestia, it was no trouble at all! I was helping to save lives, and I’m always available if you need me.” “Now, I believe that you have a report for us?” Twilight nods, reaching into her saddle bag with magic and pulling out a binder, which she promptly levitates over to me. I open it to find a well-ordered, sixty-page report on the geology of the Senadas, complete with table of contents, diagrams, and footnotes. That’s my old student, alright. I smile nostalgically while I flip through it and enjoy a little more of my tea. When my eyes fall on certain figures, however, I have to resist the sudden urge to spew my drink all over this research. “Twilight,” I ask, after being certain that I have swallowed my tea. “Are you sure these estimates are accurate?” I turn the binder to show her what I am speaking of. She frowns and looks worried. “I calculated them to within 96.3% probability of falling within the standard deviation noted.” Her worried expression grows. “Did I do something wrong? Is there a mistake?! Did I make some mathematical error?! Lives are at stake! Oh no, this is horrible, I have to-” “Twilight,” I cut her off before she can work herself into a frenzy. “You have not made any errors in your calculations that I can see. It is just that…” I pause to word it carefully. “These estimates of the total magical gem deposits are larger than I was expecting.” That’s understating it. If Twilight’s report is to be believed, the Senadas have more than triple the amount of magical gemstone deposits than my servants’ most generous projections suggested. But of course she’s right. This is Twilight – she is far more studied and talented anypony else I know, and I do not lie when I say that I have total faith in her abilities. I shall have to have words with the geologists in my employ. Perhaps I will even need to clean out that department somewhat, if they failed me this utterly. I dismiss the idea of putting a hoof over my face, but I do sigh. This is just grand. If everypony was on edge before, negotiating a peaceful solution will be a nightmare now that the prize has been shown to be that much more valuable to whoever claims it. The temptation to out and out seize the isles will be that much the greater. Twilight still looks worried. “Is this not what you wanted, Celestia?” I shake my head. “No, Twilight. You did well. I simply wish that things were not as they are.” “Oh…” she hangs her head, looking a bit sad. “Each delegation has already reviewed and received a copy of this report, correct?” I ask, just to be certain. Twilight nods her confirmation. “They did. They were very insistent on it.” I sigh again. Wonderful. I thought that they would. So I can’t even consider trying to change some of the numbers to make outright conquest seem less appealing. I don’t know if I would, with Twilight’s reputation at stake, but not even having the option is something of an irritant. “You think this will make them more likely to fight?” Twilight asks me after a moment of silence. “I was hoping that when they see how much there is to go around, they’d realize that they could split the isles comfortably and still each benefit greatly.” And this is why I try to take on all duties revolving around international politics. Outside of Equestria, things are not quite as peaceful and optimistic as they are at home. Friendship is magic, but there is a power to irrational pride and short-sighted greed as well. Not everything can be made better with kindness, at least so long as successive generations of egotists and fools hold the reigns of nations. “Twilight,” I say gently. “Know that you have done nothing wrong. You have accomplished in mere days what it would take another pony months to do, without help. While things have not resolved quite as I had hoped, none of the blame for it lies with you.” I walk over to where she sits and embrace my old pupil again, determined that she should not blame herself for anything that may happen in these next days. “I am proud of you, as I always have been.” Twilight sniffs and looks up at me. “Do you mean it, Princess?” I stroke her mane. “Of course I do.” Twilight Sparkle smiles a little. “Unacceptable!” Foreign Minister Morning Glory, the ranking member of the Prench delegation, beyond Premier Radiant Light, yells out, banging her hoof against the table. “Simply unacceptable! The ponies of Prance will not cede one inch of our soil to a foreign aggressor!” “Quite right!” comes the sound of the Premier himself. “Aggressor?!” Speaker Etton sputters with outrage. “You are the clear aggressor in this situation! Your claims on our isles clearly violate all accepted international norms regarding the governance and legal transfer of territory between-” “Lies!” the mare snaps back, looking equally as fierce. Pity, I had hopes for her as one of the more level-headed members of her side. It seems as though the new bounty on display has, as I feared, riled up already enflamed passions. “Our government possesses full legal sovereignty over the isles by the terms of Treaty of Maresailles, as agreed to by-” “A treasonous faction that never possessed lawful jurisdiction over any of the Empire’s territories to begin with! You have no case!” a female gryphon by the name of Cielda snarls over at the Prench. I resist the urge to facehoof, for dignity is important for royalty. Not that I am not tempted. This is the third shouting match that we have gotten into this morning! For the love of all the gods, can you squabbling children not calm yourselves for ten minutes so that we can find some common ground between you? This is something I would expect of foals, but you sorry bunch are supposed to be the leaders of your people! To put their wellbeing ahead of your ego-stroking! Does the prospect of gain really blind you so completely to how utterly senseless you are becoming? “Ladies and gentlecolts, please-” I try to interject, only to be drowned out by the voices of almost two dozen other creatures, all spewing venom at one another. Beside me, Twilight Sparkle is looking thoroughly dejected. She wished to come and see the results of her work for herself, and this is what it has gotten her. I tried to warn her away, but she was so eager… I couldn’t say no in the end. And now she is looking miserable and becoming more so with every passing second. I hate to see the pony I care for more than almost anypony else in such pain. My instincts are to hug my old student comfortingly, followed shortly by breaking the necks of everypony in this room. This group should feel glad that I am no mindless animal, to follow every whim that I have. But I am rapidly reaching my wit’s end. My own emotions are irrelevant and can be sacrificed for the good of others, but hurting Twilight Sparkle in this manner… it simply will not do. I will not permit it to continue any longer. Reaching deep inside myself, I call on my Royal Canterlot Voice. “SILENCE!!!” The sound of my voice is loud enough to send papers flying in every direction, force everypony to cease arguing in order to cover their ears, and even bowl over some of those closest. Even Twilight feels the need to fold her ears behind her head. My command is obeyed, everypony in the room shutting their mouths and gazing up at me with various expressions of meekness, fear, awe, or hostility. Only the Emperor seems to be relatively indifferent. “ENOUGH OF THIS!” I continue, still blasting at their eardrums. “YOU ARE NEITHER CHICKS NOR FOALS, AND YOU WILL CEASE ACTING AS THOUGH YOU WERE!” Speaker Etton finds his voice again. “I will not be insulted by-” “YOU WILL BE SILENT!” Under that assault of noise, even he must back down, at least for some time. “Now,” I say, once I have everypony’s total attention, allowing the deafening tone to slip away. “You have invited me here in good faith to mediate a peace between your nations. It is my full intention to do so. I wish for nothing more than that both of your nations should share in the bounty that nature offers you. But,” I pause. “This requires that you are both willing to settle your differences reasonably, like adults. If all that you wish to do is shout at one another for the rest of your days, like errant children, then this conference is pointless and we should all go home. So, tell me,” I stare hard into the eyes of each and every delegate across the room, my eyes blazing with the power of the sun. “Which is it?” Everypony seems to be looking at their hooves. Premier Light tugs at his collar nervously. Morning Glory looks down at a sheet of papers in front of her, pretending to shuffle them. Emperor Serath puts a talon under his chin, scratching it in a thoughtful manner. Even Speaker Etton seems to have been somewhat muted by my display, for he looks away from me and into the eyes of a female gryphon named Scalia beside him. She turns her head to meet his, and I lose sight of her face from this angle. “So,” I continue after a time, allowing my conjured aura to fade away into nothingness, the glow of my eyes dimming into the usual violet. “I take it that your silence means that you are all willing to listen to reason and discuss this issue like-” “NO!” All eyes, including mine, swivel to focus on the source of the interruption. To my complete lack of surprise, it is Speaker Etton . “No, I won’t stand for it any longer!” He looks to Emperor Serath. “Your majesty, you see how this mare insults us?! Drags our name through the mud! And then has the audacity to order us around – as a guest in our city, no less – as though we were some of her pathetic, mewling, sycophantic-” There’s another interruption. This time it comes from the Prench MP Righteous Judgment, whom I recall was a member of the delegation that accompanied Twilight's geological study so recently. “You will show Lady Celestia more respect, bird,” he snarls in a surprisingly angry tone. I think back through my files on these ponies… oh yes, he is member of Church of the Two Sisters in Prance, as I recall. Fervency runs in his family, according to my information. “Your majesty!” Etton continues to Emperor Serath, half pleading and half raging. “You must see what is happening here! We-” “Enough,” the old gryphon Emperor speaks at last, to his Speaker. “I have had enough. You are endangering our chances for a peaceful solution to this crisis. I want you out, this instant!” Thank you! I knew that I liked that gryphon. Etton narrows his eyes. “So…” he says in a menacing tone. “Even our Emperor will not defend the honor of the Gryphus Empire against those foreigners who conspire to take it from us!” He stands up out of his chair. “Very well, your majesty, I shall leave. But be assured that the Imperial Senate will be hearing about this act of treachery!” Snarling, Speaker Etton moves to leave. Righteous Judgment, to my surprise, gets up and imposes himself between the gryphon and the door. “You will not leave,” the Prench pony says. “Not without an apology to Lady Celestia,” he nods at me. “I will not permit you to dishonor her so.” “It is alright,” I begin. “I do not require any such-” “I am Speaker of the Imperial Senate of the Gryphus Empire! I will not be ordered about by some filthy Prench alicorn ass-kisser!” Etton snaps back before I can finish my statement. “You will apologize to the Goddess of the Sun on your knees, you scheibe esser!” Judgment’s last words are in the tongue of the gryphons, all of whom gasp. That’s a terribly serious insult in the honor-bound Imperial culture. Speaker Etton stands still for half a second, quivering with rage. Then, before I get the chance to say anything else, he smacks the Prench pony hard across the face with his claw. “Enough of this!” calls out Emperor Serath. “Guards! Break this up!” Two armored gryphons move forward to obey their ruler’s orders. But Righteous Judgment is quicker. With a great cry, he smashes his hoof into the side of Speaker Etton’s skull with such force that it sends the gryphon flying. His head impacts on the stone wall carved from the mountain, and the Speaker slumps slowly to the floor. Everypony can see the trail of red he leaves behind. My student gives a strangled gasp of horror. Both guards hurriedly converge on the downed Speaker. Twilight vanishes from my side, reappearing above the gryphon's limp form. The Prench pony also takes a step forward, only to find himself enveloped in my magic. This has gone too far, and I have let these fools play at diplomacy for far too long. Twilight invokes a healing spell with a panicked look on her face. A warm purple glow washes over Etton... and nothing happens. Tears start to fall from her eyes as she tries again and again, with the same results. One of the gryphon guards puts a talon on Etton’s neck, checking his pulse. After a moment, she puts the same talon over his chest, where his heart would be. I doubt I am the only one who notices the conspicuous lack of breathing. “He’s dead…” gasps the gryphon in question. She looks up, straight to her Emperor. “He’s dead! The Speaker has been killed!” “Murder!” screeches Scalia, the gryphoness who had been seated beside Speaker Etton. “Murder!” she points a talon at Righteous Judgment. “Arrest him!” The guards look to Emperor Serath, who nods. They seize the immobile pony between them when I duly release my magical grip. “Take him away,” says the Emperor. “He must face justice for this.” “NO!” cries Morning Glory. “He is a duly registered diplomat of Prance and enjoys the full immunities thereof! You cannot arrest him!” The guards hesitate in dragging their captive out the door, waiting to hear Emperor Serath’s response. The old gryphon looks over to the middle-aged mare, and the somewhat older stallion beside her. “Well?” he says. Premier Radiant Light looks at his Foreign Minister’s eyes for a moment, then faces the Emperor. “Under the terms of diplomatic relations duly agreed to by both Prench and Imperial governments, neither side possesses the right to arrest, confine, or otherwise apply pressure to one another’s diplomats,” he says, somewhat cautiously. “That’s correct,” says Serath. “But you can arrest him. You saw the crime with your own eyes. He must face due punishment for the murder of our Speaker, however much I disliked him. Honor demands it.” “What I saw,” Light continues, “Was that your Speaker assaulted a representative of our Parliament for a petty insult, for which he defended himself.” “Whatever the Speaker’s actions, your stallion clearly used disproportionate force that resulted directly in the death of a ranking member of our government.” Serath shakes his head. “You know that such a crime cannot go unanswered.” He sighs. “In accordance with my role as Protector of the Empire, I formally demand the arrest of Member of Parliament Righteous Judgment and his immediate extradition to the Gryphus Empire to await trial on charges of murder.” Light snorts. “Trial? You know as well as I what a farce such a thing would be here. I will not permit an official of our government to be put through some kangaroo court and slaughtered. He is a Prench citizen, and as such will be duly tried in a Prench court. You will have the opportunity to testify against him, if you should wish.” “Unacceptable,” Serath says, staring harshly at his counterpart. “He killed our official, he will be tried here… or else.” Light meets the gryphon emperor’s gaze head-on. “Or else what?” “Gentlecolts, please,” I say, trying to interject myself. “There is no need to resort to threats. That that pony must answer for his actions is clear to all of us, surely we can work out where he is to stand trial without compromising our chances of peace. Or do the lives of thousands of your own soldiers mean so little to you?” “Or else,” Serath continues, pointedly ignoring me. “I will have no choice but to declare war in his name. The Imperial Senate would never permit me to act otherwise.” “The sacred honor of Prance will not be impugned by surrendering one of our MPs to be killed by some foreign government!” Light declares resolutely. The Prench delegation around him cheers and applauds. “Don’t do this!” I plead. “You’ll see thousands dead to avenge one!” I look Emperor Serath in the eyes. “Do you think war will bring him back?” I meet Radiant Light's eyes as well. "Is the location of a trial really worth the blood of so many of your land's sons and daughters?" Again, the two ignore me. “Then it is war,” says Emperor Serath, in a completely flat tone. “So it is,” agrees Premier Radiant Light. I face hoof.