//------------------------------//
// 11.  Failed Again 
// Story: Age of the Alicorns: Chaos Rising 
// by AleximusPrime 
//------------------------------//


CHAPTER 11:  Failed Again




Later that afternoon, King Solmidas and Accord were standing out on the balcony right above the main entrance discussing Grumblebog and Celestia and Luna’s studies.  Solmidas was somewhat on edge about the mission but Accord came to talk to his old friend to get his mind off of it and keep him from worrying about his daughters.

“When they return, I’ll bet they’ll either have good news that the dragon has left or they’ll have a little bad news that he didn’t leave because he’d rather not talk at the moment.” Accord explained to the king.  “I’m sure he isn’t a brute, just probably a bit ornery and needs a good talking to.”

“I trust you are right, Accord.” the king said, gazing off at the southern sky waiting to see the princesses and dragons flying back to the palace.  “It isn’t just the girls I’m worried about but the state of the economy if that dragon continues to linger in those caves.  We had a lot of gold in there.”

“Well don’t forget, if he does stay in there, there are other ways we can get him out.”  Accord said in a darker tone of voice.

“I would rather not take that approach, my friend.” said the king thoughtfully.  “I still live with regrets making such decisions.  The war against the Ice Minotaurs still remains in the back of my head.”

“But Sol, without winning that war, you probably wouldn’t be king.” Accord reminded his friend.

“I still think it could have been handled better.  Equestria was much darker back then.  I would prefer that war never be an option again for the remainder of my time as king and I certainly hope Celestia and Luna never go through the same ordeal.”

“Sometimes we have to fight for ourselves, Sol, even if it means war.” said Accord, turning to the king.  “As I recall correctly, King Gallium and you yourself gave the minotaurs a chance for peace before the war started, but they refused.  In the end they brought their own demise upon themselves when your alicorn army won the war.”

“I see what you’re getting at Accord.”  the king replied.  “Defensive war is justified, I know……but it is still war.”

“Don’t worry, old friend.  I am sure it won’t come to that.  The girls had a bit of bad luck with Leogle but I think they’re more prepared with this one.  Consider that first negotiation to be a prelude to this.  When they get back here they’ll probably have much better news than when……oh, was that Celestia?”  Accord said looking back over his shoulder to see Celestia flying straight for the royal living quarters.

Solmidas’s ears perked up and he looked back just in time to see Celestia disappear into the window of her bedroom at the top of the palace.

“CELESTIA?!” the king shouted, to get her attention but she was already inside and either didn’t hear him or was ignoring him.

“Where are the others?” he asked.

Just then Accord and Solmidas heard heavy panting in the other direction.  They turned their heads back to the south to see Luna, Percy, and Penny flying in and looking rather exhausted.

“Luna!?” the king said, “What happened?  Is your sister alright?”

“No, father, none of us are…” Luna said landing on the balcony floor and immediately hanging her head.

Percy landed behind her and put his sister down before he bent over gasping for breath before speaking.

“GRUMBLE…..GRUBMLEBOG……” he said putting his finger up to breathe “Hold on……let me just……”

“Take a deep breath, Percy.” Accord said putting his hoof around the teenage dragon.  “Now tell us, what happened?  Was Grumblebog a little rude?”

“A little rude?!” Penny shouted.  “THE GUY WAS NASTY!!!”

“I never……want to see another grown dragon as long as I live…” Percy said falling down on the ground in a daze.

Accord and Solmidas were standing in shock with their mouths open and looked at each other.

“Father I’m so sorry but I think Tia and I made a mistake in going there.” Luna said.  “We tried everything we’ve learned, we took all of Accord’s advice and it just didn’t work.  We couldn’t get him to give up the gold and Percy and Penny couldn’t sway him to either.”

“But you were persuasive right?” Accord asked.

“Of course……well, we were until…”

“Until what, Luna?” her father asked her.

“Until Celestia got angry at him right after he blew some fire at us.”

“Celestia lost her temper?” he asked calmly.

“Yeah, she did.”

Percy picked himself back up with his sister’s help and continued speaking.

“Well, Your Highness…” he started saying to the king, “…I just want you to know, they were pretty good, just like with Leogle...”

“Yeah, besides the part where Tia got mad.” Penny said bashfully.

“It’s just weird that that dragon didn’t listen either.” Percy continued.

The king appeared very worried and skeptical.  He stared down at the ground and closed his eyes and turned away to think.  “This is all my fault.” he said.

“Oh no father, it’s not like tha-“ Luna said before Accord placed his hoof in front of her as if to silence her.  He could tell the king needed a moment alone.

“I never should have sent you two in there. I should have known it would have been dangerous despite all the theories that that dragon is tamer than he looks.”

The king then turned around looking very grave.

“No one is to enter that cave without my permission lest they perish of dragon’s fire.  Luna, you and your sister will find another test to complete but I cannot allow anymore tests that require traveling by yourselves into any suspicious territories.  It must be completed in the courts where it is safe.”

The king stood tall over his daughter.  Luna was almost scared of her father at first but nodded her head.

“Yes, Your Highness.” she told him.

“I’m sorry, my child…” he replied, placing his wing around her, “…but we need to start treating these diplomatic assignments for what they are, not as dangerous missions.  As your father I should be protecting you from such things……and I failed.”

Solmidas then turned away and walked into the doorway to go talk with Celestia.  Accord put his wing around Luna as tears started forming in her eyes.  Percy and Penny both walked by Accord and Luna to go to their tower to sleep.

“You hungry for any gems tonight, Penny?” Percy asked his sister.

“No.” she said flatly.  “Let’s just go to bed…”



Meanwhile in Celestia’s bedroom, Queen Chernalia sat with her on her bed talking about what had just happened with Grumblebog.

“And then that was it, Mother.” Celestia told the queen.  “I lost my way and thanks to me Luna and I have failed once again.”

Celestia buried her face in her front hooves and continued crying as her mother wrapped her wing around the downtrodden young mare.

“Dear, you may have made a mistake, but you did say the dragon was unreasonable.  It’s not your fault completely.” Chernalia said.

“I know, I just think it could have gone better if I didn’t let my temper get the best of me.”

Just then the king appeared in the doorway before Chernalia and Celestia.  He looked rather worried, and Celestia could tell he already had heard about what had happened.

“Father…” she said.

“Your sister told me about the dragon, Celestia.” he replied.

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“I am at fault as well.  I should have known he would be too wild.”

“But what will we do about the gold now?” 

“Do not worry about it.  I will deal with it myself.” The king said, walking towards the bed his wife and daughter were seated on.

“Your father is right, Celestia.” Chernalia added. “We will find another test for you and your sister in time.”

“But how do we expect to pass anymore tests if we failed the first two?” Celestia asked.

“By keeping them basic, my daughter.” the king replied.  “Like I told your sister earlier; I can’t allow you two to go out into the wild on diplomatic assignments like this anymore.  If you are to complete your studies, it will be done in a much more stable environment: the palace.”

“Yes, Father.” Celestia said, bowing her head.

The king came closer and lifted her head with his hoof.

“I’m not disappointed in you and your sister, Celestia.” he told her.  “I believe you when you said you tried your hardest, but you two must wait longer until you are ready to take these tests again.  We’ve been rushing you with completing it, and you have been rushing yourselves.”

Celestia paused for a moment and thought hard to herself.  She imagined all that had happened within just a few months and how unusual it was.  Perhaps her father was right.  Perhaps they were rushing it, causing them to fail so easily.  There was no set deadline for them to become part of the parliament anyhow and they had plenty of time to prepare for a more proper negotiation.  A negotiation in the courts sounded more civil and practical so it would be something to look forward to.  She then wiped her tears away with a magical aura and looked up to her father.

“You’re right, father.  Luna and I will keep studying but we will wait patiently for the next test.  And we will let you decide on what it shall be next time.” she said.

The king smiled and Celestia moved forward and nuzzled against him with her mother joining in.  They all then looked to the side to see Luna next to the bed.  She had been crying as well but she began to smile at the sight of this.  Celestia opened her wing and Luna fluttered up onto the bed and joined in their warm embrace.



The next morning Celestia had gotten up early and was wandering around the palace alone with a small cup of warm tea to drink.  She was deep in thought about what had happened yesterday, but the talk with her parents made her feel better.

She made her way into the Royal Wing and began looking at some of the stained glass windows.  She noticed how majestic and powerful the image of her father was in the middle window on the eastern half of the great hall.  She smiled at the sight of the brave stallion standing up against the Ice Minotaurs and thought of herself for a second.  It must have taken years for her father to reach a stage of his life where he looked like this and was powerful and wise enough to lead an army against these monsters in order to defeat them.  If it took her father years then it could very well take her just as long.  The last few weeks with these failed negotiations were of course embarrassing, but her father had had some failures before his coronation.  Despite what had happened with Leogle and Grumblebog, she reminded herself that her father, now a great and powerful king of a country, was no different than she was and she could be just like him if she would accept the past and move along.  She closed her eyes and took a sip of the tea.  

She suddenly noticed a presence nearby and looked to the side to see Starswirl.

“Oh, Starswirl!” she said startled.

“He looks incredible, doesn’t he?” Starswirl commented while looking up to the window she had been admiring earlier.

“A lot of us didn’t believe he could do it you know.  Of course this was before he would be our king.  But he did.  He stood up to the minotaurs without any fear and his entire army did the same because they saw just how effective his own courage was.  Now he is our king.  The stallion we doubted is king.”

Celestia already knew what Starswirl was getting at.

“I’m guessing by now you know about Grumblebog?” she asked him.

“Percy just finished informing the parliament, yes.” he replied.

“Oh, did he?  What did they say?”

“They had the same reaction as last time.” He said turning around and walking towards the entrance with her following him close behind.

“You’re not even a little disappointed?”

“I am certainly surprised at the dragon’s reaction.  I suppose to some extent I can understand why you would get angry the way you did.  Thankfully Percy never mentioned that to the senators though.”

“Good.  I would hate for everyone to know about my outrage.”

“Yes, but it matters not, Your Highness.”  said the unicorn wizard, putting his hoof around her.

“I know.” Celestia said taking one last sip of her tea.  “Well, Luna and I have plenty of time to prepare for a better diplomatic assignment.  I’m not going to let this whole issue with the dragon bring me down.”

“That’s the spirit.” Starswirl said proudly.  “I am sure a better opportunity will present itself for you two.  For now, I think it would be best for you to go get ready for your class to start in the next half hour.”

“Good idea.  Thanks, Starswirl.” She said, nuzzling him and then trotting off down the staircase entrance.

“Confident as usual, I see.” a familiar voice said from behind Starswirl, startling him a bit.

“Oh, Accord.  I had no idea you were in here all along.”

“I was hiding behind the Ice Minotaur in that window.” Accord said smugly.

“Ah.  Goodness, my friend.  You and your stained glass tricks all the time.” Starswirl chuckled as they both walked down the stairs to leave the Royal Wing.

“You don’t seem to be so worried though.”

“Worried?”

“About the dragon and the gold, of course.”

“Well…… I suppose it’s not the greatest news we’ve had all day, especially now that we’ve lost the Griffon Province’s loyalty and now practically half of the king’s treasury.”

“I was very certain that dragon would cooperate, Starswirl…” Accord said suspiciously. “…though I’m sure the girls did do their hardest.  I’d just hate to see them flop the next test whenever we have it.”

“They will do fine, Accord.  By the way, how are the renovations going?” Starswirl asked, trying to change the subject.

“Oh they’re going splendid.”  he said proudly. “The town is growing much more beautiful and the citizens more hopeful.  It’s just a matter of time before I fix the entire kingdom.”

“The entire kingdom?” Starswirl replied, almost laughing at what Accord said.

“Well the town at least.”

“You don’t actually intend to change everything, do you?”

“Oh, many things will change, Starswirl.  You will see.”

Accord continued walking while Starswirl just slowed down thinking to himself.  He wondered why Accord was so set on fixing everything up all of a sudden and if he’d be able to afford it.  The tall alicorn senator was rather ambitious.  Perhaps whatever was bothering him before may have simply been that the ponies of the town deserved better.  Though it did seem Accord was almost trying to make himself look better than the royals by doing all this.  Or perhaps he really did care and wanted everyone to have something to look forward to in the midst of these crises.  Accord was known to be very caring after all.

“Well……you are doing the kingdom a great deed my friend.” he continued “And your generosity shall be rewarded one day.”

Accord and Starswirl continued on into the main court where another day of important decision making would be done.  Though the princesses were doing their best to be hopeful for the future, things were about to be rather difficult for the parliament…




TO BE CONTINUED…