//------------------------------// // Chapter 25a // Story: Cry for Eternity // by asylum1388 //------------------------------// Eleven years since the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle. “Aunt Twilight, I don’t know how to answer these questions.” Twilight jumped at Dusk Shine’s sudden break of the silence and glanced down from her bed with a smile. “That’s okay, Dusk. Let me have a look and we can work on it together.” She climbed down to the floor and lay down next to her nephew. He gave a gloomy sigh and slid a packet of paper to her for her to read. The following pages contain various scenarios where two or more ponies approach you to ask for your help in solving a dispute between them. Describe in your own words how you would resolve each argument in a way that is most fair to all involved parties. “Oh, these questions,” Twilight smirked, sliding the papers back to Dusk Shine.”They’re all hypotheticals. Just write down whatever judgement you think you would make.” “But what if it’s wrong?” he muttered, looking up at her with a worried frown. She hugged him with one hoof, laughed and said, “These questions are just supposed to make you think, so I’m not going to be grading it. We will, however, be going over it later, so do your best, okay?” “Okay...” he mumbled. “Why is the work you and mom give me always so hard?” “Because it has to be,” she replied with a smile. “A lot of ponies look up to your mother, father, and I. Because of that, when you’re grown, all of Equestria will expect you to be a great leader too. We’re teaching you the skills to be the best role-model you can be. Make sense?” He nodded enthusiastically and went back to his homework, taking a few seconds to frown pensively at it for a moment before picking up a lavender quill in his soft blue magic and starting to write. Satisfied, she ruffled his navy mane, levitated her book off of the bed, and began reading again. As she finished the page, she felt her mind wandering and closed the book. She stretched out with a pleasured groan and rolled onto her side, allowing the silence to be broken only by the soft scratching of Dusk’s quill-work. She simply lay there enjoying her nephew’s company and quickly lost track of time until a loud rapping on her balcony door pulled her out of her daydreams with a start. “What was that?” Dusk asked, trying to glance around Twilight, his ears perked with interest. “Probably the delivery I’ve been waiting on. Do your homework,” Twilight replied softly. She stood up and gave him a quick smile before trotting to the door and sliding it open. “Hi, Princess!” a young, brass-colored pegasus mare squealed, hovering in the doorway. “Hello, Sunshower! Have my order?” Twilight asked. “Sure do!” Sunshower chirped, twisting around in midair to show off the delicate floral arrangement carefully strapped to her back. “I’ve also got a letter for you from somepony in Manehattan. Who do you know there?” “That would be Apple Bloom,” Twilight said, taking the letter and beckoning her in. “Just leave the flowers on the nightstand.” Sunshower floated through the door and landed before removing the straps and placing the bouquet in the empty vase Twilight had set out. “You got really lucky. These are the last lilacs we had! So, what’s the occasion?” “No occasion. I just wanted something to freshen up the room,” Twilight said with a smile, gently brushing one of the bunches with a hoof. “They smell really nice,” Dusk commented from his spot on the floor. Sunshower jumped at the new voice and glanced down at him with a confused frown. “Umm, hi?” “Oops! Sorry,” Twilight snickered. She trotted over to Dusk and pulled him to his hooves before turning back to Sunshower. “Sun, this is my nephew Dusk Shine. Dusk, this is Sunshower; I met her shortly after I became a princess, and we’ve been friends ever since.” “Dusk Shine? Prince Dusk Shine? Cadance’s colt?” Sunshower asked excitedly. Dusk Shine bowed his head politely, approached her and extended a hoof. “Pleased to meet you, Sunshower.” “It’s good to meet you too!” Sunshower replied happily, shaking his hoof in return. “Was this your last order, Sun?” Twilight asked when they finished. “Yeah. Mom said she wanted me to get all my other work done before I delivered this one in case I didn’t come back right away,” Sunshower said sheepishly. “Smart mare,” Twilight chuckled as Sunshower blushed harder. “Well that’s perfect, because we have something important to discuss.” She turned to Dusk and gave him a nod. “That’s all for now, we’ll have to finish later. Some of the castle staff’s foals are playing out in the garden right now, why don’t you go see if they’ll let you join them for the rest of the afternoon?” Dusk gave a massive grin and took off without a word, leaving Twilight and Sunshower alone, giggling. Twilight turned to her companion and beckoned for her to follow. They had barely set hoof in the hallway before Sunshower began chattering eagerly. “So are Princess Cadance and Shining Armor busy and you’re foalsitting?” “No, we just aren’t able to get together as often as we’d like to so they send Dusk down here for a few days every month so he can spend some time with Luna and me,” Twilight replied with a smile. “Oh! That’s nice of them,” Sunshower murmured. “Yeah, but it’s for his benefit as well. He’s a blood-relative of two princesses, so he’s going to be a very big part of Equestrian politics someday whether anypony likes it or not. It’s important that he learn how things work in Canterlot, and I can teach him that stuff a lot better than Cadance,” Twilight explained softly. “That makes sense,” Sunshower replied with an affirmative nod. “What’s Apple Bloom doing in Manehattan?” “She just started school at Manehattan U. I imagine she wrote me to tell me how her first week was,” Twilight said. “Seriously?” Sunshower gasped. “You told me that she was struggling to find the money to go to trade school! How could she afford to go to M.U.?” “Well, a month or so before the semester started she got a letter informing her that an anonymous benefactor applied to Manhattan on her behalf, then paid for her first year up-front and pledged to cover her entire education,” Twilight replied with a wink. “You?” “Luna, actually, but Apple Bloom thinks it’s me,” Twilight snickered. “We’ll tell her eventually, but Luna wants to keep the charade going for a while.” “That’s funny. I love Luna’s pranks,” Sunshower chuckled . “So, where are we going?” “My office.” “R-really? I’ve never been there before!” Sunshower squealed. “I know. I think you’re overdue, don’t you?” Twilight snickered as they arrived at the double doors. She pushed them open and allowed Sunshower to go through before following herself and closing the door behind her. Quill-Pen greeted them with a smile and motioned for Sunshower to sit down next to her on a cushion. Twilight quickly followed suit, completing the triangle. “Do you want to start, Princess, or should I?” Quill-Pen asked Twilight with a respectful bow of her head. “I’ll start,” Twilight muttered before turning to Sunshower pointedly. “Sun, Quill-Pen’s retiring.” “Oh, really? But you practically run the entire castle! Without you, nothing would get done around here,” Sunshower quibbled. “Oh, I know. That’s why I won’t be going anywhere until I’ve trained my replacement,” Quill-Pen chuckled. “Which is why you’re here today.” Sunshower stared at them for a few seconds as her mind processed what Quill-Pen had said. When he understood, her jaw dropped. “M-me? B-but no! I can’t be seneschal.” Twilight and Quill-Pen exchanged amused glances before turning back to Sunshower. “We both disagree, but I’d like to hear your reasoning,” Twilight snickered. “W-where do I start?” Sunshower groaned. “First off, I’m not organized at all! I also don’t know much about politics and I don’t know anything at all about court etiquette!” “Organization, political savvy, and etiquette can all be learned,” Quill-Pen replied serenely. “The things most important to a seneschal are far more intangible: integrity, a strong work ethic, and the absolute trust of the Princess. These qualities are what makes a good seneschal.” “Qualities which you have in abundance, I might add,” Twilight interjected with a wink. “We won’t just be throwing you into the role without ensuring that you have the necessary skills and training to succeed, Quill-Pen continued. “If you accept, you’ll come here every day after school and spend the afternoon with me, learning everything you’ll need to know. Think of it as an internship.” “And once you’ve finished school, your training will become a full-time job. When Quill and I believe that you’re ready to act on your own, she’ll officially retire, and I’ll name you as her replacement,” Twilight finished with an affirmative nod. “Of course I’ll be sticking around for a few years afterwards to make sure the transition goes smoothly,” Quill-Pen said with a nod. Sunshower gaped between the pair of them and sadly shook her head. “I-I can’t,” she whimpered. “My mom needs me at the shop. Somepony needs to make the deliveries and she can’t afford to hire somepony to do it.” "You don’t honestly think we made this decision without running it by your mom first, do you?” Twilight snickered. “She started crying and hugged me when we asked her.” “She did,” Quill-Pen affirmed with a laugh. “But I understand your concerns, Sunshower, and can assure you that you and your mother will be well cared-for. Officially, you’ll be a ‘Royal Apprentice’ as Twilight was to Celestia. As such, you’ll be entitled to a stipend to cover living expenses. We can use it to hire somepony to work in the shop part-time to cover for you.” “And once you’ve actually become seneschal, money will be the least of your worries. The seneschal is one of the best-paid positions in court,” Twilight said. “It comes with being on-call 24/7,” Quill-Pen shrugged. “This.. this is for real?” Sunshower stammered, hanging her head in shock. “B-but why would you want me? There have to be hundreds... no, thousands of ponies more qualified for this!” “There are. In fact, some ponies have spent their entire lives practicing for a position like this, but I don’t want them,” Twilight replied softly. “I want you.” Twilight smiled and gave a pensive sigh. She took Sunshower’s chin in her hoof and raised to so their eyes met. “The way you look at me; the glow in your eyes and expression on your face... it’s the same way I looked at Celestia. That’s how I know that you’ll try harder than any of the others. I trust you to do your very best for me every day, and, to me, that matters more than any amount of experience.” Sunshower continued to stare at her blankly for a moment before lunging at her into a tight hug. “T-thank you! Thank you so much!” she cried, sobbing into Twilight’s shoulder. “Don’t thank me yet, you have a lot of work ahead of you,” Twilight chuckled, returning the hug. “A lot of hard work. The role of seneschal isn’t a job or even career, it’s a lifestyle,” Quill-Pen murmured. “In order to succeed, your life will need to revolve around your work.” “I-I know,” Sunshower said as she ended the hug and wiped her cheek. “I know, but I want to try. I really— I’m sorry, I just never thought...” “Never thought that a filly from lower Canterlot who’s struggled through school would be given an opportunity like this?” Twilight sniggered. “Yeah...” Sunshower sighed. “S-so what do I have to do first?” “Paperwork, of course,” Quill-Pen laughed, producing a small packet of papers and dropping it in front of Sunshower. “This is a contract, outlining the duties and responsibilities you’ll have while under training, as well as the compensation you’ll receive.” “Okay,” Sunshower muttered, scanning the first page. “What’s a non-disclosure agreement?” “It’s a contract that basically says that you won’t tell anypony about any state secrets you learn,” Twilight explained. “Oh! That makes sense,” Sunshower chirped. “This is what I really want you to see,” Quill-Pen said, turning to the third page. “In addition to that stipend I mentioned earlier, you’ll receive a monthly allowance to spend on mane care products, makeup, clothing... basically everything you’ll need to keep yourself well-groomed and presentable. And we expect you to keep yourself presentable. You don’t have to be done-up like you’re in a pageant, but you should dress as if you’re expecting to be introduced to somepony important every day.” “Wow... That’s a lot of money,” Sunshower gasped, glancing over the numbers. “My friends are going to be jealous.” “That’s not all,” Twilight chuckled. Sunshower glanced up at her wide-eyed, silently begging her to continue. “From now on, you’ll be officially enrolled in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns-” “But I’m not a unicorn!” Sunshower interrupted. “Yes, but as headmistress, I’m allowed to enroll anypony I want,” Twilight explained. “Anyway, as a student, you’ll have access to all of its resources and facilities, including the libraries and tutors.” “Speaking of that, I’ve taken the liberty of setting up tutoring sessions for you every weekend so your school work won’t suffer while we’re training you,” Quill-Pen said. “It wouldn’t do for our future seneschal to flunk out of high school.” Twilight rolled her eyes at Quill-Pen and continued, “Once you’ve graduated high school you’ll start training full-time. You’ll also be given a dorm room as well.” “I can’t stay with my mom?” Sunshower asked with a frown. “You can stay with her if you like, but the room will be kept for you nonetheless,” Twilight said. “So, what do you think?” Quill-Pen asked enticingly. Sunshower glanced up from the paper, tears streaming down her face again. “When can I start?” “Monday, if you like, but only if you and your mother set some time aside this Sunday to go shopping with me,” Quill-Pen started with a nod. “I’d like to get you some proper clothing and show you which personal-care products would be appropriate for somepony of your new station. I’d also like to see about getting your mane done by a professional.” “I’d love to! Will Twilight be coming with us?” “Sorry, but no. Twilight’s likely going to be busy all weekend. There’s still quite a few forms we need to go over. If you don’t mind my taking a bit more of your time, we can probably finish tonight. That way we can get right to work on Monday,” Quill-Pen said, scooping up the newly-signed contract. "Sure, but somepony has to let my mom know that I won't be coming home until late," Sunshower chirped happily. She stood up and gave Twilight one last excited hug before allowing Quill-Pen to shepherd her out. Twilight snickered to herself, got up, and left the room, stopping to watch Sunshower and Quill-Pen disappear around a corner before trotting away in the opposite direction. She sighed as she walked, forcing her mind to slip from the light thoughts of Sunshower to the heavier thoughts of governing Equestria and the upcoming meeting. She had seen tonight's troubles coming a long way off; relations between the Unicorn and Pegasus communities had been souring for years and tonight she was going to make one last-ditch effort to keep things from boiling over. If it hadn't already, that is. She was jolted out of her thoughts as her back leg caught on something in the hallway, nearly sending her sprawling. She rolled her eyes and tried to tug her leg loose to no avail before turning around to see what held her. A puddle of black tar. Frowning, she pulled again, but was unable to break free. As she began to twist around for a better look, the puddle rippled and shook. She felt her breathing stop as the fluid began climbing up her leg; slowly first, then at rapidly increasing speed. She pulled harder; twisting and wrenching her leg around in a desperate bid to free it, but only succeeded in falling on her back. As the tar managed to work its way over her waist and around her barrel, she fired a blast of magic at it from her horn, but the strange material merely absorbed it, continuing on as if nothing had happened. Finally panicking, she screamed, and the tar halted its movement. A fleeting glimmer of hope manifested in her chest, but disappeared as her attacker redoubled its assault, enveloping her completely. Her stomach dropped and she was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of falling. She tumbled through the endless black void for what seemed like hours before her back collided with a wooden surface. She opened her eyes to find herself on a desk in a nearly empty office, Luna laying on top of her with a smug grin. "Hey! No fair using shadow magic!" "You've become adept at dodging my other traps. I had to come up with something new," Luna snickered. She leaned in to nuzzle Twilight and planted a kiss on her cheek, frowning when it didn't elicit a response from the younger princess. "Nervous?" "Aren't you?" Twilight asked incredulously. "The protests have been getting worse and the governor of Cloudsdale is worried that riots might break out! If we fail tonight, if we can't talk them down..." She shuddered, frowning at the implications. "I don't even want to think about what might happen." "Then we will have to rely on that silver tongue of yours to get us through this," Luna murmured. "In the meantime, it would be best for us both to relax and try to keep our minds clear and off of the consequences of a potential failure. And I have an idea how." She leaned in again, but Twilight turned her head slightly, causing the kiss to connect with the corner of her mouth. "Luna, the meeting is in..." She glanced around her marefriend to the clock on the nearby wall. "Half an hour, and you want to make out? Seriously?" Luna didn't speak, responding only with a pout. "Okay, fine. One kiss. Just one," Twilight groaned. Luna grinned and leaned in again, capturing Twilight's lips in her own. Twilight held it for a few seconds before trying to pull away, but before she could, Luna wrapped her hooves around Twilight's neck and pulled her closer. She tried to pull away again, but found herself unable to resist melting into the kiss, the tension in her body quickly wilting away. Luna held it for a few seconds longer before pulling away and gazing at Twilight with a knowing smirk. Twilight gaped at her wordlessly for a moment as her mind slowly churned back into motion. "O-okay, maybe two kisses... But only two!" "That's my girl." Thirty-four minutes later, Twilight and Luna entered the throne room slowly and deliberately. A platoon of Earth Pony Royal Guards stood in a line down the center of the hall, separating the crowd into two groups--unicorns and pegasi. The angry rumble of voices quickly died down as their presence became known. Unfortunately, it didn't last. "This is an insult!" an irate pegasus stallion screeched. "Princess Twilight used to be a unicorn, she can't be allowed to-" "I will be overseeing this hearing, Misty Sky. Due to the importance and sensitivity of this meeting, Princess Twilight is here to assist me in place of Lady Quill-Pen," Luna growled with a stomp of her hoof. "And how dare you question her neutrality! Insult her in such a way again and I will banish you from this palace for the rest of your life. This is your only warning." Misty Sky sneered at her angrily, but remained silent as she took to the throne and sat down, casting a regal glance over the assembled crowd. "These proceedings will come to order. We are here to discuss the theft of Stormcaller's research by Moonbeam," Twilight proclaimed after sitting down next to the throne. "Stormcaller, you have the floor; state your allegations. Refrain from any undue accusations and keep it civil, or forfeit your right to a voice in this hearing." "Thank you, Your Highness," Stormcaller, a tawny stallion, replied with a respectful nod. "I have nothing to add to the statements I submitted last week and maintain that Moonbeam did pay one of my research assistants to illegally provide her with copies of my research notes on the development of snowstorms after my initial refusal to share said research." "Thank you, Stormcaller," Twilight stated, turning to the other side of the room. "Moonbeam, do you deny these accusations?" A grey-white unicorn gazed up and Twilight and Luna with a thoroughly ashamed expression before glancing at Stormcaller and hanging her head. "No." "See! She admits it. I demand-" "Silence, Stormcaller," Luna snapped loudly. "Moonbeam has the right to explain herself, and she will be given the opportunity to do so. If you interrupt again, you will be thrown out and any further participation on your part will need to be done through your attorney." Twilight allowed the silence resulting from Luna's scolding to punctuate the older Princess' point for a few seconds before speaking again. "Moonbeam, you now have the chance to explain your actions and tell your side of the story. The floor is yours, if you wish to take it." "T-thank you, Princess Twilight," Moonbeam muttered sheepishly. "For the past few years, I've been trying to get my hooves on environmental data for my current project, but-" "Would you please, for the record, state what your current project is?" Luna interrupted. "I've been trying to develop a device that would allow a unicorn to remotely temper or even break up a snowstorm as part of Princess Twilight’s Joint-Race Research Initiative," Moonbeam said, restrained pride leaking into her voice. "Anyway, I hit a snag a few years ago and needed atmospheric data to continue, so I wrote to Professor Stormcaller asking him to provide it, figuring he’d be happy to help another researcher, but he refused." As she paused, Twilight and Luna glanced at Stormcaller who simply stared derisively at Moonbeam. Luna sighed and shook her head, "Please, continue." "After that happened, I started writing to other climate scientists asking them for their data, but they all refused," Moonbeam grumbled. "At first, I was puzzled as to why, but then one of them mentioned in their response that Stormcaller had been encouraging them all to withhold data from me. After that, I approached his assistant... I-I was angry and wasn't thinking clearly. It was wrong and stupid of me. I can't really defend myself." "I appreciate your honesty and understand your frustrations, but-" "One moment, Twilight," Luna muttered, leaning forward in her throne. "Though it does not pardon Moonbeam, Stormcaller's actions concern me greatly. While certainly not illegal, his actions were highly unethical." She glared down at the stallion. "You should be ashamed of yourself." "Y-your Highness, I-" "Silence!" Luna bellowed. "Do not think that your practices are unknown to me, Stormcaller. You have a horrid reputation among Equestria's academic community; being more concerned with glory and your own prestige than with advancing scientific knowledge. Did you ever wonder why Moonbeam was developing such a device, or did you just assume she was in it for the money and fame as you tend to be?" Fearful of Luna's wrath, Stormcaller didn't speak, instead just glaring at the princess indignantly. "I thought not. Fortunately, I have done my research," Luna muttered. "Tell me, Stormcaller, are you familiar with the name Star Hunter?" "Of course! Every pegasus knows his name. He was the best member of the Trottingham weather team who was killed while trying to reign-in an out-of-control blizzard," Stormcaller replied with a respectful bow of his head. "Last week marked the seven-year anniversary of his death." "All true. Now, I happen to have a copy of his obituary," Luna stated, producing a newspaper clipping and levitating it over to Stormcaller. "Would you please be so kind as to read the highlighted portion aloud?" Stormcaller snatched the slip of paper out of the air angrily. He shot a resentful glare at Luna and began to read. "Star Hunter, was tragically killed this past Thursday while bravely attempting to corral a renegade blizzard... An only foal, he is survived by his parents, Starry Eyes and Sassaflash, and his wife of a mere two weeks-" He choked on his words, almost dropping the paper. He slowly lifted his head up to gaze guiltily at Moonbeam, who had fallen to her flank, head hung and tears flowing freely. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know." "That is because you didn't ask," Luna murmured. She sat down next to Moonbeam, embracing her with one hoof and allowing the distraught mare to cry into her chest. "It is no coincidence that Moonbeam started her project seven years ago; she designed her device with one single purpose in mind: to spare others from knowing her pain.” She shook her head sadly and placed her hoof beneath Moonbeam’s chin and raised the unicorn’s head until she could see her eyes. “But you acted hastily, I think. Stormcaller may have acted in bad faith, but given his reputation, I do not believe that the others were uncooperative on his word alone. Let me show you. Ranger?” An old earth pony sergeant stepped forward from the line of guards. “Yes, ma’am?” “If it is not too much to ask, would you mind telling the court the story of your father?” Luna asked with an encouraging nod. “Y-you know about that? I mean, of course, Your Highness. It’s been long enough,” Ranger said solemnly. “My parents were homesteaders. Some of the first to put down roots in Hoofburg. Being on the other side of the Everfree Forest, it was darn near impossible to get medicines and such out there, so they relied on herbs they foraged from the forest. Now, my dad, he was the best. He was so good at finding the most and the highest-quality herbs that eventually the rest of the town stopped gathering their own and just bought from him. Was like that for years.” “If I recall correctly, it made him quite wealthy, even by normal Equestrian standards, let alone for a town that size,” Luna replied softly. “Yeah, it did, but more important, he loved doing it. Then about, oh... thirty years ago, they finished the railway to Hoofburg. That made it much easier to get medicines that were both cheaper and worked a lot better than my dad’s herbs. His business collapsed almost overnight,” Ranger sighed. “The loss of his livelihood hit him hard. He had enough saved up where losing his income didn’t hurt much, especially since my brother and I had already grown and moved out, but losing his business was like losing a foal to him... He ended up hitting the bottle to cope. One day, ma came into the kitchen to find him lying on the floor; turned out that he had drank so much the night before that his heart stopped beating sometime during the night. He was gone.” “Thank you, sergeant,” Luna murmured. Ranger bowed and returned to his spot in line and Luna turned back to Moonbeam. “The railway workers never intended to hurt Ranger’s father, but their actions indirectly resulted in his death. It is not their fault, of course, and by building the railroad they helped far more ponies than they harmed, but the fact remains that Ranger’s father would probably have lived much longer if the railroad hadn’t been built.” She sighed and stood up, gesturing to the assembled pegasi. “I suspect that the reason many of your winged colleagues have withheld their data from you is for that very reason. Most of them have loved ones working in the weather industry, and they fear that your device may replace many working pegasi with unicorns.” Twilight glanced from Luna to the crowd, noticing that many of the pegasi giving resigned nods. “B-but I never wanted that! I want to help the weather ponies,” Moonbeam mumbled. “I am aware, and commend you for that. Thus we are at an impasse,” Luna continued. “Your device will save lives and therefore must be built, but the devastating effects it may have on the pegasi means that it cannot be built. So how do we proceed from here?” She gazed around at the crowd for a few seconds. “Princess Twilight, do you have any ideas?” Twilight started a bit when Luna said her name, but recovered quickly. “I don’t, actually... but I think I have a way to find a way forward.” Luna smiled at her and nodded for her to continue as the assembled crowd all gazed at her with interest. “We hold a summit. This weekend. We’ll gather the leaders of the pegasus and unicorn communities and talk about ways to bridge this racial divide. Perhaps if the unicorns could make concessions to the pegasi in some areas, then the pegasi will feel more confident in the future. In fact, let’s invite the Earth Ponies too! We’ll make it a tri-racial summit with the purpose of breaking these walls that have popped up between us. We’ll make it a week long and use it to resolve as many problems as we can.” “That is a fine idea,” Luna said happily. “What do the rest of you think?” “I think it’s long overdue,” Stormcaller cracked, eliciting chuckles from the crowd. “Then it is settled. Please get together and choose amongst yourselves who should represent your kind and notify them that they are being summoned to Canterlot,” Luna said with a quick nod. “Why don’t we break for now and meet back here in an hour? I’ll send for a few of Canterlot’s prominent Earth Ponies and we can sit down and draft an outline for the summit.” A murmur of agreement worked its way through the crowd, so Luna started walking back to where Twilight sat by the throne, but stopped mid way and looked over her shoulder. “We... Equestria has been in this situation before; did any of you know that?” She was met with blank stares and turned around to address the crowd properly. “When it was suggested that Celestia and I take control of the sun and moon, the unicorns were incensed. The young Equestria almost split apart before it was even truly founded. Many unicorns felt that caring for the sun and moon was what defined unicorns, and they were convinced that their settlements would fall into poverty and they themselves would fall into irrelevance.” She sighed and glanced around before locking her gaze on one pony in particular. “Tell me, Stormcaller, could you imagine Equestria as it is today without unicorns?” “N-no, of course not!” he stammered almost too quickly. Luna smirked at his reaction and continued, “That is because they were wrong. Raising and lowering the sun and moon each day was a feat that took hundreds of powerful and highly-skilled unicorns working together, and even then was exhausting. Without their charges, they found something that they had never had before: freedom. Suddenly, a large number of the new Equestria’s most skilled citizens found themselves unshackled from their burden and were thus able to put their skills towards other pursuits, making advances in finances, arts and sciences that we had never dreamed of. Rather than fall into poverty, their cities became the cultural and financial centers of Equestria. Rather than fade into obscurity, the unicorns flourished.” She smiled and shook her head pensively. “Just... something for you to think about in the coming days.” She continued to the throne and stopped at Twilight. Twilight stood up and the two nodded politely before leaving side-by-side. They were barely though the door before Twilight began to speak. “You planned all of that from the start, didn’t you? You set everything up so that the meeting would go exactly as you wanted.” “I did,” Luna stated plainly. “It would’ve been easier to just solve the problem before it got this bad. I think you let things get this tense because you were trying to teach me something,” Twilight said with a smirk. “You would be correct.” “Okay, so what was it?” Twilight asked, enjoying Luna’s coy game. Luna stopped suddenly and gave Twilight a smug smile. “You tell me.” Twilight stepped out in front of Luna with a snicker and began to pace in a semicircle around the mare as she worked through her thoughts. “I don’t think you were trying to teach me something new. I think you were trying to reinforce a previous lesson.” Twilight fixed her gaze intently on Luna, searching for any sign of the answer, but the elder alicorn’s mask held. “You were showing me the importance of research; getting as much information as you can before entering negotiations so you can press your advantage.” “Partially right,” Luna replied. “Only partially?” Twilight groaned, slightly dejected. “Indeed. I was hoping to provide yet another example of that particular lesson, but there is a far more important one to be found in today’s events,” Luna said with a slow nod, gesturing for them to continue walking. “I’m all ears.” “Today’s lesson was on the importance of emotion. As rulers, logic and reason must be the basis for all of our decision-making, it is true, but ponies are emotional creatures, and to ignore the impact of emotions is folly,” Luna explained. “Tell me, do you think Stormcaller would’ve been as amiable to the idea of a summit if we had simply reassured him of Moonbeam’s good intent?” “No... No, he’s far too stubborn, but you managed to get around that by letting him see Moonbeam at her most vulnerable,” Twilight rattled off as she began to understand what Luna was getting at. “Just as Moonbeam wouldn’t have been as cooperative if she hadn’t heard Ranger tell his story,” Luna nodded. “But there is a second part to this lesson; one having to do with our own emotions rather than those of others.” She stopped as the reached an intersection in the hallway. “Logic on its own is cold and ruthless; it cares not for right and wrong, only for efficiency. Thus it must be tempered with emotion, lest we become as machines instead of the benevolent Princesses we strive to be. It would have been all too easy to give Moonbeam the data she wanted over the objections of the pegasi and justify it as being for ‘the greater good’, but we didn’t. We called on our compassion to guide our logic, and found a path agreeable to all. It is a more difficult path, true, but it spreads the burden to all of us rather than heaping it on a few. Understand?” “Yeah, I understand,” Twilight breathed. “This is the one lesson Celestia requested I teach you before she passed. I’ve known all along that it was a lesson you never needed, since you live by it every day,” Luna said softly, blushing slightly. “But I swore to her that I would pass it on to you, and so I have.” “Thank you, Luna,” Twilight murmured, pulling her in for a quick hug. “It’s a lesson I really appreciate. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” “Or better yet, rather than think about it, you can put it into practice at your summit,” Luna snickered with a wink. “My summit, huh?” “‘Twas your idea,” Luna shrugged innocently. “In the meantime, I am going to go to the kitchen and finally acquire a taste for coffee. I feel it will come in handy in the very near future. Would you like to come?” “Actually, I was going to write to Apple Bloom. I got a letter from her today from Sunshower and I haven’t had the chance to read it yet,” Twilight said happily. “Oh! Well, I would like to read it once you are done, if you don’t mind,” Luna replied with a nod “And give her my regards!” “I’ll do that! See you in an hour.”