Coronation day. A ceremony of great importance in changeling culture, though it had only become a prominent event to the country of Neighpon for the past 200 years. Empress Sawfly had passed the crown to her son Thromnambular, who passed it to his daughter Apis, who had given it to her daughter Thorax^.
When the time came for Thorax to step down from the throne and choose a successor, it had taken much thought on the part of the albino changeling, for she had 5 daughters to consider, but she had decided on her second oldest for various reasons.^^
The room was silent as the doors opened. Chrysalis, a mere 21 years old, was dressed in traditional purple robes, flowing as she slowly walked up the aisle, watched by the eyes of Kirin, Ibex, Changeling, and many other races. She rose up the few short steps to the throne, stopping before her mother. Her own crown, adamantine with four small turquoise spheres, was simple in comparison to her mother's green tiara.
The young mare bowed before her dam. Thorax took out her blade, a thin katana, and gently tapped it on Chrysalis' shoulders. Chrysalis rose, and the two passed each other, Thorax going down the steps as her daughter took the throne.
There was a massive cheer as Chrysalis sat down... which startled the newest addition to the family, causing Chrysalis' first order as queen, addressed to Stag's nanny after the crowd had dispersed, to be an exasperated "Cicala, please change my son's diaper."
***
Chrysalis had settled well into her new position, despite having only had it for a few hours. Of course, she knew this relative peace would only last a single day before the paperwork began filing in.
It had been only single year since the end of the third war with North Griffonia, and thanks to her mother's decisive actions, the Griffon Houses of Irontalon, Ironbeak, and Highmountain were now under Neighpon's fealty, and the Honeycomb^^ was now an official Neighpon foreign territory.
It had been 100 years since her Uncle Pincer had led many decisive battles in the Kirin-Changeling War, allowing her grandmother to finally conquer the South Island and annex it into the Empire.
150 years ago, the First Neighpon-North Griffonian War had been won by the actions of her great-grandfather Thromnambular, who had called upon powerful allies in the form of Blue Whales,^^^^ making short work of the Griffon's feeble navy.
And 200 years ago, the royal court had overthrown the Shogunate, allowing the Roachanovs to take the throne.
Chrysalis had her own major victory a few months ago, helping to re-capture the Necromancer Grogar and seal him in Tatarus. All in all, her family was known for victories linked to their rule.
Nonetheless, being a Queen/Empress was full of its own difficulties.
To start, the Kirin were being obnoxious again, and Chrysalis' first priority starting tomorrow would be meeting Empress Aurora to discuss the difficulties on the South Island. Following that, the flying island of Laputa was drawing close to the Neighponese territory of Lugnagg, and she needed to be there, both to greet the current Professors of Light and Darkness^^^^^ and to organize a militia should any of the island's native Shrykes decide to go on a slave raid*.
And then there was Timbucktu. Word had spread around the Pelagic rim that the cloud country was becoming obstinate, demanding tribute from lesser island nations and enforcing hostile negotiations with major countries. Tensions were high, and any minute threatened to break it, causing war.
If any country was to start a war with Timbucktu, practically everyone agreed that it would most likely be Concordia or North Griffonia. Stella, the hot-headed princess of Concordia was known for her recklessness and quick temper, while the griffins would probably be seeking a chance to heal the blow to their national pride caused by their loss of the recent war.
Timbucktu had no quarrel with Neighpon, and it was just as well, since Neighpon in turn had no quarrel with Timbucktu. For years, the Roachanovs had maintained a good idea of which nations they should be friendly with, which ones to ignore, and in certain cases, which ones to be openly hostile to. North Griffonia was a good example of what happened to the latter
But foreign policy aside, the fact remained that Timbucktu was overstepping its bounds, and that was unfortunate news for all those on he surface.