Twilight raised her hoof to her temple and attempted, again, to rub away the headache that continued to pound in her head. Opening her eyes she looked across the large table, holding in the glare that she felt the other creatures deserved. On the other side of the table, positioned so as to be as far from each other and her as they could be, sat the current focus of her contained ire. One changeling queen, Queen Chrysalis of course, and one minotaur king, King Midas. Thankfully the rest of their entourages had been tossed out of the ongoing meeting after the second day as they only made the painful meeting worse. Since then they could at least say they had made SOME progress, even if it was only that the two leaders now referred to each other by name rather than “Bug Creature” and “Food Source”.
Why did I agree to this again? she thought to herself. Most diplomacy that Equestria got involved in was handled by Celestia or Luna. Rarely did Twilight have to get involved in it, she mainly focused her efforts on the internal conflicts of her nation as the Princess of Friendship. What was worse was Equestria wasn’t even going to benefit from this, they had merely been asked to provide neutral ground and act as a moderator in the talks. Even then at worst Cadance would have taken this job on, but sadly not this time. Celestia was involved in a month long visit to the Griffin Empire, Luna was busy managing the Courts and keeping the nation running, and Cadance had, somehow(Twilight still suspect foul play here), managed to schedule her wedding anniversary vacation to start the day before these negotiations had begun. Thus it had fallen to the youngest princess to take on the task of mediating this meeting in her new castle.
At least she could say it was for a worthwhile reason. Maybe not for Equestria but for these two groups and if it prevented a war from breaking out then the southern border of Equestria would remain safe. However, good wishes weren’t enough. Both Chrysalis and Midas seemed determined to go to war over one perceived slight or another. Twilight could understand the tension, both nations currently made their living in the Badlands, Midas’s people for centuries and Chrysalis’s changelings since shortly after being ejected from Canterlot, and resources were scarce, land wasn’t but edible food was and even if the changelings could survive purely on love it seemed that they needed actual substance if they wanted to lay more eggs and produce young. And so the impasse came to be, Midas felt that the changelings were pushing too far into his resources from what the two had agreed on after Chrysalis had come to live in the badlands, and Chrysalis believed that they were not, that in fact Midas was hoarding resources to be used against her remaining changelings to kill them off.
Twilight wanted to agree with Midas here, Equestria had maintained a good relation with the minotaurs for a while now and Twilight remembered Midas being a fair king in the few dealings she had with him. However Twilight also felt responsible, at least in part, for the current downfall of the changeling hive and wanted to help them somehow, a feeling felt by the other Princesses as well, after all if they helped them get back up on their feet they may make a friend, if not an ally. If this continued, however, Twilight was sure she was just going to roast both of them and end this conflict.
To punctuate Twilight’s thoughts Midas brought down one of his large, powerful hands and slapped the surface of the table, causing a crack to develop in the crystal the almost ran all the way to the center.
“THAT IS ENOUGH!” a voice bellowed through the room, visibly shaking both members of the argument. It took Twilight a moment the register that it had been her own voice or that she had moved. She now stood, front hooves resting on the top of the table, rear hooves planted firmly on the ground, wings extended to full length, making her an imposing figure in the small room.
“Both of you have done NOTHING but sit here and argue about petty nothings for the past day! Neither of you have made ANY move to handle the matter at the heart of this meeting!” Twilight slowly retracted her wings but remained fully upright.
“Do you two want to find a peaceful resolution to this situation or are you both focused on finding an excuse to wage war on each other and try to destroy each other?” Twilight glared at both rulers in turn, both of whom started to open their mouths and begin the whole argument again. Twilight cut them off quickly by snapping a single wing out, causing the a crack to sound through the room. “Yes or no?”
Both leaders nodded carefully, seeing an enraged and known powerful alicorn causing them to choose their moves with caution. Twilight lowered herself back into her chair. “Good. We will take a short break then, one hour I think. Return to your quarters with your companions, order some food from the kitchen, return cool headed and ready to talk peacefully, am I clear?”
Again, both leaders nodded then turned as one and moved to the door, both determined to exit first. As they neared the door the two started to rush and push themselves out first only to have the doors snap open under the power of a purple glow. Glancing back they found a still enraged Twilight staring murder at them.
Once they were out of sight, each heading down a different hall with a selection of guards following them, Twilight relaxed and leaned back in her chair. Releasing a sigh she brought her head down against the table. This is just going to get harder. I wish Luna was able was respond to message. Damn nobles tying her up in petty arguments. I wonder if those are going any better than this.
She heard the sound of a plate being placed on the table next to her head. Turning her head she saw a hay burger alongside some fries. She lifted her head, her magic wrapping around the plate and bringing it in front of her. Behind the now moved plate she saw Spike pulling around one of the smaller chairs. Smiling her thanks her lifted the burger and began eating.
"Thought you might be hungry." Spike lifted himself into the chair. "So watching that exit I assume things are going as well as could be desired then? All rainbows and smiles." Twilight only replied by sticking out her tongue between bites.
"I know you are thinking it too but you have to reel them in. You have to do something to make them want to work together." Spike picked up one of the fries and popped it in his mouth. "You managed to get the extra weight of the discussion thrown out so now you have to appeal to those two. An incentive. The other Princesses gave you their backing to do what you need to in order to secure peace on the so the border. They trust you with this Twilight, remember that. They will support your actions." He grabbed another fry and hopped down from his chair, headed towards the door. "Think about what you are going to do. Enjoy your meal!"
Spike left the room, the guards on the doors closing them. Twilight lifted the first fry up and took a bite. Spike was right, he had been voicing her own thoughts and what she needed to do. But what could she, what could Equestria provide these two as an incentive?
All too soon the door opened back up. Twilight had positioned herself carefully as the end of the break neared, the plate of food had been removed, teleported back to the kitchen. Wings hanging easily over the side of the chair, front hooves resting on the table, face held with a slight frown. She had watched Celestia hold this pose in quite a few negotiations, something about it always caused the other side to feel off balance.
King Midas was the first into the room, he carried his heavily muscled body carefully, using each step to announce his present. His stood tall, even among his people and he was known to use this added presence when it came to any political work. One of his signs of kingship hanging around his neck, a necklace crafted from the tails of other minotaurs who had challenged him. He returned to his seat and eased himself into it, taking a moment to look Twilight over before decided that attempting to engage in idle conversation would not be a worthwhile effort.
Shortly after his entrance Queen Chrysalis entered the room. She strode through the room using her long legs to eat up the distance to her chair. As she moved she used her wings to fill the air with a buzzing sound, whether to set both the other attendees on edge or for some other reason Twilight couldn’t decide. As Queen Chrysalis took her seat Twilight decided it was time to begin.
Raising herself up to draw their attention Twilight did her best to hold herself as high as she could. Looking between the two other beings in the room Twilight ensured she had their full attention before starting.
“Since this dialogue began three days ago no progress has been made towards a peaceful resolution. Both of you have continued to find tiny matters of contention with the other even after your entourages were removed. At the moment it appears as if neither of you actually desire a result other than war with each other.” She paused here, letting her words hang in the air before continuing.
Before she could start up again both Midas and Chrysalis leaned forward, opening their mouths and starting a gesture towards the other. Twilight cut them off by snapping her wings open, cutting both of them off before they could begin again.
“You both requested that Equestria act as a neutral ground and as a mediator for this discussion, and we complied. Equestria has no major stake in the outcome of which side achieves what from this. But that is not to say that Equestria does not have a stake in how this ends.” Twilight gently brought her wings back against her body and lowered herself into her chair as she spoke.
“As you both know the Badlands rest directly on Equestria’s southern border. A war between you two would threaten the security of that border. Fighting forces would spill over into Equestria, refugees would attempt to cross, raiding bands would act on both sides of the border and even set up camps within our lands no matter how much military force we deployed to the area. A war breaking out in the Badlands would threaten the lives of Equestria’s citizens, of my citizens.” Again Twilight paused, looking carefully between both of the other creatures in the room to ensure the meaning of her words sunk in.
“Therefore, Equestria wants this to resolve itself peacefully. In that way our border stays safe and in a way that maintains our long standing friendship with your minotaurs, King Midas, and form a new friendship with your changelings, Chrysalis. As such, Equestria is offering an incentive to see this done, one that should be more than appealing to you both.”
“Should this dialogue yield a non peaceful resolution Equestria will destroy any chance for life to survive in the Badlands.”
Before either Midas or Chrysalis could respond Twilight pulled on her magic, her horn lighting up as an image of the Badlands formed on the table before her, reaching up to give the desert its notable features and shape. “To put it a bit more complicated we would begin by sealing the Badlands by use of large area magic shielding and weather magic to prevent passage across the borders of the Badlands.”
All along the edge of the image small tokens appeared in groups, each group made up of either pegasus tokens or unicorn tokens. Where the unicorn tokens stood barriers raised up from the edge of the Badlands and above each group of pegasus tokens tiny storm clouds formed creating a single unbroken line of defenses to prevent movement from one end of the Badlands to the other on both the Southern and Northern border.
“With the Badlands sealed to all passage Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would begin their assault. During the day the sun above the Badlands will produce more heat,” as she spoke a small sun drifted up and over the map with small marks of flames and steam showing over the map, “causing what liquid there is in the Badlands to dry up. During the nights the temperature will be dropping beyond any record lows as well.” The small sun set over one edge of the map, a miniature moon floating up to take its place. “The results would be flash freezes every night of any liquid water only to be heated rapidly during the day. This would continue until there is a waterless wasteland where the current desert stands.”
The moon left the sky of the model Badlands as the light in the room faded as well until only the glow of the magical image remained looking as uninhabitable of a place as anyone could imagine. “The process of turning the desert into a wasteland would take less than a single month. About two weeks after that the last living creature in the Badlands would die without any water or any edible food remaining. I understand that it is a most unpleasant experience.”
Twilight allowed the other two rulers a few moments with their own thoughts before speaking again, bringing them back to the present as she allowed the regular lighting of the room to come back. “With that said however we are quite sure that should this come to a peaceful resolution there would be many new opportunities for all of us would arise,” on the map the tokens, storms, and barriers around the edge disappeared. In their place small moving groups appeared on the map, some of them paired with wagons. “Trade for instance. New chances for trading are surely in your mind as well as our’s. Assuming that we could collective see this through Equestria would be more than happy to provide adequate protection for these new trade ventures, both in terms of physical guards and insurance to the trading parties. And I am sure there are other benefits to peaceful coexistence that we will discover through this.”
“Needless to say there is much to lose for everyone involved should this end in a war breaking out but much to gain from working together.” With that Twilight let the image of the Badlands fade from view and attempted to maintain control over her feature, holding a peaceful but stern looking on her face while keeping her wings and hooves from shaking, even as her nerves took over inside her. Her body trying to shake from the nervous energy, the urge to stand up and walk around, or even bolt from the room, becoming stronger with each second. Her thoughts were also betraying her, had she gone too far? what if they responded violently? surely the continued silence was each other them planning a way to get back at her, perhaps even kill he-
Something cut Twilights thoughts off suddenly. It took a moment for the sound to fully register as a laugh. A deep baritone sound that felt like it could shake the earth itself. Twilight looked over to see King Midas leaning back in his chair as laughter rippled through his body. Twilight watched as his large hands raised and started coming together the sound of clapping filled the room along with his laughter. On the other side of the table a soft chuckle had started as well, Queen Chrysalis raising a single hoof filled with holes to her muzzle to cover her mouth even as a similar smile formed on her. Twilight had failed, she knew it now, she’d gone too far and neither of them believed her and they’d call her bluff soon enough then she’d be done.
“My respect Princess Twilight!” The deep voice brought her eyes back to King Midas as he began speaking. “It seem the title Filly Princess, and Princess of Friendship only speak of a part of you. Princess of Steel maybe? I thought Princess Celestia drove a hard bargain. You make the War Queen’s negotiations tactics look peaceful in comparison. Well then, Queen Chrysalis, should we listen to our Star Steel Princess and get to work?”
Unsure how to respond to what she assumed was praise Twilight looked over at the changeling Queen for her response and found two emerald eyes looking her over as if they were seeing her for the first time. “I do believe we should. Though I think Star Forged Princess may fit her better.” Twilight heard amusement in the buzzing voice, but also something that sounded oddly like respect.
Twilight now found herself in an even more unusual position. A fully grown changeling queen and a massive minotaur king looking at her as if she had just raised the sun herself. “Well then Princess Twilight. Where shall we start?”
Pulling herself forward she rested a hoof on the table. “We should start with perhaps the easier of the issues. Land distributions. Now I know that…”
Now if only this would keep up for the rest of the negotiations.
A week and a half later Twilight found herself wondering if she would ever find a way to manage new situations in an organized manner.
Currently the other three Equestrian Princesses and herself were standing at the top of the stairs of her castle as two different traveling groups were finishing that loading of wagons. One group was headed by King Midas who strode around with his full royal attire, the massive war axe used by his forefather in battle across his back along with his necklace and a small crown atop his head. The other had Queen Chrysalis sitting atop a wagon watching her drones work. However despite the fact that the traveling groups were clearly separated from each other both minotaurs and changelings were busy loading wagons in both groups.
“Well Twilight, I am impressed! I expected good results when we handed this off to you, but this! You have two of the hardest races to work with working side by side after only two weeks!” Celestia waved a hoof at the working going on before them. “I am quite impressed, and pleased!”
“I learned from the best, Princess.” Twilight maintained a slightly nervous smile as she responded to Celestia. Before any other comments could be made the activity of the wagon trains came to a stop with most of the beings finding their way into, or onto, a wagon. The exceptions were King Midas and Queen Chrysalis who had walked and buzzed their respective ways in front of the four Princesses of Equestria.
The two bowed to them for a moment and received a bow in reply. Chrysalis was the first to speak, “Thank you Princesses of Equestria for providing a vital service to our two nations. As Queen of the Hive I consider us in your debt and hope to see a bright future for us all and that we may pay back past wrongs in time.” Before getting a reply Chrysalis flew back to her wagon train and perched herself on top of the front on, the line moving forward as she set down.
“Always one for formalities that one. Lots of ceremony when she interacts with other races. Not sure why. Regardless! Princesses of Equestria, the Kingdom of the Desert thanks you for your help and your continued friendship with us. It is comforting to know that our two nations share such a close bond. And on a personal note, I must say War Queen you have raised your student well! I hope to do business with you again, Star Steeled Princess. Now, farewell Princesses.” With a final bow King Midas turned and headed back to his wagon train and jogged up to the front before rapping on the side of the lead wagon and jogging ahead as the wagons started moving.
A few moments of silence followed as the wagons moved down the road before anypony spoke. “Star Steeled Princess huh? I’m still only the Heart Shaped Fluff.” Cadance leaned over and bumped into Twilight with her shoulder, “What did you do in there that got his respect and a new nickname that quickly, Oh Star Steeled Princess?”
“Indeed, Cadance echoes our own thoughts young Twilight. What did you do?” Luna looked at Twilight inquisitively.
“Oh, um. Nothing really. Just basic negotiations tactics. You know, carrot and stick. Nothing special really.” Twilight attempted to back away from the other three princesses slowly. Unfortunately for her all she got was a raised eyebrow from Celestia as she tried to dodge the question. “I may have threatened them with turning the desert into an inhospitable wasteland while offering trade deals if they cooperated!” Twilight’s eyes went wide and she snapped her front hooves over her mouth in an attempt to push the words back in.
“Oh.” The other three princesses looked away from Twilight and down the road after the wagon trains. Silence reigned for a few seconds with no pony speaking.
“Motion to let Twilight handle all future negotiations.” Cadance’s soft voice once again broke the silence.
“What! NO!”
“Seconded.” Luna tilted her head as she supported Cadance’s motion.
“Nonononono!”
“All in favor say ‘Aye’.” Celestia’s call for a vote was met with three ‘aye’s and what sounded like an attempt at disagreement mixed with panic.
“Motion is passed. Princess Twilight Sparkle will handle all future negotiations.”
“That isn’t fair! I wasn’t even given time to present a counter argument! You three couldn’t be impartial on that! This is rigged! Not fair!”
Twilight complaints were only met with soft chuckles from the other three princesses.