//------------------------------// // Third Meeting // Story: The Council of Friendship // by DrakeyC //------------------------------// The Council of Friendship Twilight banged her gavel on the arm of the throne and cleared her throat. "Hear ye, hear ye! The third Ponyville Council of Friendship is now in session!" "Indeed, and let us all rise to salute our flag as we begin our duties!" Rarity smiled and stood up from her seat, bringing a hoof to her head in salute. Her horn lit up blue. "Rarity, we don’t have… a… flag?" As Twilight spoke, she saw a flagpole descend from the ceiling with a flag flying from it in an aura of blue magic, displaying a six-pointed pink star over a blue image of a tree on a purple background. Twilight’s jaw dropped. "Where did that come from?" "It was design nine, darling. I tried to show samples at our first meeting, but was ignored. So I took matters into my own hooves." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "As Ah recall, we never actually approved any of those designs." "As you wish. I have the other fifteen with me now if we’d like to review." "Ah motion we stick with this one." "Seconded," Rainbow Dash said, raising her hoof. Everypony else raised their hoof as well. Rarity smiled. "Excellent." Rainbow looked at the flag pole as the flag was furled around it and the pole retracted into the ceiling. "How did you even install that?" Twilight turned in her throne to glare at Spike. He looked away and coughed lightly. "Don’t look at me. She could have done that any time." "Uh-huh." "So, what’s on our agenda today, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked. "Well, I worked out a new policy with Mayor Mare." Twilight turned her head and lifted a sack at the side of the room, bringing it closer. "In an attempt to actually do something productive with our time, she has authorized me to review the weekly citizen’s suggestions she gets to various changes to be made to Ponyville. We will weed out the silly ones and return the valid ones to her." "Um," Pinkie Pie raised her hoof. "There might be a letter in there suggesting every other Tuesday be declared ‘Cupcake Fight Tuesdays’. If there is, can we vote on that one first?" "If we get to it," Twilight replied with a smirk. She pulled out a letter and unfolded it. "To the Mayor of Ponyville. It has come to my attention that the taxation on Sweet Apple Acres is unfairly high. As stated in the taxation laws for this region of Equestria, the tax laws are at least fifty percent higher than they ought to be as to be decided on the total land area of the property. Furthermore, given the age of Sweet Apple Acres as a property, I wish to apply for the site to be considered a historical site, with associated reduced taxation status and special rights in town proceeds given to the legal owner of the property, as set down in the Ponyville Charter upon its founding. I await your response eagerly. Signed…" Twilight pulled her head back. "Mr. B. McIntosh, D. F. P.?" Applejack groaned and pulled her hat over her eyes. "Ah told ‘im not to write that letter…" "What’s the ‘D. F. P.’ stand for?" Rarity asked. "Doctorate of Farming and Produce from Canterlot U." "I didn’t know that course existed." "Neither did Granny Smith an’ me." "I think I’ll set that aside for the mayor." Twilight folded up the letter and placed it aside, and withdrew another one from the bag. "Dear Mayor Mare, this is the third written request I have sent you regarding the abolishment of that awful castle. I am aware it belongs to our princess, but it is greatly obscuring the view from my poolside, and who knows what the property values are like for it. Sincerely… Diamond Tiara." Twilight rolled her eyes and crumpled the letter up. "Spike, find a junk folder to put this in." "With pleasure," Spike replied, catching the letter as Twilight tossed it to him. "Okay, let’s see… Dear Mayor Mare, I wish to advise you on something of utmost urgency regarding your princess." Twilight frowned and kept reading. "Your dear Princess Twilight requires the aid of a medical professional immediately to remove the…" her ears flopped over and her eyes dulled. "To remove the draconequus hanging out of Spike’s ear." "How generous of somepony to give you such a warning." Twilight grunted and saw a flash beside her. She turned and saw a familiar mismatched set of limbs emerging from Spike’s ear. Spike followed her gaze and screamed. "Discord!? What are you doing in my ear?" "Digging for treasure." The miniature Discord waved a shovel in the air. "You won’t believe the things I’ve found in here. Honestly, Spike, I’m doing you a favour cleaning up all this clutter." With another flash of light, Discord appeared at full size behind Spike’s throne and dumped a shovel full of dirt on him. Spike sputtered and dug his way out of it, falling to the floor and shaking himself off. Twilight glared. "Discord, what are you doing here besides annoying me?" "I do believe you just answered your own question, Twilight." Discord came over to her and patted her on the head. "By the way, congratulations on the new Council of Friendship, a brilliant idea. You girls are such good friends, it only makes sense to help spread your wisdom to others." Discord looked at the flag hanging from the ceiling and frowned. "The décor could use some work, though." He snapped his fingers, and the flag changed to an image of Discord’s torso giving a thumbs-up. Rarity shrieked and glared at him. "You put that back the way it was this instant!" "So much for the ‘reformed’ thing again, huh?" Rainbow Dash muttered. "Come now, Rainbow Dash, I’m just having a little fun." Discord pouted. "Surely you, with that vast repertoire of pranks you love to use, can sympathize?" Rainbow grunted and folded her hooves, but didn’t reply. "Discord." Discord looked at Twilight again. "Again, why are you here?" "Oh, very well." A throne with the image of a glass of chocolate milk on the back appeared beside Twilight’s throne, and Discord sat down in it. "Princess Luna and Celestia informed me of this little council you have, and I decided to come and have a look at how things are going." "We were just reviewing the letters to the Mayor. As part of our duties, we’re going to help her review petitions and suggestions from citizens, to reduce her workload." "Wonderful! Can I read one?" Discord’s eyelashes grew longer and he fluttered them at her. Twilight groaned. "Go ahead." Discord picked up a letter from the stack, unfolded it, and cleared his throat. "To the Mayor of Ponyville. I am writing to offer you a suggestion regarding shifting the payment system for the Ponyville mail delivery services, from a bit-based to a baked-goods based one. I personally think muffins would be optimal, but a selection of goods would also—" "Discord!" Discord stopped reading and saw Twilight watching him. "Read the real letter." "That was the real letter." Discord help it out to her. Twilight read for a moment, and then chuckled sheepishly. "Well… how about that? Somepony really likes muffins. Um, Spike, junk pile, please." "Sure thing." Spike took the letter from Discord with a dirty look, and sat back on the small bit of his throne not covered by dirt. "Next one." As Twilight took the letter from the pile, Discord plucked it from her and unfolded it. "Hey!" Twilight scowled, but Discord ignored her and began to read. "Oh, this is a good one, Twilight. It’s for you." He grinned at her. "For me?" Twilight’s horn lit up violet and the letter glowed with the same light. "Hush and be patient." Discord reached out and tapped a claw on her horn. It sparked and fizzled, the light flickering out. Twilight cried out indignantly and touched a hoof to her horn. "As I was saying," Discord said, turning back to the letter. "Dear Princess Twilight, I’m sorry I didn’t have enough time to say hello to you on your last visit to the Crystal Empire. Congratulations on your victory over Tirek and the arrival of your new castle. Perhaps the next time you visit the Crystal Empire, we could do a little catching up? Princess Cadance tells me you seem to know me and I’m curious as to how. Sincerely, Flash Sentry, Royal Guard of the Crystal Empire." Twilight blushed. "F-Flash Sentry?" "Ooooo, Twilight’s got an admirer!" Pinkie grinned. "Is he that dashing pegasus with the blue mane we saw?" Rarity asked. "You’ve an eye for the stallions, dear." "It’s not like that!" Twilight shook her head. "I just met a guy named Flash Sentry in the other world, and he was nice and kinda cute, and I think that pegasus is his Equestrian counterpart." "Hold on just a moment," Discord said, lowering the letter. "Other world?" "Didn’t anypony tell ya?" Applejack asked. "Twilight has a magic mirror she can use to travel to another world. There’s different versions of us over there, except instead of ponies, we’re some weird two-legged things without hooves." "Ugh, sounds hideous." Discord turned his head and gagged. "It’s not so bad once you get used to it," Twilight said, shrugging. "On the one hoof, the loss of magic is a pain, but hands are useful once you learn to use them." "Tell me, Twilight," Discord began, "is there a counterpart of me in this other world?" "For the love of both Celestias, I hope not," Twilight deadpanned. "Oh, sure, you don’t have time to look for your friend on the other side, but you have enough time to make a new coltfriend." "Flash Sentry is not a coltfriend!" Twilight shouted. "I should hope not." Discord sniffed. "Why, imagine if word got out that Princess Twilight was dating some common guard pony. The scandal, the humiliation! I can picture the papers now!" Discord snapped his fingers, and a floating newspaper appeared in front of Twilight with a picture of her kissing Flash Sentry on the front page. The headline read ‘Royalty Slums It With Guard’. "Discord!" Twilight jumped off her throne and stomped the paper to the floor. "I am not dating anypony, if I chose to the scandal would hardly be what I cared about, and—" She stopped and looked down at the paper, specifically the picture. "How do you know what Flash Sentry looks like? "Honestly, Twilight, everything else I can do and you get hung up on that? You really don’t give me enough credit." Discord reached up and grabbed a zipper that had somehow appeared floating about him, and pulled it down. A slit opened up in the middle of the air revealing a portal, and a pegasus guard with a blue mane looked out from it, surprised. Twilight did a double take. "Flash?" "This is what I call ‘A Flash of Sentry’." Discord zipped the portal back up and the zipper vanished. "By the way, did you know Shining Armor sings in the shower? Not well, but he tries." "Discord, do not spy on my brother in the shower!" "Would you rather I spy on Cadance in the shower?" "NO!" "… Oh dear, spy on Flash Sentry? I didn’t peg you to be into that sort of thing, Twilight." Twilight groaned. "Can we just stay on topic? We are here to conduct official and serious government business, not discuss my non-existent love life." "Last I checked, this is about as official and serious as we’ve ever been," Spike said. Twilight turned her head and snorted at him. "I do have official business to bring up, actually," Discord said. "Of course you do." "Tell me, what is the state of this enchanted mirror Twilight used to go to the other world?" "Well, she used a magic book to open the portal for good," Applejack replied. "Now she can enter the other world any time she likes, and Sunset Shimmer is on the other side makin’ sure it’s safe on that end." "I see. And this mirror is here, now?" "You are not going through it," Twilight growled. "Perish the thought. I just mean, if there is a portal between two worlds open permanently, perhaps this would be a good time to draft an immigration policy." A desk appeared in front of Discord and he unfurled a piece of parchment over it. "Immigration policy?" "Yes. If we’re going to maintain such a portal, we must keep track of who has come through it between worlds, and who has authorization to use it." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "That… is actually a good idea." "I know." Discord pulled his horn off his head and unscrewed the end, revealing the tip of a pen. "Now, who from Equestria has passed through it?" "Well, me, a couple of times. Sunset Shimmer. The Sirens." Discord scribbled the names down. "Anypony else?" "I’m not sure. Star Swirl had access to the mirror for years, and then there’s the thousand years after that. I don’t know if anypony kept records of what it was used for, or by who." "Hm, we’ll have to look into that. Where are the entrances to the portal located?" "In this world, the mirror is currently located in my study in the east wing of the castle. In the other world, the portal is a statue on the entrance to a local school." Discord looked up. "Seriously? You leave the entrance to an extra-dimensional portal in a public place?" "It’s not my fault," Twilight protested. "I guess that’s just how Star Swirl designed it." "Of course it is. You ponies are so irresponsible. At least when I ran things I kept Equestria orderly, then Celestia and Luna take over and everything goes to madness." Around the room, seven jaws dropped. "Orderly?" Twilight screeched. "You’re a being of chaos and disharmony!" "Yes, and under my reign, everything was kept in orderly chaos." "That makes no sense!" "Exactly." Twilight grunted angrily. "Wait. You mean, we have no way of knowing what other dangerous magical beings throughout the centuries have crossed into the other world?" Rarity asked. "Oh dear, then… who knows what could be out there?" Fluttershy said. "You see? Fortunately you have me now." Discord smiled at them. "And I would be perfectly willing to monitor this little mirror of yours to ensure its safe and responsible usage." "No," Twilight said. "Why not?" "Because when I think ‘safe and responsible’, you are neither." "Of the two of us, which one is actually making an effort to keep official immigration records?" Discord tapped his chin and thought. "Perhaps we should draft an official form to fill out when passing between the portal. Imagine if alter-egos began to travel back and forth. Why, what if you ran into your own counterpart, Twilight?" "Seeing as it hasn’t happened yet, I find that highly unlikely." "Even so, we’d need a way to tell the two of you apart. What if the other Twilight comes back instead of you?" Discord’s eyes brightened. "Ooo, now there’s an idea! We can rent out Equestrian vacations to these two-legged beings! I’m sure some of them would love to visit Equestria!" "No." "You say that a lot today." "You say a lot of things that demand that response today." Discord sniffed. "That is one pony’s opinion. Last I checked, this was a democratic council. All ponies in favour of allowing beings from the other world to travel to Equestria?" The room was silent. "Well, pardon me for trying to be a proactive citizen." "Can you just leave, already?" Rainbow Dash snapped. Discord scoffed and crossed his arms. "You girls really must learn to lighten up. I heard your councils are a bore and thought I would bring a little fun into it. Would you prefer I go and leave you to your typical boring meetings?" The six ponies and one dragon looked between each other. "Well…" Fluttershy said, standing up, "he is making this more interesting. Sorry, Twilight." "No, it’s fine." Twilight sighed and shook her head. "It’s not like we ever got much done in this council, anyway." "Actually, that does remind me of another thing." Discord stood up and looked around. "I heard from Luna that you attempted to just dissolve this council." "Yes, I attempted to stage a coup, but it failed due to a lack of military power to enforce it," Twilight said. "Any official legislature implied by my wording at the time was invalid due to the council not being in session and there being no vote on it." "If that was the problem, why not just vote on dissolving the council now that it is in session?" "Because, we…" Twilight stopped and thought. Her eyes went wide. "He’s got a point, Twi. If you wanted to just end this, why not ask us to let you do it?" Applejack tilted her head. Twilight’s response was to turn around in her throne and slam her head against the back. "Why am I getting valid political advice from a being of chaos?" "Twilight, politics is nothing if not controlled chaos." "So, uh, do we wanna do that now?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, if Twilight still wants to rule alone." Twilight sighed. "I really would like to try and make a council of friendship work. You all mean so much to me, I would hope we can put aside our conflicting personalities and do what’s best for those that seek our opinions on something." "Of course you can count on us, Twilight!" Pinkie said. "What if we try one more letter and see if we can’t resolve it together?" Fluttershy suggested. "Good idea." Twilight picked up a letter and unfolded it. "Oh, it’s another letter specifically for me. Dear Princess Twilight, I have heard you recently began a council of friendship. I govern a small town on the outskirts of Equestria, and here, friendship is very important to us, but I’ve been having trouble keeping our system of government together. Perhaps you and your friends could pay us a visit and offer some help? Sincerely, Mayor Starlight Glimmer." Twilight looked up from the letter and smiled. "This sounds promising."