Hunnh... who'd have guessed blowing up was hazardous to one's health...
...
Yeah doc, I'm fine.
...
No, I'd still do it.
Anyways, moving on.
I, again, woke up before dawn. Topsy and Lavender went to Lavender's home for the first time since... ever, actually. Still, I - in pony form still - started to roam the halls of the castle, where I found Cadence pacing about.
"Greetings." I said, waving with a wing.
"Oh, h-hello." She stammered before breathing deeply and burying her unease.
Something was bothering her, but not even she knew what it was. On hindsight, it's obvious that the return of the Crystal Empire was going to provoke a great change on the world, and that the Crystal Heart would be felt by the pony that gives of the exact same kind of energy; long before it actually got back.
"Celestia asked me to join her for breakfast with the other nobles, something about healthy relations..." I said, to which she nodded, since she was going to be there. "I figure that you will have the pancakes in the shape of hearts?"
"Oh, I wish." She sighed. "There are nobles that would flip if we were to eat anything other than a 'proper meal' to be ready to face the day. Pancakes are not proper for princesses, apparently. Luckily, these breakfasts are rare, rather than the norm, or I wouldn't be able to eat a simple meal ever."
"I have just the thing." I said. "I have an idea."
A little while after that, with some navigational help from Cadence, I was in the dinning hall with a small gathering of assorted nobles and dignataries. Plus Celly.
"Greetings!" I said loudly as I entered, an additional food cart trailing behind me in my magic - some nobles only just then noticing that there was less food than usual. "I have brought an... offering, of sorts, so that we may have a beautiful and productive friendship."
"Are you certain it's wise to have him-" A mare started to say, in hushed whispers, but was interrupted by Celestia.
"The phenomenon is real, and he is the most reliable consultant we have on how to prevent further incidents; he is capable of setting the world into a proper course, something that some of our... policies were preventing, and would have continued to do so, until something more drastic happened." She countered promptly, but not curtly, surprisingly enough.
"The time is out of joint—O cursèd spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!" I said, before shaking my head.
"Nay, come, let's go together."
"Please don't quote works were everyone dies." Luna said as she entered, walking a little bit hurriedly, and snagging a danish from the cart I pulled. "Good morning, sister, I am off to bed."
"Good morning Luna." The princesses nuzzled affectionately, Luna still floating the danish.
"Then, how about: Let us not burthen our remembrance with a heaviness that's gone." I said, and offered a small tub and butterknife. "Scream cheese?"
The little blob rose up a little off the top and - well, screamed.
Mrheee!
Celestia chuckled despite herself.
"Thank you, Aether." Luna smiled, took the knife, sliced off the 'mouth' thing and spreaded it on her danish. Then the thing rose up and screamed a little again, only more softly. Luna turned around, and I just barely caught the fact that she gave the room a sweeping glare as she did so; select few didn't shiver, not counting those she had no beef with of course. "I do not recognize the quote, however."
"I do." Gildebeak said. The Griffon ambassador was wearing enormous aviator shades, likely to hide the black-eyes his niece gave him, which detracted a little bit of attention to how his beak seemed to shine - but actually made the small scar on the side of it more apparent. He had over-easy eggs, hash browns, and I added a replicated sausage. "It's another play by the same author of the previous one."
Luna offered a nod in thanks and left. She had met with the others previously, and had apparently left to retrieve me - I don't know how I missed her, but this place is labyrinthine enough for it.
"I would be remiss if I were to refuse such marvelous offering." Celestia took a pancake with chocolate chips, one with blueberries, a banana one - actually, it would be safe to say that she took one of everything. And maple and blueberry syrup. And like a cup of butter. "They smell delicious."
Cadence got the one in shape of a heart I had promised her, and Shining Armor took enough pancakes to feed a small army. Blueblood actually took bagels and scream cheese. A few others - the agreeable ones in attendance - also took some, willfully ignoring that I seemed to have more pancakes than there could physically fit into the cart.
This kinda forced a few of the others to at least look at the food.
"If it's good enough for the breakfast of families across Equestria, then it's good enough for princesses." I said, making a few of them sweat.
"Excuse me." Gildebeak said. "I am ambassador Gildebeak- say, would you know where is..."
"Human Aether got a few... injuries during... duty." I said, wondering how I could word it better. "Is something the matter?"
"Ah, see, minotaurs have had difficult times with humans in their lands." He began. "Historically, two humans have been reported in the territories that comprise their nation, that could be verified and not merely superstition and hearsay. Those were rather dark times for their people."
"And they heard there's a human in Equestria." I deadpanned. "And they want to launch a pre-emtive strike."
"That would not be wise, in any form." Celestia muttered worriedly, absent-mindedly taking a sip of grape juice. "I would not want to antagonize him if I were them."
"Excuse me?" Gildebeak blinked (possibly), turning to the princess. "Why is that?"
He - and I - had caught how she just implied that the situation would get out of her hand-hooves.
"Yes, princess, why is that?" I asked with a smile. "I had the impression that he dislikes conflict."
Celestia eyed me warily, but I just gave her a smile and a questioning eyebrow. She set down her glass, eyes closed gently in thought, before turning to us once more.
I should let her say this part.
*****
If that is what it takes...
I looked at Aether, who merely smiled at me, asking me to continue with his look alone.
"I am aware of his geniality, however, just as the light inside of... both of you seeks a peaceful life, the darkness is capable of doing whatever you deem necessary to keep it." I said, dabbing my lips with a napkin to make time and let the words sink in. He made a record appear, and started to play it. "If he is pushed to believe that it is needed, he will gladly point weapons at the offenders; should the minotaurs push, I believe him capable of ending his aggressors without hesitation, without losing peace about it."
"My, my." He chuckled, turning his smile into a grin. "What a terrifying thing to say about your friends."
"You are terrifying friends to have." I replied, pursing my lips in an almost-unconscious match to his grin. "It's telling that you decided to defer to our judgement, but I am under no illusions that, should I turn out to be a threat to anypony, you would stay idle."
I stared at his eyes, which wandered in thought. I almost took another drink of juice, but set it down.
"In a mere instant, at the whims of another, you were turned into a major factor in the healing of this world. You are by no means the deciding factor, but any intentions you have will have repercussions across the world. Should you desire, you could change the way of life of entire nations, with drastic means if it means saving them from the backlash of the worldly energies striking back at them."
And he would. He is capable of storming a castle to get his point across, threatening to upset the established order and traditions himself if they were not going to do it themselves. Where there is one, there must be the other two, as it turns out.
"You might dislike conflict, but I believe you capable of slipping a blade between my ribs, or watching me die from poisoned pastries while calmly drinking your tea..." There was a twitch in his eyes, one that told me a little more. "No, that's not quite right; you would comfort me, lamenting the need, particularly if you couldn't find something painless."
"Oh, princess." He sighed theatrically, then he scowled in mock-indignity, bringing a hoof to his chest. "I am offended that you would consider the possibility that I would poison your cake."
He huffed, then gestured. "When it comes to poison, water is so much easier."
I turned to the juice in my glass.
The purple was much too rich for normal juice. I stuck out my tongue and looked at it.
It was dyed purple.
I looked into his eyes, and I do not know if it was my imagination, but I saw dark brown turn to cobalt blue, and I could feel the storm that could be, the dark clouds surrounding me and the blue-tinted lightning warning those that would bring harm to others that their actions would not be tolerated; savage winds tore around wildly, never knowing if they threatened to smash somepony to the ground, blow them away, or simply confusing them until the lightning destroyed them.
I- I never felt this way when facing Discord. I obviously felt threatened by him, but I had faith in the Elements of Harmony seeing us through. I knew that the Elements would triumph, but Aether wouldn't play games, not at first... he'd scheme, he would test, he would build an Epic - after an untold amount of changes brought upon the world.
That is, if he were to turn... more like Discord.
I knew, even then, that he wouldn't. I, like himself, thought of the possibility nonetheless.
After a moment, I blinked, and the eyes, the storm, it all vanished.
I knew that the storm was still there, simply waiting inside of him, ready to be unleashed upon those foolish enough to search for it.
"You don't have to worry so much about me." Aether said, in response to a question from Gildebeak I did not catch. "I defer to the authority of the princesses because they are more experienced in matters of great magical power and its effect upon others; I recognize their strength, because I was once weak."
He drifted sideways, a few paces, before looking upwards to one of the chandeliers of the dinning hall.
"I know what it is like to have little, to be vulnerable, to be weak, so I wish to help those who still are. I shall never forget; I will think like the weak, fight like the weak, and, like the weak, I shall destroy the strong." That way of thinking is not dissimilar to that of ours, as one needs to place oneself in the horseshoes of another to see their problems with their eyes, and thus solve them that much better. I am very careful not to hurt my ponies.
Those that do not respect power should not wield it, as they could hurt somepony in their carelessness. Those that fear power have no business wielding it or deciding who should wield it, as their fear will cloud their judgement; power is power, and no matter its form one must treat it with the appropriate care... too many alternative versions fear powers that they... it is no use thinking about them...
To date, Aether has not personally killed an alterante version of myself, although he has placed 'extras' in their condiments and drinks on occassion. A small disruption, enough to allow great changes in critical moments.
Truly, something those alternates would never think of.
We leave it to the 'strong' to fight each other head-on, after all. We leave it to those who fear power to kill themselves over it, or face the consequences of their own cover-ups.