Celestia gave a long happy sigh as she drained the last of her morning orange juice. It had become part of her usual ritual just after rising the sun. Most assumed she was a morning pony, but her role of raising the sun had never correlated with being an early riser. After the first few centuries she had managed to keep to a strict schedule, rising when she must and bringing the dawn and then allowing herself an hour or two to get presentable.
It was difficult enough to deal with the hundred plus tasks required to keep Equestria running while drowsy, but she had to look the part too. She had learned early on how important her image was and how easy misunderstandings could lead to larger messes. Ponies might mistake sleepiness for disinterest and become offended. Losing patience with a foreign delegation could lead to endless headaches down the road. Once she had broken into a long yawn while negotiating with a diplomatic committee of gryphons. Her royal treasurer at the time had an insatiable need to put a number to everything and he’d estimated her yawn cost Equestria a hundred thousand bits after Celestia gave them a slightly better trade agreement to smooth over their ruffled feathers.
That was long long ago. A hundred thousand bits had been worth more back then, and the great great grandchildren of everyone in that meeting had gone on to have great great grandchildren. Any stories of her earlier missteps had been lost to time. Aside from her sister, there wasn’t a pony alive that knew her as anything but the always composed princess.
She hadn’t slept well the night before and woke with a vague sense of unease, though she expected it was because of a particular meeting she’d confront that day. She decided a second cup of coffee was in order to make sure everything ran smoothly; tea could keep her going afterwards. Once her coffee was down to the last few sips, she heard the insistent knocking of Free Ledger at the door.
“Princess, I’m afraid we should get started.” Ledger’s faint voice came muffled from the doors. Celestia sighed and made sure her mane was completely combed and opened the doors. Full Ledger was only doing her job, and the kingdom might fall apart without her help. Raising the sun is one thing, but Celestia never had the magic to keep her itinerary memorized.
“Good morning, Free. I hope you slept well?” She put on a small smile and began the long walk from her bedroom to the throne room with Free Ledger trotting along.
“Yes, Princess, thank you. I’m sorry to be insistent. I normally would have given you a bit more time but…” Celestia understood the strained tone in her voice immediately.
“The lemurs.” She sighed and gave a wan smile.
“Yes Princess. They were at the doors right at dawn and insisted on seeing you as soon as possible. I told them when court began but they still have asked for updates every five minutes. I worried if you were late today they may start climbing the walls.”
“Oh yes, quite literally.” Celestia allowed herself a little chuckle. “You were right to make sure I arrived on time. Dealing with their delegation as soon as possible will be best. I remember well why I said their next visit shouldn’t be for another fifty years, but time marches on. Maybe I should have said a hundred.”
Free Ledger gave a little chuckle at that. She had not yet been born when the delegation fifty years ago had taken place but Celestia knew Free would have looked at the summary of their last diplomatic meeting. Water Quill, her predecessor had kept meticulous records, including small bits of advice for future meetings based on the previous ones. Celestia still recalled what Water Quill had written after the last delegation: “Lemuria. Inferiority complex, but mostly harmless.”
That was as much as could be said really. Lemuria was across the ocean on a jungle continent little explored by ponies. Equestria had no records of note about lemurs or their nation, and everything the Lemurian delegations professed Celestia took with a large grain of salt. The only certainty she could find was they were awash in mangos.
Celestia entered the throne room and nodded at her guard’s salute before taking her place at the throne. The herald officially declared court was in session. The doors opened and the lemurs sprung through. There were a dozen or so, but most were dressed with nothing but bandannas or belts, while the three in the front of the delegation were arrayed ornately with flowing capes and jewelry. The one in front had a small golden crown upon his head. It would have seemed much more impressive if the lemurs did not walk forward in their little hop dance fashion, arms stretched out in front of them. Those behind the three were divided between standing around waiting for a direction to be given, or lugging a wooden chest nearly the size of a lemur itself.
“Greetings, glorious Princess Celestia. My father spoke of your splendorous presence, often.” The one with the crown bowed low.
As the one in the crown rose, the one to his left began to speak in his place. “I have the honor to present to you Lemma, Prince of Lemuria, Lord of the Six Rings, Guide of the Dawn, Champion of Twintree, and official envoy to Equestria.
“It is a pleasure, Prince Lemma.” Celestia gave her best diplomatic smile, bracing herself for another series of titles and honors from the others standing on Prince Lemma’s left and right. Then, if like before, there would be a few hours of proposed ‘declarations of alliance’ covered with complicated wording that could be interpreted as giving Lemuria authority over parts of Equestria. These would be skimmed over and rejected, with a new document that gave a more general sense of friendship between the nations.
Then would come a series of trade proposals, often with similarly complex clauses thrown in. Most of these would be declined outright and for the others Celestia would insist on a very clearly worded agreement sending silk and cotton in exchange for mangos. It was always mangos, it seemed the only trade good Lemuria could offer in large supply. The trade agreements themselves were a little anachronistic. Equestria generally established more open agreements that allowed individuals to travel between countries, acquiring the trade goods they’d desire, but the Lemurian delegations always insisted on agreements made by Celestia herself.
All in all the Lemurian delegations were frustrating and came to little. Still, Celestia did not wish to shut Lemuria out completely, but had made it a habit to remarking at the end of each of their visits how productive things had been and how it would not be necessary to come again for fifty more years. At some point, she always hoped a new delegation would arrive, wanting to open up dialogue and not simply begin poorly worded contract negotiations.
“My most magnificent Princess.” The one speaking for the prince continued. “It has been a great while since we last saw your wonderful land. We hope that our visit will be to our nation’s mutual benefits. In honor of the centuries of friendship between Lemuria and Equestria, Prince Lemma wishes to provide you a gift from our lands.”
“A gift?” That was a new development, but not unexpected if they thought it would help when they started proposing trade agreements. The one speaking for the prince motioned behind him and the half dozen lemurs lifted the wooden box and brought it forward. For a moment, Celestia feared there would be a giant mango inside and she would be unable to stop herself from laughing.
The prince himself walked forward as the box was laid down in front of the steps. “Th-this is a token, of our continuing close relations.” The prince gave a nervous smile that made Celestia all the more certain she was to be presented with the largest mango in Lemurian history, but she simply nodded and tried her best to keep a neutral expression. The prince nodded back and opened the chest
Celestia’s eyes widened as the chest revealed a giant emerald, resting on satin. Gems were common enough in Equestria but ones of this size were considerably more rare. How the lemurs obtained such a gem she had no idea. It had been given a square, radiant cut that caught the light very well and was flawless in color. “It’s, ah….” The emerald even seemed to glow, in fact the glow seemed to be getting brighter and brighter. The whole room seemed to become bathed in the green light. Then an instant later the glow had vanished and a wide smile formed on Princess Celestia’s face. “It’s so beautiful.”
The prince took a tentative step closer. “Y-yes it’s the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen, isn’t it?”
“Yes it is!” Princess Celestia agreed enthusiastically, her eyes briefly glowing a soft green before returning to normal.
“It’s the greatest gift you’ve ever been given.” The lemur said with slightly more confidence.
“Yes, it is!” Celestia repeated happily.
“You want to be able to show everyone in Equestria this wonderful gift too don’t you.” The lemur said with a wide smile.
“Oh yes I do!” Celestia grinned. Free Ledger and the guards in the throne room all smiled with her, their eyes all briefly turning green for a few seconds.