//------------------------------// // Chapter XLI: Ambassador // Story: Astral Aegis // by Silvak //------------------------------// It didn't took long for our little group to reach the castle, though Fancy Pants spent a good portion of the trip regaling me about Canterlot's past. Thankfully, he went with the general history of the city, instead of retelling various glorious moments that the nobility experienced. Nor was there any mention of the changeling invasion, which hopefully indicated that at least some folk are trying to put that event behind them. Still, due to fact that I didn't see a single undisguised changeling roaming the streets of Canterlot, I knew there was still much more work that the princesses and the changelings have to do before this peace could be fully realized. Upon entering the castle proper, I started to spot some of the nobility that were waiting for us. I simply raised an eyebrow at all the clothing they were wearing, noting that for a species that is normally in the nude, the nobility certainly like to show off their status through the sheer amount of get-ups they had on. That was also when I wished I didn't arrive in my uniform, for once they spotted me, they instantly swarmed around me and made comments on how I look. Which, differed between how 'fabulous' I looked, to just how adorable I appeared in my foal-sized officer's uniform. Thankfully, for the nobles, Celestia have chosen to come out of the castle instead of waiting for me to arrive. Otherwise, I would have gotten frustrated with their antics and started zapping the nearest ponies with my taser. "It's a pleasure to see you again Aether," Celestia said with a smile on her face that I felt like it was secretly mocking me. "I would say the same Princess, but my choice of wearing this uniform has backfired on me," I replied, giving the nobles a flat stare before returning my attention to Celestia. "Oh? So you didn't intended to disarm the nobility by looking adorable?" Celestia asked, which caused my left eyelid to twitch. "I'll answer your question with one of my own: just how much of your budget should go into replacing furniture?" I countered, causing Celestia's smile to fade into a frown. "You know I will hold up on that threat if necessary." "I know, though it would be nice if we didn’t have a violent incident every time you came to  Canterlot." "And it would be nice if something didn't attempt to drive me crazy each time I came to Canterlot, too," I replied, eyeing Celestia as her frown grew deeper. "With the fact that I have been getting therapy, that means I did what I could to prevent an incident from happening. How about you with a 'certain' member of your family? I didn't spot him among the rest of the nobles." "I assure you that Blueblood had learnt the error of his ways. Now, shall we head into the castle so we can meet the rest of the nobility, and the griffon ambassador?" Celestia asked, which caused my eyelid to twitch again at the thoughts of even more ponies calling me adorable. Taking a deep breath, I let out a sigh as I answered, "Might as well get this over with then, before I lose my temper at something else." Nodding, Celestia led us inside the castle why the nobles trailed behind us. Once inside, I spot a larger group of nobles waiting inside. Like the first group, they immediately commented on my appearance, much to my disdain. Celestia thankfully put an end to it when she said, "Alright everypony, I think we spent enough time observing Dame Aether's appearance. Ambassador Gerhard is waiting for us at council room, best we don't keep him waiting." Hence we continued moving through the castle, though the nobles continue to make comments on my appearance as well as voice out their skepticism until one mare asked, "Dame Aether, I'm curious about something. Did the other alien species possess an aristocratic class as well?" Darting my eyes towards the noble, I simply answered, "Well, there is an upper class of wealthy aliens..." "Then may we perhaps try to negotiate with them? Surely they'll be willing to listen to reason?" "Not really, they are more like to find a pony as an exotic animal, take it to some personal preserve, and hunt it down before killing the pony. They might also keep the pony's hide as a souvenir," I replied, causing the poor mare to green at the revelation. "Madam, it may be best that you don't... disturb anypony today," Silver commented. "Hey, she asked, I was just answering," I said, before we finally went through a doorway into a massive room. It was a large, circular room, with three fourths of the room filled with seats, the other area having a throne and a few desks and boards which I believe would be used for any presentations that would take place. As I inspected the room, the nobles took their seats, with Celestia taking her own seat. "Please take a spot on either side of me, Aether, the ambassador will be here shortly," Celestia said, to which I nodded to before taking a spot to her right. "So, what should I be expecting when I meet this ambassador?" I asked. "Gerhard is a representative of the Griffin Kingdoms, though not in their full entirety. After the news of the changelings alliance with Equestria, the griffins were curious about what prompted such an unlikely alliance. Upon learning the global threat that Equus may face, they decided to send an ambassador over, to determine whether they should also enter an alliance for mutual protection against an interdimensional invasion," Celestia explained. "It won't be long before he arrives." Nodding, I looked over all the nobles, until I spotted Blueblood in the bunch. He was staring at me with a frown, which caused me to raise a hoof that I used to point at my eyes before pointing it back at him. He took on an offended look before turning his head away in annoyance. "Aether. don't tau—" Celestia started to say, when a griffin, who was rather large compared to the average pony, strode through the large doorway. Turning my attention to him, I noted that he had a few scars running over his body, which spoke that unlike most of the ponies in this, he knew the dangers of battle in some fashion. As I watched him, he came right up before me as he eyed me with scrutiny. "So you're the filly that I heard so much about. I have to admit, you don't look like much," Gerhard said. "Looks can be deceiving, and you wouldn't be the first to underestimate me," I replied back. Cocking an eyebrow, Gerhard responded, "Oh? I read the reports of your past, but the fact that you're a filly doesn't help to lend credibility to your claims." "Do you need me to do something no filly, or anyone normal for that matter, would do? Like... break my leg?" I asked, which caused the nobles to stare at me in shock while Celestia scrambled to get in front of me. "There's no need for that Aether, I don't think anypony will need you to go to such extremes," Celestia said with a forced smile. "What is going on?" Gerhard asked, his face only showing a bit of confusion. "Long story short, Princess Cadence made such a claim against me. I proceeded to drop a crystal nightstand on my leg. I sort of underestimated the amount of force I used, which caused the bone in my leg to poke out," I answered, a small sneer coming onto my face as many of the nobles' faces either paled or turned green as their imaginations ran rampant based on my description. Blueblood himself though was making a hasty exit as I saw that his face was far more green than any other pony. Celestia could only let out a tired sigh, though it ended quickly when Gerhard let out a small chuckle. "I have to admit now, while you still don't look like someone that should be leading a military force, your attitude—the way you carry yourself—speaks differently. No pony would willing harm themselves in such a fashion just to prove their point, but based on Princess Celestia's reactions, I'm incline to believe that you would. It is rare for me to see such a pony that may take whatever means necessary to accomplish a goal," he said as he scratched his chin in thought. "I think with a leader like you, maybe the Griffon Kingdoms may consider joining Equestria in this endeavor." "Yet you said maybe, is there something else we need to discuss?" I asked. "Yes, I wonder what role any griffons would play should we send over some to join this interdimensional military force that you're putting together." "Nothing special, they would just be more recruits, nothing more, nothing less. The only thing that makes me differ one set of recruits is the amount of training they received from me. Otherwise, they're just soldiers in my eyes," I replied. This caused Gerhard to rub his chin in thought, before he finally asked, "So you don't play favorites?" "If anything, I’ll probably just be harsher to those that disappoint me or get on my nerves." "Hmm... then I believe that, perhaps, our two species could come to an alliance after all. While it is hard to swallow down the idea of a species from another dimension invading our world, based on the evidence Princess Celestia has shown me, this is not a threat that I can simply ignore," Garhard started to say before turning to Celestia. "Princess, while I can't not make such an alliance on my own, I will however do my best to convince the monarchs of the Griffon Kingdoms to come together and ally itself with your nation. Hopefully, we will be able to work together to protect our world together." Watching this conversation going on, I had some questions that I decided to voice out. "Now wait a minute, you're already on board? Just like that? I thought there would be more to this, like first-hoof accounts of the various forces we could face, or of me informing you of the kinds of fate that the people of Equus may have to deal with if we were to be conquered?" "Considering that you were always up for saving time, I decided to inform Ambassador Gerhard of all the knowledge that we know of in regards to this matter. Your presence however was to enlighten Gerhard of the kind of pony that would be training any griffon volunteers we would receive if this alliance would to be created," Celestia explained. "Alright then, though I should tell you something, Ambassador Gerhard. If Equestria and the Griffon Kingdoms do end up as allies, you must be ready to inform any volunteers that they would be facing rather unorthodox training methods that some of my recruits would call pure evil." "Oh? And what would your training methods me?" Gerhard asked with an amused expression. "Oh, tossing giant rocks at ponies, having them climb trees than jump branch to branch without magic or flight, being covered in bees, to eating horrible food. Some of the folks in my first batch of recruits ended up with broken bones. I also will be testing any volunteers you send over to weed out the undesirables. So if we just summed it up, it will just be pain and the testing of their sanity," I nonchalantly replied, which caused the nobles to stare at me while Gerhard just blinked in surprise. "Hey, just being honest with you now, don't want any griffons to come over for nothing. I don't think anyone would like to do a two-way trip for nothing."