Chapter 8 - Planning Optimizations
After they had landed, King Madun guided Twilight inside the gigantic building, where millions of Pserateps were currently talking, dancing, eating, drinking, and, for foals, playing. Twilight was feeling uneasy coming around this many ponies, let alone ponies she doesn't actually know. She was in awe of the building and couldn't stop admiring its size. Equestria had maybe eight hundred thousand ponies in their lands, but Psera had over a million! Madun told her the country was actually becoming a little crowded and would have to find another way to house ponies. But Twilight had a great idea on how to fix that. Yes, Psera had a few spots of land that wasn't populated, but it still wouldn't be enough for all the Pserateps that were literally rooming together. The country was getting stuffed.
After a long walk and flight inside, the group were in front of a bunch of doors, side by side that were guarded by a few soldiers, obviously the entrance.
"Here we are," Madun announced on Twilight's right. "Are you ready?"
"No." The king chuckled at Twilight's fear stricken face before he decided to be bold. He inched closer and nuzzled her. She gasped and surprisingly nuzzle back.
Once they pulled away, Madun asked, "Feel better?" She smiled and nodded eagerly. "Then let's go." He walked forward while the guards pushed the doors open, revealing the very very VERY large stadium that comes from underground to a few levels up, and the millions of Pserateps partying. There was some music playing from speakers Twilight couldn't see, nor did she want to at the moment. She was in awe of the place that held so much design and other things.
"Amazing isn't it?" Merry asked, leaning over the railing and looking down.
"How.....how is this not its own city?" Twilight muttered in disbelief.
"Well........because it's a party house. The MAJOR party house. Whenever we hold big events, we come here. Crownings, nationwide funerals, national emergency briefings......royal weddings." Merry glanced at Twilight with a smirk, who was staring at her with a skeptical look.
"Merry?......No."
"You and my brother would make a great old Pseratep couple. The very brainy one and the very dumb one. Perfect match."
"I'm not stupid!" Madun yelled into Merry's ear. She jumped then turned around and hit him in his chest again. "And stop hitting me. Come on, ladies, we have some ponies to wave to. We're setup at the very very end." He pointed a hoof to the far side. Not that they could see it. "There's a stage setup over there, so we're going over there and introducing you. Then my people cheer, the music starts, and we dance, eat, and have fun before we have to get back to work. Sound good?"
Twilight nodded before the king grabbed her hoof and took off with her next to him, flying over the massive amount of Pserateps on the floor and different levels of the building. She still couldn't believe the size of the place. It was larger than a city, as far as she could see anyway.
They must've been spotted, because the ponies began cheering down below, making her ears ring. They were so loud, especially since there were over a million—or three—in an enclosed space. Eventually after three more minutes of flying through the large building, she spotted the stage which was exactly that. A stage that was as long as a street that went from east to west.
There were guards already situated on it, their saluting meant for respect more than anything else. That's another thing about Psera. They had a massive military. Huge. Half of the civilian populace had to be registered with them for something. Lavender, the city south of the capital, specialized in everything military. It was like a big camp site. So everyone who lived there, which were over one million, were signed.
The two of them landed on the platform and got situated, waving proudly and enthusiastically at the ponies cheering down below. After a few more minutes they quieted down. The king walked up to speak into the microphones setup on a podium in front of him. Then cleared his throat.
"For almost five years," he relayed, his voice bouncing through the whole building. His face was displayed on large screens attached to the sides and ceiling. "We have been plagued with irregular weather, dust, cold, death, and despair. All caused by the glowing bear, that we now know of as an Ursa Major. Where it came from, we do not know. Only that it wiped us out. No land would grow again. No flowers, food. Only agony. Then a miracle showed up.
"An Alicorn, from the land of Equestria arrived, promising to fix our land. And she did." The Pserateps began cheering again until Madun held up his hoof again, silencing then. "Lady Twilight not only brought us hope, but the knowledge of magic. We owe you so much, Twilight Sparkle. Thank you."
Twilight grinned and walked over to him, putting a hoof around his neck and giving him a hug.
"You're welcome, Madun." They stayed like that for a few seconds until she let him go, allowing him to continue.
"We have reason to celebrate today! So we will celebrate!" The Pserateps cheered before the music began playing from somewhere and everyone began dancing.
Twilight watched them have a good time before Madun nudged her, making her look into his smiling face. "Would you like to dance?" He asked her carefully.
"I'm......not really good at it," she replied, rubbing her hooves together nervously. "Can we just watch them instead?"
"Sure." He pointed straight up at some type of balcony above them before flying up there with Twilight right behind him.
They landed on the edge and walked in where a table was setup. "This is a booth for one of the restaurants in here," the king explained, taking a seat with Twilight sitting across from him.
"What is this place called?" She asked, looking around in amazement.
"Events in Eventa. It's the oldest building in this city that's still used. It goes through repairs most of the year and is a huge part of Psera's history."
"Wait, history? Tell me now," she demanded. Madun looked to her in confusion.
"You want to hear our history?"
"Yes!" She reached under her wing and pulled out three scrolls. "I want to know everything about the Pserateps!"
"Oh my stars....." He muttered, watching as she made a quill and inkwell with her magic.
"Lay it on me!" She said, grinning gleefully, posed an ready to write. They just stared at each other for a second until the king chuckled and leaned forward.
"Later. We're at a party right now, we need to enjoy ourselves. Besides, you've been writing and planning ever since you got here. Lay down the quill." The mare squinted her eyes at him. "Come on, Twi. Lay it down, come on." She groaned and laid the quill on the table, crossing her hooves and turning her head. "Aw, don't be upset, I just want to spend some time with you, get to learn you more. You obviously like academics and Daffodils. What else should I know?"
Twilight glanced at him still agitated before offering a smile and turning around to face him. "Okay. Well I love Starswirl the Bearded, I love reading, talking, traveling, and I hate playing dress up."
"Dress....up?" Madun asked. He tilted his head in confusion.
"Yeah. Everywhere I go, someone is always attempting to put me in some fashionable clothing. It happened all the time in Ponyville, where I'm from."
"Okay. Was Ponyville interesting?"
"Oh, yes, very," she replied, nodding her head quickly. "No matter what day it is, something always happens. For instance. A couple of years ago, I woke up one morning to discover that everyone's cutie marks were switched. So I had to finish a spell by Starswirl the Bearded to change them all back. That's what got me 'crowned' and mocked."
"Who is Starswirl? If you don't mind me asking. Would you like something to drink?"
Twilight nodded before he gestured to one of the guards at the room entrance, confusing Twilight as to how he even got there. He was definitely not there a few minutes ago. "Where did he come from?"
"He's been there this whole time," he answered, shocking Twilight. "Our Military and Guard are specialized in the art of stealth."
"Interesting. And Starswirl the Bearded is a widely renowned wizard unicorn from Equestria. He has created most of the spells I have used in the past and more that I have not used. He actually helped me when we stopped the Pony of Shadows and was the teacher of Princess Celestia and Luna."
"So he's a great influence, then," the king said slowly. Twilight gasped in mortification.
"Great?! He's amazing!!" A drink was set in front of her making her yelp from the sudden intrusion before glancing up into the guard's eyes. "Thank you." He nodded and left, not even making a sound and stunning Twilight. "There is absolutely no way a pony can walk on stone flooring and not make a single noise like that."
"We're a different kind of pony." The king picked up his own drink and took a sip before they continued talking. They talked about Twilight for awhile before moving onto Madun, learning about him and his interests, personality, and family. Besides his sister, there were a few cousins that also lived in Psera. They have opened up multiple businesses and have become a very successful family, even in the town of Rayray which was for the fashion industry there.
Eventually , after three more hours, the time had to come to a close, and with it a few questions.
"Twilight," he said, grabbing her attention from the ponies leaving down below. "Earlier, when you flew ahead of the group, my sister, Blazing Fire, and I were having a discussion about you. Since you changed into an 'Alicorn-Pseratep hybrid', you've been identified as a new species Psera had never seen before."
"And you're wondering what to call me so I can go in the history and science books here," she finished. He nodded and stood next to her, gazing down at the crowd below. He spotted his sister waving to him, so he waved back. "Well......I guess I'll just be called na Alicorn-Pseratep. Simple and easy to remember. Can you do something for me?"
"Of course, what is it?" He turned to face her, giving Twilight his full attention.
"I want to change my name. At least when I'm here."
King Madun looked to her in worry. "But.....I Iike Twilight. Why do you want to change it?"
"Twilight can be taken in two different ways. A new beginning or an end. And since I left Equestria, who will indubitably be looking for me, I don't want them to know it's me. If they were to find someone who knew me. They would ask that pony and they'd say an alias instead of Twilight." The king sighed and nodded with his eyes closed.
"I understand. What would you like to change it to?"
"Well....Arcadia is pretty amazing to me," she suggested, waving her hoof around. "So can I be called Arcadia?"
"Anything you want. I'll have it spread throughout Psera by tomorrow at lunch. Now can you do something for me?"
"Anything."
"Can you please tell me how I did on this date, seriously?" he asked worriedly. He gave her, in her own opinion, the cutest look he could ever make, thus making her laugh. "I don't want to let you down with this and this was fun, I really enjoyed it. But I want you to enjoy it too. So I gave you attention, patience, and a whole bunch of other stuff that I—" A violet hoof was pressed against his mouth, silencing him when Twilight chuckled.
"Madun?......I absolutely loved it. We are definitely doing this again some time, okay?" She leaned in and pecked his cheek, turning his orange coat into a dark red.
"O-okay....I-I'd love that." Arcadia giggled before they both flew off the balcony and landed with Merry and her husband. The grinning king trotted up to his sister and thrust a hoof into her chest. "YOU....owe me twenty golds."
"What? I lost?" His sister said in disbelief before turning to Twilight. "What happened up there? You managed to draw my brother in AND have him behave?! That has never happened before!"
Twilight giggled before tilting her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about. And you placed a bet on a date?"
"Yeah, I like to see him make a fool out of himself and get paid in the process." She fished out twenty golden coins and placed them in her brother's outstretched hoof, making Twilight shake her head. This mare was something else.
***
After the events of the dance, Twilight Sparkle, now known as Arcadia, and Madun went out on two more dates withing two more months. He was a king, so he had more things to tend to and Twilight had to manage the relief effort of Psera entirely. The Pserateps had bad health it seemed like, since they were breathing in dirt for almost five years. Most had respiratory issues that Twilight needed a spell to fix. Luckily, she had one right on hoof.
She had all the ponies with the respiratory illness meet at the main hospital in every city to get the spell done on them that'll clear their lungs and restore them, giving them a chance to move faster in the face of danger. Of course things like that were a top priority, given that a danger could strike again at any time. A prime example being the Ursa Major that attacked. But Twilight definitely wasn't going to let that happen. So she called in a meeting through the king to talk with geographers and more about an important matter.
Her hoofsteps were loud in the marble halls, the mare they belonged to on a mission. Arcadia had an idea that needed to be put into action immediately. She walked briskly into the meeting room on the third floor of the castle. The requested ponies were already there waiting for her, making small conversation to pass the time.
"Hello, everypony!" Arcadia greeted happily. They responded back before she placed her scrolls on the table.
"Hello, Aracadia," King Madun greeted. "I have gathered all the ponies here for the meeting that you requested. Lawmakers, military generals and Lieutenant's, and geographers."
"Excellent! Let's get started." She grabbed one of her scrolls and unrolled it onto the table, displaying a drawing of some sort that looked like a giant crystal. "I've been thinking about the Ursa Major attack on Psera's soil, and I believe it has come from overseas without a doubt. How it got here, I don't know. But it did. I would like to take precautions in case another attack were to happen. Either by greedy ponies who want to take over the riches of Psera, another Ursa Major, or something worse. So I have devised an early-detection system."
"So....you want to be able to detect if an attack is coming towards the continent?" Bold Shoulder asked her.
"Yes!" A flash appeared before Arcadia placed her pointer stick held in her magic at the simulation above the table. "This is Psera." She motioned at the continent which was surrounded by three hundred other dots. "The dots will be the sensors, which will be placed one hundred miles outside of our borders strategically. The reason there will be three hundred is because some ponies have a tendency to try and fly past or find a loophole somehow. But you can't get past three hundred." She lit her horn and zoomed in on the image, rotating on a very tall violet obelisk in the center of Cop. "This...will be the receiver. It will be connected to a group of Pserateps that will be managing it while on the go. I will give them devices that work as remotes and communication. Which will soon be supplied to our military. Then any other authorized organization"
Another simulation appeared, this time showing a purple block with a few holes in it that were shaped into a circle with a leather band. "This will be used to speak to other soldiers in case an attack is to happen. As well as an alarm on the waist in case something comes to the island. They will know and they will be ready for them."
She changed the image back to the continent, this time displaying red dots on each city. "If there is a large group of something out there, like say a swarm of changelings, then an alarm will sound out in every city, ordering everyone to get inside and stay until the order has been given to return to your normal day. And that is how it would work. This continent is big, so having a lot of detectors will be very useful. That's why I'll be making a bunch of them in the ocean."
The group all looked at each other before asking questions.
"So....how big will the detectors be?" General Bold Shoulder asked.
"They will be as tall as the mountain range," Arcane answered, changing the simulation to a life like image of the spire. It was a very tall purple crystal obelisk, reaching twenty five thousand feet high. "Each one is connected to the receiver in Cop, which will be twenty six thousand feet high while the rest will be twenty five."
"What if somepony were to leave Psera and then come back?" One of the geographers asked. "How will we know they're not a threat?"
"We'll place a special object on them where they can speak into and communicate with the person manning the Crystals. They'll be registered and allowed in peacefully, unlike those who wouldn't. THEY would have to go through a checking were we to allow anypony not from Psera here."
"I like this idea," King Madun said, nodding slowly at the image above the table. "And if the Ursa comes back?"
"We will know because the alarm will sound. That's a special case. I will have the obelisks programmed to sound off when it's detected."
"We will have to run this idea by the cabinet which will probably take a day or two," the general commented. "But it's VERY promising. Thank you for telling us Lady Arcadia."
Arcadia grabbed her stuff and began to walk out with the others before the king stopped her.
"Arcadia?" She looked over her shoulder at Madun who was walking her way. Once he reached her he slid a wing on her back and asked, "Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that you have more to talk about?"
Arcadia grinned before she chuckled and bumped him lightly. "You know me so well. It's about our overpopulation. There is more real estate than you think you have that Pserateps could use."
"Oh? And where is it?"
She pointed a hoof at the ceiling. "In the sky, on the clouds. In Equestria, there is a city called Cloudsdale, mainly used for creating clouds and weather. However, Pegasi also live there, year in and year out."
"We can live on the clouds?" Madun asked skeptically.
"Yes. Pserateps have an evolutionary advantage to Pegasi, but you still have the simple functionality to walk on the clouds. The reason I haven't submitted it yet is because I have to learn how to mold the clouds into buildings....which I don't know how to do yet. The only way to find out is if I find the book in my library in Equestria, which I left because I was in a hurry."
"Let me guess," he sighed. "You want to go back and grab it." Arcadia pulled in her lips and looked in a different direction, giving the king the unspoken answer and making him sigh. "Twilight, that's really dangerous. Those ponies are after you, what do you think will happen if they catch you?"
"I don't know, Firehead," she replied, using his nickname only she was allowed to use. "But I have to do this. Psera needs more space and I need more spells."
"Sweetheart.....you know how I feel about your safety." Arcadia smiled before pulling him in for a kiss, lasting longer than usual before letting him go. He looked at her and sighed. He was definitely not going to win this. "Alright. You can go, but stay incognito."
"I know.........I promise to be careful."
"And you're bringing guards." She groaned, starting to protest. "No buts! Your safety is my top priority. I will assign Dark Silver, Silver Sword, and Worn Weather since they have a connection with you. Not too deep, but still a connection. I would assign more, but that would trigger an alarm if they're found out. When do you want to leave?"
"Tomorrow, I want to get it over with." She slipped out from under his wing and made her way towards the door, talking over her shoulder. "I don't like it there, so I'm going in quickly and going out quickly. I'll also leave my crown with you as a precaution. Like I said, they're not getting their hooves on it."
Madun nodded before she walked out and made her way back to her room to begin the planning. The sneaking in part will be easy. But there is absolutely no doubt that Celestia will detect her. She, Luna, and Cadance, if she's joined in the search. Knowing the Princess of Love, she probably waited awhile before becoming worried. And there were more ponies there that could find her out if she steps foot back in the castle. It's definitely still there. But how to get in?
She sighed and walked into her room, closing the door behind her softly to allow her to think. And plan.
Phew, this chapter took me all day! I hope you guys like the shipping. For those who don't know, King Madun has an orange coat, light red mane, and magenta eyes, the exact same color of Scootaloo's hair. He's a little taller than Twilight.
Yeah, he's a cooky king, but when it comes down to it, he has focus.
Next chapter coming soon! 
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Wow wait hold up you are telling me that a nation of pure Pegasi that rival equestrai in sheer numbers hasn't been discovered? I mean I'm all for encounters with different types of pony but I think that is stretching it a bit too far, I thought their kingdom was smaller than that of Equestria, then it would make sence as to why they have slipped under the radar... but eh let see where this route takes us, though if that is the case I'd seriously recommend that it is changed to the fact that it's literally on the other side of the world and the only way for Twilight to come and go quickly is via teleportation.
As for the name change I understand why, though it sounds a bit maybe because of the positioning.... Twilight Nova sounds sounds better, or you could replace Twilight for something like Arcane (cuz Magic), though that just the first name that came into mind I'm sure that there are better ones.
This story has potential, lots and lots of potential but I think it could use a few corrections here and there.
8795183
You know.....I might just use arcane.
Hm, sounds like Twilight is being kinda reckless here. I get that she wants to solve all the problems and prove her worth, but sneaking back in to Equestria sounds like a needlessly complicated task. Cloudbuilding is obviously nice and probably a lot cheaper/quicker than building regular buildings, but still ... Psera has a lot of empty land that could be used to build more cities (or simply expand the old ones) if overpopulation is becoming an issue. And I imagine it would be hard to suddenly get a lot of pserateps to populate the new cloud city - they are used to living on the ground and until recently didn't even know they could stand on clouds.
I imagine most of them would be deadly afraid of going to sleep on a cloud and entrusting their lives and their families to such an unfamiliar environment. That's probably something the society would adapt gradually to, not something you can force on them by dropping a cloud city on their doorstep and expect them to populate it. Sounds like Twily kinda bucked up :P
oh yeah, speaking of Psera - why do they have a large military? From the sounds of it up until recently they didn't even know any other sentient species/nations existed outside their own borders. What reason would they have to maintain a large standing army? (Though you could mitigate this by saying they were formed recently as a panic-response to the Ursa Major attack, but you should probably mention that in the story).
About Equestria - there is no way there are only 50 thousand ponies in Equestria. That's, like, a small-ish town in population numbers, not something you can call a nation (And we have seen cities like Manehattan in the show - from how they looked, that city alone should house a few hundred thousand ponies at minimum). You would pretty much count a species as extinct if all they had were those numbers
. Even Psera is a very, very small nation if all they have are two million or so inhabitants. I would probably suggest making Equestria to have the roughly 2 million population, and then say Psera has something like 20+ million or so, if the intent is to have Psera be much more populous than Equestria.
As for Twilight's name change ... hmm, not sure if I like that :/
Sounds like the reason she decided to change it is because she is afraid Equestrians would find her (and from the sounds of it, if it ever came to hostilities, Psera would squash Equestria like a gnat). Given how she dislikes Equestria, I would expect her to keep her name out of sheer defiance, rather than change it to hide, which kinda sounds like admitting defeat.
Anyways, looking towards the next chapter. I will be very surprised if things don't go tits up one way or another
8795477
I had the name changed. It was a little much, but it should sound better. And the reason I changed the name is because of not only Equestria but for a precaution. She's not particularly doing it to admit defeat, but in case she was ever mentioned to the Equestrians, it would be Arcadia(I updated the name) instead of Twilight, which would be a bell ringer.
While someone can outright claim 'Mary Sue' status, realistically, its because Twilight simply has NO competition there to compare against.
That being said, I do have to call BS on some of the spells.
You said quickly twice. Do you mean quickly and quietly?
WTF