Harmony 6: The Coming of Nightmares

by CopperTop

Chapter 2: The Gathering

Twilight’s first night on Harmony was not the most restful she’d had in her life, but it was a far sight better than the nights she’d previously spent aboard the sea-tossed Lickity to get here. Waking up without a strong urge to vomit into a bucket was certainly a pleasant change of pace. However, it wasn’t until the mare stepped into her private washroom and discovered that it possessed an overhead shower which was connected to a cistern of heated water that she rediscovered what she’d missed most about being on land: feeling truly clean.

There had been opportunities to bathe aboard the ship, of course. However, with fresh water being at a premium and far too precious to waste on anything other than drinking or food preparation, the only option for use to clean pony bodies had been saltwater from the surrounding ocean. Twilight had felt that replacing the dirt and grime saturating her coat with salt had been a marginal improvement, at best. Soap had been available, of course, but soap eventually had to be rinsed out with water. And when said water was composed of salt and algae…

Thirty minutes later, Twilight was finally chased out of the shower by the loss of hot water. The mare was sure that she’d feel some lingering guilt about using all of it up if she later found out that other ponies relied on the same source for their own washing, but until that moment came, the thoroughly refreshed unicorn was too enraptured by the feeling of cleanliness to particularly care. She dried herself off, brushed out her mane and tail, and took care of the rest of the hygiene regiment that had been far harder to maintain aboard ship—the only thing more unpleasant than washing with seawater had been brushing her teeth with it—before finally leaving the bathroom.

Breaking her fast with a blueberry muffin that had managed to maintain its moistness over the evening instead of a stale oat cake only further improved the unicorn’s outlook on how her first full day on Harmony was likely to turn out.

A fresh uniform and saddle bags loaded with the parchment, ink, and quills that Major Rarity had requested for her from the quartermaster—along with a couple additional cupcakes for snacking—saw her out the door of her suite and ascending up to the administrative levels of The Citadel. A passing pony was helpful enough to point Twilight in the direction of the conference room which the fortress’ command staff regularly used for their meetings.

Unsurprisingly, the purple unicorn was the first to arrive. This was because she was considerably early as a consequence of her going to sleep well before nightfall. It was also a little by design. Twilight still had yet to recreate the notes that she’d made which had been lost to the unexpected tidal wave, to say nothing of jotting down her thoughts on later revelations. Foremost among them was going to be reaching out to the governments of the griffons and dragons about their ambassadors and how disruptive they were being to Harmony—Twilight allowed her lip to quirk up at the double-meaning.

She recognized that her request for replacements was very likely to be immediately dismissed, but there was nothing to lose by at least trying.

Twilight was jotting down her last note regarding tracking down the pink earth pony baker so that she could pay for the baked goods when the ponies whom the colonel presumed constituted her ‘command staff’ finally filed in, mostly all at once. Major Rarity led the procession, raising a mildly surprised brow in the purple unicorn’s direction when she spotted her new CO seating at the head of the room’s conference table. Her eyes lingered on the plethora of parchment sprawled out on the one end of the table.

On her hocks followed Captain Applejack, who likewise briefly cocked her head at Twilight’s appearance before nodding and taking her place at the table. Much to Twilight’s surprise, after the orange earth pony was the chiffon pegasus who’d treated her at the clinic. This surprise was compounded by the fact that the pegasus was not wearing her white doctor’s coat this time, but instead sported the same deep blue duty uniform that Twilight and Rarity were wearing. The only glaring difference being the crimson tabs at her shoulders which identified the pegasus as being a part of the Equestrian militaries Medical Corps.

Twilight was similarly shocked to see that ‘Doctor’ Fluttershy was actually Major Fluttershy.

A single blue eye briefly glanced in the unicorn’s direction before looking back straight ahead as the physician took her own seat at the table. One that was as far as possible from Twilight. The purple mare suppressed a sigh. The two of them had clearly gotten off on the wrong hoof, and Twilight wasn’t sure what could be done to change that. However, the two of them didn’t have to like each other to work together. She hoped.

“Are we waiting on anypony else?” Twilight asked her executive officer.

The ivory unicorn nodded, “Actually, colonel, there is one more pony. As it’s just about time for the eight o’clock perimeter sweep, I suspect she’ll be here—” The mare abruptly stopped, her head cocking slightly to the side as an ear turned. It took a couple of seconds for Twilight to realize that the other unicorn was listening to the ringing of the fortress’ bell tower as it announced the arrival of eight o’clock in the morning. “—shortly.”

Twilight frowned, wondering what the mare meant by that. She was about to ask when the resounding gongs of the clock tower were joined by a faint rumbling reminiscent of thunder. However, an earlier glance out of a window on her way to the conference room had assured Twilight that the weather that day was going to be clear and cloudless. So there shouldn’t have been any thundering storm clouds anywhere near the fortress.

Just before the bell rang its final toll, a microburst of wind suddenly blew into the room. Twilight reflexively threw up a protective ward as she recoiled from the table. None of the other ponies reacted to the unexpected squall in the room though. If anything, their expressions were resigned as they set about resetting their manes and tails.

As suddenly as it had begun, the maelstrom was over with. In its wake it left Twilight’s notes scattered throughout the room, and a new pony slumped over the table with a bored expression on her face. The cerulean blue pegasus mare sported a mane which came in the full colors of the rainbow, which would be out of regulations if the look was achieved through dyeing. Though largely unkempt, the style of it was—barely—permissible. The same went for the state of her sage green flight suit, which identified her as belonging to the military’s Air Corps.

Twilight dropped her ward. Then reached out with her telekinesis to retrieve her notes, reorganizing them back onto the table. All the while her narrowed purple eyes didn’t leave the yawning new arrival. “...Captain Rainbow Dash, I presume?”

The mention of her name prompted the pegasus to perk up and look at the purple unicorn. “You’ve heard of me?” Her expression quickly assumed a satisfied smirk as the captain set about giving her hoof a faux polish on the front of her uniform. “Well, of course you must’ve heard of me,” she decided in a tone that Twilight believed could only be described as: narcissistic. “I’m only the best flier in the whole world!

“A reputation like that’s bound to get around.”

There was a lot that Twilight wanted to say by way of comment on that. However, in the interest of maintaining a properly professional decorum at her first official meeting with the ponies she’d be working with during her tenure at Harmony Fortress, the unicorn elected to keep those thoughts to herself. For now. Those thoughts would undoubtedly find form in the world when she was writing up the pegasus captain’s annual review…

Until then, however, “I’d like to start out this meeting by first thanking all of you for attending on such short notice. I don’t know your normal schedules, so I apologize if this encroached on your other duties.” Her eyes darted briefly to the blue pegasus. Twilight made a note to host future briefings like this well after eight o’clock. Assuming she didn’t reorganize the perimeter sweep schedule instead.

“I realize that I’ve met most of you already,” Twilight continued, briefly noting the two mares in the room that she hadn’t seen in the flesh, “but this is our first formal meeting, and so proper introductions are in order.

“I’m Colonel Twilight Sparkle. As of midnight this morning, per my orders from Equestria Command,” her magic lanced out and retrieved a short stack of papers. Each of the other ponies received a copy, “I am assuming command and governorship of Harmony Fortress.”

Rarity and Applejack both gave their copies of the order a cursory glance. The two pegasi didn’t bother to look at their copies at all. Fluttershy had yet to make any additional eye contact with Twilight since she’d entered, and Rainbow Dash had apparently found some aspect of one of the pocket flaps on her flight suit more engrossing than Twilight’s speech.

Twilight endeavored to ignore being ignored. “Now I’d like to get to know all of you a little. So if all of you would care to introduce yourselves and tell me a little about you? Major, would you start us off?” She nodded towards the other unicorn.

Rarity nodded. “Of course, ma’am. I’m Major Rarity, Chief of Operations. I’ll also be serving as your executive officer, assuming you’ll have me.” There was a hint of a question in the mare’s tone, to which Twilight offered a nod of confirmation. Certainly for the time being. Twilight hardly knew enough about either this mare or Harmony’s other officers to go about reassigning ponies right off the bat. “I’ve been managing Harmony for the last eight months, overseeing final construction and its being opened for formal occupation.

“Prior to this assignment, I served in Canterlot on General Firefly’s staff. I have a letter of recommendation from her, if you’d like to see it, colonel?”

“Thank you, major, but that won’t be necessary,” Twilight assured the other unicorn. “I know the general. If she had you working for her, then that already speaks volumes about you in my book.” She flashed her XO a smile of her own. “I look forward to working with you.” Rarity inclined her head politely before all attention turned to Applejack.

“Cap’n Applejack, colonel,” the orange earth pony announced, “Harmony’s Chief of Security. Born ‘n raised in Dodge Junction. Back when there was a Dodge Junction. Was working as a deputy there before The War,” the mare added in a sober tone. The whole room was quiet for several seconds as the gathered ponies allowed a moment of silent respect in remembrance of one of Equestria’s—many—cities which had not survived the confrontation with the zebras.

At least it was just reduced to rubble and not turned into a lake. It’s being rebuilt.

“Been on Harmony since they set down the first stone,” she resumed. “Ain’t nopony here who knows this place better’n me, colonel. An’that includes most of the creatures in it.”

Twilight nodded. “I recall our conversation yesterday.” There was a hint of a frown as the unicorn recalled the witnessed confrontation between the two ambassadors. She also recalled how Applejack had managed to defuse the situation. “You’re very good at your job.”

The freckled face broke out into a broad smile. “Well thank ya kindly, colonel!”

Harmony’s new commander turned her attention down the table to the next pony in line: Fluttershy. She waited to see if the major would need to be prompted to speak with her or not.

“...Doctor Fluttershy. Chief of Personnel and head of MedOps.” The tone had been as calm and inoffensive as it had been quiet. Nothing further was offered.

Twilight once more suppressed a sigh and prompted, “and before Harmony, where were you assigned?”

She almost missed the furtive looks exchanged between Applejack and Rarity, as well as the soft response from the yellow pegasus. “...Fetlock.”

The purple unicorn blinked in mild surprise. She immediately recognized the name: Camp Fetlock—which went by the formal title of: Camp Fetlock Disciplinary Paddock—served primarily as a place to house members of the Equestrian military who’d violated laws and regulations to such a degree as to warrant punitive confinement. Twilight waited for elaboration to follow the physician’s admission. When it did not, she prompted again, “...as part of its medical staff?”

Every other pony seated at the table shifted uncomfortably in their seats, to include Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy did not. “...No.”

There were a dozen or more follow-up questions that Twilight wanted to ask of the mare. However, she recognized that, in front of the rest of her senior officers, was not the place to do it. Twilight would pull the doctor’s file and review her service history in private. Then, if she still had any pressing concerns, she’d arrange for a one-on-one meeting. For the moment, the unicorn was prepared to assume that the ponies in charge of picking out Harmony’s staff had known what they were doing.

Lest Twilight be placed in a position where she might have to question whether those same ponies had been thinking straight when they assigned her here too…

“Captain Rainbow Dash,” Twilight not-so-expertly redirected, “I understand you’re the leader of Wonderbolt Squadron?”

The cerulean pegasus deigned to stop fidgeting with her uniform long enough to address her new CO. “I’m in charge of all of Harmony’s air wings,” the flier clarified. “But I do lead Wonderbolt Squadron personally. They’re the best, so they deserve to have the best flight lead!” The mare was grinning now.

“I see. And your prior assignment?”

“I don’t have one,” Rainbow admitted, though her smile barely faltered. “This is my first gig.”

Twilight blinked again. “You’re fresh out of Flight School?” The pegasus nodded, still beaming. The unicorn’s eyes darted to the silver horseshoe on the flight suit’s collar so that she could confirm the rank that was there. “...And they made you a captain? And gave you…” Twilight consulted her notes. “Four flights to command?”

The pegasus could not have looked more self-satisfied as she straightened up and once more made a show of polishing her hoof on her uniform. “What can I say? I’m just that good!”

“Ma’am.”

“Huh?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the prismatic-maned mare. “You are speaking with an officer of higher rank and your commander,” the unicorn pointed out to the flier. “You are in the military, you are an officer, you are aware of the customs and courtesies regulations dictate.

“Thus, you will—at least occasionally—address me by either ‘colonel’ or ‘ma’am’ when we’re speaking.

“Is that clear, Captain Rainbow Dash?”

The pegasus ceased to ‘polish’ her hoof and returned Twilight’s narrowed gaze with a slight glare of her own. For a long while, no words were exchanged as the two ponies regarded each other. Eventually, the junior officer relented, lowering herself back to her seat. “...Yeah. Ma’am.”

This time Twilight elected not to suppress the sigh that refused to be contained any longer. It wasn’t the worst command staff that she’d ever encountered. She at least appeared to have genuinely competent ponies to work with—that, in and of itself, was actually something of a minor miracle in the military. At the end of the day, the purple mare supposed that was what mattered most: that she had ponies who could do their jobs. It would have been preferred that she could get along with them on a personal level, but that was really more of a luxury than a requirement as far as Twilight was concerned.

She could make this work. If, down the road, it turned out that this assumption on her part had been mistaken, then it was within her power as Harmony’s commander to make staffing changes anyway.

Twilight took a deep breath and let it out slowly before addressing all four officers. “I would like SITREPS from each of your departments on my desk by tomorrow evening, along with copies of the last six months of status reports. I need to know where your departments stand right now, along with what you’ve been having to deal with. Part of my responsibility to you, as your commander, is to make sure that all of you have the resources and ponypower to do your jobs effectively. To do that, I need to know what sort of demands you’re facing in the course of normal operations.

“Additionally,” Twilight’s full attention was on Rarity now, “major, I understand that you’ve been filling in as Equestria’s representative pro tem during council meetings until I arrived?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the other unicorn nodded. “I’ve mostly been taking notes, as I was not given any authority to cast votes on motions before the Council.”

“I’d like the minutes from the last few meetings by the end of the day, along with the agenda for the next meeting.” A thought occurred to Twilight. “When is the next meeting?”

“One o’clock, ma’am.”

The purple mare blinked. “One o’clock...today?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Twilight closed her eyes in a deep wince. “...I’ll need those meeting minutes before ten,” she amended.

The smile which touched Rarity’s muzzle was sympathetic. “I’ll get them as soon as we’re done here, colonel.”

“Thank you.

“I didn’t really have that much that I wanted to say to all of you,” Twilight admitted to the group. “This was just about formal introductions; putting faces to duties. And now I’ll let you get back to those duties.

“Apologies if the timing of this cut into your normal schedules,” she went on, trying not to look too pointedly at Rainbow Dash. “I’m happy to hold our next staff meeting at a time that’s more convenient for everypony.” This earned her a nod from everypony, even Fluttershy.

“You’re all dismissed.” The other four ponies all stood up and started to make their way towards the door.

“Captain Applejack?” The orange earth pony paused and looked back towards Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “If you could, I’d like you to track somepony down for me.”

The other brow rose to unite with its partner. “Y’all didn’t waste no time in puttin’ together a ‘hit list’, huh, colonel?”

“What? No! A pony in the market gave me a huge basket of baked goods yesterday. Per regulations, I can’t accept gifts over a certain value, so I need to pay her, but she ran off before I could,” Twilight explained. “You said you knew just about every creature on the island.

“Could you get me her address so I can send over payment?”

Applejack shrugged, “Can’t see why not. Ah assume y’ain’t got a name?” The unicorn shook her head. “Figured. Ah can probably make a description work, ma’am. Hit me.”

“Pink earth pony mare, pinker curly mane, blue eyes. About our age, I’d say.” Twilight tried not to lick her lips too visibly as she said the next part. “Extremely skilled baker. You can probably find her by following your nose, honestly.” Twilight resolved to eat one of the cupcakes that was calling to her from her saddlebag as a second late breakfast.

Applejack was frowning now. “Ah know the bakers on the island. That ain’t one Ah recognize,” she admitted. “Could be a new arrival,” the security chief added with a shrug. “I’ll ask around and let you know what I find, ma’am.”

“Thank you, captain. Dismissed,” Twilight repeated, finally excusing the mare she’d held back. She then gathered her papers and left the conference room as well, heading back towards her quarters. She’d hoped to be afforded a chance to settle into her new office that morning, but apparently she was going to need to spend every moment she had today preparing for her inaugural Council meeting.

With just a little over four hours to prepare, Twilight was hoping that the day’s agenda was going to be a light one…

Twilight resolved to eat a real meal at some point. Ideally, some proper vegetables would probably go a long way towards settling her down. Grilled with some light oil and seasoning. Pepper, a pinch of salt, a little rosemary…

That would be nice. Or it would have been, if she’d actually had the time to spare to head down to the dining facility. Or head out into the civilian quarter to visit a cafe or restaurant.

She didn’t. Not with her first meeting with the Council looming just over the horizon. Twilight had too much to review if she didn’t want to outright embarrass Equestria on the diplomatic stage. So, instead, she made do with eating half of a rhubarb pie while she skimmed through her copy of The Practice of Diplomacy. Even for her, giving the better part of two hundred pages of Prances Chevalier's preeminent text on negotiation a proper read-through wasn’t feasible. To say nothing about digesting the information and ruminating on how best to put it into practice.

The best that the unicorn could hope to do was skim a few key points and hope that they provided her with something of a foundation to work with—

A knock at the door produced a wince from the purple mare. She’d been working very hard not to watch the time too closely, lest seeing the appropriate hour grow nearer make her too anxious to concentrate on her reading. She had asked for Major Rarity to come and fetch her when it was time to go. Then she’d hung a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign outside of her office.

Which meant that the knocking was probably coming from only one pony, and they were here for only one reason.

“Colonel?” The now familiar high society accent of her executive officer managed to make its way through the door. “The Council will be starting in fifteen minutes.”

Which means that I’m already late, for all intents and purposes, Twilight internally acknowledged. She wasn’t just Equestria’s representative in the meeting. Harmony Fortress was the host of the diplomatic missions for the other governments, and since this island was technically ‘Equestrian soil’, that meant that Twilight was expected to officiate the Council meetings.

She should already be there, greeting the other ambassadors as they arrived.

‘...making a favorable impression on those around her…’

According to the book Twilight was skimming, that was an important quality for a good negotiator. If she was late, that was going to be harder to accomplish. “Coming,” the unicorn said, getting up from behind her desk and trotting to the door. She grabbed her saddlebags with her telekinesis and threw them over her back.

Rarity was standing in the hallway, a sheaf of paper held aloft in her own shimmering blue field. She passed it to the other unicorn and the two began to trot briskly towards the large meeting hall which hosted the Council’s negotiations. “The agenda for today’s meeting,” the major informed her.

Twilight floated the piece of paper in front of her, relying on her XO to guide her away from running anypony else over as they traveled. “Minosian-Saddle Arabian territorial water dispute…Equestrian-Mulenese wheat tariffs…”

The purple mare raised a curious brow as she glanced at the other unicorn walking with her. “‘Other business’, submitted by Ambassador Ember? What does that mean?”

“‘Trouble’, more likely than not,” Rarity said under her breath, flashing a mirthless smile in her commander’s direction. “A dragon flew in yesterday morning carrying a diplomatic pouch. One of those big ones—the dragon, not the pouch. Long distance flier. Probably came here directly from the Dragon Lands.”

Twilight nodded, aware that some of the larger proper wyrms were quite easily capable of crossing the ocean without needing to land for dozens of hours.

“Another flew in after sunset,” Rarity went on. “Given that Ember only added that last item this morning, I can only assume that whatever ‘business’ she wishes to bring before the Council has to be related to those.

“Incidentally, a ship from the Griffonian Republic arrived at the Mission Docks a couple of hours ago,” Rarity added. “Steam paddled and schooner rigged.” The last was said while casting Twilight a knowing eye.

The purple mare frowned thoughtfully. While not quite on the same technological footing as the zebras, the griffons were still ahead of ponies. Their ships were mostly still made of wood, but they were no longer strictly bound to the fickle nature of the wind when crossing the seas. They’d found a way to harness burning coal in order to make their ships move even in the midst of a calm. Or even outright against the direction of the wind.

However, unlike what the zebras could manage, Twilight’s understanding was that griffon ships which exclusively used such methods of locomotion were a little slower than an expertly-handled galleon of a comparable size. And they could only carry so much coal besides. So their ships still possessed sails.

But…a griffon ship which caught favorable winds while employing both their sails and their coal-fired propulsion was capable of achieving great speeds. These ships generally carried extremely urgent messages.

While it was certainly possible that the dragons and griffons just happened to be exchanging missives on time-sensitive matters which had nothing to do with each other…It was also ‘possible’ that her brother would show up at the Harmony docks alive and well.

Twilight quickly crunched the numbers on the odds and determined that the latter was more probable to occur.

She didn’t like this.

“Find Applejack; I want extra guards posted near the Council Chambers,” the purple unicorn said. “Not in the room,” she added by way of clarification, “just nearby. In case the negotiations get…” Twilight grasped around for a suitably ‘diplomatic’ way of framing things.

“Heated?” Rarity offered.

“Exactly.” Given that a dragon was involved, Twilight hoped that she could keep anything from getting ‘heated’, be it the negotiations…or the negotiators.

They finally arrived at the entrance to the Council Chambers. “I’ll go and find Applejack,” said Rarity. “Good luck, colonel.”

“Thank you, major,” Twilight replied with a sigh. “I’ll probably need it…”

The Citadel’s Council Chambers were probably one of the larger singular rooms on the island—unless there was a theater that she wasn’t aware of. They had to be, as they needed to host official delegations from all of the world’s nations. And some of those delegations came in quite significant sizes, like the minotaurs. Even when that wasn’t the case, when a race wasn’t particularly large in size themselves, it would do to issue the perceived slight by granting them substantially less space than most of the others.

Twilight kept herself from staring too long at the breezy delegation’s table. Which was smaller than the book that she’d been reading in her office…which was in turn sitting upon another table of a more typical size.

“Colonel Sparkle,” Twilight turned at the sound of the lightly accented voice and found herself looking into a pair of turquoise eyes—

The tensing of her muscles was reflexive. Still. Ponies and zebras had been at peace with each other for longer than they’d been at war, but even after ten years, it seemed that some habits refused to die easily.

“—I am grateful to see that you made it to Harmony Fortress safely…”

It took Twilight a few seconds to force herself to relax. She even managed to get something approaching a smile to spread across her lips as she regarded the zebra mare standing before her. Twilight wasn’t a great judge of age when it came to members of many of the other races, but she at least presumed that the striped mare was older than herself. She was wearing a soft blue dress that seemed to wrap around her barrel. Large golden bangles hung from her lofted ears, framing a black and white striped mane which rose straight up above her head and down the nape of her neck, reminding Twilight somewhat of the fin on the back of a fish.

Or a shark…

The purple mare mentally brushed aside the unkind thought. Zebras and ponies were allies. Now.

For some reason.

Those eyes…

“Have we met?” Twilight asked. Her words sounded abrupt even to her own ears, perhaps even a little rude in tone in a setting like this. She made an attempt at some sort of recovery. “You seem familiar, is all.”

The striped mare maintained her polite smile, not seeming the least bit put off by the unicorn. “I am certain that the two of us have never been formally introduced before, colonel. Perhaps you met a zebra who resembles me?

“Not to cast aspersions on you, personally, but it has been my observation that one zebra looks much like another to most ponies.” There was nothing particularly biting about the zebra’s observation. “Something about our monochrome appearance when compared to the more pastel of the average pony.” It struck Twilight as more of an explanation than a veiled insult.

Twilight took the offered ‘out’ and nodded. “I’m sure you’re right. I’m sorry if I offended you, Ambassador…?” The unicorn was mostly guessing at the title. More than half the creatures in the room at the moment were either an ambassador or a consul-general—depending on how much importance the represented nation placed on Harmony’s mission.

“Zecora,” she answered with a slight incline of her head. When she straightened back up, she gestured around the steadily filling room. Her hoof eventually settled on the table at the front of the chamber where the so-called ‘Major Powers’ would be hosted during the meeting. “Have you had an opportunity to meet the other delegates?”

The purple mare recalled her ‘encounter’ with the ambassadors from the griffons and dragon yesterday and was in the process of coming up with a sarcastic quip regarding that point when she suddenly found herself at a loss for words. Twilight had just caught sight of the last thus-far-unaccounted-for ambassador who would be sitting in with the other Major Powers.

There was a lot that went into the determination by the international community as to what it was that constituted a nation being a ‘major’ power. After all, the implication was that any race which was not counted among that number was a de facto minor power—and few wished to voluntarily claim such a title for themselves. However, political grandstanding aside, there was an acknowledgement that some nations were simply ‘greater’ than others by some metric.

With the griffons, it was the sheer size of their empire—they could insist that it was a ‘republic’ all they wanted. It was nearly impossible to find a land mass of significant size which didn’t host at least one griffon settlement. Where they couldn’t find open land to build on that wasn’t already occupied, they would use their force of arms to create ‘newly opened’ land to build on. This expansion had slowed down in the last century or so, but that still left The Griffonian Republic with one of the largest—in terms of land area—nations in the world. It was hard for any creature to contest that they weren’t a ‘major power’.

Their longtime rivals, the dragons, were another easy contender for the title. While their own nation had relatively recently been directly subordinate to the griffons, the fact that they’d thrown out such a powerful occupier where most others couldn’t had caught the attention of the world. They weren’t as technologically advanced as most races, and their country consisted of little more than the island of their origin, but they were the undisputed most physically powerful of all the other races in the world—with perhaps a single exception. You didn’t easily tell a dragon ‘no’ when they asked to sit somewhere. Even when that ‘somewhere’ was at the head table in the Council Chambers.

The zebras had been an uncontested addition as well. Their Commonwealth might not have been as expansive as the griffon republic’s, and they might not have been much physically tougher than the average pony, but their technology…

There wasn’t a race on the planet that was dumb enough to pick a fight with the zebras—not even the griffons tried to muscle the zebras off their land.

Well, there weren’t any races who were that dumb anymore anyway, Twilight amended with a bitter thought.

There were boxes that could be checked when it came to deciding what made a race a ‘major power’. The size of their nation. The raw power of the creatures in question. The sophistication of their technology.

Their raw magical potency.

Colonel Twilight Sparkle had never seen an alicorn before; but that didn’t stop her from immediately recognizing the towering white mare as being one. The descriptions she’d heard—at least, the ones that she’d deemed to be reasonably reliable—didn’t do her appearance justice.

The alicorn was tall—taller than any equine that Twilight had ever seen. At a glance she had a mane and tail, but the unicorn questioned whether or not those were the proper terminologies to use when trying to describe the billowing ethereal masses of soft pastel hues which flowed around her body as if being constantly subjected to a breeze which no other could feel. Massive wings were folded serenely at her sides, giving Twilight the impression of swan. The horn protruding from her head was easily three times the length of any typical unicorn’s, and ended in a fine point rather than the tapered curve that was typical of a pony.

“May I introduce Ambassador Celestia?” Zecora said, seemingly oblivious to the awed expression on the unicorn officer’s face. “Ambassador, this is Colonel Twilight Sparkle of the United Tribes of Equestria. She is to be the pony representative on Harmony, as well as the fort’s commander.”

Twilight’s ear flicked. She was about to turn her head and inquire as to how the striped mare seemed to know so much about her, but then her focus was quickly recaptured by the towering alicorn who was approaching them.

“Colonel Sparkle,” the alicorn greeted with a nod. Lilac eyes framed by pristine white fur looked down at Twilight. “I have heard a lot about you.”

The smaller mare blanched. Her mind raced with the possible implication of that statement, and few of them boded well for her. In the best case, Twilight’s government had sent on a short biography of the representative that they were assigning to Harmony to the alicorns. In the worst case…

Her eyes darted briefly to the zebra mare beside her, who appeared to be far more comfortable in the presence of the taller alabaster mare. Twilight had a reputation among the zebras.

She had a name.

Had Zecora told Celestia about the name? About what Twilight had done to earn it—?

The unicorn’s thoughts were diverted by a commotion at the main entrance for the Council Chamber. All eyes in the room turned as one towards the sight of the furious gold and white griffon hen who was presently barging her way past a few other delegates who she’d decided were in her way as she made a beeline for the main table reserved for the representatives of the world’s major powers. However, her fiery eyes didn’t seem to notice the unicorn, zebra, or even the alicorn standing near it.

Her attention was laser-focused on the azure dragoness who was already reclining back in her seat, seemingly more interested in the condition of her claws than the commotion heading directly for her. That was certainly how it seemed. From where Twilight was standing, she could see the talons on the dragon’s hind feet splaying out, her legs tensing, ready to vault over the table when the timing was just right.

There was going to be another fight, Twilight realized. Nor had she been the only one. Captain Applejack must have sensed that the griffon ambassador’s demeanor could only lead to one outcome and was hot on the hen’s heels. The earth pony didn’t have her rope on her though, and the griffon was moving fast.

Nocreature else was moving to intervene. They all seemed content to watch whatever ruckus was about to unfold on the chamber floor. It wasn’t their fault. They were political appointees. Stopping fights wasn’t their job, assuming that any of them even had any meaningful training in how to subdue an opponent. Even Zecora and Celestia seemed content to just spectate. The former seemed annoyed; the latter just looked bored.

Having two ambassadors throw down on the Council Chamber floor before the first meeting she hosted probably wasn’t going to earn her a particularly glowing performance review from Equestria Command, Twilight thought to herself. This was also a perfect opportunity to make a good impression on the other delegates. Or, at the very least, demonstrate that the representative from Equestria wasn’t going to be a push-over during future negotiations.

“Ambassador Gilda!” Twilight said. By way of a particularly forceful greeting as the small purple unicorn interposed her body in the griffon’s path, causing her to draw up short. “How good of you to finally join us,” the mare continued on. “Though you seem to have passed your seat. Allow me to show you to it—”

“Out of my way, pony,” the griffon snarled, her attention barely wavering from the still nonplussed-looking dragon. “This ain’t any of your business—!”

“Seeing as how I’m Equestia’s plenipotentiary representative and the one presiding over these proceedings, I’d say that makes everything that happens in this room ‘my business’, ambassador,” Twilight responded immediately with a near growl of her own, doing all she could to increase the perceived appearance of her much smaller stature as she faced off against the larger griffon. “To say nothing of my concurrent position as Harmony’s commander; which makes everything that happens on this whole island my business!

“Now, ambassador, you will take your seat and voice whatever…issue you have with the dragon representative at the prescribed time in a civilized manner.” Twilight spared a moment to glance past the griffon, noting that Applejack and two other uniformed ponies were standing at the ready just in case. “Am I clear?”

The faintest glimmer of shock was visible on the griffon’s face when Twilight delivered her ultimatum. It was clear that that ambassador wasn’t used to getting talked to like that. Probably from any creature, but certainly least of all from a pony. Griffons were big, generally ornery, and possessed sharp talons and a beak designed to rend flesh from the bones of their prey. Most ponies found the mere presence of a griffon intimidating; least of all the sight of one who was very clearly quite pissed off!

Little intimidated Twilight after Canterhorn though.

There was a moment where Twilight started to believe that Applejack’s intervention was going to become necessary. Fortunately for all concerned, Gilda eventually took a step back. “Fine.” Her expression was still etched with fury, and the words she spoke burned with a barely-repressed rage, but she stepped back and stalked her way over to her seat at the head table. “Washing her blood out of my feathers would be a drag anyway…”

Twilight let the comment go without further remark. She also shot Ambassador Ember a preemptive look to ensure that the dragoness did the same. It felt like it wouldn’t take much to spark a fight that the unicorn wouldn’t be able to stop with just a few firm words. Thankfully, the dragoness appeared content to simply continue to go about tending to her claws, acting as though she’d been completely oblivious to the griffon’s arrival. There was even a satisfied smile curling her lips.

As grateful as the purple unicorn was that the situation didn’t look like it was going to be escalated by either party, there was a part of her that couldn’t help but feel like it was too good to be true. She hadn’t known either ambassador for any worthwhile length of time, true; but being introduced to the pair by way of being made an unwilling part of their brawl yesterday had left an impression on the colonel. Applejack’s later revelation that such fights occurred with some frequency hadn’t helped matters either.

She found herself unable to trust that this meeting wouldn’t see at least some amount of blood being spilled by its end.

They’d cross that bridge when they came to it. In the meantime, “If everycreature could take their seats?” Twilight began, giving the rest of the gathered representatives a nod. She flashed an appreciative look in the direction of the head of the island’s security detail as well, giving her a silent dismissal. The orange earth pony touched a hoof to her not-quite-regulation hat and withdrew from the chamber, taking up position close enough outside to respond promptly if tempers flared again.

Twilight took a cleansing breath and made her way over to her own designated seat of the head table, positioned between Zecora and Celestia. Gilda and Ember sat at the outer edges, placed as far from each other as was possible. The unicorn wasn’t certain if that arrangement had been imposed on the pair to keep them out of claw’s reach, or if they had decided unprompted that they didn’t want to be any closer to each other as was absolutely necessary.

She caught the towering alabaster alicorn peering down at her out of the corner of her eye, a small smile curling the corner of her mouth. The expression was there for only a moment before the ambassador of the enigmatic race was once more facing outward towards the rest of the assembled delegates. To the purple mare’s other side, the zebra maintained a much more impassive expression. Twilight couldn’t recall either mare reacting to the griffon’s arrival.

Perhaps they were just used to it?

Twilight waited for every creature to be seated. Then she began the day’s proceedings. “Very well; welcome everycreature and thank you for your presence here today. For those of you who do not know, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I have been appointed to represent The United Tribes of Equestria and to officiate these meetings.

“I want to state upfront that I believe in Harmony’s mission wholeheartedly. It is my sincere desire to see every creature and nation in this world prosper in a shared peace. It is an endeavor that will take all of us working together.” It proved somewhat difficult for Twilight not to look in the direction of either Gilda or Ember.

“To that end: let us then begin.” Twilight glanced down at the day’s docket. “The first item on the agenda for today’s meeting is—”

Gilda suddenly shot up out of her seat, slamming a talon-tipped hand down on the table. “I’m making a motion to raise an emergency issue before this council!”

While the unicorn had initially jerked in surprise at the outburst, she was narrowing her gaze at the griffon now. She’d hoped to make it at least a full minute into her first meeting before having to deal with a disruption from one of those two. Twilight bit back the first retort that presented itself and opted for one that was more diplomatic. According to the book she’d been reading that morning, maintaining control of a negotiation was paramount; and doing so with poise strengthened one’s position later.

Besides, her tone notwithstanding, Gilda—and indeed, any representative—did have the right to bring an issue to the forefront of discussion if they believed it was serious enough. The difference with the griffons, and indeed any of the recognized major powers, was that her motion didn’t require a ‘second’ to be sustained. “Very well,” Twilight said in as even a tone as she could manage. “The ambassador of the Griffonian Republic is recognized.

“Please state the issue you would like to raise.”

Gilda jabbed a talon in the direction of the still very nonplussed-looking dragoness. “I just got word that the dragons launched a surprise invasion of the Republic!” The other delegates all began to murmur amongst themselves at the revelation. Ember still did not react. “We griffons demand that the dragons be censured, or sanctioned, or embargoed, or whatever else can be done to punish them!”

The feathered feline was glaring at Twilight and Zecora now. “The whole point of this ‘council’ was supposed to be about ‘enforcing the peace’, right?! So enforce it!”

The murmuring devolved into much more lively verbal exchanges now, but not between Gilda and Ember—the dragon still had yet to say a word. No, it was the minor representatives who were growing increasingly uneasy. For, while they might all be independent sovereign nations, nearly all of them had signed treaties of one sort or another with either the griffons or the dragons. If a shooting war did erupt between the two races, then it would inevitably drag most of the rest of the world into it. Thus the other delegates were understandably concerned.

“Because if this council won’t, I can promise you that the Griffonian Republic will. If we’re not satisfied with what this council does today, then there will be war!”

Author's Note:

Don't you hate it when you show up to your first day of work and somebody goes and does a war?

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Comments

[TheLastWolfinEquestria]

Oh, Gilda, my sweet summer child! Much to learn, you still have about being Londo Milari, Ambassador of the Great Centari Republic! GREAT MAKER!! Ok, seriously, I'll stop, but I've probably got a million Londo-isms. This is turning out to be hillarious, and I'm enjoying this quite a bit.

[Xanderfox]

Clear the Alicorns are the Vorlon stand ins, but Celestia is still Celestia. Makes me think Zecora was working specificlly with Celestia to ensure Twilight survived the war for a "greater purpose", how it would suit the combined Lore helps