Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

It seemed that this was going to be one of those days in Ponyville, to the ponies living there as they saw all of the Bearers of Harmony walk into the Golden Oak Library early in the morning. As the case was, they had somewhat reasonable reasons to worry as Princess Celestia had mentioned that she was going to not only see Twilight but Mayor Mare and Cheerilee over something as well.

“So,” Applejack said as she walked in, the last of her friends to do so while Twilight paced back and forth. “What is it this time?”

“I dunno,” Dash said as she shrugged, leaning against the wall. “But I’m guessing mildish trouble?”

“It would make sense, dear,” Rarity said as she listened to Twilight muttering something under her breath. “I am sure whatever it is that Princess Celestia has in mind is not too serious, as she would have called us to Canterlot if that were the case.”

“Try telling Twilight that,” Spike grumbled as he brought in plates of pancakes for everypony, with three large stacks for Twilight, Celestia and Pinkie.

“Spike, this is the first request that Celestia has asked me to do as a Princess,” Twilight snapped out of her pacing to address the young dragon. “What if I do something wrong? Or I already did something wrong? Or-”

With a pop, a magical presence filled the room. “My dear student, you have done nothing wrong,” Princess Celestia said softly, smiling to the ponies around her. “I just have a simple request for you, but first, two questions; have you been reading the newspaper and are those Spike’s pancakes?”

“Er… yes?” Twilight tilted her head, wondering what this was about. She hadn’t noticed anything really alarming in the paper, so what was Princess Celestia talking about?

“Oh good, I have not had them in ages,” Celestia said with zeal, moving to the breakfast table where the rest of her friends were sitting down and enjoying the meal that Spike had made. Pulling a chair out for herself, Celestia made herself right at home beside Dash and Rarity who quickly came to treat the princess as an equal among the table. As Twilight joined them, Celestia turned her attention to her while slurping in a pancake to Rarity’s cringe and Dash’s amusement. “Have you paid any mind to the business section of the newspaper?”

Twilight frowned as she forced several pancakes down her throat before shaking her head in the negative. “It doesn’t really interest me, Princess, so no.”

“A shame,” Celestia aid, shaking her head. Before Twilight could react at the negative response, Celestia continued. “Most papers do not cover international news in much detail or even at all, and the business section had the only real mention of it so far.”

“Of what?” Twilight asked.

“There is to be a diplomatic trade ratification between Equestria and one of her allies,” Celestia responded in a calm note. “All that I am asking of you is to meet with this diplomat and show him around Ponyville later on.”

“I guess I can do that. When he is coming?” Twilight blinked as she began to create a mental checklist.

“Later today, if I am not mistaken,” Celestia said while staring straight into Twilight’s eyes. “Again, my dear student, all you need to do is meet with him, show him around Ponyville for the day after and then accompany him to the capital so we can all sign the papers tomorrow.”

“But… what if I say something wrong to him? Or if I do something bad?!”

“Not to worry as the diplomat was chosen for their patience and understanding, Twilight,” Celestia said as she soothed her student’s worries. “He understands that you are new to the process and he is going to be gentle with you, as I have been told by his superiors. Just be mindful of what you say and I am sure that everything will be okay.”

“I notice that you did not mention a name, your highness,” Rarity raised an eyebrow as she lifted a forkful of a delicate cut pancake to her mouth.

“You are correct,” Celestia bobbed her head as she answered the statement. “This is part of the lesson I wish to impress on you Twilight. Prepare for what you can and learn how to adapt to what you cannot. As he has been traveling for a long time, he will be more than likely be tired and wishing to have a good meal prepared.”

Twilight paused, going over what she was presented about her new guest. “But since I don’t know who he is, I don’t know what he would like to eat… So I should talk to him while Spike makes us lunch?” Twilight asked tentatively, to which Celestia smiled proudly at her.

“Exactly, Twilight,” Celestia placed her fork and knife on her empty and clean plate before using her napkin to wipe her face. “A very necessary tactic to learn is how to properly manage the events around you to your own advantage, even when you are caught unprepared.”

“So princess,” Rainbow Dash asked, leaning back in her chair. “What’s to stop this joker from doing something like that to Egghead here?”

“Nothing, and I actually expect it as he is spending time here in Ponyville to do some positive public relations.” Celestia responded. “Now if you will all excuse me, there are a couple more ponies I need to speak with before I return to Canterlot.”

With an unneeded bow from everypony, Celestia teleported away, leaving the the rest of the mares to their own devices. Pinkie Pie left to plan a Welcome to Ponyville Party for their new guest, Rarity went off to freshen up, Fluttershy went to tend to her animals and Rainbow Dash decide to take a nap while Applejack went back to take care of her chores and Twilight started to prepare for their own new guest.

Apple Bloom whistled as she trotted down the path between the farm and the Everfree forest. It had been a bit since her sis had come home and told her about this new fancy guest that was coming in. She was then asked to go deliver some stuff to Zecora before she could go back and play with her friends. So she had gone through the forest, given Zecora her stuff, spent some time with her and then headed back home.

She was curious about who this new pony visiting them was, and she wondered if she and the girls could learn new stuff to gain their cutie ma-

“Excuse me, little one?” A gruff voice with a low rumble called out from behind her, causing her to jump. “Don’t turn around just yet, little one.” The voice behind her chuckled softly before clearing his throat. “Just tell me, if you would please, if this is the path to Ponyville. I have business to deal with Princess Twilight.”

Tilting her head at the weird request, she pointed with her hoof to the branch in the dirt path. “Just go down there and ya’ll be in town in no time.”

“Thank you, little one,” the stallion behind her chuckled, with him walking closer to her oddly. She couldn’t hear the sound of his hooves on the ground and he smelled really weird too.. “My name is Swift-Pad of High-Leap Pack.”

Mulling the odd name over in her head, she turn to ask him about this pack thing when she saw him and her legs began to tremble.

“You-you’re a wo-”

“A wolf?” Swift-Pad asked with a lopsided smile. “How very astute of you, little one.” Lowering himself down, the wolf looked her in the eyes. “What else can you see of me?” He spoke gently with a core of amusement in his voice, causing her to blink and really think of what he was asking her.

“Yer… yer not tryin’ ta eat me,” she said slowly, taking a step backwards.

“That is correct,” he nodded his head while keeping his body low to the dirt. “I have my own stores of food in my packs here, so you need not worry about that,” he said, winking a golden eye.

She let out a laugh at that, feeling a bit better near him. “Yer funny,” she said and without thinking, she held a hoof out to him. “Ah’m Apple Bloom.”

He took it gently in his paw and shook it, a smile on his face. “It is nice to meet you, Apple Bloom, but why are you out here in this forest alone?”

“Ah was just done visiting Zecora the zebra to give her some stuff,” she said, looking at the weird stones wrapped around his coat. Maybe it was something like Zecora’s potion brewing…

“I see.” He let out a loud hmm, tapping his chin with his paw which had stones tied around it. “Would you mind an escort home, since our destinations are in the same direction?”

“Sure,” she said with a smile, remembering what Applejack said about safety in numbers. Her eyes went wide a bit as she walked alongside him. “Ah’ve got ta warn ya, my sis kinda leaps to wild thoughts at times an’ she might think yer a danger or something.”

“A good point, little one,” he replied with a sly smirk on his face. “What do you suggest I do to prevent your sister from reacting poorly?”

Apple Bloom tilted her head in thought before saying, “Ah’d think it’d be best if Ah told her about you.”

“Sounds reasonable, little one,” he tipped his head, causing a few of his carved stones around his face started to bounce. “Please, lead on.”

Applejack let out a tiny sigh as she did another circuit of the farm’s border while attending to her chores. She was certain that her little sister would be safe but still, a nagging voice in her head was telling her that something bad could happen to her or that this diplomat fellow would run into Apple Bloom and some horrible mess would spring up.

She knew her sister was not that bad alone and she was showing Apple Bloom a great deal of trust to let her go alone into the forest, but she couldn’t help worry about her sister…

“Hiya sis,” her sister’s voice boomed at the edge of the path, waving her hoof at her eagerly.

She was about to call back when she noticed that Apple Bloom wasn’t moving. “Is everything okay sis?”

“Yup, just talking ta Swift-Pad, that new fancy guest that ya spoke about before,” Apple Bloom said with a smile, turning her head to the side to look at Swift-Pad, most likely, before turning to face her again. “Uh, sis? Can ya promise not ta freak out?”

“Why would Ah freak out?” Applejack frowning, starting to move towards her sister.

“Because I saw how the little one reacted to me, I felt it would best to give you some warning,” came a voice from the side, from a place she couldn’t see in the forest. “I trust that one more aged would react more responsible than one so young, and your sister already was an shining example.”

“Thanks mister…” she said, tilting her head to tell her sister to move along, really not trusting somepony that wasn’t showing his face. Her sister was being really stubborn for some reason, staying put. “Ya mind coming out so Ah can greet you properly?”

“I would prefer your word, Applejack,” the odd rumbling voice spoke again. “But I do believe actions speak more than words, yes?” A light chuckle came from the forest as somepony began to walk out of-

“Apple Bloom, get behind me now!” she shouted as she saw the wolf step in front of her sister, already pawing at the ground as she prepared herself to knock it away.

“Please Applejack, if I wished to harm either you or your sister, I would have had ample time to do so,” the wolf said, lowering itself down to the ground with a smile on its face. “I am Swift-Pad of High-Leap pack, and the chosen diplomat of the Packlands.” It - Swift-Pad, stood a bit taller and started to walk towards her.

Letting out a snort, Applejack kept her eye on the wolf while at the same time watching her sister who let out a big sigh and then facehoofed before starting to trot over to her.

“If y’all really are the diplomat-” Applejack started to say before her ear flicked as she felt the air starting to twinge, just like when-

Throwing herself flat, she saw the rainbow blur of her friend smash into where the wolf was standing. She had her eyes open in time to see it open its eyes wide with surprise before some of the stones around its neck started to glow, surrounding the wolf with a translucent bubble. Rainbow Dash slammed into it, causing the material to press inwards. Her hooves were inches from the wolf's face before the bubble compensated for her and pushed her away violently, sending the pegasus careening in the direction of the Apple Family barn.

Applejack was already running towards her friend when she noticed the grey mass moving with her.

Turning to cut him off, she glared at the wolf that just hurt her friend.

“What d'you think yer doing?” she snorted, trying to stare him down.

“Going to help your friend, what do you think?!” he snapped back at her, anger and worry clear in his face. “Being semi-responsible for injuring a foreign citizen is a serious matter and I must make sure she will be okay!”

Applejack pulled back in surprise, her ears catching one word in particular. “‘Semi-responsible’? You’re the one that knocked my friend clear across the sky!”she snorted, keeping her back to the barn where Dash was.

“After she tried to attack me, mind you,” he growled it out, pawing the ground in a way that made something inside of the earth pony flinch. He then shook his head, composing himself before speaking in a much calmer tone of voice. “Please, allow me to help your friend, Applejack.”

Applejack's frown didn’t leave her face but she moved to the side, allowing Swift-Pad to dash past her.

Following the wolf into the barn, she spotted him hovering over her downed friend. He growled angrily, more to himself, before biting his lip and moved a paw over the rainbow-maned head.

“What are you doing partner?” Applejack asked tensely, still uncomfortable with this predator near her helpless friend.

“Healing her with my magic,” he answered, voice tight with concentration, putting the paw on her head. A set of stones along his body, hidden previously by the fur, started to glow as Swift-Pad continued to pass his paw over the mare's head.

After a few second, the wolf moved his paw away and stumbled a bit to the side as Dash let out a groan. “Uggh, worst nap ev-AHHH!” she shouted, spying the wolf right next to her, jumping into the air. “Wolf!” she shouted pointlessly before pulling back into the air for another dive attack.

“Whoa there Dashie!” Applejack shouted, jumping in front of wolf. “He just healed you up, and Ah-”

“After he knocked me across the sky!” Dash yelled back.

“You attacked me, and my protective runes kicked in,” the wolf muttered, still staggering. “I had to use all of my healing runes on you, and I had to even to dig into my personal energy to make sure you were good.”

“Wait, what?” Dash blinked in confusion, looking at the wolf.

“Wing fractures, that if not tended to quickly, could have turned into permanent disfigurements.” Swift-Pad leaned against the side of the barn, panting heavily. “Along with a whole other host of problems - I suggest you check with your local doctor because that took a lot out of me and my knowledge of knitting wings back together is woefully incomplete.” Applejack blinked at the sudden change of tone, but as she turned her head to see where Swift-Pad was looking, she saw Apple Bloom peek inside. “Still… are you okay, Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” the mare answered, frowning as well. “Thanks?” she asked awkwardly, unsure of what exactly was happening. “You good?”

“Just a bit tired; one of the drawbacks of using one's own energy to fuel their magic,” he flashed a weary smile at them, which Applejack noted showed no teeth. “I will just need to eat something and I will be fine.”

“Well, Ah know that Granny Smith was baking some apple pies when Ah left to visit Zecora; are they ready sis?” Apple Bloom turned her head to smile hopefully at Applejack.

“Sure are, but Ah think that Swift-Pad here needs to head off ta Twilight, right?” she asked, turning her head to the wolf beside her.

“You are correct, Applejack,” he nodded his head, speaking a strained tone to hide how exhausted he was. “I thank you for your offer Apple Bloom and I suppose I will have to try an apple pie another time.”

“Wait, you’re saying that you’ve never had an apple pie before‽” Apple Bloom almost shouted before racing over to tug at the wolf. “You’ve got to try mah granny’s apple pie ‘cause they’re best in the whole world!”

Swift-Pad blinked before flickering his ears and smiled playfully at her. “I suppose I could try some, if your sister does not mind?”

“Sure, go tell Granny we’ve got some guests…" Applejack answered, still keeping a wary eye on the wolf. “Why don’t ya go get your friends too? I saw them head on to your clubhouse.”

“Okay!” Apple Bloom beamed before dashing off, leaving the mares alone with the wolf.

“Okay, care to ‘splain what all that nonsense was about?” Applejack frowned, staring down Swift-Pad who was leaning against the side of the barn again. “Ain’t you got to be with Twilight soon?”

“That can wait; I am not going to pass up an opportunity to do my job, Applejack,” he replied patiently.

“I thought you were here for some sort of business thing, wolfy,” Dash said, keeping her eyes trained on the wolf.

“The trade agreement is the least important part of my business in Equestria, Rainbow Dash.” The wolf rolled his head around to look up at her. “Of my three objectives in your country, that one has already been more-or-less dealt with and we just need to officiate it with their Graces. My two primary goals here are to do good public relations - which has been proven countless times to be best done with the young ones - as well as properly evaluate the latest Grace Equestria has been blessed with and determine what lessons she will need to learn.”

This got two reactions from the two mares.

Rainbow Dash responded with some confusion to the term "Grace" and Swift-Pad simply replied, "You call them princesses. I suspect we'll go into detail over that later once everyone has come together."

Rainbow Dash then reacted with amusement to the thought that Twilight Sparkle possibly needed more lessons.

Applejack, on the other hoof, focused on the former part and how he was openly admitting to using tricks to influence how her little sister thought of him.

"It's nothing sinister," Swift-Pad explained as soon as she asked him about it. "The young ones don't have the same outlook on life the older ones do."

Applejack nodded curtly, remembering how Ponyville reacted to Zecora every time she came to town before Twilight and Apple Bloom had shown she wasn't much different than they were, by offering a different point of view.

"You're not lying," she said after a moment, much to the wolf's intrigue. She simply smiled at his curious head-tilt. "I'm sure you'll learn more about things in Equestria later down the line."

Swift-Pad accepted the playful barb with good grace.

Chapter Two

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Chapter Two

As the two mares and one wolf walked through the farm, Applejack looked over the wolf again and used the walk to examine their foreign visitor closely. If he noticed her scrutiny, he either didn't mind or was aware that they had every right to be cautious around him.

His coat wasn’t ragged and wild as she thought it would be; it was a short and well kept grey coat. He had a saddlebag on him, with strange looking stones sewn into the edges of it. They were fairly large, with odd things scratched into the surface, the shapes almost perfectly uniformed.

“So, you guys have magic?” Dash asked, keeping pace with them in the air.

“Indeed we do, Rainbow Dash,” he replied, shaking his head to loosen out a necklace of smaller stones. “I am a Rune Caster, able to channel my inner magic through the proper runes. These around my neck are my protection runes, simplistic enough for any novice to create.” He paused, holding out the dull stones in his paw. “In somewolves’ case as mine, we are able to influence how strong they are and leave it on as a back burner if they are talented or have enough storage and energy runes. I had left mine on a far higher degree than I generally do in civilization after trekking through the Everfree Forest and neglected to lower them once I found the path to your farm, Applejack.” He then flicked his eyes back to Dash, dropping the necklace of runes back into his fur. “I am sorry that my lack of action and thought caused you harm.”

Something felt off to Applejack the moment he said that, how it was phrased was odd and show a mixture of honesty and dishonesty at the same time.

“It’s no problem,” Dash scoffed, shaking her head in her usual self-amusement. “Ya probably needed them at max anyways to deal with a mare as awesome as me.”

“Yes, clearly I forgot to properly calibrate the rune to account for your level of awesomeness,” the wolf said quickly, with a smirk running across his face and a chuckle in his throat.

“Huh?” both mares looked at him, confusion clear on their faces.

The wolf stumbled in his step, a rush of red running across his face.

"Oh, wait, was that an attempt at a joke?" Applejack asked, going over the words in her head.

Rainbow Dash looked confused.

"My apologies," Swift-Pad replied. "I've forgotten how Equestrian humour differs from other species’."

"Keep the scientific and magic lingo out of it and I'm sure you'll make much funnier cracks next time," Applejack said with a smile.

"Thank you, I shall keep that in mind."

"I don't get it. What'd he say?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying over to the farmer. Applejack shook her head.

"Relax, sugarcube, it's not important," Applejack said, giving her friend a nudge.

"That term you used, what does it mean?" Swift-Pad asked.

"Sugarcube? It's just something Ah tend to use with friends when referring to them," Applejack said.

"Or else she does it to cover up the fact she forgets ponies' names," Rainbow Dash said with a grin, which earned her a smack from Applejack's hat.

Shaking his head with a chuckle in his throat, Swift-Pad turned his head to look at the house and the stallion standing in front of it.

Applejack trotted ahead and called out a greeting to the stallion. He responded in kind before looking at the wolf.

“Heard there was a visitor in town,” the red coated pony said evenly, not taking his eyes away from the wolf.

Applejack stole a quick look at the wolf to see how he was reacting but he seemed indifferent to the whole matter, with no real expression on his face. Turning back to the pony in front of her, she asked, “Did Apple Bloom tell you?”

The stallion shifted the grain stalk in his mouth to the other side before answering, “Eeyup. She then said she'd go tell her friends and ran off.”

Applejack nodded her head before turning to the wolf again and waving him over. “I see. Well, this here is Swift-Pad. He will be joining us for lunch. This is my brother, Big Macintosh.”

Swift-Pad cracked a smile before padding up to her brother, holding out a paw. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Eeeyup,” Mac took the paw with his hoof and shook it. “Granny and the girls are waiting to meet with you.”

“It will be my honour to meet with them,” the wolf replied. “May I come in?”

“Eeuyp.” Big Mac said, walking into the house with Swift-Pad right behind him, with Dash flying in past her, causing Applejack to snort.

Walking in quick, she was able to catch the looks of surprise on the fillies at seeing Swift-Pad sitting at the kitchen threshold.

“So ya weren’t pullin’ mah leg, Apple Bloom,” her granny said, eyeing the wolf and looking at him up and down. “Yer a skinny one; sit down and Ah’ll fix you right.”

Swift-Pad raised an eyebrow at this but smiled at her, showing none of his teeth again. “You are a very gracious host, Madam Smith,” he said as he shook off his bags and placed them in the corner of the room. He then turned to the Crusaders and asked with a goofy smile on his face while lowering his head down so he was on eye level. “May I sit down here, little ones?”

“Sure ya can,” Apple Bloom said happily with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both sharing uneasy looks. “These are mah best friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and we’re the CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!” she shouted, causing the wolf to fold his ears backwards. Apple Bloom then blinked in confusion and look at the other two fillies. “Hey, why didn’t you do it?”

“Uh, Apple Bloom, I know you said he’s a wolf but...” Scootaloo trailed off with a look of concern in her face that what she was about to say would be rude.

“It is fine, little one,” Swift-Pad said as he shot a playful look at Rainbow Dash. “You did much better than her, after all.”

Rainbow Dash let out a groan, face blushing at this not so friendly reminder.

“What, what did she do?” Scootaloo asked, leaning in close to his face, any fear forgotten in the wake of news about her hero.

“She was just a bit overeager to protect her friends, a very good thing in proper amounts, little one,” he said as he shifted into his chair before shaking his head and hopping out of it to settle into a position on the floor. “Never did get used to chairs, to be fair.”

“It’s alright,” Applejack said as she tried to help her granny with the pies, only to get swatted away and told to sit down.

“Ah hear that this will be ya first apple pie, ain’t that right Swifty Pad?”

“Yes it will be, Madam Smith,” Swift-Pad said as her granny began to serve up slices of pie to each of them with the fillies and Dash eating with gusto. The girls she could excuse for being young and Dash for being Dash but she knew Granny had taught her better and waited for the guest to take the first bite.

She saw Swift-Pad cut a reasonable size piece of his pie and lift it to his mouth. Almost immediately, his face bulged, but he managed to force it down his throat.

“How did ya like it Swifty?” Granny asked while Swift-Pad was very clearly trying to keep it from making a reappearance over the table.

“It was certainly an experience I will not soon be able to forget.” Swift-Pad chuckled, his face starting to turn green. “And I cannot believe I have forgotten to do this, I need to go wash up. If you will excuse me for a moment or two.”

“Ah’ll show you the way, partner,” Applejack said as she stood up and showed him to the far bathroom which he slipped into and moved towards the toilet. “Ya going to be alright, sugarcube?”

“Ye-yes,” Swift-Pad said while gulping loudly. “You may lea-” That was as far as he got before he started to retch into the toilet bowl. Wincing in pain, Applejack fetched him a glass of water and presented it to the wolf.

Plucking it out of her hoof, Swift-Pad drank it and let out a whine, resting his head against the counter of the sink. “Thank you for that, Applejack. I did not know the apples would upset my stomach so drastically.”

“It’s okay,” Applejack said in a concerned tone. “You sure yer gonna be all right? ‘Twasn’t nothin’ wrong with our cookin’, was there?”

“Nothing of the sort,” Swift-Pad replied as he shifted onto his paws. “I know that other wolves of my pack do eat apples but I suppose that it just did not agree with me.”

Applejack’s ear flicked, the phrasing he used bugged her but she couldn’t place her hoof on what was wrong. “Come, let's get back to the table, the others must be wonderin’ if yer okay.”

“Agreed, and...” his ears perked up and gave her an eager look. “Applejack, I am wondering if I may do something with your sister and her friends.”

“What kind of thing are ya talking about?” Applejack frowned, snorting.

“A simple matter of cultural exchange,” Swift-Pad said. “I wish to try and share some of my own food with the young ones.”

“What kind of food?”

“Fish,” he replied. “I would not bring anything else as it could create some issues while I am here in your lands.”

Applejack blinked and thought about it for a moment. It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen fish being eaten before - hay, even Fluttershy fed them to some of her animals. Without seeing anything wrong with it, she stepped to the other side and let the wolf go into the kitchen where her little sister was.

Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

Stepping back into the kitchen, Applejack saw that the fillies had left the table and were inspecting the wolf’s saddlebags, with Scootaloo poking it with her hoof. Annoyingly, Dash hadn’t had the sense to stop the fillies from doing this.

Before she had a chance to lecture them, Swift-Pad let out a loud snicker and called out to them. “I see that my belongings caught your eyes,” he said, dropping low to be on eye level with them again.

“Eh, yeah,” Scootaloo said, sharing worried looks with Sweetie and Apple Bloom. “You’re not mad, are you?”

“Why would I be? A curious mind is a good thing; it shows interest in new things which is always good to see in the young. Do you not agree Applejack?” he turned his head towards her before looking at Granny Smith. “I thank you for sharing your food with me; may I do the same as well?”

“Go right ahead,” she said. “But just what’re you plannin’ to make?”

“Some fish, madam,” Swift-Pad said as he stepped around the fillies to reach into his bag and pulled out a skillet that was larger than the saddle bags. “I hope you will all be willing to try some.”

Scootaloo looked like she was about to say something when Rainbow Dash let out a shout. “Oh yeah, it’s been ages since I’ve had some!”

“Wait, you’ve had fish before Dash?” Scootaloo asked, looking up at the mare.

“‘Course I’ve had it,” Dash said, smiling at the filly. “Gilda ate it all the time, she offered me some once and I developed a taste.” She then frowned and kicked the floor. “Of course, it costs a lot of bits and it’s not something I can get myself that easily, not the good stuff anyways.”

“Well, the ones I have are from the Halifax region and I am sure you know how good they are,” Swift-Pad as he pulled out some fish from the bag, catching Applejack’s eye. “I see-”

“Halifax region?!” Dash shouted before glomping the wolf with a squee in her voice. “Oh man, that’s the best!” Rainbow Dash only began to realize what she was doing after everyone in the room wasn’t able to hold back thier laughter anymore and saw Swift-Pad giving her a bemused look. “Uh, sorry about that.”

“You were excited, I accept your apology,” the wolf said, causing Applejack to raise an eyebrow. “Now if I may cook the fish?”

“Oh yeah, of course,” Dash flew off the wolf and looked sheepishly at the floor while Swift-Pad walked up to the stovetop and began to study the dials. Mumbling under his breath, he placed his pan on the stove and started pulling some other ingredients out of his pack.

Rainbow Dash watched in fascination as he carefully set up a container of fish fillets, a small tray-like pan, and a few other things before frowning. “Hmm… must be running low on flour,” he mused. “Pardon me, but do you have some flour I could borrow?” he asked Applejack.

“Plenty.” Applejack ducked over to one of the cupboards. “Here you do.”

“Thank you.” Accepting it, Swift-Pad poured a small amount into the tray, before laying one of the fillets into it, giving the entire thing a light shake, and flipping the fish over. Once he was satisfied, he shook the fish, sending some excess flour back into the pan, and set it on a rack over a second tray-like pan.

Now the skillet was hot enough, and he added a small amount of… some liquid, Rainbow Dash couldn’t tell what, and a dab of butter. Keeping the pan moving until the foaming stopped, Swift-Pad lay the fish into it, making sure to keep it moving for a short while, then stepped back. “Two minute, then I flip, give it another two minutes and that fillet is done,” he remarked as he began dredging the other fillets. “Between the flour, canola oil, butter and time, that will give it a nice crisp crust. Then a few seasonings on top and it’s ready to serve.”

Applejack nodded approvingly. “You’re really good at this,” she remarked.

“It’s one of my favorite fish dishes,” Swift-Pad replied as he worked. “There are a variety where I come from, but this is one of the easiest that involves actual cooking.”

Several minutes later, there were eight plates of fish ready, all lightly fried and with a dab of lemon juice added over them. “There,” Swift-Pad said as he served them. “What do you think?”

Rainbow Dash dug in eagerly, her wings twitching at her sides. “Man, that’s great!”

Scootaloo looked a little hesitant, but took a nibble herself. Her eyes widened, and she began eating more. “Wow!”

“‘s good, huh?” Rainbow Dash commented.

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah!”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “You’re certainly having an easier time of it than I did that first time… I don’t like to admit it, but I actually got sick the first time I had fish. ‘Course, I’m pretty sure that was because it didn’t get cooked quite right or somethin’… Gilda didn’t look too happy when she actually had it either. But we managed, and the next time, it was great. And this? This is wonderful.”

Scootaloo looked up from her plate. “It certainly is,” she agreed. “Thanks, Mr. Swift-Pad!”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” Swift-Pad replied, turning his head towards the other fillies. “And how are you fairing?”

“It’s different?” Sweetie said, tilting her head as she chewed the food in her mouth, with Apple Bloom looking uncertain. Big Mac was being silent in his opinion, Granny was still chewing her food and -

Applejack blinked as she realized she hadn’t taken a bite yet. Stabbing the fish with her fork, Applejack broke off a piece and brought it into her mouth.

“Huh,” she said, blinking and taking another bite of the fish. “Ain’t that bad.”

“A polite thing, good cook and he’s good with kids,” Granny said, eyeing the wolf up and down. “Do you have a she-wolf friend back home?” she asked, turning her head towards Applejack, causing the mare to wonder what her gra-

“GRANNY!” Applejack shouted, blushing as it suddenly hit her.

“Well,” Swift-Pad said distractedly, his eartips red. “While I do appreciate the gesture madam, I do have sort of have someone back in the Packlands.”

“Sort of?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s… complicated,” Swift-Pad said nervously, ducking his head low. “Very complicated.”

“Ah, I see,” Rainbow Dash grinned, flying over and elbow him in the side. “Got multiple wo-” she trailed off when she noticed the looks she was getting from everypony; the all too interested looks of fillies and the annoyed glares from the adults. “I mean…”

“No, and as I said, it is complicated,” Swift-Pad, shifting on his paws before he started to pack his belongings back into his bag while wrapping the pans in coverings. “In any case, I should be on my way towards her Grace Twilight.”

“Aw, you have to go now?” Scootaloo pouted. “You’re so cool, almost as cool as Rainbow Dash!”

“I thank you, little one, and I will see you all tomorrow morning again when I visit your classroom,” Swift-Pad said, giving them a wide smile.

“You’re coming to our class tomorrow?”

“Yes,” he said, leaning down low. “it is part of my mission here and it would be my pleasure to meet all of your friends.”

“Cool!” Scootaloo’s eyes widened with a smile on her face. “Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” the other two girls echoed her feelings before talking to each other as they walked out of the kitchen with Swift-Pad looking outside.

“Now I just need directions to the town,” he said out loud, walking over and tapping the windowsill as he peered out the window.

“Hey, I’ll show you the way, Swifty,” Rainbow Dash said. “You can tell me some cool places to get fish and junk.”

“I thank you,” Swift-Pad replied, tipping his head. “And you as well for allowing me to share your food and mine.”

“Shucks, it was our pleasure,” Applejack said, walking over to shake his paw. “And I’m mighty sorry about the whole thing at the start.”

“I accept your apology, and it was understandable,” he said, shaking her paw before tilting his head at Rainbow Dash. “Please, lead on.”

Chapter Four

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Chapter Four

“No problem,” Rainbow Dash said as she flew out of Applejack’s kitchen through the window with Swift-Pad leaving through the door. “Come on, Swifty, let’s go.”

Walking alongside the flying pegasus down the farmway, Swift-Pad was acutely aware of how quiet the pegasus was being with his ears twitching as she kept opening her mouth as if to say something, only to halt herself. Swift-Pad recalled what he had studied in his packet about her Grace and her friends and was keenly aware that this was atypical of her usual behaviour. He began to recall what was discussed as well as what he knew of her, with a few ideas bouncing in his head. Before he could actually ask her what she wished to know, the mare banked in the air to land beside him and coughed asking him, “Say, Swift-Pad, how much do you know of Griffons?”

“A fair deal,” he told her truthfully while he began to get an inkling of what she was asking. “Why do you ask?” He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow at her.

“No reason,” she quickly denied, shaking her head. “Just that I’ve heard some junk from Gilda and all and I was just curious if all that kinda thing was true or not.”

“Do you mean the tremendous financial debt that their nation owes, Rainbow Dash?” he asked, causing her to pull back in a wince.

“I thought she was always kidding about that garbage,” the pegasus said, kicking a pebble down the pathway. “So I guess that stuff about you guys having no weather team is also true.”

“Yes,” he said as he felt her take off back into the air, indicating that she was at ease or working to make herself at ease. “And despite my times in your lands, the sight of one of your kind never ceases to be an interesting one.”

“Heh, not that often you get to see an awesome pegasus like me, eh?” Rainbow grinned as the conversation shifted to something more comfortable.

“That is certainly one of looking at such things. Not that I have not seen Equestrian weather patrols before from the Packlands, but they are always careful to stay on the correct side of the border.”

“Yeah, well, it’d be kinda stupid of them to drift over where they aren’t supposed to go,” Rainbow Dash replied. “It’s one thing to overfly a patrol zone over a town like Ponyville that’s nowhere near any of the borders, but a weather pony has to know to respect local airspace.”

“Especially since some of our more powerful rune wolves have contingencies that makes things interesting if they cross over,” Swift-Pad allowed himself a grin and low rumbling chuckle. “Always interesting to see them try to fix their ‘mistakes’ when they keep getting blown back into your lands.”

Rainbow Dash snorted, no doubt imagining stubborn pegasi trying to correct the weather to no avail before she let out a groan. “It doesn’t help that some ponies seem to think that we pegasi control all the weather in Equestria. That’d be too much work! Everypony would have to be pegasi for that to even be possible!”

“One tragic constant in the world in the lack of clear education of how the world does work,” Swift-Pad said somberly.

“Hey! I was done learnt my lessons proper,” Dash insisted in an overly exaggerated thick accent, before sticking her tongue out to show she was joking. Not that she still didn’t get the stink-eye from a couple of Ponyville farmers that the two just happened to be passing that seemingly had no issue with a wolf like him walking by.

“I can see that truly, Rainbow Dash,” he told her, causing her to frown. “I do not jest; you are refreshingly aware of the world beyond Equestria.”

“Hey, I may be a small town pony, but I do keep my ears open,” the pegasus said defensively. “Besides, you can’t get to be weather captain anywhere in Equestria without hearing about some things.”

“It does you a world of credit from what I have seen in the past from other captains of the weather,” Swift-Pad said as they began to cross into town square with the cobblestones refreshingly cool and smooth under his paws. “Now all I need to do is find her Grace Twilight Spark-”

“SURPRISE!” Before he could properly react, Swift-Pad found himself wearing a party hat holding a cupcake, and staring at the pinkest pony he had ever seen, surrounded by several other ponies also wearing party hats and smiling at the prospect of another Pinkie Party. Whatever the reason might be. “Welcome to Ponyville, Mr. Wolfy-wolf! I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?”

“Swift-Pad,” he said slowly as he began to remember the warnings on her folder.

“Hi, Swifty! You don’t mind if I call you Swifty, right? Anyway, Swifty, I saw you walking along beside Rainbow Dash here, and thought to myself: ‘Pinkie, I bet that wolf could use a party!’ And naturally I agreed with myself, because parties are great, and since I never saw you before, you must be new, so I decided to throw you a Welcome to Ponyville party! Of course I had to throw it together really fast because I only just saw you, and I have no idea how long you are staying in Ponyville. When’s your birthday? What’s your favorite flavor? Are you related to any Timber Wolves? I hope not, because Timber Wolves are kinda nasty and mean. Not that I’m saying that you are nasty or mean or anything, because you’re with Rainbow Dash, and Dashie likes to hang around awesome ponies and griffons… and awesome wolves too, I guess. Except Gilda turned out to be not so awesome I suppose. Anyway, how are you doing today?”

“I’m doing very well, miss Pie,” he said slowly as he pieced together what she said. Turning his head around to take in the ponies around them, he said “I thank you for this party you threw together at the last moment.” Taking a sniff of the cupcake, he could smell that it was vanilla, with carob frosting and licked his lips out of instinct. “I have heard that you were inherently good at guessing other’s favourite flavours, but I always placed that to flavoured edition.”

Pinkie Pie giggled at the joke and with a smile said “My editions are always flavoured!” She tilted her head to encourage the crowd to come closer which put him into work mode.

“Hi…” a timid pony began. “I’m Carrot Glace... Pleasedon’teatme!”

Carrot Glace promptly got a hoof upside her head from her friend. “He’s not going to eat you, Carrot! Pinkie wouldn’t throw a party for him if he was going to do something like that!”

“But the newsletter said…” Carrot Glace said meekly.

“Are you still listening to that PVE nonsense?” the other pony lectured with Swift-Pad doing his best not to react at the mention of the Pony Vegan Environmentalists, slightly hoping that more senior diplomats of his nation could get those individuals labeled as a radical species and lifestyle supremacist movement instead of a harmless organization without any borders for their self imposed missions. “Wolves never eat other sapients! It’s one of their oldest laws, from what I’ve read!”

“You’ve got to stop listening to those PVE meanies, Carrot,” Pinkie agreed. “They don’t like anypony that isn’t a pony, and that’s just not right! I mean, sure, we all made that mistake with Zecora, but we learned to be better than that, right?”

“I guess...?” Carrot Glace nodded hesitantly. “But their pamphlets are so convincing…”

“Those individuals spend equal amounts of time pushing their views on other as they do trying to convert others into their beliefs,” Swift-Pad said, cutting into the conversation. “Their favourite methods, along with others of their kind, are to the extreme in that they force conflict where they can claim to be the victim in the eyes of misinformed authorities.”

“You mean like those idiots that are always trying to set up picnics at the bottom of any two hills near the Packlands’ border, and then complain about how the uncontrolled weather from the Packlands washed them out?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yes,” Swift-Pad said as he sat down, with more of the ponies seeming to get more comfortable with him. “And the Equestrian border guards have issued more than one complaint and fine towards the Packland weather teams.”

“But you guys don’t have any weather teams,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“Exactly,” Swift-Pad said with a grin as everyone began to realize what exactly what was happening and was laughing at the incompetence of the guards. “To be fair,” he said after the laughter began to die down. “Not all of them are so empty minded, just a slightly alarming number that rose in the ranks near the border. Thankfully, there are enough guards that do have level heads on their shoulders that do their best to make sure those fines and complaints do not actually leave the border between our two lands and cause unneeded political turmoil.”

“Eh, enough of this boring political stuff, we’ve got a party to enjoy,” Rainbow Dash said with the other ponies agreeing.

“Here you go, Swifty!” Pinkie Pie said, holding the cupcake on her hoof with perfect balance. “Go ahead and take a bite.”

Smiling to himself at the good reception he was building with these ponies, he leaned forwards with his mouth open to take the cupcake when he heard the sound of two more ponies walking nearby.

“-d I’m still worried that something will go wrong when the guest arri-WOLF!” a voice shouted before something heavy slammed into his side.

Chapter Five

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Chapter Five

Swift-Pad did his best to roll into the blow and get onto his paws but before he could react further, he felt himself lifted into the air with his magic seemingly out of reach.

“Don’t worry everypony, I got this!” a voice shouted, with the purple bubble looking very similar to some of the pictures in his folders. Already he was struggling to reach his runes to free himself, as the same pony said “Back to the Everfree Forest with you.”

“Wait, Twilight! Stop!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she suddenly dropped in between them. “He’s a good guy!”

“And he’s the diplomat you’re supposed to meet, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie added in, causing Twilight to pause in surprise, her magic canceling out abruptly with Swift-Pad having no chance to properly prepare himself for a landing. Pushing himself upright from the dirt, he was about to defuse the situation when Twilight’s magic grabbed him again and lifted him upright.

“Oh my gosh! I am so so sorry! I didn’t mean to do this to you! I didn’t know you were the diplomat guest we were expecting! Princess Celestia didn’t specify because she wanted it to be a surprise, but it never occured to me that you might resemble a wild predator we have! Not that you are a wild predator, I mean. I just knew you were coming today, but when I came out to meet you all I saw was a big scary wolf that I thought was from the Everfree! I am so, so sorry for attacking you!”

“It is okay, your Grace,” Swift-Pad interjected, causing her to pull back with her eyes still wide in fright. “I accept your apology, your Grace as you did not know the situation properly.” he said as he shook his coat, causing his more loosely tied runes to rustle faintly with a few sounding like they needed to be refastened, while he quickly glanced around to judge how the crowd was reacting before turning to his current charge who seemed about to fall into one of her warned panic attacks.

“Still, I am so sorry for everything I did,” she said in the same quick ramble as before with Swift-Pad wincing at the fact that the notes on her foreign education was correct on the pessimistic assumption instead of the optimistic ones. “I don’t…”

“As I said: It is okay, Twilight,” he said, cutting her off before she could babble on more as before. Seeing that she was unnerved by the sudden rise in his voice again he flashed her a smile with teeth but not with his fangs, and asked her in a softer tone. “If you may lead the way to a place I could freshen up, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“Well, darling,” the other pony besides Twilight spoke up, causing Swift-Pad to turn his head to see her stride up to him, recognizing her as Rarity, another of the Bearers. “We could always take a detour to the local spa as it does wonders to calm my nerves.”

Swift-Pad smiled at the suggestion, seeing the offer as it truly was, a means to delicately discuss the entire situation in private.

“An excellent idea, miss Rarity,” he said, bobbing his head and moved to follow her, with Twilight opening and closing her mouth a few times before she joined them, clearly trying to think of how to fix the matter by her own means.

“Thank you, mister…” Rarity left the question hanging, making Swift-Pad realize he had yet to introduce himself to his charge.

“My name is Swift-Pad,” he said in a soothing tone and taking care to not signal out Twilight for her lapse in etiquette.

“An interesting name,” she said, glancing over to the alicorn with a concerned look on her face, clearly trying to help her friend. “Don’t you think so Twilight?”

“Er, yes, yes it is,” she chuckled in uncertainty, still clearly troubled by her previous actions. “How did you get such a name?”

“By my pack elders,” he chuckled, using some of the Equestrian based humour in this situation. Unfortunately it seemed that the joke was lost on them and he saw he needed to explain himself further. “As per custom in the Packlands, we are named after a trait our elders observe in us. For me, it was my ability to move swiftly on my pads when most of my littermates were all fumbling about.”

“That’s an interesting method of naming yourselves,” Rarity said while looking at Twilight, who was nodding her head but keeping quiet. The unicorn bit her lip for a split second before she schooled her face. “As you may not know, we tend to have something called the name dream.”

“To where expecting mothers have a series of dreams that inspires the name for the foal as it tends to have some tie their special talent?” Swift-Pad said causing Twilight to snap her head to look at him in surprise.

“That’s a mostly personal, private mare matter,” she said slowly, looking at him in the eyes. “How do you know about them?”

“I have been working with Equestrians for a while now and my educators have taught me a fair deal about your society,” he told her which she began to digest in her head, trying to determine if it was something he should have known or not.

“I see…” she said slowly, eyes darting to side with a blush on her face again. “Again, I am so sorry for what I did.”

Swift-Pad could not help stop his ear from twitching at this comment, making him wonder if her Grace Celestia had taught her anything and how naïve she truly was. “As I have said before, it is fine, your Grace.” He said in his most politically calm voice. “And thank you, Rarity, for this detour, it will be very useful.”

“It is not a problem, darling; you can freshen up after all,” Rarity said, causing Swift-Pad to prod his memory. He had an inkling of what a spa was, but it had been a while since he had last heard the term. Looking over his coat, he saw that it was dirty and he then remembered what he’d read about Rarity in his folders and quickly pieced together what she was indicating.

“I appreciate your offer but,” he paused mid-step as he thought of an escape to being subjugated to the inner workings of the spa when he heard the rustle of his rune stones and let out a small sigh of relief. “I must fix my rune stones before I can even think of participating.”

“Well, I’m sure I can help you with that, Darling,” Rarity stated, going into full dealing-with-a-reluctant-little-sister mode. “After you’ve had a bath and a good brushing.”

“Actually, no, you cannot,” he told her as he stretched his neck out to show the runes around his throat. “A fair deal of my runes need to be removed in a certain order as they are overlapping and the whole procedure can take a fair amount of time and I do need to focus on fixing the string as it is a delicate procedure to thread the needle.” He winced internally as he spoke of tailoring in front of the tailor.

“Which should give us plenty of time to talk. I’ll just book us for an extended session to cover the required time to take care of your runes. They do look quite lovely on you. I’m sure that if you explain what needs to be done with them to Aloe and Lotus, they can either help you or leave you the required time to do what needs to be done with them. And I can help you with the strings, unless it specifically has to be done by your own paw - I am familiar with the idea of sympathetic magic after all.”

Biting his tail internally, he knew it would serve his mission better if he agreed to these measures and Rarity seemed to be a good buffer for her Grace Twilight to get more at ease with him and possibly have the start of the dialogue between the two. “While it is tradition that a rune wolf like myself handles their own rune maintenance, it would be incredibly rude of me to just dismiss such help out of some personal reservations about others attempting to groom me.”

“Well,” Twilight said caustially, looking at Rarity for support. “If it makes you really uncomfortable, we can just ask Aloe and Lotus to give you a pass on any procedure that you’d rather do yourself or use an alternative method.”

“If he must,” Rarity consented, relenting from her push to get the gentlewolf diplomat properly cleaned and groomed to her vision.

Flicking his head upwards, he saw that they were in front of the place in question, and with what he hoped was a barely audible grumble, walked into the spa.

“Greetings, Rarity!” Aloe and Lotus said together as they saw their favorite customer come in. “Is this a group session then?”

“Why yes it is, Darlings!” Rarity confirmed. “Aloe, Lotus, this is Swift-Pad, the diplomatic guest from the Packlands. And of course you both already know Twilight. Swift-Pad, these are Aloe and Lotus. They own and run the Ponyville spa. If you have any special requirements, or if anything makes you too uncomfortable, be sure to let them know, and they’ll personalise your session to suit your needs. They really are dears.”

“That would be most appreciated,” Swift-Pad replied.

After a somewhat brief discussion with the spa owners, a mutually agreeable session was planned out, alleviating many of the worries Swift-Pad had been experiencing. The ponies had even been amenable to experiencing a bit of cultural exchange involving cleansing and grooming techniques, which allowed him to escape the experience of being repeatedly soaked in uncomfortable amounts of water.

Before too long, the three were settled in for a good cleansing curry brushing to rid themselves of their grime, loose hairs, and any pests they may have picked up. But first, Swift-Pad had to remove his packs and his runes. Following the owners to a place where he could reliably leave the papers that were needed for the meeting tomorrow as well as the gifts for their Graces without worrying about them, he returned to the girls talking to each other with Rarity speaking words of confidence to Twilight which was good. Flashing them a smile, he saw the prepared sheet laid out for him and felt the attention of the room on him as he began to remove his runes. Deciding to start with his neck, where his shield runes were, he tapped into the runes around his paws that allowed him greater flexibility before he reached for the protection runes and slid them off of his body. Placing the long string of the still empty protection-based runes down on the sheet, he could see that a few would need to be outright replaced and even without his crafter’s glasses with the high detail fold-away lenses, he could spot the cord was fraying and he would need to replace it sooner rather than later. He then moved onto the runes along his hind legs that boosted his speed as well helped increase his endurance before doing them for his forelegs, examining them each time he placed them down while making mental notes of what he had to fix and touch up before he let out a sigh as he reached for his head and slid off the ones that aided his eyesight.

Immediately, he began to squint, the abrupt change always causing a small headache for him and being the main reason why he only took it off when he was going to sleep or had to repair them. Forcing his eyes open as not to alarm his hosts, he moved to take the ones off of his paws, following the ingrained route of the runes that eased walking around before he slid off the ones that increased his dexterity and flexibility and placing them down with the rest of his runes.

He gave his body a shake, feeling particularly exposed without his runes, before he sat back down with Rarity and Twilight, the former looking at him closely and the latter eyeing his runes. Twilight clearly wished to examine them closer but knew better than to actually touch them without his permission.

As the attendants came to start this spa treatment, Twilight coughed loudly, turning to him and saying, “I must say, I have never seen anything like those runes before. I mean, I’ve read something about them, but only about the few that unicorns had made, and I see a lot more here than just those that I’ve read about.”

“Ah yes,” he said as one of the ponies began to work on his coat, keeping his attention split between her and his runes. “Unlike your kind, not all wolves have the potential for some form of magic, and even those of us that do require some form of focus to bring it out. As our innate arcane abilities are limited, naturally we have expanded our knowledge of the tools we use that enable us to work magic at all. That is why, when we are young, we are instructed to try and copy the beginners’ sets to see if we have any mystic potential. Once we know enough, those that can work with the runes are encouraged to experiment a bit with crafting our own in order to expand our knowledge as a whole. Of course, at first, these experiments are properly supervised. We don’t really start truly independent design work until our masters are satisfied with our skill and even then, there are strict guidelines of what we can and cannot do.”

He paused and chuckled as he recalled the past. “Then again, more than enough of the youngsters proved themselves capable of magic by trying to craft and tap a rune beyond their capabilities. Which is why not all the runes that were designed by the ancient masters were all that beneficial; some were made no other reason beyond to trip up younger, eager pups that were overreaching their abilities.”

Leaning over, he traced two symbols that looked near identical. “This one is meant to allow one to control lightning and this one,” he said, eyeing the symbol he’d made and recalling the time he had crafted it, “will cause the rune wolf to send a quite sizable amount of electricity through their body with a loud noise to signify that it had been used.”

“You sound like you are speaking from personal experience there, Swift-Pad,” Rarity purred with Swift-Pad blushing, his ears folding back slightly with a low rumble in his throat.

“I am sure we all did something foolish with our magic when we were young,” Swift-Pad said, glancing to the sides.

“I, ah…” Twilight blushed. “I once cast a spell that let me enter a book as an illustration, but I had forgotten to memorize the part of the spell that reverses the process. If Spike hadn’t seen me on the page before putting the book away, it might have been a long time before anypony found me…”

“Well darlings, if you Pinkie Promise not to tell a soul,” Rarity began with Twilight and the attendants quickly performing the ritual, Swift-Pad copying them a moment later. “I once, after getting my cutie mark, tried to find some gems and listened to my magic blindly. Needless to say, as a result of this, I received a very strict lecture of why it was wrong to take things that belong to others. Even if they did hide them in a box buried under a bush just beyond their backyard.”

Swift-Pad could not help himself from laughing loudly at this, only to let out a yelp as he felt the brush along his back reach a particularly tough knot.

Twilight giggled briefly at Rarity’s story, then looked at Swift-Pad in alarm when he yelped. “Are you alright over there?”

“I am fine. The brush just hit a tangle.”

“Oh, okay then. And again, I am ever so sorry for my misunderstanding in the town square earlier…”

“You are truly a blind pup thrown into the hunt,” Swift-Pad said, shaking his head before standing upright. “We need to talk, Sparkle,” he said tersely. “In privacy.”

Twilight was clearly spooked by his sudden change in tone, moving to stand before she was aware of it. Walking over to the office, Swift-Pad stood inside waiting for Twilight before closing the door.

“You truly are completely ignorant about the world beyond Equestria, are you not?” he asked sharply, preventing any chance for her to muddle around the issue.

“Er… I read some books on Griffonstone…” she began with Swift-Pad snorting.

“Which are more than likely out of date or written by Equestrians for Equestrian audiences with little to no input from actual griffons or those who live in the area,” he spat, his eyes hurting him as he tried to keep his eyes on hers. “In any case, the answer is clearly no, your Grace.”

“I’m sor-”

“Please stop saying that,” he was fighting the urge to growl at her, remembering his training. “Something that your mentor should have told you, at the very least, is that for us wolves, we have slightly different views on making amends. For a majority of the time, we are out together where trust with each other is essential if we are to have enough food for the winter and the pack to survive. That means when one makes a mistake, we have to know that they learned from their error and will not repeat it again. So they only apologize if they are sure that they will not repeat their mistake and we can trust them again. To add onto this, it is only accepted if the apology is believed to be honest. Furthermore, when a matter has been resolved, it is considered horribly insulting to bring it up again as it implies that the transgression was forgiven too easily, that they did not know what they were forgiving, that they were unaware of the entire matter at paw.”

“Oh my gosh, I had no idea, I am so so…” Twilight stopped, gathered her breath, and thought for a moment. “I apologize for not taking the time to become aware of other cultures surrounding Equestria. I assure you that I will take the time to do so, but it may take me a while to acquire the necessary information.”

“Completely expected and I do accept your apology,” he said, easing his glare. “That was why I was selected for this mission; as to be as your instructor of sorts into the complicated mess that is foreign affairs. Come, we should head back to your friend lest she becomes worried.”

“Before we go back, may I ask you a question?” Twilight sounded hesitant again and Swift-Pad was wondering what she was mulling over in her head.

“Of course; this is what I am here for,” he said as closed his eyes, doing a mental check in his head to see if he still had the medicine in his pack for his headache and resolved to put the runes that helped with eyes back on as soon as he can.

“Why do you keep on calling me, and the other princesses, ‘your Grace’?” Twilight asked and Swift-Pad had to wince; of all things she had to ask, she had to choose one of three impolite things to talk about in conversations outside of a strict student/mentor relationship, which they had not quite established yet. As well as explaining his nation’s official religion to a secular citizen who more than likely had never heard of the concept was going to be a challenge.

Chapter Six

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Chapter Six

“That is a… delicate matter,” Swift-Pad began, blinking to ease the tension in his eyes. “What brings it to mind?”

“Well, honestly, you’re the first po-person I’ve ever heard use that particular phrase to refer to us,” Twilight replied carefully. “So I was wondering why.”

Swift-Pad licked his lips, wondering how to properly explain this matter to her. “To many outside of Equestria,” he began, moving closer to her so he did not have to strain his eyes. “And a few within, the alicorn tribe is viewed with great regard due to their preternatural abilities, even to the point of worship.”

“Worship? As in gods and religion?” Twilight sounded aghast. “That’s… why? I mean, I’m certainly no god, and I don’t ever want to be one. Being worshipped like that is just…” She trailed off, her eyes widening as she began to realize what she was saying and what she almost said. Her mouth opened for a moment before closing, showing that she’d almost repeated her previous error but caught herself in time. “As I am Princess Celestia’s former student, I know that she personally dislikes that notion as it drives a wedge between her and every other pony, and I happen to agree; I’m not against the idea of worship in general, but personally being the subject of it makes me feel… uncomfortable, to say the least.”

“That is your prerogative,” Swift-Pad replied. “Regardless, that is what we believe and to be honest, her Grace Celestia is not our goddess, but rather her Grand Grace of the Moon.” He bowed his head reverently as he spoke of Her.

“You mean Luna?” Twilight asked with his ear flickering in anxiety. “You worship her?”

“Yes and no; it is a bit complicated,” he told her, sitting near the door. “There are different schools of thought concerning her Grace Luna. For instance, there are those who believe that she is the flesh-and-blood embodiment of the moon itself as those who believe Celestia is that of the sun, Mi Amore Cadenza of Love, and you of… well those of that school of thought are not sure yet as they have seen so little of you.” He paused for a moment, tilting his head to the side.

“Others believe that she is the same Luna from a thousand years ago, while a divergent group say that she is the original Luna having been reborn in a new body from her Grace Nightmare Moon, and the latest in the cycle of their incarnations. There are also a number who believe that there was once a Luna but she fell during the battle between the Sun and Moon a thousand years ago and this is simply a puppet that her Grace Celestia has installed for her own reasons.” Twilight cringed at that one, and he couldn’t fault her.

“There are also those who reject that her Grace Luna was ever an alicorn as we hold more reverence for the moon than the ponies of Equestria did.” He paused again, reviewing his thoughts for other main religious views on her Grace Luna.

“Yet another group believes alicorns are merely those who were blessed by the original spirits of the sun, moon and love to be those spirits’ representatives in the world, granting them the traits they now bear and making them immortal. And these are the just the major religious views that I can recall for the Packlands alone, not taking into account the unique views held across the world. All in all, I cannot say which is right or wrong; just that many believe their own ways and tend to agree to disagree on the matter.”

Twilight looked contemplative as she considered his words. “That is… an interesting way of looking at it,” she said slowly. “How do you think they would react if they heard what I know about Luna’s past?”

“That depends on what you would have to say,” Swift-Pad replied. “Though I expect that many would not appreciate hearing anything negative against Her, and that is the only sure reaction I can predict as I mentioned before, we wolves hold the night in very high regard.”

“And…” Twilight flashed him a look of concern. “And would it be wrong of me to ask of your beliefs of Luna?”

“Yes,” he replied.

Twilight nodded. “In which case… I’ll start by saying that Luna is one of my friends, and I have a great deal of respect for her.”

“As should all; regardless of her origin, she is akin to her Grace Celestia at the very least and should be treated with the same minimum respect that her Grace Celestia receives.” Swift-Pad then gave her a lopsided smile. “Also, in the future, I would like you to keep in mind that talking of religion, along with politics and species in polite conversation, are divided topics that can easily degrade into heated and ugly arguments, and one must be very careful when discussing them.”

Twilight nodded. “I’m very much aware of the politics aspect of it. I saw more than a few debates on the matter turn ugly when I was allowed to attend certain meetings alongside Princess Celestia when I was still her student in Canterlot. Of course, at least some of those had as much to do with a clash of egos between participants as it did over their differences in political opinions.”

“That is a common problem around the world, but it does get easier with experience,” Swift-Pad agreed, pleased to see that she wasn’t completely new to all of this.

Twilight smiled. “Princess Celestia has said as much,” she said. “And since she’s had over a thousand years of experience with it, I can understand why she has as much patience with such things as she does now.” She paused for a moment. “But going back to Luna… I’ve actually read the journal she and Princess Celestia kept back then, with their permission. I’ve witnessed some of the past through the aid of a potion that my friend Zecora gave me. And I was there when Nightmare Moon escaped from her prison, and when Luna was freed soon after. And some of my friends and I were there for her to help her adjust to how things had changed so much in the thousand years that she was away.”

Swift-Pad looked at her curiously. “That is interesting to hear,” he said. “You are certainly entitled to believe she is the Luna from the past, of course.”

Twilight shook her head. “I know she’s the Luna from the past,” she said. “The same Luna who ruled alongside Princess Celestia even before they got their Cutie Marks, who helped defeat Discord and King Sombra, and who later fell under the sway of evil and was changed into Nightmare Moon… and then turned back when my friends and I used the Elements of Harmony to purify her and rid her of the dark magic that had held her under its sway for so long. We saw her turn back into her original self, and how Princess Celestia forgave her for everything.” She swallowed. “There has always been just one Princess Luna,” she said. “And I will never forget how happy Princess Celestia was to finally have her sister back after a thousand years.”

“And once again, you are entitled to believe that her Grace Celestia did not manipulate anything to help ensure that the individual you met seemed to be her Grand Grace of old,” Swift-Pad said a bit more firmly with Twilight pursing her lips together before she tipped her head slightly downwards.

“I suppose we will need to agree to disagree on this matter until we meet with her tomorrow?” Twilight finally said with Swift-Pad smiling at her choice of words.

“Indeed,” Swift-Pad said as he placed a paw on the handle, opening the door. “Shall we rejoin your friend and this facilities’ treatment?”

“That sounds good,” Twilight smiled as the two left the office, with Swift-Pad’s eyes widening as he noticed Rarity near his runes, holding up a few as she was seemingly studying them. The attendant near her coughed loudly, with Rarity dropping the rune as a blush ran across her face.

“I am terribly sorry for prying, but with my own work with gems and minerals, especially for decoration on the outfits I create, I couldn’t resist taking a look to see what kind you used to make your runes,” she admitted. “I would have asked you personally, but I am afraid my own impatience got the better of me.”

“I accept your apology,” he said, flicking an ear as he sat down, examining his runes with a quick glance while the attendant went back to work on his coat. “You work with gems and minerals on a regular basis?”

Rarity nodded as he applied the string of runes that helped his eyesight, the pain around his eyes easing away. “My magic led me to a large supply of gemstones when I was but a filly and I used them to decorate some costumes I was working on, earning my Cutie Mark for it. I’ve been fascinated by them and their different properties ever since, and I use them in my work all the time - the same spell I unconsciously used back then helps me to find more when my supplies run low.”

“In the Packlands’ mines, that would be an invaluable asset to have,” he told her. “It takes a great deal to find these special materials for our runes and anything to ease the burden would help greatly.”

Rarity beamed. “I know of a few special kinds myself; I am not sure if we can make it across our two different fields of magic, but I am sure Twilight would be willing to aid you. Especially as you have been so much more polite and understanding about things; I once met a group of miners who were utterly rude, demanding my help without so much as a ‘please’ and making some rather unpleasant threats if I did not aid them. But, as I said, you are nothing like them.”

“Thank you for those kind words,” he flicked his eyes at Twilight who seemed to be thinking of how to achieve such a feat and weighed an idea in his head. “And…” he looked up at the attendant. “I do not mean to be a bother but I need to get my packs.” Standing upright, he walked over to where his packs were being stored and retrieved the gift prepared for Twilight. Walking back over to his host, he placed the gift down in front her. “I was supposed to give you this later on but I see no issue in doing so right now.”

Twilight took a look at the book in front of her and placed a hoof on it. “There is no title…”

“To the untrained eye, perhaps,” Swift-Pad replied. “If you look carefully, you will find it written in my language. Besides that, our rune instructors tend to trust us to understand that this book is meant to teach young rune wolves how to craft runes and use our magic, not to look impressive or waste ink on needless flourishes. You will not find another book like it in Equestria as we had kept it restricted from leaving our lands. We trust that you will keep its secrets safe.”

“Of course,” Twilight nodded. “I will keep this book safe and ensure that no other copies are made from it. I thank you for such a precious gift and...” Her eyes went wide and what was described as her panic face began to appear. “I don’t have anything for you, I-”

“Need not worry about as it has been taken care of by those in Canterlot,” he said, causing her to take a few deep breaths as she calmed down.

“Right…” She took another deep breath and looked at him. “I’m glad to know Princess Celestia thought about such things ahead of time. Though I still wish she’d told me about it, and your arrival, before just this morning.”

“As do we all but we do not always get the chance to properly prepare, so it is good to get practice in these easily controlled situations.” Swift-Pad said.

Twilight shook her head, with a smile on her face. “That is almost exactly what Celestia told me this morning.”

“It makes sense; she did establish most of the foundation of diplomatic interactions after all,” Swift-Pad said. “It also makes sense that her Grace would act as she did; she is well known for her love of teaching, and I believe that even if you are now an alicorn, she still remembers your time as her student with great fondness and is desiring to teach you more, albeit in more subtle ways now.”

Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment. “I can certainly believe that,” she said. “She’s always seemed happiest when she was helping a student, no matter where she was.”

Swift-Pad gave her a curious look; he could sense she was holding back some detail there, but he chose not to ask just yet. Perhaps she would offer the information in time. Looking to one side, he could tell Rarity also seemed somewhat confused by her friend’s remark, but like him, she was choosing not to ask about it then. For now, all he could do was sit back and experience this spa treatment.

Chapter Seven

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Chapter Seven

Twilight was examining the runestones that Swift-Pad had left on the towel, noticing he was no longer squinting when he placed the ones back around his head which meant that at least some of them were either for amplifying or healing his vision which was an interesting footnote. Some of the runestones were incredibly small and each of them had an etching on them that appeared to be uniform to another of the same design.

“I was admiring how precise and intricate the details on your runestones are,” Rarity commented. “They really look quite striking on you. You must present quite a dashing figure to the ladies back home.”

“Er, yes,” he said, shifting a bit. “One has to be precise in their runecrafting for them to work.”

“Does the size of the rune or the runestone matter?” Twilight asked, longing to pick one up for research but everything was telling her it would not go over well.

“Yes and no,” Swift-Pad said as the attendants began to usher them to the massage room with Twilight lifting the sheet holding his runes to carry the precious stones with them. “The larger the rune you make, the more magic you must invest into it. Of course, you will get a much larger effect from the large rune than the small one but then the logistics of having such a large rune come into effect. You will need to,” he paused as he hopped onto the massage table, with Twilight placing the sheet of runestones onto the nearby countertop as she and Rarity joined him on the adjacent tables. “You will need to carry a large runestone and spend a lot of time investing magic properly into the rune on it, but it is very obvious opposed to the smaller one that you can hide in your fur, and just not practical. It is mostly done for practice or special cases, such as my packs that have special runes that allow extra space.” He shifted on the table, slowly spreading himself out the full length with his ears flickering.

“Small runestones, on the other paw, requires a lot of focus and practice to get the rune correct. Even the smallest mistake can make the runestone worthless. One jolt of the paw, one small spasm, one moment of distraction can ruin weeks if not months of work. However, with smaller runestones, there is less magi-” he paused as Quake walked into the room, with his body tensing up before he relaxed himself. “That needs to be stored so you can have more runestones on you. And that is just one type of runestone; with the proper knowledge you can chain a set of runes into something more powerful or helpful. For example, the runestones I wear on my paws allow greater dexterity that enables me to work on my runes with greater precision.”

“Like how the ones you wear on your head help with your eyesight?” Twilight asked with Swift-Pad wincing and rubbing his paws together.

“You noticed that, did you not?” he said, ears to the side of his head. Both Twilight and Rarity nodded their heads with the wolf letting out a sigh. “Yes, my eyesight is not the best, and I must use special runes to correct it,” he admitted with a soft whine. “My name could easily have been Trouble-Vision if not for my elders noticing my quick and steady movement that was brought on by me needing to be careful because of my poor eyesight.”

“Is there anything else you can do for your eyes?” Twilight asked.

“Beyond wearing permanent glasses, no,” he said with an echo to his voice as Quake began his massage on Swift-Pad’s back. “And I am not too keen on wearing them, to be honest.”

“Any reason for that decision?” Rarity asked.

“For the most part, it has to do with convenience,” Swift-Pad explained with his ears flickering around in delight. “It is very hard to keep them on my head when I’m running. Wolves tend to have a very active lifestyle, and I am no exception despite my duties.”

“That makes sense,” Twilight said as Lotus began to rub her back while her twin sister did the same for Rarity. “It would be very impractical to have them when you are running around, even those that you can wear with a chain.”

“Exactly,” Swift-Pad said. “And the runes I use for my eyes take very little magic to maintain so I don’t need to own a pair of glasses beyond the one I use when crafting my runes.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be good to have a pair in case you didn’t have your runes?” Twilight asked him.

“Yes, I suppose I should do so, but the timing has never reallybeen in my favor, with me needing to be other places and finding a specialist and-”

“You’ve never made an appointment for it, have you?” Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow, as Aloe’s hooves moved to her sides.

“No… not so much,” Swift-Pad admitted reluctantly while murring under the care of Quake. “I’m not exactly pleased in how I look with glasses and have been putting it off for a very long time. I suppose… I really should have an appointment one of these days, but I just haven’t been able to encourage myself to do so.”

“You should still go to one; I believe that we have one in Ponyville that wouldn’t mind a walk-in,” Twilight said, with the wolf seemingly flinching at her words but he smiled at her.

”I thank you for such a suggestion,” he said, still hesitant and it dawned on Twilight that Swift-Pad wasn’t that much older than them and he was being vain about his appearance, acting like a colt that didn’t want to wear glasses because it made him look bad. Seeing him act this way helped her see past the whole dignified nature that the wolf presented and Twilight had to stop herself from laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

“That’s marvelous,” Rarity said with a smile on her face, clearly enjoying her massage. “Why don’t you show Swift-Pad the way after we’re done here, Twilight? That’s if you do not mind, Swift-Pad, of course.”

Swift-Pad’s ears flicked and Twilight saw that he was trapped in this decision.

“That is a wonderful idea,” he said with hint of a whine in his voice. “And perhaps you can show me more of the town while we go there.”

Twilight smiled. “I’d be honored,” she said.

“Then - ah! - it is settled.” Swift-Pad leaned his head forward as Quake continued to work on him, and Twilight silently promised herself that she’d make sure this went well, even if he was reluctant.

Some time later, the two were in the waiting room at the optometrist's office, Rarity having excused herself to return to her shop, and Swift-Pad couldn’t help fidgeting a little on his chair.

Nearby, Twilight was studying one of the pamphlets available to read, and shuddered. “I’m glad I’ve never had this kind of problem,” she muttered to herself.

“Oh?” Swift-Pad glanced over. “What kind of problem, may I ask?”

“Well, any vision-based ones, really,” Twilight said with a sigh. “Of course, even if I had, my ascension would have fixed them…” Her ear flicked. “Makes me wish doing that was a lot easier for some ponies.”

“Your friends, I presume?” Swift-Pad asked.

“Well, them and some others… I can’t help but wonder what Equestria would be like today if Starswirl the Bearded had become an alicorn, it would be so amazing if he was still around so I could actually meet him!” Twilight’s eyes sparkled, before she sighed. “Of course, some would take better to it than others…”

“That is true,” Swift-Pad noted. “And some would undoubtedly use such a change to feed their own ego and sense of superiority.”

“I know,” Twilight agreed. “But still… I can’t help but picture what it would be like if somepony like Granny Smith were still around centuries from now, able to tell ponies and non-ponies what it was like here when Ponyville was first being settled…”

“She is certainly a wise one,” Swift-Pad said. “I can understand why you would want somepony with her years of experience and expertise to stay on this plane where they can help others.”

Twilight nodded and was about to say something more, when the door opened. “Next!”

“That will be me, I suppose.” Swift-Pad rose from his seat, and headed into the back, leaving Twilight by herself. She continued to flip through the pamphlets while keeping an ear out for if anything went wrong. After about an hour and a half had passed, the door opened again and Swift-Pad emerged, somewhat frazzled but with a pair of glasses perched on his snout.

“Remind me again why I agreed to this?” he asked Twilight grumpily, his dignified manner all but gone. Despite it, Twilight felt that they were actually bonding better as friends now. “And why I was not warned ahead of time that they would be putting liquid in my eyes in the course of examining them?”

Twilight shuddered. “If I’d known about that, I definitely would have told you,” she said before smiling up at him. “How are your eyes?”

“Well, I still have two of them. And I’m pretty sure that they’re my own…” he grumbled before giving her what she could now tell was one of his practice smiles that were strikingly similar to Celestia’s smiles. “But I can see properly now and it doesn’t hurt to have those runes off. And it is nice to have a bit of my magic sources cleared up,” he said with his ear flicking, although it was low and his tail was drooping. With a sigh, he said “I should have done this a very long time ago and I thank you for encouraging me to do so now.”

Twilight bowed. “You’re very welcome, Swift-Pad. It is the least I could do for a friend.”

He gave her what she thought was a real smile now and said, ”I am honoured to be counted among them, your Grace.”

“Please,” Twilight smiled at him. “I respect your view of alicorns, but as my friend, you really don’t need to call me by any sort of title.”

“Very well, Lady Sparkle; is that better?”

She was about to tell him no when she noticed the grin on his face and how less clipped his voice was and she suddenly knew that he was joking with her.

“Only if I can call you Mister Swift-Pad?” she asked, causing him to chuckle.

“I suppose that is a fair trade, Lady Sparkle,” Swift-Pad said, dipping his head towards her. “Shall we continue outside so you can show me more of your fair town?”

“That sounds fine to me,” Twilight said as she opened the door for them and stepped outside.

Chapter Eight

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Chapter Eight

As the two of them walked out of the optometrist's office, Twilight began to point out more of the town to the wolf beside her while he did his best to adapt to wearing his new glasses.

Twilight felt herself becoming more at ease at his presence and mannerisms when all of a sudden she heard a soft gasp from up ahead. Turning her head down the street, she saw Fluttershy staring at them, her eyes wide and clearly fixed on Swift-Pad.

Twilight was worried that her easily frightened friend would be scared, when a moment later there was a sudden blur and she found herself flipping head-over-tail as Fluttershy rushed past her.

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh,” she exclaimed repeatedly. “You’re so… fluffy!”

Swift-Pad gave her a bemused look. “So I am,” he noted. “And you would be…”

“Oh, I’m Fluttershy,” she introduced herself. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Wolf.”

Swift-Pad gave her another of his practiced looks. “It is nice to meet you too, Miss Fluttershy.” He bowed. “I am Swift-Pad of the High-Leap Pack, ambassador of the Packlands, here to discuss trade ratification with Their Graces.”

“O-oh!” Fluttershy bowed back. “It is an honor to meet you, Ambassador Swift-Pad. And my apologies for my earlier behavior, I hadn’t realized you were from the civilized packs when I first saw you.”

“All is forgiven, Miss Fluttershy.” Swift-Pad told her. “Those of my pack and our other non-wild kinfolk are considerably less common in these lands than our non-civilized cousins, so I can understand the error. It is hardly the first time such a mistake has been made today, even.”

Fluttershy gave him a smile back and then did something odd. She began to make growling sounds which caused Swift-Pad to pull back in open surprise before he started to make similar sounds towards her.

Further back, Twilight blinked as she got to her hooves, but made no move towards the pair. She could tell that Fluttershy knew what she was doing, and while she was curious as to what they were saying, she had no intention of interrupting them and inadvertently causing offense again.

Finally, the two had finished speaking, and Swift-Pad bowed to Fluttershy with the wolf walking back to her and Fluttershy confidently walking away. Twilight turned her head and said, “I didn't know Fluttershy knew your language.”

“I was just as surprised,” Swift-Pad admitted with an easy-going smile on his face. “I have only encountered a pawfull of ponies who could do so in my time. However, it would seem your friend is one of those few who was aware of my people’s ways of life. Impressively so, I might add.”

“You learn something everyday,” Twilight said with a smile of her own.

“And a day when you learn something new is a day well used,” Swift-Pad added in, his tail wagging quickly. He then turned his head to the side and gestured with his paw. “Care to lead on? I still would like to see this town, Lady Sparkle.”

“Right, “ Twilight said, pointing off to the side. “There’s the Quills and Sofas shop, run by Davenport...”

It was much later in the day when the two of them finally arrived at the Golden Oak Library, with Twilight feeling she had a much better understanding of what was expected of her in the future. Swift-Pad had proven a skillful teacher so far; he had been showing her how important body language was as well as how impactful a few words could be when used right, especially as some of the ponies in the town had seemed nervous at his presence at first. But the wolf had kept his entire appearance looking completely harmless and offering praise and compliments to ease their worries. He had also kept silent a few times and stood behind Twilight, subtly nudging her to speak in his place and after a few false starts, she had put his examples on saying the right things to good use, and when Swift-Pad’s reflection was visible on the nearby windows during these moments, she had seen him nod his head in approval.

It was also very reassuring to know that she could actually do this whole princess aspect, even if it was on a much smaller scale than what Princess Celestia did, which made Twilight slightly less worried about the future.

Pausing before the door, Twilight lit her horn and pulled it open, calling inside. “Spike, would you like to come and visit our guest, Swift-Pad of the Packlands?”

There was barely any pause before Spike hurried into the room, a smile on his face. “Hi Twilight, hi mister Swift-Pad - wow, you really are a wolf. Cool!”

Swift-Pad chuckled, leaning low to look Spike in the eye and said, “I see that you are a dragon of excellent taste, young one.”

Twilight couldn’t help herself from snorting and rolling her eyes, amused at this little self-prompting but she could tell it was part of who Swift-Pad really was, not just the public persona he normally put on.

Spike grinned at the praise before stepping back from the door, with an arm outstretched to let Swift-Pad walk in. “Welcome to the Golden Oak Library, mister Swift-Pad; supper is almost ready.”

“Thank you, little one,” Swift-Pad said, tipping his head again before turning to face Twilight who quickly caught on and directed Swift-Pad to his guest room while showing him around the library, with Swift-Pad asking a few questions and looking at a few titles with some interest. A little while later, once he had placed his bags into the guest room, he rejoined her in the main room, this time carrying a small satchel with him and clearing a space in the middle of the floor.

Twilight frowned, wondering what he was doing until she saw that the bundle held some specialized looking tools. Swift-Pad flashed her a lopsided grin and told her, “I felt that you would like to have some experience with runecrafting with somewolf that has been trained before I am gone.”

Twilight jostled in surprise before she smiled and said, “That would be wonderful; thank you, Swift-Pad.” Twilight reached into her pack for the book he had given her this afternoon and opened it to the front page.

“Now,” Swift-Pad told her as he brought out a small batch of stones. “The first thing to remember is that runecrafting is both an art and a discipline akin to meditation, and needs a balance of concentration and thought to achieve the results. I have seen others who rushed themselves in their carving while channeling the magic, and the results were… at best, nothing happened. At worst, they were explosive, to say the least.”

Twilight nodded. “Unicorn magic is similar; if you don’t know what kind of spell you’re aiming for, either you’ll get nothing, or you’ll wind up with an uncontrolled magical surge that could result in almost anything happening. And some are worse than others.” Her ears flattened a bit. “I had one when I was a little filly and was so badly startled that I couldn’t control my magic. Luckily, Princess Celestia was nearby and saw the flare, and was able to reverse all the effects afterward… I’m just glad nopony was hurt by it.”

“It sounds to me like that was a case of something beyond your control triggering an accident rather than the result of recklessness,” Swift-Pad replied. “As such, it was not truly your fault, and so is not to be condemned.”

“That is very kind of you to say, but that sudden loss of control still scared me, especially what happened to my parents during the surge…” Twilight sighed. “For a long time after that day, I had nightmares about what might’ve happened if it hadn’t been reversible, or if somepony else had been hurt for real because of me. I spent so much time learning more focus and control after that to keep my power in check to make sure those nightmares would never become reality...”

Swift-Pad laid a paw on her shoulder. “This still bothers you to this day, doesn’t it,” he said with concern in his voice.

Twilight nodded.

Swift-Pad smiled at her. “It is good that you understand the consequences of losing control, but you need to remember, you cannot let fear rule your life. If you do, you will not think clearly. But this does not mean you should not be wise and cautious.” He looked distant for a moment, then turned back to her. “A teacher of mine once had similar advice. He told me that he tried to always act out of love, not of fear. And that it was a good piece of advice, because every time he forgot it, he managed to get himself into trouble.” He managed to look amused, though still serious at the same time.

Twilight gave a light giggle, then smiled at him. “Thank you, Swift-Pad. I needed that.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said, giving her a short bow. “Now as to the first lesson,” he said as he lifted up a blank stone. “You remember the rune I told you about before?”

“The one that allows you to control lightning?” Twilight asked.

“Yes,” he said as he leaned over, flipped a few pages and tapped a drawing on her book that looked like a spiral with two lines jolting out of the end of the tail. “This is the symbol you will be drawing, that will cause you to be able to control lightning,” he then pulled out a blank piece of paper and drew the image in a matter of seconds. “You will want to be careful, and not to add anything else,” he said as he added in a small third line. “Or…”

“I will shock myself and cause a loud alarm?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow, and could already tell how young wolves would make that mistake as it was very minor.

“Exactly,” he said as he turned back to the first page and showed her an image of a straight line that had a semicircle at the top. “This will cause a small light to appear. And this is what we normally start with.”

“I can see why; there is very little complexity to it,” Twilight said, looking at the image and memorizing it. She then turned her head to see Swift-Pad hold his tools in his paw and begin to carve into the stone with practiced ease, his body glowing a light green before the magic flowed into the stone.

He then turned to face Twilight and placed the tool in her hoof and a stone in her other hoof. “Your turn,” he told her and leaned back.

“But how am I to infuse it with magic?” she asked him

“Concentrate on the stone, gather your magic from within and push it into the stone while you are carving it,” he told her in a soothing tone.

‘What if I make a mistake?”

“Then you make a mistake,” he said with a grin sliding onto his face.

Twilight frowned at him but did as he’d said, holding the stone in her hoof and the tool in the other one. She was aware she could use her magic to make it easier but it simply didn’t feel right to do so.

Holding the stone as steady as she could, she started to replicate the simple rune as best she could although she wasn't sure that she was getting the scale correct. She also had to focus on channelling just enough of her magic into the stone without going too deep, a task that was proving trickier as the stone seemed to be drinking in her power faster than what she was prepared for.

Closing off the strand of magic, she looked at the stone in her hoof, comparing it to the one in Swift-Pad's paw. She opened her mouth to ask how she would activate when he simply said, “Concentrate on it and if you got the rune correct, it will work.” Holding up the stone in his paw, it gave off a faint green glow before a clear light appeared over Swift-Pad’s head.

Twilight turned back to her own stone and focused on it, feeling the power she had placed inside it. She saw her stone glow purple for a moment before a jolt of electricity ran through her coat. Jumping in surprise, she turned at the laughter coming from Swift-Pad’s mouth.

“If you were a student of a runemaster, you would have been given your own book and set of lines to copy over and over again,” he told her as he leaned in closer and tapped the stone in her hoof. “You did not complete the curve here; you see?” Twilight frowned, leaning in, but she could not see what he was talking about. Swift-Pad then reached to the side and pulled out his other pair of glasses. “Here, put these on.”

Twilight did as he instructed, the lenses automatically fixing themselves to fit her eye prescription, and stared at the stone. Swift-Pad then tapped a few of the extra lenses down over the front of the glasses. Blinking as her eyes readjusted, Twilight could see a fragment of unchipped stone, a hairbreadth’s distance from the two points.

“That’s it?” she asked in surprise. “That little bit?”

“The smallest act can set off a chain reaction that topples an entire mountain,” Swift-Pad replied. “Or in this case, the slightest error can result in failure. But sometimes, you learn more from failure than from success. And in this case, you have learned to be more careful with your work.”

Twilight nodded. “I understand,” she said carefully. “And… I guess it’s a good thing you told me this now and not when I was still a unicorn, because I probably would have reacted so poorly that it would have ruined relations between our lands for decades.”

Swift-Pad looked at her curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Back when the Crystal Empire first returned, I… I had to help save it,” she said. “Part of it involved getting through one of King Sombra’s traps. He’d made it so anyone who went through a certain door had to face up to their worst fear. I overcame mine… I was afraid of failure, and of disappointing Princess Celestia. And even before that, there was an incident where I thought I was failing her and wound up panicking so badly over what would happen that it… well, it didn’t go well. But with the help of my friends, and of Spike, I made it past both incidents. And I realized that I didn’t have to be afraid of failing.” She quirked her head. “Or at least, to not let that fear control me.”

“Then you have gained much wisdom,” Swift-Pad told her. “It sounds to me like you have already learned from that first perceived failure, and from facing your fear of it later on.”

Twilight smiled at him gratefully.

Then she handed the carving tool back to him, wincing. “Ow…”

“Splinter in your frog?” Swift-Pad asked.

“Yes, actually,” Twilight told him, turning her hoof up to study it carefully, and then lit up her horn to grasp the splinter and pull it out, setting it aside on the table.

Swift-Pad nodded as she did this. “I have that problem too occasionally, with my paws,” he told her, wiggling his paw. “Most of us do it if we aren’t careful.”

Twilight pressed her hoof against the floor, and was relieved when she felt no pain this time. “I can understand,” she said. “Splinters in the undersides of our hooves aren’t something that happens that often with us, but it’s known enough that I’ve learned how to handle it if it does.”

She then stared at his paw, and her eyes lit up. With an excited look on her face, Twilight drew herself together with her horn glowing. She seemed about to cast a spell when she caught herself. “Excuse me a moment, Swift-Pad, I will be right back.” With that Twilight had teleported away, leaving Swift-Pad and Spike staring at each other in confusion.

Spike let out a sigh, shaking his head. “I don’t know what she’s doing and I’ve learned not to ask anymore.”

“That seems… prudent, considering what we have heard about Ponyville.” Swift-Pad gazed down at the young dragon, and looked like he was about to say something more, when there was suddenly a loud pop and Twilight was back in the room.

“So-Pardon me for that,” Twilight said, a hoof scraping against the floor. “I needed to take care of something.” She flashed Spike a smile. “How soon is it until supper is ready?”

“It’s ready now Twilight,” Spike said, waving them to the kitchen, “I made a mixed salad with fish.”

Twilight blinked in surprise that Spike had made fish, but she kept her mouth shut as Swift-Pad seemed to believe that this was planned as he said, “That sounds wonderful and if you will excuse me for a minute or two, I will be joining you back down here as soon as possible.” Swift-Pad eye’s had darted to the window, the night sky already beginning to show.

“Why, where are you going?” Twilight asked.

“As to what we were talking about before, this is something important to my faith,” he said as he began to climb her stairs. “If you wish, you may join me.”

Twilight did not need more than that to follow him up to her balcony wthi Swift-Pad leaping through her tree's branches to the very summit of her library. When she reached the spot, she saw Swift-Pad standing still for a moment, staring at the moon before he threw his head back in a howl.

It was a loud, powerful noise that startled her, by how much depth he put into it, the sense of longing he put into it. He then threw his head back again for another howl and Twilight thought she could hear an echo, or a reply, to it. Then, as Swift-Pad dug his claws into the tree branch and let out an even louder and more resounding howl, Twilight felt a bit odd, as if she was suddenly trespassing into something private and she should look away.

WIth a thud, Swift-Pad landed down next to her with a soft smile on her face and tilted his head down at her. “Thank you,” he said honestly.

“It is no problem, Swift-Pad,” she told him. She waited a few seconds before she asked the obvious. “What did those mean or is that one of those improper questions?”

“Those howls are our way to pay respect to the moon,” Swift-Pad replied. “The first is to welcome the moon as it rises into the night sky, while the second is to call out to our packs and those not of our packs to share the new night, and the last one is to share our love and devotion to her Grand Grace, Luna.”

Twilight licked her lips, uncertain in how she should respond to that but the answer came to her just as quickly. She had asked a question and she had got an answer; that was the best she could do. “Thank you for sharing this with me, Swift-Pad.”

“It was my pleasure, Twilight,” Swift-Pad said. “Shall we go eat?”

Twilight nodded, and the two headed down.

Chapter Nine

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Twilight let Swift-Pad lead the way down the stairs, and as the wolf padded ahead of her, she hoped what she had asked for would arrive soon - she had never given Rarity any real room to worry about something important like this before.

They both moved into the private dining room where Spike had used the fine china she wasn’t even aware she owned to serve dinner, with the fish salad smelling wonderful. If Spike was a pony, Twilight was sure he would have got his cutie mark in cooking if not for the multiple other things that he did so flawlessly.

“Thank you, young one,” Swift-Pad said before she could, the dragon beaming with pride. “Supper smells wonderful.”

“It’s nothing really,” Spike said although he beamed with pride at the words.

“Spike, remind me to set you up for some lessons in the future because as good as you already are, I cannot begin to imagine how much better you will be once you have more proper teaching,” Twilight said with complete honesty to her number one assistant.

“Twilight,” Spike blushed at her words, looking off to the side. “Come on, let’s eat, okay?”

“Yes, let us,” Swift-Pad said as he picked up the fork next to his plate with some difficulty that Twilight caught almost immediately. He was clearly well used to it but it wasn’t his normal manner of eating and Twilight was briefly wondering how he normally ate before she realized he was giving her a look that told her she hadn’t started eating yet and had been staring at him. “Is everything okay?” he asked her, with a look of concern on his face.

“Yes, just… a little lost in thought there for a moment,” Twilight said with a blush. “I do that from time to time.”

“Understandable from one as educated and intellectually curious as you,” Swift-Pad said with a casual nod of his head that still made Twilight smile. He then gave a nod to Spike as he continued to eat his meal. Twilight mimicked what he did and she had to admit, Spike had really outdone himself tonight.

They fell into a quiet dinner, making small talk with each other as Twilight kept an eye on the door, wondering when she would get here as she knew she was highly skilled-

Knock knock

Smiling to herself as she rose from the table, she quickly went to the front door to see exactly who she was waiting for.

Thanking her friend, she took the box back into the dining room where Swift-Pad’s look of confusion quickly changed into honest surprise. “Oh Twilight, I cannot-”

“I insist,” she said placing the gift in front of him. “After what you gave me, it is the right thing to do.” He was about to protest again when she pressed onwards. “As my new friend, please take this.”

That seemed to do the trick; the wolf accepted the package from her, elegantly wrapped of course, and gave it an appraising look. He began to unwrap it with care and let out a soft gasp as he saw what was inside.

“This is… this is too much,” he said with awe and even more surprise in his voice. He lifted the gloves out of the box and ran his paw over the velvet fabric, lined with small strands of silver that seemed to be like the night sky. It was a more than appropriate guess that it was the intent due to the single gem infused in the center of each glove; a gem that seemingly reflected the face of the moon outside. “I do not know what to say, Twilight.” His voice caught as he was genuinely taken back by the thought behind this gift.

“You don’t need to say anything,” Twilight told him with a smile. “I knew that you had some issues using your tools and Rarity and I took a guess that you would value the moon greatly, so that was the idea I suggested to her. The fact you like it so much is enough.”

“I will honour this gift always,” he told her solemnly, placing them on his paws and letting out a low mur of contentedness at how well they felt. “And I will definitely thank Rarity for making it. I am certain that other rune wolves such will be eager to commision her for such gloves once they see them.”

Twilight knew that Rarity would be overjoyed to hear his thanks, but even more so that he would be spreading word of her abilities to his fellow wolves.

“Perhaps you could thank her tomorrow morning before we leave for Canterlot?” she offered to Swift-Pad. “I’m not sure of the exact schedule, but we should have enough time to drop by for at least a few minutes.”

“There should be more than enough time for it,” Swift-Pad said with determination. “The train will not go until I am aboard.”

Twilight blinked in surprise but said nothing to it, filing away the information. Instead she tilted her head back to the table so they could sit down and continue their supper. They had a busy morning tomorrow after all, and they would need to get to sleep as soon as possible.

Some time later though, Twilight found herself lost in thought as she lay in her bed. Despite knowing they had an early morning, Swift-Pad had accepted a light dessert of tea and simple cookies that Spike had prepared in advance, and Twilight had found herself practicing creating the light rune on sheets of paper for half an hour afterward before Swift-Pad indicated she could try and use a stone again.

Twilight had taken the tools in her hooves and begun to try and recreate the rune on the stones the wolf had provided her. Despite her practices with the paper, however, she’d found herself being jolted every single time. Swift-Pad had given her a few pointers how to better hold the tools and informed her it was fine for her to use her magic, both for holding them and to power his specialized glasses to inspect the stone if the rune was complete or not.

Finally, after nearly twenty minutes of work, she had managed to create a rune that didn’t shock her and instead emitted a purple light that was a match to her own magic.

Swift-Pad had praised her for doing it and told her her next task as practitioner of rune magic would be replicating the rune until she managed to do so without too many failed attempts. It would have to wait until tomorrow though as it was getting late and they all needed to get their rest.

At that, they had all departed for their rooms for the night, with Twilight taking her working runestone with her. Even now, she could feel the magic stored within it and she found it was a simple enough mental outwards reach to activate and deactivate it, as like any other low level spell. As she drifted off, she smiled at this new school of magic that she had just started on.

Twilight shook her head as she reached for the alarm clock that was going off, struggling to wake herself up. She could hear Spike’s grumbling as he waddled across the room, heading downstairs to make breakfast for them. When she’d caught up with him, she found Swift-Pad at the bottom of the stairs, letting out a wide yawn before making his way into the kitchen.

“Hold up, hold up, I’ll make the coffee,” Spike grumbled as he hurried after the wolf, who backed out of his way with a bemused look on his face.

“Brave dragon to chase out a wolf before he has had a chance to eat,” Swift-Pad muttered as he licked his lips and shook himself fully awake.

“Spike’s pretty brave when he wants to be,” Twilight said with a yawn of her own. “I’ve seen him stand up to a pack of teenaged dragons who were… well, unpleasant enough that I really, really hope they weren’t representative of what most dragons are like.”

“As with all youths, they are headstrong and poor thinkers,” Swift-Pad shook his head as he blinked. “Full of the belief that nothing can harm them and they can do anything. One would hope that they learn better with age and experience.”

Twilight nodded. “I certainly hope so, given what they wanted Spike to do to ‘prove himself a real dragon’.” Her face turned sour at the memory.

“Might I ask?” Swift-Pad said cautiously.

“They were trying to get him to smash a defenseless phoenix egg.”

The wolf diplomat’s hackles immediately stood on end. “They did… what?” he growled. “That is one of the most abhorrent things I have ever heard in my life!”

Twilight nodded. “Spike refused to do it though, and afterward we took the egg back home for safekeeping since its parents had run off. He and I eventually found a new phoenix family to raise the little guy after he hatched though.”

“Then all ended well,” Swift-Pad said as he calmed himself. “Still, that they would have asked him to do such a thing in the first place… had Dragon Lord Torch discovered them acting in that manner, he would have punished them severely.”

“Dragon Lord?” Twilight asked.

Swift-Pad nodded. “The wolf packs don’t often deal with the dragons, but we have met with their leadership on occasion. The Dragon Lord is the ruler, and he is a reasonable if not traditionalist leader.” He then tilted his head to one side. “Do you happen to remember their names?”

“The main one was Garble,” Twilight said. “There were some others, but it’s been a long time, during the last big dragon migration before my brother’s wedding. I don’t know if they ever said their names.”

“In any case, I will pass this along to my counterparts in the Dragon Lands; at the very least this Garble and his cronies will now face some punishment for trying to harm an endangered animal.”

Twilight smiled at that. “Good.”

“Coffee’s ready,” Spike broke in as he stuck his head out. “And I’ve got breakfast cooking.”

“Thank you, Spike,” Swift-Pad said as he and Twilight headed for the table and their much-needed caffeine.

“Have you, by chance, encountered other older dragons besides these teenage ones?” he asked, once he’d taken his first drink.

Twilight nodded. “Two of them. The first had started a hundred-year-nap in a mountain near Ponyville, and we had to get him to move along because his smoke was causing a great deal of trouble for all of Equestria. Fluttershy was the one who finally convinced him to go, after she… well, scolded him for his behavior. The other one was living in the Everfree, and I admit he had a genuine problem with us - Spike didn’t realize his hoard belonged to someone and was… well…”

“I had a little snack,” Spike broke in from where he was cooking. “I was lost, tired and hungry, and I didn’t know any better then. It was a mistake, I admit it.”

“That is something a lot of adults have great difficulty in doing, admitting your faults,” Swift-Pad said as he fixed his glasses.

“Yeah.” Spike focused on his cooking for a moment before he continued. “I’ve learned a lot since we came here. It’s been a trial-and-error thing, of course, and it didn’t help that not many ponies know a lot about dragons. Hay, I didn’t find out we grew from hoarding until it happened to me.”

Swift-Pad turned to him in surprise. “You have experienced Greed Growth?”

“Yeah, and I about lost my mind from it because I didn’t realize what it was doing to me,” Spike said with a grumble. “Good thing Rarity was able to bring me back to my senses.”

“It is indeed,” Swift-Pad said. “One thing my people have learned is that the greed-induced growth spurt you experienced is not the same as a dragon’s natural growth. While some do induce it willingly, they typically wait to do so after they have undergone their natural transition into a more mature state, and have better control of themselves.”

“Really?” Spike looked at him in surprise before turning back to the stove and taking up the food. “That’s a relief to know. What else can you tell me about dragon maturity?”

Swift-Pad accepted the plate from him before continuing. “In time, you will enter a biological state that dragons refer to as ‘the molt’, which will last a day or so and end in your undergoing a metamorphosis into a slightly larger form. During this metamorphosis, you will develop your wings, and your fire will increase in strength and intensity. However, you must also take care during this time, as the scent of a molting dragon attracts roc birds, and you will have little ability to defend yourself until the process is complete.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Spike said as he settled into his own seat. “Thank you, Swift-Pad.”

“You are welcome, young one,” Swift-Pad replied.

“...once that happens, you will be staying indoors,” Twilight said before taking another bite. “I’ve heard of rocs, and they’re very dangerous. And…” Her tone softened. “And I don’t want to lose you to one, or to any other predator.”

Spike blushed. “Ah, Twilight…”

“You’re more than my number one assistant, Spike,” Twilight said. “You’re a part of my family.”

Spike blushed again before turning back to his food, clearly uncertain as to how to reply. The silence began to stretch to slightly awkward levels when Swift-Pad coughed and brought their attention back to him. “In any case, Lady Twilight, I believe we should go over today’s agenda,” he said with his voice becoming firmer. “We will be attending to the school for roughly thirty minutes, and afterward leaving directly for Canterlot so that I may meet with her Graces Celestia and her Grand Grace Luna to conclude the ratification of our diplomatic trade arrangements.”

“Thank you for informing me,” Twilight replied. “I was unaware that you had plans to visit the Ponyville schoolhouse.”

Swift-Pad nodded. “I have met a few of the young ones already when I was at your friend Applejack’s home yesterday, and I believe they are quite looking forward to meeting me again.”

“You met Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, that was them,” Swift-Pad replied. “I am not surprised that you guessed, seeing as they are the sisters of two of your friends and Scootaloo is quite close to a third.”

Twilight nodded her head, though slightly disturbed in how well he knew about their family connections. “That’s correct,” she said with Swift-Pad giving her a knowing look. “Is there something wrong, Swift-Pad?” she asked him.

“You are curious to how I know all of this, are you not?” Swift-Pad said.

“I was, kind of,” Twilight admitted.

“In two cases, it was through simple observation,” Swift-Pad replied. “I met Apple Bloom when she was on her way home and we crossed paths, allowing her to lead me to your friend Applejack’s farm. They referred to one another as sisters in my presence. I also saw how your friend Rainbow Dash interacted with Scootaloo, and it was rather clear that the young one idolized her.”

Twilight smiled. “That she does,” she said. “Scootaloo’s been obsessed with Rainbow Dash for as long as I’ve known her.”

“And young Sweetie Belle… while I have not seen her interact with Rarity, the information was included in my folder on your friend. I was given enough information to avoid causing trouble on matters, including identifying some family members of the six of you.” He blinked slowly. “Though I will admit that they do not contain everything on those I was to meet. For instance, your folder informed me that you had a young dragon companion, but not of how the two of you came to be living and working together. Might I ask how this came to be?”

Twilight looked a little disturbed about the mention of information and folders, but shook it off. “How much do you know about the entry exam for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?”

“Only that it involves written tests and demonstration of magical capability,” Swift-Pad said. “I have not been informed of the specifics of these tests.”

“Well, at least some of the tests are…” Twilight took a deep breath. “To hatch a dragon’s egg. I don’t know where they get them from, or how. But I was asked to use my magic on one, despite it being incredibly resistant to magic. I was on the verge of giving up when… well, you remember what I told you about how I was badly startled by something, lost control of my powers and had a magical surge? That was when it happened, and it made the examiners levitate, turned my parents into potted plants, and hatched the egg, turning the dragon inside into a giant.” She sighed. “Luckily, Princess Celestia was able to undo all of that, except for the egg - it stayed hatched, but the dragon inside shrank back to normal size for his age.” She looked over at Spike with a smile. “And I’ve been taking care of him ever since.”

Swift-Pad looked at them both with surprise. “I see.”

Spike coughed. “Yeah, and Twilight’s great… not that I haven’t wondered about where my egg came from, but Princess Celestia hasn’t told either of us yet. I’ve always kind of figured she found it somewhere and took it to keep it safe because the dragons who laid it were… well, gone.” He looked down a bit, but then turned back to Twilight, his face lightening as he did.

“I will have to ask Princess Celestia next time we meet,” Twilight said, tapping her fork against the plate. “In any case, I think we should get going to the schoolhouse if we want to be on time to go to Canterlot.”

“That is an excellent point, Lady Sparkle.” Swift-Pad rose from his seat. “Shall we be off then?”

It didn’t take the three of them long to reach the school, and to introduce Swift-Pad to Cheerilee, who had already been informed about him when Celestia was there yesterday. He bowed politely to her, and was surprised when she bowed back. “It’s an honor to meet you in person, rather from a distance,” she said.

Swift-Pad looked a little confused. “You have seen me before?”

“I was out shopping while you were exploring the town yesterday,” she explained. “I saw your little meeting with Fluttershy.”

“Ah.” Swift-Pad nodded. “Yes, our interaction was a pleasant surprise.”

“Quite.” Cheerilee smiled. “The students should be here soon, and I feel I must inform you that a few of them are… excitable individuals.”

“As are most pups when they are introduced to something new and exotic,” Swift-Pad agreed. “In fact, I suspect I have met the ones you speak of - the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’?”

“Yes,” Cheerilee agreed with a sigh of relief. “They’re good kids, just exuberant.” Then she looked disturbed. “There are also… well, I hate to speak ill of anypony, but at least one of my students has a tendency to be rather unpleasant to most others, and while I would never speak out against friendship, I regret to say that one of her classmates is very close to her and tends to follow her lead in that way most of the time.” She frowned. “I hope that you will not hold their poor behavior against the rest of us.”

“I have encountered many who have a poor view of those who are different from them,” Swift-Pad replied. “So long as they confine themselves to words only, so shall I.”

“And if they don’t?” Cheerilee asked nervously

“Then I shall have words with their parents about their behavior,” Swift-Pad replied with a wide grin that showed off his sharp teeth.

“It may not do you a lot of good,” Cheerilee said with a sigh. “One of their parents happens to be head of the school board, and is the reason her daughter gets away with so much. Fortunately, her father is far more reasonable, and I would recommend speaking to him rather than his wife.”

“I thank you for your information; it is always a good day when I can rely on words instead of my appearance, that is what diplomacy is all about, after all.” Swift-Pad gave her a more restrained smile.

“We all enjoy when people can use their words instead of resorting to other means,” Cheerilee said with a sigh. “It would make things so much easier if certain students didn’t resort to… more physical ways of settling disagreements.” She looked uncomfortable at the thought. “I do my best to intervene before it gets that bad, but I can’t be everywhere at once.”

“As is the case with any parental figure that has to look over a lot of young ones; I do know that I was young once and was not the most…. forward thinking pup,” he let out a chuckle that Cheerilee shared. “But in any case, I think we have spent enough time outside.”

“Of course, of course.” Swift-Pad nodded and followed her in, with Twilight and Spike right behind him. The four walked into the room to find all the students already in their seats, and headed to the front.

When they were in position. Cheerilee raised a hoof. “Now everypony, I would like to introduce mister Swift-Pad of the High-Leap Pack,” she said as she stood next to the wolf. “He’s come from the Packlands to Equestria for an important diplomatic meeting with the Princesses, and has also agreed to meet with us here.”

Looking around the room at the assorted students, Swift-Pad observed them one by one. He recognized Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, of course, the three all smiling widely and clearly happy to see him. Other students were looking in awe, a few seemed rather calm in their seats, one with a recognizably zen look in his eyes, and at least one was doing her best to hide an expression of sheer terror. Her fur was standing bolt-upright, though, and he could see the slight trembles in her legs.

Only one is a good sign, he thought to himself as he settled himself into a much more relaxed stance. “Hello young ones,” he said, keeping himself lower to the ground as not to loom over them and trigger any prey instincts in them. “As your teacher said, my name is Swift-Pad. While I am here, I thought it would be best if I were to pay a visit and let you get to know more of me and my people. Please,” he gave a smile that wasn’t too wide and hid his teeth. “If you have any questions, I would be most interested in hearing them.”

The colt with the zen look raised a hoof, and when Swift-Pad nodded in his direction, he began to speak. “Are your people related to the old Dire Wolves?”

Swift-Pad blinked in surprise. “To whom?”

“The Dire Wolves,” the colt said. “My folks told me this old legend once, ‘bout how when the old tribes left their homes and came to Equestria, these huge Dire Wolves moved in behind them to protect that land until the day the ponies returned. ’s not a common story, but there are a few of us who believe.”

“Ah.” Swift-Pad nodded. “And you are?”

“Snails.” The colt blinked slowly. “Short for Snailsquirm.”

“Well, Mr. Snails, I must admit I am not familiar with the legend you speak of, but it sounds like an interesting one that I shall have to look into when I have the opportunity.” Swift-Pad looked at him carefully. “Furthermore, the Packlands are in a different direction from where the pony tribes once migrated from.”

Snails shrugged. “It was worth asking when I had the chance.”

“Quite, young one.” Swift-Pad looked around. “Anypony else?”

A young colt that had a similar look on his face to the other colt raised his hoof and asked, “Do you eat animals Swift-Pad?”

Swift-Pad couldn’t help but wince at his bluntness. “We are meat-eaters,” he admitted rather quickly to quell the damage. “But only non-sapient creatures, such as fish.” He left out the hunts the packs did yearly as they wouldn’t understand. Despite his words, he couldn’t help but notice that the scared pink filly was looking even more nervous.

“Mister Swift-Pad?” Apple Bloom asked while raising her hoof. “How did you get your name?”

Swift-Pad smiled at this. “In the Packlands, it is tradition that one gains their name based on an attribute that best suits them. The elders of my pack observed that I was able to move swiftly on my pads when most of my littermates were still fumbling about, and so named me for this ability.” He then chuckled. “Most try to gain a favourable name but they are not always lucky. There is a rather large wolf back home, the size of your brother. He is one of more solid members of my pack and on the front line when there are issues with other packs.” He chuckled a bit more, drawing the students into his story. “He was named due to the sound he made when he was a pup and was being groomed by the elder watching over us at the time, and he would love nothing better than to forget the story of how he got it… but it’s hard to do so when your name is Giggle-Snort.”

There was a round of loud chuckles at that, and even the nervous filly cracked a smile. So did Cheerilee, though she was trying to hide it behind her hoof.

When the students had calmed down, one of the smaller fillies in the room raised a hoof, and Swift-Pad gestured to her. “And you are?”

The filly smiled brightly. “I’m Dinky!”

Observing her closely, Swift-Pad smiled back. “Yes, yes you are.”

There was another round of giggles before she could speak. “Mr. Swift-Pad? Do you like muffins?”

“Well, I’ve never met one I had any trouble with,” Swift-Pad said, and Dinky giggled.

After that, the entire atmosphere was relaxed and the rest of the students were more at ease asking him simple questions. Some were easy, such as did he have any siblings, which was that he had litter-mates as the equivalent to siblings. Others were a bit more difficult to answer, such as the filly who asked if there was any special someone back home for him. That question he danced around with all the skill his training gave him, and he could practically feel Twilight’s eyes on his back as he did so. Inwardly, he couldn’t help but be relieved it was her who was present and not her Grace Mi Amore Cadenza, due to what he knew of her special talent. She would be able to get an answer from him in no time, and he really wasn’t ready to give that information to anyone.

For that matter, he still wasn’t sure of what he felt himself, and he was not about to bring others into the matter until he had personally resolved it to his satisfaction.

Finally, Cheerilee announced that time was up, and while there was a chorus of groans, she turned to Swift-Pad. “Thank you so much for your time, sir.”

“It was no problem at all, miss Cheerilee,” Swift-Pad said as he rose, and raised a paw. “Thank you all for giving me your time, young ones, and I hope you enjoy your day.”

With that, he, Twilight and Spike headed outside, and his ear twitched as he heard Cheerilee announcing it was time for recess now and the students all getting up from their seats to head for the schoolyard.

As the three crossed the grounds themselves, Swift-Pad heard a set of hooves rushing up from behind him, and he turned to see the pink filly who’d been so nervous coming to a halt. “Yes?” he asked.

The filly was still looking a little wary, but she was also clearly trying to calm herself. “Excuse me, Mr. Swift-Pad? Can I ask you a question?”

“I believe you just did, but you may ask another,” Swift-Pad said, an amused tone in his voice.

“Thank you.” The filly looked shyly at him. “I was wondering-”

“Diamond Dazzle Tiara!” a loud voice suddenly interjected, and the filly’s eyes widened. In an instant, Swift-Pad spun around to see a thoroughly unpleasant-looking mare, her coat a darker shade of pink and her mane a two-toned purplish shade. Her snout was curled upward, and she had a dark look in her eyes. “What do you think you’re doing? Get away from that animal this instant!”

Swift-Pad’s own expression darkened, and he moved himself into a protective position between the filly and the mare. “And you are?” he called out.

“None of your business,” the mare retorted. “Now get away from her before I call the Guard on you!”

Swift-Pad did his best to control his temper, but this mare was making it very difficult. He was about to say something more, when someone else spoke up in his place.

“Mrs. Rich.”

Swift-Pad glanced to his side to see Twilight walking forwards, Spike on her back. She did not look happy.

“Did I just hear you threatening the good ambassador?” Twilight continued, her voice firm but clearly angry. “Because if I did, I might have to call the Guard on you.”

“P-Princess Twilight!” The other mare suddenly looked just as nervous as the filly had been. “I… I had no idea you were here!” She glanced at Swift-Pad. “And I had no idea you were keeping such distinguished company, sir.”

“And it shouldn’t matter,” Twilight countered. “Swift-Pad is here on important diplomatic matters, and I expect you to show him respect. For that matter, I would expect you to show respect to any visitor to this town, regardless of why they’re here or whether or not I’m with them. Have I made myself clear?”

“Of-of course,” the other mare stammered. “Absolutely, your highness.”

“Good.” Twilight watched as the other mare turned and hurried off. “That was not something I expected to have to deal with today,” she said as she let out a sigh, the tension visibly flowing from her.

“Indeed,” Swift-Pad agreed before turning around to see a look of relief on the young filly’s face. “Are you all right, young lady?”

Diamond Tiara nodded. “Thank you,” she said. “Both of you. I’ve never seen anyone stand up to my mother like that…”

“It was our pleasure,” Swift-Pad reassured her. “In my land, young ones are always to be protected from threats, regardless of blood ties between those involved.”

Diamond smiled at him. “Still, I… I really appreciate it.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “Um, can I still ask what I was going to before?”

“Go right ahead, young one,” Swift-Pad said.

When she had asked and gone off, Twilight and Swift-Pad turned and headed away from the schoolyard, the two and Spike silent for a few minutes. Finally, when they had gotten far enough away, Swift-Pad turned to her. “You handled that very well,” he said.

Twilight’s face flushed. “I just did what I had to,” she said. “I will always stick up for my friends when I can. And...” She looked down. “I know she’s caused trouble for some of her classmates before, but Diamond Tiara was obviously scared when she saw her mother. How could I not help you protect her?”

Swift-Pad chuckled. “Besides that, you handled yourself with poise and dignity,” he said. “In that moment, you truly were as you should be: a Princess of Equestria, who acted with a firm hoof and yet relied on words to get your point across. And you kept one of your subjects safe in doing so.” He looked at her, a firm smile on his face. “Children are one of our greatest treasures, regardless of where they come from, and you stood up for her.”

Twilight smiled back at him. “Thank you, Swift-Pad.”

Then the two headed off toward the train station, Spike still riding on Twilight’s back and looking thoughtful.

Some distance behind them, three little fillies were discussing what they’d seen, and looking toward Diamond Tiara in a new light.

And even further back, Cheerilee had seen the whole confrontation, and had tears of happiness in her eyes. “Oh, Swift-Pad…” she whispered to herself. “Thank you, and Princess Twilight. Thank you both so much.”

She could only hope that this experience would truly affect Diamond Tiara, the very student she’d had to warn the wolf ambassador about, for the better.

Chapter Ten

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As Twilight walked with Swift-Pad to the train station, she could make out some sounds but it didn’t make sense to hear them unless...

“Swift-Pad, are those my friends?” Twilight turned to face the lopsided grinning wolf who dipped his head.

“I was informed that her Grace Celestia had made some arrangements to have your friends join you during your visit in Canterlot as to ease the anxiety,” he said, and Twilight let out a small snort at this decision. One one hoof, she didn’t appreciate Princess Celestia acting like this behind her back but on the other hoof, she deeply appreciated it as she could see herself becoming stressed which wouldn’t help anypony.

“I will have to thank her for this,” Twilight said as they climbed onto the train platform and went to greet her friends. “Hi girls!”

“Hi Twilight,” they said in unison before they greeted Spike and Swift-Pad just as warmly.

“How is everyone doing today?” Swift-Pad asked them.

“Ah’m fine sugarcube,” Applejack said. Next to her, Pinkie Pie giggled out her own cheerful response, and Fluttershy nodded before she began letting out little growls at him, which Swift-Pad happily acknowledged with his own.

When they’d finished speaking, Rainbow Dash let out a happy sigh. “I’m always up for a free trip to Canterlot,” she said. Next to her, Rarity gave the prismatic pegasus an exasperated look.

“As for me, I am doing quite well, thank you,” she said.

“Ah, Rarity,” Swift-Pad, turing to face her. “I must thank you for your gift last night.”

“It was nothing, dear,” Rarity said, brushing away the compliment.

“What is he talking about, Rares?” Rainbow Dash asked with a frown as they took their seats.

“Yesterday, I went to Rarity to commission a pair of gloves to help improve his dexterity when he was crafting his runes,” Twilight explained. “She delivered them to us last night while we were having dinner.”

Applejack nodded. “Like those runes you had on that kept Rainbow Dash from knockin’ you six ways from Saturday?” She tilted her head. “Ah didn’t know you made those yourself.”

“It is the way of all Rune Wolves,” Swift-Pad replied. “Very rarely do we ever use a rune that was originally crafted by another, and then only if there is no other option at the time.” He tapped a spot on his saddlebags. “For instance, the runes on this are set to expand the dimensions within the bag as well as set the temperature within. The combination is beyond my own current skill level, so I went to a much more experienced Rune Master to have it crafted.”

“Can’t ya just copy the runes on the bag and learn them yourself?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Copying the form of a rune is one thing,” Swift-Pad replied. “But we must infuse our runes with magic as we are carving them, and the more complex the rune’s shape is, the harder it is to infuse it during the carving process. Also, the Rune Master who created this set hid most of the more complex ones under this common one, so I cannot see what they all look like without disrupting the entire rune spell and I do not want to explain to him how I unwittingly undid all of his hard work.” He gave a weak chuckle as he tried to keep his balance on his seat.

“Gotcha,” Rainbow Dash said, sitting back.

“Twilight herself has started the practice, with some work with the light rune,” Swift-Pad added with all attention back onto her.

“Really Twilight?” Rarity turned to face her.

“Yes and it’s really hard,” Twilight said with a nervous laugh. “I got shocked a lot last night.”

“Care to explain that sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Well it takes a lot of work to make a correct rune and and when you mess up it kind of zaps you,” Twilight said.

“Oh my,” Rarity said. “That sounds terrible!”

“It wasn't that painful,” Twilight said. “Really, it’s not!” she quickly added at her friend’s disbelieving look. “I’ve had worse shocks from the static that built up after I was walking on a wool carpet.” She then turned to Swift-Pad who had a clear look of discomfort on his face. “Are you all right?”

“I do not have the best balance on trains, to be honest, Lady Twilight,” he said with a growl as he shifted on the seat. “I do prefer walking for a reason.”

“That’s understandable,” Spike said. “It’s hard for me to walk all the time so it’s easier for me to ride on Twilight's back.”

“That, and you have to take more steps to go the same distance that I do,” Twilight reminded him. “I don’t mind though. There were times I had to do the same thing when I was young.”

Spike smiled gratefully up at her.

“Quite,” Swift-Pad contributed, having settled himself against the window. “Our young ones can have the same issue back home. It is why patience is a required trait for those who are to escort them around.”

There was a round of nods from the others in response, and then a moment or two of silence.

“So Swift-Pad,” Rarity finally asked the wolf. “Have you been to Canterlot before?”

“A few times, though this is the first time I have taken a direct train ride,” he said, shifting his body as he struggled to keep his balance again as the train shifted ever so slightly. “It tends to have more… chances for incidents to occur.”

“What do you mean,” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“There are organizations that tend to view those that are not ponies to be a dangerous threat that needs to driven out,” he said with a well hidden snarl that she almost missed.

“You mean those PVE idiots?” Rainbow Dash snorted. “Buck them.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight turned to look at her friend in shock.

“Dashie’s got a point about those meanies,” Pinkie spoke up. “They’re all kinds of jerks who like to make non-ponies look bad. I’d never throw them a party.”

Twilight could barely process that there were ponies whom her party loving friend would actually refuse to throw one for. “Just who… and what is this PVE group, anyway?”

“Pony Vegan Environmentalists,” Applejack spoke up. “We had a couple of ‘em varmints drop by the farm a while back when they heard ma little sis was hanging around with a zebra. Granny gave ‘em what-for and told ‘em never to come back.”

“Ah,” Swift-Pad nodded. “This would be the Zecora your sister mentioned when she and I first met yesterday?”

“Exactly,” Applejack said firmly. “They’re a bunch of pony-supremacists,” she explained to Twilight. “Say that ponies should just be for ponies, and that all the others should just go away and stop existin’. An’ they send out their pamphlets and things in the mail to try an’ make everypony else think their way.”

Twilight looked at her in shock. “How can anypony… that’s disgusting!”

Applejack shrugged. “Scary thing is, some ponies actually listen to ‘em.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash added. “None of us take ‘em seriously though. Only reason I ever keep some of their pamphlets is to use ‘em for chimney starters.”

There were a lot of odd looks at that, and she shrugged. “What? I need something to prime the charcoal with when I’m grilling carrots or hayburgers.”

“I didn’t know you even had a grill,” Twilight said.

“I’m a mare of many talents,” Rainbow Dash said lightly as she put her front legs behind her head. “Dad actually taught me how to do a lot of that stuff back in the day, so I like to get it out every once in a while.”

“Entertaining as this digression into Rainbow Dash’s cooking ability has been, I think we have gotten off the point,” Rarity said. “Twilight, darling, have you really never heard of that horrific hate-group?”

Twilight shook her head. “I knew there were ponies who didn’t like non-ponies, but I had no idea they were that organized. And whenever I did hear somepony being nasty about it, I usually just avoided them so as not to cause a scene.”

“Well as a leader, you will need to keep an open ear and eye to the world around you to see how things are,” Swift-Pad opined.

Twilight stared at him and shifted in her seat before she finally spoke. “Swift-Pad, what do other people think of Equestria?”

The question seemed to catch Swift-Pad off guard with the wolf suddenly looking away from her. “That is a delicate question, Lady Twilight,” he said, shifting uncomfortably. “Perhaps it would best wait until her Grace Celestia-”

“Please, Swift-Pad,” Twilight interrupted him. “You alone have an outside viewpoint and as your student and friend, it would help me learn more about my duties.”

He let out a sigh before he turned to face her. “If you wish to know, Equestria is viewed as… an unintentional bully.”

“I’m so-I beg your pardon but I am very confused to how that is the case,” Twilight said, catching her slip in time but still very surprised by his statement.

“Well to start off with, what is the one resource that you Equestrians hold a monopoly on that the rest of the world cannot do without?” he asked her while turning his face to the window.

Twilight turned to look where he was staring and, as her eyes drifted to Celestia’s sun, she gasped.

“You’re talking about Princess Celestia withholding the sun?” she asked in shock. “She’s never done that or would.”

“And the moon before her Grand Grace Luna appeared,” Swift-Pad tipped his head. “And while it is true there are no records of Grace Celestia withholding the day and night from any nation, the fact that she could is always present in the back of the head of every diplomat and every deal done with Equestria,” he added. “How can any nation hope to survive if they suddenly find themselves without the light of the day or night sustaining their lands because of a slight against Equestria?” He then let out a sigh, moving upright. “In addition, most of the world views ponies as being very... bombastic about their nation’s ideals and views towards others regardless of situation,” he said before giving her a steady look. “You know of the region you call Appolose, right?”

“Appleloosa,” Applejack corrected. “And if’n yer talkin’ about the dispute we had with the buffalo, we settled that matter a long time back.”

“It shouldn’t have been a matter in the first place,” he huffed at her. “That region was for years their sacred stampeding grounds, and ponies simply moved in and claimed it.”

“Because they didn’t know it was already taken,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “And I told them they should have moved those trees out of the way once they found out.”

“That first part is a lie,” he snapped before turning to face Twilight. “Twilight, I do believe if you consult any world map made outside Equestria, you would have seen that region was never part of your soil until these ponies tried to claim it. And to claim such land, you would have needed to see if anyone else owned it which can be done by checking with the International Border Organization. If this were any other nation invading another, you would have seen numerous groups demanding their exit for this illegal settlization. As this was Equestria, the rest of the world was hesitant to get involved and I suppose your actions helped de-escalate the situation to where the buffalos share their land with those settlers.”

He then turned to face Rainbow Dash. “That was just a minor example of Equestria bullying its way in and doing what it wishes; you’re aware of why the other nations are so hesitant to do anything, right?”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “The griffons,” she muttered with Swift-Pad nodding his head.

“What do you mean by the griffons?” Twilight asked, feeling the need to calm herself down at hearing his allegations.

“Around a hundred and fifty years ago, there was a young griffon king by the name John that was being tutored in Equestria,” Swift-Pad said. “He was enamored by the Equestrian culture so much that he wanted to fix his own nations’ wrongs to match that of Equestria. Back then, it was somewhat acceptable for nations to conduct raids onto others; every nation did it, even Equestria despite her Grace Celestia’s continuous speeches to bring it to an end.” He gave them a sideways glance. “So this young king decided, over the screams of his advisers and her Grace Celestia’s own words, to sign an international agreement to bring raids to an end.” He let out a sigh and tapped the bench. “The bill was good in theory but he didn’t read past the first pages and missed how the restitutions would be handled.”

“What do you mean,” Twilight asked, leaning in closer.

“Every nation would be required to fine those who had participated in the raids and have the items they stole returned,” he said. “For most nations, this wasn’t an issue as they had not taken much and it was very easy to repay and return what was taken. For the griffons, however, this is where the issues began. They were a nation that had raiding as a cultural aspect of their society; it was a rite of passage into adulthood and how many former great griffon families rose to power. This money was tied deeply within their economy and before this bill had been passed, the griffon Eagle was the global currency and not the Equestrian bit. After this bill had been passed, all of the money that had any remote ties to being retrieved through raids overseas was frozen. This crippled their economy overnight and made countless families unable to even buy a loaf of bread as their bank accounts were being examined to see what parts were product of the raids and which were legitimate by the international debt assessment corp that was set up to deal with the griffon's finances as it was fairly substantial.”

“How much was it in the end?” Twilight asked, dreading the answer.

“I never said that they were finished,” Swift-Pad said coldly. “They are still going over the paperwork to this day despite countless demands from both the griffon government and her Grace Celestia to move faster. Every attempt to have specialists take over has been vetoed by other nations with grudges against the griffons.” He gave her another look. “The damage done to the griffons is immense. Their currency has been inflated to the point where dirt on the ground is worth more than their highest domination, most griffon citizens have crippling debt due to interest over the years and if or when they are finally allowed to use their bank accounts again, nearly all of them will be driven even further into bankruptcy as they will be forced to repay those whom their ancestors stole from. All because of this one griffon who was enthralled with Equestrian values, this nation was completely and utterly devastated, and is still reeling from this sole decision.” He huffed again and rested his head on his paws. “While her Grace took actions to prevent this from happening, many people are still uncertain if this was a deliberate act or not from her government to ensure Equestria will eclipse the former griffon kingdom. Regardless, once the damage was seen every nation changed to protect themselves. Diamond Dogs took to wearing collars to make themselves appear less threatening and wild, the minotaurs began sharing details in how to create their airships, the Saddle Arabians sharing their once private sword martial arts and we…” he trailed off with his ears flattening down. “We announced that we would never eat any creature that had been named; not that we ever did do such an act, but there were always rumours about it and our declaration was made to silence those rumours.”

“Whatever happened to king John?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Oh he suffered a mysterious fatal accident shortly after he signed that bill and his brother Gichard took the throne,” Swift-Pad snorted. “There was never any official investigation into his death and if the stories are true, there were celebrations when he died. But you can see why many other nations have a somewhat distant relationship to Equestria and view your nation as overbearing at times.” His ear flicked and he added, “There is also the fact her Grace Celestia has yet to deal with PVE as she is the sole person that can probably bring a halt to their action.”

“If she tried, she’d probably wind up with a revolt on her hooves,” Spike said with a snort of disgust. “‘Cause the way some of those nobles looked at me when I was living in Canterlot, they probably felt the same way but didn’t want to make it obvious.”

“That is correct, young one,” Swift-Pad said. “And more than likely why she has yet to make an official statement one way or another. If she speaks out against them, then there will be no end of accusations of her abandoning her citizens to side with outsiders and if she speaks for them…”

“Then she’d ruin any chance of ever making friends with any non-ponies in and out of Equestria?” Fluttershy said.

“Not only that, but it would put every pony outside of Equestria in danger,” Twilight said with slow horror dawning in her mind and it only grew deeper when Swift-Pad nodded his head in agreement. “She could have spoken out against them, even to say at the very least that she doesn’t approve or something, right?”

“For her, it is too late at this point,” Swift-Pad said. “Too much time has passed for her to act and now, I think, she is simply waiting for them to die off as she has that luxury.”

“...but I’m young enough to say something, right?” Twilight asked with hope in her voice.

“And naïve enough for it to be believable for you to only now learn of them,” Swift-Pad added with a smirk on his face. “And since it is the truth, it will be even more effective if you choose to speak out.”

Twilight just barely kept herself from doing something she knew she’d regret - for the sake of her dignity, if nothing else. “At any rate, I do have some other questions while I’m thinking about things,” she said. “First off… Spike, if ponies were acting like that towards you when we were in Canterlot, why didn’t you ever say anything to me?” The concern in her tone was obvious.

Spike looked up at her, and sighed. “Because it never went any further than dirty looks,” he said. “If they’d ever tried anything more than that, I’d have told you, but there’s no law against just looking at someone that way. Besides, it was mostly nobles who did that, and they look at almost everyone that way.”

“Spike… you’re my special little guy,” Twilight said softly. “I still wish you’d told me when it happened.” Her horn glowing, she levitated him closer and wrapped one leg around him.

Accepting the hug, Spike smiled up at her. “Thanks, Twilight.”

Smiling back at Spike, Twilight then turned to face Swift-Pad, “Secondly, what do you meant I can use my naivety?”

“It is known that you are new to the international stage and that of politics, and thus less aware of the norms and unspoken rules in place,” Swift-Pad said. “You are in the unique position to do what others cannot do as they would believe you did not know better.” Twilight blanched at that but Swift-Pad shook his head. “This is a good thing; there are strict rules and agreements that we all need to dance to and obey lest we send the vast machine that is international relations to the floor in a bed of chaos. You can do what you want without too much ruffled fur as everyone will believe it was you simply doing what you thought was right; another John move as it is known as.”

“Hopefully without somepony whacking you, Twi,” Rainbow Dash added.

Twilight gave her a dirty look before turning back to Swift-Pad. “I just hope I can actually accomplish something this way and not have everything blocked by certain self-centered individuals just because I am less experienced…”

“I do not believe her Grace Celestia would stand for that,” Swift-Pad reassured her. “She may not be as open about it at the time, but in the experience of myself and my fellows, she does tend to place her support behind those whom she approves of, and behind their efforts.”

Twilight smiled gratefully.

Some time later, Twilight could see that they were approaching the Canterlot station when Swift-Pad stood up. “Your Grace, I do believe we should freshen ourselves up before we arrive,” he give her a lopsided smile before looking at Rarity. “I do believe you have her regalia and the tools to aid her?”

“Princess Celestia personally asked me to pack them as we know our dear friend Twilight isn’t too keen on being seen as a princess,” she said with a smile on her face while Twilight simply pouted at that. “Now come along darling, we have some work to do.”

Still grimacing, Twilight followed her into one restroom as Swift-Pad went into another.

“Now while I would normally like to give you a proper princess makeover, I was asked to keep things a bit more simple,” Rarity said with a light smile as she pulled a couple bottles of shampoo out from her bag as well as few different style brushes. She then pushed some of the shampoo out and levitated it over to Twilight’s mane. “This shouldn’t take any time at all, Twilight, if we both act as mature adults.”

Twilight braced herself but nodded her head. “Just as long as you keep away from my eyes.”

“I have dealt with Sweetie covered in sap more than once; I know how to avoid getting shampoo in the eyes,” Rarity tutted as she began to lather Twilight’s mane and coat. Inwardly, Twilight winced a bit, but then calmed herself as she let her friend do what she’d been asked.

It was only a short time later before Twilight left the bathroom, her mane and coat brushed and shining to a respectful degree and her seldom used golden regalia settled onto her head. Twilight couldn’t help but steal a look up at her crown, the object feeling so awkward on her brow. Of course, this was only the second or third time she’d really had need to wear it, since she’d retired her original after the Element of Magic had gone…

“Are you prepared, your Grace?” Swift-Pad’s voice caused her to lift her head. The wolf now had his own coat seemingly well brushed and shining, with several of his runes sticking out from around his neck… which was probably on purpose as he usually had them hidden within his coat.

“Ye-yes I am and I thought we were being more informal with how we talked to each other,” Twilight said with a bit of a frown on her face.

“In private, it is fine for us to address one another by first names, but not in the public eye,” he said walking towards his seat. “It is not only improper but gives the media… improper ideas.” His face blanched at that and it took Twilight a moment to realize what he was saying.

“No offense, but that’s just… wrong,” she said, making a face. “We’re friends, but… well, I’m really not looking for anyone, pony or non-pony, like that right now. I’ve got way too much else to focus on to even start thinking about romance!”

“But weren’t you interested in that one- mmph!” Pinkie’s voice was cut off when Applejack stuck a hoof over her mouth.

“Regardless of what you or I think or feel, those in the news industry will interpret it as something,” Swift-Pad said dryly. “They rather tend to, shall we say, embellish. To make mountains out of molehills, all for the sake of sensationalism and better sales on their stories. There is a reason that the less ethical reporters are thought of as the lowest of the low where I come from.” He gave a disgusted snort before he replaced it with one of his diplomatic neutral faces that Twilight knew was meant to be disarming for ponies.

“So what do I need to do?” Twilight asked as she started to move to her seat only for Rarity to cough loudly and stopped in her tracks.

“Just smile and wave and walk as quickly as you can without running to the carriage waiting for us,” Swift-Pad answered. “The rest of you will be taken care of by the guards and discreetly moved into the castle.” He then flicked his eyes to Twilight. “Just follow my pace, your Grace, and everything will be fine.”

“Thank you, Ambassador Swift-Pad,” Twilight said, tipping her head forwards with the wolf smiling at her choice of words.

Chapter Eleven

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“Relax, your Grace, breathe in and breathe out,” Swift-Pad whispered to her as they stood in front of the train door. “And keep still.”

“I’m trying,” Twilight whispered back, doing her best to stand straighter while performing her breathing techniques to calm her nerves.

“Remember, steady movements and stay by my side,” he continued to whisper to her. “Smile but do not show teeth. It is too unpredictable to do anything wider.”

“I remember,” Twilight whispered back a bit harsher than she intended but tellingly Swift-Pad didn’t apologize which meant he felt he would need to remind her again. She was about to restate that she knew what to do when the train began to slow down and she stiffened.

“You will be fine, Twilight,” Swift-Pad turned to face her. “Just smile and wave, and walk. That’s all you need to do, okay?” He flashed her a smile which actually did help her calm down.

“Thank you, Swift-Pad,” Twilight smiled back before she composed herself again and stared at still-covered train windows. “I think this is it.”

“It is indeed,” Swift-Pad stood up and took a deep breath in. “You can smell them outside.”

Twilight blinked and took a sniff of the air. “I can only smell my shampoo.”

Swift-Pad snorted at this, doing his best to hold it back but failing. “You did that on purpose, did you not?”

“I did nothing of the sort,” Twilight fired back.

“She couldn’t even think of doing this sort of thing,” Rainbow Dash added from the doorway that all her friends were standing in.

“Well it ain’t her thing to do, sugarcube,” Applejack chipped in.

“More like my thing to do,” Pinkie Pie giggled.

“You do your thing the best of anypony,” Fluttershy said with smile on her face.

“And of course, it is good to see you doing this thing,” Rarity added with a slight smirk.

Twilight was exasperated by this but saw that Swift-Pad was barely able to hold himself together at that point. “Are you okay?”

The wolf placed his paw into his mouth, struggling to hold back his laughter as he screwed his eyes shut tightly. He slapped his free paw against the floor as he let out choked yelps of laughter and shook his head. “I was not expecting to see wolf humour here. Thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome,” Fluttershy said over the confusion of everyone else before turning to face them. “Part of their humour relies on quick back and forth and they enjoy building it up until somewolf fumbles up and then they all laugh.”

“Once again, you prove yourself quite knowledgeable in regard to my people’s way of life, miss Fluttershy,” Swift-Pad said. “That is exactly right.” He then shook his head and lightly smacked his face before he took a breath and calmed his features.”Okay, I am ready; are you, your Grace?”

“Yes I am, Ambassador Swift-Pad,” Twilight said. At that Swift-Pad gave the door a light tap, and in turn the blinds were pulled back and the doors were opened. Immediately there were cameras being snapped and a thousand questions were being shouted at them, and had she not been warned to just walk forward, smile and wave, Twilight would have flinched. Instead, she did as Swift-Pad had advised, while subtly looking to either side to see the guards acting as their escort to the carriage that lay ahead. She saw Swift-Pad nod his head at a few reporters but not answering any questions that were being asked of him, even the more ridiculous ones. She mentally cringed at one, and sped up just a teense so they could reach the carriage faster.

Once they had settled in and the doors were shut, Twilight lit her horn for a moment to activate a sound-scrambling spell, then turned to Swift-Pad. “I am so glad you were there, and that you gave me the advice you did,” she said. “I don’t know if I could have handled them on my own.”

“It was no problem, your Grace,” Swift-Pad said with a smile as the ponies began to pull them away. “Sometimes, the best answer you can give is no answer at all.”

“That doesn’t make much sense, though I can kinda see the benefits of it,” Twilight said as she felt them take off into the air.

“It does help prevent any misleading stories,” Swift-Pad replied. “They cannot deliberately misinterpret your words if there were no words to misinterpret.”

“That does make sense,” Twilight said. “If it weren’t for you, I’d still be there talking to everypony and saying who knows what.”

“That is the worst thing you could have done,” Swift-Pad replied. “You should always be cautious to what you say. Less is better, though nothing is as bad as a mindless chattermouth or being a mute.”

“I see…” Twilight said carefully, trying to see if there was some sort of insult in his words before she remembered that this was her friend and mentor.

“It is a delicate balance that one must learn, and it does not help that it changes from situation to situation,” he added as he turned to look out the window. “For now, it is best to stay quiet in public.”

Twilight nodded. “I’ve got a one-way soundproof barrier around us, so we can talk freely in here.”

“To which I am grateful, your Grace,” he said with a smile. “For now though, I will again remind you that with your current experience, if you are to take a public stance it would have more impact now than it would later. With your perceived naivety and people's reluctance to counter someone who has her Grace Celestia’s ear...” He trailed off and looked at her expectantly.

Twilight perked her ears at hearing him say ‘perceived naivety’ but kept her mouth shut, which seemed to be the correct decision as the wolf’s smile grew wider at her. Instead, she looked out the window and saw that they were closing in on the castle’s chariot hanger, which had been decorated for their arrival. She could also see Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Blueblood and a few other ponies whose faces she vaguely recognized, though she couldn’t place their names, waiting for them.

Her attempt to recall their names was broken off when she heard light growling all of a sudden. Turning her head, she saw that Swift-Pad had shifted his body slightly at the sight of the ponies as if he was about to attack them. He then shifted out of it so quickly she almost dismissed it out of hoof. Doing her best to keep her wings tucked in as they were brought in for the landing, Twilight’s eyes went wide and she was about to ask Swift-Pad when he said, “Ladies first; only proper manners.”

With a faint blush on her cheeks and muttered thanks, Twilight took a few short breaths before she dismissed her spell and signaled that she was ready to exit the carriage. At her signal, the guard outside opened the door, standing by to let her pass.

Reminding herself to walk slow and steadily, she headed towards Princess Celestia, the mare smiling maternally at her while Luna had a more regal look on her face. Blueblood, she could see, was quietly sneering, and Twilight could definitely hear the growl of anger from Swift-Pad now as he came up beside her.

“Princess Twilight, Ambassador Swift-Pad, welcome,” Celestia said, bowing her head slightly.

“Please be welcome to our home, young princess, young wolf,” Luna said, dipping her head as well, looking warmly at Swift-Pad.

“Thank you, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna,” Twilight said, bowing her head as well, though lower than either of them had.

“You honour me greatly, your Graces.” Swift-Pad bowed deeply and it was clear that he was directing it towards Luna over Celestia, and he gave a dismissive look at Blueblood before he turned back to the princesses. “Your student was the most excellent host, your Grace. You have taught her well.”

“Thank you, but the praise belongs to Twilight alone,” Celestia said with her eyes briefly going to Blueblood and then back to the wolf with a near impeccable disappointed look on her face.

Blueblood glared at Swift-Pad before coughing and dragging attention back to him. “Welcome to the capital, your highness,” he said stiffly, making Twilight aware that something had gone off track. “I hope your travel was pleasant?”

“Ye-yes it was, thank you,” Twilight said, looking at Swift-Pad and Blueblood, and again wondering why they seemed so hostile towards one another.

“Your Graces,” Swift-Pad said, walking towards the Princesses. “May I present gifts from my nation?”

“You may, Swift-Pad, for I cherish the bounds of friendship our two nations have,” Celestia said as Swift-Pad pulled a scroll and a cookbook from his pack.

“Along with the trade agreement, please enjoy this cookbook as well,” he said as he presented them.

“My thanks, dear friend, Celestia said, levitating the cookbook over to herself with a smile on her face. “I suppose it is no secret that I love cooking and baking for myself?” she asked as she took the scroll in her golden magic.

“And for you, your Grace,” he said, turning to face Luna as he began to pull out a very large item from his bag. “May I tell you a story of our land that is a thousand years ago of the Grand Grace of that age and her request of the wolves?”

Luna gave him an odd look, but nodded. “You may, Ambassador.”

“A thousand years ago, her Grace came to us, proclaiming the need of a weapon,” he said pulling out a massive hammer that had countless runes engraved onto it. “Oh noble and loyal wolves, those whose love for my moon knows no bound, I face a grave foe and need a weapon to win the night, the grace of old proclaimed. O wise and beloved Grace, we shall craft you the most perfect weapon but we will need time to craft such a weapon fit for thee, the wolves told her. One quarter cycle of my Moon’s path is all that I have, for then I must face the great foe, she said. But the wolves bowed their heads in sorrow. It shall take us one full cycle, they said. One quarter to craft, one quarter to perfect, one quarter to shape its runes, and one quarter to meld them into that which you desire. Her Grace bid them her thanks, and left with a promise to return at the end of that time. But it was too long, for by the time they had completed it, they learned that her Grace had fallen, and the Nightmare of the Moon had risen, only to fall to her Grace Celestia and the Powers of Harmony.”

Luna had the slightest traces of a frown on her face as he held out the hammer, but nodded at him to continue.

“This is that weapon, your Grace,” Swift-Pad said. “Imbued with her magic and our most dangerous and powerful runes, this was to be her weapon against the darkness. Sadly, due to time, the true power of this grave weapon has been lost to the fog of the age-”

Luna cut him off as she lifted it in her magic and began to examine it, the hammer glowing in a perfect match to her own magic. “Toxin, thunder, blindness, gravitational force, sheer freezing, blinding fire,” she said as she turned the handle around in her magic, examining each rune with Swift-Pad’s eyes going wide at the entire scene.

“You-that, not pos-” he began to stammer in shock only for Celestia to snap a dome of light over herself, Luna, Swift-Pad and Twilight. There was a mild yelp from outside as Blueblood leapt back a tad, but Twilight quickly turned her focus back to her friend and her fellow princesses, who were looking at Swift-Pad with concern.

“Breathe, Swift-Pad, breathe,” Celestia was saying, rubbing a hoof up and down his back and making soothing sounds, and Twilight momentarily remembered how Celestia had done the same for her, more than a few times, when she was younger. After a moment, she pulled back as Swift-Pad threw himself low.

“You really are her!” he said in awe to Luna. “I beg your forgiveness your Grand Grace for never truly believing you. I was a stupid wolf for not believing the word of your return and-”

“Enough of this foolishness,” Luna snapped, rolling her eyes as she lifted him up with her magic, returning him to a proper standing position. “Neither my sister or I are divine creatures nor did we ever make the claim that we were.”

“But your Grace,” Swift-Pad began again only for Luna to hold his mouth closed with her magic.

“I was not finished, Swift-Pad,” she said sharply, eyes narrowed. “In addition, it was a good thing you wolves failed to craft this hammer in time as if I’d had it, I would have no doubt used it to either maim or kill my sister at the time.” She looked at the hammer again before placing it down. “Furthermore, it is good that I thought you failed me when I fell to the Nightmare. Had I not, the outcome could have been far worse.”

“You’re right,” Swift-Pad said, looking around a bit dazed. “If you had called for us, we would have come over the border and into Equestria to fight by your side and…”

“Equestria would not have survived if all the wolfpacks had fought by the Nightmare’s side,” Celestia spoke up. “I expressly forbid my own guards to get involved in our fight… but had your people’s ancestors joined in, that would have changed. And the results would have been disastrous.”

Swift-Pad bowed. “I suppose then, that the story I was told by her- by Princess Twilight of what she knew was the correct one,” he said as he looked back to Luna. “That you had been transformed by external forces, and purged of them after escaping from a thousand years imprisonment, thus returning you to your true self.”

“That is exactly correct,” Luna replied. She gave Twilight a look, and Twilight knew they’d be talking about that later.

“This will cause quite the stir when it is explained to my people,” Swift-Pad said quietly. “There are many schools of thought on what happened… though in this case, the ones who believed you were the same as the Luna we knew a thousand years ago will undoubtedly be gloating over being proven right.” He grimaced at the thought.

“That is my burden to bear, Swift-Pad,” Luna said quietly, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “Your kind was always loving of me and my night, yet in my jealousy I forgot about the wolves. I owe it to them to set matters straight and restore my honour with the Packlands.”

Swift-Pad seemed to swell at this announcement, staring at Luna before he leaned forwards and gave her a light nuzzle. “You are truly her Grand Grace of old, your highness. I am honoured to be in your presence.”

“It is I who am honoured, my dear wolf,” Luna said with a chuckle, returning the nuzzle and pulling him in close with her wing. “Now, I do believe we have certain roles to return to?” she asked with a grin.

“That is quite right, your highness,” Swift-Pad said as he stood. After a moment, Celestia dismissed the dome around them, and the four looked around at those who were still watching them in confusion.

“Auntie,” Blueblood spoke as he stepped a tad closer. “Is there something the matter?”

“Just a misunderstanding being cleared up,” Celestia replied. “It has been settled now, so we may continue.” Blueblood gave a snort at that.

“That reminds me, I need to check where it is hidden this time,” Celestia said as she glanced at both the stallion and the wolf, examining the scroll and pretending to ignore the death glares they gave one another, to Twilight’s confusion. After a few moments, the eldest alicorn let out an ah-ha and flexed out the scroll. “I am sorry Swift-Pad, but this article will have to be removed; you know full well I would never let such an extradition order go through, even in a trade agreement.”

“Of course not, your Grace,” Swift-Pad said with forced smile on his face, the lie clear as day. Blueblood seemed to be enjoying this which only made the wolf growl again. At his growl, several nearby ponies backed up, clearly scared.

“Why would you want an extradition order, ambasador?” Twilight asked.

“For him,” Swift-Pad said, glaring at Blueblood. “As his great-grandfather is unfortunately dead and he is the current heir to his name, we wish to have him brought back to our nation to answer for his dishonourable ggrrs actions.” Twilight couldn’t tell what Swift-Pad had said as he had shifted into his own native tongue but was able to guess enough.

“And as you wolves know, Princess Celestia will never send any of her ponies off to-”

“Ahem, colts,” Celestia coughed, dragging both of their attentions back to her. “We can talk later, but for now I believe we still have business to attend to?” She glanced around. “Shall we go inside, everyone?”

There was a round of nods, and they began to head into the castle. Twilight could see the two elder Princesses walking side by side, exchanging hushed whispers, before they suddenly separated.

“Princess Twilight, if you will walk with me?” Celestia asked, and Twilight looked at her in surprise. She’d been thinking about going up beside the older alicorn, but had decided against it, not wanting to be seen as less mature by the others around them, nor to interrupt Celestia and Luna’s discussion. But now that she was being asked... that was a whole other matter, and she hurriedly trotted up beside Celestia, while Luna backed away to give them space and positioned herself between Swift-Pad and Blueblood, who were still shooting dirty looks at one another.

As Twilight and Celestia went into a separate hallway, Twilight looked up at the mare who had for so long been her teacher, and clearly still had a few things for her to learn. Taking a few calming breaths, she asked, “Princess?”

Celestia smiled down at her. “Yes, Twilight?”

“What do you wish to talk to me about?” Twilight asked.

“Oh nothing; I just wanted to see how you are doing, Twilight.” Celestia said with a light chuckle.

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “I’m… doing,” she finally said. “I’ve gained quite a lot to think about since I last saw you yesterday.”

“Oh, do tell,” Celestia said in the same tone she had used whenever she had given Twilight a lesson.

“I did hear about this thing with the griffons.”

As soon as Twilight said that, Celestia's face fell.

“So it is true, isn’t it?”

“Depending on if what you are asking is true, Twilight,” she said, her voice tensing up just a bit.

“That they are being charged a ludicrous amount of money due to some poorly thought out international law?” Twilight asked. At her words, Celestia noticeably relaxed.

“Unfortunately, it is,” she said with a sigh.

“What about those who say that…” Twilight trailed off, unable to bring herself to accuse her mentor. Celestia, however, gave her a weary look.

“Twilight, I promise - I Pinkie Promise - that I am speaking truthfully when I say that I personally had no desire to see the griffon nation fall like it did,” she said. After going through the motions and speaking the necessary words, she sighed. “However, I cannot promise that there were not ponies in Canterlot at the time who would have been delighted with the results of King John’s actions, or had even deliberately influenced them in some way, out of sheer spite.”

“As in those who are in charge of their accounts?”

“Several of my… our ponies, make up a significant amount of those in charge but we are not the majority of that group,” Celestia said hotly with Twilight backing up in surprise. “I have pushed for years for them to finish their work with those in charge, but it seems time away from Equestria has left them with greater backbones. They no longer see me as the leader of the herd, so to speak, and thus have no reason to actually listen to me as I do not have any legal authority over them.” She sighed again, and for a moment, her eyes reflected every year of her millennia-plus of life.

“While normally I prefer to go easier on our ponies… in those cases, I wish I could bring myself to use a much firmer hoof at the table.” Celestia gave a brief grimace. “Aside from the legalities of me and thus Equestria intervening into other sovereign nation’s personal matters, the main reason I restrain myself then and on other occasions is because if I do not, I fear it may well lead to even worse problems down the road, for myself and for all our peoples, be they pony or otherwise.”

Twilight frowned at that before looking up at her. “Speaking of other peoples, what is the deal with Swift-Pad and Blueblood, anyway? He said something about Blueblood’s great-grandfather…”

“Ah, that.” A frown appeared on her mentor’s face. “Around a hundred years ago, Nobleblood, Blueblood’s great-grandfather, was part of an international team with the wolves to help determine if natural weather was better for agricultural farming or were our weather teams more beneficial despite the, quote unquote ‘unnaturality’ of it. It was to be a twenty year study, ten their way and then ten our way, using the weather from first ten years as the limitations we could do.”

“That sounds fascinating; how did it turn out in the end?” Twilight asked.

“There were no results; it didn’t even last a single day,” Celestia said. “Nobleblood, in all of his wisdom, decided to label the project “Weather Teams compared to a bunch of backwood hicks believing in having superior farming” or something just as inflammatory.” Celestia snorted angrily. “Needles to say, the wolves were outraged at this insult and demanded his arrest. He somehow managed to cross the border before he was caught and then placed me in a very difficult situation. Due to his crimes being an honour crime, it brought on a very specific sentence which is a fight between the two parties with just their natural skills and no magic allowed. Said fights almost always ends with one party dead and I would not put much faith in a pony defeating a wolf without any magic to support them.” Celestia shook her head. “Due to their laws, even though Nobleblood is dead, his descendants are still accountable for his crimes and they are willing to try nearly anything that wouldn’t start a war to get him into their lands to have their justice.”

“What would happen if he did manage to actually to win?” Twilight asked in a horrified, morbid fashion.

“Well, more than likely the wolves would claim that it was just one pack’s champion fighting him and other packs would have the right to challenge him. And they would continue to do so until one of them had actually killed him, or he’d defeated a representative from each of the packs… and then things would undoubtedly take a turn for the uglier if there are not cool heads around.” She looked at Twilight firmly. “So you can see why I have done my best to avoid such an issue. The only way to end the matter once and for all is if the wolves were ever to forgive Nobleblood’s family, which they will never do, or if Nobleblood’s line ever ends permanently for some reason, and I am not about to endorse ending it on purpose.”

Twilight nodded, and Celestia continued. “I will confess, if something does happen to Blueblood now, it would end the line, seeing as he comes from a line of only sons and has yet to sire any offspring of his own - not for lack of desire, but simply because most mares tend to not want anything to do with him after experiencing his rather abrasive manners and attitudes.” She then sighed again. “Needless to say, that incident complicated matters for us; once Nobleblood did what he did and I refused to turn him over to them, the wolves threw all of our ambassadors out of their lands and closed their doors to us. Since then, no Equestrian governmental figure has been allowed into their lands, not even myself. There are some who have advocated closing our doors to them in return, but I have refused to do so, seeing as how I feel they were very much right to be offended by his actions.” She paused for a moment at that.

“Since I have declined to let the wolves punish him or his descendents their way, and since our laws of free speech prohibit anyone from being punished for voicing an opinion, no matter how grave an insult it is to another, Nobleblood essentially escaped legal punishment for what he did. However, I did make him aware of just how disappointed I was in his actions, and I informed the wolfpacks of this at the time. Regrettably, that was not enough for them, so they have continued to seek extradition for his son, grandson and now great-grandson.”

“So sicing Rarity on him for how he treated her and then sharing the memory with the wolfpacks wouldn’t change their mind?” Twilight asked.

“If it were that easy, I would have sent them a copy of the memory of her scolding him at the Gala myself, Twilight,” Celestia said. “Though I do think they would have been most amused by it.” She looked contemplative.

Twilight nodded. “I’ll have to at least share it with Swift-Pad…” Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she smiled. “Thank you for answering my questions, Princess Celestia. I do have one more thing to discuss, but I believe we’ve kept our guests waiting long enough.”

“So we have,” Celestia replied. Straightening herself, she turned and, with Twilight at her side, walked out into the main hallway.

Within a few minutes, they had reached one of the dining rooms, where Luna waited at one end of the table. Blueblood had taken a spot on one of the long sides, at the end closest to the wall, while a tall, blue-maned stallion with a monocle stood beside him - Fancy Pants, that was his name, she suddenly remembered. She could also see a small group of reporters standing around the outskirts of the room.

Silently and subtly looking around, she noted that Swift-Pad had in turn chosen a spot on the opposite side of the table from Blueblood, and far closer to the head, which Twilight thought was no doubt so he could be as far away from the other male as he could, though she could also tell he had purposely left a seat between he and the elder princesses, for Twilight’s use.

“So Swift-Pad, how goes the hunt for this year for the High-Leap pack?” Luna asked as Twilight and Celestia finally entered the room.

Twilight could see Swift-Pad give a slightly surprised look on his face before he squashed it. “It goes well; we have brought in a good number of bucks in for this winter and we have plans for many more before the end of the season, your Grace,” he said with pride in his voice.

“It is good to hear; I have been meaning to plan a visit to the Packlands ever since my return as your ancestors were always very welcoming in the past,” Luna said.

“Yes,” Swift-Pad said. “I have heard the stories about such visits from the elders, your Grace.” He looked up as Twilight walked over to her seat. “Princess.”

“Ambassador,” Twilight returned politely. She waited patiently for Celestia and Luna to take their seats, before she and the others in the room sat as well. A moment later, a bell chimed, and then a number of waiters entered the room, each pushing a cart with a pair of covered platters on them. As she watched, Twilight saw that almost all of the ponies at the table were choosing the left side platters, which were revealed as a standard vegetarian dish when their lids were removed, while Swift-Pad had selected one from the right side, which held mostly meat. She was about to accept a vegetarian platter for herself when she saw what Celestia was doing and decided to order a mixed salad. That caught a few stares from the ponies but Fancy Pants simply chuckled and ordered the same for himself.

“So Swift-Pad, I know you are of High-Leap pack but do you know how Swim-Well pack fairs?” he asked the wolf.

“They do well; they bring in more fish as they have just launched several new fishing boats,” Swift-Pad answered.

“That’s excellent news,” Fancy Pants said with a light chuckle as he began to eat his fish salad. He let out a pleased sound as he bit into a piece. “Oh this is marvelous; you simply cannot get good fish in Equestria.”

“I recall Rainbow Dash saying the same,” Swift-Pad said with a nod of his head. “She mentioned it wasn’t easy to get ‘the good stuff’ here, in part because it was rather expensive.” He glanced over at Twilight. “That was an hour or so before you and I met, Princess, and not that long after I first came through the forest.”

Twilight nodded. “I can understand. And my compliments to the chefs, this is quite good.”

More than half of the ponies at the table were looking regretfully at their plates now; it took her a moment to realize that they wanted to try the same dish she and the other princesses were having for some possible political reason. If they ate the same, maybe they thought it would make them appear the same and thus lead to thinking the same? It was completely ridiculous, but at the same time…

Political logic, she thought to herself with a mental sigh. Sometimes I wonder if it’ll ever make sense to me.

“I do not see the big deal, if you ask me,” Blueblood huffed, interrupting her thoughts. “I tried it in the past, but as a pony, such things do not agree with me.”

“And yet, you have relished aquatic foods in previous events,” Fancy Pants told him with a slight smirk. “I recall how you quite enjoyed the shrimp toast that we had at that last meeting with one of the griffon ambassadors.”

Blueblood’s face reddened, but he said nothing more, just turning back to his salad, and Twilight mentally smiled at the blue-maned stallion’s actions. I’ll definitely have to share this with Rarity, she thought to herself. She could see the edges of a smirk on Swift-Pad’s face as well.

Deciding to ignore Blueblood, Twilight turned back to Swift-Pad. “I was not aware that the Packlands operated in the fishing industry,” she said.

“We operate in much of the alternative food industry,” Swift-Pad said with a slight twitch of his ear. “We cater to the nations that Equestria is incapable of meeting in terms of dietary needs.” That caused a number of frowns from around the table, but Twilight merely nodded in understanding, remembering her own past experiences and what he’d said earlier in the day. For a moment, she thought back to her trip through the mirror and how she’d found out about the human diet; she was lucky she’d managed to stick with a vegetarian menu for herself the entire time, but she knew full well where some of the other foods her friends there usually enjoyed had come from, and she could only imagine what some of the ponies here would say if they ever heard about it. Even if the animals over there were non-sapient, Equestria’s general reaction to an entire new species of meat-eaters would likely not be a pleasant one. She wondered what the wolves would think if they ever found out.

Forcing herself off that train of thought for now, she gave him a friendly smile. “I have heard some stories in how you manage your crops,” she said, causing everyone including both Celestia and Luna to look at her. “You use natural methods, no weather team right?”

“That is correct, your Grace,” Swift-Pad said slowly.

“I would love to see it one day; both your homeland and how your farming methods compare to ours,” Twilight said, doing her best to control her excitement at all the wide eyes she was getting, especially from Celestia. “If you think such a thing could be arranged, of course.”

“I,” Swift-Pad stammered, clearly lost for words at this unexpected turn of events. He looked at Celestia who seemed equally as surprised but was able to relax her face before anyone actually noticed. "I believe that it can be arranged,” he said, looking at her with interest.

“That’s wonderful,” Twilight said with a wide smile before taking a bit of her salad. “Mmm, this is just wonderful.”

Chapter Twelve

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Chapter Twelve

The rest of the dinner progressed smoothly from that point on; polite questions were directed towards Twilight and Swift-Pad, probing about how their lives were doing (to which she answered that she was doing fine), how their friends were doing, good as well though Twilight noticed that Blueblood shuddered when he heard Rarity’s name. She also saw Swift-Pad’s ear twitch at this, and had a pretty good idea of what he was thinking. Mentally, she promised to tell him about it as soon as possible.

As she continued her observations, she noticed that Swift-Pad’s ear flicked a bit faster when he was asked about his own friends, and wondered what that was about. Still, she decided not to pry too deeply as it was clear he didn’t want to say anything publicly.

Finally, as the meal drew to a close, Princess Celestia rose from her seat. “That was a wonderful meal, and I thank you all for attending,” she said. “And now, I feel we should adjourn for a short while. Ambassador Swift-Pad, Princess Twilight,” she said as she looked at the two. “The official signing ceremony will take place in one hour.”

“I shall be there, your Grace,” Swift-Pad said.

“As shall I,” Twilight added as she stood up and walked towards the door where Pinkie Pie was waving her over. Twilight wasn’t sure how she managed not to react to the sight but she did with what she hoped was proper grace and confidence. Stepping into the hallway, she found herself quickly dragged off into a smaller dining room where all her friends were waiting eagerly. Looking over the table, she could see trays of hayburgers and hay fries, along with assorted other items that Twilight thought the various nobles would refer to, rather snootily, as ‘commoner fare’. She could also tell that her friends had quite enjoyed them, judging by how much had been eaten already, and briefly considered joining in. Then she mentally shook her head - much as she liked what was there, she’d already eaten enough to satisfy herself.

“So how did it go, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked eagerly, rocking in her seat as she put a hayburger on her Manechurian plate.

“Well enough,” Twilight replied as she sat down, giving Rarity a look as her friend was trying to levitate a brush and some mane products over to her. “Really?”

“A little touch up never hurts, darling,” Rarity replied with an innocent smile on her face.

Twilight shook her head in exasperation, but allowed the other mare to work on her.

“So tell us, how was it?” Rarity asked as she examined Twilight’s mane, with a few muttered surprises that seemed to bode well for Twilight.

“I could have done without one of the ponies being present, but on the other hoof, I think you and Swift-Pad will get along even better once he finds out about your dislike for the pony in question,” Twilight replied. “His dislike of Prince Blueblood is for very different reasons, but it’s something you two definitely have in common.”

“Ah can’t believe that varmint done got Swift-Pad annoyed that fast,” Applejack said before coughing after seeing Rarity’s pointed look.

“Actually, his dislike predates Rarity’s,” Twilight replied. “The wolves have had it out for his family since the time of Blueblood’s great-grandfather - he insulted them rather badly at one point, and since they haven’t been able to make him pay for his insult...”

“An’ they want to make his descendents pay?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Given the insult, I don’t blame them,” Twilight told her. “Besides, Blueblood offends them all on his own just by acting like himself.”

“Now that I cannot doubt in the least,” Rarity said. “But… just what did that stallion do? The other Blueblood, I mean.”

Twilight took a deep breath. “He deliberately called them ‘backwood hicks’ and a few other things, and they’ve been out for blood ever since.”

There was a round of startled exclamations, but Twilight raised a hoof. “At any rate, I’m hoping Equestria can make up for it soon, and I plan to personally take charge of that.”

Applejack harrumphed. “Can’t say as Ah blame them,” she said. “So, what else?”

“Not much else, I am afraid,” Princess Celestia said as she sauntered into the room and made a beeline for the leftover food spread on the table, already levitating a plate and adding a number of eyebrow raising items onto it. “Those dinners tend to be very stuffy and very little is actually said. I am also hoping I can trust you girls not to inform anypony that I am taking a small break from my diet,” she said as she added another box of hayfries onto her plate with a completely straight face. “Though I have to admit, I am very impressed you managed to get yourself an invitation to the Packlands. We have been trying to reopen our embassy for years to no avail and even Luna has been stonewalled in her attempts to set up a simple diplomatic meet and greet since she returned.”

Since Rarity had finished her work, Twilight bowed. “I think the fact that we’ve gotten to know one another helped,” she said. “I have… some idea of why they haven’t been willing to meet with Luna yet, but I’m not certain and don’t want to say anything until I am.” She considered. “As for myself, I have shown my willingness to learn and to respect the wolves’ culture, and that of others. At the very least, Swift-Pad knows that in that regard, I am nothing like the last several ponies who entered their lands.”

“And on that topic,” Celestia cast a glance at the rest of her friends and suddenly the atmosphere changed completely. “I suspect that all of you will be invited to join Twilight as well, being her close friends. While I am sure that Twilight will be given diplomatic immunity due to being a leader of another nation, the rest of you will more than likely not have such protection. So you will need to know their laws and customs to avoid any faux pas.” She turned her head towards Rainbow Dash. “If you do go, miss Dash, you will have to remember that they do not look well on weather manipulation or any basic cloud manipulation for that matter, which means you cannot buck any clouds or move them without proper approval from the pack-leaders who control that terrority.”

“Already had a talk about that with Swift-Pad the other day,” Rainbow Dash said. “I know to behave myself. Unlike those idiots who try to cause trouble at the border.”

Celestia simply nodded her head and then turned to Fluttershy but before she could even start, Fluttershy nodded in turn and let out a few small growls, prompting Celestia to blink in surprise.

“You know the wolf language?” she asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “I made a point to learn about it,” she said. “Swift-Pad isn’t the first wolf of the civilized packs that I’ve met. I found one of his people coming out of the woods near my home a long time ago, who had been on what he called a meditation journey. He taught me about their culture, and about the differences between they and the wild wolves.”

“Then you have a decided advantage,” Celestia told her. “I am pleased.”

She then turned to Pinkie Pie from the blushing Fluttershy. “To be perfectly honest, I am not certain what to say to you,” she said. “Quite frankly, you are so far different from any wolf I have ever met…”

Pinkie shrugged. “It’s all good. Swifty and I get along just fine; I think I confuse him, but then again I confuse most people. And yeah, I know I can be overwhelming - I have my good days and my bad days. So I think I can handle myself or trust the girls to stop me if I get too out of hoof.”

“Quite.” Celestia looked at Rarity. “In your case, I feel I should warn you, your special talent would make you very… desirable by the wolves.”

“So I have been informed,” Rarity said. “I would be delighted to make arrangements to help them find more of their desired minerals, so long as they ask politely. And may I assume they do not take kindly to attempted, er… allocation of their stones without making arrangements first?”

“That is correct,” Celestia said. “It would be wise to ask before so much as touching one.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Rarity replied with a faint blush.

Next, Celestia faced Applejack. “As with Rainbow Dash, I will remind you that they do not look well on the use of magic in the growth of their crops, and ask that you not do so while there without any permission.”

“Only magic we really have in our crops is for the Zap Apples, and that’s all in the seeds,” Applejack replied lightly. “Rest of it’s done with just the sweat of our brows and the strength of our backs. ‘Less we have a surge, but Ah haven’t had that problem since Ah was younger than Apple Bloom.”

“Good.” Finally, Celestia turned to Spike and looked contemplative. “As with Rarity, I would advise you to restrain yourself around their gems.”

“Learned that lesson when Owlowiscious came to live with us,” Spike said. “And after seeing what happens if one of their runes goes kerflooey? Last thing I want is to bite into one of those suckers.”

“I’m surprised that one of Swift-Pad’s runes malfunctioned; from what I heard he was a rather comptent rune-wolf.”

“Er, it wasn’t one of his runes that malfunctioned,” Twilight said, blushing. “He’s taught me how to make some, and I messed up the first few times.”

“Really?” Celestia’s eyebrow raised at that and turned to look at Twilight. “I’m very surprised to hear that. They usually prefer to keep their magic, and certain other aspects of themselves, a secret from most outsiders.”

“He gave me a book about them,” Twilight replied. “I’m not allowed to share it or its contents though.”

Celestia’s eyebrow arched further. “You have been given a most precious gift then,” she said. “I am impressed, Twilight. It would seem that in just two days, you have accomplished more for our relations with the wolves than any other ponies I have known in hundreds of years.”

Twilight simply blushed at that, and felt herself starting to look off to the side before she remembered what Swift-Pad had taught her and brought her focus back to Celestia. “I am only doing what I feel is right; learning more about our neighbours and hopefully building better friendships. It is what you sent me to Ponyville to learn after all.”

Celesia just beamed at that and looked extremely proud.

“That reminds me,” Twilight said. “Speaking of our neighbors, do we have any kind of formal relationship with the Dragon Lands?”

Celestia looked at her in surprise. “Not really. We stay out of their way, and for the most part they stay out of our areas, except on rare occasions like the one you all had to deal with.” She nodded briefly to Fluttershy. “There’s never been a formal embassy with them because they just aren’t interested, and some have been downright hostile. The Dragon Lord has never sanctioned any of these hostilities, mind, at least not according to the few individuals we had opportunity to question.”

Twilight nodded. “Well, apparently they’ve talked with the wolves from time to time… Swift-Pad said he had counterparts there.”

“I am not surprised.” Celestia shook her head. “The wolves do tend to get along with other races better than we do… not for lack of trying on my part, of course.” She looked curious. “What brought this up?”

“Well, we were talking about the last few dragons Spike and I had met, and Swift-Pad got so angry when he heard what those teenage ones were up to… he promised to send word to his counterparts there so they’d tell the Dragon Lord, and then Garble and his cronies could be punished.”

Celestia looked thoughtful. “Ah, the incident with the dragon migration. Philomena was positively furious when she found out. I told her when Spike and I were writing back and forth about it,” she explained. “She’ll be pleased to hear about this.”

“Ah’m sorry but do we really have that bad relatin’s out there?” Applejack asked. “Ah know what Swift-Pad said, but… not that Ah doubt him, but Ah can’t believe everyone hates us for some reason or another.”

“The situation is complicated but every nation has had their own grievances towards us and others,” Celestia said wearily. “The yaks, for instance, withdrew into their own borders over a thousand moons ago, and haven’t communicated with the outside world since. They tend to be very… sensitive about almost anything, which is one of the reasons most nations have just let them be, rather than risk offending them. The dragons too have tended to keep to themselves, as do the diamond dogs and the griffon kingdoms. For that matter...” She pursed her lips. “We haven’t heard from the Hippogriff kingdom in a very long time. They were once friendly with us, but long before any of you were ever born, they suddenly recalled their ambassador, and there’s been no word since. Their ambassador did say it was matters back home and nothing we had done, but still…” She trailed off, a worried look on her face. “We will need to make a better effort into understanding what exactly happened and hopefully bring the world out of its isolationist mindset we are all in.”

“Well what about the buffalos? I mean I know how ticked off they were by us claiming some of their land, because supposedly we didn’t know it was already theirs,” Rainbow Dash asked with Celestia wincing.

“We are still trying to unravel that little tangle,” she said. “We have launched a full investigation into exactly how those land deeds were written up in first place, let alone sold to those settlers. There is some suspicion that it was done as a deliberate attempt at sabotaging both sides, but no concrete proof.”

“Who would want to sabotage our relationships with other nations?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “And why?”

“It could be any number of things. Old prejudices, simple egotism, attempting to keep alliances from being formed so they could have a strong position when they launched their own coup someday…” Celestia sighed. “Even simple malevolence towards others for no real reason, as horrifying as that idea is. Also, there have been many who have opposed us over the years and this would be a form of diplomatic revenge by making what other nations think of us true.” Celestia tilted her head to the side. “It could also be a genuine error in the paperwork.” She then tilted her head to the other side. “Or it could be someone trying to make a tidy profit in scamming unexpecting ponies. It would not be the first time such things have happened nor would it be the last.”

Applejack let out a growl. “An’ I know just the no-good-snakes-in-the-grass who’d do such a thing,” she said.

“If you mean the pair who tried to scam your family out of their land, we’re keeping an eye on those two,” Celestia said. “While they are not staying honest, they are doing their best to keep from attracting too much suspicion, and we haven’t caught them attempting any land deals since they left Ponyville.” She gave the younger mare a look. “Distasteful as their methods may be, everypony has a right to make a living, and they have yet to actually break any laws that would warrant an arrest. At least, none that we can prove.”

“Selling false land deeds ain’t a crime?”

“We have examined one of their land deeds agreement and it does say in the fine print that these lands might not actually be available to be bought, they are to check upon them themselves and other little details that have protected them from prosecution. While there have been attempts to close some of the legal loopholes, including legislating size on the text so as to ensure it’s readable without requiring ocular assistance, they are very hard to get through.” Celestia snorted. “I once found a contract with two sets of clauses that were so small, they required our best microscopes to even know they were there, but as long as they were there, they were legal once the contract was signed. I have seen other tricks with contracts that were just as sneaky… though I am glad to say that we proved one of those in particular constituted fraud, since the first copy of the contract signed was the only copy they actually read, while the others were not identical. We were able to prosecute the one responsible, and see to it that justice was served.”

“Do you have to deal with that often?” Rarity asked.

“Constantly.” Celestia did not look pleased. “It is one of the least pleasant aspects of my duties, and one of the reasons I have an entire staff of lawyers to help with my work.” She then turned to Twilight. “You have some years to go before you are to begin your legal studies so that you can handle any legal matter. As of now, all you can do is advise our ponies, Twilight. If anypony tries to bring you a bill, law, prospal or any legal contract, no matter how beneficial or well intended it sounds, you are fully expected to forward them on to myself or my legal staff to handle until you have received the proper training.”

“Understood,” Twilight said, bowing her head and using her magic to retrieve the plate of junk foods Celestia had gathered for herself. “I’m sorry, Princess Celestia but as you said, you are on a diet and I would not be a good friend if I were to let you eat this. That and I think Luna would be cross with me if I were to let you do this.”

Celestia let out a nicker, but then shook her head in resignation. “Fair point, Twilight. But I must advise you, not all my diets have been equal. I once spent a year on what I called a seafood diet.”

“Oh?” Twilight looked at her curiously. “Any fish in particular?”

Celestia chuckled. “As I told somepony back then when they asked, my seafood diet was not as one would expect from the name.”

“Then… what was it?”

“It was actually a ‘see-food’ diet. I see food, I eat it.”

Pinkie Pie started laughing hysterically. “That’s genius!”

Celestia smiled at her. “I thought so too… but then I had to spend several years working off all the weight I put on.” Her expression turned more serious. “Regrettably, I think we have gotten somewhat off track. As I said before, I am very impressed with your progress Twilight.”

Twilight smiled. “I may be an alicorn now, but I will always have more to learn… and one day, maybe, to teach myself.”

There was a whispered “Egghead” from Rainbow Dash, but Twilight ignored it. “At any rate, thank you for giving me this opportunity, Princess.”

“The pleasure has always been mine,” Celestia told her. “I just wish more ponies I knew were as fond of learning and broadening their horizons as you are.”

Spike chuckled. “Yeah, some of Twilight’s old classmates certainly were like that… of course, I still think Twilight would have had more fun if she’d spent more time studying with some of them outside of school.” He blinked. “Speaking of, I don’t think either of us have been back to your old tower since we first came to Ponyville. I kept meaning to go back and straighten up the place, but what with one thing after another, I never had time.”

“I thought you would have already done that Twilight,” Pinkie Pie spoke up.

“No…” Twilight shook her head. “It never even occurred to me. In fact, I think I must have left out that copy of Predictions and Prophecies I was studying that day.” She looked at Spike. “Thank you for reminding me, I’ll get right on it… after we get done with today’s meetings.”

“I’d love to see it myself, darling,” Rarity spoke up. “If you don’t mind, of course.”

Twilight smiled. “You’re all welcome to come. It’s… probably more than a little messy though.”

“Eh, can’t be worse than some of the dorm rooms I’ve seen,” Rainbow Dash said. “Some of the guys there were real slobs… up until about ten minutes before room inspections, then they turned into neat freaks just long enough that they wouldn’t get tossed out.”

“As is always the case,” Celestia said with a weary sigh. “I remember visiting Blueblood’s room when he was younger, and it took all my self-control not to immediately summon every maid in the castle to come and deal with it.”

“Somehow, that does not surprise me,” Rarity said.

Fluttershy flicked her ears. “Zephyr was like that too…”

Twilight looked at her curiously. “Who?”

“My little brother, Zephyr Breeze.” Fluttershy ducked her head. “I… don’t like to talk about him much.”

Twilight blinked, then turned to Rainbow Dash. “Are you the only one of my friends without a brother or sister? Besides Scootaloo, that is - I know how you two feel about one another.”

“Yup.” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Only child growing up. Not that my folks didn’t want at least one more, but it just never happened. ‘S why they kept cheering me on and encouraging me so much - I was the only chance they had to do that kind of thing.”

Pinkie wrapped her front legs around Rainbow Dash. “Aww… I can’t imagine growing up without any brothers or sisters. I’ve got three! Two big, and one just a few minutes littler than me!”

Twilight blinked. “You’re a twin? But… I saw your family portrait! You’re the only pink one! So who...”

“Yuppers!” Pinkie nodded eagerly. “Marble’s a lot quieter and shyer and grayer than I am. Kind of like a mix of Mac and Fluttershy and a rock.”

Applejack chuckled. “You think Mac’s quiet now, you should have heard him back when we were younger. Couldn’t get him to stop talkin’ for nothin’, back in the days before Apple Bloom was born. There’s a whole long story there about how he finally learned to think before he spoke, but Ah don’t think we’ve got time for it now. Maybe later, after things are done here.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Twilight promised. “For now, I think I will just do what I came in here for and relax.”

“An excellent idea,” Celestia said with a smile and exited the room, though not before snitching one packet of hay fries from the plate Twilight still held. Watching her go, Twilight shook her head in bemusement, then turned back to her friends to chat some more.

Chpater Thirteen

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Chapter Thirteen

After they had spent more time talking with each other, there was a knock on the door.

“Oh, it must be time for me to get back,” Twilight said, glancing around for a clock, just noticing now there actually was no means to keep track of time in this room. Using her magic to open the door, she saw a face she’d rather not have seen.

“You are correct, Twilight,” Blueblood said dryly, flinching away as he saw Rarity peering over Twilight’s shoulder, a disapproving look on her face as she eyed him. “Let us go and deal with this little show, shall we?”

“Er, yes,” Twilight said, feeling a bit off balanced by this but doing her best to carry on and try to smooth things with him and Swift-Pad. “I understand your reluctance to deal with the wolves but-”

“You know nothing,” he said snidely, looking down at her. “You might have some knowledge,” he raised a hoof to stall her friends from saying anything before he continued. “But let me guess, he told you of what my great-grandfather did and nothing else?”

“What do you mean, nothing else?” Twilight asked, concerned.

“Since then, my family has had to deal with the wolves constantly trying to have us brought to their lands to fight to the death over some backhoofed idiotic comment,” Blueblood snorted angrily. “We can’t apologize because they will not accept it and anytime we travel outside of Equestria, we have to be extremely careful as any misstep that would land us into prison would lead to them attempting to extradite us from that land. Aunt Celestia may not be willing to let them take us from Equestria, but other nations do not feel the same way about extraditions of foreign nationals.” He looked rather disgusted. “Which is most displeasing for me, given my own desires to see other parts of the world. Yet my enjoyment of such is greatly reduced by the fact that I have to look over my shoulder for possible threats the entire time!”

“I’m sure that it wouldn’t happen, I mean-” Twilight began before she was cut off.

“Of course it wouldn’t happen; it would bring the wrath of Equestria down on anyone foolish enough to do it,” Blueblood rolled his eyes. “But do you honestly think that Swift-Pad has Equestria’s best interest or the Packland’s interest at heart? He knew of that section that would be found and removed, yet he still tried to get it passed nonetheless. No matter what you think of him, he is acting for his people first.”

The words stung Twilight and she was forced to admit that he was right. It was uncomfortable to acknowledge that Swift-Pad had such ulterior motives and he might have been willing to use her if it wouldn’t be so dangerous for him to do so. It also made her realize that in the future, others would be willing to do so and they wouldn’t be handicapped by being her mentor.

“And miss Belle,” Blueblood looked past her and at the frowning unicorn. “As a member of the royal family, distant as I am, I have inherited a sizeable fortune and a number of lands and I have had far too many mares attempting to attract my attention in order to get their hooves into them. How was I to know you weren’t just another of them, when I had not been told of the identities of the six who brought my… other aunt back to us, until after that night when we first met?” Blueblood didn’t even let her respond before he continued. “And even if you were and are, does that excuse you for trying to seduce me without even trying to get to know me properly? As it was, I was simply enjoying myself in trying to lose another mare that got her eyes on me. I must admit, you lasted longer than most which is admirable in a sense.” He gave her a smirk at that.

Rarity did not look happy. “May I remind you that we barely said hello before you began acting like… yourself, and I hardly had a chance to attempt to get to know you?”

“I saw that look in your eyes the moment you got here for the Grand Galloping Gala so I knew what I was in for,” he shrugged his shoulders, his face becoming softer.

“Fair enough,” Rarity said, shifting on her hooves. “But I was hoping to see the true gentlestallion within, and not just the princely exterior… except you kept that side well hidden behind the airs of disdain, didn’t you?”

Blueblood looked rather uncomfortable at that. “Yes, well…” He looked around. “I believe I have said my part. Princess, shall we?”

Twilight nodded coolly, and turned to her friends. “I’ll be back later, girls. I’ll see you then.”

Once the door had closed and she and Blueblood were a little ways down the hall, she looked at him, her eyes narrowed. “First of all, I’m still rather irritated at you on my friend’s behalf.”

“And you are well within your rights to be so, but I stand by my decision,” Blueblood said stiffly. “She was interested in me mainly as a prince, at least at first, and I abhor those who see me as some prize to be won.”

Twilight’s eyes narrowed even more briefly, but she restrained herself. “Second, Swift-Pad said nothing about your family’s poor relationship with the wolves, prior to our arrival here,” she said. “Princess Celestia herself explained the origins of this disagreement to me and what it meant for your family, and only after the ambassador expressed his… displeasure at seeing you. Of how Nobleblood purposely insulted their way of life in such a manner that they were determined to make he or his family pay.”

“I see.” Blueblood fell silent, as he and Twilight continued walking. Finally, they arrived at the main throne room, where the other Princesses, Swift-Pad and a number of reporters were waiting. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.” He nodded his head towards them before looking at Swift-Pad. “Ambassador,” he said politely with the wolf nodding back. “I do hope we are not late.”

“Not all, your highness,” Swift-Pad said just as politely with Luna waving them over to the table where the documents were laid. “Shall we sign these, your Graces?”

“Yes,” Celestia said. Taking up a quill and her Royal Seal, she signed the papers, one after another, before pressing the seal into the paper beside her signature. Stepping aside, she let Luna take her place and repeat the process. Then, she signalled to Twilight, who stepped up beside her.

“Your own Royal Seal,” Celestia whispered as she hoofed it over. “I meant to tell you earlier, but with everything else that was happening…”

Accepting it, Twilight took a moment to look at the mark on its underside. She relaxed at the sight of her own Cutie Mark, then did as the others had, signing each document and sealing them.

Finally, Swift-Pad stepped up to sign and seal it.

“The ratification is complete,” Celestia said. “I thank all of you for witnessing this furthering step of progress between our two nations.”

“In addition,” Swift-Pad said, standing next to Princess Celestia and giving Twilight a look. “Her young Grace Twilight has extended her hoof and will be visiting the Packlands when I return home.”

There were more mutterings at this with pictures of Twilight being taken almost to the point where she was blinded before Luna raised a wing which attracted their attention. “That will be all for now,” she said.

Still muttering, the reporters all shuffled out, and the doors were closed behind them. Once they were gone, Celestia smiled brightly. “That went well,” she said.

“Quite.” Blueblood raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, now that my duties as witness are concluded, I must be off. Enjoy the rest of your day, Aunt Celestia. Aunt Luna. Twilight.” With that, he headed out the back door of the room.

“From what I heard, that went better than the other times,” Luna said, looking at Swift-Pad.

“No acknowledgment is far better than the other times,” Swift-Pad replied. “We hope that one day he can do better than his ancestors and proper amends can be made.”

Twilight was about to agree with him when she recalled what Blueblood had told her and rethought Swift-Pad’s words through his point of view. Unsure if agreeing with him would condone sending Blueblood away to his death, she said nothing and after both Celestia and Luna had not added anything to it, she felt that she’d made the right decision.

“Come along,” Luna said to the wolf. “We have a room for you to spend the night in while we prepare Twilight’s trip to the Packlands.”

“Very well,” Swift-Pad said, following her out of the room and leaving Twilight and Celestia alone.

“Shall we continue onwards with our discussion, Twilight,” Celestia asked with a smile on her face.

“Actually, I have to decline; I promised the girls I would show them my old tower after we were done here.” Twilight saw Celestia blink in surprise before she hid it with a smile.

“Of course,” she said. “I remember. And once you finish there, you might want to show them your old room in the castle, before we decided you and Spike needed more space and you moved out there. In fact, I think there are still some of your things in it that you forgot to take with you when you moved out...”

“Oh!” Twilight brightened. “Right. Wow, I almost forgot…”

Celestia nodded. “To be honest, I may have been putting off telling you.” She looked down. “I make a point of stopping in there every year or so, just to remind myself of what it was like back when I had a young student who looked up to me so. I am more proud of you than I can say, Twilight. But I can’t help but miss those days, when I felt truly needed by a young one.”

“Princess…” Twilight blushed. Then she quirked her head. “Do you… do that with any of your other old students?”

“Twilight, I must be honest.” Celestia looked somewhat saddened. “Before Sunset Shimmer, I hadn’t taken a personal student in at least two or three centuries, and the last ones before that cleaned out their rooms before they set out. Sunset though… after she left, I sealed her room off, and nopony has been inside since. And then, I didn’t think I could stand to take another pony under my wing, and risk the same heartbreak I felt from losing her. Until I found you. So eager to learn for the sake of learning.” She smiled. “You brightened my days in ways I cannot even begin to describe. And… and I’m keeping you from your friends, aren’t I?”

Twilight looked up and her and smiled. “It’s okay, Princess. For this, I don’t mind holding off for a few minutes.”

Celestia smiled back. “Thank you, Twilight. But I think it’s time you kept your promise to the others.” She straightened out. “I do want to talk with you some more though, before you leave for the Packlands. Would you mind joining me this evening?”

“I’d be delighted.” Twilight smiled up at her before trotting out of the room.

Nearly half an hour later, the six mares and Spike were standing outside the tower.

“Well, this is it,” Twilight said. “My second home away from home.”

“Second?” Rainbow Dash asked. “What was your first?”

“My old room in Canterlot Castle, which Princess Celestia reminded me about earlier.” Twilight looked at them. “I really need to keep better track of these things…”

“I’ll say,” Spike muttered.

Twilight gave him a look, before leading them up the stairs. “The door’s up here,” she said with a chuckle. “I hope they didn’t change the lock.”

“They wouldn’t have,” Spike pointed out. “Princess Celestia owns the building, remember? That’s why we got to stay here.”

“Right.” Twilight took a deep breath. “Just… it’s been so long, and I’m being a little silly about this, aren’t I?”

“What’s wrong with being silly?” Pinkie asked. “I’m silly all the time!”

Twilight smiled at her. “Yeah…” Unlocking the door, she opened it to reveal a large, multi-leveled room.

“Whoo-ee,” Applejack whistled as she saw the interior. “You weren’t kiddin’ about this place being messy.” Next to her, Rarity winced at the sight of all the dust and cobwebs.

“Well,” Twilight said firmly. “I’m going to do something about it now.” Trotting in, she looked around, and groaned. “Eeesh…”

Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, she looked back to see a smiling Fluttershy. “We’ll all help,” she said. “You and Spike don’t have to do this alone.”

“Thanks, Fluttershy.” Twilight smiled gratefully at her friend.

“Hey!” Spike suddenly exclaimed as he picked up something from the floor. “Here’s the present I was going to give to Moondancer! You know, back before we got distracted by Nightmare Moon and all.”

“Moondancer?” Rarity asked.

“An old classmate of Twilights,” Spike said. “She actually invited us to a party that last day, but Twilight was too preoccupied. That was the day she read about Nightmare Moon coming back, and then Princess Celestia sent us down to Ponyville.” He looked disappointed. “I was really looking forward to that party…”

Pinkie was suddenly in Twilight’s face. “You got invited to a party and you didn’t go‽” she practically shrieked.

“Pinkie, you know what I was like back then!” Twilight protested. “This was before I realized how important friendship was, and what I was missing out on!”

“Calm down there, sugarcube,” Applejack spoke as she laid a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “We’ll get this all sorted out.”

“Right. Right!” Pinkie had a firm look on her face. “Come on, girls! Let’s get cleaning!”

Then she dashed into the kitchen, dragging Rarity behind her. A moment later, there was the sound of a door opening, followed by a high-pitched shriek.

“Rarity!” Spike hurried in the direction of the sound, before Rarity materialized in front of him so fast she might well have teleported.

“Twilight,” she hissed. “There is something big and slimy and moving in your refrigerator!”

Twilight cringed. “I…”

“I’m on it,” Spike interrupted and headed back the direction Rarity had come from. Halfway there, he turned back and looked at Twilight. “I told you leaving those old mixtures in the back was a mistake.”

Twilight cringed again. “Okay, okay, you were right…”

“Mixtures?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I was working on a few experimental potions that needed to be kept cold until they were ready, so I stuck them in the back bottom of the fridge, behind the mayonnaise, next to the ketchup and to the left of the coleslaw,” Twilight sheepishly admitted. “With everything going on back then, I forgot all about them when we left Canterlot.”

A tentacle briefly reached into the room before there was another cry, this one unidentifiable, and then it dissolved.

“Thanks for finding the baking soda so quickly, Pinkie!” Spike’s voice said before he came back out. “Okay, creature’s gone. It’s safe to go back in there now.”

“Creature?” Twilight blinked. “Did you say… gah.” She shook her head. “I must have really messed that one up.”

“No kidding,” Spike said as he walked up beside her. “Either that or Discord’s been here. It looked like the sort of thing he might have done.”

A scroll popped out of thin air next to him, and he unfurled it. “Dear Spike… I resemble that remark. Yours truly, Discord.” He rolled it back up. “Well, he didn’t deny it.”

“Let’s save that for later,” Twilight said quickly, seeing as Fluttershy looked about ready to speak up. “Regardless of who caused it, be it Discord or me, it’s dealt with. Right?”

“Yep. The creature that lived in the refrigerator, behind the mayonnaise, next to the ketchup and to the left of the coleslaw, is gone.” He held out a claw to Rarity. “May I escort you back in?”

She nodded somewhat hesitantly, before the two headed into the kitchen again.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Only you could remember where you left that thing, Twilight.”

“What?” Twilight looked indignant. “Am I the only one here who memorizes the contents of their fridge and where it’s all kept?”

“Yes,” a chorus of voices said.

Twilight gave them all a dirty look, then sighed. “At any rate, let’s get this place cleaned up.”

With that, the group set to work.

A few hours later, Twilight looked around. “Well, everything’s all set and livable again,” she said. “And if I weren’t getting ready to go on a long trip, I’d probably take a lot of this back down to Ponyville.”

“Mm-hm.” Spike nodded. “Actually, before we go…” He scooped up one item. “I think I ought to take this out to Moondancer.”

“That’s a good idea Spike,” Twilight said. “Um… if we can find her. I just realized, I have no idea where she lives.”

“Not to worry!” Pinkie’s face was suddenly in hers. “I can find anypony you like! Especially somepony who throws a party!”

“Great!” Twilight backed up a bit. “So, let’s get going!”

Once all seven were out and Twilight had locked up the tower again, she saw Pinkie sniffing the ground. Exchanging glances with the others, she trotted after her most eccentric friend.

Pinkie’s instincts led them to an old, dilapidated-looking house, and there were several cringes at the sight. Finally, Twilight knocked on the door, which half-crumbled under her hoof. Withdrawing it, she called out. “Hello? Anypony home?”

For a moment, there was no reply. Then, the door creaked open and another unicorn, wearing a pair of taped-up glasses and with her frazzled-looking mane tied up above her head, stuck her face out. “Yes?”

“Moondancer, it’s me! Twilight! Your old classmate? How are you…” A piece of the roof fell off right then, making her flinch. “Doing?”

“I’m trying to study.” The door slammed shut.

Twilight blinked. “Is it just me, or is she…”

“That’s not the Moondancer I remember. Not with that mood.” Spike looked up at Twilight. “I think we’d better go for now, but we’re not done here. Not by a long shot.”

Twilight nodded, then turned around to see Pinkie’s mane had flattened. “That’s one unhappy pony,” the pink mare whispered. “We’ve got to do something, and I mean something!”

“No kiddin’,” Applejack agreed.

“I…” Twilight began, a frown on her face. “I agree that we need to do something but right now out of the blue might seem a bit forceful or insincere...”

Pinkie’s cheeks puffed out. “But… she’s so unhappy!”

“I know, Pinkie. But we need to step back and think about how to handle this,” Twilight told her. “Remember how things got when you wouldn’t back down that one time, and Cranky got real mad at you?”

Pinkie’s mane flattened a bit. “Yeah… okay.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Applejack reassured her as she stepped up to the other mare. “Like Twilight said. But not right now.” She glanced up at the sky. “It’s gettin’ pretty late…”

“And I need to be back at the castle to meet with Princess Celestia, and then prepare for tomorrow’s trip,” Twilight said. “Let’s go.”

“That sounds wonde-” Rarity began only to cut off as a pair of wolves walked up to them. “Can we help you?”

“Lady Belle, Dash and Pie, miss Fluttershy and Applejack and sir Spike?” the wolf on the left asked while the one on the right reached through his pack.

The six of them shared a look before nodding their heads.

“On behalf of our nation, we humbly offer you an invitation to our land alongside her Grace Twilight,” the wolf said, while the other handed out a set of invitations. “We hope to see all of you very soon.”

There was a quick round of “Thank you”s, with the wolves nodding their heads in response before walking off.

“Well that makes things easy, don’t they?” Applejack said with a grin. “Ah think we need to talk to some folks ’bout squaring things back home for tomorrow.”

“Maybe Raven Inkwell?” Spike offered.

“Uh, who’s that and what do they do?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Well, she is Celestia’s assistant and she handles this type of thing or knows who to talk to for it,” Twilight said with a shrug then looked at her friends. She was about to tell them that they really didn’t need to do this before she stopped herself. She knew that they would come with her regardless and if they were willing to put their own lives on hold for this sudden trip, then she could at least not disregard their decision so flippantly. “Thank you girls for coming with me; I know this isn’t something any of you have planned for and you do have lives of your own, so again, thank you for coming along.”

“It’s our pleasure,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “Besides, ever since Well-Hidden told me about his homeland, I’ve wanted to visit.”

“Yeah; this should be cool,” Rainbow Dash said. “I already put Cloud Kicker in charge of the weather bureau for while I was gonna be up here, I’ll just let her know I’ll be away longer than I thought.”

“Ah can get Mac to cover and if he ain’t up ta the whole work, he can always get som’ help,” Applejack said.

Rarity looked concerned. “I’m afraid I might have to simply close my shop for while I’m away,” she said. “Fortunately, I am quite caught up on my orders for now.”

“And the Cakes gave me a week off before we left this morning, so I’m good there,” Pinkie chimed in.

Twilight looked at Fluttershy. “What about you?”

“Oh, Harry can watch over things,” Fluttershy said. “Even Angel doesn’t like to misbehave when I leave a bear in charge, after all. And they both know to send for Dr. Fauna if there’s an emergency while I’m away.”

“Right.” Twilight shook her head. “I think we’d better get moving again. Spike, would you please help them find Raven so they can get everything home figured out; I still need to see Princess Celestia.”

There were several nods of assent before Spike led them off in one direction and Twilight left in another.

Chapter Fourteen

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Chapter Fourteen

“So that’s what’s going on,” Twilight concluded some time later. “I… I know Moondancer and I haven’t spoken in a long time, but I can’t help but be concerned about her. I don’t know how to approach this, exactly, but I want to do something.”

Sipping her tea, Princess Celestia nodded. “I understand, Twilight.” She looked uncomfortable. “Perhaps I should speak with her while you’re away, if she really is as unhappy as you describe. She may not have been one of my personal students, like you, but I was one of her teachers at school.” She smiled faintly. “I remember seeing the two of you working together, a few of the times I was supervising a class…”

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “That would be great! And… and I think I should send her something.” Her horn lit up and a nearby blank scroll levitated over to her, along with a quill and ink. Hurriedly, she wrote out something before rolling it up and passing it over to Celestia. “Do you think you could give this to her for me?”

“Of course,” Celestia replied as she accepted the scroll. “I’ll make sure she gets it.” Tucking it aside, she looked at Twilight. “So, aside from cleaning up your tower, visiting your old classmate and receiving your friends’ invitations to the Packlands, did anything else exciting happen while you and your friends were out today?”

“That’s about it,” Twilight said. She looked down. “Plus, Rarity and I talked to Blueblood after you left us earlier, when he came to get me for the signing, about his behavior at the Gala and his family’s history with the wolves.”

“Yes…” Celestia looked contemplative. “I suppose that would be something he’d want to discuss. I had many, many words with him when I informed him of just who it was he’d been treating so poorly that night. And I will freely admit, I should have informed him of just who we were expecting. But-” and here she raised a hoof. “I didn’t know Rarity was interested in him at first either. If I had, I would have made speaking to him more of a priority.”

Twilight blushed. “I guess we all made more than a few mistakes there.” She sighed. “And I should have taken the time to tell you about what all of us wanted out of the Gala, when I was writing to you.”

Celestia smiled. “Well, you know what they say about hindsight. But you still had fun in the end.”

“I know…” Twilight smiled back before she considered. “And there’s something else from today that I need to talk to you about. Something else Ambassador Swift-Pad and all of us talked about on the ride up.”

“Oh?” Celestia suddenly looked concerned.

“Yes… he talked about how the other nations viewed Equestria, and why. I know we talked about this earlier, but there was more going on, so I didn’t get to say everything I had planned.”

Celestia bowed her head. “Just how did he describe other nations as viewing us?”

Twilight looked uncomfortable. “Well, he said they viewed us as unintentional bullies, with how we press our views and ideals on them, and… about what you could do to them if you really wanted to.”

“And just what is it they think I could do?” Celestia asked. Her tone had taken a disturbed edge.

“They think you’d be willing to withhold the sun.”

Celestia’s eyes widened at Twilight’s words, and she looked rather nonplussed and distraught. "I - I would never!" She was visibly trying to calm herself as she continued. "I am bound to the sun in a way most ponies have forgotten. For years, it was the unicorns who moved the sun and moon... but the effort of doing so led themselves to burn themselves out." She lowered her head, shaking it in dismay as she attempted to calm herself.

Twilight looked at her, wide-eyed. “They what‽”

Celestia looked up at her. "They burned themselves out, losing all their powers, beyond the little magic that maintained their Cutie Marks. One day though, Luna and I found the sun had failed to rise because the last of the unicorns moving it and the moon, even Starswirl himself, had lost their power and could not move the sun and moon anymore. So Luna and I chose to try it for ourselves, hoping that our alicorn magic, which had been different from theirs, would succeed. And when we did... we bonded with the sun and moon in a way that we never expected, attaining our Cutie Marks and allowing us to restore magic to those who had lost theirs doing this task." She paused again to compose herself, and then gazed at her student. "I know exactly how it feels to awaken and discover that the sun and moon failed to rise or set, and I would never deliberately inflict that level of fear on anyone else, pony or otherwise. That’s why I’ve always kept to a strict schedule with the sun and, when I controlled it, the moon."

Twilight looked down. “I’m sorry if I upset you, Princess.”

“Don’t be, Twilight.” Celestia let out a sigh. “You were just voicing what I’ve known for a long time to be the truth. And the other sad truth is, I can’t blame them for their fears. Despite my best efforts to spread goodwill throughout this land and others, there are old scars that run deep, and some beings just cannot bring themselves to believe that another creature, pony or otherwise, has purely altruistic motivations. They see hidden plots behind every action, and in some cases rightfully so.”

Twilight looked disturbed. “That’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever heard…”

“I agree.” Celestia looked down. “The really scary thing is, there are some who have claimed that for every personal student I take, there was some hidden and sinister motivation. Would you believe some claim I was grooming them to be part of a royal harem?”

Twilight goggled at her. “Really‽”

Celestia nodded. “It’s nonsense, of course - I’ve never had a royal harem. At any rate, raising a younger pony for that purpose would legally be considered wife husbandry, and that has been illegal for centuries.”

“Good.”

Celestia smiled at that. “The truth is, I chose them because I love teaching. My students have helped ground me, and reminded me of how important is to have bonds with other ponies… bonds of love and friendship. And while I dearly wish each of them would become as immortal as I myself was, I never once regretted those bonds we shared when they passed.” She looked at Twilight. “When you became an alicorn, it made me so very happy… knowing that I wouldn’t lose you to the ravages of old age. And I believe Luna feels the same way. But I will never think any less of those who remained mortal.” She sighed in somewhat mournful but still happy way. “In fact, I think they are even greater than us.”

“Because of their shorter lives, right?” Twilight asked.

“Exactly,” Celestia smiled wistfully. “Even though they are short sparks in our long lives, just seeing how bright they can shine is truly astounding.”

Twilight wasn’t sure how to respond to that so she simply nodded her head.

“In any case, I do think it is getting late enough.” Celestia said with a soft smile. “You should get back now and start preparing for your departure. I am sure that either Spike or our kitchen staff have prepared a dinner for you and your friends.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Twilight replied with another nod of her head. “Have a good night, princess Celestia.”

Celestia just smiled softly at that while opening the door with her magic.

By the time she had managed to reach the wing that she and her friends were staying in, there was the scent of a well-cooked meal already in the air. Twilight opened the door and joined her friends in their light meal that was more commoner-styled than what she had previously seen in the castle.

No doubt realizing what she was thinking, Spike tilted his head upwards. “The night kitchen staff have had time to adapt to what Princess Luna prefers and she prefers more current cuisine.” He chuckled. “Partly because most of the nobles wouldn’t be caught dead trying that kind of stuff, and you know how well she gets along with them.”

“So how did ya meeting go with Princess Celestia?” Applejack asked.

“Pretty well,” Twilight said. “She promised that she’d talk with Moondancer while we were away and try to help her.”

“That’s great Twilight!” Pinkie chirped happily. “If that works, I can throw a ‘we are friends again’ party!”

Twilight smiled. “I look forward to it.”

“So did Celestia tell you anything else we need to know about the Packlands?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Not really,” Twilight said. “And I think as long as we keep their laws and customs in mind, we will be okay.”

“I must ask darling,” Rarity turned to face Rainbow Dash. “Are you really going to be okay with the minimal flying you will be doing in the Packlands?”

Rainbow Dash gave her an incredulous look. “What minimal flying? It’s just weather manipulation they object to, not flying. Just means I gotta remember not to land on any clouds without asking.”

“I know that darling, but I also know you dear,” Rarity said softly. “You are an athlete as well as somepony who aspires to be a showpony and will use any chance to find your big break or entertain others.”

“I also know how serious this is, and when to ask permission,” Rainbow Dash retorted a bit angrily. “I know when to keep my ego in check. Usually.” She looked down. “You girls taught me a lesson about that a while back.”

Twilight sighed. “Not one of my better decisions, I admit,” she said. “I knew we should have thought it through a lot more before we did that, and tried harder to just talk to you… but we’d already tried, and we were all more than a little frustrated with how you just weren’t listening when we tried to tell you that saving lives was one thing, and a good thing, but letting it go to your head was quite another.” She looked Rainbow Dash straight in the eye. “We were all at fault that time.”

There was a long period of silence after that before Fluttershy coughed gently, dragging all eyes towards her. “Well, we’ve all learned from that and we haven't done anything so foolish since. We’re still friends, after all.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash looked at her gratefully. “We are, aren’t we?”

They were all smiling again, with Applejack clearing her throat. “I think we’d better eat and hit the hay; we’ve got an early train ta catch, after all.”

There were several nods of assent before the seven focused on their food, finishing before they made their way towards the bedrooms set up for them.

Chapter Fifteen

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Chapter Fifteen

It was early in the morning when they were all assembled on the train station with everyone yawning, Applejack less so than the others, before Swift-Pad appeared from around the corner.

“Good morning!” he said cheerfully. “It is very nice to see you all here.”

“I see you’ve already had your coffee today,” Spike commented as he tried to stifle another yawn.

“Yes, her Grand Grace Luna was kind enough to ensure the kitchen staff knew to have it on hand very early,” Swift-Pad said. “And I also understand we will need to make a quick detour in Ponyville so you may all pack up your belongings for this trip.”

“As well as inform our friends and coworkers about our impromptu trip to your home,” Rarity said. Then she paused. “Oh dear.”

“What?” Twilight asked.

“I just realized, I shall have to inform my parents that they shall have to make other arrangements, should they decide to take one of their own impromptu trips this week,” Rarity said. “Since I will be away and will be unable to watch over Sweetie Belle as I usually do when they’re away.”

Applejack shrugged. “‘Tain’t no problem,” she said. “She’s always welcome to stay at the Acres if she needs to.”

Rarity looked at her gratefully. “Thank you; it is a weight off of my mind to know she has some alternative for when I’m unavailable,” she said.

Applejack nodded. “She’s your sister, and mah sister’s friend,” she said. “Ah’d never turn her down if she really needed it, an’ neither would the rest of mah family. Hay, Scoots is welcome there too when her family hasn’t made active arrangements.”

Twilight looked at her curiously. “I just realized, I never have met Scootaloo’s family,” she said. “I think I heard her saying something about her parents being away most of the time once, but that’s it. So who…”

“She’s got her two aunts who live just a few train stops away, and they come here to stay with her regularly,” Rainbow Dash said. “And when they can’t be in town, they always make arrangements for other ponies to look in on her. Like me, or Rares, or the Cakes.”

“Good.” Twilight smiled before she heard some faint growling. Turning her head, she saw that it was coming from Swift-Pad, whose eyes were pointed down in anger. “Um, Ambassador?”

Swift-Pad looked up. “Are you saying,” he said rather pointedly to Rainbow Dash. “That these ponies just ran off and largely just left their child to her own devices, rather than care for her themselves?”

Rainbow Dash looked down. “Yeah, kinda,” she said. “They do important science work for the crown, and there’s literally nopony else who can do what they do, so they can’t just find a different set of ponies to do it. And they don’t dare bring Scoots along and risk her life, so they made sure she has plenty of ponies to watch over her. They do write back and forth all the time, she’s shown me the letters, but… her aunts are more her parents than her birth parents, and they love her like their own.” She sighed. “I think that’s a big part of why she got so attached to me. And I don’t mind that in the slightest - my folks couldn’t have any more foals after me, so she’s the only sister I’m ever going to have.” She looked at the rest of the group. “She needs me, and I need her. More than she knows.”

Rarity nodded. “I quite understand,” she said. “I must confess that since our parents tend to go off and leave her with me, there are times when Sweetie Belle feels more like a daughter to me than my sister. But in their own way, Mother and Father do care… and Mother once told me that part of why they entrust her to me so often is because she feels I do a far better job with parenting Sweetie Belle than she does, and that I grew up to be the successful mare I am in spite of their parenting rather than because of it.”

Applejack bowed her head. “There are times when Ah only wish Ah had that kind of issue,” she said quietly. “Mah folks barely got the chance to raise Apple Bloom before they were… gone.”

“The circumstances that you found yourself in Applejack are a tragedy that could not be helped,” Swift-Pad said, sounding far warmer than he had a moment before. Then his expression turned more serious. “But parents who choose to effectively abandon their children to the care of others… there is no excuse for such a thing.”

“I… believe that this is just a difference of culture,” Rarity said, sounding a bit nervous which left Twilight feeling a bit off that she hadn’t tried to handle the situation herself. “After all, both my parents and Scootaloo’s have given their foals’ care over to family members whom they know and trust, and not just to strangers. Even when they do have little choice but to allow non-family to care for their young ones, they screen these caretakers very carefully first - for one thing, previous experience in watching over foals is a must. I will admit it is not perfect, but they do make an effort. And I… I, for one, cannot imagine what my life would be like without Sweetie Belle being around me as often as she is. She is my family, and I care for her.”

“They are lucky that they have someone watching over them,” Swift-Pad said with enough tone that caused Applejack to frown. “In any case, we should board the train and not make them wait any longer.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Twilight interjected before any of her friends could add anything else to the conversation, noticing a few other ponies nearby who appeared to be looking curiously at them. “Our car is this way.”

Leading them aboard, she let everyone get themselves settled in, before looking at Swift-Pad. “I am aware that your people are very protective of their children,” she said. “May I presume that they have their own rules when it comes to the parents caring for them, and that they do not approve of passing such responsibilities off to others except in the most extreme of circumstances?”

“You would presume correctly,” Swift-Pad said. “Along with honesty, we also view the familial bonds very seriously.”

“Because you’re on your own for so long?” Spike ventured.

“Correct, young drake,” Swift-Pad nodded his head gently towards the dragon. “While we do leave our young with members of our pack while we are out hunting, they are still considered our family and thus, no abandoning of the young cubs is done.” He frowned with his face scrunching up. “It might sound like what you do, but there is a difference, I assure you.”

“Namely that you wolfies do it out of some sort of cultural thing and you see Rarity and Scoot’s parents just dumping their responsibilities off on others?” Pinkie asked.

“Exactly,” Swift-Pad said. “While I do not doubt that you do care for your sister and are doing the best you can for her,” he said to Rarity, “The fact is that my people would never just give a child over to a relative for long periods of time so they can indulge in their own pleasures. Such a thing is highly frowned on, no matter how skilled the caretaker.”

“What about when the caretakers aren’t good; what happens then sugarcube?” Applejack spoke up.

Swift-Pad curled his lip. “To leave a child in the care of an incompetent is abuse on a criminal level, and would result in severe punishment by the pack leader,” he said. “At the very least, those you have described have been careful to avoid such a thing, which is one point in their favor.”

“And if the pack leader is the one who sets the trend of being harsh to your young?” Twilight asked with Swift-Pad grimacing, showing her that she’d hit on something. “What happens then? From what you have described, each pack leader has control over the pack which is comprised of different families and thus means each leader has autonomy over their decisions for their own people.”

Swift-Pad looked like he had swallowed something bitter as he replied. “In those cases, the other pack leaders would need to find out about it, which is difficult as trying to pry into the habits of other tribes is considered very rude. If it is found out, then the matter could be brought up in a Gathering, and if it gets enough support from the various pack leaders it will be brought up to the Elders who would then decide if action needs to be taken. If that passes, then we would intervene based on their decision.”

Twilight nodded. “So long as you have plans for such an occasion,” she said before shifting into a less stern position. “I don’t mean to be so harsh, but there are some points I feel rather strongly on, and making sure children aren’t harmed is one of them.”

“On that point, we can both agree,” Swift-Pad said. “And I… I did not mean to sound so harsh to the two of you,” he said to Rarity and Rainbow Dash. “It is clear that you both care for the young ones, and that you do what you must to ensure they are well-cared for; my frustration at hearing about their situations was not intentionally aimed at you.”

Both mares nodded. “We understand,” Rainbow Dash said. “Everyone has their own way of feeling about something, and sometimes they get a little strong about voicing those opinions. It’s perfectly normal.” She shrugged. “Besides, I could tell from the start it wasn’t me you were mad at. Or Rares.”

“And if I am being honest, your system is better at helping the young in those situations that I mentioned.” Swift-Pad hunched as he spoke. “There are a lot of opportunities for the whole measure to fail. On the other paw, we have seen that yours has had most of its loopholes closed by her Grace Celestia when she finds them, and is far more secure.” He frowned. “So long as those involved actually do their work,” he muttered. “She has reported to us of some who were purposely failing to do so in past centuries, and how they were arrested for it upon discovery.”

“Well, how about we go to more pleasant topics, shall we?” Rarity asked. “I think I will only need… hmm…” She considered.

“A week’s worth of supplies,” Applejack said. “An’ Ah think we’d better take an hour, hour and a half at most, to get it done and get back to the train station.”

“Then let me tell the conductor about this,” Twilight said as she stood up before pausing and shaking her head.

“Everything okay, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I was wondering if it would cause an issue with them but I realized that this would have been already taken care of.”

“You are quite right at that,” Swift-Pad spoke up. “I believe her Grace Celestia had made such arrangements before we set off this morning.”

Twilight nodded, then sat back down and began to contemplate, thinking over what she would need to bring and how much space she’d have for books.

Nearly two hours later, the entire group met aboard the train once more. Twilight had filled her saddlebags with necessary supplies for herself and Spike, along with a full suitcase full of books, while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had a single duffel bag each, as did Applejack. Rarity, meanwhile, had surprised them all by appearing with nothing.

“Rarity? Where’s your luggage?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, Pinkie Pie was kind enough to store it all for me,” Rarity replied.

Next to her, Pinkie nodded and pulled a massive suitcase out of her mane, before hiding it back away, to Swift-Pad’s astonishment.

“How did you do that?” he asked, clear amazement on his face.

Twilight made a face. “Pinkie is capable of things that even I don’t understand, and I’ve learned not to try,” she said. “That way lies madness and insanity.”

“You don’t say.” Swift-Pad eyed the pink party pony. “Well, however you accomplish it, it is quite a feat.”

“Thanks!” Pinkie chirped at him. Then she reached into her mane again. “I’ve got my own stuff in there too. I even brought Gummy!”

Swift-Pad looked at the small alligator she was now holding, which eyed him calmly. “Miss Pie, you are truly a unique individual.”

You wouldn’t be saying that if you knew about the Crystal Mirror, Twilight thought to herself. Aloud, she said, “We’d better get on board.”

“Quite.”

Very soon, the eight (Gummy having popped back into Pinkie’s mane) had made their way to their seats again with the train beginning to pick up.

“So how far are the Packlands?” Applejack asked as she started to get comfortable on the seat.

“Fairly far, despite this being a direct line towards the Packlands,” Swift-Pad answered. “Perhaps by early noon, at the latest.”

“Doesn’t sound that bad,” Rainbow Dash muttered as she scrunched up into the corner of a bench. “I can get some more sleep if that’s the case.” Within a few seconds, she was already snoring away.

“Well, I think I will follow Dash’s lead, though not so...” Rarity paused, trying to come up with a kind word.

“Loud?” Applejack suggested.

“That is one way of describing it,” Rarity said as she pulled out the bench to rest on it more fully than her pegasus friend had.

“Perhaps the rest of us who aren’t planning on going back to sleep should move to the far end of the car, so they can rest without us disturbing them,” Twilight suggested. “And I can soundproof this area to be safe.”

Rarity gazed at her gratefully. “That would be much appreciated, thank you,” she said with a smile before closing her eyes again.

“Ah’ll be joining you Twilight,” Applejack said “Ah ain’t one to go back ta sleep - ‘sides, Ah get up earlier than this for chores every day.”

“Me too,” Pinkie said softly, though still giggling. “Gotta get up early if you want to get everything baked fresh before the customers come in.”

“I will stay here, if that’s okay,” Fluttershy said with a bit of a drowsy tone.

“As will I,” Swift-Pad said, yawning with his teeth showing. “I believe the caffeine from earlier has worn off and I was up quite late dealing with some background paperwork to arrange this diplomatic visit.”

Twilight nodded at him. “Spike? Are you coming?”

Spike yawned. “Nah, I think I could use a nap.”

“All right then.” Rising from her seat and moving into the center walkway, with Pinkie and Applejack following her, Twilight lit up her horn, producing a bubble around the seats. The trio then headed for another set further away.

Once they were settled in, Twilight looked at her friends. “So I know that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy know something of the Packlands themselves, but they’re both asleep at the moment. Do either of you know more about them?”

Applejack shook her head. “Not me. Don’t have any family there, far as Ah know.”

Pinkie looked thoughtful. “I think Granny Pie told me some stories about them,” she said. “But they might have been about the Dire Wolves instead.”

Twilight looked at her in surprise. “That’s the second time I’ve heard about that group,” she said. “One of Cheerilee’s students said they took over the old pony lands after the great migration.”

“That’s the story!” Pinkie chirped.

Twilight nodded. “Swift-Pad already said the Packlands were somewhere completely different from our ancestral homeland though.”

“Aw.” Pinkie looked disappointed. “Sorry, don’t know about his people specifically then.”

“Ah guess you’ll just have to wait, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Besides, remember what Princess Celestia said when she first told us about this? ‘Prepare for what you can and learn how to adapt to what you cannot.’ Look at this as an extension of that lesson.”

Twilight smiled at her. “You’re right. Thank you.” With that, Twilight began to pull out the rune book she’d been given and began to read it carefully.

“What’s that Twi?” Applejack asked curiously.

“That’s the book Swift-Pad gave me about runecrafting, the one I told Princess Celestia about,” Twilight said with a hoof sliding over the cover. “I’m not allowed to share anything from it though.”

Applejack nodded. “Ah understand.” She sat back.

Pinkie, meanwhile, was looking curiously at her. “Did you see what kind of rocks he used for his runes?”

“I’m… not sure,” Twilight said. “Why?”

“Just wondering.” Pinkie shrugged. “I bet my sister Maud would love to see them. She’s studying to be a rocktologist!”

“Really?” Twilight closed her book and smiled. “I don’t think I’ve heard much about your sisters. Or your parents, really.”

Pinkie grinned. “Oh, they’re loads of fun!” She began describing them all - Limestone, the eldest and grumpiest of the sisters; the stoic, rock-loving Maud; the shy, soft-spoken Marble; her old-fashioned and traditional but loving parents, and life in Rockville - in a discussion that lasted most of the rest of the trip.

It was around eleven when Swift-Pad poked his nose through the door.

“Hello your Grace,” he said, nodding his head towards Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “Thank you for letting us rest as long as we did.”

“It was not a problem,” Twilight replied, smiling at him. “Did you have a good sleep?”

“Yes, your Grace, thank you for asking.” The wolf remained in the middle of the door before tilting his head past him. “I thought you would like to see this; we are approaching the final bend towards the border and the view is exquisite.”

“I’d be glad to.” Twilight rose from her seat, with Pinkie and Applejack following her as Swift-Pad led the way with the rest of their friends looking out the window to see a wide blue mountain range, sweeping up past them. Trees marched up the sides of the mountains or bristled on their ridges - pines and maples for the most part, with here and there the startling white fork of a birch tree, and an occasional crag or horn of stone topping a mountain or jutting from its sides. It was a beautiful sight, and all of them stared in awe.

Applejack let out a long, low whistle. “Whoo-eee,” she said in clear admiration. “That’s one of the purtiest sights Ah ever did see!”

“Just wait until we are past the mountains,” Swift-Pad spoke with his chest filling with pride. “The view gets even better.”

“I cannot wait to see it Swift-Pad,” Twilight said, placing a hoof on his shoulder before frowning as she felt him tense up. “Is everything okay?”

“In... a sense,” he answered dodgily with all eyes on him now. Swift-Pad let out a sigh before looking at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. “The view is spectacular, but we may also be seeing some of the… more troublesome members of Equestria’s border guard, or possibly those of the PVE organization.”

Twilight frowned, recalling what he and her friends had said about the latter group. “I wish there was something I could do to make them back off…”

“There is little you can do,” Swift-Pad said. “The former wouldn’t dare have anything out of place with yourself present while the latter... “ Swift-Pad hmmed at that, tilting his head to the side before shaking it. “I do doubt that the latter would try to appear in the border station and they are not truly welcomed in Bur Patch.”

“What’s Bur Patch?” Twilight asked, turning away from the sight to stare at him.

“That is the township where most of the ponies that supply the border station live,” Swift-Pad replied, tilting his head to the other side of the train car where Twilight could see the faint outlines of smoke and the beginning of a road further down the track. “In any case, you should all prepare yourself as we are nearly there.”

With that notice, everyone began to gather their luggage as the train began to slow down at long last. Before long, the train let out a final sharp whistle as it reached the station, and Twilight was prepared to walk out the door when she suddenly thought of something, realizing that this situation felt familiar. Taking a quick look out the window again, she could spot several guards standing at the ledge.

“Rarity, I am going to need a quick touch-up please!” she said, turning to face her friend who already had her brushes and combs out.

“Good thinking darling,” Rarity said as she began to straighten her hair and coat at a speed that was painful and Twilight resolved not to wait until the last minute ever again. “First impressions are important.” Rarity took a step backwards before nodding her head. “I’m afraid that this is the best I can do on such short notice, darling but hopefully it will be sufficient.”

“It will need to be,” Twilight told her friend while smiling. “And it is not your fault but mine for forgetting to get myself presentable.” She then looked at Swift-Pad and was about to ask him if she should be wearing her regalia before the doors opened up.

Standing in front of her was a unicorn in light blue armour with a circular patch on one side, the words Equestria Border Patrol on it. She could also see more ponies in the same uniforms, and a group of wolves by their side with a sash of the same blue across their backs, behind him.

Gazing into the train car, the agent nodded. “Your highness, Ambassador, and companions,” he said. “On behalf of the Equestrian Border Patrol, I offer you all greetings and good fortune on your travels and in all your endeavors.” He bowed to all of them with the ponies behind bowing low to her while the wolves merely dipped their heads. “I’ve been sent to act as your escort. Please follow me, and have your identification ready and present.”

Twilight nodded back politely, following him shoulder to shoulder as she recalled from her time with Celestia that it was a sign to show that ponies were equals, with her friends stepping in behind her. Swift-Pad had loped over to the other side of the unicorn, and was clearly used to this sort of thing as he fell into position, the trio walking in the direction their escort indicated.

It was a short walk from the station towards the gatehouse built into the mountainside but one thing puzzled Twilight. All of the forest had been cleared away, leaving a wide open, unpleasant-looking space of land and she was aware of how ponies loved to beautify their surroundings. The conundrum played in her head for a while before she recalled Shiny’s old O&O games, and suddenly understood. This was a standard denial tactic to prevent intruders from being able to hide themselves in the surrounding environment, and therefore make attempted stealth invasions that much harder.

One by one, they were admitted into the station and Twilight’s opinion on the border station shifted slightly.

It was an impressive station that had around ten queues for individuals to be processed and there were a number of guards present in the process of cleaning the station to a polished state, but the fact that they needed to do so suggested to her that the station hadn’t seen much activity in quite some time. In fact, she, her friends and the guards were the only non-wolves present. She also noticed there was a blank bulletin board that seemed to cause every guard in the station to have a look of concern when she stepped towards it.

“Your highness, please, if you would step this way,” the guard that had greeted them at the station move in front of her, doing his best to try to redirect her attention.

“What is that thing if ya don’t mind me askin’,” Applejack inquired, standing next to Twilight.

The stallion gulped for a moment before replying. “That is our criminal wanted list - known troublemakers who are currently fugitives from justice.”

“It’s blank,” Applejack said shortly with Twilight turning to stare at the stallion.

“...it was decided that such information would be too troubling for you to see, your highness,” the pony replied with Twilight frowning at his answer before she noticed the guilty looks the wolves were sharing.

“Is there someone in particular that you were afraid I would react poorly to?” she asked, a stern look on her face.

“Of course not, your highness,” the stallion said while shaking his head. “It was just done for your own sensitivity, I promise.”

Twilight nodded. “I appreciate your concern,” she said. “However, I have been in the presence of such lists before, including that maintained by our own Royal Guard. Seeing such things would not upset me.”

“As you say, your highness,” the stallion nodded his head and Twilight was aware he had not offered his name to her once. Normally, it would be one of the first things a guard would do as it could help their career if they got their name out to those higher up, as Shiny had once told her. The fact he hadn't done so meant he probably didn't want attention drawn to him which meant he was more than likely hiding things from his superiors. “If you would all step this way please,” he said, directing them back to the processing booths.

Twilight, still frowning, made her way toward the booth where the ponies behind them began to process her passport and those of her friends. Presenting their passports to the Border Patrol Agents didn’t take long, and once everything had been settled, the agent who’d greeted them bowed again. “Welcome to the Packlands, your highness,” he said. “We hope you enjoy your stay here.”

Twilight smiled back. “I certainly intend to.”

Chapter Sixteen

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Chapter Sixteen

They were led through the other end of the border station with a pair of wolves wearing the same blue sashes holding open the doors for them, each puffing their chest out with pride.

The exit led them into a tunnel, and when they had reached its end, Twilight looked out to see much the same lack of scenery as there had been on the other side of the border. She could tell there was a clearly marked path ahead of them, leading to more forest some distance away, and she could also tell that Applejack was visibly disturbed by this lack of plantlife. Still, the other mare was keeping quiet.

Finally, as their escorts reached the edge of the forest, they stopped. “From here on, the good Ambassador will lead you,” one of them said.

Twilight nodded. “Thank you very much for all your help,” she said.

The wolves dipped their heads in return, and then moved behind the eight, clearly watching as they entered the forest before returning the way they’d come.

Twilight kept quiet as she and Swift-Pad led the others, but once they were far enough in, she heard a quiet “Ahem” from Applejack, and turned back to look at her. “Yes?”

“Twilight, Ah know Princess Celestia said they don’t appreciate usin’ magic to grow stuff here, but why in the world would they not do somethin’ about those huge bare patches back there?” Applejack looked genuinely distraught.

“Security reasons,” Swift-Pad said before Twilight could. “There are those who have sought to use stealth to sneak across the borders. The open areas help to negate such things, by removing terrain that a foe could hide themselves amongst.”

Twilight nodded at him. “My brother used the same tactics in his role-playing games, and later in his time with the Royal Guard,” she said. “I admit I was confused when I first saw it here, but then I remembered his use of this method.”

“Ah,” Applejack frowned at that but still nodded her head in understanding. “Ah guess that makes sense. Y’all want to protect yerself.”

“Exactly,” Swift-Pad said. “We take our security very seriously, no matter the nature of the possible threat.”

“Have the Packlands ever had to deal with serious magical threats?” Rarity asked curiously.

Swift-Pad shrugged. “If you mean such creatures as Discord or Sombra, no,” he said. “Discord had never shown an interest in this land during his brief reign over Equestria, and their Graces dealt with Sombra before he could reach this far south. We have had occasional incursions by magical creatures like hydras or ursas, but they are typically met with trained runewolves like myself and redirected into uninhabited areas where they could cause no harm.” He then rolled his head to the other side as they continued to walk through the forest. “In fact, this is one of our more defended borders and we’ve rarely had any issue with illegal crossings with it.”

Twilight felt he was omitting things from his statement but decided not to press just yet and instead took in her surroundings. While she had been in multiple forests before, this felt like a mixture of the wild Everfree forest and the tamer White Tail Woods. There was a lack of magic in the air which was off-putting to her unicorn senses but it still felt alive and peaceful without being overpowering, which seemed to envigor some other senses within her. Looking over at Applejack and Pinkie Pie who were both looking rather at ease with their surroundings, Twilight closed her eyes for a moment and reached, feeling the flow of magic within her body - not the unicorn magic she’d grown up with, or the pegasus magic that Rainbow Dash had made an effort to help her with, but the third kind, which she’d barely tried to use since her ascension.

It feels like home, she thought. My Earth pony magic… it likes this place.

Fortunately, she’d maintained enough control to keep her magic within herself so it wouldn’t start affecting her surroundings, but now that she recognized it, it was hard to keep from feeling the sheer amount of life in the areas around her. Opening her eyes, she found the others staring at her curiously.

“Is there something the matter, your Grace?” Swift-Pad asked.

Twilight shook her head. “There’s just so much life here, and for the first time, I can really feel it,” she said with a smile. “It’s amazing.”

Swift-Pad smiled at her before looking over at Applejack who had a bit of a glazed look. “Is everything okay?”

“Partner, this land is calling to have stuff grown on it,” she said as she went over to examine a tree, leaning over to place a hoof on it before she stopped herself. With a light laugh and a faint blush as she rubbed the back of her head, she looked back at him. “Farmer’s instincts almost took over there,” she said. “And Earth pony instincts too. Ah get exactly what yer sayin’ about the life here, Twilight.”

“Soooo,” Rainbow Dash said after a moment of silence. “Getting off the Earth pony magic thing that I don’t really understand… who were those wolves at the gatehouse? Part of your pack?”

“Oh no, no,” Swift-Pad said with a laugh. “There are many distinct packs in our lands. As your friends Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack know, my own is the High-Leap pack, while much of our fish is brought in by the Dive-Deep pack. They, the ones at the gate house, belong to the Strong-Defend pack.”

“Wait wait wait,” Pinkie bounced over in front of Swift-Pad. “Didn’t you say that you’re named by your parents for doing something cool?”

“Yes, that is correct,” Swift-Pad replied.

“But that would mean Dive-Deep would have…”

“Would have swum far below the surfaces of the waters when he was a pup,” Swift-Pad said. “Indeed, he did so, well over a thousand years ago, in what we now know as the North Luna Ocean. He later became founder of the pack named for him, and while few of our kind have ever gone that deep since then, his descendents and their friends remember that day well.”

“I can’t imagine it went over too well at first,” Rarity said. “Wet fur of any kind…”

“I expect there was indeed some distress at the time, but given his accomplishment, his parents were rather proud of him and chose to focus on that aspect of his deed,” Swift-Pad replied. “Since then, of course, his pack has become well known for their fishing skills, though the Swim-Well pack has also achieved much fame in that area.” He shook his head and continued to walk into the forest. “In any case, we will first stop at the village of Strong-Defend’s pack. They have traditionally protected many of the borders, ever since Strong-Defend himself led a large wolfpack to fend off an attack by griffons who sought to claim these lands for themselves… I believe they intended to use them as one of many bases of operations from which to surround Equestria and take it over.”

“That’s disturbing,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

Swift-Pad shrugged. “If my memory serves me right, this was a renegade band that predated King John by many centuries, rather than one supported by the griffon kingdom’s official leadership of that era.”

“Still disturbing.”

Twilight decided to speak up. “Speaking of nations that have had problems, Princess Celestia told us that the hippogriff kingdom used to be friendly with Equestria, but one day they said that something had come up back home and recalled their ambassador. Do you know what that might have been?”

Swift-Pad frowned. “I recall the incident you speak of,” he said. “Their ambassador in our lands was also called back, but declined to give details, beyond that some problem had arisen and all of their kind were being called home from around the world. Since then, we have attempted to contact them from afar and to reach Mount Aris in person multiple times over the years, but none of our ships have ever been able to come within range of that land to properly investigate. It is as if something is purposely preventing us from getting there and discovering what happened to them, and we find it most worrisome.”

Pinkie’s mane flattened a bit. “So do I,” she said. “I think… I think something really, really bad must have happened to them…”

Twilight laid a hoof on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out,” she said. “Some day, somehow.” She then looked at Swift-Pad. “Do we have your permission to share this information with Princess Celestia?”

“You do,” Swift-Pad said. “If it is regarding the safety of an ally nation of both the Packlands and Equestria, then yes, you may inform her Grace of what we know.”

“Thank you.” Calling a quill, ink and parchment from her saddlebags, Twilight began writing. After several minutes, she had completed the letter, ensured the ink was dry, wrapped it up and gave it over to Spike, who instantly sent it while she put her supplies away. The fire spiraled in the air for a while before finally making its way over the mountain before stopping again and dropping down.

“I see that the protection spells are still in place,” Swift-Pad said, raising a paw to Twilight to halt her questions. “If you give the runewolves at the mountain’s top a moment, they will examine it before releasing it.”

“I see,” Twilight frowned, uncomfortable with someone else reading her messages.

“As with other measures at the border, it is for security reasons,” Swift-Pad said. “I am certain, given the information you intended to send, that it will be released very quickly - ah, there it goes.” He gestured, and Twilight saw the fire spiraling again before moving east very quickly. “The main purpose of this is to prevent harmful magics or other effects from being sent on or in such messages,” he continued. “There was an incident many, many years ago in which a rare renegade of our lands attempted to use his methods to send letters with… potent combinations of runes that, had they been activated at their destination, would have resulted in much danger for the intended recipient. Ever since then, we’ve kept a watchful eye out for such things.”

Twilight nodded. “That’s… disturbing, that someone would use magic for such a purpose.”

“I quite agree,” Swift-Pad replied. “The one whom had done such acts was caught and determined to be dangerously… corrupted, by some of the darker magics he had studied. In that case, we took steps to reverse the damage he had done to himself; he was prohibited from ever working magic again, but other than that, he was eventually able to live a productive life as one of our civilians.” He curled his lip. “Had he been found to be that way on his own, rather than through exposure to outside sources, the results would have been quite different. But I fear I am disturbing you with such talk, so let us change the subject, shall we?”

Twilight nodded again, but said nothing for a minute. Finally, with genuine curiosity, she looked at him and asked, “So what are your villages like?”

“Ah, I was wondering when you would ask,” Swift-Pad smiled at her. “While I could tell you, I can just as easily show you. We are here, after all.”

Twilight turned her head to see that they were reaching a large clearing with a number of houses already visible and an actual stone road in front of them. They were lower to the ground and more square than the houses in Ponyville with more uniformed building material structures but what really caught her eye was the number of non-wolves walking around among the wolves. There were all different species walking around; griffons, diamond dogs, donkeys, minotaurs, a hooffull of Saddle Arabian horses, and even a few creatures she didn’t recognize, including a pair who had bipedal bodies, pony-esque faces, bat-like wings and thin, tasselled tails, and who looked to be chatting quite amicably with one of the wolves.

Idly Twilight noticed there were no ponies among them but she held back on asking that and instead turned to Swift-Pad for an explanation when a black carapace turned around the corner of the street they were walking down.

“Changeling!” she shouted with her horn glowing with a spell to contain the emotivor before she was aware that Swift-Pad was suddenly in front of her, glaring at her with his teeth bared in a snarl.

“Your Grace, dispel your horn now before you start an international incident,” he spat, causing Twilight to turn her head and see that everyone was staring at her with anger. It took her a moment, but she was able to force herself down, and then looked at him.

“Ambassador, why are there Changelings here?” she asked quietly, barely restraining her temper.

Swift-Pad gave her a steady look. “In the Packlands, we welcome all races,” he said. “That includes the changelings, so long as they behave themselves.”

“You are aware of what they did to my brother’s wedding and what their Queen planned,” Twilight shot back, doing her best to keep her anger under control as she could see the crowd was still in that delicate stage where a town riot could unfold - Ponyville had taught her that one and not Celestia - and the last thing she wanted to do was cause an entire mess before her first day was even finished.

“We are aware of what her hive had planned and we took measures to see that those of our citizens who participated in the attempted coup were punished,” he answered with Twilight being able to read between the lines.

“And when are they to be transferred over?” Twilight asked while trying to get her breath under control.

“I, unfortunately, do not have access to that information or the exact reasons to delay in informing Equestria,” he replied which made Twilight aware he probably knew the reason and was just being evasive. It also made Twilight think of what Blueblood told her yesterday and she had to remind herself that despite Swift-Pad being a friend of hers, they did not have the same unified goals for each other.

Taking another deep breath to calm herself, she straightened her posture and looked him in the eyes. “I hope,” she said, trying to imitate Celestia’s most diplomatic tone the best she could. “When we meet your Elders and pack leaders, they can inform us.”

Swift-Pad dipped his head slightly with his body posture relaxing. “Perhaps they can,” he said with his paw in the air and flicking away, with the crowd finally starting to dissipate, though they gave her and her friends dirty looks and Twilight could hear a few of them muttering about typical pony arrogance. Once they were alone, Swift-Pad turned around to stare at the drone and sighed loudly, dropping his head with a paw covering his face. “For the eternal hunt, why are you here Maxilla?”

“Are those glasses, Swift-Pad,” the drone asked, leaning into Swift-Pad’s face with the wolf’s face reddening a bit before he shook his head. “They look nice on you.”

Swift-Pad shifted on his paws, looking away. “Thank you, Maxilla,” he said in an embarrassed tone. “But seriously, why are you here? You said you got your yearly contract with the western Strong-Defend village.”

“Well I heard that you were coming back through here and I thought I’d pay you a visit,” the drone said with a smile on his face before it was replaced with a more serious and curious look. “And, I was wondering, if you-”

“I still need time, Maxilla, please,” Swift-Pad pleaded before he tilted his head to the Equestrian entourage before he let out a louder sigh. “Everyone, I would like you to meet a very old and dear friend of mine, Maxilla.”

“Hello ladies,” Maxilla said, walking past Swift-Pad and Twilight to greet her friends, starting by shaking hooves with Rarity before moving onto Applejack and the rest. Twilight was aware that was this was not proper decorum for foreign visitors but reflecting on how she had reacted to his appearance, she could understand the slight. He finally stopped in front of Twilight with an expectant look on his face with Swift-Pad groaning into his paw again.

Thinking carefully and pushing back on her desire to apologize directly, Twilight held her hoof out to the drone and said, “I am regretful in my initial reaction Maxilla, but I have had very bad experiences with extremely hostile members of your kind in the past, and I am afraid I let those events colour my initial response to you.”

“Is that what amounts to an apology in Equestria?” Maxilla asked sharply with her friends breathing sharply and Swift-Pad groaning louder and muttering Maxilla’s name under his breath.

Before Rainbow Dash could finish pulling up into the air or say anything, Twilight shook her head. “No, it is not and while I would give a proper Equestrian one, I understand that the Packlands have different social agreements to an apology and I cannot give you one as I do not yet believe I will be able to prevent similar responses in the future.”

Maxilla stared at her before he started to smirk and laugh, shaking his head as he slapped a hoof on Swift-Pad’s back. “It seems that you taught her well, Swifty,” the drone grinned wider with the wolf grumbling at the changeling.

“Did you really need to do all of that, considering how important all of this is?” Swift-Pad shot back with Maxilla chuckling as they began to walk deeper into the town, with Twilight and her friends following.

“Maybe not but it did show you’re doing a good job at your job,” Maxilla said, leaning into Swift-Pad with the wolf sighing again but in a much happier tone now.

“So Ah take it this is yer special someone?” Applejack said with the wolf and changeling halting in place with nearly everyone walking into them.

“So you did mention me?” Maxilla asked with an excited voice with the wolf looking sheepishly.

“Once,” he admitted. “When a certain mare suggested I would make a good partner for her granddaughter, and I had to explain why that was not a possibility.”

“What did you say?”

Swift-Pad looked even more embarrassed. “That I… sort of had someone, and that it was complicated and I did not wish to go into specifics,” he said.

Applejack shook her head. “Given our history with changelings, Ah can’t blame you for holding back,” she said.

“It’s less of the fact I am a changeling and more of the fact of how we got together,” Maxilla said, looking at Swift-Pad for approval before changing his form into that of a wolf. “A few years ago,” he said in a much more feminine voice now, “I got into a bet with a few other changelings and I lost. The result was that I had to keep a form a single year without breaking character and they chose this for me.” The changeling waved a paw over themselves with Rarity letting out an Ah while Twilight was still trying to figure out what the issue was. “I ran into Swift-Pad and we started to date. We were getting close, very close and I could tell that he was falling in love with me.”

“But you-” Twilight began only for Rarity to hush her and wave her hoof at the changeling to continue.

“He had invited me to share his house for the winter which generally means the relationship between two wolves is serious,” the changeling looked at their paws before looking at Swift-Pad. “I couldn’t take advantage of Swift-Pad and reverted back before we shared his bed and told him everything. Of the bet and my feelings for him.”

“And while I am straight, I couldn’t deny my own feelings for… Maxilla,” Swift-Pad said. “So I asked my friend to give me some time to think on it and what it meant. Because while I do have love for Maxilla, the fact…”

“That he is still a he is throwing ya off?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Exactly,” Swift-Pad said. “I am uncertain if the feelings I have developed are for the form or the individual who wears it.” He looked at them curiously. “This does not bother you, does it?”

All of them shook their heads, and Spike spoke up. “Nah, that kind of thing hasn’t been a big deal in Equestria for ages. Hay, back in Ponyville, there's these two mares, Lyra and Bon-Bon. They say they're just best friends, but even I can tell they've got the hots for one another. So can most everypony else, and nopony's been bothered by it yet." He shrugged. “Of course, I have something of the advantage in that case. Lyra used to live in Canterlot and go to school with Twilight, so I knew her and how she swung even before we moved to Ponyville.”

Twilight gave him a look, but then sighed. “I guess I was clueless about it as always,” she said. “Now that you actually say something about it, I know what you mean, but… well, I wasn’t the most observant when it came to social interaction.”

“In any case, Swift-Pad I also need to tell you something important,” Maxilla said, stepping in front of him with the changeling frowning when the wolf looked away. “Look at me. I went to my Queen and she has permitted me to perform the Seal spell if you truly cannot move beyond the fact I am male.”

“The Seal spell‽” Swift-Pad barked out, snapping to attention. “But that’s… that would mean…”

“Being stuck in one form forever?” Maxilla nodded. “For you, it’s worth it.”

“I-i -I don’t know what to sa-” he paused before leaning over to kiss Maxilla on the lips with the changeling returning the kiss before breaking it off and bapping Swift-Pad on the nose.

“And you keep forgetting that except for our queens, changelings are genderfluid,” Maxilla said, swishing their tail with a smirk on their face. “If I have to be female to be with you, then that’s fine with me.”

Swift-Pad snorted and rolled his eyes, rubbing against his friend. “You are correct Maxilla, but I still need time.”

The changeling giggled and leaned over to nip Swift-Pad’s ear. “As long as you remember that I’m always right, I won’t hold it against you.”

The two laughed with Twilight smiling at the sight. Then she sobered somewhat as the two drew apart, and Maxilla looked at her.

“I do hope this has given you a new way to look at changelings,” they said. “I meant every word, by the way.”

Twilight nodded. “It has,” she said. “But… I do have some questions, if you don’t mind.”

“That depends on what you have to ask,” Maxilla replied. “Also, seeing as Swift-Pad is still showing you around, we should probably move on a bit.”

Twilight nodded, and the group, now nine members strong, began walking again.

Finally, Twilight asked them, “You said ‘queens’. There’s more than one hive?”

Maxilla nodded. “I don’t personally know how many, but there’ve been many over the ages. Not all of us get along either. My queen, Metamorphia, is actually pretty easy-going; it’s why she moved us to the Packlands several centuries ago.”

At that, Twilight felt her heart ease more. Not with Chrysalis then, she thought. Out loud, she said, “That’s good to know. The one queen I ever met was…”

“Yeah, Metamorphia heard about that,” Maxilla said with a snort. “She thinks Chrysalis is an idiot for trying what she did. Of course, she thought that even before we got wind of it, but that just proved her point even more.” They leaned in close. “Not every hive feels that way though, so you might want to be careful about voicing that thought around other changelings.”

“I understand.”

“Has Swifty here told you about how others feel about ponies?”

“He has,” Twilight said. “I… I must admit, it came as a shock.”

“Now take with the fact you are partly responsible for our race becoming known to the entire world,” Maxilla said with Twilight wincing. “A lot of us have issues with that, but just as much with Chrysalis over what she did.”

Twilight bowed her head. “I don’t know what to say,” she said. “I can’t apologize, because we were acting to protect ourselves. Had a hive approached and acted peacefully rather than how Chrysalis did, things might have been different. But her actions gave Equestria a generally negative opinion of your species, and I have no idea how long it would take to change that.”

“And Equestria isn’t Equu-” a passing member of the bat-winged species muttered only for Swift-Pad to glare at him with the individual gulping and rushing off.

“So,” Applejack said loudly, walking beside Maxilla. “Ah got a question for ye; how come there’re so many other critters around?”

Maxilla gave her a look. “Because the Packlands don’t traditionally try to force their ways on other races?” they said. “No matter the race, as long as they aren’t trying to cause trouble, all sapients are welcome here.” They then tilted their head to the other side. “In addition, working with a clan is one of the easiest ways of gaining permanent citizenship. In exchange for helping take care of their villages during the time they go hunting for the winter, we become welcomed members of a pack.”

Applejack nodded at that. “Sounds reasonable.”

“Um, while we’re all asking,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “What was that guy who passed us a minute ago? I’ve never seen anyone like that.”

“That was a gargoyle,” Swift-Pad replied. “They are not common on this continent, but they do visit occasionally.” He looked contemplative. “The gargoyles and centaurs coexist in a shared kingdom across the western sea; one of that land’s most famous kings was a gargoyle named Scorpan, who took the throne after his father died and his brother attempted to conquer all of Equestria and seize its magic for himself, an act which revolted Scorpan and resulted in his siding with the ponies, enabling them to banish the elder brother to Tartarus for his actions.”

Fluttershy, who had been quiet, looked distraught. “How… horrible,” she whispered.

Swift-Pad nodded. “King Vorak himself had earlier punished one of his own citizens for attempting hostilities against Equestria, which is one of the reasons that Scorpan sided with the ponies. That, and the friendship he had formed with a unicorn sorcerer of considerable fame. Starswirl the Bearded, he was known as.”

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Really? I had no idea… Princess Celestia once told me that Starswirl never understood friendship like I did, but if he was able to befriend Scorpan…” She trailed off.

Swift-Pad chuckled. “His understanding may not have been as great as yours was, but he must have known something of it, at least, if Scorpan called him a friend.” He shook his head. “At any rate, the centaur and gargoyle kingdom has been at peace ever since, but they mostly stay away from Equestria and its people, since they remember well what Tirek attempted and they do not wish to be viewed with suspicion because of his actions, even all these centuries later.”

Twilight couldn’t stop herself from wrinkling her nose but she was slowly getting used to this unfavourable reputation that Equestria had.

“I’m surprised that they didn’t close off all ties considering that the Princesses banished one of their princes,” Spike said.

“Considering that Scorpan himself condemned Tirek for his actions, and King Vorak had done so as well when he found his son studying forbidden magicks years before, the royal family was most understanding,” Swift-Pad said. “The majority of the kingdom agreed that it had had to be done.” He grimaced. “There is also the fact that King Vorak was much beloved, and the suspicion that Tirek was responsible for his early demise made him very unpopular among his own people.”

“Well I thank you for telling me about this,” Twilight said with a smile. Then she suddenly looked more serious. “I had never really heard of this story before, and I can’t help but wonder how many other old enemies Equestria has that I’ve never been told about… I didn’t find out about Discord or Sombra until they’d already returned. Or...” She suddenly fell quiet.

“Or?” Maxilla asked curiously.

“Somepony I met soon after my ascension,” Twilight said. “They… weren’t exactly an ancient enemy, and they were more misguided. I was able to talk her around though, and she’s in good hooves now.” Or hands, she thought to herself.

Swift-Pad shrugged. “I do not pretend to understand her Grace Celestia’s reasons for not informing you of such things sooner,” he said. “Nor is it my place to speculate on such at this time.”

Twilight nodded. “In any case,” she said before turning back to Maxilla. “There was another thing you said, about all your race but your queens being… genderfluid? I’m afraid I’ve never heard that particular term before.”

Maxilla nodded back. “As a race of shapeshifters, it’s just the way we are,” they said. “Queens produce the eggs and are mentally female no matter what shape they take, even if they look male. But the rest of us, gender’s usually just a matter of choice. Some may identify more strongly with one than the other, and some may primarily identify as one yet have days when they feel more the other and change as necessary, but for the most part it’s just a matter of what they want to be or feel they need to be.”

“As you have shown so well,” Rarity said with Maxilla nodding their head in agreement with a smile.

“Are you guys hungry by any chance?” Maxilla asked with a flick of their tail. Rainbow Dash nodded eagerly, and the others all voiced their assent. “Then come along; there is a farm nearby.”

“Sounds like your kind of place,” Rainbow Dash joked, elbowing Applejack. The other mare just gave her a look.

“‘S long as Ah remember to keep mah magic to mahself,” she muttered. “This land… like Ah said before, the ground here feels like it’s just callin’ out to me. So… full of life.”

Twilight was looking away from Applejack in time to see Swift-Pad and Maxilla share a concerned look before Maxilla walked in front of them. “Then come along, everyone.”

Chapter Seventeen

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Chapter Seventeen

Maxilla led the group along the road some distance with the town falling behind them and another clearing opening up ahead.

“So how come you didn’t tell us you had family here,” Rainbow Dash said with Applejack glaring at her.

“That joke ain’t funny the firs’ time and it ain’t funny now,” she said disgustedly. “Not every farmer in the world is part of mah family, ya know.”

“Oh really? Name one!”

“Cherry Jubilee.”

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Oh, right.”

Ahead of them, Maxilla looked at Twilight curiously. “Are those two always like that?”

Twilight sighed. “It does seem like they do love to argue at times, but when they work together, they can be an amazing team.”

Rarity nodded. “We do all have our differences at times,” she said. “But what really matters is our ability to work past them and stay friends.” She sighed a bit. “I must admit that some of us are closer than others. I myself rarely spend one-on-one time with Rainbow Dash because our interests lie in different directions, but I still count her as one of my dearest friends.”

“Just like a pack,” Maxilla said with a chuckle, shaking their head. “We are almost at the Big Apple Orchard.”

“Big Apple Orchard,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin on her face with Applejack priming her hat for a thwack.

“One more time, Ah dare ya!” she growled.

“Girls, please!” Fluttershy suddenly imposed herself between the two. “No more fighting!”

At the look on her face, Rainbow Dash sighed and muttered something before backing away, while Applejack looked at her and sighed. “Didn’t mean to upset you there, Fluttershy, but Dash was just pushin’ mah buttons the wrong way, an’ you know how Ah get when that happens,” she said.

Fluttershy ducked her head. “I know,” she said.

“Sorry about that AJ, I was just having a bit too much fun, I guess.” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I can’t help it if I think your reactions are funny.”

Applejack gave her a stinkeye before pulling her hat back down. “Well, Ah don’t,” she muttered.

Pinkie suddenly poked her face up into Rainbow Dash’s. “Dashie, remember what we talked about way back when?” she said. “About not taking a joke too far and upsetting them with it? Especially if they can get super-cranky over things?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, I remember,” she said.

“Good.” Pinkie leaned in even closer, and pointed a hoof at her face. “Because… I’ll be watching you.”

Rainbow Dash nodded frantically. “I get it, I get it!”

Suddenly, she noticed that Pinkie had suddenly stopped being in her face and was now over at Fluttershy’s side, chatting happily to her, and blinked. “Uh…”

Still up by Twilight, Swift-Pad and Maxilla exchanged confused glances, then looked at Twilight, who shrugged. “She’s Pinkie Pie, she does that, and as I told the good ambassador earlier today, it’s best not to try and understand it.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Maxilla said.

The nine were quiet for the next while, until finally they reached their destination which was on a higher elevation. The farm seemed to have a gate in a very familiar style that proclaimed it to be the Big Apple Orchard with Rainbow Dash struggling to hold back a grin and Applejack rolling her eyes.

“Don’t say a thing,” she warned her friend with Rainbow Dash squirming before nodding her head with a trio of wolves coming up to the fence. One of them was rather wide, but had a big grin on their face, almost as wide as Pinkie’s usual expression, while the next was far shorter and, from the looks of them, younger, but also just as happy as their companion. The last one was rather lanky, standing a head taller than everyone, but had a calmer expression.

“Hello there and welcome to tha’ Big Apple Orchard,” the tallest wolf said. He sounded remarkably like Applejack.

Hearing his voice, Rainbow Dash promptly fell on the ground laughing.

The tallest wolf tilted his head. “Is something the matter with her?” he asked, a tone of genuine confusion in his voice.

“Of course something’s the matter with her if she is rolling on the ground,” the wide one said.

“Unless rolling on the ground is normal for her,” the short one added with a grin on his face.

“But if that’s what’s normal, then nothing is the matter,” Maxilla added with their tail wagging behind them.

“But matter is that she is known for flying, not rolling,” Swift-Pad chimed in with an excited voice.

“Regardless if she’s meant to be flyin’ or not, having a guest in front of ou’ farm ain’t right,” a voice hollered, seeming to come from the farmhouse behind them. “As ain’t right as ya’ll yipping about instead of greetin’ our guests!”

“We’re just havin’ fun, S ‘N’ D,” the lanky wolf hollered before ducking a launched apple. Rainbow Dash, who had just managed to get back to her hooves promptly started laughing again at the sight of the apple. “That was a miss-GAh!”

The trio of wolves began to yip loudly as more apples began to pelt them with the female voice yelling as she got closer, “I weren’t aiming for ya the first time, ya gallocks, I was just getting a bead on y’all!”

Turning around the bend, an Earth pony mare with a coat nearly the same color as Applejack’s, though a little darker, and a mane that was an equally lighter shade of yellow. Her eyes were a dark blue, though and she had a strange knife with an apple as its hilt as her cutie mark. Her face dropped into something of a relaxed nature before tensing up at the sight of their group with Twilight curious to what was making this mare worried before realizing that it was her.

“Hello there my-” Twilight began only for the mare to snort at her.

“I ain’t your pon-” the mare began before all three wolves coughed loudly with the mare shaking her head with a blush on her face. “Sorry, mah manners done got away from me, ya highness. I don’t know that there was another one of you out there. Thought it was people flapping their gums to impress the ladies.”

“Please, Swifty here doesn’t need to flap his lips to impress me,” Maxilla cooed, running her tail along his with the wolf blushing and squirming.

“I am working, Maxilla,” he whispered at them in a pleading tone.

“I didn’t hear you say stop,” she whispered back with Swift-Pad grumbling playfully as the other wolves snickered.

“It is alright, miss, I forgive you,” Twilight said, focusing back on the other mare. “I am fairly new to this whole princess thing. I just hope you can forgive me for being a bit presumptuous there.”

“We’ll see,” the mare said a bit tensely, staring past her and straight at Applejack. “Ah haven’t yet introduced myself. Tha name’s Slice n’ Dice Apple.” The mare held out her hoof to Applejack and Twilight was suddenly aware that all three of the other wolves were suddenly on their paws and staring intently at the two. Twilight couldn’t help but feel the need to spread out her wings, paw the ground and light her horn.

“Nice ta meet ya, Slice n’ Dice,” Applejack said seemingly unaware of the building tension, shaking the mare’s hoof. “Ah didn’t know we had kin out here.” She tilted her head towards Rainbow Dash, who was also being shifty on her hooves like Twilight was. “Ah guess you were right, RD.”

“Ah…” the mare took a step backwards before turning around and walking back towards the farmhouse.

Applejack looked confused. “Was it somethin’ Ah said?”

The tallest wolf looked at her before at the other wolves to silence them. “It is complicated,” he said carefully. “Slice n’ Dice has… not the easiest of relations with the rest of your family.”

“What exactly did ya mean by mah family there, partner?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. “Ifn’ she’s an Apple, doesn’t that mean she’s part of mah family?”

The other wolves shared guilty looks before the short one looked up at her. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“Before today, Ah’d never heard of her, an’ Ah didn’t know Ah had family out here,” Applejack said.

The wide wolf scratched the ground with his paw before replying. “This really isn’t something we can tell you without betraying our pack member’s trust. If you want to know the full story, you’ll have to ask Slice n’ Dice herself.”

“What da ya mean by yer pack?” Applejack asked sharply, turning to Swift-Pad for answers.

“It means that she is part of Strong-Defend’s pack and a citizen of our country,” Swift-Pad answered, gesturing towards the other wolves present. “And perhaps we should move on, and try to find another-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Maxilla grabbed his ear with their teeth and began tugging hard. “Give her the chance to talk to Slice n’ Dice, Swift-Pad,” they said sharply. “Think of the good it could do.”

Swift-Pad growled at Maxilla with the changeling rolling their eyes. Twilight blinked for a moment before turning to Fluttershy who whispered, “He’s saying the danger of them having a blowout could be a real diplomatic incident with wide-ranging effects.”

“How can that be?” Applejack asked, sticking her nose into Swift-Pad’s face with the wolf glaring at Fluttershy before the lanky wolf placed a paw on her shoulder.

“Yer an Apple,” he said sternly. “Your pack is all over and it would just take one of the most famous of your pack to cause issues for our pack member.”

Applejack snorted loudly at this. “Look mister,” she trailed off, waiting for the wolf to introduce himself.

“Thin-Tall,” he said stiffly.

“Thin-Tall,” Applejack repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“I was always taller and thinner than my littermates so that’s what my elder called me,” Thin-Tall replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “He is Big-Cheer and he is Little-Growl,” he added, gesturing to the wide wolf and the short wolf.

“Pleasure to meet y’all,” Applejack replied. “Ah’m Applejack, of Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville.” Her frown deepened when Little-Growl snorted dismissively. “Ah don’t know what the matter is with Slice n’ Dice and Ah don’t know why she doesn't consider herself an Apple no more but as an Apple, it’s mah duty to find out why because she’s mah kin.”

“You’re welcomed to try, but I can’t guarantee that she’ll be willing,” Thin-Tall said, walking alongside Applejack towards the farmhouse.

“So….” Rainbow Dash asked as she floated alongside Big-Cheer. “What kind of apples do you guys grow down here?”

As soon as she asked, Big-Cheer and Little-Growl shared a look and shook their heads in disappointment before Thin-Tall spoke up. “She’s just an Equestrian, she doesn’t know better,” he said.

“Excuse me‽” Rainbow Dash suddenly looked very angry. “What’s that supposed to mean‽”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight was suddenly in her face. “Stand. Down.” Rainbow Dash gave one more glare before moving to the back of the group, still clearly irritated. Twilight nodded at her friend before giving a look at Swift-Pad, demanding an answer.

The wolf in question sighed, shaking his head sadly. “As you recall, Equestrians are not beloved by all. You are just seeing some of the… more opinionated beings voicing their thoughts.” He gave a flat look at the shorter wolf who held his glare before Tall-Thin smacked him across the head roughly.

“And you should remember these are our guests, so show proper respect and stop dishonouring our pack like this,” he growled with Big-Cheer whimpering before giving Rainbow Dash an apologetic look. The shorter wolf seemed more reluctant, but finally did the same.

Fluttershy walked up to the wolves and began to growl, causing all three wolves to stare at her before nodding their heads and looking sheepish.

“What did you tell them?” Pinkie asked after Fluttershy had finished speaking.

“I was pointing out that I think she was just making the obvious conclusion,” Fluttershy said. “I mean, they dohave the word Apple in their farm’s name…”

Big-Cheer shook his head, but with a smile. “The name actually comes from me and from miss Slice’s names,” he said. “We were the first ones to start this place before my brothers here joined a few days later.” He chuckled a bit louder. “I was actually faster than these two for once, if you can believe it.”

“Only because you wanted a chance to scare her awahehe,” Little-Growl chuckled awkwardly, trailing off with Tall-Thin swatting him with his tail to get him to be quiet.

“Perhaps you should go see if Slice n’ Dice will talk to you before these two tell you her story,” Tall-Thin said, gesturing towards the wooden door. As Applejack walked towards the door, he placed a paw on her shoulder. “Just let her tell you everything before you judge her. Please.”

Applejack nodded. “Ah’ll do mah best,” she said.

As she went ahead, she could hear Little-Growl asking, “Um, miss? How in the world did you ever learn our language?”

Once she was inside, Applejack headed in the direction she thought the other mare had gone. Walking towards where she suspected the kitchen was, she was rewarded with running water. When she finally saw her, she coughed quietly and said, “Erm, miss Slice n’ Dice?”

Slice n’ Dice turned to face her, a cool look on her face. “If you’re going to insist on sticking around, just call me Slice,” the other mare said. “Is there somethin’ I can do fer ya?”

Applejack took off her hat and lowered her head. “Look, Ah’d never even heard of you before today, and Ah don’t know or understand what happened between you and the rest of the clan,” she said. “But Ah want to know. Ah want to understand. Can ya help me with that?”

Slice stared at her for a moment, before shaking her head. “Ya really mean that, don’t ya,” she said. “Ya actually care.”

Applejack smiled. “Family’s family, no matter what,” she said. “And right now, Ah can’t see any reason to think of ya any differently.”

“Tell that to the rest of the Apple Clan,” Slice muttered, raising a hoof to stop Applejack from talking. “Let me start at the beginning, Applejack. It was about six or seven years ago Ah left Tall Tale upon getting the Apple Itch; have ya got it yet?”

“Not yet,” she answered, feeling a bit awkward to admit it. The Apple Itch was a big moment for any member of the Apple Clan, after all; it was when they felt the urge to go out in the world and create their own farm. She shrugged. “Leavin’ for Manehatten was the closest I ever felt to it. But… Ah’m part of the fourth generation to help run the family farm back in Ponyville, an’ Ah eventually realized the big city just didn’t feel like home. Then Ah got mah Cutie Mark for comin’ back and realizin’ that’s where Ah belonged.”

“Coul’ be, Applejay’,” the mare said as she moved to sit across of her. “Still time for ya ta get yer flanks out there and find where the Itch takes ya. But in any case, I got the Itch and began to look for mah farm,” she said with a faint blush and a roll of her eyes. “Like an Equestrian, I done wandered over the border and found this land without too much though of who was here first.” She let out another a sigh, trailing a hoof along the tale. “Ah was pretty damn arrogant; thinking this land was here for the taking and that them villagers were being enslaved or some such nonsense.”

“Come again?” Applejack asked, frowning.

“When Ah got here, Ah had no idea that this was the Packlands or none of their customs, so Ah thought like an Equestrian and that they were bein’ forced ta work for the wolves. Ah couldn’t get why they were laughin’ at me before some of the nastier critters began to chase me back to mah farm where I was still struggling ta build everythin’,” Slice let out a sigh. “And that’s when Wise-Mind came in with a hundred of his fiercest warriors and nearly a dozen runewolves. He was furious with me and Ah felt Ah was done fer when he explained the whole matter, but, then he showed how he became the pack leader and gave me a chance ta prove mahself. He didn’t have no crops for the more herbivorous pack members and he thought Ah could pull mah weight by creating a farm ta his terms.”

Applejack’s eyes went wide at that and Slice had to hold out her hoof to calm her down. “Ah know, Ah know. Someone else telling an Apple how to do their farm? But Wise-Mind had a vision for what he wanted and Ah had no real chance ta make a deal back then.”

“So what kind of deal did ya have ta make?” Applejack asked, leaning in.

“Ah had ta make a farm fer everyone,” Slice said with Applejack frowning in confusion. “Ah was confused too, but he explained that he had always wanted ta have a farm that could attend ta his wolves. He didn't explain more than that but told me he’d send a trio of workers along with mah ‘crop’.” She scoffed, shaking her head. “Ah said that just three wolves weren’t enough ta make a farm and I’d need some ponies ta help me.” She let out a loud sigh, resting her head along the table. “Ah guess ya didn’t know that Wise-Mind was not only a father but grandpappy and a great-grandpappy too so he knew how ta teach ya a lesson.”

“What you mean there partner?” Applejack as she leaned in. “He said no?”

“Worse; he said yes,” Slice stood up and walked over to the fridge and pulled out some cider. Applejack, relying on this being on a house of an Apple, walked over to the cabinet and was greeted by a pair of glasses. Once she had placed them on the table, Slice began to pour drinks for the two of them. “He gave me full permission ta go enlist help from mah town along with some rules. No usin’ magic was the big one, and the wolves rankin’ higher than the ponies was the other, along with the other rules of the land.” She shook her head. “I tried, I really did, but the ponies I brought in wouldn’t cooperate. They insisted on doing things their way, instead of following the wolves’ methods or following orders. Finally, when it came time for the annual slaughter, they threw a big hissy fit and named every creature brought in for that purpose. All that effort put into raising them for food, and they purposely wasted it.”

Applejack shook her head. “Ah heard from Swift-Pad that was one of their rules, never eatin’ any animal that’d been named…”

“I wound up ordering them all off the farm and went to tell Wise-Mind that I’d messed up.” Slice sighed. “He wasn’t willing to give up on me. He ordered me to go back to work, and to handle a whole new batch of animals myself, since the first ones weren’t good for it anymore. I wound up doing the work myself… and the first time I worked up the courage to cut some pig’s throat on my own, I got this.” She gestured to her Cutie Mark.

Applejack looked aghast. “Ah don’t know what to say,” she said. “That’s… those sabotagin’ varmints!”

“It gets worse,” Slice said. “I kept trying ta contact mah folks but they never responded until I got a letter from them sayin’ they just gave birth to their first filly and they would ‘ppreciate if I stopped. Ah wanted to go see them and get ta the bottom of it but Wise-Mind warned me not to. Turns out those varmints had spread lies about me being a real scum of a boss, refusing ta pay any of them for their work and the like.”

“But they didn’t fulfill their contract!” Applejack shouted with Slice snorting.

“Ah know but what really got me in trouble was the mentionin’ of the butchering,” Slice gave her a tired look. “Most aren’t aware that ya need a very pricey license to be one in Equestria as well as all sorts of permissions ta be one and even then it ain’t really legal in most places.”

“I don’t get what yer getting at, though Ah have a hunch,” Applejack said slowly.

“They lied to the Equestrian guards and now Ah get all these letters,” the mare said, pulling out a massive stack of letters that had official seals on them. “Asking me ta go answer some questions.”

“And if ya go answer these questions, ya’ll be arrested, right?”

“Exactly,” Slice said with regret. “And ‘cause of this, the Apple clan has disowned me completely; pretends Ah was never even born. Ah’m sure if ya mention me in the next gathering, ya might get yerself in real trouble with the other Apples.”

Applejack nodded. “That just ain’t right,” she said. “Ah… Ah know Ah ain’t perfect, but Ah can’t imagine throwin’ somepony out ‘cause they were followin’ the local laws. Ah mean, they’re the laws.”

“Well Ah can’t go tell them mahself due to the Equestrian border guards and Ah thought mah family would believe me over others but here we are,” Slice said raising a glass of cider. “Wise-Mind took me in as one of his own after Ah got that letter and Ah’ve been a Packlander ever since.”

“Well that still is not right, miss Slice,” Twilight said, causing the two to see that everyone else had entered the house during their little conversation. “Spike, please take a letter.”

“Got it Twilight,” the dragon said with Slice standing up.

“Now wait just a sec-”

“Dear Princess Celestia, we have recently met with one of Applejack’s relatives, a Slice n’ Dice Apple, in the Packlands who claims to be the victim of misinformation spread by a local group of labourers from the town of Bur Patch and the Equestrian border guards as well as being disowned by her family due to said misinformation. I am hoping that you can help shed some light into this situation,

Yours,
Princess Twilight.”

Spike rolled up the letter, tied it up quickly, and blew his flames at it, sending it off to Celestia. “There.”

Slice stared at her in shock. “You… you’re actually doing this?” She blinked briefly. “Just like that, you’d believe me?”

Twilight gave her a smile. “Applejack believes you,” she said. “And that’s good enough for me.”

The mare stared at her for while before pulling her into a tight hug that began to squeeze the air out of Twilight’s lungs before the air was really forced out of her when the three wolves joined in.

“Thank you,” Slice finally whispered as she started to pull away. “Thank you, so much.”

“You’re very welcome, Slice,” Twilight said.

Chapter Eighteen

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Chapter Eighteen

It had been a relatively quiet day in Canterlot so far when Celestia got the first letter from Twilight. A small part of herself had been worried ever since the train had left that morning, but seeing this letter, complete with Twilight’s magical signature, brought her a great sense of relief.

Then she unrolled it, read it, and frowned. “That is worrisome,” she muttered to herself.

“Your majesty?” Raven Inkwell, who had been standing by, asked.

“News from Twilight,” Celestia replied. “Ambassador Swift-Pad has willingly shared with her information regarding the hippogriffs.”

Raven looked startled. “The hippogriffs? We haven’t heard from them in years.”

“Nor has any other creature. According to Twilight, all their kind from around the world were recalled, not just the ambassador to Equestria. Since then, the Packlands at least have been actively attempting to reach them.” Celestia looked deeply concerned. “But it would seem that not even they have been able to land at Mount Aris, and it is as if something is preventing any visitors from reaching that place.”

Raven adjusted her glasses. “Shall I see about setting up an investigation party of our own?”

“That would be wise,” Celestia replied.

When Raven had left to do so, Celestia looked behind her. “You can come out now, Luna.”

From the shadows behind her throne, the alicorn of the moon suddenly appeared. “I’m not even going to ask how you knew I was there,” she said with a yawn. “But I felt Twilight’s letter arriving…”

Celestia nodded, and passed it to her. When Luna had read it, she frowned. “What could have caused such a thing?” she wondered.

“I don’t know,” Celestia said. “It is my hope that these defenses were put in place by Queen Novo, since her kingdom lies nearby, or by the hippogriff queen. But I cannot be sure just yet.”

“Quite.” Luna peered sleepily at her. “Well, I am going back to bed. If Twilight sends another letter, I’ll be back. If not, I’ll see you this evening.”

“Rest well, sister,” Celestia called as Luna vanished back into the shadows.

When the next letter appeared a few hours later, she scanned it quickly, and her eyes narrowed. “Luna,” she called out to her sister, seeing the need to inform her.

Instantly, Luna appeared behind her again, and looked at her. “What is it this time?”

“An injustice that has been done to one of our little ponies,” Celestia replied as she hoofed the letter over.

Luna read it quickly, then looked at her sister. “How shall we handle this grave crime and you’re not surprised.” Luna was staring intently at her with Celestia beginning to pace.

“Because there have been rumours of Equestrian Border guards being inclined to apply the law in… unique fashions.” Celestia's lip curled into a grimace. “There was a case where Guston, our meat chef in the castle, was nearly deported and banned when traveling over to apply here due to the guards claiming his profession was not recognized in the region and thus was guilty of numerous criminal actions against animals.”

“That’s beyond the concept of absurd.” Luna looked at her. “I know for a fact that there are a number of Equestria’s citizens who work with meat - where else would our domestic cat and dog populations, among others, get their food?”

“That is not their concern, merely following the law,” Celestia said with a disappointed look. “And it does not help that certain laws are not properly integrated in all of Equestria; namely the manner of what constitutes food. It is a low priority measure to enact a single law over the country, especially as it is a sensitive issue for our ponies that most don’t view as worth the trouble for a minority part of the population.”

Luna’s face scrunched up as she no doubt was weighing the matter herself and was discovering that it was truly not worth the consequences of forcing a single law for their entire country. “How did Guston manage to overcome those guards in any case?”

“Very fortunately, one of those on duty was a recent transfer from Canterlot, and recognized that something was not right with what was going on,” Celestia replied. “He was able to reach one of his fellows back here to inform me of matters, and I was able to step in by showing that Guston was indeed invited directly by me.”

“I sense there is more to this story than just one griffon being harassed at the border,” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow. “Is not Canterlot considered one of the capitals of cuisine the world over? How is it that you needed to go abroad for talent and not draw from our own city?”

“That, dear sister, is because there is no steak house that would dare make itself known in Canterlot,” Celestia said with a regretful tone. “Some hundred years or more back, Canterlot had the beginnings of a meat restaurant block coming into existence, where griffons whose families had avoided being struck by King John’s bill had begun to pour their wealth into an untapped market. It was a nice breath of fresh air in the city and I had high hopes that they would become the future financial backbone of the Griffonlands when those in the international debt assessment corp finally allowed their people’s economy to restart.”

“As you say this, I can guess this was not to be,” Luna inquired with a steel gaze.

“No, because anything outside of the pony norm was considered to be suspect by our citizens,” Celestia replied. “There was a griffon named Gravon; he was one of the wealthiest of the griffons and a fine chef to boot. His restaurant was the shining pinnacle of griffon cuisine but as I had said, ponies are wary of what is different so he attracted the constant attention of the then head health and food safety inspector, Balanced Meal,” Celestia snorted that name angrily. “Balanced had made it his business to conduct as many inspections as he could on the griffon restaurants. Granted that he did find violations in some starting griffon restaurants that could have resulted in people getting sick but the frequency and their methods of conducting some of their tests were clearly intended to be harmful to their business.”

“Explain.” It was not a demand, per se, but more than what anyone had done in ages and it alone made Celestia feel more normal than anything else in the last thousand years.

“Along with going into freezers, leaving the door open while he took his time before checking the temperatures of Gravon’s product so it wouldn’t be recorded at proper temperature, he would also go directly during Gravon’s busy hours to do his inspections, forcing him and his cooks to stop and thus be unable to service his customers.” Celestia let out a sigh, pacing as she continued telling her sister. “He would also have his fellow inspectors tear apart customer’s meals to see if they were properly cooked which got Gravon and Balanced into massive shouting matches, especially when Balanced and his inspectors recooked Gravon’s meals to the point of being charred.”

Luna grumbled loudly. “Surely you jest, dear sister. The notion that anyone would actually go into another’s plate, pull it apart to see if it were cooked - which they are not supposed to be fully cooked if thee wants a proper feast and then wound the crafter of said feast by burning it to the point of inedibility‽”

Celestia couldn’t help but smirk at her sister, recalling how in the past Luna would pay greatly for a fine cut of meat. Not that Celestia could blame her sister. When Celestia had the craving, she would remind Guston that he had been hired for a reason. Her smirk fell as Celestia focused back onto the conversation. “He did so constantly with the city guards also coming in for various complaints, all no doubt to drive Gravon out of business but his customers remained loyal, if only in some cases out of spite for the ponies harassing their favourite chef.”

“I sense a drastic change to the situation coming,” Luna said from the throne, Celestia briefly wondering when when she had moved herself there.

“You’re correct. You see, during the entire time, Balanced had never actually tried any of his meals; scoffing at them while secretly having a very sensitive stomach,” Celestia said. “During a private, high class party, Balanced had come in for another one of his surprise inspections. Gravon, for all the harassing he had endured, kept trying to make some sort of peace without resorting to any underhoofed means. Though this time, I suspect, Gravon had had enough of the harassment and decided to play a prank on the inspector. He, and I still do not know how he had managed it, convinced Balanced to try some liver tartare.”

Luna winced at that with Celestia nodding her head in agreement. “He was sick in an instant with every griffon in the restaurant laughing at him, Gravon included. Balanced ran out and they no doubt thought it would be the end of it for the night.”

“I suspect that Balanced had gone for some reinforcement?” Luna inquired.

“More like twenty or so city guards to arrest Gravon and all his cooks for attempted murder as well as Balanced’s superiors to issue Gravon with every single violation he could use against the griffon, even some so archaic and minuscule that it shouldn’t have been known unless one was actively looking for it. I recall one violation brought up was that his restaurant sign was a millimeter too large.”

“Really.”

“Yes. Gravon’s restaurant was given a failed health rating due to the sheer number of violations despite being one of the most sanitary places in Canterlot at the time,” Celestia replied. “He was given a plea deal that he would serve five years in prison due to the violations and the attempted murder charge, then seven hundred hours of community service before reattending culinary school while also being forbidden to ever open or operate a meat-based restaurant again, only a vegetation-based one, and then only under strict supervision.”

“Naturally, he rejected such terms?”

“Indeed, while defending himself no less.”

“Why would he not take... oh,” Luna began to ask her question before trailing off, being aware of the answer.

“No lawyer would risk attaching their name to this case as several others who had been assigned his case had to drop it due to protesters and the sheer negative reputation it was bringing them.” Celestia smiled to herself. “I am told he had entered the wrong profession; he had done his homework very well. He had gone to every restaurant that Balanced had been assigned to and found clear bias in his work. Vegetation-based restaurants were only checked one every month or so opposed to the nearly weekly inspections to the griffons’ restaurants as well as going far overboard in his methods. And what I said before, about tearing meals apart in front of customers? He was doing that and more in all meat-centered restaurants, yet never did it once in the vegetation-based ones - many of them, I suspect, merely had to show there was no meat on the premises to pass. The prosecution, meanwhile provided rather flimsy evidence to support conviction, just bringing up the issues Balanced had brought up at the arrest. In the end, it was left to a jury of Gravon’s peers.”

Luna stared at her for a few seconds before her eyes went wide and she shook her head. “And I guess by that, it meant his rival chefs in the vegetarian restaurants.”

“It took them all of five minutes before they came back to hand out a guilty verdict and Gravon was convicted of attempted murder which meant life in prison without parole,” Celestia confirmed. “In addition, a strong majority of our Equestrian griffon population who were protesting this sentence were deported into Griffondale with their assets frozen under the suspicions of it being used for illegitimate means, such as illegal protests. That, of course, brought all these griffon’s wealth under the King John bill due to some poor wording in that bill and thus they couldn’t use it anymore.”

“Why didn’t you step and stop this travesty of justice?” Luna asked angrily as she rose from her seat.

“I was in Saddle Arabia at the time, being an impartial moderator between several of their kings over a dispute of land,” Celestia replied. “Even when the griffon ambassador had demanded I explain why I had deported my citizens into their city, I was stuck playing the role of moderator for several months more before I could address the situation properly.” Celestia looked at her sister with anger flowing through her as she recalled those times. “I was in no mood for going through the lower and upper houses, and used my executive power to bring back our griffon citizens, though I was unable to restore their wealth to them. I also used my executive power to launch several high level investigations and had several severely corrupt individuals arrested for their part in their deportation before I had turned my focus to removing Gravon from prison.” Celestia’s eyes flickered to the side and her anger ebbed. “I was about to use my executive power to overturn his sentence when both councils came to me. They had told me in no uncertain terms that if I continued to use my power to push this agenda, they would vote to unseat me and they had the numbers not only from the usual dissidents but also those who were traditionally loyal to me.”

“So you were forced to play by the rules for your last goal,” Luna asked with Celestia nodding her head. “So were you able to get Gravon out of prison?”

“No,” Celestia answered. “During the time he had been locked away, he had begun to suffer from severe malnutrition. The prison had refused to reach out to obtain the necessary dietary concerns for one prisoner and they also thought it would be an injustice to let someone who had been arrested for cooking meat to be allowed to eat meat.”

“That is abhorrent,” Luna replied. “Do we not have laws forbidding cruel and inhumane treatment of that sort?”

“That case was part of the reason I made such laws stricter than they had been, in an effort to prevent such an atrocity from ever happening again,” Celestia said. “I admit, there were moments when I was sorely tempted to arrest all those who interfered, but… I did not. I felt that had I attempted, some of our fellows would be paying me a visit and claiming I had far overstepped my bounds.” The way she said fellows left Luna no doubt as to just who she meant. “And I could not risk handing over the nation to the nobles, not while having so many things to prepare for in the future.”

“Such as my return,” Luna said with Celestia flinching at her words. “So what happened to Gravon in the end.”

“My legal team was able to overturn his sentence but he passed away before he could hear the results,” Celestia said sadly. “I sent well over a hundred thousand bits to his daughter, Gretta, as a form of compensation and an apology for all that had happened. The day she got the money, she came to see me so she could throw the money in my face before walking out without so much as a single word.”

“And that’s all you did on this matter?”

“Unfortunately, yes because I had to suddenly stop the wolves from declaring war on Equestria after Nobleblood managed to offend their entire nation in a single day and destroy our entire diplomatic standing with them,” Celestia let out a tired sigh, shaking her head. “Most ponies tend to forget that I am but a single mare. I might be the Lady of Day but I am still just one pony and I cannot be everywhere at once. For every calamity or crisis unfolding that I could manage, there were several other fires that I had to hope others would take care of and not turn them into raging bonfires while I was distracted.” She looked at her sister. “When Cadance suddenly appeared, it was a vast relief, knowing I finally had some help in many a matter though it would be some years before she could take a proper role, and your own return has also improved things. Now that Twilight has ascended, it is even more of a relief.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “You say that as if you didn’t intend for her to become one of us all along.”

“I had hoped,” Celestia corrected her. “I suspected that perfecting Starswirl’s last spell might be what pushed her over the edge, but I did not know it would for certain. Either way, she had already become a Power herself, even without knowing it; her becoming one of our kind was just the icing on the cake as far as I was concerned.”

“So what happened to this Balanced Meal, by the way?” Luna asked, raising an eyebrow as she lifted a cup of coffee to her lips before frowning. She was not sure when one of their serving staff had brought the cup in but she still appreciated the thought.

“His prejudices and that experience in particular pushed him over an edge of a different sort,” Celestia said. “He brought together a group of like-minded thinkers who named themselves the Pony Vegan Environmentalists.”

Luna looked at her in disgust. “Those bigoted…” She said a word that would have made many ponies blanche. “He is their founder‽”

“Yes, and you’re not alone in being upset at the thought,” Celestia said. “I’ve been subtly working on ways of undermining them, but again, I am not perfect, and I am effectively hamstrung when it comes to openly denouncing them. I am, however, quite happy to say that Twilight herself reacted with horror and disgust when she learned of them, and her friends are all firmly of the same school of thought as us, based on what she told me during our talk last night.”

“May I request to know the location of his grave, perchance?” Luna inquired with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“He had significant ties that allowed him to be buried in one of the most prestigious cemeteries in Canterlot that has considerable anti-magical protections and other security spells to prevent more mundane harm from coming to it,” Celestia said. “Had it not, I can guarantee you that his grave would have spontaneously combusted immediately after the funeral. And I can also confess that I’ve given serious thought to asking a certain individual of a more… chaotic nature to see what he can do about bypassing those protections.”

“I wouldn’t hold it against you if you chose to make such a request,” Luna replied in good nature. Then she looked more serious. “That is good and all but this matter with the border guard is unacceptable.” She pawed the ground angrily. “If you will allow me, I shall go meet with the Chief of the Border Guard and see that they restore proper decorum to our soldiers that protect our borders and welcome others to our lands.”

Celestia nodded. “And I believe I shall take the family. I have had more communication with the various branches of the Apples over the centuries, and in all that time, never once have they doubted me, no matter how… unusual the points and agreements I may have made.”

Luna quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Let us just say that the land that became Ponyville was not the first time I have personally ceded property to members of the Apple clan,” Celestia said.

“You…” Luna shook her head. “Why?”

Celestia bowed her head. “I make contingencies, sister dear. Part of the reason for this was because I knew you would return someday. And I… I hoped, that by forming a settlement between our old castle and Canterlot, that the future Bearers - the ponies who could free you from the Nightmare - would be drawn there, and be in place when the time was right. I didn’t realize until after the Nightmare’s return just how lucky I was that they all, save for Twilight herself, had indeed been drawn there.”

“Does Twilight know this?”

Celestia shook her head. “I had always intended to tell her, but somehow, I never managed. I… I was afraid of her reaction. Afraid she might lash out and accuse me of manipulating her, like certain others had in the past.”

“You mean Sunset.” Luna said directly and without any mercy.

“Yes,” Celestia admitted, the wounds of her actions in the past still stinging even now after Twilight had informed her of what had happened in the other world, of Sunset’s changed ways after her exposure to the rainbow of Harmony.

Luna sighed. “Promise me, sister, that when she returns, you’ll tell her everything.”

Celestia nodded to her. “I will, I promise.”

“Good.” Luna turned. “If you will excuse me, I need to gather some of my guards for this journey. I have a feeling I’m going to need them.” She had walked toward the door before pausing. “And I might need Raven and Kibitz as well.”

“Should I be concerned that you are taking both of our chief assistants with you?” Celestia asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Possibly yes,” Luna admitted honestly with a smile on her face that made Celestia worried about what her sister was planning to do but Luna was her equal and she had to trust her judgement.

“All right.” Celestia let out a sigh. “In which case, I shall leave you to it.”

Luna nodded and left, and Celestia watched her go before closing her eyes briefly. She had to focus on her own task now.

Chapter Nineteen

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Chapter Nineteen

Despite her pronouncement, it took Luna some time to gather everypony she needed, along with the information required for this mission. She, Raven, Kibitz and the guards then set out to several other military stations, where she reaffirmed certain standings, something she had been putting off doing since her return. Once she had paid them all a visit and gathered several other important guests for this meeting, she led her group to the station by Bur Patch.

Several ponies looked up in surprise when they heard the gatehouse door open, and even more reacted with shock when they saw exactly who had just arrived.

"Ponies of the Equestrian Border Patrol!" Luna boomed. "We would have words with thee!"

There was an instant scramble as the guards on duty rushed to stand at attention, and finally, the station’s Patrol Agent in Charge emerged. On seeing her, he bowed.

“Your highness, I’m PAIC Thorough Search, at your service,” he started. “What may we do for you?”

Luna tilted her nose down at him in disapproval before looking at the blank Most Wanted board and shooting him another piercing glare. “To your largest conference room; we will have words and your agents and counterparts have stations to operate.”

“Yes, your majesty,” he said, bowing his head as he directed her towards the conference room and began to feel confused as he saw several high ranking individuals accompanying her. Top ranking army and air force generals were next to several fleet admirals and the new captain of the royal guards for Equestria, flanked by several senior officers of the Solar and Lunar guard while several of the Sector Chief Patrol Agents, including his own superior officer, fell in sheepishly behind them all and two prim-looking Canterlot unicorns walked in with their heads held high.

At the very back of the military group came Strict Standards, the Chief of the Border Patrol himself and the highest-ranking officer of the Equestrian Border Patrol, who looked confident for some reason; maybe he was overly hopeful that one of the Princesses had come down to see them all? Thorough Search doubted it; something felt bad. He made his way to one of the few remaining empty chairs and sat himself down while the Princess took her place at the head of the table.

“Strict Standards,” the princess said, causing the Chief to frown at the lack of his title. “I have several important questions that you and your officers will answer.”

“Your highness, if you would please just,” Strict Standards began only for the Princess to once again narrow her eyes.

“Before you finish your sentence, Strict Standards, let me tell you a short story and the difference between my sister and I,” the princess said, beginning to pace. “Back in the old times as it is now, my sister was the diplomat. She weaved into creation treaties and agreements, forming alliances and friendship with words spoken and written.” She paused for a moment before bringing a massive hammer down into the floor, causing all to jump in surprise. “I was the warrior, the general who led the charge against our foes and created plans so we could win our wars of old. Back then, I held supreme command over all of Equestria’s armed forces and these generals, admirals and captains can attest that in a thousand years, my rank has not changed at all.” All eyes turned to the other military officers, who nodded their heads in agreement.

“So what, is this your way of telling me you’re taking my job?” Strict Standards snorted angrily with half of those present gasping in surprise at his rude behaviour and the other glaring in anger.

Princess Luna frowned. “I am saying that I already outrank you,” she said. “The Equestrian Border Patrol and its Chief answered to me a thousand years ago, and still do. And as of late, I am not pleased with some of what I have observed.” She leaned in, suddenly in his face. “Well over a quarter million complaints exist in the archives, with an entire floor dedicated to holding them. All of these have occured during your tenure as Chief of the Border Patrol, and that is why you are losing your job.” She tilted her head to the royal guards who had moved behind Strict Standards, taking him away from the conference room while the unicorn civilians dropped several stacks of files across the length of the table.

“These are all questionable incident reports, complaints, arrests and other concerns over the last five years alone,” Luna announced. “And that is just the beginning; the sheer amount of files on the subject that remain in Canterlot’s storage would more than fill every room of this station. This is unacceptable and we are going to stay here, you the leaders of the Equestrian Border Guard, until we reach the last file on this table and sort things out. After which, those who are still here and not arrested for whatever may appear in these papers, will be free to return to their stations and ensure that this will never need to happen again.” She had summoned a throne for herself, teleporting those not needed away before taking the first file off the pile, holding it in her magic. “Are we understood?”

“Yes sir,” was the chorus of answers as she handed off the files with each Border Guard opening theirs up as she began to read off its content.

Celestia had teleported to the town of Tall Tale, standing on the outskirts. It was like nearly any other small town in Equestria so it was not hard for her to find where the Apple Clan’s farm was and the walk gave her some more time to think and prepare.

She had, at long last, found out why most stores had refused to sell any products from the Big Apple Orchard. Due to being an outcast and shunned by her family, selling any of Slice n’ Dice’s meat products would run the risk of having the Apple clan pulling their wares out of the store and that was more than any store would be willing to take. If she were successful in rebuilding this relationship, it would not only be a family reunited but also allow meat products to be back on the shelves and help normalize it for her ponies to see so there would be less race-based attacks. It was the smallest of things but it could help immensely in far reaching ways.

Just like what Twilight was doing to help overturn the whole debacle Nobleblood had gotten Equestria and the Packlands in. He had put both nations in a horrendous stalemate; she knew unofficially that the wolves had regretted calling what he had done an honour crime as it had locked them into a feud against Equestria that had very few ways for them back out from without suffering from looking politically weak in the international community and she couldn’t just hand over a pony to another nation for what amounted to a death sentence as it would undoubtedly cause mass civil unrest. She snorted; there were times when some had quietly suggested that she just remove those officials who would stand in her way via imprisonment in Tartarus, and she had promptly dismissed any advisor who did so. Such an act might have been the easy solution, but it was also the act of a tyrant and a dictator seeking to consolidate power, and she was neither.

The fact that her fellow Powers would likely step in had she done so was also a factor, but far from the only one. She had seen full well what happened to Powers who let their position go to their head, and she had no desire to become one of them. She had paid special attention to the other Celestias who’d gone too far, falling to Order and requiring help from multiple Powers to help unseat them, allowing Life to take charge of the mantle until a new Lord or Lady of Day could be found.

Shaking her head to turn herself from such thoughts, she focused on her goal here and now: to speak to Slice ‘n Dice’s immediate family, and hopefully find some way of ending the divide between them.

Walking along the dirt path of this apple farm, Tall Apple Farm, Celestia saw a small filly walking who gasped in surprise when she saw her and immediately went running, yelling “Ma!”

“For Celestia’s sake, child, what is it?” a female voice called back, and then an Earth pony mare with a silverish-blue mane came trotting out. When she saw Celestia, she looked just as surprised, before composing herself. “Your highness,” she greeted Celestia. “This is unexpected. How may I help you?”

“Hello my dear pony,” she smiled at the mare. “I would like to speak with you and your husband about your daughter.”

“What about my daughter?” The mare placed her hooves on her young daughter’s shoulder. “I didn’t know my little Bramley here had done anything to attract your attention, your highness.”

“Your older daughter.” Celestia looked firmly at her.

The mare immediately looked down at her filly. “Go back to the house, dear,” she said. “The princess and I need to speak in private.”

“But ma, Ah don’t have a sister,” the filly said before her mother shooed her back inside, a stallion walking out the door right afterward.

“Your highness, forgive us but our daughter is right,” the stallion said, standing next to his wife and was actually staring at her in the eyes. “She is our only blessing and we couldn't be more pleased with her. Right, Lazuli?”

The mare nodded her head but was slightly slow in doing so; a possible path for Celestia to use. “Yes, Johnny.” she said before looking at Celestia, seemingly wishing to speak before she held back.

“Please my ponies, I can understand how you would feel about your daughter’s supposed actions but there are things that you may not know of.”

“Again yer highness, Ah don’t know what yer talkin’ about,” the stallion said confidently, puffing out his chest.

“Slice n’ Dice,” Celestia said, slowly losing her patience. She was always impressed when her ponies found the confidence to talk back to her but this was not the time nor place for it.“Your firstborn, whom you’ve been denying the existence of ever since a certain group of ponies came and told you a swarm of lies about her.”

“Oh that mare,” the stallion snorted loudly and angrily. “Ah’m sorry ya highness had to deal with such nonsense. She ain’t right in the head; at first we had humoured her but then she was making mah wife all upset and Ah told her ta stop writing to us and leave us alone.”

“She is still your daughter,” Celestia snapped back, leaning down to stare him in the eyes. “And those workers had spread lies about her.”

“And Ah’m saying that she ain’t no daughter of mine!” he shouted back in her face. “Ah read them letters she wrote of her ‘butchering’ and saw them products in da store before Ah told them to get them out or they’d get no Apple products ever again!” He jabbed a hoof into her chest with latent Earth Pony magic pushing into her protection wards. “Ah thank ya to get off mah property, ya highness and never come back or mention that mare ever agai-”

“ENOUGH!” the mare shouted, startling them both. “Johnny Apple, I’ve had it with your attitude! Your highness, you said they lied about Slice n’ Dice’s actions?”

Celestia nodded. “My own personal student, and our nation’s newest alicorn, met with her at her home earlier today and informed me of what she had found.”

The mare bowed her head, shooting glares at her husband to silence him. “Tell us everything.”

Celestia spent the next few minutes telling the two everything she had learned as well as all she knew of the situation, which included the issue with the border guards and their prejudices and how butchery was actually done.

It was a long moment of silence before the stallion nodded his head once and turned to his wife. “All right, let’s go get ready.”

“Johnny?” his wife asked with confusion on her face, though still clearly angry.

“Well, we are going to go visit our daughter, aren’t we?” Johnny replied. “An Apple don’t do no apology by letter or some such nonsense. We do it in person.” He let out a sigh, shaking his head. “Ah have a lot to apologize for.”

At that, Celestia smiled. “Making amends is the first step in repairing old friendships my dear ponies.” She smiled at at the two gently, letting a bit of Day magic sweep out. It was a somewhat admittedly cheap tactic and trick but it was an effective one none the less. “I know it must not have been easy for you to accept her back into your life, but I am proud of you.”

“Ah ain’t,” Johnny said, shaking his head. “Ah threw out mah baby filly just ’cause some ol’ friends yapped their lips at me and Ah didn’t trust her at all. Ah forced mah wife and mah family to pretend she ain’t never been born or existed. Ah ain’t no Apple or father or husband after what I had done and Ah have a lot to answer for.”

“Mr. Johnny,” Celestia said slowly. “I have learned, in my many years, that nobody’s perfect. But do you know the difference between an error and a mistake?”

The stallion shook his head.

“Anyone can make an error. But that error doesn’t become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.” Celestia looked at him. “You have made errors in judgement, and errors in your decisions. But the fact that you have recognized your errors and are seeking to correct them is a step in the right direction. You have learned from your experience, and that will help you to become a better pony.”

The stallion nodded. “Ah still feel guilty though.”

“That is understandable. But do not allow it to consume you.” Celestia looked away briefly. “I nearly did, once, and it almost resulted in disaster for those around me - indeed, for all of Equestria - until I was brought out of it. I advise you to not make the same error I once did.”

“Ah’ll keep that in mind, Princess.” He tilted his head before looking sadly at his wife. “Ah’m mighty sorry for forcing ya to destroy all her pictures.”

Lazuli blushed. “Um… actually…”

Johnny looked at her, then shook his head. “Let me guess. Ya saved some?”

“I always had duplicates of all of our photos, actually,” Lazuli said. “I tore up a few of the extras to make you think I got rid of them, but the originals and at least one set of copies have always been kept somewhere safe.”

Johnny smiled. “Ya fooled me good there then… just as well,” he leaned in to nuzzle her face before stopping and shaking his head. “Ah don’t think Ah earned that right yet. Ah need ta go explain some things ta Bramley.”

“We both do,” Lazuli said with a bit of steel in her eyes, showing she hadn’t forgiven him just yet. “Thank you, your highness, for everything.”

“It was my pleasure to help a family heal, my dear ponies,” Celestia said.

Chapter Twenty

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Chapter Twenty

"You know, I'm still kind of surprised that you're all so accepting of this whole thing," Thin-Tall said as the group relaxed in the living room a little later, some still eating from the lunch the two Apples had made. There were a number of sofas and large chairs scattered around the living room, though there wasn’t any table which made it a bit odd for a few of them to eat. To their relief though, Slice and the wolves had explained it was fine if they made a mess. "I mean, ponies and meat don't usually get along."

Applejack shrugged, holding her salad plate with a hoof. "Some species are natural carnivores," she said. "Ah don't usually eat it mahself, but Ah must say, that fish Swift-Pad offered us back home was pretty good. Hay, mah dog Winona has ethically sourced meat in her food. So does Opalescence," she added, gesturing to Rarity.

"My cat," Rarity explained to the odd looks she was getting.

"And I take care of animals for a living," Fluttershy added. "A lot of them are carnivores or omnivores, so they need meat. It wouldn't be natural to force them not to do it… though I won't feed them any of the others that live with me."

"That is only reasonable," Swift-Pad noted, sitting in one of the chairs.

Rainbow Dash grinned. "As for me, I love fish. Wish it was easier to get back home."

"I've… well, fish is the most I've ever eaten, but it was good," Twilight added. She was half-tempted to mention her human friends and their eating habits, but resisted.

"Same here," Spike put in. "Dragons are omnivores too, even if I rarely get the chance." He gave Twilight a light look with the wolves snickering.

Twilight raised an eyebrow back at him. “It’s not my fault the only meat in Ponyville is what’s sold in pet stores,” she said. “And I am not about to demean you by making you eat dog or cat food.” She gave him another look, and whispered directly into his ear, “Even if you did like what they had on the other side of the mirror.”

Spike blushed as he pulled away. “I… okay, I get your point.”

Finally, they all looked at Pinkie, who just shrugged. "I won't eat a named animal, but fish is fine. Gummy’s gonna need some eventually too." She retrieved the small gator from her mane, prompting a few surprised looks. Then her mane drooped a bit. "Still don't know where all those rumors about me and meat cupcakes came from though…"

"I do," Rainbow Dash said. "It was one of those jerks from the PVE after you didn't fall for their line of roadapples."

At that, Pinkie's mane stood bolt upright. "Those… meanies‽" Her eyes almost looked like they had flames in them. "Those meanies…"

While Fluttershy tried to calm her down, Slice looked startled. "Ya have them in yer town too?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Applejack said. "Granny ran 'em off when they came pokin' around our farm once."

"What did you do to attract their attention?" Maxilla asked curiously, sitting next to Swift-Pad on the same chair. Twilight had noticed they hadn’t left Swift-Pad’s side; maybe it was to help stake their claim better? She wasn’t sure, though she would try and ask Maxilla later on.

"Mah little sister is friends with Zecora," Applejack said. "She's a zebra who lives out in the Everfree." She ducked her head. "Which… is a big part of why Ah was always creeped out by her an' how she acted, until Apple Bloom helped us realize she was really a nice person. Also because we didn't realize she even was a zebra at first until Twilight pointed it out."

Twilight nodded. “It helped when I explained some of the differences in behavior between zebras and ponies afterward,” she said. “The first time she came to town after Spike and I moved down there, we saw her digging at the ground a bit.” She gave her friends a look. “I’m the only one who knew that doesn’t have the same meaning for zebras as it does for ponies.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, ‘till you said somethin’, Ah thought she was just an odd-colored pony, an’ to us, diggin’ at the ground’s a sign of hostility. How was Ah supposed to know that zebras dig at the ground to say they want a drink?”

"So it was less her species and more her behavior that prompted your fear of her?" Thin-Tall said. "That is far more reasonable than I expected." The words from an Equestrian were left out, but Applejack could tell that's what he meant anyway.

Applejack nodded. "She's a good friend now though. Helped us through more than a few issues since then, an' Apple Bloom goes out to visit her whenever she wants. 'S long as she's got her chores done, of course."

“That’s only fair,” Slice n’ Dice said. The farming mare was now much more at ease around them than she had been, smiling at Applejack. “Farmin’s a lot of work, and it’s how ya make a living, after all.”

“That an’ the rodeos Ah compete in,” Applejack told her. “Ah’m actually the ten-time rodeo champion of Ponyville.”

“Really!” Slice n’ Dice looked very impressed.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash put in. “And she placed in the top four in every single event at the Equestrian Rodeo in Canterlot a while back!”

“Ya done the Apple family proud there cuz,” Slice n’ Dice said with a grin on her face.

Applejack ducked her head. “Thank you,” she said. “‘Course, Ah let mah pride get the better of me after that - didn’t want to come home because Ah hadn’t actually won any of those events, an’ Ah felt like Ah’d let the whole town down.”

“Why in the world…” Big-Cheer trailed off.

“‘Cause Ah’d promised Ah’d win the big prize money so we could fix up Town Hall after one of the local pegasi - a real sweetheart, but kind of a klutz - had a little accident with some storm clouds an’ damaged the roof, then hit one of the support beams an’ knocked that down,” Applejack said. She shrugged. “We all forgave her, of course. But we still needed funds to fix the damage.”

“So what did you do?” Little-Growl asked.

“Ah went to work at a cherry farm for a while to try and earn the money that way,” Applejack said. “Until mah friends came after me and convinced me Ah didn’t need to run away from mah problems an’ that Ah should have just told ‘em everything.”

“You learned well then,” Swift-Pad said. “As I have told her Grace Twilight, it is important that you learn from your mistakes, and you have clearly done so.”

Applejack ducked her head. “Yeah… an’ Ah got a new friend out of it too. Miss Cherry Jubilee was mah boss when Ah stayed at her farm, an’ she an’ Ah still write back an’ forth when we get the chance.”

Little-Growl looked at her, suddenly very impressed. “Cherry Jubilee? I know her! We met at one of the big market events down in Dodge Junction, back when we were still trying to sell our products in Equestria, and she was about the only pony who didn’t freak out over us or our stuff! Didn’t buy any of it either, but she was very nice to us, and said that the only reason she didn’t buy anything was because she didn’t have anyone working for her who’d use it and she didn’t want to see it go to waste. And she was willing to sell to us, unlike a lot of the others there.”

Applejack grinned. “Small world, idn’t it?”

“Sure is, Applejay,” Slice n’ Dice said before giving Applejack a closer look. “Ah know Ah mentioned that ya work on ya farm yerself with ya brother and little sis, but Ah can tell that yer Earth Pony magic has been actin’ up ever since ya got here.”

“Yeah… yeah, it kinda has,” Applejack admitted. “Ah felt more awake than Ah have in ages.”

“Now hear me out,” Slice said raising her hoof. “Ah know yer getting that Apple Itch, so here’s what Ah’m thinkin’. There’s plenty demand for vegetarian farmin’ in the Packlands and Ah know there some packs out here that would love ta have an Apple farm workin for them.”

Applejack hesitated. “Ah… Ah don’t know.” She looked down. “Ah got responsibilities back home. An’ not just the farm - Element of Honesty and all that. Besides.” She looked Slice in the eye. “Granny’s great and all, but Ah’m the closest to a Ma that mah little sister has now.”

“Well now, the work on yer farm back home, that won’t be an issue,” Slice said, looking at Tall-Thin. “Part of our agreement was the eventual adoption of mah parents into the clan as submembers. Not full packmembers but still can call on the rest of the pack for help. Ain’t no pack won’t do that fer ya, or at least no pack Ah’d suggest ya go to.” She then stood up and began to pace a bit. “That Element mumbo jumbo, Ah can’t say but Ah’m sure yer friend there could.” She tilted her head towards Twilight. “And for the last part, about yer sis. Well, ain’t no reason she couldn't come here or ya could go back ta visit her during the off seasons.” Slice turned her head back towards Applejack. “Ah know this is a lot ta think about Applejay, but ya do realize that this would be the golden apple for ya. Ya get prime land to grow yer apples with ain’t no one trying to muscle ya out and ya get to start yer own farm. Ain’t no more than an Apple can ask for besides for family and ya’d have not only yer family back in Equestria and me, but these galoots too.” She directed her head towards the trio of wolves. “It’s still yer call; Ah can help get it going but yer the one that would need ta decide.”

Applejack still looked rather hesitant. “Can Ah have some time to think about it?”

“Sure.” Slice smiled. “Take all the time ya need.”

“Thanks.”

“So… just how little is yer little sister?” Slice asked curiously.

“Ain’t got her Cutie Mark yet,” Applejack said. “She an’ her friends are almost the only ones in Ponyville their age without ‘em, an’ they’ve been tryin’ pretty much everything they can think of to get ‘em. Call ‘emselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

Slice shook her head. “Still haven’t figured out that it’s a personal thing an’ they’ll come to it when it’s right?”

“No matter how many times we tell ‘em,” Applejack confirmed.

Then she looked at Twilight and the others. “Um, if’n you want to say somethin’, you can. Ah don’t mean to hog the conversation…”

Twilight smiled. “It’s okay,” she said. “We don’t mind.” The others nodded along with her.

“So, just how many of these Crusaders are there?” Maxilla asked.

“Three,” Rarity said. “Apple Bloom, my little sister Sweetie Belle, and their friend Scootaloo.”

“Who’s practically my sister, just like you and your boys here,” Rainbow Dash added.

Thin-Tall nodded. “And we wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“An’ our cousin Babs is actually one too, but she’s head of the Manehatten branch,” Applejack added.

Slice smiled. Then she suddenly looked startled. “Oh shoot.”

“What?” Applejack asked.

“Ah just remembered, we’re expectin’ company this evenin’,” Slice said. “There’s a weekly bonfire, it’s a thing we do where some of the locals drop by an’ hang out an’ chat an’ tell all kinds of stories an’ generally have a good time. Ah’ve volunteered to hold it here almost ever since the boys an’ Ah got this place up an’ runnin’, but we still need to get some things set up for it.” She looked at the group. “Yer all welcome to join us, of course,” she said.

Twilight smiled. “I’d love that,” she said, and there was a round of agreements.

Suddenly, Pinkie was almost in Slice’s face. “Does this mean it’s a party‽”

Slice nodded. “You betcha.”

“Woohoo!” Pinkie’s mane was suddenly looking poofier than it had when they’d arrived, and she had a very eager look on her face. “Where do we start‽”

Slice looked somewhat startled, until Twilight gave her a calming smile. “Parties are Pinkie’s specialty,” she explained. “It’s how she got her mark.”

Slice smiled back. “Then Ah’d be dee-lighted to have yer help,” she said. “Ah just need ta get some of the food ready; Little-Growl, ya think ya can help her out?”

“Oh, absolutely!” Little-Growl looked at Pinkie eagerly. “Right this way!”

The two headed towards the kitchen, Pinkie pronking along after him, and Slice watched them go with a smile. “Eager filly, ain’t she?”

“Cuz, you just got one of Equestria’s best bakers and party-planners to work on this for ya,” Applejack said. “Ah guarantee, this is gonna be a night to remember.”

That evening, the big clear yard in front of the barn was full of wolves and others, all gathered around a big bonfire with plenty of tables of food around, and everyone was happy. A couple of the wolves had been surprised to see ponies besides Slice around, but when she’d explained, they’d accepted it. Now, one of the wolves was standing in front of the others, and everyone was listening to him in fascination.

“So there I was,” the wolf said. “Right on what I thought was Big Raze’s trail. And wouldn’t ya know it, but it turns out my tracking skills had me on the wrong path. I thought I was going to catch me the biggest and fattest wild boar, the one that no wolf had been able to bring in since it started causing trouble for everyone. But instead, I followed that trail right into a hole in the ground, and WHAM!” He clapped his paws. “A tail full of quills, right in the kisser. I tell you, I have never been so embarrassed in my life.” He chuckled. “Learned my lesson about bragging about my tracking skills that day, that’s for sure!”

One of the other wolves chuckled back at him. “Well, that’s what you get for letting your mouth write checks your snout couldn’t cash, Far-Tracker!”

Far-Tracker chuckled again. “Yeah, yeah. And to top it off, I heard that porcupine making some kind of noises as I left, and I’d almost swear he was cursing me out!”

Twilight glanced over at Fluttershy, but thankfully her friend didn’t seem bothered by the story. Then again, she does understand the cycle of life better than a lot of us, she thought.

“So,” Far-Tracker was saying. “Anyone else got anything they’d like to hear about?”

Rarity raised a hoof. “Um, pardon me, but…”

“Yes?” the wolf asked.

“Well, I was wondering about your name.” Rarity tapped her hooves together. “The good ambassador told us about how your people have their names chosen, and I couldn’t help but be curious about yours.”

Far-Tracker chuckled. “No problem, little lady,” he said as he walked towards her. “See, back when I was a pup, I always had a keen sense of smell. One day, I caught this scent, slipped away from my mom, and started following it. That scent led me all the way to the far side of the village, and eventually, I found the source - one of the tastiest-looking roasts I’d ever seen. And I was hungry, so I kind of helped myself.”

Rarity gave him a look. “Let me guess, the owners caught you?”

“Right on the button there, miss. They weren’t too happy and called in my folks and one of the Elders. I had to do some work for them to pay off the debt and make up for it when I got older, but in the meantime, the Elder was impressed with my tracking skills, so he named me Far-Tracker.” He blushed. “Which is another reason I let my skills get to my head every now and then, like the day I tried to track Big Raze.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Know the feeling,” she said.

“What about you?” Spike suddenly asked, gesturing to Big-Cheer and Little-Growl. “We heard your brother’s story earlier, but not you guys.”

Big-Cheer flicked his ear. “It’s no big thing in my case,” he said. “Pun not intended. “But I was always a little bigger than my littermates, and I had a near-constant smile on my face. So they named me for it.”

Little-Growl nodded. “As for me, I… uh… I was always kind of the type to try and show I was better than the others. So one day, when this big wolf came near us, I jumped out and tried to give him the biggest and most threatening snarl I could.” He looked abashed. “It turned out I wasn’t as good at it as I thought I was. He heard that tiny little growl and started laughing. And then I found out he was one of our pack elders, and he named me Little-Growl.”

There was a round of chuckling, and one of the other wolves spoke up. “And of course, his brothers never let him live it down.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Little-Growl muttered, but he was smiling as he said it.

The other wolf chuckled. “You know, it’s always entertaining to hear these things, no matter how small they might seem at times,” he said. “Of course, some of us have some really good stories about how we got our names." He grinned. "Heck, I love telling the story of how I got mine."

"So we've noticed," one of the others grumbled, but good-naturedly.

The first wolf stuck his tongue out at the second, then turned back to the group. "And it's only fair to say this in advance - if you start laughing while I'm still talking, you absolutely do not have to apologize to me for interrupting. Almost everyone laughs when they hear it, and it makes me happy when they do, 'cause it's really funny."

Pinkie and Rainbow Dash looked eager, so the wolf continued. "I was still pretty young, maybe a month old or a little more, so I had my teeth in by then, but not my name. Now, you've probably been told that one of our biggest rules is that we don't hurt children. Any wolf who does is exiled from the Packlands immediately and permanently." He bared his teeth. "Well, one of those law-breakers decided to come back anyway, and attack the mate of the wolf who exiled him. He came to our den, and was closing in on her... and on a couple of my younger litter-mates who'd been napping with her."

Fluttershy squeaked in horror.

"I, on the other paw, was wide awake and on the other side of the den, behind some of our stuff. And I'd always been high-spirited, so I kind of opened wide, charged him and... went right for the seat of the problem."

Pinkie's eyes widened, and she immediately began giggling, while Rainbow Dash grinned even wider. "Oh man!"

The wolf grinned. "Yep. Bit him right on the backside, and he let out a yell that'd curl your fur. Turned straight around and ran out of the den, smack into another couple of wolves who'd seen him heading our way. They took him into custody, and... let's just say he's not a problem anymore." He frowned for a moment, before smiling again. "After that, they figured I'd earned my name. Wanted to call me Butt-Biter."

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie both fell over laughing. Rarity was clearly amused too, but was trying to hide it behind a hoof, while neither Applejack nor Spike were trying to hide the grins on their faces. Even Fluttershy was smiling now.

"My folks," the wolf said with a big grin, "Weren't too thrilled by that and managed to talk the elders into giving me a different one that would still be based on what I'd done. So they bent the rules a little and picked the sound that other wolf made when I got him." He grinned. "And that's why my name is Aargh."

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie's laughter was even louder now. Several other wolves snickered, and even Twilight couldn’t help herself, laughing along with them.

“Ah,” one of the others said. “Now this is what I call a fun time.”

“I’ll say,” Rainbow Dash said. “You guys have got some great stories.”

The wolves beamed at her comment, before there was a small “harrumph”, and a griffon gave her a look.

“What about you?” she asked. “I hear you ponies get some interesting stories about how you get those little butt-marks of yours.”

Rainbow Dash looked at her. “Yeah, we do,” she said. “Hay, I got mine for breaking the sound barrier!”

“Really?” the griffon said snidely. “Then why don’t you prove it?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Are you kidding me? One, it’s night, and I don’t want to get in trouble for making enough noise to wake up half the country. Two, I’m pretty sure this counts as weather magic, and here in the Packlands, I’d need permission to do that before I tried. So no, I’m not gonna show off right now.”

“What’s the matter?” the griffon taunted her. “Too chicken?”

Rainbow Dash’s hackles rose. “No, I’m just smart enough not to do the kind of things that would get me in trouble outside my homeland.”

“Chicken,” the griffon snapped. “Chicken, chicken, chick- awwwk!”

The awwwk was the griffon’s startled reaction as a thin, tasseled tail almost cracking itself like a whip against the their backside, before the gargoyle that tail belonged to stepped up and put his face right in the griffon’s.

“She is respecting the laws of this land, so back off,” the gargoyle said. He then turned to Rainbow Dash, and bowed. “Begging your pardon, but if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s people who try to goad others into misbehaving.”

“‘S all cool,” Rainbow Dash said. “And thanks.”

"My pleasure," the gargoyle said. "Except for that one incident with Maxy here earlier, you and your friends have been a lot better behaved and less prejudiced than most Equestrians I've met, and from what I heard your princess saying afterward, she at least had a personal and understandable reason for reacting like she did, rather than sheer blind prejudice." He turned to Twilight and held out his hand. "The name's Caplan."

Twilight gave him a nod. "Thank you for understanding," she said as she accepted his hand and shook it.

“You’re welcome.” The gargoyle sat back down. “So, getting back to where we were before miss cranky here spoke up… who’s got the next story?”

“May I?” Twilight asked.

Caplan nodded. “Be our guest.” He gestured to the other people gathered around.

“All right.” Twilight took a deep breath as she stepped up towards the bonfire. “You may know me as a princess of Equestria, but the truth is, I used to be a normal - relatively - unicorn.”

There were some surprised noises at this, and Twilight nodded. “When I was just six years old, I applied to enter Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Due to an event at the entrance exam, I gained my Cutie Mark for magic and became Princess Celestia’s personal student.” She paused for a moment. “About fourteen years later, Spike and I moved down to Ponyville, where I met the ponies who’d become five of my closest friends. Together, we were able to unlock the powers of the Elements of Harmony and defeat a terrible threat to Equestria and the world, and we’d go on to use that same power to defeat another dangerous threat.”

She paused again briefly, before continuing. “More recently, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sent me a book that had belonged to their teacher, Starswirl the Bearded.” She saw the gargoyle’s eyes widen in surprise. “In it, there was a spell he had started, but never finished. I cast it myself, in an effort to understand it, but in the process… I messed up. The spell affected my friends, switching around their Cutie Marks, and each of them started trying to do what their new marks represented.” She bowed her head. “I thought I’d ruined everything, until Spike helped me figure it out. I went out to find Fluttershy, and helped her find the part of herself that she’d lost so she could help another friend who meant so much to her. And one by one, we brought each of them back to their true selves.”

She saw Swift-Pad listening in fascination, and continued. “Finally, once all of my friends were themselves again, we went back to my home, and with their help, I figured out how to change Starswirl’s spell. And by using it, by creating a brand new magic that linked into my special talent and tapped our bonds of friendship, I ascended and became an alicorn.”

There were even more surprised noises at this, and Twilight smiled. “Since then, I’ve been learning my new responsibilities as a Princess, and more recently, your ambassador has aided me a great deal in learning even more that I didn’t know. For all that he’s done to help me, I am proud to call him my friend.”

There was a mixture of cheers and playful hooting, with Maxilla giving her a pointed look. Twilight was confused for a moment before she realized what was being implied and chuckled herself before shaking her head. “I meant that he’s helped me learn more about the world outside Equestria,” she said. “Nothing more than that. I believe that Maxilla has sole claim on him.”

That caused further hooting and chuckling, with the two in question blushing and looking away from each other, before Twilight walked back to her position with another person walking past her to the bonfire.

A head popped up from further back in the crowd as she sat down next to Caplan. “Can any pony do this? Do something big and become an alicorn?”

Twilight shrugged as she turned to face the she-wolf. “Honestly, I don’t know. It’s possible - of Equestria’s four alicorns, two of them were born that way, while myself and Princess Cadance, who now rules the Crystal Empire with her husband Shining Armor, started out as different types and ascended. But there might be some further requirements that she and I met without knowing it, so I can’t say for sure. If there are, neither Princess Celestia nor Princess Luna have told me yet.”

There was a low murmur from the wolves who heard her comments before they turned back to focusing on the next story. Twilight, however, looked at Caplan and said, “I hope you do not find this impolite or prying, but I was wondering if you could tell me about your own homeland.”

Caplan smiled and nodded their head, and began to share their story while Swift-Pad watched from the side. Maxilla had sat beside the wolf, leaning into him. “Are you going to watch her the entire night, Swifty?” they cooed at him with Swift-Pad whining softly before looking back at them.

“I’m still on duty, Maxilla,” he told them, giving them a light lick along the face which made them squirm with delight. “This is still a very delicate political business, and as her teacher in such matters…” He shook his head. “Besides, she has displayed an honest and eager love of learning, no matter the source the knowledge comes from, and I find such a thing to be so very enjoyable to watch.” When they groaned and rolled their eyes, Swift-Pad leaned and whispered. “I take it as training for our future pups, Maxilla.”

Maxilla turned to stare him straight in the face. “Swift, you really mean that?” They sounded almost desperate for an answer.

“I do,” Swift-Pad said while rubbing against her, placing his scent on the she-wolf as they had been doing to him for the entire time they had been together. “You are mine as I am yours.”

Maxilla smiled widely before tilting her head to the side. “You can come closer Twilight, I only bite Swift-Pad here.” They then tilted their head the other way to reach over and tug on Swift-Pad’s ear to demonstrate with the wolf shaking his head before yelping a bit as his glasses went off his nose.

“I hope I am not interrupting too much,” Twilight said as she walked up towards the pair, watching Swift-Pad go search for his glasses before a spark of green magic went through the grass and placed the glasses back on the wolf. Twilight turned her head in time to see Maxilla’s horn vanish back into their head.

“Not at all, Twilight,” Maxilla replied before looking at Swift-Pad. “Mind getting me some of the cooked lamb, please? I think we’re going to need a bit of time here.”

Swift-Pad nodded his head before looking at Twilight. “Do you want anything? Some cider, some of the pastries that your friend made, anything?”

Twilight shook her head. “I’m good, thank you.” She smiled as he left the two of them alone.

“So what do you want to know about changelings,” Maxilla asked, their voice sounding a tad more masculine than it had been all day. Twilight couldn’t help but tense up slightly at the change and then winced at feeling this way before Maxilla chuckled. “Sorry for that,” they said back in their feminine voice. “Just slipped out.”

“It is alright,” Twilight shook her head. “And to answer your question… everything, really. After the invasion, I asked Princess Celestia about this, and she told me how she’d faced Chrysalis once before and sealed her away after she attacked the city of Trot, but until they exposed themselves at the wedding, Celestia thought she and her hive were still trapped in that volcano. That and what I saw of them during the attack itself, how they transformed, how they fed on love from ponies and how they sealed them in those cocoons of theirs... that’s really all I knew, before I met you.”

“Well now, that’s partly true,” Maxilla said. “Their hive was sealed away, but not the entire changeling swarm. From what our history tells us, the various Queens voted to break Chrysalis and her hive out as everyling thought then that Celestia had overstepped herself. That whole debacle is the main reason why we secluded ourselves and hid ourselves away from Equestria and other nations that would reveal us to them.” Maxilla then gave a growl. “Of course, now that she’s attacked Equestria and Celestia again and made a complete political nightmare for us normal changelings, everyling has regretted bailing her out.” They then paused before shaking their head. “Well, I say us normal changelings, but that won’t include me soon, considering I am going to have the Seal performed.”

“You mentioned that before,” Twilight started only to trail off.

“You’re curious to what it really means,” Maxilla said with Twilight nodding her head. “It means that I will give up all of my changeling abilities to be like this forever.”

“I can’t begin to imagine what that would be like,” Twilight said. “I… I lost my magic once, when my friends and I were facing Discord the first time, and it was a nightmare. Giving it up permanently...”

Maxilla placed a paw on her hoof. “Imagine you find someone you find someone you love so much that you want to be with them, someone that you care about so much you will do anything to be with them.” Maxilla leaned in with a soft smile on their face. “I can tell you are thinking of someone, aren’t you?”

Twilight blushed, but she knew she couldn’t lie to the changeling. “I did meet a guy once, not long after I became an alicorn, and I think I did have feelings for him, but… well, he kinda lives in another dimension, and I have my responsibilities here.”

“But you do see where I am coming from, right?”

Twilight nodded. “And I think… I think you’re a lot braver than I am,” she admitted. “I don’t think I could make that choice.”

“Well, I do have it a bit easier,” Maxilla tilted their head. “There is always doubt with someone you can’t really read emotionally.”

Twilight smirked at that and nodded her head. “So the Seal was always for this situation?”

Maxilla didn’t respond right away which left Twilight thinking about this further before she gave the she-wolf a serious look. “This wasn’t to help those like you, was it?”

“No, your highness, it wasn’t,” Maxilla admitted. “Originally, it was for one of two things. One; punishment, to cut us off from the rest of the hive if we’d done something the Queen would view as a betrayal, and to keep us from ‘infecting’ others with our ‘treacherous’ thoughts. Two, for much more nefarious purposes. Even though we are excellent spies, there were some who took it a step further, in order to protect themselves from magic that might dispel their disguises. As you can guess, they are completely undetectable and thus the ideal spy for us.”

Twilight shivered. “That’s… scary,” she admitted. “Scarier than what I witnessed during the invasion.”

Maxilla nodded. “Thankfully, that sort of thing’s almost entirely fallen out of practice, and it’s only a few of the Queens who would still consider it. Using it for the same kind of thing that I want, on changelings who want to be able to spend the rest of their lives with a non-changeling, only started happening a lot more recently.” Twilight nodded her head, with a silence building before Maxilla smiled. “Do you happen to know the significance of our holes, by the way?”

“I-no, I don’t,” Twilight replied as Maxilla pulled back the magic over their legs.

“They look similar to each other, don’t they?” Maxilla asked, holding their forelegs together.

“The very fact you said it means they aren’t,” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow.

“No, they aren’t,” Maxilla replied with a chuckle. “The ones on the front left are the same as my mom’s while the ones on my right are the same as my father’s. The ones on my hind left are identical to my Queen’s unique pattern, and the last set are my own random pattern, the one I’d pass on to my grubs if I had any.”

Twilight shook her head. “The more I learn, the more I realize just how much I still need to learn,” she said.

“Well my Swifty is doing a good job teaching you to ask the right questions,” Maxilla said, tilting their head towards Caplan who was talking with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. “Speaking of which, I think I need to go save him from those other rune wolves. Your friend Rarity made his new gloves, right?”

“Yes, she did,” Twilight said.

“She does good work.” Maxilla nodded their head with approval.

“She certainly does,” Twilight said, thinking back on the different dresses Rarity had made for her and their other friends. Looking over, she could see Rarity was talking to several wolves, no doubt already receiving orders. “She’s made dresses for me, and our friends… and even for Princess Cadance when she was getting married.”

“Really?” Maxilla looked interested. “I wonder if she’d be interested in making something for me and Swifty when we tie the knot.”

“I expect she’d be more than happy to do it,” Twilight said.

“Did she do the groom’s outfit then?”

“No, Shiny wore his dress uniform,” Twilight told her.

Maxilla raised an eyebrow with a wry smirk. “‘Shiny’? Getting a little familiar with your fellow princess’s husband there, aren’t you?”

Twilight gave them an indignant look. “He’s my big brother, I’m allowed to be familiar with him!”

“Ohhh…” Maxilla blushed. “Oops. My mistake, didn’t know.”

“That’s quite all right,” Twilight reassured her. Then she grimaced. “I feel I should warn you, if you ever meet him, he may or may not react as badly as I did when I first met you… Chrysalis spent weeks disguised as Princess Cadance and feeding off his love while the real Cadance was locked up elsewhere, so he has even more of a reason to dislike her than I do.”

“We heard about that,” Maxilla said. “There were a lot of nasty rumours flying around about what Queen Chrysalis actually did, but we haven’t been told anything. Our Queens are keeping quiet and Chrysalis's hive has been detained while they and the Elders of the Packlands deal with her.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “She’s… here‽” Then she shook her head. “And detained?”

“Um, yes.” Maxilla answered nervously while looking at Swift-Pad more intently.

Twilight lowered her head for a moment, then looked back up at Maxilla. “I expect,” she said as calmly as she could, “That Princess Celestia will wish to send witnesses and testimony to any trial, in the hopes of seeing that justice is done. Would your Queens and the Pack Elders be agreeable to that?”

“I cannot make any promises for my Queen or the Pack Elders, your highness,” Maxilla said while taking a step backwards. “I am just a transit worker; I don't have any political clout. If you want to see if the Queens and the Elders would agree to such a thing, you would need to talk to Swift-Pad.” Their ears fell with a faint growl in their throat. “Which will have to wait until tomorrow as Swift-Pad has seemed to loosen up with some cider. Excuse me.”

Before Twilight could react, Maxilla had leapt past Twilight and swept Swift-Pad off towards the farmhouse with the two in a hushed conversation before Twilight’s view of them was blocked.

Shaking her head, Twilight went to find a place to sit down and try to calm herself. She was still there several minutes later when another figure appeared in front of her.

“Hey, Twilight.” Rainbow Dash grinned down at her. “Great party, huh?”

Twilight smiled up at her friend as she tried to clear her mind. “Yeah… yeah, it is.”

Rainbow Dash cocked her head. “Is something wrong?”

“Not wrong, just… trying to sort out everything I’ve learned tonight,” Twilight said.

“Egghead,” Rainbow Dash said teasingly. “Come on, the fun’s still happening!”

Reluctantly, Twilight let herself be swept back into the party. But the whole time, with all the potential consequences of what she’d just learned, she had one major thought on her mind.

I hope we can get through tomorrow’s meeting without something going horribly wrong.

Chapter Twenty One

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Chapter Twenty-One

"Ungh…"

Twilight moaned a bit in her sleep, and turned over. Suddenly, she sat bolt upright, and looked around. "Wait a minute…"

The room she was in now was not the spare bedroom she'd chosen earlier and subsequently fallen asleep in. Instead, she was standing in a room full of books, and her eyes lit up as she recognized one of her favorite libraries.

Then, paper started falling from the shelves.

Looking up in horror, Twilight saw a familiar figure carelessly ripping pages out of them.

"Oh, this looks historic," the figure said as she mercilessly shredded another tome. "Perfect!"

"Chrysalis!" Twilight shouted. "How did you get in here‽"

The changeling queen, seeing her, laughed evilly. "Oh, my dear little princess..." Suddenly, she was right in front of Twilight. "I can be anywhere."

Then she started cackling again. Backing up, Twilight lit up her horn, when suddenly she sensed another presence.

"Begone!" a voice boomed, and in an instant, a wave of magic washed over Chrysalis, vaporizing her.

With a sigh as she caught her breath, Princess Luna landed next to Twilight. "Good evening," she greeted her. "Of all the ponies in Equestria, or out of it, I wasn't expecting to find you having a nightmare tonight." She smiled. "Still, I'm glad I found you."

Twilight smiled back at her. "Thank you," she said. "For this, and for finding me." She took a deep breath of her own. "How goes your night patrol, Luna?"

"Shorter than I would like," the other alicorn admitted as she chose to create some pastries. "'Tis only a short break; we are allowing the border guards a half hour to rest and recover while I attend to my duties."

"What… what is going on Luna?" Twilight asked, trying to figure out what she could be talking about.

"After your letter about miss Slice n' Dice's situation, my sister and I have been taking steps of our own," Luna said. "Celestia went to meet with her parents, while I decided to remind all the branches of the Equestrian military, including the Border Patrol, that ultimately, they are all answerable to me now, just as they were a thousand years ago. As such, we are going through all the complaints filed about them, and dealing with the corrupt and incompetent members in an appropriate manner, to ensure that such issues as happened with your new friend never happen again."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know."

"Also, Celestia has taken your first letter into advisement, and is looking to investigate Mount Aris to see if we can get past whatever kept the representatives of the Packlands out." She pursed her lips. "We are uncertain as to whether it is the hippogriff Queen Skydancer who might be responsible, or possibly Queen Novo, since she and her people reside in the waters nearly."

"Queen Novo?" Twilight blinked in confusion.

"Ruler of Seaquestria, and of our aquatic cousins who live there," Luna explained. "The seaponies are a generally peaceful race, but they keep to themselves most of the time, for reasons I have yet to fathom. No pun intended." She smiled. "On the other hoof, the seaponies, mermares and merlions of Aquastria, in the western oceans, are far more friendly. King Leo, their ruler, is a merlion; you'll probably meet him someday."

Twilight nodded. "Thank you for telling me," she said. "And now, I have additional important information of my own that needs to be passed on."

Luna looked at the expression on her face. "What is it?"

"Did you know there was more than one changeling hive?"

Luna frowned. "No, we did not."

"There are," Twilight said. "And at least some of them are living here in the Packlands. The one I met was friendly!" she quickly added. "But I did find out that… that Chrysalis is also here."

"WHAT!" Luna reared back in surprise. "How-" Then she forced herself to calm. "Tell me everything, Twilight."

Twilight did so, and finally Luna sat back. "This is troubling news," she said. "I must inform my sister as soon as possible." Then she looked at Twilight with intense eyes. "Tell me, what do you think would be the best course of action?"

Twilight sighed. "First off, the last thing we want to do is get the Packlands mad at us all over again," she said. "My personal intention is that since they have already set things in motion to try her for her actions, I would ask that we be allowed to send representatives to attend and testify at her trial."

"Do you truly think they would accept such a thing?" Luna asked.

"Luna… this is their land. In the last few days, I've heard more than enough about Equestria effectively bullying other nations, be it deliberately or unintentionally, that the last thing I want to do is force them to do things our way. I figure if we make a reasonable request - to join what they've already set in motion, rather than take over - they might be more willing to hear us out and accept it." Twilight looked down. "Besides, given what I was told about her reputation and how at least some of the other Queens are already mad at her, I'm fairly certain that at least some would welcome evidence of her crimes."

"That is an interesting way of putting it." Luna looked contemplative. "I cannot say for certain that Celestia would accept it - in fact, I expect she would be most desiring to personally see Chrysalis brought to justice - but I will inform her of what you have said, and your reasoning for doing things in that way."

Twilight blinked and looked at Luna. "What do you say, Luna? You and I do make up two thirds of Equestria's Triarchy, after all, and wouldn't a majority decide how we would act in regards to Chrysalis?"

Luna let out a sigh, shaking her head. "You put me in a very precarious position Twilight," she said. "While we could indeed overvote my sister if she would wish to try to extradite Chrysalis to stand trial in Equestria, I would not vote against her. Not because she is my sister but because of the fact that Chrysalis invaded our lands and laid siege to our capital to attack our citizens on the day of our niece's wedding. Any one of those transgressions would have been enough for war in the old days but now we have to be more civilized which means we make her stand to face our justice system."

Twilight nodded. "I can understand that," she said. "Believe me, I personally was affected by that day in… more ways than you know." She bowed, remembering how she'd felt after her brother's and Celestia's harsh words. "But I still feel that letting her stand trial here is the right thing to do for Equestria. As long as she's brought to justice, it doesn't matter to me who does it. Besides," and she looked disturbed. "The last thing I want is to have her back in Equestria for any reason."

"You are more than likely correct, but you are still very young, dear Twilight," Luna said sadly. "There are numerous other concerns that come from allowing another nation to try a criminal like Chrysalis for us that you do not know yet. This will not be something we can let go without some effort on our part and the outcome will be unpleasant in the best of situations." Luna then flashed a happier smile. "Though do not fret for my sister is a diplomat with great experience. If anyone can make this painless, it will be her."

Twilight looked at her. "Luna… please. I may be young, but I am trying to improve relations between our two nations. Can you at least give me a chance to try and see this through my way?"

Luna looked at her, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "I can promise to let you try but I must inform my sister of what I know now and I cannot promise you she will be lenient."

Twilight sighed. "I guess that's all I can ask for."

Luna shook her head again "In the future, try to weigh the benefits of informing us with details that would force us to act against your own agenda. If you had said nothing until you got back home, her trial would be over and your goal of increasing our relationship between our two nations would be a success."

Twilight's eyes suddenly blazed. "You're asking me to lie to you?" She looked furious. "Part of the reason I became a princess was because of the honesty I displayed. And now you're saying to go back on that‽"

"In some matters, yes," Luna said sternly. "My sister and I are a team; a very effective and honest team with each other. But I know for a fact my sister keeps secrets from me and I keep secrets from her. She has plans of her own that if I knew of, I would do all in my power to thwart, and the same is true for myself and her. Do you think Celestia is comfortable with me going to all of our military leaders and having me reassert my dominance over the entire Equestrian forces? She might have complete faith in me, but to learn I had done this would cause her some hidden distress. Her leniency in leaving threats around as tests for those she sees greatness in infuriates me to no end, mainly because I am left helpless to do anything when they rear their heads in the middle of our nation." Luna extended a wing outwards. "This matter will complicate things between our nations, Twilight, information you alone had. My ability to enter dreams is not widely known yet but how do you think the wolves, or any other nation, will react to knowing I can walk into any dream now? This is a tool that our agents rely on for their own missions and safety and now it will be compromised, though hopefully not too much." Luna let out another tired sigh. "You were not supposed to learn all of this yet; this is far more advanced than what you are ready for Twilight."

Twilight looked down, but it was clear that obvious fury was boiling inside her. "Luna… you're my friend, and I thank you for saying everything you have. But I need to be alone now before I say something we'll both regret."

Luna looked at her sorrowfully. "As you wish." With that, she vanished, leaving Twilight alone.

Twilight blinked awake, and tossed the covers aside. With a flare of her horn, she teleported some distance away from the house, and then formed a sound-scrambling barrier around herself, to keep from disturbing anyone with what she was about to do.

Then she let out the most furious, blood-curdling scream she'd ever made in her life.

She screamed again and again, until she had almost no voice left, and was exhausted.

Finally, she let her shield down and, as calmly as she could, walked back into the house and the room she'd been given, and collapsed on the bed. In a moment, she was out cold.

"Your Grace, wake up now!" Swift-Pad shouted, causing Twilight to jump off the bed. "What did you do‽ I have reports of mass magic being used and it was traced here so please tell me what did you do‽" He had jumped onto the bed and was staring her down.

Twilight, shaking her head as she tried to bring herself to full wakefulness, stared at him. "Ambassador, with all due respect, I have had a very rough night. I went out to find somewhere to scream, and I put a soundproof barrier around myself so I wouldn't disturb anyone. That's all!"

"...you teleported around," Swift-Pad said numbly before growling at her. "Of course you teleported around; it was in your file, and I have seen you do it myself." Grumbling loudly, he turned around and stormed out of her room.

"One teleport, from here into the yard," Twilight said irritably as she followed him. "I was in sight of the house the whole time."

"It doesn't matter where you did, you still did a massive magical spell without informing me so I could warn the rune wolves who monitor strong magic in our lands that it wasn't an attack or anything," he snapped back at her as he walked into his room with Maxilla standing in the corner, trying to look invisible before Swift-Pad glared at them to leave before attending a pile of runes on the bed. "Do not distract me, Twilight, I need to focus so I can tell them to stand down."

Twilight glared at him, still angry but also curious as he worked the runes to bring forth the image of another wolf. The two of them growled at each other before the image dissipated with Swift-Pad letting out a sigh of relief. "They have been informed," he said.

"Good." Twilight was still not happy. "I really wish you, or someone, had told me about this before. I work best when I've been given sufficient information, and had I known teleporting - which I've been doing for years without anyone giving me grief over it - was going to cause a problem here, I would have just used the door."

Swift-Pad looked like he was about to say something, no doubt another lecture when he took a closer look at her. "Your Grace? Is something wrong?"

Twilight gave an angry snort. "Let's just say I'm starting to wish I'd never become an alicorn in the first place." Then she turned and marched back to her room, shutting the door behind her.

Swift-Pad and Maxilla exchanged glances. "Something is very wrong here," Swift-Pad said.

"No kidding," Maxilla agreed.

Just then there was a yawn from behind them, and Spike wandered in. "What's with all the noise?" he asked groggily.

Swift-Pad sighed. "Your Princess," he said, "Chose to teleport out of the house in the middle of the night and set off several alarm spells in the process, forcing me to inform those monitoring for strong magic that it was not an attack but simply my charge using her highly credible talents and me promising them that she will not do so again. And for some reason, she appears to be angrier than I have ever seen her since we met."

Spike's eyes widened. "Uh-oh." He backed out. "Um, let me go talk to her. Twilight doesn't get mad too often, but when she does, it's not a pretty sight."

Swift-Pad looked at him. "Are you certain? I do hate to speak ill of Her Grace, but… she seemed like she needed her space."

Spike nodded. "I've known Twilight my whole life. If there's anyone who can get her through whatever's upsetting her, it's me."

"Very well." Swift-Pad sighed. "I hope you are right, young drake."

Finding his way to the room where Twilight had gone, Spike knocked on the door. "Twilight? Can I come in?"

There was a brief pause, then the door creaked open. "Hey, Spike," a weary and somewhat muffled voice came.

Spike walked in, shutting the door behind him. Finding Twilight facedown on the bed, he climbed up to join her. "What's wrong?"

Twilight sighed. "I think… I might have messed everything up," she said.

"I'm listening."

Quickly, carefully, Twilight popped up her sound-scrambling spell around them, then began to tell him everything she'd heard from and said to Luna the night before. When she was done, he scratched his head and nodded. "Yep. We've definitely got a problem."

Twilight was about to say something when he raised a claw. "But. I think we can deal with this."

"Spike…"

"Twilight, I know you." Spike looked at her. "You can figure out anything. Just trust in yourself, and in your friends. And don't ever doubt yourself - sure, you're having a few hiccups here and there when it comes to your princess duties, and there are times I think that Celestia was wrong for foisting that kind of thing off on you without a warning. But when it comes to being an alicorn… with all your magic and everything, I don't think you could have kept from becoming one if you wanted."

Twilight smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you, Spike." Her head drooped for a moment, before she looked at him more seriously. "So, what do you think I should do now?"

"I don't know, but we'll face it together." Spike placed a claw on her leg. "I made the mistake of turning my back on you once. Never again."

Twilight smiled again, and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you," she said. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

Luna had awoken herself with her Lunar guards giving her a look. “Shall we go inform the border guards that we’re ready?”

“No, I need to make an emergency visit to my sister,” Luna said before teleporting away, taking care to mask her magic as not to set off any of the Packland’s spells. They were formidable but nothing that she couldn’t subvert. Appearing in her sister’s bedroom, she saw Celestia tilt her head up, smiling briefly before frowning.

“I take it that something went wrong with your plan to overhaul the border division?” Celestia asked as she stood up, summoning papers. “Are we to expect Packland raiding parties or something worse until we can stabilize relations?”

“If only it were that simple,” Luna said with Celestia frowning more. “I spoke with Twilight in her dreams just now. She has discovered that after the invasion of Canterlot, Chrysalis and her hive ended up in the Packlands.” She pursed her lips. “According to Twilight, there are other Queens there as well, and they are not happy with Chrysalis and her actions. She has been taken into custody by they and the Packlands’ leaders, and is awaiting trial for what she has done.”

Luna looked up and noticed how angered her sister was. She was barely restraining her magic and Luna could feel the sun struggle to flare but thankfully, Celestia’s will was strong enough to counter her wrath. “They have been holding her this entire time without so much as informing us or asking us for witnesses for the trial?”

“It appears so,” Luna said, taking careful notice of her sister’s anger and, to her relief, seeing that it was ebbing. “I have also informed Twilight of your most likely response, and asked for her own opinion.”

Celestia, at that, looked a little calmer. “And what did she say?”

“Her own desire was about as you’d expect,” Luna said. “She would let them handle the trial, but wishes to ask that we be allowed to send witnesses and testimony.” She gave a faint smile. “Based on what she has learned of the situation, including Chrysalis twice exposing her kind to us, she believes that Chrysalis’s fellow queens are unhappy enough with her to see her properly brought to justice.”

“Though she has to realize we will be forced to ask the Packlands to send her to us to face justice,” Celestia said, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

Luna nodded. “Based on what she said, I think that at least part of her desires are motivated by her not wishing Chrysalis to ever set hoof on Equestrian soil for any reason.”

“Luna, why don’t you tell me what is wrong; I can see there is something troubling you,” Celestia said as more papers began to float over to her desk, no doubt the beginning treaties and request to the Packland diplomats that reside in Canterlot.

“I… may have suggested that in this case, honesty was not the best policy, and that if she wanted things done her way, she shouldn't have told us about this until the trial was already over,” Luna admitted. “She was furious, reminding me that her honesty was one of the qualities you praised in her when she first became one of us.”

“As I expect for someone as naive and idealistic as Twilight to react,” Celestia responded distantly. “You are correct that if I hadn’t learned of this until after she had tried it, I would not be forced to act in this manner but we cannot let our enemies retreat to other lands for justice to be done.” Her quill paused before it was set down and she let out a tired sigh. “Twilight has grown so much; words cannot begin to express how proud of her I am. What she has accomplished is beyond magic itself and the work she has set in motion is more than I could have hoped to do myself despite all talent and expertise.” Celestia turned to face Luna, with sorrow in her face. “And yet, I still worry for her. This is not the job I had hoped she would take upon herself; I did not want to see those ideals washed away from the cruel reality of this job.”

Luna nodded. “If I am not mistaken, she genuinely believes her solution is the right one, and the best way of improving our relations with the other nations, offering input but otherwise letting them handle this matter instead of imposing our own will on them like a bully; I believe she has heard enough of that accusation being bandied about towards Equestria in the last few days to last a lifetime.”

Celestia let out a sigh, shaking her head. “We might be forced to do so, in any case. I do think she has the right idea in principle, but given my own experiences, as in Gravon’s case, I don’t know if the noble council would let us stand back. And us revealing we know of Chrysalis being in the Packlands would raise question in how the information got out which could reveal your own powers which,” Celestia let out a bitter grunt. “Is not worth retrieving one war criminal.”

“I said as much about my abilities to Twilight myself,” Luna said. “I do not know if she would be willing to admit the truth to the Packlanders; she did not say anything on that issue before asking me to give her space.” She looked at Celestia. “I fear my words may have damaged hers and my friendship a great deal, given how upset she appeared with me before I left.”

“It was a harsh lesson for her to learn and I am sorry it was you that had to give it to her. You do not deserve her anger, Luna,” Celestia said.

Luna bowed. “Actually, in this case, I think I did,” she said. “I essentially told her to go against something that you, one of her heroes, had done your best to teach her, and said that in spite of everything, in spite of your trust in her, she was not ready for this. Under those circumstances and my own thoughtlessness in saying such, her anger with me was quite understandable.”

Celestia’s quill, which she had taken up again, dropped. “Luna…” After a moment, she shook her head. “I know you meant well,” she said. “But for all that you understand, I don’t think you realize how emotionally fragile Twilight can be at times.” She picked up her quill. “I need to speak to her,” she said. “If you will excuse me.”

Luna nodded and turned away, leaving Celestia to call another piece of parchment to her and begin writing. But before she could leave, Celestia had asked her to pass on a message to one of Twilight’s friends for her.

Twilight and Spike had stayed in their room for some time when they heard a quiet tapping on the door. “Um, Twilight?”

Recognizing the voice, Twilight looked over. “Come in,” she said quietly.

The door opened, revealing Fluttershy, who carefully closed the door behind her when she was in. “Can we talk?”

“Sure.” Twilight smiled at her. “What’s up?”

Fluttershy looked around. “Um, can you do that thing you did the other day? On the train?”

Knowing what she meant, Twilight nodded and popped up her sound-scrambling spell again. “What is it?”

Fluttershy ducked her head a bit. “Princess Luna spoke to me earlier,” she said.

Twilight’s eyes flashed briefly, but she calmed herself, letting Fluttershy speak.

“She said, that Princess Celestia said, I know what you found out, and I trust you to do what you think is the right thing about it, and her.” She looked at Twilight. “What did she mean?”

Twilight heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Fluttershy. And, I promise I’ll explain everything soon.”

“All right.” Fluttershy smiled. “And, um, breakfast is ready.”

“We’ll be right out,” Twilight said. Dropping her spell and rising from her bed, she went to take care of her personal grooming for the morning.

Soon afterward, the three were out in the living room, joining the others as they ate. It seemed both Applejack and Slice had been cooking breakfast, the two working in perfect harmony with each other.

“So, what was with all the noise earlier?” Rainbow Dash asked as she munched.

“Very, very bad dream,” Twilight said. She looked at Swift-Pad who was sharing a meal with Maxilla. “I got upset enough by it that I needed to get outside somewhere, and very fast, to scream in privacy - I didn’t want to do it inside, since even my best soundproofing spells can be overwhelmed and not hold properly if I’m upset enough. So I teleported out without knowing it would set off the alarms.”

“It is fine your Grace,” Swift-Pad said, tipping his head towards her. “In hindsight, I should have informed you that such a rare and powerful spell is not allowed in the Packlands as very few can do so, especially considering how widely known it is to be one of your signature spells.”

“I wondered about that flash I saw in the middle of the night,” Thin-Tall remarked. “And no, you didn’t wake me up - I had matters of my own to attend to right then.”

Twilight looked gratefully in his direction. “I really didn’t mean to disturb anyone,” she said. “But sometimes, my instincts get the better of me.”

“Sometimes, we all need a good scream,” Slice said from her own seat. “Celestia alone knows how much Ah needed it after all Ah went through with those troublemakers when Ah first moved in.”

“Speaking of that time,” Swift-Pad said, giving Twilight a look. “You will need to prepare yourself because Wise-Mind, the Packleader of Strong-Defend, will no doubt be coming here to meet with you this morning.”

“Anything I should know about him?” Twilight asked, looking at Swift-Pad before turning to face the other four Packlanders.

“He will do his best to test you,” Little-Growl said nervously.

“If ya don’t show yer mettle, Ah don’t thin’ things will go well,” Slice said, equally as nervous.

“Above all else, do not attempt to impose your will, in any form, on his,” Thin-Tall said seriously. “He has encountered spells that influenced the mind or body in the past, and any attempt to use them in his presence will immediately turn him against you. The only exception is if you are attempting to freeze and thus stabilize an injured limb, or something along those lines, but still, do not use them without asking first.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Twilight said, smiling faintly, wondering exactly how she should interact with this wolf when she noticed Maxilla looking nervous.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked Maxilla quietly.

“Just that I should have been working yesterday instead of doing all of this,” they said.

Twilight nodded. “Would it help if I vouched that you got caught up in helping my friends and I?” she asked.

“Maybe,” Maxilla said, not facing her. “Maybe not.” They then rubbed their hooves together with Twilight widening her eyes as she remembered something important.

“If you will excuse us, I need to speak with my friends in private for a moment,” Twilight said, trying not to sound too urgent as she stood up.

“Somethin’ the matter Twilight?” Applejack asked as they made their way into the living room.

“No no,” Twilight lied with Applejack staring harder at her. “It is just something Fluttershy said to me this morning that reminded me of something and I just need to touch base with you guys.”

Her friends gave her a confused look but they all piled into the living room, letting Twilight create the sound-proofing spell around them.

“Last night,” she started. “I… I was telling the truth, when I said I had a nightmare.” She sighed. “And then Princess Luna came in and stopped it.”

The others nodded, still looking confused.

“I’ll explain everything about it later, but the relevant thing right now is, we do not tell anyone about her dream-walking.” Twilight fixed the six with a look. “This is vitally important; if they found out she had that kind of ability, it would probably ruin everything for us and our relations with the Packlands. And, it would endanger other Equestrians who rely on that ability for communications.” She paused and took a breath. “Just… don’t tell them, okay? It stays between the seven of us.”

“Right,” Applejack said. She frowned. “Ah don’t like the idea of lyin’, you know.”

“I know, I know, and I don’t either,” Twilight said uncomfortably. “But I had it impressed on me just how important it is that we keep this ability secret, and I needed you all to know too.”

There was a chorus of “Yes”es and “Okay”s, and then Twilight smiled. “Thank you,” she said. Then she dropped her spell only for Big-Cheer to appear in the doorway.

“Wise-Mind is coming, he will be here about five minutes,” the wolf said, panting a bit with Twilight turning to look at Swift-Pad.

“Should I have my crown on?” she asked him, remembering how yesterday she failed to have it on when she met with the border guards.

Swift-Pad looked uncertain as he weighed it in his head. “It is up to you,” he finally said. “As Little-Growl said earlier, he will be testing you in his own way. Whether you have your crown or not, he will find an excuse to use it against you.”

Twilight frowned at that, not enjoying the non answer but resolving to accept the situation as it was. “Thank you for telling me,” she said.

“You are welcome,” Swift-Pad said. “And… may I have a word with you, in private?”

Twilight nodded, following him back to his room. Once they had gotten there, he sat down and gazed at her.

"Your Grace," he finally said quietly. "I must admit... your behavior early this morning concerns me. I am glad to see that Spike was able to help you, but still, I am concerned."

Twilight looked back at him. "Ambassador... you remember how I told you about how I've spent so much time learning focus and control, to keep my powers in check, right?"

"Yes," Swift-Pad said, his eyes darting to his bags and she was reminded that he had folders on her and her friends.

"What you saw this morning was another reason why I try to stay in control," Twilight said, trying to push the memory of his folder out of her mind. "I have... a temper, sometimes. I don't lose it often, but there are those rare times when the right combination of stimuli can cause me to snap, to the point where I'm barely rational. And last night's nightmare, parts of it - which I don't want to talk about... I just lost it. I let my anger and my doubt take control, and I lashed out without thinking, and only my years of training kept it from being more than just words. And that I was able to get away to try and calm myself before it got even worse." She looked down. "I don't like it when that happens," she said quietly. "I'm sure you can understand why."

“I can indeed,” Swift-Pad said. “That such anger lies deep within you is natural. That you had the control to reign yourself in is a good thing. But that anger’s breaking out when it did… it is still worrying.”

Twilight sighed. “As I said, it rarely happens,” she said. “Ask Pinkie or Fluttershy about the incident with the hydra at Froggy Bottom Bog sometime.”

“Hydra?” Swift-Pad raised an eyebrow.

“Very long story,” Twilight said. “But my point is, that anger’s always been there. It’s a part of me that I’m not proud of, and this morning, you happened to catch me at a really bad moment before I had had time to fully work my way through it and calm myself. I lashed out at you, and I am truly regretful that you had to see me when my worse side was out in the open.”

Swift-Pad walked up to her and laid a paw on her shoulder. “I understand,” he said. “We all have our worse moments. I am more regretful that I failed to realize you were in such a state and inadvertently made you angrier with my harsh words.”

“I forgive you,” Twilight said. “And I thank you for your concern.”

Swift-Pad nodded, before rising. “Come,” he said. “Let us go.”

Following him back out, Twilight glanced out the windows as she walked, and saw the small group of wolves approaching. Settling back into position, she awaited their arrival.

She saw that they were much larger and much more… wolfish than the other wolves she had met so far. Swift-Pad had taken obvious strides to minimize his more threatening appearance while he was mentoring her, Tall-Thin, Big-Cheer and Little-Growl were all still youngish by the looks of them, and most of the ones she’d seen the night before were very similar in build.

And Maxilla didn’t really count.

These, however, were more along the lines of what she’d expect the Dire Wolves that Snails had described to be like. Along the outside, the wolves were wearing string after string of complex looking runes, no doubt senior rune wolves of the pack. In the middle, however, was a much larger and more intimidating wolf. He had runes too, much larger and more intricate than any she had seen so far, but there was also a dominating sense of savagery surrounding the wolf that seemed to cause instincts within her to heighten, urging her to run away from a dangerous predator as fast as she could. Twilight found herself breathing sharper before she squashed it down, resolving not to appear weak before this wolf.

The wolf company came up to the front of the farm house with the larger wolf staring intently at Twilight, the others fanning out behind him.

“Packleader Wise-Mind,” Twilight said, bowing slightly towards him.

“Am I expected to be spoken to in your tongue?” he said in a growly voice, his golden eyes boring into her.

Twilight started at him before reminding herself that he was testing her and she had to pass these tests. “If I had ample time to properly learn your tongue, I would use it,” she said. “But I do not know it, and would not wish to cause offense by speaking it incorrectly.”

He gave a snort, eyeing her again. “And I see that I am not worth a proper princess greeting either?”

“I chose not to wear my crown for this meeting to symbolise my humility meeting with a leader of this nation,” Twilight stated, stretching her neck out to meet him. “Crown or not, I am still me.”

He stared at her before his jaw turned upwards in the shape of a grin. “I see that you have been taught well by their Graces Celestia and Luna, young Grace Sparkle,” he then turned and stared harshly at someone behind her. “Maxilla, why are you here?”

“I-” they began to speak only to be cut off by a loud growl from the packleader.

“You were supposed to stay away from her Grace,” Wise-Mind’s snarl lasted only seconds when Swift-Pad placed himself between the two, before snorting loudly and lowering his head towards the diplomat. “Is this really the way you wish to do things?”

Swift-Pad bared his fangs only for the other rune wolves to press in, their runes glowing as they stalked closer towards Swift-Pad. Wise-Mind shook his head before looking at Twilight. “This matter is complicated; but she was requested to be elsewhere for your visit.”

“You mean they were, don’t you?” Twilight asked with Wise-Mind’s eyes going wide before pushing her into the house with a modified soundproofing spell snapping into existence.

“You know that she is a changeling, don’t you?” he asked her, walking in a circle around her.

"I do," Twilight said, keeping her eyes on him. "As do my friends. And I am grateful for their presence; I've learned a great deal already from it."

"Such as?" Wise-Mind growled, pausing mid-step.

"Such as the fact that, despite my prior negative experience with their kind, not all changelings are the same, and should not be judged as if they were," Twilight said, doing her best to keep eye contact with the larger wolf. "After getting to know Maxilla in the past day, I count them as one of my friends now."

“That is good,” he paced the floor before letting out a sigh. “There is a reason why she-”

“Isn’t the proper term they?” Twilight asked with Wise-Mind snorting again and shaking his head.

“Maxilla plans to ask Metamorphia for the Seal so Swift-Pad and she can be together, so I will respect her wishes and treat her as a female,” he said with his face softening. “As you are aware, young Grace, we have changelings here. In fact, nearly half of all the hives in the world call the Packland home. That includes some less famous changelings.”

“Are, are you speaking of Chrysalis' hive?” Twilight asked carefully, watching to see how he would react.

“In a manner of speaking,” Wise-Mind said with a bitter tone. “We had managed to intercept many of them after her failed invasion.” He let out a sigh, muttering to himself in his tongue. “Including her.”

“I... I don’t know what to say,” Twilight said, shaking her head, being very careful as not to reveal she already knew this. “When do you think the trial for her will begin?”

“We already had done so,” he stated with Twilight’s eyes going wide in honest surprise. “We found her guilty of invading another nation, kidnapping, impersonation, illegal emotion harvesting and other heinous crimes. We are just waiting on two matters before we sentence her; the manner of her punishment and the successor to her hive.”

“Perhaps Equestria could be of some aid if you wish,” Twilight offered with Wise-Mind shaking his head.

“No, absolutely not,” he said before looking at her. “And this matter cannot reach their Graces; the consequences could hurt both our nations. You are aware of Nobleblood and his crimes against us.”

“I am,” Twilight acknowledged. “I was informed of the insults he laid against your nation, and the fallout that resulted.”

“That is the crux of the problem of contacting your nation; it would undoubtedly force her Grace Celestia to ask for her handover to which our own people would be forced to ask for Blueblood.”

“Must it be that way?” Twilight asked.

“Unfortunately yes,” Wise-Mind replied. “This has been a long standing issue between the Packlands and Equestria known world wide. We cannot simply hand one over without receiving either the one we ourselves wish to try, or some form of compensation on the same level. If we did, our nation’s rivals would see this as a sign of weakness that they can use against us in the future.”

Twilight nodded. “I understand,” she said. “Packleader Wise-Mind… in the matter of Chrysalis, may I offer my personal opinion on the subject?”

Wise-Mind eyed her carefully. “Go on.”

Twilight nodded. "All I want, in this case, is to see justice is done. I don't care if it's your nation or ours or another one entirely that does it, just that it happens." She took a deep breath. "And while I cannot speak for everypony, I can say, on a personal level, that unlike some people, I do not want to see an entire race or nation punished for the actions of a few. Those specific changelings who were directly responsible for attacking our people, or at least the Queen who made them do it, yes. But not everyling."

Wise-Mind regarded her. “You are far more open-minded in these matters than most of your people,” he said. “It does you well, young Grace. Time will tell if your wisdom will be carried out or not. In any case, I urge you to wait on informing your fellow Graces of Chrysalis’ current location.”

Twilight nodded. “While I have sent them a pair of letters since I came to this land regarding some of what I have learned here, neither had any mention of changelings being present,” she said.

“Might I ask what you felt necessary to inform them?” Wise-Mind asked with a frown on his face.

Twilight nodded. “The day of our meeting in Canterlot, Princess Celestia and I had a discussion on our nation’s relations with other nations. She mentioned to me about the time the hippogriffs recalled their ambassador, and how they have not been heard from since,” she said. “Since Equestria had not been able to learn any more about why their ambassador had left, I asked Ambassador Swift-Pad if he had any further information on the matter. What he said was most concerning, so with his permission, I shared it with my fellow Princesses.”

Wise-Mind relaxed and nodded in approval. “And the other?”

“The matter of Slice n' Dice, and how my people mistreated her and rejected the laws of your lands in doing so,” Twilight said. Seeing Wise-Mind’s hackles standing on end, she continued. “Their actions were wrong, and while I accept that this is her home now, and I would never attempt to change her mind about that, I still felt she deserved justice for what happened - that those of Equestria who caused her such misery should face punishment for their actions.”

Wise-Mind’s hackles were still on end, but he regarded her carefully. “You truly believe this of her,” he stated.

“I do,” Twilight affirmed. “She is a good person, and did not deserve to be rejected for acting as she did. And my closest friends, who accompanied me here and who include a more distant member of her family, have all agreed with me in this.”

“Former family,” Wise-Mind said with Twilight wincing at his words. “Her family had cast her aside and she has found her place within my pack. If the Apples wish to make amends, they are free to try but they should be aware no one in my pack will allow them to hurt her again without suffering the consequences.”

Twilight nodded reluctantly, unhappy at his harsh judgement but aware he was just trying to protect Slice n’ Dice. “If you wish to speak to either Slice n' Dice or Applejack on the matter, both of them will gladly tell you how they feel.”

“I will take you up on that, soon,” Wise-Mind said. There was a whisper of magic as Twilight felt him drop his sound-scrambling spell. “Shall we rejoin our companions outside?”

Twilight nodded, and followed him out of the house.

Chapter Twenty Two

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Chapter Twenty-Two

When Twilight and Wise-Mind stepped outside, they found that not much had changed. All of her friends and the visiting wolves were standing by quietly, though Maxilla was still looking somewhat nervous with Swift-Pad standing defensively near her.

Wise-Mind stepped up to the pair and regarded them, then spoke. “Maxilla. I have come to understand that you may have disobeyed what you were told. Yet at the same time, I have found that her young Grace Sparkle has been most complimentary in speaking of you and what she has learned from your presence, and that she counts you among her friends. So I believe I can let this incident pass without further censure.”

Swift-Pad looked relieved at his words, as did Maxilla, who bowed. “Thank you, Packleader,” she said.

“And now,” Wise-Mind said, turning back to Twilight. “I believe you have been derelict in one of your duties, your Grace.”

Twilight tried not to look surprised. “And what duty have I been derelict in, Packleader?” she asked.

“Why, you have yet to introduce your companions from Equestria to me,” Wise-Mind said with a friendly glint in his eyes.

Twilight smiled. “It would be my honor to do so,” she said. Walking over to her friends, she smiled. “These are my closest friends. This is Spike, who’s been a part of my family since he was hatched.”

“Hi!” Spike said cheerfully. Wise-Mind gave him a careful look, before nodding.

“Applejack, the first pony to introduce herself to me in Ponyville.”

“Pleased to meet ya,” Applejack said with a bow. “An’... Ah know yer the same Wise-Mind who took in mah cousin Slice n' Dice, an’ for that, Ah have to thank ya.”

Wise-Mind had been eying her suspiciously at first, but her words clearly startled him. “Is that so,” he said, taking a step closer to her.

Applejack nodded. "It ain't right what them varmints did to her, an' Ah'd say that even if she wasn't kin. You did right by her when the rest of the clan failed her, an’ Ah can’t thank ya enough for takin’ care of her."

Wise-Mind’s expression wavered, before finally settling on a smile. “It is good to hear that from you,” he said.

Applejack bowed again before letting him move on.

When his gaze shifted to the next pony, Twilight indicated her. “This is Rainbow Dash, head of the Ponyville Weather Patrol, and aspiring Wonderbolt,” she said.

Rainbow Dash nodded at him. “Nice to meet you, sir,” she said.

Wise-Mind nodded back.

“Rarity Belle, proprietor of the Carousel Boutique, and one of the most generous ponies I’ve ever met,” Twilight said.

Rarity bowed to him, and he bowed back in return.

“Fluttershy, who specializes in animal care,” Twilight said.

Wise-Mind regarded the shy pegasus curiously. “There is considerably more to you than there appears,” he said.

Fluttershy smiled, before letting out a series of growls, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. “You speak our tongue fluently. How is that?”

Fluttershy smiled again. “One of your people was passing through the Everfree on a meditation journey and came near my cottage a few years ago,” she said. “I welcomed Well-Hidden of Thorough-Searcher into my home for as long as he needed, and he taught me his people’s language and customs.”

“This was… not something I expected,” Wise-Mind said. He smiled back at her. “But it is far from unwelcome. You are a true treasure among ponies.”

“Thank you.”

Wise-Mind gave her one more smile before turning on to face Pinkie, with Twilight quickly introducing her. “This is Pinkie Pie, the first pony I spoke to in Ponyville,” she said. “And her companion Gummy.”

The little alligator popped his head out of Pinkie’s mane, stared at Wise-Mind for a moment, and then gave his eyeball a lick.

“I see.” Wise-Mind looked somewhat taken aback by the alligator’s unexpected move.

“She’s Ponyville’s premiere party specialist,” Twilight explained. “I’ve learned to expect the unexpected when she’s around.”

“It makes life exciting!” Pinkie said cheerfully.

“So I see.” Wise-Mind gave her a nod before looking at Twilight. “We have some time before we need to head out again so if it will be alright, may we eat at your table, Slice?”

“Absolutely,” Slice said, smiling warmly at him. “Yer always welcome in mah home, you know that.”

Wise-Mind smiled warmly back at her.

A little while later, the entire group had gathered around and were enjoying their meals when Wise-Mind spoke up again. “Young Grace,” he said to Twilight. “There is one other thing that has recently occurred that I feel I must ask.”

“Yes?” Twilight asked.

“Would you, perchance, know why her Grand Grace Luna has suddenly recalled all of the Equestrian Border Patrol’s Sector Chief Patrol Agents?”

Twilight set her plate down, her mind whirring. For a few minutes, she was silent. Finally, she looked directly at him and spoke. “I think,” she said carefully, “That it must be connected to the letter I sent about Miss Slice here. I informed my fellow Princesses of the Equestrian Border Patrol’s role in her being rejected by a majority of her family, and while I don’t know for sure, I suspect that Princess Luna, in her role as head of all of Equestria’s military branches, is actively investigating the matter and called them in to discuss it.” She frowned. “I probably should have said something about how they acted when we were crossing,” she muttered. “They should have had their Most Wanted board up and properly displayed, regardless of who was going through at the time.”

Wise-Mind frowned and leaned closer. “Are you saying that they had the bulletin board blanked for your arrival?”

“They did,” Twilight confirmed. “The stallion we spoke to claimed it would be too ‘troubling’ for me to see.” She snorted in disgust. “As I informed them, that was not the case - I have spent time with Equestria’s Royal Guard when I was younger, and they had no problem with having their own Most Wanted board up in my presence.”

“That behavior is troubling indeed,” Wise-Mind muttered. “My pack should not have let such a thing happen. I will be speaking with them shortly about this lapse in protocol.”

“Begging your pardon, your Grace,” Little-Growl spoke up. “But why would you have been spending time around the Royal Guard headquarters?”

Twilight looked at him. “I accompanied Princess Celestia there more than a few times over the years,” she said. “And since my older brother was their Captain for many years, he and his fellow Guards knew I was trustworthy and were more than willing to explain things there to me when I asked.”

“Your… Captain Shining Armor, the guy who held a shield around an entire city for days, the guy who married the Grace who is now ruler of the Crystal Empire, is your brother?” Little-Growl looked very surprised.

“Yes,” Twilight said.

“Wow.” He sat back, still looking surprised with Thin-Tall and Big-Cheer snorting. The smaller wolf frowned at them. “I could still do it,” he said with a pout with his packmates snorting louder.

“Am I missing something?” Twilight asked.

“Little-Growl here has longed to be a guard,” Wise-Mind said, causing the trio of wolves to flinch and look away. “As with his littermates, they are improper candidates for being guards. Tall-Thin has far too little body mass to safely undergo standard guard training, Big-Cheer has always proven to be too robust and slow to advance in the guard training program and Little-Growl is too small and does not have enough weight to put on sufficient muscle mass.”

“Huh.” Twilight looked thoughtful, seeing how hurt the wolves were at these blunt descriptions but knew better than to try and interfere with Wise-Mind’s decisions with his own wolves.

Little-Growl nodded bashfully. “It’s been my dream for years, but we just don’t meet the physical standards for guard duty, among most jobs in the pack. Doesn’t stop me from admiring some of the better guards though. I’ve kind of always wished I could meet Captain Shining Armor and tell him how inspiring he is…”

Twilight gave him a friendly smile. “I don’t have any say in guard recruitment, even in Equestria and especially not here, but I can at least try to see about arranging for the two of you to meet at some point,” she promised him. Then something occurred to her.

“I know there’s going to be delegates from some different countries at the upcoming Equestria Games, even a few nations that aren’t entering the actual competition,” she said to Swift-Pad. “Are the Packlands scheduled to send representatives?”

Swift-Pad looked surprised. “I am… honestly not sure myself,” he admitted.

“There has been some discussion, but no decision has been officially made yet,” Wise-Mind said. “Why do you ask?”

“I was thinking that if there were, maybe some of your civilians could accompany them to watch, and that would give Little-Growl a chance to meet my brother,” Twilight said. “He’s the main announcer this year, since they’re being held in the Crystal Empire.”

“If Ah don’t need help on da farm, then Ah don’t see a reason he can’t go, Wise-Mind,” Slice said, looking hopefully at him.

“I will certainly keep that in mind when we discuss the matter at the next Gathering,” Wise-Mind said with a smile before turning to face Twilight. “It is what we call a meeting of all our Packleaders and the Elders,” he said. Twilight wasn’t sure but she felt he had stumbled and had meant to add something else to that list before stopping himself. She chose not to voice this thought though, and instead nodded in acknowledgment.

The rest of the meal went mostly quietly, and finally Wise-Mind announced it was time for them to go. Once Twilight and the others had gathered their belongings (and Applejack had taken a moment to have a quiet talk with Slice), they all went outside.

“It has been good to see you this day, Slice,” Wise-Mind said, tipping his head towards her. “And it has been an interesting experience to meet you and your friends, young Grace Sparkle. I am pleased to see that you and my packmate have gotten along as well as you have.”

Slice n' Dice blushed a bit. "They heard me out, listened ta me. Believed me without a second thought. That's more than any pony Ah've personally met since Ah moved here permanently has ever done fer me."

“And for that, I am extremely grateful,” Wise-Mind said.

Twilight bowed back. “It has been an honor to meet you, Packleader Wise-Mind. And to meet and get to know Miss Slice and her fellow packmates, and the people of this town. It’s been a very educational experience, and one I’ll always treasure.”

“Learning is always something to treasure,” Wise-Mind said.

Twilight smiled, before turning to Slice and her companions. “I wish you all the best, and I hope to see you all again at some point,” she said.

Slice smiled. “Stop by any time,” she said. “After what ya’ve done to help me, yer always welcome here. All of ya.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, the others following suit and all of them bowing to her one more time before the two groups turned and headed for the gate.

They had been continuing along the road for some time when Twilight looked to the wolves. “Where are we going next?” she asked.

“Towards the Great Mound, the centre of the Packlands and where the other Packleaders and Elders are gathering to meet you, young Grace Sparkle,” Wise-Mind said. “It will take us several days due to your… physical natures.”

Rainbow Dash snorted a bit. “We’re faster than we look,” she muttered. “I got my cutie mark for speed.”

“That might be true, however, this is with the other Packleaders and Elders also running hard to reach the Great Mound and we wolves do have a bit of an advantage in that regard to ponies.” Wise-Mind gave her a sharp look. “Besides, the pack or herd is only as fast as its slowest member.”

“I gotcha.” Rainbow nodded. “‘Course, our slowest member - and no offense, Spike, but it’s the truth - can just hop a ride on one of us if he needs to.”

“None taken,” Spike said. “I know I’ve got shorter legs than all of you. And only half as many.”

“Um, I understand what you mean,” Fluttershy suddenly spoke up. “It’s because you’ve all planned the route out so everywolf arrives at about the same time, and that way they won’t be kept waiting for very long.”

Wise-Mind turned and looked at her with approval. “That is exactly right, miss Fluttershy,” he said.

Fluttershy blushed. “Twilight may be the organizational expert, but I’ve picked up a few things,” she said.

“Oh, darling, don’t be selling yourself short,” Rarity told her. “Why, you’ve been caring for all those animals out of your home without a bit of trouble for years, and that requires more than a bit of organizational skills. For that matter, you’ve been able to teach some of those same skills to the ones you left in charge. Teaching a bear to handle such matters is quite a feat.”

Wise-Mind’s eyes widened for a moment, before he seemed to relax. “An impressive feat indeed,” he remarked.

Fluttershy smiled. “Harry’s very good at what he does,” she said. “All it took, when we first met, was a little kindness.”

“A wise way to handle such things,” Swift-Pad noted. “I personally do not know of any wolf who would be capable of such a feat.”

“Fluttershy’s always had a way with animals,” Applejack remarked. “Hay, Ah remember how she calmed that manticore back after Twilight and Spike first came to town. An’ that night the Ursa Minor showed up? Ah bet if she’d been in town instead of carin’ for a sick chickadee, she probably could have calmed that critter in no time.” She faced Fluttershy. “Not that Ah begrudge ya for bein’ busy then,” she said. “Just sayin’, with yer skills, Ah know ya could have handled it easily.”

Maxilla looked startled. “You girls actually faced an Ursa Minor?”

“It was Twilight who actually tamed it,” Rarity said. “She played it some music, rocked it to sleep, fed it milk and then took it back home.”

Twilight blushed. “I just worked with what I knew,” she said. “It helped that all it really wanted to do was go back to sleep after a couple of colts so rudely woke it up. If it had actually wanted to rampage, it would have taken a lot more to calm it.”

“Still, it is a very impressive feat, your Grace,” Swift-Pad said. “And a rather inventive way of handling such an incursion.”

“I was following Fluttershy’s example more than anything,” Twilight said. “And also one of the lessons that I learned when I was younger. The stallion who was lecturing us was talking about the importance of simpler solutions, using your mind to solve a problem rather than just trying to brute-force through it. Lulling the Ursa to sleep made it much easier to deal with.”

“You make my point exactly,” Swift-Pad said with approval.

“Speaking of simpler solutions,” Wise-Mind spoke up. “I have been aware of your purpose in visiting these lands - to complete the work that Nobleblood was originally intended to lead, before his horrific rudeness. What is your opinion on such things so far?”

Twilight paused to gather her thoughts, before facing him directly. "As an alicorn, I have the magic of an Earth pony in me,” she said. “I haven't used it to affect anything since before we boarded our train to come here, but with it, I can feel the life energies of the ground and plants around me, and how healthy this place is.” She looked around, viewing the trees and bushes around them for a moment, before turning back to him. “I may not have seen your farming methods in direct action yet, but already I can tell that if they leave the land feeling like this, they must be very effective."

“Ah’ll second that,” Applejack agreed.

Wise-Mind regarded her. “And as a farmer, what is your opinion on things here?”

“Just what Twilight said,” Applejack told him. “‘Mah immediate family don’t use magic for growin’ anythin’ other than the Zap Apples, an’ they’re magic all on their own. But Ah can feel the life in the soil and the plants around me here, an’ it’s one of the most incredible things Ah’ve ever experienced… definitely not what Ah first expected.”

“What did you expect?” Wise-Mind’s tone suddenly sounded harsher.

“Somethin’ more… wild, like the Everfree, Ah guess,” Applejack said. “Mah family…” She closed her eyes for a minute. “Mah family may have gotten the first Zap Apple seeds from that forest, but we’ve always treated it with caution. And Mah brother an’ Ah’ve especially been wary of that place fer a good ten years now, since a little after Apple Bloom was born.”

“Why?” Wise-Mind seemed calmer.

Applejack looked at him. “Mah parents died ‘cause of that place,” she said. “They went in to retrieve one of the pigs that got loose an’... an’ they had a run-in with somethin’.” She looked down. “We don’t know what they met, but whatever it was, they got hurt real bad, an’ they barely made it back to Ponyville. They died of their wounds that night, an’ Ah’ve always been nervous about goin’ near there ever since.”

There were several gasps of horror, and all of the wolves and Maxilla bowed their heads, as if in mourning. Twilight, meanwhile, was staring at Applejack, aghast. “I… I had no idea,” she whispered. “All the times we’ve had to go in there, you never said a word!”

“‘s not somethin’ Ah like to talk about, but Ah felt you should know,” Applejack said. “Ah don’t mind admittin’ that there are things about that forest that creep me out, an’ those thorny vines of Discord’s really got me shiverin’ inside - what they did reminded me a little too much of the types of wounds mah folks had. But yer mah friend, an’ Ah value our friendship. Ah won’t let that forest scare me away when ya need mah help an’ mah strength.”

Twilight smiled, and placed a hoof around her, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”

“For you to come to a place that you thought would remind you of such a tragic event, out of loyalty to your friend, speaks much about your character,” Wise-Mind said as he finally lifted his head. “I believe I have underestimated you again.”

“Ain’t a problem,” Applejack said. “Nobody’s perfect, least of all me.”

Wise-Mind regarded her, before smiling. “If only we had had ponies like you in charge of the testing and observation team a hundred years ago…” he said.

Rarity snorted. “If Nobleblood was as boorish as his great-grandson, it is no wonder things did not work out then,” she said. “I hate to speak ill of our Princess, but I have to wonder what she was thinking, if she was the one who agreed to let him be part of the observation team.”

Swift-Pad looked at her in surprise. “You sound as if you have had some experience with his line,” he said.

“Quite,” Rarity said dryly. “I met him, Blueblood, at the Grand Galloping Gala. Needless to say, that… that Prince Charmless utterly soured my opinion of him, and even after hearing his reasoning for his behavior more recently, if I ever cross paths with him again it will be too soon.”

Maxilla let out a barking laugh. “Prince Charmless! Good one.”

“It is an accurate description,” Rarity said stiffly. “And I gave him quite the stern talking-to over it when it happened… imagine, using another pony as a living shield from a flying cake!” She shook her head. “Now, Shining Armor… he is a far better example of what a Prince should be like, even before he became one himself.”

Twilight looked at her oddly. “Rarity?”

Rarity looked back at her, and blushed. “I know he’s quite taken, and I respect that, but I could still see the qualities that attracted Princess Cadance to him right away,” she said. “And I so wish I could find an individual with those same qualities for myself.”

“Hmm,” Applejack suddenly muttered to herself, causing everyone to turn to her. “Ah wonder somethin’.”

“What is it Applejack?” Twilight asked, turning to face her friend who was picking up one of the apples that Slice had grown in her orchard before reaching into her pack and pulling out one of her own apples.

“Yer got way better Earth pony magic than Ah do Twilight,” Applejack said, placing both apples down in front of her. “Can ya tell us the difference?”

Twilight blinked in surprise at being put on the spot and was a bit miffed as well but pushed those feelings to the side and did what she was asked.

Giving a cursory look at the two, she could see that Applejack's apple was larger and more robust than Slice’s. Reaching out to take a bite of the two, she initially couldn’t tell a difference but then reached for that odd magic that she had learned was Earth Pony magic. She then found something weird; while both tasted the same, Slice’s felt more… impactful, for the lack of a better word. Applejack’s, on the other hoof, felt more sheltered and withdrawn, nurtured very carefully.

Giving both apples back to Applejack, she gave a look at her friend and at Wise-Mind, and thought carefully on how she would respond.

“They both have their different qualities,” she responded. “While Slice’s apple is smaller than Applejack’s, the taste is subtly better - the flavor is more concentrated, I think. I could only really tell if I focused my Earth pony magic on it.” She thought more. “I really can’t be sure of the exact factors that make them turn out different though - I know there are a lot of different genetics involved, literally thousands of apple cultivars that are each a little different in their own way, so I’d have to compare those too. And that’s even without analyzing the various environmental factors and magic or lack thereof that goes into growing either of them.”

“Exactly what Nobleblood was supposed to test, young Grace Sparkle,” Wise-Mind rumbled in a low tone. “Perhaps you can do a far better job than he.”

Twilight blushed. “Study and analysis are two of my favorite things to do,” she said. “And it is my official reason for being here, after all.”

“Hey, can I ask a question?” Rainbow Dash asked as she got closer to Wise-Mind with his rune wolves growling softly at her. “Why do you keep calling her young Grace Sparkle?”

“Primarily I can see calling the Grace Sparkle instead of Twilight unnerves her and I prefer to keep others off balance,” Wise-Mind responded with a chuckle and Twilight had to admit being called Sparkle wasn’t something she was comfortable with strangers doing. “And the Grace, as I feel that is your true question is because, to our people, all the alicorns are known as Graces.”

“Uh… okay.” Rainbow Dash scratched her head. “So, why do you call them that?”

Wise-Mind gave a low, almost amused, rumble. “Why, it is because they are goddesses to my people, Rainbow Dash.”

Several pairs of eyes widened at that, and Twilight decided to speak up. “It’s true,” she said. “Ambassador Swift-Pad has explained this to me before, and I have, in turn, informed him that while I respect his people’s beliefs, the idea of being worshipped personally makes me uncomfortable, and both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna - whom they call Her Grand Grace Luna, for her ties to the moon - would rather not be worshipped for much the same reason, and because they feel it distances them from non-alicorns.”

Wise-Mind turned to Swift-Pad. “Is what she says true?” he asked.

Swift-Pad lowered his head. “It is,” he said. “I have spoken with her Grand Grace Luna, and she has explicitly denied that she or her sister are divine creatures.”

He stared intensely at the other wolf before walking up snout to snout, “Why did you not inform me of such information, Swift-Pad.” He snarled in a low tone.

“I was planning to inform my packleader of this information first, Wise-Mind,” Swift-Pad shot back. “I had not expected anyone, wolf or pony, to bring up the subject before I had the chance; had I known, I would have told you privately.” He turned and regarded Twilight for a moment. “I admit, the first time young Grace Twilight asked me, I was caught off-guard, as I was now; a failing on my part.”

“No, it’s not,” Twilight responded sharply, stepping towards the two. “I had told my friends some of the customs here and I didn't think to tell them of this additional cultural aspect so it is my fault.” She looked at the others, who all had varying expressions on their faces.

Rainbow Dash stepped up. “Considering how uncomfortable you were about showing off what you’re capable of, or even how uncomfortable being hero-worshipped makes you, I can’t say I’m surprised that you didn’t want to bring it up,” she said. She turned to the wolves. “Twilight has something of a reputation back home,” she told them. “We met this one mare who loved to brag and show off about her skills, and I’ll admit I have a real problem with that too - ‘course, that’s kind of necessary in the line of work I want to get into some day. But Twilight’s just the opposite. She only shows what she’s capable of when she feels it’s absolutely necessary - to save lives, for instance.”

Applejack shrugged. “Ah can see why some people might think of alicorns that way,” she said. “What with there bein’ two immortals with control over the sun and moon, Cadance and her love magic, an’... magic in general, Ah guess, for Twilight. But Ah know mah friend, and like Rainbow Dash said, Ah’m not surprised she didn’t want to talk about it.”

“There is also the fact that religion tends to be a delicate subject that most in society simply do not wish to discuss out of hoof,” Rarity said. “I have seen more than a few nobles who became opposed to one another simply because they did not believe the exact same way.”

“And let’s not even get started on how some of those PVE meanies would use it as yet another reason to hate non-ponies.” This was Pinkie grumbling, to everyone’s surprise, her mane rising like a set of hackles. “As if we needed another reason to not like them…”

Fluttershy was quiet, merely moving up to lean against Twilight. “I knew about it from Well-Hidden, and I understand why you didn’t want to talk about it,” was all she said. “That’s why I didn’t say anything sooner either.”

Appearing satisfied with their reactions, Wise-Mind turned to Spike, eying him. “And you, young drake?” he asked.

Spike shrugged. “Goddess or no goddess, Twilight’s practically my mom after she hatched me. What other reason do I need to think the world of her?”

Twilight smiled down at him.

Wise-Mind regarded the pair, before turning to Swift-Pad. “Regardless of who seeks to take blame for this failing, you know that many will likely be disturbed to hear of this,” he said.

“I do,” Swift-Pad replied. “I admit, I myself was rather unnerved when her Grand Grace Luna said what she did; over a thousand years’ of our beliefs being rejected like that. Another reason why I sought to wait, to determine the most diplomatic way of informing our people of this without offending anyone.”

“You offer quite a conundrum, Ambassador,” Wise-Mind rumbled. “Yet the truth is out, and there is no way of hiding it again.” He looked contemplative for a few minutes, and finally spoke. “I accept and understand your reasonings for not telling me sooner.”

Swift-Pad looked relieved. “I thank you, Packleader Wise-Mind.”

“In any case, let us continue on,” Wise-Mind said. Taking the lead, he headed onward, his rune wolves taking their places closer to him with all of the rest of the group following them.

“Hey,” Rainbow Dash said quietly as she moved up to Swift-Pad’s side. “I really, really didn’t mean to cause trouble for you, ya know? Guess I should have waited until I could ask Twilight if she knew it.”

“What is past is past, Rainbow Dash,” Swift-Pad said. “You are not to blame.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, and kept quiet after that.

Chapter Twenty Three

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Chapter Twenty-Three

It was hours later when Wise-Mind finally called the procession to a halt.

"We will camp here for the night," he announced. "Young Grace Sparkle, I trust you and your companions brought the necessary supplies?"

Twilight saw Rarity giving her a nod, and nodded in turn. "We did," she said.

At that, Pinkie withdrew a suitcase from her mane, set it on the ground, and opened it before allowing Rarity to move in. In moments, she had a massive, inflatable two-story tent set up, prompting Wise-Mind to raise an eyebrow.

"Interesting choice in camping supplies," he said.

"Quite," Swift-Pad said, surprise clear in his own voice.

Rainbow Dash snorted. "This is normal for her," she said. "No offense intended, but Rares' idea of roughing it is leaving her hair dryer at home."

"My standards may be different from yours, but they are also quite practical," Rarity said primly. "I believe in being prepared for any occasion, and with this, I have room for all of us, should one of us have not thought to pack a tent."

“That’s…” Twilight blushed as she realized she had failed to actually consider packing a tent as an essential. “That would be lovely, Rarity.”

“Shucks, Ah ain’t going to pass up a chance for a bed,” Applejack said while rubbing the back of her head.

“I would like a room, if that is okay,” Fluttershy added.

“Well I’m not going to beat around the bush and just admit I forgot to even think of packing a tent,” Rainbow Dash said with Twilight wincing at being called out while the wolves just chuckled. “Actually, I kind of figured I’d just grab a spot on a branch if I had to.”

Applejack chuckled too. “Looking forward to seein’ how the trees here compare to mine for nappin’?”

“You could say that,” Rainbow Dash said with a grin of her own. Turning to the wolves, she said, “Apple family trees are some of my favorite napping spots back home when I can’t get a cloud, and I know how you guys feel about that sort of thing here.”

“Your tree napping shouldn’t be a problem, young pegasus,” Wise-Mind rumbled softly, giving her a careful look. “You should know, we are soon to be exiting my pack’s territory, and entering free land for about a day’s run before we reach the Great Mound. Though I must remind you that landing on clouds is still not acceptable in the Packlands.”

“Yeah, I was talking about using the clouds when I said ‘that sort of thing’, but I gotcha.” Rainbow Dash stretched. “Didn’t think using a tree would be a problem though.”

The Packleader nodded his head before barking at the other wolves who left to gather their own supplies from the forest with the rune wolves creating a fire once the logs were gathered. Wise-Mind then turned to look at Twilight. “Does her young Grace have provisions for the night?”

“I made sure we brought some,” Spike said. “Girls?” This was directed at the other mares present.

“Got mine,” Applejack said, while Pinkie started rummaging through her mane until she’d brought out a suitcase.

“Plenty here!” she chirped.

“And we have gathered our food,” one of the wolves said, carrying a large four-legged form over his shoulder.

Twilight’s eyes widened briefly at the sight of the dead deer, before she calmed herself. “So I see…” she said weakly.

“Do not worry,” Swift-Pad told her another few deer were brought in. “The deer in this part of the continent, unlike the ones we have seen in some parts of Equestria, are not sapient, and we always make sure before we bring one down.”

“Hold on, Swift-Pad,” Wise-Mind stepped in front of her, with a wry grin on his face. “Allow her to voice her opinion. Does her young Grace Sparkle object to such practices?”

Twilight shook her head. “As long as they aren’t sapient - and I know your people have never fed on beings who qualify - I have no objection,” she said. “I would personally prefer not to eat meats other than fish, but I won’t try to stop you from doing so.”

Wise-Mind gave a non-conformational grunt at that before turning his head as Fluttershy walked up to him, and began growling at him with the large wolf blinking and then barking at Swift-Pad who nodded in agreement, his head briefly going to his packs where his files on them were.

Wise-Mind then stepped to the side and allowed Fluttershy closer to the fire where the deer were being laid out. To Twilight’s surprise, she joined the wolves as they began preparing their meal, talking to them in their language easily as she spoke in Equestrian.

“Come on Twilight,” Spike said, drawing her attention away. “You can still help me preparing supper.”

Twilight nodded and turned away from the fire. She could understand meat being a dietary necessity for the wolves, but that didn’t mean she wanted to watch the bloody processes involved. She also really needed to learn their language, since she had the feeling she was missing out on a lot without it.

Some time later, the two groups had gathered around the fire, each of them nibbling on their own food.

“I still don’t know how you can eat that,” Rarity said as she watched Rainbow Dash take a bite of her sandwich. “Honestly, all those carbs...”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Fast metabolism,” she said.

“What did you say that was again?” one of the rune wolves asked, his Equestrian rough but still understandable.

“Pasta and potato on sourdough bread,” Rainbow Dash told him. “Mom and Dad used to make it for me all the time when I was a kid.”

The wolf gave her a curious look before Rainbow Dash tore it in half and tossed part of it towards the wolf. He gave it a careful sniff before taking a bite. “Mmm!”

Rainbow Dash grinned, before turning back to her own half.

“Seriously, how did I not know you were a good cook?” Twilight asked. “First the grilling, now this?”

“I’ve lived on my own for years, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash told her. “I wasn’t going to just live on takeout.”

“You grill?” Wise-Mind asked.

“Carrot dogs or hayburgers, mostly, but I’ve got a few other things I like to make,” Rainbow Dash told him. “Dad taught me. Plus, it’s a good way of getting back at those PVE jerks.”

A couple of the wolves bristled at the mention of that group, but Wise-Mind just gave her a look. “How so?”

“Their pamphlets make great firelighters,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Hah!” Wise-Mind let out a bark of laughter with the other wolves following him. “Good for you then!”

Applejack nodded. “Ah can safely say that none of us likes that group,” she said. “Like Ah told Slice the other day, Granny ran ‘em off after they came to throw a fit at mah family for us bein’ friends with a zebra.”

“We have heard some tales of her, one of the matriarchs of the Apple clan,” Wise-Mind rumbled lowly. “It seems to be in her nature to be protective of her family. Tell me, do you think she will convince the other matriarchs to rescind their disownment of Slice or do you believe she will be too set in her ways to do so?”

Applejack shrugged. “Ah think once she knows the full truth, she’d accept Slice back into the family,” she said. “Ah know she ain’t happy with a certain pair of no-good con artists who tried to steal the farm out from under us… an’ for some reason, she don’t like the Pear family, but Ah don’t know why. Professional jealousy, Ah guess. But Slice never actually did anything wrong, so Ah’m sure Granny’d accept her.”

“She was most welcoming to me,” Swift-Pad voiced. “And grateful when I offered to prepare some fish for her family.”

“Is she the one who tried to set you two up?” Maxilla asked. At Applejack’s surprised look, she shrugged. “I remember what you said when we met, I can read between the lines. And I’m not offended.”

Swift-Pad made a strange noise in his throat before answering. “Yes.”

A couple of the other wolves chortled, before Wise-Mind shot them a look. Turning back to Applejack, he nodded in approval. “While I do not know the origin of the feud between your family and the Pears, I can certainly understand a dislike of Flim and Flam. They are likely the only ponies we ever ejected from the Packlands for acts that were not racism-related on their part.”

“I’m surprised they even got as far as to make a pitch; I don’t see them learning another language as something they would do.” Twilight said with Swift-Pad shaking his head.

“To the contrary, they made a very passable attempt at our language but it was clear that they only had second-pawed teachings, not like Fluttershy here who had somewolf properly train her.” Swift-Pad frowned. “Also, you would be surprised at the extent to which salesbeings will go to make a sale, regardless of the quality of the product or whether it is wanted or not.”

“I wouldn’t,” Rainbow Dash said. “This happened back before you moved to town, Twilight, but you would not believe how long it took me to get that one magazine guy to go away, and as it is, I almost had to call the Guard on him when I found him asleep on my welcome mat the next morning.”

“Really,” Twilight leaned back in surprised before frowning in curiosity. “What magazine was it, anyways?”

“Sponge Illustrated.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Is it any wonder I wasn’t interested?”

“Good grief.” Twilight shook her head.

“What’s so strange about that?” Pinkie suddenly asked. “I’ve got a ten-year subscription!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I can believe it,” she said. “So what were Flim and Flam trying to sell this time? Phony land deals? Products that look good on the outside but had catches to them that you’d only notice after they’d left?”

“A high-powered fruit squeezer, I believe,” Swift-Pad said. “Among other machines of dubious quality. We insisted on checking them for personal quality and found a number of flaws, some of which could have resulted in the devices exploding - not a tremendous one, but still sufficient to cause some injury to the being holding it. When they persisted in claiming the items worked perfectly well, we escorted them back across the border and told them that if they ever attempted to enter our lands again we would have them locked up for life. And unlike the incident with Nobleblood, I doubt her Grace Celestia would object to our passing sentence in this case.”

“Ah wouldn’t be surprised,” Applejack said. “She told us she’s been keeping an eye on those two in case they actually broke any laws that could be proven.”

“I wonder if her Grace Twilight would object if we were to keep our own eyes out for them,” Wise-Mind asked, obviously testing her again.

Twilight shook her head. “Legally speaking, I can’t advise you either way, since I haven’t had any formal training in that regard. I think if you’ve made a formal declaration prohibiting them from entering your land again on penalty of arrest, their doing so would constitute a violation of the laws, and their arrest would be permitted. But again, I would have to clarify that with Princess Celestia before making any official statement on the matter.”

“You are not as young as I was led to believe, your Grace,” Wise-Mind said with a nod of his head. “You still have much room to grow before you are able to leave her Grace Celestia’s side but you are clearly on your way.”

Twilight declined to comment on her age - she knew full well she was in her twenties. “I am fully aware and until the day I finish my law training, I am required to inform Princess Celestia and her legal staff of any and all matters of that type that were brought to me and pass them on to be handled by said staff,” she said. “In fact, I probably should do that now.” Her horn lit up as a scroll and quill drifted out of her bag and levitated in front of her.

Wise-Mind nodded in approval, before turning back to his food while Twilight wrote her letter. When she had finished, she tied it up and hoofed it over to Spike, who quickly sent it on with his flames.

“In any case, I do believe it is getting late,” Rarity said, having just finished her own meal. “And a mare does need her beauty sleep.”

Spike looked like he wanted to say something, but was cut off with a yawn. “Yeah, I could go for a rest,” he said.

The others nodded, and the group quickly set about finishing their food. Once they’d done so, Twilight led her friends into Rarity’s tent.

“Weren’t you going to sleep outside?” Wise-Mind asked as he saw Rainbow Dash following them.

“Gotta drop my stuff off in here,” Rainbow Dash told him. “Be out in a few.”

“All right.”

Once the seven had settled themselves inside and Twilight had put up her sound-scrambler, she looked at her friends.

"So..." she started hesitantly. "I have to ask, what do you think about what we had to say earlier? About alicorns being worshipped?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Doesn't bother me," she said. "They can believe what they want to believe, and we'll believe what we want to believe. Me personally, I've never thought of alicorns as goddesses, even before you said you didn't want to be seen as one, and as long as they don't expect us to worship you along with them, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Same here," Applejack said. "Ah believe in honoring and respectin' the Princesses, but Ah feel the same about mah ancestors."

The others all concurred, and Twilight smiled. "That's a relief," she said. “I know people can get sensitive about the issue of religion…”

Pinkie giggled. “I’ll say! Granny Pie once told me about the time these ponies thought her folks were worshipping Holder’s Boulder - our family farm’s chief cornerstone and good luck charm. They weren’t, but those other ponies thought they were and started making all kinds of strange gestures at them for it. You should have seen how mad her Pa got at them.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled, then yawned. “‘Scuse me girls. Time to hit the sack.”

After a round of nods and “good night”s, Rainbow Dash ducked out of the tent while the rest of the group headed for their beds, Twilight making sure she’d dismissed her spell and that Spike had settled in before she pulled the covers up and turned off the lights.

Twilight awoke to find herself in the library again, and narrowed her eyes. "I swear, if there are any hostiles around here again..." she growled.

"No hostiles tonight, Twilight," a familiar voice came. Twilight instantly turned to see Princess Celestia walking her way, a smile on the larger mare's face.

"Princess!" Twilight ran up to her. "How... but I thought Luna was the only one who could dreamwalk!"

"Normally, she is," Celestia said. "But I asked her to bring me to you." She nodded towards a door. "She's giving us both some space, after how you ended your little talk last night."

Twilight started to say something, shut her mouth, and gazed at Celestia with a nervous look. "You aren't mad at me, are you?"

"Hardly," Celestia told her. "Come."

Twilight followed Celestia to a smaller room, where a set of cushions had been set up. She recognized the place as the library's storytelling room, and watched as Celestia settled in on some of the cushions, gesturing to Twilight to join her. When she had, Celestia spoke again.

"I came to see you, Twilight, because I wanted to reassure you," she said. "After last night, I asked my sister to give one of your friends a quick message to pass on from me: that I trust you to do the right thing about what you found out." She smiled. "And, I think it's for the best if you not say anything further on the matter of the changelings to me until all is said and done, unless you specifically ask for help."

Twilight nodded. "I understand. And yes, she passed it on."

"Good. Now." Celestia stretched her neck for a moment, before looking back to Twilight. "I also got your letter about the Flim-Flam brothers. Given the hour at which it arrived, I chose to wait until morning to send Spike my official reply, but the answer is yes, the Packlanders would be well within their rights to arrest any foreign nationals who had been officially expelled from the Packlands and returned anyway, unless they attempted to claim sanctuary there when they returned. Though I doubt the wolves would allow them to do so." She frowned. "Whether we would allow them to keep them is another story, but in this case, if we did extradite them back, it would be so we could issue our own prison sentence." She sighed at that. "Again though, until the matter of Nobleblood is settled, I do not know if demanding them back would even be possible without their asking for Blueblood."

Twilight nodded. "That makes sense."

"I take it your meetings with Packleader Wise-Mind have gone well?" Celestia asked.

"They have," Twilight acknowledged. "And I think Rainbow Dash managed to endear herself to the entire Packlands earlier tonight."

"Oh?" Celestia looked at her curiously.

"She told them that the PVE's pamphlets made good firelighters."

Celestia let out a chuckle at that. "At least some good can come from those wretched hate-mongers' work." She grimaced. "As I told you two nights ago, I do not approve of them in the slightest, and I have been subtly working at undermining them practically since their founding, but given the circumstances surrounding it, I have been effectively hamstrung from openly denouncing them." She turned away for a moment, but the look on her face clearly said that line of discussion was closed.

Twilight scooted up closer and nudged her softly. "How are you?" she asked.

"Incredibly busy," Celestia said. "I've barely had time to leave the palace, other than a quick teleport to Tall Tale and back. I was planning to spread the word regarding Slice to the other Apple clan matriarchs, or at least a few, but then Day Court started yesterday. It was a madhouse, even without any news about changelings getting out from my sister or I." She shook her head.

"Then you haven't had time to see Moondancer?" Twilight asked.

Celestia looked regretful. "Unfortunately, no," she said. "I meant to see her first thing in the morning after you left, but I had court petitioners to deal with that kept me busy, and then your second letter came in. After that, I had even more matters to deal with this past day. But I promise you, I will see her as soon as possible, once I wake up."

"Good." Twilight snuggled up against her. "Thank you, Princess," she whispered.

The rest of the night was quiet as the two lay there, cuddled up together.

Twilight's eyes fluttered open, and she looked around to get her bearings for a moment before smiling. That had been one of the best nights' sleep she'd gotten in a long time.

A few minutes later, she trotted out of the tent, and noticed Swift-Pad and some of the other wolves were already up.

"Good morning, your Grace," Swift-Pad called as he saw her. "Did you sleep well?"

"Very much so, Ambassador," Twilight told him, still smiling.

"That is good to hear." Swift-Pad gave her a friendly smile of his own. “We are in the final preparations of breakfast. We expect to leave shortly afterwards if we are to reach the Great Mound in time, your Grace.”

Twilight gave a nod of her head before turning her head to see that Spike was already awake and had begun to make breakfast along with the other wolves around the fire. “I will do my best to wake up the rest of the girls.” She turned to walk back into the tent before pausing and looking back at Swift-Pad. “While we are on our way towards the Great Mound, do you think you could give me a brief lesson in your native language?”

Swift-Pad blinked at her request but before he could respond Maxilla slid past him, brushing her tail in his face. “I can help with that,” she said before turning to face Swift-Pad. “Sorry Swifty, but between you and I, teaching and learning languages is something changelings do far better than any race.”

“That would be wonderful Maxilla,” Twilight smiled, briefly forgetting that she was a changeling before coming to a much greater realization. “Maxilla, I would like to apologize for my reactions when I first met you. It was completely out of line, and I shouldn’t have let old prejudices control me then.”

Maxilla stared at her intently before shifting back to their base form. The drone peered at her before nodding his head. “I accept your apology, Twilight Sparkle. I am aware of the harm changelings can cause and that you had to deal with meeting my kind the way you did is regrettable but that is the past and the future is ours.” He held out his hoof to her, a pure Equestrian gesture that she knew was for diplomatic and symbolic reasoning.

Taking his hoof in her own, Twilight shook it. “My only hope is that I am able to see a lasting peace between our two peoples, and others as well,” she said with what she hoped was a confident smile before she focused herself. “And I promise to do my part as a Princess in changing Equestria’s perception of changelings.”

“That means a lot to me,” Maxilla said as he smiled. “Thank you, Princess.”

Twilight smiled back. “You’re most welcome, Maxilla.”

Chapter Twenty Four

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Chapter Twenty-Four

The group had just finished packing up the last of their things when Spike belched up a scroll.

“Oof…” he muttered as he handed it over to Twilight, who thanked him as she unfurled it and read it, frowning as she noticed a second scroll falling out before she scooped it up.

“Something the matter, your Grace?” Swift-Pad asked.

Twilight shook her head. “Just Princess Celestia’s reply to my questions about Flim and Flam,” she said. “Yes, if they’ve been formally expelled from the Packlands, you’re well within your rights to arrest them and throw them in jail if they try to come back.”

Unfurling the second scroll, she read it quickly, then rolled it back up and tucked it into her saddlebags.

“What was that about?” Spike asked.

“Princess Luna wants to set up a meeting between the three of us about something once we get back,” Twilight said. “I’ll handle it when the time comes.”

“What do you mean Twilight, aren’t we going back to Equestria after this?” Spike asked, turning to face her, with the rest of her friends turning to face her.

“We... are,” Twilight reassured him, though her mind was already rethinking that statement. “But it’s still a few days away. I’m just saying, I’ll handle it after we get back.”

“Right.” Spike didn’t look entirely convinced, but anything he might have said next was cut off when Wise-Mind called for them to follow him.

Idly, Twilight wondered what Luna wanted to talk about, but quickly shook it off and turned her attention to the conversation her friends were having with the wolves before Maxilla slid up next to her, back as a she-wolf.

“Are you ready for your lessons, your Grace?” Maxilla asked her.

Twilight smiled. “Absolutely,” she said.

Miles away, standing outside the dilapidated-looking house and wondering how anypony could stand to live there, especially a former student of her school, Celestia took a moment to compose herself before she knocked on the door.

For a few minutes, there was no response. Then, as she was about to knock again, the door opened and a frazzled-looking unicorn stuck her head out. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested." The door slammed.

Celestia was taken aback. Then, raising a hoof, she knocked again.

The door opened again. "I said, go awa-" Then the pony cut herself off and went wide-eyed as she looked up to see exactly who was standing there. "Your highness!" Instantly, she bowed. "I... I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you!"

Celestia smiled. "That's quite all right, my little pony." She ducked her head. "May I come in?"

"Um..." Moondancer looked even more nervous. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea... I have a hard enough time fitting through here, and as tall as you are, you..."

Celestia looked over her shoulder, into the cluttered house. "I see your point," she said. "Well, why don't you come someplace with me then? We have a lot to talk about."

"I..." Moondancer looked down. "What would a princess like you want with a mare like me?" she asked. "I'm nopony."

"Moondancer, nopony is nopony," Celestia said softly. "You and I may not have spent much one-on-one time together when you were attending my school, but you were still one of my students, and I'm concerned for you." She gestured to the house. "How have you been living like this?"

Moondancer frowned. "It's not like I had anything better to do," she muttered. "My whole life is studying..."

"Just studying?" Celestia looked at her. "You had friends once. Why don't you spend time with them?"

"Friends?" Moondancer suddenly looked upset. "I thought I had a friend. But when I tried going out of my way to include her, she just ignored me! And then she moved away without even saying goodbye! I wish I'd never bothered." She almost looked like she was going to cry. Then she felt a soft hoof on her shoulder. When she looked up, she saw Celestia, an unidentifiable expression on her face.

"Moondancer... come with me," Celestia said. "We need to talk." Her horn glowing, she shut and locked the door behind Moondancer, before there was a bright flash as she teleported them back to her quarters in the castle.

When she had laid down and encouraged Moondancer to do the same, she looked her right in the eyes. "Moondancer, do you know why Twilight left Canterlot?"

Moondancer looked down. "I... I don't," she admitted. "After she left, I kind of just shut myself off from the world. The next time I saw anything about her was when the newspaper had an article about her being the newest alicorn princess."

Celestia nodded. "Well, the reason Twilight went down to Ponyville in the first place was because I sent her there," she said. "Twilight had been studying some ancient legends, including the prophecized return of the Mare in the Moon, and had determined that it was due to come true in just a few days. She tried to warn me, not realizing I already knew all about it."

Moondancer looked at her curiously. "The Mare in the Moon? But..." A multitude of emotions suddenly swept across her face. "I knew something was different the next time I looked up at night," she muttered. "I can't believe I didn't see it sooner."

Celestia looked at her in surprise. "You really never noticed?" she asked.

Moondancer shrugged. "I had other things on my mind," she admitted. "I guess I was too busy wallowing in my own misery."

Celestia gave her a mournful look. "I know how you feel," she said quietly. "I reacted much the same way over a thousand years ago, when I was forced to banish the Nightmare and its host from Equestria."

Moondancer blinked.

"The Mare in the Moon was once my sister, Luna," Celestia said. "Long ago, consumed by jealousy and loneliness, she fell prey to a dark Power that took over her body, calling itself Nightmare Moon. I was forced to use the powers of the Elements of Harmony, which Luna and I had once wielded together, to imprison her on the moon." She sighed. "That was... not a happy time for me."

Moondancer shook her head. "Your own sister... I can't imagine what it must have felt like," she said.

Celestia nodded again. "I was heartbroken, to say the least," she said. "For a very long time, I closed myself off from others. Eventually, I came out of my shell with the help of... well, somepony, I'd rather not say who yet. They promised me that in a thousand years, the Nightmare would return, and that a new generation would find a way to save Luna. And from the first moment I met Twilight, I had strong suspicions that she would be a part of that generation, and I knew that eventually, she'd have to face the Nightmare." She fell silent for a moment, before continuing.

"Still, I couldn't help myself. I know it's wrong, but I must confess that some of my students would come to mean more to me than others. One, whom I had only recently lost, was almost like a daughter to me. And then, when I met Twilight, I felt those same feelings happening again. That... led me to make some mistakes," she admitted. "I will always be proud of her and her accomplishments, but I couldn't help but keep her close to me. And in doing so, I fear I stunted any desire in her to get out and socialize, to spend time with more ponies than just myself and her family. She practically idolized me, and I couldn't help but like being the center of her attention. And..." She shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said. "I brought you here to try and help you, but I seem to have gone off-track."

Moondancer shook her head. "I think we both need this," she said. "Go on."

Celestia smiled. "Well, at any rate, I couldn't help how I felt," she said. "So I kept Twilight with me in Canterlot, where she would stay safe. Eventually though, when she wrote to me and told me what she had found, I sent her away to Ponyville for her own protection, out of reach of where Nightmare Moon would arrive when she returned." She smiled. "And then Twilight did what I'd only dreamed of. She found the Elements of Harmony and unlocked their power with the help of her new friends, to purge the Nightmare and restore my sister to herself."

Moondancer looked down. "I guess she was doing all that the day I wanted to see her," she said quietly.

"She was," Celestia said. "If I'd known about it, I would have encouraged her to take a few hours off that afternoon to spend time with you." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry for causing you so much pain."

Moondancer opened her mouth for a moment, closed it, shook her head, and finally looked up at Celestia. "You don't have to apologize," she said. "It was my own fault... I should have gone to see Twilight and asked her myself. But I convinced myself that maybe, just maybe, I didn't need to go that far. That she knew how I felt, that she'd come see me herself. Or maybe I was just afraid of getting rejected to my face." Her face reddened.

"Rejected?" Celestia looked at her curiously.

"Princess... I loved Twilight." Moondancer looked up, and there were tears in her eyes. "I think I still do. But she never even noticed all the hints I was trying to send her way..."

For a moment, Celestia's eyes widened, then she slowly nodded. "I see." Straightening herself out, she looked right at Moondancer. "I think," she said, "That when Twilight returns from the Packlands, I am going to have you, she and my niece Cadance sit down and have a long talk together about everything. In the meantime, you're more than welcome to stay here in the castle with me. Your home is..." She looked embarrassed. "Well..."

"It's a disaster area, I know," Moondancer said with a sigh. "I... I was in a bad place, mentally and emotionally, when I first moved in there. I couldn't bring myself to care about keeping it up, and..."

"Well, that's not going to be a problem anymore," Celestia said. "As I said, you are more than welcome to move in here. There are plenty of extra rooms, and I am always happy to see a few of them filled."

Moondancer looked up at her gratefully. "Thank you, princess."

"My pleasure, Moondancer."

While Twilight had always considered herself a fast learner, she had quickly realized that it was not the same when her attention was divided between listening to her teacher and trying to keep up with the brisk pace that Wise-Mind had set for them. Still, it was clear that Maxilla had recognized she was making an effort, and was being far more patient with her than one might expect.

Still, there were a lot of subtleties with the different pitches and tones with the language that Twilight was struggling to keep straight, and judging by the laughter from the surrounding wolves, she still had a lot to learn. At the very least, she was getting closer to saying her own name properly.

One thing she did learn was that there was more to the names the wolves had that didn’t translate properly. For example, Swift-Pad’s name meant “moving deftly from rock to rock” while Wise-Mind meant “pondering deeply over serious matters in a thorough manner”. It was fascinating, and while she might have had difficulties reproducing their speech, she was still enjoying the process of learning it.

She had also learned, with some unease, that Thin-Tall’s name meant “lanky wolf of unseemly height”, Little-Growl’s meant “little pup unable to properly growl” and Big-Cheer’s was “large belly wolf who laughs well”. On the other hoof, Aargh’s translated as “inducer of unexpected pain in harmers of innocents”, which she thought was rather fitting.

She had asked Maxilla near the middle of the afternoon what Swift-Pad’s Packleader’s name meant. She had been told it meant “he who soars in the air with his jumping to strike down his foes” which brought on other questions that Swift-Pad had only been too proud to share the answers to. The name, he explained, had come about well over a century ago when High-Leap was still a nameless wolf who had, in defense of his packmates against a griffon raiding party, managed to leap high enough to land on the lead griffon’s back and ‘subdued’ him. He hadn’t outright said it but Twilight was able to read between the lines to what he meant by ‘subdued’ and hadn’t asked for details. Instead, she had considered asking what her own name had translated to in the wolf language, but before she could say it, she heard the answer.

It was Wise-Mind, who had pulled back from the head of the pack. He had told her that her name, in most likely situations, would be “stars of the dusk whose magical talents sparkle with radiance”.

“Wow.” Twilight blinked. “That’s… impressive.”

“What’s mine?” Pinkie suddenly popped up. “I know, Pinkamena Diane Pie is pretty long already, but what’s it mean in your tongue?”

Wise-Mind seemed startled, but looked contemplative. “‘Endless amount of surprise who is eternally smiling and laughing’.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled. “That’s our Pinkie, all right,” she said. “What about the rest of us?”

Maxilla loped over to her and said, “You are an easy one. You would be “she who broke the sound barrier with a rainbow trail”.”

“Sweet!” Rainbow Dash grinned.

“Certainly fits her,” Applejack commented. “Ah think we all owe more to that rainbow trail of hers than most of the world knows. But if she hadn’t done it, we’d all have been in big trouble.” She suddenly stopped speaking, then turned to Maxilla and Wise-Mind. “So, same question. What’d my name mean?”

“Roughly translated, “she who works apples into that which is needed”,” Maxilla said.

“Huh.”

“Mine is “she who flies with the wings of the ancestor”,” Fluttershy suddenly spoke up, blushing. “Well-Hidden taught me that.”

Rainbow Dash looked at her in surprise. “Really? That’s an interesting one…”

Fluttershy ducked her head shyly. “I don’t talk about this a lot,” she said. “But one of my great-great-great-grandmothers… her name was Posey Shy. She met her husband when he saw her flying from a distance one day, and because of how she was moving, he thought she was the biggest butterfly he’d ever seen. It wasn’t until she got closer that he realized she was another pegasus.”

“Your movements in the air do resemble those of a butterfly,” Swift-Pad said thoughtfully. “Rather different from most pegasi, but in my experience, that is not a bad thing. It is simply what works best for you.”

Rainbow Dash gave him a look of surprise for a moment, before she too looked thoughtful, almost as if she was reconsidering something from long ago.

“I suppose that just leaves myself and Spike,” Rarity said, panting a bit as the run was harder on her than the others.

“Spike would retain his name, until his molting,” Wise-Mind replied. “Dragons are usually renamed when their wings come in and at that point, a proper name could be decided. However, most of these second names are rarely revealed to non-dragons, or in some cases to any dragon outside their immediate family.”

“‘Molting’?” Rarity asked questioningly.

“His metamorphosis into a slightly bigger form,” Twilight told her. “That’s when he’ll get his wings. And as I’ve already told him, he’ll stay indoors as long as it’s going on. Swift-Pad told me that a molting dragon’s scent attracts certain predators, and I am not going to lose him to one.”

Spike blushed at this, and even more so when the rest of the girls reaffirmed their friendship with him by promising to help protect him during that vulnerable period.

“Most dragons would not have that attitude towards the molter,” Wise-Mind rumbled. “But then, most dragons are not like you, young Grace Sparkle. Not that that is a bad thing, mind. Your loyalty to him, and his to you, do you much credit.” He looked thoughtful. “I believe you said you hatched him?”

Twilight nodded. “The day Rainbow Dash performed her first Sonic Rainboom, the sight and sound of it affected all of us in one way or another,” she said. “I was startled so badly that I lost control of my magic, and among the effects… that surge helped me hatch Spike’s egg.” She smiled down at him. “I might have been scared from losing control, scared of accidentally hurting others… but one thing I’ll never regret about that surge is how it gave me my son.”

Wise-Mind’s smile was far bigger this time, and he nodded in approval. “That is indeed a wondrous event in any creature’s life, young Grace Sparkle.” He turned to Rarity. “Turning back to your question, your name - Rarity Belle - would translate as “seeker of beauty that lies within”.”

Rarity’s eyes widened. “That is almost how I got my Cutie Mark,” she said. “My horn led me to a large rock… and then the sound from Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom cracked it open to show the trove of gems that lay within it. When I used them on the costumes I was making for that night, my Mark came in, just as all of my future friends’ had.”

One of the wolves was looking at her curiously. “All?” he asked.

Twilight nodded. “Rarity got hers that night, I got mine after Princess Celestia helped me calm down my surge…”

“Got mine for doing the Sonic Rainboom in the first place,” Rainbow Dash said.

“For calming the wild animals that caught me when I fell off the cloud, and that her noise scared,” Fluttershy said.

“For coming home.” Applejack tilted her hat. “The Rainboom’s trail led me back home to the family farm from Manehatten.”

“Her rainbow was the first one that I ever saw, and it made me so happy, I wanted to share that happiness with my mom and my dad and all three of my sisters, so I threw them my first party,” Pinkie said. “And it worked, and when I saw them so happy, my Mark was there!”

All of the wolves looked rather astounded by this, and some of them began muttering among themselves.

“Wolves may not get Cutie Marks, but we know of their significance among your people,” Wise-Mind finally rumbled. “For multiple ponies to earn theirs from a single connected event is a rare happening, enough for one to believe your fates are intertwined and your destinies lie with each other.”

Swift-Pad looked uncomfortable. “One may wonder,” he said. “I had not heard this particular aspect of their story before… but its telling makes me believe that their use of the Powers of Harmony was indeed foredestined.”

Wise-Mind turned to him instantly. “They have done what‽”

Sensing tension, Twilight raised a hoof. “Please,” she said. “Given how some events from it would be of great significance to your people, I think this story would be best saved for the Gathering.” She bowed. “It relates to Princess Luna and her return.”

Wise-Mind turned his head to her, before nodding slowly. “You speak much truth,” he said. “My people do indeed know of the Powers of Harmony, and their usage in the past. If your tale relates to them and our Grand Grace’s return to this realm, our Packleaders would indeed be most interested in all hearing it at once.”

“I could not agree more, Packleader Wise-Mind,” Twilight said.

With that, the wolves drew back a bit, allowing Wise-Mind to once more take the lead and Twilight to draw back a bit.

Still next to to her, Maxilla shook her head. “If that story of yours is anything like the one about how you ascended, their reactions at the Gathering should be interesting,” she said.

“I’m worried about exactly that,” Twilight told her quietly. “From what Swift-Pad has told me, I know how touchy some of his people can get over Luna and how they see her. If they don’t like what I have to say…”

“All we can do at this point is wait and see,” Maxilla told her. “I think you’ll do well though. Just tell them the truth as you know it, and let them decide whether or not they want to believe it.”

Twilight drew a deep breath. “I will be honest about this,” she said. “I can promise that.”

Chapter Twenty Five

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Chapter Twenty-Five

It was far later in the day before Wise-Mind called an end to the run with Twilight doing her best not to pant from the sheer exhaustion she was feeling. She was positive it was only due to her newfound Earth pony magic that she was able to even do this run, which had turned out to be far longer and more tiring than even her first Running of the Leaves. Looking over, she could see Applejack and Rainbow Dash both tired and sweating too. Fluttershy seemed to be tired with how low her wings were drooping and Rarity had summoned her tent before vanishing inside as soon as everyone had stopped moving. Only Pinkie Pie seemed to be okay but there was not a lot that could actually disturb her party-throwing friend.

“We should arrive at our destination by midday tomorrow,” Swift-Pad said once everyone had caught their breath.

“I look forward to seeing the Great Mound,” Twilight said as she helped prepare the fire for that night’s dinner.

“You will be seeing it the day after we arrive at All-Home,” Wise-Mind said as he began to head deeper into the woods. “The Great Mound is simply a part of the town.”

“I... should have realized that,” Twilight said to his back before looking at Spike. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“It’s okay Twilight, I got this,” Spike said, waving her away. “Besides, I am a bit more talented at this and I do like this.”

“I know.” Twilight smiled at him before walking towards the tent to see how Rarity was doing and avoid seeing the wolves bring in their dinner.

By the time the two had finished freshening up and made sure all the rest of their friends had done the same (Rainbow Dash had amused the wolves by diving into a nearby lake to do so), dinner was ready, and they once again settled around the campfire.

The dinner had a similar feel to when they had stayed with Slice, with the wolves sharing stories with them, and Twilight felt a warm sensation inside herself as she listened, remembering something Cadance had once told her when she was younger - “If you want to know somepony, get them to tell you their stories.” The wolves may not have realized it, but she had a feeling they were taking this advice to heart.

Speaking of feelings… her ears twitched nervously as she felt the same sensation she’d been getting on and off all afternoon.

Seeing her reaction, Applejack leaned in. "Is somethin' wrong, Twilight?" she asked quietly.

Twilight looked at her. "I don't know," she said. "I just can't shake this feeling… like someone's watching us."

Swift-Pad flicked his ears and looked around. "You're right," he said. "Somewolf is watching us. And if my senses are accurate, they have been for some time." Raising his head, he looked straight into the forest. "Come forth and show yourself!"

There was a quiet rustling, and then another wolf emerged from the trees. "So you knew I was there," he said with a smile. "I guess I haven't been living up to my name too well. But given as I mean no harm to any of you and was intending to show myself anyway, I am not upset."

Suddenly, there was a gasp, and then Fluttershy darted forward, a happy look on her face. "It's you!"

The wolf laughed as she threw her forelegs around his neck, raising one of his own legs to embrace her back. "Hello, Fluttershy. It's good to see you again."

Fluttershy giggled, before settling back down and turning to the others. "This is my old friend, Well-Hidden of the Thorough-Searcher pack," she explained. "He's the one who taught me about the language and culture of the Packlands."

Twilight smiled at Fluttershy, and then at the wolf. "It's an honor to meet you, Well-Hidden."

"And you as well, Princess Twilight." The wolf dipped his head. "Any friend of Fluttershy's is a friend of mine."

Rainbow Dash grumbled something under her breath, which sounded suspiciously to Twilight like "Wait until you meet Discord", but she opted not to comment on it. Swift-Pad’s ears flicked though, suggesting he’d heard the same.

“Welcome to our camp, Well-Hidden,” Wise-Mind said as he rose. “It is good to see the wolf whom Fluttershy has spoken so well of.”

“Thank you,” Well-Hidden said. “I hope you do not mind my joining you - after all, we’re going the same way.”

Twilight gave him a curious look, and he nodded in her direction. “I too am headed to the Gathering, to meet with my Packleader and our other Observers there.”

“Observers?” Applejack asked.

“The Thorough-Search pack specializes in wandering our lands and others, watching out for any activities worth noting and reporting them to our Packleaders,” Well-Hidden said. “The Observers in particular are the most skilled at this task. For instance, it was one of our own who alerted the Elders to the return of the Crystal Empire and then of Sombra; though he had not reached our lands in the past, there was always the concern, so we wanted to be on watch for him. When we witnessed his destruction, that was also reported. As was the final disposal of his horn, which might have enabled his return a second time had it survived.”

Twilight looked very surprised. “When did that happen?”

“I destroyed it myself,” Well-Hidden said calmly. “Sombra had been spawned from a race of beings that began as pure dark magic before developing sapience, and while there had been a chance for him to become good early on in his life, any light within him was consumed long ago when he assimilated their leader’s power into himself before his final confrontation with the Royal Sisters of Equestria, and so his potential second return was something we could not allow.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “I don’t know what to say,” she admitted.

Well-Hidden nodded back. “It is not something I chose to do lightly,” he said. “In fact, such active intervention is a rare event on our part. But I felt it was, in the long run, the right thing to do.” He was quiet for a moment, but then continued. “Do not misunderstand us as only keeping an eye out for threats, though. We also watch for positive things, such as a number of wolves and non-wolves from different packs coming together for a celebration, something which is always in and of itself an act to be celebrated.” He nodded to Twilight. “The magic of Harmony may be most deeply centered in your land, but its effects can be felt around the world, and we are always glad to see evidence of it.” He smiled at this, pulling Fluttershy into another hug as if to demonstrate this statement.

“I’ll have to make sure my sister-in-law knows about this the next time I talk to her,” Twilight said faintly. “Cadance did tell me that they thought he was gone for good the first time, but since he came back once, there was always a chance it could happen again. Now that you’ve made sure that won’t be the case, that’ll be a major worry off her back.”

Well-Hidden nodded. “Understandable.”

Fluttershy suddenly perked up. “Are you going to be watching the annual Breezie migration this year?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Well-Hidden told her. “It is another sight that brings people together, and brings happiness to those who know of it, so we always have at least one of our own watching out for them.”

Fluttershy smiled happily. “I’ve always wanted to watch their migration,” she said.

“The who now?” Rainbow Dash scratched her head.

“The Breezies are a race of beings who resemble a cross between ponies and butterflies,” Wise-Mind said. “There are some, in fact, who refer to them as ‘Flutterponies’, though that is an inaccurate description. They reside in their own hidden world, coming out only once a year to gather pollen for their people because their size and lack of physical durability makes the outside world very dangerous for them. They do not maintain formal diplomatic ties with any outside nations, simply wishing to be left in peace, and if not for the necessity of their annual migration, they would likely stay hidden away for their entire lives.”

“That’s neat.” Rainbow Dash said with a smile on her face. “I can get why you’d want to see them, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy smiled back at her. “I’ve actually written to the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures, asking for permission to observe their migration this year,” she said. “I haven’t gotten a reply yet, but I’m hoping.”

“If they know anything about you at all, they’ll say yes in a heartbeat,” Rarity said. “Why, I’ve seen you care for everything from mice to manticores - even Cerberus himself rolled over to get his belly rubbed at your kindness. There is no logical reason why somepony with your talent would be turned away.”

Fluttershy blushed at that, hiding behind her mane but nodded her head.

“You’ve been to the gates of Tartarus?” Maxilla said suddenly.

“Once,” Twilight said. “Back when I was a unicorn, before my brother’s wedding, Cerberus actually wandered away and showed up in Ponyville until Fluttershy calmed him down and we took him back to his post.”

“That is worrying,” Wise-Mind said with a frown, giving Swift-Pad a look. “Have there been any investigations to find if there were any escapees?”

“A few of my fellow Observers have been tracking a Bugbear that escaped,” Well-Hidden said with some reluctance. “It’s avoided civilization so far, but we have been watching it closely. There were also signs that something else might have gotten out, but we haven’t been able to identify it yet. Not a demon, thankfully; we would have recognized their magic immediately, and even the most skilled of them cannot help but leave a trace. Whatever it is, it is good at hiding its tracks.”

“That is… information that I am sure the rest of the Packleaders will be eager to learn of,” Wise-Mind said with a bit of a growl before giving Twilight a look. “Perhaps you should inform her Grace about this development.”

“I was intending to,” Twilight said as she pulled a scroll out. Once again, she began writing on it. When she had finished her message and had tied it up, she was about to give it to Spike when Wise-Mind raised a paw.

“Allow me,” he said. Lifting an item Twilight recognized as a seal like her own, he placed it against the scroll, leaving a mark on it that she felt a tingle of magic from. “That will allow your message to bypass the protections at the border and go straight to her Grace,” he said. “It is not something we do lightly, but given the urgency of the news, it is very much necessary.”

Twilight nodded. “Thank you,” she said, before hoofing the scroll over to Spike for him to send.

“On that note, our reports on the Tartarus situation are indeed on the agenda for the coming Gathering,” Well-Hidden said. “As is the news on Sombra.”

“Among other things,” Wise-Mind said, looking at Maxilla briefly before looking at Twilight herself. “We should all rest early, so we can get an early start tomorrow,” he said.

“I understand.” Twilight replied

With that, the group began preparing for bed. As they were about to enter the tent though, Spike let out a loud belch as a scroll popped out. Quickly unfurling it, Twilight scanned the words and sighed in relief.

“Princess Celestia thanks you for informing her of this,” she told Well-Hidden. “She’s passing the information on to her own Guards as we speak, and to Discord.”

Wise-Mind looked at her, startled. “That chaos creature is loose?”

Fluttershy gave him a stern look. “He may be a spirit of chaos, but he’s my friend.”

Wise-Mind looked taken aback. “Once again, you surprise me,” he finally said, clearly unhappy. “I suppose her Grace Celestia has answers to this development.”

“It only happened a little while before I became an alicorn,” Twilight told him. “We’d stopped him once before, and she felt we could help him reform, so he could put his magic to good uses instead of evil. I… had a hard time trusting him at first, and I admit I’m still cautious around him. But thanks to Fluttershy, he’s realized that friendship was actually important to him. And something that, once he had, he didn't want to lose.”

Wise-Mind looked like he was about to retort when Swift-Pad stepped in. “What I believe Wise-Mind is trying to get at is the fact that her Grace Celestia took a very large gamble in this, which the other denizens of the world were not notified of.” He gave her a careful look. “If her plans had failed, it would have put everyone in danger, just not Equestria.”

“That’s why we had our Elements with us, just to be on the safe side,” Twilight said. Her ears drooped. “We… might not have them on us now, but we know where they are, and we still have Fluttershy. And he’s given her his word.”

“And if something were to happen to her?” Wise-Mind asked with a bit of a growl.

A scroll suddenly popped into existence above them and unfurled, revealing bold letters, which read its message aloud in the draconequus’s voice. “‘If something ever happened to her, whatever did it would not live long enough to regret it. Yours, Discord. P.S., I also happen to be quite fond of a certain chaotic little trio who also welcomed me a while ago.’” The scroll then popped out of existence again.

All the wolves looked startled, before Wise-Mind cleared his throat. “That was… unnerving.”

“And our ward runes didn’t even go off when that happened,” one of the rune wolves reported. “His magic is so powerful, it should have triggered an alarm, but since it didn’t… If he could bypass them, that’s definitely concerning.”

“Agreed.” Wise-Mind looked at Fluttershy. “But given why he did so, I am inclined to let it be this time. Though this will be brought up at the Gathering.”

“I understand.” Fluttershy bowed her head.

With that, they settled in for the night.

Twilight awoke the next morning from a dreamless sleep, and after a quick breakfast, the group set off on its way again with Rarity staying near the back with Well-Hidden, who was going slow for her own sake. And it seemed a few others of the rune wolves were also chatting with her about the properties of rocktology, with Pinkie Pie also adding into the conversation.

Twilight was interested in the topic but she had to focus on her language lessons with Maxilla. While she was becoming more proficient in saying her name, asking others for their name and other common inquiries, she was still far from proficient at saying anything else. Maxilla had also made sure she could ask if they could speak Equestrian, though, which was something Twilight appreciated immensely.

Finally, they arrived at All-Home, with buildings coming into view in the shadow of a mountain that Twilight was certain was the Great Mound itself.

Already Twilight could see a marked difference between the two wolf settlements, namely the sheer presence of wolves walking around along with the other species in the town, with most giving her a curious look. The changelings she could spot looked weary and drained but they were surrounded by other species who were doing their best to comfort them. “If you will follow me, your Grace,” Wise-Mind said as a group of healthier-looking changelings walked up towards Maxilla. “We will take you to the hotel where you will be staying for the night.”

Maxilla tilted her head as the changelings approached before changing back into their base form with his wings buzzing loudly, Wise-Mind and Swift-Pad both looking alarmed at this before trying to hide it.

“I’m sorry, but I need to go right now,” Maxilla said, moving to leave before Twilight went in front of him.

"Is everything okay?" Twilight asked her friend who was trying to calm the nervous-looking changelings.

“It is a changeling matter,” Maxilla said, gulping and avoiding her eyes. “While I do not have any real extensive magic and do plan to undergo the Seal, I am still a changeling now and I have a duty to my Queen and her requests.”

“Please, tell me what is wrong; maybe we can help?” Twilight offered with the other changelings buzzing their wings, Twilight suddenly aware that this must be part of their way of communicating with each other.

“I just need to donate some of my magic, that’s all,” Maxilla said with Twilight smiling softly at him.

“My Special Talent is magic, Maxilla,” she reminded him, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “I am sure I can donate enough of my magic if the situation truly requires all of these changelings doing the same.”

Maxilla bit his lip, looking at the other changelings present who gave shrugs at each other before looking back at her. “At the very least, we can ask Queen Metamorphia and the others if they’d be willing to accept,” he said before letting out a sigh. “If you can help, then a lot of changelings will be grateful for this.”

Twilight smiled at him. “It’s the least I can do for a friend,” she said.

The other changelings looked rather startled at her words, but Maxilla smiled. “I appreciate that,” he said before looking at Wise-Mind. “If you do not mind, I will be taking her Grace and friends towards the hospital where the... patient is.”

Wise-Mind let out a barely audible sigh as he nodded his head. “Of course I do not mind,” he said. “If she is capable in stabilizing him, then all the better.”

Maxilla gave him a nod, then started off. “This way, please,” he said.

Twilight and the others quickly followed after him some blocks away, until they had reached what was recognizably a hospital where there were a number of wolves and changelings guarding it.

“Since the… er, event,” Maxilla said as he led them inside, “One of the members of her hive has been having some problems. They’re undergoing a maturation into the new leader of the hive, but it isn’t going as easy as expected - part of the problem is that Queens will usually be directly involved in stimulating their successor’s growth, but she is not willing to cooperate in the least and neither is the half of the hive that followed her willingly to invade Canterlot. The others have been gathering what they can so he can absorb it from them, but it’s taking a lot longer than it usually would and there are fears he will not survive the process.”

Twilight’s eyes widened a bit, but she calmed herself. “If they need my help, I’ll give it,” she said. “But I am not trained in healing magic, although…” she trailed off with an idea forming in her head.

“Your Grace?” Maxilla asked as they rounded a corner.

“Has anyling tried directly giving it to him?” Twilight asked. “Rather than his taking it, willing on their part or otherwise?”

“My brother hasn’t been able to do much of anything since this whole metamorphosis began,” a gruff changeling voice suddenly said, before its owner appeared in front of them. He was armed with a spear and his horn glowing, with several other changelings behind him, also armed and lowering their horns as if to defend the room behind them. They all froze when they saw Twilight and her friends, looking uncertain at her and Wise-Mind. “What’s… what’s going on here, Wise-Mind?”

Wise-Mind gave a growl at the lack of respect directed to him but Twilight stepped forward to explain. “I’ve been informed of the situation here,” she said calmly. “And I’ve come to donate some of my magic to the process, if it’ll help.”

The lead changeling, whom Twilight noticed had a red dorsal fin and tail, and purple wings (in contrast to the others’ cyan), eyed her suspiciously. “Since when does a pony care about what happens to any of us?” he asked.

“My only quarrel is with the former queen over her specific actions, not with her species,” Twilight told him. “I want to help your brother...” She trailed off, looking at him expectantly.

“His name is Thorax,” the changeling said reluctantly. “I’m Pharynx.” He was still looking suspicious, but finally he stepped aside. “I’ll be watching,” he warned her. “But if you really want to help, I’ll let you try.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said. As the other changelings moved out of the way, she entered the hospital room, with he and Maxilla following her in.

Inside, she found a massive clearish cocoon, akin to the ones she’d seen other ponies imprisoned in, but somehow… different. A number of changeling queens surrounded it and quickly came to attention as she entered, with one of them hissing angrily at her. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded, less at Twilight and more at Pharynx who was standing his ground.

Twilight bowed to her and the other queens present. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria,” she said. “And I have come to donate my magic to Thorax’s maturation process.”

The queen looked startled with the other queens sharing intrigued looks. “Why would a pony, one of those directly involved in thwarting our former comrade’s attack on your people, want to help one of us?” the first one demanded with the other behind her sharing what looked to be amused looks.

“As I told Pharynx before, my only quarrel is with the queen who attacked our people,” Twilight said. “Thorax has done nothing to earn my enmity, nor have the rest of your people, and I want to help him.”

Another queen stepped forwards, placing a hoof on the first’s shoulder and said, “As Queen Scolopidia might forget to do so with her own recent ascension to becoming a queen,” causing said queen to blush and squirm with embarrassment. “We are able to read your intentions and see that you truly wish to help, Princess Twilight of Equestria.” She walked closer towards Twilight and tilted her head down. “Though I do wonder if it is true altruism that motivates your hoof and not aiding those who once aided you.”

“What do you mean, Queen…” Twilight asked, keeping her eyes focused on the changeling’s eyes.

“I am Queen Tegmina,” she introduced herself before pointing to the other queens in the room. “You know Queen Scolopidia, and our companions are Queen Remigium, Queen Taenidia, and Queen Metamorphia.” She then peered closer at Twilight with the mare doing her best not to flinch. “You truly do not know, do you?” she asked as a matter of fact and not as a true question.

“I do not,” Twilight said. “Prior to my arrival in the Packlands, I knew Equestria had encountered changelings exactly twice, both times involving an attack by her and her hive. Until just now, I’d never heard of any of your people aiding us.”

Queen Tegmina nodded slowly, stepping closer to her. “You speak truth,” she said. “Then I will tell you. When our rogue began her plans to attack, Thorax here persuaded his brother and others of his hive to turn against her, and send Equestria an anonymous message alerting them to a coming threat. For his own protection, he did not identify the source of that threat, but it allowed your people to at least have some time to prepare and be on alert.”

Twilight closed her eyes briefly. “My brother told me that a threat had been made against Canterlot,” she said. “He never said anything about how they found out.” She opened her eyes. “But even if Thorax had never done any such thing, I’d still help him.”

Queen Tegmina regarded her. “You again speak truth,” she said, a hint of wonder in her voice. “Then you are most welcome. Come with me.”

Twilight followed her towards the cocoon and stared at it. Peering into the liquid, she could spot the outline of a changeling within, squirming uncomfortably.

“You see his struggles, do you not?” Queen Tegmina asked.

Twilight nodded.

“Without his former queen to guide him, his maturation is going far slower than it normally would, and it’s taking a toll on him,” the changeling queen said. “We’ve done what we can to ease the process, but since none of us have a direct blood bond to him, he’s still having a great deal of trouble.”

Twilight nodded again, eyes still on Thorax.

“Our changelings have donated what they can, some more than others, but the true problem is that we lack the means to thoroughly understand why he is in such pain.” Queen Tegmina said. “While the Packlanders have a sizeable level in medicine, there is still a great deal that they do not possess.”

“In any case, please allow me to try and donate my magic, your majesties,” Twilight said.

Queen Tegmina nodded and stepped back, allowing Twilight to concentrate, looking inward to her magic. Slowly, using the breathing exercises Cadance had taught her so long ago, she focused on it and began releasing a steady stream of magic, directing it into the cocoon. And as she did so, she felt a twinge of emotion.

Of course, she realized. That’s what changelings need… Concentrating on the emotion, she added it to the magic she was sending.

There was a sudden gasp from within the cocoon, and then a voice within her head. Who… who is this? it asked. This love… it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt.

It’s okay, Twilight sent back. I’m giving you what you need.

The voice was silent for a moment, then she felt a friendly touch on her mind. I don’t know exactly what you’re doing, but thank you, it said.

Suddenly, there was a loud cracking as the cocoon broke open, and Twilight slowly released hold on the magic she'd been channeling. She saw a changeling, who seemed a little taller and whose wings were now glittering, looking around in amazement as he finished calling in the power she'd released before stepping away from the cocoon.

“Thorax?” Pharynx’s surprised voice came.

“Pharynx!” The changeling looked at him. “Did you get… shorter while I was in there?”

Queen Tegmina stepped forward. “No, my young prince Thorax,” she said. “You have grown. Your metamorphosis has not yet completed, but Princess Twilight’s donation has clearly had more of an affect on you than we expected.”

Thorax looked down at himself in surprise, and then back at his glittering wings. “Wow.” He buzzed his wings a bit. “This feels… incredible. I don’t think I’ve been this full ever!” He grinned. “And I don’t hurt anymore!”

“Good for you, little bro,” Pharynx told him with a smile on his face turning into a confused look. “Though why does he look… sparkly?”

“That… is a question I am not sure of,” Queen Tegmina said before leaning in to examine him. “It must be due to the difference in how you began your transformation. I believe you and your hive will be vastly different to others as such.”

“There is also the matter of his gender,” Scolopidia said, a bit hotly. “He is still a he. Shouldn’t he have changed into a nymph already?”

“We are in new waters, Scolopidia,” Metamorphia chided her a bit sternly with the young Queen yipping and ducking her head. “I do believe we will have the first King Changeling once this is all finished.”

“What happens next?” Twilight asked, curious to the whole process.

“I need to begin the next step in my metamorphosis, though it will require even more love and magic,” Thorax said, looking nervous but still sounding confident.

“If he’s a King, then how is his hive to get new eggs?” Scolopidia suddenly demanded, shoving her way into Thorax’s face. “It’s the Queen’s job to lay the first eggs of a new hive, but if there’s no Queen… you can’t expect a King to lay!”

Pharynx walked over to her with a wicked grin on his face even as the regular changelings behind him did their best to stop him, with several of the Queens appearing torn between encouraging him and stopping him. "Really, Queen Scolopidia, if you need some remedial lessons in basic biology, I am willing to be of help."

Scolopidia’s face reddened and she turned away, declining to reply as Thorax gave his brother a glare. Pharynx, for his part, simply chuckled it off.

“I am certain a solution will become evident when the time is right,” Queen Tegmina said, laughing to herself behind her hoof. “At any rate, Princess Twilight, you have done a wondrous thing here, helping Prince Thorax as you have.”

“I was glad to do it,” Twilight said. “Even if he had not been responsible for preventing her invasion from being as bad as it was, I would have done so regardless. It is my hope that Equestria and its citizens can form a new, peaceful relationship with the changelings and other races.”

Queen Tegmina shook her head as she smiled. “You truly are one of the most open-minded ponies I have ever met,” she said. “Would that more were like you.”

“I wish more ponies would be open-minded too,” Twilight said softly. “As I’ve learned from experience… regardless of the species of those who have it, friendship is one of the greatest magics of all.”

“Words to live by,” Queen Tegmina said approvingly.

“Oh, she does, she does,” Pinkie’s voice said from somewhere.

The changelings all looked startled. “Who said that?” one of them asked.

“That would be my friend Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said with a sigh. “As far as I know she’s still in the hall outside though. Don’t ask how she does anything, just… don’t. It’s healthier for your mind not to try and figure her out, I’ve learned that the hard way.”

“...I’ll take your word for it,” Queen Tegmina said.

Chapter Twenty Six

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Chapter Twenty-Six

They had stayed in the hospital for a little while longer, with Twilight learning more from a few of the other Queens in All-Home, who were taking breaks from watching over Thorax and beginning to debate whether or not it was safe for him to begin his next stage of metamorphosis while the doctors were checking up on the changeling king to be.

Wise-Mind, meanwhile, had still been stunned when he had learned of all that had transpired, as had Swift-Pad, though in his case, he had stressed their reaction was less at what Twilight had chosen to do and more at the end result of her magic donation.

Rainbow Dash had managed to strike up a conversation with Pharynx over his combat style, while Spike had managed to talk to Thorax, and the two were getting along very well. Maxilla, meanwhile, had gone off to another room to have a quiet talk with Queen Metamorphia. The others had also each found someone to talk to. About the only one not speaking was Scolopidia, who was still looking a bit huffy. As Queen Tegmina had explained though, she’d been rather moody long before she ever became her hive’s Queen, and embarrassing herself by forgetting the basic abilities of a changeling with a non-emotivore hadn’t helped.

“She’s actually the youngest queen of our kind,” she told Twilight. “Developmentally, she was the equivalent of a teenager when she suddenly had to take her hive’s throne. Those kinds of hormones, on top of those released during the sudden maturation process, tend to make her rather… touchy, to say the least.”

Rarity tsk’d loudly, shaking her head. “The poor dear,” she said as she walked over to the still pouting changeling and started to talk to her, their conversation being muffled out by the other noises but it seemed the unicorn was making progress in pacifying the changeling, which pleased Queen Tegmina.

“Your friends are certainly interesting,” she noted to Twilight.

Twilight smiled. “They grow on you,” she said. “I had a hard time realizing how close we were getting at first, but by the time we’d finished our first world-saving adventure - which we’re going to be talking about at the Gathering - we were the best of friends.”

“I look forward to hearing it then,” Queen Tegmina told her. “All of our Queens will also be attending, given one of the topics being discussed.” She grimaced. “I’m sure you can guess who.”

“I know exactly who you mean,” Twilight said with a sigh. “I understand you wish to sever her from her hive - now that Prince Thorax is awake, is that a possibility?”

“It is the most likely one, yes,” Queen Tegmina said before peering at her. “You seem… disturbed by the idea.”

“Queen Tegmina, I may have personal issues with that person, but the idea of someling being forcibly cut off from their hive for any reason - as opposed to willingly doing so, as Maxilla has said she intends - just seems… wrong.”

“It is wrong; it is one of the harshest punishments we have for lawbreakers among our people. It is seldom done to a normal changeling, let alone a Queen of her age and reputation,” Queen Tegmina said. “But our former comrade has proven multiple times that all she desires is power and control, and has gone against our laws several times in the process and has put our entire race in danger. Her second invasion of your land, with the significance of the targets she chose, was the last straw.”

She then gestured towards Thorax, who was reading a comic book with Spike amidst the other changelings that were guarding him. “Thorax, on the other hoof, has shown nothing but compassion and loyalty to his people; he acted as he did because he loved his hive and didn’t want to see it destroyed. And right now, his hive is being destroyed as it now has two different people vying for dominance. If we wait too long then there could be a rupture in the entire hive.”

“That sounds bad,” Twilight said, feeling a sense of dread.

“It is,” Queen Remigium said, walking up to Twilight. “While it would leave him in charge of some of the hive that chose to back him, and her leading those that followed her invasion plans, the sheer division would prove fatal to the rest of the hive who have yet to make a decision, leaving over a thousand dead.”

Twilight shivered. “That’s horrible,” she whispered.

“So you see why we have little choice but to Seal her,” Queen Tegmina said. “And even if Thorax had not acted as he did, her methods involved greedily taking more than her share of love and leaving her subjects starving. She would have doomed her hive in the end, and that is something we could not tolerate.”

“Though we come to another problem,” Queen Scolopidia said, walking towards her with Rarity at her side. Twilight wasn’t sure when it had happened but it seemed her friend had given the Queen a light makeover, with her mane styled differently and there was a bit of makeup on her face. “Thorax, while at his second stage, is still not a Que-” she stumbled as Rarity coughed somewhat loudly. “I mean, King. Until he finishes the metamorphosis, he can’t take full control over his hive and thus we can’t really Seal her away yet. Your donation helped calm some worries that we had over the matter but the overall problem remains in place.”

“What... what if he isn’t able to become a King in time?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Then we may well end up losing an entire hive,” Queen Remigium said grimly. “We almost lost one already when Scolopidia’s mother was as badly injured as she was; Scolopidia’s ascension came in the nick of time.” She was quiet for a while before letting out a sigh. “Then there is always the other option that won’t cost a single life but it is equally distasteful.”

Twilight stared at her before a sense of horror fell over her. “You would give her back control over the hive,” she said with the other Queens nodding their heads.

“She-oh for the Eternal Swarm’s sake, Chrysalis,” Scolopidia snorted loudly and rolled her eyes as the other Queens’ gasping at her using that name. “Is fully aware of the situation and is probably preparing to get a deal that favours her if we are forced to give her her hive back. Namely, total clemency for her actions as she is so dedicated to securing power that she’d be willing to put her entire hive at risk. Personally, I’d rather use the other last resort before giving her back control, but I think a lot of that hive would rather die than let it happen.”

Twilight had a sneaking suspicion she knew what they meant. “You’re talking about giving them all the Seal, so they can live in new forms, aren’t you?”

“The absolute last resort, given how most feel about it,” Queen Tegmina said. “But still an option that we must take into consideration. They would have to choose between either death, enslavement under her,” the older Queen gave Scolopidia a pointed look which the younger Queen was doing her best to ignore. “Or abandoning their entire lives as changelings. Each option is a very hard pill to swallow, and we would all prefer to know that her hive would be safe under Thorax but until we are sure he is ready for the last metamorphosis, things will continue to favour her reclaiming her hive with the strong possibility of avoiding any punishment.”

Twilight shivered at the thought. “If Thorax needs more magic for that final step, I’ll donate as much as I can,” she said.

“That is good and all but he needs more love than anything, right now,” Queen Metamorphia said as she joined them. “And from his hive and his Queen, will be beneficial. Your magic donation could, in theory, push him the rest of the way but it would undoubtedly cause complications that would be harmful to him.”

Twilight nodded her head, her mind working at possible solutions but she would need time to see if it was possible. “If it helps, I did focus on feeling love and adding it into the magic I was sending him,” she said. “My love for my friends, my family. And I heard his voice when we were connected; he felt the love in the magic I gave him.”

“You have great magic,” Tegmina said, placing a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “But this is a changeling matter and this requires extensive love magic expertise.”

“You have done me a tremendous amount of help but this is simply something you as a pony cannot help me with,” Thorax said, walking over to her. “I will always be grateful for your help though, never doubt that.”

“And as of now, we need to talk to Prince Thorax,” Queen Tegmina said, eying the rest of the people in the room. “Alone.”

Twilight nodded. “All right. We’ll give you your space.”

Gathering her friends and noting that Wise-Mind and Swift-Pad had already gone ahead, and that Well-Hidden had somehow slipped away unnoticed at some point, she led them back out of the room and into the hall, where Maxilla and the two wolves were waiting for them.

“There are times when I feel you will never cease to amaze me, your Grace,” Swift-Pad said. “Your aid of young Thorax… I have never seen such a thing in all my life.”

“Nor have I,” Wise-Mind said. “Your actions here today will undoubtedly be well-received by our people and other changeling Queens.”

“With one obvious exception,” Spike muttered. Then he grinned up at Twilight. “Thorax is awesome, by the way.”

“I am glad you two could become friends,” Twilight said with a smile. “What comic were you two reading, anyways? Power Ponies?”

“Nope.” Spike held it out. “The Mighty Brave Heart. Ancient warrior with a magic hammer fighting his evil brother and other enemies to protect the world.”

Applejack leaned in to take a look. “Is it just me, or does he look like Rockhoof?” she asked. “Ah mean, the colors are a little different, and he’s got a hammer instead of a shovel, but that beard and that body are so much like Rockhoof’s.”

“Actually, the artist did partly base him on Rockhoof,” Spike told her. “He said so in a letter columns in one of the older issues. The other guy’s completely made up though.”

“So you’re done with the Power Ponies series squirt?” Rainbow Dash asked as they were directed towards the hotel.

“No,” Spike said with confusion in his voice. “I’m just all caught up on it until the next issue comes out.” He gave a shrug of his shoulders. “I can be a fan of both, after all.”

Rarity nodded approvingly. “I quite understand, Spike,” she said. “I happen to be a fan of the stories of Shadow Spade, but she is not the only detective whose adventures I read. Though certainly the most stylish.”

“I didn’t know you read mysteries,” Twilight told her.

“Oh, it’s just a hobby of mine,” Rarity replied. “I have found that we have certain things in common - a fine eye for detail is a requirement in both investigation and in my own line of work. Speaking of, the last time I stopped in one of the shops, I found a series you yourself might enjoy - I know that you mainly prefer nonfiction, but in this series, the investigator is an amateur and a semi-retired librarian.”

Twilight suddenly looked very interested. “I’ll have to check it out then.” She blinked owlishly before adding in. “Once I am back in Equestria, of course.”

“Of course,” Rarity told her. “I know how busy we all are here.” She turned to the wolves. “On that note, is the Gathering to be held tonight, or tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Swift-Pad replied, looking over his shoulder to Wise-Mind. “That gives everyone time to arrive and have a full night’s rest before the Gathering begins.”

“Yes, and I would strongly suggest you sleep early,” Wise-Mind said, giving Twilight a knowing look. “Lest errant dreams come into your mind tonight, young Grace Sparkle.”

Worried that he might be aware of Luna’s dreamwalking powers or that he might be guessing at them, Twilight instead simply nodded her head and thanked him before turning her attention back to Swift-Pad, noting the expression on his face. “Is everything alright?”

“I… may have mentioned the cause of your teleportation incident a few nights ago,” he admitted.

“I believe he is mainly worried about me,” Maxilla said, walking next to Queen Metamorphia with a smile on her face. “Though, I can’t really tell anymore.” She gave a shrug of her shoulders before nuzzling her snout with Swift-Pad’s. “It is done, my love.”

Swift-Pad looked relieved and overjoyed, nuzzling her back with his tail swishing behind him. “I love you, Maxilla. I just regret it took me so long to admit it fully.”

“I would have waited for a century if I’d had to,” she told him with a smile.

“Thankfully, you didn’t,” Queen Metamorphia told her. She turned to Swift-Pad. “Maxilla might have chosen to become like you permanently, but she will always be considered a part of my hive,” she told him, leaning her head down to him. “And as of this moment, that extends to you as well.” She then nuzzled him with Swift-Pad returning the gesture.

Rarity’s eyes appeared to have hearts in them, and Twilight could tell she was barely restraining herself from squeeing in delight. She herself, along with the rest of their friends, all had big smiles on their faces at the sight. “Congratulations, Swift-Pad, Maxilla,” she told the pair.

“I thank you, your Grace,” he told her.

“So do I,” Maxilla said. She nuzzled Swift-Pad. “For supporting us, and for being so understanding.”

Queen Metamorphia watched them both with a smile, before looking to Twilight. “I do need to get back to other matters now,” she told her. “Princess, I will see you again tomorrow, at the Gathering. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“I will,” Twilight told her.

“And Maxilla… let me know when you have a date set for the wedding, will you?” She flashed the couple a smile. “I’ll be co-officiating with Swift-Pad’s Packleader, of course. And I’m sure Wise-Mind will be present as well, since Maxilla works with his pack.”

“I will absolutely be there,” Wise-Mind rumbled, a friendly twinkle in his eye.

Swift-Pad’s eyes twitched. “We’ll make sure to tell you,” he said.

“Good.” With that, Queen Metamorphia turned and headed off, with changelings following behind her. Taking a quick look at their left hind leg, Twilight could see they all had the same hole pattern which meant they were from Metamorphia’s hive. Which was obvious, even without knowing about their holes.

At Wise-Mind’s gesture though, she turned back and followed him as he led them to their hotel.

The rest of the afternoon was spent primarily resting, showering as necessary, and having dinner when that hour came. Swift-Pad and Maxilla had excused themselves to their own space for a while, while Wise-Mind had left to handle some business of his own. That left just the six ponies and Spike to relax in their room.

“Well.” Applejack stretched as she settled into one spot. “It’s been an exciting couple of days now, hasn’t it?”

“I’ll say,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Though I can’t wait to get back home to really stretch my wings, the Packlands have been a lot of fun.”

“I’m glad I’ve been able to see Well-Hidden again,” Fluttershy said. “It’s been so long…”

“Yeah, you two were getting a little cozy there weren’t you?” Rainbow Dash said with a teasing look on her face.

Fluttershy blushed. “It’s not like that,” she said from behind her mane. “We’re just good friends.”

“Of course you are,” Rarity said soothingly to her. “But I could see it in his eyes, how much he respects and admires you.” She gave Rainbow Dash a piercing look. “I may be something of a romantic, but even I know not every friendship is inspired by those kinds of feelings.” She clapped her hooves together. “Speaking of romance, I wonder what wolves wear for their weddings…”

“You’d have to ask Maxilla and Swift-Pad,” Twilight told her. “I mentioned your skills to her that night we were at Slice’s farm, and based on her reaction, I think she’d be very glad to have you make something for them once they’re ready.”

“Ooh! And maybe I can help handle the reception!” Pinkie said excitedly. She turned to Applejack. “With your help on the food, of course.”

“Ifn’ that’s what they want, Ah’d be glad to do it,” Applejack told her. “Ah’m looking forwards ta talkin’ ta Slice again before heading back ta mah farm anyhow.”

Spike gave her a curious look. “Are you actually thinking about taking her up on her offer?” he asked. “About staying here, starting your own farm?”

Applejack sighed. “Ah’ll admit, it’s tempting… but Ah can’t just leave Sweet Apple Acres for good, yet at least. Ah wouldn’t say no to visiting when Ah can though, bringin’ Granny an’ Mac an’ Apple Bloom here to let them see what it’s like.”

“Well regardless of your choice, you know we will support you,” Rarity said with a smile at her before turning to face Twilight. “Although I might be visiting the Packlands more often; I think there is a real market for myself to expand my shops here along with some branching out into the mining industry.”

“That’d be great,” Twilight told her. “I know you’ve talked about wanting to open more shops in other cities, once you had the bits to spare and the right ponies to help run them.”

Rarity nodded. “Once we get back home, I actually need to get ready for the Fashion Week showing in Manehatten - I’ll be showing off my own works, of course, but I’m hoping I can find some other talent there as well, maybe a future employee or two.”

Pinkie smiled at her. “That’s our Rarity!” she said. “Oh, and I am definitely going to recommend this country to Maud when I write her again. She loves looking for new kinds of rocks, and there’s a ton of them here. Maybe she can even put it into her rocktology thesis.”

“I am glad everyone has had a wonderful time here,” Twilight said, feeling wonderful. “I am again so thankful for all of you coming with me. I have learned so much about being princess in these last few days and I feel I can actually do this.” Her smile dipped for a moment before it reasserted itself. “And I know that I have much more to learn but I am ready for it.”

“I’m sure that Princess Celestia will be proud to hear you say that considering how you were a few days ago when we go home,” Spike said.

“Yes,” Twilight said slowly, nodding her head though she was aware her face did not match her words exactly. “When we go home.”

“Is everything okay Twilight?” Applejack asked.

“It’s nothing Applejack,” Twilight did her best to reassure her friend. “I am just thinking of other things at the moment. The Gathering tomorrow, the issue with Slice cannot be an isolated incident, the inheritance crisis with Thorax and Chrysalis and every day I am learning of new issues across our world. Princess Celestia might be powerful but I am coming to learn there is only so much she can do. And I… I want to be out there doing the things she can’t, to help our fellow sapients in the world.” She let out a sigh. “And I was not helping by pretending that ascending into an alicorn didn’t change anything. I needed to accept the reality that as a princess, I have the influence to help the world, build stronger friendships between the different races and nations. Swift-Pad has helped me see that and it is up to me to take the next steps, whatever they are.”

Twilight was taken aback by the stomping her friends were giving her and the smiles of pure pride and adoration on their faces.

“If anypony can help repairing the world and strengthen its friendships, it’s you, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash told her. “We believe in you.”

Applejack gave her own smile. “Now that’s the kinda can-do spirit Ah’m lookin’ for in an Equestrian Princess. Let’s do it, y’all.”

“Absolutely,” Rarity chimed in.

“Rock on!” Spike said cheerfully.

“Yes indeedily!” Pinkie added.

“Yaaay…” came Fluttershy’s response.

Twilight almost did a double-take. Deja vu, she thought to herself before smiling at her friends. “Thank you, girls. Thank all of you.”

Turning her head as she heard someone walking towards their suite, she went to answer the door and preempted the surprised gargoyle with the cart of food just as he was about to knock.

Once he’d brought it in and Twilight had thanked him, the seven settled in to have their dinner.

Morning came with its usual aplomb, and once Twilight and the others had all readied themselves with Twilight taking time to make sure each piece of her regalia was shining before putting it on, they went out of the room to meet Swift-Pad and Maxilla.

“Hello your Grace,” Swift-Pad said, tipping his head towards her, a smile clear on his face. “Are you ready?”

“As much as I can be,” Twilight answered after a moment of thinking of a proper and honest response.

“Then follow me, your Grace,” he replied with Maxilla walking towards her friends. “Maxilla has offered to show your friends around the city more while you attend the Gathering.”

“You’re not attending?” she asked, a fair bit surprised. “I’d have thought you’d be there to report on your trip to Equestria.”

“I am not that senior in my work, your Grace, to warrant attending the Gathering. I am just a junior trade diplomat with only four years of experience. Another of my department will be present with the detailed report I have given him,” he said with a strained chuckle and a shrug of his shoulders before Maxilla rubbed against him and her friend straightened his back. “The Packleaders and Elders of our people, some senior government officials and some of the Observers with their own reports to make will all be in attendance, as will the changeling Queens and lead representatives of the other races present in our lands, yourself included.”

For a moment, Twilight was nervous but recalled what she had said last night and then steadied her resolve. “Then please lead on Swift-Pad,” she said, holding her head high as he began to lead her towards the Great Mound.

The massive mountain that overlooked All-Home had been impressive from a distance, but now she could get an even better look at it, and couldn’t help but be even more awestruck. It was as tall as Mount Canterhorn itself, if not bigger; a number of roads led up its side, including one marked as the path to the Wolf’s Den, which Swift-Pad explained was the grand cavern in which the Gathering would take place.

It took some time to reach, but soon enough, they’d reached its entryway, where Swift-Pad backed away.

“Most of the attendees should already be here, and will be waiting for you,” he said. “I wish you all the best, Twilight.”

Nodding and giving him a friendly smile, Twilight took a deep breath before she turned and marched into the Wolf’s Den.

Chapter Twenty Seven

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Chapter Twenty-Seven

The inside of the Wolf’s Den was a spectacular sight, to Twilight’s eyes. The hall was massive, and though nowhere near as fancy-looking as the throne rooms of Canterlot Castle or the Crystal Castle, it had its own beauty that Twilight was in awe of.

It was full of painted murals of past events that Twilight guessed were from the various packs’ histories. From the ceiling hung globes of a glowing white stone, and in the center of the room an enormous white slab was set up as a table. It was surrounded by several rings of raised stone, which were clearly meant to serve as seating for the various attendees, of whom she could see over a dozen or two already in place.

She was uncertain of where exactly she should go, before she saw Wise-Mind in one seat next to several older-looking wolves who were as large Wise-Mind, gesturing for her to come to him. Doing so, she sat down quietly by his side, and began looking around the walls at the murals, marveling at the skill that must have gone into them. Wise-Mind, seeing where her eyes were going, gave her a friendly smile of his own. “It is a wondrous sight, yes, young Grace Sparkle?”

“It is,” Twilight said. “It’s amazing.”

“I am pleased you like it,” Wise-Mind told her. “Generations of stories are recorded on these walls, both in this Den and around the many other caverns within the Great Mound. It is our history, and we treasure it greatly.”

Her eyes darted around before noticing the slightly annoyed looks on the other Packleader’s faces and the amused look on the older wolves, who were no doubt the Elders of their packs. She was confused by it before remembering what it was like in Canterlot with the nobles and no doubt this was something similar and the Elders were just being like Fancy Pants.

Finally, after a last few groups had entered and found their seats, another wolf with grayish fur, faintly streaked with a color that she couldn’t quite make out, entered the room and took a standing position at the table in the center. Like the Packleaders were to Swift-Pad and other normal wolves, he was much larger and more intimidating than the other wolves present, as she had felt about Wise-Mind when he first arrived. This wolf also wore several strings of complex-looking runes, and had a sort of... deepness to his eyes that she was unable to quantify.

“The Gathering has begun,” he announced in a rumbling voice that reverberated around the room, commanding complete attention from everyone present. “To the latest changeling nobility, I bid you welcome, Prince Thorax.” He raised his paw towards the group of changelings, where Twilight could spot the Queens she had met yesterday surrounding Thorax who stood up shyly in front of everyone, waving meekly as she would have done before all of this. Pharynx, who was standing by his brother, simply rolled his eyes at Thorax’s timidity, but she could see a hint of pride in his eyes at the same time.

“And to the first Equestrian ambassador we have permitted to enter our lands in almost a century, I also bid you welcome, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the wolf announced.

Twilight could feel every eye in the room on her, along with several quiet murmurs, as she stood as well and bowed with her right wing at her barrel and kept her head upright. “Thank you, for allowing me to be here,” she said as she brought up her head.

“It is my pleasure, your highness,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “I hope you have found my land to be… acceptable to your tastes?” He growled the last part with a faint chuckle. Twilight felt a small sense of dread as she was aware this wolf was immensely important and yet had no idea of his identity.

“The Packlands have proven to be a highly educational experience for me,” she replied. “A land full of life, and wonderful people, many of whom I am proud to call my friends.”

He chuckled again as he leaped onto the table, and began to stalk towards her, seeing he was roughly the same height of Celestia. “You have no idea who I am, do you?”

“No sir, I do not,” Twilight admitted, maintaining eye contact with him.

“I am he who cast aside his birth name long before your Princess Celestia and her sister began to rule Equestria,” he said, a light growl in his voice. “I am the wolf who drove Grogar the Necromancer out of the southern regions and towards the Frozen North, where the unicorn you would know of Gusty the Great was able to finish what I began by depriving him of his iron bell and banishing him into the deepest caverns below the Yaket Range. I am the wolf who brought the individual packleaders of this continent together to form a united nation of wolves, which welcomed all who felt they needed a home. I… am the Lord of Summer and the Alpha of this land, he whom all wolves answer to.”

Twilight, still maintaining eye contact, gave him a deeper bow. “I am honored to meet you,” she said.

He stared at her and chuckled again. “I see that Celestia has yet to teach you all that she should have,” he continued to chuckle in a large rumble as he paced in front of her. “No matter, time is something not of concern and thus a chance to learn what you should know and may need to know.”

Twilight felt a slight shiver in her heart as she heard his words and remembered, faintly, what Luna had said during their last talk. She shook it off though. “I have learned much, and yet I know I still have much to learn,” she said. “My time here has helped me to see that.”

Still chuckling, the Alpha returned to his spot in the center of the room. “Well then!” he boomed. “Let us continue. The first matter is, of course, our most infamous prisoner, the Grand Queen Chrysalis, the Ancient One. Now that Thorax has ascended to the level of a Prince, we are forced to once again to determine what to do with an old and powerful changeling.” He barked out, pacing along the table, eying everyone as he spoke. “We are still left with three options for her and her hive. Death, Sealment into the form of our choosing, or she remains as she is to ensure that thirty thousand five hundred sixty changelings do not die from her hive rupturing as a result of two leaders struggling for dominance.” He turned sharply on the changeling group. “Are you ready for the last transformation, to go from innocent spring into mature summer or are we looking at a poor harvest?”

Thorax looked embarrassed at the attention forced on him but managed to reply. “No, Alpha, I am not,” he said shaking his head glumly. “While Princess Sparkle’s willing donation allowed me to complete this stage, the fact is that at this time, I do not have enough love energy gathered to fuel the final metamorphosis.”

“A poor harvest then,” the Alpha said with grunt. “So we are left with no option at all then; either we accept Chrysalis’ demand to be reunited with her hive or we let all those changelings perish or be changed away. Failure at all points, though the blame does not rest at your hooves, Prince Thorax.”

There was a low unhappy murmur at this announcement with Twilight looking around, seeing no one was offering a solution to this problem. Biting her lip, she thought back to her instructions of not making any declarations on Equestria’s behalf as she still did not have any official training before she stood up, causing everyone to stare at her. “Alpha, I may have a solution to this.”

“May?” he asked, turning to face her with a pointed look that was causing her instincts to go wild and it was only a force of will that kept her from running away. “I do not care for possibilities when there are so many lives at stake. Do you or do you not have a solution, Princess?”

“I know of a solution, but I do not know if she will be willing to help though I doubt she will say no,” Twilight replied back, standing her ground as he stalked back to her, a fierce aura radiating off of him.

“It is my understanding that in order to achieve his final metamorphosis, Prince Thorax requires a great deal of love energies,” she continued. “I might be able to persuade my sister-in-law Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the Alicorn of Love, to donate those energies.”

“Do not dangle a promise like that in front of us, Princess,” a changeling Queen she did not know said sharply, glaring at her. “After what the fallen Queen did to her, why would she ever wish to help one of our kind?”

“And to that, how are we to know that you will not just use this as an excuse to hold the young Prince hostage until such a time the hive ruptures and dies as revenge?” another Queen buzzed angrily with voices from the Gathering demanding similar questions.

“If I had meant to let him die, why would I have willingly given him the magic, and my own emotional energies, that he needed to achieve his current form?” Twilight countered back angrily. “As I have said more than once in recent days, my only quarrel is with his former Queen. The changeling race as a whole is not my enemy nor is it Equestria’s. As a Princess of Equestria myself, I recognize the changeling race as being innocent of the crimes that one Queen and part of her hive committed against my home, my ponies and my family and I give Prince Thorax and those who accompany him the same protection any one of my citizens has under the authority vested in me by virtue of my status as an alicorn and a Princess of Equestria.” She stated this loudly, allowing her magic to radiate off of herself as she spread out her wings, quelling the voices of dissent in the Gathering with the Alpha walking up to her.

“Do you really mean all that you said, young Princess,” the Alpha said, eyeing her with the same intension she had experience when Celestia was imprinting serious matters to her.

Twilight nodded. “If I lie, may my horn be broken, my wings clipped and my legs broken,” she said sharply, recalling the old oaths to the Princess Sisters, hoping it would resonate with the Alpha.

He tilted his head slowly, a smile appearing on his face. “Then I thank you, Princess of Equestria, for your unexpected generosity and kindness and I am forever reminded of the true power of the principles of friendship that your nation based itself on, as we all should be.”

“I wish that to be for all of us, Alpha of the wolves,” Twilight said. “I wish we can forgive the past and forge a new future between our nations, remembering and celebrating the friendship we have now and the one we can grow in the future together.”

“As I do I, your highness,” the Alpha said, nodding his head. “And I see no reason that it cannot be.” He held his paw towards her, with Twilight taking it in her hoof. “To forgiving the past and forging a better future, oh Lady of Magic.”

“To forgiving the past and forging a better future, oh Lord of Summer,” she returned.

As they shook paw and hoof, the Alpha suddenly let out a barking laugh. “Oh, you truly have learned much,” he said, still chuckling loudly with the sound bouncing off the walls. “You speak well for one who has not yet completed her full training. Yes, this includes forgiving all transgressions, including one that a long-gone citizen of your nation has made.” He turned and looked among his wolves and said loudly. “Blueblood, descendent of Nobleblood the Shameless Fool is absolved of needing to fulfill the debt of honour his ancestor left for him.” There was a larger outcry to this, with many wolves arguing with each other which the Alpha let go before silencing them with a long piercing howl. “Enough,” he snapped, causing all to jump back. “We will, of course, be in discussion with your nation, Princess of Equestria, to see who exactly will be forgiven. And rest assured, Chrysalis is not to be given clemency by this decree. Though she might have sought sanctuary here, she lost that the moment she attacked your nation.”

“Understood,” Twilight nodded her head.

“I see you fully do,” the Alpha said, smiling at her. “You may be seated for we have much more to discuss and I doubt you wish to remain standing for the entire meeting, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight nodded again and sat down.

“Now that that is done,” the Alpha said as he stalked back towards his seat. “We can begin the second matter of this meeting. The reports from our Observers.”

Twilight watched as Well-Hidden rose from his own spot and began to speak, reading off some of the events they had discussed on their way to All-Home. The temporary departure of Cerberus from his duties, the discovery that two creatures had escaped Tartarus during his absence, one Bugbear that was still being tracked and one unidentified being that they were still seeking to locate; their observations regarding the return of the Crystal Empire and the final destruction of Sombra’s horn, the gathering at Slice n' Dice’s farm where a small group of ponies had freely and gladly mingled with the citizens of the Packlands.

“There is also the matter of another who has been freed from his prison,” he announced. “Though he had earlier made an escape and was subsequently re-sealed in stone after creating much havoc, more recently the Grace Celestia chose to give parole to Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony and Champion of Chaos. Through learning the ways of friendship and discovering that he had come to value it, he has chosen to aid her nation, and it is my understanding that while he has made more than one friend there, it was Fluttershy, friend of her Grace Twilight, who played the greatest role in his decision at the time. I have personally witnessed his declaration of protection towards her.”

There were several low mutterings from the crowd at that.

“Though I am greatly disappointed in Equestria withholding such information from us and the world,” the Alpha said, shaking his head slowly. “Princess Celestia is not known as the Teacher of the World without reason. She is among the wisest of us long-lived ones and her experience has led her to make decisions that, though they seem odd at first, have in the long run brought in a bountiful harvest for us all. It seems she has done so once more, twice over,” he said before narrowing his eyes. “Though that does not mean she is perfect; she is mortal like any one of us and can err. This will, my pack and friends, will be brought up in the next international gathering of leaders from across the world.” That seemed to calm everyone down and Twilight found herself nodding in approval at his words before she was aware of what she was agreeing with.

After a few more items, Well-Hidden completed his report.

After this, the Alpha called other wolves up to report on the news from their own packs, along with representatives from other non-wolf groups that had come to the Gathering. Twilight listened carefully to each speaker, most of whom seemed to be giving routine news from the reactions of the other wolves, though she paid special attention when it was Wise-Mind’s turn. She heard more than a few surprised exclamations from the audience when he announced how Twilight and her friends - including a member of the Apple Clan - had met and accepted Slice n' Dice without a second thought, in spite of the mare’s history and exile from her birth clan, and told of how it appeared that the Equestrian Border Guard was getting a severe tongue-lashing from Princess Luna as a result, with more than a few of its members being dismissed outright for wrong-doing - something he had apparently had one of his pack-members confirm since Twilight had told him what she thought was happening.

Finally, the Alpha called up a wolf from the Packlands’ Diplomatic corps to read the report Swift-Pad had made.

“Ambassador Swift-Pad’s experiences in Equestria went rather well, all things considered,” the wolf announced. “He met a number of ponies who were welcoming to him, once they had learned his identity and were assured that he sought to do no harm.” The report went on, telling of a few things Twilight recalled, such as the run-in with Spoiled Rich, though Swift-Pad had been quick to note that it seemed the snobby mare turned her nose up at anyone whom she did not recognize as being of higher social status than herself.

He also read of the meeting in Canterlot, of Twilight’s desire to visit the Packlands, and her earnest and genuine desire to complete the work Nobleblood had spurned through his insults. He read several notes regarding Twilight and her friends, and what he had observed of them, including their opinions regarding the PVE. In particular, the section on Rainbow Dash and her using their pamphlets as firelighters resulted in roars of laughter from all over the room, including from the Alpha.

When they had finally calmed, the wolf read the final section. “The most startling element of the Ambassador’s time in Canterlot,” he announced, “Came during his meeting with her Grace Celestia and her Grand Grace Luna, blessed be She, during which he presented her Grand Grace with the warhammer we crafted for her over a thousand years ago. During this presentation, she was able to offer solid proof that she was indeed her Grand Grace of old, returned to this realm after her long imprisonment.”

There was a sudden uproar at this, and it took the Alpha calling for order before everyone in the room calmed down.

“At the same time, she made the statement that neither she nor her sister were divine beings, nor had they ever claimed to be. What’s more, their Graces have informed the Ambassador that they do not want to be worshipped, on the grounds that it distances them from their citizens and all other non-alicorns.”

Twilight flattened her ears as the uproar returned.

“The Ambassador feels that the story of her Grand Grace’s return is one that is best told by her Grace Twilight Sparkle, as she was not only present for this event, but played a key role in her Grand Grace’s return to herself,” the wolf stated, as he rolled up the report and stepped down.

The Alpha once again turned to Twilight. “The Ambassador’s statement has been made,” he rumbled. “Then, Princess Twilight, come forth and tell the story you have carried.”

Twilight nodded, approached the table in the center of the room, took a deep breath to calm herself, and then spoke.

She told of how she had learned the Mare in the Moon was due to return, how Princess Celestia had seemingly dismissed her fears and sent her to Ponyville, advising her to make friends. She told how she had seen the shape of the Mare in the Moon disappear from the skies, how Nightmare Moon herself had presented herself to the citizens of Ponyville when they expected Princess Celestia. Of the journey she and the five ponies she had met made through the Everfree Forest in search of the Elements of Harmony, facing Nightmare Moon’s challenges all the way. How she came to realize that her newfound friends were the ones to represent the powers of the Elements of Harmony, and the spark that would ignite them was the spark of Friendship. How they had called upon these powers to purge Luna of the Nightmare that had taken over her body, restoring her to herself and reuniting her with her sister, before learning the full truth of Luna’s identity and how Celestia had been forced to banish her away in the first place.

“Since then, we have used the powers of the Elements to defeat Discord, and later to release him when Princess Celestia asked,” she said. “With their power, I and my friends-” My human friends, she thought to herself - “Were able to purge another mare, the unicorn Sunset Shimmer, of dark powers that she had unwittingly channeled when attempting to seize the power of my Element. And through them, we were able to restore the energies of the Tree of Harmony that protects the Everfree Forest and stop the Plundervines that were wreaking havoc there, having finally sprouted more than a thousand years after Discord originally planted them.”

The room had been utterly silent as she told her story. Now that she had completed it, one of the Packleaders rose.

“For restoring our Grand Grace to herself, you and your friends have my thanks,” he said. “Mine and my pack’s.”

One by one, several other Packleaders rose and made the same statement. Finally, when most, if not all of them, had done so, the Alpha faced Twilight.

“Harmony has chosen well,” he said to her, nodding his head in approval. “We shall take a short recess before we continue once more. Your highness, if you will accompany me, I will have the papers drawn up to ratify the promises we made with each other’s nation and you can send them off to your fellow Princesses so they can prepare for the arrival of Prince Thorax and the entourage of changelings that will be accompanying him.”

Twilight gave him a nod of agreement and walked towards him, entering a side room in the Great Mound that appeared to be like Celestia’s own study, with rugs covering the floor and a desk buried with papers.

“I am going to guess this is just more than simply signing some papers?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as the Alpha walked towards a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of apple cider that appeared to have been made at Applejack’s farm.

“Of course it is,” he said, offering her a glass silently with Twilight politely shaking her head in the negative. “While she is your mentor, far older and wiser and a greater Power than I, I am still a Lord and I would be failing in my responsibilities if I did not aid you more, Twilight.” He poured himself a glass and raised it to his lips. “There is a reason I called you Lady of Magic as that is who you are; who you have been since the day you awoke your Element and used its powers, in conjunction with those Elements of your friends, to free Princess Luna from her Nightmare, also known as the former Lady of Nightmare Umbrea of the shadow magic pony sect, the same that spawned that monster Sombra into the world.”

“Wh… what do you mean by…” Twilight said, stumbling to comprehend all of this.

“There is a greater order to our existence, Twilight, and you have been a part of it for a long time,” he said and shook his head as she began to grind her teeth in frustration. “You are mad at Celestia, I can tell but don’t be. What we are, while important is not that important, and at the time, you would not be ready for such challenges when you were coming into your own and growing your friendship with your friends in Ponyville. You are still very young and she was just protecting you and letting you grow to become the mare you are now without feeling the pressure of this newfound duty. Do you honestly think you would have coped well to know the full extent of being a Power like you are back when you first left her side?”

Twilight bowed her head. “There are times I still have a hard time coping with being a Princess,” she admitted. “Now, now I don’t know what to think.”

“You do,” the Alpha said, fixing his eyes into her. “You are better and smarter than that and do not insult me by giving me a filly’s answer. I saw a Princess out there and I expect her not to just vanish into thin air.”

Twilight took a breath of air and then straightened herself, feeling a surge of confidence return to her. “If you’d seen me earlier this week, the night I caused such a panic by teleporting, you’d have seen me at one of my lower points,” she admitted. “I have much more to learn, but I am certain that knowing all of this was waiting for me when I had just moved to Ponyville would have been a disaster, let alone being a Power. Whatever that is.” Twilight shook her head. “The fact that Princess Celestia withheld this from me is upsetting but I can understand I was not ready for it. I hope that I am able to prove to her that I am ready when I see her again,” she replied with a confident smile on her face.

“When you see her again,” the Alpha replied with his own smirk. “That implies you are not going back to Equestria after this diplomatic visit.”

“No, I’m not.” Twilight answered him. “I have been thinking about it for a while and it would be wrong of me to just go back to Equestria when there is an entire world out there. I am the Princess of Friendship and I would be failing in my duties if I did not extend my hoof out to all those I could. That means I will visit the other countries of the world if they will have me and do what I can to mend the divides and foster a new age of friendship in the world.”

“In that case, let me be the first one to hail you for your successes,” the Alpha said, holding his head up high. “To you, Lady of Magic, Princess of Friendship and Equestria, Librarian of the Golden Oaks, Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville, may your mission be bountiful and bring a fresh crop across the world.”

Twilight blushed. “And to you, Alpha of the Packlands, Great Uniter of the Packs, Lord of Summer, I give my thanks,” she said.

Epilogue

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Epilogue

It was much later in the day when the Great Mound finally began empty out, with wolves, changelings and other races walking and talking to each other.

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Swift-Pad and Maxilla had spent most of their day exploring All-Home but now they were eagerly waiting to see how their friend was and how the Gathering had gone for her.

Finally, near the end of the stream of people, they could spot her talking alongside Prince Thorax and the changeling Queens they had met yesterday.

“Twilight!” Spike called as he rushed up to her.

With a smile on her face, Twilight scooped him up and hugged him. “Hey, Spike,” she said softly. “How are you?”

“I’m good, how are you?” he replied.

“Doing much better than I had anticipated,” she replied. “We talked about and resolved a lot of things today. Oh - and we brought up the issue with Garble and the phoenixes like Swift-Pad promised, so that’s taken care of.”

Next to her, Queen Tegmina shook her head. “I still don’t know how that ruffian thought he could get away with doing such a thing,” she said.

“He was more than likely a stupid teenage youth that was not thinking properly,” Queen Scolopidia said softly but clearly not softly enough with how Queen Remigium bumped into her.

“Also Spike, I need you to send this off to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna immediately,” Twilight said, producing a sealed scroll. “It relates to some of what happened today.”

“Good news, I hope,” Spike said as he took the scroll and breathed his flames on it.

“It is,” Twilight said as she watched the message vanish off into the air. “It shows that the Packlands have forgiven Blueblood for his ancestor’s transgression, opened up a variety of new business relationships between our nations, us rearranging our prisoners and criminals for our nations, my royal decree of adding changelings to equal status and the protection of Prince Thorax and the changeling entourage that will be accompanying you back into Equestria.” Twilight paused for a moment before looking at her friends. “It also included that I am not returning to Equestria with you girls.”

There were several startled exclamations at that. “But… but Twilight, why wouldn’t you be coming back?” Rarity asked, clearly disturbed.

“Because I’ve found my Purpose,” Twilight told her. “I’m going to be traveling - and yes, Spike, you’re coming with me. We are going to be visiting various nations and doing what we can to mend the divides between all of them.”

Pinkie looked almost tearful. “How… how long will you be away?” she whimpered.

“At least a year, more than likely,” Twilight said softly. “It all depends.”

The girls looked very distressed at this. “Twilight…” Applejack finally said. “Ah trust you. Ah know you’re going to do a great job out there. But Ah sure am going to miss you.”

Twilight reached out her hooves as she pulled them into an embrace. “I’ll miss you girls too,” she said. “But I’ll always be thinking of you. And you… you’ll always be my friends. No… more than friends.” She sniffed. “My sisters.”

And then there were no words left, as the six mares and Spike all embraced one another.

In Canterlot Castle…

A swirl of flames coalesced into a sealed scroll in front of Princess Celestia. As she took it, her eyes widened. “Luna!”

“What is it?” Luna asked, almost instantly popping out of the shadows.

Celestia held the scroll out to her, and her eyes widened. “Twilight’s seal… and the Alpha’s,” she muttered. “This was unexpected.”

“Quite,” Celestia replied as she opened the scroll and began unfurling it, reading the cover letter.

Then she dropped it in surprise.

“Celly?” Luna asked softly as her sister began to shake.

Celestia turned to her sister with tears of pride in the corner of her eyes. “Twilight,” she said softly, “Has once again pulled off a miracle for us.”

“How so?”

“For one, the issue with Chrysalis has been resolved,” Celestia said. “It would seem there is a new heir to her hive’s throne, and as soon as his metamorphosis is complete - which will require the aid of our niece and her magic - he will be their full leader. And then Chrysalis will be cut off from the hive and spending the rest of her life in prison.” She then gave a snort of amusement and shook her head.

“And?”

“And the rest of the Queens are open to a lasting peace between our peoples,” Celestia said. “Twilight saw to that, and it would seem you and I don’t exactly have a choice in the matter, not unless we want to upend everything she has done and send everything into chaos. A number of them will be coming to visit us soon, including the new Prince.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Really.”

“Along with representatives of the Packs to discuss the matter of prisoner exchanges and pardons,” Celestia added. “Chrysalis is not on that list, by the way - she gave up any hope of clemency when she attacked us.”

“Good.”

“Our distant nephew, on the other hoof, has been pardoned, which should make him very happy.”

Luna shook her head. “How does Twilight do this…” she muttered.

Celestia gave her a smile. “Our new Princess of Friendship has really grown up,” she said, puffing her chest out. “I’m so proud of her.”

Luna smiled back, glad to see her sister in such high spirits. “As we should all be,” she said. “What other news?”

“She’s not coming home.” Celestia softly added as her sister opened her mouth. “Not yet, in any case. She and Spike are going to be traveling around the various nations, working to mend the ties between the various peoples of our world, as she has already done to help our own nation build stronger ties with the wolves and changelings.” She trailed off, looking lost for the lack of a better word.

“You have done a fine job teaching her, Celly, and now your filly has grown up into a fine mare,” Luna said, pulling her sister into a hug.

“I know,” Celestia said as she embraced Luna with more tears in her eyes. They stayed embraced for a while before Celestia was able to pull herself together. “But… there’s still one thing that worries me.”

“What’s that?” Luna asked.

“How are Night Light and Twilight Velvet going to react when I tell them their daughter is going to be out of the country for at least a year?”

“I do not know for sure but I suspect they will react with the same pride and maternal waterworks as you did,” Luna teased her sister who rolled her eyes.

“I have a feeling we’re going to be sending a lot of letters back and forth over this,” she said. “And I may be calling on your dream abilities to talk to her in person every now and then.”

“You just have to ask, Celly.” Luna smiled “Anything else in that letter?”

Celestia opened the letter again and went pale.

“She also asked us to explain what being the Lady of Magic and a Power is when she returns to Equestria,” Celestia said numbly. “It would seem that the Alpha has given her a bit of that information, but not a lot of details.”

Luna gave her a worried look. “I told you we should have discussed it with her sooner,” she said.

“I know, Luna. I know.” Celestia answered her sister. “I was alway worried she was not ready and each day I did not tell her would be another mark against me when I finally shared with her the true extent of who she is with her.”

Luna softened her face. “It seems, however, that the blow of her anger from us withholding the secrets from Twilight will not be as severe as we feared,” she said and gestured to the letter. “She seems to be quite calm here and we will have a year to prepare to tell her the truth.”

Celestia rose to her hooves and walked to the window, staring out into wide reach of her lands. “And when the time comes, I will tell her all there is.” She promised that to Luna, herself and most importantly, to her precious former student, Twilight Sparkle.

In the Crystal Empire…

“Shiny!”

Prince Shining Armor, at his wife’s voice, hurried into her room. “Hey, Cady. What’s up?”

“A letter from Twilight,” Princess Cadance told him with a smile. “Did you know she’s been entertaining a diplomat from one of our neighbors?”

“No, I hadn’t heard,” Shining Armor told her. “Which one?”

“The Packlands,” Cadance told him.

“They actually wanted to come to Equestria?” Shining Armor blinked in surprise. “Didn’t think they’d be visiting again anytime this decade.”

“Aunt Celestia told me they were coming about a new trade deal,” Cadance said. “Now, let’s see what else Twilight had to say…” She read on. “Oh.”

“What ‘Oh’?”

“Twilight asked, and was granted permission, to visit their lands and attend the Gathering,” Cadance said. “And she learned and achieved more than a few interesting things while she was there.”

“Such as?”

“Apparently one of their Observers was nearby during the Empire’s return,” Cadance told her husband. “He found Sombra’s horn after we destroyed his body.”

Shining Armor looked grim. “And?”

“He destroyed it.” She looked at Shining Armor. “That monster is never coming back again.”

“That is good news.” Shining Armor sighed in relief. “The Crystal Ponies should be very happy when they find out.” He looked at her. “We are going to tell them, right?”

“Once we’ve had time to set up for an official announcement, yes,” Cadance said.

“Good.”

“She also got my semi-cousin pardoned.”

“Really!” Shining Armor looked surprised. “How’d she pull that off?”

“Well… it involved changelings.”

“What!” Shining Armor’s eyes were wide. “What did they have to do with…” He saw the look on Cadance’s face. “There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?”

Cadance nodded. “That warning Aunt Celestia got, telling her about an upcoming attack on Canterlot? It was one of them. He split the hive, so only half of the drones went with Chrysalis to attack us.”

Shining Armor looked surprised. “I had no idea…”

“And, he’s now on the way to becoming Queen - or King, as the case may be - in Chrysalis’s place. But he needs my help to achieve the final metamorphosis.”

Shining Armor nodded slowly. “Your love magic…”

“Twilight’s own helped him finish the first metamorphosis, but he has one more to go, and then he can take full leadership of his hive. And then Chrysalis will never be a threat to anypony ever again.”

Shining Armor’s face was a mix of emotions, before finally settling on resolve. “Then let’s do it.”

“I hoped you’d say that.” Cadance leaned up and drew him into a kiss.

When they separated, she looked at the letter again. “We’ll be going to Canterlot soon, to meet Prince Thorax and the Queens accompanying him.” She smiled. “I was planning on going soon anyway, to speak with the mare Aunt Celestia wrote to me about the other day. This way I can do both at once.”

“Of course.” Shining Armor nodded. “Anything else?”

“Well, the wolves want to send a small delegation to attend the Equestria Games,” Cadance said. “As spectators, not competitors. And one of them really wants to meet you.” She flashed him a smile. “Apparently, you’re his hero.”

Shining Armor grinned. “Always happy to meet a fan,” he joked.

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear that.”

Two days later, six mares, one dragon and a handful of wolves stood at the train station at the edge of the Packlands.

“I’m really going to miss you all,” Twilight told her friends, both old and new.

“Don’t forget to write!” Pinkie said cheerfully. Then she scratched her head. “Princess Celestia knows she needs to set up some dragonfire candles for us, right?”

“I let her know,” Twilight reassured her. “She’ll get them to you as soon as you get back.”

“Good.”

The last of the mares (and one wolf - Well-Hidden had announced he was going their way, and so had chosen to accompany Fluttershy back to Ponyville) had boarded the train soon, and set off.

“It has been my honor to meet and get to know you, Twilight,” Swift-Pad told her. “I look forward to seeing the results of your coming efforts.”

Twilight smiled before giving both he and Maxilla hugs. “For everything you both have taught me, I will always be grateful,” she said.

There was a whistle, and Twilight looked back for a moment. “That’s our train,” she said. “Swift-Pad, Maxilla… I will see you again. And no matter the distance we have to go, Spike and I will be there for your wedding.”

“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” Maxilla told her. “Good luck, Twilight, Spike.”

And then the two boarded the train, the wolf couple watching as it departed a few minutes later.

“There,” Swift-Pad declared, “Go two of the most astounding beings and wonderful friends I have ever had the pleasure to meet.”

To be continued in… Diplomat at Large

A Diplomatic Visit

by Evilhumour

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chpater Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter Twenty Six

Chapter Twenty Seven

Epilogue