Prologue

PROLOGUE

It all began with love.

After the dawn of time, alicorns and mortal ponies lived separate from one another. In the old age, the ponies of the earth below us started out as a very segregated race: greedy, unjust, hateful. The world as we knew it had turned evil and no longer reflected the land it was created to be. Sin was rampant everywhere and love was but a memory rarely spoken of. We alicorns, the immortal and wise race, were disgusted with what the world had become and made our domain in the heavens far above the sky. Granted, our race was not perfect either, but the land below us was shrouded in darkness and hate and we could not coexist with those beings.

The land grew colder, and snowier. The winter season one year did not stop. Spring did not come, instead it continued to snow and freeze all around the ponies’ domain. It was the windigoes, demon equine spirits that feed off of hatred until they become powerful enough to send a storm that would cover the land in eternal winter. The three tribes, earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns, were doomed to die in the cold for their actions. But all was not lost, for a young unicorn wizard in training, Clover the Clever, had discovered the power which can break the curse the windigoes had put upon the ponies. Clover knew the importance of harmony and his magic unleashed a spell empowered by love which drove the windigoes away before all ponies were frozen to death. Once the ice had melted, the ponies had finally realized that all these years were wasted hating one another. From then on, hatred was no longer a part of the pony way. Love was restored and the ponies had finally united in harmony. That is where it all began: with love.

We alicorns looked down on the earth with joy seeing what had happened and saw that it was good. Eventually, we made our decision to descend to the earth below us and live among the mortal ponies. Their love had shown us that they had changed and the land had also changed. We protected the ponies and assisted them with taking care of the land. The seasons came and the winter seasons were no longer unhappy for the ponies had created the Hearth’s Warming holiday to celebrate at that time of the year in honor of the founding of their new country: Equestria.

The land of Equestria grew to be the most beautiful country in the world and blossomed with fertility and happiness. In time, a well-organized regime was formed and the ponies decided to elect an alicorn to be their leader due to their wisdom and longevity. I, Solmidas, was the first of the Alicornian kings to be elected. Throughout the years, I grew and matured and lead my people into a brighter future. I was active in the parliament and used my powers to control the sun while the unicorn citizens would use their powers to control the moon and help build a magnificent kingdom. We formed our first palace on a grand hill with our capital city in front and named it Everfree. It was not long after I was elected that I met my wife, Chernalia, whom, after marrying, became the queen of Equestria and used her powers to control the moon at night giving the unicorns more freedom to work.

For thousands of years, Chernalia and I maintained Equestria with complete balance and the alicorns of the parliament helped us, namely, my old friend, Accord, who believed strongly in harmony and balance. While Accord would make addresses to our people for encouragement, we continued to serve our positions as the king and queen. Accord would have made a fine leader one day, but he insisted that our offspring carry on the burden.

During what most call the Golden Age of Equestria, a time in which the economy was perfectly stable and no battles or wars were present or even foreseen, my wife and I bared our first child: Princess Celestia. A few years later, Celestia gained a sister: Luna. Our daughters were dear to us and we taught them much including how to use their powers to raise the sun and moon. Whenever we were busy with our duties, they would be aided by another teacher: Starswirl the Bearded, who was also the master of Clover the Clever and knew the magic of longevity. In time, Celestia earned her cutie mark after she had discovered her power of raising the sun. Luna still had yet to earn hers at the time this tale begins.

One day Celestia and Luna would lead this country, for my time and Chernalia’s had come to a close. We have lived to see our country grow as beautiful as we had wished and the time had come to pass the crown on. Our daughters would then soon see both the blessings and the curses of leading Equestria. A great test lied before them, something that none could see coming, not even I. Not only would they lead our country, but they would discover the one true power which would continue to save Equestria from the evil to come. Welcome to our world. Welcome to the age of the alicorns.

1. Luna's Test

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CHAPTER 1: Luna’s test

The world around Princess Luna was obscured by her closed eyelids. Darkness was something that never scared her though; after all, she was the princess of the night. All she could hear in the large palace was the voice of the pony in front of her: Starswirl the Bearded. He was the wisest and most powerful unicorn mage in the kingdom and Luna’s best teacher thus far. His gift of immortality allowed him to live on without dying and he had been teaching younglings for centuries by now.

Remaining perfectly calm, Luna’s unicorn horn began to glow with light and was ready to cast a powerful spell. She was in the middle of a very important test of her skills in magic and was more than determined to pass it.

“Now remember Luna, you will not need your eyes for this test.” said Starswirl. “The deepest forms of magic come from within. You cannot rely on vision to help you with such a task because your eyes may deceive you. You must trust your instincts and feel the magic within, and then you can do the impossible. Understood?”

“I understand, Master.” Luna said quietly with her eyes still closed and her horn still glowing.

“Now, with your eyes closed the whole time, reach out with your mind and locate all of the objects I have placed around you.”

Luna had been through similar tests before. She knew that sight may interrupt certain spells especially when a pony was just learning them. Her mind was clear and ready, but she was still having a difficult time finding the objects. She had to concentrate and think about what was around her. She then felt the presence of what seemed to be several small pillars, tables, statuettes, and other pieces of furniture which could be found in the Everfree Palace.

“I have found them master. All of them.” she said determinedly.

“Excellent. Now, remembering what you have been taught about levitation, lift some of the objects with your mind. You need not lift them all, only a few for right now.”

A few of the objects slowly ascended and then stopped. They glowed the same hue as her horn indicating it was now under her control. For a few seconds, Luna kept the objects in midair showing little signs of effort. She had already completed the first part of the test.

“You are doing wonderful Princess.” Starswirl said happily. “Now, lift more objects while keeping the others in the air.”

Luna did it again with ease although lifting more objects required more magic. Her eyes closed harder and her horn shone brighter. The new objects ascended more slowly but they were eventually brought to level with the others. At this point, she had lifted around ten different objects and kept them steady waiting for Starswirl’s next set of instructions.

Meanwhile, at the top of the stairs leading into the palace room stood another princess. This princess was not dark blue like her sister, but white with a mane of pink wavy hair. While Luna had no cutie mark, this princess did: an image of the sun symbolizing her ability to raise the sun to bring about the day. She was Celestia, the princess of light and the first pony to move the sun in ages since her father, King Solmidas.

Celestia was the older of the royal sisters and a very good influence on Luna. She watched her sister with care knowing Luna would do very well in this test. She could still remember when she was learning magic at the same age and not too long after many teachings, she brought the sun up one morning. In time, Luna would be next, but Luna’s goal was to move the moon and be the successor of their mother, Queen Chernalia. That was what Luna was testing her powers for. Although Starswirl was teaching Luna, Celestia would be the one to take her to the eastern shore to where she would bring up the moon. All Luna had to do now was pass this test of magic and they would be off.

Celestia sat herself down patiently waiting for Luna to complete the test. She smiled at the site of her little sister showing so much capability. It reminded her of herself when she was young and just learning her magic. She could tell that Luna would pass this test quite easily for she had always been a very determined young filly and saw failure as anything but optional. She continued waiting as Starswirl spoke to her sister.

“Now Luna, the time has come to lift all objects. Once they are all in the air, spin them counter-clockwise with ease. This will indeed be strenuous but do not lose your concentration.”

“I promise, Master, I won’t let you down!” Luna said with much effort in her voice.

Her eyes were closing quite hard and she was starting to grit her teeth. Suddenly, the rest of the objects moved upward and stood still in midair for a brief second. Luna took a deep breath, puffed up her cheeks, and her horn glowed even brighter as the objects started to turn around her. Starswirl spoke not a word but let Luna do the rest on her own.

The next step was something Luna had already learned: flying while performing magic. Luna opened her wings and started to flap them and was lifted off the ground in no time with all the objects. This of course made it even more difficult to use magic. Nevertheless, Luna did it quickly and almost effortlessly.

Over near the steps, Celestia gazed in awe at her little sister hovering in midair with all the objects spinning around her slowly. She never thought she would see her sister perform such powerful magic at such a young age!

“How’s she doing?” asked a voice from behind.

Celestia turned to her side to see Penelope the little magenta baby dragon who had been raised in the palace by the royals with her brother Perseus.

“Oh, Penny, there you are! I was looking for you earlier to let you know Luna was testing. Where’s Percy?”

“Oh, you know by brother, he’s always late for something…”

Suddenly, a larger blue and green dragon walked in behind Celestia and Penny.

“Hey guys, what’s going on-WHOOOOA!”

One of the pillars Luna was levitating had moved further out and almost bumped into Percy’s head but he ducked below it just in time.

“Percy, get down, Luna means business here!” shouted Penny to her brother.

“Shhhhh, quiet you two…she needs her concentration.” Celestia whispered to them excitedly while watching Luna fly higher and higher with the objects moving at greater speeds.

Starswirl himself was amazed at how well Luna was doing and his jaw remained open and his eyes got wider as Luna rose.

“Shouldn’t she kinda take it slower?” Percy asked Celestia nervously.

“Oh she’s doing fine, I can feel it. She’s got great balance with her powers even when she may look like she’s overdoing it.” Celestia replied.

“This is so awesome!” said Penny; the only one of the trio that didn’t need to duck down due to her size.

Luna rose higher in the room with the objects spinning fast but none of them hit the walls or pillars in the room and Starswirl and the others were out of their way. Finally Luna opened her eyes to reveal they were illuminating with light. This was a sign of great magic being present and Luna had reached the same level Celestia had.

“Oooooooh…” said the dragons with their eyes wide.

Celestia didn’t speak but stared and smiled wide at the sight of her sister.

Finally Luna descended and the objects started slowing down until she was on the ground. The objects finally slowed to a stop, and ended up neatly back where they began. Her eyes were still glowing white and then they returned to normal showing her lovely cyan irises. She stared in empty space for a moment and started breathing heavily trying to regain her composure. She then directed her eyes towards Starswirl who looked very pleased and satisfied with what he had seen.

“Well done Luna! Well done indeed!” he said ecstatically.

“I…I did it?” Luna asked herself out loud as it was so hard to believe what she had just accomplished. “I DID IT!! HUZZAH!!”

The little filly jumped around in circles repeatedly until she noticed her sister walking in with the dragons.

“Luna, I’m so proud of you!” Celestia exclaimed as Luna rushed towards her and wrapped herself around Celestia’s neck.

“DID YOU SEE ME SISTER?!? WASN’T IT AMAZING?!?”

“HORRAY FOR LUNA!!” shouted the dragons coming in next to them and jumping for joy.

“Well Master, do you think she’s ready?” Celestia asked turning to the unicorn wizard.

“Your sister is ready, Celestia.” Starswirl said proudly.

“YES!” shouted Luna jumping in the air with her left front hoof raised.

“She’s going to raise the moon?!” Penny asked.

“She sure is, Penny.” her brother responded. “You wanna go hang out in the tower and watch for the moon to come up later tonight?”

“Do I ever!”

“You two don’t want to come to the shore with us?” Celestia asked them.

“Well, we have a few errands to run while you guys will be gone…” Percy said scratching his head remembering all the work he had to do. “…but I promise we’ll watch for the moon; me and Penny both!”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the whole world!” said Penny putting her hands on her hips.

“Well you two, have a safe trip to the eastern shore. I will notify your parents so they can watch for the moon later.” said Starswirl.

“Thank you so much, Master Starswirl.” Luna said bowing her head to her wise instructor. “I’ll remember everything you’ve taught me and make you proud!”

“Come now Luna, the moon awaits you.”

Celestia walked towards a large doorway between two pillars that lead to a little balcony outside and spread her wings. Luna galloped after her and spread her wings and then they both took off waving their hooves to Percy and Penny who ran out onto the balcony to say bye.

“Have fun Luna!” Percy said waving.

“Yeah, show the moon your stuff!” Penny chimed in.

“Alright now you two; don’t forget your duties for the King and Queen tonight.” Starswirl said behind them.

Percy stared forgetting what it was Starswirl was talking about as usual, but then it came to him.

“OH!! Penny, that’s right, we gotta go get things ready?!”

“Ready?”

“Yeah, you know…that talk that the King said he wanted to have with them after they returned? He wants us to clean up the main chapel where they’ll be!”

“Oh, you mean when they tell them it’s time for-“

“SSHH! Celestia and Luna might hear you!”

“Bro, they’re both flying away now, I don’t think they can hear us…”

“Well, we gotta go anyways. Come on, we don’t wanna be la-“

Not looking where he was going, Percy bumped into one of the pillars Luna left behind and stumbled backwards with his eyes spinning around.

“Uh……who left this darn thing here?!”

“Percy, you klutz, come on!” Penny called back running ahead of him as he waddled off after her and almost tripping over his own feet.

“Be careful you two, don’t make a mess!” Starswirl laughed. “Ah, those silly dragons…”

“How did she do, Starswirl?” said a very poised and dominant voice from behind.

The King of all Equestria, Solmidas, walked in. He was very tall and white with a flowing radiant mane, tail and beard that shone a fiery orange hue. His golden crown and collar glimmered in the light and his royal anklets glistened while moving forward until he stopped walking.

“Solmidas…” Starswirl said bowing his head in reverence. “Your daughter Luna has performed admirably my King. It’s been a long time since I have seen any alicorn do so well at such a young age.”

“I can tell. She is just like her sister: talented and determined. I foresee she will make a very wise and powerful leader one day. And where are Perseus and Penelope?”

“They are preparing the chapel for you and your queen later tonight. I presume Celestia and Luna will take the news rather well.”

“I am sure they will. They have both grown so much over the past few years and I think they are ready now.”

The King looked out to the sky by way of the door, through which his daughters had left. He knew Luna was strong and that she would come home with her mark just like Celestia did a few years ago after raising the sun. And once they returned, it would soon be time for the next step into their lives as royals.

TO BE CONTINUED…

2. The Night Arrives

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CHAPTER 2: The Night Arrives

“Tia, I can’t believe I’m already on my way to raise the moon tonight!” Luna shouted flying next to her sister high above the Equestrian landscape below them.

“Neither can I Luna.” Celestia responded. “It seems like it was just yesterday when I raised the sun and earned my mark.”

“Do you think I’ll get my mark too?”

“I got my mark the first time I raised the sun and I have a feeling you will too.”

“I sure hope I do…”

“You will Luna, I know you will. And don’t feel bad if you don’t get it the first time; you can always try again. I’ll come with you a second time if I have to…”

“No…… there won’t be a second time, I will raise the moon tonight!”

“That’s the spirit Luna!”

“Though I’ll bet I can get there before you!” Luna snickered, speeding up ahead of Celestia.

“Oh, so you wanna race do you?!” said Celestia, diving forward at greater speeds.

“I’ll get you Tia!”

The two royal sisters kept speeding up ahead of each other. They needed to have some kind of fun on the way for it would be another hour or two before they reached the shore before sunset.

By the time the sun was ready to set, they had finally made their way to the shore. The ocean breeze felt good and the sky was clear at the horizon enough for Luna to be able to tell where the moon would be. Just like any shore, the waves were crashing against it but the sisters landed far enough away that the waves would not interrupt Luna’s concentration. They glided down to the sand, landed on all fours, and folded their wings.

“Alright Luna.” said Celestia, “The moon will be up in just a few moments. I’m going to go set the sun real quick and then you let me know once you’re ready to start.”

“Don’t leave me Tia, I want you to be around when I do this.” Luna said worriedly.

“I won’t leave your side Luna, I promise.” Celestia said with a smile while patting her little sister on the head. “I will stay right here and set the sun as quick as I can. If you want, you can watch me to get a little hint of what’s to come.”

“Alright…” Luna sat herself down on the soft sand and Celestia turned to the west with her horn held high. The sun was bright and orange and was barely obscured by some thin stratus clouds in the distance. The beach was so far from Everfree that the palace and tallest mountains were not visible. Although Equestria was a very mountainous country, the only real land formation around was a large cliff to the south of the shore so there was just enough room for Celestia to see where the sun was. She closed her eyes and slowly lowered her glowing horn. Having raised and set the sun for several years, she was very used to this so she did it in no time leaving a beautiful orange sunset sky with just enough light for them to see what they were doing. The sun was already under the horizon and night had just begun. Now all that was left to do was for Luna to raise the moon.

“Done. Now are you ready Luna?” Celestia asked her sister.

“I believe so.” said Luna nervously. She looked a bit worried but then stood up and appeared more determined and serious. She turned herself around, looked at the horizon and closed her eyes.

“Alright…eyes closed. Reach out. Remember what Starswirl said: ‘Concentrate on the moon and nothing else.’ Hopefully this will be almost as easy as lifting many objects like in my test.”

“I’ll be here if you need me Luna. But for now I’ll leave the rest to you.” Celestia said taking a few steps back and sitting down.

Luna stood there with her eyes closed for about a minute in deep concentration. Her horn then began to glow a bluish light producing little sparkles and she opened her lips to show her teeth gritting. Celestia looked out at the edge of the ocean and just started seeing the white sliver in the distance that was the moon. Luna’s horn glowed brighter and a windy effect caused her mane and tail to flow with it. She then opened her wings and started flapping them to move herself up and better control the movement of the moon. She flew up slowly but not very far like Celestia did when she first raised the sun.

Celestia had thought perhaps Luna had it easier since it was cooler weather and there was no extremely bright object in front of you. The moon was also smaller and not as intense and active as the sun was. Celestia could already see that Luna’s progress so far would guarantee her a successful first night of raising the moon.

“You are doing it Luna! Don’t stop now!” she called to her.

Luna gritted her teeth more and started to slowly raise her front hooves. There was more wind in the vicinity, and Luna’s horn was growing very bright lighting up the whole shore in the darkness. By this time, the moon was about half way there. She was flapping her wings faster and the light shone more brightly than ever before.

“She’s doing it!” Celestia said to herself out loud.

Luna kept herself still in midair while finishing the rest. The last bit of the moon finally crept up over the ocean and was in full view. Luna was finished, but her horn kept shining and her wings kept flapping.

“DID I DO IT SISTER?!?!” she called out to Celestia below.

“YES, YOU DID IT LUNA!!” Celestia called back.

Luna then stopped flapping her wings and her glowing eyes opened wide.

“I DID?!?” she said excitedly. She had practically forgotten that she was suspended above the air a dozen yards and slowly started to plummet to the earth below.

“WHOAAAA!!” she yelped.

Celestia didn’t think Luna would forget to keep flying. She immediately got up and started running, but there wasn’t enough time to go catch her as she fell. Luckily the sand was soft enough to give Luna a safe landing. Celestia stopped a few feet away from her and laughed at the site of the little alicorn filly with her face buried in the sand and her legs wiggling.

“Luna, you silly filly! Get up and look behind you!”

“Behind me? OOOOOH!!!”

Luna turned her head around real quick just in time to see her rear end glowing all over and a small burst of light appeared leaving little white crescent moon on both flanks. She smiled with joy and then jumped up in the air flapping her wings.

“HUZZAAAAAAAH!!!! I DID IT TIA!!!”

Celestia was so overjoyed that she couldn’t even respond at the sight of Luna leaping around her in circles shouting the victory chant of olden times.

“HUZZAH, HUZZAH, HUZZAH!!!”

“See Luna?! I told you that you would get your mark! Now we both have our cutie marks!”

“That’s right, the marks have been doubled!!” said Luna turning around admiring her cutie mark again. “Say……it’s not just a moon, it’s……it’s like a black cloud with the moon on it. It’s big too… Wow, it’s almost reaching across my entire behind! Do you see it Tia?!”

“That’s one special cutie mark Luna. It’s even bigger than mine!”

“It is special! I’M SO HAPPY I DID IT TIA!!”

She jumped forward and hugged Celestia by the neck.

“Just wait till Mother and Father hear about this!” Luna said.

“I know, they’re going to be so excited to know we both have our marks now Tia!”

“Well, now that we’re done here, we’d better hurry on back to the palace before they-AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!”

They both looked towards the sea to see a huge wave crashing down on top of them. They had seen it too late to even have time to run away. The wave pushed them off of the sand and sent them tossing and turning through the current until they hit a higher sand bar on the beach, and the wave started to recede. They were covered in water and wet sand and had both their faces implanted in the ground. The sand was so miry that it took a little effort to pull their faces out of it. As soon as their heads came up, they both started spitting and shaking their bodies to rid themselves of the sand.

“BLEH, WHO KNEW THE SHORE DUST TASTED SO DISGUSTING!!” shouted Luna as she began wiping her tongue off with her front hooves. “How did that even happen?!”

“Oh dear…… I’m sorry Luna, I think we both forgot about the gravitational effect the moon has on the ocean. You might have raised it a little too fast.”

“The ocean?!? Oh by the stars I forgot! I’m sorry Celestia…”

“It’s alright Luna, you still raised the moon and you got your cutie mark. Plus, next time you raise it, you won’t have to do it from the shore like this now that you’ve adjusted.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course. Remember what I said: the first time is always the hardest. From now on you can get just enough concentration if you go to one of the upper towers back at Everfree and look out at the horizon. You just do the same as you did tonight and it will be no manner of trouble for you.”

“Oh. Well in that case, I guess I have nothing to worry about. But still, what if there are other ponies on the beach when I raise the moon? I should still be careful, sister. I would hate it if I……uh, Tia? What is that noise?”

“Oh……Luna…I think there is something behind us…”

Behind them could be heard slimy splattering footsteps accompanied by what sounded like strange creatures grumbling. The sisters turned their heads around to find out that sure enough, that is what it was. Several creatures made of what seemed to be seaweed and other ocean-born plants were walking towards them slowly. They had glowing yellow eyes and mouths and had their arms were up above their heads. They clearly saw Celestia and Luna and were heading right for them to attack.

“AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!” they both shouted, jumping up and standing back to back against each other rearing in defense.

“TIA WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?!?” Luna asked.

“I have no idea, but I think now is time for Lesson Twelve!” Celestia told Luna getting down on the ground prepared for battle.

“Lesson Twelve?!”

“Yeah, remember?! Concentrate a burst of magic powerful enough to launch it like a projectile and……OH YOU KNOW WHAT STARSWIRL TOLD US!!”

“Oh, that lesson, right! PREPARE FOR LESSON TWELVE THOU FOUL CREATURES OF THE DEEP!!!” Luna yelled using a magical booming effect in her voice known as the ‘Royal Everfree Voice’.

Luna shot one blast at the monster in front of her and it exploded into smaller pieces in no time at all. Celestia did the same and it appeared their magic blasts were quite effective on these beasts.

“TAKE THAT! AND THAT!!” said Luna shooting several more of the monsters.

“Easy now Luna, we don’t know exactly how powerful these things are!” Celestia said before shooting her next monster.

In just a matter of seconds, all the monsters were down and the sisters stood panting with their horns still glowing.

“Did……we get them all?” Luna asked.

“I……I think we did.” Celestia responded.

“What in Equestria were those things?” Luna asked, looking down at one of the pieces of seaweed in front of her.

“I don’t know, but at least we got them…”

Suddenly, all the remnants started to move and come back to life. They moved all in one direction towards the ocean. The sisters thought perhaps the monsters had not been defeated but scared off, and were heading back to the ocean, but then something worse happened: all of the clumps of seaweed started to form an even bigger monster!

“Uh…Tia…I think we made it angry.” Luna said staring up at the creature that stood about ten feet above them in height.

“LUNA, GET BEHIND ME!!!” Celestia shouted to her sister. She then produced a shield of magic energy to protect them both. This was a spell Luna had not yet learned: the shielding spell.

“GET BACK, GET BACK BEAST!” Celestia snapped at the monster.

The Monster roared at them, causing chunks of seaweed to spew out of its mouth hitting the shield and bouncing off. The shield would more than likely protect Celestia, but the fact that this was a creature she had never seen or heard of made her scared. She thought it might spread to the rest of Equestria.

“SISTER, LET’S GO!” Luna said, pointing inland.

“WE HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO DESTROY THIS THING LUNA, OR IT WILL ENDANGER OTHER INNOCENT LIFE IN EQUESTRIA!!”

Celestia shot her most powerful blast at the monster, causing him to stumble backward but it had little effect and only provoked him further. She slumped down on the ground with exhaust from using too much magic.

“TIA?!? TIA GET UP!!”

Celestia mumbled to herself and could barely stand. She began to open her eyes and looked up to see the monster towering above them with its right arm raised.

“Of course, silly me…” Celestia said under her breath.

Just as the monster was about to strike the shield, it made a painful grunt and its chest lurched forward from some force from behind. A glowing sharp object then protruded from the chest and bursted with light causing the monster to disintegrate into flames. Then there was a large explosion. Celestia had used up a lot of magic, but luckily her shield was just enough to protect them both from the murky shrapnel. They closed their eyes from the brightness of the light and curled up against each other. For a few moments they stayed like that, before both opening their eyes gain. There was still a light shining but it was not from the explosion. It was magical light; the same kind that shone from a unicorn’s horn. The light started to die down to reveal what appeared to be a very tall pony. That sharp object was in fact a unicorn horn, but it belonged to an alicorn, for there were also two wings spread from his back.

The light finally went out, revealing a tall grey stallion with a short black mane cut, an unusually long snout with a white beard, and white eyebrows above his closed eyes. His eyes opened to reveal two dark blue irises. He had a solemn look on his face, but it turned to a warm and friendly smile as soon as he saw the sisters.

They immediately recognized him: he was Accord, the “Keeper of Harmony”. He had been friends with their father for centuries and had served in the courts since before Celestia was born. Celestia and Luna knew him very well, but he had been gone for a few months to take a league of absence. They wondered for so long if their old friend would return, and he was finally there standing before them just as excited as they were.

“ACCORD!!!” the sisters shouted, rushing to him and hugging him by the legs.

“Celestia! Luna! You have no idea how happy I am to see you two!” Accord said happily as he reached down with his head to nuzzle against them affectionately.

“We missed you ever so much!” Celestia said looking up to her life-long friend.

“Yes, the palace hasn’t been the same without you!” Luna said eagerly.

“Oh I know Luna, I feel awful about leaving for so long! I needed to just get away for a while but I really started to miss you girls, the palace, and the work I did. So I decided it was time to return. Of course seeing the two little princesses I love most in trouble required my immediate attention! May I ask what you two are doing out here at the shore any-……Ooooooh.”

Accord looked down to Luna and saw that her flank was decorated with a newly-acquired cutie mark. He suddenly felt even happier to know that this little filly had finally found her special talent as well. He was just sorry that he wasn’t able to take her to the shore this time like he did with Celestia several years ago.

“I see you got your cutie mark Princess! Now both of you are complete!”

“You should have seen me Accord! It was so much easier than I had expected!” Luna said bouncing up and down with excitement.

“Hey Accord?” Celestia asked, “I hate to go off topic but do you have any idea what it was that attacked us there?”

“Sadly I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a foul creature. It could have been anything I suppose, but you know how it is with the sea: there are always mysterious creatures down there. But don’t you two worry, I took care of it and we won’t be seeing him anymore.” Accord explained.

“Oh yes, you were impressive Accord!” Luna replied. “I sure hope I can be just like you someday!”

“I think you both are on your way to being greater alicorns than you ever imagined! One day you will lead our country, and getting your cutie marks is the first step into maturity. Your parents will be so pleased to see you both adorned with the marks of talent. Speaking of which, we should probably be going back to Everfree. It’s getting darker.”

“He’s right Luna. We have so much to tell Mother and Father!” Celestia said, turning to the west to get ready to leave.

“Of course. Oh I’m so happy Celestia! I raised the moon, got my cutie mark, and now Accord has returned! OH MOST WONDERFUL OF NIGHTS!!!” she shouted using the Royal Everfree Voice once again.

“Hehe… Alright now, you silly little princess!” Accord laughed rubbing her head with his front hoof. “Save your energy for the flight home!”

“I’ll be there before you!” Luna teased.

Suddenly Accord dashed off leaving a grayish blur and soared into the air like a falcon.

“I DON’T THINK SO! HAHAHA!” he called back.

“OOOOH, JUST YOU WAIT!!!” Luna said going after him with Celestia laughing.

The three alicorns flew off into the western sky, back to the Everfree Palace to meet with the king and queen and give the wonderful news. Accord himself was very eager to return to the palace he had lived in for so long, and continue his work for the king and for his people. With the two lovely princesses at his side, he continued onward back to his home to start his life over again.

Meanwhile, on the side of a nearby mountain, stood another pony watching them fly away. He wore a dark and tarnished cloak which obscured most of his features, making him appear very mysterious. No doubt he had been watching the sisters the whole time down at the shore, but still preferred to keep himself out of sight. He could have been anypony, but who he was made no difference. A pony as ominous as this one would probably be never welcome in the palace. He spoke with a low and daunting voice as if warning them of something.

“So the princesses have both earned their marks. Should they expect a painless and simple path ahead of them from here on out, it will surely be their undoing. Tread lightly Celestia and Luna, or this kingdom will crumble and you will never be ready for the imminent chaos that knocks on your door…”

TO BE CONTINUED…

3. The Next Step

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CHAPTER 3: The Next Step

It was a few hours after sunset when Celestia, Luna and Accord all made it back to Everfree. The moon that Luna had brought forth that night was high in the sky and shining brightly against the dark. King Solmidas was waiting out on a balcony that faced the east watching for his daughters when he finally saw their silhouettes against the moon.

“Chernalia, they’ve returned!” he called to the queen who was waiting in the room before the balcony.

Queen Chernalia, the lady of the night, daintily stepped out of the room. She was a beautiful tall alicorn mare with a dark blue coat and hair that resembled the night sky with little sparkles glimmering in it as it waved slowly in the air. Unlike her daughter Luna, she had yellow eyes that contrasted well against her darkened appearance. She was wearing her silvery blue royal anklets, collar and crown like her husband and looked rather presentable as the queen. Once she had made it out on the balcony, she stood next to her husband with a warm smile, excited to congratulate their daughter. But one thing caught her attention as they drew closer: a third, much larger, full-grown alicorn.

“My king, who is that flying next to them?” she asked perking up her ears.

“Oh…I don’t think I can tell…” said Solmidas, looking harder into the distance. He squinted his eyes to see until the light coming from the room shone on the mysterious third pony.

“Why, it’s Accord!”

They were so surprised to see their old friend that they nearly forgot about Luna who had just come bounding in on the balcony more excited than she had ever been.

“MOTHER, FATHER, I DID IT! I RAISED THE MOON AND I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!!” she exclaimed, turning to the side to show her new mark.

“Luna we are so proud of you!” said the queen, kneeling down to let her daughter hug her by the neck.

Solmidas then came in to the right next to Chernalia and let Luna hug him with her other front leg.

“I knew you could do it, my daughter!” he told her with gratitude while wrapping his right wing around her. “Now you and Celestia are both ready…”

“Ready for what?” Luna asked looking up at her parents.

Celestia then cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Father, Mother?” she said while leaning her head to Accord, standing right next to her.

Luna stopped hugging the king and queen and hopped away to let them talk to Accord now. Accord tucked one of his front hooves under his chest and stretched the other out while bowing down in reverence to his superiors.

“Majesties…” he said, “I sincerely apologize for my prolonged absence. I felt I needed to be away for a time, but I am very much ready to serve in the courts again. I could never be happier than now to be back in Everfree.”

Solmidas walked over to Accord and spoke.

“Accord, my old friend, I could never condemn you for your choice. Everypony needs a holiday from time to time and I am glad to know you are ready to serve us again.”

“Thank you, my King.” Accord said.

“Arise, my friend.” the king said as Accord stood up.

“We are grateful to have you back in the palace, Accord.” said Chernalia, next to her husband.

Celestia and Luna walked over next to him nuzzling up against his legs and he wrapped his wings around them.

“I too am grateful to be back with the royal family once again. And I am very pleased to present myself alongside these two lovely princesses who now have both their cutie marks.”

“Yes, we are equally proud of both of them.” said the king.

“Accord actually helped us out down at the shore too, Father.” Celestia added.

“Oh yes, we ran into these disgusting monsters that came out of the sea and Accord defeated them for us!” Luna said excitedly.

“Did he now?” said the queen, laughing a little, thinking Luna may have been over exaggerating her story.

“Yes, I was just nearby when I heard the commotion.” Accord told the king and queen. “I have no idea what those things were, but I took care of every single one of them.”

“Oh, my… Well I am glad to know you are all safe. You have my thanks, old friend.” the king said to Accord.

“You’re welcome Sol.” Accord replied with the shortened name by which he had always known the king since they were young. “It’s been wonderful reuniting with you all tonight, but I should go to my quarters now. I am tired from the long journey and I have much prepared for tomorrow, as I plan on announcing my return to the public.”

“Yes, go get some sleep my friend, and thanks again for protecting my children and bringing them home safely.”

“GOOD NIGHT ACCORD!” Celestia and Luna shouted in unison as the wise alicorn flew over to a nearby tower where his room could be found.

“Mother, Father, isn’t this so wonderful?!” Luna said, jumping up and down. “We both have our cutie marks now and Accord is back!”

“Yeah, good things just keep happening today!” Celestia added.

“I am glad he has returned, my queen.” Solmidas said to Chernalia. “I was starting to worry about him.”

“And I as well.” she responded. “I do hope he feels better now. He seemed rather downtrodden when he left…”

“Well he seems to be pretty happy to see us all now.” Luna said. “He has all of us to keep him company after such a long absence.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Father, what was it you said earlier about us being ‘ready’?” Celestia asked.

The king and queen both looked at each other and smiled leaving Luna and Celestia puzzled. They knew there was some kind of surprise.

“Girls, follow us…” said Chernalia as they turned around to leave the balcony.

Celestia and Luna looked at each other, wondering what it was.

“What do you think they want to tell us?” Luna whispered while following her mother and father.

“I don’t know but it sounds like it will be good.” Celestia whispered back.

A few minutes later, the four of them had arrived to a chapel-like hall in the castle, known as the Royal Wing. While the royal throne-room was where the king and queen would usually be seated and political debates and court hearings would be held, this was where very special ceremonies took place. They also kept many decorations, statues and other heirlooms in this magnificent hall. The windows were stained glass and most told stories of ancient pony history in Equestria, like the founding of the land and the crowning of the king and queen, but there were some blank ones that were waiting to be filled. It was night but there were plenty of lit torches to guide the ponies. Percy and Penny were still in there, finishing lighting some of the torches. Percy was holding a small ladder that Penny had climbed up so she could blow fire into a nearby torch to light it.

“Careful now Penny, don’t light the tapestries on fire too!” said Percy.

“I won’t, Bro, I won’t! Move the ladder to the left a little, will ya?” she responded assertively.

“Okay but just be careful with the……OH! Your majesties!” Percy looked to the side to notice the king, queen, and princesses entering, forgot everything he was doing, and bowed politely.

“Percy, what are you….WHOAAAH!!!”

Penny lost her balance and fell down on top of Percy, causing Luna and Celestia to laugh.

“Penny, what was that?!”

“What?! You let go of the ladder! What was that for?!”

Penny then looked forward and noticed the royals were standing nearby, and the dragons both got right back up, brushed the dust off of themselves, and bowed.

“Your majesties, we’re so sorry, we didn’t see you there!” Penny said nervously.

“It’s alright, you two.” Solmidas replied laughing a little. “And don’t worry about that last torch; I’ve got it.”

The king’s horn then lit up and he used his magic to cause fire to appear on the torch like it was nothing.

“OH! Luna, did you get your cutie mark?!” Percy said, nearly forgetting the news for which they had been waiting all day.

“I sure did!” Luna said turning to the side to show them her cutie mark as they both gathered around her.

“Whoa! That is so cool!” Penny exclaimed.

“That’s the biggest cutie mark I’ve ever seen!” Percy added.

“Isn’t it though? It’s a unique mark alright!” Luna said proudly.

“Well hey, Penny and I saw the moon go up a few hours ago in the tower. You did pretty awesome!” Percy said.

“Did you guys also know we met Accord down at the shore?” Celestia said to the dragons.

“ACCORD’S BACK?!” they both shouted in unison.

“Yeah, but you’ll see him tomorrow, he’s asleep right now.”

“Oh boy Percy, I can’t wait to listen to his awesome stories again!” Penny said excitedly to her brother.

“Me neither!” he said, putting his head down to her level and smiling big.

“Alright you two, that will be enough. Go off and get some sleep now.” the queen told the young dragons kindly.

“Yes, Queen Chernalia.” they both said, bowing politely and running off.

Celestia and Luna waved good-bye to them and then turned to their parents to see what it was for which they were now ‘ready’.

“So Mother, Father, what is it you wanted to talk with us about?” Celestia asked.

“Well you two…” said Solmidas, walking further on in the hall towards a little platform in the front. “As you obviously know, both of you have your cutie marks now.”

He then stopped and turned to them with Chernalia by his side.

“Yes?” Luna said.

“And your mother and I promised each other that after both of you had your cutie marks, we would allow you to enter your new teachings.”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other and then back at their parents.

“Which is?” Celestia said.

The king looked at his wife and she gave him a reassuring nod. He then turned back to his daughters to give them the news.

“Celestia, Luna, from this day forth, the two of you will now learn how to rule Equestria, for our time as the leaders is coming to an end. As it has been written by law, you are the heirs and the time has come for you to prepare for it.”
Celestia and Luna’s eyes widened and their mouths dropped.

“After tonight, you will start your lessons on diplomacy and leadership. The next step in your lives as royals will soon begin.” Chernalia added.

“We’re going to lead a country?!” Luna said.

“At this age?!” Celestia said, somewhat perplexed.

“Yes, but that day may yet be a long time from now.” the queen continued. “First you both must have plenty of years of training before you are ready to actually become the leaders. However, after you have completed your studies and trials that your father and I have begun to organize, we can arrange to have you both promoted to being official members of the court. That way you can actually take part in political business and get a feel for leadership.”

“Well girls, what do you say? Are you ready to start your teachings?” Solmidas asked them.

“OF COURSE!” Luna exclaimed.

“Father, Mother, this news is wonderful!” Celestia said, but then her tone turned from happy to nervous. “But are you sure about this? Why now?”

“Why not, Sister? We are going to lead one day after all, right?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“So then now would be a good time to start learning!”

“I know Luna. I’m just a little unsure about both of us doing it this early, even me. Father, do you think we are ready?”

“I think you both are ready to start your teachings.” the king said in response. “You will be ready to lead the country once you have had the experience. In the mean time, I, Chernalia, and the teachers in the castle, including Starswirl, will show you the ways of leading this country.

“Come on Tia, we’ll both do great!” Luna said rushing up to her sister.

“I know Luna, I know… I just can’t help but feel I’m not really ready for the enormities of leading a country…”

“I understand, my daughter.” the king said, putting his hoof under Celestia’s chin and looking at her with an honest face.

“This is something that will be difficult, I know, but your mother and I will be with you and we will give you as much time as you need to study.”

“But Father, what if the trials don’t go as planned? What if we discover we aren’t quite ready? Were you this worried when you first became king?”

“Like all great leaders……yes, I did have my doubts at first.”

The king walked over to his right in front of a stained glass window that showed an image of him in his youth being crowned as king before other ponies of court. This window had been made thousands of years ago and told the story of how he became the king of Equestria. Next to this window were others that went in chronological order telling of the events after the crowning of the king. Solmidas stared at his window for a few moments and then began to sing of his past.

Solmidas:

I remember the days, I raised the sun
Providing warmth and light to the land.
My life was good, though my goals unclear
Until the day my destiny began.

The ever Wise leaders of Everfree
Their ever so thoughtful minds
They chose me to be the new king
A position I never thought was mine.

I was the first alicorn king,
A position deserving of high praise.
But I did not believe I was ready,
For my mind was in a haze.

Even so, the choice was right
For I was wise and thought for others.
And as the King, I cherished the land
Providing home for my sisters and brothers.

Chorus:

Destiny works in mysterious ways
It's not always clear but it shows you the way
If you feel lost and don't know what to do
Follow your heart, for it will guide you.

Sometimes destiny can be changed,
Sometimes the path might seem quite hard
But once you listen to your heart
Your destiny will be clear and you will go far

Chernalia:
I remember the nights, I raised the moon
Providing light and beauty to all.
I was young, thought my path was set,
Until the day my destiny called.

For within the palace of Everfree
Was one both handsome and kind.
From the moment we met each other
He has never left my mind.

But he was King of Equestria
A stallion high above.
I was but a lower class mare
Undeserving of his love.

But then he came to me one day
My feelings he did return.
I became his lovely queen
And one day it shall be your turn.

Chorus:

Destiny works in mysterious ways
It's not always clear but it shows you the way
If you feel lost and don't know what to do
Follow your heart, for it will guide you.

Sometimes destiny can be changed,
Sometimes the path might seem quite hard
But once you listen to your heart
Your destiny will be clear and you will go far

Celestia had listened well while her parents were singing and started to take in what they told her. She knew it was the right choice but she wondered if it was the smart one. Luna then walked up next to her sister to speak.

“Sister?” she asked her. “I’m nervous too you know, but I’ll have you with me so I know I can do it.”

Celestia looked back at Luna, smiled, and wrapped her wing around her.

“And I’ll have you as well, Luna.” she replied.

They both then walked forward to join their parents in song.

Solmidas and Chernalia:

Destiny works in mysterious ways
It's not always clear but it shows you the way
If you feel lost and don't know what to do
Follow your heart, for it will guide you.

Celestia and Luna:

Sometimes destiny can be changed,
Sometimes the path might seem quite hard
But we will listen to our heart
Our destiny will be clear and we will go far

All:

Our destiny will be clear and we will go far

Once everyone had finished singing, Celestia turned to her parents to speak.

“Mother, Father, you are right.” she said as they smiled proudly. “I guess I’m just a little on edge like usual, but this is important for us and important for the kingdom. Luna and I will have to lead someday, so now is the best time to start learning how.”

“That’s it, Sister!” Luna said, nuzzling up against Celestia’s neck. “We’ll both be great leaders!”

The king put his hoof around Celestia while his wife did the same to Luna.

“You girls have gotten quite far and I know you will both turn out to be great leaders one day. We’ll always be here if you need us.”

“Thanks Father.” said Celestia, nuzzling her father.

“Well, it is getting quite late. You best go to bed now, especially you Luna. Remember, you must rise early to set the moon.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Well, to bed I go then!” said Luna, flying off towards the entrance to the Royal Wing and causing both doors to swing open and then close. Celestia giggled at the sight and then turned to her parents one more time.

“Thanks for the encouragement.” she said to her parents. “I promise I will make both of you proud one day. Luna and I will work really hard on our studies.”

“I know you will my daughter. Now off to bed. You and your sister have a big day ahead of you tomorrow morning.” the king told her.

“Good night, Father. Good night, Mother.” Celestia took a bow to her parents and then trotted off to the entrance to go to her bedroom in the royal living quarters.

Chernalia walked over and stood next to her husband. He looked at her and she put her head under his chin and nuzzled with affection while he spoke to her.

“Our daughters are on a bright road, my queen.” he told her. “You and I have had our days as the leaders, but we are growing old in our wisdom. Now is the time to see Equestria move forward into a new age.”

“How long do you think it will be before they are finally ready to be seated on the throne, my king?” the queen asked.

“I’m not sure. It could very well be about a decade until they are actually in our place, but that should give them just enough time to adjust to the tasks they have. Meanwhile, we should help them out as best we can and give them strength. We also have more of an advantage now with Accord back. I’m sure he would be more than happy to assist Celestia and Luna in their teachings and when they rule the country.”

“Majesties…” said the voice of Starswirl the Bearded as he entered the Royal Wing from a side door. “Luna has earned her mark I take it?”

“She has, Starswirl.” Solmidas replied. “She raised the moon and her mark appeared and what’s more is that Accord joined them on their way home. He has returned.”

“I heard you mention that earlier. I am happy to hear this wonderful news. It seems the royal family and all of your subjects and friends are coming together at last to prepare your daughters for their next step.”

Starswirl looked at an empty window in the Wing. This would more likely be occupied one day by an image of Celestia and Luna being appointed the heirs and receiving their crowns. It would not be long until they reached this level of leadership. Even Starswirl knew they would have a difficult journey ahead, but the royal sisters were always resourceful and wise for their age. There was no doubt in the elderly wizard’s mind that they would do it no matter what.

TO BE CONTINUED…

4. A Promise for Change

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CHAPTER 4: A Promise for Change

It was morning in the Royal Wing the next day as Percy and Penny stood in front of the stained glass window to meet their old friend Accord. He could not be seen anywhere but they knew very well where he was hiding. They looked directly at one stained glass window that showed an image of Accord. The window next to him, which was previously blank, was now filled with the still image of Celestia and Luna battling large slimy monsters on the edge of the shoreline. Accord was getting ready to tell one of his stories.

“Accord?” Penny asked, “Is that you?”

“Oh that’s gotta be him!” Percy said excited.

“Percy, Penny…” said his voice echoing through the room. “I’m glad you two are here…”

Suddenly a burst of light came from the stained glass window, and the image of Accord came to life.

“Have I got a story to tell you!” he told them happily.

“Is it how you helped Celestia and Luna down at the shore?!” Penny said sitting down.

“Oh those mouthy little ponies…” he jested, “I hope they didn’t spoil everything for you. But yes, I did indeed help them, and here’s how I did it…”

Accord’s stained glass form then leaped from his window to the one with Celestia and Luna which he had created with his magic. He began telling them his story.

“I was flying around the cliffs nearby and noticed the moon coming up faster than usual. I sensed a great power. That power must have belonged to an alicorn, and I knew right away that it must have been one of the royals. Princess Luna had earned her cutie mark at last; I could feel it. I looked down to the shore to spot the princesses there, but they were in trouble…”

The monsters in the window then became animated and Celestia and Luna began shooting magic beams at them. One by one each monster burst into light and then became a pile of seaweed on the ground. Accord continued narrating.

“They warded off all the monsters to my surprise, but the monsters had one last trick up their sleeve: Those foul beasts merged their powers to form an even bigger one!”

Penny gasped at the sight the larger beast and moved closer to her brother who didn’t seem too happy either.

“I could not let my little royal companions become the wastes of these hideous monsters; action was called for! So do you two know what I did?”

With wide eyes, the dragons shook their heads back and forth.

“Well I did exactly what I do best…”

Accord then flew down behind the monster and gored it with his horn till it stuck out of the beast’s chest on the other side. There was then a burst of light that caused the dragons to close their eyes and look away. When they opened them back up to look at the window, the monster was gone and Celestia and Luna were gathered around Accord jumping up and down for joy.

“And that, my friends, is how I saved the princesses.”

There was another burst of light coming from the ground right in front of the dragons and Accord appeared before them in his true physical form.

“ACCORD!” shouted Percy and Penny as they both rushed over to hug him.

“We thought we’d never see you again!” Penny said wrapping her arms tightly around his leg.

“Yeah, we were worried you would never come back!” Percy added.

“Don’t you two worry; I’m not going anywhere.” Accord said warmly. “I needed a break but I am back to do my sworn duty and today will mark the beginning of a new era; just you wait…”

A guard then entered the room to speak to Accord.

“Senator, the audience has gathered for your address. They await you on the main balcony.” said the guard.

“So be it. Is there a multitude as I requested?” Accord asked.

“Most definitely. Nearly all of the citizens of Everfree have heard of your return and are out there to listen.”

“Thank you, guard. You are dismissed.”

The guard bowed and then went back to his post as Accord walked out of the Royal Wing with Percy and Penny following close behind.

“Are you going to let everyone know you’re back, Accord?” Percy asked.

“Oh they already know that I’m back, Percy. What they need to know is that I am here to stay and that I have plans for the betterment of ponykind.” Accord said.

“It’s good to have you back Accord.” Penny said respectfully as Accord turned and smiled at them.

“And I am very happy to be back here Penny.”

He then turned and opened the door with magic and was escorted by two guards to take him to the balcony.

“Penny, let’s go to the tower to see him give his speech!” Percy said grabbing his little sister by the hand.

The dragons ran off towards one of the back entrances that led to the tower to go watch him. Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna were already in the tower sitting on pillows and staring in amazement at the large crowd that had gathered to listen to Accord.

“So what will Accord be telling them, Tia?” Luna asked her sister.

“Father says Accord will make amends by renewing the city.” Celestia replied. “I’m not entirely sure what he means by that but it sounds like he wants to help out more than he ever has.”

“Whatever he does, he’ll do something very good.” Luna responded happily. “Accord always does what is right.”

“Did he start yet?! Did we miss anything?!” Percy said coming in panting a little with Penny.

“Not yet, Percy. Sit down with us and watch.” Celestia said using her magic to bring in two other pillows for them.

“I’m excited to see what he’ll say to the crowd!” said Penny sitting next to Luna.

“So your parents think you guys are ready to start learning how to lead?” Percy asked Celestia.

“They sure do.” Celestia told him. “Father says we can start our lessons today. Right Luna?”

“Right! And I can’t wait to start!” Luna said tapping her hooves together in excitement.

“That’s awesome! Are you and Celestia going to get your crowns soon?” Penny asked Luna.

“Not sure… but Father said we’ll have a long time before we can actually lead.” Luna replied.

“Shhhh, everyone, Accord’s coming out!” Celestia said as the other three sat still without saying a word.

Back down at the main balcony, guards were surrounding the edge and the crowd was murmuring loudly. Accord could not yet be seen but he was entering as one of the guards stepped forward to introduce him.

“Citizens of the castle town of Everfree, Senator Accord of Equestria has returned from a holiday and requests an audience. He will speak to you now.”

The crowd roared with applause as Accord stepped out of the shadow created by the walls of the balcony entrance and into the light. He put his hoof up and waved to them smiling delightfully.

“Thank you! Thank you all!” he called to them and then gestured for them to quiet down. The applause stopped and Accord cleared his throat to speak to his people in the Royal Everfree Voice.

“Our dearest friends, earth, pegasus, unicorn, and alicorn ponies alike, we cometh to thou this day seeking thy forgiveness for our absence. We hath been apart from thee for far too long. In our solitude, we hath experienced such anguish and sorrow over leaving thy good ponies of Everfree. So much loneliness we hath endured during our holiday; we know we hath made a grave mistake in leaving the palace…”

Accord paused for a moment and looked down. He thought heavily about what he needed to tell everyone; the reason why he was here speaking to them now.

“We left because our thoughts were in a mighty conundrum … saddened for a reason we cannot explain. We felt there was a lack of progress; a lack of responsibility we felt we needed to have. But we, your loving and kind senator and wise alicorn, hath returned and knoweth now what we must do. The ponies of Everfree need to know that they are very much thought of and cared for.”

With both eyebrows lowered and a solemn but just face, Accord turned again to his people and spoke.

“From this day forth, we shall see to it that thine citizens of Everfree…no, all of Equestria, shall be taken care of. The poor shall not be ignored. The village shall be renovated. The market shall flourish. We shall see to it that this strong country will never fall and continue to thrive in beauty and sustenance. If we shall have to even sacrifice our own earnings to do it, then so be it. We are forever in your service and here to enrich thy lives and we shall see to it that all goes according to plan.”

The ponies in the crowd stomped their hooves and shouted “Huzzah” loudly for the senator they loved. Accord’s face then went from solemn to sympathetic. He placed his hoof in the air to quiet the crowd down to speak one last time to them.

“If I may…” he said reverting back to casual speak “I would like to now speak to you all without using the traditional speak…”

The audience quieted down and listened. Whenever Accord needed to talk regularly, he was about to say something important and deep.

“I just would like to let you all know that I am very happy to see you all once again. I’ve been very foolish lately. Honestly, I have. Leaving you all like this? It is my duty to watch after you all and that is what I plan on doing. Now your dear and faithful princesses, Celestia and Luna, are both ready to begin learning what must be done to lead this country next, but I shall help them along the way. Equestria will soon change for the better and I promise to do all in my power to give you all what you need. Mares and gentlecolts…it is a pleasure to be back.”

The ponies once again cheered loudly for Accord as he turned and walked back into the palace where the monarchs and other members of the parliament were waiting for him.

Meanwhile in the tower above, the princesses and the dragons were busy cheering for their friend as well.

“That is our friend Accord!” said Luna stomping joyfully on the ground.

“He’s such a great speaker!” shouted Penny.

“You have no idea…” Celestia said happily looking down at the massive crowd of ponies that were still stomping their hooves on the ground in applause. A few moments later they ceased and started to make their way back to their homes. Some of the ponies in the crowd appeared to be homeless or in poverty. Celestia could only think of how even the needy and downtrodden citizens loved Accord so much. He promised he would help them all out and he was good at keeping his promises. Accord was known for being very selfless and charitable so there was no doubt in the young princess’s mind that he would keep true to his word and help the ponies.

For the first time ever, Celestia envied Accord. She wished she could be as wise and powerful as him. It almost seemed unfair how good of a leader he was and she still had a lot to learn. It was odd how she and her sister were the heirs to the throne and not Accord. Although she supported her parents’ decision to hand over leadership to them, she thought of how much easier it would be if Accord were in her position. He may be a better choice but he could still teach her to be just as wise one day. She let the thought of his superiority keep her going so that she and Luna may learn from him.

“Sister?” Luna asked putting her hoof on Celestia’s hoof. “What ails you?”

“Oh, it’s nothing Luna.” Celestia said trying to shrug off her thoughtfulness. “Just happy to have him back I suppose. Well, anyways, you and I have a lot to get done…” Celestia said stepping off of her pillow.

“Oh yes, how could I forget that the lessons begin today?!”

“Well, then what are we waiting for? We best go see mother and father right now and start our work!”

Celestia and Luna both took off flying from their tower and towards the Main Court where their parents were waiting for them.

“And we have some errands to run today Penny.” Percy told his sister.

“Oh right!” Penny said jumping off of her pillow to stand back on the ground. “Tia and Luna have a lot of papers they’ll be getting and we gotta bring them in for the professors and stuff!”

“Right, so let’s hop to it!”

Percy and Penny then ran down the spiral staircase to go see the professors where they would instruct them on today’s errands.

Meanwhile, Solmidas and Chernalia were speaking with Accord in the Main Court before the princesses arrived to begin lessons.

“Accord, I’m proud of you for the speech you gave to our people today.” the king said to his old friend. “You give them hope as always and it is very generous of you to set aside some of your own wages to help them out.” Solmidas said.

“Well my wages are as great as any senator in your courts my king, and poverty still exists so I hope I can balance things out. It’s better to be generous and poor than to be selfish and rich.”

“Do you really think poverty is a tremendous problem in this city Accord?” the queen asked a bit worriedly.

“Oh no, not a tremendous one; not at all, my queen. You are both doing a good job of keeping things in order and the economy stable, but I want every pony to feel equally treated. Plus, I don’t think it’s poverty that is the problem here…”

The king and queen glanced at each other somewhat puzzled by Accord’s words. What did Accord mean when he said that he didn’t think poverty was the problem? Was there something that they had both neglected doing that only he could see?

“It’s a long story…” Accord continued, “…but fear not, I will take care of everything once the courts are in session in a few moments.”

Celestia and Luna then entered the main court through a side door. With Celestia saying “AHEM.” the three alicorns turned their heads to see both of them smiling and ready to begin their studies.

“Well, I’ve done my part, but you two have more important matters to attend to so I’ll leave you to your daughters now. Teach them well.” Accord said gladly stepping aside.

“Thank you, senator.” the queen replied.

“Mother, Father, is it time?” said Luna walking in with her sister.

“It is time, Luna.” the king said to her.

“Are you girls ready then to begin your lessons?” the queen asked her daughters.

Celestia and Luna then both looked at one another with confidence and gave nods of approval.

“We are ready.” they said in unison.

The king and queen then walked towards a door that lead to the educational center of the palace where they would begin training.

“Then follow us.” said the king. “We’ll show you the learning quarters over in the educational center and the instructors you will be seeing.”

“Can you believe it sister?!” Luna said to Celestia. “There are some rooms back here that we have never been in before!”

Celestia giggled.

“Ah, or maybe some rooms that YOU haven’t been in but I have, little sister…” she teased.

“HEY!”

Accord stood proudly next to Starswirl watching the royals make their way to the educational center.

“Do you think their studies will go well Starswirl?” Accord asked the unicorn wizard.

“It will take some time but they will get there, my friend.” Starswirl replied. “In all the years I’ve trained them, they haven’t let me down and they have always been able to get through the toughest of situations I’ve seen.”

“I just hope they are prepared for the challenge, they are still quite young.”

“True……but the King seems to think they are ready though. Besides, it will be a while before they can actually lead. Lessons do come first after all.”

“Yes……I can still remember when Sol was asked to lead. It was different with him though; he had been around for a couple thousand years and knew enough about politics and diplomacy to do it.”

“You will be there for the princesses as you were there for the king in your youth, Accord. You can help them. I meanwhile will do my best to help them.” Starswirl said.

Accord turned to Starswirl to speak.

“You’re right. I will always be here to teach them. I just hope I have the time to. These next few months may be rather busy for me and I hope I can persuade the other delegates with my plans.”

“You’ve been a good help to the royal family, Accord.” Starswirl told him. “I’m glad you are back here and are ready to help the kingdom.”

“Thank you Starswirl. Now if you’ll excuse me, there is an entire courtroom of senators waiting for me to get back to work…” Accord said walking off to see some of the other senator ponies who started entering the Main Court.

“Good luck, old friend.” Starswirl told him.

Starswirl watched as the wise old senator started greeting some of the other senators. They were all very glad to meet him and were even happier about the speech he had just given.

He could tell that there was a big change in Accord. The last time he had spoken with him, he seemed very saddened by something but he appeared to have come back to his senses now. It was a somewhat sudden change, but at least he was himself once again. In all the years Starswirl had known him and taught him powerful magic, he had no doubt Accord was still a pony of his word and would live up to his name.

Besides the good news of Accord returning, Starswirl was more eager for the princesses. They were growing up so fast and already starting lessons on diplomacy, history, and more. It seemed time had passed so quickly since Celestia was born. The thought of the two precious daughters of Solmidas and Chernalia moving on with their lives caused a warm feeling to come over his heart.

Starswirl turned back to the corridor and took a small pan flute out from underneath his robe. He began playing an ancient melody of the time in which Equestria was founded: a magical melody from a song they wrote one Hearth’s Warming Day but was usually played all year long in Everfree. It was a song of joy that the ponies would sing during very happy and successful times and Starswirl found this day to be the perfect day to be playing it. The halls quietly resounded with the music from his flute as he continued walking through the castle.

TO BE CONTINUED...

5. We Must Negotiate

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CHAPTER 5: We Must Negotiate

The next few weeks started out rather well for Celestia and Luna in the educational center. They were kept busy and given all sorts of assignments and studies based on history and diplomacy. Their instructors were strict but fair and had much background knowledge on each subject. Most of them were alicorns who had been around for a while and thus had personally experienced some of these famous historical events, making them the best teachers the princesses could possibly ask for.

Every morning would start out with diplomacy lessons followed by history, all in addition to any other lessons they had had before like mathematics, science, and literature. Starswirl taught them magic lessons in the late afternoon as always, but felt he also needed to quiz them on diplomacy every now and then, to help out with their lessons to become monarchs one day.

“Now then, are both of you feeling up to the best of your ability in diplomacy?” he asked them one day after magic lessons.

“Well I won’t lie when I say it is tough, Master Starswirl.” Celestia told him. “In fact I think right now it’s the most demanding class I have but it is interesting. Right Luna?”

She looked over to Luna who was trying to practice a spell to summon fire to light a nearby torch.

“Tia, you make this look so easy!” Luna grumbled.

“That’s because I move the sun day-in and day-out you silly filly! I’m used to engulfing my magic around it.”

“I know but I should at least be able to create flame! Mother can do it and she doesn’t even move the sun!”

“Relax Luna, relax.” Starswirl laughed. “You will have plenty of time to figure out the flame-summoning spell. What is more important right now is your diplomacy studies. How are you with them?”

“Diplomacy studies?” Luna stopped trying to cast her spell and then turned to speak.

“Well I think of them much the same as my sister, Master, but what I love most is that Father and Mother trust us enough to take these classes, even though I am far younger than Celestia.”

“You’re not that much younger Luna.” Celestia said nudging her little sister with her hoof while walking by. “Mother and Father trust us after all we’ve been through and we do both have our cutie marks so it’s a sign that we’re ready, even you when you’re so young.”

“The King and Queen are vast in their wisdom, you two.” Starswirl continued. “I believe they have chosen wisely to start training you this early. I started learning my magic when I was a child and anypony is capable of learning at such an age, especially if they have a love for knowledge. I could always tell you both have a love for knowledge. That is why I know you can pass these tests very easily.”

“How long do you think it will take though, Master?” Luna asked.

“Well…… it is not such a good thing to try and guess how long things may take, young one, but this wizard does like to estimate every now and then.” Starswirl sarcastically said sitting down next to Luna while Celestia stood nearby looking at some stained glass windows. “Frankly, Luna, I cannot say exactly how long and I’m not sure I want to. I could say it would be long or say that it would be short and knowing me I would probably be right either way considering I am somewhat of a part-time prophet……but I’m getting off-topic. One thing I do know is that if it does take a while, you must never grow impatient. Both of you are immortal and therefore have plenty of time to think things through.”

Luna looked down as if thinking hard about what he just said. “That’s true. Well I think it will pay off…… but what do you think Master?”

Starswirl smiled and chuckled with his bearded lips closed. The little filly had so many questions.

“Of course, little princess of the night, of course. They will all pay off in the end regardless of how long it takes, you will see.”

Celestia had been listening to them while staring at the stained glass window but decided it was time to start talking.

“Well Luna…” she said turning around and making her way to a nearby door. “I think you and I have bothered Starswirl long enough. Let’s go get something to eat with mother and father.”

“Bothered?! Starswirl, have we really been bothering you?” Luna asked her master.

Starswirl chuckled again, this time with more emotion.

“Luna, my little royal friend, if you spend your days taking what your older sister says too seriously you will certainly never grow out of your studies. Now off to dinner with you!”

“Oh, alright fine. Wait for me, Tia!” Luna got up and galloped after Celestia who had made her way into a corridor on the side that lead to the Royal Diner.

“That little filly is so determined and full of spirit.” Starswirl said under his breath while taking out a smoking pipe with his magic. “I just hope she doesn’t lose sight of her true duties one day……or either of them for that matter. Oh, Starswirl, you old fool, what are you saying?” he chuckled again. “These are the princesses we are talking about. With just enough training, they are sure to get it right…”

A few minutes later, Celestia and Luna joined their parents and the dragons for supper. Although it was custom for the royal family to eat at their own dinner table, the dragons were considered a part of their family so the king always allowed them to eat with them and had no problem with letting them have some gems, for it was a dragon’s ‘delicacy’. The dinner table was long and could fit more ponies, but the empty seats were for special guests, usually delegates of the senate or honored members in the palace like Accord or Starswirl. They had prepared Celestia’s favorite dinner: eggs with wheat toast and freshly picked rose petals. The dessert was diced fruit in a sweet creamy pudding which was Luna’s favorite meal. Of course her favorite meals were always the desserts. While eating, the royals would usually discuss their day and how well things were going for each in the castle.

“Celestia, Luna, how were your lessons today?” Chernalia asked her children.

“Oh grand as usual, Mother!” said Luna with a little bit of some egg yoke on her lip that she did not notice.

The queen laughed a bit.

“Luna, let me get that for you…” she said using her magic to wipe Luna’s lips with her napkin. “So you say the lessons are ‘grand’? Well I’m glad to know. Celestia usually tends to put emphasis on how difficult they are.”

“Mother…” Celestia said just finishing swallowing her food. “…of course they are difficult, but that doesn’t mean I hate them!” She then calmed herself down, closed her eyes and sat upright to start speaking more well-mannered at the table. “What I’m saying is that I think they are difficult, but I like them for that. It gives me a challenge and it prepares me for the day when I’ll rule Equestria by my sister’s side.” She looked across the table at her sister proudly and Luna smiled.

“I like your thinking, Celestia.” Solmidas said to his daughter. “You have the same confidence I had when I was your age.”

“I dunno, your highness…” Percy said from his seat. “I think Celestia’s kinda worried about the big exam!” he said jokingly.

“OH!” Celestia said putting her hoof to her chest. “I beg your pardon Perseus, but I am NOT worried about the exam. How could I be worried about it anyway? We haven’t even decided on what the exam is yet.”

“That’s right, Percy!” Luna shouted to the teenage dragon munching on a large sapphire stone. “Father is the one who gets to decide what our exam will be!”

“Luna…” said her mother motioning for her to not be so loud.

Luna put her hooves over her mouth and then started talking again but softer.

“His royal highness shall decide on the exam.” she said with etiquette.

Meanwhile, Penny was stuffing herself with handfuls of smaller gems and talking at the same time.

“So what kind of exam will it be exactly?” she said with her voice muffled by the gems in her mouth.

“Father says it won’t be a written test.” Celestia answered. “The exams in diplomacy lessons are usually more like assignments where we actually have to go on some kind of diplomatic mission. Right, father?”

“That is correct my daughter.” the King answered her. “Although those sorts of exams are usually difficult for us to find, due to the fact that the kingdom is in peace. However…”

Everyone in the room except for the Queen perked their ears up in surprise at what the King was about to say. Chernalia already knew what he meant. The king continued speaking.

“…there is one little problem we’ve encountered recently with that…”

“A problem? Is everything alright, Father?” Celestia asked concerned.

The king would always try his hardest to not bring up political matters at the dinner table but now that Celestia and Luna were in preparation for such a thing, he decided to answer any questions they had about it and this particular matter was very important. He took a quick glance at his wife who was drinking out of her goblet. She put it down, took a napkin to her lips, and nodded to him. He then turned back to his daughters and the dragons who were eagerly awaiting his response.

“Well girls, you see, here in Equestria, we are not the only race that lives under my rule. You are well-aware of the Griffon Province, correct?”

“Of course.” Celestia nodded.

“The Griffons? You mean the creatures that you say are half eagle, half lion?” Luna asked.

“Those are the griffons, my daughter. The griffons have lived under my rule for centuries and have always been happy with how things are. They are not their own kingdom. They are simply a province situated in the northern mountains. They make their trades with us, pay their taxes, and receive all the benefits of citizenship that our pony subjects do. They too are my worthy subjects, but sadly the leader of the griffons, General Leogle, has not been following my orders as of lately.”

“Not been following your orders?” Celestia asked worriedly.

“Why not?” Luna asked.

“I am not entirely sure what is wrong with him, but lately he has ceased forwarding to me the tax revenue from the Griffon Province. He sent a letter saying that he feels the griffons need to start looking out for themselves. I sent a reply reminding him how both regions have prospered thanks to our union and if he ever has any political or economic grievances, he can express them in a rational diplomatic fashion, but despite my efforts, Leogle seems to be determined that they can take care of themselves and don’t need me. I haven’t been able to get back to him ever since and we haven’t actually seen each other in person on this yet.”

Solmidas used his magic to move his plate out of the way and a servant pony quickly came in and took it away to be washed. He continued staring at the table while thinking heavily. He spoke with a somber and worried tone as if something terrible was happening and Celestia and Luna continued to listen with concern.

“I’ve been friends with the general ever since he was young and have always admired his courage and leading qualities, but he has never defied me like this before. He seems to want to be his own leader now but I fear that if he forms his own kingdom for just the griffons, both races will fail to see the importance of our coexistence and equality. Equestria has always been a land of equal opportunity for all sentient beings. I would do anything to keep it from being divided by racial tension.”

“And you want us to go and negotiate with the general, Father?” Celestia asked him.

“I have put some serious consideration into making that one of your exams. It has become an issue that needs to be resolved and if you two are able to persuade Leogle into paying the Griffon Province’s taxes again and respecting my rule, then that will be enough to count for several projects and you will be even closer to being appointed to the parliament one day.”

“Tia, did you hear that?!” Luna said excitedly. “Father needs us to go on a very important mission to make peace with the griffons! You can bet we are ready for the assignment, Father!”

“Hold on a minute, Luna...” Celestia said stopping her sister. “Father, do you think Leogle will listen to us? I mean, is he approachable? We have never met him after all.”

“In all the years I’ve met Leogle, he’s been a tough commander and a little rough around the edges, but when dealing with me or any of the members of parliament, he’s well-mannered and respectful.” her father explained. “I couldn’t see him being rude to either of you two. He’s not harsh around children, especially not females. I think he must have a problem with me or the government, but I’m sure he will be respectful to both of you. That is why I think sending you two in to negotiate with him is a good idea.”

“I am ready to do it!” Luna said, determined. “How about you, sister?”

“Well I don’t see any trouble in going to the Griffon Province to meet with him.” Celestia said pushing her empty plate aside. “When do you need us to go there, Father?”

“The time will come soon.” the king answered. “As I said, I haven’t heard back from him since, and he hasn’t replied to any more of my letters. I think it would be best if you and Luna finished your current unit of studies first, and practice harder for negotiating.”

“Negotiating is something we’re quite good at, isn’t it Luna?” Celestia said with confidence.

“Oh yes, the instructors are good at doing it...” Luna said nodding. “…and they are good at teaching us how to do it.”

“Do you think they are ready, My King?” Chernalia said to her husband while the princesses continued talking with each other.

“I think they are ready, Chernalia.” he answered her. “Leogle hasn’t been himself but I have a feeling that he will listen to the children. He has always had a very soft heart when it comes to children and if we approach this with persuasion, I am sure it can work.” the king then turned to Celestia and Luna. “Do you hear that, girls? Persuasion.”

“Persuasion. Got it!” Luna said nodding energetically.

“We’ll be persuasive as we were always taught, Father.” Celestia responded, taking one last sip of juice out of her personal goblet. “I think this mission will be a wonderful way to start off with practicing our diplomatic capabilities!”

Suddenly a messenger pony rushed in to speak to the king. He walked over and whispered something in his ear and then left. King Solmidas’ face turned rather somber once again for it was not such good news.

“What is it, Your Highness?” Percy asked putting her gems down.

“My messenger just told me that Leogle has officially called off all trading with Everfree. As a result, all diplomatic relations are completely severed. This does not bode well.”

“What?!” Celestia said, nearly dropping her goblet.

“How can he do such a thing?!” Luna said angrily.

“Luna, remember: persuasion.” Chernalia reminded the little filly.

“I’m sorry mother, but this just doesn’t seem right of a respected general under Father’s rule to do.”

“Well Luna, you and I should practice as hard as we possibly can for when we negotiate with General Leogle.” Celestia said with determination in her voice.

“Are you two sure you are willing to go negotiate with the general though?” the king asked them. “I am beginning to wonder if perhaps it is too dangerous to go there.”

“No Father, we can do it.” Luna said assuredly.

“I have to agree with Luna on this, Father. I think we can get the general to listen to us with just enough persuasion.” Celestia added.

“Well, if the two of you feel you are up to it, then I trust both of you and I’m sure that no harm will come out of it.” the king said with relief in his voice.

“We will not let you down, Father!” Luna said proudly.

TO BE CONTINUED…

6. Meeting with the General

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CHAPTER 6: Meeting with the General

For the next fortnight, Celestia and Luna both spent hours studying diplomacy skills for the upcoming negotiation exam. The instructors quizzed them vigorously and Starswirl spent more time helping them to practice it. Several senators even volunteered to practice with them while pretending to be General Leogle. Before long, both of the young princesses had very keen memories on diplomacy and impressed both their instructors and their parents. After a final lecture from their head instructor one morning, they were finally ready to visit the Griffon Province and do their duty. After lunch, they both went out to the balcony of the royal living quarters joined by the dragons to bid their parents farewell. Percy, as a messenger, was to give news of the negotiations to the senate later that day, and Penny, of course, tagged along.

“So you ready to see some griffons, Penny?” Percy asked his little sister.

“Sure am! I hear they’re tough and don’t take guff from anypony!” Penny said energetically.

“Well we won’t have to worry about how tough they are today, Penny.” Celestia reminded. “This is supposed to be a peaceful negotiation after all and father says Leogle is easy around children.”

“Well I haven’t met the general yet but a lot of the senators do say he’s pretty nice.” Percy replied. “I’m sure whatever problem he has lately can be solved with a little talk from you guys.”

“We’ve been studying for a while but I’m sure we can tackle it. Right Luna?” Celestia asked her sister but Luna was surprisingly starting to nod off.

“Luna?!” Celestia said louder.

“OH! Well pony-feathers!” Luna said under her breath. “Hold on everyone…”

She then squinted her eyes and her horn glowed and she used a little spell that Starswirl taught her that would keep her awake if she were ever too tired during the day. With a quick little burst of bluish magic from the tip of her horn her eyes opened with a glowing light. She was fully awake once again.

“I’m sorry Tia, it’s just having to stay up later to raise the moon and then having to get up earlier to lower it keeps me from getting sleep sometimes.” she explained.

“You have to learn to get used to your new sleeping schedule, Luna.” Celestia said putting her wing around Luna. “You’ll adjust soon. Just be sure to not fall asleep during negotiations, alright?”

“Celestia? Luna?” said the king as he entered the balcony with the queen by his side. “Are you both ready now?”

“We’re ready, Father.” Celestia told him.

“All four of us are.” Luna chimed in with the dragons walking in closer to the princesses.

“Just remember everything you have been taught, girls.” he reminded them. “Be kind and courteous and let Leogle know that we are willing to solve any problems in a peaceful diplomatic manner.”

“Should we let him know we’re doing this for a grade?” Luna asked.

“It may be better to not tell him about your classes.” the king said with thought. “Just act as ambassadors and tell him that you are both very much qualified for negotiating with him.

“You have our word for it, Father. We won’t let you down.” Celestia said bowing to her father.

“Don’t forget this, my daughters: persuasion is always better than force.” The queen told them as they were turning to fly off the balcony.

“We won’t forget, mother.” Luna called back. “Farewell!”

“Farewell, children!” the king said. “And Percy, you take good care of them!”

“You can count on me, Your Highness!” Percy replied.

Celestia and Luna spread their wings, crouched down, and leaped off the balcony while flapping. Percy began to flap his green dragon wings and flew right over Penny and picked her up gently to carry her, since she didn’t have wings yet. The four of them were now airborne and off to the northern mountains to meet with the griffons for the first time.

The king and queen stared off into the distance as their daughters and the dragons got further and further away until they were just little specks in the sky.

“Are you worried at all for them, my King?” Chernalia asked her husband.

“I don’t think so.” he replied. “I still don’t know what is wrong with Leogle but I know he would never show any scorn to my daughters. I’m sure it’s a minor problem and regardless of how long it takes, we can solve it. I only hope that they have as much faith in themselves as I have in them.”

About an hour later, the princesses and their two dragon companions were soaring through the sky off to their destination in the Griffon Province.

Celestia was nervous about the negotiations but at the same time excited to finally be doing something so responsible and for the good of her people. She felt even closer to being a leader of a kingdom. Luna, of course, was just as confident and proud of herself and excited to finally be seeing griffons. In their hearts, they knew everything would turn out well and they would have no trouble talking to Leogle.

“You guys nervous about this?” Percy asked while carrying his sister who was eyeing the scenery below.

“Nervous but not scared, Percy.” Celestia called back. “I’m not one bit scared. I actually think this will all turn out wonderful.”

“I think the general will listen to us very well and we’ll all go home with good news.” Luna added. “Father described him as a very good griffon and I’m sure he’ll be very nice to us all.”

“I just hope this doesn’t take forever.” Penny said. “How long do you think it will take?”

“Probably not that long, Penny.” Celestia answered. “It could be an hour or so. We might even have to come back another day to complete the negotiations. Perhaps Leogle will need some time to think after today’s discussion and then he’ll start forwarding the taxes again later. Either way, no matter how long it takes, I’m going to make sure he at least considers the consequences of what he’s done, but I have to remember what mother said: Persuasion is better than force.”

“Tia, look!” Luna shouted as she pointed to the mountains.

They came to a spot in the mountains where there was a huge semi-circular horseshoe-shaped cut in the middle of the cliff. The main town for the Griffon Province was actually in the valley below the cliff full of houses and fields for harvesting. There were some griffons flying around transporting food and goods to the caverns above which was undoubtedly the griffons’ ‘castle’. This area was where King Solmidas said the political figures and soldiers lived and that must have been where Leogle was.

“This is it, everyone. This is the Griffon Province!” Celestia said.

“Alright, we made it!” Penny shouted.

In a few moments, they were already in the center of the U-shape and flew in towards a smaller triangular cliff jutting out right in the middle which lead to the front entrance. They landed on the smaller cliff and tucked their wings in. Percy set Penny on the ground and they took a moment to catch their breath from all the flying they did. Three griffons flew in overhead towards the entrance and one of them started walking towards the princesses and the dragons. They were all wearing armor and helmets and two of them had long spears. There was no doubt these were guard ponies and were doing their jobs as guards, although they seemed rather serious at the moment.

The first griffon, who must have been the captain of the guard, stopped in front of them to speak. He was tall and fearsome and had brownish lion fur on his back legs along with a lion’s tail and the front legs, wings, and head of a mighty bald eagle. He wore a shiny metal helmet with the faceplate pushed up and a breastplate adorned with the Griffon Province symbol in red.

“What business do you children have in the Griffon Province?” he asked them sternly.

Celestia, stepped forward with her sister and did the speaking.

“Greetings. I am Princess Celestia of Equestria. This is my younger sister, Princess Luna, and this is Perseus and Penelope. They’re our dragon friends here to assist us.”

The dragons waved and smiled as Celestia continued to speak.

“We’ve been sent by my father, King Solmidas, to negotiate with the griffon general, Leogle, on recent diplomatic issues. We request to see your general as soon as possible, sir.”

“You are both the daughters of the king?” he asked.

“We are, sir.” Luna said politely.

“I see.” the captain replied. He didn’t even smile once and didn’t seem in the mood for much conversation. Nevertheless, he continued to speak. “Lord Leogle suspected we might be getting a visit from pony diplomats soon……though he did not expect to be seeing children.”

Celestia and Luna’s grins curved down at the thought of the comment. Why would a guard under the command of a respected general choose such rude words? Of course it was unusual to see young ponies act as diplomats but they both expected to be greeted with courtesy being the royal princesses of Equestria.

“Follow me.” the captain said turning around toward the entrance.

Celestia and Luna glanced at each other quickly and then did as the captain said and followed him into the griffon domain. Percy and Penny followed close behind.

The two guards next to the entrance opened the large doors and the five of them walked down a long corridor inside the cliff-side castle. They came to another set of large doors that two more guards opened leading them through a series of cylindrical rooms and stairwells. It got darker as they went deeper into the mountain but there were torches lit everywhere. However, the atmosphere of this place seemed rather negative and not what the princesses and dragons expected it to be. Every so often they would come by other guards who also looked very serious and not ready to make any friends. A few other griffons who weren’t guards but were garbed and robed, walked by who must have been various senators and diplomats. These griffons should have been sent to the king for negotiations once Leogle began all his misdoings, but remained inside the province. They appeared very glum and downtrodden and some didn’t even look at the visitors or ever smile once.

“Tia?” Luna whispered to her sister. “This isn’t exactly what I was expecting the griffons’ castle to be like.”

“I know Luna.” Celestia said nervously. “But we have to just keep our heads. Not everything in Equestria can be as nice-looking as Everfree you know. I’m sure the general will change our minds.”

“Well…” Percy said out of the side of his mouth to Penny while keeping his head down a bit. “I was kinda hoping for a friendly ‘Hi’ or ‘How are you?’ every now and then from one of these fine-feathered felines but so far I gotta say I’m a little disappointed…”

“I’ll say…” Penny replied. “…’specially the captain of the guard. Must’ve woken up on the wrong side of the nest…”

In just a few minutes, they went down one last corridor and the doors opened up to what appeared to be a throne-room with a chair in the center. No one was in the chair but there was a much larger and darker-looking griffon pacing about with his back turned to them. This had to be the general.

“Lord Leogle…” the captain said while bowing and stepping to the side. “The princesses of Everfree and their……dragon friends would like to speak to you on diplomatic matters if you please.”

General Leogle turned around to face the diplomats and just like everyone else in the province so far, he too wasn’t exactly what they expected. Unlike most of the other griffons, he had the head of a very dark eagle with black feathers and darker brown fur. He wore similar armor but a Trojan-styled helmet setting him apart as the general. He stood nearly a foot taller than the captain was and very imposing. His irises were red while his left eye had a scar and he had a hard time keeping it open all the way. Just like every other griffon in the castle, Leogle neither smiled nor said anything very polite upon seeing visitors. They never even got a proper greeting from the renowned general of the Griffon Province. He began to speak with a low and somewhat raspy voice to the girls.

“So you are the so-called diplomats that old King Solmidas has sent…” he said.

“We are, General Leogle, sir.” Celestia said bowing politely.

“It is a pleasure to get to meet you, General.” Luna said bowing in unison along with the dragons.

“Indeed it is.” the general replied with sarcasm. “So tell me, why exactly has the king sent in children to do his work? Also, what are these dragons doing here if I may ask?”

“They are our friends.” Celestia answered. “That’s Perseus and his sister Penelope but they go by Percy and Penny. Percy came because he’s a messenger for my father and needs to report on the results of our negotiations, and he brought his sister along.”

“We……really like traveling.” Percy said nervously while his sister nodded.

“And Celestia and I are in training to become the next leaders and……um….my father says that we are qualified as diplomats to speak with you on the matters.” Luna said being careful to not tell about their exam.

“So the king relies on children and dragons now. Interesting. Well, if I must communicate to him through you then so be it. What exactly does the king have to say?”

“Well, first of all, my father is just wondering why you have cut off all diplomatic relations with the Everfree council and why you’ve stopped forwarding the province taxes.” Celestia said with poise, after having practiced saying it many times.

“Ah, so he’s caught along after all.” Leogle replied. “I already received a letter from him saying that he wishes for me to return to the way things were because he fears for the stability of his government which he believes “all peaceful sentient beings of Equestria” represent. I simply am cutting myself off from the Equestrian government and wish to help form our own. Does your father have a problem with this?”

“Is there a reason for your actions, General......if I may ask?” Celestia said carefully.

The general took a moment to think and then continued.

“You see, girls, your father and I have known each other for quite some time. When I first met him, I thought it was a wise and trustworthy king I was talking to, and I continued to live under that impression. You both must understand, however, times are changing.”

He then turned around and paced while talking to the girls.

“Griffons and ponies have always lived in peace, and the griffons have been under the rule of the king all this time because they have feared him through the ages. Your father is an alicorn overlord with vast powers and rules with an iron fist…or rather hoof. It is to be expected that anyone who defies him would be met with terrifying consequences given that he is both the king and quite possibly the most powerful being of the land.”

Celestia had a very confused look on her face at what the general said while Luna looked like she was about to get angry.

“Uh……General, you make it sound as if our father is a tyrant.” Celestia pointed out.

“Well forgive me for showing a little too much honesty in such an honest negotiation but your father is a tyrant if you think about it.”

These words struck both the princesses into a state of disbelief and Luna looked as if she was about to lose her temper. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out for fear she would say something she would regret. Celestia spoke instead to try and get the general to understand.

“General, if I may insist, my father never intends to do anything that could possibly label him a tyrant. I’ve known him all my life and I’ve been studying how he runs the government, and I can say with full confidence that he is fair and just and cares for all races in this country.”

“My sister speaks the truth.” Luna added. “He’s not a selfish king.”

The general came closer to them and glared at Luna. He now spoke with a somewhat angrier tone.

“You would like to think so, wouldn’t you, little princess of the night. Of course you would believe things like that just because he’s your father and he treats you lovingly and has raised you with the help of your mother. But neither of you would know the extent of what he has done to the griffon race because you are both children and you do not understand the enormities of politics and diplomacy and anything else of the sort.”

The general started pacing again while ranting about the king. The more he talked, the angrier his tone became.

“We griffons are a strong and mighty race that has withstood much over the years. Your father has counted on us for centuries to help protect Everfree and all of Equestria for that matter. The only reason you think there is peace in your kingdom is because we have fought against many tribes who seek to claim Equestria. None of them have been able to get past my mighty legions, but I have lost many in past battles. Battles you cannot imagine because you are children and you know nothing of it. I’ve had my fair share of wounds as well and I have a scar on this left eye of mine to prove it. And your father, the oh-so-wise king of the land, never does anything about it because he fears war and fears losing his people. He hasn’t thought of MY people and what we go through to protect him. Perhaps that is the real reason he has sent you? WELL?!”

Both Luna and Celestia were too scared to say anything. The general had given them too much information to think about and Luna was actually unaware of what the general had just told them.

“I’m sorry, General, I did not know about all of this, but…” she said before Celestia cut her off.

“I did.” Celestia said. “Father didn’t let my sister know about this since war is an uncomfortable subject but he did tell me about it.”

Celestia then bravely took a few steps toward the general and began talking “General, I honestly think you are seeing this the wrong way. My father has trained thousands of guards to fight and protect Everfree, and they have fought in battles alongside him as well. My father doesn’t want to lose his people but I highly doubt he’s just using the griffon race as pawns. What concerns me most is that if the griffons have been protecting Equestria for so long and you’ve been leading them for most of your life, why have you suddenly turned on my father? My father described you as respectful and devoted to him and said that you’ve always stood by his side as a friend and that-“

“I know.” Leogle interrupted while walking toward Celestia causing her to return to her sister. “I have stood by him all those years and it is something I regret doing. Many things have just come to my attention recently. I see the flaws of your king’s ways, and I think it is time that the griffons deserve a better leader and not your father’s pathetic regime!”

The princesses and the dragons looked up in fear at the hot-headed and very disgruntled griffon. He certainly was not like anything the king, Starswirl, and the senators described him to be and these negotiations were sure to fail at this rate.

“But again, this is not something I would expect pampered palace brats to understand. Be gone with you four!” he then signaled several guards. “Guards, escort these children out the front door immediately!”

The guards lowered their spears and forced them to walk out of the door while Percy and Penny had their hands up in the air. Luna was terrified and huddled up next to Celestia but Celestia herself was still determined to change the general’s mind somehow.”

“NO! General, please, don’t do this! You’ve misjudged my father, I swear it! Please general, you must listen to me. He’s counting on us to solve this issue!”

Luna finally gathered up enough courage to speak, though she unfortunately lost her head as soon as she opened her mouth.

“That’s right, general, we won’t pass our exam if this negotiation fails! Please don’t let that………happen…” she stopped realizing what she had just said as Celestia covered her face with her hoof.

The general had not been facing them as they were being lead out but he turned his head, surprised at Luna’s words.

“HOLD!” he hollered to his guards who immediately put their spears back up and backed away as Leogle walked to meet the princesses one last time. “What did you say?”

Celestia knew she had no choice but to tell the general about their exam.

“General, we mean you no harm, I promise, but what my sister said is true. We were sent here to negotiate to earn credit for our diplomacy classes. We’re in the middle of several courses and father thought sending us here would be a good alternative for written tests.”

The general looked hard at them and remained silent.

“It’s alright. We still are eligible ambassadors and we’ve been trained exactly how to handle this situation.” Luna added.

“Is this true, dragons?!” the general barked at Percy and Penny.

“Uh……y-y-yes, your honor, it’s all true.” Percy said while trembling.

Penny didn’t speak but nodded her head very fast while trying to smile.

“So that’s it then. Your father is treating an important diplomatic mission as a schoolroom test!” he shouted. “How insulting. It’s all just as I suspected after all: King Solmidas is weak and he will truly never understand our plight. If this is how he sees things, to a point where he sends in his little daughters and a couple of spiky, overgrown, fire-breathing lizards into my territory to do the work of a senator, then I will have no more of it.” Leogle turned, walked over to his throne and sat in it while the guards came back and lowered their spears awaiting his orders. Leogle then called to them one last time before having them escorted.

“This is my final message to your incompetent father: tell him that General Leogle …… no, LORD Leogle has officially broken off from the Everfree council and wishes to never speak to him again on diplomatic affairs. The griffons can look after themselves now and form an even greater kingdom than he could ever hope for and we will do it without him if we must. He can protect his own kingdom now and suffer any economic downfalls without us. We are no longer his burden and he is no longer ours…”

“General please…” Celestia said worriedly.

“And you children are dismissed! Get them out of my sight!” he snapped as the guards moved the princesses and dragons out of the throne room and into the corridor in front.

“NO, GENERAL, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS!” Celestia shouted. “MY FATHER IS YOUR FRIEND! HE ALWAYS HAS BEEN! HE DOESN’T WISH TO SEE THE GRIFFONS AND PONIES PART THIS WAY, PLEASE RECONSIDER!!”

The doors then shut and Celestia’s voice was but a whimper. The general continued sitting in his throne with his fingers crossed and his eyes closed.

“I no longer need you, Solmidas. I never did.” he growled.

In a few minutes, Celestia, Luna, and the dragons were rushing out of the front door followed closely by the captain of the guard. They turned around quickly as Celestia made her last possible attempt to complete her mission.

“Captain, please, tell your master we didn’t mean to-“

“Be silent, equine!” he barked. “You heard Lord Leogle, be gone with you! All of you!”

Celestia turned and flew off of the cliff, followed by Luna, and Percy carrying Penny in his arms. Celestia couldn’t help but shed tears while flying away and Luna did her best to comfort her.

“Well that went just wonderful…” Percy said sarcastically.

“I’ll say.” Penny nodded with her arms crossed.

“It’s alright, Tia.” Luna said trying to link her hoof with Celestia’s in midair. “Father will take care of all of this.”

“It’s not that, Luna.” Celestia replied. “We failed our first diplomatic assignment. What will we ever tell our instructors?”

“Well there’s obviously something wrong with the general, so I’m sure Father and everyone else will understand that it wasn’t our fault.” Luna replied.

“Yeah Celestia.” Percy added. “If you’d ask me, I’d say you guys did pretty darn good back there, but General Leogle……or should I say, Lord Leogle, isn’t exactly the shiniest gem in the horde. That’s for sure. When I give the message to the court, I’ll let ‘em know that.”

“Thanks Percy.” Celestia said, trying to wipe her tears away. “I think we did alright too, but what happened with the general back there just really worries me and I just wish there was some kind of way we could have changed his mind.”

There was a pause of silence for the next few seconds until Penny made her comment of the day.

“Well, look at it this way guys. ‘Least the negotiations didn’t take forever.” She said smirking. “That only took, what, like ten minutes? Hahaha …… ha…”

“Penny…” her brother said sternly. “You’re not helping.”

“Hehe……sorry.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

7. News of the North

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CHAPTER 7: News of the North

“The general said WHAT?!” bellowed the king upon hearing the bad news.

“Yeah, I dunno what went wrong, Your Majesty, but that guy really wasn’t as good as you described him.” Percy told the king while standing behind the saddened princesses.

“Why did he have to be so mean?” Penny asked angrily. “I mean Celestia and Luna did great in there and were reasonable and nice and all. Why couldn’t he just listen to them?!”

“I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” the queen said turning to her husband in disbelief. “Leogle would never speak so harshly, especially not to children!”

“Honestly father, I don’t know why he said the things he said about you…” Celestia said with her head hung and a tear forming in her eye while Luna stood next to her trying to comfort her. “I tried everything I could and he wouldn’t listen. I’ve failed you…”

“No Celestia…” the king said putting his hoof under her chin. “You did exactly what you were supposed to; things just didn’t go as planned. Though I cannot say that I could have ever seen this coming, Leogle doesn’t seem approachable for the time being. If I knew how he would have treated the two of you, I would never have sent you.”

“Father, does this mean we will have to find another way to take our exam?” Luna asked.

“Unfortunately yes, Luna. I’m sorry things didn’t work out for this assignment, but we can’t pass you if the outcome wasn’t promising enough.” The king turned away to look out at the sun on the west horizon while speaking. “You girls let me handle Leogle. Meanwhile, I promise you I will find another diplomatic assignment for you in place of today’s.”

The sun began to set and the king’s horn glowed with bright yellow magic.

“Oh, I’m sorry father. I forgot about the sun…” Celestia said, wiping her tears away.

“It’s alright, Celestia.” he told her. “Today’s events could break your concentration and you’ve had a rough day as it is. I’ll set the sun for tonight.”

“Would you girls like some supper?” the queen asked her daughters.

“No thanks, mother.” Celestia said. “I’m not very hungry right now.”

“Me neither.” Luna added. “Not even for some of that delicious royal pudding.”

“Alright, then you should at least go get some rest. Your father’s right. Today was rough for both of you and a good night’s rest may be just what you need.”

“You’re right, mother…” Celestia said drying her face completely and trying to be as positive as she could. “We’ll both try better next time.”

“Good night, Percy. Good night, Penny.” Luna waved to the dragons while she and her sister walked up the steps leading to the royal chambers to get ready for bed.

“Good night, girls.” the dragons said in unison.

“Well, I’m still mad about what happened too, Queen Chernalia…” Penny said to the queen, “…but I still wouldn’t mind a little snack before bedtime.”

“Alright, Penny. The king and I will meet you in the dining room in just a few moments.” The queen said laughing a little.

“Have fun, sis.” Percy said to Penny. “Meanwhile, I gotta go report to the council. They sure are gonna love what I have to say…” he said sarcastically while flying away.

Queen Chernalia smiled as Penny walked by her and then her face turned again to sorrow. The sun had just finished setting behind the western mountains and the queen joined her husband as they both entered the dining hall.

“Chernalia, I’m very worried about what happened today with Leogle.” he said skeptically. “I think there is something gravely wrong with him.”

“I’m worried too, my king…” she replied. “…especially for the well being of the economy now that we’ve lost all our ties with the griffons.”

“I feel bad about involving the girls in this, but we need to try and handle the issue with the griffons ourselves from now on. And then, of course, there’s the replacement exam. I just hope they haven’t lost hope over today’s results…”

Solmidas continued to speak with his queen as they entered the dining room. Today was supposed to be a good day for the whole royal family, but now the king and queen found themselves eating without their daughters to join them and without any good news of the negotiations. The king was still very dumbfounded and worried and couldn’t get Leogle off his mind. But worse, he feared how this would affect his daughters in the future.

Later in the main courts, Percy stood tall reading a scroll he had just written describing the events of the failed negotiations to the senate. The senators and council members who had gathered were eager to hear good news but they were instead met with very grave news that nopony had expected.

“Senators of the royal courts of Equestria, I, Perseus the dragon, am here as a witness of the negotiations with General Leogle of the griffon province and bring you the news of said negotiations.” He paused a little knowing that the reaction would not be pleasant. “I…… regret to inform you all that they have failed…”

The senators faces all turned to confusion and murmuring could be heard amongst all the members of court. Their heads turned to and fro as if asking questions. Percy continued.

“General Leogle says that he wishes to form his own government with the griffons now and has broken off all diplomatic unities from the Equestrian government completely. He has expressed anger with the King, claiming that he has callously used them as disposable pawns in the battles to protect Everfree, and favored its pony citizens over griffons. He believes him to be ‘incompetent’, and wishes to never again speak to him on diplomatic affairs. As of today, we’ve lost the griffon province as an ally.”

“Hold on a minute!” said an elderly voice from the crowd of senators seated to Percy’s right.

The voice came from Senator Gale Winds; an alicorn who was one of the oldest council members. He had also stood by the king for many years and appeared to be very offended with how Leogle was ‘angered’ with the king.

“All of us in this room know Leogle enough to know he would never say such a thing.” continued Gale Winds. “And he knows he can trust our king. What gives him the right to accuse Solmidas of such preposterous acts?”

“Well Senator Gale Winds…” Percy said rolling the scroll up. “I trust all of you in here but he is definitely not how any of you described or remembered him.”

“Oh hogwash and hay-bales!” said another voice coming from Senator Figgy Pudding a stout alicorn who donned a mustache and a monocle. “Forgive me, young dragon, but do you honestly expect us to believe that Leogle has just all of a sudden changed his mind about the pony race and sees us as his enemy now?”

“Well, um…”

“AHEM!”

The nearby clearing of the throat came from Accord who was seated close enough to Percy to get up and walk over to stand next to his scaly teenage friend.

“Senator Figgy Pudding, we all know how honest of a dragon he is. Now tell us Perseus: what exactly was the general like while you were there?” Accord asked Percy trying to get the other senators to understand him better.

“Uh……well, pretty aggressive for starters…” Percy replied. “Like I said, the total opposite of how everyone else described him.”

“And you say he thinks the King is ‘incompetent’ and he wants nothing more to do with this government or any of us ponies of Everfree?”

“Yeah, he said something about the King using the griffons so that they can die during the battles that have taken place up in the griffon province. You know, like when the griffons protect from any invasions from the north and stuff.”

“Well we all know that isn’t true.” Senator Gale Winds said with discontent. “How is it the general cannot see that as well?”

“We’re not saying that we don’t believe you, Perseus…” said the female senator, Silver Breeze, “…but it is very unlikely that the general would do something like this. We have all known him for years and it is very hard to digest such information about a griffon we’ve all admired in the past.” Other senators nodded and murmured in agreement with her.

“I have to agree that it is unlikely…” Accord added, “Though we’ve trusted Percy with the task of reporting on diplomatic affairs outside of these walls, I doubt he would fabricate any of it.”

“What about the princesses?” Senator Silver Breeze continued. “Is it true that he treated them so harshly while they tried to persuade him?”

“Yeah, he was pretty rude to them.” Percy said looking down. “He kept referring to them as ‘mere children’ and doesn’t think they understand what’s going on. I think he kinda surprised them with the part about the griffons risking their lives to protect us. Luna didn’t even know about that since she’s too young to know. Though I didn’t think he’d even bring that up. But yeah, he was really harsh with them. Kept raising his voice and he even ordered the guards to escort us with their spears pointing right at us like we’re criminals or something.”

Senator Gale Winds sighed and shook his head back and forth heavy in thought.

“I’m sorry if we sound like we don’t trust you, young Perseus, but I’ve spoken to that griffon before.” he said looking at Perseus and Accord standing in the middle of the court room. “I just find it so disturbing that he would turn against us in this manner. It baffles me so much…”

“I’m sorry all of you had to hear this.” Percy said looking across the room at the other senators. “I was expecting to come back telling you all that we’ve resolved the issue and we have the general back on our side and all but I’m just as disappointed as you are. Let’s hope we can get this fixed soon.”

“Well Perseus, I think you’ve seen quite enough action for one day.” Accord said putting his hoof on the dragon’s shoulder. “You should go get some rest. The senate will take it from here.”

Percy bowed his head to Accord and then to the rest of the senators and walked off to the sound of them all murmuring more as they all got ready to go to their quarters to get some rest as well. Percy was met by Starswirl who was standing in the doorway also looking very disappointed.

“Oh, Starswirl, hey… You heard, right?” Percy asked him.

“I heard enough.” Starswirl answered. “The king and queen told one of the royal chefs and I overheard some conversation about the general and that the negotiations failed. I walked in just a few minutes ago and heard most of what you read from the scroll.”

“Yeah, quite a failure if you’d ask me.” Percy said rubbing his arm nervously.

“Did the girls do what they needed to though?”

“Oh well yeah, definitely, of course they did!” Percy said with a bit of enthusiasm. “I just meant the mission was a failure, not the girls. They did everything you and the instructors and their parents told them to. If it were up to me, I would have passed them but sadly we didn’t convince General Leogle so that’s why it was a failure.”

“Well then that’s all that matters. Where are the girls right now?”

“In bed. They were too upset to eat so they just hit the hay.”

“I see. Well you go get some rest, Percy. I’ll see if I can talk to them later.”

“Good night, Starswirl.” Percy said walking by the wizard unicorn while yawning.

Starswirl had a very apprehensive look on his face. He knew what had happened with Leogle was indeed bad news but he was more concerned for the girls right now. Thinking quickly he summoned a nearby servant.

“Quick Serve, fetch me some tea. I need it for the princesses.” He told the servant.

“Right away, Master Starswirl.” Quick Serve said obediently.

Up in the royal tower at the tallest point of the castle, Celestia could not get to sleep. She had General Leogle and the negations still on her mind. Luna wasn’t too happy with the negotiations either though she was doing her best to be positive about it. It was just Celestia she was worried about. The door in the middle of the partition of their bedrooms was opened and Celestia had her biggest candle lit and was sitting up in bed pondering. Luna got up and walked over to see her sister and try to comfort her.

“Tia? Why are you not asleep?” asked Luna standing in the doorway.

“Was I keeping you awake Luna?” Celestia said suddenly realizing it might have been her candle. “Because I can blow that candle out if you want me to.”

“No no no, I’m fine. I’m just concerned about you.” Luna said climbing up onto Celestia’s bed to join her.

“Well I think it’s no secret I’m still really distraught about the negotiations…”

Luna put her hoof on Celestia’s.

“I’m not happy about it either, Tia, but it was just our first assignment you know. I’m sure we’ll do fine with all the other ones we have ahead of us.” she said giving Celestia as much encouragement as she could.

“I’m sure we will Luna…” Celestia said trying her best to smile, “but what happened today just really has me down and I can’t get the thought of it out of my head…”

“Is that why the king set the sun this evening?” said the voice of Starswirl walking in through the doorway carrying a tray with two cups of tea.

“Oh, Starswirl!” Celestia said surprised. “I’m sorry, Luna and I were just talking and it looks like we forgot to shut the door.”

“It’s alright, young princess, it’s alright. You’re not the only one who can’t get to sleep quite so early these days.” Starswirl said using his magic to levitate a nearby pillow next to the bed for him to sit on.

“Is this tea for us?” Luna said staring hungrily at the cups.

“If you insist, little princess of the night.” Starswirl chuckled. “I heard you both went to bed early without any dinner which would imply you were both sleeping, but……well the three of us know that’s not the case. So I thought a little tea may do you some good.”

Celestia smiled a little bit finding comfort in Starswirl’s kindness like usual but the thought of the negotiations came back to her and she wondered if Starswirl knew about that.

“Starswirl, about the negotiations…” she started to say before taking her first sip of tea. “Well……they didn’t exactly-“

“I know, Celestia.” Starswirl said. “I heard Percy giving the news to the senators.”

“You did?” Celestia asked with her years perking up.

“What did they say?” Luna asked.

“Well they were surprised to hear it just as much as I was.” said Starswirl looking off to the side. He then turned back to the girls. “Did I ever tell you I met the general back when he was a very young cadet serving in the griffon army?”

“I don’t believe so…” Celestia responded.

“Well he was a very respectful young griffon back then. I remember how loyal he behaved not only to his people but to the king as well. So you can imagine how hard it was to hear about what he said to you girls during the negotiations.”

Celestia and Luna had finished taking sips of their tea and looked at each other puzzled over what they heard. How could General Leogle have gone from being so respectful and kind to being defiant and cruel?

“I was expecting him to be just how you described him, Starswirl.” Luna said looking down.

“As was I.” Celestia added. “Starswirl, do you know what’s gotten into him?”

“Sadly I don’t.” Starswirl responded disappointingly.

“Then why would he do such a thing?” Luna asked.

“I don’t know Luna, I don’t know…”

Starswirl then turned back to the girls and tried to change the subject before they would worry too much about the general.

“But let’s not worry about the general anymore. What matters most is that you girls did what you were supposed to and Percy told me you both deserved a passing grade if it weren’t for Leogle’s actions.”

“You really think so?” Luna said smiling.

“Most definitely. That means you should have no difficulty with the next test if you are to go on a diplomatic assignment again. Though, it wouldn’t hurt to study and practice a bit more. After all, you’ll have some time while your father plans for the next assignment.”

Celestia thought about what Starswirl said and could see he was right. Leogle may have not made her first diplomatic assignment enjoyable but she didn’t need to worry about him anymore. Her parents would handle the issue with the griffons and she and Luna would more likely get an easier assignment. Besides, she and Luna still knew their diplomacy enough and used it properly so they wouldn’t need to worry about it just because they failed the first one. With a smile on her face, she turned back to Starswirl.

“You’re right, Starswirl.” she said. “I’m sure we’ll be fine for the rest of these diplomacy lessons and tests. Right Luna?”

Luna yawned before answering her sister.

“Right, Tia…”

“Hehe, come on you silly filly. Let’s get you to bed before you sleep in past breakfast again tomorrow morning.” Celestia giggled.

Luna hopped off the bed and walked back into her bedroom.

“Good night Tia. And thanks Starswirl.” she said.

“Rest well, little one.” Starswirl called back to Luna. “Well Celestia, I best leave you to get some rest as well. You and Luna have much ahead of you tomorrow.”

“Thanks Starswirl.” Celestia replied putting her empty cup back on Starswirl’s tray as he got up to leave.

“I’ll see the both of you in tomorrow’s lesson.”

Starswirl started walking out the door that would lead to the stairwell to return to his own living quarters until Celestia called back to him.

“Oh, and Starswirl…”

“Yes, Princess?”

“That thing that General Leogle said about how he and his griffons have defended Equestria and how they’ve lost many in battle while doing it……is it true?”

Starswirl paused for a minute. Celestia had already been told that Leogle has guarded Equestria for years. Though he feared Leogle may have stretched the truth. Even so, he couldn’t tell a lie to Celestia. Luna may have been too young to be in discussions about war and bloodshed, but her older sister needed to know these things if she were to become a great leader one day.

“It’s true, Celestia. The griffons have guarded the land and there have been battles up there against several tribes seeking to claim Equestria in the past…” Starswirl responded.

“But obviously Father would never intend to use the griffons so that they can die and the ponies can live…”

“No. Your father is not capable of such cruelty.”

“I see.”

“I think that so many years of battle may have hardened Leogle’s heart. Perhaps that explains why he has grown so aggravated with your father.”

“Then why did father choose Leogle to be the general of the griffon army?”

Starswirl turned around to face Celestia once more.

“Because Leogle chose to follow your father first.”

They exchanged smiles and Starswirl walked down the stairs closing the door behind him.

Celestia turned herself around and pulled her blanket over herself. She had feared she would have a hard time getting to sleep after what had happened that day but the meeting with Starswirl changed things and she felt much better now. With a smile on her face, she shut her eyes and fell asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED…

8. Dragon Trouble

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CHAPTER 8: Dragon Trouble

It was a beautiful mid morning day on the eastern end of the Everfree Palace and two unicorn guards stood watch at their post on the South Balcony. Like always, the guards were solemn and motionless. They were trained to be very alert and ever watchful, in case any intruders were to appear out of nowhere, or if a subject of the palace needed urgent assistance. Tall and noble, they watched on into the distance, without letting anything break their concentration. Princess Luna, however, had other plans.

The mischievous little princess of the night never quite understood the guard’s jobs and sometimes laughed at them for being so serious. Every now and then, she would playfully annoy the guards to see if she could get them to laugh, flinch, or even yawn.

She hovered around in front of them and started to speak.

“So are you two tired of doing this yet?” she asked.

The guards did not respond. It was as if they didn’t even realize Luna was there. This of course didn’t stop her.

“Well?” she continued. “I am willing to wager that both of you will fall asleep before the sun reaches the center of the sky!”

Still no response from the guards.

“No? How about if something so silly were to happen that you laughed uncontrollably? No guard could possibly keep a straight face against……THIS!!!”

Luna took her front hooves and stretched her face apart and stuck her tongue out while making funny sounds at the guards but neither of them laughed or moved a muscle.

“No? So be it. How about……THIS!?!”

She then pressed her hooves against her cheeks and her lips puckered up like a fish as she blew air out of them. Still no response from the guards.

“THIS?!? BLABLABLABLA!!!” she said crossing her eyes and shaking her head back and forth with her tongue wiggling around right in the guards faces. Despite her efforts, the guards didn’t budge or even blink.

“You two are tough shells to crack.” she said. “But thou has not seen anything yet! We have been practicing some of the most daunting magic and thou will most certainly be begging for mercy when you FEEL THE WRATH OF LUNAAAA!!!”

Luna’s eyes glowed with light and her voice grew somewhat deeper as she spoke in the Royal We.

“DID YOU NOT HEAR US THE FIRST TIME, THOU FOOLS?!?” she said as some black clouds started to swirl around her as if a storm was brewing up. “NOPONY IN ALL OF EQUESTRIA CAN WITHSTAND OUR FRIGHTENING OMNIPOTENT POWERS!!!”

And still nothing from the guards.

“HELLO?!?! CAN THOU NOT SEE YOU ARE UNDER THE MERCY OF PRINCESS LUNA?!?!? HUH?!? RAAAWR!!! GRRRRRRR!!! MUAHAHAHAHA!!! COME ON, JUST MOVE OR SOMETHING ALREADY!!!”

At this point Luna had little bolts of lightning going off around her and the sound of thunder booming as her voice grew more menacing. But through it all, nothing could shake either of the guards.

Finally Luna’s eyes went back to normal and the clouds and lightning disappeared. She crossed her arms and gave the guards a somewhat grumpy look.

“That is just what the princess of the night thought! HMMPH!” she said flying off to prepare for magic lessons with Starswirl the Bearded.

For a few moments there was silence on the balcony when all of a sudden one of the guards started to giggle under all the pressure.

“Buckler!” the other guard snapped. “You know the rules! Keep your composure!”

“I’m sorry, Safeguard.” Buckler said reverting back to his solemn face.

There was another moment of silence until Buckler spoke up.

“Do not lie to me, you will be rolling in laughter when you retire to your quarters later tonight.” he said to Safeguard.

“Of course.” Safeguard chuckled while smirking a bit.

Suddenly the sound of constant heavy breathing could be heard in the distance. It got louder as it got closer.

“Safeguard, do you hear that?” Buckler asked.

“Yes…who is that breathing?” Safeguard asked looking around expecting it might be a messenger pony who had been running too fast to them.

“HELP!!” cried a voice.

Buckler and Safeguard both looked up to see a pegasus flying towards the castle who appeared to be in much distress. He was a mine-worker and had black markings all over him, as if he’d had a close encounter with fire. He had lost some feathers, making it difficult for him to fly, which explained the heavy panting.

“GUARDS!! DRAGON……THE MINES……GOLD…ALL OUR……GOLD…” the miner called helplessly before collapsing to the balcony a few feet away from the guards.

Buckler and Safeguard rushed over to help the miner to his feet but he insisted on staying on the ground while trying to catch his breath to explain things.

“Sir, what in Equestria has happened to you?” Safeguard asked the miner.

He continued panting until he finally was able to tell them.

“Guards……I just barely escaped……The gold mine in South Spire Mountain……it’s been taken…”

“Taken? By whom?” asked Buckler.

“A dragon…” the miner replied. “A powerful and greedy dragon……who calls himself Grumblebog.”

Buckler and Safeguard glanced at each other with their eyes widened.

“Impossible! We’ve never had any dragons invade our mountains for hundreds of years!” Safeguard exclaimed.

“How did he even know there is gold in there? Isn’t it well hidden so dragons won’t notice the gold and take it over so easily?” Buckler asked.

“I don’t know…” the miner continued. “But he just all of a sudden stormed in and blew fire everywhere. We are lucky no one was mortally wounded. In fact the rest of the winged miners may be on their way right now. The unicorns and earthen ponies have fled to the guard outpost in the valley below…”

“That mountain is our biggest gold mine.” Safeguard said. “The King will be greatly displeased to hear this. Buckler, send this news to the King immediately and have a doctor sent to the Southern Balcony.”

“Yes sir!” Buckler said rushing off to the main court.

Meanwhile, Luna was listening in on the conversation behind the walls of the balcony entrance. She crawled back further to avoid being seen by Buckler.

“Oh no.” she said to herself. “Now father has lost much of the gold we mine in that mountain. This is just another problem for the kingdom…”

Luna hung her head and lowered her ears afraid of what was to come. Suddenly her eyes widened and her ears perked up.

“Wait…That’s it! The dragon!” she exclaimed. “That could be our replacement assignment!!”

Luna then covered her mouth thinking Safeguard might have heard her. Her eyes darted back and forth. She then leaped in the air and flew off to the educational center to tell Celestia.

Meanwhile in Starswirl’s classroom, he and Celestia were waiting for Luna to arrive as she was late again.

“Just where is that mischievous little princess?” Starswirl asked.

“She probably slept in again.” Celestia responded.

“Should I start the lesson without her, Celestia?”

“I’d give her just a few more minutes till Mother wakes her up…”

Suddenly Luna burst in through the door, her face beaming.

“SISTER, SISTER!! I HAVE EXCELLENT NEWS!!!” Luna hollered while hovering right in her sister’s face.

“Um…okay…” Celestia said. “And what would that be, Luna?”

“A DRAGON JUST CHASED AWAY ALL THE MINERS IN THE SOUTH SPIRE MOUNTAIN AND TOOK OVER AND STOLE THE GOLD!!”

“WHAT?!” Starswirl exclaimed.

“Luna! That’s not good news at all, that’s terrible news!” Celestia replied. “Just wait till father hears about this!”

“What? Nonono, that’s not the good part!” Luna continued. “The good part is that you and I can go see the dragon and try to get him to leave and then Father can count that as our replacement negotiation for finals!”

“Luna, are you crazy?!” Celestia said, using her magic to seat Luna in a nearby pillow. “Princesses don’t go off fighting dragons!”

“Who said anything about fighting the dragon?” Luna asked. “We could just use the lessons on diplomacy and persuasion that we’ve been taught before!”

“But Luna, it’s a dragon. Dragons can’t be dealt with that easily. They’re massive ferocious beasts that breathe fire, wear scales as thick as tenfold shields, and are far too wild to be reasoned with!”

On the contrary, Percy and Penny ran into the classroom not noticing where they were. Penny was chasing Percy around in circles while giggling.

“What’s the matter Penny, huh? What’s the matter? Am I too fast?!” Percy teased.

“No, I’d say you’re too SLOW!!” shouted Penny as she leaped onto Starswirl’s desk and then tackled Percy to the ground.

Starswirl watched the commotion and then rolled his eyes while gritting his teeth.

“DRAGONS!” he shouted as Percy and Penny stared awkwardly at him. “What did I tell the two of you about playing tag in my classrooms?!”

“Whoops…” Penny said while smiling bashfully.

“Sorry Starswirl, but I mean how are we supposed to memorize this enormous castle in just a few hundred years, give or take?”

Seeing the playfulness and innocence of the dragons caused Luna to look at Celestia with a smirk as if to say “You were saying?”

“Alright, maybe not all dragons are like that…” Celestia continued. “…but we’re talking about a full-grown dragon. Neither of us has ever seen a full-grown dragon before.”

“Whoa, did someone say FULL-GROWN dragon?!?” Penny said excitedly.

“WHERE?!?!” Percy said rather frightened.

“He’s not here, Perseus.” Luna explained. “A miner pony just came to Everfree and told one of the guards that a large dragon called Grumpy-Log or something took over the South Spire Mountain mines and has all the gold to himself now.”

“AWESOME!!” Penny said with her eyes opened wide.

“Penny, that’s just about the worst news we’ve heard all day and you think it’s awesome?!” her brother told her.

“PERCY!!” Penny said grabbing Percy by his face. “THIS MEANS WE’RE NOT THE ONLY DRAGONS IN EQUESTRIA AFTER ALL!!!”

“Woo efur shid we wur?” he said between his cheeks.

“Penny, this doesn’t mean the dragon is as friendly and well-mannered as you and your brother are.” Celestia told the over-excited little dragon.

“But Tia-” Luna said before Starswirl spoke up.

“Your sister is right, Luna.” he said. “Dragons are usually quite wild and aren’t as negotiable as any regular delegates.”

“Everyone said the complete opposite of General Leogle and look what he turned out to be like!” Luna said grumpily.

“Be that as it may, if the dragon took the gold for himself with the knowledge that it belonged to someone else, I fear it may be difficult for him to be coaxed into leaving.” Starswirl said as he used his magic to lift papers that had fallen to the ground when the dragons entered.

Now it was Penny’s turn to talk.

“Hey, maybe Percy and I could come with them to help out!” she said.

“WHAT?!?!” Percy shouted. “Penny, you and I were left outside in the cold years ago by our parents, what makes you think that dragon will be any nicer than them?!”

“Maybe he’ll listen to us since we’re dragons.” Penny added.

“But Penny…” Luna said. “Tia and I have to do the negotiating, not you two.”

“Now that you mention it…” Celestia started to say out loud. “…if Percy and Penny came with us……Perhaps once the dragon sees that ponies and dragons live together in peace in Everfree, that may be enough to get him to see his wrongdoings.”

“Exactly!” Luna replied.

“So Celestia, will you talk with your father about it?” Penny asked.

“Well it could work but it’s still dangerous going up against a dragon.” Celestia said looking very thoughtful. “What do you think, Starswirl?”

Starswirl put his hoof to his chin and thought for moment.

“Hmmmm……Well, Princess, he may be a dragon but even in my time, there were some ponies who could communicate well with some dragons.” Starswirl explained.

“Wait, so dragons and ponies lived in peace back then?” Percy asked.

Starswirl used his magic to levitate an old book towards him and opened it up while talking. The book had a dragon-shaped emblem on it.

“Not exactly, but sometimes dragons weren’t quite so harsh with them. Somewhere around the time of the founding of Equestria, dragons became more approachable and even left the mountains they had stolen gold from in the past. I wouldn’t be surprised if this dragon is actually a descendant of the Northern Drakes who were actually more accustomed to sleeping in the open and weren’t into hoarding gold. Either way, it is likely that this dragon could be misled. With your father’s permission, I suppose negotiating with a dragon could work…”

“So all we have to do is just be nice to him just like we’ve been taught!” said Luna looking back at her sister and smiling.

“I guess it’s worth a try.” Celestia said. “But still, what if things go wrong and he attacks us?”

“I can teach you spells that can make shields of magic that will protect you against fire and extreme heat.” Starswirl told her. “It takes some practice but it certainly works.”

“Well we best ask father first if it’s a good idea. It is his choice after all.” Celestia said.

“Of course.” Luna responded. “But I am sure we can get him to leave if we try, Sister. If ponies in the past could do it then we can do it too!”

“So does this mean we can come too?” Penny asked eagerly.

“Of course, Penny!” Luna answered.

“I dunno, you guys. I’m still not too keen on visiting an adult dragon…” Percy said nervously.

“Aw relax, bro.” Penny said elbowing her brother. “I’m sure with Luna and Tia with us he’ll be fine.”

Percy blew a small plume of fire out of the side of his mouth and rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say, sis…”

TO BE CONTINUED…

9. Accord Can Help

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CHAPTER 9: Accord Can Help

“Having my daughters go in to negotiate with a dragon is indeed a very dangerous and risky business…” King Solmidas said with the princesses and dragons standing before him in the throne room. “Though, Celestia does know the protection spell and if Starswirl teaches her how to protect against dragon’s fire, that will lower the risks.”

“And not to mention we’re going to be with them to help since we are dragons and all…” Penny spoke up.

“Yes, Penny, indeed.” the king replied. “I trust you two will be eager to meet another dragon for the first time in years.”

“Not exactly…” said Percy rubbing his arm nervously.

“I promise you I will teach them the protection spell to the best of my ability, Your Highness.” Starswirl told him.

“I have no doubt you will, old friend.” the king acknowledged. “Though their negotiation skills are what they need work on the most and what they need to be prepared with.”

Solmidas then got up from his throne and walked down to speak with his daughters.

“Girls, what happened with Leogle may have been out of the ordinary, but this time you are dealing with a dragon who is bound to be wild and unruly. Pay extra close attention to what you learn in your studies for the next few weeks. I can’t let you go until you have more practice.”

“Yes father.” said Celestia as she and Luna bowed to their father.

“Also girls, due to the unusual nature of this negotiation, I am going to have to count this as half of your final.” the king explained. “If you are able to get that dragon to leave the mines then you have gained my trust and I will prepare a more suitable final for you. I don’t want too many ponies thinking I’ve inadvertently put you in harm’s way for the sake of a grade.”

“If you insist father.” Luna said.

The king nodded to his daughters.

“Father?” Celestia asked.

“What is it Celestia?” he replied.

“How are things going with General Leogle by the way?”

The king turned his head to think a little and then answered his daughter’s question.

“Nothing really has changed sadly, Celestia.” he said gravely. “Leogle did just what he intended to do and broke off all diplomatic connections with us. Right now I think the best thing to do would be to not worry about the Griffon Province. Losing them has hurt us financially but right now my biggest worry is the mines in the South Spire Mountain. Without the gold there, the economy will suffer even worse, that is why this mission to negotiate with Grumblebog is very important.”

“Well that’s why we’re here, Father.” she said putting her wing around Luna. “We’ve gotten over what happened with Leogle, and we’ll try harder with the dragon this time.”

A smile finally appeared on the king’s face as Celestia spoke. He had had a stressful morning finding out about the mines but seeing his daughters eager to help made him feel a little better.

“I trust that both of you will. Now if you all will excuse me, I must attend a council meeting with the parliament.” he said turning to leave the throne room.

The dragons then started to leave with Penny running around and leaping for joy around her brother while talking.

“Percy this will be great! We finally get to see what a grown dragon looks like! Well, you’ve seen what one looks like before, but I haven’t!”

Percy rolled his eyes and spoke nervously.

“I cannot wait…” he said with sarcasm.

Meanwhile the princesses stayed behind with Starswirl.

“Tia?” Luna asked.

“Yes, Luna?” Celestia responded.

“Have you noticed anything different about Father lately?”

“Different? What do you mean?”

“Well he just seems a little angry now...”

Celestia put her wing around Luna and smiled.

“Luna, Father is fine. He’s just a little stressed out about what’s happened with the Griffons and now this whole dragon issue.”

“I know, I know…” Luna said. “I just get the feeling he doesn’t trust us as much as he used to.”

“Your father trusts both of you.” Starswirl said standing next to Luna. “He knows he can trust you. These are difficult times for him though and he will need both of you to do your absolute best.”

“Well Luna, we have diplomacy lessons later this afternoon, but do you wanna go see Accord tonight to see if he might help us with it?” Celestia asked her sister.

“Oh, that sounds like an idea!” Luna responded with her ears perking up.

“The senator may be busy today girls, but I can let him know ahead of time that you’ll be stopping by.” Starswirl said.

“How about some time right after supper?” Luna suggested.

“That sounds good. Alright, we’ll go see Accord in his tower after we eat.” Celestia answered.

Later that night, Accord was in his study writing on a scroll. He was very hard at work; his face emotionless and utterly focused on his task. Not a sound could be heard in the study but the scratching of his quill on the parchment. The light from the candle on his work desk was nearly still until it started to flicker a bit. Suddenly Accord heard voices coming from outside his door. His ears perked up and his eyes widened as he began to smile. He immediately set his scroll aside and his quill back in its bottle. There was a knock on the door and Celestia’s voice could be heard.

“Hello, Accord?” she said. “It’s me and Luna. May we come in?”

Accord used his magic to open the door himself and got up to greet the princesses.

“Tia, Luna! I’m happy to see both of you!” he said excitedly. “With all the work I do I feel like I haven’t seen you two in over a hundred years!”

Luna walked over and nuzzled against him as he put his front hoof around her.

“Well I do hope we aren’t interrupting you from anything important, are we?” Celestia asked.

“Oh not at all, I was just fiddling around and waiting for you two.” he responded.

“Wait, you’ve been expecting us?” Luna asked.

“Starswirl sent me a psychic note saying something about you two needing help with the dragon I believe.”

“Well, more specifically, we were wondering if you knew anything helpful about the dragon and how to reason with one.” Celestia explained. “We’ve been deep in our diplomacy studies but we’re still a bit nervous about our second trial, especially with what happened with General Leogle.”

“Oh, don’t be nervous your highness. You two are more than capable of a diplomatic assignment. The General just isn’t in the right mood I fear.” he said as he started to turn to the door behind him that lead to his bedroom. “Come on in here and I’ll go get some old books about dragons as I rest on my pillow.”

He lead them into his bedroom and used his magic to retrieve two pillows that had Luna and Celestia’s cutie marks on them.

“Ooooh, you had my cutie mark stitched onto my pillow!” Luna squealed.

“Oh yes, I sewed that on myself after you raised the moon. A little princess who’s found her true calling deserves to have a properly adorned pillow.”

Accord then sat down on his large purple pillow and brought in some books with his magic. One of the books said “Dragons and their Ways” on the binding, the same book Starswirl consulted earlier that day.

“So ladies, what is it about dragons you would like to know before we get to the diplomacy part…” Accord said, looking through the book.

“Well, Starswirl said this dragon could be a descendant of the Northern Drakes which are said to be a lot tamer than regular dragons are.” Celestia mentioned.

“Ah yes, the Northern Drakes. I remember these.” he said as he stopped flipping the pages with his magic and turned the book around to show them a picture of a few dragons from old times. “These were some of the first dragons to learn to speak our language. That one right there was named Pyrona, she was quite friendly actually. Did you know it is said that some ponies of old were able to get some rather wild dragons to listen to them by using something called ‘the stare?’”

“The stare?” Luna said, cocking her head.

“It’s such an extraordinary ability that barely any ponies know how to do it. Only a few that knew well how to deal with creatures were able to use the stare to humble these giants.”

“But we don’t have the stare, so how will we get Grumblebog to listen to us?” Celestia asked.

“Well just do what you would normally do. How would you girls feel if someone bigger than you just came and took all your things?”

The sisters sat and thought for a few moments until Luna spoke.

“Well I wouldn’t be too happy…” Luna said

“Alright then…” Accord replied. “…but would you say harsh things to them?”

“No, that would just make them angrier…” Celestia added.

“So……we have to be nice to him.” Luna said.

“I know you both have probably heard the words ‘persuasion is better than force’ said many times to you, but this is indeed true, girls. There are years of war and quarreling behind us that we’ve learned well from. I, myself, am the expert on solving the conflicts of our time and I will now pass on my knowledge to you.” Accord said, putting his hoof on his chest and lifting his head proudly. “Here, pretend right now that I’m the drag…no, I’ve got an even better idea!” he said with excitement.

There was a flash of light that lit up the entire room and in a moment, everything in the room was gone and the walls appeared to look like the inner walls of a cavern and the ceiling had stalactites hanging from it. The only source of light was a large torch to their left. Suddenly there was a flash coming from the ground and Celestia and Luna moved upward as if something had raised them. They looked down to find themselves sitting on top of a heap of gold which reflected the light from the torch causing the room to be more illuminated. Suddenly a green dragon with a long neck and some bat-like wings poked his head out of the gold and roared.

“WHO DARES INVADE MY CAVE?!” the dragon said.

They then realized exactly who this was: Accord had transformed himself into a dragon to test them. The face and voice of the dragon even gave away that it was Accord. His body was long and slender like a serpent and his tail curled around the two pony sisters as he started to put his arms around the gold and hug it tenderly. The strangest part about this was that Accord had always been somewhat clumsy with transformation spells in the past. He even had to have Starswirl undo his spells sometimes because he would end up automatically transforming into random mix-and-match creatures against his own will. They found it odd that he had all of a sudden mastered the spell without anyone knowing.

“Uh……Accord?” Luna asked just to be sure. “Is that you?

“That’s strange…” Celestia added. “I thought you-“

“Alright, yes, it’s me.” he replied. “Sorry if I frightened you ladies but let’s ignore the fact I’ve all of a sudden been able to master my transformation spell and focus on the test. Just pretend right now that I am the dragon and you are trying to get me to leave.”

“Well……alright then.” Celestia said, clearing her throat. “Excuse me, Mr. Grumblebog, Sir…”

“What are you two puny ponies doing here?!” Accord replied.

“My name is Princess Celestia and this is my sister, Princess Luna.” She said, pointing to her sister who was smiling big and waving her arm fast. “We are the daughters of Solmidas, King of Equestria.”

“And why are you here?”

“We have come to……peacefully negotiate with you about our treasure.” Luna added.

“Yes, we understand that you are a dragon and enjoy hording gold away to yourself but our father needs this gold as do the ponies of Equestria.” Celestia continued.

“What are you getting at?” Accord said skeptically.

“We would appreciate it if you would calmly leave our mountain and rest in another one that is not inhabited by any innocent ponies or that has any treasure that belongs to our father. I am sure that there are many mountains out there that you can dwell in.”

“And what will you do if I choose to stay?” Accord said as he stretched his neck forward looking Celestia straight in the eyes menacingly.
Celestia leaned backwards and Luna got behind her to hide and to keep her sister from falling over. Celestia gulped. Although it was actually her friend, Accord’s disguise and demeanor was convincing enough to test her well. A few moments later her face went from scared to determined and she took a deep breath.

“We are not interested in getting into a fight with you Grumblebog. We just want our gold back and we want to get it back by being your friend, not your enemy.” she said to him.

Accord’s scaly eyebrows moved upward and he backed away thinking carefully.

“Well……you are the first ponies I’ve met that have been this nice to me…” he said stroking the webbed scales on his chin. “But I’ve wanted to sleep in a gold mine for all my life like a lot of other dragons have…”

“But would you want to hurt the feelings of all the innocent little ponies who need this gold?” Luna said softly.

“Well……now that you put it that way…” Accord said as the scales on the side of his head drooped downward and he began to look empathetic. He thought for a moment and then looked back at Celestia and Luna who looked very helpless and cute. They seemed sad at first but then they both smiled warmly.

Accord lowered his head and picked up a handful of golden coins in his claws and stared at it for a moment. He then poured the gold out onto the pile and turned back to the princesses.

“I’m sorry, my little ponies…” he sighed. “I didn’t realize I was hurting others by doing this. I was mad at first but since you both were kind to me then you’ve helped me see the error of my ways.” He then smiled and spread his wings. “I will leave this cave then and you can have your treasure back. I can always find another mountain and now that I think about it, I would probably be more comfortable in a warmer place like a dormant volcano. Thank you for being persuasive.”

“And thank you for cooperating with us, Mr. Grumbleblog.” said Celestia as Luna smiled with her eyes closed.

Accord then spread his wings and flew out of an opening in the cave to their right which was where the window originally was to his room before he changed it into a cave. He flew away and then a few seconds later the room transformed back to normal in a split second and Luna and Celestia were both sitting on their pillows again and Accord was back on his big pillow in his true form with a smile on his face.

“A JOB WELL DONE, LADIES!” he exclaimed while clapping his hooves. “That was wonderful!”

“But are you sure that will work on the real Grumblebog?” Celestia asked him.

“Well if it worked for the Mighty Drogus I’m sure it could work for him too!” he said, showing them a picture of a large green plump dragon that looked an awful lot like Grumblebog according to the description the miner ponies gave earlier that day.

“Hey, that looked nothing like you did!” Luna said with sarcasm.

“Maybe not but that’s pretty close to what Drogus told the young pony girl who got him to leave a gold mine that belonged to the old King Gallium the First!” Accord told them while pointing his hoof to a spot on the page that showed a young female pony before the dragon.

“Wait……that really happened?” Celestia asked.

“That really happened, my dear.” Accord said, nodding his head. “You girls and I just reenacted the taming of the Mighty Drogus way back before the founding of Equestria. Not word for word of course but pretty close I must say!”

“Wow, so we sort of just passed the test already!” Luna said, standing bolt upright on her pillow.

“So all we have to do is be just as persuasive as we were tonight and it should work on him because Grumblebog is the same type of dragon that Drogus was!?” Celestia said excitedly.

“Precisely Tia!” Accord said while putting his hoof around her. “And you girls were wonderful right there; it even caused me to tear up for real!”

“Aw, we’re sorry.” Luna said.

“Oh nonono, don’t be sorry at all, you did exactly what you are supposed to!” he replied. “Well, I hope that helped you girls out…”

“Of course it did!” said Celestia, hugging his neck as Luna flew up to him and hugged from the other side.

“Dawww.” Accord said, nuzzling both of them back. He then started walking them out of his bedroom and into his study to show them the door. “It’s been so much fun talking with both of you but you best go get some shut-eye and rest on what you’ve learned.”

“You were a big help tonight, Accord.” Celestia told him. “I feel a lot more confident to do this now.”

“I feel confident too!” Luna said, hopping towards the doorway. “Good night, Accord!”

“Sweet dreams, Highnesses, sweet dreams!” Accord said, waving to them as they walked out of his room. Celestia closed the door with her magic but not before giving a very grateful glance back at her friend.

Accord sighed a sigh of relief and giggled a bit as he used his magic to retrieve his quill and parchment. He continued to smile as he was writing and no longer looked so somber. His time with the princesses seemed to cheer him up a bit from whatever was angering him earlier. He seemed very happy to have helped them and acknowledged their progress.

“Those little princesses are learning after all. Oh, I forgot to tell them how I mastered the transforming spells...” he said, stroking his chin with his quill for a moment. He then shrugged his shoulders and continued working. “Oh well, perhaps it’s best they not know right now...”

TO BE CONTINUED…

10. Grumblebog

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CHAPTER 10: Grumblebog

It was about a fortnight since the princesses had heard about Grumblebog and were finally ready to go off to tame him. Once again they were accompanied by their dragon friends. Percy was to report on the negotiations just like last time and there was no convincing Penny to stay behind. She was more excited to meet another dragon than ever before.

It was afternoon and they flew carefully through the air towards the South Spire Mountain. They had to lay low because the sky above them was thick with black smoke coming from Grumblebog inside the mountain cave. Even the clean air had the smell of nearby smoke and fire.

“I sure hope this smoke doesn’t become a problem…” Celestia said.

“It won’t be once we get him out of there, Tia.” Luna replied.

“Not that, I mean while we’re in the mountain talking to him.” Celestia told her sister, looking back. “I am sure we can get him out of there. Hopefully our teachings will pay off.”

“I just hope we get him out there PERIOD.” Percy said nervously while carrying his sister below him.

“Percy, relax, we’ll be fine and he’ll be nice just like Accord said!” Penny replied to her brother.

“Accord never said Grumblebog was nice, Penny.” Celestia reminded the young dragon. “He told us he comes from a race of dragons that are supposed to be tame and that one such dragon was once persuaded by a single filly.”

“Which means we should have no problem persuading him as well.” Luna said proudly.

“True……though I really think the ‘stare’ would come in handy in a situation like this…” Celestia said.

They then flew over a major peak and saw the South Spire Mountain about a mile away. It was a tall and fearsome feature with smaller pointy ones surrounding it. On the northern side of the mountain was the cave entrance, but the smoke was flowing out of the top of the mountain like a volcano. This was no doubt where Grumblebog entered the cave when he attacked. As they got closer they noticed some crates and tools scattered on the stairway that scaled the side of the mountain and on the cliff side right in front of the entrance. Clearly, the workers left their equipment and supplies behind in their haste to evacuate. Celestia also noticed in the valley below some knight ponies with thick armor and weapons that were hiding among the trees and keeping watch to ensure their safety. They appeared armed for battle and even had catapults in place should Grumblebog emerge to attack. The others didn’t seem to notice the knights but Celestia didn’t inform them, because she didn’t want to worry her little sister.

As they got closer, the only settling thing they noticed was a waterfall to the left of the entrance with a rainbow present. Celestia smiled warmly, for rainbows were considered a sign of good luck in Equestria. Perhaps they were meant to tame this dragon and pass their test after all.

“Well, this is it everyone...” She said as they put their legs down to get ready to land on the top of the cliff in front of the cave.

“The mountain seems a lot bigger than how Father described it.” Luna stated as they both stared deeply into the cave.

“Yeah, well hopefully the dragon’s not like how they described him.” Percy said shaking a little.

Penny rolled her eyes and grabbed her brother’s hand and started leading him in after the princesses.

“Now don’t forget to speak gently.” Celestia told them as they walked in. “I’ll talk first and hopefully he won’t get too mad when we wake him up.”

Things got darker as they went in and the smell of smoke got even worse. Luna began to cough a little, but used her shoulder to muffle the sound. Percy and Penny of course were not affected by the smell of smoke, but they both seemed to have a hard time seeing through the darkness. Celestia then used a magic spell to make her horn glow, though it only showed enough light for them to see a few yards in front of them. It allowed her to see the path though, because there were tiny gold bit coins scattered on the ground that reflected from the light.

As they went deeper into the cave the light from the end of the tunnel seemed to dim and there was a grumbling noise that was no doubt the dragon’s breathing. The closer they got, the louder the grumble became. Luna started to get scared and huddled up next to Celestia while Percy started to bite his fingernails with tiny little shavings coming off. Even Penny herself seemed a little scared and took a big gulp.

Suddenly, Percy stepped on a small twig on the ground that he didn’t see and they all looked back at him. He froze completely with his eyes darting back and forth. There was a loud snort that sounded in front of them and they all turned their heads towards it. Celestia looked harder and saw what appeared to be an enormous claw on top of a pile of gold which was undoubtedly Grumblebog’s toenail. She brightened the light from her horn just a bit, but not too much for she didn’t want to anger Grumblebog. It was already apparent though, that he could tell they were there. With her sister and the dragons huddled close to her, she took a deep breath and began to talk.

“Um……hello?”

Her voice echoed a bit through the cave walls and then the dragon’s breathing stopped and there was a brief moment of silence. Suddenly the dragon spoke.

“You little ones do realize who’s cave you have entered, do you not?”

His voice was low and menacing and rumbled even deeper than the sound of his snoring, almost enough to shake some of the tiny golden coins on the ground. After he spoke the sound of coins falling could be heard from his movement. Celestia could just barely make out what appeared to be a beak and lower jaw right above where she could see his toenails. She decided that now was the time to reply to him, though she couldn’t do so without trembling.

“Mister……Grumblebog, Sir……we didn’t mean to disturb you, we only came to talk with you…” she said.

“Funny…I didn’t think any ponies were brave enough to enter my cave.” he said. “Are you children not even scared of me?”

Celestia thought for a second how to answer this. Saying they weren’t scared would have been a lie obviously and would probably agitate him so she just had to be honest.

“We are taken by your majestic presence, Grumblebog, but I am not saying we are-”

“NO?” he said loudly. “Perhaps we should shed a little light on this situation…”

He inhaled and blew out some fire in the air and several broken planks of wood jutting out of the wall behind them lit up the entire cave. Their hearts froze as they looked upon the dragon sitting in a mountain of gold. He was red with green spikes going down his back and very large ones on his head. He was rotund and somewhat plump compared to how most dragons appeared in some of the picture books they had read, but very strong and muscular. His jaw and underbelly were a lighter shade of red and some little coins and pieces of gold were stuck in between his scales, but they fell out as he moved. His eyes were yellow with orange irises and a large vertical slit right down the middle. The slit was rounder at first but as the light grew brighter it thinned out. Grumblebog was so frightening in appearance that all four of them forgot how much gold was in their presence and how brightly it shone through the entire cave. He grumbled a little as he looked at them and then noticed Percy and Penny behind the princesses.

“Wait……you are not all ponies…” he said. “Are those……dragons behind you two?”

Percy waved his hand nervously and Penny waved and said ‘hi’ in a whispered voice.

“Oh, yes, those are our dragon friends, Perseus and Penelope. We call them Percy and Penny for short.” Celestia said.

“And you are?” the dragon asked her.

Celestia stood proud and stopped trembling a little while presenting herself.

“I am Princess Celestia of Equestria, and this is my younger sister, Princess Luna. We are the daughters of the king of Equestria, King Solmidas.”

“What is your business in my cave?”

“We are here to negotiate with you, Grumblebog.” Celestia said. “Our father owns the gold in this mountain after all and we do need our gold.”

Grumblebog squinted his eyes a little and started to tighten the grip on his one claw that was around a small mound of gold in front of him.

“Well this gold belongs to Grumblebog now.” he said. “I am a dragon. Therefore I am not to be questioned with.”

“We can see you are mighty, Grumblebog…” Celestia said carefully “We respect that you are territorial and protective of your domain, but our country will suffer financially if we don’t have access to this gold.”

“Hmmmf. It’s not my problem.” Grumblebog said before taking a very loud yawn. “I suggest you four leave me be so that I may continue my long-awaited slumber.”

“But mighty Grumblebog…” Luna started to say, “…are there not any other mountains out there that you can dwell in? Surely there are some that are much more comfortable like a dormant volcano.”

“My ancestors have dwelled in the north for millennia, but I have grown tired of that land for it has changed over the last few centuries and gotten colder. I like it here, and I like this gold. I will horde this gold away and sleep in it as long as I see fit and that is that.”

“But perhaps we can find you another mountain?” Luna continued. “A good mountain without any gold but that is nice and warm and won’t-”

“NO!” Grumblebog bellowed. “This gold is mine. I never cared for the well-being of ponies and if you wanted your treasure to be safe from me you should have hid it somewhere that is harder for me to find. Now be gone.” He then closed his eyes and then rested his head back down on the gold.

This wasn’t going exactly as planned, though Celestia and Luna did expect him to be a bit persnickety. They thought now would be a good time to get help from their dragon friends.

“Alright, Percy, Penny, I think it’s time you two talked to him a bit.” Celestia whispered.

“Are you crazy?!” Percy replied. “The guy’s not gonna listen, he’s grumpier than Starswirl when he hasn’t had his morning tea!”

“Bro, maybe he’ll listen to us since we’re dragons, it’s worth a try.” Penny told her brother.

“Well……if you say so…I just hope Tia and Luna still get credit for passing this.” Percy said with sweat coming down from his forehead.

They both stepped in front of the princesses and cleared their throats and Percy began talking to Grumblebog.

“Hey, uh……Grumblebog, it’s Percy.”

Grumblebog’s eye opened up staring directly at Percy.

“Um……look, Penny and I have lived around ponies nearly all our lives you know. I mean I started out being raised by our parents but sometime after she hatched they left us and the royal family in the Everfree Palace took us in.”

“Yeah, so that means they’re alright with dragons.” Penny added.

“Oh yeah, they like us a lot and we love living with them. So yeah, dragons and ponies live in peace in Everfree……and stuff…and things…” Percy said kicking his leg around playfully.

“What exactly are you getting at, young fire-breather?!” Grumblebog said loudly moving his beak close to them, which caused Percy to step back a bit.

“Uh……well I’m just saying, we don’t mean you any harm, we just want to be nice and all, and the ponies are being as nice to you as they are to us...”

“Yeah, plus shouldn’t the fact that dragons live peacefully with ponies in this land be enough to let you know you can trust us?” Penny added.

Grumblebog snorted some smoke out from his nostrils at all four of them. This caused the princesses to cover their faces with their wings and cough violently. Even the dragons coughed a little from the thick smoke. Celestia and Percy used their wings to fan away the smoke.

“I see what’s going on now.” Grumblebog said. “You children think you can just manipulate me using your dragon visitors?”

“We’re only trying to persuade you.” Luna said innocently.

“Well that’s not going to work!” he replied angrily.

“But Grumblebog, we’ve heard that you are one of the Northern Drakes which are said to be tamer than most other dragons. Are you not one of these dragons?” Celestia continued starting to sound rather worried.

“I am a Northern Drake, yes, but I am different. The others do not take the time to find the mightiest of mountains with gold in them to horde away. That is the true way of the dragon. The drakes are weak and don’t behave like real dragons should.”

Once again things were not what either princess expected. Just like with Leogle, this mission did not look like it would end well. Celestia, however, did not give up yet. She thought hard to herself and then stepped forward bravely.

“Grumblebog…” she said.

“What now?!” Grumblebog replied.

“As I said before, we respect you and we do not want to get in an argument with you. We only want to be as reasonable as we possibly can and come to a fair agreement. We were not taught to be forceful and malevolent. We were taught to be peace-makers. If you leave, you may not be like a ‘real’ dragon but you will certainly be thanked by my father and the rest of the ponies for returning our gold.”

Grumblebog’s eyes started to move back and forth slowly as if he was deep in thought. It was almost like he was actually considering what Celestia had just told him. He closed his eyes for a second and then then looked back and began to speak again.

“Look……I am a dragon.” he started to say “I am a creature that is meant to be feared by all and I am not going to give in to this pitiful advice you are giving me.” He then stood up on his front legs to instill fear into them and looked taller and more imposing. “Your little dragon friends back there; they are infants. They don’t know what it is like to be a dragon because they were raised by weak-minded equines who live lives of luxury and peace. My race has grown soft and I am not going to be like them anymore!”

Grumblebog’s voice grew louder and louder and little rocks started to fall down from the cavern walls and the princesses and dragons started to walk backwards in fear.

“I am the Mighty Grumblebog, and I will not be so easily controlled by little brats like you! This cave belongs to me now and if anyone, pony or otherwise, tries to take it from me they will meet my wrath!!!”

Celestia and Luna looked horrified and didn’t know what to do. Luna started crying to see if that would change his mind.

“Grumblebog…” she whimpered. “Please……please let us have our gold back? Would you want to hurt our feelings? Innocent little ponies like us?”

Grumblebog rolled his eyes.

“Oh my goodness, now you’re just mocking me! WHAT PART OF ‘GET OUT’ DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!?!?!”

Grumblebog hollered at them so loud that he accidentally blew fire at them but Celestia acted quickly and used her magic shield which protected all four of them from the fire and the heat. Grumblebog paused for a moment while panting and looked at the magic shield curiously. Celestia had her eyes closed but then started to open them with a very angry face. Then she lost her temper.

“HOW DARE YOU, GRUMBLEBOG!!” she screamed.

“SHHHH, TIA, WATCH IT!” Percy shouted.

“We’ve been nice to you! We’ve offered you another mountain, and this is how you treat us?! DO YOU HAVE ANY COMPASSION LEFT IN YOU AT ALL?!?”

Suddenly, she started to realize what she was doing and stopped shouting.

“Oh……I mean…no, what was I thinking…” she said to herself.

“Hahaha…”

For the first time ever, a smile started to form on Grumblebog’s face as he chuckled, but it was not a friendly laugh.

“Impressive, little princess.” he told her. “With that attitude perhaps you’d be much better at negotiating……but it won’t work on me. I am the king of this mountain now. Your pathetic father can mourn for his gold all he wants, but he cannot make me leave this cave. Now unless you all want to burn or strain yourself from using that magic shield, I suggest you leave.”

It didn’t take much to cause Celestia to burst into tears and rush out of the cave. She had just made the biggest mistake she could possibly make and ruined this negotiation with that outrage. She needed to get out of there and back to the palace as fast as she could.

“TIA, WAIT!!” Luna called running after her sister with Percy and Penny running away from Grumblebog scared for their lives.

Grumblebog watched them leave and stopped smiling. Without any remorse for how he treated them, he blew some smoke out of his nostrils and laid his head to rest back on his pillow of golden coins.

“Hmmf. Ponies.” he grunted.

Meanwhile, Celestia was soaring out of the cave entrance at high speed and Luna could barely keep up with her. She took off and flew while Percy grabbed his sister and carried her away. By now, Celestia was too far away for Luna to keep up with so she just slowed down and stuck close to the dragons to keep them company.

“You okay, Luna?” Penny asked her.

“We……we failed, again…We should never have come here. That dragon is far too dangerous.” Luna responded, miserably.

“I don’t want to say ‘I told you so’ Penny…” Percy told Penny, “but……well, I told-”

“You told me so, yes, I know, Bro.” Penny mumbled, cutting off her brother.

“Well…I sure hope the next assignment lands us in a much more welcoming place.” Luna said as she looked back at Celestia who was now several hundreds of yards away. The faint sound of her crying could be heard.

Luna then noticed it had gotten cloudier and the afternoon sun was completely blocked out. She looked back at the waterfall by the mountain and the rainbow they saw earlier was gone. Whatever luck they may have had when they entered that mine was now gone.

TO BE CONTINUED…

11. Failed Again

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CHAPTER 11: Failed Again

Later that afternoon, King Solmidas and Accord were standing out on the balcony right above the main entrance discussing Grumblebog and Celestia and Luna’s studies. Solmidas was somewhat on edge about the mission but Accord came to talk to his old friend to get his mind off of it and keep him from worrying about his daughters.

“When they return, I’ll bet they’ll either have good news that the dragon has left or they’ll have a little bad news that he didn’t leave because he’d rather not talk at the moment.” Accord explained to the king. “I’m sure he isn’t a brute, just probably a bit ornery and needs a good talking to.”

“I trust you are right, Accord.” the king said, gazing off at the southern sky waiting to see the princesses and dragons flying back to the palace. “It isn’t just the girls I’m worried about but the state of the economy if that dragon continues to linger in those caves. We had a lot of gold in there.”

“Well don’t forget, if he does stay in there, there are other ways we can get him out.” Accord said in a darker tone of voice.

“I would rather not take that approach, my friend.” said the king thoughtfully. “I still live with regrets making such decisions. The war against the Ice Minotaurs still remains in the back of my head.”

“But Sol, without winning that war, you probably wouldn’t be king.” Accord reminded his friend.

“I still think it could have been handled better. Equestria was much darker back then. I would prefer that war never be an option again for the remainder of my time as king and I certainly hope Celestia and Luna never go through the same ordeal.”

“Sometimes we have to fight for ourselves, Sol, even if it means war.” said Accord, turning to the king. “As I recall correctly, King Gallium and you yourself gave the minotaurs a chance for peace before the war started, but they refused. In the end they brought their own demise upon themselves when your alicorn army won the war.”

“I see what you’re getting at Accord.” the king replied. “Defensive war is justified, I know……but it is still war.”

“Don’t worry, old friend. I am sure it won’t come to that. The girls had a bit of bad luck with Leogle but I think they’re more prepared with this one. Consider that first negotiation to be a prelude to this. When they get back here they’ll probably have much better news than when……oh, was that Celestia?” Accord said looking back over his shoulder to see Celestia flying straight for the royal living quarters.

Solmidas’s ears perked up and he looked back just in time to see Celestia disappear into the window of her bedroom at the top of the palace.

“CELESTIA?!” the king shouted, to get her attention but she was already inside and either didn’t hear him or was ignoring him.

“Where are the others?” he asked.

Just then Accord and Solmidas heard heavy panting in the other direction. They turned their heads back to the south to see Luna, Percy, and Penny flying in and looking rather exhausted.

“Luna!?” the king said, “What happened? Is your sister alright?”

“No, father, none of us are…” Luna said landing on the balcony floor and immediately hanging her head.

Percy landed behind her and put his sister down before he bent over gasping for breath before speaking.

“GRUMBLE…..GRUBMLEBOG……” he said putting his finger up to breathe “Hold on……let me just……”

“Take a deep breath, Percy.” Accord said putting his hoof around the teenage dragon. “Now tell us, what happened? Was Grumblebog a little rude?”

“A little rude?!” Penny shouted. “THE GUY WAS NASTY!!!”

“I never……want to see another grown dragon as long as I live…” Percy said falling down on the ground in a daze.

Accord and Solmidas were standing in shock with their mouths open and looked at each other.

“Father I’m so sorry but I think Tia and I made a mistake in going there.” Luna said. “We tried everything we’ve learned, we took all of Accord’s advice and it just didn’t work. We couldn’t get him to give up the gold and Percy and Penny couldn’t sway him to either.”

“But you were persuasive right?” Accord asked.

“Of course……well, we were until…”

“Until what, Luna?” her father asked her.

“Until Celestia got angry at him right after he blew some fire at us.”

“Celestia lost her temper?” he asked calmly.

“Yeah, she did.”

Percy picked himself back up with his sister’s help and continued speaking.

“Well, Your Highness…” he started saying to the king, “…I just want you to know, they were pretty good, just like with Leogle...”

“Yeah, besides the part where Tia got mad.” Penny said bashfully.

“It’s just weird that that dragon didn’t listen either.” Percy continued.

The king appeared very worried and skeptical. He stared down at the ground and closed his eyes and turned away to think. “This is all my fault.” he said.

“Oh no father, it’s not like tha-“ Luna said before Accord placed his hoof in front of her as if to silence her. He could tell the king needed a moment alone.

“I never should have sent you two in there. I should have known it would have been dangerous despite all the theories that that dragon is tamer than he looks.”

The king then turned around looking very grave.

“No one is to enter that cave without my permission lest they perish of dragon’s fire. Luna, you and your sister will find another test to complete but I cannot allow anymore tests that require traveling by yourselves into any suspicious territories. It must be completed in the courts where it is safe.”

The king stood tall over his daughter. Luna was almost scared of her father at first but nodded her head.

“Yes, Your Highness.” she told him.

“I’m sorry, my child…” he replied, placing his wing around her, “…but we need to start treating these diplomatic assignments for what they are, not as dangerous missions. As your father I should be protecting you from such things……and I failed.”

Solmidas then turned away and walked into the doorway to go talk with Celestia. Accord put his wing around Luna as tears started forming in her eyes. Percy and Penny both walked by Accord and Luna to go to their tower to sleep.

“You hungry for any gems tonight, Penny?” Percy asked his sister.

“No.” she said flatly. “Let’s just go to bed…”

Meanwhile in Celestia’s bedroom, Queen Chernalia sat with her on her bed talking about what had just happened with Grumblebog.

“And then that was it, Mother.” Celestia told the queen. “I lost my way and thanks to me Luna and I have failed once again.”

Celestia buried her face in her front hooves and continued crying as her mother wrapped her wing around the downtrodden young mare.

“Dear, you may have made a mistake, but you did say the dragon was unreasonable. It’s not your fault completely.” Chernalia said.

“I know, I just think it could have gone better if I didn’t let my temper get the best of me.”

Just then the king appeared in the doorway before Chernalia and Celestia. He looked rather worried, and Celestia could tell he already had heard about what had happened.

“Father…” she said.

“Your sister told me about the dragon, Celestia.” he replied.

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“I am at fault as well. I should have known he would be too wild.”

“But what will we do about the gold now?”

“Do not worry about it. I will deal with it myself.” The king said, walking towards the bed his wife and daughter were seated on.

“Your father is right, Celestia.” Chernalia added. “We will find another test for you and your sister in time.”

“But how do we expect to pass anymore tests if we failed the first two?” Celestia asked.

“By keeping them basic, my daughter.” the king replied. “Like I told your sister earlier; I can’t allow you two to go out into the wild on diplomatic assignments like this anymore. If you are to complete your studies, it will be done in a much more stable environment: the palace.”

“Yes, Father.” Celestia said, bowing her head.

The king came closer and lifted her head with his hoof.

“I’m not disappointed in you and your sister, Celestia.” he told her. “I believe you when you said you tried your hardest, but you two must wait longer until you are ready to take these tests again. We’ve been rushing you with completing it, and you have been rushing yourselves.”

Celestia paused for a moment and thought hard to herself. She imagined all that had happened within just a few months and how unusual it was. Perhaps her father was right. Perhaps they were rushing it, causing them to fail so easily. There was no set deadline for them to become part of the parliament anyhow and they had plenty of time to prepare for a more proper negotiation. A negotiation in the courts sounded more civil and practical so it would be something to look forward to. She then wiped her tears away with a magical aura and looked up to her father.

“You’re right, father. Luna and I will keep studying but we will wait patiently for the next test. And we will let you decide on what it shall be next time.” she said.

The king smiled and Celestia moved forward and nuzzled against him with her mother joining in. They all then looked to the side to see Luna next to the bed. She had been crying as well but she began to smile at the sight of this. Celestia opened her wing and Luna fluttered up onto the bed and joined in their warm embrace.

The next morning Celestia had gotten up early and was wandering around the palace alone with a small cup of warm tea to drink. She was deep in thought about what had happened yesterday, but the talk with her parents made her feel better.

She made her way into the Royal Wing and began looking at some of the stained glass windows. She noticed how majestic and powerful the image of her father was in the middle window on the eastern half of the great hall. She smiled at the sight of the brave stallion standing up against the Ice Minotaurs and thought of herself for a second. It must have taken years for her father to reach a stage of his life where he looked like this and was powerful and wise enough to lead an army against these monsters in order to defeat them. If it took her father years then it could very well take her just as long. The last few weeks with these failed negotiations were of course embarrassing, but her father had had some failures before his coronation. Despite what had happened with Leogle and Grumblebog, she reminded herself that her father, now a great and powerful king of a country, was no different than she was and she could be just like him if she would accept the past and move along. She closed her eyes and took a sip of the tea.

She suddenly noticed a presence nearby and looked to the side to see Starswirl.

“Oh, Starswirl!” she said startled.

“He looks incredible, doesn’t he?” Starswirl commented while looking up to the window she had been admiring earlier.

“A lot of us didn’t believe he could do it you know. Of course this was before he would be our king. But he did. He stood up to the minotaurs without any fear and his entire army did the same because they saw just how effective his own courage was. Now he is our king. The stallion we doubted is king.”

Celestia already knew what Starswirl was getting at.

“I’m guessing by now you know about Grumblebog?” she asked him.

“Percy just finished informing the parliament, yes.” he replied.

“Oh, did he? What did they say?”

“They had the same reaction as last time.” He said turning around and walking towards the entrance with her following him close behind.

“You’re not even a little disappointed?”

“I am certainly surprised at the dragon’s reaction. I suppose to some extent I can understand why you would get angry the way you did. Thankfully Percy never mentioned that to the senators though.”

“Good. I would hate for everyone to know about my outrage.”

“Yes, but it matters not, Your Highness.” said the unicorn wizard, putting his hoof around her.

“I know.” Celestia said taking one last sip of her tea. “Well, Luna and I have plenty of time to prepare for a better diplomatic assignment. I’m not going to let this whole issue with the dragon bring me down.”

“That’s the spirit.” Starswirl said proudly. “I am sure a better opportunity will present itself for you two. For now, I think it would be best for you to go get ready for your class to start in the next half hour.”

“Good idea. Thanks, Starswirl.” She said, nuzzling him and then trotting off down the staircase entrance.

“Confident as usual, I see.” a familiar voice said from behind Starswirl, startling him a bit.

“Oh, Accord. I had no idea you were in here all along.”

“I was hiding behind the Ice Minotaur in that window.” Accord said smugly.

“Ah. Goodness, my friend. You and your stained glass tricks all the time.” Starswirl chuckled as they both walked down the stairs to leave the Royal Wing.

“You don’t seem to be so worried though.”

“Worried?”

“About the dragon and the gold, of course.”

“Well…… I suppose it’s not the greatest news we’ve had all day, especially now that we’ve lost the Griffon Province’s loyalty and now practically half of the king’s treasury.”

“I was very certain that dragon would cooperate, Starswirl…” Accord said suspiciously. “…though I’m sure the girls did do their hardest. I’d just hate to see them flop the next test whenever we have it.”

“They will do fine, Accord. By the way, how are the renovations going?” Starswirl asked, trying to change the subject.

“Oh they’re going splendid.” he said proudly. “The town is growing much more beautiful and the citizens more hopeful. It’s just a matter of time before I fix the entire kingdom.”

“The entire kingdom?” Starswirl replied, almost laughing at what Accord said.

“Well the town at least.”

“You don’t actually intend to change everything, do you?”

“Oh, many things will change, Starswirl. You will see.”

Accord continued walking while Starswirl just slowed down thinking to himself. He wondered why Accord was so set on fixing everything up all of a sudden and if he’d be able to afford it. The tall alicorn senator was rather ambitious. Perhaps whatever was bothering him before may have simply been that the ponies of the town deserved better. Though it did seem Accord was almost trying to make himself look better than the royals by doing all this. Or perhaps he really did care and wanted everyone to have something to look forward to in the midst of these crises. Accord was known to be very caring after all.

“Well……you are doing the kingdom a great deed my friend.” he continued “And your generosity shall be rewarded one day.”

Accord and Starswirl continued on into the main court where another day of important decision making would be done. Though the princesses were doing their best to be hopeful for the future, things were about to be rather difficult for the parliament…

TO BE CONTINUED…

12. The Comfort of Children

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The Comfort of Children

The South Spire Mountain continued spewing forth the smoke coming from Grumblebog. It got thicker and closer to Everfree with every passing day. None of the soldier ponies in the valley below dared enter the cave, though they would send some troops up every now and then to check the cave entrance for any signs that the dragon may have finally left. One morning, two soldiers walked cautiously up the mountainside path to the top of the cliff to make their rounds.

“I can already hear the snoring.” said the first guard, sighing.

“Yes, and wouldn’t you know, more smoke.” the other said sarcastically.

They continued walking just to be sure and looked hard into the entrance just as they got to the top. Not only was it dark inside, the smoke was starting to get so thick it made it hard to see the reflection of light on the gold.

“Well, there’s definitely a dragon in there,” said the soldier, pushing his helmet visor up.

“Just great,” the other replied. “I still don’t understand why King Solmidas thought it was a good idea to send his daughters in there. They probably only made him angrier.”

“Yeah, and then the king just sits around not knowing how to solve this problem. He could probably just blast the beast if he wanted to.”

“Well, you know the king’s a pacifist.”

“Of course, but he should consider how badly this will affect the rest of us. Hopefully, next time, he’ll handle the situation properly rather than leaving this in the hooves of his daughters who, let’s be totally honest, never stood a chance.”

As the two soldiers walked back down the path to the forest below, behind a large rock nearby was the mysterious cloaked pony who watched the princesses and Accord on the shore earlier that year. He kept a close eye on the soldiers until they disappeared down the side of the mountain. He then turned his head and looked into the cave entrance, lifted his snout to sniff the air, and then gazed out to the north where the palace could just barely be seen in the horizon.

“I had a feeling it would come to this.,” he said to himself, shaking his head. “They could be capable, though they lack the confidence needed. The dragon is understandable, but I don’t see how the griffons could have been a problem for the princesses. This is all starting to look very suspicious…”

The stallion looked down and began stroking his beard which was just barely obscured by his hood.

“If they fail this next mission, I fear……I fear for the safety of the kingdom. Whatever it is, these dreams, this chaos I constantly see in my sleep, I doubt anyone can stop it.”

He turned his head and looked out to the west. “If you two were still here, we would know how to deal with this……but that time is over.” Putting his head down, the mysterious pony returned to the shadows behind the rocks. “We are running out of time. I must find them…”

Back at the Everfree Palace, the princesses and dragons were out on the northern balcony walking around and talking as they went. They stopped on the edge and watched the town, where plenty of worker ponies were fixing up nearby houses. Senator Accord was walking through the streets, accompanied by a posse of guards.

“Just look at how much progress is being done with the town, you guys!” Penny exclaimed.

“I know, right? Just a few weeks ago that entire block was nothing but little stone huts and thatched-roof cottages that looked like they were about to fall over!” Percy added.

“Well that is certainly Accord: always willing to help the needy.” Luna said proudly. “You know, Tia, it’s almost as if he’s preparing for when you and I will be leading!”

“Accord knows we’re going to need all the help we can get and he’s taking necessary measures.” Celestia said, wrapping her wing around her little sister.

Celestia looked on as Accord took out a small bag of coins and gave them to beggars on the side of the street.

“I’m sure glad we have him on our side. He’s been the perfect influence on us for so long.”

“OH MY GOODNESS!” Luna gasped. “Tia, Starswirl’s lessons start any minute! We’re going to be late!”

“Oh! Well, pony feathers!” Celestia said laughing a little, “Silly old me. Come on Luna, we best get moving! Bye guys!”

“Bye Tia! Bye Luna!” the dragons said waving to the princesses as they flew off towards the educational center.

Meanwhile, down in the town, Accord continued walking while flanked by his guards stopping every now and then to talk to some ponies.

“Senator Accord!” shouted a landlord pony whose buildings were currently being repaired. “Oh Senator, I am so honored to be in your presence!” he said bowing. “You have no idea how much this district has been needing renovations!”

“That is why I am here, my friend.” Accord said, smiling warmly.

“Everywhere I go, Your Honor, ponies talk about you so much.” the landlord continued, “They always say such good things about you. You are giving money to the poor on the streets, you are lifting our spirits with your speeches and lectures, and now you selflessly sacrifice your own riches to help improve this city!”

“This is something I have been meaning to do for quite some time.” Accord replied. “Nothing makes me feel better than knowing I can help you all and seeing just how grand the results are. And this is just the beginning. There are plenty of other areas that need improvement, and I will do all in my power to see it all come to fruition.”

“I understand, wise Senator. I thank you so much for what you are doing. You are one of the kindest ponies I have ever met.” he said bowing to Accord.

“Thanks to you as well, my friend.” said Accord bowing his head in response. “Now I must be off to meet with your fellow landlords and see the improvements.”

The landlord pony walked off happily. A worker pony came out from a nearby building to talk to Accord.

“Senator, I have excellent news!” he said. “This entire block is nearly finished and hopefully in another day or so we will be ready to move on to the next one. The workers are moving much faster with each passing day.”

“Excellent job!” Accord replied. “I shall see to it that you are all paid handsomely. Do keep me up-to-date on all of this. I must go now to check the other buildings if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, Senator. I will not forget it.”
Accord walked on with a smile on his face, looking around at all the other worker ponies renovating the buildings.

“It’s even better than I thought.”

In the educational center, Starswirl the Bearded stood in his classroom waiting for the princesses to arrive for their lessons. They were running a little late, but that wasn’t what was on his mind at the moment. He looked at a nearby banner adorned with an image of King Solmidas and sighed.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Celestia and Luna rushed in.

“STARSWIRL!” Luna shouted, “Starswirl, we’re so sorry we’re late!”

“Oh, Highnesses!” he replied, startled.

“We aren’t in trouble for that, are we Starswirl?” Celestia asked.

“It’s alright, Celestia, it’s alright. I was just…I was just deep in thought. Now, where was I? Oh……yes.” The unicorn wizard got up from behind his desk and used his magic to levitate some books towards him. He opened one of them and started flipping through the pages while rubbing his forehead with his hoof.

“Is everything alright, Starswirl?” Celestia asked him.

“Well……I don’t know, Princess…” he replied. “I guess I’ve just been a little worried lately…”

“Is it about the dragon and things of that ilk?” asked Luna.

“Well……it’s the king actually.” Starswirl closed the book he was reading right after bending one of the pages down and set it on his desk. “Your father hasn’t really been himself lately. He's been very preoccupied with the griffons and, of course, Grumblebog, and all of this has been taking a toll on his kingdom.”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other worriedly.

“Now, I know you two may think it’s your fault, but you need not blame yourselves for any of this. The King thinks it’s his fault actually. He feels he made the mistake of sending you to a cave with a dragon inside and put you in danger. I’ve tried telling him otherwise, but he still worries over the fact that we lost our diplomatic ties with the griffons, and now that dragon has ownership of half the treasury. There are rumors that he’s even considering inflicting punishment on the dragon.”

“As in…” Celestia started saying.

“As in he may have to use magic to slay the beast or at least injure him enough to scare him out of the cave.”

“Would he really do that?” Luna asked.

“Your father never wants to kill anyone or anything, Princess…but just the fact that he may have no other choice is making him uneasy.”

“Do you think there’s anything we can do about it? I mean like…not go back and try to speak to the dragon, we’ve already tried that, but can we cheer Father up at all?” Celestia asked.

“If I know King Solmidas, I know he will find joy in knowing just what wonderful daughters he has. If you two can find any way to comfort him, I’m sure it would lift his spirits. After all, he may be a king but he is also a father. Anyway, we best get on to your lessons…”

Celestia looked down and thought about this news. Her father was not doing well, and she felt responsible.

“Perhaps Starswirl is right. Luna and I need to be there for Father.” she thought to herself.

While Starswirl was going through some books and writing things on the nearest chalkboard, she quickly wrote a tiny letter and used her magic to pass it to Luna. Luna carefully took the letter with her magic and read it to herself:

Meet me after magic lessons

Luna looked to her sister and gave her a quick wink and Celestia did the same.

That night, the royal family sat in the dining hall, feasting after a long day’s work. Queen Chernalia was in the middle of talking about some extraordinary things she saw while roaming through the streets of Everfree, like the new renovations that Accord was preparing.

“The city is looking even better than it ever has before.” she told her children and the dragons. “I never thought Accord would be quite this generous. It’s astounding to know how much work he is putting into this project.”

“Well Mother, how are things going here?” Celestia asked. “Like, are the subjects doing their jobs as well as they always do? How is it going in the courts?”

“Oh it’s politics. It’s always the same here.” the queen said dabbing a napkin on her lips. “For starters, there are some senators trying to pass legislation having to do with our backup plans following the Griffon Province’s departure from the union. As you can imagine it’s quite a hassle.”

The King ate his food without saying much, but the mention of the issues with the griffons made him even more solemn. He put his fork down briefly and looked to the side. His wife put her hoof on top of his. She realized she had reminded him of something he did not want to think about at dinner. The King sighed and continued eating.

“Is everything alright, Father?” Luna asked.

“Your father has been having rough times lately, Luna.” Chernalia responded.

The entire hall was silent for a few moments until finally Celestia and Luna exchanged glances and gave each other nods of approval. They had to do something to lift their father’s spirits.

“Hey Father?” Celestia asked him.

The King raised his head to attentively respond his daughter and cleared his throat.

“Yes, Celestia?”

“Do you remember……hehehe, well I was just thinking about it this afternoon but do you remember that time back when Luna was really young. I think she was almost a year old and she was having her first meal here in this room. Do you remember that?”

Finally, Solmidas started to smile a little.

“I remember it, Celestia.” he said.

“Wait, what’s this now?” Luna said, puzzled.

“Yeah, she was really little; she still had to be spoon-fed, but she thought the spoon was what she was supposed to be eating or something.”

“I ate a spoon?” Luna asked.

“Your mother was feeding you some of that pudding you love and you just wouldn’t let go of the spoon.” the king replied.

“Oh gosh, I remember that!” Percy said, nearly choking on some of the gems he was eating. “I was such a little dragon, but I remember it!”

“What happened next?” Penny asked the king.

“Hehe, well, it was…Why don’t you tell them, dear? You’re better at this story than I am.” Solmidas told his queen.

“Alright, well……actually, Celestia, you were close. It was Luna’s first birthday, remember?” Chernalia started saying.

“Oh, her birthday! That’s why we had the pudding and tarts and all those other cavity-inducing things on the table!” Celestia responded, quivering a bit at the thought of sweets she was not fond of.

“Yes, we were celebrating her birthday in here and she started playing around with the spoon.” her mother replied.

Percy continued explaining what happened using a nearby spoon to illustrate.

“She kept the spoon in her mouth like this and everyone just started laughing!” he said.

“Plus, some of the chefs and servants came in to see what the commotion was about. That only added more laughter.” Celestia said, giggling while talking.

“Aw, is this something I missed out on back when I had just hatched?” Penny asked.

“Yeah, poor Penny didn’t get to see any of this. It was, like, right around the time us dragons came to this palace when I was little and she was a newborn.” Percy explained.

Luna’s head was darting back and forth every time someone spoke. She still didn’t understand what this was all about.

“Did I really do this when I was a foal?” she asked.

“You had so many moments at the table back when you were little, Luna.” her mother said.

“Luna, it looked like this. Here, watch…” Celestia said.

She put her spoon into her mouth, then, with her head back, used her lower jaw to wiggle it around for everyone to see. Everyone at the table began to laugh.

“HA!!! Why didn’t you guys tell me I did this when I was that age?” Luna said laughing along.

“Wasn’t that also when Accord asked you to sing the song of the alphabet, Celestia?” Percy asked.

“Oh yeah…” Celestia responded blushing a little. “A few minutes after the commotion, he asked me to do that and I was so embarrassed. I started singing but everyone was staring at me so I shrunk down in my seat.”

“Gah! Why did I have to be so young at that time?” Penny complained while laughing.

“Oh Luna,” the queen said, “did I ever tell you about that time when Accord was holding you when you were an infant and you-“

“Yeeees.” Luna said sarcastically.

“What happened?” asked Penny.

“You weren’t around when this happened, Penny, but when Accord held Luna for the first time she threw up all over his face.” Chernalia told Penny.

Out of embarrassment, Luna buried her face in her salad bowl that still had some food in it.

“Luna, if you think you’re embarrassed now, you should have seen Accord after that!” Celestia said to Luna.

“Alright, alright, methinks the Princess of the Night has had enough humiliation for one day.” Luna said wiping food off of her face.

“Yeah, bro, let’s not forget that incident with the gems during the annual ball!” Penny teased.

“UGGGGH, CAN WE NOT?!” Percy said, covering his face while trying not to laugh.

The king continued laughing a little before taking a sip from his chalice. “Those were indeed good days.” he said. “You four are growing up so fast.”

“We have fine children and dragons with us.” the queen added.

The room was silent for a few moments until the king finally stood up. His wife, children and the dragons did the same. They were finished with their food and were ready to leave to attend other matters before bedtime. The king tapped his hoof on the ground several times, and a few servants came to take away the plates and silverware.

“I enjoyed these old funny stories, children.” he said gratefully. “It’s always entertaining to have these conversations at dining hour.”

“You’re welcome, Father.” Celestia said, bowing politely along with Luna and the dragons.

The princesses and dragons then walked out of the dining hall to attend to their duties. The dragons volunteered to help in the courtroom that night as Celestia and Luna were heading to their room to continue with their studies before sleeping.

“We had a good time tonight, Sol.” Chernalia said as she nuzzled herself against the king.

“Yes, we did, didn’t we?” he replied as he draped his wing around her.

“I know you’re worried about the griffons and such, but we need to both take the time to enjoy what we are given as parents.” she told him.

“You’re right. I don’t really know what we’d do without them in our lives.”

With that, they parted ways, and the queen walked towards the entrance that lead to the main court, where Accord and the others were still working.

“Well I’m going to go check on the courts for now; I’ll see you in bed, my love.”

The King stood over the table, deep in thought as the servants cleaned away. A royal guard then entered.

“Your Highness?” he said to the king.

“What is it, Safeguard?” he responded.

Safeguard came over to the king and whispered something in his ears. Solmidas’s ears perked up and his eyes widened at the news he was being given.

“This news just came in?” he asked Safeguard.

“Yes, My Lord. They actually sent one of their own messengers to us first.”

“That is good to hear. Thank you, Safeguard. I will speak with the others soon.” Safeguard bowed and exited the dining hall.

The king sighed in relief at what he was just told. Whatever it was, it was certainly good news.

“I knew you’d come around eventually, Leogle…” he said.

13. Good News at Last!

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CHAPTER 13: Good News at Last!

King Solmidas awoke to the sound of the bell his servants would ring every morning. He yawned, removed his covers, and got up to get ready to start the day. He walked over to a nearby desk and levitated his crown towards him. Before putting it on he looked into his reflection on the shiny, spotless, gold surface. He stared at it for a while, thinking about the news he received right after dinner last night. It was big news, but everypony had things to do and would be heading to bed soon at that time, so he saved it all for today. The first pony he would have to tell, of course, would be his queen.

“Chernalia?” he said, turning around to her.

“Yes, Love?” the queen responded as she got up and out of bed.

“Last night after you left the table, Safeguard came with some news.”

“What sort of news?” she asked.

“Well, it seems Leogle wants to come over to the palace and meet with Celestia and Luna to discuss things and……possibly make amends.”

Queen Chernalia’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open for a moment.

“Sol, tell me you’re jesting!”

“I am not. It’s what I was told.”

The queen smiled, went over and nuzzled against her husband.

“Chernalia…” the king started, but she was so overcome with joy she didn’t even hear him.

“It’s finally happening, my love.” she said, “Things are going our way once again! I’m sure he’ll ask the girls for forgiveness, and they’ll-”

“Yes, yes, that’s wonderful, Love, but…”

“What’s wrong?”

The king turned and started walking around while speaking to Chernalia. There was some tension in his voice.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the general has had a change of heart, I’m just not too sure about our daughters going up against him again.” he said.

“What are you talking about?” Chernalia asked him.

“It’s not that I don’t trust them, it’s just……it’s just I can’t help but feel they still aren’t ready for this…”

“What makes you say that?”

“I’m sure they did admirably, but something tells me there’s a reason why they failed the first time, not to mention once again with the dragon.”

Chernalia tilted her head and gave her husband a somewhat sarcastic, but stern, look.

“Solmidas, dear, I wouldn’t worry about it. The first time Leogle treated them awfully, that was why they failed. The dragon was just a mistake on both our parts. If Leogle is ready to ask for forgiveness this time I’m sure it will work out.”

“Chernalia, it’s not Leogle I’m worried about…”

“Do you not trust your daughters?”

The King closed eyes almost in fear of how his wife could react to what he was about to say.

“I just don’t know if I can trust them with this just yet…”

“Sol…”

“I know those first two tests were not in their favor, but what if they fail this one too? I can’t afford to let my daughters make fools of themselves.”

“SOL!” the queen bellowed. “Your daughters…fools!?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that…” the king said nervously, shaking his head. “I’m not saying they would look like fools, but I don’t want them humiliated in front of my subjects. We are talking about the future leaders of Equestria!”

“Sol, you’ve already been told just how well they handled these tests even though it didn’t go well. Percy and Penny were there, they documented how professional our daughters were.”

“And what about when Celestia barked back at the dragon?” the king said almost getting angry.

His wife shook her head, looking disappointed.

The King turned around and frantically walked back and forth in the room.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry……I’m just so worried, I can’t see it happening any other way…”

He put his head out a window. For a few seconds she left him there to recollect himself until she joined him with her wing around his back.

“My King, you need to have faith in your daughters.” she told him.

“Should I let them talk to him when he comes?” he asked his wife.

“I think it’s worth a try. They will be with you this time, they don’t really need to change what they did last time, and think about it: if Leogle was apologetic enough to arrange to meet again, what could go wrong?”

“Alright.” he said after a long pause. “I will let them know about this and they will meet with him, providing they can prepare to negotiate. I will be presiding over the meeting, but I will allow them to do most of the talking.”

“It’s going to be alright, my love.” she said nuzzling him once again as he did the same. “I know you’re worried but as I said, all we can do right now is have faith.”

The royals continued to embrace one another for a few moments longer until they both parted and got ready to put on their regal garments and prepare to do their duties.

Neither of them knew it, but during this entire time, Percy was listening outside. He meant to knock on the door to ask a question, but he didn’t want to interrupt; though he couldn’t keep himself from eavesdropping.

“Oh boy…” he said under his breath.

“So the General wants to see them again? Gee, I sure hope he’s ready to say sorry.”

Percy began pacing around in front of the doors thinking about what he had just heard while stroking his scaly chin and talking out loud.

“I haven’t heard the king and queen get in that heated of an argument in a long time. It’s crazy to hear Sol say how he’s having a hard time trusting Tia and Luna. I sure hope he hasn’t lost all his faith in them. I know I haven’t. Still, I best not say anything about this. He’ll tell them later but I don’t want them knowing he’s a little iffy about trusting them with this. I’d hate to drive a wedge between the royal family…”

“Is everything alright, Perseus?” said a familiar voice from behind.

“OH, ACCORD!” Percy yelped nearly tripping over his own tail. “It’s you……I, um…”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snoop.” Accord said politely.

“Eh, it’s okay. I mean you’re going to know what the king was talking about in there eventually, so I guess it’s no secret.”

“Oh? What happened, might I ask?”

“Well…” Percy got ready to speak but remembered to not mention what the king had said about his daughters. “Apparently we just got word that General Leogle has had a change of heart, and he wants to come back and meet with us and talk to Tia and Luna. I think he might want to apologize or something……at least that’s what I’m hoping.”

Rather than having an overjoyed expression, Accord seemed somewhat shocked and confused.

“Er…Leogle has changed his mind already?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s good, right?”

Accord suddenly smiled and continued speaking.

“Oh, well of course it’s good! That’s wonderful news indeed! Just…you know it’s a little odd how quickly it happened.”

“Yeah, I can’t disagree with you on that.” Percy replied. “Well I’m quite sure Tia and Luna are going to do just fine talking to him this time, since he seems sorry and the king is going to sit in on the negotiations and stuff.”

“Indeed. Well it’s only a matter of time before the princesses know about this as well.”

“Yeah, he’s going to tell them soon but don’t tell anyone I told you this.” Percy begged. “I don’t want the king thinking I’m spying, I just was going to ask him something and then I heard him talking about it in there to Queen Chernalia. I can’t even remember what I was going to ask him now. Hehe…Well, I best get a move on; I’ve got things to do.”

Percy ran down the stairs to go off to his duties, and talk to Penny about all this when he had time.

“Yes, have fun, Percy, and thanks for letting me know about this!” Accord said looking back while smiling and waving to his dragon friend.

Once Percy was out of sight, Accord turned. He had a very skeptical look on his face and his tone of voice changed.

“So then, the General has already changed his mind?” he said to himself. “That’s rather……interesting. Seems he’s had plenty of time to think things over.”

Accord looked out the window Percy was standing in front of earlier and stroked his white beard.

“Well it looks like the princesses are ready for another test then I suppose. Good news for them indeed. Good news indeed…”

The wise alicorn senator spoke rather smugly than normal, but then continued on walking with a smile on his face, looking proud and confident as usual. It was in fact good news, though he didn’t seem to take it that way.

Later that day, Celestia and Luna were studying diplomacy in an unoccupied room in the educational center. Every day they had a study hall all to themselves for an hour to catch up on homework and other written obligations. Lately they had been taking advantage of this time to practice negotiating strategies in order to be prepared for their actual exam one day. As they were reading their textbooks and taking notes, a knock could be heard on the door.

“Come in.” Celestia said.

King Solmidas entered alone.

“Father …” Celestia said. “Is everything alright?”

“Daughters, I apologize if I am interrupting anything at the moment…” the king started saying.

“It’s alright, Father. We have time to talk.” Luna responded.

Celestia and Luna bookmarked their textbooks and set them down on their desks and approached Solmidas.

“I have some very good news for the two of you.” he said.

They glanced at each other briefly and then drew their attention back to their father, eager to know what he would tell them.

“I received word last night that General Leogle wants to meet with us in about a week. He wishes to have a more civil discussion than last time and make amends for what happened.”

Celestia’s mouth dropped open and Luna gasped with her eyes as big as saucers.

“Father, are you serious?!” Luna exclaimed.

“I am, Luna.” the king said, smiling.

“EEEEE!” Luna squealed flapping her wings while airborne.

“Oh my goodness!” Celestia exclaimed. “He’s actually willing to do this, Father?!”

“That’s right, Celestia. The general is willing to make up with both of you.”

“I knew this whole diplomacy thing would get easier from here on out!” Luna said.

“Wait, so he’s coming next week you say?” Celestia asked.

“He will be coming with some of his own officials, and I will be presiding over the negotiations.” the king explained.

“So you will be there with us then?” Celestia looked down quick and thought a few things over while her sister pranced about on the floor all excited. “Well this should be fine then! I’m sure having the discussion in these courts will make it much easier, especially with you in there, Father.”

“Your mother sure seems to think so, as do a few of my advisors.” the king said walking up next to his daughter and put his wing around her.

“Does everyone else know about this yet?” she asked.

“Right now just us, your mother, the dragons, and some of my advisors, that is all. Percy will address the courts on the matter later tonight.”

Luna snuggled up to her father’s leg warmly as he put his wing around her.

“So Father, do you think the general will listen this time?” she asked.

“It certainly seems like he’s ready to apologize. You two won’t need to really change what you did with him last time. I am certain you both handled the negotiations well then, but now that Leogle seems to have a change of mind, I’m sure this time will go much smoother.”

The king walked over to a nearby stained glass window in the classroom that showed an image of the royal family.

“You will both do fine with Leogle, I am sure.”

“And if we are successful, that will count as our final exam?” Celestia asked walking up to him.

“Yes, my daughter, it will count.” he replied.

“Tia can you believe this?!” Luna said jumping on top of Celestia’s back and peering into her sister’s eyes upside down.

“I’m just speechless over how fortunate we are now!” Celestia told her little sister.

“This is a sure sign that both of you made no mistake with your lessons and you are ready to do great things.” said the king, embracing his daughters.

Chernalia looked at her husband and daughters from the doorway. He looked back and they smiled at each other. She then left the doorway and walked down the long hallway with the late afternoon sunlight shining brightly from some nearby windows.

The queen walked slowly thinking about all the good things that had happened to the royal family lately. Being in the midst of turmoil was very tough for the king and her, but with things finally going as planned, she could only see it getting better from here on out. She made a content sigh and closed her eyes.

Suddenly the pitter-patter of dragon feet could be heard from a nearby stairwell and Percy and Penny appeared out of the corner of her eye.

“Queen Chernalia!” shouted Penny.

“Penny, Percy, what are you two doing here?” the queen said, laughing.

“Percy just got done telling everyone the good news! It’s true then? The general’s willing to come back and say sorry?” said the little dragon hopping up and down eagerly.

“It’s all true, Penny.”

Percy stepped forward rolling up a scroll that he used earlier to address the court.

“And the king just told Tia and Luna, right?” he asked Chernalia.

“Yes, Sol just told both of them. They were, of course, very glad to hear it.”

“Yeah, the parliament was glad to hear it too!” Percy said with a proud look on his face.

“I feel so happy for them!” Penny continued. “They’re going to nail this one!”

Chernalia giggled and walked on with the dragons down the hall as the dragons kept walking along and talking about the news. She looked out a window at the view of the Everfree City.

“Stand firm, Equestria.” she said. “Your future is bright.”

14. Sisters at Odds

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CHAPTER 14: Sisters at Odds

Luna sat at the table eating her morning breakfast attentively with a warm smile on her face. Ever since she was told about General Leogle, she couldn’t be happier. Everything seemed to be going quite well for the little blue filly.

Chernalia glanced at her daughter, smiling as she sipped from her chalice. Solmidas, however, seemed a bit concerned.

“Just where is Celestia?” he asked, turning his head back to look at the nearest clock in the dining hall. “Luna did you see your sister get out of bed before you came down?”

Luna opened her eyes and put her hoof up as if to tell her father to wait while she finished chewing her food. Then she started talking.

“I knocked on her door and told her breakfast was ready. She didn’t respond so I figured she was really tired, and didn’t want to wake her up, so I didn’t.” she told her parents.

“But shouldn’t you have let one of the servants know that so they could wake her and not let her sleep in past breakfast time?” Chernalia told her daughter.

“I didn’t think of that…” Luna said cautiously.

“I best go wake her up myself.” the king said rising from his chair.

“Oh it’s quite alright, Your Highness.” said a servant coming in through the doorway. “Here she is right now.”

Everyone turned around to see a rather tired-looking Celestia with bags under her eyes and a head of uncombed mane.

“I’m here every………….OOOOOO………pony.” she said, taking a yawn.

She walked over to her seat and started to eat her food but then realized that Percy and Penny were snickering at her while Luna simply looked a bit puzzled.

“What?” she asked.

“Tia, did you sleep well last night?” the king asked.

“Not really…like only an hour or two…”

“What were you doing that caused you to lose so much sleep?” asked her mother.

“Studying…”

“Wow, Tia…” Luna said. “I didn’t think you’d take it that seriously.”

“Well I figured since Father just told us about the thing with Leogle wanting to come back and talk and stuff I figured I should……study…and stuff.” she said, flatly.

“You sound like Percy!” Penny giggled.

“Only sillier!” Percy added.

“Tia, did you remember to comb your mane?” Luna asked.

“Oh…..I…uh…….no, I forgot. Shoot.” Celestia responded.

“Perhaps you’re taking your studies a bit too far, my daughter.” Chernalia told her as she used a hair-do spell on Celestia’s mane to make it neater and more presentable.

“But Mother…..the negotiations, remember?” Celestia said, sounding a little more agitated.

“Everyone needs a break from their studies, Celestia.” the king said putting his hoof on her shoulder. “I go through a lot of paperwork every day and I take time off when I need it.”

“Yeah, I did it last night too.” Luna chimed in cheerfully. “I took out one of my textbooks and studied a bit but my eyes started getting tired at one point and I knew it was time to head to bed so I did!”

“Alright Luna, just remember to not put off any studies.” the queen reminded her daughter.

“Oh of course not, Mother.” she responded. “I’ll study hard enough to ace that discussion with the General along with Tia!”

“I just hope the General really is okay this time around.” Percy said, about to eat a spoonful of gem-shards.

“According to what I’ve heard, he wishes to make amends.” said the king. “If I know the General, he’ll right his wrongs and whatever it is he did a while ago will be in the past.”

Solmidas took a quick sip from his goblet and dabbed his lips with a napkin. He turned back to Luna with a proud look on his face.

“You two are going to do just fine in those negotiations next weekend…”

A sudden snore came from Celestia’s direction and everyone turned to see her head was laid back with her eyes closed and her mouth wide open.

The dragons continued to laugh at such a sight.

“How much do you wanna bet I can throw this grape in her mouth in one successful shot?” Percy asked taking a grape out of a nearby fruit basket.

“Now now, leave her be, Perseus.” the queen said laughing a bit.

Suddenly Celestia’s head fell downward and her face spattered into her dish of food. Almost immediately after it happened she awoke bolt-upright with her eyes wide-opened.

“AAAGGGHHH!! What happened?! How long did I sleep in?! Are the negotiations done yet?!”

Percy and Penny fell out of their seats and laughed hysterically as Luna joined in giggling.

“You were only asleep for a few moments, Sister!” she said.

Celestia’s face turned grumpy as her father started wiping it off with a napkin.

“Celestia, it’s okay.” he told her. “We all have those days; let’s just try to get a little more beauty sleep next time.”

Celestia turned her head away and smiled a little to humor herself and gave a little laugh. She continued eating her food with a smile still on her face.

Later that afternoon the smile on Celestia’s face turned into a serious deadpan expression. She was once again deep in her studies. Luna sat next to her with the same textbook, reading carefully, before suddenly lifting her head and closed the book, breathing a sigh of relief.

“All done!” she said as she walked away from her work desk.

“Already?” Celestia asked her little sister.

“Yup!” Luna replied. “One and a half hour of constant studying. Now, a break.”

“Don’t you think you should study a little more? You were a bit behind when we were doing it before the whole Grumblebog thing.”

“I wasn’t behind, Tia. I just hadn’t done it as long as you had.”

Luna walked over to a nearby bookshelf and placed her textbook in it.

“Why are you putting your book away?” Celestia asked, worried.

“Because I’m done reading it for today. I’ll do a little more tomorrow.”

“But Luna, there’s still a lot of time left today!” said Celestia putting her book down after placing a small string in it for a bookmark.

“You should take it with you to study in your room later tonight before supper or something.”

“Oh I’ll study, Tia, but I’ve practically memorized the key portions of the diplomacy part in the book. Tonight I’m going to do a little practice with my negotiating skills by using my mirror in my bedroom. Oooh, maybe I can even make a dummy that looks like the general or something!” she said, her eyes wide with excitement at the thought of creating her own replica of Leogle.

“Luna, that’s ridiculous! You’ll waste so much time making that thing when you could be studying from another textbook!”

Luna walked by her sister, completely aloof and still confident in her own study habits.

“Oh fiddlesticks, Tia, I’ll be fine.” she said. “We still have six solid days before we meet with General Leogle and there will be plenty of time to prepare. You may think I’m not doing enough studying, but I think you’re doing too much of it.”

Luna rushed out the door with her sister angrily calling after her.

“Luna!”

“Percy, Penny, where are you guys? Wanna play ‘Alicorns versus Minotaurs?!’” she called down the hallway.
Celestia rolled her eyes and groaned.

“UUUGGGHHH! This exam is going to be the death of that little filly if she keeps this up!”

A few days passed, and unfortunately, things didn’t sit well with the sisters’ differences in their study habits. Celestia stayed up too late at night and always came down late for breakfast, being half awake during the day. Luna, on the other hoof, was going to bed at a timely hour, although she didn’t spend as much time reading her textbooks as she was recommended by her teachers or parents, which worried her sister. Celestia continued to berate Luna for not following her example, but Luna remained overconfident and carefree.
The interactions between the princesses worried King Solmidas and Queen Chernalia, as well as Starswirl and the dragons. Percy and Penny actually started trying to avoid Luna, or pretended to be busy with something to make Luna bored so she would actually attempt to study from her books more, but it did no good. Celestia became more impatient not just with Luna, but with just about anything that entire week. Every time the royal sisters talked with each other, it would almost always end with some kind of argument about the negotiations they were preparing for.

One night, the king was pacing about on the balcony outside of the royal study, worried about his daughters. Chernalia watched him from inside.

“I don’t like it, Chernalia.” he told his wife. “I didn’t think it would come to this: our daughters fighting and arguing right before their big day? They will not do well in those negotiations if they continue like this!”

Chernalia walked out to her husband and put her wing around his neck.

“I understand, Love, I understand. I have already tried saying something to Luna about getting more study hours in but she always insists she’s done enough, I don’t know what else to say to her. And with Celestia it’s almost impossible to get her to ease off on her studies once she’s already into it.”

“Nothing is impossible, Chernalia.” said the king in a very serious tone. “I’m going to set thing straight with them tomorrow…”

The king walked out to the edge of the balcony and looked at the stars. He sighed and lowered his head.

“…what am I saying. If I do it I’m just going to get angry. I was pleased to hear Leogle wanting to come back here to try again with our daughters, but with them behaving this way it’s causing me so much stress. Talking to them is a bad idea…”

“Perhaps it’s not up to us, Sol.” she told him.

“She’s right, My King.”

The king and queen turned around to see Starswirl behind them on the balcony. He walked towards them while speaking.

“You two are under too much pressure right now, but there is one out there who is very good at handling disputes like this.”

“Accord.” The king said.

They all looked over to Accord’s tower towards the northeast of the study where the lights were still on.

“I don’t suppose Accord may have a little time to spare?” Chernalia asked her husband.

“I will talk to him.” Solmidas replied.

“I’ve seen how that alicorn handles disputes before. We all have.” Starswirl continued. “He’s certainly been busy these last few months with this restoration project for the Everfree town, but we are running out of time and he’s concerned greatly with the diplomacy issues.”

“Accord never fails me. I doubt he would do it this time.” the king added.

The king and queen walked back in to the study and Starswirl used his magic to close the doors for the king behind them. He stayed outside on the balcony and continued looking at the stars while deep in thought.

“Please don’t fail us, Accord.”

That next morning Solmidas walked out into the town on a street right in front of the main entrance surrounded by guards. He was looking for Accord to schedule a good time for him to talk with the girls about their arguments. Accord was meeting with the head architect who helped with some recent renovations to the royal palace.

“Final Touch, is the Eastern corridor near completion?” he asked the architect.

“There are a few little cosmetic patches needed to the buildings but we are nearing completion, Your Grace.” Final Touch responded.

“That is good news.” Accord replied contently. “With the princesses getting ready to talk with the general again, folks around here seem to be quite hopeful. Just the thought of them being blessed with these new improvements makes it twice as good.”

“Do you want me to try speeding up some of the renovations, Sir?” he asked Accord.

“No need to hurry. We don’t want to rush any of it. I am certain things will be on schedule and we’ll have everything finished soon.”

“Accord?” the king asked walking towards his old friend followed by his guards.

“Your Highness!” said Final Touch bowing down in reverence with Accord.

“Sol, it’s good to see you. Have you seen the eastern quarter of the town yet?” he asked the king.

“The Eastern Quarter?” the king asked.

“It’s nearly finished, Your Highness.” said Final Touch pointing to some nearby buildings surrounded by worker ponies.

“Oh my…” said the king marveling at the vast changes his city had been going through. He hadn’t had many opportunities to look upon the renovations lately and was already seeing many improvements.

“Yes, Sol, we’re really making progress as you can see.” Accord added.

“Accord, you’ve done so wonderfully with these renovations. It’s amazing how much of it you have gotten done in just a few months.”

“It’s been extremely tough for the workers but I’ve made sure they are all paid double the amount they would normally work for. They are going to be the builders of tomorrow as we seek to populate more of the countryside in bigger villages and cities, you can bet on that.”

“You’ve created many jobs with all of this, my friend.”

“Indeed. This is just the push that Celestia and Luna need before they are ready to take on bigger responsibilities.”

“Oh, Celestia and Luna!” the king said surprised.

“Is there a problem?” said Accord looking curiously at the king.

“Oh Accord, if you don’t mind, there’s a very urgent matter that I would really like your help with today if you are able.”

“Oh, most definitely. Final Touch, if you don’t mind taking over for now, I’ll be back.”

“Of course, Your Grace. Carry on.” said Final Touch walking away towards some workers to check on them.

“So what is it you need, Sol?” Accord asked the king.

“Well, remember when I told you the other night about Tia and Luna getting a little mad with each other after that one study hall session they had?”

“Yes?”

“Well, I haven’t really had the time to tell you because I knew you were going to be very busy but these arguments have gotten worse.”

“Oh dear…” Accord’s ears moved down and he looked worried.

“Celestia’s been studying so hard to a point where it’s driven her mad and Luna doesn’t study enough which has made Tia angrier. I would talk to them but you are so much better with these things and I’ve been so stressed out lately that I’m not sure talking to them would even help. Would you mind doing that? It has to be very soon, tonight at the latest because the negotiations are being held tomorrow. They’re ready for it but they need to work together to do it and they really need to remember how important that is…”

Accord looked down carefully and then looked back at the town where the work was being done. He turned back to face the king and closed his eyes.

“Say no more, old friend. If there’s a disagreement, I will deal with it. These are the future leaders of Equestria we are talking about after all.”

“Oh thank you so much.” said the king bowing his head to Accord.

“It’s the least I can do for the royal family, Sol.” Accord responded. “Tonight you said?”

“Tonight would be great. In fact, why don’t you eat with us in the dining hall right before you talk with them.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Well I must go now, Accord. Thank you for agreeing to this.” said Solmidas as he walked off with his guards following close behind.

“Any time, old friend. Any time.”

Accord stood waving to the king and then turned back to the architect.

“Excuse me, Final Touch?” he asked.

“Yes, Senator?” Final Touch responded.

“Would it be too much to ask if you took over for the rest of the day?”

“Not at all, Sir. There’s not much left to do for today’s schedule and I can understand if you need a break.”

“Thank you. And it’s not really a break, just very important business with the royals I must attend to.”

“Completely understandable. Go about your deeds and I will be alright here.”

Accord turned away and started walking back towards the castle.

“Hang in there, Princesses. Your senator is coming.” he said to himself.

15. We'll Do It Together

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CHAPTER 15: We’ll Do It Together

Accord waited patiently with the king and queen at the dining table for the children to arrive for dinner. The hall was very quiet, with only the ambience of some small burning torches nearby and as the sounds of some pots and pans in the nearby kitchen where the servants worked. Suddenly, there were footsteps, and Luna and the dragons came in.

“Accord!” shouted Luna, joyfully. “You’re dining with us tonight?”

“I certainly am, my little pony.” he responded.

“Awesome! It’s been like, forever since you last joined us for dinner!” Penny added.

“Where is Celestia?” Accord asked.

“Eh, she’s probably still studying or something. You know Tia.” Percy explained.

“I hope she’s not going to be too late though.” said the king. “There’s a good reason why Accord is dining with us tonight.”

“There is? What is it?” Luna asked.

“You will see, Luna.” said Chernalia.

Just then Celestia walked in while still reading a book. She looked quite serious and it surprised everyone how she knew where she was going. She then bookmarked the page and put the book down next to her pillow, then sat attentively onto her pillow to prepare to eat. Suddenly she noticed Accord.

“OH! Accord, you’re here!” she exclaimed.

“It’s good to see you, Princess.” Accord said politely.

“Wow, I’m glad to see you’re joining us for dinner. We haven’t had you here for quite a while as you’re being so busy with all the renovations.”

“Ahem.”

“Oh, sorry, Father.” Celestia responded as they all bowed their heads in prayer before eating.

Solmidas recited the Equestrian Blessing.

“Blessings of the heavens and all good things of this world be bestowed upon the food which we are about to partake. May the Great One give us health and wisdom, and keep us together through all circumstances. Till all are one.”

“Till all are one.” repeated everyone else.

They then all put their heads back up and opened their eyes, and the servants began bringing in the dishes of food.

“So Accord, is there a reason why you’re here to have dinner with us tonight?” Celestia asked. “I was sure you’d be very busy today…”

“Oh, I was indeed very busy, Little Princess...” he replied. “…but your father needed me here on important matters tonight.”

Everyone began eating their food that had been placed before them while listening to Accord.

“Celestia, Luna…” he began. “It has come to my attention that you two have been mishandling your studies lately…or more specifically, you’ve both been at odds with one another concerning said studies.”

Celestia and Luna looked surprised at hearing this, and looked down at their plates bashfully.

“Yes…” Celestia admitted.

“Celestia, you’ve been studying so incredibly hard that you seem to be overdoing it, and Luna, you don’t seem to be studying enough. Now, pray tell, is it true that you two have been quarreling over this? I would like an honest answer, please.

After a long pause Luna finally spoke.

“It’s true, Senator.” she said respectfully.

Celestia nodded her head before taking a small spoonful of some oats.

“Alright.”

Accord took a sip from his cup before continuing.

“Let’s all finish eating, and then I would like the princesses to remain with me.”

Everyone continued to eat their food without speaking a word. Celestia and Luna appeared quite moved by what Accord said and seemed apologetic, but were afraid to face one another. Accord, however, had a slight smile on his face. He knew how he could handle these two.

A few minutes later, everyone but the princesses and Accord exited the dining hall. Accord was ready to start.

“Alright, my dear princesses.” he said. “One at a time, what seems to be the trouble? Celestia, how about you go first.”

Celestia nervously began to speak.

“Well……I guess you’re right when you say I’m over-preparing and all…it just…it worries me that Luna doesn’t seem to be taking it so seriously. I want her to study more than she is because I know this big assignment is for the both of us, and if one of us can’t do it then how will we hope to pass?”

“Alright. And now for you, Luna.”

“Um……I don’t know really, Accord. I guess I just don’t like it when Tia tells me how to study. I thought I was getting enough studying done. I have memorized the text very well after all. But…I still worry that Tia might be over-preparing a little. I’m sorry if we sounded like we were fighting too much.”

“Well let’s save the apologies for later, Luna. But for now…”

Accord got up from his pillow seat and walked towards the windows, one of which had a stained-glass image of the royal family.

“Over here.” Accord said.

Celestia and Luna got up and walked over quietly towards Accord.

“You know, when Luna was born, I was so glad to see that Celestia would have a sister. Not just because she wouldn’t be lonely anymore, but because she would learn by teaching this younger pony and setting a good example, while the other would learn by looking up to her older sister.”

Accord paused for a few seconds and then turned around.

“Both of you have been so kind to one another most of the time, and have surprised your parents with everything you’ve done. I’ve seen you both grow up and love one another. Of course, like always, it pains me to see others fighting. It is especially hard to know my two favorite princesses are doing the same.”

Luna and Celestia glanced at one another quickly and then looked back down. Luna started moving her hoof around in a circle on the ground.

“I’m sorry, Luna.” Celestia said. “I guess I was getting a little worked up. I should have been nicer to you. I was just so stressed out about the exam and everything.”

“I’m sorry too.” Luna responded to her sister. “I guess I should have listened to you. We were both wrong.”

“Yes, we both were.”

A few moments passed, and then the princesses embraced one another with Accord watching happily.

“That’s better.” he told them, joining in the hug. “Come over here for a minute, I’d like to show you something.

Accord then walked over to a nearby door, which lead out to a balcony just outside of the dining hall. He came to the edge of the balcony, and looked out to the northern sky with the sunset barely visible in the corner.

“Look at the city below you, my princesses.” he told them.

Celestia looked at Everfree with her sister hovering right next to her, since the columns on the edge of the balcony were a bit too high for her.

“That city beyond these walls and many others in the countryside are depending on you two. Tomorrow you’ll help to bring two factions back together for the good of Equestria, and you’ll have to do it with each other. Your parents have worked together on many important issues, and they’ve done it with the parliament’s help and mine many times. They are all living proof that teamwork and harmony will keep this nation running properly.”

Accord put his hoof on Celestia’s shoulder, and Luna landed next to him and nuzzled against his leg.

“Thanks, Accord.” said Celestia. “We promise we’ll do this together no matter what. Right Luna?”

“You bet, Sister!” Luna said cheerfully.

They all turned around to see their parents and the dragons waiting for them.

“Well, it’s getting late and you both should prepare to move the sun and moon here.” Accord told them using his wings to push them along.

Celestia and Luna rushed off to bed with the dragons following them. Solmidas and Chernalia walked over to Accord.

“Accord……thank you.” the king said gratefully.

“It was no trouble, My Liege.” said Accord bowing.

“Our daughters will always remember your wise words, Senator.” Chernalia told him. “We would be nowhere without you.”

“Thank you.” Accord replied to the queen. “I must be off to my study now. I have a lot to catch up on.”

The king and queen gave a bow of respect to the alicorn senator as he took off, flying gracefully to his tower.
He landed on the balcony, and entered with a smile on his face. As soon as he got inside he stopped smiling and then locked the door. He then closed all his windows and lit a candle. Levitating the candle, he entered his bedroom, and made his way up some stairs to a door at the top. He entered and then disappeared into the darkness, off to his own mysterious deeds.

16. Spirit Guides

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CHAPTER 16: Spirit Guides

Back in the royal tower, Celestia was in her room, going through her textbook one last time.

“Alright, Tia, you got this. Just one last run-through and then it’s bed-time.”

She then closed her book and went over to a large mirror hanging on her wall.

“AHEM! General Leogle. I want to apologize if our presence in your domain made you uncomfortable last time……but I am glad that you decided to return and talk with us again.”

She took out a couple of notes she had written in case she forgets what to say, and looked at them real quick.

“Now I know you are probably wondering about the economic status of both the Griffon Province and the Everfree City…No no that didn’t sound good.”

She cleared her throat and tried again.

“Now, about the conditions of the economy in both our regions…no…Now, as you may have already noticed, our economy has not been doing so well lately…eh, if I say that he’s going to think we’re blaming him. Alright, start over.”

Tia stretched her neck out, shook her head a bit and cleared her throat one last time.

“General Leogle, I want to apologize for the results of our last meeting. I am sorry if our presence disturbed you, but my sister and I are ready to talk with you in a …more civilized manner…no, a more respectful manner…”

She paused for a second, and then started to look worried.

“Why is this so hard? Is there any way I can say this without offending him? Come on, Tia, you can do this! Alright, right where I left off. AHEM! Now, the economy for both our societies has obviously not been doing too well. As a result, if you are willing to make amends and join the Equestrian government again, I would be happy to allow this.”

Celestia rolled her eyes and then covered her face with one of her hoof.

“UUUGGGHHH! That sounded bad too!”

She sighed and miserably walked out to her balcony where the sun was about ready to set. As she used her magic to set the sun, she started talking to herself.

“Maybe I’m not ready for this after all. Should I tell Father we could postpone the meeting, or would that make the general impatient? I mean I’m trying to be as persuasive as I can. I don’t want a repeat of what happened with Grumblebog…”

“What is stopping you, young princess?” said a very faint and high-pitched voice that seemed to be echoing in her head.

Celestia’s ears perked up and her eyes widened.

“What?! Who……who said that? Where are you?”

She turned her head around to see if she could find the source of the voice, but no one was there.

“The sun, Little One. Look to the sun.”

Celestia followed the mysterious instructions and squinted at the sun which was partly visible, and thankfully faint enough for her to not hurt her eyes. Suddenly the sun appeared to be growing in size! The voice started laughing a little, and the sun slowly turned around to reveal two different-sized eyes and a large grinning mouth. It had a face! The sun was alive!

“AGH!” Celestia squealed.

“Fear not, Princess, I will not hurt you!” said the sun.

He then grew two little floating paw-like structures similar to the claws of a dragon or any other animal with digitals at the end of their extremities. The technical term for these body parts was “hands”, though that was only used for primates and other similar creatures that inhabited Equestria. Besides his hands were some sharp little feet that almost resembled shoes. He had no arms or legs, his hands and feet just floated around his head, which was also his body. He was engulfed in a gentle yellow flame that flickered about.

“What in the wide world of Equestria are you?” Celestia said, perplexed by this strange entity.

He then moved away from where the sun was to reveal he was not actually the sun; he just appeared right where it was. He landed right on top of the rail outlining the edge of the balcony with his hands open and a big smile on his face.

“I am your spirit guide, Princess Celestia.” he told her.

“Spirit guide?” she asked. “I have a ‘spirit guide’?”

“Sooo, you haven’t been educated about us spirit guides before, have you?” he asked her as he walked about on the rail rather comically.

“I don’t think so. What is your purpose?”

“Well Princess, we guides don’t actually come out that often, you see. Most of us only appear in times of great peril.”

“Times of great peril?”

Celestia looked down, realizing that this ‘guide’ was undoubtedly here to help her with her assignment for tomorrow.

“Are…are you here because I’m scared about tomorrow’s negotiations?” she asked him.

The “sun” levitated and his feet moved behind his body where they could not be seen until he needed to use them again. He continued hovering around Celestia as he talked.

“Of course, my little pony.” he said. “You appear to be rather melancholy. Why is this?”

“Well, I don’t know. I guess all the thoughts of me failing this test are running through my head still. I mean, I don’t know what went wrong the first two times. I did everything by the books. I’ve been as persuasive as possible.”

“Aaaah, but perhaps that is your weakness, young pony.”

“My weakness? What, the part about me being persuasive?”

“Indeed. Unfortunately, due to the fact I have been around for soooo many centuries, my advice may seem outdated and not recommendable for you at this…current point in time.”

“Um…I’m not sure I follow, spirit guide.” Celestia said, confusedly.

“What I mean is, back in my time, ponies were not too reliant on your…persuasion.”

The sun spirit guide moved up close to Celestia’s ear and said the word “persuasion” in a rather sinister voice.

“Are you saying persuasion is not a good thing?” the princess asked.

“Well, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, per se, but have you seen what good it has done for you so far?”

“But…but I wasn’t really at fault; something just seems wrong with the general and that dragon. The general is actually willing to come back here, so I think he realizes he was in the wrong now.”

“If you’d ask me, that general is not quite as strong as he thinks he is. You don’t know him like I do; I’ve witnessed that griffon’s attitude. He’s tough and good with battle strategies, but he’s clearly not fit for leadership.”

“Well……he was pretty nasty when we talked to him.”

“That’s right, Princess. The General has reached a point where he’s going to need to be talked down to if you want to get anywhere with him. If your last meeting is of any indication, you’d be far better off showing that old buzzard who’s boss.”

“Wait, are you saying we’d be better off being forceful rather than persuasive to him?!” Celestia said with a bit of anger in her voice.

“Well why not? Have you seen how effective it’s been for your father before?”

“My father?”

He floated in front of Celestia’s face, and put his hands together to produce a small orb, showing flashbacks of her father in his younger years.

“Your father used force in order to win that war against the ice minotaurs centuries before you were even born. He also placed harsh sanctions on other nations that have attacked Equestria in the past. And of course, there were times when he would take executive action to make decisions that he should have gone to the parliament on, all just to win these battles and make sure there was peace and order. That’s kind of what you’re trying to do right now. Is your father no different from General Leogle?”

“Spirit guide, those were times when it was necessary because he was dealing with unruliness from others. Persuasion wouldn’t work on warmongering beings like the ice minotaurs.”

“Ah, but Princess, you don’t understand: you’re already facing a being who’s putting himself on the same level as the minotaurs did. Who knows what’s gotten into Leogle but he sure showed you he means business last time. He hasn’t changed at all. If he barks, you bark back louder. Show him your dominance and make him cower in fear.”

The more this “spirit guide” continued to talk, the scarier his voice became and the easier it seemed to listen to him somehow. It’s as if his wisdom was so accurate, even if it didn’t match the same wisdom that had been passed down by her elders. Celestia was actually starting to believe him.

“I…I don’t know, spirit guide. Is it really a good idea to-“

“Do you want to grow up to be a doormat, Princess?” he asked in a very grave tone.

“N…no.”

“Then it’s time you start taking charge. Your parents will thank you in the end. You are going to be leading this country someday, and if you don’t act now you’d end up a weak leader.”

“But…what about Luna?” Celestia asked him.

“Oh, pfft! Don’t worry about that little filly right now. You saw how unprofessionally she handles her studies. Your sister is so naïve. This is all up to you, Celestia. You have the power to change this country, and you’re not going to do it if you just act nice all the time. Trust me, little princess of the sun…force…is much better…than persuasion.

The spirit guide moved right in front of Celestia and spoke deeply. His eyes began swirling around, causing Celestia’s to do the same. For a moment, she realized she was being hypnotized and compelled to do something she didn’t want to do. She would have snapped out of it, but then suddenly she forgot everything else and all that the spirit guide had told her seemed true. She saw herself being a powerful and feared leader where no one questioned her, and she liked it. She reveled in the thought of her coming out on top and being the one that nopony would dare question. Without realizing it, a shiny aura appeared over her body and moved downward, leaving behind slightly unsaturated colors. A wicked smile appeared on her face, and her eyes went back to normal.

“Yes…you’re right, spirit guide.” she said, menacingly.

“That’s the spirit, Princess!” said the little fireball jumping up and down in joy. “That’s the kind of leader this country wants!”

“I’ll do it. I’ll make General Leogle wish he’d never spoken so harshly to me. He has no idea what’s coming to him tomorrow morning.”

The fiery little spirit guide rubbed his hands together while giggling as he flew away back to where the sun was, and by some mysterious force, the sun had already been set without Celestia’s magic.

On the other side of the royal tower, Luna was out on her balcony, raising the moon. While doing it, she began questioning her ability to handle her test tomorrow.

“I really hope I do alright in those negotiations. What if I don’t though?” she said. “What if I say something that offends the general? What if Celestia looks better than me? Oooooh…this isn’t good! I’m not sure about this…”

“Awww, don’t be like that, Princess!” said a voice very similar to the voice of Celestia’s spirit guide.

“What?! Who’s there? Show yourself!” Luna said, as if ready to fight.

“Now, now, Little Princess, I mean you no harm.”

Luna looked around until she saw the moon standing right on the rails of her balcony, as if it had already been brought up. It had a face with two asymmetrical eyes and a large smiling mouth, with some hands and feet floating around it.

“EEEEK!” Luna fell backwards with her legs in the air. She looked back up to see it was not actually the moon, just a creature that resembled it: a glowing stone-like orb. The real moon was up in the eastern horizon where it belonged.

“What are you? What do you want with me?!” she yelped.

“It’s alright, Luna. Like I said, I’m not here to harm you…”

The little moon-like being jumped in the air and landed slowly on Luna’s belly as she looked at him.

“I am your spirit guide, and I am here to help you!” he said.

“You’re here to help me? With the negotiations, I take it?”

“Of course! I couldn’t help but notice you were a little discouraged, so I thought I’d drop in and see what the trouble is.”

He jumped off her belly and landed on the ground walking around. She got back up and watched him.

“Does Tia have a spirit guide too?” she said excitedly.

“Let’s not worry about Celestia right now, let’s talk about you.”

“Oh, um…okay then.”

“You seem to not think you’re not ready for this test just yet, and that you have no hope of passing it. Is that correct?”

“Well, I guess you could say that.” said Luna with her ears down. “Maybe I should sit this one out and let Tia do all the talking or something.”

“Oh, Princess, nonono, you MUST go to that meeting tomorrow! This is your big chance, don’t you see?”

The spirit guide got up close in Luna’s face and she stepped back a little.

“Well, okay, but how do I know I’ll do well?”

“You see, Princess, you have been taught all your life that persuasion is better than force…”

“Yes?”

“…and all your elders have stressed how good it is to be a persuader rather than being aggressive…”

“Uh-huh……go on.”

“…yet you have tried that already with both General Leogle and that dragon and they ended up winning.”

“Uh………well, I suppose you’re right.”

“Yes, so doesn’t this mean that perhaps force would be the better option on the general tomorrow?”

“Well…I guess that makes sense actually. I never thought of it that way…”

“Of course it makes sense. Everyone who has told you otherwise is only doing so because you’re young and they are afraid you’d grow up to be a tyrant if you take the advice I’m giving you. But since Leogle is already so harsh himself, wouldn’t it be more logical to treat him the same way?”

Luna thought hard for a minute and started to look serious. Due to how young and naïve she was, she started to believe this spirit guide even quicker than Celestia did.

“You’re…you’re right, spirit guide.” She said.

“Yeeees.” said the “moon” as it started rubbing its hands together.

“But…but what about Celestia though? She’s older and wiser than I am, I can’t just do this on my own… Accord himself said that we need to work together on this.”

The moon looked worried at first, but he was determined to convince this headstrong little filly. He floated up in front of her again, speaking in a more sinister voice, as his sun counterpart had.

“Your sister is too sure of herself, Luna. She’s smart, I’ll give her that, but she’s clearly overworked herself. She’ll have her chance to shine again some other day, but now is your turn.”

“Um…you’re sure I’m destined to work better without her?”

“For right now, yes. Don’t worry about Celestia. If anything she’ll learn from tomorrow’s meeting and follow your example instead. Figuratively speaking, YOU will become the big sister, Luna. It’s all up to yoooooou.”

The moon-shaped spirit guide then started swirling his eyes around and put Luna in the same trance Celestia was in. She saw the same vision with her being the wise and powerful leader, the fearless alicorn princess of the moon who ruled without opposition. No Celestia, just Princess Luna, the indisputable. The aura ran down her body till all that was left was a pony with less color than before.

“Yes……yes.” she said with a determined look on her face. “I can prove my worth. I’ll show them! Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I can’t assert myself! They will all fear the mighty Princess Luna!!”

“My work here is done.” said the moon moving back to where he came from, inside the real moon which had already fully risen without Luna’s magic.

Celestia and Luna both walked into their rooms with the door in the partition already closed. Neither of them knew what the other was doing. They began walking about while taking some fabric and sewing utensils to make some clothes to properly appear before the general tomorrow. They started to sing of their plans to dominate those negotiations and strike fear into the griffons.

(((SONG IN PROGRESS)))

As they finished singing, they both blew out their candles and finally went to bed without even needing anymore practice from their textbooks. They were not nervous at all now. They finally found the answer to all their problems. The confidence in them was strong enough to make them fall asleep very fast. Tomorrow would be their day.

Back in Accord’s attic, the shutters were opened and a telescope was visible. The shutters then closed. Accord closed the door behind him and walked down the steps into his bedroom with the candle still burning.

“Well now…” he said. “It sure has been a while since I moved any celestial bodies with my magic like that. Then again, is there anything impossible for me these days?”

17. Dominance

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CHAPTER 17: Dominance

When morning came, Percy and Penny ran up the stairs to the princesses’ bedrooms, to see if they were ready for their big test yet. They had been told by King Solmidas and Queen Chernalia that the girls wanted a few more hours to practice alone before meeting with General Leogle, but the General and his associates were almost there. Penny suggested that they both warn them about the time so they wouldn’t be late.

“Penny, I’m sure they’re aware that the griffons are going to be here soon. We probably shouldn’t bother them.” Percy warned.

“Aw, you worry too much, Bro!” she replied. “We’re just going to remind them quick. Do you want to see them be really late for the meeting?”

“Well I guess not…”

They stopped at the top of the stairwell, and knocked on the door to Celestia’s room first.

“Who is it?” Celestia asked.

“Tia, it’s Percy. You gonna be ready soon for the negotiations? The general will be here within the hour, according to what we heard.” Percy replied through the door.

The door opened just a little bit and Percy saw part of Celestia’s face in there.

“Don’t worry, Perseus.” she said. “I’m aware of the time, and I’m just getting some things ready.”

“Your studies?” he asked her.

“It’s……a little more complicated than just the studies…”

“Um…okay. What about Luna?”

“I’m……sure she’ll be ready too.”

“Alright, well as long as you guys know.”

Celestia gently closed the door with her magic. Penny quickly knocked on Luna’s door over to the left of Celestia’s.

“Hey Luna, it’s Penny. You gonna be ready soon for the meeting with the general?”

“I’ll be ready.” Luna said with her voice slightly muffled through the large wooden door.

“Okay. Just checking on you guys cuz they’ll be here soon.”

Percy and Penny took a quick glance at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They continued to walk on.

“Well……I guess they’re ready then.” Percy said.

“Think they’ll be okay?” Penny asked her brother.

“They’ll be alright. I hope…”

Within the next hour, everything was set up in the main courtroom where King Solmidas and Queen Chernalia were seated in two large chairs in front of several tables meant for General Leogle, his guards and advisors who were coming with him. There were some alicorn guards calmly standing on both sides of the tables, to keep order there as it was required in all meetings with the king. Solmidas waited patiently for the negotiations to begin. A messenger pony walked in and cued one of the announcers at the doors. They both blew their trumpets loudly and the one on the left began to speak.

“Presenting General Leogle of the Griffon Province!”

The doors swung open and the General stood there with the other griffons flanking him. Once the doors finished moving, they all began walking into the courtroom. Leogle looked rather solemn and emotionless as he made his way to the table set before him. He took a seat on the pillow, and several of his advisors did the same while their guards stood behind them.

“General Leogle, my friend, it is good to see you here once again.” said the king.

“We are honored by your presence.” The queen said as they both bowed their heads politely.

“And I am honored to be here.” said Leogle, bowing, but still without smiling.

“As you requested, Leogle, we will be having our daughters speak with you on the matter as my queen and I preside over the hearings.”

Solmidas turned his head to his left and nodded to another announcer by the doors off to the side.

“Presenting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!”

The doors opened, and before them all stood Celestia like she never appeared before. She was wearing an elegant royal gown with bright and shiny golden highlights everywhere. Her anklets had jewels temporarily fastened onto them and she wore a large crown that looked even more majestic and larger than her father’s. It was unlike anything she had ever worn. She stood with her eyes closed at first, and her nose high in the air. Then she opened her eyes with a rather regal expression. She looked fearless and ready for anything.

For a second, Solmidas and Chernalia had no idea this was even their daughter. They glanced at one another, confused over what they just saw. The queen had a look on her face as if she felt something was wrong with Celestia. The king was just as puzzled, but decided to shrug it off. He figured perhaps Celestia just wanted to look her best this meeting, even if she had overdone it. Suddenly he realized someone was missing.

“Um……Luna? Is Luna here too?”

Hoofsteps could be heard behind Celestia, and she turned her head to look to her side as Luna walked up gracefully right next to her in the exact same fashion.

Luna wore a dress as elegant as Celestia’s, though it was very dark blue with black highlights, and in contrast to Celestia’s gold, she wore silver anklets and jewelry and a rather large silver crown as well. She had small ‘moonstone’ gems dotting her jewelry that glowed brightly almost as if they had a mystical aura emanating off of them. Luna stood proudly next to her sister, who looked suspiciously at her little sister at first, but then turned her head back to the others and continued to stride on with Luna following close behind.

The General and the other griffons appeared confused with what they saw. Leogle himself barely recognized them. The last time he met with them, they only wore their anklets and necklaces so it was surprising to see them dressed like this.

The girls made their way towards two smaller seats next to the king’s and sat gracefully in them.
Celestia cleared her throat and began to speak.

“General Leogle of the Griffon Province, we are honored to see you here.” she said.

Solmidas and Chernalia both looked at each other and smiled warmly. They could already tell the girls were showing little signs of fear, and ready to do this.

“Let us begin then.” Celestia started. “First of all, General, you’re already aware of the downfall we’ve had in our economy recently due to the separation of the Griffon Province from the rest of Equestria…”

“I am aware of it.” Leogle said, bowing his head in agreement with the princess.

Celestia opened her mouth to speak but Luna continued in her place.

“And I’m sure you’re aware of any financial shortcomings the Griffon Province has been experiencing as well…”

The general paused for a moment and thought a little but replied attentively.

“That would be correct, Princess.” he responded.

“Well rest assured, General, if we play our cards right today, we can work out an agreement that will surely save both of our societies from further turmoil.” Celestia said proudly.

The king watched the entire time as his daughters were talking. Things seemed to be off to a good start, although it almost seemed like they weren’t working rather well together since Luna spoke when Celestia tried to. Luna also had this look on her face while Celestia was talking almost as if to say “Tia, I wanted to say that”, but she eventually turned back to the general.

One of Leogle’s aides whispered in his ear for a moment, and then the General began talking to the princesses again.

“Well Princesses, I think what I should say first is that the last time we spoke I don’t think either side was on such good terms, and I behaved somewhat questionably…”

Celestia and Luna both nodded their heads.

“…well, my main concern was simply the amount of fairness the province was getting from your father but I suppose I overreacted. However, our military has in fact suffered much loss in protecting my people and yours. That was what had me worried. Solmidas, since I haven’t met you in a while is there anything you would like to say to add on to this?”

“Well, Leogle, I do recall my daughters telling me of this and yes, I see your point there. Believe me, I don’t want to use the griffons as a shield, as you put it, but perhaps there is a way we could fix that, if it seems like a problem to you.”

“But we also have to ask ourselves, Father, is the general’s opinion on your handling of the military any excuse for his behavior?”

All eyes turned towards Luna who had just spoke.

“Luna…” he said sternly. “…we need to be respectful to Leogle. I’m sure he regrets what he said last time…”

“Actually I may have to add to that, Father.” Celestia said. “Does General Leogle have anything to say about that?”

“Celestia…” the king said, as if trying to stop her, but the general already started to reply.

“I’m……I’ll say sorry if you would like, Princesses…” he told them in a rather reluctant voice. “…but I believe this is beyond the point. Is there anything we can do about the military issue, or is there not?”

Solmidas sank back down into his chair and took a deep breath while staring straight forward. Already the girls had insulted General Leogle, and he seemed impatient. Even if what they said were true, it wouldn’t have helped the discussion.

“I’m glad you said something, General…” Celestia said with a smile on her face. She tried to continue but Luna started talking for her again.

“General, perhaps if the griffons were trained harder that would be the answer to your problems?” Luna blurted out sarcastically.

“Luna…” Celestia said. “…what in Equestria do you know about military tactics?”

“Girls!” the king said a bit louder as they both turned their heads to look at him. “I will take care of the military concerns with the general, myself. We’re going to move onto something else for now.”

Back at Leogle’s desk, several of the aides started whispering to one another while Leogle himself was seen burying his forehead in one of his claws, as if he had had a very long and rough day.

“General, I’m sorry; we didn’t get off to such a good start here...” Solmidas said, calmly while trying his best to cover the fact that his daughters were already bombing the exam. “…but moving on. General, we spoke earlier of the economies of the province and Everfree. Can you tell me how things are going with the treasury of your land right now?”

“Well…… as you can imagine I didn’t really think that through when I severed the diplomatic connections and claimed leadership to the province…” Leogle replied. “My people have found it difficult to eat as much food as they used to and there’s been a surge in poverty. That’s part of the reason why I came back here.”

Celestia and Luna thought hard for a moment, and the former turned her head to her father to see if he would object to her continuing after how bad of a start they got off to. The king looked sternly at his daughter for a while, and then slowly nodded his head to give her his permission to speak.

“Well General…” she said. “…that is a bigger concern than what I had anticipated.”

“If we agree to bring both societies back together for the sake of your people’s survival, would you go with it, General?” Luna asked much more cooperatively than earlier.

“Well I would have no choice really…” he responded.

Celestia and Luna both closed their eyes and smiled in response to this but once the general continued to speak, they appeared bemused.

“…however…once again, it’s the treatment of the griffon population I have to still question.”

As Leogle spoke he lifted his head and his eye-brows moved down a bit. It was almost as if the thought of the superiority of the pony race caused the anger to fester within him every time.

While Celestia and Luna thought of how to respond, Solmidas quickly stepped in, fearing his daughters would continue to disrespect him and make the discussion worse.

“Leogle, just what is it about my people that concerns you?” he asked.

“Solmidas, like I told your daughters, you are powerful, and in a way, you’re also ‘feared’ by the other species you govern in this country. You’ve relied on my griffons and I to protect you from the invaders of the north and I did so honorably but I lost many soldiers in the past. It’s not just that. When I look upon Everfree, I see prosperity whereas in the Griffon Province, there’s much less of that. Our society demands equal treatment.”

The king, finally hearing these words come out of Leogle’s mouth, felt the shock of being told this. Despite such criticism, he did his best to quell the general’s suspicions.

“Leogle, I am sorry if you feel this way but I think you may be taking this a bit too personally. Even if this is true, why did you not let me know about this ages ago?” he asked.

“I only started to think of it recently. I am willing to reconcile on this but I demand that these needs be met.”

The king froze for a second or two and then exhaled slowly. These were some accusations he thought he’d never hear from an old friend and trusted general like Leogle. Still, he was a persuasive king and he decided to respond as patiently as he could. The last thing he wanted was for this discussion to fall apart and have his daughters fail once again.

“Leogle…perhaps to some degree you are right. As a king I need to know when I am making mistakes, and I will do all I can to correct them. You personally told my daughters that I’ve mistreated your military, and I resolve to-“

“Don’t forget he also called you a tyrant, Father.” Luna interrupted.

“Luna!” the king bellowed while closing his eyes angrily. “I am perfectly aware of that...”

Celestia was surprised at what Luna had said, and suddenly started to worry that perhaps they weren’t doing too well in this meeting. Listening to her instincts, she decided to change her tone.

“Luna’s only bringing up that the general was angry, Father, I’m sure of it…” she said frantically.

“I believe you, but we are not going to resort to petty insults...” said the king. “…and you two would be very wise to remember your teachings, because this is not going very well so far.”

Solmidas’s voice turned quiet but menacing. Celestia could tell he was getting very angry because his hair and eyes started to shine a little brighter, and the air around her grew warmer. She had seen her father lose his temper in the past before, which would usually cause his solar powers to overheat and knowing he could do it in this very room worried her.

“Again, I apologize, Leogle.” the king said to the general. “Look…”

The king got up from his chair and paced about in the room, moving calmly and confidently as he spoke.

“We’re going to do this the right way. Leogle, your grievances will be heard so long as you are respectful. And girls…” he said as he stood tall over them “…you will show respect to the general as you were strictly commanded to do in these negotiations. Understood?”

“Yes, Father.” they said in unison.

“Good.”

The room stayed silent for a moment. The queen had her eyes closed and looked worried. Her lips appeared to be moving a little almost as if she was reciting a prayer to keep everything under control. She, like her husband, could tell this wasn’t going as well as they had hoped.
The king finally spoke.

“Now...” he said looking at both of his daughters. “Both of you tell the general you are sorry and then proceed to discuss how we will adhere to his wishes to better the griffon society.” He then went to sit back down in his chair.

Celestia and Luna sat, frozen and nervous.

“We’re sorry, General.” They both said in unison.

General Leogle examined their faces carefully and his expression continued to look angrier. He looked the way he did when they first met him. He didn’t even forgive them after they said sorry this time.

“Let’s just get this over with.” he replied.

The king sat still as everyone else was talking, his eyes filled with tension and fixated on the middle of the room, not able to even make eye contact with the general or any of the griffons. He was so on edge he could barely concentrate. Chernalia put her hoof on top of his to calm him down, though it didn’t seem to help.

“It’s going to be fine, Love.” She whispered to him.

“If this persists I am calling the exam off and handling Leogle by myself.” he whispered back to her. “I can’t believe they spent all their time studying only to have this be the result…”

Meanwhile, Celestia and Luna appeared scared and anxious but they continued to hold their ground. The General continued to glare at them. He already hated this meeting and was sure he would not like anything more he would hear. He seemed like he was actually willing to cooperate at first, but the princesses were not helping.

“I have a question for the princesses.” Leogle said.

The king slowly closed his eyes, knowing this would not end well.

“What is your question, General?” Celestia asked.

“Let’s all be honest with each other: we are both having problems and both sides are having difficulty compromising, but you must understand, in order for us to compromise, we must approach these issues with maturity and mutual respect. So far, I have not seen any of that from you two.”

“Leogle, I assure you my daughters have been training hard for this day and everything was fine up until now.” Solmidas said, frantically.

“Then why are they behaving like brats?!” Leogle responded, raising his voice.

“BRATS?!” Celestia and Luna exclaimed.

“GIRLS!” the king said with his voice echoing throughout the entire courtroom.

Celestia and Luna both froze at the sound of their father’s voice and looked behind themselves right at him. He was gritting his teeth and his face had never looked angrier than now.

“Celestia, Luna, I want both of you to leave this room right now and go to your quarters. This negotiation is over for you.”

“Over?!” Luna said.

“But what about our test, Father?” Celestia asked.

“YOU’VE FAILED THE TEST! I will deal with both of you later.” he barked back.

Queen Chernalia had her face buried in her hooves and appeared to be crying. Celestia and Luna hung their heads and began slowly walking out of the courtroom as the king and Leogle continued speaking to one another.

“Well now I see what wonderful parenting the royal family has.” Leogle said in response to what he just saw.

“Leogle, that will do. Pay no heed to my daughters.” said the king with tension continuing to rise in his voice.

“Well what kind of a king am I dealing with here, Sol? A dictator?! Can you answer that?!” the general spoke, loudly.

“LEOGLE, ENOUGH!”

Suddenly Luna and Celestia stopped walking and Luna began to look very enraged. Celestia was just surprised at what the General had said but she saw that her sister looked angry and worried that it would only escalate.

“Luna, don’t do it…” she whispered to her sister.

“How dare you…” Luna said with her eyes glowing white.

Everyone else in the room then directed their attention to the princess of the night.

“Luna, what are you doing?!” the king shouted.

“HOW DARE YOU!!!”

Luna’s voice went deep and menacing. She turned around and tore off her dress with her magic. Her eyes shone brighter and dark clouds and lightning began to form around her. She hovered over towards Leogle to give him a piece of her mind. Leogle appeared terrified at what he was seeing.

“LUNA, NO!!!” Chernalia and Celestia shouted in unison.

“THOU FOOL, DOST THOU KNOW WHO THOU ARE DEALING WITH?!? THIS IS KING SOLMIDAS!!! IMMORTAL ALICORN KING AND UNQUESTIONABLE IN HIS MIGHT!!! YOU SHALL SUFFER FOR INSULTING OUR FATHER!!!”

Luna got right up in Leogle’s face as he began walking backwards in fear. Suddenly, Luna was surrounded by several magical auras at once. The other three tried using their magic to bring her back away from him.

“LUNA, YOU INFANTILE MENACE, STOP IT!!! YOU’RE MAKING IT WORSE!!!” Celestia shouted to her feisty little sister.

“UNHAND ME, PATHETIC SISTER!! LEAVE THIS TO THE DOMINANT ONE!”

“DOMINANT ONE?! I’LL SHOW YOU DOMINANCE!!!”

Celestia’s hair stood on end and began glowing radiantly like the sun. She zoomed forward and tackled her sister to the ground and they somersaulted until they stopped. They began fighting and throwing their hooves at one another as a cloud of dust surrounded them.

“STOP IT!!! STOP IT BOTH OF YOU!!!” the king said as he flew over and used his magic to pull Celestia away from Luna.

“GIRLS, FOR THE SAKE OF EQUESTRIA, LISTEN TO YOUR FATHER!!!” the queen said, pulling Luna back.

Suddenly a thunderous lion’s roar could be heard coming from Leogle. He had just flipped the table over that he was sitting behind and had finally reached his breaking point and could no longer stand it.

“ENOOOUGH!!!” he shouted after the roar.

Celestia and Luna stopped what they were doing and suddenly came to their senses. The strange magical aura that appeared last night when they spoke to their spirit guides then came back and went up their body showing their natural colors once again. Whatever the spirit guides had done to them, the effect was now wearing off. All four of the royal family members stood in horror at Leogle. Several alicorn guards rushed over in front of the royals and pointed their spears at Leogle as he took deep breaths like a ferocious beast.

“NO, STOP!” Sol said, using his magic to push the guards out of the way for fear they would antagonize the general. He then rushed forward to his old friend to beg for forgiveness.

“LEOGLE, PLEASE, THIS WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! FORGIVE ME!” he pleaded.

“SILENCE, EQUINE!!” Leogle shouted back. “I’VE SEEN ENOUGH!! You are all pathetic! I was right to cut our ties! It’s going to stay that way and now I know what I have to do finish you all off…”

“Leogle, no…”

“As of right now, I declare war on the country of Equestria!”

“LEOGLE!!!”

“You and your people shall feel the wrath of the griffons, Solmidas! You’ve treated my people so poorly and you and your pathetic family can’t even handle simple negotiations anymore! I’m through with all of you! The next time we meet WILL BE IN BATTLE!”

“LEOGLE…PLEASE, DON’T DO THIS, I BEG YOU!”

Leogle stormed out of the courtroom followed by all of his aides and guards who looked equally disappointed. None of them questioned Leogle at all. It’s as if they had the exact same mindset as him and supported the idea of getting in a war.

“LEOGLE, IF YOU GO TO WAR WITH US, THERE IS NO WAY YOU WILL WIN!!” the king warned, but the doors had already shut and Leogle and his posse were gone.

“No…no…” Solmidas said nearly crying. Then his face began to turn from sorrow to rage. His eyebrows moved down and he gritted his teeth as his hair began to glow as bright as Celestia’s did earlier. “DAUGHTERS…” he said with his voice echoing throughout the entire room. The guards and other ponies in the room moved away to avoid the king’s wrath.

Meanwhile, Chernalia was holding both of her terrified daughters close to her. Sol turned around with his eyes glowing, and nearly lost it if it hadn’t have been for his wife.

“SOLMIDAS, STOP!! CAN’T YOU SEE THEY’VE BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH ALREADY?!” she cried out to her furious husband.

Sol took one look at both of his daughters and his face slowly turned back to looking dismayed. His hair went back to normal and his eyes stopped glowing.

“Girls…why?” he asked them.

Celestia and Luna, with faces full of tears and smeared makeup, shared a glance with their father and then ran off crying profusely.

“CELESTIA! LUNA! COME BACK!” the queen said, rushing after them as they left through the doorway they had entered.

It did no good. The princesses were already too far away for Chernalia to fetch both of them. She stood motionless and saw Percy and Penny both ease out of the side of the entrance with faces distraught. They weren’t in the room but they had more likely been listening the entire time. Penny was shaking and tears streamed down her face. Percy reached down and held her close and she hugged him.

Chernalia turned to her king. With his head bowed, he removed his crown with his magic and threw it to the ground with a loud clang.

“Oh Sol…I’m so sorry…” the queen said as she moved forward to comfort her husband.

The royals wept bitterly among the mess that had been left behind. A broken table, papers lying everywhere, and torn up pieces of cloth and jewelry from Celestia and Luna’s gowns cluttered the floor around them. The guards and other subjects reentered the courtroom to console their wise leaders, but there would be no way to stop the imminent war. Substantial damaged had been done that day.

18. It is Hopeless

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CHAPTER 18: It is Hopeless

Leogle and the other griffons marched furiously down the hallway leading to the doorway where they would depart. Some nearby alicorn guards nervously watched them pass by,. They knew an important meeting was taking place that would decide the fate of the Griffon Province and its ties to Everfree, but they could already tell things did not go well. It was apparent from Leogle’s walking, the roaring and the yelling they heard earlier, that the negotiations had failed.

The griffons then turned to a nearby door where the guards had already moved away for them to exit. The door opened and a few of Leogle’s officers walked out first to wait for him. Leogle suddenly stopped and turned around to see the dark silhouette of a tall alicorn between two pillars in the distance staring at him menacingly. He did not know who it was, but had a feeling he had met them before. He then realized it was his old friend, Senator Accord. He nearly forgot about everything and almost wanted to touch base with his old friend again but there was something about Accord that did not seem right. Accord had undoubtedly heard the commotion and Leogle was not ready to be confronted about it. Leogle turned around quickly and headed out the door with the rest of the griffons following him. The guards closed the doors and gave each other looks of confusion over what just happened.

Accord stared at the door and the poor guards who had no clue what had happened, but he was well aware that the negotiations had not gone as planned. He immediately rushed off to the courtroom to see what had happened.

In a few moments, the doors to the courtroom opened, and Accord walked in to see papers on the ground. There was also an overturned table that was just being put back by some guards, but one of the legs had broken off so it had to be taken away for repairs. A few servants could be seen nearby tidying up and one of them was talking with the king and queen. The king was not wearing his crown and his mane was rather unkempt. The queen was crying into his shoulder. Celestia and Luna were nowhere to be found.

“What is this? What happened?!” Accord exclaimed.

“Senator!” said one of the servants, rushing over to meet him, nearly out of breath. “Oh, senator, it was tragic! The negotiations were such a fiasco!”

“A fiasco? How could it have been a fiasco?” he said, quizzically.

“It was the princesses, senator. They completely nosedived. They didn’t work together well, they treated the general awfully, and didn’t use any peaceful diplomatic skills they learned in their teachings at all. It was so bad that Leogle wants to go to war with us now.”

“WHAT?! That can’t be true! It simply can’t!”

“Accord…” said the king, walking towards his old friend as the servant moved out of his way. “…it wasn’t just the girls.”

“Sol, what is wrong?”

“They did terribly, but I failed them as a father. I lost my temper and I could have done better.”

The king hung his head and Accord put his hoof on his shoulder.

“You’re not a failure, my liege.” he said. “Why did the princesses do this? Shouldn’t they have been well-prepared for this day with all they’ve learned?”

“I don’t know. I think there is something wrong with them. They’re not ready. I should have known they wouldn’t be ready, at least not now. Luna is too young and Celestia cannot work with her sister.”

The queen came up beside her husband, with tears still rolling down her face, and nuzzled up to him.

“We’re so sorry you had to see us like this, Accord.” she said.

Accord hung his head and walked over to embrace the king and queen as they wept.

Meanwhile, in a balcony above, stood Starswirl. He had been watching everything unfold since the very beginning. His eyes were closed and he shook his head slowly side to side.

Celestia stared at herself in the mirror in her bedroom. Tears streamed down her face, smearing her makeup and dripping onto the disheveled dress she made for herself. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Using her magic, she tore the dress off piece by piece till there was nothing left but shreds of cloth and jewelry beads scattered all over her bedroom floor. She continued weeping and rushed out to the balcony where the sun was reaching the end of the horizon. She put her front hooves on top of the rail and buried her face in them.

“Why…” she said before bringing her head back up with a face full of anger. “Why did you make me do it?!?”

She closed her eyes because the sun was still very bright at this time of day, but she expected to see her spirit guide appear.

“Some spirit guide you are! Why did you tell me all that?!”

She continued screaming at the sun, but she got no response.

“HEY, I’M TALKING TO YOU! COME OUT!! I DEMAND AN ANSWER!!!”

Celestia panted heavily and squinted at the sun. Its brightness kept her from being able to focus on it, but she couldn’t even hear the voice of her spirit guide. No talking. No laughing. Nothing.

“Why won’t you talk to me?”

Nothing she could say to the sun did any good. It became apparent to her that there was no spirit guide at all. She may have been hallucinating last night before she went off to make her dress and sing, but if Luna did the same, a spirit guide might have also visited her. Celestia wanted to ask, but at this point, she was so embarrassed by her performance that she didn’t want to mention the spirit guide to anypony, for fear of sounding insane and blaming her problems on something so nonsensical.

“You don’t even exist, do you?” she sighed.

The princess of the sun laid her head down on the railing with tears still flowing down her face. She could do nothing but mourn for what had happened to her that day. She and her sister had been preparing for this moment for months and it was all for naught. Not only had they failed their test, they started a war.

She then heard a door open and looked behind to see her sister standing right before the balcony. Luna appeared to be in just as bad of shape as she was, with her hair frazzled and her tears smearing her makeup all over her face. She clearly felt just as bad as Celestia did. They stared at each other for a brief moment and then Luna started crying and rushed over to her sister.

“I’m so sorry, Tia!” she whimpered as she nuzzled against Celestia.

“I’m sorry too…” Celestia said, crying.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I didn’t mean to say any of that, I just…something just came over me…”

“We’re not ready, Luna.”

“What?”

“For the throne. Neither of us are ready.”

Luna backed away from her sister and wiped her eyes clear.

“Do…do you really think so? I know I’m too young, but what about you?”

“We’re both too young, Luna.” Celestia said, turning around and walking back to the rail. “I’m too young myself and I’m not right for this. I get too angry and too stressed, and I’ve clearly let the stress get to my head.”

“But Tia, Mother and Father need successors. You could do it by yourself and then I’ll just join you several years later.”

“I can’t do it!” Celestia barked as Luna backed away a bit. “I’m sorry. I just can’t do it, Luna. I’ve been so focused on trying to do things right that I end up doing it wrong. Now my unprofessional handling of royal matters might be rubbing off on you…for that I’m sorry.”

Luna wanted to tell her sister about her spirit guide, but had the same exact fear and kept it secret. She thought to herself about what Celestia had just said. She knew she was right. It was not time for her or her sister to lead.

“Celestia?” she asked. “If not us, who should lead in our place?”

“The only one who has proven to be a leader lately.”

Luna cocked her head to the side but then her ears perked up. She knew what her sister was thinking. The sound of flapping wings suddenly drew nearer and nearer and they looked to the side to see a rather worried Accord landing on the balcony.

“Girls!” Accord said as Luna and Celestia rushed over to him. He opened his wings and let them both hug him, but he was still in shock.
“What happened to both of you? Is it true, what they are saying about the negotiations?”

“It’s all true, Accord.” Celestia said, crying into his chest.

“Why though? What went on in there that caused both of you to do that? Have you forgotten what you’ve learned? What I told you last night?”

“I can’t explain what’s wrong with me, Accord.” Celestia replied.

“We’re not ready.” Luna added.

“Luna and I feel we should abdicate our positions as the successors, at least until we are ready.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on now, majesties!” Accord said backing up while shaking his head back and forth. “You can’t just do that. You are the heirs! The constitution clearly states that the offspring of the king and queen shall be the successors to the throne.”

“Maybe that was the first mistake. Just because we’re the daughters of King Solmidas doesn’t mean we can lead.” Celestia said as she turned around and began to pace about on the balcony. “We should ratify that amendment and have someone else take over for now.”

“Who though? Who would take your place?”

The princesses looked at each other and then back to their friend. Accord stood motionless and his face then began to relax. He knew who it was.

“I see.” he said, bowing his head.

“You’re the only other one we can think of, Accord.” Luna said. “You’ve done so much good, the ponies of Equestria will understand if you lead.”

“Luna’s right, Accord. It has to be you.” Celestia added.

“Girls, I’m not the heir to the throne, and…I don’t feel I deserve such a position, but…but if you want me to lead…if that is what you truly desire…I will consider the offer. However, you best talk to your father about this. Nothing can be done without his approval, as well as a vote in the parliament.”

They stared at one another for a few moments, until Celestia calmly walked over to hug Accord and Luna followed after. They embraced one another for a few moments until the princesses began to cry again.

“I’m here, princesses.” he told them.

A while later, Celestia and Luna were walking down the hallway to the royal study where the king and queen were reportedly staying at the moment. There were two unicorn guards standing in front of the door. They noticed the princesses approaching.

“Your Highness, is there something we can help you with?” one of the guards asked.

“We wish to speak with our parents, Sir.” Celestia told him.

“Let me see if he permits it.”

The guard then knocked lightly on the door to get the king’s attention.

“Majesties, your daughters are here to talk to you.”

“Let them in.” said King Solmidas behind the door.

The guards stood to the side and used their magic to open the door for the girls as they both walked in.

The king and queen had their anklets, crowns, and necklaces removed and both appeared to have been crying for quite some time. They both stood next to each other and waited till the door had closed. Celestia and Luna stood for a moment without saying anything. Celestia then bowed her head and walked toward her father as he reached out with his wing to bring her in. Luna and the queen did the same.

“I’m sorry, father.” Celestia said softly, trying to not cry. She had cried too much that day to allow it to continue.

“I owe both of you an apology for lashing out as well.” the king replied as Luna came over and joined them.

“We’re not ready, Father.” Celestia said, getting straight to the point.

“I understand. I should not have put this burden on you so early. I should have waited.”

“No father, I mean Luna and I are not ready, and we have both decided to abdicate.”

“And we want Accord to be the next king instead.” Luna added.

Solmidas appeared confused at first from what he had just heard. He stared at Celestia and then exchanged glances with Chernalia. He looked back and forth, trying to speak, but could not get words out.

“You…I…girls, you’re the only ones who can be the next leaders. That’s not possible. You can wait a little longer if you want.” he said.

“Everypony in Equestria will only look upon us and remember how we started a war, Father.” Luna said, solemnly.

“If the constitution can be amended, we suggest that Accord lead in our place until perhaps we can follow after him, which may be a really long time.” Celestia added.

Solmidas opened his mouth to speak, but instead exhaled deeply while closing his eyes.

“Girls, I need to call a vote for parliament to do that, and it can only be done if the majority wins in favor of this.” he explained.

“They will agree, Father.” Celestia replied. “We started all of this, and I’m sure the parliament will see the importance of changing the law that makes us heirs.”

King Solmidas walked towards his window and hung his head outside, weeping silently. The others stayed behind doing the same. For a few minutes, they all stood motionless, with tears rolling down their faces till Celestia finally walked over to her father with Luna and Chernalia following closely behind. Solmidas sat down next to the window and finally spoke.

“I was going to ask what has gotten into you girls, but I’m sure it’s just all the stress of the situation that has gotten to all of our heads.” he said. “Either way, it matters not. This as all just a huge mistake. I just want us to be a family again. We’ve obsessed over politics too much, and it’s driven a wedge between us all. If a war is to be fought, then so be it. We will win the war and move on and forget any of this happened. I will take this to the parliament, and the vote will most likely be in favor of an amendment. I will continue leading for a while, and then Accord will take over. We’ll finally be able to put this all behind us.”

No one else said a single word. Everyone just embraced one another with tears still in their eyes. Perhaps the princesses were right, and it was better to give up the throne and allow someone far more experienced to take over. There would be no way to heal the wounds of today’s events but they could certainly move on. This was the only option. Several more minutes passed and finally, everyone got up and wiped their tears away with their hooves. The king sighed deeply.

“You girls should go get some sleep. I will speak with the parliament.” he told them.

Celestia and Luna trudged along as Solmidas put on his royal jewelry and tried combing his mane to look presentable enough as Chernalia watched.

“Wait here for me, my love.” he told her. “And pray for what I am about to do.”

19. Tears of a Dragon

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CHAPTER 19: Tears of a Dragon

Accord stood out on a balcony in Everfree Palace, alone. It was the same balcony he used to address the crowd earlier that year, when he announced his renovation plans for Everfree. Night had already fallen, and it was quiet. Most lights in the town had been snuffed out. He was used to there being a large crowd before him, cheering him on, but now he could only think about the events of that day and how so much was about to change. That same crowd would have probably been disgusted with the princesses and their handling of the negotiations with Leogle. He had already heard that word of this event reached most ears in the city and it was quite possible everypony in Everfree already knew about it. Their faith in the royals would slowly diminish. No one would take the princesses seriously after all of this. Many hardships were ahead for the entire kingdom. He then remembered how they asked that he take their place, if they can change the law that makes them the heirs to the throne. He thought to himself that perhaps this was a good idea after all and was the only way to continue. While still in thought, he heard hoofsteps behind him, and turned to see Starswirl walk out next to him. Starswirl spoke not a word but stared out into the open space before them, taking a deep breath.

“I’m guessing you know about it too?” he asked Accord.

“Everypony knows.” Accord said, flatly.

“This is just tragic. I swear, they knew what they were doing before today. Whatever it was that happened in that courtroom, it was not the princesses I know.”

“Starswirl, you need to know something.”

“Yes?”

“I spoke with the girls earlier and they told me they’re going to abdicate. They’ve asked for me to take their place.”
Starswirl froze and just stared at Accord for a few seconds.

“What?!” he gasped.

“They’ve spoken to Sol and he’s addressing the parliament right now. They’re going to arrange to have a vote and decide if the constitution should be amended so that anyone not of royal blood may be appointed the successor.”

“No. No, this cannot be. They can’t just do that, they are the heirs, not you!” Starswirl said, pacing around nervously on the balcony. “Even if they can actually pass such an amendment, it has always been tradition for royal families to pass leadership on to their offspring. It’s how it’s been done in these lands before Equestria was even founded!”

“Starswirl, it’s what’s best.”

“You’re…you’re not saying you agree with them, are you?!”

Starswirl turned to Accord with anger in his voice. Accord turned to look out into the town as he spoke to his old friend.

“Look, my friend, they’re young, they’re naïve, they aren’t ready and no one is going to take them seriously now that they’ve started a war. I thought that after their first time with Leogle things would turn up, but the part with the dragon had me concerned. I didn’t want to say anything because I still believed they could do it, but…well, frankly…I mean no harm when I say this, but my faith in them has been shaken after today’s events.”

“Accord…”

“Sol should have known what he was getting himself into when he told them both they would start learning diplomacy right after Luna got her cutie mark. Celestia may have been more of the appropriate age but having to be forced to work with her sister must have made it worse.”

“So you are blaming the king now.”

“Well this all certainly could have been easily avoided if we’d have waited longer, but now they’ve already made fools of themselves and it’s too late.”

“Accord, this is nonsense. The girls can recover from this and learn from their mistakes. They are just having a hard time is all.”

“Time is something we don’t have right now, wizard. A war is upon us. If they want me to lead, then lead I shall. Sol will fight this battle his daughters started and then I’ll be here to fix any damage that is left.”

“Accord, listen to yourself!” Starswirl snapped. “It was not your responsibility to begin with! You had so much faith in the princesses before, what’s gotten into you now?!”

“I’m sorry, Starswirl, but you know how I felt…how I feel about war. We will fight this one defensively like we did against the ice minotaurs, but unfortunately we started it this time and for what? Negotiations that failed through petty behavior?”

Starswirl stopped responding and Accord just looked at him to see a rather angered and disappointed unicorn staring at him. Accord turned away closing his eyes.

“Again, I apologize, but this did not go well. The girls will learn one day and will live happy lives for the years to come, but leading a country is too much for them.”

Starswirl turned around and walked back inside slowly. Before crossing into the doorway, he stopped to say one last thing to Accord.

“Accord, I have known and trusted you for centuries. You are a good alicorn with good intentions, and I have no doubt you will be a great king. I would be proud to serve you, but if you know what is good for you, in time you will step aside and allow the true heirs of the king and queen to takeover as it was originally vowed. Law or no law, they were given the blessing the moment they were born and despite their shortcomings, they will be ready one day, maybe even more than you are right now.”

Starswirl then walked away to leave Accord to think to himself. He thought heavily about what Starswirl said, knowing there was some truth, but he still stuck to his own word. The age of Solmidas’ royal family was coming to an end and it was time for a new leader. Of course the ponies of Everfree trusted him enough already, but he had to prove once more to everyone that he could do it. Lifting his eyes to the night sky, he spread his wings and quietly took off to the south.

A while later, Accord found himself at his destination: the South Spire Mountain, where he would confront Grumblebog and save the king’s treasury. The troops keeping watch over the mountain in the valley below were all asleep in their tents, and would not hear him, for he was several hundred feet above. He landed right on the edge of the cliff right before the cave entrance, folded up his wings and then slowly made his way into the cave, ignoring all the smoke that was coming out. Without any fear, he walked on inside, shining his horn brightly to see through the darkness. In no time at all, he could already see Grumblebog on top of the pile of gold. Grumblebog’s eyes opened up immediately and he let out a growl.

“Ugh…what? Who dares…oh no, not you ponies again!!” he said loudly, getting up and shaking off some coins from his scales as his jowls and dorsal spikes flapped about. “You know, I’m getting really sick of you stupid ponies interrupting my sleep! You’d better have a good reason to be in here or else I’m going to get mad, you hear?!?”

“I’m here to ask you to leave, Grumblebog.” Accord said.

“BAHAHAHA!!!” Grumblebog laughed. “Is that the best you’ve got?! That little pink-haired alicorn girl did even better than you!”

“Well Celestia’s not here right now, and believe me, I’m just getting started.”

“What are you going to do to me? Try to be all nice and diplomatic and stuff? I’m a dragon. That doesn’t work on me.”

“Oh doesn’t it now?” Accord said, smirking as he talked. “A dragon huh? Seems more like an overgrown lizard with batwings if you’d ask me.”

Grumblebog’s smile dropped and he began to grimace at Accord.

“Goodness, you are one big, fat dragon too, you know. Are you sure you haven’t eaten some of the gold here? I thought you dragons just slept in the gold.”

“Shutup.”

“Oh, and those spikes. Tsk, tsk. You should consider straightening those or you’re going to have a hard time attracting a female one day. That is, if you ever think of leaving this cave, you lazy dragon. Ha ha!”

“I SAID SHUTUP!!!”

Grumblebog opened his jaws and spewed a stream of bright fire directly at Accord. For a few seconds he continued until the flames died out. His fire lit some wooden planks jutting out of the inside of the cavern, and they continued to burn, lighting up the cavern in the absence of Accord’s horn. The entire area that he had blown fire into was blackened, and some nearby metal tools and weapons were glowing from the intense heat, but Accord was nowhere to be found. One of Grumblebog’s eyebrows raised and he looked around to find the remains of his unwanted visitor, but suddenly he heard a voice.

“Wow. Very impressive.” said Accord as his voice seemed to echo through the cavern.

“Where…where are you?!” Grumblebog called as he got up to look around for him.

“You’ll never find me. That’s the thing about you dragons, you don’t use magic so you forget that we more-experienced alicorns are capable of disappearing at will.”

Accord’s voice continued to echo but was impossible for Grumblebog to locate. It was as if he was in several places at once or he was speaking through a pipe. He had used a spell to warp the soundwaves of his voice so the dragon could not find where he was. If he could not see Accord but could at least hear everything he said, it would be easier for Grumblebog to take in what he was about to tell him. Accord hid safely behind a large stalagmite by a smaller cave high above Grumblebog and continued to speak.

“You’ve been quite a naughty dragon, Grumblebog. Have you not considered how many ponies you’ve hurt lately?” he asked.

“I don’t care about ponies, you fool! I just want my treasure!”

“Things have not been going well in Everfree and the king has gotten very upset with this. The poor ponies in the palace I work in are going to eventually starve if the king cannot provide for them since you’ve taken most of his treasury.”

“I JUST SAID I DON’T CARE!!!”

“But you did once, didn’t you?”

“What? No, I never cared for ponies!! Why would I?!”

“Are you sure? Didn’t Grumblebog used to be a tame dragon? A Northern Drake? You know, the more docile dragons that don’t really care about nesting in a cave full of treasure to horde away for themselves?”

“No, where are you getting all of this?!”

“You used to be better than this, Grumblebog.”

“I…I don’t remember…”

“Someone must have really made you angry or told you lots of lies to get you to come here and take all this gold from ponies. Northern drakes don’t like gold and they’re usually too nice to do such horrible things to ponies.”

“But, the other dragons…”

“Some dragons are wild and like to terrorize ponies, but you never were fond of that, at least that’s what you said last time.”

“Last time? Wait…that…that voice…”

“Just think of all those innocent beings you’ve hurt, Grumblebog.” Accord said as his voice grew serious and grim. “You let your own selfish ambitions take over and now many are suffering. You’re no longer a nice dragon. You’re a bully.”

“I…I didn’t…I remember now.”

Grumblebog’s lips began to quiver and he suddenly remembered who he was. Something had been forcing him to be a brute, but it was finally clear this wasn’t the dragon he was born as.

“Yes, think about what you’ve done, you miserable, pathetic pile of scales. You’re hated now for causing so much strife. Nopony in Everfree likes you now and they never will.”

The same magic aura that affected Celestia and Luna when they broke free of the control of the spirit guide earlier then began to move up Grumblebog’s body as he regained his original brighter colors back. He too had been under a similar spell, and it had clearly turned him into the bully he was. Of course now its effect had clearly worn off, but the damage had been done.

“No…no, how could I?” he said as tears began to trickle down his scaly cheeks.

“Run along now, and don’t ever think about coming back here.”

Accord’s words struck Grumblebog hard, and everything he had done now came crashing down on him. He let himself be manipulated into being a brute. He was so sad; he forgot completely about the gold and no longer even cared for whatever he had found in that cave. With his eyes closed and tears pouring out of them, he roared and flames spewed out of his mouth. He then rushed out of the cave.

“NOOOOOOO!!!”

His footsteps caused small rocks to fall down from the ceiling of the cave, and some of the coins on the ground bounced up and down. He rushed out of the cave entrance and lept off of the cliff, spreading his wings as he flew away blowing small plumes of fire as he went.
Some of the pony soldiers in the forest below the mountain were awakened by the rumbling of his footsteps and the sounds of his roaring. They stepped out of their tents to look up and see that Grumblebog was finally leaving.

“Everypony, look! The dragon! He has left!!” one of them said.

“At long last! The king will be so pleased to hear this news!”

As the soldiers began to rejoice, up at the top of the cave entrance, some of the smoke began to clear and Accord stepped out proudly. He looked out to the west to see the dragon flying off and slowly disappearing behind the mountains. Grumblebog flew away into the Badlands, where he could spend his solitude in the mountains, away from everyone, for he was no longer wanted anywhere.

“All according to plan.” Accord said, wickedly.

As the sun began to rise that next morning, Celestia laid in bed while King Solmidas raised the sun for her. She had a hard time getting to sleep last night, but since she was given permission to have the entire day off to recover from yesterday, she had the chance to sleep in this morning. The young teenage princess sat wide awake, still thinking of what had happened yesterday and pondering how she would continue from here on out. The news of the parliament’s decision still had yet to be relayed to her, and she was nervous about it. She finally decided it was time to get up, so she used her magic to lift her blanket and stepped out of bed, stretching and yawning. She then went before her mirror to comb her hair and put on her makeup. She decided against wearing her anklets and necklace this time, thinking there was no need to have such a royal appearance since she may not be taking the throne in a few years anyway.

“Well, another day.” she said, miserably, after staring at herself in the mirror for a while.

Celestia walked down the steps and opened the door to see Luna sitting down, looking out the large windows. She looked like she had been there for a while, probably deep in thought over the negotiations as well. Her sister walked over next to her and put her wing around her.

“Did you sleep well last night, Sister?” Luna asked.

“I was alright Luna. Did you?”

“Not really.”

“It’s alright.” she said, pulling her little sister in close. “Let’s try our best to get through today. Come now.”

They turned and walked towards the door leading down to the next level when suddenly the door burst open and Penny appeared.

“TIA…LUNA…” Penny said, breathing heavily from all the running she had done.

“Penny, what’s the matter?” Celestia asked her.

“ACCORD…HE JUST…ugh…sorry, gotta catch my breath. Anyways, Accord just got Grumblebog to leave the South Spire Mountain last night!” she exclaimed.

“WHAT?!” Luna shouted.

“Yeah, he did it last night and told everyone when he got back late! Your dad wanted to tell you guys, but he figured you would want to rest after yesterday, but hey, good news, huh?!”

“The dragon is gone now?” Celestia asked.

“Yeah, and everyone’s really pleased with Accord!”

Celestia and Luna stopped and looked at each other with somewhat disappointed faces. They were both happy with this news but the fact that Accord just did something wonderful made them feel left out after what they went through yesterday.

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was comparing him to you.” said Penny, realizing it might have hurt their feelings. “I forgot you guys wanted Accord to take your place.”

“It’s okay, Penny.” Celestia replied. “I guess this just goes to show how ready Accord is.”

The princesses hung their heads, but Penny quickly chimed in to try and cheer them up.

“Well hey, I’ll bet everypony downstairs is pleased to hear this. You guys ready for breakfast?”

“I could certainly go for some oat pudding right now.” Luna said with a smile starting to form on her face.

“Let’s go, Luna. Some breakfast should lift our spirits.” Celestia said with her wing around Luna as they both walked down the stairs, following Penny.

Age of the Alicorns: Chaos Rising

by AleximusPrime

Prologue

1. Luna's Test

2. The Night Arrives

3. The Next Step

4. A Promise for Change

5. We Must Negotiate

6. Meeting with the General

7. News of the North

8. Dragon Trouble

9. Accord Can Help

10. Grumblebog

11. Failed Again

12. The Comfort of Children

13. Good News at Last!

14. Sisters at Odds

15. We'll Do It Together

16. Spirit Guides

17. Dominance

18. It is Hopeless

19. Tears of a Dragon