The Sun Sets and the Moon Wanes
“Zis ist highly irregular, undt ve demand explanation!” The Griffon Ambassador struck the floor with his taloned fist in emphasis. “Ekvestria vas a great nation of peace undt harmony. Ze Royal Sisterz ver instrumental in preservink dat peace. Vy overthrow ze very entities responsible for leadink zis land of Ponies for thousands of years of peace undt prosperity, vis no more zen a few minor conflictz along ze vay? Do you intend to undo a thousands of yearz of progress, ‘Kveen’ Sparkle?”
"You don't understand!" Twilight barked rising sharply from the throne, the Element of Magic shifting unsteadily on her head with the sudden motion. "The 'Royal Sisters' were leading this nation nowhere, and they thought us all too naive to catch on.” She paused a moment to adjust her magical crown. “Oh yes, they were benevolent, kind, compassionate, and peaceful. All true, and that was the problem. The longer I studied the world, the more clear it became: Equestria was stagnating." Twilight began pacing fitfully across the dais. "At first, I thought they just didn't see it; that they were missing the larger picture. However, when I confronted them, they evaded the charge deftly, dancing around the issue. That's when I realized it: They wanted Equestria stagnant, stable, it's vast resources and potential left untapped and unexploited." She glared down at the figures in the throne room below her.
"How dare they! To restrict us, to hold us back, to weigh down the progress and suppress the potential of the nation they claimed to be leading! Deplorable. Despicable!" She returned to her throne, sitting tall on the golden chair. A smug grin crawled across her features. "I was a good student. I learned a lot from my years in Ponyville, and what I learned most clearly was that ponies thrive on adversity. They grow, learn, and improve themselves in the face of conflict; rivalry and competition serve to bring out the best in everypony, yet Equestria was free of conflict, free of competition, free of the challenges that drive ponies to excel, and any sign of conflict or chaos was swiftly and deftly crushed.” The smirk reached her eyes, creasing the scars she had earned on her rise to the throne.
“Oh, I learned fast, and it was only a matter of time before I had convinced the rest of the Spirits of Harmony of the same conclusions. The rest is, as they say, history. We sparked the revolution, we rose up, we cast down the Sisters and seized power in Canterlot. We will be the ponies to lead Equestria to a great and glorious future, and I will bear the weight of the Crown. The veil of false peace will be torn down. There will be conflict, yes. Hardships and dangers are all inevitable. That is the price of growth. But we will overcome the challenges, and when the dust settles, Equestria will stand dominant; its ponies stronger for the struggle, its potential fully realized." The Griffon Ambassador shifted uncomfortably. He did not like the tone the new monarch was taking, nor her choice of words. At length, he spoke up once more.
“But vhat of ze day undt night cycle? Surely you are not able to assume zeir rolez as ze force behnd ze turning of ze days undt ze counting of ze yearz?”
“But of course we can’t do without the Sun and Moon. But they wouldn't abandon their duties just because of a shift in politics. Isn’t that right, my mere ‘princesses’?” The magically bound figure to the left of the throne stirred. Her head rose tall and proud, violet eyes coldly glaring at the mare on the throne.
“You’ve made a grave mistake, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia said solemnly. The figure on the right stared vacantly at the wall before her. Luna's voice carried a note of sadness.
“Equestria is not ready for this path. We were meant to guard it until its time came.” Twilight scoffed derisively.
“And when would that have been? Another thousand years? Two thousand? Five? How long did you plan on playing with your toy kingdom? How long were you going to keep lying to us? When were you going to tell everypony that chaos is not an evil, but a necessity; that greed is required before there can be generosity; that laughter is at its most effective in the face of sorrow, grief, and fear; that the cruelest of responses may, in fact, be the greatest kindness; that honesty can hurt others as brutally as deception; that not only must loyalties be carefully chosen, but that they are subject to priorities and circumstance?” She was shouting now, eyes narrowed scornfully on the former rulers of Equestria.
The sisters said not a word, but their downcast eyes spoke volumes to the newly crowned monarch. “I am not the naive little protégé I once was. I am Queen Twilight Sparkle, now.” There was venom in her words as she looked down her snout at the former rulers of Equestria. “Your talk of peace and harmony was a fantasy, Celestia, and I have seen through the deception you and Luna have spent thousands of years weaving. The truth is that the brightest moments of Equestria’s history only happened after facing its greatest trials; The Windigo Invasion, The Reign of Discord, The Lunar Rebellion. These led to the founding of Equestria, the rise of your Diarchy, and the so-called Golden Age of Peace respectively.” Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself. When she spoke next, the venom in her tone was gone.
“I will not downplay the role you played in raising Equestria to its current state. You were doing magnificently, until you decided to shelter it from all conflict and impose your philosophy of peace and harmony; lulling the entire nation into a state of complacency and false security. Only your active intervention kept the facade of peace going, but you couldn’t keep it up perfectly. You may be eternal, but you are hardly omniscient and certainly not omnipresent. Sometimes, you could head off the problem, like you did with my friends and I when you set us up to deal with the return of Luna as Nightmare Moon; but the Return of Discord and Changeling Invasion only proved that, despite your vigilance and power, there were things you could not prevent or control, and because of the false security you had imposed upon the populace, Equestria was woefully unprepared for them. Only the presence of certain exceptional individual ponies, namely myself and my friends, saved the kingdom from premature destruction.”
She drew herself up authoritatively. “I aim to change that. I will reforge Equestria into a nation that can stand on its own, without the false pretense of peace. I will temper it with the anvil of conflict, the hammer of adversity, and the fires of progress. When I am done, this nation will be ready to defend itself from any and all that would threaten it, and its power, industry, and technology will be the envy of the wider world. Other nations will stand in awe of us, not because we are protected by demigoddesses, but because we will have earned that respect with our own hooves. That is the future of Equestria.”
The Griffon Ambassador had remained silent during this exchange, choosing to listen rather than speak. Now, he elected to voice his concerns once more. “You realize, of course, zat I vill have to report zis change of policy to ze Griffon Kingdomz, your Majesty. Many of zem vill consider zese vords to be a declaration of Var, or at ze least, hostile intent. Are you prepared to defend ze claim you have placed on ze Ekvestrian Throne? Are you ready to sacrifice your peoplez for zis ideal you claim to uphold?” An unsettling smirk returned returned to Twilight’s face as she seated herself back on the throne, adopting a more majestic tone of voice.
“We are prepared to do what We must. You may report whatever you must, Sir Ambassador. We will not prevent you from carrying out your duties. However, when you return to the Griffon Kingdoms to report on the situation here, it would please Us if you tell them that Queen Twilight Sparkle does not wish for the old treaties to fail. At a time and place of their choosing, We request that the Griffon Kingdoms meet with Us in good faith to renegotiate the treaties which have lapsed as a result of Our change in rulership. They will find that Our terms will be more than generous and no less pleasing than those of the past.” The Griffon Ambassador studied the new monarch cautiously for a few moments.
“Zen I vill relay your gracious vishes along viz my report, Your Majesty.” The Ambassador and his guards then left the audience chamber, leaving Twilight and the former diarchs alone.
“What game are you playing at, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna demanded.
“A carefully planned and long-term game, Luna. There’s no need to antagonize the might of the Griffon Kingdoms… yet.”
“You mean to break the new treaties?” Celestia accused. Twilight turned her head with a self-satisfied grin.
“No, Celestia. I mean for them to break the new treaties.”
“How?”
“All in good time, my faithless subject. All in good time.”
