Transparent Redemption.

by TehWriter

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark
Length: 6550

After a failed world invasion, the changelings invade Canterlot. Failing to capture it, Princess Celestia and the world decides their fate.

After a failed World Invasion, the changelings desperately tried to capture Canterlot.
Failing even that, they now stand at the mercy of the vengeful leaders of the world.
With me, Princess Celestia, being invited to the World Congress; we will seal the fate of the changeling race.
But little do they know, that it is more complicated than it seems.

War torn and desperate; Is the Changeling species doomed? Or is there one last flickering ray of hope?

Published 2014-06-07 12:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-06-15 19:37:43 UTC

Justified Revenge.

Justified Revenge

On a sunny day, when peace settled in Canterlot and Equestria as a whole; I stood on my throne ready and somewhat eager to finish today's royal court duties. Not that I had a distaste or discomfort listening to my subjects and offering them the help only royalty can provide. It was not necessarily that I got bored of the seemingly repetitive scenario day after day, month after month, year after year, even decade after decade to my surprise. You know, same room, same 'statue' guards, same decorations, sometimes even the same requests from my subjects. It wasn't even the fact that I had to sit on this pillow so much that I think flattened the poor thing on a daily basis. It was something else. I wanted today's court duties to end because of the recent changeling attack.

It happened two weeks ago. During the wedding of the captain, Shining Armor, and my niece, Princess Cadence. I will not go into many details. There are a few things which will stick in my mind for a very long period of time, though: the fact that the Queen defeated me and the other fact that Canterlot almost fell and my subjects would become buffet for those love-sucking creatures. The latter angered me the more I thought about it. Like throwing wood to the fire that would simply not go off.

Sadly, that fire was not mine only. It was spread in the heart of every single pony that came in my court today. And there were many. Too many. I can understand that. I, too, cannot say that they do not deserve to be punished. But I believe they received their punishment. Being both you and your army thrown hundreds of miles away at the pretty high altitude hurts a lot, you know? Possibly even fatal. I shivered at the thought. Whatever the action is; death is never an answer. Never. I never killed anybody. I never intended to. I never thought to. I will never have to. Judging that I am an alicorn and that I can send evildoers like Tirek to Tartarus, the possibility of killing never occurred to me. Despite that I am aware of what it means to kill and the not only lawful but especially moral consequences. Would you take ones life even when there are a million of other ways, far more fit to resolve a threat? I know I won't.

Yet, my subjects think the other way. They want vengeance. Many pleaded for my forces to create hunting parties and eliminate the Changelings once and for all. Some even argued using economic facts, military arguments and even mathematical calculations. Some almost convinced me to do it. Almost. At the end of the day, I turned them all down. Some I turned them down easily, others with a heavy heart. Such as one pony who traveled all the way from Manehattan to convince me to eliminate the changelings because 'their insectile nature will allow them to multiply and attack again more fiercely.' It was an argument that stretched its 15 minutes to its limits. It was for the good of Equestria, as he covered. I was aware of all the efforts he put into trying to get to me. The one who came had made efforts in vain, sadly. As for the property lost, there was the mutual effort me and my sister are putting in cooperation with the private companies to reconstruct Canterlot and recover the damage made. Fortunately, no deaths were reported.

As the silence in the throne room was settling in, the time for my royal duty to the court for the day was almost over. But that almost was all that was needed. A guard entered the room with the determined look to talk to me. I maintained my composure, paying close attention to the guard as he got closer. He ultimately got as close as he could and bowed.

"We received a letter from the Gryphon Empire, Your Highness." The guard spoke taking his helmet down and bowing.

"Very well. Let me see it." I responded blankly.

The guard gave me the scroll and I dismissed him. The scroll seemed to be quite decorated. Ribbons, elegant designs at the edge of the paper and even a golden seal. It's not in the style of the griffin to send such scrolls around. Unless it's an invitation to some overly formal and distinctively boring gala. Let's not bring our gala to the discussion, theirs is worse. Anyhow, I opened the seal and the scroll revealed it's excessive decorum and content. Yet as I read it, it all made sense, and I was right to have such decorations. They were obliged to send these scrolls. This wasn't an ordinary scroll. This was indeed an invitation, but not to a gala. But to the World Congress. An 'extraordinary' session to be exact. It was easy to understand that. Not only because of the decorum, but because of the layout of the text. It was pretty common for this kind of letters to have a specific layout. Something like an unwritten law.

'So, in theory the subjects of the congress should be... here.' I thought as I skimmed through the formalities and went straight for the content. There was but one subject: Changelings. Namely, what is the world going to do with them? I was genuinely surprised and slightly disturbed because they actually considered scrambling the leaders of the world to come down to an extraordinary session to agree on what is going to happen to them. And this just begs the question: How bad was the rest of the world attacked?

You see, the world is not wise enough nor kind enough as my little ponies should be. There had to be reason for this sudden session. Equestria, world leader itself in exports of agricultural products, metals of all kinds and with an influential culture, was not in danger and it certainly did not get so damaged that the rest of the world kept an eye on us, ready to help us help themselves. Not even Canterlot was that damaged for this to happen. The changeling attack could not have scared the rest of the world that badly either. They are not fools, they know how to play war games. Some even better that us. The only reason why this congress could be made is if the problem was wider than Equestria. Therefore, we couldn't be the only ones who were attacked.

'Us, the Griphon Empire, Saddle Arabia, and many more. What have they done?' I asked myself, a slight sensation of worry starting to build up. Those changelings actually made enough noise to derange the world leaders.

And then I noticed the time. The time for my duties has ended. I kept the scroll, dismissed the guards and started walking slowly to my room. I couldn't let any of my subjects see what I saw. Don't get me wrong; they cannot and will not see the scroll. But they can see my face. And the face can be the only hint somebody needs to understand how somebody can feel. Adding the invitation to the equation, if my composure is 'scratched', my subjects will worry. And knowing my reputation, that would be an alarm signal. How would you feel if your greatest idol that inspires you daily is suddenly deranged or sad?

My usual greetings and smiles were handled like warm and soft bread to cold and hungry ponies. And before I knew it, I was at the door of my private chambers. Two armored unicorns were protecting the door as usual. I even used them as reference points sometimes. I smiled and greeted and then I entered my room and locked the door.

But then I was greeted with a sight for sore eyes: my sister, Luna. Yet, she greeted me with eyes that expressed worry.

"Sister, are you alright? I felt disarray, and I was wanted to make sure you are fine." Luna spoke in a slightly alarmed tone.

My sister knew exactly how I felt when there was something bothering me in a particular way. This invitation was no different. Something behind my mind wanted me to hesitate the question, but I couldn't quite figure out what. And there was no reason to try and lie. Not that I even intended to. Sometimes, advice from family is more valuable than the advice of one hundred strangers. Also, I could speak freely to her. And that is very important.

"I am fine, Luna. But I am afraid I received an invitation that I'd rather not receive."

"And what invitation is that? Another gala?" Luna asked curiously and dumbfounded.

"Sadly, I wished it was that. Instead, we were invited to this." I levitated the scroll to Luna. Luna took it with her own magic and unfurled it. It took her one minute to change her expression from worry to contempt. I waited silently for her to respond.

"My dear sister. I cannot believe such thing." Luna shook and her eyes closed.

"I am afraid such thing happened. The changelings, despite my belief, plagued other nations and as such, they wish for an international meeting in the capital of the griffins." I summarized.

But Luna shook her head again, her eyes cold. "No, sister. This is not what causes disbelief to me."

This confused me. And made me look confused. I had no composure in front of Luna though. That would be ridiculous. I stood silent and let her continue.

"What causes disbelief is that this is the reason why you are worried." She stated with now disappointed eyes. A spark of anger could be seen.

What she said; came down like a thunder to my heart. It stroke so hard that all I could say is "Luna... Why?"

Luna turned around and walked on the balcony. I followed and she continued. "My sister. Those are the ones who invaded our land, infiltrated the wedding and terrorized our subjects. I know what the population wants. They want revenge. And I know deep down you want that as well. Whether you have fulfilled your desire of revenge is something only you can know. But I know that Equestria did not. And it will not, unless we satisfy their demand."

Now I understand why I wanted to hesitate the question. I was afraid of this. My sister was always more militaristic. Always wanting to use some degree of force to eliminate a threat. I still remember her face when I told her about the changeling invasion. She was angry. At the changelings, and at me. Because I did not call for her during the emergency. And I do not blame her. She is a 'mare of action' of the sort. But even if I could call for help, I wouldn't. I would rather have her safe. Especially if there was Twilight and her friends and Cadence there. I was aware of what true love could do. Risking to call my sister for help would only put her in danger. And now? Now she wants to destroy the changelings because of what they did to Canterlot. And what they did to me, I guess. I knew exactly what she was going to propose; I heard it countless times today after all.

"Luna. I understand the cry for vengeance. But haven't we received it? They were thrown out of Canterlot straight into the wasteland with astonishing speed and altitude. Such power can kill them on the spot if they touch the ground." I argued.

"I understand that. But equally, they may have survived. They are changelings, Tia. They could have simply change form into something that could resist the impact. We know too little about their kind to rule this option out. Among other reasons, if you received this invitation, then I believe quite strongly that the World Congress will agree with my approach." Luna countered calmly.

"I understand that. Yet don't think that those changelings may have not had another option? Perhaps they were starving or running desperately low on food. We have seen such cases before, Luna. A nation-"

"But they are not a nation, sister. They are a hive.Beasts. From what you told me, they wanted to take over Canterlot and then Equestria. That does not sound as an act of despair to me. It sounds like an act of greed." Luna cut off sharply.

"Could be. But now that they are pacified, we can resolve the issue without appealing to military intervention. I know that there is a better way of resolving this issue. War is never an option. Neither is killing, Luna." I spoke back, in a tone firmer that I intended.

Luna looked at me with a mixture of anger, disappointment and... sadness? "Tia. Ponies died."

She then showed me the report. The cold evidence that I had to read to believe.My eyes widened. The shocked looked on my face greeted Lunas now justified feelings. "Twenty ponies died. Other tens were gravely wounded. Dozens are missing. They killed our some subjects, sister. Innocents, Tia. For their own needs and wants. How is that not a reason for revenge? They kill and we let them go away just like that?!" Lunas voice started to grow louder and louder. She was moved by this.

But not as moved as I was. Ponies died. They died because of their invasion. And because I could not protect them. I sat down and looked at my hooves, eyes closing. How could this happen? The increase in military. The shield. The safety measures. The social security. The guards. Everything was destined to protect them from this. And still, there was bloodshed. Innocent pony blood splattered on the innocent pony streets of the innocent pony capital. Now, everything made sense. Those ponies wanted revenge not only because their valuables and lives were at stake. But because some lost their loved ones. Others lost their homes or other property. They were scared of this happening again.

"Sister?"

My duty was to protect them. And I failed them.

"Sister?"

Those creatures. They killed my subjects. "For their own needs and wants." Could that be true? Was there really no other reason?

"Sister!"

How could I let this happen...?

"TIA!"

"WHAT?!" I snapped unintentionally at my sister, who looked at me with widened eyes. My eyes grew wider and I put my hooves to my mouth. I cannot believe I just yelled at her... Then, she hugged me tightly.

"It's alright, my dear sister. Don't worry. We will get to the bottom of this. We can't change the past. I understand your belief of second chance to everyone. And I agree with it wholeheartedly. But sister, please, monsters don't deserve a second chance. Our subjects have to know that they can be safe again and that their loved ones can rest in peace. Our subjects want this. Our subjects need this. I'm sorry, Tia. I promise I will stand by your side." Then after what seemed like an eternity, Luna finally released me.

The sun touched the horizon, ready to be pulled down by me. The light was strong, highlighting the beautiful landscape. Ponyville down the mountain with the neighboring forest filled with the mysteries of our past. In the sky, Cloudsdale shining proudly below the little village. And Canterlot; even with its scars and wounds, it still stood tall and proud aside its smaller companions. I turned my head to look at my little ponies on the capital streets. They looked calm, some were even happy. Not as before, but still happy. Others were watching what the guards were doing through some ruins. The same thing with the construction sites, but more populated by fillies. I smiled knowing that they are happy and I turned my head again, back at the landscape. My eyes flickering to catch as much as possible from it. The sun shined brighter than ever. A slight breeze started to caress my body from the right, as my mane still flowed with no remorse. I thought about what Luna said. Every single word. And suddenly, I felt a rush of determination. A special kind of determination. One that I did not feel since the second apparent victory of Discord and the supposed downfall of Equestria. Lunas words did more than comfort me. They enlightened me. I smiled openly and Luna responded by smiling back.

"We cannot change the past. But we can change the future, my dear sister." I stated while staring at the bright horizon, with an occasional glance at her.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"They have attacked us. I can guarantee you I will make sure that will not happen again. Equally, we cannot clearly understand why they invaded us. But we will not stop at the easiest option. We, whom have faced larger threats and suffered far more than we did now, will strive not only for the revenge we demand. But for the truth we need. An act of greed can very easily be confused with an act of desperate need. Just as the demand for revenge is the twin brother of the demand for justice. Yes, I did seek revenge. A fire that consumed my heart and my very mind. A fire that promised me satisfaction that I might or might not have been satisfied with. That, is but a fraction of the past now. Those who seek revenge seek the cursed riches of their own hearts." I explained.

As my sister remained silent, I continued. "What I see are not those riches anymore. What I seek is the betterment of our kind. I seek not revenge, but justice. But this justice is hidden behind an impenetrable door with the only key not being in our possession. The truth. For us to understand whether they deserve to disappear from the face of this planet or not, we need that key. And that key will lead us to what we truly need. Do we truly, deep down in our warm hearts, wish to destroy those whom may have had no other choice but to attack us so that they kind will survive? How is that going to separate us from them? I have learned, my sister, that in the process of seeking revenge, dig two graves: one for your victim, and one for yourself." I finished smiling. The sun shining brightly still.

Luna sat there, and I left the words to sink in.She looked at the horizon as she thought about it. The breeze being louder than our silence. I closed my eyes and focused on the sun. I moved it below the horizon and my sister raised the moon immediately afterwards. The silence was still present. Yet, after a couple of minutes after the raising, she turned her head to me and smiled. Her eyes showing pride.

"I trust you, Tia. I know you will take the right decision. Despite the darkest appearances, your light always shines the way. Never before it happened differently, and never will it happen differently. Good luck, Tia. I will support you from home from the bottom of my heart." She responded, hugging me and left to fulfill her duties.

The meeting was in two days. Enough for what I needed to do to prepare the delegates. It went without word that I would lead the delegation. There was no national emergency, and my sister still needed to learn today's international politics. One thousand year difference... Also, somepony had to rule Equestria while I was away. I stood on my balcony, watching and observing how the cities turned into focused collection of lights, with Cloudsdale blending with the night sky and the stars almost perfectly. The breeze changed direction. I felt it beating from the back, as if someone in my room tried to push me. I turned my head and saw nopony in the room. The fireplace was lit and some of the light rested on a two pictures. One was a normal photo of my sister. The other was a painting. A painting with our parents. I turned my head to the landscape again. The more I looked and the more I thought the more excitement was building in me alongside with inspiration and hope. I was not only going to a session of the World Congress. No, I was embarking on a quest.

A Quest for Justice. A Quest for Peace.

A stallion of many words.

A stallion of many words

Morning. It was like every other morning to me. Raising the sun, eating the generic yet overly exaggerated and complicated breakfast from which I said to myself I would change it. Yes, it had all a mare could wish for breakfast, but it becomes annoying trying to eat something that looks so well made every day. I think it kind of wastes effort, but it hones decoration skills, so I guess it's a trade off. But let's be honest: I can promise you they make everything look sophisticated. One day, I will ask once a simple bowl of cereals and see what they can come up with. ...maybe cereals will be aligned to look like a flower or something...Then, I had to look presentable. The battle between my mane and the comb will never cease to exist. It's like cleaning a flag while waving, but a lot wavier, which in turn makes it harder. And then I did the rest of the things a princess has to do to look like the princess she has to look.

After doing my things in the bathroom, I put my regalia on. The crown rested on my head gently and fixated itself under my ears, as the decorated necklace felt more like an armor rather than a decoration. I put my golden shoes protecting my hooves from the ground, making my walking more audible. Some say it's a burden having to wear this daily. And I can't argue it's not. The necklace is somewhat heavy and it's stuck to my chest in a freaky attempt to merge with me. The shoes were comfortable, but that doesn't change the fact that the whole hallway AND the ones next to it knew I was there. And the crown was always on my head. Always. Do you know how annoying that can get sometimes? It's like a hat that you want to get off but can't get off. Letting alone that the crown has its moments when it wants to fall off my head. It never happened, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. If want to fly or not be a walking wall or tower to my subjects at times. I have to keep my head as straight as possible. But one thing is clear: without them, I don't feel like am a princess when I should feel. What you wear helps a lot to put you 'in the mood' for working. The regalia, while having its burdens, is an invaluable 'companion' for my everyday affairs and duties. Ha, a pun: the regalia is actually invaluable.

With that out of the way, I had two hours sharp to talk to my delegates. Because otherwise, I would be late for my duties. Luckily, the royal castle was the hub of all political actions in Equestria. That made it easier for me to reach whatever or whomever whenever I wanted to, as the farthest thing was the royal post office right at the gate. I left my bedroom after making my bed look normal, before the housekeepers entered. My destination was clear: the Delegates Office. I left the chambers and saw the rays of light piercing through the windows as the sound of my hooves echoed in the hallway. Occasional guards and housekeepers saluted me and I nodded back with a smile; saying "Good morning!" at those who said "Good morning." Got to maintain a presence and reputation, after all.

Outside seemed just like any other summer day: hot, cloudless and a burning sun. But the heat never bothered me anyway. Birds were chirping happily, signalling that it's morning; but my hooves were still louder. Overall, It was a pleasant day. Maybe I will do a walk in the pa- oh, wait. I have duties. Right. Anyhow, I will find some time today.

I walked for a few minutes and finally arrived at the Delegates Office. The name was a metaphor, mind you. The building was huge. And very decorated. It screamed it's importance and might to those watching. The guards opened the door and I entered a white large circular room with three floors. Everything was made of marble. Pillars that sustained the upper floors, decorated as well with elegant golden designs. The room was filled with light and reflections in some cases; light from the windows that faced the outside and the large window in the center of the dome, reflections came from the golden designs certain areas had: the pillars, the stair holders, and other things. There were many ponies, and a lot of chatter.

The secretary was right in front of me. At its sides, curved stairs that led to the second floor descended around the office. A large, curved, well made, wooden, desk in the shape of the half of the circle, having my and Lunas cutie marks in the front. A small exit on my right was seen. Behind the secretary, at the right side, there was a flag that stretched to the ground with my cutie mark. And one on the left with Lunas cutie mark. If I remembered correctly, there were three mares that acted as secretaries. But at this time, there was only one. A cyan pegasus mare with golden hair stood there absorbed in some papers. She didn't notice me.

I stepped casually into the building and traversed the room until I reached the secretary. When I reached her, I noticed the shadow of my head being casted over her. She turned to me to begin speaking, but then she was caught off guard when she tried to talk my necklace. Gulping silently, she raised her head and she met my face. I smiled warmly nonetheless. Then she smiled like a child and began talking.

"Good morning, Your Majesty! It's such a great honour to see you here. How may I help you today?" Her welcoming voice entered my ears.

I smiled and looked at her name tag. "Well, Fresh Air, I would like you to help me see the Noble Heart, the veteran diplomat." I responded.

She nodded as she checked her papers. I looked around, the whole place looked quite populated. Groups of ponies talking, laughing and chatting. All of them had a role here. Some were diplomats, others were assistants or wives, while others were the cleaning crew. Guards were scattered around the place. Not too few to make it feel like this place was a private villa, not to many to make it look like this was my stereotyped mansion. And I couldn't help but notice how separated those ponies were. Diplomats with diplomats, cleaners with cleaners, mares with mares, stallions with stallions. There was an overall atmosphere of agitation. Something stirred them up. And something tells me that Luna had something to do with it.

"Your Majesty?" Fresh Air returned.

I turned my head to look her. "Yes?"

"Mr. Noble Heart is in his private office on the third floor. Number 304." She answered.

"Thank you, Fresh Air, and have a nice day!" I answered smiling as I left for his office.

I could hear a "You too, Your Highness!" but the chatter was loud enough for me not to catch it clearly. Nonetheless, I left for Noble Hearts office. The faster I finish this, the more time I have to make my walk in the park. But then again, there is no way I am rushing this discussion. Jokes aside, this isn't your everyday World Congress. You know this, they know this, he will know this. It's far more than a simple 'extraordinary' session.

And I knew this perfectly.

***

'Three hundred two... three hundred three... three hundred four!' I stopped in the front of the door after walking 2 floors. A golden plate had his name engraved right under the number. I knocked at the door and as soon as I heard "Come in!" I entered.

And there he was: Noble Heart. His blue eyes and his welcoming smile could be seen even from behind his office, the well-groomed grey coat may send some unintended messages, but they were soon fledged away by the incredibly elegant and expensive suit and his permanently styled black mane that rivals Bluebloods own mane and quality of maintenance.

"Your Majesty!" He said in his deep voice, obviously caught off-guard. He got down quickly from his desk and bowed. "It is the most privileged honor for me to receive a visit from the princess herself. How may I help you today, Your Highness?" He ended raising his head, the warm smile formed on his lips along with some of the most welcoming eyes I saw today. His discrete and subtle aura entered my nostrils; giving me a sense of elegance a mare would fall in love with regardless.

I nodded. "Good morning, Noble Heart. I need to speak with you regarding a diplomatic mission."

He raised eagerly and wasted no time responding. "But of course! Please, take a seat and make yourself comfortable while I prepare some tea." I nodded again as I walked to one of the chairs. Noble Heart took the pillows from the chairs and put them on the floor so that I can sit, because the chairs were too small. Then, he walked to the left of the room to prepare the tea, while I looked at his office, waiting patiently.

Large, red, folded curtains, each of the sides of the big window that revealed a beautiful scenery of Canterlot beyond the royal gates. At the right, a huge bookshelf filled with books covered the wall, a contrast of colours could be seen: green, red, blue, brown and many others. All had a name on them, but I needn't to see; because I knew most of the books were either works of fiction, guides, classics, or political books. Twilight could use some of these sometime. At my left, where Noble Heart resided making the tea, the wall had a red trim with some white decorations that represented aspects from nature: twigs and leaves stretching and making curves. There was also the dominating, pure white symbol of Equestria, with two golden olive branches that started under it, and stretched to its sides. His desk was extremely well organised and clean. Papers in their places at the right of the desk, a lamp, and the middle being a free space. At the left there was nothing. It was so clean I could see my face on it. It was as if the dust avoided the desk. Hopefully my mane will do the same.

I heard the careful sound of the teacups resting on plates. He turned around levitating a fine metal tray that held two teacups, some cookies and a teapot. Putting them carefully on the left side of his desk, he proceeded taking a seat on his large chair. If I wouldn't know any better, this would make him feel alright. But instead, I knew that this frustrated him greatly. I mean, I am the princess and I am sitting on the ground on some pillows and he is sitting on a large chair that looked far more comfortable than my cushions. But I reassured him when I looked with warm eyes.

He wasted no time. Putting the tea into the teacups, he asked. "What is the diplomatic mission you wish for me to attend?" He asked, putting the teapot in its place, taking a sip and his eyes waiting eagerly yet calmly for the response.

"You will not attend this mission alone. I will need you to attend with me and a group of our finest delegates and special session of the World Congress." I responded as I took a cup and sipped some tea as well.

"I understand Your Majesty, and what is the purpose of this special session?" Noticing his tone but not only, his face changed rather quickly to a serious one. Understandably, he knew the latitude of the situation. The World Congress didn't have a special session for few decades.

I gave him the invitation instead of answering. The letter knew how to explain better and without exposing my feelings to him. Diplomat or not, he was still one of my subjects. He unfolded it and as he read it, he nodded. I took a few more sips from the tea during his reading. Sometimes he nodded, sometimes he smiled, sometimes he chuckled. Finally, he answered.

"I wonder, is this an act of proposed savagery, of collective self-defense or an act of kindness?"

Needn't for me to respond. Noble Heart is a veteran diplomat. He saw many things in his life. He came to have some degree of understanding how the world works in the long run. Sadly, it only some degree. Because of this, supposed long term aims such as the reasons why the World Congress has a special session were hard to discern. And I don't blame him; there were at least three different reasons why they wanted the changelings gone. And many other possible ones.

"Do you understand the importance of this task?" I asked blankly.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will recruit the group of elite delegates at once and ensure the preparations, such as transportation and and the details of the mission are taken care of. Is there a special criteria you wish to add when I choose the delegates?"

I thought about it. I, myself, had no real idea if the changelings were supposed to die or not. And I couldn't live with the idea of killing something, letting alone if it was innocent. Therefore, other than the default 'top of the class' criteria Noble Heart knew about, there was one more thing I wanted to add. A bit hard, but I am confident he will pull it off.

"Flexibility"

He raised his eyebrows in surprise but nodded nonetheless. "I understand. I will begin preparations immediately."

"One more thing, Noble Heart." I interrupted my dear diplomat with casualty.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" He asked warmly.

I stood in silence. My answer was on a different letter. So I gave him the letter. He opened it and read it. And I could see just how fast his remaining eagerness dissolved into even more seriousness. He looked at me and slowly nodded. He then took a feather pen with his magic, and stopped when he touched the paper. I nodded and he started writing on it. Then he gave me the paper.

'Your special request will be carried out secretly and without compromises. I will send you a letter regarding all the details; transportation, the ponies involved and their backgrounds, as soon as possible.' I smiled and nodded. He responded with a warm smile again, seeing that I am satisfied.

"We will be in touch, Noble Heart." I said as I rose from my cushions.

"Of course, Your Majesty." He responded as he bowed and I left his office.

As I walked, memories of him in his first days of his diplomatic career flashed in my mind. Young, eager and with high hopes, he was always ready for the next mission that will come at him. There was nothing that could stop him. Too bad that the future was not so kind with him. You see, his career started during a time of global peace and prosperity, a time when everyone was supposed to work with everyone for the betterment of everyone. He believed that he can take part in this; to make the world a better place using the power of a special, less personal kind of friendship.

If only that period lasted more than two months since his first mission. After that time, signs of tyrants rising to power showed up. Not as cruel or barbaric as King Sombra, but as greedy and cunning as Queen Chrysalis. They were, or in some cases are, the more 'official' version the queen. Countries formed alliances, broke trade agreements and started gathering armies and researching new technologies that would ensure victory. I think you know where this is going.

However, Equestria did not stay still, but it laid low. Ponies like Noble Heart were more valuable than they imagined during that time. They were the forgers of the shield that later protected us. They were harnessing the power of friendship. Not the magic of friendship, but the power friendship. I was far too concerned about the world to know how Noble Heart was doing back then. Sadly, during that period, he was nothing but an inexperienced diplomat to me, and in some cases a liability. He learned more from other diplomats when I assigned them in teams to create secret alliances.

I rarely left the country during that period too. Luna was not there, and Equestria was not strong enough to protect itself from the rising powers. There weren't any functioning elements of harmony during that period as well. Because we laid low, the military was growing at a restrained level; should our newly temperamental neighbors see us grow our military power, they would react politically, and add a heck of a lot pressure and even spies. On a rare occasion, I left Equestria with Noble Heart and a couple of others diplomats. When we were about to form our own international alliance. There, Noble Heart proved his worth. The way he handled the situation impressed me greatly for a supposed beginner. Serious and collected, he conducted the meeting shoulder to shoulder with me. And so, I started sending him on missions as an ambassador. Now, he leads delegations or is an ambassador from time to time. One of his superiors once commented after a mission: 'He is a stallion of many words, not only because he flatters too much or because his wannabe complex vocabulary forces him to talk too much; but also because the words he say value more than the common sentences you say every day.'

Those were some times I wish not to live in again. Anyhow, what was the time? I lost track of it. I looked at a random clock on the main hallway, while on my way to the royal chambers. I still had time to reach the chambers. One hour and a few minutes. I think I even have time for my walk in the park. Enjoyment started to build up as I realized I have the time to enjoy the day. Then one final thought hit me.

'Oh, I cannot believe that the griffins host the World Congress. Quite... *engaging*, isn't it?' I giggled at the thought as I remembered the letter I gave Noble heart earlier. And that just tells me;

Some sightseeing never hurt anypony, after all.