Knight and Dayby AnzelChapters1. A Summons2. The Mirror3. Show Time4. Eleven Equestrias5. Equestria Six6. The Treaty1. A SummonsIn my experience when a pony is summoned to the private meeting chambers of Princess Celestia they tend to get nervous. After all, what would an alicorn princess want to discuss with a regular pony? You can almost see it as the questions seem to pop into their heads. Have I done something wrong? Am I in trouble? Even the ponies that have led a model life tend to get nervous. The situation is different for me. Without a hint of ego I can say I wasn’t worried in the least. That isn’t because I’m a brave or special pony. It is just that over time the gravity of the situation wears off. I’ve been around Princess Celestia and Princess Luna for my entire career. My name is Silent Knight and I am the commander of Princess Luna’s House Guard. How I became commander is a long story that is better left untold for today. For the sake of brevity, however, I will say that I started my career as a House Guard and through a series of events ended up as its commander long before I had any right to be. I’d been in my office going over the week’s duty roster with my section sergeant, Iridescence, when one of Princess Celestia’s House Guards arrived to request my immediate presence. Of course I dropped what I was doing to attend the meeting. The gravity may have worn off but I wasn’t going to keep the princess waiting. In route to the conference area I turned left at a four-way corridor and almost collided with Sunny Day. She’d been coming up from the other way. “We have to stop meeting like this, Silent Knight. Ponies are going to start to talk,” she teased. “It isn’t a wise career move to gossip about the House Guard commanders,” I replied flatly. Sunny softly huffed at my response. I suspect she was expecting me to tease back. “Oh, you’re no fun. Where is your flank off to in such a hurry?” “Princess Celestia summoned me. You?” The mare’s brow arched. “Same. What do you think it is about?” Our hooves fell into step on instinct alone as we proceeded together. Sunny Day was my counterpart: the commander of Princess Celestia’s House Guard. Her coat was a dark yellow and complimented her red and orange mane and tail. I couldn’t imagine a more fitting pony in look and attitude to be in charge of Princess Celestia’s security. Sunny Day has been an officer longer than me though she wasn’t too much older. Her career had been fast tracked as well but she was an entirely different pony. My style was more to following the regulations. Hers was all about pony skills. She just had a way with others. “Considering she invited us both I’d imagine another event with both princesses in attendance.” It was a pretty safe bet. “Perhaps she wants to reprimand us for the undeniable physical tension between us?” Sunny offered, teasing again. I rolled my eyes and retorted, “Aren’t you already with two ponies? I can barely manage one and you want three?” Sunny Day winked at me and stopped outside of the chamber door. “If you ever change your mind...” She knocked twice. My head shook at her but I cracked a slight smile. She was wholly kidding. She just liked to pester me. A hoof came up to point out the smile just as the door opened. Princess Celestia peered at the two of us in slight confusion. We were frozen in place: me standing like a statue and Sunny pointing a hoof inches from my lips. I cleared my throat and straightened my helmet. “Thank you, lieutenant. That should have it now.” Looking to Princess Celestia I added, “Reporting as requested, Princess.” Princess Celestia smiled and lightly shook her head. She had a very different sense of humor than her sister. Sunny and her lined up well in that regard too. “Please, come in.” We did so, closing the door behind us. A brief glance around suggested this meeting was going to be anything but typical. Princess Luna was there which, in itself, was not abnormal. It was the fact that neither Raven nor Willowy Tempest were in attendance that changed everything. This meeting was off the record. The princesses sat together at the conference table and we did the same. Sunny Day looked around and set her hooves on it. “We’re either planning Raven’s birthday party or something is up.” It always amazed me at how Sunny Day just said whatever she wanted. Even in off record meetings there should have been some level of formality and decorum. “Raven’s birthday isn’t for months,” Princess Celestia replied. “Then I assume anything we discuss here today is both highly secretive in nature and possibly never occurred?” I asked. Princess Luna nodded. “Yes. We have decided that this is a situation where the fewer ponies know the better.” Sunny chimed in, “And how few are going to know?” “Just the ponies in this room.” Princess Celestia replied. I stroked my chin. “That is an awfully small group of ponies. What exactly are we going to be doing?” “We’re going to be hosting a summit. An extremely special and sensitive summit,” Princess Celestia explained. “And we’re going to do it in the palace without anypony ever finding out that we’ve done it,” Princess Luna added. “O… kay…” Sunny Day replied. “Who exactly is coming to visit?” I asked. Princess Celestia smiled at me. “I’m glad you asked. Do you remember the incident with the mirror a while back?” Sunny and I just nodded. What else could we do? ☾ ☼ “They’re crazy! You know they’re crazy right? Silent Knight, tell me you know they’re crazy?” Sunny Day exclaimed before taking my cheeks in her hooves and forcing me to look at her. “They’re the rulers of our land and if they want the impossible they’re going to get the impossible.” After brushing her hooves aside I went back to the drawing I was working on. It was a rough floor plan of Star Swirl the Bearded’s library. I’d only been a few times but Twilight Sparkle, Colonel Armor’s sister, had left me detailed notes on how to get around. She was thorough and that was appreciated. Sunny Day grumbled and sat on my desk. “You are the least fun pony to be working with on this. You aren’t amazed at all by what they told us?” “Amazed, astounded, confused, and excited for the opportunity. It doesn’t change the fact that a job needs doing. It is a shame, though…” “What is?” she asked. “That rats finally got into the library.” The mare tilted her head and looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Rats? What in Equestria are you talking about?” “Rats got into the library,” I repeated. I then held up an official document that I’d written. “It says so here. We’re going to need some ponies to come in and move all of the furniture out of this area. Further, these rats might be infected with something and will require special animal care professionals to remove them. Until the appropriate ponies can be located to do that work the area is off limits.” Sunny grabbed the document from my hoof and read it over. Her green eyes then lifted from it to me. “Do you just sit at home and figure out ways to handle every possible situation that may arise?” “Do you not?” I asked. She shook her head. “Then what do you do?” “Azurite, mostly.” My ears shot up and I’m certain my face turned red. Sunny Day pointed at me and cackled in delight. 2. The MirrorQuietly I stood in front of the mirror to inspect it. My reflection stared back at me attentively. We both had a white coat, a navy and royal blue mane, and silver eyes. In fact we were identical down to the blue primary feathers. Most ponies would expect that to be the case. That is how mirrors work. This wasn’t just any normal mirror though. Beneath the reflective surface lurked endless magical power. To be frank it was frightening. I’ve never really understood magic and, to some extent, I didn’t trust it. That is a silly thing to say of course given it had saved my life on a few occasions. Still, this mirror had the power to impact the lives of every pony in this Equestria and those beyond. “I had no idea you were so vain, Silent Knight. Now if you’re done primping can we please get back to work? This stupid thing isn’t going to move itself,” Sunny Day said from behind me. My reflection glared in her direction. “Yes, of course,” I replied before turning to look at her. Sunny Day stared back at me. Then we stared at each other. Finally, she asked, “What?” “Aren’t you going to, you know, unicorn it?” I asked. “Unicorn it?” she repeated in a tone that bordered on mocking. “It’s called levitation and you know it!” “My apologies. Are you going to levitate it?” “It’s huge!” she squeaked. “I’ve seen bigger,” I replied before tossing the sheet back over the mirror and starting to tie it down. Sunny Day snickered and said, “Isn’t that what Crystal Wishes said to you on your…” She trailed off at my glare. “I mean, let me help you!” The two of us carefully wrapped the mirror in another layer of sheets and brought a small flatbed cart over to transport it. I stood on my hind hooves and grabbed the top of the mirror. “Alright, I’ll rock it up, scoot the cart under it and then we can work together to get it on.” “Yup! Ready!” As stated I used my weight to rock the mirror up on one side. It was tough but I’m not exactly a light stallion. I’m a pegasus warrior after all. Once I had the mirror tipped back and supported Sunny pushed the cart under it. Then with a combination of muscle and magic we got the immense thing on the cart. “There, easy as could be,” I said. “Yeah…” She trailed. “How are we going to get it down the stairs?” I facehoofed. “Sunny, why didn’t you say something before?” “Oh, I just like to watch a stallion sweat. Come on, we’ll figure it out. Let’s get this thing moving!” ☾ ☼ It took a grand total of five hours to get the mirror from the palace proper into the “rat infested” rooms within Star Swirl’s library. If we’d asked for help it would have been a lot easier but that simply wasn’t an option. Ponies liked to ask questions. Sunny Day and I were laying on the floor trying to catch our breath. We were sweaty, panting, and exhausted. “That was the least fun thing I’ve done all year. If they ask us to move it back after this summit I’m going to resign,” Sunny complained. “That would be a shame but I am not going to dismiss the thought. Ideally, given the circumstances, it probably makes better sense to lock this thing away down here. Who knows what is on the other side of it,” I replied. The yellow-coated mare shifted off her side and started to get up. “Oh well, for now it is where it needs to be. I should get home though. I’ll be late… again. It is starting to become a problem.” My ears twitched. “Oh?” Sunny’s ever-present smile faltered briefly. “Yeah… Princess Celestia has been so busy that I haven’t had a lot of time at home. I can’t ever talk about what I’m doing either. So it all looks pretty suspicious.” “Surely Azurite isn’t the type to get jealous.” The smile returned but Sunny’s tone was still brittle. “It isn’t just her. Look, unless you think there is anything else to do I’m going to catch a shower and go. I mean honestly if somepony saw us come in here together and then walk out looking like this—” For emphasis she waved her hoof all about her body. “... It would be pretty suspicious.” “I see your point. Have a good evening then. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I pushed myself up and started to walk the room again. My companion sighed softly and I looked over my shoulder at her. “What?” “You’re going to stay and triple check all of this and start working on tomorrow’s tasks, aren’t you?” she asked. “Of course.” “Come on, Silent Knight, I need to get home!” Confusion set in and I looked at her. “Then go home.” Sunny Day shook her head. “No, you stubborn oaf. We’re counterparts… partners. If you stay I have to stay.” “You certainly do not.” The mare actually rolled her eyes at me. “Okay, then tomorrow you come in four hours late and I’ll handle things until you get in.” “Absolutely not. What sort of image would that set?” Sunny glared at me, pointed both forehooves at me and then spread them apart. For emphasis she then kept opening them wide and then bring them back together. “Okay, okay,” I chuckled. “Let’s call it a night, partner.” “Thank you!” ☾ ☼ “You were out of the office all day yesterday,” Iridescence said from across my desk. “You’re going to be out again today, tomorrow, and possibly longer? Doing what?” My brow rose and I looked at my first sergeant. She stiffened a bit. “My apologies, sir. I can cover the unit for sure. If I may ask, what are you doing exactly?” That was far more appropriate. “I’m sorry but I can’t say. It is a private errand for Princess Luna.” “With all due respect, sir, I find it a bit odd that you do private errands for the princess. Especially during duty hours. Isn’t that against regulations?” “Normally, yes, that’s why I do the errands after hours. In this case, no. The nature of the errand places it directly in my responsibility. It isn’t like you to worry about the finer details of regulations though. What’s on your mind?” Iridescence shifted, looking uncomfortable. It took her a moment to find her voice. “It feels like I’m being cut out of the loop. Me and the whole unit. We have a whole House Guard and yet you’re always off doing something you can’t talk about. You get reports I don’t see. You take meetings I can’t go to. I’m this section’s sergeant and your second. Why am I still on the bench?” It was a fair question. Were I in her shoes I might have felt the same way. Of course the nature of the errands I couldn’t discuss with her. My business with Princess Luna was my own. The reports and meetings were my personal business. A debt that needed to be settled. This was something wholly different but I couldn’t explain any of that to her. “That is fair. There are things going on that you probably could help with but you can’t be involved in. It is better that you remain in the dark. As to this particular thing, it is orders. I may have oversimplified my explanation. On this one, sergeant, you’re out. Next time we’ll see about doing it different. Alright?” It wasn’t what she wanted to hear but she nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll take care of the unit today and tomorrow as requested.” “Very good, dismissed.” Iridescence started to leave but paused at the door. She took her helmet off and asked, “Silent Knight, is this about the gryphons? Are you going to do something rash? If you are I can help. I don’t care about regulations or areas of responsibility. They hurt us and I want justice as much as you. We’re friends. Don’t cut me out of that.” My head shook slowly. “I appreciate that, truly. I give you my word that this thing has nothing to do with them. It is a security matter involving a private errand at the request of Princess Luna.” She put her helmet back on and nodded, “Alright. Have a good day.” “I’ll do my best.” Author's Note This chapter isn't going to make a ton of sense for this story in a vacuum but I chose to leave it as is since A. This is just an unreleased story for Q&B fans and B. Q&B fans get to see hints at the original Three of Diamonds and Memoirs/Secrets drafts. Sunny's just starting to struggle with being out a lot and it is straining her relationship with Azurite and Soarin. That is just minor though. I ended up utilizing most of that plot. The real thing here is Silent Knight and Iridescence. In the earliest drafts Iridescence immediately became the second NCO and Orchid retired. I chose not to do that for a few reasons. First and foremost Iridescence had basically just made sergeant. Even with Silent moving up and her taking over that would have been somewhat of a stretch. Possible, but a stretch. Additionally, she was portrayed as not knowing if this is something she wanted. Especially after what happened. So I thought it best to give her a mentor. Plus I wasn't done with Orchid. I love Orchid and the struggle for her between wanting out to raise her foals but also being loyal was interesting to me. Finally we see Iridescence asking to be "in." Originally she was too. I couldn't make it make sense though. Especially with her taking on Dot and trying to raise her. Too much risk. Anyway, enjoy today's mini-update. This is pretty much the only tie in chapter. Everything after this is all silliness. 3. Show TimeSunny Day and I were walking the rooms set aside for the third time. On each pass we checked the doors leaving the area to make certain they were locked. I wasn’t positive that locks would really do much good given who our guests were so I’d also gone the extra step to bar them on the opposite sides where possible. Things were looking right. I looked over at Sunny and said, “Alright, we’ve got the arrival room with the mirror in it. From there the reception and lounge area. Then there is the meeting room itself and the offices for private conferences. We’re all set.” “I don’t think so,” Sunny replied cheerfully. My jaw set and I went over the arrangements again in my head. “Yes, we’re set.” “Nope!” Sunny chimed. “I really don’t want to guess. Help me out a little here?” Sunny Day laughed quietly and replied, “Well… I need to use the fillies room. Do you expect me to just squat in a corner here? It is certainly going to ruin the majesty of this summit.” Softly I rubbed my temples. “How could I have missed that?” “We missed that. I didn’t think about it until I had to go. Also, I really do have to go, so while you revise, I’m going. Back shortly!” “Right. I’ll figure something out here.” So much for containment… in every sense of the word. The nearest restroom wasn’t near at all. Star Swirl had kept the plumbing a decent distance from the library. That was logical but now I’d have to set up a long, blind hallway. It couldn’t be helped though. I went to the large meeting table and started redrawing my floorplan. Sunny returned after a while and asked, “Figured it out?” “Actually it isn’t so bad. If we close off the offices we were going to use and clean out these rooms on the other side here, there is a door from this one to the hall the restroom sits off of. Far less to keep an eye on,” I explained. “Great work! Only those rooms weren’t cleaned out by the ponies before…” she trailed and looked at me. I did my best to smile reassuringly. “Sometimes I hate my job. I just want you to know that,” she groaned. “Every day in armor is a good day. Come on, we’ve got to get all the stuff out of there.” “Yeah, yeah. If we’re lucky I might make it home by dinner time,” Sunny replied as we headed off. ☾ ☼ Princesses Celestia and Luna wandered around the summit area that we’d so painstakingly set up. They were quiet and curious as Sunny Day and I stood waiting. After a time they returned to the meeting room and settled into a pair of chairs. “The two of you did all of this on your own?” Princess Celestia asked, even though she had to have known the answer already. Maybe she was just making sure. We did accomplish a lot. “Yes, ma’am!” Sunny Day replied. “Just my horn and Silent Knight’s back.” Princess Luna nodded. “The work is excellent. Our guests will be most pleased, I think.” We all fell silent after that and then I cleared my throat. “Princesses… suppose somepony comes with ill intent. There really is only one way out of this area now for our guests. What do we do?” Princess Celestia shook her head. “I have great faith that everypony is indeed here to solve a problem. We must simply trust that our counterparts are as committed to harmony as we are. Though, should something go wrong, I expect you and Sunny Day to evacuate. You’ll forgive me for saying so but you’d be far outmatched. A show of foolish bravado would make little difference.” Sunny and I exchanged glances. Running away wasn’t exactly our nature. The silence lingered again and Princess Luna said, “You will retreat. That is an order. Do you understand?” “Yes, Princess,” we replied in unison. “Good. Besides, nothing will go wrong. I’m excited about this meeting! To think I’m going to meet other versions of myself. How amazing!” Princess Luna smiled. Princess Celestia held up a hoof. “Now, we have to be careful. We don’t want to make the same mistake I did. The summit is about avoiding that in the future.” She then turned her head, something catching her eye. Golden magic surrounded a crumpled up banner and lifted it from the trash bag that Sunny and I had planned to carry out. “What is this?” she asked. Sunny Day started giggling. I just frowned while she explained, “Silent Knight thought it might be nice to have big banners in the arrival room. He was working on yours and ran out of space.” “Welcome Princess Celest?” Princess Luna read before laughing. “I was tired,” I said flatly. “And it was a bad idea anyway. They aren’t all Celestias and Lunas. We’ll get rid of that.” Princess Celestia was laughing softly and the banner still floated in her golden magic. “Oh I don’t know… perhaps I’ll hang this in the throne room. It has a certain charm to it.” “I don’t think so.” I went over and reached for the banner. The magic drifted it higher. “Princess…” “Yes, Silent Knight? You don’t want your work of art hung in the throne room?” Standing on my hind legs I reached for the banner again. It lifted once more and it took all of my training not to glare. “No, Princess. I think some masterpieces should be kept out of the spotlight.” My wings flapped, keeping me upright. The banner finally bobbed down and I grabbed it. Carefully I held it to my chest, crumpling it back up. Princess Luna smiled. “Enough teasing Silent Knight. The preparations are perfect. You two go home and get some rest. We’ll all be having a big day tomorrow. “Yes, Princess,” we replied before we all started to head home. The banner came with me to ensure no further shenanigans. ☾ ☼ Sunny Day and I stood next to each other in our ceremonial armor. It was a lot lighter than my usual suit and offered virtually no protection. Of course I’d also been ordered to retreat at the first sign of trouble. “Who do you think is going to come through first?” Sunny asked. “That is a good question. We don’t know exactly who is coming. Just be ready with those name tags,” I replied. The mare laughed and shook her head. “Hello, my name is? What are you going to do when another Princess Celestia comes through?” “Half the point of the summit is to figure out who is who!” “Good luck with that… I can barely wrap my head around this. We really need a…” Sunny trailed as the mirror started to glow with an unnatural light. The surface ripped and an elegant white horn came through followed by a pair of gold clad hooves. It was Princess Celestia. “Show time,” Sunny Day whispered. The Princess Celestia came through fully and looked around. Sunny and I bowed deeply. “Greetings, great alicorn. Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” “I am called Princess Celestia,” the alicorn replied. Of course she was. “Of course,” I replied and took one of the badges. I wrote on it Princess Celestia. Then I tilted my head and added Arrived First. Offering the badge to the alicorn I said, “I hope this will do?” The princess smiled and nodded. “Yes it will, thank you.” She looked back at the mirror as another white horn appeared and was followed by another alicorn. This one I did not recognize. She was white with a burgundy mane and tail. Her cutie mark was an ink and quill. “This is my mother and our second representative for this summit.” We bowed again and I reached for another badge. “How may we refer to you?” The white alicorn smiled and winked. “I have many names but for today you may call me Mother Mare.” I made the badge and motioned to the door behind us. “Once again I thank you for attending and invite you to go into the reception area. The local Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are waiting to receive you.” Both alicorns smiled and nodded before moving through the door. “Her mother?” Sunny Day asked me. I shrugged. “I’ve always assumed they had a mother. Although I’m not positive she was an alicorn.” “What makes you say that?” She asked. “Oh… no reason. Just that an alicorn would still be al—” The mirror lit up again and I fell silent. Another white horn and set of gold covered hoofs appeared. “This is going to be interesting,” Sunny whispered. It was, in fact, another princess Celestia. She was more or less identical but her adornments were slightly more delicate. We bowed to her. “Greetings, great alicorn! Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” The alicorn looked at me curiously and then smiled. “You may refer to me as Princess Celestia.” “Very good, Princess,” I replied before writing out a badge. Princess Celestia, Arrived Second. I offered it to the visiting dignitary. Princess Celestia Arrived Second, looked it over and then softly laughed. “I see.” The mirror swirled again and the second dignitary arrived. This one was more of a surprise. It was Princess Luna but she was not exactly the same as our own. Our Luna is still taller than a regular pony but she is smaller than her sister. This pair was exactly the same size and that made me wonder. We bowed to her as well. “Welcome, great alicorn. How may we refer to you?” The alicorn looked at me in slight confusion. She studied me the same as I studied her. Particularly my armor. Finally she replied, “I am Princess Luna.” I started to make the badge and then stopped. Sunny asked, “What is it?” “She is the first Princess Luna to arrive. If she is Princess Luna Arrived First others will associate her with Princess Celestia Arrived First which would be incorrect. Clearly she is here with Princess Celestia Arrived Second,” I said outloud. Princess Celestia Arrived Second grinned at me. Princess Luna continued to stare. Finally I wrote on the badge Princess Luna Arrived First and then in smaller letters added With the Princess Celestia Arrived Second delegation. “Princesses, if you’ll just go right through that door you’ll find the local Princess Celestia and Princess Luna waiting to receive you.” “Thank you,” they replied before going inside. Sunny Day waited for the door to close and then nudged me. “That Princess Luna was into you. Did you see those looks?” “She was confused is all,” I replied. “Sure… sure…” Light erupted from the mirror again and I softly steeled myself for yet another Princess Celestia. I was surprised, however, when a fluffy pink pony wandered through. She was fuzzy beyond belief and had a set of cardboard wings sticking out of her fur. On her head was a similarly made cardboard horn. Sunny Day and I briefly exchanged glances and then bowed. “Greetings, great ali… pony! Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” “Pfft,” was her reply. “Of course,” I said, writing an approximation of the noise her tongue had made into words. “And you’re the authorized representative of your Equestria?” I asked politely. The fluffy pink pony quickly nodded and said, “Pffbt, pfft pftt.” “Very good then,” I replied, offering her a badge. We then waited. The mirror didn’t illuminate. “Where is the second member of your delegation?” From nowhere the pink pony pulled a plush doll out. It was black with a green mane and button eyes. It looked an awful lot like a changeling. She lightly waved it in my face. “Pffffffft, pffbt.” “Does… she need a name tag?” I asked. Pfft quickly nodded and produced a crayon. She took a tag herself and wrote Chryssi on it before sticking it to the doll. “Excellent. Please head inside. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be waiting to receive you.” The pony gasped in excitement and charged through the door. “Good for her,” I said once she was gone. “Huh?” Sunny asked. “In our Equestria she is a dancer. A pretty good one too. She danced at my bachelor party.” “Bachelor party? You’re not married!” Sunny Day tilted her head and raised her brow suspiciously. “My cousin didn’t understand what it was. It is this whole long thing. Look, just go read Mem—” The mirror illuminated again. It was going to be a long day. 4. Eleven EquestriasIt was getting close to lunch time and I was tired and hungry. Thus far nine delegations had arrived. Of those nine six had included a Princess Celestia. A seventh slightly changed the mix with a male Celestia by the name of Prince Apol. He was attending with his brother Prince Chand who was a male Princess Luna. That was pretty awkward. I’d almost written Guylestia on the name tag. Sunny Day shifted slightly and asked, “How much longer are we going to wait? They’re already pretty late.” “I suppose as long as it takes. Although I am really ready to eat and I imagine the room full of nobility is about ready to get started too,” I replied. Just as I turned towards the door the mirror burst into light. It was brighter this time. Slowly a pearl-coated alicorn slipped through. Her blonde mane billowed in the absence of wind much in the way Princess Celestia’s did. I blinked in shock. “Exemplar Ferrel?” There was little doubt that this alicorn was or had been Ferrel. They were identical other than the fact that this version was larger and had wings. Her look was vacant a moment before her eyes fell on me. “Silent Knight. How lovely to see you.” Sunny Day and I bowed deeply. Quickly I went back to the script, “Greetings, great alicorn. Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” The alicorn’s head tilted and she replied, “Ferrel will do. Although I guess I am a princess. How should I refer to you?” From the corner of my eye I saw Sunny crack a smile. “Silent Knight will be fine, Princess.” I made a name tag and offered it to her. She accepted it and then said, “I have come alone. It is good to see you again, Silent Knight.” “Again?” I asked curiously. Princess Ferrel nodded. “Yes. I was saddened when you died on the train.” A cold chill went down my spine and I stammered, “Thank you, Princess.” What else can you say to that sort of thing? “I trusted the wrong vision. It was my mistake. May I go in?” “Of course, Princess. By all means,” I replied. “Thank you.” Once she was through the door Sunny Day sat a hoof on my shoulder. “Are you alright?” “Yeah… it just felt like somepony walked over my grave. In her Equestria I died and she became a princess?” “I guess so… That is one strange bird though. I can’t imagine her ruling. Anyway, shake it off. You didn’t die and I know you’re hungry. Let’s go hit the buffet that we painstakingly put together and then had to wait so long to eat at that I’m sure it is all cold.” Sunny had a way about her to keep things moving. “Yeah, you’re right. Come on. I hope some of those little carrots are left.” ☾ ☼ Chaos. It was total chaos. The room was packed full of alicorns and keeping any of them straight was near impossible. There were some odd ones that were easy to pick out: Mother Mare, Princess Pfft, Princess Ferrel, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Pirate Princess Celestia to name a few. Of course the two stallions stood out. They were lost in a sea of mares. Welcome to my world. Everypony was chatting and the room was rather noisy. Sunny and I were leaning against the wall and eating. The whole thing was surreal. Our world previously had two alicorns and now it was jam packed with them. I also had no idea which Princess Luna was the one I served. While we were pony watching Princess Ferrel wandered over to the buffet. Her stare went vacant as she looked between crackers with white cheese and other crackers with yellow. The choice seemed to be agonizing so I spoke up, “Is there something I can help you with, Princess?” “I’m not sure which to choose,” she replied. “The white cheese is very mild. The yellow is sharp. Which would you prefer?” “The white, but if I choose the white we may all die.” Sunny’s eyes went wide and I stammered, “Pardon?” The alicorn turned to look at me. “I had three visions of this summit. In the one that bore witness to the destruction of all of these worlds I chose the white cheese.” Demonstrating an alacrity I’ve never seen in a pony before, Sunny Day lept up, cleared the distance to the table, and stuffed every piece of white cheese into her mouth. Princess Ferrel’s head tilted and she selected a yellow cheese cracker. “Thank you,” she said absently before wandering back into the sea of alicorns. My eyes flicked back to Sunny. She was struggling. I offered her a napkin and she shook her head. With tears in her eyes she swallowed as best she could but still looked distressed. Subtly I put myself between her and the dignitaries and slowly slipped a trash can her way. She nodded in appreciation and solved the problem. “Congratulations, Lieutenant Day, you just saved millions of lives,” I said dryly. She laughed quietly and wiped her mouth as delicately as she could. “I’ll expect a medal and a pay raise.” “Good luck with that…” I trailed as one of the many Princess Celestias climbed up onto the small podiums. “Ladies… Ladies… oh, and gentlestallions, too. Please, may I have your attention?” she said, her voice rising ever so slightly. The room fell to silence and she pushed on. “Thank you. It is my belief that I am the Princess Celestia of this world but, at this point, I am somewhat questioning that.” There was a general laugh throughout the room. “With that said, I think we need to figure out an easier way to identify the world we represent. May I suggest that we take a pass at numbering our worlds?” One of the other Princess Celestias, and I truly have no idea of which one, replied, “Numbering may suggest a hierarchy and I truly don’t want to risk offending any of you.” Our (I hope) Princess Celestia nodded and replied, “That is a very valid point. That is not my intention of course. Perhaps we should vote? If you feel this would offend you if you have a higher number please vote nay. Otherwise vote yea. All in favor?” It was unanimous. I guess the ponies were largely identical. “Very good. Then shall we begin?” ☾ ☼ Sunny Day was leaning against me, asleep. We were taking turns propping the other up so that it didn’t look too obvious. The experience was both frustrating and interesting. Numbering the Equestrias, despite there being general agreement to do so, was not as easy as everypony had hoped. It went swimmingly at first. There seemed to be general agreement that Mother Mare’s Equestria would be Equestria 1. Following that, the Equestria with the equally sized Princess Celestia and Princess Luna ended up as Equestria 2. Then it got hazy. “All I be saying is that we don’t wish to be numbered. I propose that we be Equestria R,” the Pirate Princess Celestia said over the others. Lightly I rubbed my eyes. There couldn’t be a cheesier line than that but, then again, that was exactly Princess Celestia’s humor. “Very well, for the sake of getting another world off the table we will consider Equestria R. All in favor?” Princess Celestia called. There was a vote and it passed. “Excellent, Equestria R it is. Now, back to the topic of Equestria 3.” “13, please,” Princess Ferrel said without provocation. Princess Celestia blinked. “Pardon?” “My Equestria will be 13. This removes another one, does it not?” Without missing a beat Princess Celestia nodded and replied, “All in favor?” The vote passed. “Very good. That is four down… Instead of plowing through the numbers does anypony else have any requests?” Sunny shifted in her sleep and almost fell over. She gasped and looked around in shock. When she found me looking at her, she smiled. “Oh thank Celestia, it was just a nightmare.” “Which Celestia are you thanking?” I asked, pointing to the crowd. “Oh, nevermind, this was the nightmare. Have they decided who is who yet?” “Nope.” “Awesome…” Sunny Day trailed. “This is going to be a long summit.” Author's Note All of the Equestrias have arrived! Now it is time to figure out who is who ;D 5. Equestria Six“Why six?” Sunny Day asked me curiously. “I don’t know. Six is a good number. It is even, divisible by two or three. It seems as good as any,” I replied. “Yeah but six! There are five Equestrias that are more… Equestria than us?” We were hiding in one of the meeting rooms catching our breath. We’d had enough princesses for a lifetime. “I don’t think that is how it worked. It was mostly arbitrary. We’re Equestria Six from now on.” Sunny poked her tongue out and asked, “How does Princess Pfft get to be Equestria Three?” “I believe you’re overthinking this, Sunny. Who knows. Perhaps cosmically her Equestria was around before ours? At any rate, she is a willful princess and they seemed content for her to be three.” “Fine, fine…” Sunny said and then looked back at me. “Now explain to me again how Twilight Sparkle is the Princess of the Night for Equestria Four.” I took my helmet off and set it on the floor. “As best as I can tell Princess Luna wasn’t fitting in well so she traded her princesshood to Twilight Sparkle for help with her image.” Sunny’s head tilted. “You can do that?” “Not in this universe,” I replied with a grin. “Anyway, the individual meetings should be over soon and we’ll need to be back out there serving and whatnot soon. I figure we have another half hour to rest.” From my saddle bag I pulled out a canteen I’d brought and started drinking from it. Plain water, my favorite. The unicorn’s tail swished and she took her helmet off. “Half an hour? That is perfect. Do you want to fool around?” She had caught me by surprise again with her teasing. Unfortunately for her my mouth was full of water which I sprayed in shock directly into her face. “So that’s a no, then?” Sunny asked as she tried to dry herself off. “Yes, that is a no and I’m hoping you were kidding. Serves you right,” I said. Sunny Day stuck her tongue out at me. “I was. I know you're committed. It is just fun to get a rise out of you… eh… eh?” She elbowed me lightly. “How is it we entrust the safety of Princess Celestia to you?” The mare wagged a hoof. “It is because I know when to be silly and when to be businesslike.” “I see,” I said trying to keep a straight face. Finally I smiled. “Alright… if I take a nap do you promise not to molest me?” “Mostly yes. Maybe just a little fondling but fine…” Sunny replied and then added, “But I’m going to nap too. So lean your back up against mine and I’ll see you in twenty minutes.” “Deal!” ☾ ☼ “Prince Chand has invited us to visit his kingdom,” Princess Luna said to me. My ears flicked and I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of going to another Equestria. That was a security nightmare. “Us as in you and I or us as in you and Princess Celestia?” “You and I. He was amused to find out you are Silent Knight,” the princess explained. “Why?” Princess Luna grinned and shook her head. “He would not say but promised that I would be equally amused. When this summit draws to a close I would like for you to put a trip on the books.” “Will that be allowed?” I asked. “Of course it… oh. A point well made, Silent Knight. Mark it tentative. Final language on the visitation agreement has not been approved. It should be acceptable as long as we don’t violate the sharing agreement.” Mentally I was taking notes. “The sharing agreement was finalized?” The princess frowned and nodded. “Yes. It has been determined that for the sake of all Equestrias no knowledge may be shared. As you know too much of that leads to links that are dangerous. This is disappointing for my sister and I but we were in the minority on the vote. There will be no sharing.” “Alright… so we can go visit, look around, talk to ponies, but not share anything. That seems impossible to me.” Princess Luna stroked her chin and replied, “Yes, yes it does. If you’ll excuse me I need to go bring that point up!” She hurried off into one of the meeting rooms leaving me to my own devices again. Occasionally an alicorn would wander out for a treat before returning to their respecting meeting halls. There were always two sessions going with the group of alicorns split between them. Somehow Princess Pfft was in both. Magic. One of the biggest surprises for me was seeing some of the ponies I knew in the form of alicorns from other realms. In particular Lady Cadence. We had two here: Pirate Princess Cadence and Non-Pirate Princess Cadence. The latter was currently over at the buffet. She’d arrived with a Princess Luna. That Princess Luna was the same size as our Princess Celestia and that Princess Cadence was the same size as our Princess Luna. If that sounds confusing it is. I wandered over to the pink alicorn and cleared my throat. “Pardon me, Princess. Is everything to your liking? If there is something lacking I can go into the castle and find it.” “Oh everything is lovely, Silent Knight,” she replied absently and then blinked. “Oh, I’m sorry. You are Silent Knight here, aren’t you?” “Yes, Princess, I am,” I replied, painfully curious how she knew me. The rules were still being laid out and even though I knew the other realms had no bearing on this one I was very interested in the other versions of myself. She smiled and nodded. “Good. I feel safer then.” A donut levitated off the buffet and she nibbled on it. Then she squeaked, “Not that I don’t feel safe! You’re a gracious host. I’m so sorry!” “No need to apologize, Princess. This is a strange situation for us all. I’m glad you feel safer, though. My counterpart and I are here to ensure your protection and that your needs are met. Our princesses thought it was best to only bring the two of us so that we could keep this all classified,” I explained. Princess Cadence smiled, “Yes. Luna has always trusted you with secrets. Celestia, too, while she was alive. To be honest I was surprised you came to work for me but I’ve never been more secure.” The princess then groaned. “Not you. My Silent Knight. I’m sorry, I’m not good at this.” I shook my head and smiled brightly. In my head the idea of Princess Celestia not being alive terrified me. It would have been rude to focus on that though. “Truly not a problem. If it were me… and again I have no knowledge of your world, I would imagine it would be out of my extreme dedication to Shining Armor. He made a big impression on me.” She laughed and nodded. “Yes, my husband has that effect on ponies. At any rate I should be getting back into my meeting. Take care, Colonel.” I sputtered, “Colonel!” The pink alicorn cringed slightly and looked at my rank. “Oh I’m sorry! I really should go! Take care, Silent Knight!” With that she beat a hasty retreat. Colonel! I was a colonel in her universe? What the hay! Now I was jealous of myself. That Silent Knight was years ahead of me… the jerk. Author's Note And thus you now know why Q&B was originally Equestria Six before we came up with better branding :D 6. The Treaty“Sooo…” Sunny Day said as she wandered up. I finished cleaning up several of the mini-plates and took my apron off. “So, what? Are they done?” I asked. “Nooo…” Sunny trailed. “Okay. What then?” “I know a secret,” she said in a teasing tone. “And… you’re not going to tell me and expect me to be bothered by it. Right?” I asked. Sunny quickly nodded and wrinkled her nose. “Exactly!” “What if I don’t care that you have a secret?” To punctuate my point I went past her and started tying up a garbage bag. Don’t give her what she wants. Be cool. “Nooo! You have to care!” Sunny grabbed me around the barrel. “It isn’t fun if you don’t care. Why don’t you care, Silent Knight? Why don’t you care?!” I tried to take a step forward to escape her but she was locked on and we fell over into the pile of trash bags “Tell me you care!” she urged. “No means no, Sunny!” I cried while squirming to get out from under her. There were several giggles from behind us and both of our heads shot up from the trash pile. We were being watched by three Princess Celestias, two Princess Lunas, one Celestia-sized Princess Twilight Sparkle, and non-pirate Princess Cadence. Sunny Day slowly let go, stood up, and backed away from me. “Yes. Silent Knight and I were just… You see we were…” I cleared my throat. “Amateur theatre? I take it the meetings are over, Princesses?” Our Princess Luna, I think, nodded and replied, “Yes. If you could prepare the common room we’d like to sign the agreement and have our closing statements. That is assuming your performance is concluded?” “Of course, Princess, right away.” I bowed, put my apron back on, straightened my maid hat, and went to work getting the common room set up. I’d have to figure out what the secret was later. ☾ ☼ Princess Celestia stood behind the podium and looked out onto the sea of alicorns. “It has been a pleasure to host this summit and once again I thank you all for attending. We have covered a lot of ground in a very short period of time. The Treaty of Eleven Equestrias is ready for signing. Before we do so, however, I would like to go over the key points.” A small piece of paper levitated from the table and onto the podium in front of the princess. “First, realm entanglement must be avoided at all costs. In order to ensure the safety of all ponies, travel between Equestrias must be limited. We cannot know for certain how much is too much but per the agreement no individual will travel to another realm more than once every decade.” A decade seemed like an awfully long time to me but I wasn’t an ageless alicorn. Sunny Day looked my way and shrugged. “Second, we must be mindful of the exchanges that occur between realms. Gifts, materials, and even spells traveling between Equestrias must be limited. One gift per visitor per visit should be sufficient. Anything more and we risk further entanglement.” I pondered on whether or not this particular summit counted as everypony’s one visit per decade. It would make sense that it would but, in truth, I hoped it didn’t. If Princess Luna went somewhere I would likely go with her and that meant a chance to see another world. That seemed pretty terrifying to me but I was also warming to it. “Finally, and I realize this was the most hotly debated topic here, we have agreed with a narrow margin that alicorn knowledge will not be shared between realms.” Throughout the room there were murmurs of dissent. Just less than half of the attendees seemed displeased which meant in some cases a given Equestria had a split vote. Princess Celestia softly cleared her throat and the room went quiet again. “I know. Suffice to say we all agreed upon the rules and we should all abide them. There are many other provisions so I invite you all to review the document again before signing. As agreed, this treaty will be in effect for 250 years and we will have the next summit ten years prior to that. May we all be well served by the protection it offers.” At that point the many rulers started going over the final document. Sunny and I stood guard duty in the back of the room behind a long table that had eleven identical copies of the treaty resting on it. They were all oversized and ceremonial. There was some humor in that. It was unlikely that ponies outside of this room would ever see them. I suppose that is just how treaties are done, however. Princess Celestia and Mother Mare from Equestria One wandered up to the table, quills levitated in their magic. They started signing in the appropriate signature blocks, working their way down the table. More alicorns started to follow behind them. It was somewhat entertaining to watch Princess Pfft sign first in a pink crayon and then again with a green one using the Chryssi doll. I wasn’t sure that was strictly binding but no pony else seemed to mind. The assembled rulers each took a turn signing the eleven treaties and, eventually, each one had 22 signatures. Sunny Day and I started carefully placing them in silkbound covers and getting them ready to travel. Each one had nothing more than number on the outside, except the one with the letter R. The printer had no idea why I wanted them but he’d done it. “With the final signature I would like to call this summit to a close. We have done much to ensure the safety of our ponies. May we know 250 years of peace.” Princess Celestia said before banging a gavel on the podium. “Safe trip home, everypony!” ☾ ☼ Sunny Day and I stood by the mirror and exchanged pleasant goodbyes with all of the dignitaries as they left. We were actually there to count and make sure they all went home. It was important we didn’t allow any stragglers to get loose into Equestria Six. Eventually every pony that had arrived went back through the mirror. “Thank our Celestia,” Sunny said before taking her helmet off. “Yeah,” I replied, doing the same. “I’m exhausted. I’ll never underestimate the palace staff again. Being a guard-maid-server-aide was too much.” I sat down on the stone floor. Sunny did the same. “From now on just guards. Agreed?” Sunny asked. “Agreed!” “Are we having our own little summit?” Princess Celestia asked after poking her head in. Quickly we both jumped up and to attention. Sunny replied, “Yes, ma’am. We’d like to resign as maids, servers, and aides.” The princess softly laughed and winked. “So noted. I realize this has been hard on you two. You did wonderfully, though.” Princess Luna followed up behind her sister. “We obviously don’t have to remind the two of you that this summit, more or less, did not happen and may not be discussed.” “Yes, Princess!” we replied in unison. “Very good,” she responded. I cleared my throat. “Should we start cleaning up? Also, should we lug this thing back upstairs?” I motioned to the mirror. Princess Celestia shook her head. “No, this will all keep. After all, we still have… rats, was it?” “Yes, Princess.” I replied. “Then leave everything as is. We’ll magically ward this room. I think from now on the mirror will be kept here. As a reward for your dedication, Luna and I are going to send each of you and a guest on a vacation. I’m certain your section sergeants can keep us safe for a few days?” “Yes, ma’am!” I replied eagerly but Sunny looked somewhat vexed. Lightly I nudged her. “Oh, yes, Princess,” she replied absently. Princess Celestia’s head tilted and she asked, “Is something wrong, Sunny?” “No, ma’am. It is very gracious of you. Truly.” “Then what troubles you?” Princess Celestia asked. Sunny nibbled on her lip and finally said, “I’m having some trouble at home, Princess, and, well… I’m sort of with two ponies. So a vacation for two is probably going to do more harm than good.” “You can have my tickets,” I offered. “Maybe give the second one to a single pony that needs a vacation? That slightly insane, hearts-obsessed one you’re friends with?” “What about you and Crystal Wishes? She’d be upset,” Sunny asked and then added, “Lovey Dovey isn’t insane… she’s just… special.” “First, she’ll never know because this never happened and second I don’t think we need this vacation as much as the three of you do.” I explained. Princess Celestia softly cleared her throat. “No!” Sunny said forcefully. “You’re always giving things up for ponies. You earned this vacation, too. I’m not letting you fall on the sword for us.” I peered at her and took a step closer. “They’re my tickets and if I want you to have them that is that. You work just as hard as I do… maybe harder. Let me do something nice for you and Azurite for a change, okay?” “Ponies…” Princess Celestia said softly. “You can’t make me take them and I can manage my relationship just fine without your meddling, thank you very much. You’re so stubborn. Just take Crystal and go on a vacation. I’ll figure it out!” That earned Sunny one of my patented officer glares. She didn’t back down though. “Who is being stubborn now? When was the last time you had a vacation?” I asked. “What does that matter I’ve—” “Be silent!” Princess Luna shouted at us. That shocked us into doing just that. “As you were saying, Tia…” Princess Celestia held a stern face but it looked like she wanted to laugh. “Or, and I’m just throwing this out there as one of two rulers of this entire realm, I could just get Sunny a third ticket now that I know she has two special ponies. Assuming Silent Knight isn’t determined that she has to have his or that Sunny Day isn’t going to let anypony, including me, help her at home.” Sunny sheepishly rubbed her hooves together. “That works for me. You can help me, Princess.” Quickly I nodded. “No objections.” “Very good then. I’ll get three tickets,” Princess Celestia said with smile. Princess Luna eyed us. “Now kiss and make up.” My ears shot up. Sunny Day closed the small distance between us. “You heard the princess,” she said, leaning in for a kiss. Softly I put my hoof against her cheek to push her away. “No means no! Princess, you’re being a pest and an enabler!” All of the mares giggled and seemed to find great amusement in my embarrassment. And so it seemed, as always, that mares ruled not just this world but ten out of eleven. Author's Note I hope you've all enjoyed this completely random step through a "what if" scenario.
1. A SummonsIn my experience when a pony is summoned to the private meeting chambers of Princess Celestia they tend to get nervous. After all, what would an alicorn princess want to discuss with a regular pony? You can almost see it as the questions seem to pop into their heads. Have I done something wrong? Am I in trouble? Even the ponies that have led a model life tend to get nervous. The situation is different for me. Without a hint of ego I can say I wasn’t worried in the least. That isn’t because I’m a brave or special pony. It is just that over time the gravity of the situation wears off. I’ve been around Princess Celestia and Princess Luna for my entire career. My name is Silent Knight and I am the commander of Princess Luna’s House Guard. How I became commander is a long story that is better left untold for today. For the sake of brevity, however, I will say that I started my career as a House Guard and through a series of events ended up as its commander long before I had any right to be. I’d been in my office going over the week’s duty roster with my section sergeant, Iridescence, when one of Princess Celestia’s House Guards arrived to request my immediate presence. Of course I dropped what I was doing to attend the meeting. The gravity may have worn off but I wasn’t going to keep the princess waiting. In route to the conference area I turned left at a four-way corridor and almost collided with Sunny Day. She’d been coming up from the other way. “We have to stop meeting like this, Silent Knight. Ponies are going to start to talk,” she teased. “It isn’t a wise career move to gossip about the House Guard commanders,” I replied flatly. Sunny softly huffed at my response. I suspect she was expecting me to tease back. “Oh, you’re no fun. Where is your flank off to in such a hurry?” “Princess Celestia summoned me. You?” The mare’s brow arched. “Same. What do you think it is about?” Our hooves fell into step on instinct alone as we proceeded together. Sunny Day was my counterpart: the commander of Princess Celestia’s House Guard. Her coat was a dark yellow and complimented her red and orange mane and tail. I couldn’t imagine a more fitting pony in look and attitude to be in charge of Princess Celestia’s security. Sunny Day has been an officer longer than me though she wasn’t too much older. Her career had been fast tracked as well but she was an entirely different pony. My style was more to following the regulations. Hers was all about pony skills. She just had a way with others. “Considering she invited us both I’d imagine another event with both princesses in attendance.” It was a pretty safe bet. “Perhaps she wants to reprimand us for the undeniable physical tension between us?” Sunny offered, teasing again. I rolled my eyes and retorted, “Aren’t you already with two ponies? I can barely manage one and you want three?” Sunny Day winked at me and stopped outside of the chamber door. “If you ever change your mind...” She knocked twice. My head shook at her but I cracked a slight smile. She was wholly kidding. She just liked to pester me. A hoof came up to point out the smile just as the door opened. Princess Celestia peered at the two of us in slight confusion. We were frozen in place: me standing like a statue and Sunny pointing a hoof inches from my lips. I cleared my throat and straightened my helmet. “Thank you, lieutenant. That should have it now.” Looking to Princess Celestia I added, “Reporting as requested, Princess.” Princess Celestia smiled and lightly shook her head. She had a very different sense of humor than her sister. Sunny and her lined up well in that regard too. “Please, come in.” We did so, closing the door behind us. A brief glance around suggested this meeting was going to be anything but typical. Princess Luna was there which, in itself, was not abnormal. It was the fact that neither Raven nor Willowy Tempest were in attendance that changed everything. This meeting was off the record. The princesses sat together at the conference table and we did the same. Sunny Day looked around and set her hooves on it. “We’re either planning Raven’s birthday party or something is up.” It always amazed me at how Sunny Day just said whatever she wanted. Even in off record meetings there should have been some level of formality and decorum. “Raven’s birthday isn’t for months,” Princess Celestia replied. “Then I assume anything we discuss here today is both highly secretive in nature and possibly never occurred?” I asked. Princess Luna nodded. “Yes. We have decided that this is a situation where the fewer ponies know the better.” Sunny chimed in, “And how few are going to know?” “Just the ponies in this room.” Princess Celestia replied. I stroked my chin. “That is an awfully small group of ponies. What exactly are we going to be doing?” “We’re going to be hosting a summit. An extremely special and sensitive summit,” Princess Celestia explained. “And we’re going to do it in the palace without anypony ever finding out that we’ve done it,” Princess Luna added. “O… kay…” Sunny Day replied. “Who exactly is coming to visit?” I asked. Princess Celestia smiled at me. “I’m glad you asked. Do you remember the incident with the mirror a while back?” Sunny and I just nodded. What else could we do? ☾ ☼ “They’re crazy! You know they’re crazy right? Silent Knight, tell me you know they’re crazy?” Sunny Day exclaimed before taking my cheeks in her hooves and forcing me to look at her. “They’re the rulers of our land and if they want the impossible they’re going to get the impossible.” After brushing her hooves aside I went back to the drawing I was working on. It was a rough floor plan of Star Swirl the Bearded’s library. I’d only been a few times but Twilight Sparkle, Colonel Armor’s sister, had left me detailed notes on how to get around. She was thorough and that was appreciated. Sunny Day grumbled and sat on my desk. “You are the least fun pony to be working with on this. You aren’t amazed at all by what they told us?” “Amazed, astounded, confused, and excited for the opportunity. It doesn’t change the fact that a job needs doing. It is a shame, though…” “What is?” she asked. “That rats finally got into the library.” The mare tilted her head and looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Rats? What in Equestria are you talking about?” “Rats got into the library,” I repeated. I then held up an official document that I’d written. “It says so here. We’re going to need some ponies to come in and move all of the furniture out of this area. Further, these rats might be infected with something and will require special animal care professionals to remove them. Until the appropriate ponies can be located to do that work the area is off limits.” Sunny grabbed the document from my hoof and read it over. Her green eyes then lifted from it to me. “Do you just sit at home and figure out ways to handle every possible situation that may arise?” “Do you not?” I asked. She shook her head. “Then what do you do?” “Azurite, mostly.” My ears shot up and I’m certain my face turned red. Sunny Day pointed at me and cackled in delight.
2. The MirrorQuietly I stood in front of the mirror to inspect it. My reflection stared back at me attentively. We both had a white coat, a navy and royal blue mane, and silver eyes. In fact we were identical down to the blue primary feathers. Most ponies would expect that to be the case. That is how mirrors work. This wasn’t just any normal mirror though. Beneath the reflective surface lurked endless magical power. To be frank it was frightening. I’ve never really understood magic and, to some extent, I didn’t trust it. That is a silly thing to say of course given it had saved my life on a few occasions. Still, this mirror had the power to impact the lives of every pony in this Equestria and those beyond. “I had no idea you were so vain, Silent Knight. Now if you’re done primping can we please get back to work? This stupid thing isn’t going to move itself,” Sunny Day said from behind me. My reflection glared in her direction. “Yes, of course,” I replied before turning to look at her. Sunny Day stared back at me. Then we stared at each other. Finally, she asked, “What?” “Aren’t you going to, you know, unicorn it?” I asked. “Unicorn it?” she repeated in a tone that bordered on mocking. “It’s called levitation and you know it!” “My apologies. Are you going to levitate it?” “It’s huge!” she squeaked. “I’ve seen bigger,” I replied before tossing the sheet back over the mirror and starting to tie it down. Sunny Day snickered and said, “Isn’t that what Crystal Wishes said to you on your…” She trailed off at my glare. “I mean, let me help you!” The two of us carefully wrapped the mirror in another layer of sheets and brought a small flatbed cart over to transport it. I stood on my hind hooves and grabbed the top of the mirror. “Alright, I’ll rock it up, scoot the cart under it and then we can work together to get it on.” “Yup! Ready!” As stated I used my weight to rock the mirror up on one side. It was tough but I’m not exactly a light stallion. I’m a pegasus warrior after all. Once I had the mirror tipped back and supported Sunny pushed the cart under it. Then with a combination of muscle and magic we got the immense thing on the cart. “There, easy as could be,” I said. “Yeah…” She trailed. “How are we going to get it down the stairs?” I facehoofed. “Sunny, why didn’t you say something before?” “Oh, I just like to watch a stallion sweat. Come on, we’ll figure it out. Let’s get this thing moving!” ☾ ☼ It took a grand total of five hours to get the mirror from the palace proper into the “rat infested” rooms within Star Swirl’s library. If we’d asked for help it would have been a lot easier but that simply wasn’t an option. Ponies liked to ask questions. Sunny Day and I were laying on the floor trying to catch our breath. We were sweaty, panting, and exhausted. “That was the least fun thing I’ve done all year. If they ask us to move it back after this summit I’m going to resign,” Sunny complained. “That would be a shame but I am not going to dismiss the thought. Ideally, given the circumstances, it probably makes better sense to lock this thing away down here. Who knows what is on the other side of it,” I replied. The yellow-coated mare shifted off her side and started to get up. “Oh well, for now it is where it needs to be. I should get home though. I’ll be late… again. It is starting to become a problem.” My ears twitched. “Oh?” Sunny’s ever-present smile faltered briefly. “Yeah… Princess Celestia has been so busy that I haven’t had a lot of time at home. I can’t ever talk about what I’m doing either. So it all looks pretty suspicious.” “Surely Azurite isn’t the type to get jealous.” The smile returned but Sunny’s tone was still brittle. “It isn’t just her. Look, unless you think there is anything else to do I’m going to catch a shower and go. I mean honestly if somepony saw us come in here together and then walk out looking like this—” For emphasis she waved her hoof all about her body. “... It would be pretty suspicious.” “I see your point. Have a good evening then. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I pushed myself up and started to walk the room again. My companion sighed softly and I looked over my shoulder at her. “What?” “You’re going to stay and triple check all of this and start working on tomorrow’s tasks, aren’t you?” she asked. “Of course.” “Come on, Silent Knight, I need to get home!” Confusion set in and I looked at her. “Then go home.” Sunny Day shook her head. “No, you stubborn oaf. We’re counterparts… partners. If you stay I have to stay.” “You certainly do not.” The mare actually rolled her eyes at me. “Okay, then tomorrow you come in four hours late and I’ll handle things until you get in.” “Absolutely not. What sort of image would that set?” Sunny glared at me, pointed both forehooves at me and then spread them apart. For emphasis she then kept opening them wide and then bring them back together. “Okay, okay,” I chuckled. “Let’s call it a night, partner.” “Thank you!” ☾ ☼ “You were out of the office all day yesterday,” Iridescence said from across my desk. “You’re going to be out again today, tomorrow, and possibly longer? Doing what?” My brow rose and I looked at my first sergeant. She stiffened a bit. “My apologies, sir. I can cover the unit for sure. If I may ask, what are you doing exactly?” That was far more appropriate. “I’m sorry but I can’t say. It is a private errand for Princess Luna.” “With all due respect, sir, I find it a bit odd that you do private errands for the princess. Especially during duty hours. Isn’t that against regulations?” “Normally, yes, that’s why I do the errands after hours. In this case, no. The nature of the errand places it directly in my responsibility. It isn’t like you to worry about the finer details of regulations though. What’s on your mind?” Iridescence shifted, looking uncomfortable. It took her a moment to find her voice. “It feels like I’m being cut out of the loop. Me and the whole unit. We have a whole House Guard and yet you’re always off doing something you can’t talk about. You get reports I don’t see. You take meetings I can’t go to. I’m this section’s sergeant and your second. Why am I still on the bench?” It was a fair question. Were I in her shoes I might have felt the same way. Of course the nature of the errands I couldn’t discuss with her. My business with Princess Luna was my own. The reports and meetings were my personal business. A debt that needed to be settled. This was something wholly different but I couldn’t explain any of that to her. “That is fair. There are things going on that you probably could help with but you can’t be involved in. It is better that you remain in the dark. As to this particular thing, it is orders. I may have oversimplified my explanation. On this one, sergeant, you’re out. Next time we’ll see about doing it different. Alright?” It wasn’t what she wanted to hear but she nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll take care of the unit today and tomorrow as requested.” “Very good, dismissed.” Iridescence started to leave but paused at the door. She took her helmet off and asked, “Silent Knight, is this about the gryphons? Are you going to do something rash? If you are I can help. I don’t care about regulations or areas of responsibility. They hurt us and I want justice as much as you. We’re friends. Don’t cut me out of that.” My head shook slowly. “I appreciate that, truly. I give you my word that this thing has nothing to do with them. It is a security matter involving a private errand at the request of Princess Luna.” She put her helmet back on and nodded, “Alright. Have a good day.” “I’ll do my best.” Author's Note This chapter isn't going to make a ton of sense for this story in a vacuum but I chose to leave it as is since A. This is just an unreleased story for Q&B fans and B. Q&B fans get to see hints at the original Three of Diamonds and Memoirs/Secrets drafts. Sunny's just starting to struggle with being out a lot and it is straining her relationship with Azurite and Soarin. That is just minor though. I ended up utilizing most of that plot. The real thing here is Silent Knight and Iridescence. In the earliest drafts Iridescence immediately became the second NCO and Orchid retired. I chose not to do that for a few reasons. First and foremost Iridescence had basically just made sergeant. Even with Silent moving up and her taking over that would have been somewhat of a stretch. Possible, but a stretch. Additionally, she was portrayed as not knowing if this is something she wanted. Especially after what happened. So I thought it best to give her a mentor. Plus I wasn't done with Orchid. I love Orchid and the struggle for her between wanting out to raise her foals but also being loyal was interesting to me. Finally we see Iridescence asking to be "in." Originally she was too. I couldn't make it make sense though. Especially with her taking on Dot and trying to raise her. Too much risk. Anyway, enjoy today's mini-update. This is pretty much the only tie in chapter. Everything after this is all silliness.
3. Show TimeSunny Day and I were walking the rooms set aside for the third time. On each pass we checked the doors leaving the area to make certain they were locked. I wasn’t positive that locks would really do much good given who our guests were so I’d also gone the extra step to bar them on the opposite sides where possible. Things were looking right. I looked over at Sunny and said, “Alright, we’ve got the arrival room with the mirror in it. From there the reception and lounge area. Then there is the meeting room itself and the offices for private conferences. We’re all set.” “I don’t think so,” Sunny replied cheerfully. My jaw set and I went over the arrangements again in my head. “Yes, we’re set.” “Nope!” Sunny chimed. “I really don’t want to guess. Help me out a little here?” Sunny Day laughed quietly and replied, “Well… I need to use the fillies room. Do you expect me to just squat in a corner here? It is certainly going to ruin the majesty of this summit.” Softly I rubbed my temples. “How could I have missed that?” “We missed that. I didn’t think about it until I had to go. Also, I really do have to go, so while you revise, I’m going. Back shortly!” “Right. I’ll figure something out here.” So much for containment… in every sense of the word. The nearest restroom wasn’t near at all. Star Swirl had kept the plumbing a decent distance from the library. That was logical but now I’d have to set up a long, blind hallway. It couldn’t be helped though. I went to the large meeting table and started redrawing my floorplan. Sunny returned after a while and asked, “Figured it out?” “Actually it isn’t so bad. If we close off the offices we were going to use and clean out these rooms on the other side here, there is a door from this one to the hall the restroom sits off of. Far less to keep an eye on,” I explained. “Great work! Only those rooms weren’t cleaned out by the ponies before…” she trailed and looked at me. I did my best to smile reassuringly. “Sometimes I hate my job. I just want you to know that,” she groaned. “Every day in armor is a good day. Come on, we’ve got to get all the stuff out of there.” “Yeah, yeah. If we’re lucky I might make it home by dinner time,” Sunny replied as we headed off. ☾ ☼ Princesses Celestia and Luna wandered around the summit area that we’d so painstakingly set up. They were quiet and curious as Sunny Day and I stood waiting. After a time they returned to the meeting room and settled into a pair of chairs. “The two of you did all of this on your own?” Princess Celestia asked, even though she had to have known the answer already. Maybe she was just making sure. We did accomplish a lot. “Yes, ma’am!” Sunny Day replied. “Just my horn and Silent Knight’s back.” Princess Luna nodded. “The work is excellent. Our guests will be most pleased, I think.” We all fell silent after that and then I cleared my throat. “Princesses… suppose somepony comes with ill intent. There really is only one way out of this area now for our guests. What do we do?” Princess Celestia shook her head. “I have great faith that everypony is indeed here to solve a problem. We must simply trust that our counterparts are as committed to harmony as we are. Though, should something go wrong, I expect you and Sunny Day to evacuate. You’ll forgive me for saying so but you’d be far outmatched. A show of foolish bravado would make little difference.” Sunny and I exchanged glances. Running away wasn’t exactly our nature. The silence lingered again and Princess Luna said, “You will retreat. That is an order. Do you understand?” “Yes, Princess,” we replied in unison. “Good. Besides, nothing will go wrong. I’m excited about this meeting! To think I’m going to meet other versions of myself. How amazing!” Princess Luna smiled. Princess Celestia held up a hoof. “Now, we have to be careful. We don’t want to make the same mistake I did. The summit is about avoiding that in the future.” She then turned her head, something catching her eye. Golden magic surrounded a crumpled up banner and lifted it from the trash bag that Sunny and I had planned to carry out. “What is this?” she asked. Sunny Day started giggling. I just frowned while she explained, “Silent Knight thought it might be nice to have big banners in the arrival room. He was working on yours and ran out of space.” “Welcome Princess Celest?” Princess Luna read before laughing. “I was tired,” I said flatly. “And it was a bad idea anyway. They aren’t all Celestias and Lunas. We’ll get rid of that.” Princess Celestia was laughing softly and the banner still floated in her golden magic. “Oh I don’t know… perhaps I’ll hang this in the throne room. It has a certain charm to it.” “I don’t think so.” I went over and reached for the banner. The magic drifted it higher. “Princess…” “Yes, Silent Knight? You don’t want your work of art hung in the throne room?” Standing on my hind legs I reached for the banner again. It lifted once more and it took all of my training not to glare. “No, Princess. I think some masterpieces should be kept out of the spotlight.” My wings flapped, keeping me upright. The banner finally bobbed down and I grabbed it. Carefully I held it to my chest, crumpling it back up. Princess Luna smiled. “Enough teasing Silent Knight. The preparations are perfect. You two go home and get some rest. We’ll all be having a big day tomorrow. “Yes, Princess,” we replied before we all started to head home. The banner came with me to ensure no further shenanigans. ☾ ☼ Sunny Day and I stood next to each other in our ceremonial armor. It was a lot lighter than my usual suit and offered virtually no protection. Of course I’d also been ordered to retreat at the first sign of trouble. “Who do you think is going to come through first?” Sunny asked. “That is a good question. We don’t know exactly who is coming. Just be ready with those name tags,” I replied. The mare laughed and shook her head. “Hello, my name is? What are you going to do when another Princess Celestia comes through?” “Half the point of the summit is to figure out who is who!” “Good luck with that… I can barely wrap my head around this. We really need a…” Sunny trailed as the mirror started to glow with an unnatural light. The surface ripped and an elegant white horn came through followed by a pair of gold clad hooves. It was Princess Celestia. “Show time,” Sunny Day whispered. The Princess Celestia came through fully and looked around. Sunny and I bowed deeply. “Greetings, great alicorn. Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” “I am called Princess Celestia,” the alicorn replied. Of course she was. “Of course,” I replied and took one of the badges. I wrote on it Princess Celestia. Then I tilted my head and added Arrived First. Offering the badge to the alicorn I said, “I hope this will do?” The princess smiled and nodded. “Yes it will, thank you.” She looked back at the mirror as another white horn appeared and was followed by another alicorn. This one I did not recognize. She was white with a burgundy mane and tail. Her cutie mark was an ink and quill. “This is my mother and our second representative for this summit.” We bowed again and I reached for another badge. “How may we refer to you?” The white alicorn smiled and winked. “I have many names but for today you may call me Mother Mare.” I made the badge and motioned to the door behind us. “Once again I thank you for attending and invite you to go into the reception area. The local Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are waiting to receive you.” Both alicorns smiled and nodded before moving through the door. “Her mother?” Sunny Day asked me. I shrugged. “I’ve always assumed they had a mother. Although I’m not positive she was an alicorn.” “What makes you say that?” She asked. “Oh… no reason. Just that an alicorn would still be al—” The mirror lit up again and I fell silent. Another white horn and set of gold covered hoofs appeared. “This is going to be interesting,” Sunny whispered. It was, in fact, another princess Celestia. She was more or less identical but her adornments were slightly more delicate. We bowed to her. “Greetings, great alicorn! Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” The alicorn looked at me curiously and then smiled. “You may refer to me as Princess Celestia.” “Very good, Princess,” I replied before writing out a badge. Princess Celestia, Arrived Second. I offered it to the visiting dignitary. Princess Celestia Arrived Second, looked it over and then softly laughed. “I see.” The mirror swirled again and the second dignitary arrived. This one was more of a surprise. It was Princess Luna but she was not exactly the same as our own. Our Luna is still taller than a regular pony but she is smaller than her sister. This pair was exactly the same size and that made me wonder. We bowed to her as well. “Welcome, great alicorn. How may we refer to you?” The alicorn looked at me in slight confusion. She studied me the same as I studied her. Particularly my armor. Finally she replied, “I am Princess Luna.” I started to make the badge and then stopped. Sunny asked, “What is it?” “She is the first Princess Luna to arrive. If she is Princess Luna Arrived First others will associate her with Princess Celestia Arrived First which would be incorrect. Clearly she is here with Princess Celestia Arrived Second,” I said outloud. Princess Celestia Arrived Second grinned at me. Princess Luna continued to stare. Finally I wrote on the badge Princess Luna Arrived First and then in smaller letters added With the Princess Celestia Arrived Second delegation. “Princesses, if you’ll just go right through that door you’ll find the local Princess Celestia and Princess Luna waiting to receive you.” “Thank you,” they replied before going inside. Sunny Day waited for the door to close and then nudged me. “That Princess Luna was into you. Did you see those looks?” “She was confused is all,” I replied. “Sure… sure…” Light erupted from the mirror again and I softly steeled myself for yet another Princess Celestia. I was surprised, however, when a fluffy pink pony wandered through. She was fuzzy beyond belief and had a set of cardboard wings sticking out of her fur. On her head was a similarly made cardboard horn. Sunny Day and I briefly exchanged glances and then bowed. “Greetings, great ali… pony! Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” “Pfft,” was her reply. “Of course,” I said, writing an approximation of the noise her tongue had made into words. “And you’re the authorized representative of your Equestria?” I asked politely. The fluffy pink pony quickly nodded and said, “Pffbt, pfft pftt.” “Very good then,” I replied, offering her a badge. We then waited. The mirror didn’t illuminate. “Where is the second member of your delegation?” From nowhere the pink pony pulled a plush doll out. It was black with a green mane and button eyes. It looked an awful lot like a changeling. She lightly waved it in my face. “Pffffffft, pffbt.” “Does… she need a name tag?” I asked. Pfft quickly nodded and produced a crayon. She took a tag herself and wrote Chryssi on it before sticking it to the doll. “Excellent. Please head inside. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will be waiting to receive you.” The pony gasped in excitement and charged through the door. “Good for her,” I said once she was gone. “Huh?” Sunny asked. “In our Equestria she is a dancer. A pretty good one too. She danced at my bachelor party.” “Bachelor party? You’re not married!” Sunny Day tilted her head and raised her brow suspiciously. “My cousin didn’t understand what it was. It is this whole long thing. Look, just go read Mem—” The mirror illuminated again. It was going to be a long day.
4. Eleven EquestriasIt was getting close to lunch time and I was tired and hungry. Thus far nine delegations had arrived. Of those nine six had included a Princess Celestia. A seventh slightly changed the mix with a male Celestia by the name of Prince Apol. He was attending with his brother Prince Chand who was a male Princess Luna. That was pretty awkward. I’d almost written Guylestia on the name tag. Sunny Day shifted slightly and asked, “How much longer are we going to wait? They’re already pretty late.” “I suppose as long as it takes. Although I am really ready to eat and I imagine the room full of nobility is about ready to get started too,” I replied. Just as I turned towards the door the mirror burst into light. It was brighter this time. Slowly a pearl-coated alicorn slipped through. Her blonde mane billowed in the absence of wind much in the way Princess Celestia’s did. I blinked in shock. “Exemplar Ferrel?” There was little doubt that this alicorn was or had been Ferrel. They were identical other than the fact that this version was larger and had wings. Her look was vacant a moment before her eyes fell on me. “Silent Knight. How lovely to see you.” Sunny Day and I bowed deeply. Quickly I went back to the script, “Greetings, great alicorn. Welcome to the Summit of Equestrias. How may we refer to you?” The alicorn’s head tilted and she replied, “Ferrel will do. Although I guess I am a princess. How should I refer to you?” From the corner of my eye I saw Sunny crack a smile. “Silent Knight will be fine, Princess.” I made a name tag and offered it to her. She accepted it and then said, “I have come alone. It is good to see you again, Silent Knight.” “Again?” I asked curiously. Princess Ferrel nodded. “Yes. I was saddened when you died on the train.” A cold chill went down my spine and I stammered, “Thank you, Princess.” What else can you say to that sort of thing? “I trusted the wrong vision. It was my mistake. May I go in?” “Of course, Princess. By all means,” I replied. “Thank you.” Once she was through the door Sunny Day sat a hoof on my shoulder. “Are you alright?” “Yeah… it just felt like somepony walked over my grave. In her Equestria I died and she became a princess?” “I guess so… That is one strange bird though. I can’t imagine her ruling. Anyway, shake it off. You didn’t die and I know you’re hungry. Let’s go hit the buffet that we painstakingly put together and then had to wait so long to eat at that I’m sure it is all cold.” Sunny had a way about her to keep things moving. “Yeah, you’re right. Come on. I hope some of those little carrots are left.” ☾ ☼ Chaos. It was total chaos. The room was packed full of alicorns and keeping any of them straight was near impossible. There were some odd ones that were easy to pick out: Mother Mare, Princess Pfft, Princess Ferrel, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Pirate Princess Celestia to name a few. Of course the two stallions stood out. They were lost in a sea of mares. Welcome to my world. Everypony was chatting and the room was rather noisy. Sunny and I were leaning against the wall and eating. The whole thing was surreal. Our world previously had two alicorns and now it was jam packed with them. I also had no idea which Princess Luna was the one I served. While we were pony watching Princess Ferrel wandered over to the buffet. Her stare went vacant as she looked between crackers with white cheese and other crackers with yellow. The choice seemed to be agonizing so I spoke up, “Is there something I can help you with, Princess?” “I’m not sure which to choose,” she replied. “The white cheese is very mild. The yellow is sharp. Which would you prefer?” “The white, but if I choose the white we may all die.” Sunny’s eyes went wide and I stammered, “Pardon?” The alicorn turned to look at me. “I had three visions of this summit. In the one that bore witness to the destruction of all of these worlds I chose the white cheese.” Demonstrating an alacrity I’ve never seen in a pony before, Sunny Day lept up, cleared the distance to the table, and stuffed every piece of white cheese into her mouth. Princess Ferrel’s head tilted and she selected a yellow cheese cracker. “Thank you,” she said absently before wandering back into the sea of alicorns. My eyes flicked back to Sunny. She was struggling. I offered her a napkin and she shook her head. With tears in her eyes she swallowed as best she could but still looked distressed. Subtly I put myself between her and the dignitaries and slowly slipped a trash can her way. She nodded in appreciation and solved the problem. “Congratulations, Lieutenant Day, you just saved millions of lives,” I said dryly. She laughed quietly and wiped her mouth as delicately as she could. “I’ll expect a medal and a pay raise.” “Good luck with that…” I trailed as one of the many Princess Celestias climbed up onto the small podiums. “Ladies… Ladies… oh, and gentlestallions, too. Please, may I have your attention?” she said, her voice rising ever so slightly. The room fell to silence and she pushed on. “Thank you. It is my belief that I am the Princess Celestia of this world but, at this point, I am somewhat questioning that.” There was a general laugh throughout the room. “With that said, I think we need to figure out an easier way to identify the world we represent. May I suggest that we take a pass at numbering our worlds?” One of the other Princess Celestias, and I truly have no idea of which one, replied, “Numbering may suggest a hierarchy and I truly don’t want to risk offending any of you.” Our (I hope) Princess Celestia nodded and replied, “That is a very valid point. That is not my intention of course. Perhaps we should vote? If you feel this would offend you if you have a higher number please vote nay. Otherwise vote yea. All in favor?” It was unanimous. I guess the ponies were largely identical. “Very good. Then shall we begin?” ☾ ☼ Sunny Day was leaning against me, asleep. We were taking turns propping the other up so that it didn’t look too obvious. The experience was both frustrating and interesting. Numbering the Equestrias, despite there being general agreement to do so, was not as easy as everypony had hoped. It went swimmingly at first. There seemed to be general agreement that Mother Mare’s Equestria would be Equestria 1. Following that, the Equestria with the equally sized Princess Celestia and Princess Luna ended up as Equestria 2. Then it got hazy. “All I be saying is that we don’t wish to be numbered. I propose that we be Equestria R,” the Pirate Princess Celestia said over the others. Lightly I rubbed my eyes. There couldn’t be a cheesier line than that but, then again, that was exactly Princess Celestia’s humor. “Very well, for the sake of getting another world off the table we will consider Equestria R. All in favor?” Princess Celestia called. There was a vote and it passed. “Excellent, Equestria R it is. Now, back to the topic of Equestria 3.” “13, please,” Princess Ferrel said without provocation. Princess Celestia blinked. “Pardon?” “My Equestria will be 13. This removes another one, does it not?” Without missing a beat Princess Celestia nodded and replied, “All in favor?” The vote passed. “Very good. That is four down… Instead of plowing through the numbers does anypony else have any requests?” Sunny shifted in her sleep and almost fell over. She gasped and looked around in shock. When she found me looking at her, she smiled. “Oh thank Celestia, it was just a nightmare.” “Which Celestia are you thanking?” I asked, pointing to the crowd. “Oh, nevermind, this was the nightmare. Have they decided who is who yet?” “Nope.” “Awesome…” Sunny Day trailed. “This is going to be a long summit.” Author's Note All of the Equestrias have arrived! Now it is time to figure out who is who ;D
5. Equestria Six“Why six?” Sunny Day asked me curiously. “I don’t know. Six is a good number. It is even, divisible by two or three. It seems as good as any,” I replied. “Yeah but six! There are five Equestrias that are more… Equestria than us?” We were hiding in one of the meeting rooms catching our breath. We’d had enough princesses for a lifetime. “I don’t think that is how it worked. It was mostly arbitrary. We’re Equestria Six from now on.” Sunny poked her tongue out and asked, “How does Princess Pfft get to be Equestria Three?” “I believe you’re overthinking this, Sunny. Who knows. Perhaps cosmically her Equestria was around before ours? At any rate, she is a willful princess and they seemed content for her to be three.” “Fine, fine…” Sunny said and then looked back at me. “Now explain to me again how Twilight Sparkle is the Princess of the Night for Equestria Four.” I took my helmet off and set it on the floor. “As best as I can tell Princess Luna wasn’t fitting in well so she traded her princesshood to Twilight Sparkle for help with her image.” Sunny’s head tilted. “You can do that?” “Not in this universe,” I replied with a grin. “Anyway, the individual meetings should be over soon and we’ll need to be back out there serving and whatnot soon. I figure we have another half hour to rest.” From my saddle bag I pulled out a canteen I’d brought and started drinking from it. Plain water, my favorite. The unicorn’s tail swished and she took her helmet off. “Half an hour? That is perfect. Do you want to fool around?” She had caught me by surprise again with her teasing. Unfortunately for her my mouth was full of water which I sprayed in shock directly into her face. “So that’s a no, then?” Sunny asked as she tried to dry herself off. “Yes, that is a no and I’m hoping you were kidding. Serves you right,” I said. Sunny Day stuck her tongue out at me. “I was. I know you're committed. It is just fun to get a rise out of you… eh… eh?” She elbowed me lightly. “How is it we entrust the safety of Princess Celestia to you?” The mare wagged a hoof. “It is because I know when to be silly and when to be businesslike.” “I see,” I said trying to keep a straight face. Finally I smiled. “Alright… if I take a nap do you promise not to molest me?” “Mostly yes. Maybe just a little fondling but fine…” Sunny replied and then added, “But I’m going to nap too. So lean your back up against mine and I’ll see you in twenty minutes.” “Deal!” ☾ ☼ “Prince Chand has invited us to visit his kingdom,” Princess Luna said to me. My ears flicked and I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of going to another Equestria. That was a security nightmare. “Us as in you and I or us as in you and Princess Celestia?” “You and I. He was amused to find out you are Silent Knight,” the princess explained. “Why?” Princess Luna grinned and shook her head. “He would not say but promised that I would be equally amused. When this summit draws to a close I would like for you to put a trip on the books.” “Will that be allowed?” I asked. “Of course it… oh. A point well made, Silent Knight. Mark it tentative. Final language on the visitation agreement has not been approved. It should be acceptable as long as we don’t violate the sharing agreement.” Mentally I was taking notes. “The sharing agreement was finalized?” The princess frowned and nodded. “Yes. It has been determined that for the sake of all Equestrias no knowledge may be shared. As you know too much of that leads to links that are dangerous. This is disappointing for my sister and I but we were in the minority on the vote. There will be no sharing.” “Alright… so we can go visit, look around, talk to ponies, but not share anything. That seems impossible to me.” Princess Luna stroked her chin and replied, “Yes, yes it does. If you’ll excuse me I need to go bring that point up!” She hurried off into one of the meeting rooms leaving me to my own devices again. Occasionally an alicorn would wander out for a treat before returning to their respecting meeting halls. There were always two sessions going with the group of alicorns split between them. Somehow Princess Pfft was in both. Magic. One of the biggest surprises for me was seeing some of the ponies I knew in the form of alicorns from other realms. In particular Lady Cadence. We had two here: Pirate Princess Cadence and Non-Pirate Princess Cadence. The latter was currently over at the buffet. She’d arrived with a Princess Luna. That Princess Luna was the same size as our Princess Celestia and that Princess Cadence was the same size as our Princess Luna. If that sounds confusing it is. I wandered over to the pink alicorn and cleared my throat. “Pardon me, Princess. Is everything to your liking? If there is something lacking I can go into the castle and find it.” “Oh everything is lovely, Silent Knight,” she replied absently and then blinked. “Oh, I’m sorry. You are Silent Knight here, aren’t you?” “Yes, Princess, I am,” I replied, painfully curious how she knew me. The rules were still being laid out and even though I knew the other realms had no bearing on this one I was very interested in the other versions of myself. She smiled and nodded. “Good. I feel safer then.” A donut levitated off the buffet and she nibbled on it. Then she squeaked, “Not that I don’t feel safe! You’re a gracious host. I’m so sorry!” “No need to apologize, Princess. This is a strange situation for us all. I’m glad you feel safer, though. My counterpart and I are here to ensure your protection and that your needs are met. Our princesses thought it was best to only bring the two of us so that we could keep this all classified,” I explained. Princess Cadence smiled, “Yes. Luna has always trusted you with secrets. Celestia, too, while she was alive. To be honest I was surprised you came to work for me but I’ve never been more secure.” The princess then groaned. “Not you. My Silent Knight. I’m sorry, I’m not good at this.” I shook my head and smiled brightly. In my head the idea of Princess Celestia not being alive terrified me. It would have been rude to focus on that though. “Truly not a problem. If it were me… and again I have no knowledge of your world, I would imagine it would be out of my extreme dedication to Shining Armor. He made a big impression on me.” She laughed and nodded. “Yes, my husband has that effect on ponies. At any rate I should be getting back into my meeting. Take care, Colonel.” I sputtered, “Colonel!” The pink alicorn cringed slightly and looked at my rank. “Oh I’m sorry! I really should go! Take care, Silent Knight!” With that she beat a hasty retreat. Colonel! I was a colonel in her universe? What the hay! Now I was jealous of myself. That Silent Knight was years ahead of me… the jerk. Author's Note And thus you now know why Q&B was originally Equestria Six before we came up with better branding :D
6. The Treaty“Sooo…” Sunny Day said as she wandered up. I finished cleaning up several of the mini-plates and took my apron off. “So, what? Are they done?” I asked. “Nooo…” Sunny trailed. “Okay. What then?” “I know a secret,” she said in a teasing tone. “And… you’re not going to tell me and expect me to be bothered by it. Right?” I asked. Sunny quickly nodded and wrinkled her nose. “Exactly!” “What if I don’t care that you have a secret?” To punctuate my point I went past her and started tying up a garbage bag. Don’t give her what she wants. Be cool. “Nooo! You have to care!” Sunny grabbed me around the barrel. “It isn’t fun if you don’t care. Why don’t you care, Silent Knight? Why don’t you care?!” I tried to take a step forward to escape her but she was locked on and we fell over into the pile of trash bags “Tell me you care!” she urged. “No means no, Sunny!” I cried while squirming to get out from under her. There were several giggles from behind us and both of our heads shot up from the trash pile. We were being watched by three Princess Celestias, two Princess Lunas, one Celestia-sized Princess Twilight Sparkle, and non-pirate Princess Cadence. Sunny Day slowly let go, stood up, and backed away from me. “Yes. Silent Knight and I were just… You see we were…” I cleared my throat. “Amateur theatre? I take it the meetings are over, Princesses?” Our Princess Luna, I think, nodded and replied, “Yes. If you could prepare the common room we’d like to sign the agreement and have our closing statements. That is assuming your performance is concluded?” “Of course, Princess, right away.” I bowed, put my apron back on, straightened my maid hat, and went to work getting the common room set up. I’d have to figure out what the secret was later. ☾ ☼ Princess Celestia stood behind the podium and looked out onto the sea of alicorns. “It has been a pleasure to host this summit and once again I thank you all for attending. We have covered a lot of ground in a very short period of time. The Treaty of Eleven Equestrias is ready for signing. Before we do so, however, I would like to go over the key points.” A small piece of paper levitated from the table and onto the podium in front of the princess. “First, realm entanglement must be avoided at all costs. In order to ensure the safety of all ponies, travel between Equestrias must be limited. We cannot know for certain how much is too much but per the agreement no individual will travel to another realm more than once every decade.” A decade seemed like an awfully long time to me but I wasn’t an ageless alicorn. Sunny Day looked my way and shrugged. “Second, we must be mindful of the exchanges that occur between realms. Gifts, materials, and even spells traveling between Equestrias must be limited. One gift per visitor per visit should be sufficient. Anything more and we risk further entanglement.” I pondered on whether or not this particular summit counted as everypony’s one visit per decade. It would make sense that it would but, in truth, I hoped it didn’t. If Princess Luna went somewhere I would likely go with her and that meant a chance to see another world. That seemed pretty terrifying to me but I was also warming to it. “Finally, and I realize this was the most hotly debated topic here, we have agreed with a narrow margin that alicorn knowledge will not be shared between realms.” Throughout the room there were murmurs of dissent. Just less than half of the attendees seemed displeased which meant in some cases a given Equestria had a split vote. Princess Celestia softly cleared her throat and the room went quiet again. “I know. Suffice to say we all agreed upon the rules and we should all abide them. There are many other provisions so I invite you all to review the document again before signing. As agreed, this treaty will be in effect for 250 years and we will have the next summit ten years prior to that. May we all be well served by the protection it offers.” At that point the many rulers started going over the final document. Sunny and I stood guard duty in the back of the room behind a long table that had eleven identical copies of the treaty resting on it. They were all oversized and ceremonial. There was some humor in that. It was unlikely that ponies outside of this room would ever see them. I suppose that is just how treaties are done, however. Princess Celestia and Mother Mare from Equestria One wandered up to the table, quills levitated in their magic. They started signing in the appropriate signature blocks, working their way down the table. More alicorns started to follow behind them. It was somewhat entertaining to watch Princess Pfft sign first in a pink crayon and then again with a green one using the Chryssi doll. I wasn’t sure that was strictly binding but no pony else seemed to mind. The assembled rulers each took a turn signing the eleven treaties and, eventually, each one had 22 signatures. Sunny Day and I started carefully placing them in silkbound covers and getting them ready to travel. Each one had nothing more than number on the outside, except the one with the letter R. The printer had no idea why I wanted them but he’d done it. “With the final signature I would like to call this summit to a close. We have done much to ensure the safety of our ponies. May we know 250 years of peace.” Princess Celestia said before banging a gavel on the podium. “Safe trip home, everypony!” ☾ ☼ Sunny Day and I stood by the mirror and exchanged pleasant goodbyes with all of the dignitaries as they left. We were actually there to count and make sure they all went home. It was important we didn’t allow any stragglers to get loose into Equestria Six. Eventually every pony that had arrived went back through the mirror. “Thank our Celestia,” Sunny said before taking her helmet off. “Yeah,” I replied, doing the same. “I’m exhausted. I’ll never underestimate the palace staff again. Being a guard-maid-server-aide was too much.” I sat down on the stone floor. Sunny did the same. “From now on just guards. Agreed?” Sunny asked. “Agreed!” “Are we having our own little summit?” Princess Celestia asked after poking her head in. Quickly we both jumped up and to attention. Sunny replied, “Yes, ma’am. We’d like to resign as maids, servers, and aides.” The princess softly laughed and winked. “So noted. I realize this has been hard on you two. You did wonderfully, though.” Princess Luna followed up behind her sister. “We obviously don’t have to remind the two of you that this summit, more or less, did not happen and may not be discussed.” “Yes, Princess!” we replied in unison. “Very good,” she responded. I cleared my throat. “Should we start cleaning up? Also, should we lug this thing back upstairs?” I motioned to the mirror. Princess Celestia shook her head. “No, this will all keep. After all, we still have… rats, was it?” “Yes, Princess.” I replied. “Then leave everything as is. We’ll magically ward this room. I think from now on the mirror will be kept here. As a reward for your dedication, Luna and I are going to send each of you and a guest on a vacation. I’m certain your section sergeants can keep us safe for a few days?” “Yes, ma’am!” I replied eagerly but Sunny looked somewhat vexed. Lightly I nudged her. “Oh, yes, Princess,” she replied absently. Princess Celestia’s head tilted and she asked, “Is something wrong, Sunny?” “No, ma’am. It is very gracious of you. Truly.” “Then what troubles you?” Princess Celestia asked. Sunny nibbled on her lip and finally said, “I’m having some trouble at home, Princess, and, well… I’m sort of with two ponies. So a vacation for two is probably going to do more harm than good.” “You can have my tickets,” I offered. “Maybe give the second one to a single pony that needs a vacation? That slightly insane, hearts-obsessed one you’re friends with?” “What about you and Crystal Wishes? She’d be upset,” Sunny asked and then added, “Lovey Dovey isn’t insane… she’s just… special.” “First, she’ll never know because this never happened and second I don’t think we need this vacation as much as the three of you do.” I explained. Princess Celestia softly cleared her throat. “No!” Sunny said forcefully. “You’re always giving things up for ponies. You earned this vacation, too. I’m not letting you fall on the sword for us.” I peered at her and took a step closer. “They’re my tickets and if I want you to have them that is that. You work just as hard as I do… maybe harder. Let me do something nice for you and Azurite for a change, okay?” “Ponies…” Princess Celestia said softly. “You can’t make me take them and I can manage my relationship just fine without your meddling, thank you very much. You’re so stubborn. Just take Crystal and go on a vacation. I’ll figure it out!” That earned Sunny one of my patented officer glares. She didn’t back down though. “Who is being stubborn now? When was the last time you had a vacation?” I asked. “What does that matter I’ve—” “Be silent!” Princess Luna shouted at us. That shocked us into doing just that. “As you were saying, Tia…” Princess Celestia held a stern face but it looked like she wanted to laugh. “Or, and I’m just throwing this out there as one of two rulers of this entire realm, I could just get Sunny a third ticket now that I know she has two special ponies. Assuming Silent Knight isn’t determined that she has to have his or that Sunny Day isn’t going to let anypony, including me, help her at home.” Sunny sheepishly rubbed her hooves together. “That works for me. You can help me, Princess.” Quickly I nodded. “No objections.” “Very good then. I’ll get three tickets,” Princess Celestia said with smile. Princess Luna eyed us. “Now kiss and make up.” My ears shot up. Sunny Day closed the small distance between us. “You heard the princess,” she said, leaning in for a kiss. Softly I put my hoof against her cheek to push her away. “No means no! Princess, you’re being a pest and an enabler!” All of the mares giggled and seemed to find great amusement in my embarrassment. And so it seemed, as always, that mares ruled not just this world but ten out of eleven. Author's Note I hope you've all enjoyed this completely random step through a "what if" scenario.
