Chapter One : Accepted

”Mother, this will not be a negotiation, nor a dependent alliance, I merely want to see what Canterlot is like. It is the Crown Jewel of Equestria, after all.”

The pale blue unicorn on the throne sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to not look at the younger pony’s irresistible pleads, “My daughter, you know I wish for nothing more than your happiness, but I have been denying Celestia contact for many decades now, just like all our ancestors.”

She placed a hoof on the withers of the lavender mare before her, “You know why we must do this. Not only that, we have been kept secluded and nothing has happened to us, nor our ponies. Do you not want to keep this peace too?”

The young pony nodded reluctantly, shuffling the feathery appendages on her back, “Of course I do, Mother, and I know, but...”

She lit her horn in a magenta glow and an emerald book appeared before her, skimming through the pages of Equestrian history until it reached a bookmarked page, where it fluttered to a stop.

The page was a short paragraph about the overview of the history of Canterlot, and pictures depicted the majestic castle on a cliff with the two alicorn sisters off to one side and a rough sketch of the Grand Galloping Gala to the other.

“I adore knowledge, but all I have learnt on Canterlot, the other Princesses and the nobles, are from my books! The Gala—” She pointed to the respective photograph, “—Is supposed to be the main event. You have let me scour the outer skirts of Equestria with a disguise, and for that I am grateful, but I have found that many of the smaller townponies dream of going to their capital just to see this celebration!”

“Reading is my favorite pastime, I am aware, but even reading about things cannot compare to witnessing them firsthoof! I will have an opportunity to meet the Princesses, you have said that I will become Queen one day, does that not include knowing how to behave in the presence of other royalty?”

The unicorn arched an eyebrow, “I have taught you well, I already know you understand how to behave yourself perfectly.”

The lavender mare slumped, seemingly in defeat, “...I understand Mother.”

The elder pony frowned at her daughter’s downtrodden look for a few moments, before finally relenting and sighing, “Alright, fine, we will attend Canterlot’s Gala just this once, alright, Twilight?”

The beam she received was more than enough to wash away any doubts for the time being.

Princess Celestia, Regent of the Sun and a Diarch of Equestria, made her way to her private dining room to have her usual dinner with her sister after a tiring day at court tending to the ponies’ needs.

She nodded briefly at the two guards outside of the room, who both gave a stoic, “Princess.” Before opening the heavy doors for her, then shutting them behind her.

Celestia gave a genuine smile at the sight of her sister having her salad as she greeted her, “Good evening, Luna.”

Luna looked up from her bowl, “Oh, Tia! You’re here! How was your day?”

The Solar Princess sat across from the navy alicorn and thanked the servant who bought her a serving of Luna’s exact dish, “It was just the usual, nobles fussing over the slightest things... There was a bakery opening I attended though.”

The darker mare snorted, “No wonder your flanks are getting bigger, Sister, you must cease having countless amounts of those chocolate delicacies every time you go to a store opening, I bet you chose the bakery one on purpose, did you not?”

Princess Celestia gave an indignant huff, “I most certainly did not! Chocolate cake practically sings to me, Luna! And you know us alicorns have a higher metabolism anyways. I am a Princess of Equestria, I may do as I wish.” She finished her statement by pointing her muzzle to the sky with her eyes closed as an imitation of the Upper Class ponies in Canterlot before breaking down in a short bout of giggles. Celestia could only ever be this way with her sister, she was going to enjoy every moment together.

Luna, for her part, merely rolled her eyes and took another spoonful of lettuce to hide her smile.

Their meal was interrupted, much to the two sisters’ dismay, by Celestia’s senechal, Raven Inkwell, as she entered with the Princess’ permission after a sharp knock.

“Your Highnesses,” Raven bowed at both members of royalty before rising with the nods she received, “I thought you would like to know that all the nations you invited to the Grand Galloping Gala have replied, either declining or accepting, Princess.”

Celestia smiled, “Wonderful, who’s coming this year, Raven?”

The earth pony, after adjusting her glasses, peered down at her clipboard, “Well, dignitaries from Saddle Arabia, Griffonstone and Heilberg, along with Queen Meadow Blades of the Kirinia Empire and Queen Eventide of the Aurorian Kingdom.”

The Sun Princess nodded, “That’s a—” She froze, staring at her aide in disbelief, “...My apologies, what was the last name on that list again?”

Raven Inkwell blinked, anxiety gathering under the wide eyes of both sisters, “Uh,” She fumbled with a quill, “Queen Eventide from the Kingdom of Aurora, Your Majesty.”

The two alicorns just looked at each other for a moment, as if communicating through their facial expressions and causing Raven to grow uncomfortable, before Celestia cleared her throat, “Thank you Raven, would you prepare some suites for them just in case they require accommodations please?”

The beige mare nodded and bowed once more before retreating from the room.

The sisters stayed in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts before Luna decided to break the spell, “I do not understand, Sister, she has not been accepting our invitations or contact attempts at all, why would she be coming now?”

Celestia shook her head, “I... I have no idea, Luna, I’ve been trying to set up relations with the Aurorian Kingdom for a while now, I send her invites for all our celebrations and events every year, Eventide never responds except to give a letter of decline. She doesn’t even attend the mandatory meetings with the other races herself, she sends a trusted ambassador in her stead.”

She continued her train of thought, “I was starting to think that she was deliberately giving us the cold shoulder, it concerned me that such a powerful nation, a pony one at that, was cutting us off, but from the intelligence I have gathered, it seems like the Aurorians are secluded to all others as well, preferring solitude.”

Luna tapped her chin, “When we last saw Queen Eventide, she came as a young mare, she was cold and distant to the servants too, only interacting with us for business and hurrying off when it was concluded. I believe she said that she was not looking to pursue any alliances?”

The Solar Regent hummed, “Yes, that was three decades ago, I remember she hid her emotions well behind a mask too... Eventide must have aged since then, no? I don’t think she has an heir...”

“Indeed,” The Princess of the Night furrowed her brows, “King Astrid of her kingdom passed a decade ago, did he not? I do not recall them announcing a new Princess or a new King Consort since then either.”

“What brings Queen Eventide to Canterlot this time then?”

Neither royals spoke, for none knew the answer.

Finally, Luna let out a sigh and pushed her empty dish away from her, her sister following suite, “I guess we will just have to find out on the day of the Grand Galloping Gala then,” She stood and smiled to the alabaster mare, “I bid you a good rest, Sister. As always, I shall guard the night.”

Celestia returned the smile and bit her lip as Luna turned and walked off to her chambers. As a maid came to clear the plates, she could only think of the possible reasons why the elusive Queen would reach out now, of all times after countless years of ignoring the neighboring pony land.

Sleep did not come to her easily that night.

Author's Note

Let me know what you think, I have ideas for the next few chapters but I lack a real plot and a thought out plan for the future, if this story idea doesn’t attract much attention, I may just abandon it all together.

I would appreciate any improvements or corrections in the comments!