[Mt. Metazoa] Introduction
Author's Note
Twilight Sparkle holds a world summit to decide upon the best solution to the Pokémon problem.
Mt. Metazoa and Lord Goldstone are from the Convocation of the Creatures arc, issues #61-62. King Aspen is from the Root of the Problem arc, issues #27-28.
Thanks to everyone on Discord who gave me input, but especially Milk & Honey.
[Mt. Metazoa] Introduction
“Welcome, everycreature!” Twilight Sparkle’s voice echoed throughout Mt. Metazoa’s dimly-lit conference hall. The leaders of most of the world’s nations were seated on benches around the stage, patiently waiting for her to continue. “I’m glad that so many of you were able to make it here on such short notice.”
Even if some of you had to send delegates, she thought as she noticed General Seaspray.
Twilight flicked through the cue cards that Spike had prepared for her. “When I became the ruler of all Equestria, I knew there would be challenges, but I never expected an international emergency!” She took a deep breath to calm herself down. “It all started when I woke up one morning and saw that the castle gardens were swarmed with giant ladybugs. At first, I assumed it was a prank from Discord, but he assured me that he had nothing to do with them.” She tactfully left out the fact that she'd spent several minutes Twilighting.
“My number one assistant suggested that I write to my friends in Ponyville, and they told me that even stranger creatures were causing even more trouble there! In the days that followed, many of you sent me letters informing me that similar things were happening in your nations. I’ve gathered you here to decide upon the best way to deal with these new creatures.
“Early on, my Royal Guard suggested banishing them to Tartarus, but I disagreed. My good friend Fluttershy once told me that monsters are trying to survive just like any other wild animal, and they don’t deserve to be locked up in the same place as the most powerful and dangerous criminals. And really, what’s the difference between these creatures and the monsters of the Everfree Forest? I think we should find suitable habitats for them where they won’t disturb civilisation.”
King Aspen, a magnificent white stag, stood up proudly and gave a loud cough that echoed across the room. “While I agree that monsters do not belong in Tartarus, I disagree with your proposition. The monsters of the Everfree Forest obey the natural order. An ursa major, for example, would never venture away from its territory to hunt a deer; we’re simply too small to make a filling meal for them. They only attack when disturbed — as a foolish pony did several years ago, I believe?”
Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Yes.”
“These new creatures, on the other hoof, are completely chaotic,” Aspen continued. “Two weeks ago, our peaceful village was disturbed by an apparent territorial dispute between two giant beetles. They relentlessly tore branches off our trees and threw them at each other with reckless abandon, greatly endangering the lives of my citizens. I sent my guard to de-escalate the fight, but as soon as the two beetles noticed them, they ceased fighting and fled like fawns trying to shirk responsibility.” He shook his head. “Those aren't the behaviours of wild animals following instinct. They clearly understood that there were consequences for their actions and chose to ignore them.”
“My goodness, that sounds awful!” Twilight gasped. “Was everydeer okay?”
“Fortunately, we could find no casualties,” Aspen replied. “My son is still hard at work repairing the damage.”
"I understand your position, King Aspen, but I hope I can change your mind," Princess Cadance said from the other side of the room. “A few weeks ago, my daughter went missing. I assume she was startled by something and teleported away in response. My husband, her crystaller, the guard, and I spent hours tirelessly searching for her across the Empire, until I finally heard her laughter in an alleyway that evening. Some kind of pear-shaped… bipedal… goat… thing — bear with me here — was watching over her along with what looked like the young of several other species. It must’ve sensed that I was her mother, because it handed her back to me without hesitation.”
Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear. What do you propose we should do with these creatures?”
Before Cadance could respond, King Aspen pointed a foreleg at her and sternly shouted, “Hold on! That may have been good for you, but in what way does it compare to what befell my kingdom?”
Cadence was taken aback. It took her several long seconds to regain her composure. “It is true that I have been... more fortunate than you, but…” She paused to think. “You said you had a son. How would you feel if he went missing?”
“Prince Bramble is old enough to look after himself!”
“But Flurry Heart isn’t!”
“YAKS NOT COME HERE TO WATCH PONY AND DEER ARGUE!” Prince Rutherford yelled from one of the lowest seats, his voice so loud that it reverberated like a sonic boom.
Twilight stomped her hoof on the worn, wooden floor to regain everyone’s attention. “Ahem. As I was saying, Princess Cadance, what’s your proposition?”
“I think we should work together to find out where these creatures came from and what they want before we take action,” Cadance replied. “Fortunately, the incidents in the Crystal Empire have been few and far between, but if what King Aspen says is true—”
“Which it is,” he muttered.
“—Then trying to remove these creatures by force will only make them hostile towards us. Who knows how destructive they can get?”
The audience silently nodded in agreement.
“That’s an excellent point!” exclaimed Twilight. “I would research these creatures myself, but running an entire country doesn’t leave me with much free time.”
“So you're willing to wait for the situation to get worse?” General Seaspray spoke up. “I must agree with King Aspen. It's simply too risky to keep these creatures around, which is why Her Majesty ordered their removal from her kingdom. For all we know, this could be an invasion!” He slammed a talon on the bench to emphasise his point.
Twilight mulled over how to make an appropriate response. She understood why the hippogriffs were wary of outsiders, but after all she’d done to improve their international relations… This crisis had reopened old wounds that she wasn’t experienced enough to heal.
“Have any of you wondered how they feel?” Thorax asked. Everyone turned to stare at him as if he’d grown a second head. “I mean, think about it. Imagine if you woke up one day and realised you were far away from home. Wouldn’t you feel scared and confused, too? Twilight Sparkle — you fought long and hard to get your School of Friendship approved in order to teach creatures from all walks of life to understand each others’ perspectives. If you hadn’t succeeded, the whole world would’ve been doomed! Why should we assume the worst of these creatures?”
Twilight was so flattered that she could feel her cheeks blushing. She paused for several seconds to think of a response. “Thorax raises an excellent point. Without him, I never would have founded the School of Friendship, nor would I be standing here today! Thanks to his help in defeating Queen Chrysalis, the changelings went from a feared enemy to one of Equestria’s many allies." She placed a hoof beneath her chin. "Although… Are these new creatures capable of communicating with us? According to my friends' letters, even Fluttershy has trouble understanding them.”
“That’s a ridiculous proposition!” chuckled Lord Goldstone, a tall and lanky griffon, from one of the highest benches. Twilight resisted the urge to groan. “What, are we going to read their minds?”
“Well… sorta,” Thorax replied. “I found this little one—” he shapeshifted into a small, white biped with pink, rounded horns poking out of its green hair for a few seconds, then changed back “—that talked to me in my mind… what would you call it?”
“That sounds like telepathy!” Twilight squeed. “It’s long been theorised that a sufficiently powerful magic-user would be able to learn how to broadcast their thoughts, but nopony has ever pulled it off— Aaand I’m getting sidetracked. Please continue.” She waved a hoof in Thorax’s general direction.
“Anyway, most of what he said to me was unclear — all I could make out was that he was looking for his mother. I felt so sorry for him, but there wasn’t much I could do,” Thorax sighed. “I have much bigger issues to focus on right now… such as telling Pharynx not to attack everything he sees.”
Over the next few hours, various other world leaders took their turns to share arguments and anecdotes. The most noticeable absence was Dragon Lord Ember — in her words, “dragons don’t do summits.” The breezies weren’t there, either, but she wasn’t surprised; venturing outside of their pocket dimension would be even more dangerous than usual for them.
“So, here’s our plan,” Twilight said. “Firstly, we find as many telepathic creatures as possible and ask them about what they are, where they came from, and why they’re here. Once we have enough information, we’ll each decide upon an ethical way to deal with the more… troublesome ones with our own governments. Now, any questions?”