Verve

The moment the King, and the gathered ponies - all of which were in need of proper rest and a shower - sat upon their pillows (with a certain massive Seraph choosing to stand, as he was too big for the provided cushion), a roaring clamor of demanding bucks and does shouting a variety of mixed insults, pleading bleats, outcries, curses, and wishes for death upon the Princess overtook the room. Luckily, General Falon and his bucks gave some form of safety, and demanded restraint from the gathered nobles.

“Ah, it almost feels like home.” Princess Celestia sighed quietly to herself, lowering her head an inch to ignore the overwhelming voices. Tempest looked calmly around the bickering deer, scooching an inch over to whisper to Umbra.

“I have little experience in politics. Is this normal?” she asked, taking Umbra by surprise.

“You seized the throne of Canterlot at the head of an army, as second in command to the Storm King - and never, not once, participated in a council?” the dark mare deadpanned. Tempest shook her head.

“I’m more used to throwing my weight around and giving orders, not heeding advice or accepting underling’s demands.”

Umbra blinked. “You know, Tempest. That is fair. I have done much the same thing, when I ruled the Crystal Empire. But yes. This is accurate to nearly every court I have attended in Erenorn. Now, we simply wait for a deer to demand our heads roll, before they’ll boil down to a simmer and allow the Princess or King to speak.”

Vee draped a wing over her Sister, who was seated a bit too far from Tempest for her liking. If anything, Arin should be on the King’s right side - she should simply be hiding under a pillow, or watching from behind a pillar for safety. The Purple tried to calm Pumpkin, speaking quietly to her among the budding yells.

“It’s alright Small-fry. Big sister Vee has a plan. Or a deathwish! Probably both.” With that, she began to preen - thinking quietly over her checklist.

This had the exact opposite effect for the little mare, who was now worried her Sister would stir the pot, rather than settle it.

“Please, my Kin - silence. I request a rest to the ears. There is much to discuss,” King Aster called over the roar of the crowd - though his voice was strong and stern, the unrelenting chatter didn’t cease. In fact, one of the deer screamed something about how they were all going to die - and a guard had to rip a buck off of another before they clashed antlers.

“Hey! Giant wing guy! Mind telling these hornheads to shut up so Aster can speak? I’m going deaf down here!” Rainbow Dash yelled up to Oarkin, who gave a laugh.

“Very well, colorful horse! I like this plan!” He raised his leg up high - crashing his massive boot to the floor with an echoing BOOM. Several cracks were soon seated in the tile, as the entire room shaked - the Castle coming to a dead silence instantly.

Arin rolled his jaw, rubbing his ears in pain - the sound alone sent a terrible ringing through his skull, as all eyes fell on the ten hoof tall giant of a Seraph.

“Too much talk! Listen to deer King.” He glared, daring anyone to challenge him. The stunned hush that took the crowd gave King Aster a chance to speak.

“Bucks and does of all boughs, we have come to a court not to discuss death - but to cherish life. Petty bugling will solve little of our issues. The magic of the Feywild is thinning - and soon, may very well cease to be all together. We stand on the cusp of a great tragedy; when our realities collapse, our presence will be unsheltered to the world, and on the doorstep of a great Nightmare. To send bucks to their death in defense of Silversun is pointless; it will cause naught but bloodshed, when this tragedy can be prevented all together by the rise of the sun.

“We have in our midst the Caller of Sunlight, and figurehead of the Equestrian Empire - Princess Celestia. Her and her allies seek to end this eternal night, once and for all.”

“Her? The one with the red hair?” a voice called; a blue dressed doe standing from the herd to speak; “She’s filthy! She bears no crown, no regalia! I see no ruler; only a lost mare covered in muck and ungroomed! These are the Equestrians who fight against nature’s call, yet can’t tend to themselves? Barbarians! All of them!”

Rainbow Dash had half a mind to dart forward and buck that doe in the face - but restrained herself; she’s sat through several press conferences before, and the Guards don’t like it when you lay a beatdown on a very obnoxious pony. Or in this case, deer.

Another voice called; a towering buck, with lavender entwined in his antlers. A running trend among the gathered diplomats was clothing; while many were barren three years prior, the sucking cold had brought a need for fashionable warmth. His robes were short to the legs, and he seemed to call many heads to swivel to his attention.

“The Equestrians are scattered and weak, King Aster. We can challenge this ‘Nightmare’ and claim the remaining world for ourselves. Many would die - but our Kin will grow ever onwards, into the eternal twilight of the Fey. If your father had acted swiftly, and challenged the ponies of Starlight’s Peak several thousand years ago - we would not be in this disaster. Perhaps it is time for your antlers to fall, if you can not see this!”

A dozen gasps met the room, but twice as many cheers and assorted noises for justice rang out. But even at his zealous speech, General Falon raised a hoof - twelve arrows soon centered on the prideful buck.

“You may kill me, King Aster, but my point still stands. The Equestrias are not fit to rule the Prime. Not anymore. And the fact that this… Princess, who can’t even claim a proper title to ownership of her lands - sits upon our leaves, is proof of this. Where is her army? Her ponies? Do they not care about their own plight?” By now, his glare unwavered even as he faced certain death for his treasonous claims

“We do care! I care!” The Princess challenged, her horn sparking with golden frustration. “I have travelled to the ends of Equis to bring a sliver of hope - our last defiance to Nightmare Moon’s control. I have challenged death itself in the Lights of Life, fought through the hordes of spiders in Driderhold, and nearly perished to the Dark Kin of the Deepwoods - to stand here before you, and I will not be called incompetent! Not now, and never again!” She roused from her pillow, King Aster bowing his head to General Falon. The buck, seeing this, clicked his tongue - and his bucks fell into place at the edges of the crowd.

“Ha! Your Kin could barely survive the ‘great quest’ here, to the safety of the land you now call ‘Equestria’ - yet here you stand, claiming you’ve visited the Edge? Let me guess - you also stood upon the grounds of our ancestors - no no, the old Autumn Courts? What proof do you have?” the lavender buck called, his purple eyes unwavering.

Vee leaned over the Rainbow Dash, whispering quietly to her ear. “I don’t like his purple. It’s not purple enough. Hmhm. Bad for the feathers.”

“Literally who are you?” The pegasus grimaced, steering away in confusion. “And why do you smell like coffee?”

Celestia’s horn glowed, weary eyes of the gathered bodyguards falling across her as she slid free a small, crystalline, jeweled flower. The aster glowed brilliantly in the dim light, a faint magic within stirring as she raised it up.

“This. I bring this as my proof. Of not just our journey, but of the spirit I spoke to. Lord Mapleheart wished for me to return this to his son, King Aster.”

The Princess turned to face the stunned King, gently levitating it into his magical grasp. It floated before him, the relic of his past sending his thoughts reeling.

“He spoke of the darkness that pervaded this world, in a time before my birth. A great evil, a vine-ridden beast from the darkness of the astral plane. The Entity, and how it claimed the old world - and my mother, Queen Astra.”

Aster faltered, hearing the name of a mare he once knew. Who he knew very well. Whose likeness now stood before him, her visage he recognized as she spoke with a flame in her heart. Before things came unraveled at the seams, and the old leaves fell.

“This darkness settled over the old lands of Starlight’s Peak, and sought to drain the very light from every creature. My Mother, the Queen - challenged this dark, but at great cost. My Sister, Princess Luna, was tainted by its touch. Many ponies died in their escape, becoming the Umbrum spirits that haunt the shadowfell. Its influence spread deep and far, into the very core of our world. In an effort to stop the tide. In the end, Queen Astra channeled the light of Harmony itself into her Ember, and ignited the Entity in a blaze of unadulterated pure magic - sacrificing half of our world to kill this parasite, stopping the very sun and moon in the sky as a result.”

She faced the crowd, voice unwavering as she spoke; “Had she not sacrificed herself, none of you would be alive today. The Entity would have consumed all of us, pony and deer alike - and all the other creatures of our world. We would be a wasteland of death, and despair. And through my Sister, a piece of this abomination lived on - growing on hate, on envy, waiting to sprout. And it did, forming the darkness of Nightmare Moon. A thousand and six years ago, I channeled the power of Harmony to banish her from our world. And now, she’s back. And without mercy.”

Voices spoke quietly in the crowd, a murmur of fear. Still, Celestia went on. “Nightmare Moon is, by definition, a creation of the Entity - and a piece that seeks to bring it back. The Entity is still here, in an echo of our world - the Shadowfell. The dark, dead plain of pain and suffering. Of murky decay and rot. As the Feywilds weaken, the Shadowfell grows - and soon, its presence will mingle unbidden with the Lunar Plane’s seeping magic. It will cross over into our reality - and all life will perish. It wants us to fight, to die - to create more spirits for the harvest. It craves disharmony, and death.”

“The Princess is right,” King Aster nodded, “many of you have not seen the truth she weaves, but everything she states is mere fact. Our enemies are not the Equestrians. Throwing our lives away in a pointless war, a spat of revenge for our fates - will only feed the creature. We must preserve our lives, and stay here.”

At that, Celestia rounded on the great buck. Her magenta eyes glowing; “King Aster, I do not wish to say this… but you are wrong.”

A wave of chattering calls broke out in the crowd - the Princess had challenged their King, and many were appalled she would do so. Especially in the halls in the Autumn Court, during the Autumn Winds, no less!

“In my travels, I found signs of life - of a hope long past, that ponies could survive the old Empire’s collapse. First, I saw it in Copse Vale - an old town, submerged in the waters of a flood. A path had formed, heading ever West - into the remnants of a ruin scattered by giant arachnids, who poached the very lives of ponies seeking shelter there. A river carried onwards, a path further west still - to the Deepwood, where more ponies died sheltered under the boughs of massive, ageless trees. All ties led back to the old Autumn Court, where ponies traded and made merry with deer long past - do you not recall this, King Aster?”

“I…” King Aster hesitated, before giving a slow nod. “I was a young buck. Yes. But pony traders flourished from the commerce grown under my father’s rule. But I do not see how this statement changes anything; my deer do not work with ponies, not at this moment. We shelter our own lives first, and protect our kin.” His head fell back, as Celestia pushed the onslaught.

“A wrong path, one your father believes you’ve stumbled upon. To submit to fate so eagerly, to give up - and sit on your throne, while others do the dirty work… It is something I would do. I would have done. But no longer. King Aster, you are a coward. But a kind King, one often trampled over by the voices of your nobles, and thrown to the wayside in times of a great crisis. You are just like me, before I changed. I learned that standing idly by will render no aid to your friends - and it took many near death experiences to accept this.”

She faced Arin, holding a hoof over her heart. “We stood over the lake, in the clutches of a trap - undead clawing at our hooves. Arin had been ripped under the tide, and would surely die if I stood by and did nothing, only watch and hope that others would dive to rescue him. In this panic, I found I was the only one left who could reach him in time. So I dove down, and I fought back the horde - and saved his life. The light I cast upon the world gave Vee the chance to save Tempest, who had been dragged down as well.”

Her eyes turned to Tempest and Pumpkin, on Aster’s right and Arin’s left - “Pumpkin and Tempest both. Had I not fought back the fear of being captured by spiders, you two would have both been envenomed, and devoured. From there, your courage in the face of your greatest fears saved the pegasus we all know and love.”

The Princess nodded to Vee, who spat a feather at her, mouthing the word ‘neigh’.

Finally, on the little Pumpkin - her gaze settled. “Had I abandoned you, like any desperate mare would - we would have fled to the dark. But Tempest’s voice kept my wits together, to bring the light - and bide our time for a moment more, until Pumpkin’s timid words could convince Lord Mapleheart’s druidic form to open the branches. In doing so, the sun could flood the Deepwood’s roots - and our lives were saved. In every moment, friendship bloomed. Something that no amount of cowering could buy.”

Her eyes swiveled to her friends gathered, heart open and seeing the light they each gave. “All of your strengths supported me; I had known what friendship was, but I had never felt it so strong until you’ve all come into my world. You’re all like family to me now, and I would die to protect you.”

Once more, her gaze fell to the silent King, who watched on in a whirlpool of feelings. Finally, all of her thoughts came to the massive buck, the one she was trying to convince.

“Your father, Lord Mapleheart, had seen your actions led astray. And wanted me to speak to you, to bring you back on the trails he tread. That hope, friendship could still bloom between ponies and bucks. That offering a hoof forward in a time of need, was worth more than its weight in gold. That when times were tough, true friends would stand by your side to support you, and that they would never give up hope. Aster, by sitting here behind your walls, in the twilight of the Fey - you are giving up that light for the illusion of safety. And if you listen to your nobles, and slay ponykind out of spite - you are no better than the monster that lurks in the dark.”

“Then what would you have me do, Princess? Send my bucks to die; all just to help you? Any of my deer who tread the material plane will perish shortly afterwards. There is nothing I can do to aid you beyond food and shelter.”

“Oho! But there is!” Vee smiled, a mess of feathers beneath her pillow. Her smug disposition drawing all eyes on her as she preened, Celestia sparking to interrupt her.

“Not now Vee-mmf!” Vee’s magic stuffed a bunch of feathers into the red maned mare’s muzzle, the Purple leaning forward to whisper the dreaded words to her.

“Neigh.”

This bought her just enough time to speak, standing from her pillow to approach the room. Celestia coughing and gagging fitfully, her magic pulling out a wad of the purple pinions.

“I am Vee-Ness, Pegasus of all things witchery, brewer of the bean and a master of all things dream related; an insomniac of the highest caliber and a connoisseur of purple. I am also a witch pony, who draws magic from the moon, and I bring good news!”

In the quiet, she spoke. “You’re all going to die! Later. Not now, but eventually! Which is good, because it’s not soon. Soon as in a few days or whatever, d’ohoho! Instead, I propose a solution to your magic allergies and all that jazz. Have any of you considered a temporary contract with a creature who could supply the magic you need to not drop like feathers?”

“Hey, little mare. Uh… Pumpkin Mice, or whatever. What’s she yammering about?” Dashie questioned. Pumpkin blinked, raising herself up from her cowardice, her hat popping off her eyes with a confused mewl.

“She… she’s following her plan?...”

“What is this nonsense? Who is this… pony who stands here as if she’s entitled to speak to the Circlet? Guards - be useful and seize her,” the lavender antlered Buck sneered, leering at the sight of the very well groomed pegasus. Well, at least her wings were groomed. Of course, General Falon gave no such order to act - and the Senator’s own guards were too cowardly to follow his command. A doe from behind - a representative of the house he was elected to lead - jabbed him with a hoof to be quiet.

“I literally just introduced myself, Jerk-face. Where’s your brain beneath the mane? Anyway! Hmhm. As I was saying. My magic comes from two sources; the moon, and my familiar. A familiar is a witch’s tool to great power - as it allows me to channel curious other magics and live long enough to sample all the coffee. Binding to a familiar is easy! All you gotta do is snoot up a fine magic thing to neigh to - make a little contract, and tada! You’ve got all the magic you need.” Vee nipped away a feather, blowing it at the glowering buck on his cushion.

“A familiar?” King Aster questioned, tilting his head. Though he had been treated crudely, he would not back down now. Not with a solution showing itself present. “Please, explain. How will we find enough familiars for all cervines? What creature of the Fey can exist in both the material plane, and the wilds in which we shelter?”

At that, Celestia’s ears perked up; “Breezies. Breezies often travel through Equestria, and are filled with Fey magic. In fact, they collect pollen in Equestria, to convert into power for the fey.”

“...Breezies.” The King frowned, repeating the word again. Sliding back in his throne, thinking quietly. Perhaps there is hope. “Breezies…”

General chatter soon followed, as Vee stared right through King Aster. Preening away another feather or three, giving her usual ‘hmhm’ when thinking. “Breezies will work. Good job, Ugly-brain-mane. I almost want to talk to you now.”

“Really?” Celestia smiled, turning to face the Purple with hope; hope that she’ll finally give up her stupid reasoning and be friendly once more.

“No.” And with that, Vee fluttered her way back to her seat - Pumpkin immediately seizing her in a hug.

“Y-You did good, Vee!” She smiled, the Purple nodding.

“I always do good, otherwise the Fuzz wouldn’t have warrants for my arrest! Wait… that makes no sense. Hmhm.” She questioned her own insanity for a moment, nosing into her bag to find her checklist.

‘Neigh a bunch.’ Check.