It was times like this that Celestia was happy not to suffer from the heat.
Like yesterday the sun had risen very early and consequently the unbearable heat was already making the whole group sweat except obviously her, the sun goddess.

She could have walked in the desert for weeks if only she hadn't needed to eat and drink but as luck would have it, the last supplies of food they had had run out the night before.

Or at least the plant-based ones. Instead there were still a few pieces of meat barely enough for a day.

Contrary to what one might believe, Celestia was not so against eating meat, she had already done so in the past long before the vegetarian diet completely replaced the omnivorous one.

Celestia smiled as she imagined how her faithful student would react if she saw her eating a tasty steak. She would most likely have fainted from the shock and subsequently accused her of being an impostor.

Speaking of Twilight….

Celestia noticed that she had been staying aloof since yesterday afternoon.

Had that discussion with Tempest really shaken her that much?

Celestia stopped to see where she was and just like yesterday she stood a few feet back with her head down as she watched her own paws move in front of each other.

“Twilight?”

The little alicorn raised her head as her mentor called her name.

"Yes?"

Celestia motioned for her to come closer so they could walk side by side, when Twilight approached her she began to talk to her.

“What troubles you my faithful student?”

Twilight remained silent to think, there were so many things going on in her head.

The issue of the goblins, her unfriendship with Celestia, the fact that they had been walking in the desert for days. She also really missed her friends, Ponyville and Spyke.

When they chose to make the journey she was very happy to be outside of Equestria for the first time in millennia. She imagined meeting new people and making friends but instead she found herself having to hide from a horde of goblins after they shot down their airship and killed almost all of the crew.
And as if that wasn't enough she had to come to terms with the fact that she was only a loyal student to Celestia.

If she had known beforehand that all this would happen she would have been in Equestria to resolve there friendship issues.

NO!

She was the princess of friendship and it was her job to spread harmony to every corner of the world.

However, deep in her heart she felt that she was not a princess of friendship at that moment and it was probably due to the fact that she did not have her closest friends with her.

“Princess Celestia. Why didn't the others come too? I'm sure we could have done something to improve the situation.”

Celestia listened to her student's question after waiting a couple of minutes for her to choose what to say.

“My faithful student, I have no doubt that the presence of your friends could have been helpful but at the same time I fear that they would not have been ready to face such a journey.”

"What do you mean?"

“Maybe you haven't yet realized how much bad luck and luck we've had. We lost all five airships and the only survivors are you, me and the two guards.
If it hadn't been for Tempest I fear we could have been captured by the goblins and if what she said is true then it would have been a fate worse than death.”

Twilight shuddered as she imagined the horrible fate that might have befallen them.

“And even if it hadn't, we would have had to take the long walk through the desert and I'm afraid your friends would probably have perished very quickly, especially Fluttershy and Rarity.”

Celestia lowered her head so she was looking into Twilight's eyes.

“And I assure you, the last thing you want is to be responsible for the suffering of someone you love.”

Celestia's words were a little harsh but unfortunately very close to the truth.

She couldn't bear to see the bodies of her friends buried in the sand or even worse devoured by an ogre.

“So you already knew all this could happen?” she said in a strangled voice realizing that perhaps all of this could have been avoided.

Celestia let out a sigh as Twilight waited impatiently for a response.

“Yes, I was aware that there were risks but I wanted to try anyway, I wanted to believe that outside of Equestria there was still a world where you could spread joy and harmony. However, I was naive again and underestimated the danger. I hope you can forgive me." Celestia said dejectedly.

Twilight wasn't sure how to respond. She was convinced that Princess Celestia had started the mission because she was sure that everything would go smoothly but apparently that wasn't the case and the dozens of ponies who had left with them paid the price.

Twilight thought back to the past few days and couldn't help but notice that Celestia hadn't actually said anything when she woke up and told her that there had only been four survivors including the two of them.
In fact, she hadn't even reacted when Cooper and Ryker were eating meat.

Could it be that Celestia didn't care?

Obviously not! How could the princess think this of her?
Celestia had always cared for her subjects and cared about every living creature.

But the facts remained and made her worry.

“What do you think of all this?”
The best way to clear up doubts was to ask.

“I think it's a tragic story but also the beginning of something great. The sacrifice of all those poor souls was a horrible but perhaps inevitable thing.
We also managed to meet new friends.”

Was it really inevitable?

“And how did Tempest and his group seem to you?”

Celestia smiled genuinely and replied.

“I don't think we could have been saved by better people.”

Were they really good people?
They had no qualms about killing all the goblins and eating meat.

Could they get along with a civilization so different from theirs?

What moral principles did they have?

Twilight looked at Celestia but she didn't seem to have these types of doubts, in fact she had found someone who looked like her and was happy about it.

“Princess Celestia, do you like Tempest?”
The fateful question had been asked.

Suddenly Celestia stopped, her cheeks were flushed and her tail was twitching.

"In what sense? What makes you say that?!” her voice was slightly higher than usual.

“I noticed that you get along very well and so I thought something might be brewing between you two.”

“Like what?!” now Celestia was getting agitated, what the hell did Twilight think she saw?!

It took Twilight a few seconds to realize that her words were misunderstood.

“I don't mean in a love sense! I was referring to a very close friendship or something.” Now Twilight was extremely embarrassed too.

“Ah I see, well I guess so. Although Tempest may seem very gruff, she seems trustworthy to me." Celestia explained as her blush dissipated.

“Why are you asking me these questions?”

Now it was Celestia's turn to counterattack, obviously maintaining a calm and friendly tone.

Twilight was unsure whether to express her concerns from the night before.

Did she have the right to do that?

Maybe she should have just come to terms with it and be satisfied, remaining a student and teacher as she had always been.

But Celestia was perceptive and it took her little time to figure out what was tormenting her faithful student.

“Are you afraid that I might have a more important kind of relationship with Tempest than with you?”

Twilight nodded dejectedly with her ears down.

“My faithful student, I have taught and followed you since you were little and this has obviously created a certain relationship between you and me.”

“You and I are both teacher and student and yet I know you as if you were part of the family.”
Twilight listened intently as Princess Celestia explained.

“However, what makes you think so much is the fact that we don't call each other friends. Is it correct?"

Twilight nodded fiercely, as always Celestia knew what she thought.

“Tell me Twilight, have you ever just called me Celestia or even Tia?”

“I would never allow myself!” Twilight denied, not even in her wildest dreams she would call Princess Celestia that way.

“Have I ever called you Twi?” Twilight shook her head again, it would be really strange if her mentor called her what her brother does.

“As you have just seen, there is always something small and imperceptible that determines the type of relationship between people, it is precisely for this reason that family, friends, work colleagues exist, and consequently the relationship between teacher and student. ”

Twilight was having a hard time understanding Celestia's words but you couldn't blame her, what she was explaining was hard to define.

“My faithful student, we must come to terms with the fact that you and I have a relationship that is, to say the least, unique and difficult to define, but I am sure that perhaps in the future we will be able to treat each other as long-time friends, however this does not preclude the importance of all other types of relationships. ”

With that said, they both remained contemplating Celestia's words.

Even though Celestia had explained her point Twilight couldn't help but be dissatisfied.

Did she basically mean that they didn't know each other well enough? Or that they knew each other too well that they could no longer consider each other friends?

Twilight was about to ask for further explanation but she was interrupted by Ensign Cooper's voice.

"WE HAVE ARRIVED! THE OUTPOST IS AHEAD OF US!” He shouted with joy as he flew in circles above the group.

“I'm afraid we will have to continue the discussion at another time.” Celestia said, putting an end to Twilight's questions.

Twilight was undecided whether to rejoice or despair on the ground.

The timing couldn't have been worse.

Twilight forced herself to leave it alone for the moment and then approached the rest of the group who were currently at the crest of a hill.

Celestia had been a little surprised by Twilight's doubts. She had struggled to find an explanation that would work without upsetting her too much.

She was almost certain that if she kept asking she wouldn't be able to find the exact words to tell her that the difference between the two of them was something she couldn't ignore.

Although Twilight was a brilliant mare and capable of overcoming many difficulties, at the same time she was not capable of having a broader vision of things and making decisions that deviated from her moral principles.

Instead, if there had been an unsolvable problem, Celestia would have been willing to use quite questionable methods while Twilight would have insisted on finding a peaceful solution, even at the cost of risking everything in vain.

It would have been acceptable within the confines of Equestria but not in the outside world where one wrong choice could mean the difference between life and death.

Additionally, Celestia's hidden nature was diametrically opposed to Twilight's, she loved adventure and risk, she liked to try new things and sometimes things that would be totally frowned upon in Equestria such as sexual activity or fighting.

Twilight on the other hand was more like her sister, she was calm and preferred to follow a more linear path. She appreciated everyday life and the simplicity of things.

Celestia had tried to reveal her true self but she realized there was no way. Whenever she tried to casually or jokingly mention things she liked, Twilight would react by repudiating what she considered "immoral".

To put it simply, Twilight was like a chaste and pure nun while Celestia was one who liked to sin.

Therefore Celestia always wore the mask of the kind and infallible ruler.

Furthermore, as much as she loved Twilight, she had sworn that she would no longer become too fond of her students, fearful of what had happened with the previous one.
One day they will have to go their separate ways for one reason or another, creating a too close bond would be painful for everyone.

Fortunately the discussion was interrupted as they had finally arrived at their destination.

When she returned to Tempest's side she was amazed to see an immense camp before her.

“Isn't that wonderful?”

Celestia looked at Tempest, she had a proud look as if she wanted to show off the power and efficiency of the empire.
In fact it really was like that.

From their elevated position they could see everything in detail.

The camp extended for at least two square kilometres, the perimeter was formed by a ditch and wooden palisades at least three meters high and with guard towers every 10 metres.

Inside the camp there was an entire area full of tents where the soldiers were housed. In the center there was a large, tall building that served as a command center and nearby there were other smaller buildings that had other functions.
What stood out most was that about ten airships anchored to the ground were floating above the camp.

“Let's get moving, we've spent enough time wandering around the desert, it's time to get back to civilization.”

With that, Tempest moved forward and the group followed her.

The entrance was guarded by four soldiers, two minotaurs were standing in front of the door while two griffins watched from above on the towers with crossbows in their paws.

As they approached Tempest saw that they had gotten into position ready to fight, apparently they had seen them in the distance and as per protocol they were considered a possible threat.

“Don't make sudden movements.” Tempest warned.

When they came within earshot they stopped so they could be clearly seen.

“IDENTIFIERS!” the minotaur on the right ordered in a booming voice.

Twilight was intimidated by them, it was the first time she had seen such a creature and she admitted that they were really scary.
They were imposing and threatening, their horns increased their size and the halberds were not reassuring.

Tempest smiled deviously, it was time to reveal her identity.

“YOU DO NOT RECOGNIZE YOUR EMPRESS?”

He said aloud as he showed off his personal seal engraved on her armor.

Everyone was surprised at her revelation.

Twilight had wide eyes while Celestia smirked as if she already knew.
The guards remained silent, trying to figure out if it was a joke.

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! OPEN THE DOOR!”

Tempest's order was enough to disenchant them and they immediately obeyed.
“Forgive us your majesty! We'll let you in immediately."

The minotaur from before took an oliphant from his hip and blew into it, emitting a very strong and deep melody.

The doors began to slowly open with the sound of gears and wood sliding.

Inside the camp, hundreds of troops could be seen rushing to get into position to welcome an important guest.

As the group advanced, the soldiers in line saluted, some knew well who their empress was while others didn't even know what was happening but that didn't mean they showed any less respect.

Tempest was proud that the troops were ready, she knew she could count on them.

However, the soldiers were carefully observing the guests she had brought with her.
What stood out the most was obviously the very tall pony even taller than their empress, there was also another purple pony but of normal size.

But what was really abnormal was the presence of both wings and horn.

Twilight felt uncomfortable as she walked between the rows of soldiers, they were menacing and were looking her up and down.

“Twilight, remember that you now represent Equestria.” Celestia whispered to her.

Her mentor had a bearing worthy of the role she held, she showed no fear or discomfort.

Twilight gulped and tried to adjust her posture by awkwardly imitating Princess Celestia.

Arriving at the end of the rows of soldiers there was another minotaur, his armor was more decorated and on his shoulders he had three golden dots indicating his rank.

“Welcome. I am Commander Ivar. General Minox instructed us two days ago to begin searches in the desert. We are happy that you have returned safely.” The commander introduced himself standing at attention.

“Commander Ivar, immediately recall all soldiers involved in the search and send a letter to the palace to warn of my return to the capital. In the meantime we have to talk about very worrying issues."

"Yes your majesty!"

Before the group could head to the command center Tempest turned to Cooper and Ryker.

“Captain Ryker, Ensign Cooper, I want to compliment you on your courage and ability to face a difficult situation, you deserve a promotion.”
Ensign Cooper was excited by the news, getting promoted so young was truly unheard of.

“Eat your fill and rest, tomorrow you will resume your duties.”

"Yes, sir!" they said before disappearing into the crowd of soldiers.

The commander stepped aside to let his empress pass along with the foreigners.

They entered the command center and after passing through various rooms and corridors they came to a large room with a long table, it was the ready room.

“Commander, have six portions of food brought, no meat for our guests.”

The commander obeyed immediately and left the room to tell the cooks to prepare something.

Only the three alicorns and the two equestrian guards remained in the ready room

Tempest went to sit at the head of the table while the others sat on her left with Celestia and Twilight closer.

The three remained silent, the equestrians had yet to understand exactly what was happening, everything was so sudden.

“Empress then.” Celestia broke the silence by shooting a playful look at Tempest.

“Apparently yes, I wanted to surprise you but I'm afraid someone already knew” she replied smiling.

“You already knew that?!” Twilight interrupted in shock.
The two stallions were also puzzled.

Had they been talking to the empress herself all this time?
What if she said something offensive?

The little alicorn thought back to the previous evening when she had accused them of being abominable because they ate meat.

She wanted to punch herself, perhaps because of her she had nullified any possibility of having a peaceful relationship with the new empire!

“I wasn't totally sure but I had some suspicions, plus my informants had vaguely told me that a mare with a broken horn was in charge.”

SO SHE KNEW IT!

Twilight felt a little betrayed that she hadn't been informed of this.

“So what happens now?” Celestia asked the empress sitting at the head of the table.

“Not long, I will return to the capital to deal with the goblin issue while you can decide whether to continue your mission and follow me to New Metropolis, or take one of my airships and return to Equestria.” Tempest proposed.

Twilight and Celestia had no intention of abandoning the mission, not after all the sacrifices they made.

“We would like to follow you, if that's okay with you.”

“For me you are welcome and I am sure that the whole empire would be happy to have friends like you.”

Hearing this Twilight was relieved, apparently she hadn't started a war.

“How are you going to handle the goblins and orcs?”

“I fear there will be a war.”

Twilight wanted to cry and laugh at the same time so she made a kind of psychopathic face.

Tempest and Celestia looked at her strangely seeing the purple alicorn's strange reaction.

“Everything okay Twilight?” Celestia asked.

“NO THAT'S NOT GOOD! TEMPEST WANTS TO MAKE WAR!” Twilight shouted in exasperation.

How could you want war?!

It is totally immoral even more than eating meat, it means taking the life of another person voluntarily.
It went against everything they stood for and what she cared about.

“I assure you that if it were up to me there would be no war but I cannot ignore the danger.”

“Then find an alternative!”

“I already told you we tried, they're not interested.”

Tempest didn't want to have the same conversation with Twilight at all, she was convinced that she was now disillusioned.

“Before we could just guard the borders but now they have found a way to develop weapons capable of shooting down airships, which means they are a danger not only to the empire but to everyone who flies over their territory. Just like it was for you.”

Twilight couldn't accept a war breaking out, not while she was breathing.
She had to find a way to dissuade her.

“You said that they have developed weapons, then it means that they are capable of thinking and evolving. Maybe in the future they will learn to live differently, in a peaceful way.”

Yes, that was a valid argument!

“Or they could develop even more dangerous weapons and decide to invade other territories. And even if that's not the case, how long will we have to wait before they become peaceful?! How many more will have to die at their hands?!”

Tempest was getting annoyed thinking about how many were killed or kidnapped by the goblins and orcs.
She could not allow them to continue to act unpunished.

“WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO KILL THEM ALL!?” Twilight accused, slamming her hooves on the table.

The air became more tense, Celestia remained calm but she knew that the situation could get worse, while the equestrian guards weren't really sure what to do.

“Who did you take me for?! A monster!? We will simply push them back to the point of rendering them harmless but I have no illusions that we will succeed without killing large numbers of them.”

"THOUSANDS OF THEM WILL DIE ANYWAY! YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN THEM!"

Tempest could no longer resist hearing the purple alicorn's accusations.

"HOW DARE YOU?!"

They had managed to fight together to defeat Storm King, they had shed blood and sweat and finally founded a prosperous and proud empire.

How could she, who knew nothing of all this, compare them to a people of savage murderers and rapists, without morals and honor.

“YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK!, YOU WHO HAVE LIVED ALL YOUR LIFE IN A WORLD MADE OF RAINBOWS AND BUTTERFLIES, YOU WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN A FRIEND DIE PITTERED BY A BLADE, YOU WHO ARE CONVINCED THAT YOU CAN SORRY EVERYTHING WITH YOUR BEAUTIFUL WORDS!"

Hearing this, Twilight lost control. The room began to shake, her eyes glowing with light as her horn and wings emitted sparks.

Tempest stood up and assumed a fighting stance ready to counter a possible attack.

"THATS ENOUGH!"

Celestia let out a commanding voice, immediately interrupting the altercation.
Twilight got scared and backed away with her ears lowered while Tempest was surprised but fascinated to say the least.

“Enough Twilight! You've made your point but we can't stop Tempest and the Empire from making their choices."

“How can you defend them!? They are murderers!” Twilight protested.

“I'm not happy about it either but as much as I hate to say it we have no right to interfere in the matter.” Celestia's tone was final.

Celestia rarely used that voice but Twilight understood that it wasn't convenient for her to continue the fight.

“Please forgive my student, I'm sure she's just a little stressed out because she's so tired.” Celestia attempted to apologize as she had done the night before.

Twilight wanted to disagree but Celestia glared at her.

“It's no problem, I lost my temper too so I apologize to you.”
Tempest did what etiquette requires even if she sincerely knew she was right.

She was grateful that Celestia understood their point of view and she chose not to meddle in the matter.

The doors opened wide and Commander Ivar entered with two carts of food in tow.

The three sat down again although some tension remained between Twilight and Tempest.

The cooks placed the plates in front of them, there wasn't much just a couple of potatoes and some carrots for the equestrians while in the other two plates there was also a slice of meat.

Ivar was about to leave but was stopped by Tempest.

“Commander Ivar, please join us.” Tempest said pointing to her chair to her left.

Ivar did not expect to be invited to share the table with the empress but he could not refuse. Furthermore, he now understood why she had asked for six portions of food even though there were five of them.

Ivar went to sit at the indicated seat, luckily the chairs were designed for every creature in the empire including minotaurs.

When everyone was seated at the table Tempest began to eat and the others did the same.
The food was a little bland but they couldn't be picky, an army outpost was certainly not a luxury hotel.

“Commander Ivar, I have not yet introduced you to our guests.”
Tempest chose it was time to get down to business.

“In front of you is Princess Celestia, current diarch of the kingdom of Equestria while to the left is Princess Twilight Sparkle, her student.” she said pointing first to one and then to the other. “While the two of them are Equestrian guards tasked with protecting them.”

Twilight was a little annoyed that she only introduced her as “Celestia's student”.
On the other hand, Tempest refused to say that there was a Princess of Friendship otherwise she would become the laughing stock of the empire.

“It is an honor to meet you, I am Ivar son of Ivar, Commander of the external army of the Union of Free Peoples.” The great minotaur introduced himself formally although it was strange given that he was sitting and eating with them.

“Pleasure is all ours.” Celestia replied politely.

Ivar blushed as the beautiful white mare turned to him.

“Now that we've introduced ourselves, it's time to get to the point.”
Tempest suddenly said, he noticed that she was looking at him menacingly.
Immediately the minotaur stiffened and went back to eating.

Had he made her angry?!

“Commander Ivar what do you know about the situation regarding the goblins and orcs?”

“They are currently considered dangerous, which is why we have several outposts along the southeast border. Also three days ago you were supposed to attend another diplomatic meeting with the goblin king.” the commander quickly summarized, one thing known about the empress was that she hated long-winded speeches.

“That's right, three days ago I was supposed to attend the meeting but along the way I ran into our guests, their airship was shot down by goblins and when we got closer they destroyed my airships too.”

While Tempest spoke the others ate, Ivar noticed out of the corner of his eye that every time he ate a piece of meat Twilight Sparkle looked at him with disappointment.

“Apparently they have created weapons that are rudimentary but powerful enough to take down unarmored airships. The important issue is that they deliberately opened fire on a diplomatic vessel and that is a clear and deliberate statement of hostility.”

"It's truly unacceptable! We have been lenient with them and have tried to negotiate several times!"

“You are absolutely right commander, that's why as soon as we finish eating I will take an airship and head to the capital to discuss the matter with the council and decide what to do.”

“I see, what do you want me to do?”

“I couldn't wait for you to ask.”

Tempest put down her fork and knife and then looked intently at the Commander.

“I fear that we will have to prepare for a war against goblins and orcs, so I temporarily promote you to grand commander of the entire army in the south-eastern border of the empire.
Your job is to inform all other commanders and make sure they are ready for when General Minox takes over command.”

Commander Ivar was shocked, he had not expected to get even a temporary promotion, the responsibility he had been given was of primary importance.

“As you wish my Empress!”

“Great, I trust you.”

Having said this, the minotaur got up and ran away to immediately carry out the orders given to him.
He was in such a hurry that he forgot to finish eating.
Tempest rolled her eyes and placed the leftover food on her plate.

“So that's it? Are you really going to start war?” This time Twilight didn't mean to be aggressive, she was just sad and disconsolate.

“it's probable, I remind you that I'm not the only one who decides, if the council chooses not to want to go to war I won't be able to oppose it. The goblins have not officially declared war on us so the decision is up to them.” Tempest said as he chewed on a piece of meat.

Hearing this Twilight had a sliver of hope, maybe she could convince the council to give up.

“However, if they were to declare war on us I will have to acquire emergency powers and I will not think twice about mobilizing the entire army.”

Twilight's mood dropped again.

The five finished eating quickly and after that Tempest put her plate aside and got up from her chair.

“It's time to leave.”

"Now?!" Twilight asked.

“We cannot wait any longer, it is essential that I return to the palace to meet with the council.”

Tempest didn't even bother to stop and continued walking briskly to reach the port where the airships were docked.

As they walked they could see the soldiers going about their chores and when they saw them they stopped to greet their empress.

“Tempest, can you stop for a moment?”
Celestia asked.

“Sure, what's going on?”

“I wish I could inform my sister of the situation. I wanted to ask you if you could have my guards taken to Canterlot.”

Tempest wanted to object, there weren't many airships available and as many as possible were needed in case of emergency.

She wanted to refuse but how could she say no to Celestia?!

Damn mare she could make her do what she wanted.

Tempest decided to send reason to hell and please the princess, what difference would it have made for her not to have a heavily armed airship capable of changing the fate of a battle?

This was no time to be stingy.

“Of course, I will send an airship to escort your soldiers to Canterlot.”

Tempest nodded to a soldier standing nearby.
She knew he would understand since he had been within earshot, she had mandated that the soldiers be ever vigilant and attentive at all times.

Celestia turned to her soldiers.
“You must inform my sister of what has happened, tell her that Twilight and I are headed to the imperial capital and that we don't know when we will return.”

"Yes your highness! Are you sure that you don't need our presence to protect you?" The gray stallion said after bowing.

Celestia looked out of the corner of her eye at Tempest and smiled reassuringly.
“It's no problem, I'm sure I'll be well protected.”

With that the two stallions followed the imperial soldier to reach a small airship docked in another port.

The three alicorns continued walking until they reached the main port.

The piers were raised and to get there you had to climb a short staircase. In this way it was easier to get on and off the vessels.

Tempest headed towards a corvette, it wasn't very big but it provided a lot of speed.

As they boarded they were stopped by the captain of the vessel. she was a pegasus mare who was missing her right hind leg but this did not affect her leadership abilities.

“Welcome aboard my empress, how can I help you?”

“I need to get back to New Metropolis quickly.”

“I see, we just need to refuel and unload some goods, then we can speed off to the imperial palace.”

The captain signaled a sailor to come closer.

“Show the quarters to our empress and her esteemed guests.”

The sailor nodded and then turned to the three alicorns while standing at attention.

“Please follow me.” he turned and headed below deck while the others followed him.

It didn't take long to reach the quarters as the airship was small.

They reached the end of the corridor where there were two doors, one on the right and one at the end.

“This is the guest cabin.” he said, pointing to the door on the right. “And that is the captain's cabin where the empress can reside.”

“We'll leave in a few minutes and dinner will be ready at 8pm.”

“Thank you very much sailor, you are free to go.” Tempest said.

The sailor bowed and then left to return to his business.

Tempest turned to the other two.

“Since there are two of you, you can take the captain's cabin, I'll stay in the smaller one.”

Tempest didn't want to force the tall alicorn to have to be uncomfortable in a tiny cabin.

“Thank you very much, we are grateful.” Celestia said, giving her a warm smile of gratitude.

Tempest felt her now familiar warmth coming from her chest again.
Before she could do anything strange she turned to go to her quarters.

“Since there is nothing to do you can stay and rest in the cabin, I will be in my room, I have some letters to write.”

And she walked away leaving only Twilight and Celestia in the hallway.

“What do we do now?” Twilight asked.

“Not much, let's go see what our accommodation is like.”

Twilight was about to go to open the door but she was stopped by Celestia who placed a hoof on her back.

"What's up?"

“Don't think I forgot what you did earlier, we'll have to talk about your inappropriate conduct.”

Celestia's face was stern and her words were the anticipation of a harsh lecture.

Twilight couldn't help but bow her head and swallow.

She was really in trouble.

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
As always, I remind you that there may have been syntax or grammatical errors so I ask you to report them in the comments and if possible to interpret the events.

Thank you.