Celestia and Twilight had been waiting outside the council chamber for a couple hours.
The purple alicorn walked in circles like she did whenever she was nervous while her mentor sat on a bench.

The two guards stationed in front of the door were observing them carefully, they had never seen alicorns, especially not one two meters tall.

Princess Celestia was used to being looked at with awe and had learned to ignore their gazes, on the other hand Twilight was too busy making a furrow on the floor to notice.

“My faithful student, you should try to calm down.”

Twilight stopped and looked at Celestia.

"I CAN NOT MAKE IT!" she exclaimed with wide eyes and then pointed to the council chamber.
“Right now in that room they are deciding whether to go to war or not! How can I feel comfortable knowing this?!”

“I understand you Twilight, I would also prefer there to be peace but as I already told you it is not our place to interfere.” The best you can do now is take a deep breath and come sit down.” Celestia said in a calm voice.

Twilight sighed in resignation and then came to sit next to her mentor.

They remained silent for a while until her ears suddenly pricked up.

“What were you and Tempest doing this morning?!” she asked suspiciously.

Celestia smirked.
“What do you think two people doing on the same bed entwined?”

Twilight's eyes widened in disbelief. It was inconceivable to her to imagine her mentor, the one she had always admired and who had raised her, being involved in sexual activity.

Twilight's thoughts were interrupted by Celestia's laughter, causing her student to look puzzled.

“I'm kidding you Twilight, nothing happened, we were just sleeping and since the bed was small we had to stay hugged, nothing more”

Finally Celestia decided to give an explanation to her faithful student but the purple alicorn kept a dazed face as if she were dealing with a stranger.

"What's up?" Celestia asked.
Twilight took a while to respond.

"Nothing, I've just never seen you act like that."

Celestia had always been kind and sometimes she would crack a laugh or joke but never before had she dabbled in pranks like... Twilight didn't even know what words to use.
The best definition she could have given was “not so innocent.”

That's right, Celestia almost never made sexual allusions and when she did it was always in a didactic context like when she taught anatomy.

What had changed?

“Didn't you want us to be friends more? It seems to me that having conversations like that is something friends do.”

The white alicorn took care of clarifying Twilight's doubts and it certainly wasn't what she expected.

Did she really want them to be more friends?!

Twilight thought that the discussion they had had served to mark the boundary between them but instead now the princess was trying to humor her.

In fact, Rainbow Dash and Applejack also often made sexual innuendos, so was this part of being friends too?!

However, for Twilight to hear her mentor give this kind of talk was too much for her sanity.

She really didn't expect that Princess Celestia would use this approach method. She made her feel too uncomfortable like it was something she shouldn't feel.

Maybe what Celestia had said was true, the relationship between them was both too distant and too close to be friends.

Now, in addition to being uncomfortable, she felt defeated like when someone used the "I told you so!" move.

But what could she have said? She had been the one to complain that they weren't real friends but now that Celestia was trying she couldn't see her mentor as a friend.

Luckily at that moment the great doors of the council chamber flew open and Tempest came out.

“We're done, you can come in.”

“So what will it be?”
It was Celestia who asked the critical question.

"Peace." was the only thing Tempest said.

Twilight remained silent for a few seconds as if she had to process the answer and then exploded into a fit of joy accompanied by Pinkie Pie-style squeals and jumping.

On the other hand, Celestia was in disbelief, she was certain that there would be a declaration of war and it seemed to her that Tempest was determined to do so.

"What happened?

“We initially intended to mobilize the entire army but in the end some members of the council managed to convince us that it wasn't worth it. Finally, we have chosen to permanently promote Commander Ivar so that he can guard the border more carefully
If the situation worsens then we will re-evaluate the option of war but for the moment it should be fine."

Tempest didn't say there was another reason. The Empress absolutely wanted to form an alliance with Equestria and an ongoing war would have been counterproductive.

“Now that we have discussed the problem with the goblins and orcs I would like to be able to introduce you to the imperial council and begin to discuss the future relationship between our nations.”

Celestia nodded and the three alicorns entered the council room.

Tempest went to sit in her usual place while the princesses remained in the center.

As usual the two alicorns attracted a lot of attention, especially Celestia.

When everyone was clear Tempest stood up and cleared her throat.

“Trusted councilors, I have the honor to introduce Princess Celestia, diarch of Equestria and goddess of the sun, and Princess Twilight Sparkle, bearer of the element of magic and pupil of Princess Celestia.”

The councilors began to whisper among themselves and Galileo was the first to introduce himself.
“Nice to meet you, I am Galileo, imperial councilor in charge of the research and development department.”

Seeing this, the other council members stood up one by one to introduce themselves.
When everyone was done it was Celesia's turn to speak.

“Princess Twilight and I are more than pleased to make your acquaintance.” she said reverently but maintaining a posture worthy of representing Equestria.

Tempest saw that the counselors had warmly welcomed Celestia and Twilight. She had no doubt it would happen but now that the introductions had been made it was time to get down to business.

“Our esteemed guests have come from Equestria after learning of our existence, their goal is to establish a friendly relationship between the Union of Free Peoples and their kingdom. I can guarantee that they are in good faith and trustworthy.” Tempest assured.

Foxtrot raised his hand to speak.
“Really very interesting, as much as it would be nice to have new allies, what benefits would we have from this agreement?” he asked the others.

“Equestria is a very large and diverse kingdom, we possess many natural resources and produce enormous quantities of food.”

Celestia wasn't too good at things related to managing finances and resources, usually her sister took care of that.
But she knew some basic things.

“Our empire is not lacking in raw materials such as minerals and raw materials, do you have anything else of value to offer?”

Celestia had to think for a moment, it was difficult to offer something to someone who already had everything.

Twilight took a step forward and intervened.
“We have enormous deposits of gold and precious gems.”

“Gold and precious gems you say?” Foxtrot repeated, running a hand over his chin.

Gold was considered the treasure of a kingdom since it was not affected by inflation, owning a lot of it was a display of power and prestige even though gold actually had very little practical use.

On the other hand, gems were much more desirable for a rapidly growing empire.
Gems could be used in a variety of ways, as magical energy batteries, as catalysts for spells or magical and chemical reactions, and in some cases as weapons.

Foxtrot nodded his head, signaling to the councilors and the empress that he agreed to make an alliance.

Seeing this, Celestia complimented Twilight for having already managed to convince one of the councilors.

“How are you doing from a military point of view?” Reddace asked.

Celestia was not happy about this as she knew this was a sore point for Equestria. But this time the white alicorn was well informed on this topic.

“We have an army that includes approximately one hundred thousand active soldiers between the air force and ground forces. Our fleet is made up of eighty airships of which thirty corvettes, forty frigates and the remainder are cargo and passenger transport airships.”

Reddace was quite impressed, he didn't expect a small kingdom like Equestria to even have a fleet, owning many airships guaranteed a nation a lot of flexibility in various situations.
The griffin looked at Minox out of the corner of his eye but the minotaur had, as usual, an impassive face and his arms crossed. This was good.

As Foxtrot had done, Reddace nodded his approval.

Meanwhile, Twilight was dismayed to hear Celestia talk so easily about their military assets. The purple alicorn had only ever known the royal guards led by her brother, for the rest she had no idea that there were so many soldiers and a fleet.

Now that they had talked about the most important things for a relationship between two nations, it was time to mention the elements of harmony.

Tempest took command of the discussion again.

“Trust councilors, up until now we have faced Storm King's army, but other threats of a different nature have also existed.”

The councilors listened carefully to what the empress had to say.

“Such enemies would be invincible if faced with conventional methods, however Equestria has already managed to defeat such threats thanks to a resource that only they have and can use.”

Twilight had immediately understood what it was about, she hadn't foreseen that it would talk about the elements of harmony. She didn't like it.

“As previously stated, Princess Twilight Sparkle is the bearer of the element of magic, just one of five others that when put together form a formidable tool capable of defeating threats far more worrisome than a dictator with an army.”

Now the room was tense, some didn't know what the empress was getting at. Did she want to highlight the power of Equestria?

“However, the other five element bearers are normal ponies and that means they are not invincible, so it is my opinion that we, as citizens of the world, have a duty to help and defend Equestria as it could change the fate of us all. ”

Having said this, the councilors looked at each other in disbelief and whispered among themselves and some were clearly very skeptical.

“Do you remember the night two years ago when the moon didn't set? Well an evil entity called Nightmare Moon attempted to bring eternal night to the world. Fortunately, Princess Twilight and her friends managed, thanks to the elements of harmony, to defeat her and save the world as we know it."

“How can we be sure they won't try to use this weapon against us?”

This time it was Minox who spoke, obviously he would ask such a question or he wouldn't be a good general.

“The elements of harmony are not a weapon but rather an instrument of peace designed to neutralize entities that embody hatred and discord, they are harmless against normal people and against those who do not have malicious intent. Furthermore, if it were our goal to attack you with the elements, we would not ask to form an alliance with you and we would not have informed you of their existence." Celestia explained looking into Minox's eyes, her sincerity was evident.

The great Minotaur grunted and then returned to his usual pose, apparently the Princess had responded appropriately.

The councilors all seemed satisfied and Tempest seized the opportunity.

“I think it's time to vote on whether or not to open diplomatic relations with Equestria, who is in favor?”

All the counselors raised their paws or arms.

“Excellent, the council and the empress are in favor of forming an alliance with the kingdom of Equestria.”

With that everyone stood up and said in unison.

“LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!”

And with that everything was made definitively official.

Before they could go Tempest said one last thing.

“Trust councilors, I am truly very proud to have found friends outside our borders, I long for a prosperous and peaceful collaboration between the empire and Equestria.”

The councilors nodded in agreement.

“There is still a lot to do and decide, there is no need to rush so you can go back to carrying out your tasks, if necessary I will call you back.”

One by one the councilors stood up and left the room until only the three alicorns remained.

“It was very fast.” Celestia was the first to start the speech.

“We really don't like to spend too much time arguing.” Tempest said.

Celestia was envious of this, she often spent entire days listening to nobles bicker.

“When I saw the minotaur's face I was afraid he would say no.” Twilight commented.

“You don't have to worry, Minox always has a threatening appearance but if you have the opportunity to get to know him better you will discover that he can also be friendly.” Tempest reassured.

“I see, so what happens now?”

“Now we are only at the beginning, good words are not enough to form an alliance.”

Twilight knew it wouldn't be easy but she hoped for a more immediate result. Apparently making another nation a friend was more difficult than making a friend a person.
But she couldn't complain too much, in the end after many vicissitudes and sacrifices they had succeeded in their goal.

Twilight remembered what they had talked about previously, she hadn't appreciated that they talked about the elements of harmony and her friends as if they were a common weapon.

“How do you know about the elements of harmony? And why did you talk to the council about it?”
Twilight's tone of voice was inquisitive and suspicious.

“I was the one who told her about it, I think it's important that our new allies know about it.” Celestia explained.

“The princess is right, I do not doubt that the control and use of the elements of harmony is only at the discretion of the bearers of the elements but you must remember that what you do with them can have consequences throughout the world, including the empire." Tempest added.

Twilight wasn't entirely reassured, she still felt as if she was being treated like an object, as if their individuality was being put on the back burner.
What does this mean for her and her friends? Was their lifestyle about to change?

Tempest looked at the clock on the wall, it was almost midnight.”

“I think we're done for today, tomorrow morning you can leave to return to Equestria.
I will have rooms given to you so that you can rest.”

For some reason her own words brought her melancholy.

“Thank you, in these days you have truly been a kind soul, you saved us and welcomed us. We will always be grateful to you." Thanked Celestia.

It really sounded like goodbye and Tempest really didn't like it.

Maybe Tempest should have just let them go.

Tempest told one of the guards standing outside the hall to find two rooms for their guests and when he nodded she bid them all good night and went to her room.

However, she did not see Celestia's thoughtful and melancholy look.

Tempest did nothing but toss and turn in bed.
Usually she had no problems falling asleep because she had gotten into the habit of using every moment of sleep to get as much energy as possible when needed.

However that night she was too restless, her bed seemed rough and her pillow too hot.

She was now looking at the ceiling in a catatonic state as if she was sleeping but at the same time she was alert.

The clock on the bedside table read six in the morning and she hadn't slept a wink all night.

There were only a few hours left until Celestia and Twilight would return to Equestria.

The warmth in her chest that she usually felt when she thought of Celestia was not there but had been replaced by an uncomfortable emptiness.
The few words of farewell that they had said to each other the evening before had left a bad taste in her mouth as if there was still something to say.

Tempest looked at the clock again, not even two minutes had passed and yet she felt like she had been lying on that bed for an eternity.

The scarred alicorn wished she could have someone to talk to, she wished Flynn was still there, he always knew what to say.

Since the Seashark crew had disappeared, her heart had hardened, she had become numb and lived her days one at a time.

But Celestia's meeting had unlocked something right away, she had cried and confessed to a mare she had only known for a short time.

She couldn't let them part so quietly, she still had something to tell her.

Tempest got out of bed, put on her suit and then her armor.

When she was ready she left her room and walked briskly towards the guest wing of the palace.

She saw that there were guards stationed in front of two doors and spoke to the closest one.

“Where is Princess Celestia?”

The soldier simply nodded his head to indicate the door he was guarding.

By now they knew that their empress did not care if her subordinates behaved too reverently, for her the only important thing was that they were excellent guards capable of acting autonomously and when there was a need to follow orders without doing too many questions.

Tempest approached the door, raised her paw to knock but stopped a moment before.
She was about to have second thoughts but the more stubborn side of her forced her to continue.

She knocked on the door firmly and waited.

In a few seconds the door swung open, Princess Celestia was beautiful and majestic as usual although she looked a little tired.

“Am I disturbing?” Tempest asked uncertainly.

“No, I couldn't sleep anyway.”

She too?

“Do you want to go for a ride?” Tempest said without thinking too much.

“Is it a date?” Celestia said again in that sneaky, playful tone of hers.

However this time she Tempest wouldn't fall for it, in fact she responded immediately.

"Yes."

Celestia's eyes widened, she didn't expect the scarred alicorn to act so quickly.

Her white cheeks reddened slightly for a few fractions of a second.

“Okay then, lead the way.” Celestia replied in a higher pitched voice than usual.

Tempest smiled but refrained from cheering at the princess, instead turning and stepping slightly to the side so Celestia could walk beside her.

As they passed through the various corridors the two mares remained almost silent.

Tempest was actually very excited while Celestia still had to process the situation properly.

The Empress had just invited her on a date, it's not that she didn't want to but she felt like she wasn't ready yet.
In the previous days she had joked with the scarred alicorn, had teased her and they had even slept together, however now Tempest seemed to be determined to go through with it and Celestia's adolescent mare in heat mentality did not make her think clearly.

Celestia felt as if her head was light, her heart was pounding, and her tail wagged too indiscreetly for a princess.
Maybe she shouldn't have been so provocative.

Celestia looked at Tempest again, she also seemed to be thoughtful but held a proud posture as usual. She felt like she was a girl going on her date with her crush, in fact it really was like that.

The white alicorn was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even realize they had stopped, but she did when Tempest handed her a hoof.

They were in front of a ramp to board an airship so small that it could only be piloted by one person, but it was enough for Tempest and Celestia.

"Thank you." Celestia said politely as she accepted the hoof, she actually could have easily climbed up alone but it was etiquette.

When they were both on board Tempest went to the controls located in the stern, started the engine and took off.

As they traveled Celestia could feel the cold night wind hitting her fur and making her long mane flutter.
On the horizon she could still see the waning moon. The sun, her oldest friend, was just about to rise.

The small airship continued to climb until it reached cloud level.
They came alongside a bank of clouds and then Tempest hit the parking brake.

"We have arrived." said the empress.

“Arrived where?” Celestia asked.

Tempest smiled and without saying anything else took a running start and jumped off the airship.
Celestia's eyes widened and she immediately went to see where Tempest had ended up, when she poked her head over the railing she couldn't help but smile and feel a little stupid.

Tempest was walking on the clouds like a pagasus did or rather like an alicorn did.
It was easy to forget her nature given her lack of wings.

Celestia put a paw on the railing and also launched herself, landing on the pile of clouds, she sank slightly but didn't care.
It wasn't often that she had to walk on clouds since she was usually locked away in Canterlot but she admitted that she was very pleasant indeed.

Celestia saw that Tempest was crouching on the edge of the large cloud, seen from this way it really looked like a painting where the subject was observing the horizon alone and thoughtfully.

The princess came closer and then lay down next to Tempest too, close enough that their furs were touching.

They were silent for a while until Tempest pointed to the eastern horizon.

Celestia knew very well what was there, in fact immediately after a dim light appeared which in a few minutes revealed itself to be the morning sun.

The landscape lit up with a golden light, the shadows stood out long on the surface creating a painting of infinite beauty.

“I imagine you have seen the sun rise thousands of times, perhaps for you it will be trivial but for me it is one of the most wonderful things there is.” Tempest began to speak, keeping her gaze fixed towards the dawn.

“Since my journey began I have had to face many battles, each time I was afraid of not making it, of dying. But every time I saw the sun rise my heart filled with hope, it meant that I had managed to survive another day.”

Then Tempest turned her gaze to Celestia. Her eyes were full of feelings.

“Your sun has always been an effigy of hope for me, the reward for all the hard work done and for the blood shed. And now that I have here near me the one who raised the sun every morning I can't help but be overwhelmed by irrepressible feelings."

Celestia listened intently to Tempest's words, just as she had done nights before immersed in the pond.

“Actually, since the first time you spoke to me I have had these strange feelings for you, since I woke up in the same bed with you I can't help but wish it would happen again, I wish I could feel your warmth, listen your voice, enjoy your laughter.”

Tempest was pouring everything she felt into her soul, she didn't care what she would look like, she didn't care about the role of empress. She just wanted to be able to free herself from that heavy and wonderful burden. So she chose to say the fateful phrase.
She took a deep breath and then put on a look of pure determination.

“Princess Celestia, I think I have fallen in love with you.”

Now the die was cast, it just remained to see what would happen.

Tempest stood frozen in silence, Celestia's gaze foreign to her.
The white alicorn said nothing.

Tempest's ears drooped.

Was she not interested?

Celestia's wings slowly unfurled.

She wanted to fly away?!

Tempest was about to be gripped by a feeling of terror like never before.
She had faced insurmountable enemies but now that she had confessed she feared rejection more than a sharp blade aimed at her chest.

She was about to stand up and apologize for being inappropriate but instead a soft wing rested on her back.

"Me too." and without another word Princess Celestia placed a kiss on Tempest's lips.
It was light and uncertain, almost chaste.

Tempest still stood still and rigid with her eyes wide open.

“I also think I've fallen in love, I'm not unaware of what love is but for the first time in centuries I feel I can say I love someone with all of myself.”

These words were enough to unfreeze Tempest.

The scarred alicorn was overflowing with joy, she didn't know whether to cry or laugh so she brought her muzzle close to Celestia's.

The princess did the same and finally they exchanged another kiss, this time more passionate, warmer and more meaningful.

When they separated they looked into each other's eyes, Celestia smiled lovingly while Tempest was still struggling to understand what was happening, she only knew that she wanted to jump on the beautiful alicorn next to her.

And so she did.

The two remained embraced and cradled by the soft cloud beneath them.
They exchanged more kisses and when the paws began to wander over each other's bodies, Celestia chose to go even further.

She gently removed the obsidian plates one by one until Tempest was left wearing only her suit.

She was about to lower the zipper but she was stopped by Tempest who placed a hoof on her shoulder.

The empress glared in my direction.

"Do you mind?!"

Perhaps it was time for the narrator to give the two mares in love some privacy.

"Go away!" Tempest commanded as her broken horn emitted sparks and the princess laughed.

"NOW!"

OK! I'm leaving!.

It was now ten in the morning and Twilight was waiting impatiently near the airship that was supposed to escort her and her mentor to Canterlot.

She was tempted to take off and go look for them but instead a very small airship landed a few dozen meters away and the Empress and Princess Celestia came out.

Twilight felt that something was wrong. The two were walking closer than they should have been and giving each other fleeting glances.

She also noticed that Princess Celestia's fur was slightly shiny as if she had been sweating a bit.

Where the hell had they been?!
What had happened?!

The two stopped out of her hearing range.

“I guess you can't extend your stay here.” Tempest asked hopefully even though she already knew the answer.

“I'm afraid not Tempest, as wonderful and unforgettable as it was, I have duties in Canterlot that I cannot ignore. But we can still keep in touch.”

In fact, Princess Celestia had created a link with Tempest, the princess could have sent messages through magic and the empress would have received and sent messages through dragon flames just like Spike did.

Tempest was very grateful to have a dragon as an ancestor.

“Then I'll settle for this.” concluded Tempest.

The two mares hugged each other tightly but before they could separate Celestia nibbled Tempest's right ear.

The Empress took a step back, Celestia had a provocative grin on her face while Tempest rolled her eyes.

On the other hand, Twilight, who had seen everything, had wide eyes and a sagging jaw.

“I'm sure we'll have more opportunities to have fun in the future.” Tempest said even though she was actually holding herself back so as not to jump on Celestia like she had done a few hours earlier.

"I really hope so." Celestia winked and without saying anything else she continued walking to reach her faithful student who was still shocked by what she had just seen.

Celestia boarded the airship and then levitated the purple alicorn next to her.

The empress signaled to the captain that she could leave and in no time at all the great airship took off.

Tempest watched from the ground as the airship receded and became a speck in the distance.

She still stood there still, the strong feelings of happiness and euphoria slowly faded and loneliness was already added to them.

They hadn't even been separated for ten minutes and she already missed Princess Celestia?!

Obviously.

Their time together had been short, far too short.

Tempest sighed, raised her head and put her usual empress mask back on, it was time to get back to work.

“Twilight?”

They had left for half an hour now and Twilight was still motionless with her mouth and eyes wide open.

“Twilight?” Celestia repeated, prodding her with a hoof

Twilight shook her head and then looked at her mentor.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Shouted the purple alicorn.

“What was what?” Celestia said playing dumb.

"THAT!" Twilight was sure Celestia knew what she was referring to.

“Oh, I have no idea.” Celestia continued, hiding a devious smile.

“WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN YOU?!”

The white alicorn turned and left while her student followed her asking insistently but without receiving any response.

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.