“You’ve gotta be joshing Fleur, no pony can make this happen. I can’t I just can’t.” The chief handed back the piece of paper Fleur had put on his desk. It detailed a specific time, a specific place, plans of action and the needed resources to pull it off.

Fleur moved it back into the face of the chief.

“You’re Equestria daily. The go to place of all Equestria, other ponies can try to compete with you and they no doubt tried and had their degrees of success. Maybe you even hold a few rivalries with these ponies, some of them and their followers might even hate your guts and how you run things.” Fleur began, her eyes holding a steady unwavering gaze that commanded respect and above all unquestionable obedience. The chief had never thought somepony so beautiful could fill him with so much fear.

“This is too much Fleur! Too much!” The chief was about to explode, he just wanted this conversation to be over. For her to turn around, leave and leave him with his desire to forget this entire conversation ever happened.

His reverie broke as his nerves and heart leapt out of him when he heard a hard bang. Fleur had left her hoof mark indented on his hard mahogany table.

“But one thing is certain.” Her tone was commanding, demanding his undivided attention. With a gulp he looked back again at that captivating gaze.

“You have the ear of everypony in the land. When you want something said. There isn’t anyone who’s not going to hear about it.”

“The Equestrian press isn’t your personal army Fleur. They’re not mine either, despite what everypony thinks. They won’t come... and the implication of me doing this for you... I-”

“Enough snivelling! I’m willing to give you the greatest scoop in all of your careers, and all you have to do is do this favour. The ponies won’t listen because you told them. The ponies will come because they heard you, and because like any half decent rag in this land, they’ll be looking for the truth!”

“I... I’ll do it.” Initially he intended to merely say so to make her go away and stop bothering her about. But the chief began to really think about it, just contemplating the way the affirming words tasted in his mouth. It was scary, but in his heart of hearts he was excited by it. Finally some real news!

“Oh and do me another favour. Whether you want to run the presses or not, don’t do it unprovoked. If a whole week goes by and nothing happens, make the decision to change this kingdom or not. But ideally, wait for a full week before you decide. Understand you little stallion-foal?”

And with those words she was gone. It was the last time the chief would ever see, princess Fleur de Lis.

Sethisto’s eyes looked at the black phone on his desk. After a deep breath and a reaffirming nod, he picked up the phone.

**

The city of Canterlot was in a complete stand still. To eyes of ponies that were not so in the know, the capital looked like business as usual. Trade was still rampant, the economy still flourished, ponies still had their day jobs and Equestria wasn’t under attack but any malicious demons or deities to speak of. Because despite the immense insult to the honour of the Canterlot noble houses, the houses themselves, their resources and assets were in strict observation by the press due to the events of the hearts and hooves ball.

It had taken a lot of begging and scraping and bribing the press for the nobility to save face in the public eye. However, in the eyes of the press nobility was under their scrutiny, and the press were still within their rights report it, bribery or no. A printed word or two on the presses and the scandal would unmake all of Equestria.

Now, unlike the nobility, the presses actually liked the status quo. Of course they’re willing to sell souls and ruin lives for sales ratings and maximised net profit like any industry in Equestria. But unlike the uncouth machinations of the nobility’s greed, they were clever enough to consider the consequences of their actions.

After all, a noble could buy out and bull doze a whole family farm here and there, make questionable trade dealings with enemies of the state and even frame and murder rivals, all for their sake of profiting a tidy sum for that new airship the wife always wanted. There was no pony who could touch them, they after all, ruled the land and made its laws. But the press was run by the common ponies. Their dirty blood did not give them the illustrious gift of immunity from Equestrian law, because the loss of a few no named ponies wouldn’t make a mark on Equestria’s government.

This was what the common pony had in their hooves, a chance for an outright cause for uprising, a potential revolution in the making. If they decided to run the biggest story in centuries, they would either become the heroic whistle blowers of the era or traitors and slanderers of the crown and state, Equestrian terrorists charged with high treason and punished without trial with torture and execution.

It had been three days after the hearts and hooves incident. And so far the presses weren’t running the story and the nobles made no moves to give them reason to.

The royal city was frozen in a cold war of intelligence.

And it was all because of Fleur de lis. The nobles hated her and the common pony blamed her for their struggle and dilemma, for making them suffer the weaknesses of their own hearts and filling them the torment of fear and hope.

Fleur de lis was a wanted mare.

**

The La mare du lac glided across the sky like a slowly drifting it cloud. It wasn’t anywhere the fastest thing in the sky but was faster than walking. And given their destination no other airship in the whole of Canterlot would do, for only a ship of Avalon could approach the tiny kingdom without causing an international incident.

The ship had no crew to speak of, nor did it have any actual room for any. It held just barely enough room for adult ponies and their child to comfortably glide across the land, the wind in their mane and the clouds to hide them in.

“It’s been years since I enjoyed the joy of flying.” Fleur said, her mind going back to the grand galleon she had arrived in Canterlot that very first time as the ambassador of Avalon. The La mare du lac, the lady of the lake was one of the finest ships to ever be made. In truth, pretending the tiny life boat of a craft was anything like that marvellous vessel was just her entertaining the dream she had held to returning home in glory on that very ship.

However given the circumstances, it would have taken too long to find a dependable crew and the grand size of the ship made flying out of Canterlot undetected an impossibility. So in the end she had to compromise. Forcing herself to be content with the rather sluggish though very quiet emergency air-raft that were attached to the lady.

Perhaps naming it after its mother was a bad choice; a child was not its mother after all.

“Fancy darling, what do you say this ship should be called?”
“Excuse me my dear?” Fancy looked confused. Why was she so occupied with something so trivial, when there more pressing matters that should be thought about? Fleur looked pointedly disappointed and merely looked onwards, quietly holding the wheel.

“Lala? What do you think?” Lala had been looking at the ground below ever since they’d left the city of Canterlot. Her eyes were focused on the trails and paths and roads, seeing something in them only she could perceive. In the horizons, towns and villages sleepily passed by.

“Lala darling?” Fancy had shaken her out of her melancholic reverie.

“Whenever I look down, I sometimes remember. We walked a long long way, passing into little towns and villages, begging for food and money when no pony could afford to.” Fancy simply didn’t know what to say. It had been the first time since she’d started talking about her mother.

When they rest on some solid earth, Fancy pointed promised himself a talk with her daughter about her mother. For all those years they’d been apart, La Mere wasn’t far from his mind. Perhaps when that talk was over, he could finally let go and look towards a real future.

“I have a name.” Fleur had noticed the somber silence and the discomfort was grinding on her stiff legs. Or maybe that was the muscle strain, it didn’t matter. “How about we name this ship, excali-“

“Happily ever after.” Lala said suddenly. Fleur smiled down and patted little Lala’s mane.

“Yes... we’ll go far far away, riding happily ever after.”

“Come on Lala, let’s give mother a rest, come steer the ship with daddy.”

“Okay!”

Fancy put on a hoof to Fleur’s shoulder and kissed him in passing. Little Lala nuzzled Fleur while she rode on Fancy’s back.

Fleur was going home with her family, towards the kingdom beyond a pony’s reach, the utopia of Avalon, the land of the fey. The future was uncertain, with many threads in fate pointing towards the outcome of war. But for the sake of their darling daughter, Fleur would not want her to see the horrors war gave.

**

Avalon was the last bastion of Cheval, the only part that Equestria could never conquer right to the end of the war, the only remnant of Cheval that never felt the touch of Equestrian occupation. It was a micro-nation beyond the touch Equestrian law and no Chevalier has any sway over it. It is the ultimate neutral ground, the only safe place Fleur, Fancy and Lala could go without inciting needless bloodshed.

As it stands now, Avalon is an ally of Equestria. Though ally, in word only. It is merely in actuality a truce necessary for Cheval to come under Equestrian rule. As the old capital of Cheval, it had the right to order the complete surrender of the rest of the kingdom, letting Equestria officially occupy it without fear of rebellion.

Celestia’s plan was to incite civil war using an heir to the Dukedom of Seingalt, so that all the factions within Cheval would be divided and infighting, to decide who would rule them. And then Celestia would then be able to truly take the land with a show of devastating force, and once and for all, truly conquering the kingdom of cheval.

Avalon is the symbol of peace this shaky peace. If Equestria decides to ever attack Avalon, the Chevalier would rise up in rebellion and face their common foe.

If Lala could find sanctuary in Avalon, Celestia would never be able to touch her. And because of Fleur’s agreement with the Equestrian press, the nobility were impotent to stop the little family from escaping to outside Equestrian borders.

That is of course, if they were lucky enough to have been bought the luxury of time, Fleur anticipated.

**

“To love and to rivalry.” Fleur shouted out. While she did this Red Cross appreciated the aroma of the drink, before he made ready to drink it.

“To love and to rivalry.” Know-it-all and Red Cross raised their glasses and heartily both drank.

Red Cross didn’t swallow, as he stared at his rival.

One heart beat passed. Red Cross began to circle and Know-it-all mirrored him.

Another heart beat passed and Red shifted to circle the opposite direction. Predictably Know-it-all mirror.

The third heart beat came and both stallions charged at each other. Red made completely sure to land on top and with his stomach lurching he kissed Know-it-all greedily, letting gravity release the liquid in his mouth into Know-it-all’s own gullet.

With the poison dealt with Red Cross made to an attempt to stand, but Know-it-all’s advances were unrelenting and he continued to struggled free. For a good while Red wrestled with the stallion, for a puny book worm the blue pony was strong when he wanted to be.

Pretty soon Red’s whole vision turned to flashing light.

He was blinded but could see well enough to see silhouettes dancing about his vision. Most of them stood still, stunned in surprise. A pair of ponies were galloping like dancing shadows as ponies in various angles warped their shadows.

Red Cross followed them, half galloping, half stumbling as he went into the gardens outside. When his vision cleared, he could see Lala and Fleur running away from the castle, already far into the darkness of night.

Red tried to follow but just when he was about to sprint into a full gallop, Know-it-all grabbed his legs making him fall over and once again he found himself struggle for his freedom.

**

“I see, is that how it is.” Celestia sat on her throne, before her two ponies were being held at spear point before her. Their heads bowed and legs bound in changes.

“Yes, this whole fiasco was Fleur de lis’s doing.”Red Cross and Know-it-all said in perfect harmony. It was thanks to her that Lala was apart from them. For all their contempt in each other, they could find a common foe in Fleur de lis. And as Red’s intuition predicted, Celestia seemed to sympathise with that hate.

Celestia had been livid throughout the whole ordeal; the reporters that had taken part in this incident had all been wearing black masks and clothes, disguising their identities. It would have been a simple matter of taking down the newspapers one by one. But she knew that her nobles were being held hostage for this. If one news reel went down, then another would run the story. She could ill afford to do anything about them. Plus by barging into news presses, guards in tow, she would only be adding herself into the line of fire.

No doubt, because of this immobilising move on Equestrian underground movement, Fleur had bought Fancypants the chance to escape.

Just how far had the princess of Avalon anticipated her moves?

“Your highness? We offer ourselves to your service. For the return of La petite to us, we intend to help you in any capacity we can.” Know-it-all said, breaking Celestia’s reverie. Red merely rolled his eyes. How very like him to sound like such a good slave.

“But I’d like to make it clear, that we are no friends of your nobility, no ally of Fancypants or Fleur de lis. We are also opposed to your treatment of our La petite and demand custody over her should we return her to you.”

No friends of Fancypants? So they don’t know about my plans with Cheval. They even seem to know La petite’s identity.

“I see... it seems to me that I’m getting too good a deal here. Letting you hold custody over La petite is a simple enough affair, as you’ve known I’ve been renting her out for awhile...” The two stallions made irritated, guilty expressions, their eyes looking down in shame and self hate.

“We want to only be with La petite.” Know-it-all said weakly.

“And we don’t want anypony having her.” Red Cross added. It was getting on his nerves how in sync they’d become in all this.

My my, young love.

“Alright. So long as you serve me loyally, I will let you both have her. However, I will need her from time to time. Do you find my conditions reasonable?” Celestia wondered if this pair were as smart as Fancypants. Can they see the trap?

“That depends... we’re only asking you for help because we’re going to need your money and power to find Lala. If we could help ourselves, we’d be going after her right now.” Red Cross could feel the jaws of a trap spring. But there was no choice; he needs her money and connections.

“Well as it stands, our objectives are the same. We both want La petite returned to Canterlot. Serve me and I will give you the means to find her. Succeed in your task and I will reward you power and riches of your own. Prove your loyalty to me and I will cement your prosperity, and the happiness of your beloved mare.”

“Why do you need her so badly?” Know-it-all questioned.

“We agree to your terms. It doesn’t matter what you want with her, so long as we’re with her to keep her safe.” Red Cross interrupted. He could tell Celestia was in no mood to be informing pawns on her plans.

“Very well, from my intelligence Fancypants and Lala and most likely Fleur will be heading towards Avalon in the heart of Cheval. You are to capture Lala before she reaches beyond the borders of Equestria and into Avalon. If you fail, you will never see her again.”

Know-it-all and Red Cross wanted nothing more than to get up and make haste towards the Canterlot border, but for some reason Celestia had not order the guards at their throats to raise their spears.

“You will infiltrate the region of Cheval as representatives of the Canterlot region. You will act as the two aides of the new ambassador I will soon be assigning there. From that position, use what resources you can to find and capture La petite.”

“Who’s the new ambassador?” All the nobles were immobilised.

“Prince Blueblood.”

**

Princess Fleur de lis, daughter of the unicorn king of Avalon, ambassador of Avalon, Celestia had assumed that the princess was merely an expendable tool, a mere gift from the unicorn king as sign of good faith towards the forging of their alliance, but how wrong the ruler of Equestria had been.

Honestly the pretty face that had abstained from her government station, so that she could pursue the superfluous life of a glamour model. From every angle of her image, she was nothing more than cardboard cut out, a background pony existing to make other ponies look better.

Celestia had thought her nothing that night when Fleur had plead for help for the daughter of La Mere’s child, and confessed the secret of her location and Fancypant’s involvement. Celestia on that night could practically see victory upon the horizon as the pieces fell into place so that the wild element, Fancypants would be dealt with in a matter of days.

Fancy was trapped so completely and utterly, the nobles had prepared his attempts to escape, readied several framings towards his name for every possible way he could try to escape his fate. But because of Fleur de lis and her move at the hearts and hooves ball, all the nobles were immobilised, all their assets and companies and funds under observation by the press.

If Celestia herself tried to make a move, she'd be easily traced back and exposed as a tyrant who used questionable methods. She needed the love of her people, for the coming war, she needed the ponies of Equestria united under her flag so that Cheval would fall to her sword and spear.

Now as things were, Prince Blueblood was one of the only pawns she could now rely on. He was the only noble that wasn't involved in the hearts and hooves incident. There was nothing for him to fear as the press didn't have anything to blackmail him with. However, he was a selfish boy, a wild element who wished only vengeance upon Fleur de lis. La Petite, had only been a passing toy for him. He would never listen closely enough to prioritise La petite’s retrieval.

Fortunately she now had the more driven and able Know-it-all and Red Cross. However they were wild elements too, neither of the two liked Blueblood and held no intention of helping him along with his own schemes, though they would likely keep up the pretence so long as it suited them. Celestia didn’t really care for what he was either. He is just a political tool, a guise for her agents to enter Cheval's inner circle. After all, it would be suspicious if she sent two ponies that she hadn't shown much faith in, and appointed them as something as honourable as ambassadors. But if she sent her "beloved" nephew, Cheval would see it as a show of faith and good nature. Since the life of a member of the royal family was being put in their hooves. Much in the way Avalon had sent their crown princess to Equestria.

Celestia was jealous of Avalon, to have raised such a capable daughter, while Celestia herself had ended up with a buffoon of a son.

Still, he had his uses.

All eyes would focus on Blueblood's fumbling while the two lovers worked in the background to reach their objective.

“Too many wild elements, too much is being placed on the hooves of fate. I just don’t like it.”

Author's Note

Avalon is known as the kingdom of fairies. A kingdom that has achieved utopia that is far beyond the reach of mortal men, said to reside beyond the lake where excalibur now lay rested. A kingdom Camelot had tried to replicate.

It is also interpreted as the alternate name for Camelot in some versions of arthurian legend.