Princess Celestia gave very clear instructions to Twilight and her friends before sending them through the Interface to the temporary embassy on Earth: without the unanimous support of all six mares, any and all negotiations with the humans of the Confederate Gulf States will come to a screeching halt.

Both sides have much to gain from a cordial relationship and, after a week of feverish talks, the Confederacy has brought around five of the six Equestrian ambassadors... But there is one hold-out: Applejack. How can the CGS' diplomatic team get Applejack to sign off on the deal?

That's a tricky question, but by no means the hardest... The hardest is being asked by Texas Guard Corporal Robert E. L. Cargyle: why the heck do his bosses think that he is the one for the job?!

One thing's for sure... Politics definitely makes for some strange bedfellows.

Art by Tzelly-El.

A/N: Don't worry, readers; despite the title, this is not a clopfic

Tagged alternate universe for things on the HUMAN side of things, not the Equestrian side. I only made this an alternate human history for my own personal amusement... and so that I could fudge the details of protocol etc for the diplomatic stuff.

This is just a silly little thing I came up with after watching some line dancing when I got dragged to a country bar for someone's going away party. Anyway, it was fun.