I give a contented sigh as we ride our carriage on our way to Canterlot. We are dreadfully behind schedule. We meant to go straight there, but somehow we ended up going to Coalton instead. And then somehow we made it to Detrot after that! Conversations dragged us from one engagement to the next, and I'm at my mental limit. I can normally handle all of the pop and circumstance when dealing with nobles and the masses. But tonight it's on overdrive! And my more introverted side is screaming at me for even thinking of continuing on. But there's no way we're not going to Canterlot tonight.

I have a job to do. I need to show that I am the leader of Equestria and that I'm the obvious choice for our future engagements. Detrot and Coalton were good practice for the main goal of the night. And even though I am tired, I can do this all night if I have to. Though, truth be told, I did have a bit of help with tonight.

I lean against Miles and shiver against the cold air. The flight is pleasant enough, but flying so late, the air is starting to sting. Miles drapes a wing against my back and sighs, a long plume of steam streaming from his nostrils. He's been doing really good tonight. Despite the few arguments he caused with one or two uppity nobles, he's been well behaved, polite, even charming at times. Not that he isn't those things usually. But tonight has been a real display of the etiquette he's been learning over the years.

"Tired?" he asks quietly, giving my cheeks a soft nudge. I lean further into him and sigh again in response. "You know, if you really wanted to, we could just go to our little getaway in the mountains. Call it a night."

"That does sound tempting," I say softly as he pulls me in tighter under his wing. It really does too. As much as I chastise him for not wanting to engage with this part of Equestrian society, I do have to admit it really is mentally taxing. "But not until after we make our appearance in Canterlot."

"Yeah, I know." Something tells me he was hoping I would agree to leaving early. Can't really blame him for that, honestly. Canterlot is going to be the biggest sore yet. "You ready to make an entrance?"

I enjoy his embrace for a moment longer before I break away from him. I take a quick moment to roll all my joints out and mentally prepare for the task at hoof. "I was born ready."

"I wasn't, but let's do it before reality sets in."

We land in the airport and make our way to the main hall. The few ponies we spot along the way are too flabbergasted to say anything beyond the usual revelry. Nothing crazy there. The main hall is where the action is really going to happen. We step through the main doors and wait for the announcer to make our presence known.

"ALL RISE FOR THE KING AND QUEEN OF EQUESTRIA!" The music cuts out and the room falls quiet as the onlookers bow to us. It's a scene that makes Miles cringe, but he does his best to hide his displeasure.

"We thank you all for joining us this night! Please, continue with the festivities!" I announce to the room. We already agreed that I would be taking the lead here in Canterlot. It's all part of my plan to showcase my leadership abilities.

We barely make it five steps before the first group of nobles comes and bombards us with revelry. It's much of the same old song and dance with these few. Smile, nod, reply in kind. I hate the smiling part though. My face was not meant to smile this much. I'm certain Celestia uses some sort of spell to achieve her own facade. There's no other real explanation.

Miles manages to direct the crowd further into the main hall where the next group starts to make their rounds. This is where the challenges start to arise. Business leaders, tycoons, families that aren't quite nobles, but are influential nonetheless. It's an interesting tightrope to walk. Give them too much attention and you risk alienating the nobles. But ignore them, and you're ignoring the people. There's a fine balance to give, but both sides are tugging at you, trying to gain more over the other.

I have a simple system in place for moments like these. Just ADD, avoid, deflect, direct.

When avoiding, you aren't necessarily avoiding individuals. Though sometimes it's simpler that way, it's more about navigating conversations. They want to bring something up, so I avoid the subject. There are a plethora of ways of going about this. It could be as simple as bringing something else up, or as complicated as being too specific about the wrong part of the topic. They want to talk about the ownership of the railroads, so I start talking about trains in as great detail as I can, and lean on them to fill in the gaps. The time in our conversations goes away before they bring up their real grievances.

When you can't avoid the subject though, you need to deflect. Why can't they do something about their problems? Why hasn't their leadership solved the issue? Where were they when something else came to light? A lot of what-aboutisms really. Turn the conversation back on them and make them squirm for it.

And when all else fails and they don't take the hint, it's time to be direct. Usually this is telling people that this is not the time for such conversations or whatever they are asking for can't be dealt with at this time. It's all dependent on how the conversation goes and what they're asking for. But if you have to be direct it's usually because they've really pressed the issue. Being direct can also give you time to really look into an issue and come back more informed.

Not too long after our conversations started in earnest did our first major obstacle of the night makes his appearance.

"Your majesties," Blueblood says with a deep bow, his little entourage following in his fashion. "It is an honor to share this night with you."

"Prince Blueblood, it is a pleasure to see you again." I say, giving a small bow of the head. Miles keeps quiet, giving a slight incline of the head in response.

"We must congratulate you on this most grandest of nights! Surely the hearts and souls of Equestria will soar in the heavens above after tonight! I do applaud your efforts!" His little group agrees with him, adding small insignificant notes to what he already said.

"Well thank you for your kind words Prince Blueblood. It was our hope to bring this night to all the ponies of Equestria. Not just the select few." He looks to the others in his group and motions for them to leave. Miles and I share an uneasy look as they give their final regards and bid us goodnight.

"I apologize for the sudden change in tone, but there have been some developments that require your immediate attention," he says in a hushed tone, checking our surroundings.

"Is that so?" I ask, intrigued.

"If my sources are to believed, it would seem that the entire Apple family is set to join the Terradisians." I raise an eyebrow to this, glancing to Miles for a moment. I know he's talked about this, and Big Mac has always mentioned that he would get around to it. But to hear it actually happening... I'm stunned to say the least. But I guess I really shouldn't be. With everything that's been happening to them, it only makes sense that they would seek protection through unity.

"Do you believe these sources of yours?" I ask, keeping a calm, quiet tone.

"They've never lead me astray before, so I have no reason to doubt them now. I can only imagine what would happen with ten percent of the farming industry dropping out of the market so suddenly. Especially when their intent is to join a faction we're in a trade war with."

"Times are going to get harder for the ponies of Equestria, but I'm sure we'll work something out." I say, looking to Miles. He's keeping a stoic face on, but I can tell he's calculating. He wasn't expecting this, so he didn't plan it before he disappeared. That, or he forgot about it... probably the latter.

"I have some ears in the Equestrian trading companies that are looking into the matter as well. If anything valuable comes up, I'll be sure to pass the word along," He tells us before giving a deep bow.

"We thank you for this knowledge and your loyalty. It is greatly appreciated." I tell him, giving a deeper than normal bow. I'm sure the crowd will take note of this, but that's okay. I want them to know he works for me. I want them to know that even Blueblood bows to me.

"Ubi suus 'pretii est opus." Miles tells him, giving him a small bow. But given how he's treated everypony else, it will speak volumes. "I do hope to hear from these friends of yours soon."

Blueblood leaves with a small bow. It is troubling to see the cracks starting to form in the shadows. Normally ponies would be trying to game the system, work both sides of a conflict. But when the lines start to blur, that's when the cracks start to form. Once the light shines in, ponies will start to take sides. Information becomes harder to gain. I haven't seen times like these since the war against Sombra.

"Let's go make our rounds. Thinking out in the open isn't healthy." Miles tells me with a small nudge on the shoulder. I nod to him, pushing the thoughts aside. He's right, I need to focus tonight. I wonder if Blueblood told us tonight intentionally. I wonder where he'll land when the light shines on him.

The night continues in standard fashion from there on. We bounced from one area of the castle to the next, schmoozing all of the nobles and ponies of note the entire time. Most seem to be content with the night, having nothing special to say really. The few that made anything of note of themselves were far and few between, but neither were they shocking either.

Blood Diamond is always a treat to speak with. How Blueblood came from such a fine stallion, I'll never understand. I tried to get him to budge one way or another, but the old stallion knew exactly what was going on and navigated it perfectly. He's always been a staunch supporter of Celestia, so it's no surprise that he's putting his faith in her. I wasn't expecting him to question Miles so much though. Midway through the conversation it became apparent that I was a spectator in their conversation, so I disengaged from the two of them.

I made my way towards the gardens where I saw Twilight and her daughter Speaks Softly waiting in line near a food vendor. I figure it would be nice to take a small break and speak with them, even for just a moment. Speaks Softly notices me immediately and hides behind her mother, making me chuckle softly.

"Child, you have nothing to fear from me," I tell her as I approach them. I give a small bow to Twilight. "Good evening Princess Twilight, I hope the two of you are having a pleasant night."

"Queen Luna," she responds with a bow of her own. "It is so good to see you tonight! We've been having a blast so far, Pinky has out done herself. Is Miles here with you too?"

"He's bickering with Blood Diamond," I tell her, getting a chuckle from her. "No Storm Cloud tonight?"

"So he'll be distracted for awhile I see. Storm had to check on the Spartans for a moment, we're holding his spot right now. How was the rest of Equestria? I was bummed not to be able to make it to Ponyville tonight."

I smile and go to answer, but something stops me. It's a small clatter of glasses and silverware in the background. Nothing was special about it. I don't even know how I heard it, but it seemed so... intentional. As if I was meant to hear it.

I look behind myself and see a hooded humanoid figure in the crowd. They bumped into a server and knocked their tray to the ground. They're trying to help clean up the mess they caused, but doing so has made their hood slip slightly. All I can see is a lock of green hair hanging out. Without saying anything to Twilight I charge my horn and attempt to teleport the individual. When they disappear I teleport myself to the same location.

The individual; a woman it would seem, is standing frozen in fear in the middle of my room, hands clenched at her side. I take a deep breath as I try to think of what to say. What should I do? This can't be who I think it is,can it? The hair is different. But that can be changed, right? There's no way of knowing without asking, so I guess I should start there.

"Who-"

"Okay, so I can't answer anything and I can't do anything and there's a big chance you're going to try to do something but I have to really warn against that because it probably won't end well and I really have no idea how that would go so just please let me go before this gets any worse." The woman blurts out rapidly, inching her way to the balcony.

I try to process everything she just said, but there's too much going on for me to really focus on what she said. Her voice is new, so I know it's not Eremita. I was kind of hoping it was her though. It would have been nice to meet her.

The stranger bolts for the balcony and tries to throw them open, but finds them locked. She struggles for a moment longer before dropping to her knees with a pitiful wail. I take a step back from the... awkward person and try to think of something to say...

"Why are you here?" I guess that could work, though in hindsight she did say she couldn't answer anything.

"Can you just let me goooo? It's my birthdaaaaaaay!" She cries out, dropping against the glass doors and slumping against them. "Why does this always happen to me?"

"How about this? You tell me something, anything, and I'll let you go. Deal?" I ask, taking a step forward.

"I'm not supposed toooooo!" She cries out pathetically.

Okay, this is going nowhere fast. I do not believe this person is here just to celebrate their birthday. Every person I've met in those garbs has been a time traveler, and there's noway a time traveler would be that irresponsible. I could press them further, but I doubt I'd get anywhere right now. I need something that will change the dynamic...

I charge my horn and begin a summoning spell when the woman yells for me not to do it, but it was too late. A flash of magic later Miles is standing beside me. The room goes silent as we all stand here, waiting for something else to happen. Miles is trying to process what just occurred, but is visibly confused. The stranger seems... scared. She pressed her back to the doors as she stares up at Miles. Maybe they have some form of history together? A history that hasn't happened yet

"So... are you Eremita?" Miles asks finally, setting a champagne glass he had down on the vanity.

"Um...no," she squeaks out.

"She has green hair," I tell Miles. "That's all I got so far, didn't know where else to go from here."

"Hm..." Another silence fills the room. "Well, I guess the only thing left to do is to let her go."

"What!?" The stranger and I yell out.

"Don't you have a million questions to ask!?" the stranger demands, jumping to her feet.

"We can't just let her go, we need to know why she's here!" I yell.

"Aren't you the least be curious to why I'm here or who I am!?"

"She could have knowledge that's useful to us! We need to get what we can Miles!"

"...hm." Miles takes his glass and takes a small sip from it, eyeing the two of us. I motion towards the stranger, trying to get him to ask something. Anything! "So, are we related?"

"Pfft, wha-!? N-No! No way! I mean, not really. And by that I mean... um... I guess so. Not in a direct way that is but in a more... indirect way. I mean, when you get on the cosmic level, we're all related one way or another! So... heh... you know... is it getting hot in here? It is isn't it? We should really open a window or something because... heat stroke is a real thing you know! And you've been drinking! So you'll probably go first! NOT THAT YOUR DRINKING IS A PROBLEM OR ANYTHING! I mean, I've had my share so I know you can hold your own- NOT THAT I'M A DRINKER OR ANYTHING! I'm just saying maybe I've had a drink or two before -all within the legal limits of course- and they never really hit me that hard so you'll probably handle however mush you've had- IT IS GETTING SO HOT IN HERE!? Has global warming already started!?!? HEH-HE Though I guess you don't know about that yet... you will! But that's not what's important right now... heh.... hehe... please help."

"So... we are related?" I ask, tilting my head slightly, lost in her ramblings. What's global warming? Sounds made up.

"... noooo?" she responds, backing against the door.

Miles takes a step forward and looks the stranger in the face. Even though her eyes are concealed, I can tell he's looking right into hers. Judging her, speaking to her. She's tensing up, trying to keep her failing composure up. She flinches when he ignites his magic, ducking as if waiting to be struck.

The door clicks open and she stumbles back slightly as it opens. She looks out for a moment before looking to Miles, seemingly as if asking for permission. Miles nods to her, giving his confident smile. She nods to the both of us before stepping out to railing. I step forward and watch her from Miles' side. She takes in the sight of Canterlot again before turning to us again. She hesitates for a moment before speaking up.

"For all it's worth, it was nice to finally meet you... both of you."

FLASH

A powerful burst of magic engulfs her and she disappears. We stand there for a moment longer before looking to each other. Both of us? What did she mean by that? What does our future hold for us?

Next Chapter: Chapter 256 Die Mysterium Estimated time remaining: 6 Hours, 12 Minutes