"You must think I'm a fool of some sort. This little bit of land would fit in my backyard!"

"It's the only thing I'm willing to give!"

"Tell me, Mikhail, how much of this land is occupied by living ponies?"

"None of it, but that doesn't change the fact that this land is within my borders!"

"I don't get it, I simply don't. I am willing to use the land for something productive, yet you insist on keeping it!"

"Of course I am keeping it! The People of Stalliongrad have asked for our borders to stretch further, not shorter!"

"Another thing I don't get. Why did she bring an entire platoon of troops with her?"

"I was advised to do so, tis not my fault."

"You do take me for a fool, then. Excuse me while I invade the country I'm in."

"Tension between our lands has been high, and I felt it necessary to have the extra firepower."

The argument was interrupted by a crackle of light from Princess Luna's horn as a scroll materialized itself in front of her, the scroll's appearance causing her to sit up from her slouched position at the large meeting table.

"Excuse me, but we are not accepting mail at this time." King Avian, who was sitting adjacent to her, spoke angrily.

"I apologize, but this might be urgent." Luna spoke as she unraveled the scroll and read silently.

After a few awkwardly silent moments she sat the scroll down and propped her head on a hoof, maintaining her bored and tired look.

"Nothing of importance, please, continue arguing." She said lamely.

"We are not here to argue, we are here to resolve this issue, and you are not helping; your Highness!" Mikhail exclaimed, the cigar hanging from his mouth bobbing as he spoke.

"Then you should not have called me here, for I have no idea what is going on anymore. This petty feud about land is becoming a bane to me. If the entirety of this argument had ceased to exist, my sister might still be here." Luna said.

"You have your poorly built aircraft to blame, not this." King Avian retorted with his usual snooty disposition.

"I suggest you close your beak, Sire, for it would be a shame for me to ruin it." Luna mumbled, her eyes stabbing into King Avian's.

"You have the audacity to threaten me at a peaceful conference? I was under the impression that you were 'reformed', Princess, but it seems that is not the case!" Avian spoke loudly, his words sparking a flame of anger in Luna.

"Both of you, behave yourselves! Shouting and crying isn't going to get us anywhere!" Mikhail broke in, his attempt to put out the flames only fanning them.

"You are one to speak of shouting! A moment's time ago was it not you who was shouting?" Luna shot back.

"It is land in my country being disputed, here. I should have some right to be shouting!"

"Please. Disputed? You've just said 'no' for the last 3 hours." King Avian groaned.

Mikhail exclaimed in frustration and took a drag from his cigar before tapping it on a circular, glass ashtray to his side.

"Have you two thought of splitting this land? Take the disputed portion and break it in half?" Luna suggested, trying to not cough from the thick, low-lying smoke in the room.

"We did that a minute ago, and I do not want that little land! I don't know how many times I can say it." King Avian said.

"I do not know how many times I can say that I do not wish to give up any of that land! Many times has the Council and the Senate told me that they do not want the land gone, either. I'm not the only one against this plan, the rest of Stalliongrad is, as well."

Silence fell over the meeting room, both Luna and King Avian not having any further responses. Mikhail sighed and took a drag from his cigar.

"I do not care how long it shall take, but war must be avoided. We're already in a state of darkness, an extra layer would do only bad." Luna spoke quietly.

"I've been meaning to ask you about this 'darkness', Princess. How is it that you can't bring the sun back up?" King Avian asked.

"I do not have the ability. Spare yourself the breath of asking why I do not possess the ability, for I do not wish to add another tally to the count of times I've explained it." Came Luna's response, followed by a sigh.

The silence returned. After several moments Mikhail pushed himself away from the table and stood up. He moved to one of the ten windows of the room and stood, peering out of the icy glass at the world outside. Moments of total silence passed as Mikhail stood, his posture and slight movements showed his contemplation of something.

"Have the land."

Both Luna and King Avian looked over to him, none of them speaking for several moments.

"Have it?" King Avian asked reluctantly.

"Yes. If a second war is to result from this little sliver of my land not going to you, then have it." Mikhail said, anger hanging in his voice.

"Oh... alright then. Thank you for your cooperation!" King Avian said as he stood up and went to Mikhail with an outstretched arm and open paw.

Mikhail reluctantly raised his own front leg and shook with the King, whose attitude had flipped a full one-eighty.

"Now, I think we have some paperwork to fill out in order for this to be official," Mikhail noted.

It took another 30 minutes for the final officious things to be taken care of. Finally, the doors to the smokey and dark meeting room opened to one of the many hallways of the Stalliongrad Kremlin, the three occupants walking out. King Avian went to a group of Gryphons dressed almost extravagantly as himself and began conversing and going over paperwork while Luna and Mikhail looked on.

"I understand it was difficult to both let him win and give up your land, but I am most grateful that you were able to end this." She said.

Mikhail sighed.

"I wish it would have ended sooner. You were right, if this feud had never started Celestia might still be here." He speculated.

"Do not be so hard on yourself." Luna smiled.

Mikhail gave King Avian and his officials an antagonistic look as they looked over documents, none of them noticing his gaze.

"This was not how I wanted to spend my Hearth's Warming eve. I would much rather be with my family." He said.

"You have a family?" Luna asked.

"Yes. A wife and two children. They were more displeased with the timing of these meetings than I was."

"I do not have anypony particular to spend the holiday with, other than Cloud Drop. He always seems as if he needs company, that's why I'm so pleased he has a new pet."

"New pet?"

"Oh, I have not told you. He stumbled across the cutest white kitten in Canterlot a while's time ago and brought the little thing back with him to the castle. There's something perfect about the two of them, I think it might be the contrast."

Mikhail chuckled lightly.

"I can only imagine him with something as innocuous as a kitten."

A moment's silence passed before one of the two spoke again.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but do you know what Celestia had as a gift for you?" Mikhail asked.

"N-no, actually. I did not get the chance to ask Cloud Drop."

Mikhail nodded.

Luna's attention was drawn from the conversation as she noticed something on King Avian's figure. His wrist watch. The gold-plated piece seemed to stand out more than the equally extravagant articles on his figure. She stepped away from Mikhail's side and to King Avian, whose attention was still with the several advisers and officials with him.

"Excuse me, Sire, but I must implore where you acquired your timepiece, as I have been searching for something like it." Luna remarked, getting his attention.

"This? Well... this was actually a gift from your sister. Despite our differences, she and I were good friends. I do wish to express my deepest condolences, your Highness, the opportunity hadn't arisen during the meeting and I was unable to be there for the funeral." King Avian chatted in an unexpectedly sweet manner.

"Ah. Well, thank you. Your absence from the funeral did not go unnoticed... if that helps." Luna said as she turned and walked back to Mikhail and, now, Andrei, who had arrived while she was speaking with King Avian.

"You're very friendly with King Avian." Mikhail noted.

"I have no reason to be otherwise, nor have I ever found a reason."

"У меня естьнесколько."
(I have a few.) Mikhail mumbled under his breath.

"Mr. President, do who I give zes papers to?" Andrei asked, mentioning the small stack he had been given before Luna came over.

"Take them to the министерство for now, tell them I'll be there to go over things later." Mikhail instructed him. (Ministry)

"утвердительный."
(Affirmative.) Andrei said as he gave a salute and walked off down the hallway.

"Well... The meetings ended several days before I estimated they would, and your troop reinforcements won't be needed anymore. If you wish to pack up and head back to Canterlot, you can do so."

"Ah! Yes, everything is done! I've just now come to the realization of it all, this thing is finally over." Luna said, having a slight epiphany.

Mikhail sighed.

"I feel extremely guilty. The entire reason Princess Celestia isn't standing here is because I was too stubborn to give into Avian." He spoke solemnly.

"The blame should not be pinned on you, or anypony for that matter. Her... passing, was pure accident." Luna assured, her voice cracking a little.

She had been doing a good job of suppressing her emotions, but having Mikhail speak about her sister's death had begun to bring those emotions from their prison.

"I am sorry, I truly am. You have been doing a fantastic job at remaining professional throughout your time here." Mikhail noted, changing the subject.

"Thank you, it has not been easy. I have a question, where in this city might I find an establishment that sells timepieces?"

"The Гранд Базар, or Grand Bazaar. There are shops there that could certainly sell you a fine watch."

"The Grand Bazaar? Exactly what is this establishment?" Luna inquired.

"Not one, but many. It is a huge collection of shops where one could buy... mostly anything."

"I am interested. Do you think I could go there today?"

"I suppose. This is a very high profile place, so I would have to schedule a security detail for you." Mikhail explained.

"Security would not be needed, I am good at laying low. I would need somepony who could translate the native language."

"Andrei could do that. Do you really wish to leave right this moment?"

"Indeed. My second objective coming here was to hopefully find a watch."

"Alright, I'll have Andrei meet you at your room. Oh, and, as for your troops. What should be done with them? I could have it arranged that they leave right now and have a helicopter stay for you." Mikhail suggested.

"It is quite alright. I would prefer for all of us to leave simultaneously."

"Understood."

With that, Mikhail turned and left in the direction Andrei had. Luna ended up following along, as the hallway lead to where her room was located.

"Bazaar is only few more blocks." Andrei spoke as he and Princess Luna walked down one of the many nearly pitch black streets, the only illumination coming from a lantern suspended in Luna's magic.

Luna made a small noise of acknowledgment.

At first glance only several small things could give away Luna's identity, but if one was to walk past it would be nearly impossible to identify her. She was wearing a heavy hooded coat, tall fur boots, a dark green scarf, and a slightly utilitarian-styled saddle-bag. The heavy coat was able to cover up her mane via the hood, and the coats tail was long enough in order to allow her tail to be tucked underneath.

"Tell me, what rumors do you hear about me?" Luna inquired.

"What you mean?"

"What do ponies say about me? The fact that I have been unable to raise the sun has surely caused them to get creative with their theories"

"Oh, uh... I have hear that you are keep the sun down on purpose, and you want night to be all time. I never had believe any of what hear." Andrei explained.

"That's really all you've heard? I've expected much worse."

Both Andrei and Luna went silent as they passed a mare carrying a crate of some sort on her back, the mare neither smiling or frowning as she passed. A moment later the two rounded a corner, the street becoming much wider as they turned onto a larger thoroughfare, the Bazaar was only a block away. The street had also become noisier with the chatter of ponies and the random, ambient noises of ponies doing business.

Luna took pleasure in the fact that many of the ponies they passed had not taken a second glance at her. Her intent wasn't to sneak around surreptitiously trying to purchase a watch, but her intent wasn't to attract absurd levels of attention by stepping in with an escort of 6 guards. As they entered the Bazaar Luna began to realize that it might be hard to find a shop or kiosk that would carry what she was looking for. The bazaar was, in the most extreme form of the word, eclectic. Every item could be bought or sold, the only thing that seemed out of the question thus far was land and structures.

"I had my doubts about being able to find what I'm looking for, but I think I'll reconsider," Luna shouted to Andrei over the noise of the bazaar.

"There is saying about bazaar, 'перейти ни с чем не отпуск со всеми', it mean 'go with nothing, leave with it all'. I hear you can buy house, but I of not see where to do. Might just be fake." Andrei spoke, his voice lowering from a shout towards the end of his statement.

Luna's lingual understanding of Equestrian was of a higher status from Andrei's, which, even though they both spoke Equestrian, often made it hard for them to understand each other. She was more of a victim than Andrei, many times had she stopped and thought for a moment to clearly get the meaning behind his words. For a pony who was supposed to be the President's assistant, it made her wonder why Andrei could not be better spoken in Equestrian.

"Oh! I get one of these fastly." Andrei said abruptly as he hurried towards a crowded stand.

Luna followed curiously, wondering what Andrei was so excited about. The small stand he had hurried towards was some sort of food stand, Luna couldn't read the Prussian sign hanging above it. She watched as Andrei conversed with the mare behind the counter, after giving her 2 bits from one of the pockets on his jacket the mare turned and took 2 small desserts, put each one in an individual paper sack, and finally gave them to Andrei.

"Here, you try one!" Andrei said, holding up one of the bags with a hoof.

She took the bag with a spell and took out a strange treat. It was a cylindrically shaped pastry, the flaky top layer of pastry was coated with a small amount of powdered sugar. It's center seemed to be filled with a sort of cream, Luna guessed the flavor was vanilla.

"So, exactly what is this?" Luna inquired, investigating the pastry with both her vision and smell.

"Is called Трубочки кремом, very good treat. It tradition food for a lot of us!"
(Torpedo Dessert) Andrei explained after taking a bite from his own pastry.

Without further questions, Luna took a bite from her pastry. She let out a groan of ecstasy from the splendid flavor and texture of the pastry.

"Good?"

"Mmmh, Very!"

Luna popped the rest of the treat into her mouth, thoroughly enjoying the savory flavor.

"Are these little delicacies only available in Stalliongrad?" She asked loudly.

"So far, I think yes. I never hear of them other places."

"That truly is a shame. These are too good to be kept a secret."

An hour had passed and only three out of the thousands of vendors, carts, and shops offered any sort of timekeeping pieces. At this point, Luna was ready to give up. True, the shops they had found had watches, but none of them were adequate for her tastes. She was looking for something very particular, yet she didn't know what it was.

The walking continued, but a certain shop caught Luna's eye. It's pearly white front seemed to gleam outward from the cold cobblestone and brick of the surrounding bazaar, the glass pane windows of the storefront made it look as if someone had chopped a ritzy jewelry store from some large city and tacked it into the middle of the plainly designed bazaar.

"Well, this place looks interesting!" Luna exclaimed, turning towards the shop.

"So shiny for be in bazaar, and sign says 'watches'! Just what you look for!" Andrei returned.

As they approached the entrance to the store a burly, dark brown stallion who had been standing close by intercepted them before they entered.

"Вы планируете покупать что-нибудь?"
(Do you plan on buying something?) He asked, his deep voice matching is appearance.

"Действительно, мы , сэр."
(Indeed we do, sir.) Andrei responded.

The stallion stepped to the side, allowing them entrance into the irregularly decorative and exquisite shop. Luna began to wonder if this shop was some sort of subsidiary of a larger company based in Manehattan or Canterlot. A finely dressed, thin faced stallion stepped over from one of the many glass display shelves to greet them.

"приветствуется. Что я должен помочь вам найти"
(Hello, what can I help you find?) He asked, a smile on his face.

"Мы ищем для часов, предпочтительно хороший."
(We are looking for a watch, preferably a nice one.) Andrei spoke in return.

"Хороший, да? Это подарок для своей жены?"
(A nice one, eh? Is it a gift for your mare friend, here?) The stallion said, looking towards Luna, who, unknown to him, was Princess Luna.

"Take off hood of yours, he think you and I are together." Andrei spoke to Luna.

She complied, pulling pack the hood of her coat with a spell, revealing her identity and the grin on her face. The stallion's face went from a welcoming smile to an utterly dumbfounded look of disbelief.

"Princess Luna?"

"Indeed. I assure you, we are in no sort of relation!" She spoke, chuckling towards the end of her sentence.

"Я служу, как ее переводчика, и она сказала, что мы не в отношениях."
(I am serving as her translator, and she said that we are not in a relationship.) Andrei said, laughing a bit himself.

"Ну, привет тебе, принцесса! Уверяю вас, что вы найдете идеальный часы здесь! Этот магазин имеет большой выбор прекрасных часов, я гарантирую,!"
(Well, greetings to you, Princess! I assure you that you will find the perfect timepiece here! This shop has largest selection of wonderful watches, I guarantee!) Exclaimed the stallion, his excitement showing visible and vocally.

"He is happy to see you, and says you find perfect watch from store, they have big selection." Andrei translated roughly.

"Tell him to show us the best watches he has to offer!"

Author's Notes:

I've spent more time than I'd like to admit trying to fix any grammar and spelling errors in this long story... but I know there still are some. If you spot one, please notify me