Flash returned me to the visitor suite. By now however, several well dressed Ponies waited outside the door I recognized as the one Tia and I had taken. What they were waiting for I had no idea, so I approached the guards I had left.

"Is Tia awake yet?" I asked.

"Yes Marm." The ginger stallion nodded. "Just got served breakfast if you wish to join."

"WHAT?!" One of the well dressed Ponies exclaimed. "Why is this mere peasant allowed to break her fast with her Grace?!"

I turned to regard the Pony.

She was a Unicorn, in some sort of big fluffy dress that looked like it was far too much effort to walk in.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" I asked, not bothering to hide my distain.

The mare looked like I had suddenly kicked a foal, she was so horrified.

"W- W- W- Why I'm Duchess Gilded Rose!" she exclaimed. "Of House-"

"And-" I interrupted. "Why should I be bothered to care?"

"H- H- How dare you!" she screeched. "Guards arrest this peasant!" she pointed at me.

The guards at my sides didn't move.

"Soldier," I said, not turning away from the mare, but addressing the ginger stallion at my side. "Would you be so kind to inform this... Distinguished mare, of my name and rank?"

"Aye General Luna Hydrabane." he smirked, with no small amount of amusement.

The mare's face paled, which was impressive given the amount of white powder covering her face.

"I- I- I-" she stammered.

"Duchess Gilded Rose was it?" I asked casually. "Am I then to assume you, all of you actually;" I said, looking past the mare to line of Nobleponies behind her. Said Ponies were sweating profusely, and looking like they wanted to bolt. "Are wishing to speak with my sister regarding something of great importance?"

"Well... Um. You see..." Gilded started to explain.

"Would said item of great importance, happen to matter a great deal with you then?" I asked, turning back to Gilded.

The sweat that ran down her face was so profuse that her makeup was beginning to run.

She'd need to repowder herself as soon as she could get away with it.

"Well now that you mention it, I'm sure it could wait for-"

"But you came all this way." I insisted. "It would be an awful shame to come all the way over here for nothing."

By now the other waiting Ponies abandoned all pretense and simply walked away while they could, leaving Gilded to her fate.

"Y- You-"

"Can you imagine the look on my sister's face? The first Alicorn in thousands of years? When she's so disappointed that she won't be able to listen to your great and important thing you wanted to discuss."

"... I won't forget this." She said after a moment, taking a step back.

Oh? Abandoning with the pretense then?

"I sure hope not. Because if you speak to me like that again I will personally throw you into the dungeon. And not the comfortable one either. But the one with the other 'peasants'." I retorted.

Speaking of, had somepony released Platinum yet? Another thing I had to look into.

Gilded Rose stormed away with a huff, turning her nose upward in an effort to keep what dignity she had left.

"That was masterfully done Marm." the ginger stallion said in awe.

"Thank you... Mister-" I started, but then I realized I had no idea what his name was. "Sorry, I don't think I ever caught what your name was."

"Rockhoof Marm." he saluted.

"Thank you Rockhoof." I nodded. "Now that that's taken care of, you said my sister was just served breakfast?"

"Aye Marm."

"Excellent. I'm feeling peckish."

Oddly enough, getting yelled at by a madmare and an entitled idiot was exhausting work.

And entirely before breakfast too.

Rockhoof's companion held the door open for me as I entered.

The room was mostly unchanged, with the exception that the sunlight had slid across the floor, and Tia now sat, wide awake, at the table, which was now filled with food, several maids were standing by, each with a serving cart filled with dishes.

"Woona!" Tia exclaimed, her cheeks full of food. "Thar stuffingk me! Halp!"

I rolled my eyes.

"Ladies please, is all this necessary?" I asked. "Weren't the Unicornians rationing their stock of food?"

"We are." the nearest maid to me curtsied. "The Nobleborn however are exempt from the restriction."

...

"Stars above." I cursed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "No bucking wonder they never had enough food for us all."

What was wrong with this place?! Was there something in the water?!

"Ma'am?" the maid asked.

"Get all of this out of here!" I gestured at all the excessive food. "Distribute it amongst the soldiers! Eat it yourselves if you must! But I don't think I'll be going over my sister's head to impose rationing for every Pony until there's a good harvest for us all!"

"Yesf!" Tia chirped, her mouth stiff full.

"But the previous Queen-"

"Does she look like the previous Queen?" I asked, gesturing at Tia. "Stars above..."

Tia finally regained the ability to properly chew as the maids began repacking everything onto their carts. As they worked, I spotted something that looked interesting.

"Except this, I'll keep this one." I said, grabbing the dish with my magic and lifting it off the cart.

The maid shot me a look, but I ignored it.

No matter what she thought, it wasn't like I was breaking my own rule.

Tia finally managed to get her food down as the maids took the carts away and closed the door behind them.

"Thank you Lu, no matter what I said they wouldn't listen to me..."

"I think they're just used to Iridium... Although I'm not sure why they would resort to force feeding you... Or why they wouldn't listen for that matter." I said, looking down at what I had grabbed.

It was some sort of baked good, with a sort of white glaze with a rich brown drizzle.

I had no idea what it was, but it smelled sweet and delicious.

"Anyway, did you have anything you wanted to do today?" I asked. "Because as much fun as harassing entitled Ponies is, I would rather not have to do it every time I want to enter your room."

"What did you do Lu?" Tia asked.

"Nothing. But implications of bending your ear and violence were had. I suspect Gilded Rose and whatever allies she has are going to be cross with me for some time."

"What raised your ire then? You don't make threats of violence for no reason."

"Well first she objected to me coming in here while she had to wait outside. And then she was most unpleasant."

"That was all? Lu you're no longer at war, you don't have to resort to violence now that we've won."

"Actually that leads me to what I want to talk about." I said, sitting down at the table across from her. "First and most obviously, rationing." I gestured with the baked good in my magic, before taking a bite.

An explosion of sweet cream and delicate cake filled my mouth.

"Oh stars..." I groaned as I pulled it away from my face, my mouth half full. "That is really rich."

"Isn't it? I'm not so upset that I was being force fed, but unable to taste most of what they were giving me!" Tia cheered.

I took my time to chew and savor the single bite I had taken, before reluctantly swallowing.

"Anyway yes, rationing." I restated. "Noble exceptions to rationing? Stars above what were they thinking?"

"I guess I can see where they're coming from, if this is what they eat everyday." Tia said, taking a bite of something she had kept from the maids.

"While I can reluctantly agree on that point, I'm not so sure how abundant the first crop is going to be down near Everfree City. I haven't checked in with Gold Note yet about Unicornia's stores, but I'd wager they aren't looking good. Which leads me to my next point. What are you planning with the city? It may be too long of a supply route to feed this city from the Everfree. If we are to save lives, we may have to abandon the city entirely."

"Hm..." Tia hummed. "You might have a point..." she admitted, growing serious. "Obviously it's been at least a month since I was last in Everfree, so any number of things might have ruined the harvest."

"Exactly." I nodded. "But that raises my third objection. As we've established, the Noble houses are currently upset with me. Namely, because I kicked their flank and they have to lick their pride. If it comes to relocating all of Unicornia to the South, I might be able to assist with force. But that will carry the risk of future rebellion."

"What do you propose?" Tia asked.

"That I can't say. I'm good at hitting metal and waving a sword, the former of which I might not be able to return to, because... Well you know." I mimed fluttering wings with my hooves.

Tia rolled her eyes but replied steadily.

"Yes, I can see how that might be an issue..."

"Don't get me wrong, I'll be proud to help you while I can, but I'm not the most personable."

"While you can?" Tia asked, raising an eyebrow.

I swallowed.

The thought was uncomfortable.

"Well... Legends say that Alicorns lived far longer than mortal Ponies. With your... Let's say additions... It's possible you may survive me, and any foals I may have."

I had no plans for them, but how was I supposed to know what would happen?

"Luna!" Tia exclaimed in surprise.

"Tia." I said calmly. "Let's not kid ourselves. I'm mortal, and it's very possible that you... Aren't. I don't like the thought either, but we can't ignore the possibility. I want to support you while I can, as much as I can. And that means it's very likely I'll have to put down the blacksmith's hammer for good."

Tia looked on the verge of tears, but she continued.

"I... I understand." she said sadly.

"Hey." I replied, setting the delectable miniature cake on the table and standing up. "I'm not dead yet. And I don't plan on doing so for a long time." I said, wrapping Tia in a hug.

She returned it gladly.

We embraced for several minutes before she pulled away.

"Thank you Lu, for your advice." she smiled. "I think I know exactly what to do."

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