The doors to Twilight's office were swiftly kicked off their hinges, and Lucette stormed inside. Literally. Arc energy was sparking all over her form, and specifically her eyes. Lucette stomped up to Twilight's desk, the mare frozen in fear and pale as a ghost who just saw a Ghostbuster.

"So, Princess," Lucette spat, her tone a stark and cold contrast to the obvious rage her body was showing. "What's this about some little shithead bullying my daughter?"

Twilight gulped, looking to Spike, then Starlight. Lucette slammed a fist down on the desk, easily cracking it.

"Don't look away from me," Lucette snapped. "I want an answer, and by God I'm getting one, whether I have to use torture or otherwise." Lucette jabbed a finger at the purple alicorn. "I told you when I enrolled Suki that if anything happened to my baby girl, there would be a lot more than Hell or Tartarus to pay." She jabbed a finger at Suki, the young cat girl bearing a long strand of burned fur on the top of her head. "And your students didn't even just bully her, did they?"

"W-W-Well-" Twilight tried to say, but Lucette interrupted her.

"No." She said coldly, fists clenching. "They went and fucking burned her!" She glared at Twilight, eyes alight with Arc energy and giving the mare the impression of being beneath the imposing gaze of an angry Goddess. "So, you're going to tell me why I shouldn't retort to this in full force. Capiche?"

This time, not just Twilight gulped, but Starlight and Spike. "W-Well, um, Lady Luc-" Starlight began, but Lucette's immediate snapping of her head to her made her squeak, shrinking back when she saw the Awoken's eyes flare with Arc Light.

"Queen Lucette. With this stunt, the entire staff of this school lost the right to be on any sort of friendly terms with me," Lucette said, tone cold as the rain in the very storms of her lands.

Starlight nodded rapidly. "R-Right, sorry, Queen Lucette! If you, um, wouldn't mind taking a seat, we'll explain everything, w-we promise!" She looked to Spike, then Twilight. "Right guys? Ehehe..."

"Right! Of course!" Spike replied, joining in on the laughter.

"Definitely!" Twilight added, also joining in.

Lucette stood up fully, eyes clouding over and face set in what would likely be a permanent frown. "Be. Quiet. This is far from a laughing matter."

"Yes, ma'am, sorry ma'am!" they all chorused.

Twilight's heart beat in her chest like a drum as Lucette sat down in the chair next to Suki. 'Holy buck...she's more intimidating than even Princess Celestia...' She placed a hoof to her chest, trying to calm her frantic heart. 'My heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest...!'

Lucette's growl drew her out of her thoughts. "I asked for an explanation, Princess. So speak. Now."

Suki's gaze remained locked on her lap as Twilight cleared her throat a few times. "E-Eheh, r-right, sorry, Your Majesty." She shook her head, wings twitching behind her. Once more she cleared her throat. "Suki was, erm," she tried to search for the right words. "...approached, by three of our students, one who you might know, the Minotaur Princess, Golden Axe, and the other two were twin brothers of House Star. From what Suki told us, they pinned her to the wall with their magic, and Golden Axe, um..."

Lucette growled lowly. "Let me guess, she wanted to make an example of my daughter? To warn me?"

Twilight looked to Spike and Starlight, then back to Lucette and slowly nodded. "F-From what she told us, yes."

"And how, pray tell, did she burn my daughter?" Lucette asked, tone still as cold as could be.

"Based on what Golden Axe told us, it was Ancient Minotian Pyromancy," Twilight explained.

Lucette went silent for a long, long time and closed her eyes, the two mares and dragon fidgeting in place as Lucette silently seethed with rage. Suki, whilst she wasn't fidgeting, was locked up, eyes glued to her lap and ears seemingly pinned to her head. Finally, Lucette reopened her eyes.

"I will be having a talk with these three," she said simply. It wasn't a request. It was a statement.

"With all due respect, um, Queen Lucette, w-we can't allow you to-" Twilight started.

"With all due respect, Princess," Lucette spat. "Golden Axe is officially under my jurisdiction, as she is a member of my nation now, and these two noble brats..." Lucette gnashed her teeth. "...well, they better learn how to fucking skate, and quick." Before they could ask what Lucette meant, she continued with a harsh glare at Twilight. "I want those three little shits in front of me by tomorrow. If they aren't here at 0500, then they're gonna experience field day on top of what I like to call 'The Pitt'." Lucette chuckled. "Oh who am I kidding, they're experiencing both either way." She rapped her fingers against her arms. "But first..." She looked to Suki, eyes softening and the crackle of Arc energy dissipating. "...How long has this been going on, muffin top?" Suki tensed, continuing to stare at her lap. Lucette frowned. "Muffin top, it's okay, you can tell me anything."

Suki bit her lip, and opened her mouth to speak, but stopped short. "I..."

Twilight and the others frowned as well, and made to speak too, but Lucette silenced the three with a harsh glare that said, 'My family. Our problem. Not yours.'

Lucette gently placed a hand on the young Princess' head. "Suki, please, it's okay to tell me." She reassured.

"..." Suki trembled, and a few tears dropped unbidden from her eyes. "...since I enrolled..."

Silence reigned in the room for a few seconds, each one feeling to the ponies like a countdown to their very ends, and broken only by the sniffling and sobs Suki was trying to hide.

Slowly, Lucette wrapped her arms around the girl as tightly as she could without hurting her, hugging her to her chest, where she finally sobbed openly. Lucette rubbed her back soothingly, but the deep frown on her face told it all. Soon, she turned eyes colder than Helheim itself to Twilight as she stood up from her seat. Those eyes were colder than the phantom of death.

"I want the staff present by 0500 tomorrow as well. The full staff. I don't care if you have to drag them all here, because if they aren't present..." Lucette's eyes stormed with Arc Light. "...this school won't be standing for very long."

Without any other words, Lucette stormed off, crying daughter in her embrace.

The situation was dire. They all knew that quite well. It was so dire, in fact, that all those of royal blood in Equestria had teleported to Twilight's Castle for an emergency meeting.

Naturally, the air was more tense than could be described.

And, naturally, it was too tense for the youngest Princess.

"This is bad, this is so, so bad!" Twilight said as she paced, mane frayed in many places.

"Very, very bad," Celestia agreed, also pacing.

Like mentor like student, it would seem.

"I'd have to agree," Luna said, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. She, along with Cadance and Shining Armor, were seated around a small table. "What we just did is the political equivalent of angering an Ursa Major."

"And said Ursa Major has near complete control over the new gun trade," Shining Armor pitched in, frowning with his forelegs crossed over his barrel. "Our troops barely know how to use them, and we don't have many, either. If she decided to cut off that trade, we'd lose one of our only weapons against her."

Cadance's muzzle was set in a deep frown. "Not to mention that she has a powerful magical advisor."

"One who's just as mad at us as the Queen is!" Twilight cried.

"A tribute might settle things," Luna proposed.

"We're beyond tributes at this point," Shining said, before adding in a rare moment of solemn clarity, "What we need to decide now is what demands we can and can't give in to. Because we know she'll have demands after this."

Twilight groaned, sitting down bodily as she massaged her forehead with a hoof. "She's already demanded that the school staff as well as the problem students be brought before her at 5 AM tomorrow. She also threatened the school itself if I didn't meet those demands."

Luna sighed. "Anything else?"

Twilight shook her head.

Luna stared down at the table in front of her, frowning as she did. "Considering her current temperament, I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility for her to demand reparations, as well."

"From the school, us, or the families?" Cadance queried.

"All of the above," Luna answered.

"And Tempest already told us house arrest is not out of the realm of demands either," Celestia groaned, falling to her plot. "Reparations I'd be fine with, but house arrest is a whole other headache."

"Then there's the threat of having the school torn down," Shining Armor reminded, rubbing his chin with a hoof.

"Or worse, war," Cadance pointed out, mixing some sugar into her tea with an absent minded use of magic. She barely realized she'd already placed half the tin of cubes into her tea already, her eyes focused on the table.

Luna sighed deeply, closing her eyes and letting out a breath before she looked up. "So, what do we say?"

They all paused to think, then sighed. "We'll have to go with just about every demand at this point. But I think we can make a good argument for keeping the School standing, and hopefully we can keep her from declaring war outright," Cadance mused.

Twilight let out a breath. "I hope so..."

"I don't give a shit, Tempest! So what if the other nations get all pissy? Those brats fucking burned my daughter's head!"

"Forcing the Minotian Princess to do such exercises is a stretch enough for your power, but the two noble children? There's no way you can-"

"I . DON'T. CARE!"

Suki sat on the bed in her dorm room, paws in her lap and ears lowered as she listened to her mother argue with Tempest. This had been going on for the past hour, ever since Tempest had come over. She'd apparently been with Lucette on the way here, but had gone to talk with the other Princesses in Lucette's stead so that Lucette herself could talk to Twilight.

Suki didn't care. All she could think about was how badly she'd failed her mother. She was still crying, and she hated it, but she couldn't stop the tears anymore. Part of her wished her mother would stop yelling...but another part of her didn't want to risk seeing a disappointed Lucette. She just wanted to be alone.

Sadly, fate had other plans. Suki soon heard the doors to her dorm room open again, along with the sounds of her mother's and Tempest's boots coming closer. The two of them slowly sat down next to Suki, Lucette wrapping her arms around her and pulling her head down into her lap.

Using her thumb, Lucette gently wiped her daughter's tears away. "Shh, muffin top, shh...you're safe, okay?"

"I-I-It's not about m-m-me being safe..." Suki managed to get out, turning her head away.

Frowning, Lucette asked, "What do you mean, muffin top?"

Suki bit her lip. She didn't want to say it. She really didn't. It'd be like admitting defeat. But slowly, agonizingly, she did. "...I-I-I failed, Mo-Mo-Mommy..." Suki's tears trailed down her cheeks at a new, feverish pace. She hated it, so she buried her face in her mother's stomach. "I-I-I tried to st-stay strong, to...to b-b-be like you, b-but I-! I-!" Suki lost it, simply throwing herself into sobbing and crying.

"Oh, Suki..." Lucette said, pulling her closer.

Tempest simply watched on as mother consoled daughter, unsure how to help. Eventually, however, she placed a hoof on the girl's shoulder.

"You don't need to be exactly like your mother, Suki," Tempest assured gently.

Lucette nodded. "Especially if it means hiding your problems from others." Suki's head shot up at that, staring at her mother with wide, teary eyes. "Frista told us how she and the nurse found multiple bruises and the like all over your body." Lucette frowned. "Why would you hide that from us, honey?"

Suki looked away, shame written all over her face as tears continued to dribble down it. "...I just..." She looked to Lucette. "I just want to be strong...strong like you! You're always so confident, and everything you do is awesome and you made it look so easy that..." Suki's gaze dropped to the bed. "...that I thought I could do it too."

Lucette opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. 'I knew she saw me as role model as well as a mom, but...damn. How could I not have seen this sooner?'

Lucette stayed silent for a moment longer, mulling over her words, but eventually sighed and shook her head, placing a hand on Suki's shoulder. "You can do it, hun. But you need to know that even people like me need help every once in a while. So, naturally, that goes for you, too. You can't do everything on your own, not forever. Sometimes you need to rely on others." Lucette gave the feline a smile, jabbing a thumb at herself. "Heck, half the reason I'm so confident is because I've got such an adorable, loving daughter like you." The Awoken used a thumb to wipe the rest of Suki's errant tears. "So, next time you need help, tell us, okay?"

Suki's eyes fell to the bed. "..." Slowly, she looked up, stifling a sniffle. "O-Okay."

The Awoken patted the girl's shoulder. "Good. Now, we have to go settle everything, so stay here, okay?"

Suki nodded, and Tempest and Lucette left the room, the latter pausing to look back for a moment, before eventually leaving and closing the door.

Silence fell upon the dorm room, Suki simply sitting on her bed, alone with her own thoughts. Such thoughts, of course, turned dark. "...Even if everything's settled...I'll still be weak..." Suki muttered, ears lowering.

"Geez, is that what you think?" came a familiar, tomboyish voice from behind her. Suki jumped, turning to the sound to find Smolder hovering outside the now open window. Suki hurriedly rubbed at her eyes, but Smolder snorted and stopped her with, "Oh knock it off. You don't need to play tough with me."

Suki turned wide and confused eyes to the young dragoness, Smolder flying through the window and into the room to sit right next to the feline. "Trust me, if there's anything I've learned in my time here, it's to learn to admit you're not top dog." Smolder poked Suki with a claw. "Especially around friends."

Suki looked away, clutching her arm. "But..."

Smolder rolled her eyes. "There's no 'but' about it, Stormy." Smolder turned to face the Abyssinian fully. "And besides, even if you aren't top dog, you're still better than that stuck up bitch Golden Axe. Along with her new pony friends."

Suki frowned. "But...I lost to them. And her! So many times, a-and I lost to you a bunch, and-!"

Smolder growled. "Okay, first off, you only lost to them because Golden Axe is better at hand to hand and ambush tactics. Second, you've only lost to me ten times out of, what, sixty times? Maybe more?" The orange dragoness shot her friend a look. "So quit whining about how much you've lost," she leaned forward, "and start figuring out how you can win."

Suki paused at that. "How can I win though?" She looked to the carpet beneath them. "Golden Axe is stronger than me, she knows magic, and she's smarter..."

"Yeah, no," Smolder said simply. She rolled a claw around. "Sure, Golden Axe has more muscles than you, and she knows magic, but smarter? No. And to top it all off, Golden Axe is cheap. She fights cheap, she looks cheap, and she thinks cheap. You? You're a bazillion times better than her."

Suki looked away again, a light blush on her cheeks. "Th-Thanks, but..." She looked back to the dragoness. "Do you really think so?"

Smolder scoffed, giving the feline a grin. "Think so? Hah!" Slugging the girl in the shoulder, she continued, "I know so."

Slowly, Suki smiled, and her tears stopped flowing. Wiping the remnants away, she looked to her friend. "Thanks, Smold. I needed that."

Smolder chuckled, wrapping an arm around the Abyssinian. "Anytime, Stormy." Suki's smile grew, and they both laughed. Letting go of her, Smolder asked, "So, what're you gonna do now?"

Suki looked to the carpet in thought for a few moments, then looked back to Smolder and smirked. "I have a few ideas."

"You want to what?!" Twilight cried, spitting out her tea.

"I want to have a fight with Golden Axe," Suki repeated.

"No way! I can't allow-!" Twilight started, but a raised hand from Lucette stopped her.

Lucette looked to her daughter, an unreadable look on her face. "Why do you want to fight Golden Axe, Suki?"

"I need to do it," the girl said simply.

"Why in the name of the Gods would you need to fight her for, child?" Celestia asked, a bewildered look on her face as her teacup levitated in her magical grasp.

"To prove something to myself," the young feline replied resolutely.

The royals all looked to one another. Evenutally, the Ponies looked to Lucette, and Lucette in turn looked to her daughter. "I'm willing to allow it. But the brat will still be punished afterwards." Lucette looked back to the Princesses. "What do you say, Your Highnesses?"

The Ponies all frowned. "Personally, I'm against the idea," Celestia began.

"Pitting children against each other, even if it is at the request of one of them is..." Luna trailed off, unsure how to continue.

"Barbaric? Immoral?" Shining Armor supplied.

"Yes, those," Luna agreed, pointing to the stallion.

"Even if we allowed this, if you got hurt again..." Cadance shuddered. "I'd hate to think about what happens after."

"As I said, I will allow it. I will also, of course, make sure it does not get out of hand," Lucette interjected. She nodded to Tempest. "As will my Right-Hand." Tempest nodded in agreement, and Lucette turned her eyes towards Twilight. "So, Princess? What is your answer?"

Twilight opened and closed her mouth multiple times, before letting out a deep groan. "I'm gonna hate this, but..." She sighed, then looked to Suki and Smolder. "...I will...allow this."

Smolder clapped her friend on the back, and Suki smiled. "Thank you, everyone." She dipped her head in a bow. "I'll remember this."

Smolder chuckled, slamming her fist into her palm. "Now we just gotta wait until tomorrow!"

Suki giggled. "Yup!" She looked to her mother, then. "Mommy, I wanted to ask something else. Could I have my training swords?"

It was the next morning, and, as stated, the staff, as well as the problem students, were arrayed in the courtyard before Lucette, Suki, Tempest, and Twilight and the other Royals. As the staff consisted mainly of Twilight's friends, whom had seen firsthand how terrible and powerful and terribly powerful Lucette was - along with learning of the situation - they were, understandably, concerned and nervous.

The two sons of House Star were in similar straits, looking up fearfully at the Awoken Queen. Golden Axe, for her part, stared up defiantly, uncaring for the similarly harsh glare that was sent her way from said Queen.

"Good morning, everyone," Lucette began, though the look in her eyes said that this was anything but a good morning. "As you all know, a few days ago, there was an incident with my daughter at this very school." Lucette placed a hand on Suki's head. "My daughter was burned by one of this institution's students. Naturally, I cannot allow this to stand. And, naturally, as you are all either the staff or those involved, you must be punished." Lucette swept her gaze across the group, eyes critical and cold. "From here on out, ten percent of any wages you make while working in this school will go towards reparations to myself and my daughter."

The Elements winced.

"However, I have not failed to recognize that this fault also lies on the guard I assigned to my daughter whilst she was here. As such, she will also be taking a pay cut," Lucette looked briefly to Frista, who only bowed her head deeply as she saluted next to the Elements. The woman turned her gaze towards the three children in front of her. "As for the three of you involved directly in this incident, you will be put under house arrest, and your families will pay reparations as well." Lucette fixed her gaze on Golden Axe, whose own glare had grown stronger. "However, there is one final thing that will be taking place." Lucette stepped aside, and Suki stepped up, oaken shotel and firangi in sheathes on a belt on her waist. "The Minotian Princess will duel my daughter. If she wins, or if she loses, nothing about her situation will change." Lucette shifted a smirk to the young cow. "You will either abide by this, or you will face a longer house arrest sentence."

Golden Axe growled. "You want me to fight your stupid, shitty little daughter?" Golden Axe snorted. "Fine by me."

Lucette didn't reply with anything more than a harsh glare, as did many of the others around them. Suki only hardened her gaze and pointed to a section of the courtyard that was mostly grass.

"Let's fight over there," She said simply, walking towards that direction without any other words.

Golden Axe followed, and those in the courtyard watched on as they took positions. The Ponies all watched on with wary eyes, occasionally glancing to Lucette and Tempest in fear and wariness, whilst the Queen and her Right-Hand kept their eyes on the match.

Ventus appeared, floating over and projecting a red light on the middle of the field below. "Ready...?" The light turned green. "Go!"

Golden Axe charged ahead immediately, fueled by anger as she aimed to gore her Abyssinian foe with her horns. Suki, for her part, simply waited, breathing deeply and slowly. Just as she predicted, Golden Axe canceled her bull rush partway and turned it into a savage uppercut, which Suki, in response, deftly hooked onto with her oaken shotel and slammed into the grass below.

Golden Axe let out a gasp of pain as she fell stomach first to the ground, having committed too much into her strike and paid for it. Suki, capitalizing on the pause, slammed her firangi into the young princess' back, then grabbed her horns with her shotel and lifted her back up.

Dazed, but at the least aware she was standing again, Golden Axe grabbed the shotel and threw it off, following this up with a sloppy haymaker to Suki's cheek.

Suki cried out in pain at the blow, falling to the dirt from the sheer force. Golden Axe made to stomp on her belly with a hoof, but Suki rolled away just in time, the Minotian Princess trying and failing multiple times to stomp on the Storm Princess until said princess rolled to her paws and got back into a ready stance.

Golden Axe growled, steam coming out of her nostrils. "I swear, you're pissing me off almost as much as your shitty mom does!"

"Good to hear," Suki shot back.

Golden Axe snorted, then raised a hand, which immediately lit aflame. "Let's see how you handle this!" She roared, before lobbing a fireball at Suki.

Expertly, the feline used her inborn grace and days of patient practice and rolled under the fireball, coming out of it to land a thrust to Golden Axe's stomach with her firangi, effectively knocking all wind out of the other princess' stomach and causing her to crumple to the ground.

Suki swiftly flashed her shotel to Golden Axe's neck. "You beat me every time because I'm still weak with paw-to-paw. Bet it's not so fun now that I'm using my preferred weapons, huh, meanie?"

Golden Axe growled weakly, coughing even as she shoved the wooden blade away. "Fuck...*cough cough* you..."

Suki shrugged, then hooked her shotel around the cow's horns again and slammed her into the grass again. "I don't play that card game." She retorted wittily, before sheathing her weapons and walking towards her mother.

Golden Axe growled, slowly pushing herself up. "You...won't get away with this..." She vowed, pointing to Suki and Lucette. "You two...are gonna pay...for what you did to my dad...to my country!"

Lucette turned to Frista. "Frista, please take the Minotian Princess back to her home in the Minotian Isles. Also, inform the people of Minotia that their Princess has lost all rights to her house after her sentence is over."

"You bitch!" Golden Axe snarled, getting up and making to charge Lucette, only for Frista to rush over and grab Golden Axe, who thrashed in the hold.

Lucette looked out across those gathered before her. "That will be all. You can all go about your days now. Just remember..." Lucette's eyes flashed with Solar Light, making her look almost like a hellish demon. "If anything happens to my daughter again, this school will not survive." Lucette turned around, grabbing Suki's paw. "Good day."

As the Storm Queen, her daughter, Ghost, and Right-Hand left the courtyard, the Ponies could only think of how lucky they were, letting out breaths of relief as the doors closed.

They had just barely avoided a war. What if next time they didn't? They all shivered. One thing was for certain. They couldn't afford to make the Storm Kingdom angry again. And, in Twilight's mind, she felt this was all the more reason to make the Storm Kingdom a friend and ally. Because if they didn't not only would the School of Friendship not survive...

...Equestria might not survive.

Heya, guys! Sorry it's been such a while since this updated, but I needed time to think more on how the story was going as a whole, and what better way to do that than to write other stories for a bit, ya know?

So, saying that, I'm gonna start giving chapters from here on out more thought, as, from what I can tell, everything feels just a little bit too thin on detail. Never a good thing to have on a story based around politics, that's for sure. So, expect longer chapters from this story from here on out.

Of course, this also means that it will take longer to get chapters out, but, hey, whatcha gonna do?

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Heaven knows I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks for reading!

-Timeless Lord Slayer