Twilight had forgotten what the mundanities of being a princess involved. Now she was fully reminded after a full week of slogging through organising the summit. Even with all the help, it had been a lot to do. Finding shelters, clearing the area for the meeting itself, finding enough supplies, organising security, and most importantly, not sacrificing what vestiges of sanity she had left upon an altar built of paperwork. That last part had been quite difficult, especially since the paperwork was a nice change of pace at first.

But, in the end, it had gotten done, and all that remained was to get the delegates here to so the summit could get under way. Hopefully that didn't involve more internal screaming than was necessary. She could dream.

For now though, she could do little more than pace and fret over why none of them had arrived yet. Sure, travelling across continents wasn't exactly a precise science where time was involved, but the time that they had been given to travel over didn't seem unreasonable to her.

She supposed she could be grateful that no new disaster had unfolded over the last week. Faust seemed to be quiet right now, which was a considerable mercy. Trying to get this organised while the Mareitanians marched on some other country would've been a nightmare.

A crunch and some slurping stopped Twilight in her tracks so she could turn her head to glare at Trixie, who had the balls to eat an apple so noisily in her vicinity. Trixie, for her part, grinned back, letting some of the juice dribble down her chin.

"Really, Trixie? Right here? Right now?"

Trixie swallowed quickly, "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise there was a restriction on when and where apples could be eaten. Last I checked, there wasn't."

"Oh, yes, an argument is exactly what I need right now. I'm so very glad you're here to provide me with one, right here at this very moment, thank you."

Trixie snorted a laugh and wiped the juice off her chin with the back of a hoof. "You know, you've gotten real sarcastic over the last week. I'm not sure I care for it."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe if some smart arsed blue unicorn had given me a little more help over the last few days, I might be a little less inclined towards being sarcastic at said blue unicorn."

"I helped!"

"Oh sure, yeah, I remember." Twilight started counting off using different points of her hoof. "You tested the beds,-"

Trixie nodded, "Super comfortable."

"-You tested the food,-"

"Was, and still is, highly edible."

"-You tested the evening refreshments,-"

"Very refreshing."

"-And then threw up in a well, necessitating a very long, slow, and tedious purification process, at a time when water is at a premium, and I was already stressed."

"That could've gone better, I admit," Trixie said meekly. "In my defence, I... um... hmm, I don't really have a defence, do I?"

"No, you do not, which is why I would appreciate you trying to not annoy me right now when we're expecting some very important guests to plan the liberation of Equestria, our home."

"Only in a roundabout sense as far as I'm concerned. Home is where I lay my head down. See that rock? That's my pillow."

Twilight tried to find the rock Trixie was apparently pointing at, but found nothing. Groaning and pressing a hoof to her forehead, she narrowly stopped short of teleporting Trixie somewhere over the bay. "I'm going to pretend you're not here now, 'kay?"

"Okay, fine, I'll-"

"We have incoming!"

Twilight was immediately ready to fight, then stopped as the tone of voice Rainbow used didn't quite carry the urgency those words were usually said with. Trixie was the same, having dropped her apple to fight, and was now just as confused.

"Incoming what?" Twilight asked as Luna sprinted onto the scene, as ready for a fight as the rest of them.

"Saddle Arabians I think," said Rainbow. "Two carriages."

"Damn it, Rainbow, I thought we were under attack! Maybe you should say something else next time!"

Rainbow laughed as she flew in a lazy circle above them, "And miss the looks on your faces? Hah! Not likely. Anyway, they'll be here in, like, twenty minutes. Plenty of time to wipe your war faces back off."

"That's not funny!"

"Sure it isn't. See ya!"

Twilight groaned as Rainbow flew away to keep an eye on things with the other two Wonderbolts. Clearly this was one of those days where everyone was going to be a jerk. Hopefully that would at least be toned down a little around their guests.

"Shouldn't you be going to meet them?" Trixie asked, watching Twilight expectantly.

"Oh sure, I'll spend twenty minutes walking the fifteen steps required to do that. First though, I feel like I might want to go and scream into a pillow. Only for a second or two."

"Hey, whatever floats your boat. You might want to tone down the sarcasm though. You don't want to offend anyone."

Twilight growled, her head sinking lower. "You're so helpful, thank you."

Twilight took a minute to clear her head before taking the more than fifteen steps to get outside of the fenced compound they'd set up for the protection of their guests. Cadence was already there, along with Flurry and the Council of Elders, ready to greet the delegates since she was selected as being the friendliest face they had between them.

It took a while for the two carriages to arrive, pulled as they were by a pair of burly stallions each. Four guards sat on the front and rear of each carriage, and when they pulled up in front of the compound, the eight guards jumped off the carriages and lined up facing each other at the side of the second carriage.

The door opened and Amira stepped out, along with two hoofmaidens. She spent a moment squinting in the sun, then walked up to the greeting party and bowed, all of them bowing back.

"Welcome to Zanzebra," Cadence said in greeting, with Flurry burbling one as well, only adding to the non-threatening front that had them selected to make the greetings. "I hope your journey here was pleasant?"

"Pleasant enough, although," Amira glanced back at the stallions that had been doing the pulling, finding them flat out on the ground, "I dare say that others might disagree. Am I the first here?"

"You are."

"I see. In that case," Amira turned to the council and bowed again, "May I be the first to offer my condolences for the terrible atrocity that Faust committed here. I wish there was something I could offer to help, but with our unwanted alliance to Faust, I am unable to. I'm risking Saddle Arabia's safety just by being here."

"The thought is appreciated," Fumbo said politely.

"Hopefully we can come to an agreement on how to stop Faust once and for all," Amira continued. "Even if it risks all of our combined countries to even try."

Twilight winced at that, as saying such words would only put the zebras off from joining the security pact. That was pretty near the exact opposite of what they wanted to happen. Thankfully Cadence sensed that as well, and quickly moved to intervene.

"I'm sure you must all be weary from your travels, so if you'll follow me I'll show you where you'll be staying."

Twilight followed Amira with her eyes as the whole party followed after Cadence. She hated the way Amira talked about Faust, like she'd never once supported her cause, and had always believed that Faust had to be stopped. It was incredibly disingenuous, and did nothing to make Twilight trust the mare in the slightest. She wished the Sultan had been able to come. She trusted him. Now all she felt was that if there was a traitor in their midst, they were in the Saddle Arabian camp.

"Would you like me to keep an eye them?"

Twilight nodded to the offer Seeker had whispered into her ear, but she knew it would be fruitless. The traitor wouldn't blow their cover here, and wouldn't do anything to risk revealing themselves. It was when they got home again, away from any scrutiny that was the problem.

The next visitors didn't arrive for a few hours, in the middle of the afternoon, during the hottest part of the day. Whether that had been done for the benefit of them, or simply to annoy everyone else, Twilight couldn't quite tell, but fully suspected the latter.

The first sign that they were coming was an insistent hum that didn't seem to come from anywhere in particular. Twilight had put it down to insects buzzing around, then upgraded it to 'really big insects' as the sound got louder. It took a few minutes more to make the connection after that.

Twilight hurried out of her tent, followed by Trixie, and they both scanned the sky, along with several others, searching for the source of the buzzing. There was nothing they could see though, despite having worked out that the sound was coming from a south-easterly direction.

"Changelings can turn invisible, right?" Trixie said, squinting ever harder in the direction of the buzzing that was getting much louder now. "Right? I mean Mayfly could, so I guess the other changelings can too? I'm only asking because I'm expecting changelings to jump me at any moment, and I'm getting antsy."

"They can, although I don't see how knowing that is the slightest bit reassuring."

"Oh, it's not."

"Trust that confounded insect queen to perform the most unsettling entrance possible," Luna growled. "One would almost think she has forgotten what she's doing here to try and intimidate us like this."

"Or maybe I decided to not create a panic amongst the poor little zebras as I flew over."

There was a shimmer in the air a dozen meters above and in front of them, and Chrysalis came into sight, along with a dozen other changelings hovering around her.

"I try to be considerate, and this is the thanks I get." Chrysalis landed and narrowed her eyes at the collection of ponies and zebras on the ground in front of her. "Typical. And so soon after I deigned to answer your summons."

"It was a request, and you wanted this," Cadence reminded her. "At any rate, welcome to Zebrica, Queen Chrysalis."

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes, nice to be here, despite a large part of the city being a massive hole in the ground. I suppose it's funny that I'm the only one here bringing myself into all this on purpose. Does that make me the most charitable one here?"

"If you weren't so determined to get something back, yes," said Luna. "The option to not starve to death can be quite the motivator."

"So long as you haven't forgotten the rest of our agreement."

"How could we possibly do that?" Luna held her gaze on Chrysalis for a few seconds, then stepped aside. "Please, come in so I can explain a few rules to you."

"Rules?" Chrysalis tutted and rolled her eyes again, "This should be good. Do I have to wear an inhibitor at all times? Or shall I merely be shackled in one place where you can keep an eye on me?"

"Neither of those, actually. All we ask is that you don't kidnap anyone-"

"Even if they deserve it? Those scientist types I was gifted have found their visit quite... restful, I assure you."

"No kidnapping anyone," Luna repeated a little louder, "and no cocoons, or other stuff like that in your tent because we have to give them back. You aren't to antagonise the other delegates here, and you are to remain within the compound unless escorted as part of your visit here. Those are rules that all the delegates are to adhere to before you think otherwise. However, at the request of the zebras, you are to be daubed with this at all times."

Chrysalis scowled at the large jar of green goop Luna pointed at that was sat in front of what she assumed was their tent. "And what is that?"

"This is Kuua, a substance that disrupts magic in all forms. With you, it should stop you from transforming your appearance, so that you can't slip out in disguise. All your changelings will have to wear it."

"You cannot possibly be serious," Chrysalis hissed. "You're forcing us to wear this... stuff?"

"We aren't forcing you," Cadence said from just behind Chrysalis. "However, if you don't the zebras will force you to leave, and without you here we can't include your changelings in our plans, and if we can't do that, our agreement is off. Surely that's worth having to wear this stuff for a couple of days while you're here?"

"I would've thought extortion to be beneath you, Princess Cadence."

"Since you said yourself that you were expecting inhibitors and shackles, surely having to wear something like this isn't too bad?"

Chrysalis softened her expression a little, "I suppose you could've done worse. Very well, but I will make it clear that this is under protest."

"Duly noted," Cadence said, failing to keep a smile off her face. "We appreciate your cooperation."

"I hope you do."

It wasn't much longer after the arrival of Chrysalis that the last of their guests arrived, in a far more obvious manner. In fact, it was near impossible to miss once it got close enough.

A large airship came over the horizon, followed by a noise that sounded like an army of changelings, deep, bass, and thrumming. They had no idea what was making that noise until the airship got closer, and they found out that the airship itself was the source of the noise. Four propellers were situated on both sides of the gondola, spinning rapidly as it thrust the airship on at speeds that Twilight had only seen once, in the airships of the Storm King that had attacked Saddle Arabia.

She really hoped that didn't mean what she thought it meant. That the griffons had collaborated with the Storm King to create a new line of airships. She'd have to ask. Before that point though, she could still put on her friendly face to greet the Emperor.

The airship came into land, being guided down the last bit by the crew, who pulled it down to the ground and secured it using really big pins. While that was going on, Twilight took the opportunity to get a good look at the ferocious griffon head on the prow of the blood red envelope. Very intimidating, and kinda stupid looking. As for the design, it seemed much like most airships, save for the propellers.

Once the airship was secured, a ramp was lowered from its side, allowing those on board to disembark. A half dozen guards went down first, lining up on both sides of the ramp as the Emperor descended, a broad grin on his beak.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty," Luna said in greeting, having decided to take the lead from Cadence in this situation. "I see you brought a surprise with you."

"Do you like it?"

"It is quite the sight," Luna said, confident that it posed no real threat to her, and that she could bring it down in less than a minute if she wanted to. "Is this a new development of yours?"

"Indeed it is. We found a destroyed airship in the Talon mountains, bearing the mark of the Storm King. I have no idea what it was doing there, but judging from the wreckage, and all the frozen bodies within it, it was far from intentional. It might possibly have been blown there in the storm that ravaged the area from the south a few months back."

Luna looked back at Twilight for her reaction to seeing the Storm King be mentioned, but saw little, so carried on. "It seems the Storm King would have to be feeling brave indeed to risk travelling into Griffonia. Perhaps you were right about them getting blown off course."

"Either way, I'm glad they did. Within the wreckage they found an engine that runs on refined oil, and my engineers were able to duplicate it to create this." Hergest waved a claw at the airship, "They named it the 'Emperor's Reach,' which is a bit much even for me, but the point is that this might just revolutionise airship travel, as well as open other possibilities for the use of such an engine."

"I dare say it is quite the marvel," Luna agreed. "However, not to be rude, Your Majesty, but I must drag you away from your airship. Some people would like to meet you."

"Oh! Yes, of course. Apologies, Princess, but I do get rather excited over this new technology. Lead on."

Luna resisted the urge to roll her eyes and say something about typical males. Instead she led the Emperor over the short distance to where the Council of Elders were waiting with various degrees of hoping the griffons would just bugger off again. Since that wasn't going to happen, they bowed instead, with the Emperor having the good grace to return it.

"Welcome to Zebrica, Emperor Hergest," said Fumbo.

"It's a pleasure to be here. You have my sympathies about what happened here. No country should have to endure such an attack, let alone one on its civilian population."

"Thank you-"

"Which is why I've come with a gift of grain, and other types of foodstuffs, as well as an offer provide wood and other materials to help rebuild your city, if you're interested?"

"That would-" Fumbo stopped, shaking off all the pretences he was lumbered with. "Really? Why would you do that for us?"

"Because I wish to move on from the past. Mistakes were made by both sides, but we can't continue to let the past dictate our future. We're always going to be neighbours, so we might as well try to get along."

Fumbo turned to the rest of the Council, hoping for something from them, but they were just as confused as him, apart from Kifuniko, who had smoked something in preparation for meeting the Emperor, and was now smiling aimlessly at everything.

Given the lack of support or refusal from the rest of the Council, Fumbo turned back to the Emperor and bowed. "Thank you for the gift, Your Majesty. I will gladly discuss the materials for rebuilding with you, but I suspect your attention is needed elsewhere first."

"Oh please, don't fall for him trying to butter you up."

All of them turned to face Chrysalis as she eyed the Emperor from behind them. An action that was made slightly more intimidating by the Kuua she was daubed with. She, or one of her changelings under her command, had used the Kuua to create a skeletal design over her body, topped with a skull covering her face.

"The infamous Queen Chrysalis of the changelings," the Emperor said, another grin creeping onto his beak. "A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

"Hmm, I'm impressed, you weren't actually lying." Chrysalis walked through the Council, letting them part in front of her. Something that wouldn't be mistaken for anything other than a display of power. With a subtle nod, all three of the princesses moved to stand behind Chrysalis.

"Why would I lie? The things you've done are almost legends in their own right, not to mention your more recent exploits in trying to conquer Equestria. A miserable failure in the end, but a worthy attempt nonetheless."

Chrysalis bared her fangs and hissed, "Mind your tone, Emperor. I had succeeded, and would've continued to have if it wasn't for that ridiculous shield made of love." Chrysalis stiffened as Cadence cleared her throat behind her. "That's in the past now though," she continued, speaking through clenched teeth, "and I look forward to working with all of you towards a more 'amicable' future."

"As do I," the Emperor said smoothly, getting a growl out of Chrysalis as he hadn't been lying then either. She turned to leave, but found the three alicorns blocking her way. She waited for them to move, finally hissing a request for them to do so after several seconds.

"Say please," Cadence said, smiling sweetly at Chrysalis. Chrysalis rolled her eyes and walked around, having been fully reminded that she wasn't in charge here. That was the hope at least. It occurred to Twilight that covering Chrysalis in Kuua gave the changeling queen an advantage if it came to blows.

"I can see this is going to be more entertaining than I thought," the Emperor laughed once Chrysalis was gone. "Has the Saddle Arabian party not arrived yet?"

"They have," Cadence told him. "Would you like to meet them while your griffons get settled in to your accommodations?"

Hergest gestured with a claw towards the compound and bowed, "Lead on. I would prefer to meet all the parties involved before we begin our discussions."

"Is Clarissa not with you?" Twilight asked as they covered the short distance to where the Saddle Arabians were waiting.

"She is ruling in my stead while I am here. I have every confidence that she will perform her duties as well as, if not better than I could. I also trust that Commander Lurin and Captain Greywhisker will keep her perfectly safe."

"And you think she's ready for that kind of responsibility?"

"She is. She's wiser than her foolish griffon of a father, that's for sure. If she hadn't convinced me to give you a chance, the pact wouldn't exist, and Faust would face a far weaker opposition."

"Then at least her father is wise enough to listen to those wiser than he," said Luna. "That's a special kind of wisdom in itself."

Hergest chuckled, "That almost made me feel better." He slowed as he eyed the guards outside the Saddle Arabians tent, "That seems a bit much since we're all supposed to be friends here."

"Tell that to Chrysalis," Twilight muttered as Cadence entered the tent. A minute later she came back out, followed by Amira, who bowed before the Emperor.

"It is an honour to meet you, Your Imperial Majesty."

"We can leave the imperial out of it," Hergest said with amusement. "I've always felt like it's a mouthful to listen to, let alone say." He held out a claw, and after a second of hesitation Amira shook it. "It's nice to meet you, and like with the zebras I hope we can put all the unpleasantness of the past behind us."

Amira softened her expression, then smiled a little. "I'm sure we can. After all, there are far bigger things for us all to worry about now, instead of each other."

"Indeed. So," Hergest rubbed his claws together as he turned back to the Princesses, "what's the itinerary now that we're here?"

"Nothing for today," said Luna. "Today you can relax and maybe try to get to know each other, including the zebras. The Council has agreed to have three of their number here, so that they can decide the worth of joining the pact."

"Are they still indecisive about that?" Amira asked. "I spoke with Fumbo earlier, and he said he could see the benefits of joining."

"I can hardly judge them for being fiercely independent," said Hergest. "I already made my position clear on the open border policy, and that was after joining. I imagine the fact that Griffonia is in the pact puts them off?"

Luna didn't bother to lie about it, "A little, yes. I'm sure with further reassurance, and a good deal on materials to rebuild Zanzebra, they might put aside their dislike of griffons and join."

"If only they could see the benefits far outweigh any drawbacks," said Amira. "The Sultan looks forwards to the day when he can actually show his support."

"As do we." Luna offered the two delegates a quick bow, "If you'll excuse me, I have something I'd like to discuss with my fellow alicorns about tomorrow. Keep on mingling, and do your best to get to know each other." Luna pointed to a fifth tent in the compound, "You'll find refreshments in there, including chilled beverages. Enjoy."

"Shall we?" Hergest asked, getting a smile and nod from Amira before the two of them headed towards the three zebra Councillors to get them to join as well.

"If the Emperor keeps this up, he might just impress me," Luna said as she watched them go. "Too bad not all of them here are so keen." Luna started to walk towards the tent she shared with her fellow ponies, "Chrysalis seems determined to be a ass."

Twilight held open the flap of the tent for the others, dropping it and casting a bubble of silence spell once they were all inside. "I still don't trust Amira."

"And I doubt you ever will," said Cadence. "I've known her for a while though, and I do believe that she is truly on our side now."

"And? From what I saw in Ammare, the country thinks it's allied with Faust, with only a select few knowing the truth. Amira might be honest, but what if one of her party is actually here to spy on us. They could ruin everything."

"Then that is a risk we must take," Luna said firmly. "I doubt there'll be any problems if we don't tell them what our solution is for Faust specifically, or tell them about Discord, or my plan to face Celestia."

"We don't even know that," Cadence reminded Luna. "All we know is that it involves Nightmare in some capacity."

"You'll find out when the time is right. If we are being spied on by anyone, I'd rather not spill all our secrets in front of them."

"Then perhaps there's another way to work this all out," Twilight said as an idea came to her. "While Mayfly couldn't be here because of Chrysalis, Chrysalis herself is also an empath. She could find out if anyone here is lying about their allegiances."

Luna thought about it for a moment, and quickly saw the big problem with that plan. "An interesting idea, Twilight, but the problem is that it involves us trusting Chrysalis. I don't know about you, but I'm sure she is still as much of a snake as ever."

"A spy jeopardises her future in Equestria," said Cadence. "It's in her interest to see that there are none."

"And why are you so willing to give her the benefit of the doubt?"

Cadence shrugged, "Call it a good feeling."

Luna turned away from Cadence, groaning loudly as she made a full circle. "A good feeling? Cadence, are you insane? You want to trust Chrysalis based on a good feeling? I wouldn't trust her until she has at least proven herself a dozen times over-"

"And even then you'd still have your suspicions."

Luna grumbled to herself, feebly protesting that what Cadence said wasn't true, even though it entirely was. What better way for Chrysalis to hurt Equestria than by gaining its trust first?

"I'll go speak with Chrysalis and see if I can't convince her to help us out. She might even enjoy it."

"And I'm going to head to the refreshments tent and see that everything is going well in there," said Twilight. A small lie, since she was actually going to go and ask Amira about the request she'd made during her visit to Saddle Arabia.

Luna raised an eyebrow at the both of them, then shrugged. "I suppose I shall remain here and make sure everything is prepared for tomorrow."

Cadence didn't have a huge understanding of changeling biology. In fact she barely even had a minimal understanding, so she when she stood outside the changelings tent and could feel the anxiety coming from within, she had to wonder whether it was normal that she could feel that.

"Chrysalis? Sorry, Queen Chrysalis," Cadence corrected herself, remembering that she had a bit of a complex about titles.

"What do you want, Princess?"

Cadence made a face at the flap of the tent as it remained unopened. "I was hoping I could talk to you. Can I come in?"

"Can I stop you?"

Cadence hesitated, one hoof off the ground. "Um, if you want? I'm not going to force you to let me in if you don't want me there." Cadence pinned her ears back at the irritated groan from Chrysalis, then at the curse directed at all ponies. "I do need to talk to you though."

"Alright, yes, just come in already."

Cadence lifted the flap and walked in, then immediately stopped. Chrysalis was lounging on a bed that had been dragged to the middle of the tent, and was surrounded on all sides by her guard, making it clear that no one was to get close to her.

"Interesting set-up you have here," Cadence said cautiously.

"It keeps the riff-raff out. Almost. What do you want, Princess? I very much doubt that you've come just to say hello."

"I've come for a couple of reasons, the first of which is to ask why you're not making any attempt to get to know the others here?"

Chrysalis started to laugh, but stopped when she saw Cadence wasn't laughing as well. "Oh, you're being serious. Do you honestly expect me to try and befriend these creatures? I have as little interest in getting to know them as I do in getting to know you."

"I didn't say you have to be friends with them, but they are your allies, and if you're going to be part of Equestria, you will have to interact with them."

"To what end? If you remember correctly, it is you princesses that maintain the political power in Equestria, while I am to remain secondary as the queen of the changelings. Since none of you are going to be dying any time soon, my position is hardly going to advance from there, meaning you can go and play at politics while I get on with ruling my changelings."

"It's not just about that. Your changelings will be fighting alongside the griffons and others. How are they supposed to trust that you won't betray them if you scorn them here?"

"Because there is no purpose in me doing so. While Faust is free, I have no choice but to go along with your way of doing things. If that requires my changelings to fight alongside ponies and griffons, then so be it."

"And after Faust is dealt with?"

"Well that depends, doesn't it?" Chrysalis purred as she looked Cadence in the eyes. "Are you going to uphold your part of what we agreed? Or are you simply using my offer of fighting with you with no intention of allowing us to become part of Equestria?"

Cadence didn't immediately say that they'd do as they said they would. There was no point, as neither side really trusted the other in this situation. They expect Chrysalis to betray them, and Chrysalis expected them to refuse her changelings becoming part of Equestria. Cadence had no interest in deceiving Chrysalis, but saying so wouldn't change her mind, even if the changeling could read it.

"I think in this situation we're all going to have to have a little faith in each other. If we go around expecting deception on all sides, we aren't going to get anywhere."

"But faith is so hard to come by th-"

"Please don't," Cadence interrupted. "I did not put effort into saving your changelings from starving to death just to betray you later, and I know you're an empath and can tell if I'm lying or not. I can accept you'd be suspicious after a millennia of persecution, but can we for now assume that we're on the same page where trust is involved?"

Chrysalis shut her jaw with a click as Cadence spoke, then let a grin creep across it as she finished. "Goodness, such fire. Very well, let us assume that we're all singing from the same hymn sheet. That still doesn't mean that I'm going to attempt to get along with anyone here."

Cadence gave up, accepting that she would only end up chasing after her tail if she carried this on. "Fine, but could you at least attempt to be a little less hostile?"

"I can attempt it, certainly, but that courtesy is a two way street, and I'm already being treated with disrespect, having to wear this distasteful green paint just so the zebras feel better."

"And we appreciate you agreeing to wear it."

"Because you blackmailed me."

"Because we blackmailed you, yes."

Chrysalis grinned again, "I'm so glad we understand one another. Now what else was it you wanted?"

Cadence sighed, because she was about to throw everything she'd just said about trusting others into the trash. Not intentionally, but that was certainly how it was going to look.

"It involves your abilities as an empath."

"Does it now? How do you even know about that anyway?"

"Mayfly told us."

Chrysalis' grin snapped down into a frown. "I bet she did. Ugh, must those defects ruin everything?"

Cadence had an argument ready to defend Mayfly and Thorax, but decided to let it go. Since the 'defects,' as Chrysalis called them, were more biologically stable than the rest of the changelings, it only stood to reason that they'd have the last laugh.

"It's not my place to say," Cadence said instead. "It does give us an advantage though, in that you can catch lies as they're spoken."

Chrysalis laughed again, and banged a hoof down on the bed. It was not a pleasant laugh. "You want me to spy on the other delegates. Oo-hoo-hoo! This is too good! Especially after your little talk on trusting others."

"I realise, but this is less about spying, and more about making sure what we think is true actually is. You're aware of the current status of Saddle Arabia?"

"Allied with both you and Faust, with you secretly and Faust publicly. I'm aware. I suppose you want me to see which one of those is actually true?"

"We only want to be sure they're really with us."

Chrysalis nodded and grinned, but this time there was a touch of respect in it. "So you've learnt the first rule of espionage, to spy on your friends as much as your enemies."

"That's the first rule? I thought the first rule would be something about not getting caught."

"Well, if there were actual rules, I'm sure one of those would be rule one. All the same, I'm impressed. Perhaps you ponies aren't as insipid and naïve as you both look and act."

Cadence levelled a stare at Chrysalis, "I'm choosing to take that as a compliment."

"Don't let me tell you how to take it."

"So will you do it?"

"Certainly, but it's going to cost you something."

Cadence sighed internally. Of course it would. "Such as?"

Chrysalis leaned in closer and licked her lips, her expression hungry in a way that made Cadence very uncomfortable. "How about we start with dinner, then go from there?"

There weren't many in the refreshments tent. Just the Emperor, Amira, some of their guards, and Trixie, who was sat in the corner with a small glass of amber liquid held in her magic. Twilight was about to remind her to keep a clear head, but knowing Trixie it probably wouldn't work. Trixie could therefore be ignored for now.

Twilight went over to the zebra at the bar, whom she knew to be a Night Maiden since getting a zebra that wasn't busy reclaiming their home was an issue at the moment, and rightfully so. She asked for a cider, unfortunately not from Sweet Apple Acres, and drank it at the bar while she tried to listen in to the conversation between Amira and Hergest.

It was small talk mostly, with topics seeming to vary in subject, from what they were doing here, to the heat, and to Faust, but it was all very polite and unlikely to inflame any issues. That, Twilight supposed, was good, but was this really going to work if they couldn't bring up the hard subjects?

It was also kind of weird how different the Emperor acted when you got him away from his seat of power. He seemed less of an Emperor, and more like a wealthy, eccentric individual, acting like he was on vacation. He could talk endlessly about whatever was brought up, and seemed to be enjoying it, despite having to talk with an individual that not long ago he would've despised just for being a pony. Times really do change.

After a few minutes Twilight decided to go interrupt them, because she really wasn't getting anything of interest out of what she was hearing, and Trixie was starting to give her funny looks, probably because she was at the bar, rather than sat with Trixie. Trixie could portray offence easily, even across a room.

"Sorry to disturb you," Twilight said as she joined the Emperor and Vizier at their table. "I have something I need to ask you, Amira. Do you have the items I... requested, while I was in last in Ammare?"

"I do indeed, Princess, although to get it done in time cost considerably more than it usually would. However, the smith that made them hopes you'll be pleased with his work." Amira turned to one of her guards and said something in Saddlan, prompting him to bow and depart.

"And what are you two plotting?" Hergest asked, but not with any malice.

"You'll see," said Twilight.

"Any reason why you had whatever it is made in Saddle Arabia and not my country?"

"Apart from Saddle Arabians having a slightly better idea of how to make items for ponies, no, not really. The fact was that I was in Saddle Arabia, so it was more convenient to ask there."

"Sounds like pony favouritism to me," the Emperor sniffed. He winked a moment later to let Twilight know he was joking.

A minute or two passed through idle chatter as they waited for the guard to return. Again it was always on subjects unlikely to cause offence, but it could only be safer that way. Trixie continued to let Twilight know, through the medium of glaring, that her sitting with them was bullshit.

Eventually the guard returned, a flat, rectangular crate on his back that he slid onto the table. Twilight pulled the lid off, cracking the wood a little, and placed it to the side. The inside was filled with straw, but it was a second's work to brush that aside to find the real prizes, two glaives of silvery metal.

Twilight picked them both out of the crate, feeling their weight in her magic. They weren't too heavy, and were wonderfully balanced like she'd hoped they'd be. She'd designed them to be very slightly longer than Luna's old glaives, and to have less of a curve, so their weight was more centred, unlike the previous ones that were back heavy. They was finished off by two small crescent moons facing the opposite direction to the curve of the blades, their points acting as two smaller blades for stabbing things. A bit of a base way of describing it, but it was what it was.

Twilight smiled, impressed by what she was seeing, and ran a hoof over the designs on the weapons. The crescents had been given a rougher appearance, like the surface of the moon, while the blades had an artistic star design along their lengths, linked together by delicate lines that also looked like the patterns you'd find in frost.

"Very nice," Hergest complimented. "I didn't think pony smiths could do such fine work."

"Why not?" Amira asked, her voice sounding cold.

"Because how do you hold tools without, y'know," Hergest held up a claw, "these? I mean, unicorns, sure, they could probably do it best, but other ponies?" Hergest stopped and cleared his throat awkwardly as he noticed the looks he was getting off everyone, "I'll just accept that I was wrong."

"Magic does make engraving easier," Twilight offered as a compromise, although having magic didn't actually make you better in the long run. Skill did. She turned the blades over, finding their undersides blank like she'd asked, ready to receive the runes that would be used to enchant the blades.

"I'm guessing those are for Luna?" Trixie asked, having put aside her annoyance at Twilight to come look at the shiny things.

"Yes they are. She always seems so lost without them in battle. Hopefully this'll fix that."

Trixie snorted and pouted playfully, "You never get me anything."

"That bourbon you're drinking. You're welcome."

"Touché."

Author's Notes:

Step 1: Start writing a chapter with something in mind
Step 2: Add some stuff for padding
Step 3: Go flying off in some direction other than where you intended to go because fuck the police
Step 4: Remember you write this stuff for free so there is no profit