A firm but brief series of knocks caused pony ears to perk towards the door. "I'll get it," called the mother, trotting towards the door. "Who is it?"

She grabbed the door's handle in her mouth and pulled to reveal not a mailpony or a friend, but a strange bare-skinned alien. "O-oh!" The curious thing had a uniform of some kind with all too many pins and decorations. "I... Hello?"

"Hello," he returned with a soft nod, reaching up to his hat to tip it at the mare. "I am looking for Bright Morning." His words were slow, not being nearly as experienced as Crane in the new language. "I am Major."

The mare took half a step back. "Is she... you aren't here to hurt her, are you?" She took a step forward, strength returning to her. "I won't let you!"

"Did someone say Major?!" came a shrill excited cry from within the house. On small galloping hooves, a filly rushed into view with sparkling eyes. "Wowwwww! Hello! Oh wow! Mom! It's Major!"

Mom blinked slowly. "Wait, you were the one she was writing those letters to?!"

"Yes." He would have liked to add 'ma'am', but didn't know that Ponish word. "She invited me here. I want to tell her good news."

"Yes!" repeated Bright Morning far more excitedly than her mother. "Come in, come in! I'll get the tea going!" She hurried away in a cloud of youthful excitement, a squeal trailing along after her.

Mother stepped back and aside slowly. "She's... very excited to see you, clearly. I'm sorry for being... cautious."

"I would be too if we swapped place." He smiled as he entered their crystal home. "I am not sure what you told already."

"Major!" She came rushing back and circled around him, gazing up. "You're so tall! You have minotaur hands." She suddenly pressed her cute little nose against one of his hands, nuzzling him. "But you have no fur. It's so smooth! Wow..."

Major gently pet over her head. She had no horn, which made him wonder how she had written what she had. She just giggled and bounced in place, seemingly entirely alright with the gesture. "You are a brave child. What made you write the letters?"

The little crystal filly pointed a hoof. "The tea should be ready! Oh, um. I just wanted the fighting to stop, and mom always told me that if you want to stop fighting, you have to talk, and listen. So I tried that..." She began to lead the way, her crystal form bouncing with every step in defiance of any amount of weight one would assume being somewhat crystalline would have. Her softness was also not diminished by it.

Mother closed the door with a press of her snout. "Have... a nice visit. If you need anything, I will be right here." Worrying to death, silently added Major, imagining how awkward it would be if the situation were reversed.

"Why don't you join us for tea?" he offered, hoping to ease the worries of the mother.

Her nervous expression brightened a little. "I would be delighted. Bright, you heard Major, set another place for your mother."

"Yes, Mom!" came her call as things shuffled in the next room.

They both, the major and the mother, proceeded to her room to share news of the war's end.

Ember landed with several other dragons landing on either side. "Hey, you!" she barked at the human she could see, standing guard over one of those 'metal dragons' that sure didn't look very draconic in her eyes. "Are you invading the ponies?"

The human peered at her in an odd way that she didn't like. "No."

"Then why are you here?" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"Peace talks." He pointed to the palace.

"What? The ponies made friends?! They're always making friends!" She lifted into the air. "Wait here, I'll be right back." She took off towards the palace, grumbling the entire way.

One of the other dragons was peering at the Osprey. "Looks more like an airship..."

Ember landed at the base of the stairs to the palace and stormed up them. "Spike! You here? Your ponies are being lame!"

Spike hadn't been there, but that was quickly addressed, the small dragon hurrying towards the entrance of the palace. "Oh, hey, Ember. Always nice to see you."

"Yeah yeah, now tell me what the invaders that hurt ponies and dragons are doing here!"

Spike hiked a thumb into the depths of the palace. "We just declared peace. The war's over. Isn't that great?!"

"No. No it is not." She reached out and poked Spike right on the nose. "We haven't even had a chance for revenge yet! You don't just kill a few dragons and go 'oops my bad' and that's that. C'mon, Spike, be real."

"Uh..." Spike hiked a brow. "I mean, it's... over, what do you want to do?"

"Ugh, Spike, sometimes..." She pushed him aside and flew inside. "Hey, human lord, where are you?!"

All the rulers present turned their attention to the shouting approaching them. "Ember?" asked Twilight curiously, taking half a step towards the open archway before Ember flew in through it.

"There you all are," Ember angrilly huffed. "Is that the human lord?" She pointed at one of the Secret Service agents.

Celestia shook her head softly. "That is one of his guards. President Crane, this is Ember, Dragon Lord. Ember, President Crane." She inclined her head towards Crane. "It would be lovely if--"

"Yeah yeah yeah. Hello bird." She landed beside Crane to the wariness of his guards. "I got a problem that you have the answer to."

Crane examined Ember. She was the smallest ruler so far, but she had a scepter in a feudal sort of symbol of leadership. "What problem might that be?" The horses were... cute, mammalian, soft, and colorful. The dragon seemed irritable, reptilian, and not at all very soft.

"You killed some dragons, and we demand satisfaction." She thrust up a finger at him. "I'm calling you out! We want our chance for revenge. None of this 'oh we're done fighting' thing. One fair fight. Your side, our side! No surprise attacks! Send your best, and we'll do the same."

Twilight hurried between them, her wings extended towards either national leader. "Please! We don't have to--"

Ember brushed the wing away. "Hey, mind your business. This is between me and him." She thrust a thumb at the mention of him. "What do you say, human lord? You up for the challenge or do you admit your nation can only win when it can attack when nocreature's looking?"

Crane considered the angry, and yet somehow not entirely unreasonable, dragon. "May I set some rules?"

She hiked a scaled brow at that. "Like?"

"If you wish to have a military game, we can arrange that, but we've had enough fatalities on all sides." The princesses all nodded in agreement with that sentiment. "If a person is hurt, or gives up, they're out."

Ember hiked the other brow, both raised. "Huh, that's just a handicap against you. Dragons don't get hurt easily, and you look all kinds of soft and delicate. Also, this isn't a game. It's a matter of honor! Now do you accept or not?"

That only had him more curious. "We will use painted bullets that will sting but are typically harmless. Do you have that?"

Ember squinted at that. "Come again?"

"Will your dragons be using hand cannons?" He turned to a Secret Service Agent. "Show her your gun."

He drew his pistol free in a safe fashion, the barrel pointed at no living target.

Her confusion vanished. "Oh yeah, those. We got some of those. We don't need 'em. We got fine weapons right here." She wriggled her claws. "Some dragons like those though. So painted bullets?"

"The cannon balls that go inside them," he explained. "If you don't have them, we can help you get them, otherwise I would have to insist you don't use hand cannons. They would be too dangerous."

Ember snorted, smoke escaping her snout. "Really? Unless you aim 'em just right, they just hurt. My dad says he can't even feel them, but we aren't all that awesome." She shrugged softly. "Fine, whatever. We don't need 'em! We'll teach you who's better with our bare claws." She wriggled her sharp claws, looking ready.

Celestia cleared her throat softly. "If you would both permit, we would be happy to help mediate this... rematch? We would prefer both sides avoid any further misunderstandings."

"Whatever! Are we on?" Ember's vision was locked on Crane.

"I will begin the arrangements. I trust you can be contacted through Equestria?" He gestured lightly to Cadance. "We're opening communication lines right now."

"Yeah sure, sounds great." She shrugged lightly. "Fine, so give the word, then we'll settle this properly." She flew off, seemingly content with the arrangement that had been made. Dragons would get their chance to prove their superiority.

"Queen Novo," asked a mer-human. They didn't bow properly. Americans rarely bowed at all, Novo had noticed. They nodded, sure. They tipped their hats sometimes. They deferred when required. They did not, usually, bow. "We would like permission for two things." He held up two fingers before moving the same hand to gesture at a collection of about twenty other mer-humans. "We want to immigrate permanently. How do we get citizenship in Seaquestria?"

Novo's ears lifted curiously. She swam to the human, her tail carrying her smoothly in a moment. "Are you willing to accept me as your queen?" She reached with her finned hooves, cupping the male human's cheeks. "Know that I do not have shards for you, if you were hoping they would come with it."

"We would ask someone else to get legs," he assured, though he was tense at her touch. Humans did not do casual physical contact. Another human trait. "You would be our queen, of course."

"You would have to do as I say... I know humans do not like that idea. It is a matter of trust. My people love me, not because I command it, though I do." She smiled at what was, to her, fine humor. "But because I lead them well, and my orders keep us safe and happy." She pulled his face closer as hers came in, their foreheads touching with a soft swish of bubbles. "Do you all accept that?"

The mer-human was trying to shy away from her, clearly uncomfortable, but he didn't back down. "You have... a fine country, and you haven't asked anyone to do anything that awful. Please, Queen, some space?"

"Since you asked." She released him and drifted back with soft undulations of her fins. "I was testing you. Now, you mentioned a second thing. I feel it may impact my first decision, so I would hear it before answering either?"

"We want to build a town, of us, you know, humans."

"Denied," she stated flatly.

Shocked noises echoed through the gathering of petitioning humans. The one chosen to be their spokesperson extended hands with crooked fingers. "Why? We'll follow all the rules."

"While I feel reasonably certain you would, that is not the issue." She leveled a hoof at the human. "If you wish to join us, join us. There is no need for a human-only town, or district. If you are a Seaquestrian, all of the kingdom is yours. Live where it pleases you and it should not matter if your neighbor had ears that move, or ears that do not." She wagged one of her ears for emphasis. "We are all Seaquestrians."

The man clenched a hand, the fist trembling a moment. "But... what about our families?"

"What about them?" asked the queen with an impassive face. "Any family would, I imagine, share a home. It would not matter what neighbors they had, provided they were kind and good neighbors, and if they are not that, then we have a different issue to address."

She twirled in place, hooves going wide. "I will not split my kingdom in twain. There will not be human hospitals and Seaquestrian hospitals. That denies that you are Seaquestrians, which is what you are asking to become." She lifted her body, going horizontally flat. "If you wish to become one of us, then you will do it fully, or you can return to where there are human neighborhoods and human schools and human everything else."

Author's Notes:

Bright Morning is excited to finally meet her penpal.
Ember declares a revenge match!
And Novo deals with supplicants. All interesting things, I think.

Enjoy the writing? Help me stay afloat and show your support by joining the atreon!

Join my discord to chat!