“So, we good?” The Storm King grins without waiting for a response. “We good.” He practically skips to the door, pausing only to grab Doug’s pair of embroidered gloves. He glances from the open doorway at the enveloped human, slapping the gloves against the wall to get his attention. “You coming or what?”

Doug sighs in Twilight’s grasp, taking a moment to enjoy her embrace. Yet Luna’s words weigh heavily on him, and Raikou’s insistence doesn’t help. With a sigh he pulls away, yet she resists, and he could swear he hears a faint giggle. He smirks and curls his fingers, running along her barrel with light nips and scratches at her ticklish spots. She squirms, biting her tongue, but when he passes a patch of exposed skin she jolts at the unfamiliar contact. She backs away with a surprised smile, the touch of his hand on her muzzle lingering.

“Wish me luck,” he whispers as he rubs at his head, still in a bit of a daze. He glances at Luna, takes a deep breath, and jogs to catch up to the lanky Storm King.

Luna waits until the door closes before she turns to the gathered ponies. She takes a moment to assess each one before sighing. “We all have our reasons for herding. But we cannot condone promising one of our own to him.”

“Ah’m with ya there,” Applejack agrees. She sits down to free up her forelegs, the other ponies forming a rough circle. “Besides, ain’t any’a y’all suspicious about that there Storm fella promisin’ to join our cause?” She smacks her hoof against the floor, scowling. “The side of Harmony, benefittin’ from some nefarious creature! That ain’t how this is suppost’a go!”

“Indeed,” Rarity chimes in. “How many stories are solved when the villain betrays his former colleagues? None.” She raises her hoof, belting out bombastically, “Mark my words! This is only to set up a later betrayal, ala Discord, to better position him to stab us in the back.”

“But if we know he’s going to stab us in the back,” Rainbow Dash says, scratching at her head. One eye squints as she tries to puzzle out the problem. “Aren’t we just going to… you know… not let him do that?”

“But what about-” Fluttershy starts.

“But what about the idiot ball!” Pinkie Pie shouts over Fluttershy as she leaps into the air. She grins sheepishly as she slowly lowers back down. “Oh. Sorry. I spoke out of turn. You were about to say that.”

“I… um…” Fluttershy says, her face scrunching up. “I was?”

Pinkie Pie nods furiously. “Yup! How the characters need to act in an idiotic manner in order to fall into the obvious trap!

“Oh, no,” Fluttershy says, shaking her head. She taps her hooves together, embarrassed at correcting her herdmate. “That’s not what I was going to say at all.”

“You weren’t?” Pinkie Pie squats down. “Oh.”

“Mm.” Fluttershy nods. “I was just going to comment on how, if the Storm King does swap sides, then that’ll make it really tough for the others to gang up on us. Like when I was a filly; there were two bullies that teased me. They only went away when Rainbow Dash stood up for me.” Fluttershy smiles bashfully. “Well, that and Rainbow Dash is a really good flyer.”

“That I am,” Rainbow Dash states proudly, a hoof on her chest as she beams.

“You know what it sounds like we need?” Twilight Sparkle asks. Her horn whips out a large sheet of paper, an easel, and a broadhead quill. She brandishes the quill, grinning broadly.

Rainbow Dash hunkers down, clasping her hooves. “Don’t say chart don’t say chart don’t say chart…”

Half of the ponies appear to share her sentiment, the other half covering their muzzles while they giggle.

Twilight Sparkle rolls her eyes. “We need a list.”

A cerulean head thunks against the floor.

“We can make a list of pros and cons about each choice.” Twilight Sparkle sighs as Rainbow Dash moans. “Problem?”

Rainbow Dash waves a hoof at the paper. “It’s, just, this is such an…”

She trails off, curling up a little as she forces a smile.

Twilight Sparkle closes her eyes for a moment. “It’s okay, Dash,” she says, opening them and smiling softly at her herdmate. “I can take being called an egghead.”

“No, it’s not…” Rainbow Dash stops for a brief second before speaking rapidly, “Okay, it’s totally that. But if we don’t trust this guy, why should we go along with him?”

“That’s a great question,” Twilight Sparkle says, her smile widening as Rainbow Dash’s ears perk up along with the mare. “But it depends a lot on that ‘if’. What do you say to a little… reconnaissance?”

Rainbow Dash snaps the fastest salute of her life. “I’m on it!” she calls as she speeds out the window.

Twilight chuckles, not surprised in the slightest. “Spike?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Spike calls as he takes to the air. He’s unsteady, but quickly improving, as he tries to hover next to the easel. He grabs the quill from Twilight’s aura, remarking, “Hey, this is way easier than climbing!”

“Divide the board into four areas,” Twilight commands in a firm but gentle manner. “The outside ones four times as large as the inside. The outside will have reasons for or against the Storm King’s proposal while the inside just needs a number for our weighting, or how important each of those reasons is.”

“You got it!” Spike returns, drawing vertical lines separating the columns. He only knocks the board over once before using the up and down motion to his advantage. Writing the reasons already stated - chance of betrayal and Storm King on the cons, military force on the pros - is considerably harder, only able to tackle a letter or two with each flap.

“He did break the Staff, and as far as I could tell that was the real thing.” Twilight waits for Spike to write the reason before turning to the rest of the mares. “Surely it would have been easier for him to take over if he still had it in his possession!”

“But what if he’s just waiting to pull a Jerkflank Johnson right when we think we’ve won?!” Pinkie Pie pulls at her eyelids, stretching them past the point of absurdity. “Then he could take over everywhere!”

“Couldn’t he just’a zapped all the alicorns if he just wanted Equestria?” Applejack frowns at the thought of the Princesses going down so easily. “You know everypony would surrender without a fight.” She pulls her hat off as she sighs. “Hay, he probably wouldn’t even need to force ‘em to work for him. Ah know Ah’d be, um, compliant, Ah suppose, just workin’ at the farm, talkin’ less about Harmony an’ wearin’ a funny insignia on this here beauty.” She taps the brim of her hat, her eyes flicking at Luna and thinking about when Nightmare Moon tried to take over.

It’s apparent the other mares have the same idea, Luna included. She grimly nods; peace and harmony has done much for their land, but prepare them to resist invasion forces? Not so much.

“He needs the other nations to back off first,” Shining Armor adds through gritted teeth. “Otherwise they’d carve up their own slices of Equestria. Literally. Also, speaking as the Captain of the Guard?” Shining Armor glares at Applejack.

“Oh, um,” Applejack stammers, putting her hat back on to cover her shame. She can’t bring herself to say she didn’t mean it.

“I’m ashamed at your accurate assessment of the Guard’s capabilities.” Shining Armor turns to Princess Celestia. “With your permission, I would like to propose a radical surge in our forces, as well as a shift from peacekeeping responsibilities to a more active role in our nation’s defenses.”

“Acknowledged,” Celestia says neutrally, her curt tone considerably more militaristic than normal. “Draw up plans, but we shall have hope that this situation resolves itself considerably more peacefully.”

“Of course,” Shining Armor says, briefly dipping his head.

The ponies wait, looking at Twilight expectantly. It takes her a moment to realize.

“Oh! It’s my turn.” Twilight clears her throat as she studies the board. “This alliance that the Storm King proposed. While it obligates us militarily-” Spike adds that to the cons “-it also opens them up for Friendship. This could be, aside from when the changelings joined, the largest opportunity to spread our cause across their land. Pinkie Pie, you spent some time with them.” Her eyes shimmer at the possibility, a wide smile across her muzzle. “How receptive do you think they would be to a message about the Elements of Harmony?”

“It’s a pretty tight-knit group,” Pinkie Pie muses, pulling a cupcake out of her mane and peering at it. “They’re, like, super loyal to the Storm King. They really liked my party and my cupcakes, especially that Grubber guy, so that’s Laughter.” She shrugs, tossing the cupcake in her mouth and gulping it down in one bite. “They’d be receptive, especially if Raikou goes along with it.”

“And when he requires more and more to ‘go along with it’?” Luna spits out. “It will be, at a bare minimum, a dozen years before he sees more than her bare flank. Will he be satisfied with a mere alliance during that time?”

“That alliance works both ways,” Cadance adds, drawing a curious glance from Shining Armor. “If we require him to secure our permission before invading somewhere, that would curtail his aggressive expansion.”

“If he listens to us,” Shining Armor counters. His stern gaze sweeps across the others. “Who’s to say he will?”

“If he doesn’t,” Cadance replies, “then that gives us cause to pull out.” She motions to Luna. “He needs to be on his best behavior for more than a decade before he gets the reward he’s after.” She sighs at herself. “Look at me, considering a filly a reward.” Her voice catches as she nuzzles her husband. “Though I was willing to consider myself a ‘reward’ before I knew we could start a family together.”

“Perhaps that is the difference,” Celestia muses, her hoof scratching at her chin. She glances at Chrysalis, thinking back to the Tirek incident. “I, too, was willing to sacrifice myself and my future as a last ditch effort if it meant keeping my little ponies alive. But it was something I was willing to offer, not something demanded of me.”

“And what is the difference?” Chrysalis asks, finding herself drawn into the conversation. “Whether it is a mountain’s chill that will freeze to death those on the outermost edge, or a pursuing force who will slaughter the slowest among you, a choice must be made. It matters not whether you force out or hamstring those least valuable among you.” She motions at Spike and the rows of reasons. “The price will be paid. And if you are so worried about one pony’s purity that you would condemn ten thousand to an early grave?” She shakes her head wistfully.

“Ah can think of one Grave who’d take ten thousand ponies,” Applejack says under her breath, earning a few snickers.

“And you’re not worried about your changelings being the ones paying the price?” Shining Armor demands, ignoring Applejack.

“I do not fear death, and neither do they,” Chrysalis states, drawing herself up to stare down at the unicorn. “But that does not mean that I am not worried. Just as I am, and you should be, worried about your ponies.”

Luna scowls at the assertion. “And if the Storm King demands a dozen changelings to serve him in any capacity?”

“Then she would breed two dozen spares,” Cadance replies easily, winking at Chrysalis as she beats the changeling to the buck. “She wants that primate-”

“Hedgehog,” Chrysalis corrects before Cadance can go any further.

Cadance’s brow scrunches up. “Wait, really?”

“It sounds like the main objections to agreeing to this agreement,” Twilight says, trying to get them back on track as she looks over Spike’s nearly illegible clawwork, “are whether or not the Storm King can be trusted to keep his word. That he may not be doing this with the best of intentions or for the right reasons. And that we shouldn’t pressure a young mare into this kind of… arrangement.” She glances around the room. “Anything else?”

Sky Beak speaks up from the back, shaking his head with disappointment. “Once again, you ponies think only of yourselves. I am saddened to have thought any differently.” He turns and exits out the window as the ponies gape.

“Wait, he was still here?” Applejack says, brow furrowing.

Pinkie Pie frowns, rubbing at her eyes as they fill with tears. “And now he’s sad.”

“It’s not easy making everypony happy,” Twilight says, trying to comfort Pinkie Pie. “It’s even harder to make everycreature happy.” She grimaces at the board. “We know he hasn’t been the nicest creature. But it sounds to me like he wants to change. If there’s a chance the Storm King will honor his word, shouldn’t we try? Or should we dwell on the past?”

Luna had opened her mouth to object, but finds it difficult when Twilight turns to her. “We may not be defined by the past. But we are defined by our actions. If Doug judges the Storm King to be of sound character? And is returned, unharmed and on time?”

Celestia gathers herself together, sitting up straight and looking Twilight in the eye. “Do you truly believe this to be the wisest course of action?”

Twilight stalls for time as she takes a hard look at the board. “The arguments for agreement are that an alliance would be a boon for spreading Friendship across the globe, to creatures who never considered it before. Perhaps even release the Hippogriffs to the air once more. It will hopefully prevent a disastrous war, boosting our defenses in the future, and save thousands of lives at the cost of one. And even that one is not truly lost.”

She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes as she concentrates. The decision is monumental. Would she, could she, promise off one so young, so innocent, so precious, to a power-hungry dictator? What would the Elements say? Would she lose her connection to them if she made the wrong choice? How can she know when the choice is so difficult!?

She looks at her Friends. Each of them, waiting for her to make her decision. Watching, with bright, open eyes, trusting her to choose correctly. Her! An untested alicorn, for all the trials she has gone through. A pony just starting on her journey, learning about Friendship. She has had her Friends along with her, helping her through the struggles and uncertainties. What did the Storm King have?

Is she just supposed to trust that things will work out for the best? To have hope for the future, to believe that there resides in each creature a potential to grow beyond our selfish desires? That even if they get stabbed in the back they should still work and strive and sacrifice for their enemy in the hope that they might one day realize the error of their ways. Because to do otherwise would be to believe that they are incapable of growth, that they are undeserving of forgiveness, and that their enemy is no different than themselves.

And when she puts it like that? It feels like a great weight is lifted off her withers as she stands, confidently looking Celestia in the eye.

“Even… even if it were my own foal. I would do it.”

Next Chapter: Ch. 47 - Tempered Flesh, Part Two Estimated time remaining: 24 Hours, 28 Minutes