"I feel like I'm one of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table," I said as I looked at the massive circular table with chairs around it, each specifically designed and labeled with the names of everyone in attendance. Above me, I heard Eve flying around, getting a bird's eye view of the council chamber.
The castle itself had been apparently staffed ever since Celestia and Luna discovered its rebirth. Minimally staffed, of course, but it had been staffed. There were guards and maids that had been living there, cleaning, organizing, and maintaining the castle for months.
We'd all been given rooms to stay in since Celestia didn't think it would be over in one day. I was sharing a room with Zecora, the Mane Six were all in one room with six beds, Gemini and Mica would be in a room right next to mine, Sunset would have a room to herself and Scarlet would have had a room all to herself but she begged permission to sleep in my room.
When we'd dropped off our belongings, and after I'd gotten changed into a suit Rarity had made specifically for this occasion, we met with the Princesses in the old throne room. Seeing them sitting in their old thrones brought me a sense of nostalgia despite my not being there during their lives in this palace. In another life, perhaps I arrived a thousand years ago and led Equestria into some golden age of technological revolution, but that hadn't happened. They showed us to a massive conference room, one of the rooms I'd left empty, and that was where we all were now.
The conference room was massive, a circular room with six doors, each leading somewhere in the castle. The ceiling was domed and a massive chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating everything. The table itself had a map of what I presumed was the known world of Equestria painted painstakenly onto it. Somehow, it didn't surprise me that they hadn't explored the entirety of the planet, since there were parts labeled UNCHARTED TERRITORY.
Celestia, who was watching me with a bemused expression as I looked around the council chamber, chuckled. "And who are these Knights of the Round Table?"
Before I could answer, Twilight Sparkle chimed in. "Oh! They were a group of knights who lived in the British Isles," she explained. "They all served under the legendary King Arthur, one of Britain's most famous kings. They were pretty well known for their exploits, mythical or otherwise."
"Couldn't have said it better myself," I said before turning back to Celestia. "You've been busy, Princess." I put my hand on the table, letting it drag along as I walked around it.
"I'm always busy, my Knight," she said with a smirk.
"You know what I meant," I smirked back before I continued walking around the table, taking everything in. "What kind of wood is this?"
"White Pine," Luna said.
"Oh wow," Twilight said "I read that in Buffalo culture, they consider it as a sign of a peace that combined many of their warring tribes over five hundred years ago."
"An appropriate choice, then," Rarity said.
"Hang on there, sugarcube," Applejack said, looking over at Twilight, "if y'all knew about the Buffalo, why'd we have trouble in Appleloosa?"
"She's been reading about them ever since we got back," Spike, who was sitting on my shoulders, replied.
"Egghead," Rainbow Dash smirked.
"This coming from you?" I teased. "Or should I remind you about our little field trip to Cloudsdale?"
Rainbow blanched and waved her hooves in plea, but it was too late. Twilight had heard the magic words, and looked at her Pegasus friend. "Field trip?! You went on a field trip without me?"
Rainbow gave me a glare that all but screamed I am so gonna get you for this. I just grinned back at her, winked and blew her a kiss which seemed to catch the flying demoness off guard a bit. But, deciding to help her, I said, "Don't worry about it, Twilight. It was a private little field trip. I'll tell you the details later."
"You'd better," she said eagerly.
Just then, I heard a loud horn blowing from outside the castle. We all turned towards the door nearest to the direction of the sound. I put Spike down, rushed over, opened the door and heading onto a large balcony overlooking the Everfree and the bridge that led across the chasm separating Everfree from the Castle. Coming up the pathway was a procession of larger Ponies, and two immediately stood out. Mostly because I'd seen them in the episode where Trixie reappeared. Two Unicorn Saddle Arabians on either side blew large curved horns, then a third, this one a Pegasus Saddle Arabian, shouted, "Announcing the arrival of Princess Amira and Prince Haakim, Representatives of Sultan Abdul el-Hamid of Saddle Arabia!"
"That's our cue," Celestia said to her sister. "Jethro, if you'll excuse us, we have to go greet our incoming guests. Could you and your friends go to the waiting room until I call for you?"
"Of course," I said.
As Celestia and Luna flew off the balcony towards the castle entrance, I turned and headed back into the council chambers, heading once more towards another set of doors that, coincidentally, were directly behind my assigned chair. I opened the double doors into an extremely posh and comfortable looking waiting room. Couches covered with the softest red silk and satin sheets were spread everywhere, surrounding a roaring fireplace at the back of the room. I took a seat near the fire and stared into it, and I was hardly surprised when Scarlet and Zecora came to sit on either side of me, snuggling up close to me. Eve sat on my shoulder, leaning against my ear and quickly falling asleep, her cute little eeeev….eeeev… snoring sounds making me smile. Their warmth and affection soothed my nerves, and I felt myself relaxing.
That was, until Rainbow decided revenge was within her grasp. "So…how'd the date go, Mr. Herdman?"
I groaned, but secretly was grateful for the distraction. Turning, I saw the other Mane Six and Spike all looking at me, varying degrees of curiosity in their eyes. Even Eve woke up and looked over at me, tilting her head curiously. "It went really well, actually," I said. "We went to see a musical rendition of A Hearth's Warming Tale, then spent some time at Citrus Cellar. We actually tried the Dash of Rainbow, by the way."
Pinkie's eyes went wide. "Oooh! What's that?! A triple chocolate fudge sundae with rainbow sprinkles?"
"Nah, it's Rainbow's favorite meal," I said, before explaining it to her. "But the dessert was delicious too. Chocolate Cake Shake."
Pinkie's eyes went even wider. "I have to go there!" she said, bouncing around the room.
Despite myself, Pinkie's antics caused me to smile. "I'll take you there sometime. After Twilight teaches me the spell she used to help a non-Pegasus walk on clouds."
"That's an easy one," Twilight chuckled.
Fluttershy walked over to me, sitting down in front of me and putting her forehooves on my legs. Her smile was wide, but something in it didn't quite reach her eyes. "What did you do afterwards?" she asked.
"We went to the Rainbow Dome Fountain, then went for a little fly. We came home after that," I said.
"And he kissed me hard!" Scarlet giggled.
Fluttershy's hooves tensed up a bit, but her smile remained. "You did?"
There was something in her voice that made me shiver a little. It felt…icy. "Yeah…I did," I said with a nervous smile. I sure hope Fluttershy doesn't end up being a yandere, I thought. I'm going to have to talk to her tonight. Then, an idea came to mind. My lap was open, so I lifted the yellow Pegasus up in my magic, then set her directly on my lap. She squeaked in surprise when I wrapped my arms around her. "Jesus, you're trembling. Are you that cold?" I asked, holding her closer.
"Um…sure…" she said, but I could only guess that it wasn't the cold that was making her tremble.
As Fluttershy snuggled into me, I looked at the others. "So…on a scale of one to completely crapping your pants, how scared are you about this Council?"
Fluttershy's increased trembling answered all I needed to know about her thoughts. Twilight took a deep breath and said, "I'm excited, and a bit nervous."
"You mean nervouscited! It's like you wanna jump up and down and yell YAY MEE!" she began, bouncing up and down in her normal Pinkie Pie way. "But you also wanna curl up into a teeny, tiny ball and hide at the same time," she finished, making said motions and rocking back and forth. Then, to my delight, she actually uncurled much like a Transformer, although I was a bit disappointed not to hear the special effects. "We've all been there!" she finished, patting me on the head.
"Fluttershy's there almost every day," I replied automatically, hugging the trembling Pegasus closer. "And I feel you. Feels like my heart's about to explode from all the excitement and terror."
"We're all here for ya, ah hope ya know that," Applejack said.
"With how often you all say that, it's hard not to forget," I said, reaching up to stroke Fluttershy's mane. "Thank you…"
"So…what should we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
I chuckled. "Well, I did bring my laptop with me. Twilight, Spike, should we show the others our little adventures as the Dragonborn?"
The Unicorn and Dragon both perked up at that, as did Sunset Shimmer. "Tamriel?" she asked. "Elder Scrolls?"
"Damn right," I said. "This is Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim."
The others looked at me curiously as I pulled out my laptop, turned it on, then set it in my lap and projected the screen into the air. "What in tarnation is this?" Applejack asked as she sat on one of the couches.
"Ladies, I welcome you…to the magical world of Skyrim." And I hit LOAD GAME.
"Use a fire spell! A fire spell!" Applejack was shouting as my new character, who I'd named Korzen, circled around the random dragon we'd encountered near one of the stone walls where a dragon shout word had been located.
"That won't work on a dragon!" Spike said. "We're pretty impervious to fire."
"This is a game, Spike," Twilight said as she continued watching the fight unfold, "and that dragon is spouting ice, not fire."
"Drink some health potions!" Rarity shouted.
"No, he should use the magic healing spell," Sunset Shimmer countered.
"Kwaawk!" Eve shouted, although I had no idea what she was saying.
"But he already used a dragon shout," Fluttershy said, "and he can't shout for a while now, right?"
"I'm out of potions and MP-and I'm dead," I said as my character finally expired. "Well, drat. Guess we've gotta try again-"
The door opened slightly, and Shining Armor poked his head in. "Pardon me, but the last of the delegates have arrived. The Princesses will be calling you shortly."
As the game loaded from the last save point, I hit Escape and paused the game. "How long do we have?"
"She said ten minutes," Shining said, "but it could be sooner."
"We'll be ready," I said. Nodding, Shining closed the door. I began closing the game down, and when that was finished, I closed the laptop. Standing, I straightened my tie, only for Rarity to stand in front of me and use her own magic to straighten my own clothes with her magic. "Rarity?"
"Hold still, darling," she said as she continued straightening my clothes. Finally, she stepped back and nodded. "Perfect."
I folded my wings back into their neutral position, then faced the door. "Alright, are we all ready?"
"As ready as ah'll ever be," Applejack said.
"Let's show those stuck-up royal types that you're not a monster," Rainbow Dash said.
The others gave similar platitudes, and the more they did, the wider my smile became until it threatened to make my jaw hurt. I walked over to a nearby table, grabbed a glass, poured some water into it, downed it completely, then turned. "Showtime, then," I said.
The doors opened, and I saw Shining stepping in. "When Princess Celestia announces you, please step through and take your seats," he said.
For the next few minutes, I could hear Princess Celestia announcing the names of all my friends. Eventually, I was the only one left, albeit guarded on either side by the heavily armed Gemini and Mica, with Eve sitting on my shoulder still. I turned to Gemini. "You think it's wise to let them know Mica's still alive?"
"We are both your guards," she said. "If the Princess has an issue with that, she's more than welcome to try and kill me. But she's more spoiled than you think. She has no combat experience."
"I'm not afraid," Mica said.
I put a hand on his shoulder. "I know, my friend. Just worried."
Mica smiled up at me. "I'll be fine. I've got a kickass big sister and a powerhouse of an employer."
I smirked. "Silly wolf."
"And last, but certainly not least," Celestia said regally, "gentlebeings of the world, I would like to introduce you to the one responsible for the idea for this council: the being from another world, Sir Jethro Edward Bethridge, human being and Knight of Equestria."
Straightening, I confidently strode out into the council chamber. Eve launched herself off of my shoulder and flew in before me. Gemini and Mica stepped in behind me, armed and with serious expressions on their faces. The room was silent as I felt the eyes of every individual in the room lock onto me. Not only the representatives, but the various guards standing behind each chair.
I looked around the room slowly, surprised at how many various sapient races there were in the world. Stepping forward, I pulled out my chair, the only one of its kind in the room, then slowly, I sat down in my chair. Mica and Gemini took positions behind me, as did two other Royal Guards. I pulled out my laptop and put it in front of me, keeping it closed. When that was done, I put my hands on the table, folding them. I took the opportunity to look around the room.
The first thing I noticed was that each seat had a large glass or mug at each seat, full of ice water. The second thing I noticed was that I was seated currently between Luna and Celestia. On either side of them, the Bearers of Harmony, Zecora, Scarlet, Sunset Shimmer and Spike all sat. To my left, right after the last of my friends, I saw the two Saddle Arabian royals from before. Next to them, I saw the unmistakable form of Prince Rutherford. However, what surprised me was that I could actually see his eyes. He also looked more clean cut than anything I'd seen. Next to him, a smaller Yak sat. Thanks to the name plate in front of the Yak's seat, I could see their name was Veritas. She was a female by the looks of her and the more feminine clothes she wore.
Next to her, I saw two Hippogriffs, one being the ever-familiar Skystar, and a darker gray male dressed in official looking clothing who was named Silverstorm. Next to them, the blue scaled Princess Ember glowered suspiciously at me while the dark green scaled and twice as large Ambassador Fuego sat and gave me a stony glare. I had to admit, Ember was actually pretty attractive for a dragon. Unlike in the show, she actually wore some kind of metal bra over some decent sized breasts. I assumed she had on something similar around her nether regions. Next to them, two nearly identical looking Griffons sat, Greta and Gillian. Both were dark blue with pure white feathers and dark green eyes. They might have been identical, but I could see them as fraternal twins of some sort.
Next to them, I finally got my first glimpse of the Deerfolk. The first, Lady Arathyra, was a slender looking doe with completely white fur, bright blue eyes, and robed in light blue garments that shimmered. The other deer beside her, Ambassador Ebiner, was a brown furred buck with long dark horns that were decorated with a few gold rings. He wore dark brown robes and had a pair of spectacles on his face.
Next to them, I saw two Zebras, one being a younger looking female named Princess Amani with a small golden circlet on her head that looked like it had once been a crown of sticks that had been dipped in gold. Like Zecora, she had large earrings on, along with four golden neck chokers. She wore a dark blue striped dress. Beside her, the Zebra stallion named Ambassador Kujadiliana sat. He was larger than Amani, and wore what could only be described as wizarding robes, albeit made of a darker brown silk. I was somewhat reminded of Elves from Lord of the Rings and I wondered if they, too, could perform magic.
Beside them, two humanoid felines sat, their nameplates labelled them as Princess Redclaw and Ambassador Highfur. The princess had dark red fur, light red hair of some sort and dark blue eyes. She was dressed in light green dress and had her eyes fixed on me. Beside her, a black furred male sat, wearing a brown button-down coat and a red cravat. His green eyes were giving me an appraising glance up and down.
Next, I saw two Caribou. Only these two were anthropomorphic in appearance. Their nameplates read Thormod Leidolfsson and Frida Regindottir. They reminded me somewhat of the Deerfolk, but with lighter fur. Frida had smaller horns coming from her head, and she was wearing what I could only describe as a black jacket with white fur lining the sleeves. Thormod beside her had a similar jacket on, only this one was dark brown. His horns were larger and had more to them. Both their fur was light brown with darker spots all around. Judging by their names, they had to have been more like Vikings or Norse than anything. I wondered if they had their own versions of Valhalla.
And lastly, I saw two Lycan females, each giving me cold glances. I recognized the princess of the Empire, who was wearing a light purple dress and the same circlet on her head I'd seen her wearing the last time I saw her. She was glowering angrily at me, but also at the other two Lycans standing behind me. The older Lycan Jaspar beside her had a cooler head, it seemed, and was wearing what looked like ceremonial armor with a battle axe sitting next to her chair in plain sight.
Celestia, who was to my left, looked out on the gathered representatives with the eyes of a leader. Cool. Collected. Full of hope. She was the first to speak after I sat. "My fellow Equestrians," she said, making sure her voice was heard across the room which wasn't too hard considering it allowed for echoing, "I am pleased to see each and every one of you in this room. We have all gathered in the name of peace, harmony and cooperation in the hopes of answering your questions about the events of Eris' invasion of our world. I will not lie: these past few weeks have been a trying time for our world, our very nations and inhabitants. No, not trying. For a brief time, we were in a state of war. Not with an enemy nation, but with ourselves. Family against family. Neighbor against neighbor. Friend against friend. None of us escaped this horrendous event. It saddens me deeply to know just how much each and everycreature in this room has lost. It might sound pretentious coming from me, but I do grieve with thee." And with that, Celestia put a hoof on her chest and bowed. I saw a couple tears fall onto the table. I saw a few of the prey species look shocked at this, but the predators simply glowered.
When she raised her head, she continued. "I know all of you have seen Eris' broadcast which showed the human television show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," she continued, "but for that, I would turn that over to our resident expert in human affairs: our knight Sir Jethro Bethridge." She turned to me and nodded.
With a single motion, I brought out my laptop, set it up, and opened it. I opened the MLP folder filled with images of various characters from the fandom, some of whom were in the room. I clicked on the first, which showed the Mane Six as seen in the Season One through Three intro. Casting the spell that mirrored my screen, I rotated it so it was facing the crowd of gathered dignitaries. "Gathered representatives of the world," I began, "what I am about to share with you is one of the hardest truths anyone in this world has probably ever had to face, but I assure you, as God Almighty and my Princesses are my witness, it is the truth. Absolute and undeniable. As you can see, this is an image of the Bearers of Harmony as they appear in the television show my Princess mentioned. You can see Twilight Sparkle, Applejack Apple, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash here. They are the main characters of this story."
"Of course you humans would worship Ponies," I heard Amethyst growl. "Weak and soft, just like you."
I ignored her and continued. "I see faces in this crowd today that are actually familiar to me. Like so." I hit the arrow key a couple times, and the image changed to Princess Ember. The real one's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the image. "As you can see, a few of you have shown up in this show. Here." I showed images of the two Saddle Arabians, Prince Rutherford and Princess Skystar. "However, the rest of you are a complete unknown to me," I added. "As my Princess has so graciously greeted you, so do I in the name of hopeful future friendship and cooperation."
"As interesting as this is," Amethyst said, "I think we're missing one of the more main matters at claw. Eris: what has been done with her? Because, let's be honest, Princess, she is a danger to the entire world, not just your quaint little kingdom. Not to mention the architect of her escape is the one you foolishly knighted."
Celestia was about to answer when Sunset Shimmer hit her hoof on the table. "Your Highness, if anypony is to be blamed for Eris' release, it's me," she said, looking at the Lycan Princess with a brave and cool expression. "I allowed for her to corrupt me all those years ago before I left Equestria, and I'm the one who brought the small portion of her back so that she could be freed."
"And what of what Eris told us about the human race and their propensity for violence?" Lady Arathyra's voice was almost melodious. Just what I would have expected from Equestria's answer to High Elves.
I was about to reply, when Luna put her hoof on my hand. "Allow me to answer that question with a question," she said as she stood, then looked around the room. "Among us, I see beings of both prey and predator species. How many among you can honestly say that we are innocent of war and bloodshed? Any of you?" Luna let the question linger in the air before she continued. "No species is perfect. Not even Ponies. We once lived in a constant state of bitter hatred of each other, Earth Pony, Pegasi and Unicorns were all on three sides of a bitter stalemate war. There was no harmony among us. Many Ponies even died at the hooves of other Ponies during that time."
Now that did catch me off guard. I didn't know that Pony murders had occurred during the Age of Windigos. Just another reminder that this is a real world, not some cartoon, I thought. Luna continued. "I am no expert when it comes to humanity, so I will leave the explanation of that to our Knight."
She turned and nodded at me. I bowed, then turned to the assembled delegates. "I will not deny that humans have had wars and bloodshed in our history, but we are also capable of much more than that. Humans are much more than just advanced weaponry and bloodshed. We're also creatures of compassion, love, and dreaming really big. Humans are a very inquisitive race. Back on Earth, humans don't have wings or magic like I do, and they've accomplished some pretty amazing things. Lifespans have been extended thanks to advances in medicine. Worldwide communication can happen instantly. We've even set foot on our moon."
"You still have not answered my question," Amethyst said. "What has been done with Eris?"
"The Bearers of Harmony turned her into stone," Celestia replied calmly. "She is locked in an eternal prison. She has been hidden away where nocreature can find her and is under constant surveillance under the watchful eye of our most loyal and disciplined guards."
"That's not good enough," Ember said, her own teeth barred in anger. "Princess Celestia, thanks to that bitch, over two hundred Dragons died at each other's claws, and hundred more eggs were smashed in the chaos. Our lands are still recovering. My father the Dragon Lord is demanding answers, and he deserves them. We all do!" She hit her fist on the table angrily. "We want her head on a platter!"
"The Yaks are in agreement with the Dragons," Prince Rutherford said, and I was surprised at how fluid his Modern Ponish was. I'd half expected him to talk in more broken type sentences, but apparently this version of Rutherford was more well versed in Ponish than his television counterpart. "This is not a Pony only issue! The whole world was attacked! We Yaks demand justice!"
"And how do you kill an immortal being of chaos?" Luna asked, and I could hear her own patience waning. "The weapon Sir Jethro used on her only wounded her, and it was human made. Even if we shattered the statue, it wouldn't work to kill her. Trust me. I tried it."
That brought silence to the entire room. Even Celestia looked shocked for a brief moment before her face resumed its neutrality. Luna continued. "The statue wouldn't break no matter how far I dropped it. Eris' power is far too great for anycreature to affect even her statue form. We can't kill her."
"Then throw her into a volcano!" Ember shouted.
"Or freeze her in a glacier!" Rutherford said.
"The sandstorms in our lands can chip away at even the most stubborn of stones in a matter of years," Princess Amira said. She had a vaguely Arabian accent to her voice, and something inside me assumed their native tongue had similarities to many different Middle Eastern languages from Earth.
"Our best enchanters are capable of locking our own prisoners away, even if they have powerful magic of their own," Lady Arathyra added.
"Oooh! Maybe we could drop her to the bottom of the ocean!" Princess Skystar added. Even in a serious situation, she had a voice that reminded me a little bit of Pinkie Pie. Or maybe it was the enthusiasm they both shared.
"Everycreature, please," Celestia said, "let's not get ahead of ourselves. Prince Rutherford, you're right. The issue of Eris is a worldwide one, and needs to be discussed in detail. But my sister raises a good point. There's no known way to actually end the life of an immortal being like her. And the only other option would be to banish her to somewhere far away, like what I did to my sister or what Star Swirl did to the last of the Sirens all those years ago."
"Of course. Banishing. Typical of your race," Amethyst growled. "Out of sight, out of mind, right? You push the problems onto others. You remember a hundred years ago when one of our own found that damned Memory Stone?! That was one of your Pony artifacts, Princess!"
"That artifact has since been disposed of," Celestia said coolly. "Nopony else will be harmed by it again."
"It was your kind who banished it from your lands without any consideration for anywolf," Amethyst sneered, and was about to say something more, but Jaspar put a claw over hers. Amethyst took a few deep breaths, then sat back. "A thousand of my kind were killed thanks to Eris, and we want to know that she is properly punished. That, and we want the being or beings responsible for her release punished!" She pointed to me and Sunset.
"Now hang on, Princess," Ambassador Fuego said. To my surprise, the other Dragon had a slight Hispanic-eque accent to him. "Eris is well known to our kin, and in the many tales we tell, one of the common themes is that she is a devious and manipulative trickster."
Jaspar nodded in understanding and spoke before her Princess could. "Folk tales are just folk tales, but there is always a semblance of truth within them."
"And the way she assaulted him was quite sickening," Ambassador Greta said.
"Indeed," Gillian said. "He was clearly a victim."
"And it could have been acting," Amethyst snapped. "That creature is not to be trusted!"
Unfortunately, Rainbow Dash was unable to stay silent anymore. In her normal, crass and in your face kind of way, she stomped on the table. "Just because he kicked your ass and ruined your plans doesn't make him a monster! Just makes him better than you stuck up-"
"Calm down, Rainbow Dash," I said, holding up my hand and encasing her hoof in my signature magic. "We're a council dedicated to trying to make peace, not antagonize, so mouth closed."
Rainbow Dash scowled, but sat back in her chair, huffing. However, my use of magic had not been missed. Lady Arathyra leaned closer, facing me with a cool guarded expression. "I believe you mentioned that humans don't have magic or wings. So how do you have both?"
"Sir Jethro is a special case," Celestia said. "He was accidentally granted his wings and magic by a spiritual being who is, unfortunately, no longer with us."
"And who's to say Eris was lying about him wanting to use his magic against Equestria?" Amethyst asked.
"A good point," Princess Redclaw, who had been silent up until now, leaned forward, her feline grace clearly visible in her movements. "Sir Jethro, how can we be sure you don't have hostile intentions?"
"Unfortunately, all you have is my word that I would never, in my life, attempt to bring harm to any nation in the world," I said. "I'm unable to return to mine, and as that is the case, I've begun setting up a life here. I've already found love, too." And with that, I glanced over at Zecora, who smiled and nodded in my direction.
Princess Amani noted this, and smiled as well. She pointed over to Zecora and said, "I know this mare. She is an excellent judge of character, and if she has, indeed, fallen for this human, then the nation of Farasi will not blame him for the freedom of or actions of Eris. We never did in the first place."
Amethyst snorted derisively, and I heard her muttering under her breath, "Of course you would…"
"Unfortunately, your word is not enough for our country," Ember said. "We need proof."
It was hard to be patient with this crowd, but I kept my voice even as I asked. "What kind of proof would you want?" I asked. "Do you want me to visit your countries on some sort of worldwide peace tour?"
The silence that followed made my skin crawl. Many of their eyes widened at the idea. Celestia didn't look too pleased at what I had said, but it was too late to take it back. As I looked over the table, I held back a sigh. It was going to be a very long day…
Updates might not be as frequent as having to deal with so many different characters at once is giving me headaches. That, and tomorrow is July 4th for me. Enjoy, though!