Princess Summit [Closed; Princesses Only]

[Bellosh]

 

Princess Cadence supposed that as a ruler of a faraway land, she was currently the least qualified princess to gauge the perception of the Crystal Empire among residents of greater Equestria. According to Twilight and Celestia, most of the ponies they serve already view the Empire as nothing less than a paradise on earth. General consensus instead suggested that infrastructure should be the higher priority, with both railroad and airfield options still very much on the table. No princess objected to sending 150 additional royal guards to the Games as well.

 

Princess Twilight expressed a desire to switch the subject to the Royal Equestrian Guard in general, but the young mare’s mentor reminded the assembled alicorns that there was still more to discuss about infrastructure. Cadence concurred with Celestia; “In theory, there’s nothing preventing airships from flying into our barrier and landing on a field just inside of it. However... we’ll have consider two things.

 

“First, would crystal ponies mind a sprawling airfield right on their doorstep. In Caterlot’s case, only very limited airship access is possible because the residents don’t want air traffic interfering with the timeless character of their city. Based on my time ruling the Crystal Empire, I believe we have a similar case here. It’d be tough convincing my people to build over the pristine green fields that their crystal yews graze on, and honestly, I also agree with that assessment.

 

“Also, we got to make an estimate of how much air traffic is likely to come to the Crystal Empire after the Equestrian Games come to an end. We don’t want to build a massive airfield only for it to go mostly unused. I think further surveys of the ponies of both the Empire and Equestria are needed before making a final decision on this particular matter.

 

“Increased train access however shouldn’t be controversial at all. Twilight’s proposal to establish a new midway settlement will indeed take plenty of time, but I get the feeling that the crystal ponies will soon be ready to go outside the city and return to the Empire’s lost lands.” Finally, Cadence finished speaking, necessitating a large gulp of water from her glass.

[Hippo]

Deep down inside of Luna's prideful princess demeanor, she was hoping that the solution would be easy enough to pick up and offer in a couple statements. But it appeared that Twilight's intellectual personality, though extremely helpful (not to mention correct), was draining a bit on Luna's ability to enjoy speaking on the matter. In short, she was getting bored. And even if Luna could engage herself more into the theory of solutions and converse a solution to their issue with exposure to the Crystal Empire, she wouldn't have much more to offer than has already come through. Luna had to give it to her sister, who was far more enduring in these types of discussions more than she.

Still, Luna remained as focused as she needed to be, enough to listen to the responses and inputs from all the other princesses. She would have to say something in order to not appear so removed from it, however. "I agree with everything that has been said. Transportation is key but we must allow the Empire to remain untouched inside the perimeter of the Empire's area of influence." It was strange to speak on the Crystal Empire now, as Luna's lasting memory is not of recent history, but in moments in the past when the Empire was first threatened by King Sombra. Luna would hold the Empire one of the most important regions in all of Equestria if she was honest out loud, but she could hardly explain such a feeling of remembrance to ponies who's main interaction with the city was only within the past months. It's a very strange music for her to play.

​

[SteelEagle]

Twilight had made another mistake. This one was smaller and not nearly as critical as whatever basic mathematical issue neutered her tax proposal before it could bear fruit but it was just another mistake she could pile onto an increasingly fragile mindset. Just as basic mathematics had simple formulas to follow basic meeting etiquette required that she allow the head of the table bring the new topic around. She had jumped the gun in her agerness to please as she had actually created quite the proposal there. But in her haste she had cut off Celestia at the fetlocks and while her Princess gracefully pivoted, even the smallest of movements that laid bare her mistake made her feel as if the eyes of a nation were judging every minute failure of hers. Twilight wanted to desperately to get the approval of her new compatriots,to earn their respect, and just as any poor review mattered more to an artist than all the kindness in the world so too did even gentle moves cause her to sway.

Not that it had gone poorly at all. Just the opposite. For the most part her ideas had merit and even those that did not were explainable and logically suggested. So far, she was batting well enough to stay in the lineup but not well enough to hit cleanup. She'd have to keep her eye on the ball and focus to to get through this. Train lines were agreed u[on all the way. What sort of trains would be decided by the crystal ponis themselves for good reason. There was a list of possible locations for the rail lines to originate from but before any could be selected work needed to be done before any could be picked. The hundred and fifty guards had to be carefully selected but that was a relatively minor concern since there was no real danger. Minor issues were at play as well as the laying to rest of the airship discussion for now.

"I see. Well, any survey we take will probably take too long to conduct. We will likely not be able to have a landing strip in time for the games, but Cadance is right- better late but useful than not. The luxury vacation spot that the Empire represents to many ponies of high society-" Twilight knew that factoid thanks to her father, who was tortured by his colleague's vacation plans all the time, "would likely keep a luxury airship landing strip busy enough to be sustained in the long term. When it comes to adding trains, I know there are a few choice locations. We can have teams conduct an environmental impact survey before we make decisions on where to go. That way we won't run into snags in the middle of construction. Maybe we also contact several leading railway corporations and have them help build the new settlement in the Crystal Empire so it can service these new lines and more properly. Long term, this will be a Crystal pony town that gives them a greater ability to secure the surrounding landscape and lower the density of the population in the capital. That sound good to anypony?" Twilight asked, anxious to see if she had made another mistake.

[starswirlthebearded]

Celestia paused while she listened to the remarks of the other princesses of the current discussion of infrastructure and travel arrangements. It seemed, at least for the time, that the consensus was positive towards trains, but the bigger issue it seemed was that of the airfield, an arduous task of balance for sake of the natural beauty of the empire and the convenience of the modern pony visiting the empire. Celestia was certain a compromise could be reached but not before the Equestria Games, which was the chief point of discussion at the current time. Having already redirected Twilight on that, she, herself, could not do the same and had to ensure that everything remained in relation to the topic at hand.

Princess Celestia listened intently especially to Cadence's thoughts on the matter and how the crystal ponies would potentially percieve the changes. And they were rather valid and not to be taken lightly. Much how Celestia herself did not make any drastic sudden changes in her 1000 year tenure as sole leader of Equestria, she would not expect another ruler to do the same, not even in the wake of an important event like the Equestria Games. And Twilight brought up another important point, surveys take time, so what could be done? Celestia considered carefully several options. "My suggestion was never intended to jeopardize the natural beauty of the Empire, but much like how we were able to place a small train station in the Empire which connected to Canterlot and the main railways of Equestria, similar provisions should be possible for an airfield on the outer limits of the Empire," Celestia began tactfully, "That said, Twilight is correct in her assessment, such surveys would take too much time and would render the act moot before the Games. As such we should seek to consider alternatives, that would allow all parties to be accounted for and pleased without jeopardizing the chief goal of easier transport to and from the empire." Celestia continued prepared to give her suggestion. "My main proposal as a temporary solution would be to make a small airstrip just outside of the Empire with magical shield specialist driven carrages for those who wish to take the air route to the games. If it proves popular and a viable place within the scope of the crystal heart field can be found, a proper airfield could be then placed after the games." Celestia looked intently at Cadence who also brought up the idea that it would possibly be under used after the games.

Celestia considered this prior to making her suggestion, which is to say she knew it would be lessened but she was fairly confident that it would not be a lost investment. "As for your worry about gauging airfield use after the game, I do not think there would be any way to gauge inward usage, outward would be easy enough as we could take a survey of crystal ponies and find how many would wish to travel to Mainland Equestria by air. Though, due to their 1000 year absence, I do not forsee them wishing to use such a new technology entirely readily. As for after the games, though it would not be used as much, it would also not go unused either. I do believe it would be a worth addition if a viable location could be found or an alternative. If a midway settlement is founded, that may be a great compromise with a direct tram or other means of direct transport to and from the main area of the Empire."

[Bellosh]

 

Princess Cadence absorbed all the advice that the other alicorns provided. Many of the transportation ideas proposed would not be able to be fully implemented in time for the Equestria Games, but they’d be valuable afterwards as the Crystal Empire grew big enough that one city enough wouldn’t be enough to house it all. In other words, the Empire would finally become more than just a glorified city-state.

 

“It seems to me then,” Cadence summarized the plans suggested by everypony in the conference room; “That for the Games, our best ways to increase transportation capacity is through more trains, a simple airstrip for airborne vessels, and flying chariot services. As for more long term developments, a midway town between here and Stalliongrad sounds like an ideal start for expanding the Crystal Empire. As for anything else beyond that, it’s best to see... how the wind blows first. Agreed?”

 

Feeling that everything on this particular topic has been adequately covered, Cadence moved the princess summit forward; “If Luna does not have a subject that she’d like to bring up now, then I feel now is a good time for Twilight’s report on the Royal Equestrian Army and Navy.....”

[Hippo]

Despite this being the first uninterrupted Princess summit with four Princesses present talking on old and new business, it was also turning out to be one of the more boring. Luna sat there pensively listening to the lectures about the Crystal Empire. It felt like the conversation shifted in circles and they were making several laps talking on each subject. Until finally, Cadance prompted Luna if she had anything to add. Luna perked up from her mistakenly slouching position. "I have nothing further to add. Twilight Sparkle may go ahead with the military briefings. Twilight?" Luna peered at the purple mare with encouragingly squinty eyes. "Let's not lecture too long, hm?"

​

[SteelEagle]

They all agreed on what to do for the Games and that put Twilight's mind to ease. It was an important Equestria event and allowing the Crystal Empire and her ponies to ha e a great time showing off their home as well as putting on a great show would help them integrate into the modern world piece by piece. Nothing would make her happier than seeing everypony come together too help them, and for them to come together to help everpony. It was a wonderful two way exchange and she was excited to see it come to fruition. Twilight shifted in her seat as the excitement built for the next subject which Luna announced, adding slyly to not lecture on as long as last time. Twilight didn't need to be reminded- she learned on the fly. She smiled and winked towards the Princess of the Night, levitating the reports to her fellow Princesses as she prepared for the big ideas. "I'll try. No promises though," she ended jovially before flipping the reports to their first page.

"To be brief regarding the overall readiness of our forces: All twenty battalions of the Royal Equestrian Army and all four fleets are at one-hundred percent readiness per their own reports. All associated departments and branches sit at the same. On the front, things look as they always have according to the past reports I've read- just fine. But frankly, this isn't true at all. recent history has shown that the Guard, the Army, the Navy, our Intelligence services- they are all ill-equipped to deal with threats," her eyes narrowed, "we're only here because of luck. If our enemies weren't as arrogant and clumsy as they were..." she let the question and implication hang, a pregnant pause in her speech as she searched her feelings. Had Chrysalis been more ruthless, they'd be dead or worse. If Tirek had been slightly more vicious, they'd be dead or worse. Instead, they had rolled well on the personality charts for their foes.

"There are a few reasons for this, but the most prominent as it relates to the Army and Navy is that they are an entirely passive force. By the time they realize what has happened and react, they are far too late. By the time they mobilized to deal with Tirek, he was far too powerful to deal with. We needed to have the capability to stamp him out before he got that powerful and send him back to Tartarus. I understand that we are a pacifist nation and I love that. I am not calling for a larger force. I am calling for a smaller, smarter, better, and more proactive force. I am proposing the following:

One task force, one battalion strong, plus Guards, a air-naval detachment, and functioning intelligence and logistics. It will be entirely self sufficient and have elements of the Guard, Army, Navy, Intelligence, and even traveling camp followers for logistics. It has to have that last part in order for it to remain mobile and for it to exist outside of natural supply lines. It will not stay in one place for long. It will travel to different locations and seek out threats to Equestria before they become large-scale threats. They will be highly trained and better equipped. They will operate with a Royal mandate, giving them broad authority within reason to conduct operations. However, we will have personal staff with them to ensure nothing out of order is on-going, and we will keep them on a short leash- they have freedom to operate and broad authority within the mandate, but if they go outside of it we shut it down.

No matter what though, one thing is clear. We cannot afford to be eternally passive when it comes to our defense. There will come a time when we won't be able to defend them and when that time comes, we need to have a force capable of doing it. I want to start a trial run of one task force, but eventually I'd like to see half of our military be modeled after it if it works out. That way we can still keep the garrisons in large cities but offer superior protection to the rest of Equestria," Twilight finished, her reports and then her proposals flashing in front of them in small packets. There was a lot of dry information backing her up- hard numbers, threat analysis, and basic historical facts. Most importantly, common sense was her greatest ally.

[starswirlthebearded]

As a consensus was reached the princess of love decided it was time for another topic of discussion, and since it seemed that Twilight was eager to talk about the Royal Equestrian Army, Cadence chose to open up with that. Without even missing a beat Princess Luna concurred and quipped that Twilight should keep it short. Still the floor was still open to Twilight and all the while Celestia was looking over her own notes about the Royal Equestrian Army and it's current state.

Truth be told there was not much discrepancy between Twilight's finding and the princess's. The only real difference was that the princess's report included current enlistment numbers and changes in enlistment trends after the changeling invasion. Everything Twilight had said lined up with what Celestia had found herself, and she too lamented over the passive nature of the REA. Even when they were prepared and their information network fruitful like with the first changling invasion it seemed to amount to little. In the end, they seemed more reactory than anything. Even the few times that they were proactive, their proactive force was really Twilight and her friends, but that can no longer be.

At the conclusion of Twilight's lengthy report Celestia nodded. "The recent events with the changelings have troubled me. Even though the Royal Equestrian Army's information network was fruitful and we were seemingly prepared, it amounted to little against the Changeling queen and her forces," the solar princess concurred. "That said there has been an increase in prospective REA members. It seems as though these events have stirred a fire in many pony's hearts which has allowed for growth of our forces." Celestia paused. During that pause she took out a parchment from her own papers. "I have here a recorded transcript from a meeting I had my secretary take down with Colonel Pummel, one of the many great leaders of the REA. He concurred with Twilight's sentiment that we are in fact too passive. He suggested that had we sent out expedition teams with the intent of stopping or preventing the attack from occurring we would have fared far better than we did." Celestia briefly summed up the contents of the parchement. "If you are willing to give oversight to such an endeavor Princess Twilight, and can assure that freedoms of all ponies and innocent creatures will be maintained, I can see no harm in allowing you to take this on an form this task force." Celestia concluded after having thought about this at length herself and even considering such an action. The world was changing and Equestria was required to change with it. The same passive nature of the force that was granted 1000 years of relative peace would not be able to hold in this changing world, little as it may be. "I do however have a request... That you report to your fellow princesses the progress and actions of the task force periodically."

[Bellosh]

 

As the topic on-hoof did not require knowledge in the arcane subject of tax policy, Princess Cadence found she could better keep up with what her sister-in-law discussed. Fundamentally, Cadence believed the plan for a mobile, proactive task force was one worth enacting. The only thing she wondered about was what would happen if her husband, Shining Armor, ended up a part of this unit. His abilities as a magic-wielding officer were among the most exceptional in all the land, but Cadence understandably recoiled at the thought of her Shining getting injured far away in an expeditionary mission.

 

But that was a concern for a more private setting. In the grand scheme of things, Cadence supported Twilight’s proposal wholeheartedly. “I also agree with Twilight's plan. With the approval of the crystal ponies, I will see to it that the Empire does what it can to support this mobile task force. If this is what's needed to prevent another changeling invasion from surprising us, then I have no objections.” Twilight's spirits were sure to shoot up now after the tax debacle from earlier, thought the pink alicorn.

[Hippo]

Luna had no choice but to agree first with Twilight's overall analysis of what Equestria's military has become, and how it's passiveness may render it almost useless. Surely civil guards in any respect would be maintained as usual, but the pony army that was supposedly there to protect the nation from invasion from powerful enemies just wasn't there. Recent events would even show that although harmony had always found its way to the top and protected everypony, there was always that chance that it wasn't going to go so smoothly. One worthy adversary and the ponies would surely be in trouble.

But Luna also realized an oversight, something Twilight may not have been able to see. The purple alicorn did a good amount of homework and surely knew her history, but Luna's mind was stuck in the past, during times when the only thing around to protect the ponies was the Princess sisters themselves. "I agree with the proposal. However, I do have a detail that I feel must be considered while something like this would be placed into action. Along with my sister's request for up to date reports on the activity in a new military structure, I suggest that we decree a new statement in our place in military actions. And by we, I do mean us."

Princess Luna stood up and started walking around the table, her pace able to help maintain her thoughts in order. "When it was just Celestia and I, the only thing protecting the ponies was us. And the purpose for us at that time was to provide a way for the ponies to overcome what seemed to be the only enemy they could not overcome. Themselves. I am of course, referring to the early days of Equestria, when the three pony types were always on the brink of civil war with each other. Alicorn magic evened it out, and we were able to rule and protect. Any military ponies we promoted to ranks were never given enough power for fear that they would revolt. Fast forward a thousand years and what do we have? Four Princesses attempting to give back the military power and resourcefulness to do some amazing things by themselves back to the ponies. There is no doubt I believe we would be doing the right by consolidating our military efforts to one of more poise and response, as Equestria needs to find a way to protect itself. But we need to also consider the consequences of leaving such power out of the hooves of the Princess council, as it may cause an inevitable uprising. It would be hard to stop an enemy from coming inside, when inside is where they started in the first place. With great power comes great responsibility, and as we've seen before, some ponies don't take their responsibilities seriously and are void of the harmonic value we all wish existed in every heart in Equestria."

​

[SteelEagle]

It had gone even better than Twilight could have hoped. Celestia and Cadance were very much on board, and Cadance had no real issues with the plan as stated. It didn't shock her. While Celestia had been defeated in combat and Luna was off doing whatever it was Luna was doing that day, Cadance had been at the mercy of the evil Queen for a while even beforehoof. Who could blame her? Twilight nodded, thankful that something of hers was getting off the ground. Celestia came in and agreed with the basic proposal as well as added her own thoughts on the matter, thoughts Twilight agreed with. Also interesting Colonel Pummel came up, as that was the one name she kept running into whenever she looked for how to improve the REA. Always good to have forward thinkers in places that demanded such important work.

And then there was Luna, who seemed to at times dance around the issue before driving her point home. It struck Twilight as old fashioned and perhaps a little offensive as a pony of the newer generation, but she had to remind herself that Luna was a mare who had spent the majority of her history alone. She could not be made to understand the new age and the new Equestrian, that would take time. Twilight wasn't worried about any potential revolt. Harmony wasn't something ponies on a societal level strove for mainly because they had achieved it- Equestrian society was kinder, sweeter, and more community focused than any other on the planet. There were always bad apples in the bunch but they stood out, and unlike other cultures where military service could sometimes attract creatures with unwieldy desires, the REA had for generations been such a passive force that it didn't stand out as the pathway to anything except community service! They had great ponies in there and Twilight had no concerns.

"I understand your concerns, Luna, but I am not worried about that possibility. First and foremost, I have all the faith in the world in the quality of the REA. Despite the troubles they've had, they have remained the best resource for going into harm's way en masse to help ponies in need. But there is a way to satisfy your concerns Luna and your desires, Luna. I was thinking of attaching REIN units to each task force so in the future. They report directly to the Princesses on matters of great security, so that would be a boon going both ways- they are superb intelligence officers who can help both us and the task force. And of course, we would go through the applicants to ensure their records are all well and good. Plus, I can very easily keep all of you updated on the progress on the task force daily- OOH, HOW ABOUT IN TRIPLICATE?!" Twilight finished off with a wide grin, hooves conspiratorially rubbing together as she imagined all the fun she could have with the paperwork.

[starswirlthebearded]

It seemed as though, for the most part, all the princesses were in agreement over the state of the REA, and as well, agreed with Twilight's proposal. Luna however raised some concerns over the new structure and placing more control in the hooves of the military leaders rather than in the princesses themselves. While the change in dichotomy was an understandable concern, Celestia couldn't hope to feel that Luna's 1000 years of exile was not clouding her judgement in this matter. She was still very much working on what was effective at the dawn of Equestria when Luna and herself were maintaining peace between the three newly united tribes. Though things were often rocky, it was not a task that was impossible nor was it external threats. Maintaining internal peace was far easier than predicting or controlling external attacks.

"Princess Luna, I believe you are misunderstanding the purpose of Princess Twilight's proposal and her goals with this task force." Princess Celestia began with the goal to explain to her sister, not even thinking on touching on the fallacy of her historical recollection just yet. "We are only giving them more power with the direct oversight of a princess. Of course they will have some level of autonomy in the field, but with such a task force, being proactive is key to its success. We cannot always govern them on their excursions as it would limit their effectiveness and render the task force moot," the solar princess began to explain her position and the reason for her backing the proposal as is. "I do understand your trepidation, as 1000 years ago the world was very different. We did not have the REA. It was I who founded the EUP Guard which later became the REA. The military forces prior were merely militia in comparison without the rigorous training that was enacted for the more structured military force which became necessary when I was ruling alone." Celestia knew to choose her words carefully, this was not an easy subject to discuss with her sister... she had to be very tactful. "Furthermore, we were both wielders of the Elements of Harmony, which are now no longer available and, as we have seen, not always effective during a surprise attack. We simply cannot rely on methods that were effective in days long past. Especially since the only major looming threat during those years was the thought of civil war, and internal unrest is easy to contain with strong leadership." Celestia took a breath and looked around the room, especially at Twilight who seemed to be lost in the mere thought of paperwork. "To further this point, I am sure you recall Tirek and his brother... It was Star Swirl that convinced his brother Scorpan to turn him into us. Even back then we had ponies loyal to us, almost to a fault. Though, I cannot say, that I am entirely opposed to more oversight, but I do not think it necessary to prevent uprising, but we must balance it to ensure that we are not hindering the purpose of this force, which is to prevent outside threats from becoming a problem like the Changelings. The REA and our citizens have shown nothing but loyalty for centuries, which is why I am more concerned about their liberties rather than giving them more power and autonomy in the military." Celestia paused and looked at the hoof rubbing Twilight and giggled "Though I think we should just allow Twilight to handle all the extra paperwork if we do enact the higher amount of oversight with paperwork, she seems rather eager for it."

[Bellosh]

 

The sole note of concern originated from Princess Luna, who feared the possibility of a more empowered military initiating a coup d'état. In a twisted sort of way, Princess Cadence ought to have expected Luna taking up this line of thought. Along with not having completely breaking away from the mindset of a thousand years ago, it had been Luna herself who ended up challenging Celestia for the Throne itself, after years of hurt feelings that could have been entirely preventable. In this day and age, where Equestria was as close to a post-scarcity utopia as anypony could dream, Cadence couldn’t even imagine what would trigger a revolt against the rule of the Four Princesses.

 

One thing of note about Luna’s objection however made the pink alicorn feel ill at ease. Specifically, the nocturnal princess’s implication that somepony with a heart not in harmony was highly likely to ignite a rebellion. As somepony who believed that emotional connections could be forged with anyone, even those who laid outside of mainstream motivations and philosophies, Cadence could not let this claim of Luna’s go unacknowledged. “Luna, what do you mean when you say that some ponies are void of harmonic value? Are you saying that they don’t open their hearts to friendship? Love? Togetherness as one country? Now I’ve met more than my fair share of bad eggs before, but as Shining Armor explained to me before, indoctrination into the Royal Equestrian Guard molds recruits and officer candidates so that they embody those values I mentioned within their hearts. I could not imagine one of our own slipping through the cracks, and suddenly turning their back on Equestria... let alone an entire army willing to follow a corrupted leader down the darkest of paths.”

[Hippo]

With much verbal rebuttal coming against Luna's suggestions, it was plainly obvious to her that she was in the minority. Twilight's reassurance was enough to sate Luna's appetite for awareness, as Luna could not help but place small bits of doubt around the new princess. Regardless of how confident a pony was in her study, they always met face to face against a problem that they could have seen coming, if only they were looking in the right direction. Though, Luna's attempt at turning an extra stone seemed to her to turn into a bit of doubt in the summit, whereas Luna was seen as a Princess who was behind the times. Little did they understand, however, that Luna had had recent times in which she had seen such issues arise, though to be fair, it was as they said, very rare and controllable.

And Cadance seemed to perk up interest in such a subject Luna would bring. Unlike sister and Twilight, Cadance questioned where Luna might have gotten such a thought as it concerned characters that may not have the elements of harmony written on their lives. Luna would do best to constrain herself as she explained. "I wouldn't want to place any doubt in the REA themselves. It is a brilliant program that has kept Equestria monitored where the Princesses could not see. Micromanaging the kingdom is not in anypony's interest, we all agree. But I've recently had an experience with such an anomaly, and though it was considered a civil matter, the problems that seemed to be invoked were indeed preventable. In fact, I feel that if an REA officer hadn't involved himself, a work environment like the cloud factory in Cloudsdale would have been able to function a lot more productively. I am, of course, referring to the previously mentioned pegasus pony Colonel Pummel. It's hard to put it lightly, but I can say that what I saw with my own eyes was a pony who had no respect for other ponies who were volunteering their hooves and wingpower for the good of the kingdom. Ponies were being stressed and discomforted by what Mr. Pummel would describe as the only means to motivate a group of undisciplined ponies. When I intervened, I hardly knew what to say. I could not shame Pummel immediately, after all, he was their leader. To contradict another leader's words from a princess would cause a pillar of work ethic to fall. To allow him to continue his foul motivational methods would cause morale to evaporate. It is this kind of situation that we should be aware of when we are increasing the allowance of power to more military officers."

​

[SteelEagle]

Luna's issue became clearer as se moved her focus from the idea of the organization or loyalty of those within to who Twilight had chosen to run it. That seemed a bit more legitimate, but even there her choice had been carefully vetted. Pummel was one of the highest ranked members of the REA who had not only seen combat, but had done well in comparison to many others. He was a capable administrator and soldier who got very high marks from his subordinates. His track record of discipline as well as his interactions outside of the force were sketchy, but there was nopony else with the administrative capabilities and experience to run the task force. After Luna said her piece and the others seemed to agree with Twilight, the newest Princess nodded and made sure to bring down the last barrier to full acceptance of this most important task. She shuffled Colonel Pummel's records as well the copies of it and passed them out.

"Your concerns about Pummel are not entirely unfounded. that incident was known to me when I selected him, and he has several other incidents where his rather...prickly...attitude caused some trouble both in and outside of the REA. But if you look at his service record, he has a lot of amazing qualities that are needed for the task force to succeed. He is a brilliant strategist and tactician, but we have others like that. What makes him unique is his administrative capabilities and logistical know-how, which is even more important in a task force that is mostly self-sufficient. He has seen combat and lead forces in combat against the changelings, even though because of the terrible situation he was in he wasn't able to have a larger impact. We have officers who have combat experience. We have officers who are brilliant strategists and tacticians. A few that are excellent at logistics or at administration. But we don't have anypony who combines all of these things, and with a clear task to guide him I don't think we'll have any problems with his leadership," she finished, closing her folder.

"There isn't anypony else we have who comes close, not now. So with the final approval, I'd like to get started on building this and getting it off the ground. I'll make sure to make all the reports in triplicate UPON TRIPLICATE! Oh my gosh, then we could all have THREE copies in case something goes wrong! No doubt this will be recorded. Oooh, I'm so excited!" She clapped her hooves together, imagining all the days of satistical data compounded by personel reports from abroad coming together to pain a picture of Equestrian safety unique to this task force, being replicated three by three until all the Princesses were not only well aware of what was happening, but had copies in case of random happenstance! Backups for the backups!

[starswirlthebearded]

Celestia grinned as if she had expected this reaction from Luna. She was not aware of Luna's dealings with the Colonel, but he was no stranger to harsher methods of discipline, and though she did not always agree, he knew to keep it within reason. Regarding this he was always loyal to Celestia, even when she told him to not do something he never disobeyed her, and only approached her after. Though she understood where Luna's trepidation came from, it was almost painfully clear that it was from lack of understanding and time with the decorated REA commander, and not his accolades. Celestia knew, though he was far from the ideal candidate, he was possibly one of the best for this particular task force and perhaps the only feasible choice for what would be expected of the task force.

Celestia nodded at her pupils rebuttle to her sister, with a smile "I must concur with Princess Twilight. While Colonel Pummel's actions may not always be indicative of it, he always has ponies' best interests at heart. Perhaps it can be argued that he does not know how to effectively lead those not military trained, but his loyalty and capabilities are without question. I had been made aware of the incident of which you speak, and do not believe you have all the facts in the matter. Perhaps it would be best to do so before you pass judgement," Celestia responded directly to his sister. "Furthermore, there has never been a time where Colonel Pummel did not defer to me, even when he disagreed. Though his private meetings with me after such times were often less than pleasant, sometimes perhaps more for him than myself..." The princess trailed off that line of thought with a devilish grin. "Such worries are not necessary though. His motivational methods vary, and though tend to be on the tougher side have always held the overall purpose and the safety and well being of ponies as his top priority." Celestia looked across at her sister and glanced over at Twilight.

Twilight at this point went back to her maniacal look of anticipation for the paperwork she was undoubtedly going to be giving to herself, and nodded "Yes, if there are no other objections, I see no further reason to prevent this task force from being initiated. With proper oversight and direction I can see many great things coming from it. " Celestia concluded and glanced once again at Cadence and Luna, almost expecting one of them to bring up something that was missed or overlooked.

[Bellosh]

 

Princess Cadence had precious little experience around Col. Pummel, so there wasn’t much she could do to provide further insight into the issue. The pink alicorn however did think that if Celestia and Twilight Sparkle comfortably gave their full faith to this stallion, then perhaps Luna ought to give Pummel the benefit of the doubt. And to be a teensy weensy-bit fair, it was extremely unfair to criticize a veteran colonel for struggling to work with a group of ponies completely unlike the soldiers he’d normally work with.

 

Sensing that Princess Luna was fighting an uphill battle, Cadence decided that the meeting needed to switch to another topic. She politely spoke out; “Since I have no objections as well, I think it’s time for Princess Luna to introduce a fresh subject to bring to the table. Is there anything important you think we need to talk about before we take our first recess?”

[Hippo]

With much opposition, something Luna was all-too familiar with, the argument to suggest compromise in a newly formed system was put to rest. Luna admitted defeat on her face the moment Celestia began talking. It wasn't always enjoyable, but Celestia was more mindful of things in current day Equestria, more so than Luna. And so Luna decided to yield to the majority vote on the decision to move forward with the plan. "With this review then, I approve my end on this project as well, may it see success in the coming days." Luna sat down at her seat. She was not upset, nor was she confused. She just wanted to make sure all the possible complications had been discussed in this setting. That was, after all, what Luna felt was required of a summit such as this. "I do ask that those reports be updated frequently. I will be keeping a personal eye on the Colonel, and the project as a whole, and I will see to its success as do you."

Put to rest, Cadance suggested that Luna bring forth any new business, if she had any. "I do have something, actually. I would like to have a short discussion on the dreamscape. As you know, my involvement in the dreamscape has increased as of recently, as it has become an increasing duty in which I wish to serve Equestria ponies. But I've began to notice a pattern that disturbs me, and would like it examined from the outside. You see, I've had several ponies in their dreams struggle with self-confidence and integrity. They dream about their lives being placed in a position in which they fail at what would normally be a pleasant dream of what is possible. Instead, they are being oppressed by a familiar sense of negativity."

"Now, I do not suppose the infecting nightmare we all know possessed me is showing signs of returning, but I do worry that there is a connection issue with the harmonic bond all ponies in Equestria share. It is never going to be perfect, as the pony population has risen to numbers higher than we could imagine, but with so many different kinds of ponies, it would appear we are creating more chances for ponies to collide in a negative instance."

Luna threw a set of pages on the table, showing photo identifications of a few ponies she had entered the dreamscape with. "This first subject, her name is Blue Demure. She lives in Canterlot, and was caught having a dream that suggested she was far better than any pony that could come from a smaller pony village. There was little convincing her in the dreamscape otherwise, and her subconsciousness ruled the dreaming environment. This second pony from Cloudsdale, his name is Overcast. He had a similar issue. Although instead of thinking he was better, he felt consistently inferior to ponies from Manehatten, even revealing the fear of meeting an earth pony who could fly better than him." Luna shuffled to the third page, which read 'Diamond Dazzle Tiara'. "This last one," Luna hesitated. "You may not want to know what this pony dreamed." Luna shoved the page underneath the others as if she was keeping a disease from spreading.

"So my question to the other princesses, coming from the one who sees the night through, should we be concerned about the disposition of ponies in Equestria and how they view other ponies in other towns? I worry that if there is more displacement between cultures, that it will cause less cooperation in political movements in the future. And if we do concern ourselves with this, what are we to do about it? What kinds of social improvements could we make in our cities, towns, and villages to protect ponies from accidentally falling into the problem of placing themselves in an unfavorable class system?"

​

[SteelEagle]

It was good to have the matter settled and done. In truth Twilight had taken the liberty of drafting a lot of the required paperwork to get the functions of Suntrot and all she would need to do would be sending it. She had already thought of the thousands of small logistical details required to get the whole operation up and going as well as the permits to shelter in some of Equestria's previously protected from occupation via law forts in several regions. It had all gone as well as could reasonably be expected and now her first major proposal was finished and ready for bare. With the positive comments all around, it did a great deal to rebuild her previously shattered confidence in herself. Now onto bigger and more concerning things, as most things dealing with Luna's realm were. Unlike the day, the night did not belong to Equestrians. It belonged to their fears and was protected not by a nation, but a lone warrior.

The dream world was one that eluded Twilight's understanding in anything more than theory. Her dreams and nightmares were fairly routine, not something to be invested in. The real question was what dreams meant beyond the darkest expulsions of desire and fear made real by the shocking power of the ever-adapting mind. Some believed that dreams were the sincerest desires and nightmares the darkest of horrors but the truth was somewhere in the middle and yet not involved at all. In such a landscape dominated by the oddest emotions, logic was thrown out of the window. That fact alone made the dreamscape a terrible place for her to ponder the implications as she had so little to go on. Only Luna truly understood to any degree that wild landscape and yet it was she who was asking the questions. Sort of an odd question to toss up coming from that angle but once the dreamscape part was removed it became something far more up her alley.

Equestria was as close to the Utopian ideal as could be achieved, a near-impossible fantasy world made real by the overflowing love and compassion of the ponies who inhabited it and the natural gifts they were given. A shared sense of responsibility for the land that spanned all races and a love of one another that could be found in every town and household was not just an important part of Equestria, it was the characteristic that defined it. There could never be true perfection, a nation without sour apples or issues, but the constant pursuit of friendship had made Equestria a true wonder to behold and a great place to live. So the real question for Twilight to ask herself as she pondered Luna's well-reasoned worries was whether there was a problem or it was just a natural element of the psyche. So in order to do that, Twilight worked through the questions, the evidence, and her own observations.

Question One: Should they be concerned? It was always sad to hear of unhappy ponies, but Equestria was a nation whose population boom had turned into the population norm. It was a large nation that had very little crime or signs of internal strife and there was a certain baseline that could not be beaten down into nothing regardless of society's impulses. There was no larger evidence to suggest a divide was being created, especially when one believed that nightmares were a fact of life. Twilight's answer was therefore simple.

"That is a potential problem, but we don't know if it is a new problem or...simply not one at all. All intelligent life feels fear and manifest it occasionally through nightmares, which is the domain of all the illogical catastrophes that we all are terribly afraid of. Are they all speaking to some inner conflict? Maybe. Maybe not, since we lack any real external stimuli to provoke it. After all, we all know that by and large we are an almost excessively happy and well-off nation and populace. there are few things to be really concerned about. Wouldn't it then make sense if our nightmares resolved less around any actual fears that are worrying rather than the simple ones that we all at one time or another have? I would venture to guess that we all have nightmares at times and they do not all speak profoundly. In the cases that is the opposite and something is revealed, does that say something about the society at large or the individual? We can't possibly be expected to save everypony universally from their own phantom fears or dissuade personal beliefs manifested in awful dreams. Some ponies will be worry warts; others may not be so nice. Both cases seem to be so exceedingly rare in Equestria that I see no great problem currently," Twilight said first, her mind still wandering in thought.

Question Two: What should be done, assuming there was a problem? This one was far more simple since Twilight wasn't convinced there was a problem. But if there was a problem, she also wondered what more she could do.

"I don't believe there is a problem at this moment. No data supports that theory- crime, participation in government, quality of life and happiness are all at exceedingly high levels. Even if there was a problem, I can't think of any ideas that would help solve it that wouldn't simply create others for uninvolved ponies. In any case, I am no expert on the dreamscape, nor have I been a ruler ling enough to see if the data points support the idea that there is a problem. As protector of the dreamscape Luna, are you more concerned by this because you think this may be manifesting outside of dreams or is it because it is a terribly difficult to handle seeing all those nightmares every night? Either way, it is something that requires our attention. No problem now can become a problem later."

[starswirlthebearded]

Luna brought fourth a rather interesting dilemma, one which was born of her own special ability of dream walking. Apparently there was a higher frequency of ponies feeling some form of inferiority to ponies of other towns and cities. This is not to say they were inherently unhappy with their lot in life, but probably felt their life might change for the better if they were someplace else. The princess herself had seen this herself with one of Twilight's friend's Rarity, whom felt more at home in Canterlot than in her home town of Ponyville. And to a degree these feelings were natural and there wasn't an issue. After all there was no law against ponies moving and making a new life in a new city. Most ponies that did so were rather quick to acclimate themselves to the city. The bigger issue was probably the uncertainty. This was not something most princess could easily help with. Perhaps Luna in her dream walking could help, but aside from creating an environment of free movement and ease of access to different cities, there wasn't much Celestia could think of doing.

Celestia listened intently to Twilight's accounting of the situation. And like always her analysis was rather spot on, and she agreed with most of it. However she could not help but giggle as Twilight said 'some ponies will be worry warts.' Celestia bemused to herself that Twilight would know all about that. She remembered often that she would come to Celestia about some test, or something that could end her life as she knew it, and would sometimes not sleep because her worry in school would consume her. She even occasionally confided in Celestia of her nightmares...which... again were mostly school related... Sometimes the sun princess worried if Twilight had a school and study complex... Still, her personal experiences with Twilight and other students that felt comfortable enough to confide in her, or even a councilor asking Celestia her opinion led her to concur with Twilight's feelings on the situation. That this was perfectly natural. And the increase in these nightmares could just be the maturing of Luna's powers.

"Yes... you would know all about fears and being a worry wart, wouldn't you Twilight," Celestia said in a playful loving tone. "But I would have to agree with Twilight Sparkle for the most part. Your situation was rather... unique sister. Something overcame you and fed on your fears. Leading to a much bigger issue. This is not something I believe will plague just any pony, nor do I think the force can comeback so easily after our last encounter with it." Celestia paused and looked at her sister lovingly "Is it not also possible that you are encountering more nightmares because your alicorn power is growing, sister? As your scope increases wouldn't the number of ponies that need your aid also increase? As Twilight mentioned, fear is a perfectly natural part of any pony's life, and they often manifest in nightmares." Celestia showed genuine concern for her sister. Alicorn magic was unique and could grow in unexpected ways. When she was a filly, Celestia had no inking that she would one day be able to do all that she did, including raising the sun and eventually moon both (even if temporarily for 1000 years). She would hope that if such a power increase did occur, her sister would not hesitate to confide in her. "Still, I encourage you to continue to monitor the dreams of all ponies, and come to me, or any princess for that matter, if you feel that something needs to be addressed. For now I do not see any issues..." Celestia looked at Luna and Cadence both.

"Anyone could make the case that ponies are jealous of the lives of others. I think we all feel that at some point. Luna, you should know that feeling better than most. Did you not tell me that you expressed that sentiment to Sweetie Belle not too long ago in her dreamscape?" Celestia stopped herself before she possibly said any more that Luna may not want others to know about. "But ponies will always wonder 'what if' in regards to where they are and what they are doing. This never changes. I too have had such thoughts, though most ponies would not believe me even if I told them." Celestia paused and thought for a moment... 'Why would Luna bring this up if there was not more means for concern though. Surely she is not that out of touch...' "I do not see a reason to fret, it is natural to feel that way on occasion...unless you feel there are some other reasons why there is cause for alarm..."

[Bellosh]

 

It’s always a good problem to have when one of the primary issues discussed at a princess summit was the impact of subconscious fears on society. Other nations simply weren’t as well off as Equestria, either due to embracing belligerence instead of harmony, being more subjected to the whims of Mother Nature, and any number of other reasons. At any rate, Princess Cadence felt uneasy about Luna’s questions. Twilight and Celestia seemed to brush off the night princess’s concerns, but they didn’t seem to think of bringing up the potential consequences of taking action to bring about even more social improvements than needed. And like any good pony in a discussion, Cadence knew of a perfect anecdote to use.

 

“If I may interject briefly, I’d like to relate something from my personal experiences as a foalsitter. Back when I was first starting out, I believed that one thing about being a good caretaker meant making sure that absolutely no harm ever came to kids, or else no parent would ever hire me again. And so I’d always keep a close eye over fillies and colts, preventing them from doing anything that risked injury. But the more I hovered over the kids, the more annoyed they got with their foalsitter because I frequently stopped them from doing whatever they wanted to do. Those young children were... motivated to act out, and deliberately cause problems, making my first several jobs miserable. Only when I learned to stop fretting over the foals did I actually start getting good at that job.

 

The point I’m trying to make is that we do so much already to ensure our subjects have the opportunity to live anyway they choose, while providing harmony throughout the land. Ponies appreciate us for the peace, justice, and counsel we bring, but at the same time, they don’t want to be constantly watched over by nannies. Sometimes, giving ponies space means accepting the fact that they will develop fears and prejudices.”

[Hippo]

Princess Luna always seemed to be the odd one out of interesting discussion. With a fourth Princess siding with intellectual analysis and up-to-date realism, Luna started feeling out of touch in the summit. Although she knew there was no desire got Luna to be less important in the summit than she is from the other princesses, she felt that her sister and the younger ones were easily able to throw back an issue with a solution that as simple as not having a solution at all. In a way, it almost made Luna feel exceptionally old, being somepony who prefers to take action, instead of this new age style of letting nature run it's course--something Luna would honestly label as just laziness overall.

And sister did provide good feedback, alluding to the fact that though it may be of some concern, we would need more evidence of a situation like this worsening before more discussion could occur. This was OK, considering Luna herself felt it necessary to observe it some more. She felt she would have to bring forth more results and reveal them at the next summit, a page of several numbers for Twilight to look at, perhaps, to maybe see if things truly are getting out of hoof as the night princess suspects.

Luna was about to retort back, and with a little attitude, as despite her showing the stories of a few ponies and their dreams, she felt it absolutely necessary for ponies dreams to be kept confidential, even away from the other princesses. The only reason Celestia knew about Sweetie Belle's dream story was because Luna couldn't help sharing how adorable of a story it really was, and how it related with Luna and Celestia's relationship for all of these millenia.

But before Luna could speak a word, Cadance stepped up and intercepted the conversation. Though smaller, her soft voice spoke loud enough in the room, coming from a pony who purely understands the subject matter. And the pink alicorn brought forth an interesting suggestion. Letting up. Luna would have never even considered attempting to loosen the grip on troubled ponies in order to help them. A more free dreamscape attitude might be what ponies want anyway. The preservation of the organic dream was something Luna always kept close to her already. Cadance might be on to something.

"This is all very good, girls, thank you. Here is what I wish to do. In the coming weeks, I will continue as normal, providing more accurate measure," Luna's eyes pointing at Twilight, "of the dreamers. I will count the data and leave them for future observation. After several weeks have passed, I will then contribute what Cadance is offering as a suggestion into my dreamscape studies. Seeing as by then I will have plenty of evidence of the dreamscape's consistency, we shall then see what the realm does with the ponies in it, after a short time of unmonitored support. And then I will look again to see if the results have changed, for better or for worse. Does this sound like something I should engage in?"

​

[SteelEagle]

Twilight blushed in a pronounced manner as Celstia brought up the specter of Twilight's past anxiety driven mistakes. It was beyond all deceit that she had been a worry wart herself not long ago and truthfully, based on her actions today, the anxiety that caused such behavior had rooted deep and hard. It wasn't easy to throw off the shackles of mental bondage when you had woven the threads of your own mental prison with a belief in your unequal inadequacy as a youth. No matter how successful she had been she always drove herself as her own slave driver towards academic ends unseen by anypony else. She had calmed down somewhat was the demands of friendship and leadership sapped her of the free time she had devoted equally to academia and worrying about her academic progress and living up to Celestia's wishes for her. She understood the innate desire of many to worry over the smallest of details while missing the biggest of pictures. She understood that now. Part of the joys of her position now was that she got to help others move through the stages of foalishness that she had went through successfully. It was a good job to have, all things told, and one she was uniquely qualified as the Princess of Friendship to tackle.

And Celestia did happen to agree with Twilight's assessment. That was a relief- knowing that she was on target with her beliefs and understanding of the situation helped Twilight focus on the problem at hoof over wondering if she had misread it. No nation was perfect and despite all of their work at harmony there was always the small cracks at the side and through them negative feelings would filter through. This was natural. This was good. Utopian ideals were as close to utopia as you wanted to get as utopias had a habit of turning in on themselves and collapsing. It was that honest pursuit of those ideals that made Equestria unique and interesting and in Twilight's biased opinion the greatest place to live on the whole planet. All she could think of was that Celestia knew her land so well that it seemed silly to have spoken first as she not only trod upon the ground that Twilight had but went ten paces further and then some. She understood the world so well.

So did Cadance, in a different manner. For all the Princesses did the most important thing was what they did not do despite it being within their power. They could have perhaps monitored every motion and activity and guided a pony from birth to death along a simple and safe trail that was ensured to be easy, but it was hard to justify enforcing such a world where the mind became little more than a reserve of dreams unfulfilled or experiences left to rot on the vine. Ponies had to grow because of their failure rather than stagnate because of their success and as a result Twilight found herself nodding along with Cadance as she spoke, agreeing whole-heartedly with the analogy. Yes, having a foalsitter who learned that her charge was a bright filly who could take care of herself so the foalsitter could spy on the foal's older brother was the perfect working analogy for Equestria.

And then there was Luna. She took the three of her comrades and compatriots slimming down the width of her worry well, either because she believed they were right or perhaps just realized there was no use use in pushing it just then. In any case, she did offer Twilight something that made the newest Princess' eyes light up. The prospect of research into the subject was intoxicating no matter the conclusion, as the inner workings of the Equestrian psyche was the final frontier of her research paradigm concerning the well-being of Equestrian far and wide. And the prospect of Luna sharing that research and twilight summarizing their findings for greater dissemination was intoxicating. Her wings buzzed in place like a hummingbird's for a second at the thought of it!

"Yes!" she blushed and brought her voice down several octaves, "I-I mean, yes, of course. That would be a good course of action. We can then see if there is real cause for alarm. Luckily we have somepony as talented as you in this to help lead the way, Luna," Twilight offered plainly with a nod, excited to see if there was anything else to be brought up.

[starswirlthebearded]

((sorry it has taken me a month for this folks!))

The discussions thus far have been very fruitful towards the endeavors of Equestria and the ponies whom lived in it. Celestia often tried to make herself seem more than just a pony but a figurehead, almost seeming so very unpony in the public face. However she was always able to balance it with public appearances within her school and within Equestria as a whole. However in the coming days she has had to become more distant than she has ever been before. Not for lack of trying but due to internal rebuilding after several invasions, disasters and crazed maniacs trying to take over, destroy or otherwise throw Equestria into chaos, Celestia has felt herself become distant with the ponies she cared so much for. It, of course was for their benefit, but she couldn't help but feel this is how her sister felt in days long past.

Celestia smiled at her sister. "I am sure I do not have to tell you that you can discuss anything with me at any time, sister. Especially if you feel something is a miss." Celestia looked around the room, rather unsure if this was the forum to bring her particular issue, but with Cadence settling into her position, Luna returning after a thousand year absence, and Twilight just coming into her role as princess, she felt that there were no better ponies to discuss this matter with. Celestia cleared her throat not sure how this would come off as...

"As you all know I have been making more and more trips to other nations and the outer realms to increase our friendships and improve trade and relationships. And while I feel I have been fairly successful in these endeavors, I have felt another problem arise, one which I'm sure all of you could relate to to some degree..." Celestia began her rather personal topic. "Put simply, I have been spending so much time away from Equestria, that I feel I am losing connection with the very ponies I swore to protect. No matter how much I feel these steps forward will benefit them, I feel they see less of me than ever before."

Celestia paused for a moment. "I feel the need to find a way to connect with Equestrians again. Especially in light of all the recent events. Naturally, as Luna just spoke of, has dreams and Cadence, you have been growing ever closer with the Crystal Ponies. Even Twilight, you have been making strides in growing into your new position. While I am focusing on my own feelings, I would hope that we all could do something to become closer to the ponies we protect and serve."

[Bellosh]

 

Princess Luna took the feedback of her fellow alicorns into consideration, declaring her intent to study the effects of helping ponies through the dreamscape. Sensing a moment where Twilight Sparkle’s nerdy personality broke through her royal demeanor, Cadence half-seriously chimed in; “And I’m sure my sister-in-law would be eager to assist you in your research, Luna. I learned everything I know about conducting scientific studies from Twilight... and this was back when I used to babysit her!” The pink alicorn probably wasn’t giving her past instructors enough credit, but by golly, it was little filly Twily that first made research fun for Cadence.

 

The discussion turned to Celestia’s personal worries, that she no longer connected to ponies the way she used to. Princess Cadence, well vested in the art of discerning feelings, knew it’d be pointless to assert that Celestia’s subjects felt close to their princess anyway. But perhaps Cadence’s greatest mentor could use a hint or two from her protégé’s hoofbook. “Well, what I do is always find time to spend outside of the castle, doing normal things without having guards flanking me all the time. I feel me and... Shining Armor really managed to establish a deep bond with our subjects that way.”

 

As Cadence spoke about her husband, the mare realized she had a dilemma of her own somewhat related to Celestia’s. But the pink princess wondered if it was a matter that all three of her colleagues needed to hear.....