high_seas | Kiss Kiss Eat Some Meat

Some months. But I have lived through far, far worse than what I have seen here. [Possibly excepting her efforts to murder everypony, but let's not go there.] In a certain respect, I am enjoying the vacation. I haven't had a real one in a thousand years or so, after all.

A thousand-...

[The surprise is clear in Elsa's face for a moment before she laughs softly, covering her mouth with a hand and slightly shaking her head.]

I must say, you maintain a very youthful appearance despite all those years of work. And I'm sure that a job that required so much time and attention couldn't be an easy one.

Ah, well, my sister and I are special cases. [And she intends to leave the source of her longevity a mystery beyond that.] But rulership is indeed no easy task, especially given what terrible shape Equestria was in on our ascension.

You have a sister as well? Is she younger?

[Celestia hardly seem like the little sister to Elsa, it makes more sense for her to be the older one.]

Rulership? I was aware of your royal lineage, but I was under the impression that you were a Princess-... Ah! Is Equestria a principality then?

[Her pale cheeks get a pink tint as embarrassment at herself for being surprised for a second fills her. She had just assumed that it was a kingdom or a queendom.]

Yes, Luna is my younger sister, and we have ruled Equestria together for quite some time. [That is a half-truth, maybe three-quarters when you consider that the period of time Luna and Celestia ruled together was indeed quite some time as a human would reckon it.]

The title of 'Princess' is a complicated one, but in modern times it refers to alicorns -- ponies, like myself and my sister, who have both wings and a horn. In these days, that privilege is earned, not one of birth or lineage.

An earned privilege... The trials for it must be very difficult and severe in that case. Do all princesses help with the rulership or is it just you and your sister?

At the moment, my student, Twilight Sparkle, is still learning how to be a Princess. Princess Cadance was for the most part uninvolved in rulership for many years, but now she and her husband oversee the Crystal Empire now that it is no longer trapped by King Sombra's magic.

In general, Princesses find their way to positions of power because they are most suited to them, and because a pony who does not want to help and care for their fellow ponies does not become a Princess.

So every Princess is definitively someone worthy of that title and who will work for the best of your land.

[Elsa smiles at that though there's a hint of bitterness on it.]

It's unfortunate that humans don't work that way, in the world I come from rulership simply goes to the first born or to the closest alive relative in direct lineage. It doesn't matter if they are worth of it or not, if they care for their country if they want to be in such a position, if they are fit for it... Or even if their subjects will want them.

[She hadn't been ready. She had tried, but it was just impossible to control her powers. She wasn't worth it or fit for it, not when she couldn't even protect and take care of one person, how could she do it with a whole kingdom? And when her power was discovered she hadn't been wanted, she had been feared instead. What kind of Queen could an Ice Queen be? Not a good one. Anna wasn't ready for it, she had never been prepared for it, but she was more suited for it. She was warm and optimistic and wasn't devoured by fear. It won't be easy, but Arendelle will be in better hands with Anna in charge.]

The unicorn kingdom that existed prior to Equestria's founding had the same sort of hierarchy by lineage, and many of those titles still exist in modern times as a relic of those period. But our history had to undergo a great disruption before our current system arose.

[Celestia has picked up a common theme about royalty on other worlds. Few people have positive things to say about it. That bothers her, particularly as she remembers her own errors, frequent and egregious as they had been at first.]

If you don't mind to answer... What kind of disruption? Though I understand if you do not with the talk about that.

[A hierarchy different than one settled by lineage. A government system in which only those who were worth it acquired rulership. Was such a thing possible for humans? For a world that lacked the magic that Equestria seemed to flow with. She can't really imagine it, and she fears what would be required for such a system to be installed, both to the country and to those who ruler under the old regime.]

Discord. The spirit of disharmony.

[She doesn't speak his name with anything close to what she truly feels. Discord has reformed now, and she mustn't speak about him with prejudice... though she hopes he will never, ever appear here, she cannot count on that.]

That's quite specific.

[It doesn't tell much exactly, sure, but knowing that it's a the spirit of disharmony and that it's named Discord it doesn't take much to think of the different effects it could have had in Celestia's world.]

So in your world even disharmony has a spirit. In my world it doesn't, there's nothing, person, spirit or magical being, responsible for it or that instigates it as far as I know. It just forms part of people's nature unfortunately.

[Celestia laughs softly, nothing more than a low noise deep in her throat.] Oh, make no mistake, we need no spirit for disharmony. We simply have one on top of that. But his power runs far beyond simply making ponies have difficult interactions. The very laws of physics are his playthings/

Oh, I understand, my apologies. It must have been a really chaotic time... Is there any danger that he may cause trouble again after so much time?

He escaped his imprisonment not long ago, and did attempt to take over Equestria once again, but was stopped by my student and her friends, the current bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

[Celestia feels no real need to mention any of her role in this, despite having completely outplayed Discord in it...]

Since then, he has been released from his imprisonment again and reformed, or as much as a spirit of chaos can reform. He is now an ally of Equestria and ponykind, rather than an enemy.

Is that even possible?

[It's not disbelief but rather plain surprise what guides her words.]

I mean, for a spirit of chaos to be an ally... I think that if it was my world people would have aimed to take him down rather than just imprisoning him or reforming him.

[A pause.]

Definitively not the best way to solve a problem, is it?

[At this, Celestia turns to regard Elsa fully, an expression of frank surprise on her face.]

It is always better to make an enemy into a friend, and an ally out of a foe. If you expend your strength to destroy them, at worst you have weakened yourself to do so, and at best you have gained nothing. As troublesome as Discord is as an ally, it is better than having him emerge every time the Elements of Harmony change hooves, with another and better plan to overcome them.

[Elsa can't help but chuckle at that, though it's a bitter and humorless one accompanied by a shake of her head.]

My world really has a lot to learn, it seems. While it's true that we acknowledge the importance of allies, there are many rulers who only see allies as tools at most. And there's too much arrogance and selfishness among the rulers of each country to allow for fair and peaceful relations. Even in times of peace, the truth is that each ruler always puts first their own interests before even considering the interests of their allies and never the ones of those who aren't allied with them.

To make an enemy into a friend, that's not something that is practiced often in my world. Then again, many would argue that winning a war and being able to take control of that country's riches and resources is an excellent prize for victory when destroying the enemy. Even in peaceful times, trade negotiations are similar to a battle as both countries want to get the most while giving out the least.

I think the rulers of the world would probably change their tunes if they ever ended up, however briefly, under the rule of a spirit of disharmony.

Or with the threat of windigos, for that matter. A long, long time ago ponykind was divided amongst its types, with the pegasi and the unicorns and the earth ponies all divided up and at odds much the way you describe, each seeking to gain at the expense of the others. Their hostility and anger nearly doomed them all, for it attracted windigos, who fed off the coldness in their hearts and brought an eternal blizzard to the lands in which ponykind used to dwell. Only when three hopeful young ponies, one of each kind, found friendship and the hallowed Fire it could summon, did the windigos retreat. And that friendship became the basis on which Equestria was founded.

You may take what you will from knowing that it took ice and cold to finally bring forth warmth and love. [She smiles sidelong at Elsa.]

[Elsa listens silently, hands tightly pressed together close to her body. Celestia is right, it may require a catastrophe like that for her world to find the balance and harmony it should have. But would it be possible? With the way things are, even if something similar to Equestria's story happened, when it was all over people would probably just accuse those who achieved that special miracle or sorcery or something. It took little for people to turn their backs to their own heroes once they felt they weren't needed and even if in one place someone could be hailed as a hero, in another place they would be hanged without any consideration.

At Celestia's smile and last words, Elsa can only offer a sadly confused and lost look. Take what she will? What is there for her to take? The world was saved and founded in harmony and love, and the ice and cold retreated, left it. The way Elsa sees it, the event only makes fact something she already knew, that she has no place in Arendelle. She's ice and cold, and the only way in which she can help for warmth and love to bloom is by having people band together against her until she retreats and leaves. But that's okay, it's what happened, isn't it? Her powers were discovered and she left, she was accused of sorcery and chased like an animal, and left behind was Anna who was warmth and love unlike her. That's right, now that she's gone Arendelle may bloom again under Anna's rule.]

And the windigos have never been a threat again? They just retreated and vanished with their ice and coldness?

[That is exactly the lesson Celestia had worried she would take, and exactly the opposite one she ought to have. But time on this ship would prove to Elsa that she was no monster and had a place she belonged, Celestia is certain of that.]

They have not. They are closer to elementals than ponies. When the land became unwelcoming to them, they had to move on. They had no capacity to change it.

[It's the only lesson she could take after years of having those thoughts and fears haunting her. Her parents tried their best, but they didn't do it well, the words they gave her, the lessons, the advices, the trust, nothing of it worked, nothing stopped the ice and the coldness. They sacrificed their lives and ruined Anna's life just for Elsa's sake, if only they had sent her away right from the start, the gates wouldn't have had to be closed, no one would have suffered but her. Ultimately everything turned alright anyway, now Arendelle's gates will always be open and even if Anna's judgement isn't the best at times... She will learn, and she's not alone even if Elsa could not approve of it.]

I see. So they left and never returned, I suppose that they can't exactly be found either even if one tried to search for them, right? I wish that the world I come from will have the same resolution, with people working together in harmony rather than using each other.

[She will never know, thought. She didn't wish to return but now that she understands how little place she has there, she's even more set on the idea. Even if she returned she would remain in the North Mountain- no, she can't stay there either, she must go away, further, where no one will ever be able to find her no matter what. She will find a way if she's forced to return, until then, this world does it well enough for her.]

[Home is where your sister is, Elsa. Celestia can speak to that more firmly and truthfully than anypony else.]

Sometimes it takes the worst of events to bring out the best of ponies. After all, in adversity we discover who we truly are, or choose it. To stand and fight or to bend and break. To run away or to run and help. These are the moments that forge strength.

[If ever there was a Princessly pronouncement, this is it.]

If that's so, then I'm sure they will be fine. My world may have many faults, but people are stubborn enough to forge their strength and endure anything together.

[What's inside of her? She loved Anna, she had always thought of Anna, she didn't want to harm her, or her parents, or her people. She wanted to love them and to be loved. She wanted to protect them all from everything, from the ice and coldness inside of her. But she was just fooling herself.

Her actions did nothing but hurt everyone. Her parents, Anna, her people, all of them were dragged down by her, by her powers. A country that barely saw their king and queen, that never saw their princesses, left alone, shut out just like Anna had been shut out by Elsa. Anna didn't know about true love, but she was right in that neither did Elsa, no matter how good her intentions were, she did all wrong. She only caused pain and damage. And there was nothing good in her to be brought out, at least not in Arendelle.]

Endure? Or overcome?

[The question is fairly pointed, because the distinction is massive on both a global and a personal scale. Enduring hardship is easy, overcoming it much harder. And the difference is between surviving and thriving.]

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