Bloody Diplomacy (Patreon)

 The situation was suddenly tense in my Equestria dreamscape. Luna glared at Bent Horn and Celestia’s eyes narrowed. In a slow, deliberate voice Celestia spoke.

 
  “Bent Horn, are you saying that this whole war could’ve been avoided by you?”

   
  “Yes, yes I could’ve prevented it from occurring last winter if I had chosen so, but I decided not to stop it.” Bent Horn casually stated this as if she’d decided to forgo biscuits with her afternoon tea.” 

  “You could’ve prevented the death of hundreds of our loyal, loving subjects, and the needless slaughter of your own kind and YOU DECIDED NOT TO!” Luna’s voice echoed off the surrounding mountain peaks as she roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “WHAT MADNESS POSSESSED YOU TO STANDBY AND LET THIS SLAUGHTER OCCUR?”

 
  Celestia did not use the Royal Canterlot Voice but when she spoke again there was a subtle tone of violence just beneath the surface of her usually calm voice, a rumble like the sound of  distant thunder. 

  
  “Bent Horn. I wish to hear your reasons for letting this unnecessary war occur. Please explain your actions. Immediately!” 

   
  Bent Horn sighed and shook her head at the two sisters. “I thought I had explained that to you two? The moment Flame Hide was voted onto the council by my enemies I knew he would try and wrest control of the council away from me someday. He was driven by an overinflated sense of his worth. And that worthless lizard Stone Spine was perfectly willing to play his brute!”

 
  Bent Horn flashed a crocodile grin at the Royal Sisters. “So over the last hundred and fifty years I let him go about building his so-called base of core supporters. It was actually rather charming to watch as he went about imagining he was really a dragon destined to do something great! Ha! It was like watching a young drake playing with old bones dreaming they were a dragon from some ancient tale!” 

   “However there were others on the council who I perceived as being a genuine threat to my rule, and they were more than willing to quietly start supporting that pompous salamander in an attempt to undermine my authority! Given another hundred years or so they might have been able to actually overthrow the whole balance of the council, and dealt with me in a very ‘permanent’ way. If that had happened there would have been profound and long-lasting change to the council, and they would’ve abandoned one of the foundation principles that I’ve followed for the last thousand years!”

 
  “And what would that principle be?” Inquired Celestia coldly. “What grand vision has served to guide you and the council?”

 
  “That ponies are convenient to have around.” Purred the dragon. “Ponies have an over developed sense of altruism that causes you and your subjects to jump up at the slightest provocation and smother anyone who’d threaten this world in rainbows and other nonsense. And every time you and your kin embark upon a ‘ We must save the world!’ quest you spare council and myself from having to deal with another tedious external threat.  Instead I can focus upon internal threats within council with most of my energies.”

 
  “ Windigos attempting to bury the world under a hundred feet of snow and ice just let the ponies hug each other and sing songs. Poof! Problem solved. Discord threatening the very fabric reality again. Bam! Let the ponies blast the freak with rainbows until he turns into a lawn ornament. And any nemesis that ponies can’t hug to death or poison with cake and punch you two sisters can either squash under a falling star or torch to a cinder with the fiery wrath of the sun!”

 
  Bent Horn was now pacing slowly back and forth in front of the two sisters. Through all this Black Horn remained motionless and silent. The Head of Council of Dragons continued her monologue. 

  
  “Even when ponies are the source of trouble you are ever so conscious about righting wrongs. Why just recently Celestia didn’t you have to go vaporize a sizable portion of your beloved Everfree Forest? The rumors I’ve heard is that you had to stop some eldritch horror that one of your lovely little pony subjects created when Luna here took leave of her senses a thousand years ago?”

   
  The Princess of the Moon said nothing but glared at Bent Horn with fiery jade eyes. The dragon ignored Luna’s stare and continued on with her speech. “I have also learned recently of another threat that your subjects dealt with quite nicely last winter that could’ve had horrifying consequences for all if it had been allowed to go unchecked. But once again you and your subjects have made things right with the world again!” 

  
  “And even when things do come to blows between our realms I can still find ponies useful!” Exclaimed the Head of the Council of Dragons. “For the last hundred years I have so desired to rip Flame Hides throat out, but if I did it my enemies would used it as leverage against me. But if the pathetic buffoon gets himself vaporized by one of Luna’s vengeful falling stars, and if you Celestia roast his number one muscle then no one can place the blame on me. My claws are clean!”

 
  Bent Horn made a deep rumbling sound that passed for a laugh and continued speaking. The Royal Sisters stood silently as the Head of Council continued her speech. Luna glanced over at her sister, Celestia had a stone face expression, but Luna recognized the tell tale flickering of her sister’s usually smooth flowing mane and tail.  Sis was very angry and was straining to keep her emotions in check.

   
  “Now thanks to the theatrical use of force by you two I have had no trouble in convincing the council of the necessity to ‘purge’ certain members of the clans for their treasonous actions! After all we wouldn’t want any other dragons going and enraging the Royal Sisters of Equestria. Why if you two got angry enough who knows what hideous rainbow-colored apocalypse you’d unleash on us? Better if we do our own house cleaning!”

 
  “So what you are telling us is that you manipulated things so we would be forced to have kill your opponents, and you continue use us as a justification to further murder other members of your realm?” Celestia said this in a matter of fact fashion, but there was a hiss in her voice. The same hiss a burning fuse makes as it approaches a powder keg.  

  
    “Oh Celestia don’t get all upset about it!” Exclaimed Bent Horn. “Trust me if you had ever invited Flame Hide or Stone Spine to afternoon tea I am certain you would’ve flambé them both before the watercress sandwiches were served! Take my word; the world is better place without them in it. And don’t fret over my orders resulting hundreds of dragons being butchered to appease the great powerful Royal Sisters of Equestria. At most a couple dozen troublemakers have met their demise at my command.” 

  
  Bent Horn leaned forward and extended her neck until her head was only about twenty feet from Luna.

   
  “Of course the only reason I haven’t ordered hundreds of my kind eliminated is because Luna here took care of most of them for me!”   
 To be continued.