Dinner had finished and everyone had their beverage of choice.
It had been held at the roof of the so-called palace with everyone invited. The Griffon envoy, the Kirin, Midnight, Tempest.
I sipped my tea and glanced up towards the moon, wishing Luna was here for a second. Twilight and Midnight was off to one side, talking with Rain Shine and the griffon Envoy, Silverstreak.
Sunset was over by the railing, laughing at something Tempest had said.
The second Kirin, Autumn Blaze was standing alone by the opposite railing, looking out over the lights of the town and the river glittering in the moonlight.
Picking my tea up in my magic, I walked up to stand next to her, looking out over the village below. She had a glass of sky melon juice sitting on the railing.
I glanced at her with a small smile, "What do you think?"
"...I don't know," she answered before she looked at me, adding, "Your highness."
I smiled a bit, "Not tonight," I told her, "It gets a bit old eventually."
"Really?"
Sipping my tea, I smiled a bit wider, "Like you wouldn't believe," I admitted and then motioned slightly with one hoof, "Over five thousand ponies. Bats, Pegasi, Earth ponies, Unicorns. Couple of Griffons and as of a couple of months ago, I think we have a pair of donkeys. All in the most dangerous environment inside Equestrias borders."
"It's impressive I guess."
"Could be," I mused, "Could also be stupid. Climate is pleasant for bats, but that's... alright," I said and sighed, "It's not quite all it has for it. These lands... they're historically thestral lands. We're from here. You can... call it a connection? That's part of why I chose to build it down here."
"Connection?"
I nodded, "There's so few bats. So little is known about thestral history, we... I thought it might help forge bonds. Give us a link to a lost history."
Autumn Blaze looked out over the village and I could see her mind clicking into the connections I meant for her to make.
"Did it work?"
"I don't know," I said, shrugging my wings slightly, sipping my tea, "I'm not sure we'll find out for quite a while. At the same time, we're studying what little there is to find our thestral ancestry. But so much have been lost in the mists of time, overgrown, destroyed..."
She slowly nodded, "I was at the market."
I smiled, "How did you find it?"
She scraped a hoof against the wooden deck with a small frown, "Everypony looked at me," she said, "I get why, but that wasn't the strangest thing."
"We did announce that you were visiting with us, explained what Kirin were," I said with a smile, "I hope they treated you alright."
Autumn Blaze looked out over the village before she turned to look up at me, "More than. They gave me things. Food, even a necklace. For free!"
"So?"
She shook her head, "No, I mean..." she said and frowned, "Prince Page, these ponies don't have any money."
I studied my cup of tea before I sighed, "Nocturnis is a poor village," I agreed, "Everypony just tries their best."
Autumn Blaze shook her head, "We didn't use much in the way of money, we make everything we need but... they barely have anything, why would they..."
"Because they know how it is to be isolated," I told her gently, "To have nothing. When we introduced you, we said there were even less Kirin than bats. I think some like you all have had the same difficulties they did."
She shook her head again, mane swaying as she stomped one hoof firmly, "We're not here for charity!"
"I know that," I said and then shook my head as I met her eyes, "It's not about you."
That seemed to make her mental track derail a bit, "Huh?" she asked.
I nodded to the side towards the village below, "Nocturnis is a poor village. There's houses in Canterlot worth more than the entire village can scrape up," I said and chuckled, "I'm an alicorn prince, yet I doubt I could scrape up more than a thousand bits right now."
"A thousand bits is quite a lot."
I smiled sadly, "You'd think so," I mused, looking out over the village, "But I know how much it costs to import grain here. It's really not."
She looked thoughtful, "So what did you mean?"
"We get a lot of aid from the rest of Equestria," I explained to her, "Many bats here... did not have good lives before they moved here. The thought of depending on Equestrian aid sits very badly with them, even if they know it's necessary. Helping somepony else, giving you food and gifts... it's not really about you. It's a symbol, a way to ease the burden. A way to… pay back."
"Oh."
I smiled at her and reached up to touch my silver circlet, "See this? It was a gift from the village. I didn't know about it until it was delivered to me. It must have cost them many thousands to have made by a master craftspony in Canterlot. If they asked, I would have refused. But they did it because they wanted their Prince, their thestral alicorn to have a crown."
Autumn Blaze stared up at me, eyes flicking up to the silver circle and then back to my face again, "...It's not about you."
I smiled and gave her a small nod, "Now you’re getting it," I said and motioned out over the village with a hoof, "It's about them," I said and then looked to her again with a small smile, "My idea of a good life is a small cabin with my mares, a small field to grow what we need and a warm fireplace. A quill and a lot of paper to write on. But for them, I will stand here. I will wear a crown. I will face the politics and challenges of ruling. They look to me for answers, Autumn Blaze. And I will always be here, and do my best to give them."
"Because it's not about you."
"Because it's not about me," I agreed with a smaller smile, "if it was, I would be in Canterlot with my wife."
Autumn frowned, "That sounds lonely."
"It's not," I said with a smile, "Twilight and Sunset are here. I have friends here. I meet Luna and Celestia as often as I can."
"But it's not easy."
I laughed softly, "It's never easy. Very little worth doing is easy."
"...Like leaving the village."
I sighed softly and nodded, "Like leaving your village. Your people have lived there for generations. It's the land of your ancestors."
Autumn Blaze picked up her glass in her magic, looking out over the lights of the village before she closed her eyes, sipping her sky melon juice before she shook her head, "We can't stay," she finally said, "Our children... not if we want them to have children of their own. There's so few of us."
I stayed quiet for a long time before I asked quietly, "What does Rain Shine think?"
She shook her head, "She knows it as well as I do," she admitted with a sigh, "She just doesn't want to admit it yet."
"It's no hurry. You have time to make your decisions."
Autumn Blaze looked up at me, "Not a lot of time, your majesty," she said softly before she smiled a bit with an expression I couldn’t quite place on her face, "I get it now."
"What?"
"Why the locals call you that," she said before walking off towards Rain Shine, to join her leader.
I glanced after her before turning back towards the village below and then to look up towards the moon shining in the skies.
I didn't like manipulating ponies like that.
But it's not about me.