The treaty

Hikary wandered through the halls of the big palace, completely oblivious to all the wealth around her. She didn’t even realize how used she had gotten to the golden candle holders, to the purple light that came from real flowers and to the thick carpet that was so soft under her hoofs. It was morning and the young sun entered the castle through the windows. Hikary had just gotten up, but she had to skip breakfast once again if she wanted to be in time for the meeting.

The meetings had dragged on for a week now. Before Takato’s coronation, Taira had agreed with him to make a treaty in which they would write down their goals for further cooperation between the Friendship Lands and Asterian. It seemed like an excellent idea; write down what their intentions are and how they wanted to achieve this so that they could always look at the treaty in the future should there ever be any misunderstandings. It had seemed so easy back then; after all, both of them only wanted the best for their people. How could it be difficult if they both wanted the same thing?

Well, very difficult, Hikary had to conclude after a week of endless meetings and discussions. Every day, Taira and Takato had debated and discussed, and every day she had been forced to attend those debates, but there were very little agreements made yet. Both Takato and Taira wanted the treaty to be equal, but to both of them this meant something very different.

On Takato’s side, he wanted both sides to benefit equally. This meant that none of the parties should offer more than they could expect the other to return. This was problematic because Asterian was a very wealthy country and had lots to offer in terms of knowledge, politics and trade, whereas the Friendship Lands were small and, Hikary hated to admit it, not very rich. Sure, the country became wealthier every year and trade with other countries grew, but compared to Asterian they were very poor indeed. Thus Takato refused to help the Friendship Lands more than that they could help him, and in Taira’s eyes this was way too little and unfair, seeing the history of the Friendship Lands.

Taira on her part did not want help in trade goods and other materialistic means. She was of the opinion equal should mean that they should help each other whenever and however the other party needed help, even if this meant they could not give the same in return. She also emphasised on the sharing of wisdom; with knowledge alone both countries could benefit so much. Takato however, was afraid that if he agreed on Taira’s terms his country would always be the supplier of knowledge and goods, because the Friendship Lands as they were had very little to offer. The great libraries and archives of old were all destroyed, after all.

As she reached the meeting room, Hikary could already hear the discussion. She sighed. If nothing happened, this would go on forever, and to be honest Hikary was ready to go home. She had to get the stone back to its sisters. Ruki had also expressed a desire to leave; apparently, the girl was sick and tired of the city, and Hikary could not blame her. She wanted to see the open field again, too.

“No, no and no! I will not send grain your way without getting anything in return! What will my people think when I give you free grain?” Takato said angrily as Hikary entered the room.
The bare room almost made her turn around instantly. The white walls were only decorated by one landscape painting on each of the three walls, and the four corners of the room were filled with a bust of what was most likely a deceased noble. The room was lit by the sunshine that entered the room through the large window and the thin curtains.

“They will think you are a rightful king who is willing and capable of helping his allies!” Taira answered.
“No, they will think ‘why is he helping strangers when he cannot even give us free grain?’” Takato countered immediately.
Taira sighed deeply, knowing she would not be able to convince Takato. The sun was barely up, and already they were locked in an argument neither of them would win.

“Good morning, both of you.” Hikary said as she sat down at one of the blue chairs.
“Morning.” Mumbled Taira.
Hikary noticed Takato’s assistants had not yet arrived. That was unusual; they always came together with Takato to help him keep track of all things that were discussed; and that were a lot, Hikary had to admit. The west did not have a system where the second born would devote his life to helping the first born, so Takato had an army of servants and scribes to help him, where Taira only had Hikary.

“So, did you two make any progress?” Hikary asked, only barely able to keep in a smirk.
“Not really, no.” Taira answered.
“Okay. Well, I guess I didn’t miss anything then, so let’s continue where we left off last night.” Hikary said as she opened her notebook.
“Ah yes.” She sighed, “The knowledge thing. So, to summarize… Takato does not want ponies from the Friendship Lands to have free access to all the libraries because we cannot offer anything equal in return.”  Hikary said.

Takato nodded slightly. “That is what I said. It is not that I do not want to share the knowledge of the west with you. But I cannot just grant ponies from the east, strangers to the eyes of most of my subjects, free access to libraries and archives that are hidden even for most of them!”

“Then what use will it be for us? What should I tell my subjects when I get back? That we made a treaty with a country in the west, only that we will benefit less because of some fate that hit us beyond our control?” Taira spat.
“No, no, that is not what I mean, Taira! I do not do this to punish you or your people. Aren’t we having these discussions so both our people can benefit?”

“And yet you ask from us the impossible! You ask us to provide you with trade goods and access to all our knowledge while you know we can not give you that yet! Yes, we can start up a trade, but in order for it to flourish we will need help to expand our farms and workshops! You talk about being equal but if that is really what you want then why are you unwilling to provide us with the means to become equals!” Taira all but yelled at the recently appointed High King.

“Why should I be the one to provide you with the means to become equal to Asterian? How can you even be equal to Asterian if we helped you get there?” Takato asked her.
“Because that is what this treaty is about, isn’t it? Helping each other so that we both benefit? I’m not asking you to help the Friendship Lands grow. I’m not asking you to donate so much that our growth becomes dependent on your help. I’m asking you to offer a bit more, to allow us to grow ourselves.”

“Well, princess Taira,” Takato said,
“Like I said before, I am willing to help, but not if I cannot expect anything in return. What do you have to give? What do you have to offer?”
“I am offering you an alliance with the Friendship Lands. I am offering you an alliance such as never existed before; an alliance between the crowns of the High Kings and the High Queens.” Taira answered. Hikary was gaping at her sister, wondering how Taira dared to make such a claim.

“You are no High Queen. You’re a princess of a poor country, daughter to queens who forsake the power you claim to have.” Takato spat, glaring at Taira.
“No, I am not a High Queen. I do not claim to rule the east like you rule the west. I do not even claim to once become a queen like you are a king, because the differences are so strong. That is exactly why I do not agree on this equality you keep insisting on; the east and the west are not the same. None of us can offer exactly what the other can!

But the blood of High Queens flows through my veins. I am not just any princess you can boss around, thinking I will eventually give in to your demands! I am the future queen of the Friendship Lands, and in that I am equal to you!” Taira yelled. Hikary didn’t even dare to move, afraid of what Takato would say. Had Taira just doomed the prospect of a treaty by her little outburst? Knowing Takato, it wouldn’t surprise her.

Takato stared at Taira, not moving, not speaking. Hikary could not tell what was thinking, but she feared the worst. “You once were an exiled prince, Takato.” Taira whispered.
“You once declared you would do anything for your people. Why is it so hard for you to see that I only want to do the same thing?” Takato sighed and fell back into his chair, shaking his head.

“I know. You’re right. If I were you… I’d do the same thing. But this is my first important task as the High King… no, as the king of Asterian. I do not want my subjects to think I am giving away our riches.” Takato said. “I know. I never asked you to. I’m just asking of you not to demand of my people that which they can not give… that which was taken away from them by the forces of nature.”

“No. You’re right… Taira. I cannot ask that of you.” Takato shook his head and stared out of the window.
“How about we do it a different way?” Hikary asked.
“Different?” Takato and Taira asked at the same time.
“Yes. How about we allow ponies to trade on their own terms? Instead of deciding for them what our countries need and how much and how much we should get in return, how about we let the subjects themselves decide? Of course, we need to keep an eye on the value of things and make sure no one gets cheated out of value.”

“That sounds… fair. We have free trade in the east, particularly in regard to the trade route. I do not see why this should be any different. The only major problem is that our people don’t know each other; our cultures, our products, our values… so we need to guide them. But I see no problem in letting them decide in the end.” Taira agreed, winking at her sister. They both stared at Takato, awaiting his answer.

“I guess… that sounds reasonable. While trade with the east so far has been regulated by the office of the High King, I guess we can make an arrangement where anyone is free to trade with the Friendship Lands. We should make guidelines for them; maybe we should make a dictionary even. And when it comes to trade between our countries, we will discuss that ourselves, deciding then and then how much things are worth based on their market price.” Takato got more and more enthusiastic about Hikary’s plan, and she had trouble to keep in her laugh.

“What about knowledge? Like entrance to the libraries? Surely, this does not cost you much Takato, and surely you understand that if you allow us access to your libraries and other institutions, we will be able to rebuild our country much faster, which will be beneficially for the trade and thus for your country as well.” Taira argued. “Yes… that sounds fair. How about this? Ponies from the Friendship Lands can get free access, but only after they have been confirmed as residents of the Friendship Lands, so they’d need some kind of signed paper from you or your mother.”

“Yes, sure. That sounds fair enough.” Taira smiled.
“Good. I’ve written all of this down, so all that’s left now is to finish the details, right?” Hikary asked, glancing at her paper.
“Yes. But for that, I would like to get my advisors first, and tell them of our plan. I’m sure they will agree, but they have more knowledge of my country’s economics, so they will be able to help.” Takato agreed.

Hikary smiled, thinking back on last night’s conversation with Taira. Staring at the dark blue sky, they had agreed time was running short. They had to go home soon, but they could not as long as the treaty was not finalized. Taira had told her she wanted to wrap things up today, but she had not thought Taira would press Takato this much. Taira’s idea of letting Hikary present the idea was genius… Taira pressured him, and then Hikary came up with the alternative. That it had been their plan all along… was not something she would share with anyone, and especially not Takato.