Iron Will didn’t like Manehattan. He couldn’t think of another city in Equestria that had less need for his seminars; it was as though all of the assertiveness that was supposed to be in the rest of the nation had been concentrated here. And worse, the city was a grid. A grid. Will couldn’t think of a more ridiculous urban layout, especially for a coastal city. It was like they wanted to be invaded.

Still, his agent had been able to wrangle an appearance at Madison Square Pasture, and Iron Will would’ve been crazy to turn down that kind of venue. So, he and his entourage were in one of the Pasture’s dressing rooms when a knock at the door shook him out of his thoughts.

Will sat up with an angry grunt, stomped to the door loud enough to make sure it could be heard on the other side, and threw it open. “Iron Will demands privacy before his performance!” he bellowed, fully in his on-stage persona.

The pegasus on the other side of the door didn’t even shift his half-lidded expression. “Yeah? Well, Postal Code has a letter with more 'Urgent' stamps than he's ever seen, so Iron Will can take that entitled, third-pony, celebrity horseapples and shove it where Celestia don’t shine.” He pulled an envelope out from under his wing.

“Iron Will notes some hypocrisy in that statement,” Will said as he took the letter.

Postal Code shrugged his wings. “Ask me if I care.” He turned and left.

Will shut the door and considered the envelope. His eyes widened. “Oh.” His hands shook a little as he opened it and unfolded the paper within. To the average pony, it would appear to contain a maze solvable in about ten minutes. Somepony versed in Taurean would recognize it as a message, though it would take more than an hour for most to translate the shape, turns, dead ends, and other intricacies of the minotaur language into Equish.

Iron Will read it at a glance. “Oh,” he said again. “Nick, we’re going to need to cancel the rest of the tour.”

“Baaah!?” his agent cried.

“I know it’s sudden, but this is important.”

“Baaah.”

Iron Will shook his head. “No, ponies will understand needing to cancel for a family emergency.”

Nick considered this for a moment, chewing on his tie as he thought. “Baaah.”

Will smiled and nodded. “Heh. I guess that does mean this is the tour’s finale. Better give them one to remember.”

---

The echoes of the crowd lingered in Iron Will’s ears the day after, as he booked passage on the fastest ship he could find that was bound for the Marediterranean. It was a cargo ship, but one boasting some of the latest in refrigeration and propulsion technologies to make sure the perishables on board would be as fresh as possible on arrival. The ship crossed the Saddlantic in under a week, and soon enough, the proud stone walls of Minos, first and greatest of the minotaur maze-cities, loomed on the horizon.

Will disembarked with his goats in tow, breathing in the salt air. The docks contained ships ranging from traditional reindeer longboats to freighters like the one he’d just left. A wide variety of species milled about the harbor, negotiating trades, hawking goods and services, or just dazedly wandering in the waning light of evening.

“Will!”

Iron Will turned to see two other minotaurs waving at him. One stood a head shorter than Will, the fur on his thin, sinewy body a greyish green. The other was a head taller, his blood-red frame bulging with muscle. Like Will, each had a silver ring through his nose. “Get over here!” shouted the latter.

“Fortie! Flex!” Will beamed and raced over to them. The three didn’t so much hug as collide. “It’s been too long.”

“No kidding,” said the smaller bull, Lightning Reflexes. “You never write, you never visit.”

“Well, I’m sure teaching ponies how to stand up for themselves is a full-time job,” said Great Fortitude.

Iron Will savored the joy for a moment more before saying, “So, what does the old ox want?”

His brothers looked at one another for a moment. “It’s probably best that you see for yourself,” said Great Fortitude.

Flex nodded. “Come on. He’ll want to see you.”

The three bulls entered Minos proper. Here, thought Will, was a city. Minos was built not just as a settlement, but as a poem to its own unassailable nature. The nature of the Taurean script turned that poem into a labyrinth. The structure made perfect sense to minotaurs. Other species weren’t so lucky.

The brothers passed by griffons with flight muscles well-toned by flying over the walls of the city. In more brutal times, those who tried such a thing would have been met by archers and heavier ordinance. Nowadays, the lazy cheaters just got disapproving glares.

Diamond Dogs trailed past, a few with the bewildered expressions of new arrivals, most with the confidence that came from understanding the city as a tunnel system with an open ceiling. They had a point, given the many stairs leading to houses and shops dug into the walls themselves.

At one point, the brothers moved through a pony district, where the herds had settled into a neighborhood small enough for them to memorize. At least pegasi respected the walls of the city.

But most of all, there were minotaurs of every size and hue, moving through the city with unconscious ease. Iron Will savored seeing so many of his people at once. He loved helping ponies improve themselves, but it was exhausting to stick out like a sore thumb in a country where they didn’t even understand that idiom.

Finally, the three bulls reached the heart of the city, the palace of Protominos. Iron Will couldn’t help but compare it to the one in Canterlot. Celestia’s home was like something out of a breezie tale, all marble and minarets. Protominos was a fortress. Where the city was stone, the castle was iron. The city sang of its defensibility. The palace made a simple statement of fact: Those who were not welcome there would die.

But to Will, those were the halls of his childhood. Memories he hadn’t considered in years came to mind as he moved inward, of games and lessons and the bull at the core of it all.

At that core, the center of Minos, stood the throne room of the Master of Mazes. Sitting on a throne of bronze and folded steel was a minotaur half again as tall as Iron Will. He was muscular, but with more graceful proportions than Great Fortitude. His horns, fingers, and limbs were adorned in rings and bracers of many metals. A ring of gold pierced his nose. His coat shone pure even in the light of the room’s burning torches. He was King Angus the White.

Iron Will stepped forward before his sovereign, nodded, smiled, and said, “Hi, Dad.”

Angus smiled. “Son. It’s been too long.”

Will chuckled. “That’s what I said.” He tilted his head back towards his brothers. “Flex and Fortie didn’t want to tell me why you called me home. What’s going on?

Angus gave a sad smile. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Iron Will finally stopped looking at his memories and focused on the bull before him. A pony would still see a terrifying creature, an expansive slab of muscle and might crowned with horns that put Celestia's to shame. But Will could see how his father was beginning to waste away, his bracers looking lose on his wrists, his fur starting to go from pearl to silver.

"I'm getting old, Will," said Angus. "I need to declare an heir officially."

Will sighed. "And you want me."

Angus gave a single nod. "You're the best choice."

"No I'm not. Flex is, and we both know it."

Angus sighed. ”He is the best leader between the three of you, yes, but the people would never support him."

Lightning Reflexes shrugged. "It's true. No one's going to follow a strip of jerky like me. Strong body, strong leader, that’s how they think.”

"Great Fortitude has the opposite problem," said Angus. "If it were a few hundred years ago, when there were few problems that couldn’t be solved with enough axes, I’d name him heir in a heartbeat. But this is a time of peace."

Fortie nodded. "I have no patience for the kind of politics Dad has to put up with on a daily basis. I know it's important, but..." He shook his head. "Didn't exactly go well the last time I tried it."

"We did manage to avoid that war with Anugypt," said Flex. "A bit touch and go for a while there, but we managed it."

Will snorted. “And you think I'll do any better?"

Angus nodded. "I do. You've been preparing for this day for most of your life, Will. Getting ponies of all creatures to stand up for themselves? Commanding respect from a species that views us as monsters nine times out of ten?" The king chuckled. "I have little doubt that you'd be a better leader than I ever could be." He sighed. “I tried to let the three of you find your own paths for as long as I could, but the time has come, as you knew it would. You have a duty to fulfill, Will.”

Iron Will looked to the floor. The lesson his least satisfied customer had taught him came to mind. He looked back up, glaring at his father, and opened his mouth.

“Of course,” said Angus, “I’m sure that you’re exhausted from your long trip. Feel free to stay the night; we can finish this discussion in the morning.”

The words died unsaid in Will’s throat. He could only nod.

---

”What am I going to do, Nick?” Iron Will groaned.

“Baaah.” Nick and the rest of the goats had been led to Will’s old room by the palace servants.

Will continued his pacing. “This isn’t some cranky event manager I can boss around, Nick. This is my father and king we’re talking about. He’s the bull who taught me everything I know about self-assertion.” He sighed. “I like helping ponies. I like no one knowing that I’m a prince. I don’t want to give that up.”

“You know, they say those who least want power are those who’d best use it.”

Iron Will turned to the door. His brothers stood there. He answered Lightning Reflexes. “Yeah? Well, I say those who least want power should have their wishes respected.”

Flex shook his head. “It doesn’t look like that’s going to be an option, Will.”

“No.” Iron Will slumped. “I guess not.” He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up.

Great Fortitude smiled back. “You’re not beaten yet.”

“I only said it doesn't look like an option," said Lightning Reflexes. "We'll help you figure out if it really isn't."

Will smiled. "Thanks."

Fortie shrugged. "Of course. We’re your brothers.”

Flex nodded. “We’ll figure this out even if it takes all night.”

---

The next morning, the three brothers stood before their father once again. Angus folded his arms. “So? Have you come to a decision?”

Iron Will nodded. “I have. I’d like to make a counterproposal.”

Angus raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Make Great Fortitude the heir.” Will held up a hand as his father frowned. “Hear me out, Dad. Make Fortie the heir, but have Flex serve in an advisory role. You can have the leader the people want and the one they deserve.”

Angus rubbed his chin and grinned. “Siblings ruling together. Where have I heard that before?”

Will shrugged. “It seems to be working for the ponies.”

“Though I seem to recall a hiccup a few years ago. What happens if one brother falls unexpectedly? What if jealousy tears them apart?” Angus shook his head. “There is so much that can go wrong here, Will.”

“I’m not saying it’s a perfect arrangement, but it will go a lot better than trying to force me on the throne.”

Angus looked to each of his other sons in turn. “Fortie? Flex? Are you willing to accept this?”

“It’s as much our plan as Will’s,” said Lightning Reflexes.

Great Fortitude shook his head. “Mostly theirs, really, but I’m fine with taking the throne officially if Flex is giving me pointers.”

Angus rubbed his temples. “And to think, I had hoped you three had outgrown giving me headaches.”

“I’m not budging on this one, Dad,” said Iron Will.

“I don’t doubt it.” Angus went silent.

The silence stretched on. The three brothers traded uneasy glances.

“Will.” The king’s sudden word made all three brothers jump.

“Y-yes?”

“Where would your next seminar be?”

Iron Will thought through his schedule. “Well, I had to cancel the tour to get here as quickly as possible, but I’d probably be in Coltumbus by now.”

Angus smiled and nodded. “Well, when you do figure out when and where your next stop will be, send word to your poor old bull. I’d like to see what all the hype is about.”

Will’s jaw dropped. “You mean…”

“I mean. Your counterproposal is accepted, Iron Will. For now, at least. Keep up the good work in Equestria.”

And a few months later, Fillydelphia was home to four times as much minotaur royalty as they’d expected.