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// Chapter 0 - Prologue 
// Story: Balance 
// by TheAceofClubs 
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Words. Singular words or phrases are an equivalent to verbal wildfire. Words ring out and carry on the voices of many as if the wind willed to blow them itself. These words would fly and grow, thriving into full topics of conversation. War. This was the word that had carried dismay and disbelief across the kingdom of Equestria. For years it had dominated the voices of many through pain, through sadness and through hope; if only just a sliver. Words aren’t immortal though; they wither and die if not fed attention. Soon enough, another word took its place. Rightheart. Eventually this name took the place of its grim predecessor. This name inspired joy and happiness, caused tears of relief and brought a firm sense of security with it. Equestria had long been subjected to cruel, merciless war; the ideals of Everfree, the county of harmony waged against those of Treeshroud, the county of discord, the two halves of the kingdom. The once peaceful equilibrium was shattered and the entire kingdom was thrown into disorder. After decades of bloody battle came the result; the spirit and god of discord had finally been defeated at the hands of King Orion and Queen Sola. As harmony spread across the cities of Cloudsdale and Manehatten there were still some followers to Treeshroud who would gladly interrupt the newfound peace. Reports of innocent ponies taken from their homes into unwilling captivity came in thick and fast. That had been five years before. 
~*~
 The citizens of Everfree littered their streets, rejoicing over the news that had come to light; the war was over. Tales of a mighty stallion filled the single topic of conversation within the crowd. 
“Private Rightheart?” 
“That’s right, I heard he singlehoofedly liberated more than half the prisoners!” 
“That’s incredible!” The conflict was over and the imprisoned had been returned to safety, seemingly thanks to this Private Rightheart. If these rumours were true then he would most likely be commended for his bravery and services to Equestria. In fact, Princess Celestia was sure of it; she knew that she would reward him in such a way befitting a hero and she had faith that her parents would do more or less the same. 
~*~
 Midday court was the daily meeting with Queen Sola’s subjects and Princess Celestia couldn’t say she was a huge fan of it. Usually she would just sit around and listen or watch her mother’s responses and actions (although she was occasionally put in the spotlight to offer her opinion) and today was no different, save that her father, King Orion, was hosting morning court in the Queens stead. Although she felt just as bored as she usually did, she couldn’t help but be amused by the various ponies’ awkward speech toward a king they didn’t normally have to address directly. When the meeting was finished and Orions attention had turned away from the court Celestia finally took the chance to engage with her father. 
“Will you be at the midnight court father?” She asked sweetly. Orion looked down at her for a second before turning his concentrated glance back up to the audience hall in front of his throne. 
“Yes, Celestia, I shall.” The kings answer was simple, even for his deep and commanding voice. 
“Will you be meeting Private Rightheart then?” Celestia pursued, trying her best to hide her eagerness. Orion didn’t look back down again, instead keeping his face sharply faced forward. 
“Hmm,” His eyes shifted to look at her while otherwise staying completely stationary. “You’ve heard of him?” Celestia nodded enthusiastically. 
“Everypony is talking about him.” The Princess explained. 
“Indeed. No, that’ll be tomorrow at the celebration.” Orions tone gave Celestia the idea that he had no desire to continue the conversation. She sat in silence for a few moments; usually she and her mother would be indulging in conversation by that point. Suddenly she started as the thought returned to her and she stood up, turning only to face her father. 
“Erm-“ Celestia began to say. 
“Yes,” Orion answered her unsaid question no less monotonously than before. “You are dismissed. Just try not to cause your mother too much hassle.” Celestia was all too happy to jump on the spot and give a speedy hug before running from the audience chamber excitedly. She dashed this way and that, dodging various ponies and sliding around corners as if they weren’t even there. She finally slowed when she came to a familiar reinforced oak door with an image of the sun carved with elegant and detailed strokes as a decoration. The filly slowed entirely to a halt and knocked on the door with her horn. A few seconds passed and she finally heard an answer, another second found her in front of the now-open doorway. Celestia trotted inside, making sure her hooffalls were much quieter than they had been as she charged around the castle. The room was a spectacle to behold as usual, doused in the orange radiance that could only be seen during dusk twilight. In the centre was a bed large enough to hold half a dozen ponies, covered by a majestic silk veil so as to provide the owner some privacy. Celestia moved to the other side of the bed until she finally saw the pony lying upon it. She was larger than normal ponies and had the same structure as any other alicorn, if not more grace than muscle. Her mane and tail seemed to flow softly in colours ranging from the deepest chestnut brown to the most vibrant scarlet, all of which complimented the fantastic white fur covering her body. Despite the low light in the room the filly could still just make out the alicorn’s folded wings and horn, the latter perched in the centre of her cocked head. 
“Good morning mother!” Celestia greeted quietly with a sweet smile. Queen Sola looked up a bit and smiled back. 
“Good morning, my dear.” Her voice was calm and relaxing to listen to, although she sounded very tired. “Has morning court finished already?” Celestia gave an overenthusiastic nod, much to Sola’s amusement. She indicated to the space beside her, rolling over slightly to allow her daughter more space. The filly happily obliged and hopped up to snuggle up beside her beloved mother. Celestia cast her glance to the side. There was a cot beside them; inside was a tiny navy blue foal with a tuft of aquamarine hair decorating the top of her head. The little filly was fast asleep. 
“How’s Luna?” Celestia asked about her little sister. Sola chuckled quietly. 
“She’s finally asleep.” Her voice seemed to have a hint of relief. “She sleeps soundly when it gets light, but the night sees her even more active than you.” She chuckled quietly to herself at her joke, but stopped when she realised that Celestia hadn’t understood it. 
“Maybe she’ll be like father?” She suggested; Sola bit her lip thoughtfully and Celestia did likewise, revealing where she got the habit from. 
“That’ll probably be the case.” The Queen thought aloud. She looked down adoringly at her filly nestled comfortably under her wing. 
“After all, you seem to take a lot more after me.” Celestia beamed at the comment; she looked forward to the day that she’d be as beautiful as her mother. “So, Celestia,” Sola continued quietly after a few seconds of peaceful silence. “Are you looking forward to the celebration tomorrow?” She got an ecstatic nod as a response. 
“Uhuh! Will I get to meet Private Rightheart?” Celestia’s answer had got straight to the point. 
“Maybe,” Sola responded with a laugh, “If you’re lucky. I hear that he is very humble and quiet and likes to keep out of the spotlight.” She noticed Celestia’s widened eyes and suppressed a giggle. “He sounds like a storybook hero.” 
“Ooooh!” Celestia absentmindedly sang. Her thoughts had suddenly been hit by a tidal wave of romantic thoughts; Rightheart sounded exactly like a storybook Prince Charming. 
“Hmmm, how about...” The Queen started, although Celestia was clearly still lost in her fantasies. “What if you present the reward to Private Rightheart?” A moment passed before the filly registered what was said. She let her jaw drop and she stared at her mother with a look of disbelief. 
“Really? You mean it?” She exclaimed, unaware of just how loud her voice had sounded. There was a stir from the cradle as Princess Luna began to wake up and Sola sent her older daughter a disapproving look. Celestia realised what she had done wrong and shrunk a little as the Queen gently nuzzled the filly, humming a soft lullaby quietly. Within seconds Luna had rolled over and fallen back to sleep. Sola turned her eyes back to Celestia and nodded. 
“I don’t see why not.” She started; the young alicorn looked like she was about to squeal with excitement, but when she caught her mother’s eye she made sure that she contained herself. “That is, as long as I can be sure that you are capable of keeping your composure.” Celestia’s grin sank a bit so that it looked awkward. 
“I promise mother.” Her tone was sincere and Sola realised this; she had faith in her daughter’s abilities. She returned a smile as warm as possible from mother to foal. 
“Excellent, darling.” She whispered; Celestia could hear the suppressed yawn in her voice and upon closer inspection noticed the shadows under her eyes. She sighed softly and nuzzled her head into her mother’s side and reclined. Sola noticed and chuckled; Celestia had always had her little ways of telling her what to do, to wrap her around her hoof. It was usually demanding that she rested; it was a well known fact that Queen Sola had a way of overworking herself and forgetting to sleep. She got the hint and also reclined slightly more over the very large bed, blanketing the alabaster filly with one of her wings. It wasn’t long before Sola began to feel the pull of slumber. 
“...Don’t you have work to do?” The Queen’s voice was starting to fade into sleep. Celestia shook her head gently. 
“It’s Saturday mother...” She said, feigning lethargy. “There’re no lessons on Saturday...” By the time she had finished her sentence she could feel her mother’s breath calming even more. Opening one eye she glanced up at her; her head was draped across the bed, her mane steadily changing from shades of warm red to cool blue, soundly asleep. Celestia closed her eye again and nuzzled against her mother; it wouldn’t hurt to rest her eyes for a bit. She was royalty after all, so surely nopony would mind. 
 ~*~
 It had been a busy day. Princess Celestia had not only met and knighted Private Rightheart, now Sir Rightheart, but talked for hours and hours about topics that she couldn’t even remember. She had rejoiced with the many ponies, gryphons and even zebras that had come to witness the declaration of Equestria going from divided halves to becoming a single free kingdom. At long last there was no more Everfree and no more Treeshroud but instead just the one country. There had been fireworks, parties and performances and Celestia had enjoyed all of it. She now sat at her living quarters’ dresser, sitting as straight as she could manage. Her now untied salmon pink mane was gently brushed by an old yellow unicorn mare sitting behind her, an old friend of the royal family and Celestia’s nanny, Matron Child Mind (referred to as Matron Mind, even by the King and Queen). 
“Sir Rightheart certainly was a wonderful pony.” She told the mare with a hint of wonder in her voice. 
“Yes, I gathered that after the third time you said so, Princess.” Matron Mind said with a soft chuckle. Celestia giggled back. “I wonder whether I’ll see him often around the castle.” The filly thought aloud. Rightheart had been given an honorary place as a royal guard inside the Everfree castle, which he had been proud to accept. 
“I should expect he’s probably been assigned a post of importance, so I can’t say my dear.” Matron Mind said calmly, gently pushing Celestia’s head to the side a little so to get a different viewpoint to brush the mane. “It would be delightful if so.” The filly chirped as Matron Mind finished her grooming, tapping Celestia’s shoulder to let her know. The princess almost instantly hopped off to her nearby bed, her mane waving freely in her wake. As she hopped into bed she chewed her lip in thought. 
“Maybe!” She exclaimed abruptly. Matron Mind stopped to listen to the rest of the sentence that didn’t come. 
“...Maybe what, Princess?” Matron Mind asked after a few seconds of waiting. 
“Hmm?” Celestia asked curiously. 
“You shouted maybe.” Matron Mind reminded her. Celestia looked confused. 
“I did?” Matron Mind nodded. “Oh! I did! Maybe! Maybe Sir Rightheart could be my bodyguard!” Matron Mind chuckled at the Princess’ fancy. 
“Well, maybe he will, you never know.” She said, correcting Celestia’s odd position in the bed and tucking her in. “You should ask your father about it. I imagine Sir Rightheart would be honoured to guard you.” 
“Do you think he’d mind me calling him Charming?” Matron Mind laughed again as she moved towards the doorway. “I’m not so sure of that.” She said, her horn flashing and the candles in the room petered out. 
“You’ll have to ask him that. Now good night dear.” Celestia pulled her duvet right up to her face and closed her eyes. “Good night Matron Mind.”