//------------------------------//
// Starting Something New 
// Story: Where to begin. 
// by biomecheon 
//------------------------------//

	"I can't believe it! Celestia and Luna have a brother! And he's an ALICORN! Not only does this mean that I'm being pushed further away from gaining the throne, which was bad enough when Twilight became an alicorn, but now they want to FIND HIM! Why would they want to bring him back when they could just make me an alicorn!? They say they can't actually do that, but Sparkle is living proof of it!" After having learned the secret of Equestria, BlueBlood stomped his back to his room in a blind rage. Once there, he sealed off his room so as to ensure that no pony would hear what he was saying. While he did not consider his aunt's threat a serious one, he was not going to take the chance that she would follow through with it. Especially since both her and Luna where the ones to make it.

Currently, BlueBlood was throwing a tantrum over what he had learned, and what he means for him.

"First my aunt Celestia decides to accept Luna back as a princess in stead of locking her up for her crimes. Now she wants to bring back some pony that has been missing for more than a thousand years. If what my aunt said is true, then he isn't related to the royal family. He's just some random commoner they found in a tree. SO WHY DO THEY WANT HIM BACK!?"





Arctic Gale and Shining Armor were making their way over to the guard's training field. Shinning getting a salute from all the guards while Arctic kept any of the more 'persistent' nobles away.

"I just don't understand, the nobility won't ever take a guards threat seriously. Yet all you do is close your eyes, say their name with a smile, and they act like princess Celestia caught them calling her sister Nightmare Moon. How do you do it?

"My guess is that my... 'Reputation' proceeds me." This gained a raised brow from the former guard captain.

"Care to share what this 'reputation' is about, Gale?"

"Come on Shiny boy. I'm the younger sibling of one of princess Celestia's students. You know, the one every noble thought was just some lowly street rat they could do whatever they want with. Almost like the old laws were still in place.

"Okay Gale, calm down. You know it wasn't that bad. Besides the fact that a lot of nobles did ask the princess if you were for sale, but they were joking about it." The only response was a skeptical look from Gale. Shining Armor only gave a flat look.

"If you say so. Anyways, after leaving this cursed city I need a way to make some bits. So I started doing some mercenary work, which eventually led to quit the reputation."

"Mercenary? Anything I should know about." Arctic only Rolled his eyes at the former captains threat.

"Okay One, none of the jobs I ever took we're ever illegal. Two, you're a prince not a guard so you can't actually arrest me without proof. And Three, even if you went all out, you'd still loose."

By now they had reached the guard barracks. As they made their way inside, their conversation had started to gain them an audience. Some of the older members started whispering amount themselves.  

"Really, because the last time I checked the score was 34-33, and three ties, my lead." Shining Armor smugly proclaimed

"The only thing that tells me is that the stress of running an empire is starting to get to you. It's 35-31, with four left over."

"Your lead? As if."

"But of course my lead, do you really think I'm going to forget those time you lost your focus when ever Cadence should up."

"That was one time!"

"Four actually, where do you think those other ones I didn't count come from."

"You said she was getting into the arena with us!"

"Noooo, I said 'Oh hi Cadence.' And like the love struck fool you are, you looked. If you hadn't learned at the fifth time, then the score would be 35-30."

"Oh really now?" The crystal prince said while folding his arms and facing Gale.

"Yes, really. Especially now that your living the pampered life of a prince."

"And what makes you think my life is easy?" The former guard had a sneaking suspicion as to Gale's reasoning, the smirk on his face was not helping anything.

"Simple, just look at BlueBalls." 

And just like that, the whole barracks was as silent enough to make a blind pony think they wondered into a graveyard.

"... Captain Advanced Tactics, is the sparring arena free in an hour."

"I believe so, sir."

"Good. What do you say Arctic, think you could take me." Shinning Armor said gaining a cocky expression of his own.

"Same old rules, or do you want to get fancy?" Arctic's smug look never faltering.

"Why, don't think you could take me without a handicap?"

"No I just don't want you to start passing out before the first ten seconds are up."

"Same old rules, sparring arena, one hour."

"No trapping me in one of your little pink bubbles."

"And no flying outside the arena's airspace." 

With that said both parties went to prepare. Once out of sight, the barracks broke out into chaos as bets were being made on who would be the victor of the 71st round. Those who had just recently joined the guard immediately placed their bets on the former captain. The older members of the guard however were a bit more evenly split. Though the night guard favored Arctic Gale, while the day Guard were more loyal to their former Allie. Current odds were as follows:
New guard: 10-1 Shining's favor
Solar guard: 7-3 Shinning Armor
Night guard: 6-4 Arctic Gale

Place your bets.





Meanwhile nine mares were in one of the castles Private dining rooms, discussing the finer details of what was revealed, as well as to why it was. Although the royal sister seem to be explain why things were so radically different back then.

"For the last time, the traps that were used during that event were all none lethal. I know that saying traps used for hunting animals does give the impression of something like bear traps or cages, but those hadn't even been invented yet. The traps were more just ropes snares, pitfalls, and mares hiding in bushes with over sized nets along the sides of paths." Celestia once again explained to the group that were still thinking of the worst case scenario.

"Besides, Nebula would often trick the ones who made the trap into falling for it while he got away. I still remember the one that thought using honey to slow him down was a good idea." Luna said, hiding her giggles behind her hand.

"And what about the way the two of you treated him? From how I understand it, you two weren't exactly sister of the year." The princess of love wanted to think it was just two fillies were trying to get the attention of the colt they liked, but some of the things her aunts had told her made it a little hard to do that.

"We'll Luna was a lot more ignorant back then so she would go along with anything as long as you told her it would be fun, funny, or make Nebula spend more time with her."

"And Celestia was so used to being the center of attention, that she would chase of just about any other competition. Add that to the fact the noble put the idea that she can have anything and do anything because she's the oldest princess, and you end up with a very spoiled brat." Celestia looked away and blushed at that.

"I'm sure she wasn't that bad, right princess?" The former student asks her teacher.

"Actually she was worse than BlueBlood." The lunar alicorn stated much to the embarrassment of her sister and the shock of all others in the room.

"Can we please move on to something less embarrassing please?" 

"How about we discuss the time you wanted to act on your crush for Nebula?" Luna said with an innocent smile. This gaining a look of absolute dread from Celestia. The others were more curious about what Luna was talking about. Except Cadence, who was trying to figure out if her aunt still had those feelings.

"Wait, you're saying that you had a crush on your little brother? Isn't that, like wrong or something?" Asks Rainbow Dash.

"At the time it wasn't very common, but the rules were basically 'As long as you're not blood related' then you were fine. Although it would have been harder for Tia and Nebby since they were of a royal family."

"Okay, so what did Celestia do to try and win his heart?" The princess of love asks while still keeping a critical eye on her aunt. Celestia was to busy giving her sister a pleading look to notice her niece. 

"She thought she could-" Before Luna could finish her sentence, a large white blur had tried to tackle her to the ground only for the lunar alicorn to get out of her seat first. "-try making a-" Once again the white blur goes by as Luna takes a step back. "-love potion, but it-" This time the younger sister moved out of the way and let her sister go running out of the door before quickly closing it behind her. "-only ended up-" Luna was cut off by a flash of light and her sister grabbing her from behind.

"Please ignore everything Luna just said. I'm afraid my sister will start making up these outrageous stories when she is up during the day." Celestia told the group with her most convincing smile. Luna would have said something, but Celestia was holding her muzzle shut with her magic.





I shoot up gasping for breath. I'm currently covered in a cold sweat from a nightmare I just had. Nightmare, more like horror story. It had started out just fine, but then that hooded figure showed up. Calm down, it wasn't real, it was just a dream. None of it was real.

Just as I was getting my breathing back under control, somepony slams the door open hard enough to scare me into blasting them. Luckily, Luna was able to throw up a shield to protect the two solar guards that were about to be nothing but ash. 

"Tia, calm down it's me." 

"Yes, sorry Luna. You just startled me when you came in. If I may ask sister, why are you here? The last time you came to my room in the middle of the night was-" I could feel the fear and panic returning as I recounted the last time Luna had been to my room after I awoke from a nightmare. "-has Tirek escaped from Tartarus again!? Did discord betray us again!?! Have the Changlings come back for-"and now I can't open my mouth. Dang it Luna! This is serious! 

"Calm down Tia, this has nothing to do with any of that-" If that's the case then would you kindly LET GO OF MY MOURH! "-It is about the dream that has you so on edge." 

"..."

"... Well sister, are you going to answer me or not?" I just stare at my sister with a flat look. Once it's clear to me that she doesn't understand, I raise an eyebrow and point at my mouth. For some reason she's smirking at me.

"Yes Tia I would like for you to tell me in words." Now I'm glaring at my sister for this little game of hers. Plans are already starting to form in my head on how to get back at her.

"Oh how silly of me. I'm sorry it would seem I have forgotten to turn of the spell. You'll have to forgive me sister, I'm not as good a spell caster as you are. Now how do I undo this." Oh no.

After Luna had her fun with 'accidentally' messing up the reversal spell, I was finally back to my normal self. Now i just have to wait for my sister to stop rolling on the floor from her little joke. I swear, If I didn't know my sisters magic as well as I do then I would have thought Discord was pulling another one if his 'pranks.' 

"Are you almost done Luna? It is the middle of the night and if you don't have something important to talk about, Then I would like to go to sleep before I have to raise the sun." 

"Y-Yes s-sister, hehe, I-I'm done now, he. Okay, now I came by because of the dream you were having." 

For just an instant, the older sister had flinch from the reminder of what had awoken her in the first place. Quickly reminding herself that is had only been a dream, Celestia had been able regain her composure. Luna, however could still see traces of fear lingering in how her sister was holding herself.

"Oh, but it was just a simple bad dream, nothing more. If it had been some kind of major nightmare then you would have showed up and dealt with it. And it couldn't have been a vision, otherwise you would have seen it as well." Celestia said hopping to play it off as no big deal.

"That is the thing, Tia. This was no normal 'bad dream.' I could tell that you felt as if you were in real danger the whole time. The most concerning part was that I could do nothing, not even look into see what as happening to you." That statement was more than enough to shake the solar princess to her core. To hear that her sister, the master of dream magic, was powerless to even look into her own dream was not a good sign. "Tia, what was it that you had been dreaming of? What scared you to the point I had to use a high level spell to awaken you?" At this questioning, Celestia had felt as if she had just become paralyzed. The memories, while not as fresh as when she had woken up, were still enough to make her hesitate. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally spoke.

"They escaped, changed. They got what they want and decided to take more."

"Who?"

"The ones Nebula had sealed away. They came back, just to take everything away."

"Tia, you know they can not escape from their prison. Why are you scared?"

"Because Nebula did it."