“Geez. Of all the ways this could have happened, why did it have to go this way? Can I ever get one day of peace?”

“Ugh, I guess that’s a no… Come in. Oh Cadance! I wasn’t expecting you, come on in. How is the wedding planning going now?”

“I see. That’s good. Considering everything that happened in the last few days, I’m glad to see everything turned out okay. Chrysalis was quite out of line when she did all this.”

“By the way, what’s going to happen to her now? She’s… not going be killed or anything, is she?”

“You needn’t worry about it dear, you should concentrate on your wedding. Though I must say, for you to be put through all this and still maintain mercy for your captors, quite frankly, surprises me. I don’t know whether to applaud you for your compassion or call you naive for it. If you really want to know though, I would imagine she will be hunted by the Torrent House and brought back to the Changeling nation where she will be most likely put in solitary imprisonment for an extended amount of time. I’m not entirely sure, the Secretary-General has not come to a decision on her sentence yet. Her acts didn’t cause large enough damage to go so far as to execute her, no matter how much I would like to see that be done. But alas, she is not under my jurisdiction, so I do not have the authority to influence that conviction.”

“I see. Even though she did many things to me, it’s not in my nature to hate. I just can’t, no matter how wrong it feels not to.”

“Of course, she is not the only one to be punished. I will have to have a talk with that incompetent aunt of yours later.”

“Could you please go easy on her this time? I mean, she did try to protect her subjects.”

“Yes, she did, but had she been more cautious, we would have not been in this mess in the first place. Look, you’re a great mare and I love you to death, but I cannot say the same for the rest of the royal family, Celestia especially. Maybe if she starts to live up to the standards we’ve set for her to follow, then MAYBE I will ease up a little... Maybe. Until then, I will call it like it is.”

“Don’t worry about it. I am happy to talk to you whenever I can. Still, I will also have to talk to your husband-to-be about the security issues. But I don’t really want to dishearten either of you on your wedding day. I’m happy this is happening at all. What I heard from the guards about the rehearsal was troubling... I’m surprised miss Sparkle can even still call them friends after that. Hell, I’m surprised she even agreed to show up to this wedding at all after that.”

“She is a good mare and has a hard time feeling hatred. I talked to her in between the planning and she told me that she was the one that wanted to apologize.”

“She said like how she acted and thought about what would happen if she was wrong about the fake me.”

“Even if she was wrong, that was no excuse for her so-called friends to walk out on her like that. Hell, even her mentor, the princess she looked up to for years, gave her the cold shoulder. She gave me yet another reason to not like her. No offense, Cadance, but your aunt just rubs me the wrong way. And I know everything that happened with her that most would be kept in the dark. Just the way she deals with things makes me explode with-”

“Yeah, yeah I know. I just can’t stand her. I would rather deal with Blueblood because his blunders are at least manageable. And recently, he’s been surprisingly productive, hell even tolerable at times. Did you know he actually built two new schools for orphans? I was kind of kidding when I said to contribute to society, but I have to give him credit, he did very well. I don’t know if he did it out of genuine generosity or out of fear of me, but either way it means he’s at least trying to take my talk with him seriously. He still has a long way to go before I find him as pleasant as you, but he is at least improving. Celestia however… Ugh, have I said it enough yet? I don’t like her. I don’t care much for Luna either, but I can at least tolerate her. She has an excuse for being hard to deal with.”

“Not to imply anything, but since I’m marrying Shining Armor tomorrow, that would technically make him a member of the royal family too, as would Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh don’t worry. I know for a fact they will still be pleasant and effective. Shining Armor has some questionable moments as Captain of the Royal Guard, but I always want to see him move up in the world. He has put quite a deal of effort in his success and it really shows. As for Twilight Sparkle, she is probably the only thing about Celestia I like, and that’s only because she is improving her life as the years go by. That’s one thing I have to give Celestia credit for, she at least makes a decent teacher. Still, I think the sooner she leaves Celestia behind, the better. Never the less, try to keep them in the dark about the existence of our Order for as long as possible, alright? I don’t want them to be involved and with Shining Armor becoming a prince, it’s only a matter of time before the clan starts ordering him around just like the rest of the royals. Thankfully, I’m in charge for the time being so I can control when and how that happens.”

“I’ll try my best to keep them out, but I can’t make any promises. It just feels weird to already be withholding this from my new husband and sister-in-law. Granted it’s for a legitimate reason, but I still don’t like doing it.”

”Trust me, I know how you feel. In this case though, I think they are better off not knowing.”

“I just want to say congratulations and I hope that you and Shining Armor will be very happy together.”

“I will be showing up to wedding tomorrow somewhat late due to a small meeting I need to attend, but I should be there in time for the ceremony to start. I’ve never been one for large events, especially ones with so many attendants, but I look forward to seeing you and the groom unite. Trust me, if he is anything like my husband, you will be very happy. Oh and it’s alright to call me by my name you know. From you, I would much prefer that.”

It’s been one hell of a week, hasn’t it? I have to admit, I never really saw that invasion coming. Talk about crashing a wedding. Literally!

“I wasn’t present during the invasion. How bad was it?”

I don’t think it was as bad as it looked. For all that happened, there was surprisingly little collateral damage and virtually no physical injury. Thankfully my house was spared save for my husband’s greenhouse. That stallion has been mourning the loss of his hard work, haha. Poor guy.

“He has a greenhouse? Err, HAD rather?”

Yes, you could say he’s a scientist of sorts. He studies different subjects from time to time and his recent subject has been botany. Last month it was neuroscience, the month before it was astronomy, before that it was genealogy, and before that it was… well, you get the idea. He is a very intelligent stallion. Not to mention a handsome one.

Now then, I am invited to the wedding later today, so we can’t make this interview too long. My husband has been quite excited about it as well. Now that I think about it, it’s starting to remind me a lot of our wedding. Minus the Changelings of course.

“From our last interview several months ago, I could really tell you love him a lot. So why don’t we talk a bit more about him? When and how did you two get married? What was it that made you decide you wanted to be his wife?”

Well, to be honest, it took us about… I dunno three- Yeah, three years before we got engaged. You might be wondering why it took us that long. Well, he was studying for a Master’s degree, in what I don’t really remember, while I continued my work in the Order.

In the weeks following that magical night we kissed, I’ve begun to be a little bit more outgoing as a result of my coltfriend’s affection and him taking me out on more dates. He was a gentlecolt each time, he really knew how to make me feel like a lady. Just everything about him made me crazy about him, the smarts, the courtesy, how he combed his dark blue mane like that, ah those were some great memories. It also wasn’t long before my friends noticed my own changes too. As I said before, I kept the manestyle that Aperture did for me. It had a more professional look to it than my old unkempt hairdo. And I dunno, I guess I grew pretty fond of it overtime.

“It is a lovely look for you.”

Everyone says that, but thank you. I figured I might as well roll with it. Back then, I couldn’t really care less about what other ponies said about my looks, but something about [CLASSIFIED] just kinda brings out a feminine side of me that I didn’t really know existed. I dunno, he just has this charm about him that made me want to look my best around him. Boy lemme tell ya, that first week when we started dating was probably more complicated than it needed because I was just so indecisive on how to look. As time went on, I gradually grew more relaxed and figured out he really wouldn’t care so much about how I looked, just that we were together. I mean, sure, we have our occasional disagreements. Doesn’t every couple? But I can’t really remember one worth mentioning, not that I would.

A couple years later, there was a night I was preparing to meet with him for dinner. It was my twenty-first birthday and each of our friends were getting together at my favorite restaurant. So naturally, I wanted to look my best. I wore an evening dress that Aperture and Spotlight made for me, now married and working in the fashion industry. A very fine piece by the way, but that’s besides the point.

As much as I didn’t want to, I had to make a stop by the Headmistress’ office before meeting everyone; she needed my update report before the next day, but she also wanted to wish me a happy birthday. On the way there though, I just so happened to run into my coltfriend who was running an errand of his own.

“Well, it’s true. Listen I’d like to stay and chat, but I have something important I need to do before I meet you at the dinner.”

“As do I. My boss needs to talk to me about something. I will see you in half an hour.”

“By the way, my parents and brother will be joining us tonight. Ultraviolet should be getting of his shift soon. Till then, my love.”

He planted a quick kiss before we went about our business. As I walked away towards the clan manor, I got a strange feeling. That intuition that says something bad was going to happen to me. Ever walk alone at night and find yourself in an unfamiliar part of town? It was that kind of feeling. Well without realizing it, I started to hasten my pace in an urge to get away from whatever it was that threatened me. I got to the front door of the manor and practically slammed the door behind me, breathing a sigh of relief now that I was some place safe.

I looked back at the source of the voice. It was one of the housemaids, one I would talk to from time to time. She was really nice, but kind of a doormat.

“Oh, um, sorry. I just thought you would’ve been off work by this time of the night.”

“I am actually. The Headmistress gave me today off since it’s my birthday.”

“Uh, she said she was picking up a package and that she would be out for the night.”

“Um, sorry. She said it was kinda urgent and I guess she didn’t have time to tell you about it.”

I let out a frustrated grunt before lightly stomping my hoof. “Well, don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault. This just means I wasted a walk here when I could have walked with my coltfriend. Guess I might as well go to the dinner everypony has planned for me. I’ll talk to you later.”

I walked back out through the door and as I walked out of the gates leading outside the property, I felt a hoof on my shoulder which made me jump.

My coltfriend held out a familiar envelope with his magic. “You dropped this awhile back. You were gone before I noticed it so I tried to catch up with you.”

After checking my saddlebag to confirm I didn’t have the envelope containing my report, I took it from him, blushing a bit with how careless I was. “Thanks. I would be in trouble if I didn’t have this. Though I guess it matters little right now since my boss is out for the night.”

“Well, perhaps you can walk with me then. You can meet my brother before we go to dinner.”

As we walked away, I glanced back at the manor out of paranoia and I noticed a pony trotting away and he dropped something. While my love wasn’t looking, I used my magic to pick it up.

It was a knife with a certain symbol engraved into it. I didn’t know what it was at first so I kept it in a secret pocket in my saddlebag, so that nopony would see it should they happen to look there; I would mention it during my talk with the Headmistress later. Nevertheless, that pony had ill intentions for sure and I came very close to becoming his victim. It’s a good thing I dropped that envelope.

“I think you’ll like my family. Ultraviolet is pretty excited to finally meet you.”

“Oh? How come I haven’t seen him around here in Canterlot? He is a royal guard, right?”

“Yes, but he has his own family too. His wife and daughter like to travel with him whenever they can, so he is often out of the city during his days off. Of course, today he has a special reason to drop by.”

“He doesn’t even know me, is my birthday really that important?” I said with a grin.

“You don’t know the half of it. When my parents found out I had a marefriend, I never heard the end of it. They just got so excited. Who could blame them? Growing up, I didn’t interact with many mares and those I did were never anything more than friends or acquaintances.”

“So I’m basically your first marefriend? Kind of a strange choice don’t you think?... Says the lone wolf mare.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Tonight is going to be a night for you to remember.”

We eventually came to the castle where his brother was just clocking out. Other than having the same blue mane and a slightly darker coat, I really wouldn’t have been able to tell they were brothers. His cutie mark’s colors were more green to my coltfriend’s yellow and he was definitely larger in stature, as is typical for most royal guards.

“Indeed she is. Pandora, this is my older brother Ultraviolet. Ultraviolet, Pandora.”

“Nice to meetcha, little lady.” He held out his hoof for me to shake, which I accepted. “My little brother has said so much about you, it’s good to finally see you in person.”

“Listen, do you two think we can make a quick stop over to my house so I can change out of this armor and into more acceptable attire?”

We both nodded. His house wasn’t that far away from where he worked, a simple five minute walk. Even though I was now in the company of two stallions, one a trained royal guard, I still couldn’t shake the paranoia. As a result, I walked a lot closer between the two brothers than I normally would, fidgeting a bit.

Once we got to his house, Ultraviolet invited us inside. My coltfriend needed to talk to his brother in private so I waited in foyer. Even though they were in the next room over, I was more distracted by a rustling outside. I decided the noise outside was more important than the conversation the two were having so I cautiously opened the door to check outside. Out on the porch, I didn’t see anything at first. Nothing in the bushes, nothing in the sky, it all seemed perfectly normal.

My eyes were blinded by dirt as I was pinned against the wall. I felt a thin rope or something against my throat and I had a hard time breathing as I tried to struggle free. Due to the sudden attack, I didn’t have time to use my magic. Hell, I don’t think I had the room to use it, I was just trying to survive as this guy was trying to asphyxiate me. However, even though I was a skilled magic user, I didn’t have the physical strength to complement it, something that I made sure to fix later in my life. I was very close to blacking out and thought for sure I was going to die.

I was suddenly freed from the grasp of death when my assailant was tackled by my coltfriend. I started coughing and wheezing as his brother rushed to help him. I wiped the dirt from my eyes and saw my attacker was subdued by the two brothers who knocked him out. I saw my attacker was the same stallion I saw running away from earlier; the bastard turned out to be Jetstream, the stallion who pestered me a few years earlier. I had intended to scare him the first time so he would leave me alone, but it would seem he held it against me.

Ultraviolet alerted some nearby guards who came and took away now unconscious attempted murderer. I was quite startled by the incident and the adrenaline made it hard to calm down. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a near death experience, but trust me, it’s scary.

“I think he was.. stalking me. I saw him awhile ago when I left my workplace.” I left out the part about the knife due to the symbol on it. That was a question I needed to ask the Headmistress.

“Well, you’re safe now. He won’t be bothering you anymore. Seems my brother here saved your life.”

We spent a while at the house before we left for the dinner. The two brothers talked to each other in private again before we left and during the walk, I said I didn’t want them to mention this to anyone else. I didn’t want to make them worry today of all days. We got to the restaurant and everyone we knew was there, Aperture and Spotlight, Mars and his wife, Serenade, and my coltfriend’s parents.

“There you are. We were starting to think you weren’t gonna show up,” Serenade said as her usual perky self.

“So, you’re Pandora huh? I’m [NAME CLASSIFIED]’s father. He’s said so many good things about you,” he said while shaking my hoof enthusiastically.

“One of the things he said was how pretty you are. Looks like he wasn’t exaggerating,” the mother added.

Our dinner went pretty well. His parents were really nice, his brother was quite likable, and each of my friends got me different gifts. In addition to the dress Aperture and Spotlight gave me, Mars gave me a novel collection, and Serenade sang a new song for me. It was a fun hour of talking, laughing, and sharing stories. I was having a great time, something I really needed after being attacked like I was earlier.

“Everypony, may I have your attention please?” Ultraviolet stood up and said. “My brother here has something he would like to say.”

My coltfriend stood up. “Right then.” He took a small breath. It was clear he was nervous. He cleared his throat and turned to me. “Pandora, the last few years I’ve spent with you were some of the best I’ve had in my life. I know we haven’t been able to see much of each other sometimes, but I want you to know that the time I was able to spend with you, I would not trade for anything.”

This raised my eyebrow. I had a feeling as to where this was going, but I still couldn’t believe it.

“I want to do this in front of everypony. You’ve told me how much you love literature. Well, I would like to write our own happy ending tonight. All I need is for you to answer one question.”

He reached into his jacket and brought out a velvet box and he knelt down. My friends could already see where this was going and anticipated the result. The parents looked on expectantly and his brother just smiled; I knew now what they were talking about in private those times. As I thought, he opened the box revealing a gold ring with a set of diamonds encrusted into it.

Everyone went silent. They were excited to hear my answer, so much so that my friends failed to realize the inner conflict I had. You see, I wanted nothing more than to say yes to his question. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this beautiful stallion, I wanted raise our children with him. But I feared what he would think if he found out about my part in the Order and after that attack, I was scared to think something could happen to him. A major rule in our clan is that we need to ask permission to marry someone. We need to make sure that who we are intending to marry could not cause any problems. We had a protocol we needed to uphold. But… In the heat of the moment, I just couldn’t help myself.

We gave each other a kiss and everyone clapped and applauded. I would have to talk to the Headmistress the next day, but that moment was probably the best birthday gift I ever got.

“So how did it go over with your Headmistress then? You kind of broke protocol there.”

Well, yes. I had many things I needed to address with her. She was a very understanding mare though. And as Aperture’s mother-in-law, I think she knew me well enough. Of course, she still had to talk to me as my boss.

I walked into her office and closed the door behind me. I was quite sleepy because I got up early to revise my report to include what happened the previous night. “Here’s my update report ma’am. You weren’t in last night so I wasn’t able to give it to you.”

“I understand. Cinnamon told me you dropped by. My apologies for standing you up at the meeting by the way. It’s good you dropped by this morning, I actually need to talk to you about something. Have a seat, this is going to take awhile. Help yourself to some tea if you wish.”

We got ourselves situated. Cinnamon came in with tea and poured me a cup while Headmistress Aroma looked over my report.

“Now then, from what I understand, you were attacked and almost killed last night. Am I correct?”

“Yes ma’am. It turns out I knew the attacker. He was a former classmate who was harassing me. I turned down his advances and it would seem he took it too seriously. Before the attack, he dropped this.”

I took the knife out from my bag and gave it to her. She examined it and made note of the symbol.

“I see… We may have a problem. Pandora, have you ever heard of the Etherealist cult?”

“Well, let me try to explain. The Etherealists were a supposed extremist cult. Their origin and purpose is highly debated to this very day but it seemed their actions are solely dedicated to causing lawlessness or unrest. They have been the Order’s nemesis for as long as either organization has existed. They were thought to have been quelled for many centuries, but now it seems like they are going through a sort of revival. The symbol on this knife, the alchemic symbol for ether, is their chosen insignia.” She placed the knife in an evidence bag. “About that stallion that attacked you. We did some digging and found out this guy has been involved in Etherealist activity for a long time now, I’d say for about as long as four years now, maybe slightly less.”

“I find it highly likely he had other intentions with you than just trying to get you into his bed. From what we have dealt with in the past, these cultists take part in ritualistic murders using victims that they take hostage. For what, I don’t really care to find out. Now if he is indeed a part of the cult, we will have to revive the hunt for them.”

“These demons use violence as their primary tool, so violence is the only language these demons will understand. It is safer for everyone if they are simply killed because if we don’t, they will kill us. It may seem harsh but-”

“No, I understand. I experienced it first hand. It’s them or us and the way I see it, might as well be them.”

“Yes, out of all the agents, I feel you are the most qualified to coordinate the hunt. Over the years, you have shown great potential, just as your mentor said. I will admit, I had my doubts, but when I saw where you were going with it, I could see why the Grandmaster was so adamant about you. So, I would like to present to you an opportunity to prove your worth.”

“Aperture told me. Look, don’t worry about breaking the protocol. I’ve already looked ahead of time into your soon-to-be family and they have no negative records to speak of that would be considered hazardous. If you want to marry him, go right ahead. All I ask is to be the officiant at your wedding.”

“I… I’m afraid that if he finds out that I’m part of the Order that he’s not going to want to be with me anymore. I don’t think I can lie to him forever.”

“He saved my life twice last night. I think he deserves at least that much.”

She took a moment to ponder. “Whether or not you choose to inform him is completely up to your discretion. If you want my opinion though, I probably would tell him, just to see what kind of husband he would be. If he backs out then, he shouldn’t be worthy of you anyway. Personally though, if he was willing to put his life in danger to save yours, I don’t think he will be so cowardly. Like I said, it’s completely up to you. We will talk about this more later. Now for the time being, I’m suspending the search for the artifacts until we will have suppressed the cult.”

I left the office, trying to absorb what I was told. As I walked though the manor towards the gates, I was congratulated by servants and other agents with my engagement. Even though I was glad to see they took the time, I still thought it was a bit too early to celebrate. I had a complicated task ahead of me and no idea how to do it.

I went home to prepare what I was going to tell my fiance. It took till about noon before I got up the motivation to go to his house and just get it over with. I savored the warm daytime breeze during the walk over- man, I seem to be walking a lot these past few interviews huh?- and when I got to his door, I knocked on it. I waited a couple minutes before knocking again. After a bit, I was contemplating leaving to try again later when the door opened.

I have to point out that I’ve never actually been inside his house before this point, partly because he had just kind of moved into it. He led me to the living room.

He froze a bit in worry. I guess he was afraid I wanted to call it off or something.

“No no no, I still want to marry you. It’s just that… I have to tell you something before I do.”

With that, I started to tell him everything with me and the Order. I decided the best way to tell him was direct and straightforward; I mean if we were going to be married, we would need to be open with each other anyway. He listened to everything I had to say, only interrupting once in awhile to confirm something. I was surprised how well he was taking it. He didn’t at all react with the surprise or shock like I thought he would. Instead he nodded and smiled.

“This explains a lot actually. I’ll admit, when I first saw you, I felt something different from you. To tell you the truth, I was kind of fascinated by that fact. I guess that mysteriousness just drew me in.”

“Since you mentioned your mentor. I didn’t want to ask about it because I knew it was a touchy subject for you and that it wasn’t any of my business.”

“Oh… Well I understand if you want to call off the engagement now. Are you sure you want to get involved with something like this?” I said bracing myself for rejection.

My eyes widened with surprise. “Y-you still want to get married? You don’t hate me?”

“Hate you? Why would I ever hate you? I poured my heart into that proposal. I said I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and I meant every word of it. I understand your reasons for keeping this secret and respect your honesty for revealing it to me. If I could be blunt for a second, I would question more if you DIDN’T keep it a secret. You were just trying to stay alive. I could never hate you. Sure, we may go through tough times from this, but you won’t be doing it alone.”

“Thank you. That makes me so happy to hear. But listen, before I can marry you, there is one last thing you need to know.”

My eyes welled up as he embraced me right then and there. I was overjoyed with this result and I was glad he was so understanding. But then something came to my mind, something else that I had been neglecting for the past day. I remembered the last thing left behind from my mentor that I kept inside my saddlebag: that white velvet box. I decided then was a good time to open it to see what was in it, in front of my fiance so he could see too. I reached into my saddlebag and took it out. What I found inside melted my heart.

“Was it the same necklace that you wear every time I see you?”

The very same. It’s my prized possession along with my wedding band. Both are a reminder of the greatest stallions in my life. What was interesting was what the note said:

“How did he….?” I was confused with how he knew I would be getting married about four years after his death. Then again, he was a zebra. They know many things that we ponies don’t, Mentor especially.

“Well, he was ninety-eight when he died. He was at least wise. So uh, about those wedding plans?”

Our engagement went for a month before the wedding came. Normally, a wedding takes a lot of time to plan, but for us, there really wasn’t much to do. Plus I had friends that work fast. The wedding itself was being held in the clan manor. We had decided to hold it there since it was where we first fell in love and the Headmistress was more than happy to oblige. My friends of course played a large part in the wedding.

Spotlight made the clothes for everyone, including my wedding dress. I didn’t want it too fancy, but he still put his own touches on it, even incorporating the three components of my cutie mark into my veil. I wore my pearl necklace too, so that Mentor could be a part of the wedding like I believed he would want to. Serenade, of course, had to sing at my wedding; who else was I going to get to do it in all seriousness? The Edens provided the food, including a masterpiece of a wedding cake. Their son and his grandmother were invited too, and Mrs. Eden was pregnant with their second child at the time of the wedding. And Aperture? She was my maid of honor of course. She also did my mane and styled it into elegant curls that complimented the streaks in my hair. Ultraviolet was my husband’s best stallion and his niece was the flower girl. Like any bride, I had some pre-marriage jitters. Nevertheless, I was excited.

Mars was doing the honor of giving me, the bride, away since I had no father to do it. He didn’t mind, he was flattered I chose him to do it. The large doors opened and Serenade started the wedding march. We walked down the aisle, my bouquet held with my magic, and once we got to the altar, I gazed into my husband’s caring eyes.

“Fillies and gentlecolts. We are gathered here today to join these two loving ponies in holy matrimony. If there is any among us that objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace… Now with that, the bride and groom have prepared their vows.”

As we gave our vows to the other, I have to say, I was getting pretty teary eyed. I’m such a dork, I get emotional about these things even now. Once the vows were said, the Headmistress continued the ceremony.

“Do you, [NAME CLASSIFIED], take Pandora to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in matrimony, to love, honor, comfort her and keep her in sickness and in health, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, to love and cherish, till death do you part?”

“Do you, Pandora, take [NAME CLASSIFIED] to be your lawfully wedded husband, to live together in matrimony, to love, honor, comfort him and keep him in sickness and in health, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, to love and cherish, till death do you part?”

She smiled to the both of us. “Then by virtue of the power vested in me by the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Rings please.”

The best man handed us the wedding bands; we went with larger hoof rings instead of horn rings, simply so that we could look and reflect on them for years to come.

We embraced in a long, passionate kiss as everyone cheered. Then came the cutting of the cake, our first dance, throwing of the bouquet, everything that makes a wedding reception. It eventually came time for us to leave on our honeymoon, which was scheduled by my new mother-in-law to take place in a secluded resort in Manehattan, the city I was born in. As we were leaving, I stopped to talk to Aperture who was escorting us to our mode of transportation.

“Aperture, I have to thank you. If not for you introducing us, I never would have felt what this was like.”

“No problem Pan. I hope the two of you will share many happy moments together. Maybe the two of you will even have beautiful children, eh?”

“Most likely. The private resort his mother set for us will provide many opportunities to do more than cuddle.”

The two of us chuckled and before I knew it, I was on my way to begin my new life, one that I would never want to spend with any other stallion.

“That’s quite a story there. How has your marriage been since then?”

Well, we’ve been married for over twenty-seven years now with two full grown kids and with no signs of slowing down. You tell me. All this talk about weddings is reminding me more and more that I have one to attend. If you don’t mind.

“Of course not. I understand you want to attend this one. I look forward to the next interview.”

"I am NOT impressed with you, Princess Celestia Apollo von Equestria. This may be a victory for the city, the Elements of Harmony, and certainly for the bride and groom. But YOU have some serious explaining to do about why you couldn't tell the difference between premarital stress and a dangerous doppelganger. I just can’t…. Ugh, you know? When I woke up this morning… I didn't want to be a jackass. But you… You just pushed my jackass button.”

"STAY. YOUR. TONGUE. Unless I give you leave to use it. Not only did you fail to prevent a full scale invasion, but you betrayed the trust of your 'faithful student' who also happens to be one of my favorite mares in the world. She looked up to you and wanted nothing more than to earn your approval and yet I saw how you tore her heart in an instant. Your captain of the guard is no less guilty either, but at least he had a valid excuse for his actions. I cut him a break not just because it was his wedding day, but he is also a favorite of mine. And then of course there is the matter of Cadance, the only royal in the Equestrian territories that I actually respect AND like. That doesn't say a lot for the royal family who I have seen getting constant praise that I don't think they deserve. And what does that say about you?"

"No! You will sit there until I am finished speaking! I have been surprisingly lenient with your actions over the time I have been in position. I have dealt with your presence for more time than I care to. Now this one event comes and I give you ONE, count it ONE, simple task of overseeing the wedding of Shining Armor and your niece Cadance. I watched Shining Armor grow up, I've seen him idolize the royal guard that serves your pathetic ass- why he would want to join them, I don't know, but I supported his choice nonetheless. And your niece, whom I've also watched grow since you took her in and gave her a crown and a horn, and whenever I saw her, she would always try to bring smiles and love to those around her. With me, she would always succeed. And then there is the matter of Twilight Sparkle. When you took her in as your student, I started to worry. When I think back to her in that entry exam, I had mixed feelings. On one hoof, I was more than impressed to hear her do the impossible and actually HATCH a stillborn dragon egg. That's not something even I could do. I wanted her to progress with her magic. On the other hoof, she would do so under your so-called guidance... Oh yeah, because so many of your other students turned out to be so successful and would go on to do SOOO many great things. How is Sunset Shimmer by the way?"

"What about Moxie, remember her? The one who committed suicide after you scolded her on... whatever it was you scolded her for, I can't remember what. She was so committed to you because you built her up to trust you and want love from you. She has gone so far and you eventually gave her wings, a crown thingy, and brought her into the family, which she was happy to accept knowing it would bring her closer to you. Then ONE time she screwed up, what you attempted was a simple light lecture. Instead it turned into a heated argument and one thing lead to another you told her that if she couldn't get her act together, you couldn't teach her anything. From what I recall, she was found the next morning in her room with a note clutched in her hooves and a pharmacy’s worth of medication in her stomach. And let's not forget how much her family cried at her funeral, one which Moxie herself barred you from attending in her suicide note. Some aunt you turned out to be! Or what about dear old Clear Water just a few years after Nightmare Moon was banished? I seem to remember hearing about quite a bit of tension between the two of you in the last few years of her apprenticeship. What was it about? Something about a marriage and coronation she didn't want? Were you thinking about her then?"

"And yet you said nothing to object to it. But okay, in your defense, that's not something you had any control over at the time. I understand that, and therefore withdraw my statement. Either way, they would have a child which would later marry one of your first few children and then nearly a millennium later BOOM, your questionable excuse of a nephew Blueblood was born. And now that Twilight Sparkle is your current student, you would do the same to her! In all honesty, if it were anypony other than her, I wouldn't give a damn. She may be forgiving on the outside, but I know how much it hurt her when she was abandoned at that rehearsal. Sure, what she did wasn't exactly the right way to do it and quite frankly, I can understand why one would walk out on her because of how she acted. Do I like what they did? Fuck no! But I can't exactly blame someone for thinking that way. You, on the other hoof... While I understand Shining Armor to berate her due to his situation and her so-called friends to turn around due to a past experience, I EXPECT you to take it upon yourself and console your 'faithful student' and calmly explain to her why things happened the way they did and to give her a shoulder to cry on when she knew she failed. You are her teacher and secondary mother figure, you had an obligation to be there for her in her time of need, regardless whether what she did was right or not. INSTEAD, you verbally backhoofed her with such coldness of the Frozen North."

"I gave you ONE task. ONE. And what do you do? YOU SCREWED IT ALL UP AND THEN SOME! You know, Celestia? Let's draw a comparison here. When you take in students or other loved ones, making them nephews or nieces, whatever, you build them so high and you say that you love them and nurture them. You give them wax wings so to speak. You are the bringer of the Sun and you bring your loved ones close to you. Now use your brain on this one: What happens when wax wings get close to the Sun, hm? When you lose your students, they get too close to the sun. Their wax wings melt. And then they fall. Is it any wonder why I have such contempt for you? Whenever you take in a student or adopt a new family member, it troubles me."

"Reflect on that, only do so on your way back to your quarters. Oh, and Celestia?”

“The only reason I've tolerated you thus far is because my children and husband see you as a close friend. Be grateful to that because this time that connection saved your life. You also might want to consider reevaluating your relationship with your ‘most faithful student’. If that’s how you’re going to treat her after everything she’s done, she might not stay with you for much longer. If it were up to me, she would have left a long ago. Just... I'm sorry princess, truly I am. I really want to be able to like you. You are a decent, approachable ruler, not to mention an alright partner for the most part. But you constantly fail to give me any reason to see you as a true acquaintance. There are things you have to be called out on, especially the recent blunders with-”

“That’s Headmistress to you, Princess. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for really ripping you a new one. I know I really have no right to bring up those nasty things, I'm just mad. Now just... Just go. I really don't feel like yelling anymore.”

Illegal Heritage

by ZhaoZoharEX

File 05