//------------------------------// // Ancient Ascendant (Part 3) // Story: Malefic Bonds // by Razalon The Lizardman //------------------------------// Princess Celestia stayed with her son the whole day, helping Solis to gain some control over his newly-gained unicorn magic. She explained to him the exact methods by which unicorns tapped into and used their magic, never afraid to use more high-brow vocabulary since she knew Solis was smart enough to understand her. There were a few instances where Solis lost control of his magic while attempting telekinesis, to which Celestia would intervene and keep the situation from turning hazardous. Prince Solis never let his spirits get crushed when this happened, however. Whereas Celestia was more than happy to teach her son the basics of magic control, Solis was every bit as eager to learn them. Every time he lost control of his magic he would merely shrug and resume the exercise anew. It was the same tenacity to conquer a given challenge shining through as Celestia had noticed during her first meeting with Solis years earlier, and as the day wore on Celestia found herself growing more and more confident she had made the right choice in letting her son ascend to alicornhood. The mother-son duo finally decided to call it quits in the late afternoon, by which time Solis had more or less mastered telekinesis and started to learn the basics of teleportation. “I am quite impressed with thee, my son,” Celestia said while stretching her legs. “Thou hast made significant progress in naught but a single day.” Solis smiled. “Thank you, mother,” he replied. “And you were a splendid teacher.” “I thank thee in turn, my son,” Celestia replied, smiling herself. She then glanced out the window, noticing the sun was reaching close to the horizon. “Gosh, it appears we have spent the bulk of today in here.” Solis followed her gaze out the window. “Indeed we have.” The sound of shoed hooves click-clacking against the stone floor caught his attention, and he turned back to see Celestia heading toward the door. “Mother?” “I must be off now, Solis,” Celestia replied a little too hastily. “Please stay here for the time being.” Solis arched a brow in confusion. Then rememberance overtook his brain, to which he sighed exasperatedly. “Mother, is it truly necessary to still play up my surprise celebration as such? After all, what point is there in throwing surprise birthday festivities if no surprise is to be had by the recipient?” Celestia paused for a moment to mull over his words. Then she sighed heavily and turned back to him with a wistful smile gracing her lips. “You are right, Solis; it is pointless.” She closed the distance between them and laid a wing on his withers. “The reason I strove to surprise thee with each birthday celebration is because a pony’s happiness shines brightest when they are genuinely, delightfully surprised. I had hoped that, eventually, thou wouldst be truly happy enough living with Us to show it.” Her wistful smile grew a tad wider for a moment before falling into a small frown. “But, I suppose such is too much to ask for at this point in time. It is my own fault, really, so do not think thou hast disappointed me, Solis.” Solis stared blankly for a moment before smiling himself. “Mother, surprise celebrations are unneeded for me to be happy, or even show it.” He laid his own wing on Celestia’s withers and continued. “But, if you want me to, I can pretend to be surprised.” “No, no,” Celestia replied quickly while shaking her head, “I said thou must be ‘genuinely’ surprised, which the act of pretending goes entirely against.” “Right, sorry,” Solis replied back. The two stayed in each others’ embrace for a few minutes, relishing in the warm feel they got from each other, wishing they could remain like so forever. Eventually, Celestia retracted her wing, to which Solis did the same, and turned back to the door. “Now then,” she started pacing toward the door, “I must inform everypony of the new change in plans.” “How will you explain to them my new status of prince?” Solis asked. Celestia paused for a moment to mull over his words again. This time, however, she drew a blank. “I . . . am unsure.” She looked up thoughtfully, as if the answer to her new dilemma would be presented upon the ceiling or some other such nonsense. “Truth be told, my son, yours is an unprecedented case.” She glanced back to him, noticing his expression was of mild surprise. “Nopony else has undergone ascension like thou didst, so I am unsure of how to get the message out to Equestria’s citizens.” Solis’ expression changed from mild surprise to total bewilderment. “Truly, you are clueless?” he asked. A slight blush crossed Celestia’s face, but the solar alicorn stayed composed as she responded with, “I will admit this to be an oversight on my part.” Solis smacked his forehead with a hoof and let out a groan. “Well, at least they shall be genuinely surprised to learn of my new status.” “Yes, I suppose they shall be,” Celestia agreed. Then she went wide-eyed as realization dawned on her, and before long a mischievous smile adorned her muzzle. “Solis, I know how we shall reveal thy new status as a prince to everypony, or at least the castle staff.” “How so?” Solis asked, brow raised in coinfusion. Celestia beckoned him closer, which Solis complied with, and she began whispering her new plans in his ear. As she continued on, a smile just as mischievous as Celestia’s adorned Solis’ muzzle, and by the end of it he was practically grinning like a madpony. “Have you always been so cheeky, mother?” he asked once Celestia had finished. “As far back as I can remember, and I am positive Luna could attest to such,” Celestia replied with a giggle. She then lit up her horn. “Now then, I shall return momentarily.” The solar alicorn teleported from the room, leaving the now giddy Solis alone to eagerly anticipate the soon-to-come ‘surprise’ festivities. Summer Scape spent the majority of her time following the final preparations for Solis’ surprise celebration busying herself with tidying the castle, a task ingrained into her very essence through several years of raising two very messy foals. The butterscotch mare had worked her way from the castle’s entrance, broom and scrubber in tow, sweeping and scrubbing as much of the castle’s walls and floor as she could, wishing all the while to be a pegasus so she could reach the ceiling. Being an earth pony, however, meant the task would ultimately befall one of her pegasi co-workers. It was while Summer Scape was cleaning the eastmost archway to the inner courtyard that she heard a familiar popping sound behind her. She turned around to find Princess Celestia smiling down upon her, though, for a moment Summer Scape thought she saw a mischievous glint in the solar alicorn’s eyes. She ignored it, however, and gave the princess a curt bow. “Thou mayst rise, Lady Scape,” Celestia said with a nod. Summer Scape stood up and glanced around the archway, up at the window above the northern walkway, where the sky’s light had dimmed considerably, indicating a lot of time had passed since their engagement that morning. “We trust the dining room is safely secure as we left it?” Celestia asked. “It was when I last checked,” Summer Scape answered, turning back to face Celestia. “So, shall I fetch everypony now? Is Solis preoccupied?” This time Summer Scape could hardly ignore the mischievous glint in the princess’ eye, nor the giggle she suppressed with a hoof clamped over her muzzle. “Princess?” “It is nothing,” Celestia answered, recomposing herself and returning to her usual, regal posture. “Solis is indeed preoccupied, so work quickly to gather everypony and bring them to the dining room.” Summer Scape nodded and set down her cleaning supplies, carefully leaning them against the archway so as to not become a nuisance. She then proceeded to trot off across the inner courtyard when a Celestia spoke up. “And when We say ‘everypony’ that includes our guests Miss Melody Wind and her daughter Emerald.” That gave Summer pause. “Melody . . . that unicorn musician who annoyed Solis with her singing, correct?” “The very same,” Celestia confirmed. “She and her daughter are here for another audience, this time to petition a law allowing ponies to freely change their names.” “And what of the verdict?” Summer asked, looking back curiously at Celestia. Celestia’s smile fell and she shifted uncomfortably. “We left the decision to Luna . . .” “For what reason?” “It . . . is nothing.” With a shake of her head, Celestia’s smile returned. “Now be off. We shall be there in an hour’s time, so have everything, and everypony, ready before then.” “I shall, your highness,” Summer Scape promised, and resumed her trot across the inner courtyard, soon after hearing another popping noise behind her indicating Celestia’s own departure. With a smile on her face and a happy skip in her step, Summer Scape set about completing her newly appointed task, eagerly looking forward to Solis’ birthday festivities. She first set about gathering Celestia’s patrolling Day Guards before stopping off at the Guard Barracks to awaken Luna’s Night Guard. After instructing Guard Captain Nightcanter to retrieve his princess, Summer finished her errand with a visit to the guest wing where Melody and Emerald Wind sat quietly reading some books from the shelf. The mother-daughter duo, while surprised initially that Princess Celestia would invite them to her adopted son’s fifteenth birthday celebration, were not the least bit hesitant to accept the invitation and promptly joined the group. As soon as Princess Luna and Captain Nightcanter, both looking a tad bit flustered, arrived the group set off toward the dining hall. For most of the trip the group stayed quiet, sans the clopping of their hooves against the stone floors of each hallway. With a couple dozen or so sets of hooves parading down a hall there was no way Solis would not hear them, to which the group silently hoped that Princess Celestia could successfully quell any curiosity her son may have. When the group had reached the last corridor before the dining room Melody spoke up to Summer, keeping her voice only loud enough to be audible over the group’s legion of hoofsteps. “Miss Summer Scape?” she said, sidling up beside the earth pony mare with Emerald in tow behind her. “May we converse?” “Sure, I suppose,” Summer said with a shrug. “What about?” “Oh, nothing in particular,” Melody replied dismissively. “Regrettably, I never learned much about everypony whom directly serves their highnesses during my last visit here, years ago.” “I understand what you mean,” Summer Scape said. She glanced over her shoulder at Emerald, who only briefly returned the glance before focusing her attention on the floor in front of her, to which Summer just smiled. “Your daughter is quite lovely,” she complimented, turning back to Melody. “How old is she, if I may ask?” “Emerald turns thirteen years of age in a couple of months,” Melody answered, smiling herself. “My own daughter shall be age twelve come year’s end,” Summer said. “Really?” Melody said. She leaned closer to Summer. “Please, tell me about your family.” “Certainly, but wait for now,” Summer replied. The group had reached the dining room. Opening the doors leading inside, Summer Scape turned to look at the group with an instructional gaze. “Find a suitable spot of cover once you enter, and be sure to quickly shout ‘surprise!’ once Solis enters. Does everypony understand?” Everypony nodded their heads. “Good, now be quick like a rabbit and get inside.” She began ushering everypony in one by one, single file. As instructed, they all scoped for a good place to hide, though there was a notable lack of effective hiding places amongst the chairs and banquet table. Almost all of the guards, acting partly on instinct, chose to press themselves against either wall as if they were expecting an enemy to show up. Luna, being the most eye-catching of them all, was forced to hide under the dining table to adequately conceal her ethereal mane and tail. Lastly, Melody, Emerald, Summer Scape, and Guard Captains Tricolt and Nightcanter waited on either side of the doors; the three mares together on one side and the two stallions on the other. “Now then, you were saying?” Summer asked Melody. “Your family,” the dark green mare replied. “Right, well, my immediate family consists of my fourteen year old son White Scorcher, eleven year old daughter Daisy, and husband Flint who is five years my senior. Before I moved here to serve as Princess Celestia’s lead hoofmaiden I lived with them in a small village west of Canterlot named Oppiscit.” “Oppasite-er, oppashi-no, opper-blegh!” Melody tried repeating the name several times before blanching. “My apologies, Summer.” “It is quite all right, I assure you,” Summer Scape replied with a smile. “Truthfully, almost every outsider to the village cannot pronounce the name for their life.” She let out a subdued laugh. “I pray I never have to,” Melody replied back, nervousness plainly evident in both her tone and expression. “So, what is your family like?” “Nothing too special, but the three of them are lovely in their own right.” Summer’s eyes took on a distant look, making it clear she was reminiscing about her family. “Flint is quite the charmer, as well as a hard-worker; only because of him was I willing to leave our children to come here. And our children are just darling little things. White Scorcher has a fiery spirit befitting his name, never one to back down from a challenge, while Daisy is a sweet filly with a heart as warm and pure as the light of Celestia’s sun.” She let out a heavy sigh and returned her attention onto Melody. “Truly, I am blessed to be part of such a wonderful family.” “I am happy for you,” Melody replied, genuinely happy though her voice wavered a bit. “And what of your own family?” Summer asked. “Oh, Emerald is quite possibly the most darling filly in all of Equestria,” Melody boasted, voice full of pride. “She is an exceptional music talent, as indicated by her Soul, and her beauty makes her the envy of every young mare in Canterlot as well as the desire of every stallion.” A slightly smug smirk spread across her lips as she finished off with, “So, yes, I am quite proud to be a part of my family.” Summer looked over Melody’s shoulder and, after a moment of confusion, softly giggled. “I see somepony is rather embarrassed.” Melody followed Summer’s gaze behind her to find Emerald crouched to the floor, her ears folded back and head in her hooves. The younger unicorn was letting out muffled groans of displeasure from behind her hooves and her tail was swishing back and forth in agitation. With an exasperated sigh, Melody turned back around to Summer. “Of course, she can be a bit of a bother, sometimes.” “She and many children, including my own on occasion,” Summer replied with a smile. “And what about her father? What is he like?” Melody’s expression fell into a depressed frown, and she looked to the side away from Summer. The earth pony frowned herself, confused over Melody’s response. “Is something wrong, Miss Melody?” Summer asked her. “. . . My husband is . . .” A single tear dropped from Melody’s eye and onto the floor. She shook her head once, reigning in her discomposure and staring Summer straight in the eyes. “I am a single mother to Emerald.” Summer threw a hoof over her muzzle as she let out a surprised gasp before lowering it to reply. “Oh, my sincerest apologies, Miss Melody. Had I known-” “It is all right, Summer,” Melody said, raising a hoof. “I do not blame you for asking about my deceased husband.” She sighed, and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle. “But it is a severely sore subject for both me and Emerald, so please ask no further of the topic.” Summer nodded. “I promise not to.” “Good,” Melody replied. At the same time the two mothers were conversing, Captains Tricolt and Nightcanter were engaged in a conversation of their own on the other side of the doorway. “Ah, Solis is surely privy to these surprise celebrations by now,” Tricolt mused. With a sigh, he propped a hoof against the stone wall and leaned against it, eyes half closed with boredom. “So, Nightcanter, how goes nightwatch these days?” Silence. Arching a confused brow, Tricolt glanced behind him to find Nightcanter looking down at the floor, a concerned frown etched into his features, and a faraway look in his eyes. “Captain Nightcanter.” The Solar Captain gently pushed his withers. “Answer me.” The Night Guard Captain broke free from his stupor with a start, swiveling his head around in alarm before resting his eyes on his colleague. “Oh, my apologies, what was your question?” “I was merely curious how your duties as Princess Luna’s Guard Captain are treating you as of late.” A concerned frown fell across Tricolt’s own muzzle as he continued. “Now, however, my concern lies toward whether something is the matter with you?” Captain Nightcanter blinked once, then sighed and took his helmet off his head before rubbing his temples with both hooves. “I will tell you what has been eating away at me, but can you make a single promise not to assume I still harbor affection for Princess Luna?” Tricolt stared blankly in response, not having expected that to be Nightcanter’s plea. “Well?” “Uh, yes, of course, Captain Nightcanter.” Trciolt crossed his right fore leg over his chest. “You have my word that I shall not make such an accusation.” “Thank you,” Nightcanter replied. The Lunar Captain looked to his left, across the room at the dining table. Princess Luna was poking her head out from underneath the tablecloth, waiting for a signal that her sister and nephew had arrived so she could hide again. While the expression on Luna’s face was full of excited anticipation, Nightcanter watched her with worry plainly evident on his features. “I am concerned for Princess Luna,” he said. Captain Tricolt followed his gaze. “What for?” he inquired. “She has not been acting like her usual self as of late.” Nightcanter turned back to Tricolt, to which the Solar Captain mirrored him a moment later. “Princess Luna is typically quite jovial in performing her nightly duties, which I can attest to as her closest confidant and Guard Captain. As of the past . . . five or so months—my memory is far from reliable—but anyway, I have noticed a gradual change in her behavior every night.” “I assume her joviality has decreased in prominence?” Tricolt asked. Captain Nightcanter nodded sagely. “She tries hard to hide her displeasure from her Lunar Guard with false bravado and confidence, of which I am only able to realize is false because of our countless hours of time spent together. Just last night, for instance, Princess Luna came out of a dreamwalking session and the first thing she did was breath a heavy sigh of annoyance. “I asked her what was wrong, but she dodged the question and instead left to take a short flight over the Everfree. Even my succeeding attempts to console her upon returning were met only with resistance, to which I eventually ceased.” Nightcanter gave Tricolt a slightly furrowed gaze as he continued. “Please note that my concern for Princess Luna is strictly professional, as I am worried her behavior will create problems when performing her royal duties.” “I wholeheartedly believe you, and your concern is noted,” Tricolt answered. “I will bring this to Princess Celestia’s attention, as her own behavior indicates she is unaware of her sister’s increasing displeasure.” He paused to think for a moment. “Have you any idea what the cause of Princess Luna’s unhappiness may be, based solely on conjecture?” “Nay, I have none,” Nightcanter answered sadly. “At best, I would-” Suddenly, Tricolt’s ear twitched. “Wait,” he said, holding up a hoof. “Listen.” Nightcanter was confused for but a moment before his own ear twitched in response to a faint sound coming from the door’s other side. It was a soft, steady rhythm of hoofsteps, slowly approaching the dining room. It was also clear that there were not one, but two sets of hoof falls. Tricolt and Nightcanter looked first to each other, then to the three mares standing at the doorway’s other side. They returned their gazes with smiling nods, having heard the approaching duo as well. Summer Scape silently signalled to everypony in the room that Celestia and Solis were approaching, to which they all prepared to jump out and surprise the birthday colt. Everypony waited in silence as the hoof falls came closer, becoming more clearly audible to everypony. A metallic clinking sound accompanied one set of hoof falls, recognizable as that of Princess Celestia’s golden shod hooves. Everypony held their breath when the hoof steps reached the dining room doors and stopped. The ponies nearest to the doors stood stock still, determined to make not even the slightest movement and risk being overheard by Solis, even though they were confident he knew what was coming. The piercing silence throughout the dining room was finally broken by the door’s creaking hinges as it began slowly opening. A sliver of sunlight poured through the widening crack from the adjacent window in the hallway, dividing the room into two halves of subdued darkness with the table split right down the middle, as well as the eager face of Princess Luna sticking out from under the tablecloth. The doors fully opened after a few seconds, and everypony prepared to shout ‘Surprise!’ once Solis stepped into the room. Instead, they were all surprised when not Solis, but an ornate golden carpet emerged from the doorway. It followed the trail of sunlight, unfurling as it rolled across the room toward the dining table. It stopped just a few inches shy of Princess Luna’s muzzle, to which the lunar alicorn, as well as everypony else, merely looked at it in confusion. As they were all distracted, nopony immediately noticed the young, crimson alicorn stallion emerge from the doorway and begin slowly trodding down the carpet, head held high and wings spanned in a show of regality. Soon everypony’s attention was redirected to Solis, and every single one of them did a double take upon noticing his new appearance. A few of them, Princess Luna included, could only stare stupidly with their jaws hanging open, while others mumbled incoherently to themselves, trying to make sense of the enigmatic sight before them. The earth pony they knew had disappeared and been replaced by an alicorn much the same as the princesses, minus the ethereal mane and tail. Eventually, Solis reached the carpet’s end and came to a stop. He glanced down at the dumbfounded Princess Luna for a moment before turning around to survey the rest of the assembled ponies; they all shared Luna’s expression of utter bewilderment. Unfurling his wings, Solis swept his gaze across the room once more before nodding and turning around to the spread laid out on the table. He selected a simple red apple slice and used his magic to levitate it up to his mouth. He took a dainty bite out of the fruit and idly chewed it for several seconds before spitting it out like it was poisoned. Spinning around on his hooves, everypony recoiled in terror at the sight of Solis’ expression of pure, unbridled rage. “Unbelievable! Inconceivable! Disgraceful! Disgusting! Despicable!” He brought the apple up for everypony to see. “This apple is without any doubt the most horrid abomination to fruits the world over!” By now, everypony’s bewilderment and confusion had been entirely replaced with fear, and more than a few ponies, including some guards judging from the slight metallic rattling throughout the room, were shaking with terror. They all looked more akin to little foals than fully grown mares and stallions with the way their faces contorted into panicked expressions as they watched the enraged alicorn. Some of them briefly glanced toward the double doors, probably contemplating escape but stayed stock still out of fear for what might happen if they failed. “As Equestria’s newest prince it is my responsibility to see to the swift and merciless elimination of any and all criminals!” Solis took a step forward, making everypony flinch in response. “And for the vile heathen that thought they could serve me such waste . . .” Solis remained quiet for several seconds, only staring straight ahead at nothing in particular and ignoring all the terrified staff and guests watching him with extreme trepidation. The several seconds seemed to drag on forever, to which everypony’s anxiety only blossomed. Sweat poured down everypony’s faces and knees buckled from lack of support while they waited, all the while praying to the Elements that they were spared Solis’ wrath. A corner of Solis’ mouth lifted into a smirk. His eyebrows raised as Solis’ smirk then stretched across his mouth into an amused grin. Then, almost too suddenly for everypony to realize what happened, the crimson alicorn stallion fell forward onto his barrel and proceeded to laugh hysterically. “The look on your faces, ha ha ha!” He lightly pounded the floor with a hoof. “We got you all well and good!” All at once, everypony’s fear and anxiety melted away, replaced with confusion of the highest caliber. Everypony watched the laughing Solis with questioning glances for several moments before a recognizable voice chimed from the double doors. “That was a most excellent performance, my son.” Everypony’s attention shifted from Solis to the splendid form of Princess Celestia trotting down the gold carpet toward the crimson alicorn stallion. She wore a satisfied smile on her face which she kept directed on Solis while approaching him. It was only when Celestia closed the distance between them that Solis ceased his laughing and stood up to regard her. “Thank you, mother,” he replied. “So, are you satisfied with the ‘surprise’?” Celestia wrapped a wing around him and pulled him closer. “Indeed I am.” The mother-son duo proceeded to nuzzle each other affectionately, unmindful of the couple dozen or so utterly confused ponies watching them and trying to make sense of all that had just happened within the last minute. Eventually, Celestia’s and Solis’ nuzzling was interrupted by Princess Luna, who emerged from underneath the table and cleared her throat, catching their attention. ‘Sister,” she directed to Celestia, her tone calm and measured but with obvious traces of pent up anger, “what is the meaning of all this? And why is Solis now an alicorn himself?” There are supposed to be only two alicorns . . . Celestia held in a giggle. “This,” she replied, loudly so everypony could hear her, “was my way of compensating for being unable to pleasantly surprise Solis with these surprise birthday celebrations.” She turned around to look at everypony while grinning mischievously. “We imagine all of you were quite surprised by Solis’ new appearance, were you not?” Everypony’s confusion and fear was replaced with mass relief, mixed with a some resentment, upon learning they were merely the victims of a prank by the solar alicorn and her son. As one, they all nodded in response to Celestia’s question. “Good, and with that done We shall explain why Solis is now an alicorn.” Everypony stood at attention, curiosity and eagerness swelling through them as they listened to Celestia’s explanation. The solar alicorn herself gave Solis a warm smile, which the crimson stallion returned in kind, before returning her gaze onto everypony else. Luna, meanwhile, softened her features and instead gave her sister and adopted nephew an appraising gaze, eager to judge the merits of Celestia’s decision. “We have raised Solis for almost five years now, and in that time he has grown so much in body, mind, and spirit. We adopted and raised him with the intention of helping Us rule this fair country, and Solis took it in stride, meeting every task We put forth head on and without complaint.” Celestia wrapped a wing around Solis, to which he sheepishly shuffled his hooves. “Raising him for five years has also enlightened me to his full potential not just as a leader, but as a magic user.” She pointed with her other wing toward the front of the room, specifically at Emerald. “Emerald Wind, thou canst attest to this with thy flute.” The young green unicorn smiled and nodded. “Yes, and I am beyond thankful for your son’s assistance in repairing it, your highness.” Celestia nodded. “And he is thankful to have been of use.” She looked down at Solis. “Art thou not?” Solis seemed to lock up and shy away from everypony’s gaze for a second before returning his attention forward, specifically, at Emerald. “Ind-indeed, Emerald,” he stuttered. Celestia frowned at her son’s sudden nervous behavior, then realized it was because he was unmasked in front of outsiders. With a roll of her eyes, Celestia’s horn lit up and Solis’ mask was summoned a second later, which he wasted no time in donning. This action caused Emerald to frown slightly, confused as to why Solis had reacted so nervously to her praising of him. She managed to shrug it off and remain attentive when Celestia resumed speaking, but a lingering sense of hurt remained floating in the back of her head all the while. “As both a way to signify Solis’ new position as a third wheel in Our rule of Equestria, as well as letting him make use of his understandings in Magic Theory without needing Our aid, We have imbued within Solis the abilities of both unicorn and pegasi in addition to his natural earth pony strength. As a result of his ascension, Solis has also been granted the title of Prince of Equestria, to which his authority is equal with Our own.” Celestia let her words sink in for a few moments, all the while judging the facial responses of everypony in front of her; what she found was encouraging to say the least. Most of the guards seemed either indifferent or happy to hear her announcement, while Guard Captains Tricolt and Nightcanter were among the latter category, wearing big smiles on their muzzles. Summer Scape was equally positive in her response, and seemed to be struggling to hold back a few tears from the looks of it. As for Melody and Emerald, however, Celestia was disappointed to see their reactions were not quite as positive as that of everypony else. Among the two, Emerald’s reaction seemed more favorable, as the younger mare wore a wistful smile on her face as she looked at Solis. Her mother Melody, however, looked slightly irritated in response to Celestia’s announcement. Perhaps she is merely still annoyed with Solis for that prior incident, and her annoyance is showing itself here. Hopefully, she and Emerald will still support this decision, as well as convince the ponies in Canterlot to show support to some degree as well. “We are sure many of you still have questions for Us pertaining to this revelation,” she said, regaining everypony’s full attention again. “Rest assured, We shall be more than happy to answer any question during the festivities.” She unwrapped her wing from around Solis and held both up high in the air. “And on that note,” she made a grand sweeping gesture with both her wings, “let the celebration begin!” Everypony let out a small cheer of excitement and began spreading out across the dining room. They gathered in groups and began chatting animatedly about everything that had just happened: Solis’ new title, his and Celestia’s prank, and how exactly Celestia granted her adopted son wings and a horn. It was a lot to take in, but Celestia and Solis were happy to see such positive reactions from everypony. “Everypony seems to be excited for thee, Solis,” Celestia said to him. “‘Tis a relief,” Solis replied. “Hopefully, the rest of Equestria echoes their reaction.” “I hope so too,” Celestia said. “Solis!” The mother-son duo turned to see Captain Tricolt approaching them, a wide grin spread across his muzzle. “You sure changed since I last saw you,” he said, stopping in front of Solis. “Quite a lot, in fact.” He flashed a playful smirk at Celestia. “Just what did you do to him, your highness?” Celestia said nothing in response, merely rolling her eyes upwards and smiling innocently. Tricolt let out a laugh and ruffled Solis’ mane. “I have to say, you really had me shaking in my armor just now. I was about two seconds from running away screaming when you started laughing.” Solis looked up at him, his eyes wide behind his mask. “Truly, thou wert?” he asked. “No, not really,” Tricolt said. He stopped ruffling Solis’ mane. “Rest assured, Princess Celestia chose no coward to be her Guard Captain.” “I also chose no slouch to be my son,” Celestia added. She softly pet Solis’ backside and smiled lovingly down at him. “Solis hath proven himself worthy to possess the power of an alicorn, that is for sure, and We trust he shall make good use of it.” Tricolt nodded. “I trust your word, princess.” he looked back down to Solis. “Quite a birthday this is, huh?” “The best one ever,” Solis chirped. “Then I shall leave you to enjoy it.” With that, Tricolt walked past them to the food table, grabbed a bread roll, and left while giving Solis a friendly wave, which he returned in kind. “You heard him, Solis,” Celestia said, drawing his attention. “Go! Enjoy your birthday!” Solis just nodded, before leaving to join the nearest group of guards. Soon after he was showing off his new wings and horn to them, and Celestia watched with pride swelling in her heart. To think, the Solis of five years ago was such an anti-social gruff. Now, he flaunts his new gift like a noble flaunts their wealthy status. A tad bit ironic, but all the same, such is remarkable progress toward making Solis into a better pony. Shaking her head, Celestia turned around to fetch some food from the table, only to be met with the hardened gaze of her sister. “Sister, we need to talk,” Luna stated calmly. “Of course,” Celestia replied. She levitated a chocolate square over to her, and took a dainty nibble while gesturing for Luna to speak. Luna glanced around, making sure nopony else was close enough to overhear their conversation. Once satisfied, Luna began speaking in a hushed whisper. “Why was I not informed of thy decision to ascend Solis?” she asked. “Something of such importance should be discussed between the both of us at great length first, as we have not the foresight to know whether this will work in our favor.” Celestia chewed her chocolate a bit and swallowed. “I wished not to wake thee up a second time in one day, sister,” she replied, frowning slightly. “I do apologize, however, for following through with my decision without first informing thee.” Luna sighed. “Thine apology is accepted, but it cannot undo what has been done.” She fixed Celestia with a hardened gaze. “We have no idea whether Equestria’s citizens will be accepting of an earth pony ascending to alicornhood. True, Solis is your adopted son and legally family, but even so, ponies may still think of him as a common citizen at heart.” Celestia regarded Luna curiously for a moment, then smiled and placed a comforting hoof on her withers. “I understand if thou art fearful of retribution for such a decision, sister, but I have complete trust in more than just Solis. While I may not know for sure, we have crafted such a benevolent rule that Equestria’s populace has no reason to shun this decision.” “Gambling with-!” Luna quickly covered her mouth at her sudden outburst, removing it once she had calmed down. “Gambling with our subjects’ trust is foolhardy, Celestia. For all we know, once word gets out that Solis has ascended, ponies will come to us screaming blasphemy.” Celestia held back a snort at that statement. “Luna, since when did you air on the side of exaggerated drama?” she asked, rhetorically. “More likely, ponies will come to us pleading to receive ascension themselves.” They shall think twice about that upon seeing me. “And would that truly be any better?” Luna asked, deadpanned almost. “T'would be easier to placate them, so yes,” Celestia replied with a nod. She took another bite out of her chocolate, sighing in satisfaction at the heavenly taste it afforded her. Once she finished chewing and swallowed, she asked, “Is that all thou wishedest to talk with me about, sister?” “I need to voice one last concern,” Luna replied. She gave Celestia a pensive frown. “I understand that thou trustest Solis to use that power wisely, and I share that belief wholeheartedly, but by granting more ponies ascension we only increase the chance of it falling into wicked hooves.” “I would not worry about our power falling into the wrong hooves,” Celestia said, “as I have no intention of granting it to anypony else.” “Very well,” Luna said, nodding. Celestia smiled. “Well then, let us enjoy the celebration, shall we?” She levitated a few more chocolates from the table, and joined a group of castle maids to chat. Luna stared after her for a while, her expression unreadable, before sighing and moving to join a group of her night guards.