//------------------------------// // Chapter III: An Irking Vex. // Story: Quest for Earth Pony Magic: the Disciple // by IMN //------------------------------// “…and then he got booted out of her room,” Night Light was gossiping about an incident that happened in the palace a few nights ago. “So that’s what really happened,” Evening Star started laughing, “The report did say about domestic issues, I never thought they were that type of issues.” “Dear sweet Celestia, you guys are worse than the mares at the beauty salon,” Twilight Velvet couldn’t believe what her husband was saying. “Pulling the poor stallion’s laundry like that, have you no shame?” What started out as an argument over taxi fares, soon turned into a political argument, before evolving into a heated debate about the ethics of some of the magical research, until it finally settled about idle gossip over the prime minister’s marital problems. “He did overpass Princess Celestia in that particular law which limited night magic research,” Night Light pointed out. “And he’s been hindering a lot of reforms in favor of the noble class,” Evening Star pondered over his cabinet’s future, “The next election is going to be a brutal one,” He concluded, “Hope I can still make it for the next cabinet.” “Are you joking? None of the armed forces will even consider another name. You set the path for a better Equestrian military, and you have been working strides into improving our national defense like none other. They owe you so many favors that they wouldn’t even consider letting you go.” “They’ll be idiots if they considered another name,” concluded one of the drivers. “Besides, didn’t Captain Soaring Blade rouse the entire barracks yesterday with just a sigh?” Night Light pointed at the colt sitting quietly next to his father with a bored expression plastered over his face as he gazed lazily over the passing buildings. Evening nudged his son back toward the attendance, “What?” Sun Light looked at his father before looking at Night Light who was smiling slyly at him. “You’re been oddly quiet, Sunny. Are you feeling well?” Night Light addressed the young colt with his usual warmth. “A bit dizzy,” Sun Light shrugged back, "otherwise I'm good," before leaning at the window again. “You’re usually more talkative than this, I was hoping to hear your opinion about night magic and dream research. You usually come up with interesting points.” A small smile crept on Sun Light’s face at the compliment. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” His smile turned toward embarrassment as he avoided the gaze of the adults. “As if an earth pony even understands unicorn magic,” Twilight Sparkle mumbled under her breath, she was sure to keep her voice so down that no one hears her. “I’ll have you know I understand it perfectly,” Sun Light replied, his coy smile caught Sparkle by surprise. "You said you weren't paying attention," She protested. "Oh please, I said that my head hurts because somepony stabbed me with her horn, I never said my ears were damaged as well," Sun Light barely finished his speech when something smacked him from behind. "You never rub the injury in the face of the lady that gave it to you," Evening lectured his son, "it is unbecoming from a gentlecolt of your status," earning a giggle from Sparkle and a glare from Sun Light. "Oh dearest father of mine," Sun Light's sarcasm caused his father to wince, "Have I ever claimed to be the gentlecolt you so illusioned me to be?" That earned him another smack from his father's stump. "You will become the gentlecolt I aspire you to be," His father asserted, "regardless the method in which I instill these qualities in you." Sun Light smirked at that notion, "Do anything out of bound and I'll tell Princess Celestia." Unfortunately for Sun Light, that did not elicit the reaction that he wanted from his father whose grin suddenly became plastered from one side of his face to the other. Sun Light gulped, his father nonchalantly announced, "That's a great idea! I'll just ask Princess Celestia to teach you how to be a gentlecolt." Sun Light deadpanned, "I just lost this argument, did I?" he stated. "Big Times," Chipped Night Light as giggles erupted from the mares around him. Twilight Sparkle kept glancing sheepishly at Evening Star and Sun Light, an action that didn't go unnoticed by the duo. Evening sighed inwardly as the filly's initial shyness toward him seemed to fade, turning toward his son he simply grinned in approval. Sun Light looked back at his father and simply shrugged in response. Twilight Sparkle could only look with intrigue as both stallion and colt shared an entire conversation without even uttering a single word, "What are you two smiling about?" she asked. "Nothing," Both father and son replied at the same time. "So what was everypony talking about?" Sun Light quickly shot back. "Oh, something for grown-ups," Twilight Velvet said, trying to steer the young one off the course, "you wouldn't really understand." "Is it about prime minister Trueblood getting thrown out of his wife bedroom?" Sunlight quipped, turning Twilight Velvet's face bright red. "How did you know that?" Seemingly surprised, Twilight Sparkle's eyes brightened. "Well, there are only two things for grown ups that my dad and yours can talk about in public, the Blood family affairs, and the Craig list," All the grown up's ears perked, "I just guessed which one they are more likely to talk about." Twilight Velvet leaned toward her husband, "he knows about the Craig list?" she whispered. "If he did, it's not from me," Night Light replied defensively. "What's a Craig list?" Twilight Sparkle asked innocently. "Well, it's a list." Sun Light answered immediately. "Of what?" "Books." "About?" "Clopping." The taxi cab suddenly hit a rock causing all the passengers to jump off their seats. "Why would books about running be considered only for adults?" Sun Light was about to answer that when a chill suddenly ran down his spin, looking around he noticed all adults eyes were on him, and not in a good way. Straightening his pose he replied in a very autonomous voice, "I do not know. I have never read any of them. I simply know them by reputation." He then turned to his father and flashed his most 'I'm innocent' smile. "Well that's a relief," Evening hugged his son with his good hoof, "If you looked into things you aren't supposed to, then I would be sad, *crack*, so very sad *crik*." "I'm okay," Sun Light barely pronounced while tapping on his father's hoof, causing instant relief, "About the Blood family affairs," he quickly changed the subject, "What's the latest gossip from Barrack Thirteen?" "He was kicked out because he couldn't perform," Night Light answered immediately, earning a glare from his wife. Sun Light sat back incredulously, "Really? Is that the best they can come up with?" he asked rather disappointingly. "Oh cough it up mister," his father answered, "Everypony knows you know everything going on in that part of the tower and for some reason you've been quiet about it." "What can I do? Under Celestia's orders, I can't tell anyone the inner workings of the Blood household." Sunlight zipped his mouth, crossed his hooves, then looked the other way. "I'll show leniency toward your punishment," Evening announced calmly. "Do you want explicit details or just a quick version?" "Do Princess Celestia's words mean nothing to you?" Twilight Sparkle suddenly scolded. "I'm neither under any oath nor am I from the military," Sun Light teased, causing the young filly to cross her hooves and look the other way with a "hmph". Sun Light giggled at Sparkle's antique, "Anyway," he then returned toward the grown-ups who are all eager to hear what he has to say, "There are a lot of trouble brewing in the Blood family household. And it all started one fateful night when Prince Blueblood, heir of the royal house, was discovered to be a coltcuddler. His mother, Princess Sapphire Scarlet, was furious with her son. Her reasoning for not accepting the situation is because of wanting grandkids to carry the bloodline. The father, Prince Trueblood, couldn't be more indifferent. That is the reason why he's been sleeping on the couch instead of his bed chambers." The shock was palpable on every pony's face, except for Twilight Sparkle who looked confused, so much so that the taxi slowed down. "So that's what happened," Night Light spoke in awe. "Well, who would have thought..." Evening Star reciprocated. "I am so using this for my next book," Twilight Velvet's eyes were sparkling with glee. "I don't get it," Twilight Sparkle responded, "Why is it so wrong for two colts to cuddle?" "It's the same reason as the Craig list," Sun Light explained, "You'll get it when you grow older." "How did they discover that Prince Blueblood is a coltcuddler?" Night Light asked with vigorous curiosity. "Oh, they didn't," Sunlight replied innocently, "I walked in on him while he was doing it with another colt." The taxi hit another rock. "You, WHAT?" Evening Star glared at his son as disbelief washed over him. "Hey!" Sunlight answered sharply, "I learned my lesson from that time. No need to give me that look, Celestia already punished me enough with 'the talk' that you keep dreading the day to have with me." Sun Light visibly shriveled as parts of that talk came back to him. "Well that explains how he knows about the Craig list," Twilight Velvet commented, earning a nod from her husband. However, before Evening Star could reprimand his son, Twilight Sparkle interfered, "Would somepony explain to me what's going on?" Sun Light gave Twilight Sparkle an incredulous look, "You haven't figured it out already, have you?" he asked rather disappointingly, before giving a long sigh, "You really aren't the brightest pony around," he concluded, earning him another slap behind the head from his father. "Hey!" Sparkle answered defensively, "I'm book smart not street smart. Never forget that!" She chastised. "Why not be both?" He asked. "Because being street smart means being mean and hurtful," She answered, "and I don't want to be either." Sun Light wanted to answer that, but another thought occurred to him, then he satisfied himself with a "good point," for a response. Satisfied with Sparkle finally letting go of that point, Night Light relaxed in his seat, "Finally that's settled," however the previous conversation never left his thought, "still, who would have thought..." he concluded in a loud voice, something that was immediately noticed. "You are going to forget what I said about the Blood family, are you?" Sun Light asked with a plea in his eyes. "I may not like the laws he is issuing, but I am not in the habit of breaking families apart just because of my dislike over another's action," Night Light answered calmly. However, Sunlight detected some bitterness in his voice, "You're just sore over the fact that he didn't authorize that new telescope you were hoping to install." "He had no rights to diverting funds toward dream research without Princess Celestia's authorization," Night Light argued, "All to curry a favor from count Sleepy Head. His actions have always benefited the noble class over the working class, you know." "First, what he did was not illegal, according to section 8 code 4 of the Equestrian constitution, these funds are legally under the jurisdiction of the ministry of research and development to do with as they please," Sun Light countered, "Minister Neon Led rerouted these funds toward studies for raising the security of the dream realm which he deemed to be a pressing matter ever since your team has discovered it to be in jeopardy as of late in your publication in the Dreams and Reality research journal. The prime minister simply pointed out the presence of these extra funds in the ministry's budget. Second, Prince Trueblood have been playing the scapegoat for quite some times now by giving the nobles what they want because they are the only ones with the funds to get Equestria's economy back on its feet after the Grundle invaded a few years back, I'm sure I don't need to remind you of that disaster," Sun Light gave a hearty laugh, "I mean who other than Prince Trueblood could convince the Rich family of Ponyville to keep investing in a farm after both of its farmers disappeared?" Night Light, Twilight Velvet, and Twilight Sparkle were all looking wide eyes, mouth agape, at Sun Light who was leaning back eyes close and had a genuine smile on his face. "Have you been feeding him your argument or something?" Night Light asked Evening Star. "More like I'm using his," Evening replied smugly. "How do you know all that?" Twilight Velvet asked Sun Light who slowly opened his eyes. "Well, I know what happened to the funds because I asked minister Neon Led about why he looked so relieved after the cabinet meeting last month, he always hated asking more funds from the ministry of finance and having minister Money Account rant about a lack of money for further research. I stumbled upon your husband's publication while researching on nightmare protection after having a bunch of them last month..." "... when you broke into the royal publisher house last month," his father interjected. "Yes, when I broke into the publisher's house to get the latest research, not the before latest research," Sun Light explained defensively, "Finally I know that the prime minister's hand in the Sweet Apple Acre because when they were announcing the resuming of the investments, prince Trueblood rolled his eyes before looking away. That is a telltale sign that he did something he didn't want to for the benefit of the greater good." "So you read body languages?" Twilight concluded. "That's right, if I want to I can detect every muscle you move, every eye twitch, ear tug, lip lick, sweat trickle, even a change in your body odor can tell me what you are thinking. Combine that with my book smart and I become an all-rounder," Sun Light puffed his chest while giving a victory smile. Twilight remained transfixed on the colt for a moment, “That's creepy,” She confessed, “But I think it’s amazing, is that why you have a prism for a cutie mark?” Almost instantly, Sun Light puffed up pose was deflated, he stared mouth open at the filly in front of him before grumbling back into his seat, a scold plastered on his face. Evening Star noticed the rapid change in his son's attitude, “Do we have a bingo?” he smiled triumphantly, earning a grudging stare from his son for an answer. Upon taking a closer look at Sun Light’s cutie mark, Twilight Velvet turned toward her daughter turned toward Twilight Sparkle, “What’s a prism?” “It’s a triangle shaped crystal that turns polychromatic light into its monochromatic components.” Twilight Sparkle happily explained, earning more inquisitive looks from the less knowledgeable pony around. “Translation please,” Evening Star turned toward his son. With a groan, Sun Light explained, “It breaks sunlight into its basic color components, which is rainbow light.” With an exasperation, Evening announced, “Make sense to be your cutie mark.” “We are here,” Announced one of the drivers as the cab came to another sudden halt. “Finally.” As the two stallions went last, Night Light stepped in front of Evening Star, “60/40,” he announced, “there are three of us and only two of you, it wouldn’t be fair for me to accept it otherwise.” Evening thought for a moment, then a malicious came into mind, “if I agree with you, will you agree with what I am about to do?” “Does it involve my daughter?” It didn’t take long for Sun Light to pick up the faint scent of scheming, “It’s a perfect punishment, don’t you think?” he heard his father say. Night Light contemplated the thought for a moment, “It’d be nice to have somepony looking after her from within for sure...” “Night Light, Evening Star, so good to see you both.” Both stallions stood in attention as Princess Celestia walked over to them. “Your highness,” all the present gave a bow, “If you’ll excuse us, we need to pay the cab,” Evening Star pointed at the kneeling drivers. “Sure thing,” Then Princess Celestia levitated Evening hoof piece, “I do believe you forgot this with me last night.” Evening Star gave a big sigh of relief, “Thank you, princess, I was afraid that I lost it.” “And here are the files you requested,” Princess Celestia levitated a rather thick folder next to her. “Thank you,” Evening Star gave another courtesy, before stuffing the files in his leg compartment, “and Princess, do you remember our talk a few days ago?” Celestia raised an eyebrow, “Are you going to go through with it?” “Are you grown-ups done scheming yet?” Sun’s head started spinning a bit, he couldn’t focus enough to know what’s going on, but he still could tell the adults were planning something. “Do what you think is best,” Celestia replied with her usual demeanor, though anticipation was killing her. “And where do you think you’re going, young colt?” Evening Star addressed his son before he had any time to sneak away. “To the infirmary.” Sun Light replied almost immediately, “I need to get this checked out.” He pointed at his gauge who seemed to be drenched red. “Before you go, I need to tell you what your punishment is,” Evening Star contemplated his son’s lament. “Fine, let’s get this over with,” He told his father impatiently. “For the next month you are going to become the assistant of Princess Celestia’s new student,” Evening Star declared triumphantly. Sun Light smiled inwardly, he thought he got off easy, maybe because of my sister. “Fine~, I’ll do it if it pleases you.” He faked annoyance. “When will this new student is going to come so that I can get this over with?” “I’m here.” Announced Twilight Sparkle proudly. Sun Light took a single look at Twilight before snickering, “No seriously, when is she going to come?” “She is my newest student Sun Light,” Princess Celestia approached Sun Light as panic started to grow within him. “Since when?” Sun Light, the colt of the castle, the one who knows everything, “How?” Not knowing something? Inconceivable! “Why?” “Since yesterday noon,” Celestia replied with a smirk behind her stoical smile, “I think it was the same time when you trapped yourself inside the armory, as for the reason, she managed to hatch a dragon egg then cast numerous high-level spells in a magical surge the likes of which I have ever seen.” “Shut up,” Gasps were heard at the colt’s insolence, Evening Star, however, couldn’t contain his mirth at his son’s outburst. Sun Light turned toward his snickering father, “I demand another punishment.” “Why I thought I was giving you a light punishment, don’t you like it?” Evening Star beamed a coy smile at his son. “No, I’d rather clean the barracks for the rest of the year than to help this presumptuous whelp,” The frowns he received from the Sparkles could drill a hole in solid rock. However Sun Light remained adamant. “Fine, you will clean the barracks until your sister returned from military training.” Evening Star feigned submission, then opened the compartment in his leg piece and pulled a maid’s outfit. “Of course you’ll be wearing this for change.” An outfit of demonic origin was dangled in front of the little colt in horror, the frou-frou style skirt, the black and white shirt with white shaped flowers as buttons, the insinuating crack at the vest’s collar, and the most dreaded, most vile looking, most mundane maid’s hat he had ever seen, with white strappings and streamers. “I thought it might be a good time I gave the boys in the barracks some entertainment instead of a bratty colt. Now they’ll enjoy the sight of a colt in a maid’s costume. Wouldn’t that be a treat?” “I’m sure it would,” affirmed Night Light, “I know I would.” “Oh,” Sun Light gave a nervous laugh, “very funny, dad. I almost didn’t realize you were joking.” “I wasn’t joking,” Evening Star replied with the most serious expression he could muster, “in fact if it wasn’t for your sister’s intervention, this was going to be your first punishment ever!” Evening couldn’t help but smile at his son’s horrorstruck face, “what was that saying from the old country? Discipline the stallion with his pride, not his strength…” Something felt wrong with Sun Light, suddenly he saw the dress as double, “I’m not feeling too good.” Everypony snickered, Evening decided to tease further, “Come now, Sunny. I thought you were tougher than this.” Sun Light looked up to his father, sweat glistening all over his frown, tried as he might, speech did not come easily for some reason, he could hear his father say something like, “Are… you… okay?” then everything went dark. The playful expressions suddenly vanished when Sun Light wobbled in his place uttered “help” then fell unconscious, smearing the ground with most of the blood his coat had absorbed. Evening Star tucked the dress back in his compartment, “Guess your injury was more severe than I previously thought,” he muttered before lifting his son’s body then trotting toward the infirmary. Celestia turned toward Night Light, worry written all over her face, only to have him say, "well, that just happened."