//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Where the Heart Is // Story: The Changelings Have a King // by Jade Ring //------------------------------// Canterlot Castle “PAPA!” Shining Armor laughed and swept the little unicorn up in his magic and hugged him close. “How’s my little soldier?” Moon Shadow snuggled into his father’s coat. “I haven’t seen you in forever! I missed you.” Shining Armor kissed his younger son’s dark mane and tightened their embrace. “I missed you too.” “We’ve all missed you.” Shining Armor smiled at the sound of his sister’s voice. “Twily! What’re you doing here?” Twilight crossed the throne room’s floor and made the embrace three ponies strong. “I just needed to talk to Celestia about something. It’s good to see you.” “You too.” Reminded of the reason for his visit, Shining Armor pulled away and craned his neck towards the door Twilight had just come from. “How are they?” “Stronger every hour.” Princess Celestia strode into the room and returned Shining Armor’s polite bow. Golden Haze, at her princess’ side, stiffened and gave her military mentor a salute. “Permission to join the hug, sir?” Shining Armor returned the salute and left the foreleg extended. “Permission granted, Captain. Get over here.” Golden Haze’s face broke into a wide smile and she happily joined in the ever-growing pony pile. Celestia warmly observed the happy assemblage and turned when she heard a series of heavy hoof-steps, almost as though they were weighed down. She watched as Flash Sentry, burdened by several heavy pieces of luggage, slowly made his way into the room. She giggled when he saw her and tried to muster a salute. She waved off the attempt. “And how have you been, Lieutenant Sentry?” “Right as rain, your majesty.” Flash tried to shift the luggage on his back to a more comfortable position. “At least I will be once I get these to the guest chambers.” There was a flash of light and a unicorn clad in a hooded learner’s cloak winked into existence beside him. “Let me help.” Her magic lifted the baggage from the pegasi’s back and flashed it away. Trixie lowered her hood and stared at Flash with salacious eyes. “Need help with anything else?” Flash Sentry grinned dumbly and looked over at his prince. “Orders, sir?” Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “You are dismissed, Lieutenant.” “Tha…” Another flash of magic and the two ponies were gone, only a discarded cloak and a pile of armor giving a hint that they had even been there at all. “And that’s the last I’m going to see of my escort for the rest of this trip.” Shining Armor dead-panned as the multi-pony hug finally pulled apart, Moon Shadow now held in his Aunt Twilight’s magic. “Leaving you open to attack.” A voice, ancient and young all at once, whispered into his ear. Shining Armor shivered at the tone in her words and turned to face her. “Luna.” “Shining Armor.” “Wife.” “Husband.” She rubbed the side of her face against his. “I’ve missed you terribly.” “And I, you.” He kissed her cheek. The three mares shared a knowing look. “Sister?” Celestia caught Luna’s eye and winked. “Should you really be up and about? You must still be very weak.” Matching her sister’s grin, Luna nodded slightly and put a hoof over her eyes. “Oh, I feel faint. It seems I must return to my bed…” Catching on quickly, Shining Armor forced a yawn. “I might join you, my dear. The train ride was very taxing.” “Awwwwwwww.” It was the disappointed moan of their dark coated son. “You two always go nap right after Papa gets here.” Shining Armor laughed and summoned the waiting paper from his saddle-bag. “Your cousin Morning Dew sent you this.” Moon Shadow’s pouting faded instantly as he took in the unrolled drawing. “Wow!” Twilight giggled and kneeled down to her nephew’s level. “Why don’t we go find a place for that in your room while your Mama and Papa go rest?” Moon Shadow started bounding towards his room but stopped after only a few steps. He turned and faced his father. “Papa?” “Yes?” “Can we play Oubilletes and Ogres later?” Shining Armor swelled with pride at his son’s request. “How long’s your character sheet now?” “This long!” Moon Shadow held his hooves apart as wide as he could. “That’s my boy.” Shining Armor whispered, earning a quiet giggle from his wife. “We’ll play just as soon as we wake up.” “Yay!” He was down the hall in a flash. But even the enthusiastic speed of his little hooves could not match the speed of his parents as they raced out of the room and up to Luna’s tower. ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Their bodies sated for the time being, the unicorn and the alicorn lay in each other’s embrace and discussed recent events. Luna reflected on what Shining Armor had just told her. “Do you really think she means it?” Shining Armor sighed. “I don’t know. I hope she does.” “Where would you live? Here? Or the Empire?” Shining Armor considered for a moment before gently kissing his wife’s horn. “What if we had our own castle? One an equal distance from both Canterlot and the Empire? Just you, me, Cadance, and the boys.” Luna pulled away with an incredulous look. “And live in constant fear of waking up to find her standing over me with a knife to my throat? No thank you.” “Luna…” The Princess of the Moon sighed heavily as she stood. “Forgive me. I know how hypocritical I must sound, being the other mare in this relationship.” “Believe me, I know how scary Cadance can be when she’s angry.” Shining Armor rolled over and stared at the tower’s domed ceiling. “But she’s not a monster.” “There’s always the chance. Should I just forget that she demanded my banishment? Custody of our son?” “Time heals all wounds, love. I’m sure she’ll apologize.” Luna gaped at him. “How can you be so flippant about this? How do you know this isn’t a trap of some kind? Some long gestating vengeance against me?” “I…” Shining Armor looked at his wife and raised an eyebrow. “You still feel guilty, don’t you?” “How could I not?” Luna began to pace the room. “How could you not? For Equestria’s sake, this is Busara all over again.” In what had become a reflexive action every time he heard the name of Luna’s past Zebra lover, gelded by his queen once his affair had been uncovered, Shining Armor crossed his legs with a wince. “Believe me, I’m sure that if Cadance was going to do something so drastic, she would have already. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if the thought had crossed her mind.” “HOW CAN YOU JOKE?” Luna rounded on him, her eyes blazing with inner light. “This is not some small lover’s quarrel anymore, Shining Armor. This has become very political. Cadance seceded from Equestria, threatened us with war… and now she’s suddenly open to the idea of reconciliation? Why? Why now?” “You don’t trust her.” “Of course I don’t trust her! She would be a fool to trust me!” “Luna…” “I took you from her.” Luna’s power faded and she stared at the floor. “It’s bad enough that I intruded upon your marriage, but I made myself at home. I… I ruined it. Because I was selfish.” “Luna.” “None of this would have happened if I hadn’t have fallen in love with you. None of this would have happened if you had just been one of the others. I ruined you… and you ruined me.” Shining Armor stared at her. “Do you regret any of this? Me? Us?” He paused. “Moon Shadow?” “…no.” He stood next to her and nuzzled her. “Yes, you ruined me. And I suppose I ruined you as well. We ruined each other. And we ruined Cadance.” He kissed her neck. “But when something’s ruined, you have to build something new in its place, don’t you?” Luna nodded, drawing closer to her beloved’s warmth. “Cadance is a smart pony, the smartest I’ve ever met… not counting my sister. Or you.” He added at the end when she cut her eyes at him. “She knows that all of us were foolish. She knows that it’s only by working together that we take this foolish arrangement and make it work.” She pressed herself against him. “And what will we build on these ruins that we have become?” “I already told you; a new castle.” Luna giggled. “A big castle?” “Enormous. The boys will each have a dozen rooms apiece to do with what they will. There’ll be enough guest rooms for every single pony in Canterlot. You and Cadance will have the most luxurious and sumptuous dwellings anypony could ever ask for.” “And just in which of your spouse’s abodes will you be spending your nights?” She asked, kissing along his neck. Shining Armor trembled as Luna found his most tender spot. “I’ll… I’ll just have to divide my nights evenly between you. Fair’s fair, after all.” “But there’s seven nights in a week. Even dividing equally, there’s still an extra day. Which of us gets you that night?” Shining Armor smirked. “I suppose we could have a joint bedroom. And one night a week we could…” “If you value your stallionhood, you won’t finish that sentence.” Shining Armor faced her with an embarrassed smile. “Just kidding.” Luna rolled her eyes. “Of course you were.” She started for the door, her magic lifting the hastily dropped pieces of her royal attire. “I’d recommend a bath before seeing our son.” She caught a glimpse of her disheveled reflection in her crown and chuckled. “The same might be said for me.” Shining Armor nipped playfully at her cutie mark. “That tub of yours still fit two?” Luna looked back at him with hooded eyes. “…Barely.” ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The Archives of Truth Even in the world of constant darkness that was now his sight, Brother Veritas could almost see the secret treasures that had been entrusted to him. The stallions who bore the name of Veritas were more than simple librarians. They were guardians in a way. Instead of guarding the princesses, they guarded truth. They guarded relics. Now, he supposed they would guard monsters. Before his blinding Brother Veritas had memorized every inch of the Archives, and that included the shelf that stood before him. The shelf held some of the most dangerous and powerful relics in all of Equestria. Here was the tiara of Comet the Comely, a simple maid who had created masking magic and imbued it in her family’s most ancient heirloom. Just down the shelf was the bell that had once adorned the mast of the Hydra, silent since her ship had sunk but rumor persisted that it would ring once again… to signal the end of the world. Nearby, though he had never actually seen the thing, was the Golden Apple, the last gift of the creature Discord that would imbue whoever ate from its flesh all the powers of Chaos. And on the shelf’s center… The eyeless pony reached out and rested his hoof against the surface of the glass vial. The tiny beast inside lunged at him, hissing uselessly in hunger and rage. Brother Veritas smiled. “Princess Celestia must see some purpose for you, creature. Otherwise she would have finished you completely. I wonder what that purpose might be.” The Smooze only hissed again. Brother Veritas touched his hoof to the bandages that now covered the gaping sockets where his eyes had once been. “We’re quite the pair, you and I; the ancient abomination and the blind librarian. Freaks in service to her majesty.” He turned and carefully made his way back to the center of the Archives. “But I suspect that even we freaks have a part to play in what is to come.”