Prologue
The harsh summer heat permeated the interior of Golden Oaks library, home of Princess Twilight Sparkle, her husband Spartan Shield, and their son, Gleaming Shield. Spartan's ancient Preecian armor, or what remained of it, lay in a locked steel chest upstairs. Twilight was feeding her son a bottle filled with her milk, smiling as the little foal suckled. Once she was done, she began burping him, causing the little tyke to let out a belch that would make Rainbow Dash jealous. Twilight giggled, "Well, it seems you inherited your dad's lungs" She nuzzled her foal, as the door opened, letting in the humid summer air.
In trotted Spartan Shield, mopping the sweat from his brow with a a piece of grey cloth. His bronze coat was matted with sweat and oil, his mane was unkempt, as usual, his barrel chest flexing. "Hello, my little Solar Mage." He teased, with a smirk, licking his wife on the cheek, "And my little soldier." His son babbled happily at Spartan, "How have the two of you been?" He sat down next to his wife, his bare body shone.
Twilight blushed at the tease, and the lick. Ever since she had known him, he had believed she was a Solar Mage, and that her nudity must have meant she was either a prostitute, or she gained her power from the sun. The truth was, Spartan was a member of the Solar Herd, or atleast he had some affinity to absorb mana from the sun. "We're doing fine dear. How did the training go?" She asked in return. For the past few months, Celestia had hired Spartan Shield to train the Royal Guard, "Whip them back into shape, the way only a Spartan Stalllion could", had been her exact words, which led to multiple lewd thoughts of her husband and several hundred stallions.
Since the trainer of the Night Guard, Bulwark, was currently in recovery after a carriage accident in Prance, Celestia, seeing that their still existed some tension between her sister, and the pony who was once one of her fiercest warriors, she proposed that he take over for Bulwark until he could return to active duty. It had taken much persuasion on Celestia's part, Twilight making love to him, and Pinkie's constant urging that he, begrudgingly, took the job, working alongside his descendant, Captain Aegis Shield.
Spartan cracked his back, fixing his mane, smiling slightly, "They are doing well, Twilight. Private Hawk Talon has learned not to urinate in his armor at the sight of a cardboard copy of an opponent," He chuckled, "And the troops have learned how to form a proper phalanx." He beamed with pride, "And your brother's wife is with foal." He grinned.
Twilight let the information process in her mind, before she squealed in delight, as did Gleaming, "I'm going to be an aunt!" She pranced, grinning like a madmare, her eyes shining, wings flapping about. "YESYESYESYES!" She chanted, hopping about like a filly who had just earned her Cutie Mark. Calming down, she kissed her husband deeply, "Love you." She giggled, laying Gleaming, who had begun to yawn, in his white oak crib, switching on the mobile with the flick of her right hoof, nuzzling him. "I can't believe we made him." Twilight pecked her husband on the cheek.
Spartan laid a well calloused hoof on the young Alicorn's shoulder, "Thankfully, when you screamed my name on the night of your coronation, it seemed the old legend that having intercourse with an Alicorn grants the one who did the deed immortality aswell." He smirked, causing his wife to blush beet red, and gently punch him in the shoulder, causing him to rub it and chuckle.
Spartan then looked around, noticing the silence, aside from the now grown Peewee, who was the apprentice to Philomena, Celestia's Phoenix, and Owlicious, who lay on his perch, reading a novel, cooing as he flipped the page with a wing tip, a faint smile on his beak. "Where is Spike?" He asked, usually Twilight's adopted little brother/son/assistant would be reading upstairs, or sorting our a shelf.
Twilight snickered behind her hoof, "Spike left a few hours ago with Rarity on a picnic. Celestia knows what they're doing now." Spike and Rarity had finally confessed their feelings for each other, and this was their third month as a couple. Rumors had been spreading that the two had already bucked, but Twilight rarely held rumors without a grain of salt. "I wonder when he's going to propose to her, he already picked out, and had me raise his allowance, so he could buy it, this nice pure gold ring, with three diamonds embedded in it in the shape of Rarity's Cutie Mark." She smiled, "So, since its such a wonderful morning, would you like to trot around Ponyville" Sparkler should be here-" The doorbell rung, "Now." She smiled, welcoming the teenage mare in. Sparkler had been adopted by the Whooves family two years ago, and had been living with The Doctor, Derpy, her daughter Dinky, and her sister Ditzy ever since as Derpy's second daughter.
"Thank you Twilight, you've placed little Gleaming in good hooves, I hope you don't mind if Dinks tagged along." Sparkler smiled, as the intelligent, curios, ten-and-a-half year old filly popped out from behind her sister, and waved.
"Not at all, I know Dinky can care for Gleaming as well as you, with the magical tutoring I've give her." Twilight smiled proudly at the filly, a hoof on her chest, "How's the Academy treating you Dinky?" She asked her apprentice.
Dinky grinned, "It's amazing Pr-er, Twilight, the ponies there are so nice, Pip brought me these amazing flowers and-" She swooned, falling on her sisters back with a grin that spread from ear to ear. Both Sparkler and Twilight chuckled.
Twilight levitated the keys to Sparkler, "We'll be back around ten, maybe twelve at the latest." She and Spartan stood outside the library now, "I left a checklist on the fridge for you, make sure Gleamey's in bed by six, but no later than seven. Bye." She waved, as Sparkler and Dinky trotted inside. "Well, let's go have fun." She took her husband's right foreleg in her left, and trotted beside him, humming.
Meanwhile, in the Sparkle-Shield Household......
Sparkler grinned, as she and Dinky were encased in dark blue fire, and their skin peeled away, revealing Changeling, but, they were different. In place of their equivalent of a Cutie Mark (Drones would use an Anonymity spell, in case one of their prisoners or their prisoners' families wanted revenge on them, making them look alike), there was a blue mark in the shape of a claw scar.
"I can't believe how easy it was to tie up those two foals, Mist Trotter." "Dinky" grinned, as she cast an image on the wall. The real Sparkler and Dinky had been trapped in their basement, Changeling excrement gluing them to the ground, cloth gags muffled their voices.
Mist Trotter dropped her disguise as well, "Indeed, Dusk Light, soon, with the power of "Princess" Sparkle's foal, and Spartan's Shield's Solder Herd blood running through his veins, we can fulfill the prophecy, Lord Double Cross The Impaler shall live again."
"We'll be heroes." Dusk grinned, as she and Mist resumed their disguises. They smirked as they stood over the sleeping Unicorn, horns glowing.