//------------------------------// // Family War // Story: Mother And Son Adventures // by Inferno demon Dash //------------------------------// Armor Heart, a normal brown coated, and blue eyed earth pony mare, made to look the same as the other male guards in her squad under an illusion spell and her younger brother Bronze Heart, a blue furred, brown eyed unicorn with the same powerful illusion spell yawned loudly as her brother sighed heavily, clearly bored out of their minds. They stood in silence as they held their long, sharp spears in their hooves and watched carefully for anything that could disrupt the flow of the boring routine, but were on careful alert if their charge, Prince Spike the dragon needed anything. He was visiting his family from Ponyville for three days before going back to his older sister, Princess Twilight Sparkle and was fortunate that his cousins, Prince Blueblood and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza as well as her husband, Prince Shining Armor was taking a long needed break as Sunburst, the Royal Crystaller was watching over Spike's first cousin, Princess Flurry Heart. Spike had been in his room doing what they suspected was nothing but reading his comic books, awaiting dinner and they didn't wish to disturb him under any circumstance unless they had to as they both sighed and tried to keep from falling asleep. All of the sudden, Spike's door to his royal chambers opened, making them stand at attention with a crisp salute before they turned and saw Spike holding two rather large squirt guns in his claws, passing one to each of them as they stared at them in confusion, placing their spears on the ground before Spike ran back into his room and held two miniature water crossbows in each claw as he looked at them and gave a predatory grin. "You two want to have some fun?" He asked with a rather cruel chuckle as they glanced at each other, smiled and nodded. This was going to be fun. They should have argued to their prince that what they were about to do could very well border on treason, that they could be strip of their positions or even kicked off the Royal Guard indefinitely or worse imprisoned but they knew in the back of their minds that Spike would protect them if it came down to that. And he was smart, quickly telling them that he would deal the final blow to his cousins, aunt and even his own mother so that they wouldn't get in trouble...besides, technically they were following orders, sure it might have been the orders of a thirteen year old but he was still a member of the royal family. It was of little comfort to Bronze Heart who nervously held his water gun in his magic as he followed closely behind the little dragon who was stealthy moving along the walls, trying not to get detected, ignoring the small drips of water from not tightening the little caps that held the liquid in the guns as it fell to the carpet, a sinister smile on Spike's face as he pressed his back to the stone and slowly peered an eye over the corner that lead to Cadance's room. Bronze Heart looked behind him to his sister who had the regular stoic face of the guards but could tell by her eyes and the way she professionally held the gun in her hooves that she was taking this way too seriously, just like their young prince. "I don't get paid enough for this." The stallion thought to himself with a scowl and shake of his head before Spike signaled them closer to him which they obeyed without question. Like their brother and sisters in arms, two stallion guards known as Line Streak and Stone Spear watched for any intruders or call from the Princess, Line Streak let out a yawn as Stone Spear rolled his eyes, neither noticing the young drake who pressed his back against the wall and ordered his guards closer to him. "Neutralize them." Spike whispered in a tone that left no argument and was deadly serious as Armor Heart saluted as though she had just been ordered to take out a king from a neighboring country and had no issue or guilt whatsoever for following orders making Bronze Heart swallowed the saliva in his throat at Spike's questioning stare before hesitantly following his sister's movement and cast an invisibility spell over himself before slowly moving over to the other side of the hallway, being very careful not to get noticed and pressing his back to the stone behind him, trying to control his breathing and thundering heart rate. He was so going to get fired for this. With the expert precision of a marksmare, Armor Heart lowered her water gun in her hooves, taking account for the weight and accuracy and silently pressed the trigger as a stream of water  blasted Stone Spear in the chest, catching him by complete surprise and his partner nearly shouting out for reinforcements that they were under attack before feeling the barrel of a plastic toy under his chin as Bronze Heart dropped his invisibility spell, giving him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, orders from Prince Spike, you two are down. Don't move and slowly open the door to Princess Mi Amora Cadenza chamber, we'll explain everything at dinner after it's all over." Armor Heart spoke in a cold, calculating whisper as she walked calmly towards them and pressed the barrel into Stone Spear's chest forcing him to nod slowly, terrified of the mare before him while Bronze Heart gave the signal to their prince. Spike carefully stepped towards them, his crossbows held in his claws as Cadance's door open without a sound and he slipped in unnoticed while the four guards awaited to hear what would happen in the coming minutes. Cadance's ears perked up swearing she heard something as she looked behind her to see the door to her room open and close just as fast as it opened, narrowing her eyes to see if something had entered into her space and even into the shadows seeing nothing, not noticing her cousin who had his eyes tightly closed and was masterfully controlling his breathing while Cadance stood up from her desk, her magazine on all the latest fashions in Equestria forgotten as she walked to see if any of the guards posted by her door had noticed the disturbance. When she opened the doors leading to her old room, she was shocked to see her aunt Celestia's guards aiming plastic toy water guns at the grown stallions, one of them acting as though she was staring down an enemy of Equestria and the other looking ashamed at what he was doing but not moving from his spot. She was just about to question in anger what was going on before she felt a familiar weight on her back, twin barrels aimed at the back of her head and what she hoped was water pelting her fur slowly as she growled, her eyes narrowing. "Spike the dragon if you mess up my mane, I will throw you out a window, punishment be damned. It took me hours to finally get all the gunk spewed from my daughter out of it." She spat slowly, almost venomously at her cousin as Spike pondered her threat for a few seconds, seeing her horn light up making him smirk. Before he pressed the triggers and sprayed the back of her head and neck with two powerful jets of water. The screams of rage and disbelief followed by many, many things shattering, smashing and breaking along with a blood curling shriek caused all the soldiers present to flinch as Spike was violently thrown harshly into the carpeted floor out of her room causing all the guards to jump and freeze before the princess of the Crystal Empire stomped out and held her cousin in her magic, the look on her face making him stop smiling as Cadance was visibly panting, crushing him tighter in her magic. "Sometimes I bucking hate you and your childish antics, Spike! I wish you learned to grow up! You're not a little kid anymore." She screamed into his face before dropping him, turning around and stomping back into her room, closing her doors with an enormous boom as the drake very slowly got up, brushing the glass and dust off his scales, obviously trying to hide the hurtful words his cousin yelled at him as he picked up his crossbows, wiped the corner of his eyes and looked at his guards with a shaken, nervous smile and thumbs up. "C-commander neutralize. L-let's continue on to the next, soldier's." Spike ordered in a hesitant, uncertain voice that made it clear to all present that the young drake was trying to be strong and keep his sense of fun and adventure as all even Armor Heart looked at him remorsefully. "My lord, maybe it's best if-" "Please?" Spike begged, cutting off Line Streak's voice of reason as both Armor Heart and Bronze Heart glanced at each other in worry and heartache for the kid before sighing loudly and saluting their prince. "One Commander neutralized, Prince Spike. Orders?" They both asked simultaneously seeing Spike's eyes shine once more as he visibly fist pumped before clearing his throat, trying to act professional and failing to let out a giggle seeing how dedicated his soldiers were, at least in his eyes. "Right, next we deal with Commander Blueblood, follow me." He commanded with a small cheer and rushing down the hallway, forgetting his earlier stealth approach as Cadance's guards looked at Spike's own with a small, amused smile. "He's a good kid. Hopefully you'll both get a raise or even a promotion for keeping him happy. If you don't get fired that is." Stone Spear commented making Armor Heart roll her eyes as her brother chuckled nervously and follow their charge. Spike would have nearly been spotted by the guards protecting Blueblood if Bronze Heart hadn't pulled him back at the last second, giving the unicorn a smile in thanks as he nodded his head, Spike once more looked carefully over the corner and didn't see any guards posted, confusing him. "Where is everypony?" He asked out loud as Armor Heart quickly reminded the dragon that his cousin was attending a dinner party with Fancy Pants, Fleur Dis Lee, Photo Finish and Sapphire Shores among others that Spike didn't bother to remember the names of as he nodded sadly, being certain that Blueblood might have actually wanted to join him in his fun unlike Cadance before sighing loudly, his water crossbows at his sides. "Oh, well then maybe next time. I guess we are moving on to the Warmares." He spoke confidently obviously speaking of his aunt and mother, respectively making both of the highly trained ponies next to him glance at each other in fear, it was one thing to mess with Spike's cousins, but the rulers of Equestria themselves might have been stretching it. Still, they resolved to help cheer the little drake up from the harsh words that Cadance had spoken and as long as they didn't attack the Princesses themselves, there would be no real repercussions...they sincerely hoped. The thestral guards were posted earlier then usual, Spike suspected this was because his aunt Luna was being cautious and didn't want to be caught off guard by Chrysalis with the warped queen still being unaccounted for and the bat ponies, as they were also known as were extremely shape eyed and nocturnal, making them perfect for dealing with unsuspecting visitors, they had other talents that Luna explained she would tell her nephew when he was older so he didn't pay much attention to it for now, but it did pose a problem. Bat ponies were easily able to see pass invisibly spells and were much more agile and combat trained than half of his mother's regular posted guards, he wanted his guards to have fun and at the same time he wanted to take out his aunt quickly. Tapping his chin with one of his water crossbows he pondered a way to take out his aunt's soldiers quickly and effectively as though he was a professional military strategist before throwing caution to the wind, he was still a kid and dinner was going to be done soon after all. "For Equestria!" He bellowed as he dived into a roll and swiftly aiming his water crossbows at the assailants who barely had time to stare in shock, let alone block the water with their wings he blasted them with a gentle yet firm spray of water and frowned, wings counted as shields and since he didn't hit any other part of their body, his attack failed. They lowered their wings, annoyance clearly on their faces about to speak rather harshly to the young prince before they were caught off guard and blasted directly in the face by Spike's loyal two twined army who swiftly crossed over to them and speaking that they were down and to not speak a word while opening the door for the drake. Rather harsh whispering could be heard from Luna's guards and telling Spike's own that it would not be wise to wake the Princess from her sleep as the four argued back in forth, none of them spotting the lone dragon who slowly opened the door and peered inside with a evil smirk on his face. He had arrived at one of the warmares base of operations, her room a bit too dark to get a clear vision of before his eyes adjusted and immediately went into his natural night vision, seeing the layout of the room perfectly and even more so the sleeping mare lying underneath the covers as he tiptoed very slowly to the bed, as he hopped up, making sure both his crossbows were in this claws he had a dark grin donned on his face as he moved like a snail to the lone pony in the room. Her royal attire was gone and she was facing him, obviously in a very deep sleep making him have a twinge of guilt before shoving it to the back of his mind, he would no doubt get in so much trouble for this later but this was war and he had to do what was necessary. He brought a single crossbow up and pointed right between her eyes, ignoring the whispering of one of her guards trying to get his attention as he focused on the task at claw, his finger on the trigger and an almost psychotic grin on his face as he lightly pressed down, the fabled Alicorn of the Night was going down even if it was a cheap tactic. "Spike the dragon if you spray me, you'll be grounded for a month." Luna muttered in a very tired voice causing him to freeze, right from the final stretch, his mouth hung open in shock as he considered his options, he had to take her down, it was an extremely important milestone to his game and yet, he really didn't want to be grounded. "Let me sleep Spike, we'll play when you are asleep yourself, nephew, I promise." She sighed loudly before turning over and drifting back to her realm as Spike gulped the saliva down his throat at how she even knew about his presence when she didn't even open her eyes. It's official, Aunt Luna was truly terrifying sometimes. "Nope, totally not worth it." Spike thought as he turned around completely and hopped off the bed, careful not to make a sound as he walked through the doors and turning around, closing them himself before he faced the four guards, they looked completely surprised and on edge seeing Spike's look of terror as he didn't even bother acknowledging them and simply walked towards the throne room, part of him losing the will to finish his game even with his aunt's promise to play with him when he went to sleep. Saluting the bat ponies, since nearly all of Celestia's guards had a great deal of respect for them and promising to buy them both a mug of hard cider on them, Armor Heart and Bronze Heart trotted after their charge, giving her toy to her brother since it hurt to walk on three hooves with it for him to carry in his magic as he rolled his eyes but didn't complain as they caught up to Spike who merely glanced up at the guards blocking his mother's throne room. Spike didn't even bother being silent or spraying them as they looked at him, all the older ponies could tell he was getting tired and wasn't as excited as he used to be as he asked Bronze Heart if he could perform a powerful invisible spell over them who nodded, lit his horn then cloaked them in the best spell he could before the guards snickered loudly then opened the door without a word. ****************************************************************************************************** Princess Celestia, the Alicorn of the sun, the Solar Mare, the Harbinger of Light, the co-ruler of Equestria and the adopted mother of one Spike the dragon was tired, it had been a long Day Court with listening to the pleads of nobles and those lucky enough to gain an audience with her. She had allowed all into her count with the proper respect and listened to their woes or air their grievances with a comforting ear, she was patient and kind, it was a rare thing for her patience to be tested and yet it happened on certain occasions. She still had many documents that needed to be dealt with and even more that needed to be looked over with a careful eye and judged accordingly, but that could wait until after dinner which she was exciting to admit to herself was happening with her family. She felt a burst of pride over the accomplishments so many of her family members achieved and could not deny that she was giddy to eat alongside them all so long after being apart for some time, barring Luna due to her night time duties of course and Flurry Heart and Twilight Sparkle because they were still in the Crystal Empire and Ponyville, respectfully. The foal being taking care of under the watchful eye of Sunburst and her niece's royal guards, plus Starlight Glimmer who was visiting her dear friend and Twilight was busy with her own duties in Ponyville and was working with Zecora, a well known Zebra shamare to learn more about the history of Zebrica, but that was ok, at least Twilight Velvet and Night Light were joining them. It was better than just being Celestia and Luna eating by themselves again and that was all Celestia could hope for. As Celestia let out a loud, visible yawn in boredom, hoping for the Day Court to end already so she could eat and her royal advisor, Bella Script went to check on the status of dinner and the rest of the family Celestia looked over her large throne room and could swear she saw a near invisible shift near the door as they opened, her eyes narrowing to concentrate with a faint glow of her magic aura as her eyes instantly spotted the three members attempting to sneak into the large area undetected. Gritting her teeth together to keep from giggling and to not give away the three intruders presence she made a mental note to have all the Solar Guards be re educated in invisibly spells and other forms of powerful magic as she watched with a small smile as the guards protecting Spike very carefully moved with the grace of a professional assassin to her guards near the entrance as she had to hold herself back from letting out a squeal of glee at the adorable drake crawling on all four as he slowly positioned himself to the guards near her throne as she waited with bated breath as he lifted his twin crossbows to the unsuspecting male's chest. "Now!" Spike ordered with a sharp scream as his guards didn't hesitate to fire their toys at the two guards in front of them, being blasted with ice cold water as they screamed in shock and nearly ran their spears through their comrades. The ones near Celestia's throne jumping in surprise from the sudden voice before them and were quickly doused with water from the pinpoint accuracy of their prince, not even lifting their spears as they suddenly saw the spell removed in front of their eyes and Spike quickly aiming his weapons straight to his mother who smirked as she unfurled her wings and lifted into the air with an elegant dodge of a barrel roll. She was faster then he gave her credit for, as he snarled and opened fire at the one thousand year old mare who was quick to maneuver out of the way and take cover behind a pillar making her giggle. "My, my, little scales. That was a rather impressive tactic. I'll have to remember to have you properly trained in the Royal Guards when you are older. But don't you know it's rude to get a mare's mane wet. Haven't I taught you to show more class to a lady, Spike?" Celestia teased as she looked to the front entrance and quickly grabbed both of the water guns that Spike's guards held in their hooves and magic, respectfully in a strong glow of her own magic who didn't even bother resisting and spraying them both who dropped to the ground without a sound as she held them up and blindly shot at the young drake who had to roll to dodge missing the liquid by inches before he copied her and slammed his back into his own pillar on the other side of the room. "Yeah mom, you did. But you also taught me that it was important to catch your enemy by surprise, had to get the jump on you somehow, didn't I?" Spike shouted back with a grin, he had a feeling his mother would be up for some fun after the long day she had as he quickly looked passed the pillar and shot at where he thought she was as he laughed, causing her to giggle. "So I did. I'm a bit surprised Blueblood or Cadance didn't follow you, being the awe inspiring dragon that defeated King Sombra himself. I was sure you would have taken over half my guards by now to reach them." She chuckled with a soft hearted tone as she swiftly turned in the air and with a powerful flap of her wings, sailed over to the next pillar and firing six shots at the stone where she swear she saw Spike dash to as the drake cowered, nervous and analyzing just when and how to get a shot off to take her down. "Blueblood is at a party and Cadance...doesn't want to play." Spike answered quickly, not wanting to elaborate on the matter making Celestia frown hearing a sad tone that he tried to cover up with a quick peek out and firing three shots which he missed by a mile, not even being aware that she moved. "Spike, what's wrong?" She asked, hearing with her sharp ears as he gave a growl and tried to play it off and roll from the pillar he hid behind, firing more shots than he meant at all three large stones, not releasing his water level was getting dangerously low. "Nothing, it's just...none of the family wants to play anymore." He answered as he slid quickly to the next pillar, barely dodging as Celestia shot back at him. "If it's not ruling the country, or looking over Flurry Heart, attending parties or catering to so many other ponies and other races, it's always something else. We barely see each other as a family unless it's a holiday or important event for Equestria. Everything is changing so fast and I...I just want things to go back to how they used to be." He screamed out loud, taking his frustration out on each of the three pillars in front of him, wanting to get at least one hit in as Celestia frowned and felt her ears drop in shame. "You mean before your Aunt Luna, or your cousin Flurry Heart? Before your sister became an Alicorn or the Crystal Empire came back and worshipped you as a hero?" She asked slowly as Spike had to keep his tears at bay, his voice choking up as he swallowed the saliva in his throat before replying in a small voice that Celestia barely heard in the silence of the throne room. "I...I didn't mean it like that. I just thought that maybe-" "Spike, with time comes change. You know this. Just because each of us, including yourself is given their own duties and responsibilities, does not mean we will never come together as a family. You know that all you need to do is sleep for your aunt to come to you and talk with her. To send a letter to your cousins and come to Canterlot and the Crystal Empire to be with them and hear what is going on in their lives. And you know that simply need to write to me and ask if you ever want to see me, this castle will always be your home, Spike the dragon. You'll never be turned away." Celestia spoke to him loudly, she didn't see Spike's face as tears fell from his eyes as he wiped them away quickly before she continued, neither one noticing the nods that the guards gave at her words. "Plus you have many, many friends in Canterlot, Ponyville, the Dragonlands and among the Changeling Kingdom. You're never alone Spike because you chose to allow your caring, friendly nature to accept all who will listen to you, regardless of race or what they have done in the past. I'm sure even though none of us can do this water fight completely with our busy schedules that your friends in Ponyville and maybe even King Thorax and his species would relish the challenge and it would bring ponies and Changelings closer together if you tried." Celestia finished with a smile to herself as Spike's mood immediately picked up on the idea. That sounded like an amazing idea, with permission from their parents, guardians and his old friend, they could have a fight that would last for hours, if not a day or two, he could already see grown adults like Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Discord joining in the fight, along with an enormous campfire and roasting marshmallows and telling stories, if he was lucky he might even get to spend some one on one time with Sweetie Belle. With a blush he giggled to himself at the thought before smiling and remembering he still had to finish his game with his mom and eat dinner before getting that huge idea ready, knowing that a lot of time and preparation had to follow, not to mention that his friends had to have the day off before everything could go off without a hitch, more or less...with Discord though it was sure to be insane. Spike quickly rolled onto the next pillar as he shot two squirts of water at Celestia's tail who dodged at the last second making him frown before he heard a sudden rush of air as he looked up and saw in horror in shock his own mother above him, aiming his crossbows quickly as he fired and she quickly blocked with her wings before descending to the ground as he tried to give his best intimidating impression and with no other choice pulled the triggers at the mare before him. Only to find that the jets of water that normally came forth released a very small stream that didn't even make it an inch more to Celestia's coat as she stood in front of him, dying down rather quickly as he realized in shame and humiliation that he, as hard as he tired had lost as he dropped to his knees in defeat, awaiting his punishment as he closed his eyes and felt the barrel of one of her water guns pressed against his forehead as he waited for it to end. And waited. But it never came, and despite a drop of water dripping on his snout, the toy was removed and replaced by a gentle, motherly kiss as Celestia wrapped both her hooves and wings around him, nuzzling his left cheek as she bent down making them both smile and laugh. "That was the most fun I had since I was a filly with Luna. Thank you, Spike." She spoke sincerely making the young reptile grin and blush in embarrassment. "Thank you for going along with it, mom. I'd thought you be too busy to be honest." He replied as she kissed his forehead again. "I'll always have time for you, Spike. Remember that. Now come I'm sure-" "What in Tartarus is going on here?!" A loud, screech of rage interrupted as both mother and son looked from behind the pillar they were behind to see a shocked and bewildered Shining Armor staring at his former guards all completely wet and chuckling to themselves as Spike and Celestia smiled at each other right before Spike's stomach growled loudly making him hold his head in his claws as Celestia let out a full bellied laugh. They walked to meet both Shining Armor and Bella Script who had come with a letter addressed to Spike from Cadance apologizing for her behavior and saying she would speak to him more at dinner as Celestia rested both her wings on the back of Spike and Shining, the dragon going into elaborate, exaggerated detail of his victory and ultimate defeat over his family making his older brother pay close attention with a smirk and making the Alicorn laugh loudly once again as they walked through the halls to the dining room. Celestia telling her advisor to give Spike's guards a raise for keeping her son company and complying with his orders without hesitation, just as any loyal soldier would as they saw Blueblood interacting with Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Cadance and a half awake Luna who wanted a snack before going back to bed. The co ruler of Equestria sighed softly and with a large smile on her face she looked at each of them in turn, glad to have such a loving and united, if not crazy family but she knew that even with everything they would go through in the future, blood or not. They were family.