It was good to see the rain finally come to a stop.
The clouds were parting as the weather teams willed them, allowing the sun to return to the grounds of Canterlot Castle. More than a few guards who had been running drills in the training field seemed to visibly brighten along with the day’s sky, glad to see an end to the water droplets running down their armour.
They were promptly called back into attention by an aged thestral with a glare in his eyes and a twitching metallic wing.
“Come on, foals! This isn’t a picnic, get marching!”
“Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!”
Vladimir rolled his eyes, before then secretly allowing himself a smirk. In truth, he too was glad to see the downpour cease. Mud and gathering puddles made putting the recruits through their paces an even more tedious job than it usually was. And he would be seeing a whole lot more of them, as Princess Luna had requested…
Trust the younger generation to get all the fun assignments.
“You’re pouting,” a male voice said, the thestral turning to see an alabaster pegasus with a crimson mane trotting over to him, said younger generation’s golden armour being noticeably drier than Vladimir’s. “Doesn’t look good on you, old stallion.”
The Captain of the Lunar Guard raised an eyebrow. “Mind out, Valiant. Just because you’re Captain now doesn’t mean I can’t outpace you. And I don’t hide in the castle when it gets a bit wet.”
“Still old, though,” Valiant Snow joked, getting a deadpan look for his troubles. “Sorry, but Dad gave me the go-ahead to give you as much shit as I please.”
“Language.”
“Hypocrite.”
Vladimir laughed, conceding the point. He had indulged in that little taboo every now and then, hadn’t he?
The two stallions turned back towards the marching recruits. By and large, they seemed to be keeping in formation with one another, though each could note a few small imperfections that they would iron out in the days to come. But these ponies had a long way to go if they wanted to progress through the ranks of the Equestrian Royal Guard.
“How is the weapons training going with your lot?” Vladimir asked his counterpart.
“Well… With the classic equipment. Swords. Spears. Crossbows…” he recounted. “The new stuff? Those rifles? Bah, training is a nightmare.”
“We’re still working out the bugs,” Vlad pointed out. “Happens when the landscape of modern combat changes.”
“Sure, but these things sure pack more recoil than any crossbow I’ve ever seen,” Valiant mused. “Can’t deny the results, though.”
“I’m not so sure,” the thestral stated, flexing out the hidden blades in his limb actuator. “Call me old fashioned all you want, but I still prefer these beauties. They might be phasing out crossbows, but a good blade isn’t out of the running just yet.”
“I don’t know, the guys running the armoury think melee skirmishes are going to become secondary to ranged fights given time.”
“Yeah, and we’ll see how these new weapons fare in some actual actions. War and magic can always screw over what ponies think will happen,” the Captain of the Lunar Guard said. “Not that there’s been much of that since you have been in the Royal Guard, Valiant. Three and a half decades of harmony has been pretty good going.”
“Well, there was that time we were involved in rescuing the Princess of the Equestrian Hive from a timberwolf king,” Valiant noted.
“That was in Ponyville. Ponyville is always the exception.”
Valiant laughed. “True enough.”
The stallions returned to silence, each keeping an eye on the ponies gathered before them. A separate drill instructor switched up exercises; several recruits were clearly nearing their present limits, but still some boundaries to prod and poke.
The sound of blades slicing the air caused their ears to twitch, the two Captains of the Royal Guard glancing up in time to see the unmistakable profile of an EUP helicopter passing overhead. The side doors were closed, shielding the occupants from view. Neither was certain where it was going, though it appeared to be heading eastwards. Manehatten, perhaps?
Though, seeing the flying machine caused Vladimir to turn back to Valiant with a knowing look.
“You’ll be on a journey of your own soon enough,” the bat pony commented. “First time out of Equestria?”
“Yeah, and to a place nopony has returned from no less,” he dryly remarked. “Well, it’s a good thing we’re going prepared. The HMS Clover the Clever is going to ferry us across from Vanhoover.”
“Apt name.”
“I think it was the Princess’ idea of being poetic.”
“What kind of ship is this ride of yours then?”
“Standard cruiser. Single helicopter parked on deck, main gun located at the fore, a few smaller batteries located along the starboard and port,” Valiant recalled. “We were thinking of a zeppelin early, quicker travel time and just as many guns.”
“Yes, either would be a good option,” Vladimir mused. “Though, we lost plenty of each back during the war with Immortalis.”
“Then it’s good we’ve upgraded,” Valiant commented back. “It was Queen Twilight Sparkle who suggested a sea vessel instead of going by air. A zeppelin would need to return to Equestria before long, but a naval ship can remain by the coast for a longer period.”
“Providing both a home base for the expedition and quick transport if need be,” Vladimir surmised. “Makes sense. I’d expect nothing less.”
“It’s been a hectic time getting all of this ready, even with but a week left,” the pegasus recollected. “But hopefully, if all is to plan, the drones from the Equestria Hive should meet us here before we depart for Vanhoover. Our supplies should have been loaded up onto the Clover by the time we arrive.”
“Knowing the Queen’s fondness for organisation, I imagine things will be fine,” Valiant’s counterpart noted. “So long as you keep your wits about you.”
“Dad would kick my flank if I didn’t.”
“Broad Sword always did like to lead by example.”
Valiant chuckled. “True. But being a hard ass never worked on Mum.”
“Because your mother is also a hard ass, so no pressure on living up to their legacy or anything.”
“Thanks, Vlad. Greatly appreciate the confidence,” Valiant uttered in bemusement. “Well, I suppose I had better leave you to these greenhorns. I’ve got reports to write and there is still a lot of work to do in the final week.”
“No rest, hm?”
“I have to finalise the supply manifest with the Queen,” Valiant informed him. “…Or a delegate, if she’s distracted.”
Vladimir hummed. Who hadn’t heard about the recent passing of a certain two ponies of infamous connection to the Changeling Queen? A tragic state of affairs, and one that led more than a few to worry about the mindset of the royal changeling.
And for Vladimir, for the same reasons so too did he worry about an old friend…
The Crystal Empire
The crystalline city amidst the Frozen North shimmered and shined beneath Celestia’s sun, the crystal ponies and other such inhabitants going about their lives business as usual. The love of the Crystal Heart could be felt in the air by each of them, the artefact in question idly spinning beneath the breathtaking palace at the centre of the ancient city.
There too did life continue as normal. Staff and guardsponies alike roamed the halls of the palace, doing their duties with the promise of pay, loved ones and a warm bed waiting for them at the end of a hard day’s work.
And yet, almost all of them were unaware of a certain dourness roaming the halls of the castle. A feeling of despair and loss caused by a simple message so recently received.
It was one that Prince Shining Armor knew, though. After all, he was the primary source. He had been the first to know the news about his parents, the middle-aged stallion then being forced to inform the rest of his family about the tragedy. Even after all the conflicts and family drama he had suffered in the past, from discovering his adopted sister’s background all the way to the Battle of Canterlot, telling his daughter that her grandparents were dead was easily one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do.
She was an adult. She’d kept herself remarkably composed and understanding for the sake of her father and mother at the time, even though he could see the pain in her eyes as clear as day.
But even at her age, she was still his daughter. Not a minor Princess of Equestria through birth. Not an all-powerful alicorn.
Just his little filly.
Said filly was now nuzzling the side of his head gently, offering comfort as he paused in his attempts to pack a simple suitcase.
“We’ll be there soon, Father,” Flurry Heart said. “Don’t worry, it’ll be okay.”
Despite the sense of loss, he gave a small laugh. “I’m meant to tell you that, you know.”
She smiled. “That’s okay, I can say it for the both of us.”
“Don’t forget me,” Princess Cadance interjected, levitating out a plethora of items for the case. “We all loved them. We need to remember them together.”
“We know,” Shining responded softly. “but right now, I just want my little sister to be here with us.”
“Auntie Twilight will meet us in Canterlot, no doubt about it,” Flurry Heart pointed out. “It will be good to see her before she leaves on this huge expedition everypony is talking about.”
“Yeah, it will. I’d pictured it with our parents being there waiting for a home cooked meal, though…”
Shining Armor saw Cadance give him a sad smile from the corner of his vision, his wife coming to sit by him on the opposite side to their daughter. She very quickly joined in the embrace, also having the effect of essentially wrapping Shining in the comfort of their ethereal manes. He had to admit to feeling more than a little better for it, but it didn’t entirely wipe away the void he was feeling the wake of his parents’ deaths.
But soon they would be in Canterlot for the funeral. He would see his sister again; he would see his friends from the guard there too. He could imagine a subdued worry from Broad Sword and Vladimir Vespertillio, and even from the likes of Scarlet and Valiant. He had no doubt that the news had spread to them by now, and it was the nature of friends to worry for one another during such troubling times.
Meeting up with those old fools, hitting up a bar… It would be a little like old times, even with the unfortunate undertone of it all. He hadn’t seen Broad Sword since his retirement, nor any of the others now that he considered it.
Returning to Canterlot was going to be a whirlwind of emotions, that much he could feel.
“Alright…” he finally said, reluctantly, pulling away from his wife and daughter. “We really need to get everything ready. If I know Twilight, and I do, she’ll be leaving before dark. So you need to finish packing, I want to be on the Crystal Express as soon as we can.”
“Hey, slow down,” Cadance said. “There’s no rush.”
He sighed. “I know. But we need to be there, not here.”
“I do kinda agree with Dad,” Flurry Heart supported. “I couldn’t stand another minute being here with all that is going on.”
Cadance bit her lip, but she seemed to nevertheless relent. “Okay, you have a point. I’ll need to find somepony to delegate our tasks too…”
“And on short notice…” Flurry mused with a wince.
“All of this was too sudden,” Cadance lamented. “I’m… not sure it’s truly sunk in yet. Not for me, at least. I don’t think it will until we’re there.”
Shining’s eyes fell, though he received one last nuzzle from his wife. He gave her a grateful look as she returned with one of sympathy, though she soon had to diverge as she started for the doorway leading out of their chambers.
“I’ll try to return as quickly as possible,” she promised. “If not, meet me at the station.
“Do you want some help arranging everything?” Flurry asked, before shooting her father a look of worry. “If you don’t need help here, that is.”
The Prince of the Crystal Empire gave her a nod of encouragement. “You old dad will be alright, sweetie. I can handle the packing; it’ll give me some time to clear my head. You two go on ahead, okay?”
Flurry Heart bit her lip, but she then gave a relenting nod.
With that, both alicorns departed from the room side by side. The elder draped a wing over her daughter as they went, comforting her for Flurry’s own barely hidden grief. Shining Armor watched them go with sad eyes, sighing once they were gone and returning to the open suitcase. His stress levels were through the roof, his advancing age certainly not helping matters.
But he needed to be in Canterlot yesterday. Not just because of his parents, but because he was still a big brother who knew just her temperamental his younger sibling could be. Especially with so much being placed on her shoulders with present events.
He pulled in a deep breath, letting it out in a manner replicating his wife’s famous calming technique.
He had to keep to together. Right now, his family all needed him to be strong, and he refused to let them down.