Fourteenth Principle:
Heroes help each other, it doesn’t matter if their methods differ
Ponies from all over of that small region at the east of Equestria have assisted to the ceremony. The solemn act where they would be separated from the Main Principality, to become a new one. The Geek Kingdom of all Comics.
Truth be told, no one was looking forward to be a part of a Principality with such ridiculous name, but, still they had to assist.
As for Flurry, she didn’t let that to bother her. She knew that she would be a good Ruler, and that was all that mattered.
But, the new Ruler had something that deeply impressed her people. For her new Residence, Princesses Celestia and Luna had lend her a small mansion they used for vacation. But, in least than a week, Flurry managed to turn it into a beautiful Castle twice as big as her parents’ and aunt Twilight’s.
That spoke really well about Flurry’s magic abilities, and everypony was deeply impressed.
Of course it was no magic. It was Bright’s construction team, but the other ponies didn’t have to know it.
The Ceremony was taking place at the Big Salon of Flurry’s new Castle. Princesses Luna, Celestia, Cadence and Twilight were ready with the Crown. That was going to be placed at Flurry’s head by her father, Prince Consort Shining Armor.
The crowd have gathered around a red carpet, ready to receive their new ruler.
Finally, the main crystal doors opened, letting pass her new Highness Flurry Heart, followed closely by her selected Royal Guard, the League of Heroes. Shadow Ninjutsu, Elementary, and Watt. Only Captain Awesome was missing, but, according to Flurry, he was really close.
Closing the cortege, there were a couple of strange soldiers. Their bodies were covered by a full-body armor, but, they look too slim to be wearing something. Also, their faces were a flat silver plate.
Celestia frowned at the sight of the soldiers, but didn’t say anything about it. Instead, she focused on the Ceremony. This supposed to happen a long ago, but, with Flurry hiding at her cousin’s lab, she had to consider a victory to even be able to perform this.
“Princess Geek of all Comics, Flurry Heart. Today, I, the main Monarch of Equestria, officially give you a piece of land for you to protect and take care of, so as the little ponies who live here. Tell me, Flurry Heart, are you ready to accept this responsibility?”
Flurry bowed before Celestia. “Yes, Princess Celestia. I, Flurry Heart, accept this responsibility over my land, and my little ponies. I assure you, as long as I’m here to take care of them, my ponies would never suffer from any need.”
Celestia smiled, pleased.
“Then, if there aren’t any objections, I name you a Princess. Princess Geek of all Comics.”
Luna, Cadence and Twilight bowed to Flurry. And, Shining approached to put a crown on his daughter’s head, and bowed as well. He held back a tear of joy, and winked an eye to her.
Flurry blushed, and smiled to her father.
Finally, Celestia bowed too, followed by the whole crowd.
Flurry Heart extended her wings, and released a bunch of sparks all over the place. It was done, she was officially a Princess.
Soon enough, the ceremony turned into a party. But it wasn’t too long. After a few hours, Flurry retired to have a private celebration with her closest friends, and family.
Cadence smiled, proud of her daughter. “Oh, look at my dear Flurry, a whole Princess now. And I also like what you did with the place.” she said, admiring the castle. “How could you do so much in so little time?”
Flurry shrugged. “Bright, of course. The new army he made me are also builders, and my servants.”
“So, you didn’t hire the company we suggested?” asked Shining.
“Hey, I don’t have to pay the machines.” explained Flurry Heart.
Twilight interrupted them. “So, here he is.” The last thing she heard from her son was that he asked for permission to skip school for a few days.
“Yes, here he is.” Assured Flurry. “Unlike others I know, I support my family.”
Luna frowned. “Very nice. You haven’t been an official Princess for long, and you already made a war crime by sheltering a wanted pony.”
“I believe in my cousin. If he says he didn’t do it, he didn’t do it.” said Flurry Heart. “Also, I’m returning the favor he did to me.”
“There’s a difference.” scolded Shining Armor. “He was hiding you from being grounded, bad, but not so much. You on the other hoof, are committing a war crime by hiding him.”
Flurry frowned. “Okay, fine, if you want to declare war on my small country because of this, go on. I have Bright’s full support, so you know I am going to win, right? Or do you think my mechanical army is the only weapon he built for me?”
The others gulped, and preferred to change the subject.
“Who wants sushi?!” offered Shadow Ninjutsu.
“Me!!” shouted Watt enthusiastically.
“Me too.” agreed Elementary. “Food is the fuel that keeps functioning the perfect work of machinery that is the body.”
“Me three. I love seeing you making sushi, and eating it too.” smiled Flurry.
Shadow Ninjutsu then created six shadow clones. The first one took a recipient with prepared rice. The second one a package of Nori Seaweed. The third one a bunch of cucumbers that he began to cut with his katana. The fourth one a brick of cream cheese, the fifth one started to cut carrots with kunais, and covered them with wasabi before they landed. The sixth clone rolled the ingredients together, and, finally, the original Shadow Ninjutsu skillfully cut them in symmetric portions, and served them with soy and ponzu sauce.
“Impressive…” said Shining Armor.
“Please, help yourselves.” offered the ninja-themed hero.
They sat and began to eat, and chat happily.
Flurry then stretched her forehooves happily. “You know what goes great with sushi?”
“Sake?” asked Watt. “But, didn’t we agree that we will wait until your parents leave?”
Cadence frowned at this, but Flurry shook her head, and called one of her mechanical servants/soldiers. The machine brought a few bags of chips, pretzels, dips, and even a few gummy bears.
Then, she pulled out a deck of cards.
“Who’s up for a Po-Ny-Oh! Tournament? I brought all the supplies.” smiled the young Princess.
“Now we’re talking!” said Watt, preparing his own deck.
Elementary and Shadow Ninjutsu pulled out their own decks as well. They were up for a long match.
And, watching the Princess and her friends getting ready for a game, the adults quietly decided to leave them alone. At least Flurry seemed to be doing fine.
Seeing they were leaving, the new mechanical guard approached, and made appear shining arrows on their metal-plate heads, showing them the way out.
“Well, at least we know that Flurry would be doing fine.” sighed Twilight, a bit depressed.
“Why are you so sure?” asked Princess Luna.
“First of all, her formation is excellent. Second, my son is giving her technical assistance. And her failures would be covered by Bright’s machinery.”
Celestia nodded, agreeing. “True, but, considering the circumstances, isn’t too much of a relief.”
They left, as the new Princess and her Royal Guard continued with their game.
“I summon the Dark Unicorn in attack mode!”
“Not so fast, I have the Red-Eyed Black Centaur in attack mode too.”
“Ha-ha! You thought you had get rid of my Cyber Commander. But, I have the Monster Reborn Card.”
They were young adults now, but a geek would always be a geek.
“Thank you so much for accepting be my Royal Guard, guys!” smiled Flurry. “I know all of you have your own lives, your jobs. Your lives.”
“You know we will always be here for you.” said Sparkler. “Besides, thanks to the high-speed vehicles in the tunnels your cousin made, we can be in our homes and back in a minute. Maybe two.”
After a quick laugh, they continued playing. Almost all night.
But, they went to sleep at the especial rooms Flurry have prepared for them.
At the next day, after a relaxing breakfast, they went to the new headquarters of the Royal Guard. It was a big room, accommodated with conditioned air, several flat screens that showed them each corner of the new Kingdom. It consisted in three cities: Stalliongrado, Maredrid and Trottenaghe. And, if she demonstrated to do a good job, the other Princesses would let her rule over more territory.
One particular screen, in Stalliongrado, showed a group of thugs trying to extortionate a couple of merchants.
“I go first!” announced Light Spectra.
“Why you?”
“Because I defeated all of you with the Feathered Dragon of Ra!”
And, because the results in Po-Ny-Oh! were undebatable, they let him put on his Shadow Ninjutsu costume, and went into a especial underground train, created by Bright Spark. He jumped over a cart, and appeared at Trottenaghe’s penitentiary.
One of the first changes made under Flurry’s rule, was that the whole army and police force in the three cities were replaced by Bright’s mechanical soldiers.
“Attention please!” said Shadow Ninjutsu to the machines. “We have a situation in progress! I need three units!”
Three robots made a space forward, and, after scanning which hero was commanding them, they all generated a samurai armor and a katana.
“Okay, I must say that the Princess’ son knows what he’s doing. Let’s go!”
The warrior charged at full speed, followed closely by his three partners.
Shadow Ninjutsu looked back at his partners, and smiled behind his mask. As much as he knew, they were programmed to adapt to each hero’s fighting style.
“Oh, what the hay! Let’s prove it!”
He disappeared, ninja-style, and they followed.
The thugs were still advancing toward the merchants, who did their best to not angry their attackers.
“So, this is your final answer? We really don’t want any trouble, just give us the money and we’ll make sure you’re all protected. Don’t you want your families to pay the consequences, right?”
Suddenly, the three soldiers appeared, surrounding the thugs.
“Attention, you are under arrest. Drop your weapons and turn in without resistance.” said one, with its cold, mechanical voice.
The leader turned. “What is this, a performing group?”
“Negative, we are the Royal Guard.”
“Then, you should know that our people have a deal with the Royal Guard, and, if you don’t want any trouble with a superior, I highly recommend you to…”
The one in the center of the formation, took a step forward, and before the thug could do something, he was knocked down, and hit him with his katana. It was a dull blade, but it produced an electric current that finished the thug of.
The others pulled out a bunch of knives, and aimed to the robots. But they were disarmed by a bunch of shurikens, thrown by no other than Shadow Ninjutsu.
“What?”
The biggest thug was hit by a bo-staff, and he stumbled, astonished. But he didn’t surrender, and counterattacked the hero. Unfortunately for him, a machine made a step forward, and the thug was subdued by an electric shock from the katana.
“See? You are outmatched!” said the ninja hero.
The remaining thugs dropped their weapons, and kneeled down, surrendering to the machines.
“Fine, arrest us. We’ll be back on the streets in no time! We have a deal with the higher ranks!”
“Haven’t you heard?” asked Shadow Ninjutsu. “Under the new rule of Princess Flurry Heart, the entire Royal Guard is now ruled by machines. You cannot bribe a machine, dumbass!”
“Machines?”
“Eeyup, courtesy of Prince Spark.”
And, with that, Shadow Ninjutsu knocked him down with his bo-staff.
“Huh, it was easier than I thought. You guys are awesome!” smiled Shadow N to his robotic assistants.
Then, he returned to the Castle Headquarters.
“Hey guys, anything else for us to work with?” asked Light Spectra, taking his mask off.
“Yes, but Elementary is on the case!” answered Flurry.
They looked at the screen that showed a bank in Stalliongrado.
Light couldn’t help but chuckle by seeing at the forms the mechanical guard have taken. Each one of them had a bowler hat, a fake mustache and a monocle.
“Then, tell me comrrrrrrrade new captain of the Guarrrrrrd.” said the banker, with a heavily marked accent. “Who knocked me down, tied ourrrrr securrrrrity guarrrrds and stole the content of my vault?”
The detective superhero made a dramatic pose, by taking off his hat, and aimed a hoof to the banker. “Elementary, my dear banker. You did it!”
“What?! But comarrrrade! This is absurrrrrd, I am an honest bankerrrrr…”
“Oh, don’t play innocent my dear corrupt banker. I’ve been checking on the figures, during the last six years, you’ve making a fortune of ten million bits in embezzlements. But, after six years, you were about to be find out, so you organized this robbery with the local gangs so you can blame them for the lack of funds in the bank.
The banker gulped, and decided to run away, such as a couple of cashiers who were overhearing.
But, the robotic guards reacted fast, and soon enough, the three criminals were under stasis rays. Very much like the old-fashioned stasis spells, but these ones worked on electricity.
“You’ll regrrrrrret this, comrrrade!” said the corrupt banker. “I’ll buy something at the sherrrrrriff office!”
“You can try. New administration, buddy.”
Flurry chuckled. “It’s funny, is not even eleven and the mafias have already tried to bribe the robotic guards, who arrested them on the spot. I love technology.”
“By the way, where’s you cousin and his friend? We must thank them for this new army.” said Light Spectra.
“They left right after they finished the last touches to my new equipment.” sighed Flurry. “They said they didn’t want to miss more than a week of school.”
“Don’t they have college degrees already?” asked Light Spectra.
“Huh, whatever makes them happy.”
They laughed.
Lady Catrina’s Island:
The powerful Cat Sorceress was sitting on her throne, as her student and friend, Tirek, keep her company. They seemed calm, but they both knew it was a façade.
Rumors were coming from all over the world. It seemed like, after accidentally killing Grogar, the two lunatics have finally lost their minds. And now they were chasing down and exterminating all the enemies of Equestria.
Now, it was only a matter of time for the two ponies come to get them.
The main door opened, snapping Tirek and Catrina out of their daydream. A servant rushed in, bowing desperatedly. “Lady Catrina, Spark’s and Belle’s ships are approaching.”
The Cat Sorceress stood suddenly, paling. “No, no, please no…”
“Lady Catrina… I’ll be at your side!” said Tirek.
Catrina sighed. “Hey, Tirek.”
“Yes, Lady Catrina?” asked Tirek.
The Cat wrapped her arms around Tirek’s neck, and kissed him deeply. Tirek gasped in surprise, and she forced her tongue into his mouth.
That took Tirek off-guard, but he gladly accepted it. He had a crush on his teacher since his late teens, and always dreamed how would feel like to share a bed with her. Well, now he knew. After their fateful reencounter at Squirk’s bar, they had been sleeping together, enjoying each other’s bodies. And it was everything that Tirek ever dreamed, and more. Catrina was very skilled in the erotic arts, and was more than happy to teach her old student some new tricks.
But then, Tirek noticed something was wrong. A wave of dark magic came from Catrina’s lips, and ran all over Tirek’s body.
“Lady Catrina?” asked Tirek.
The Cat Sorceress seemed sad, , but it was just for half of a second. Immediately after, her expression turned into a twisted smirk.
“I have a plan to save myself, but I need someone to buy time for me. As much as possible. I’m terribly sorry, ‘my faithful student’, but this is goodbye for us.”
“But… I wanna be with you!” cried Tirek. “Please, I don’t want to face them alone!”
Catrina laughed at Tirek’s desperate cries.
“Sorry, but all the times I let you enjoy my body, do you think it was because you’re good looking? Or that I cared about you? No, it was because I knew I would need you. Stay here, buy me time. That’s an order!”
The weight of Catrina’s magic command forced Tirek to kneel, and wait.
“You betrayed me!”
“Of course I did. We’re villains, remember?”
She headed to a side door, and turned to Tirek to blow him a final kiss before disappearing.
Tirek grinded his teeth, trying to fight Catrina’s magic. But she took him off-guard, and, she had always been stronger than him. What Tirek could do was nothing but a poor imitation of Catrina’s power.
But her power also paled compared with the power of Lumi’s and Bright’s machines.
The main door opened, and the two most feared ponies in the world came inside the Throne Room.
“Tirek!” greeted Bright.
“I heard you had a Tartarus of a time banging your teacher. Is that true?” asked Luminositè. “Seulement par curiosité.”
Tirek cleared his tears, and charged his power on his horns. He was doomed, for sure. But, he won’t give up without a fight.
With a roar, he shot a powerful beam to Bright and Lumi, who received it like nothing.
“Are you done yet?” asked Bright.
Tirek grinded his teeth, and tried to smash the two ponies under his gigantic fists. They both stopped his attack with a single hoof.
“Please, listen Tirek.” said Bright. “We didn’t come to fight.”
“DIE!!” roared Tirek, charging his magic power on his two fists, and tried to punch them, and release an attack at the same tie.
The two of them received the attack, and, again, nothing happened. Their suits protected them from everything.
“Pal!” said Bright, threatening the centaur with a Tazer Gun. “We came in peace, really. But you are giving us no choice but zapping you if you continue like this.”
“You’re going to kill me anyway! But I won’t go without a fight!” said Tirek.
Patiently, Luminositè put a hoof on her forehead. “No, we’re not going to kill you. We haven’t killed anyone, on purpose, and we are not going to start now.”
Tirek stopped attacking, but he still watched carefully all of the ponies’ moves. “And what happened with the Storm King? Chrysalis? The moron of Crunch? YOU HAVE KILLED THEM ALL!”
“No, someone else, something else, is doing it.” said Bright. “Whatever that is, is trying to blame us, so our families turn against us. We can stop it, we know how to detect it and prevent it to take another life.”
“But, in order to do so,” said Luminositè, “we need to install a new piece of equipment in your lands. With it, we’ll be able to save you from this impersonator.”
“You want us to trust you?!” asked Tirek.
“No, we want you to know we’re going to install something in your lands. We don’t need your permission, since we can do whatever we want, but, we have the courtesy to tell you first. That’s it.”
Tirek sighed.
“Okay, you know what? I believe you. If you wanted to kill me, you’ve done it as soon as you entered here.”
“At least you understand that much.” said Luminositè, rolling her eyes.
“Yes I do.” said the centaur. “However, you may have some trouble explaining the situation to Lady Catrina. She just escaped, saying she have a plan to save herself from you. I don’t know what she did or where she is, since she cursed me to buy her as much time as I could.”
“Well, you can explain this to her when she’s back.” suggested Bright.
“You do it.” said Tirek.
“Fine, we’ll locate her for you, and explain the situation to her.” agreed Luminositè. She didn’t really cared. “Just tell us where she went.”
Tirek pointed a finger to the side door where Catrina escaped.
Bright and Lumi headed there, with their tracking devices ready, with Tirek following them closely. Finally they opened the door.
And, as soon as they opened the door, Tirek fell on his knees, looking at the horrifying sight in front of him.
Catrina’s lifeless body was hanging from a beam, with a thick rope firmly wrapped around her neck. Right below her body, there was the chair where she climbed to hang herself.
Tirek cried desperately.
Maybe she stabbed him on the back, but she was still his teacher, and he appreciated Catrina. She took Tirek under her wing after his father kicked him out of his home. She taught him everything he knew, including the art of devouring life-force from others.
And these last months they spent together would never erase from his memory.
“Lady Catrina…” sobbed Tirek.
But then, Bright interrupted him. The damn brat sounded like he was commenting the weather.
“For the record, this time we had nothing to do with it.”