The five mages lower the moon and raise the sun, illuminating the cloud covered winter sky. Ponies arise from their slumber to go about their morning, the Kings and Queens however feel rather uneasy about today. While their intentions are pure in stating that their empires should one day unite as one, opinions of a union between two different cultures are split, despite the crystal ponies being their allies, some fear that there may be negative consequences of enacting such a bold change. However, the four ponies that ponies glorify like deities must remain strong in their convictions, as both sides question whether their societies are ready for such a thing.
The nobles of both lands have gathered together for a big meeting in the grand congressional hall, a tall building lit by many torches and with rows of seats for the nobles. At the front of the hall are four thrones, one for each of the Kings and Queens. Normally there would only be two thrones but in light of the arrival of Diamond and Harmony, two more thrones were set out so that they could all sit. Around 10 AM the Canterlot knight detail that was ordered to guide everypony to their seats starts to file all the Equestrian and Crystal nobles into their designated seats, Crystal nobles on the left side and Equestrians on the right.
Many conversations are going on at once, some just being minor chatting while others are heated arguments about the winter that continues to plague the land, rumors of windigos being the cause of the cold, while others attempt to dispel the rumor as there is no hatred among the citizens of Equestria like there was with the ancient pony tribes. After some time a knight holds up his horn and blows on it to silence the crowd of nobles, after they quiet down he puts his horn away.
"We ask everypony to hold their questions and concerns until our Kings and Queens have addressed the nobility" he says as the door on the wall behind the four thrones open, out from the door comes their leaders. They each walk towards their designated throne and sits down, the nobles clapping their hooves for them and then silencing as they sit.
Diamond looks over at Helios and they both nod and look back at the crowd of ponies. Helios clears his throat and lowers his hoof "I understand that you all must be concerned with the statement we have made yesterday, while it may have been sudden, we have planned the course of events that are to transpire in the next few years."
Virgo nods in agreement "Yes, this is not something we intend to do within the immediate years, we want our subjects to grow closer together and form strong bonds, because we will stand far stronger together than we ever could apart, both in military standing, and in economics.
An equestrian noble raises their hoof and Helios nods for them to speak, "Your highness with all due respect, as much as we value our alliance with the Crystal ponies, I do not believe that our cultures would be able to mold together like you wish."
"Yes, while we may be sworn allies for what has been countless generations, we live in completely different ways, and i'm sure that the peasants will see this as well, some even believe that the alliance is unnecessary as we haven't faced a serious threat in a long time."
The statement makes a large portion of the ponies nod in agreement, another noble on the crystal side stands up to speak. "Yes your highness, while we have faced serious threats in the past that only one of our countries could not handle, during those times we would always help the other deal with that problem. We don't see the point in a permanent union, all it would mean is a dissolution of each of our cultures, which would make some ponies spiteful towards the other."
Diamond raises his hoof to make them all silent and she soon lowers it back down, "While we may have been able to deal with threats in the past, there is no telling what evils we could face in the future, so why not prepare for them in advance? What you said is true, however an enemy could strike with a swift motion that completely overwhelms one side, leaving the other vulnerable and unable to assist the other country. There is still a plethora of knowledge that we do not possess about the lands outside our borders, cultures we have yet to be exposed to, magic we have not seen, which means we will not know what comes next."
Helios nods "Yes other lands are bound to possess secrets, just as there are things about our home that others do not know, and we intend to keep it that way. As for a union of our lands, this will create a much more imposing force for enemies to reckon. Instead of facing two split countries, they will be fighting one united land that possess all the resources of the Crystal Empire and Equestria. The prospect of this will ward off potential foreign invaders, and possibly bring more opportunities to grow economically."
The statement causes silence and the nobility think about the idea of this, causing brief discussion about the logistics of the potential economical advantages of unification. Some still seem to be uncertain of this which makes Harmony smile, she raises her hoof and everyone silences.
"Rest assured my little ponies, this is not a change that will happen overnight, this is something we will work towards together, to pass onto the next generation. I understand that change is sometimes scary, but if given the chance, change can bring about something beautiful," she stats in a soft and elegant voice in a way that reminds many of them of their own mothers, soothing many of them in the process. Harmony then smiles and closes her eyes, signalling to Diamond to close the meeting.
"We are ready for any form of concern that you may have everypony, but you must trust us when we say it will be for the better. And to show that this bond will create a beautiful kinship between our lands, our heirs will be raised together, and through them we hope that our subjects will see that the union will be worth it. That is all for now, me and my fellow royals shall further discuss this matter, if we were not able to relieve your weariness to this, then please come and speak with us," Diamond then stands up with Harmony, Helios, and Virgo, everyone bows in respect as they leave the hall. The guards then start to dismiss different rows so as to not overflow the doors.
*****
Diamond walks ahead of the group a little as they make their way to a fireplace to relieve themselves of the chill of winter. Their hooves click on the cold marble floor and echo through the halls. He takes a deep breath and sighs "I swear sometimes they have no faith in our judgement, dealing with the nobility is by far my least favorite part of being royalty" Diamond states in slight frustration.
Virgo nods slowly and lets her wings relax a little at her sides, "Yes they are rather taxing... it seems like there is nothing that they wont gripe about."
Harmony giggles softly and cant help but agree with them partly, "I'd like to think that they are simply looking out for the well being of our subjects, however I know some are always out for themselves unfortunately." Harmony opens the door to the castle study and walks in with Diamond to have some quiet reading time. "Wont you join us?" she says to Virgo and Helios.
"I'm afraid i have some meetings to attend to regarding security for the coronation, the Canterlot Knights always need to have my input on things," Helios states in a slightly boastful manner, causing Diamond to roll his eyes and smirk.
"Alright we will see you later tonight for tea" Harmony says with a smile as she gives Virgo a hug.
"We'll be there" Virgo says back with a warm smile as they turn to leave, closing the door behind them with magic, leaving them to have some privacy.
Harmony sighs in relief as she returns to lay down, simple tasks like political discussions taking a lot out of her due to her pregnancy. She lays down next to Diamond and rests her head down to fall into a deep slumber. The sight of his beautiful queen sleeping so soundly on his hooves, it soothes his soul enough to bring him to a euphoric rest, enjoying the warmth of the fire as well as his partner.
*****
Helios walks out onto a castle balcony overlooking the mountainside that Canterlot rests on and sees that Iron Shield is already there overlooking the land.
"Late as always my old friend" he says as he looks back at him with a smile, a war scar going over his left eye, tarnishing the brown fur on his face.
"Well you are kind of hard to keep up with Iron, always there half an hour early. Unfortunately I actually have work to do" Helios snaps back with a confident smirk.
His remark brings out a hearty chuckle from Iron, "Right, because i'm not picking up the mess you make"
Helios rolls his eyes and walks up to the edge of the balcony "The coronation will be very soon, i anticipate that our foal as well as Harmony's will be born within the next few days. We must have a strong security detail of both equestrians and crystals, if ever there was a time for our enemies to strike it would be the Coronation, and we must be ready for it. There may not be an attack but we can't be sure."
Iron nods slowly and looks at a table with a simple map of Canterlot, "Since you four will be revealing your foals in the castle courtyard, there will be plenty of room for guests and VIP'S in the courtyard, as well as a banquet for everypony to enjoy, and our mages can keep a bubble around the area to keep the cold out temporarily. I know for certain that the foals would perish if they were to come in to contact with this winter right after being foaled." Iron points to the different strategic positions along the castle he has set for his Knights.
"Of course if we are to be fair, our knights must also be allowed time to celebrate with their friends and family, so we will cycle them out in shifts" Helios states firmly, wanting to make sure that all of his subjects get the chance to enjoy the festivities.
Iron nods slowly "I'm sure Starswirl would agree with you there, loyalty is all about keeping moral high after all" he says as he rolls up the map and puts it in his bag. "I will go over the plan with my subordinates during tonight's briefing, we will be on standby for when the royal families are ready for the coronation," Iron bows his head to pay his respect and walks to the exit of the balcony
Helios turns his head and watches him leave "I'm sure your wife will want you to be with her now that you two are parents, I will be overseeing everypony's safety, I already take you away from your family enough."
Iron stops in his tracks and sighs "I want to be there for my wife and son... my father was a knight as well and we barely got to spend time with one another. But I always admired him as my hero, wishing that one day I could be just like him, and... now that i'm where i am now, i'm afraid I will be the same distance away from my son that I was to my father," he says as his head falls.
A sad expression forms on Helios's face as he walks over to Iron Shield and puts a hoof on his shoulder "I won't let that happen for you, you've done your country a great service Iron, maybe it is time for you to retire. You've trained many worthy candidates that could take your place so that you can be with your family."
Iron looks up at his friend "Yes I've thought of that but... I want my son to have something to look up to as well, not just a father that tells him stories of the past. I want to be able to tell him of amazing things I have done every day, to bring a look of wonder upon his face... I must push on."
Helios sighs and chuckles softly "As stubborn as ever, if that is how it must be I will make sure you will have time with them," he says as he gently pats his shoulder to comfort him, "We'll figure this out, we have a very bright future coming soon, and i'd love for your foal to be friends with ours" he says with a big smile.
Iron looks back up at him and nods slowly with a smile on his face "Y-yeah that would be wonderful, i'm sure Topaz would love that"
Helios gives one last pat on his back before walking forward ahead of him to leave "Cheer up Iron, it will all work out," he says as he walks down the hall leaving Iron on his own.
Iron looks at the ground and chuckles softly "He always knows how to cheer me up," he says as he walks towards the archway. He turns towards the sky and watches the sunset on the horizon, splashes of amber coat the partly cloudy sky, truly a sight to beheld in his eyes. The sunset brings a happy grin to his face as he walks off from the balcony to go home for the day, looking forward to finally getting some relaxation.
*****
Iron slowly opens the door of his stone brick house and steps in, the crackling of a distant fire teases his cold ears as he closes the door behind him and shakes off all of the snow on his coat. His horn glows blue and the light surrounds his coat as he hangs it up. He makes his way down to his living room and he sees the love of his life laying on her side near the fire. Her ivory crystal coat glows beautifully from the orange light of the fire. As he trots closer to his wife he notices a tiny little foal that looks just like him if he was a crystal pony.
"There are my two precious ponies" he says as he floats a piece of rock candy to her and lays down next to her, "A little piece of home for you."
She smiles and gives him a gentle kiss on his cheek before giving her treat a nibble "You spoil me again my love, I took little Topaz outside to see the festivities, but couldn't be out for too long so he wouldn't freeze."
Iron nods slowly as he lays down next to them and looks at his son "To think we were all once that tiny..." He uses magic to lift a blanket from their sofa over to them and gently lays it down over him and his wife. "I trust Topaz has been doing well?" he says as he looks at her with concern."
"Oh of course! our little colt is a happy little ball of energy, its only a matter of time before he takes his first steps," she says as she looks down at him proudly, "He's handsome just like his father" she says as she rests back on Iron, resting her head on his hooves.
"That may be so, but he has his mother's muzzle, which I think means he will have your grace" he says with a warm smile, enjoying the heat of his wife and the fire. He looks down at his little colt and grins from ear to ear "You know Pearl... Helios and Virgo want their foal to be friend's with our's! I think it may be the same for King Diamond and Queen Harmony's as well! Isn't that amazing!"
"Really?" she says in surprise at the sudden statement, "That's quite the honor! I'm sure Topaz will get along with both of them nicely." Her ears perk up as she feels Topaz nuzzle into her side, whimpering softly. "Well... I think he's hungry" she says as she lays on her side and moves him under the blanket. Relaxing on the soft rug and closing her eyes. "I love you Iron...." she says as she drifts into a peaceful slumber.
"I love you too Pearl... I love you too..."