Gleaming Shield didn't want to wake up today. Asleep in her royal bed, with her loving husband by her side, Gleaming just felt content. Content with her life and family. When she had joined the guard, she never thought she'd get to where she is now. She would have been content with a simple Captain's position and some action now and again. Now she was a hero. A wife. A Princess and a mother. She couldn't ask for a better fate for herself.
Prince Bolero. Her husband. The prince of the Crystal Empire. The man who gave her such a beautiful baby boy. To think, it all started as a high school crush. Of course, she wasn't from a nobody family. Her mother and father were both from well standing families and well off but that was nothing compared to a prince. An alicorn. She thought he'd never notice her. Yet he did. He chose her and now she got to spend the rest of her life with him. She felt truly blessed.
"Dear," Bolero whispered into her ear, causing her to shiver. "I think it's time to wake up."
Gleaming held onto his arm, "Five more minutes. Please."
He nibbled on her elvish ear, causing her to moan. "We've got to get up. We've got a meeting with the nobles, remember?"
Gleaming groaned. Dealing with nobles was never her favorite thing to do. There were some really nice nobles and the nobles of the Crystal Empire were usually much easier to deal with then Equestrian ones. However, that didn't mean they never got on her bad side. That and she just wanted to sleep in today. She groaned and stood up, wearing only her red nightgown that covered just enough to not be too lewd but still showing off her curves and muscles from training.
"You really do make it hard to get out of bed," Bolero smirked at his wife.
Gleaming giggled, "I'm glad I make you so hard, my love~"
Before anything more could be said, a small cry rang out in the room. Gleaming quickly made her way over to the crib to look down at her son. As with all mothers, she couldn't imagine a cuter child. Of course, his wings were larger than your average baby as were his ears. That didn't diminish his cuteness though. It made him a whole lot harder to push out however. She was so grateful for pain killer spells. Her son stopped crying as he saw her. He sniffed and reached up to her with his little hands.
"It's okay," she reached down and picked him up. She stroked his cheek, "Are you hungry?"
As she unbuttoned her nightgown, Bolero was getting his clothes on. As he was doing that, he couldn't help but glance over at his wife. His child was eagerly suckling from her bosom. A content smile on her face as she cooed down at him. He honestly couldn't ask for a better picture. Sure, their baby drove them up a wall sometimes with his wayward magic. Even almost killed them once shortly after his birth but they'd never trade him for anything. Like he'd never ask for a better wife then Gleaming. That and he felt jealous of his son at that moment, suckling from her tit like that.
It seemed like today would be a good day from how it all started.
That's the moment that someone decided to knock on the door. Bolero sighed and walked over to it. His wife was busy after all so it was up to him to see who it was. He opened it up to see a winged, young woman in typical crystal empire armor. He could see some of her blue hair from underneath her helm. She was a regular soldier, sent from Equestria to bolster the limited numbers of Crystal Empire soldiers they had when the empire reemerged. Flare Warden was her name. She went to attention and saluted him.
"Prince Bolero, I come bearing urgent news."
Prince Bolero frowned. His pink wings fluttered slightly behind him in agitation. He just wanted to spend some time with his family a bit more before dealing with the worries of the Empire. Of course a soldier telling him it was 'urgent' made him curious, but still.
"Go on ahead," Gleaming kissed his cheek, still nursing their baby boy. "I'll catch up in a few minutes."
Bolero sighed, "I'll send a wet nurse to help you with him." He turned to Flare Warden, "Lead on."
In the private room of Canterlot Castle, surrounded by thousands of books on massive shelves, stood a rather handsome man. His elvish ears and purplish wings on his back was indicative of his royal status. He was an alicorn and he would live up to that kind of status.
Dusk Shine honestly couldn't believe how nervous he once was when it came to being the new Prince of sure, his job wasn't easy. He had to take into account the wishes of a nation. Deal with other nations and all the necessary paperwork and meetings that entailed. However, his years of preparing schedules paid off. He was effectively doing his job. In some cases, he had increased efficiency in the Equestrian government. He wouldn't brag about it of course. He would never admit to being better than Celestia. That would be a terrible thought.
He just knew he was doing her proud with his efforts. He was going to take Equestria into the future. A place everyone would be happy and get along. Not just with different types of ponies, but other species as well. His school was doing well and so far, his reign was going well all things accounted for. Luna was also a help as she had left the country to deal with Saddle Arabia and some other far off nations. Building relations with them would be crucial for better trade routes and getting them up to speed on the magic of friendship.
Looking over his papers, he was pleased to see Dragon Lord Ember was doing well with reforming the dragons. It may take centuries, but it appeared that the dragons were on their way to forming a real kingdom in their own right. She was a pleasant change of pace when it came to rulers. Direct and to the point. He valued that kind of honesty. It wasn't always like that, but hanging around a woman like Applejack tends to rub off on someone in ways. He also hoped Smoulder was doing well. Perhaps he would check up on them at the school later.
For now, he would focus on the taxes of Manehatten's tea. It seemed to have dropped slightly. He'd have to look into that further and see if that was a good thing or not. If there was ever anything that could spell ruin for his young reign, it was messing up the economy. Oh boy, that would get ponies to hate him.
"Hey Dusk?" Spike's voice spoke up.
Dusk Shine turned his head to see Spike standing before him. Spike was still young but he was starting to show the signs of puberty. His voice was getting a bit deeper and he was getting a bit taller. Spike had always been a bit different given he was a dragon. Of course, he was in his 'human' form. In which he had slightly pointed ears, green snake eyes, jagged teeth and a snake-like tongue. All in all though, Dusk Shine couldn't think of a more competent aid. He was like a little brother and to be honest, if it wasn't for him, he'd not know what to do half the time.
"Don't you think you've worked enough for today?" Spike said.
Dusk Shine blinked in confusion at that, "Enough? Spike, I don't think so. It's not-"
"It's 2AM in the morning," Spike deadpanned.
Dusk looked over at the clock before blinking. Then he scratched the back of his head, "Well… maybe it is a bit late. After I finish this, I'll go to bed." He turned to look over and write a few notes.
Spike sighed, not noticing a dark tendril sneaking up behind him. "You have a meeting with the buffalo tomorrow morning. Being half awake during it is kind of insulting. They might think you don't take them seriously enough."
"I do take them seriously," Dusk Shine said with irritation. "The buffalo are valued members of Equestria. I will do my best to show that I respect their culture and people the best that I can, understand?"
There was no response.
Dusk Shine frowned. Usually Spike would say something or counter her statement. Silence was… he could hear some struggling and muttering. He turned and gasped. Standing before him was the beautiful and terrifying figure he thought dead, "Queen Umbra?"
The queen's dark laughter filled the air. To her right was Spike, who was wrapped up in a dark magical tendril with part of it over his mouth, lifting him up into the air. He was panicking, kicking his feet in a futile attempt to free himself.
"Let him go," magic surged around his hands as Dusk Shine prepared to fight his old foe once more.
"Awww," Queen Umbra pouted and tapped her pouty lips, "Is that the kind of greeting I get when I just come by to say hello? Pity. I expected better from the prince of Equestria and I came all this way from the land of the dead to meet you again."
"I would have prefered it if you stayed there," Dusk Shine growled, "Now let him go."
"No," Queen Umbra sneered, "I don't think I will. Stay your magic or I will strangle the life right out of him." The tendril tightened causing Spike to let out a panicked squeal.
Dusk flinched at that before powering down his magic. He didn't have to worry about continuing if this thing turned into a fight. He could cast magic on the fly without much build up if he needed to, "Why are you here?"
"Why, to take back what is rightfully mine." Umbra grinned, showing off her fangs. "To rule unimpeded as I was rightfully owed and that your people took from me. How selfish. You and those pathetic princesses of old wanted all of the power to yourselves."
"You're confusing the princesses with yourself," Dusk Shine said, "Now leave before I beat you once more."
"You can't do that without the other element bearers at your side," Umbra waved her hand around the room. "And besides this dragon, I see no one here. You're alone. How lucky for me."
"And what do you want from me?" Dusk had a few guesses as to what she wanted. None of them were good.
Umbra slapped her hands together and smiled, "Right to the point. Yes, I want you to come quietly and if you don't, he will die." She pointed to Spike, "You could fight me. Push on and avenge your friend but I don't think you will."
Prince Dusk Shine, ruler of Equestria, had a choice. He could fight and most likely force Queen Umbra out of the castle but lose Spike. He could save Spike, but then he'd put his nation at risk. He knew what the logical decision was. The nation came first. Yet whenever he looked at Spike, what amounted to his little brother, his heart wouldn't let him make that choice. He sighed and lowered his head, "You win."
"Excellent," Umbra clenched her fist and tendrils of dark magic wrapped around Prince Dusk Shine. He glowered at her but she laughed it off, "Don't worry. I won't hurt either of you. I'll make sure you're both safe in my new Empire."
Queen Umbra laughed. She was finally going to win. She would stomp upon the people who put her down. Who cast her out and hurt her. She was going to show them fear the likes that they've never seen and there was no one alive who was going to stop her.
Saito sneezed. He rubbed his nose to clear the itching away.
"Seems someone's been thinking about your or something, partner." Derflinger said from his back. "I bet it's those curvy girls waiting in your bed~"
"First of all, that's not how it works." Saito rolled his eyes, "Secondly, Louise doesn't have any curves."
"Saying stuff like that out loud is why you keep getting blown up," Derflinger deadpanned. "You really need to work on how you talk and act around her."
Saito chuckled nervously, "Maybe."
Truth be told, he knew that. It was just sometimes, he wanted to get under her skin when she annoyed him. That and the other girls around him were just so sexy, he couldn't help himself. Yeah, a part of himself felt bad about doing it to Louise, but, you know, she wasn't a saint in this either. He sighed. His relationship was really complicated.
That's when he felt it. A surge of magic around him. He stopped and looked around, trying to find the source. It felt so… familiar.
"I feel it too, partner." Derflinger said, "Better get ready for anything."
Saito reached up to pull his sword out from its sheath when he noticed a strange symbol form around his feet. His eyes widened, "This is a summoning circle!" He fell through it, internally screaming 'not again!'.
The fall didn't last long as he found himself being thrown into something. He heard a feminine oof and felt his face in something so incredibly soft. Looking up, he found himself in some girl's large bosom. Not that strange for him. However, the girl he was looking at was so beautiful that no girl could begin to compare. He jumped back in shock. She was certainly curvy. More so than even Kirche yet she was built really well. Her hair was like a rainbow, flowing around her. Her elvish ears first made him think she was some kind of elf. It would make sense since elves were always good looking, better than most humans in fact. However, her large, white wings told him she was more than that. Her silky white skin was so perfect and she wore a golden dress that did show off some of her bountiful cleavage and smooth legs.
"My, my, my~" The woman's voice was so calming and sexy, he almost passed out from hearing it. "To think my hero would be so forward. Perhaps when this is over, you could touch them again~"
Well… it seemed that life was going to throw him curveballs regardless of where he went.