Dusk was setting in as two seemingly normal stallions were entering a seedy almost rundown watering hole in the middle of nowhere. Each coming from a different direction, but it was very clear that both came there with only one thing in mind. Meeting each other for whatever reason they might be having. The place almost was nearly empty except for a few gruff looking ponies. All of them looking like they had more than their share of run-ins with the guards of the surrounding villages. But none were to surprise about the arrival of these strangers. Even the bartender did not look surprised. For he knew, many a 'noble' came to the Sun`s Plot for only one reason. Business even more seedy then his own tavern.Business that should never see the light of day.
Taking seats in a shadow filled corner the stallions acknowledged each other’s existence for the first time with a simple smirk in the direction of the other. One golden yellow Pegasus, with a white mane, facing a deep purple unicorn with a light blue mane. Silence reigned for a moment only to be broken to order a bottle of brandy with two glasses.
A few glasses were being drunk without any word being spoken. But their body language spoke more words then all the books in the Canterlot royal library had combined. The third glass was being poured by the Unicorn as he spoke softly, not wanting to draw attention to the coming conversation. “It has been to long my old friend. But as you can guess I have not called you here for pleasantries.”
The Pegasus cocked an eyebrow at the words and simply shrugged. “Of course not, we both have full agenda's. So in that light I would like to ask you to cut to the chase.”
The smirk turned into a full-fledged grin as the deep purple stallion started speaking. He spoke about how he had found a set of ancient texts containing codes of conduct for the court. Many about mannerisms and very old fashioned dress codes for certain more bloody events. He knew these trivial matters bored his companion out of his skull, Pegasi never were known for their patience or sense for dramatics.
The Unicorn had spoken for a full 10 minutes when he dropped the last topic, something to do with how to react when your daughter is placed in the royal harem or something like that. The winged stallion could almost feel his mind slipping into sleep with every passing second. Eyelids almost closed completely when the voice across from the table stopped and simply stated “And that brings us to the last piece of parchment I found. A contract of sorts, one of which I’m sure that can benefit us both.”
A contract? What is so damned important about a scrap of paper that he had to be dragged to a filthy place like this? He signed and created those flimsy things by the hundreds every month. The yellow Pegasus almost snapped had the Unicorn not produced said document itself with the words “Read it, and I am sure you can understand that it might solve the problem of usefulness from certain family members of ours.”
The parchment was old, older then the city of Canterlot itself if the spelling and dating seal were any indication. The ink was almost completely run, deteriorated by the sands of time and neglect. But it still could be read. It contained a lot of meaningless formalities and clauses, but the core was understandable even for one untrained in the speech of law.
By royal decree of the desks of both sun and moon,
By rights of word and by claims of old we, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna decree the following to be true and right.
Through careful consideration of claim and mutual understanding made by the lord of house........... And house............. we concur and accept the terms negotiated as lawful and just.
We acknowledge the right of marriage between …..... And …....... as was made by arrangement
to be completed on the day after the first new moon of the gentle warmth period.
The parchment had there under two places where the names of the so-called House Lords should be placed and right underneath those were two almost decayed wax-seals bearing the royal emblems of the sun and the moon.
The Unicorn now grinned maliciously knowing full well his friend thought exactly what he thought.
They had discussed the matter time and time again. He himself was childless, but that did not matter to him. He was the heir of an ancient noble house. One directly descended from the Platinum line. Albeit there were many of those, but not many were still doing as well as his. His sister had married a commoner and had giving birth to a colt and filly. But they had cut ties with him, called him all kinds of names and accused him of throwing away the families-fortune.
True, he had some setbacks early on in life. But now he was booming, his gamble in crossbows, cannons and airships had paid off. Especially since those ordeals with Nightmare Moon, Discord and those pesky emotion leeches which were called Changelings. Anypony with a little money wanted to prepare for another event like those. He had more wealth than ever before.
But that did not help a single bit; his youngest niece had become a disgrace to the family name. Her brother had made name in the guard. But she, such a promising mare she had been. Smarter then all of the court combined, and a real gift for magic last time he had heard of her. She was destined for greatness as he saw. Destined to be one of the greatest minds in the court. Under his hoof of course. But no, she had forsaken her lineage and goddess given gifts, and for what? A shoddy library in some backwater earth pony town. If word would come out, he would be the laughingstock of the entire upper class!
His winged companion was not better off. He, a conglomerate of great importance. He was the owner of some of the largest weather factories of Cloudsdale. A strong example of a son. A member of the Wonderbolts, their vice-captain no less. But no businesspony that was sure, way too casual and careless. But still someone to be proud off. His youngest daughter however, if he could get away with disowning her he would have done so ages ago. The damned filly could not even look someone in the eye, let alone run his weather-empire. Ooh no, she would shy away from confrontation, for she might actually hurt somepony’s feelings. He still thanked everything he thought to be holy that she had moved to some hillbilly village years ago. Something to do with being closer to her Cutie Mark or something. He didn't remember the details nor did he care for it.
So with a large grinning smirk he looked at the Pegasus in front of him “And before you ask, yes I have checked; the seals are official. It is the real deal.”
A toothy grin told the Unicorn everything he needed to know. They were on the same level. True, it was unorthodox but a bit of open mindedness had never hurt anypony. Sure they would get strange looks, but at least those deadbeats would be useful. Money for one, a title for the other. Perfect for all parties involved. Well not all parties, but at least the ones that mattered would get what they wanted.
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
A few days later both stallions walked out the palace. Shaking on their legs and pale as a ghost, but smiling none the less. It had worked, the arrangement had been fully authorized and not even those dandy princesses could do anything about it. Their little contract had made sure of that. But still what transpired in the throne room had shaken them quite a bit.
Approaching the thrones with both regal alicorns had been some of the most nerve wrecking things both of them had done in years. The Unicorn thought it to be even worse than confronting his sister about what he had done. Damn that mare had a powerful voice; his ears were still ringing from all that shouting. But that had been nothing compared to what his nephew had in store for him. They still trained those guards way to well, that and the still visible hoof prints on his flanks were all he was he said to say about it when the Pegasus asked how it went on his part.
The pegasus had no trouble at all. His son was away for some show tour, so he could not stand guard over his little sister. And his wife had been all too thrilled with the prospect of becoming a lady. She already was daydreaming about the next tea-time with her little posh friends. Telling them that she in the very near future would become Lady Glimmershine. Like it was with him, to her getting rid of that little winged bit of shame was just an added bonus.
The entire ordeal had gone just as planned; the royal mares had no chance of objection. They were bound by that ancient piece of parchment. They had to give their approval. Even without consent of both ponies involved. But what happened at the last minute would be something to haunt their nightmares for ages to come.
Celestia, her ever friendly smile had faded as the alabaster Alicorn approached them. Her sister looked straight at them as well, a gaze that would turn a Cockatrice to stone. But that was not their primary concern. The princess in front of them was. Her voice, cold enough to freeze over a volcano her gaze so fierce that if Discord would have been subjected to it he would have immersed himself in quick drying cement in order to escape it.
“Listen to me, and listen well. I do not approve of this at all, but my hooves are bound by the law. But mark my words, if you involve yourselves more then you already did in these mares lives. I swear by the sun itself. There will be no place for you to hide, no place to run to at all. I will end you in ways not even the most twisted mind I had the displeasure of meeting throughout the millennia would be able to come up with. Only to find a way to revive you and do it all over again. Am I making myself clear?” The regal mare looked at the stallions in front of her, just nodding. “Good, now leave. You're mere presence is making me sick.”
Still shaking, they nodded to each other. Confirming that yes, they just had been threatened by Princess Celestia. And to say until next time we meet, since they both had letters to write.
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
That evening sobbing could be heard from two places in the small village of Ponyville. Inside the library a lavender unicorn was crying her heart out comforted by the shoulder of a small dragon. Who could do nothing as the young mare collapsed in a pile of misery? Muttering about her life and dreams being snatched away, about being torn away from the friends she had made only about two years ago.
At the edge of the village in a small cottage near the forest, a butterscotch yellow Pegasus was in a similar state. Softly crying into her pillow as a white rabbit gently patted her back, as if to say that everything would be alright. But she knew it would never be alright. She would never get the chance to express her feelings to the one she had harbored feelings for ever since that fateful day had they met. She knew she would now never know if the feelings she had treasured all that time had been mutual.
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
It had been a few hours after both he and Cadence had arrived at his parents’ house. He had been given some time off from duty to assist his sister in this troubled time. He had expected to see her a bit glum, after al it was not every day you were told your uncle singed an inescapable contract that forced you to marry a complete stranger.
It was not unheard of in the upper circles, a arranged marriage. Many of those stuck up nobles made deals amongst themselves. In their eyes it was to keep the nobles noble, and the riffraff out of their circles. But this contract, it was something else entirely. Normally a direct family member such as a mother or brother could intervene and stop the arrangement. And if that failed a plead to the princesses would do the trick. In his early career as a guard he had seen both happen countless of times. But even the highest authority, the princesses themselves, could not stop this from happening.
All of this was the cause of one stallion, who was now grinning like a madman as he was sipping on some wine in front of the fireplace. The gods themselves knew how much the captain restrained himself from simple smacking that grin of his uncle's face. Only his wife and the sight of his sister were stopping him.
Twilight, his little Twily. He had been so happy to see her joyful face during his wedding. A mare filled with life. He could not have dreamed of a better thing for her. She had friends who cared for her, no matter how awkward or bookish she was. Her life was definitely be on the high road to the best it could be. But now, one selfish act had taken that away.
She had not moved an inch from her spot in that corner. He had seen her look in his direction as he came in. Eyes that were once vibrant and full of expression were now dull and missing their usual spark. At the few intervals she actually had opened they had just stared into oblivion.
And all the time, not even once had her voice been heard. All that could be seen was a broken mare, one that had given up on everything and just accepted her fate.
Spike had been more helpful, he had explained how Twilight had been searching for days and nights in large dusty law tomes. Almost not even eating and more than once had collapsed on the floor due sheer exhaustion. But not even her usually so sharp mind had been able to find a loophole. On the seventh day, the day she would meet her husband to be, the baby dragon had found her in her bedroom. Tears that had been flowing richly since receiving the letter had stopped, the frantic glow her eyes always had when trying to solve a difficult problem was gone. She had just sat there staring out the window with her head down. Not even responding to anything, not even the scent of her favorite breakfast or the pleas of her number 1 assistant.
It had broken his little heart to see the mare, which had raised him from hatching, in this state. There had been no more energy left in her to fight, not a ounce of willpower to force some movement into her body. Her mind and soul seemed to have been completely shattered, not even the foul corruptive magics of Discord had been able to affect her this much.
Time had passed slowly for the Sparkles, the glum atmosphere made sure that the waiting was excruciating. Their 'honorable' guests had been late for almost two hours by now. But Bright Shine had not removed his gleeful smirk. The contract could not be broken, not even by one of the signing parties; doing so would mean that all possessions of the breaking party would go to the other. Including his life and his family’s lives. So there was no way either side would break it. But he did begin to worry a bit; surely the flight from Ponyville would not take this long? It was only an hour or so by train. As his mind started wondering about possibilities the doorbell rang.
Bright Shine simply walked over to the door and opened it, expecting to see his friend. But he only saw two ponies. A bright blue stallion with a dark blue mane and a winged lightning bolt as a Cutie Mark standing protectively in front of a smaller butterscotch yellow mare, whose face was hidden by a long flowing pink mane. He was about to say something when the Pegasus stallion spoke” Lord Bright Shine I presume?”
The unicorn just nodded, wondering what exactly was going on.
Meanwhile in the dead silence of the living room 4 of the 5 ponies and the single dragon present peaked their ears trying to listen to the conversation following the question. Only to be surprised by a noise eerily resembling the crunching sound of a hoof being forcefully introduced to a jaw and a loud thud.
Sighing the two remaining stallions stood up and walked towards the door to see what was going on.
Two jaws dropped when the scene in front of them became obvious. Their brother-in-law / uncle lay on the floor unconscious and a Pegasus with flared wings staring with intense anger at them. At least that was until Shining armor spoke with a calm voice that showed a bit of mirth. “Lieutenant Soarin’, care to explain why exactly you decided to knock out my uncle?”
The Pegasus visually relaxed, but still remained in front of the other. Shrugging his shoulders “He had it coming” was the only reply.
The captain simply looked at the other for a moment before simply smiling. “I guess he did, now help me get that damned idiot to the living room. Even though he deserves it, we can’t just let him lying there.”
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~
Minutes later the group was sitting in the living room, all with a generously filled glass of wine. All except for the yellow mare who had been sitting beside Twilight attempting to somehow get a response as she nudged the lavender mare and spoke in a soft and gentle voice. As if she was coaxing a young animal to come out of an unsafe place.
There hung a uncomfortable silence in the room once again, except for the soft whispers coming from the corner. At least until Soarin' spoke up again. “I think I owe you an explanation to why our parents are not here for this joyous event.” He had almost spat out those last few words. With a foul look towards the still unconscious stallion he continued. “Let’s just say he is the lucky one, we were late because I first had to drop my mother and father of at the Ponyville hospital.“
It had been early morning as the Wonderbolt had met up with his parents in order to 'collect' his younger sister. He had been absolutely furious when they told him. How could they be so callous to their own daughter like that? How could they just treat her like some object to be used and then discarded when it outlived its usefulness. He had taken the day off, purely to make sure they did not make this mess any worse than it already was.
Finding her had been easy, when they arrived at her cottage she had been laying on her couch still sniffling. Rather than simply comforting her their father had proceeded by dragging her outside by the tail. Grumbling all the way towards their carriage. But right after pushing the poor thing he had scolded them on their treatment. He had a whole lot more to say when he could see 5 shapes coming out of the forest.
5 of the largest Timberwolves he had ever seen were drawing towards them. Well they lived in the Everfree so a sighting of them was rare but not completely unheard off. But what did strike him as odd were two things.
1) Timberwolves would almost never come towards civilization. They lived way to deep in the forest. And they avoided direct contact with Ponies unless their nests were being threatened.
2) The leading wolf seemed to have a white tuff of fur on its head, a tuff roughly looking like a small bunny.
As the wolves rushed closer it became obvious the tuff of fur was in fact a small bunny. One with a clear vision in mind, a vision which could be guessed by the fact it pointed one of its paws towards the Pegasi.
The next thing he remembered was being spoken to by one of the hospitals nurses. Speaking to him, about his luck that he had come off with just a few scratches. As well that his parents were stable, although they had sustained severe injuries and lost a lot of blood.
It did not matter much, they were stable and would heal. Served them right, but he knew he had to get his sister to this house in Canterlot. Because of if he did not do that, certain dire consequences were attached. Consequences he would rather not think about.
“And that is why our folks are not here with us. From what the nurse told me its somewhat of a unwritten law that you should never make my sister cry. But being the timid little thing she is, it occasionally happens. The nurse told me they were still patching up a griffin who was assaulted by a couple of Manticores. Poor thing would most likely spend the rest of her life in rehab for what I’ve been told.”
((Authors notes: I am currently searching for a editor or a pre-reader for this chapter and future ones. Interested, just pm me and we will work it out))