A Family Reunited
It was a couple of days later when the ponies and Ice Fang finally reached a safe distance back to Equestria. Twilight, Glacies and Cadence had sent word once they were on the move again with Ice Fang that they would be home sooner than expected and during the trip, Twilight and Cadence informed Glacies to refrain from using the Royal We and the Old Royal Canterlot Voice once they were back in Canterlot, which Glacies was happy to hear for he was sick of using them in the first place. Once the sleigh halted, Twilight soon stepped off with her brother and sister and spoke while the guard removed the harnesses from Ice Fang, "Thank you so much for your help Ice Fang, I don't know how we can ever repay you for your service."
"Knowing that I helped all you ponies get home safely is good enough for me, your highness. Besides, my kind cares not for trinkets. Last time that happened, one of our own kind took it a bit too far, getting far too greedy, nearly pushing our kind to the edge of oblivion. We don't want that to happen again. I hope you have a fine trip the rest of the way home your majesties," Ice Fang said.
"Thank you Ice Fang. We'll be sure to try and drop by if we ever travel that far north again" Cadence said.
"And you have my gratitude for your kind watching over me while I slept" Glacies said.
"Think nothing of it your highness. I best be off now. If I stay here much longer I'll start to feel a bit too warm. I know it's winter time, but my kind are not used to being this far south for long periods, especially in the summer. I bid you farewell your majesties" Ice Fang said.
"Goodbye Ice Fang" the royal siblings said together.
Soon Ice Fang took off, disappearing beyond their eyesight after a few minutes. "Well, we best not keep Mom and Aunt Luna waiting. I know they are anxious to see you" Cadence said.
"Yeah, I would like to see their reaction to you and Shining Armor dating" Glacies said.
"Well, only one way to find out" Twilight said.
Soon the three siblings were back on the sleigh and off towards Canterlot, and Shining Armor thought to start Silver Swords punishment, he would be hauling the luggage in as soon as they got back. It didn't take long for the sleigh to enter Canterlot and as soon as it did, many ponies stopped to look at them, speaking comments like "Look Princess Twilight and Princess Cadence are back," and/or, "Who's that riding with them to the palace? I've never seen him before."
Luckily the press were a little too late to catch wind of the two young sisters and their unknown older brother had returned. Soon, the carriage pulled up to the front doors of the castle and the three royals once again dismounted and began to head indoors as Silver Sword unloaded the heavy luggage and the other guards the lighter. Shining Armor was asked to accompany the royal family as they headed to Princess Celestia's study where the servants of the castle said she was currently dealing with weekly politics. Soon the four of them were outside the door and Twilight knocked. "Please enter" Celestia beckoned in her elegant tone from the other side of the door.
Twilight was the first to walk in as they entered. Celestia turned her head up from her work and smiled as Twilight walked in along with the others. "Twilight, Cadence! Oh it's so good to see you two again. I missed you dearly!" Celestia said excitedly leaping from her desk, happy to see her daughters back in Canterlot.
"We missed you too mom" Twilight and Cadence said together
"But where's…?" was all Celestia said before Glacies walked up and said, "Hello mother."
Celestia looked at him and was completely shocked to see her son for the first time in a thousand years. She slowly walked toward him, her fore hoof extending toward him "Glacies it's really you."
She brings him into a tight embrace as he said, "Of course it's me, who else would it be?"
"I'm just so happy to see you alive!” She turned her head “And Cadence and Twilight, I can't thank you enough for helping him get home," Celestia says, pulling her daughters into a group hug.
They stayed this way for a while, enjoying the family embrace, until Cadence realized they had forgotten Shining Armor was in the room. Cadence was the first to break away and speak up "Mom, there is something I have to tell you."
"What is it dear?" Celestia said as the rest of the family broke out of the group hug.
"Well, I found a special somepony" Cadence said.
"Really? Do I know him?" Celestia asked, having a good guess of who it was and hoping it was him.
"Yes, you could say that" Cadence said.
"Well who is he?" Celestia asked.
"Promise you won't be angry?" Cadence asked.
"Yes, I promise" Celestia said.
"It's Shining Armor" Cadence said, as she pointed at her coltfriend.
The next thing Celestia said surprised everypony in the room. "Finally!!" Celestia exclaimed in a sigh of relief.
"You... You wanted this to happen mother?" Cadence asked.
"Cadence, I knew you two were made for each other ever since you were little foals, just learning how to walk and talk properly. I even caught something you two don't even remember at that age" Celestia said.
"And what was that?" Cadence asked.
"The first time the two of you kissed each other" Celestia said.
Twilight and Glacies snickered, trying to hold back their laughter as Cadence and Shining Armor looked at each other in embarrassment. "Don't be so embarrassed about it, in fact the way it happened was kind of cute" Celestia said.
"Well how exactly did it happen? If you don't mind me asking your highness" Shining Armor said.
"Well, I had just invited your parents Night Light and Twilight Velvet to a Hearths Warming Eve party to celebrate, and no there is no relation between you and them Twilight.” She added. “They brought you along with them Shining Armor, since I said little fillies and colts were invited as well. It was during the party your parents found their way over to me. I was currently attending to Cadence who asked for a piece of cake and I had to be strict, giving her a small piece, which you gobbled right up Cadence,” she said as she gave Cadence a sly smile before continuing, “They were talking with me about their opinons on the various politicians that bothered them, who in turn are actually bothering me, when all of the sudden I noticed you Shining Armor, were standing behind your mother's leg, looking a bit shy. I saw you looking at Cadence and asked if you would like to say hello to her. You nodded in a shy manner, but soon introduced yourself. Your mother then insisted that you go and at least bow in front of her and kiss her hoof like a gentlecolt. It was then I realized, as you walked towards her, my tail had accidentally slipped in front of you and with no time to move it out of the way, you tripped over it. What happened next was too cute. You had tripped right into Cadence and before we knew it, the two of you were in a kiss. You quickly pulled away, but had received plenty of gasps and some aww's from the crowd, including myself and your parents Shining Armor. It was after that day that you two seemed to really like each other, and I knew those feelings would grow stronger as time passed. And now here you are, dating" Celestia said.
"Aw, that's a sweet story" Twilight said.
"Way to sweep my little sister off her hooves Shining Armor, I salute you" Galcies said, as he saluted the Captain of the royal guard.
"Thank you your highness" Shining Armor said almost blushing in embarrassment.
"Just remember, you break her heart and I'll buck your flank all the way to the moon" Luna said as she walked in to greet everypony.
"Luna, how long have you been standing there? And how much did you hear little sister?" Celestia asked.
"I stood here long enough and heard enough. Looks like some rules have changed or will be changed. I don't want to see my own niece unhappy" Luna said.
"Well that is good to hear little sister" Celestia said.
"Now, where is that sneaky nephew of mine?" Luna asked to nopony in particular.
Glacies popped out of nowhere and said, "Behind you."
Luna jumped and was attacked by a loving hug. "Smooth and silent as always" Luna said returning the embrace.
"I better be, you and mother taught me" Glacies said as they let go of their embrace.
"Yes, well, we're a little out of practice, ever since your disappearance" Luna replied somberly.
"Well, looks like I have a few things to teach my sisters since I'm back" Glacies said.
"And maybe remind your mother and I what we have become rusty at." Luna said as she turned to look at her nieces. “And you two…”
Twilight and Cadence look at each other and then back at their aunt as the brought them into another hug. "It's good to see you two home safely with your brother. I missed the two of you" Luna said.
"We missed you as well Aunty Luna" Twilight replied.
"Oh, we haven’t even sent out the letters to let your friends know your back Twilight" Celestia said.
"Well we can send them out now so that they can be here tomorrow to meet my brother" Twilight replied.
"Yes and I would like to hear more about the adventures you had while I was away Twilight" Glacies said.
Soon the family sent out the letters to let the other five element bearers know to come to Canterlot and continued on with the day. "We still have a lot of construction left on your new room you will be sleeping in, so until then, you'll have to sleep in one of our royal guest suites. I'm sorry it isn't finished yet" Celestia said.
"That's alright, I'm sure it will be a lot more then I would have expected during the time of Discords reign, just thinking about it gives me the shivers" Glacies said.
"Well, I don't think we will need to worry about him anytime soon. He is still imprisoned in stone, and I don't know of any force that can set him free besides the Elements of Harmony which I doubt Twilight and her friends want to use to release him any time soon" Luna said.
"Well, if he fools me once, shame on him. Fools me twice, shame on me," Glacies said.
"Well after lunch it will be time to make the public announcement to Canterlot. They will all be wondering who Glacies is and the press will want to be all over it" Celestia said.
"Are you sure it is wise to let everypony know now sister?" Luna asked with a hint of hesitation.
"Yes, because the longer we wait, the more chance we have of losing trust in our subjects. If we tell them now and tell them why he was not in the history books, they will more than likely understand. Sure, we will have a few ponies that will be a little over reactive about this, but we would only gather more if we wait" Celestia explained.
"I can believe that. I know for sure Blue Blood will have his own rant about this," Cadence said.
"Who is this Blue Blood character I keep hearing about anyways," Glacies asked before the door was shut and the room was encircled by a soundproof barrier so unwanted ears couldn't listen in.
"He's one of our mortal cousins. He is royalty like us, and does a poor job of showing it. He trots around treating almost everypony below his rank in society like dirt beneath his hooves and is always complaining about how society doesn't respect him more, when he basically does nothing for them to earn it. I honestly think he is no better than a greedy teenage dragon. He definitely showed it when he found out about Twilight's feat and her transformation along with Aunt Luna's return into co-ruling Equestria. I honestly would like to throw him in a dungeon cell, but that would make our family look bad" Cadence said.
"Well I would certainly understand why you would want to do it your majesty" Shining Armor agreed.
"Alright Shining, if you’re going to date my daughter, you can skip the formalities, along with the rest of us. Your parents are allowed to as well" Celestia said.
"As you wish Pr- I-I mean Celestia" Shining Armor said making the whole royal family chuckle.
"Let us make our way down to the dining hall, I'm sure you are all famished, and Shining, you are welcome to join us" Luna chimed in.
"Thank you Pr-er-Luna" Shining said, trying his best to stray away from the formalities.
Soon the six ponies made their way down to the Dining hall and had the servants bring them their favorite dishes as Shining informed them about Silver Swords behavior and the actions he made during the trip. Celestia was more than willing to carry out his punishment for abandoning her daughters and insulting the royal family along with some other penalties. Once they finished lunch and their conversation, Celestia led the family to the balcony outside the throne room, where she made all her public announcements and had presented her two daughters the day after their births. As soon as they were there, one of the guards blew the horn so that other Ponies could gather for the special announcement.
Soon all of the Canterlot ponies were gathered around as Celestia spoke in her most regal tone "My beloved subjects. I am here today to announce today that we have a long lost addition to the royal alicorn family."
All the ponies gasped as Celestia continued "My son, Prince Glacies, whom I previously thought to have passed away after a battle with Discord, has returned to us. I know many of you are wondering why you have not heard of my son, and I regret to announce that is my doing. When I believed my son had been struck down by Discords magic, I was already devastated. I requested historians to not keep a history of him, for that would have prolonged my sorrow.
But a little over a month ago, My sister and I detected his presence for he had only been cursed to sleep for one thousand and ten years, making his magic undetectable until that particular day. My daughters and some of our brave soldiers of the royal guard, bravely volunteered to free him from an icy fortress Discord had imprisoned him in, and they succeeded without any loss of life.
We understand everypony's opinion in this matter’s, but we only ask that you try to understand why these events have happened. We will not force anypony to agree with our decision of past events and will leave everypony to decide for themselves on the matter. So without further ado, I present to you, the Prince of Winter, Prince Glacies."
What happened next surprised the royal family as Glacies stepped forward. The ponies of Canterlot cheered as they saw their newest prince wave down to them. Glacies put forth his statement as he said, "I know I have much to learn, but I hope that soon I can fit in to this modern society after being asleep for over a thousand years. I apologize for my absence and hope that now I can help my family lead Equestria into an even more promising future for everypony. I hope I get to know everypony from all over Equestria and will do everything in my power to help keep everypony safe and secure. Thank you everypony for your support and any future support you may offer."
The Crowd cheered again and soon everypony went about their day as the royal family trotted back inside. "Well, that went much better than I would have anticipated. But we can't be too careless. Threats have always been made against our family and this will only add to some of those threats. I wouldn't worry too much though. Our guards are more than capable of taking care of any suspicious activities" Celestia said.
The family nodded in agreement as they trotted onward to enjoy the rest of the day with each other. Twilight was looking forward to seeing her friends and hearing how they reacted to the news of her long lost brother. They would be here tomorrow and Glacies would be able to hear more about what happened while he was away.