//------------------------------// // The King and Queen // Story: The Road to Democracy // by WriteAboutHorses //------------------------------// Queen Twilight Sparkle descended the steps of the Canterlot Castle entrance hall. Two important visitors had just arrived at the castle. "Welcome to Canterlot, Emperor Shining Armor and Empress Cadence." Twilight bowed to her brother and his wife. 3 years ago, Princess Celestia announced that the time had come for her to leave Equestria and go to the world where all ponies go at some stage, The Great Beyond. It was Celestia's last day on Earth that Twilight Sparkle and Flash Sentry were married. After the vows had been said and the rings had been exchanged, the ancient pony formally announced that in a few hours time, she would be ascending. She then announced that Twilight and Flash would be the new rulers of Equestria. After the coronation, she went to the Royal Sanctuary where she used all of her magic to bring herself to the spirit world permanently. Princess Luna stayed behind, since she was sealed away in the moon for 1,000 years, it was only fair that Luna could stay in Equestria for another thousand years. A few months later, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor informed Twilight that they had decided to split the Crystal Empire from Equestria. Once the split was made official, Cadence and Shining Armor became Emperor and Empress of the Crystal Empire, and Shining Armor became an alicorn. "A pleasure to be here, Queen Twilight." Cadence also bowed respectfully, as well as Shining Armor. "It's been so long since you two have been here, I can't wait to show you the new Harmonic Garden!" Twilight beamed excitedly. "Harmonic Garden?" Shining Armor asked. "Twilight told me about it in one of her letters." Cadence explained. "After the coronation, she uprooted the Tree of Harmony from the cave underneath Everfree Castle and brought it here to be re-planted in a lovely garden." "That's right." Twilight smiled. "The garden is inside a huge greenhouse, it's decorated to equally show off each of the six Elements of Harmony." "Fascinating." Cadence replied, she was clearly very interested in this garden, as was Shining Armor too. Twilight led the Imperial Couple to a greenhouse at the back of the castle. It was absolutely huge! The roof was half the height of the castle itself. A beautiful garden was kept inside, it was divided into seven parts. Six of them were shrines dedicated to the Elements of Harmony. In the very center of this stunning garden, the Tree of Harmony was standing tall and proud, glimmering as beautiful as the day it first sprouted. "It's beautiful, Twilight!" Cadence admired some flowers growing inside the Shrine of Kindness, they were a most beautiful mixture of yellow and pink. "The greenhouse took no time to build, and on the day the Tree of Harmony was replanted, every single seed we had already planted a couple days before sprouted straight away. Shining Armor was looking at a stone water feature at the back of the greenhouse, the water from it poured into a trail dug into the ground to create an artificial stream running through the garden. "So, who's idea was this?" The Emperor asked his little sister. "Well, I was the one who came up with moving the Tree of Harmony to Canterlot, but it was Applejack and Fluttershy who suggested we dedicated an entire garden to it." Twilight explained. "And I was the one who approved it." Everyone turned to see King Flash Sentry standing in the doorway of the greenhouse, looking quite spiffy in his crown and robe. Flash Sentry an alicorn when he was crowned King of Equestria. "There you are!" Twilight smiled as she trotted over to her dashing husband. "I was looking all over for you!" "Did I not tell you that Rainbow Dash asked me to observe the Royal Guard's training session today?" "I don't think so." Twilight searched around in her head, trying to remember if Flash had ever told her. "Hey Flash, I haven't seen you since the last Continental Summit, how's my one and only brother-in-law doing?" Shining Armor casually greeted the King. Before Twilight and Flash's wedding, Shining Armor was Flash's mentor as a Royal Guard, and the two became good friends. When Flash became King and Shining became Emperor, the two agreed that they should only use formalities when in public. "Oh fine, Twilight and I have had our hooves full for a while, what with Twilight being-" Flash was cut off by Twilight quickly pinching his mouth shut with her magic. She looked nervous. "Are you ok, Twilight?" Cadence asked. "What was Flash about to say?" Shining Armor also questioned the Queen. "Oh, nothing important. It's just that.. um... has an important speech tomorrow, yeah, and he uh.. needs to rest his vocal chords." Cadence and Shining glanced at each other. They knew better than to question Twilight when she was stressed, so they decided to leave the subject. "One second, I just want to talk to Flash.. alone!" Twilight dragged her husband into the hallway and closed the doors into the conservatory. "What were you thinking!? You know I don't want to tell them yet!" Twilight scolded Flash. "Why not?" Flash asked. "Because if Shining Armor knew about it, he would freak out! I need to find the right time to tell him!" "Twilight, my speech tomorrow is about that! If you don't tell Shining Armor before I officially announce it to the world, he'll freak out even more." Twilight looked down, knowing Flash was right. "Remember Cadence and him got married? You didn't even know they were engaged until you got the invitation. You were ticked off, right?" "Yeah.. I was." Twilight sighed. "You're right. I'm going to have to tell him. But not now, I want to get him alone first." "Good, I'm sure he'll be totally fine with it." Flash smiled. "Come on, let's get back out to them." Twilight opened the doors again as the two walked outside to greet Shining Armor and Cadence. "Well that was quick. When Cadence and I argue it normally lasts an hour." Shining chuckled. "What? We weren't arguing!" Twilight gasped. "I'm kidding, Twily." Shining laughed again. "Oh.." "How about we go see the rest of the castle?" Cadence proposed. "I hear you've expanded the Royal Library." "Oh, yes I have!" Twilight snapped out of her nerves and smiled. Books always did that to her. "Follow me ladies and gentlemen!" Later that day, after dinner, Twilight led Shining Armor into one of the drawing rooms and shut the door. "What did you want to tell me Twily?" The emperor asked. "Well, it's something I've been wanting to tell you for a while, but I want to tell you before anyone else besides Flash knows..." Twilight turned to face her brother. "What is it?" "Well, Shining Armor... I'm....