//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Resolute // Story: In the Sun's Shadow // by Polaris501 //------------------------------// Castle Aurora One Week After Tirek’s Defeat Twilight “No, no no, Dimensional Teleportation by Starswirl the Bearded goes in the Magic section, not the Science section!” Twilight admonished, pointing out to the flustered unicorn stallion the proper section that was one of the most prominent parts of her new personal library inside Castle Aurora. “But doesn’t it fall under the science genre?” He asked, his ears folding against his head at her rebuke. “Sort of,” Twilight sighed, “but it was written by a unicorn wizard and has numerous spells for magical use, therefore it files under magic.” “Yes of course, sorry your highness.” And with that, the stallion scurried off to place the book. Twilight smiled and started browsing, trotting past tall crystal bookshelves that were being filled with books old and new. She made sure to not blunder into the other ponies that were helping her place all her new books. Celestia had lived up to her promise and more, for not only did the new castle’s library contain all of the old tomes from the Royal Sister’s ruined castle, but the sun princess had also added books from the Canterlot Archives and even Starswirl’s Athenaeum to the already enormous piles of books. With all the new literature, Twilight had needed help filing them as there were far too many for her and Spike to do alone quickly, and the citizens of Ponyville were all too happy to help her with it. The castle’s library was a beautiful piece of masonry and architecture, it was cylindrical in shape and rose up to be seven stories tall. Twilight could fly up through the middle of the library to each floor as there was an atrium in the center that spanned all seven floors. A golden chandelier with glowing yellow crystals hung in the center of the library atrium, descending from the mural on the ceiling that depicted a map of Equestria. Columns and stain-glassed windows littered the walls on all seven floors, light from the outside pouring in to brighten up the newly-filled bookshelves. Skipping almost merrily through the library, Twilight came across her number one assistant, Spike the Dragon, who was staring up through the atrium with wide eyes. A week ago he had been very sad and depressed about the old library, but over time he had become excited about the castle, especially since he was getting his own room. Twilight thought Spike looked rather concerned though upon closer inspection, and her suspicions were confirmed as he walked slowly up to her with an almost fearful gleam in his eyes. Hesitantly, he looked up at Twilight and shuffled his feet nervously. “Hey—uh—Twilight?” he asked timidly. “What is it Spike?” “I’ve been thinking…” “Yes?” “This castle is rather…big.” “I did notice.” “We’re not going to…you know…have to clean up all of it by ourselves? I mean, the other princesses have servants in their castles, so you’re going to have some too right?” He looked absolutely horrified at the prospect of the two of them cleaning the whole castle by themselves, but Twilight chuckled and rubbed his scaly head with a hoof affectionately. “Don’t be silly Spike, we don’t need servants.” “B—b—but it’s so huge! It’ll take weeks to clean the whole thing once! And that’s on top of filing your books, cooking, researching, and your royal duties! How are we suppose—“ Spike couldn’t continue on as Twilight had stuck a hoof to his mouth, silencing the panicked drake. Twilight shook her head a little, berating herself mentally for not explaining to him earlier. “Spike, we’re not going to be spending time cleaning the castle.” “Why not? I know you’re still a neat freak.” “I am not a—on second thought, you’re probably right. But that’s not the point! I’ve been practicing and looking up spells— “This won’t end well.” “—and I’ve figured out a way the two of us can maintain everything in the castle.” Spike opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes widened as they caught something behind her. Turning around to see what had grabbed his attention, Twilight smiled as she saw her new spells working. “Look! Here’s some now! They must be on their way to clean the ballroom, it’s already collecting dust.” As the two of them watched, a line of broomsticks marched past them with purpose. Twilight’s spell had animated them to both clean up messes that appeared or take orders from her or Spike. The same went for everything they had to maintain the castle. Spike watched each broomstick as they passed by him, his eyes swinging back and forth like a pendulum. It wasn’t until the last one rounded the corner that Spike spoke again. “Twilight…did you enchant the castle to clean itself!” He asked with some awe and a little disbelief. “Yes I did! Isn’t it wonderful! I should have done this ages ago!” She cackled merrily, clapping her hooves together in excitement. Spike looked at her like she was a mad scientist but seemed to think it over. “I don’t know Twilight, but I suppose we’ll have to wait and see what happens. Can you show me what else you’ve enchanted?” Instead of answering, Twilight headed back towards the library exit and levitated Spike onto her back as she walked away. “Later. When everypony else has left, besides, our friends are coming over soon!” Spike seemed placated by Twilight’s answer but crossed his arms and scrunched his eyes as if he was in deep thought. Twilight trotted at a brisk pace, heading towards the entrance to Castle Aurora where Twilight wanted to greet their friends as they came in. “Remind me again why our friends are coming?” Spike asked. “Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten about the Open House Ball next week!” “Oooohhhh. Hehe…I uh…did kind of forget. It’s just…you know…with furnishing this place and everything that’s happened, it slipped my mind. Sorry.” Spike shook his head as if trying to shake the cobwebs from his memory. Twilight sighed a little and dropped her indignations instantly. A lot indeed had happened and she shouldn’t have expected for Spike to remember everything. Losing the library had been hard on the both of them. She looked back over her shoulder at him as she walked into the entrance hall and smiled at him reassuringly. “It’s alright. I know this is a big change, and I’m so proud of you for how you’ve handled it.” She broadened her smile and Spike seemed to find solace in it, his posture straightening and his smile returning. “So.” Spike said, returning to business as he jumped off her back, the both of them standing before the castle doors. “Why are they coming again?” “We’re going over some of the preparations for the Ball, it’s only a week away and we still need to decorate and such. Invitations have already been sent out to the princesses, our family, and Ponyville, but we’ve also have been getting many requests for invitations from all over Equestria.” Twilight sighed in exasperation. Being a princess was great, but the attention she received could sometimes be overwhelming. “The nobility of all three tribes have sent in requests, as have the Wonderbolts, numerous celebrities, newspaper reporters, and even some foreign royalty and their ambassadors! Can you believe it?!” “Which ones?” “The Chief Shamaness of Zebrica, the High King of Griffonia, and even the Grand Duke of Cervidae! The Daily Trot newspaper in Canterlot reported that the Open House Ball is going to be the party of the century!” She groaned, mentally going over the list of requests for invites. Twilight had originally wanted to throw a low-key party with her friends and family and Ponyville, but gossip and rumors seemed to fly faster than Rainbow Dash. It was inevitable, she supposed, that everypony would want to explore the new castle of Equestria’s newest princess. Especially since said princess had just restored all the magic of Equestria and saved the world from perhaps the most magically powerful monster to have escaped Tartarus. Twilight shivered at the thought of what Tirek would have done with the combined power of four alicorns, Discord, and all of Equestria if she and her friends had not stopped him with the power from the Tree of Harmony. Her morbid musings were thankfully interrupted by Spike. “You know what I really can’t believe?” He said, looking at the hallway around him and the castle in general. “What?” Twilight asked, following his gaze. “How quickly it took to fill up this place with furniture, considering it was empty a week ago.” Twilight nodded in agreement, it too had surprised her with how quickly the castle was furnished. Luna had indeed sent the Royal Artisan to start cataloguing what Twilight needed for her castle, but soon she and Spike were receiving new furniture from all over the Equestria and even the world. Upon hearing of the destruction of her home, ponies all over the Equestria sent in donations to help. Most of these came in the form of bits for the Royal Artisan to use, but Twilight and Spike had also been given expensive and beautifully decorated furniture too. To name off a few new acquisitions, there was Twilight’s new bed of purple crystal that was a gift from the ponies of the Crystal Empire and the sheets now on it were from Saddle Arabia. Her new desk in her personal quarters was a highly polished solid wood oak that had been cut from the ancient forests of Cervidae and carved with ancient pictograms of early Equestria. In the Great Hall where she and guests would eat, a table from Stalliongrad and their chairs had been crafted by their renowned Carpenter’s guild. Tapestries restored from the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters also littered the hall, a gift from Celestia and Luna as well among other things sent by the Royal Sisters. Her parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet, had given her a new telescope for her own use, several new signed books Velvet had written to replace the ones destroyed, and a tapestry depicting a large blue shield and helmet, which was the crest of their ancient family, the Unicorn House of Armor. Shining had sent decorative suits of armor from the Crystal Imperial Legion as well as some from Celestia’s Royal Guard and Luna’s Night Watch. Cadence gave a separate gift of a large and plushy cushion embroidered with Twilight’s Cutie Mark that she now used to read on. Spike had gotten a large bed carved from a single jewel that was sent by a group of dragons in the far south. Even Owlowiscous received a new perch from Griffonia. Twilight had tried to give some to her friends, but they all refused and said that she and Spike needed it. Once everything was sent and done, Twilight figured she had enough furnishings to fill the castle twice, so she donated the extra to charity since they didn’t need extra. Twilight appreciated the sympathy and the gifts, but she felt overwhelmed by the amount of things given to them. She really missed her library, it was so cozy and homely, unlike the richly decorated castle now. Twilight didn’t want to offend or disappoint anypony by not accepting their sincere gifts however, so she accepted them and went on. Now, in a week’s time, Twilight would show everypony her new home. On the invitations though, Twilight specifically mentioned there be no House-Warming gifts. Turning her head towards Spike, Twilight idly replied, her thoughts still cataloguing everything. “Yes I know Spike, it was a—“ “SURPRISE!!” Jumping forward in astonishment, the two of them whirled away from the door to face the source of the shout that came from directly behind them. It was Pinkie Pie, sporting a kazoo in her mouth and a party hat firmly strapped to her head. “Pinkie! How did you—“ TWEET!! “Ha-ha, very funny Pinkie, but seriously—“ TWEET!! Twilight and Spike laughed a little, but before they could get an answer out of Pinkie, the door behind them emanated with two large knocks. KNOCK KNOCK “Oh!! I know this one!” Squealed Pinkie. She rushed past Twilight and pressed her head to the door and asked. “Who’s there?” A confused voice that sounded much like Applejack came from the other side. “Uh…Pinkie?” “Pinkie who?” This didn’t seem to help much, as Applejack’s voice seemed to vocalize her deepening confusion. “Well, Pinkie Pi—“ “No! You’re supposed to answer with your name!” Rainbow’s voice cut off Applejack, who replied heatedly. “Why would Ah answer with my name? My name ain’t Pinkie!” Twilight heard a loud smack come from the other side of the door which suspiciously sounded a lot like Rainbow face-hoofing. Before the debacle could continue, Twilight gently lifted a giggling Pinkie out of the way before opening the doors to reveal her other four friends. “Girls!” She smiled “I’m so glad you came, please, come on in!” The four ponies, two of whom were giving Pinkie the stink-eye, followed Twilight as she made her way down the main hallway to the throne room. Rarity trotted up from behind and became level with Twilight as she walked. She could see that Rarity was gazing at the Sun and Moon tapestries that they had just passed by. “Twilight! Those are exactly like the old tapestries in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters! However did you find the loom designs to copy them! I thought the originals had been lost!” “Oh, those aren’t copies. Those are the originals. The Royal Artesian restored them with some help from a few archaeologists.” “I see. But shouldn’t Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have them back in Canterlot?” Rarity implored, their destination approaching quickly. “I had thought so too, but the two of them were adamant that I keep them, especially Princess Celestia. They wanted them to remain with the other things restored from their old castle, like the books from their library. Also…well…” Twilight mumbled as her speech descended into embarrassed incoherency. “What?” asked Fluttershy, who was opening the door for them as they passed under the arch into the throne room. Twilight blushed a little, she was a little self-conscious over what the two sisters had told her. “Well…apparently…after Tirek’s rampage…and I gave the other princesses their magic back…” “Yes?” “It didn’t all…go away.” … “Sugercube, do yah mean to tell us that yah still have sum of Celestia’s and Luna’s magic?” The others were staring at Twilight as they each took their respective seats in the throne room. “Oh no! I gave it all back!” Twilight said, shaking her head in denial. But she winced a little and continued. “But having used their magic to lower the moon and raise the sun once, just once, their magic left a permanent imprint on mine. My magic can now feel and effect the changing of the celestial mechanisms.” “What about Princess Cadence’s love magic?” Asked Rarity, sitting up straight on her throne “You had hers in addition to the royal sisters.” Twilight shook her head again while she got comfortable on her own throne, making a mental note for later to install a cushion. “I never used Cadence’s magic, just Celestia’s and Luna’s, therefore my magic is only attuned to theirs.” “Hold up a moment.” Rainbow said, looking down at Twilight from her throne. She wasn’t content to sit in the seat like the others but was perched on the top like a bird. “So even though you gave them their magic back, you can raise the sun and moon.” “Well…yes, but it’s not like that.” Corrected Twilight, trying to form her thoughts into words to better explain to her friends. “I could if I had too, but Celestia and Luna still control the sun and moon. Since their magic is solely attuned to the sun and moon, they have more power over them than I do. I’d imagine I would need their permission to affect either one. It’s just that I can help them now if they need it, which I couldn’t before since only their magic could affect the sun and moon.” “So what’s it like!” squealed Pinkie, who Twilight could see was sitting on the edge of her throne in anticipation of an answer. “Well…” murmed Twilight, thinking back over the few times she had noticed Celestia’s and Luna’s magic over the past week. “It’s almost like having an internal alarm clock. I can literally feel when the sun comes up and when the moon goes down, and vice versa. It’s so fascinating really, I’ll have to research it sometime to better understand it.” The others nodded in understanding, but Twilight then saw Applejack look curiously around the throne room as the others thought over what she had just said. “Hey Twilight?” Applejack asked, her brows etched in curiousity and a slight tint of worry. “Why are we here in your—“ “Our.” “--throne room instead of the regular meeting room we’ve been using to plan this shindig? I thought we agreed we would only come and use these here thrones if thar was an emergency or somethin.” “Yeah!” Agreed Rainbow Dash, sizing up Twilight in suspicion. “I don’t want to be called in to sit in this oversized chair for every single royal duty you have. I have…uh…stuff to do!” Twilight sighed, even though there were six other thrones in addition to hers, she was the princess, not them. After Tirek was defeated, they had all agreed despite Twilight’s protests that they would only sit on the thrones if there was another crisis like Nightmare Moon or the Changelings again, much like they had done with the Elements of Harmony. Though they were appreciative of the pedestal Twilight put them on, her friends were reluctant (in Applejack’s case downright hostile) to claim all the trappings of royalty from her success. (Applejack had yelled something along the lines of ‘No good and honest Apple would ever be a freeloader!’) Twilight in the end, had reluctantly understood. She didn’t want to make her friends do anything they didn’t want to do. She was the princess, and her friends had their own lives to live. “Sorry,” she said, her ears folding back in abashment. “The meeting room is being renovated and this room already had enough chairs for all of us.” “OOOoooooohhh.” Was their reply, though Spike didn’t join in with them. He was rather proud that he had an equal part to play in their little gang, unlike before with the Elements. “So what else needs to be done darling?” Asked Rarity. “We’ve covered the food—“ “Eeyup, that’s us Apples.” “—along with the desserts and entertainment—“ “Yuppers!! That’s me!! Pinkie!” “—Fluttershy will be joining our singing group to perform—“ “Well…maybe just a little…maybe…” “—and of course, the flying stunts for the evening.” “I’m going to knock their horseshoes off!!” Yelled Rainbow Dash while performing a loop in the middle of the throne room. “Scoots is helping me and it’s going to be AWESOME!!” “I think everything is just about covered Twilight.” Soothed Spike. “Don’t worry, everything is just going to be fine.” BOOM!! The sudden noise startling them all, Twilight stared at the closed doors to the throne room in suspicion. She thought it sounded a lot like the main doors to the outside of Castle Aurora. She then looked next to her at Spike, a question forming on her lips. “Spike? I thought we sent all the workers home for today.” “We did.” Twilight glanced back up at the doors with concern along with everypony else. “Then who could possibly—“ All too soon, she heard the distinct sound of a hooves clopping on her crystal floors. By the sound of it, there were three ponies trotting purposely through her home. Thinking it strange, as she wasn’t expecting any other visitors, Twilight reached out with her magic and opened the doors to the throne room, as it was polite to do so for guests. As the purple doors opened and they all beheld the ponies behind them, Twilight wished she had slammed the doors in their faces immediately, instead of gaping at her visitors in surprise. “Oh, it’s you.” Rarity said scathingly, looking away from the trio of unicorns in distaste as if she had smelled something rotten. It was Prince Blueblood, the duke of Canterlot and the last remaining noble of House Platinum, the royal line of unicorns. To his right was another male unicorn dressed as dapperly as the prince, Twilight idly recognized him as Coal Dust of House Obsidian, the duke of Fillydelphia. On Blueblood’s left was Gold Dust of House Gold, the duchess of Vanhoover. When Twilight had been Celestia’s student, she had never interacted with the snobby prince or the other unicorn nobles for that matter. Despite her family being nobility, Night Light and Twilight Velvet were almost never involved in politics and actively worked to not get involved. They preferred to be known by their own character and works instead of their ancestors, a trait Twilight wholeheartedly agreed with. They didn’t think much of their House, the Armors, except as interesting genealogy. As Celestia’s student, the nobility had ignored Twilight and she returned the favor. They were initially interested when Celestia took Twilight under her wing, but soon lost interest as Twilight buried herself in her studies and barely interacted with anypony besides her family and the princess. After the Grand Galloping Gala, Twilight apologized to Rarity for not warning her about Blueblood, even though she didn’t know the prince at all or his character. When she had become a princess, most of the nobility (ironically the Earth Pony and Pegasi nobility) didn’t put up a fuss about her ascension since she was a proven guardian of Equestria. The unicorn nobles however, had protested strongly since they saw her ascension as a further weakening of their own royal, Prince Blueblood. In fact, the unicorn nobles had argued that since Twilight was a member of House Armor and originally a unicorn, she was in fact subservient to Blueblood, who was the Prince of Unicorns (which was in truth an empty title, as all the power with the position had been given to Celestia and Luna by Princesss Platinum when the Royal Sisters were given the Equestrian Throne). When the unicorn nobles had brought their arguments to Celestia, the enraged princess had immediately decreed that any noble that did not treat Twilight as an equal to Celestia and the other princesses, would immediately forfeit their title and lands. Since then, none had protested to the princesses. At least, they didn’t protest in public. Returning her thoughts to the present, Twilight appraised her unwelcome guests. They were all scowling, and looked displeased in general, as if Twilight had already insulted them. Twilight could already tell that the conversation was not going to be pleasant. Not in the slightest. “Prince Blueblood,” Twilight dragged out through her false smile. “Duke Coal Dust, and Duchess Gold Dust, what a…surprise. What brings you to my home?” And what can I do to make you leave it? Bringing his eyes to gaze back at Twilight, Blueblood seemed to struggle to place the smile Twilight knew was as false as her own. “Princess Twilight,” He bowed reluctantly and the other nobles followed suit. “I have come to bring to your attention a matter of the greatest importance.” “I’m afraid any business you have with me will have to wait.” Twilight told them politely. “I will soon be posting court hours which you may attend and I encourage you to schedule an appointment. My friends and I are busy at the moment with important planning.” Blueblood blinked a few times as he hadn’t expected Twilight to refuse him. He looked to the other nobles for support and Coal Dust nudged the prince into starting again. “This cannot wait,” he said oily after an awkward pause “it is a matter of greatest urgency and it would be best if we present our case to your highness alone.” Blueblood accented the last word by glaring at the other five mares and Spike as he spoke. The other unicorns nodded and looked at the others in shared scorn. Twilight scowled as she understood the prince’s insinuation, but she was not about put off a meeting with her friends for Blueblood of all ponies. Unfortunately, she couldn’t just ignore him, as he was the Duke of Canterlot and he had a right to inform her of distressing business that required her immediate attention. Reluctantly, she acknowledged that she would have to listen to the prince’s ramblings (she didn’t think anything Blueblood considered urgent could be really that important) but she wasn’t going to cave and send away her friends however. “Whatever you want to say to me, can be said in front of them.” She told him icily. As she looked down at Blueblood, who seemed taken aback at her refusal, Twilight had the infinite satisfaction to notice that she had grown taller than the stuffy unicorn prince. “Fine.” He said bluntly, all respect dropping from his tone. “My colleagues—“ Blueblood gestured to the duke and duchess flanking him. “—and I are bringing forward a petition most of the nobility from all three tribes have signed. We want you to immediately act upon our demand.” Twilight was a little surprised, for if Blueblood was telling the truth, he actually had something that warranted her attention. She could never recall a time the Earth Pony and Pegasi nobility agreed with Blueblood on anything. Turning to Gold Dust, Blueblood’s horn lit up as the duchess gave him a piece of paper from her saddlebag. He held it aloft as Twilight took it from him. Giving Blueblood a suspicious glare, Twilight quickly read over the parchment. … From the Council of Confederate Nobility to Her Highness, Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Magic. In the aftermath of the centaur Tirek’s seizure of all of Equestria’s magic, and his defeat at your hooves, this council has investigated the cause of the crisis. We have found that if the draconeques, Discord, had not aided Tirek in capturing ponies for the centaur to drain of magic, then the princesses and yourself would have been able to defeat Tirek easily and re-imprison him. We have taken notice that the Royal Sisters, Princess Cadence, and you have not taken any disciplinary actions towards his betrayal of Equestria in the aftermath of this horrific attack. Therefore, these under signers demand the permanent imprisonment of Discord, and charge you with this task as you have been proven in imprisoning the belligerent chaotic figure before. Prince Blueblood; Duke of Canterlot, Prince of Unicorns, House Platinum Duke York of Manehatten, House Silver Duke Coal Dust of Fillydelphia, House Obsidian Duchess Gold Dust of Vanhoover, House Gold Consul Thunder Strike of CloudesDale Consul Wheeler of Rainbow Falls Consul Cyclone of Los Pegasus Governor Tumble Weed of Dodge City Governor Quartz of Crystal City Governor Pear Cake of Hollow Shades Sherriff Silverstar of the Appleloosa Territory Governor Trotsky of Stalliongrad … Twilight read over the names of petitioners with growing dread. Not all of the nobility had signed this, but enough had to where she couldn’t just ignore it and Blueblood immediately. In a sense, they were correct. Tirek would have been much easier to deal with if Discord had not helped him. In all likelihood, the combined might of the four princesses would have been able to defeat Tirek easily if Discord had not accelerated his power grab (literally) by capturing ponies for the centaur to drain. In fact, Twilight doubted that there would have been a need for Celestia, Luna, and Cadence to give Twilight their magic if Discord had not been involved with Tirek’s thievery at all. Also, Twilight might have been able to defeat Tirek by herself eventually if Discord had not gotten Twilight’s friends captured and held hostage. But in the end, not only was Discord a victim almost as much as anypony else (having his magic stolen by Tirek too), but he had been essential in righting his wrong by helping Twilight and her friends unlock the chest and find the power to defeat Tirek and restore Equestria’s magic. He now showed genuine repentance for his deeds, and Twilight thought he deserved some leniency. Having been humiliated so astoundingly and having his magic drained from him forcefully was enough of a punishment, in her opinion. Discord was her friend, and Twilight would stand up for him. “No.” Twilight told them, resolute in not even considering imprisoning Discord. “Twilight? What is it? What did that thar paper say?” Applejack asked, her brow scrunched in worry at Twilight’s reaction. “No?!” Blueblood screeched incredulously, he and his comrades appeared shocked by her blunt refusal. He pawed the crystal floor in front of her throne and sneered at her. “What do you mean no! Most of the nobility from all three tribes signed that! That monster needs to be locked up in Tartarus with Tirek, you—“ “Hold up!” Rainbow Dash seemed to have picked up quickly what the petition said. “Are you talking about Discord? Cause there’s no way we’re even going to try to imprison our friend!” Twilight thought this was odd coming from Rainbow Dash, who had once bore the Element of Loyalty. She had been understandably upset when Discord betrayed them, and Twilight had not seen the pegasus warm back up to Discord since, but evidently she had forgiven the draconeques of his misdeeds. Twilight knew all too well the sting of Discord’s betrayal, and it would have been so easy to hold it against him. But she knew that Discord had been manipulated by Tirek into helping him. Looking back, Twilight realized that if she and the other princesses had been more welcoming of Discord, instead of treating him as a walking time bomb (though he had done more than enough to earn that title) then perhaps he wouldn’t have felt like their ‘errand boy’ and Tirek wouldn’t have been able to persuade him. After Discord fully recounted his story to Twilight and her friends, she had picked up an inkling that even as he had helped Tirek, he was trying to find friendship. His actions with the centaur only cemented her theory. Discord’s reaction to Tirek’s betrayal and his immediate remorse had sealed it. Twilight saw the others pick up on Rainbow Dash’s discovery and they too started to shout at the nobles in unified refusal of their demand. “How dare you!” Rarity screeched. “Ain’t no way ya’ll will get ya’lls filthy hooves on him!” “Nuh huh! Nuh huh!” Pinkie repeated, bouncing up and down on her throne as she yelled down at them. Fluttershy was silent but nodded along with the rest of them. Spike too remained silent but he crossed his arms and smoke curled from his nostrils in outrage. Blueblood shook his head from side to side as the refusals assaulted him from each pony. Glaring angrily at all of them, he shouted up back at Twilight and tried to ignore their yells of denial. “Listen here Sparkle! That beast has no business being among us! I don’t know why Celestia even released the mad monster in the first place! The only thing he’s good for is collecting pigeon poop in the royal gardens!” Fluttershy’s wings fluttered a little as she sat up and tried to calm Blueblood. She spoke in soothing tones and smiled at him reassuringly. “Now, now, I know Discord’s done some not so nice things, but—“ Blueblood rounded on her and screamed into her face. “Do not speak to me harlot! I did not come to trade words with some commoner!!” “HEY!!!” Rainbow flew down until she was inches from Blueblood’s face. “Nopony talks to my friend like that!!” Twilight was furious, standing up and her horn glowing brilliantly, she smothered Blueblood and Rainbow in her magic before simultaneously teleporting both of them. Rainbow Dash ended up back on her throne, and Blueblood landed directly in front of her. “Prince Blueblood!” she snarled, tossing his title like a misused dish cloth. “You do not disrespect my friends! They—“ Apparently, Blueblood was either very stupid or very brave to interrupt one of Twilight’s infamous lectures. Who was she kidding? “I will disrespect whomever I wish Sparkle!! These mares—" “And a dragon!!” Spike yelled. “--are nothing but backwater country bumpkins!! How dare you ask me, the Prince of Unicorns, to treat these uneducated scullery maids with respect!!! I would rather—“ Twilight never found out what Blueblood would rather have done, for with a satisfying zip, a zipper sprouted across his muzzle and sealed his mouth shut. Blueblood didn’t notice that his ramblings were now incoherent, as he seemed to gesture dramatically his supposed importance before he froze up and felt the zipper across his face, discovering the new addition. He then tried to unzip it but had no success, to Twilight’s infinite amusement. I’ll have to thank Discord for that later. The obviousness of the trick aside, Twilight, being the alicorn of magic, could sense different types of magic, and Discord’s brand of magic stood out like an oasis in a desert. While Blueblood struggled to renew his rant and her friends started keeling over with laughter at his performance, Twilight looked around the throne room for Discord, seeing if she could spot him hiding anywhere. But she didn’t see anything that would give him away. Not two mischievous mismatched eyes or that grinning smile he wore when he performed his mischeif. Discord had been unusually shy lately, which Twilight understood. He had only popped up occasionally over the past week to see her and their friends barely saw him at all. Vowing mentally to find her friend later, Twilight turned her attention back to the silenced stallion. Blueblood was now gesturing to Gold Dust and Coal Dust to continue with his speech, trying to (in a very princely fashion) gesture what he wanted said. Thankfully, either they didn’t understand his signaling or they were smart enough to back off. Gold Dust looked apprehensive but turned a determined face towards Twilight anyway. “We are the unicorn nobles, the most ancient and preserved of Equestria’s nobility, and we will not acknowledge your friends as anything but decoration for your court. They are unfit for the honor you bestow upon them.” She paused and seemed to gather her thoughts. “You are making a mistake honoring these mares as equals in your court, you would be wise to choose among us to fill these thrones.” Twilight could see her eyes gleam with ambition, and she had a sudden strike of insight. Of course the nobles, particularly the unicorns, saw these thrones as an opportunity. They saw a princess treating her friends as equals, and probably thought that if they could replace or remove her friends, then they too could sit on one of these thrones. That was why the nobles were so both affronted and interested by her new throne room, they saw it as a chance for more power. Snorting disdainfully, Twilight knew she would never allow that to come to pass. These thrones were for the protection and the continued harmony of Equestria, Twilight would give up her crown before she let something that important dissolve into something as pointless as power grabbing. “My friends were chosen to sit here with me by the ancient magic that has guided our land for millennia duchess, and they will help me as I seek to protect and guide our land along with the other princesses.” Scowling in frustration, Gold Dust opened her mouth to respond, but Twilight levitated their petition in front of her. “As for Discord,” she intoned regally, trying to sound like Celestia when the sun princess addressed her court. “this council will not imprison him or take any actions against him. He was a victim like the rest of us. My answer is no.” And with that, she tore the parchment into pieces with her magic before igniting it. Its ashes floated to the ground where they gathered into a neat pile. While Gold Dust looked aghast at the ash pile in front of her, Coal Dust addressed her. “You’re making a mistake princess, protecting that monster.” “No,” Twilight answered calmly. “I am doing the same thing that defeated Tirek and restored Equestria its magic. If that is something you have issue with, then you may leave.” The two nobles looked cowed, but Blueblood kept gesturing wildly, now not even trying to act prim and proper. Gold Dust seemed to understand his nonsensical movement and translated for them. “His highness says that he will not be attending your party next week. It will sure to be a fiasco without him.” She translated. “Then I will return the invitation I never sent. And it will be all the more pleasant.” She told the affronted prince bluntly. Blueblood seemed to have reached the end of his patience, for he stuck his muzzle in the air (from which the zipper still dangled) and walked out the door back into the hallway, the other two following him with similar body posture. They all watched them walk away until the doors to the castle slammed shut behind them. With the nobles gone, the others shifted in the thrones uncomfortably. They looked at each other in wonder at what to do until Fluttershy spoke up. “Thanks Twilight, for standing up for Discord.” “You’re welcome Fluttershy, by the way, have you seen him lately?” “No,” she said sadly. “He’s been flitting in and out of places. Like a lost puppy.” “He’ll pop up or fly in eventually. He always does!” Rainbow said energetically. “All this aside darling,” Rarity interrupted, she seemed to have a thought. “What are you going to do about party-crashers?” “Ooh!! Ooh!! Pick me!! I know the answer!!” Pinkie screamed. “Alright Pinkie!” yelped Applejack. “Fire away!” “Nopony likes a party pooper! So I say we put them in this!!” She scuttled behind the throne and returned with a large version of her party cannon. “And they can go party-poop somewhere else!!” The rest of them nodded carefully (Fluttershy somewhat fearfully, while Dash seemed like she wanted to try it) and Twilight nudged the cannon to where it wasn’t pointing at her. “What I meant is,” Rarity corrected. “Is what we will do for guards?” “Guards?” Twilight tilted her head, the question coming out of the blue for her. “Yes dear, guards. This is a castle, it needs guards.” She said dutifully. “Oh!” Twilight said, she then laughed a little and waved a hoof dismissively. “I don’t need guards! Don’t be ridiculous!” “Sugercube, I’m with Rares on this one. This is a mighty big place, you’re gonna need some extra support.” Applejack added, peering at Twilight sternly. “But why would I need guards!” Twilight said defensively. “This is Ponyville for crying out loud!” She laughed again until she noticed nopony else was laughing with her. “Well…” Fluttershy started. “There was Nightmare Moon— “—and Discord—“ “—Dragons—“ “--Diamond Dogs—“ “—amulet-crazy showmare—“ “—Ursa-Minor—“ “—Timberwolves—“ “—Changelings—“ “—Tirek—“ “ALRIGHT I GET IT!!” She yelled, the barrage of the list of enemies coming from all sides as her friends listed them off. “But do I really need guards?” “Yes Twi,” Rainbow said firmly. “Cause by the look of those snobs, they aren’t happy with you. And we don’t want to see you get hurt. And let’s face it, your castle is kinda obvious.” “They’ll be attracted to it like moths to a lighthouse.” Applejack added. Twilight was frustrated. She didn’t want guards, just like she didn’t want servants. She had nothing against them, her own brother was a guard! The thing was she hated thinking that she had to be such a bother that ponies had to take care of her. On the other hoof, her friends were right, again. It wasn’t her small cozy and unnoticeable library tree anymore, it was a huge, honking, enormous castle! Trying to think of a way out of it while complying to her friend’s worries, Twilight scrambled to find a compromise. As she thought, a broom and dustpan had arrived to clean up the ash pile that had been Blueblood’s petition. An idea formed. “I just got a whole bunch of armor from my brother! What if I enchanted them to serve as guards! It’ll take a bit of work, but I can do it!” Spike didn’t seem to like that idea. “Brooms and mops were one thing Twilight, but armor! What if--” “I’ll promote you to Knight-Commander and they’ll take orders from you.” “Done!” Spike agreed heartily, shaking her hoof in agreement. “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously sugercube.” Applejack interjected heatedly. “I agree with A.J., magic and spells aren’t substitute for the real thing Twi.” Added Rainbow. Twilight sighed, she knew convincing her friends would be tougher. “Tell you what, for the Open House Ball I’ll ask Celestia and Luna if I could borrow some of their guards for the night, then we’ll discuss this again. O.K.?” Her friends didn’t seem too happy about it, but they nodded in agreement. “I don’t think there’s anything else to discuss, let’s go eat lunch.” Said Fluttershy. RUMBLE RUMBLE. Twilight blushed as her friends turned to her and her stomach, which apparently agreed with Fluttershy. “Alright, let’s eat, I just stocked the kitchen. Meeting adjourned.” Castle Aurora Six Hours Later Twilight Spike had just gone to bed, and Twilight was about to do some late-night research and she had gone down to the kitchen for a snack, when she felt it. Chaos Magic. One of the first things she had done to the castle was cast a ward that would alert her to any pony that entered the castle by magical means, and where they were located. Usually, her defensive spells would have blocked an intruder, but Discord was not known for making sense. Looking around, Twilight grabbed a tea set before sending her magic senses to find out where the draconeques was. Upon locking onto his magical signature, she discovered that he was sitting on top of the roof of the castle’s highest tower. Seizing upon his chaotic presence like a beacon, Twilight charged up her magic and teleported to the top, taking the tea set with her. As the magic from her teleportation disappeared and she regained her senses, Twilight saw Discord. And felt pity. The mismatched figure was crouched low on the roof, a fluffy pink cotton candy cloud floating above him while it rained chocolate milk on him. As she watched, he raised his lion’s paw and rubbed his finger and thumb together and it was then that Twilight could hear some very sad violin music playing. “It’s a cricket violin.” He said plainly. “I borrowed it from one of Fluttershy’s animal friends.” Twilight didn’t know what to make of Discord. She had never seen him to lack so much energy or spirit. No matter if he was happy, mad, or anything, Discord had this boundless energy he seemed to have everywhere he went and in everthing he did. She didn’t see it now. Discord was the stillest she had ever seen (minus the time he was a statue) , and he continued to stare off over the distant Everfree Forest as he played his cricket violin. Twilight flapped her wings and glided over to him until she sat next to him on the roof, she would have been drizzled in chocolate milk if they could hadn’t parted and spared her, Discord’s doing. She picked up the tea set in her magic and levitated it in front of him. “Tea cup?” “You are too kind my dear.” He said, a brief smile flitted across his face until it disappeared again. He reached out with his eagle claw and grasped one of the tea cups. With a loud crunch, he started munching on it. They sat together as Discord munched on the tea cup, Twilight gathered some of the chocolate milk in her cup and sipped from it daintily. Twilight knew on some level that Discord felt guilty, and that was something he was probably not use to feeling. She knew prodding him wouldn’t help, and it would be best if he came out of his own accord. “You know,” Discord started, still staring off over the forest. “In all those times I played my games and had my way, I never thought about how those I played with felt.” Twilight stayed silent, letting him talk. “It’s different, being the victim, the puppet on the end of the string. For that’s exactly what Tirek did, he played me for a fool, and I danced to his tune.” Twilight said nothing. “And then it all came crashing down, like a house of cards. I pretend that I’m all-knowing, it’s part of the game, but nothing could be further from the truth. Even I get caught by surprise, as you know.” He paused seeming to sort his thoughts. “And when I realized what a fool I had been, to both trust Tirek and to betray you, I was too late, and I expected the worst. For being the master of Chaos, I seem to have found a rut in thinking predictably, for I imagined that for such an act of treachery, I had forfeited any kind of friendship I had and refused to even hope for a better possibility.” … “But I was wrong, you are full of surprises Twilight Sparkle.” “Thanks.” “You’re welcome.” A pause, they just sat together, enjoying the cool evening breeze. The sun was making it’s descent on the distant horizon, casting the skies into a brilliant shade of lavander. “Discord, I know you feel bad for what happened, but you can’t do this to yourself, it’s not healthy.” "So is chocolate, but we still eat it." Twilight didn't answer that, and she waited until he turned and she could finally see all of his face. “There is something I do not understand, and I want to know.” “What?” “When I first tried to be ‘reformed’, I saw friendship as a compromise, an I do this for you, and you do this for me kinda thing.” “Not all of it, but it is needed sometimes.” “But then, when I had nothing to offer, and when you had every right to cast me aside as I had you. You forgave me, and saved me, even though I was the cause of all the trouble.” He looked her in the eye. “Why?” “Because you asked for forgiveness.” Discord looked confused, something Twilight did not see often. “I never spoke though.” “You didn’t need to.” She said calmly. “I could see you, your regret, your repentance, your sadness. I knew you did terrible things with Tirek, but I also knew, unlike him, you realized your mistake and wanted to do better.” “I only realized it because I had lost.” “It doesn’t matter how you realize it, but that you do recognize your mistake.” … “Even so, surely, given my crimes, I deserved to be punished, to be left behind. Why extend grace towards someone with that hanging from them.” “That’s not how grace works. Grace is given out of hope, and the times we need grace the most is when we least deserve it.” With that, Twilight stood up and walked up to him, standing in front of him. “I think you need a hug.” Reaching around him, Twilight hugged him, and was happy to feel— No wait, that’s the flag pole. “Over here!” he sang, he laughed and Twilight knew that he was feeling better already. He reached down and plucked her off the tower and hugged her for real this time, swinging her around until he set her back down. Discord smiled again and laughed heartily before he looked back towards the sun. “I think I will go on a—what’s it called?” There was a flash and he was dressed in a tourist get-up complete with the gaudy hat and hideious sunglasses. “A road trip? Yes that’s it!” “Where will you go?” She laughed. “Oh, here, there, everywhere! But seriously, I’m off on an adventure!” Another flash and he was suddenly dressed like Starswirl the Bearded, complete with the large hat. “Care to join me? I go onwards on a quest of searching!” “What are you searching for?” “Myself of course!” Twilight smirked. “Well, I hope you find yourself here in time for the Open-House Ball, there are some nobles that could use some…new outfits.” Discord flashed next to her in an old grannies costume. “Oh I’m so proud of you! My little Twiley’s all grown up!” Another flash and he was dressed like Daring Do. “But ta-ta Twilight! I must be going, before I go I must…er…drop in on some friends of ours.” Impossibly, a vine appeared out of thin air and held itself in front of him. He grabbed hold of it like he was about to swing off the top of the tower. “Discord, wait.” He looked back and pushed the pith helmet up his forehead. “Hurry Twilight, haven’t a moment to lose! Surely you know the benefits of a kept schedule!” “You heard Blueblood today.” “Now Twilight, we don’t cuss in good company.” She smirked again. “I want you to know, no matter what other ponies say, you’re always welcome in my home.” Discord smiled, and his eyes twinkled mischievously. “Dear, dear, Twilight, it astounds me how much you are like your mother.” “Huh?” “Toodaloo!!!” he yelled, he grabbed the vine and leaped off, and Twilight could hear his mad cackling as he swung towards what Twilight could see was Fluttershy’s cottage. She sat there a moment, enjoying it, when an errant thought struck her. “Since when did Discord know my mom?”