//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 - Royal Reception // Story: The Traveling Tutor and the Royal Exam // by Georg //------------------------------// The Traveling Tutor and the Royal Exam Royal Reception The forces of the Crystal Guard spread out across the pale blue sky in a rather thin layer when compared to the massive zeppelin and its compliment of griffons circling above it. Shining Armor’s face was a stoic mask as he stood in the hovering chariot, waiting until his scout fluttered up and saluted. “Captain Prince Shining Armor, sir, Your Highness?” The rather scrawny pegasus fit somewhat loosely in his golden armor, a side-effect of selecting by talents instead of size for the temporary Crystal Guard, on loan from the Canterlot Royal Guard or whatever forces Princess Celestia could find who were willing to move to the crystal city. Skyflake was an expert at arctic survival, with keen vision, an aggressive attitude towards headwinds, and about two pegasi worth of body hair on about three-quarters of a regular pegasi’s body. Give him a message in a raging blizzard and he would deliver it to wherever or whoever it was supposed to go, but he still was just a little flighty for Shining Armor’s preferences. “Corporal Skyflake, could you look over there and tell me what you see?” Shining Armor nodded towards the griffons in the distance and winced as Skyflake saluted again and replied, “Attacking griffons, sir!” “Wrong. Corporal, could you perhaps tell me just what they are supposed to be attacking?” “Um…” Skyflake looked down at the peaceful ski chalet and scratched what little of his shaggy mane he could reach with the helmet in the way. “And,” continued Shining Armor, “can you identify the name of that rather large and distinctive airship that seems parked over my sister’s summer retreat?” “Uh…” Skyflake squinched up his face to get his long mane out of his eyes and concentrated. “It’s written on the side in Griffon⁽*⁾, I believe.” (*) To Corporal Skyflake’s credit, any normal pony with a set of binoculars would have had problems reading the letters from this range. The Griffon Empire normally did not write the name of their airships on the outside, but relied on painting the visage and colors of the commanding griffon on the hull. The two-meter high Griffon letters were new, for the benefit of a certain member of the Equestrian Postal Service who was somewhat confused by their mobile postal code. — Suppressing a facehoof, Shining Armor instead took a deep breath before continuing. “Corporal, if you had ever looked through the aerial recognition cards during training, you would recognize Emperor Ripping Claw’s flagship, the Indomitable. From the number of aerie flags flying, it is on a goodwill tour through the griffon settlements, picking up various wingmasters, showing them around, and then sending them home peacefully. Do you have any idea how close you brought us to a war with the Griffon Empire, which I might point out is currently—” Shining Armor cut off abruptly before his mouth finished the thought. Top Secret intelligence reports hoof-carried from Princess Celestia by one’s own father were not for general distribution to random members of the guard, no matter how badly they had screwed up and how close their actions had come to leading the brand-new Prince Consort into a massacre. Luna’s Stars above, he hadn’t even been able to tell Cadence about the report. His wife was a kind and loving soul who thought only the best of everpony, or in Sunny’s case, everygriffon. She would never gossip, but finding out just how few years or even months Equestrian intelligence estimated that the ailing griffon emperor had before turning his perch over to a replacement was sensitive information. Cadence could never have been able to keep that knowledge from affecting her relationship with Third Heir Princess Sun Shines on the Misty Mountains at Dawn Through Early Morning Hazy Skies, their next-mountain neighbor, particularly in light of her recent loss of her grandfather, the details of which had become gruesomely clear the longer Sunny had stayed with them. “Corporal, I have some new orders that I want you to take to all of the squadron leaders. It is very important that they not be confused with any combat orders, and once you’ve finished distributing them, I have one more message that I need you get to Canterlot as fast as possible.” “Yes, sir!” The pegasus saluted in a flurry of loose mane while Shining Armor scribbled away on his portable desk. “I’ll set a new record on the Crystal Empire to Canterlot run, sir!” “I didn’t say you were going to fly there,” growled Shining Armor. “You’re going to fly down to the chalet with me and I’m going to apologize profusely to Emperor Ripping Claw for this embarrassing misunderstanding while you have Spike deliver my ‘Please disregard the previous panicked pronouncement’ to Princess Celestia so it gets to her before the courier. And you know what the worst part is going to be?” “Postage?” “No. I’m going to have to be social to my new brother-in-law.” * ♥ * The deck of the ski chalet was a huge expanse, fully able to accommodate the tall griffon emperor and all of the other guests as they stared up into the mountain air and watched the aerial acrobatic displays put on by both the Crystal Guard and the griffons, each of which seemed determined to out-stunt the other. Rainbow Dash stood perched next to Gilda with her front hooves up on the railing, rattling off a nonstop chain of events as or slightly before they happened in the sky. While Twilight Sparkle stood next to her friends and watched, Green Grass faded backwards into the background with a mumbled excuse of getting some drinks. Even with his supposed new status, it was trivially easy to slip through the guests. As an earth pony of relatively dull hue, all he had to do was look like he was going somewhere, and everypony or griffon would unconsciously slip to one side due to his presence registering as ‘servant’ or ‘minion’ departing on some assigned task. There was something bothering him about the aerial display, and once he saw Shining Armor nursing a drink in a back corner of the deck and watching the sky with a sour grimace, his suspicions only grew. “Hey,” he mumbled, sitting down next to his future brother-in-law. “Hi,” said Shining Armor, still looking up at the sky. They both sat next to each other for a short period of time before Green Grass ventured, “You see it too?” “Yeah,” grunted Shining Armor with a frown. After a brief pause, he added, “What do you think?” “Makes me worried,” said Green Grass. “Next griffon succession could be a…” He trailed off and cast an evaluating look at Shining Armor. “You already knew, right?” His only reply was a grunt while they watched a quartet of Imperial Guard griffons high in the sky perform a synchronized dive that was as much an aerial ballet as it was a vicious combat maneuver designed to eliminate a single opponent without risk to the attackers. Equestrian pegasi had perfected the synchronized maneuver of four armored guards against the tendency of griffons to engage in chaotic solo combat ever since the founding of the nation, resulting in the Griffon Empire suffering stunning losses during every conflict. Green Grass had studied the traditional forms of griffon aerial combat for his thesis, and the number of solo griffon guards wheeling and diving above was almost nonexistent, a condition he had never thought possible for the highly-independent species. “So who do you think Ripping Claw will pick for the next Flügelüberkönig⁽¹⁾?” (1) A uniquely Eastern Griffon title that roughly translates as The Next Poor Dodo To Inherit The Big Perch. — It was a tenuous verbal poke at Shining Armor, more of a guess than a question, but the sudden way his eyes flashed away from the flying griffons to glare at him made a lump of ice seem to fill Green Grass’ stomach. Shining Armor recovered almost instantly, returning to his study of the flying griffons with a fierce glare and an attempt to ignore his annoying relative-to-be, but after a long, tense silence, he said, “None of them are very friendly to Equestria. It seems the louder they squawk about us, the more popular they get.” It was the most words in a row that Shining Armor had said to him yet, and seemed to warrant a bit of brotherly concern in return. “At least you and Princess Cadence should be fairly safe. From what I hear, the Misty Mountain aerie has a fairly pony-friendly Wingmaster now.” Getting no response, Green Grass pressed farther. “You know, I still need to ask his permission to have Princess Sun Shines at our wedding. Have you met him yet?” “Yes.” Disappointed at the size of his catch, Green Grass re-baited his conversational hook and threw it back into the discussion pool. “And?” “Greenie!” It was scant warning to brace for the oncoming assault, so instead Green Grass rolled with the impact as an enthusiastic little griffon fledgeling pounced on him and knocked him backwards. “Great-great-granduncle third removed by marriage says that if I really want to be a Wonderbolt, I can! Isn’t that great?” While the little griffon did a dance of victory on the chest of her fallen victim and Green Grass gasped for air, a little of Shining Armor’s depression seemed to lift. His future brother-in-law raised a hoof and extended it for a congratulatory high hoof-claw with his fellow Royal while suppressing most of the traditional grin that little Sunny seemed to spread onto other ponies wherever she went. “So does this mean you’re not going to be a petting zoo owner, or a crystal berry picker, or ninja pirate?” “Nope!” declared the little griffon with her head held high. “I can be all of them, and still be a princess.” Suppressing the urge to loan/gift Sunny an appointment secretary to keep all of her future careers separate, Green Grass managed to suck in a breath of air and say, “hhhaaawweeeeeeuuuhhhhh…” “I’m not perfectly fluent in Equestrian,” rumbled the huge grey griffon who glided up behind Sunny, “But I believe your friend just said ‘My how you’ve grown, Sunny. Can you get off my chest so I can breathe?’” Emperor Ripping Claw scooped his distant relative off of the flattened earth pony and sat her to one side before helping Green Grass to his hooves. “Thank you, Your Majesty,” gasped Green Grass. “I think Her Highness has hit a growth spurt.” After taking a few deep breaths, he held one green hoof to the top of Sunny’s fuzzy head and gave a good-natured frown while he tousled her feathers. “I’ll bet she gets as tall as her grandfather.” Green Grass had become more familiar than he cared to be with silence as a communication medium, both from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and more recently from his own Princess Wife-To-Be. Silence was an indication that something wrong had just been said, normally by him. The more silent the silence, the more wrong the wrong. In theory, a certain level of alicorn-level silence could be considered a good thing, because it means that the errant spoken phrase was bad, but not bad enough to warrant a short time-travel spell to go back before the words were spoken and plug the offending orifice with any convenient heavenly body. Green Grass could taste moon dust in this silence. Sunny did not seem to notice, craning her head to appear as tall as possible under Green Grass’ upraised hoof, but both Shining Armor and Emperor Ripping Claw nearly froze into statues. Their immobility only lasted a heartbeat and a quick exchange of glances between Majesty and Highness, leaving Greenness feeling more than a little left out. Deciding that the subject was best left alone, Green Grass decided to go for the self-depreciating humor distraction. “So, Emperor Ripping Claw—” he began before being interrupted. “Call me Rip,” said the griffon with as much of a warm smile as he could manage with a beak. “As long as we’re in private, of course.” “Of course, Your — I mean Rip. I have to admit, I’m very glad to meet you despite your rather abrupt appearance. You’re the first older Royal I’ve met who has not brought along a young son ‘just about Twilight’s age’ for the possibility that I might suddenly lose my mind and turn her down.” They both laughed, and even Shining Armor faked a chuckle before the emperor responded, “Actually I did bring one of my many sons with me. He’s back at Sunny’s aerie, though. He doesn’t like ponies very much.” “He’s a jerk,” said Sunny abruptly. “,” admonished Green Grass in Griffon, “” Sunny frowned with both ears tucked back and a few feathers rising on the nape of her neck. Her tail thrashed back and forth a few times on the wooden deck before she said, “I’m sorry for calling him a jerk.” “Good,” said Green Grass with a smile. “He’s a bucking jerk,” snapped Sunny. “I wish I was big like Wingmaster Lumpy and could pound some sense into his beak.” “Wingmaster Lumpy?” Green Grass raised an eyebrow and turned to the emperor. “A rather peculiar name for a—” “Well, we must be going,” said Emperor Ripping Claw, scooping the little griffon up in one wing and pushing her across the wooden deck. “Just a moment, Your Majesty,” said Green Grass, feeling suddenly like an hors d'oeuvre as the big griffon snapped a glance back at him. Plunging ahead with the confidence that was bolstered by so many witnesses, he said, “Were you planning on visiting the Crystal Empire while in Equestria?” The big griffon hesitated, obviously torn between his griffon instincts of being attracted to sparkling objects and a certain royal responsibility to release that glittering city when he was done with his visit. As expected, Sunny rose to the bait with zeal. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him, but he won’t listen. The castle has lots of empty rooms, and the crystal ponies are all so polite. They’d love to have you visit, wouldn’t they, Uncle Shiny?” Shining Armor made a rather garbled noise in response, sputtering a little bit while hemming and hawing before Green Grass slid back into the conversation. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. My future bro relapses into a rather peculiar dialect of the Unicorn language under stress. Fortunately, I was raised by unicorns, so I can translate for him. What he is trying to say is that he can’t make that decision on his own. He’s married.” “Oh.” While the emperor hid a chuckle, the little griffon gave a very owl-like blink and bobbed her head before looking at Green Grass. “Could you ask him if he could send a courier to Auntie Cadence and ask. I’ll even write the note. I’ve gotten really good with my letters. She’s been teaching me.” “I’ll try, Your Highness.” Turning to Shining Armor, who was reddening nicely, Green Grass continued, “Yo, bro. Sunny and her relatives would like to drop by the house sometime. Can you clear it with your spouse?” “It’s not that easy!” spluttered Shining Armor. “We’ve got the Equestrian Games coming up in a few months, and we’re still picking up the pieces from King Sombra. The whole empire was frozen in time for over a thousand years, and that’s not really something the citizens can get over very quickly.” Shining Armor hesitated at the amused look he was receiving from the emperor and tried to mitigate his tone to something warmer. “Maybe if you can wait until the games, Sunny? There will be some griffon teams there who would really appreciate his support.” The little griffon looked at Green Grass, who sighed and said, “He says their nest is still messed up from the previous tenant, and it would be embarrassing to have important company over until it gets all cleaned up.” “Oh. That’s okay, I guess.” The little griffon looked down and sniffed in the most perfect display of acting Green Grass had ever seen. “I really wanted to show my emperor Cadence’s crystal city, but if you don’t want us to visit, I can see why. He’s only going to be here for a few more weeks before he’s gotta go home, an’ he probably won’t be able to make it to the games.” Shining Armor lowered his head and muttered, “I’ll see what I can do.” ~ ~ ♥ ~ ~ “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Shining Armor resisted the urge to slam a hoof into the smiling face of his future relative by imagining just what the crowds of cheering crystal ponies below them would think. It did not help much, particularly when he could see the base for the future statue of Prince Shining Armor the Brave from this altitude. They’d probably cheer louder. They might even make another statue. The two Royal Guards pulling the chariot high above the crowd seemed to understand his concern, and swiveled their ears to point straight forward so they would not be an earwitness to whatever violence he was planning. Their view of the city from this altitude was impressive, and even though Shining Armor had seen the Crystal Empire from the seat of a chariot many times, it still made his heart beat faster to think of his relatively short career from cadet to captain and now prince. Far below, he could see the griffon chariot with Emperor Ripping Claw, Sunny, his sister and Spike glide in for a soft landing on the castle’s broad front promenade, greeted by a small band of hastily gathered musical ponies enthusiastically belting out the Crystal Empire anthem. Cadence was standing proudly as they approached, resplendent in the gown and manestyle that the entire castle staff had worked on all last evening, and completely unescorted, a decision that he had fought against valiantly and lost. Above them all, mixed teams of griffons and pegasi wheeled through the sky together while trailing colored smoke and streamers, another sight that he still did not really believe could be happening. After considerable contemplation of the relative smoothness of the greeting and the absolute gobstruck amazement the rest of the griffon contingent was displaying at the sparkling city despite the ongoing reconstruction efforts, Shining Armor gave a somewhat affirmative grunt in response to his green guest. “Of course the hard part will be making Emperor Ripping Claw give it all back when he’s done,” added Green Grass. “Really?” asked Shining Armor with a sideways glance. “No, not really,” said Green Grass. “Think of it this way. There must be wingmasters for a dozen fairly local griffon aeries down there right now. The griffons place great store in tradition, in particular ‘The eldest gets first bite of the prey.’ Rip isn’t making one move towards biting at all… unless you call kissing the hoof of your beautiful wife a bite.” They both looked down from their hovering chariot and watched the griffon emperor bow deeply and give a long and heartfelt kiss to Princess Cadence’s hoof, a moment which was promptly captured by the battalion of newspaper photographers standing to one side. Clearing his throat as the moment lasted far longer than either stallion was comfortable with, Green Grass continued, “You may know the military, but my family has been doing business with the griffons for ages. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if the emperor set the entire trip up just for this visit. Wingmasters can sign trade agreements, establish commercial relationships, set up arrangements for tourism, and so on. You’ve got a dozen of them down there at least, and every one of them knows just what will happen if any of them get a little too greedy for their own good.” “What do you think would happen?” asked Shining Armor. Green Grass eyed his future brother-in-law. “If any of the wingmasters down there or any that come along later try even the smallest of stunts, the rest will drop on him like an anvil to protect their own investment. Dad always said you can deal with one nest or dozens, but nothing in between. You’re going to have griffons from all across the empire traveling here to do business.” He smirked. “Get used to beaks.” Shining Armor nodded, feeling a little better about not slugging his sister’s annoying lover. “King Sombra dominated the griffon tribes all around here when he ran the empire. Most of the citizens are familiar with the griffons from over a thousand years ago and some even speak the language, but with horrible antique accents from what Sunny says. They’ve already taken to doing business with our local griffon aerie quite well, so adding a few dozen more should work.” “Yeah.” Green Grass looked over the edge of the chariot and waved, keeping an obviously fake smile on his face. “For as long as it lasts.” The two of them remained silent, carrying out their distant role in the festivities as the Princess of the Crystal Empire and the Emperor of the Griffon Empire made the appropriate social motions below, eventually vanishing inside the castle for a morning of Very Important Discussions. The rest of the crowd broke up into clusters around the very popular griffon wingmasters as they went out into the ongoing city-wide celebration and Shining Armor passed on the order to land the chariot. Green Grass seemed to be more nervous than normal, swishing his tail as the chariot bumped through the rough air and eventually turning to Shining Armor right before they landed. “Dad says the emperor is suffering some health issues and may not last out the year.” The words cascaded out in an unstoppable flood, as if they concealed a tension that the green goof had been concealing for a long time. “He says most of the eastern aeries are backing some real hardline cases, and they outnumber the moderates pretty solidly. Munition enchantments are sold out across our entire business area, and all of our distributors are backordered on everything.” “Must be a banner year for your father,” remarked Shining Armor with a suppressed frown. “Commercial enchantments are in demand all across Equestria. The Griffons are only one trading partner among many, including yours now. Dad says there are commercial spells from our companies in every military we know, just like those clever locking latches on your armor come from the Minotaurs, and the blades on most of the Equestrian Royal Guard’s spears are forged in parts of the Griffon Empire. Probably the only racial group who doesn’t have a hoof in your equipment somewhere are the Breezies.” Shining Armor grunted once in response, although it did not slow Green Grass’ flood of nervous words that kept creeping closer to the analyst's supposition in the classified intelligence report that continued to bring a chill up his armored back. “I’m just wondering why His Majesty isn’t attending our wedding while he is here. I mean, he didn’t attend yours, but it was awfully short notice, I suppose.” “Thank you, Lord Green Grass,” growled Shining Armor, wondering if an ‘accidental’ bump to Green Grass at this rapidly-decreasing height would just break a leg or two. It would shut him up at least. “No, I didn’t mean it that way. I mean it would make more sense for him to be pacifying his eastern Germanen Großenbaumstadts while grooming a member of the High Court as his replacement for a smooth transition of power, rather than to travel all the way to Equestria to be in the vicinity, but still not attend our wedding. We’re not that important, but it would make a perfect political statement that goes along with his goal of peace between Griffons and Ponies. Not attending could be considered a snub of sorts by the more conservative griffons, and only ruffle more feathers.” “Maybe he wants you to have the wedding in Great Griffon at the High Court.” Far, far away from here. “Not a chance in the world. You’ll see a set of Royal Griffons from there being married officially in front of Celestia before that happens. The Great Council only opened up to tourists a few decades ago and even now you have to make a reservation a year in advance in order to have the background check clear. Before that, they treated any pony in the High Nest like a convicted spy. I just wish I knew what was going on. It’s bugging the heck out of me.” “Thank you for sharing,” remarked Shining Armor in a chill tone. “I need the stress.” “Well, I can’t talk to Twilight about it,” groused Green Grass as the chariot lined up for landing. “She verbalizes her stress. Dad’s the one who told me, so that wouldn’t help, and the Princesses must know already, so they would both just nod and say something pithy. And I sure can’t talk to your father or my brother. Equestrian intelligence is probably all over this.” “You seem to be on good terms with ‘Rip.’ Why don’t you talk to him about it; get the story straight from the beak, so to say.” Shining Armor had not meant to sound so flippant about something that was bothering his future brother-in-law so much, but it did not seem to bother the target of his irritated response. “Thanks, Shining. I may just try that.” The annoying green earth pony stepped out of the chariot at almost the same moment it touched the ground, leaving Shining Armor standing in stunned bemusement, unsure if his future relative was serious about such a dumb idea or just yanking his chain. ~ ~ ♥ ~ ~ Soft music wafted over the crystalline ballroom, filling in the conversational gaps between the hundreds of crystal ponies and their guests as they strolled among the crystal sculptures and crystal fountains beneath the crystal ceiling which spread a soft sparkling light across the Royal Reception. The day of welcoming celebration by the Crystal Empire had taken nearly a hundred Griffon Wingmasters on tours through the city, and several of the griffons had excused themselves early with what Green Grass had dubbed ‘Sparkle Overload.’ It was a little overwhelming even for him, both in the brilliant sparkles that glinted into the eyes whenever he least expected it, and due to the close proximity of so many stunned griffons, their heads craned upwards and their beaks agape in wonder. Making a mental note to see if his father could start selling enchanted sunglasses tailored to griffon physiology, he strolled through the chatting clusters of interspecies relations while trying in vain to catch a glimpse of Twilight or Spike. Actually ‘Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Seeker of the Crystal Heart’ and ‘Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious’ to be precise. It made him feel dull and drab, far worse than normal. Griffons tended to wear sparkly jewelry for formal occasions, but were horribly outmatched by the crystal ponies who sparkled far more when they wore nothing at all. Even the servants glittered and sparkled in rainbow hues, making him one dull green blotch on a field of jewels. Responsibility as one of the guests of honor even kept him from his normal method of ditching a party by sneaking downstairs to where the servants would be taking care of any youthful colts and fillies from the older partygoers upstairs. Beleaguered servants faced with bored Royal brats always appreciated a helping hoof with diapers or party games, in particular wherever his special talent could help some young unicorn Royal who was struggling with their magic. It had always been a more productive activity than remaining upstairs at the party and dissolving his worries away in alcohol, in particular whenever his mother was on the lookout for a prospective spouse and any unmarried mare within eyesight was fair game. That was unlikely to happen tonight with his precarious perch on the royal food chain and a total absence of young crystal unicorns needing his special talent to teach their first magic. His role for the evening was plain. Smile. Nod. Try to engage the skittish crystal ponies in conversation. Well, I seem to have a handle on two of the three problems. “There you are, handsome!” A slim female griffon half-trotted, half-glided out of the crowd and made a graceful three-legged landing by his side, not spilling a drop out of her flute of crystal wine, which of course, sparkled in the lights. “I’m Sophia of the Moonstone Mountain aerie, Lord Green Grass. I’ve been hoping to find a few minutes with you to talk about the upcoming Equestrian Games. You see, our aerie is hosting a team in the aerial relay, and we’re having some minor funding difficulties. My second cousin works with your sister in Fillydelphia, and he suggested that your father might be willing to become a partial sponsor. I was speaking to Princess Gilded Clouds, and she—” The conversation flowed onward as Green Grass nodded in the appropriate places, entranced by the way the green-eyed griffon wove questions about life in Canterlot into hoofball statistics and the upcoming games. It was a talent worthy of his brother, Graphite, and after a few leading questions of his own, the parallel became obvious. “Miss Sophia, your east coast accent sounds familiar. Did you happen to attend Hayvard?” It was a fairly small conversational bait on a tiny hook, but he was pleased with the size of the resulting catch. “Actually I had a scholarship to Griffon-Warrington University in Manehattan. Graduated with a major in Pony Political Science and a minor in Physical Education at the top of my class.” “Ah,” said Green Grass. “Good old GW. Many of Equestria’s finest spies… I mean diplomats graduate from there.” “Spies?” Sophia’s expression was filled with wide-eyed innocence, looking so much like Graphite did whenever he had just stolen a cookie that Green Grass could not help but chortle. “Did I say spies?” asked Green Grass with an upraised eyebrow and a quirk to the corner of his lips that belied his words. “How careless of me. I meant business professionals.” “So are you involved in business, Lord Green Grass?” the young griffon asked with a coy flutter of her tufted eyebrows and a flick of her leonine tail. “Heavens forbid!” he gasped in faux astonishment, clutching a hoof to his chest. “My life revolves around my unicorn students. Well, until lately.” “Well, I’ve made a discovery today that I think you would be very interested in, Lord Green Grass.” She sat her empty glass on a nearby sparkling planter and turned to leave with a smoldering backwards glance. “If you would follow me, I’d be glad to show you.” * ♥ * Twilight had been so busy since landing in the Crystal Empire that she had actually forgotten that Green Grass was in the same room with her twice. Both were moments of intense longing for his presence followed by the heartwarming shock of seeing his muted hues from across the room, and then the inevitable guilt over having forgotten. This time was slightly different. The familiar soft green of his coat had only been spotted in distant passing as he slipped away from the party in the presence of a very young and very pretty female griffon, leaving Twilight at a conversational void while standing by Cadence and discussing something about traditional Crystal Empire folk dancing and how a number of their experienced performers would be willing to put on an exhibition at her upcoming wedding. It bothered her, but she put it in the list of ‘Things That Are Bothering Twilight Sparkle’ on the third page, indented under the subhead ‘Compare Against Greenie’s List Tonight.’ She almost failed to notice as Cadence used Excuse #4 out of Pleasant’s Guide to Pleasant Conversation in order to shed their present conversational partners and get a few minutes together in the bathroom, the first time they had been alone together all day. “Twiley. Is there something bothering you?” Twilight Sparkle almost jumped out of her shoes (custom silver Trottingham pumps, which Rarity had insisted went perfectly with her red dress, although they still pinched a little) when Cadence touched her on the shoulder and whirled around, nearly beaning her fellow princess with her purse (Luis VelTauren, and worth a substantial number of bits, but it goes with your outfit so well, darling, that I insist you carry it tonight). “Fine! I’m fine! Everything is fine! Page 17, paragraph four, Diversions. I understand you have a positively darling new little puppy/kitten/parrot/ferret. May I see it, please? My husband/significant other and I were thinking of getting one too.” She panted for breath while Cadence shook her head, the tiny spindles of crystal woven into her manestyle making little tinkling noises in the process. “Twilight, you’re all stressed out. I can tell.” “No I’m not. There’s nothing wrong, other than being pregnant and getting married and meeting so many Royals and getting married and—” A soft compassionate hoof clad in a golden shoe (value unknown, probably forged by the same farrier who shod Princess Celestia due to the stylistic choices and microscopic hammer marks) brushed down the side of her face, and after being fortified by a dose of Love Princess Saliva, pressed down several loose strands of mane which had started to pop up. “Twilight. You’re a Princess now. If you don’t want to go back to the party, the two of us can just walk right out of here and over to my bedroom, paint our hooves, and put our manes up in curlers just like we used to.” Cadence glanced upwards. “Well, after taking these crystals out of my hair. I swear, I sound like a walking wind chime.” A small giggle escaped Twilight and she ducked her head. “What about Shining Armor?” That brotherly obstacle was dismissed by the wave of one Royal Hoof. “We can put his mane up in curlers too. “Really?” An honest smile crept onto Twilight’s face, looked around, and decided to stay for a while. “Can we paint his hooves?” “Pearlescent Blue Hoof Polish. It’s one of the standard polish colors in the Crystal Guard. Honest to stars, Twilight. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen your brother on his back with all four hooves in the air, waving them around to get the polish dry.” Both princesses giggled, made only worse by the light tapping on the bathroom door and Shining Armor’s voice calling out, “Cadie? There are a few more of the local Royals who would like you to introduce them to the Griffon Emperor.” “Just a minute, Shiny,” called out Cadence before dropping her voice to a whisper for Twilight. “We can bail if you want, but can you endure just one more hour? My citizens really appreciate every minute we can give them. They just adore you and Spike.” “And Green Grass?” whispered Twilight back. “I don’t know,” whispered Cadence. “They’ve been shying away from him. Actually, it’s much like they treated Shining Armor back before they realized he wasn’t going to turn into some dark shadowy monster and enslave them in the crystal mines. You don’t think…” “Oh, fudgesicles. It’s that stupid hat.” Twilight winced. “They think he’s a unicorn.” ~ ~ ♥ ~ ~ The young griffon talked while she walked, in a peculiar half-flap, half-hop whenever it became necessary to punctuate a particularly vivid description with a dramatic gesture using one or both foreclaws. Unlike her fellow griffons, Sophia seemed much more interested in the history of the Crystal Empire rather than its reflective properties, both in structures and inhabitants. It seemed to be an authentic enthusiasm, far more honest than her occasional attempt to wheedle out little tidbits of Equestrian defense secrets or peccadilloes of his fellow royal relatives-to-be, but it was just endearing enough that he put a hoof on her shoulder as they paused in the doorway leading out of the crystal castle and into the relatively darkened courtyard beyond. It was really a romantic night, with a few small clouds at high altitude to break up the obsidian sky and a brilliant glitter to the stars, but it was lacking one particular element to make it perfect. “I wish Twilight were with us.” He stared up into the night sky while standing next to the glittering dragon statue, casting his mind back to the first night Twilight had returned from saving the Crystal Empire, all bubbling and happy. There were a number of broad ribbons of pastel light that rose up into the sky tonight, probably a side-effect of the party among the crystal ponies causing a resonance effect in the deep microcrystalline structure of the Crystal Heart, if what little he understood about the magical artifact from Twilight had rubbed off correctly. “Why?” asked the young griffon, sliding up beside him and running the talons of one claw through his mane. “Several reasons. First,” he held up a hoof to prevent any more mane-stroking, “she could tell me what those resonance nodes in the Crystal Heart are called. I can’t remember, and it’s driving me nuts. Second, we haven’t had more than ten minutes together in weeks where we weren’t sleeping or working on the wedding. And third, she’d be a better chaperone than Pumpernickel.” Sophia blinked, looking much like an owl with sand in her eyes for a moment. “Pumpernickel?” Green Grass sighed. “Yes, him. The Royal Guard who has been dogging my hoofsteps for the last month or so. They’re afraid that if I wander off alone, some young and innocent mare will come along and create a scandal. Isn’t that right, Optio Pumpernickel?” A deep and rumbling voice came out of the darkness, the reflections among the crystal structures making it seem to echo everywhere at once. “How did you know I was here?” “Because you just said something.” Green Grass had expected the young griffon hen to be impressed at the Night Guard’s ability to remain hidden even among the sparkling background of the crystal castle, or at the worst startled. What he did not expect is for her to back up almost in a leap and put her rear against the statue of The Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and His Glory Triumphant In Rescuing The Crystal Heart, which actually wobbled a little as if the base had been constructed somewhat in haste and was not properly secured. Trying to smooth things over whatever she had overreacted to, Green Grass continued, “Actually, I cheated, Pumpernickel. I counted guards before Miss Sophia and I slipped out of the party, and you were the only one missing. Would you mind giving some privacy to myself and—” Green Grass cleared his throat and continued in Griffon “——” He broke off in a sharp coughing fit. “Sorry. Dry throat.” Pumpernickel’s rumbling tenor asked, “Does that privacy include the griffon photographer over in the bushes?” There was a reasonably small bush out in the courtyard that looked out of place, mostly due to the fact that it looked like a real bush instead of a crystalline sculpture. He walked over and looked over the top of the bush, taking the sight of the crouching griffon with the camera into consideration before looking back over at where Sophia continued to tremble next to the statue. “Miss Sophia, are you attempting a variant of the Badger Game? Because I think your photographer needs a better night lens in this light.” “It seems ve need a better portable bush, too. Actually it’s a new lens, Your Lordship,” said the photographer griffon in a crisp, distinct East Germane accent, turning the camera sideways and pointing to the label. “Panamoptics Night-Eye. I’m please to meet you, Lord Green Grass, sir.” He stuck out a claw and shook hooves with Green Grass. “Soaring Clouds With Glinting Ice Sleeting Down On Distant Valleys, but you can call me Sleet.” “Lord Green Grass of House Chrysanthemum, but you can call me Greenie. Your first time with the Badger Game con?” Green Grass gestured at Sophia, still trembling at the statue. “I knew something was up. I’ve never been invited out for a walk by a pretty young thing yet who didn’t want something out of the deal.” Sleet chuckled and produced his press badge. “Vhen de Königstochter asks you to take some pictures, it’s never a good idea to turn her down. Vorst case, I get some photos for de paper. Best case, I get some photos and the Emperor owes me a favor. Vin-vin scenario.” “Very nice,” agreed Green Grass. “Why don’t we—” He paused, looking at Sophia over by the statue and the large dark shadow she seemed to be talking with. Shifting conversational gears, he continued, “You know, I really didn’t expect anygriffon from Germaney to be on the Emperor’s little sightseeing tour. From what little I read in the papers, ponies are not very popular there at the moment.” “Ach, you know.” Sleet waved a dismissive claw. “Der pendulum of public opinion. Vun day de ponies are the heroes of the vorld, defeating Nightmare Moon and saving all of Equestria. De next day, everygriffon is a squawking and a screeching about how Celestia let this happen in de first place. I for vun like you fuzzy little lumps.” He chuckled while shaking his head. “Not as much as Duke Plummets did, but dat’s not for me to say. You vould not believe the stories they tell in Sunny’s aerie.” * ♥ * The statue of the dragon felt ice-cold to Sophia’s haunches as she trembled against it much as a little hatchling would face midnight shadows in the aerie. The stories the Misty Mountain aerie griffons had been passing around were just hatchling stories, foolish little bits of doggerel and poetry to make their pitiful little pile of rocks look important in her father’s eyes. There was no truth to them. There was no Pumpernickel of the Night Guard two centuries ago who slew seven wings of tiercels in one night to protect a pony diplomat⁽*⁾, and his ancestral spirit most certainly had not returned a few months ago, still wearing the scars of that ancient battle to avenge the death of a single pony servant. Their aerie’s Wingmaster and his Heir most probably had a disagreement and killed each other⁽¹⁾. That was the simple explanation for the void at the top of their leadership mountain. Immortal forces of undying vengeance did not just appear in response to the death of a single pony, no matter how disgusting the abuse of her body, and most certainly they did not appear in the form of a— The shadows of the courtyard seemed to coalesce and a heavyset pony Night Guard stepped directly to her side. His dark violet armor covered most of the thin white scars that covered his body and membranous wings, in a dense and deadly pattern that could only be from griffon claws. Unblinking golden eyes stared straight into her own as he said in halting Griffon, “” Heart hammering, breath caught in her throat, Sophia trembled at the moonlit sight as her mind brought up every single time she had ever snubbed or spoken even roughly to a pony servant. Finally with a rush, the words blurted out in a choked whisper, “” Her tail pressed up against Spike’s statue as she backed up, trembling in abject terror and making the statue wobble. “Please don’t kill me.” (*) Actually there was, but his last stand was somewhat exaggerated in griffon stories - Diplomatic Security (1) Not quite true, although the Diarchy and the Griffon Empire had not yet officially admitted to the embarrassing fact that one of Luna’s diplomatic missions had caused the death of both the Wingmaster of a Griffon aerie and the First Heir, resulting in the current Wingmaster being a rather chagrined Night Guard - Diplomacy by Other Means — * ♥ * There was a chill to the arctic wind that brought a tremor down Papercut’s coat as he leaned up against the balcony’s balustrade and looked out into the glittering night. The Crystal Empire seemed unreal to his senses without the ability to open his horn up to the magic flowing through the evening air and truly feel the ancient majesty of the legendary city, frozen in shadow for over a thousand years and brought back into the starlight. Far below, he could see a few ponies out in the moonlit Dragon’s Plaza, moving around in a senseless waltz that still felt more natural than the huge room filled with glittering earth ponies and ferocious griffons that he had just left behind. It had started as an odd observation when a crystal pony had been caught by surprise as he had walked around the corner. She had looked at him with the beginnings of a pleasant smile forming on her muzzle. Then as her eyes looked up, they paused on his horn with the little plastic suppressor, and then looked elsewhere as she turned and darted away. The rest of the day had been much the same, and when he had been dismissed from Lord Green Grass for the party this evening, it had only gotten worse. If he had not trapped one of the servants in a corner, he would not even have gotten a single hors d'œuvre, and even then it seemed as if the poor pony was about to pass out from fright. “Hey. Not thinking of jumping, are you, Horn-Head?” With a flutter of feathers, Crosswind slipped to his side, wearing nothing but a thin line of glittering jewel chips around her neck and a snarky expression on her face. She peeked over the balustrade at the plaza far below and gave out a low whistle. “Better try to land horn-first, so you can try to minimize all that thrashing around and bleeding. Try not to land on anypony either. That’s always a mess.” “Good evening, Miss Crosswind. It appears you are feeling better now, correct?” Papercut was not about to sniff the air for a hint of her advertised fertility, but it did seem as if she had landed upwind, and he didn’t smell anything yet, so the medication appeared to be working. “Yeah. Look, I wanted — I wonder how far down it is from here?” She leaned over the rail far too far for Papercut’s comfort and began working up some spit. “You want to count seconds for me?” “I do not believe that Princess mi Amore Cadenza would appreciate either of us splattering a guest with saliva,” replied Papercut in as dry a tone as he could muster, even while some traitorous cells in the back of his brain were attempting to calculate a time/distance chart. “There are several ponies down there.” “Actually two of those are griffons,” she corrected with some squinting. “That one looks like a Nocturne, I think, it’s really hard to see in the moonlight. The other one—” She stopped with a smile beginning to form. “Hey Grumpy. What’s green, dull, and covered in spit?” “Lord Green Grass?” he asked, squinting down into the plaza. “What’s he doing outside the party?” “Chatting up a griffon, it seems. I’ll bet if we moved over there, you could drop a loogie on him. It was just a suggestion,” she added in response to his icy glare. “Do try to control yourself. Speaking of control, you are back in control of your hormones, correct?” Crosswind nuzzled softly on his neck. “If by in control, you mean do I still feel like I should fling myself down in front of you and lift my tail, begging for release from this fire that burns in my nethers and can only be extinguished by your—” “Yes!” yelped Papercut, stumbling back and breathing in short pants. “I mean — That’s not what I mean!” Crosswind chuckled once, seeming to get less pleasure out of his discomfort than she had expected. Moving back to the balustrade, she looked down at the griffons and Green Grass in the plaza before saying, “Yes, I’m under control. I’m a good and proper mare who no longer is a risk to your precious virtue.” The transition from playful to miserable seemed to strip away something about the young mare he had not really appreciated until recently, and he moved up beside her to rest his forelegs on the balcony rail in a matching pose. “Well… good. After all, the Emperor of all Griffons is a guest tonight, and we wouldn't want to do anything that would embarrass our owners in front of him. “True.” Beneath them, the moonlit figures of Green Grass and one of the griffons had moved under the statue, with the other griffon standing back a short distance holding what seemed to be a camera. After a while of watching the photography session, he volunteered, “When we were in my bedroom, and you were… preening on my sheets. Were you in control of your hormones then? Or was it an… invitation?” “You’ll never know,” she muttered, turning away from him. “I suppose not,” he admitted. They watched the photographer and his subjects silently until the three of them turned and moved back into the castle, leaving the plaza empty. He shuddered at the chill breeze out of the north, then nearly jumped over the rail when a warm, soft wing rested over his back with the tickle of feathers. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to startle you,” she said apologetically, but did not remove the welcoming wing. “Don’t be,” he said. “It’s… something a good co-worker would do when they see their fellow pony in need. And thank you. For caring, that is. You’re a very caring pony.” The last words burst out in one quick flurry of vowels and consonants, making the warm wing across his back feel very warm indeed. “I couldn't help it, Horn-Head. You’re just so helpless without me.” She turned her head just enough to look at him with one eye. “Thank you too, for not doing what I wanted you to do.” “Well, of course not,” he spluttered. “We haven’t even had an official date yet, let alone progressed far enough for… that.” She raised one eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. “You mean if we had a date—” “Several dates,” he emphasised. “With excellent wine, food at a respectable restaraunt, a certain amount of ‘fooling around’ and an ongoing arrangement of exclusivity in force at the time.” “Wow,” said Crosswind, after a moment of thought. “You unicorns can suck all the romance right out of a one-night stand.” Papercut bristled. “I beg your pardon, madam. If I am to extend my physical affections to a beautiful young mare, my intentions would not be for a single evening of naked lust. I am looking for a long-term relationship with an intelligent mate who would complement my abilities while remaining her own individual pony.” The smallest of smiles tucked up the corners of Crosswind’s lips. “Anypony I know?” There was a long pause while Papercut considered his previous words and really wished A) that his horn was fully functional and B) that he knew some sort of time travel spell that would let him go back a few minutes and kick himself in the head. Unfortunately, he didn’t even know any amnesia spells. “Perhaps,” he eventually said with great reluctance. “You know, there is a party going on inside,” said Crosswind with a soft nudge. “Very good food with some incredibly classical music that hasn’t been heard in modern times. Perhaps even dancing.” “I don’t dance,” he replied reflexively, but after a moment to study her face, added, “A proper gentlecolt is expected to learn such things, though. If only there were an instructor about.” “We’ll find one,” she said, nudging him into a slow walk back to the party. “I probably should learn how to dance too.” ~ ~ ♥ ~ ~ The prospect of curlers and hoof polish in Princess Twilight Sparkle’s near future made the remaining party pass by in a pleasant blur, even though her friends were enjoying the party far more than she was. Rainbow Dash had practically glued herself to Gilda and the two of them were the center of a number of curious griffons and a rare few of the crystal pegasi, exchanging flying stories with a boundless enthusiasm and more than a few practical demonstrations in the large ballroom that came dangerously close to a fragile crystal chandelier which seemed destined not to survive the night. Rarity had attracted a constant stream of social crystal ponies, and from what little Twilight was able to hear of their conversations, the entry in the thesaurus for ‘Fabulous’ was going to gain at least seven new descriptions before sunrise. The female crystal ponies had gone absolutely hock over heels for Fluttershy, so much so that the timid yellow pegasus had tired out early and was practically hiding behind Cadence and Twilight by the time they made their excuses and slipped out the party. Well, first out of a door guarded by two stout crystal ponies, but the sound of conversation down the corridor made Cadence dart over to a nearby window, hissing, “Follow me! Quick, before they catch us.” One rapid and somewhat impromptu flight outside the crystal castle later, all three of them dropped into a landing on the Royal Chambers balcony. The whole event passed before Twilight could properly tense up. It took until she had kicked her pinching shoes over to the corner of the bedroom before her mind even realized she had been flying. After all, it was only on page two of her Panic List - ‘Crashing while pregnant causing terrible harm to the foal.’ Remembering the list unleashed the whole flood of worries she had bottled up, and she flung herself down on the bed while releasing all of the tension that had been built up for weeks. “I’m pregnant! And I’m getting married! And—” She stopped and sniffed. “Why does the bed smell like Shining Armor’s sweat?” Cadence giggled. “Twilight. We’re married. We sleep in the same bed now. As well as other things.” “Eww!” Twilight Sparkle bounced backwards away from the bed, pausing only to levitate a couple of pillows from the other side of the bed onto the floor and throwing herself down on them with a quiet thud. “Where was I?” she asked, her voice somewhat muffled by the pillows. “Well, you said you were pregnant,” whispered Fluttershy. “Which is really very nice. And that you’re getting married, which is very nice too.” The pile of purple princess and pillows made an affirmative noise. Fluttershy continued while Cadence opened up a cabinet and dug out some extra non-stallion scented pillows. “And you’re going to be living with Green Grass, who seems like a very nice pony. And Spike likes him too.” The purple princess pillow pile made a second affirmative noise. “And you’re going to have a beautiful little filly this winter for all of us to hug and cuddle and adore… I mean, if you want us to, that is.” In the resulting silence, the sniff from across the room was nearly deafening. “Cadence?” Twilight Sparkle looked up from her pillow and stared at her former foalsitter, who was holding a couple of pillows in front of herself while looking away. “It’s nothing, Twilight. Go on.” “Why are you crying? What’s wrong?” Twilight Sparkle rushed over to Cadence and tried to look her in the eyes, only for the older princess to twist away. “I’m fine. I’m just so h-happy for you, Twilight.” A huge sniffling snort echoed around the bedroom as Cadence buried her face into a pillow and snuffled. “M-my little Twilight is h-h-having a f-foal!” Twilight Sparkle found herself in the strange position of patting her fellow princess on the back as Cadence snuffled. “That little princess griffon has been with us f-for weeks, and she’s so adorable and cute and smart and she reminded me of you so much that I w-wanted one of my own! Shining and I have tried so hard to have a little foal, a-and y-you’re p-p-pregnant before me!” “Oh, no.” Twilight pulled back far enough to look Cadence in the eyes. “I was trying not to have a foal while you were trying to have a foal, and we both—” They looked at each other for a moment before a set of mutual giggles staged a coup over Cadence’s proper princess protocol and Twilight’s stress that cast down the barrier of time, space, and just exactly what relationship they each had with Shining Armor. Cadence confessed the difficulties she and Shining Armor had been experiencing while attempting to have a foal of their own, while Twilight made faces at the explicit parts and Fluttershy asked a number of extremely delicate questions about the procedure that indicated previously unrevealed depths of reproduction knowledge. In return, Twilight confessed her measuring issue with ‘Chill Time,’ the importance of the proper dosage of said medication, pages one through three of her foalbirth worries, and a few of the footnotes. It was a warm, intimate time between friends, that true to Cadence’s promise, involved curlers and hoof polish, as well as a somewhat incomplete attempt at ‘frosting’ Twilight’s wingtips in light purple, which of course turned into a mutual preening and totally unfair tickle fight. The introduction of Rarity to their little party was only a small hiccup in the happy warmth, as she tucked a sleeping Spike into a curl of blankets in the corner of the bedroom before plunking right down and filling the rest of them in on the events they had missed by ducking out early. The topic of Green Grass came up almost at once, due to the number of times Rarity had needed to correct crystal ponies from the misconception that the goofy earth pony colt was some dark and nefarious creature of the night escorted by his new bat-winged minions, come to take the place of King Sombra and enslave the entire empire again. She had simply needed to repeat those darling little stories about her little Sweetie Belle and her positive lessons under his tutelage all night, you see, making sure to leave out none of the precious little details about the time Sweetie turned him into a gardenia for a week. The concept of an earth pony who taught little unicorns their first sparks of magic (and endured the resulting fireworks) was a difficult lesson to teach, but after admitting she had difficulties with the concept herself at first, Rarity felt certain that all of the crystal ponies she had talked to had a much better opinion of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s future earth pony husband. His somewhat dark and sinister unicorn servant who slunk around the outside of the party, not so much. The peculiar gadget on his horn and the shadowy figures following him only made their suspicions worse. A sweaty Rainbow Dash promptly showed up the moment conversation had begun to lag, chattering at full speed even as she zipped in through the balcony window, took a brief and steamy shower at Rarity’s insistence, and emerged back out into the conversation nearly completely covered in warm, fluffy towels. The griffons were ‘awesome’ and ‘radical’ fliers, even in the moonlight, although none of them even came close to topping her amazing abilities. She had even gotten to race the Emperor of all griffons, and smoked him, of course. Which brought up the possibility of Twilight and Green Grass having their wedding in the High Nest in Great Griffon, where there would be lots and lots of griffons, which of course would be cool because some of the hottest fliers in the Red Talons flew there, and they could perform with the Wonderbolts in one huge and totally awesome airshow that would absolutely blow away any other wedding like ever. And, of course, there would be a Sonic Rainboom. Because no Royal Wedding would be complete without one. And it would be awesome! Once the racing talk had died down, previous worries about conception and gestation were brought back out despite comments like “Darling, I’m not quite ready to settle down and have foals at this point in my career” and “Do you know how much pregnancy would cut into my top speed? Let alone my thrust/weight ratio in tight curves.” There was even a quiet “I’ve thought about it. But I haven’t asked. Yet. His work is so important to him.” Discussions of diapers and foalsitting followed, as well as a brief segue into early enrollment into secondary education institutions and advanced degree selection that each of Twilight’s friends discouraged by the application of pillows at an appropriate velocity (gently dropped by Fluttershy, thrown at just below the speed of sound by Rainbow, each returned with the same kinetic energy). In the end, they all were laying on the somewhat feathered rug (several pillows had suffered structural failure due to an attempted ‘Sonic Pillowboom’) and giggling together, tired from their long day. Taking a deep breath, Twilight leaned back and rested her head on Cadence’s firm tummy. “Things are so wonderful that I don’t want them to change. Now things are changing faster than I ever believed possible with marriage and a foal and… I’m afraid things will be… different.” Her wings rustled nervously. “I don’t want to lose any of my friends.” “You don’t have anything to worry about, Twilight,” said Rainbow Dash with an affectionate hoof to her shoulder. “We’ll always be here for you.” At the sudden silence, Rainbow popped her head up and looked around. “What? Did I say something bad?” “She’s an alicorn now, Rainbow Dash,” whispered Fluttershy. “‘Always’ means something different now.” “Oh. I didn’t think of that.” Rainbow Dash rolled over and promptly blew a zerbert into Twilight’s trim tummy, grinning at the resulting uncontrollable giggle. “This means you’ll be able to tell ponies about my spectacular stunts long after I’m gone. Cool! You could even name the foal Rainbow, if she’s fast enough, of course.” “You know, darling, that you’ve never told us just exactly how Green Grass took the news of your ascension.” Rarity rolled over and blew a feather off her nose, looking her suddenly hesitant friend in the eyes. “Spill it.” * ♥ * The darkness inside the empty library embraced Green Grass in its cool chill, the only witnesses to his tears being the charred star burned into the wooden floor where Twilight had been destroyed by the Elements of Harmony. A thin golden band with a worthless lump of crystallized carbon sat at his hooves, damp and unused. It had been his most audacious proposal attempt yet, daring, bold, unannounced. Just slip into the library and ask the question right out, straight to her beautiful face, without dinner, music, or any other thing that could possibly go wrong. The square clouds rumbling over the town had been his first clue, and he cursed his hesitance at not immediately kicking the heavy wagon away and running as fast as he could. He might have even been able to save her from whatever had done this. “Twilight Sparkle is gone.” The words had been repeated by all of the townsponies, echoing around inside his head to the exclusion of all other thoughts as he had finally dumped the heavy wagon and just ran, past the whispering ponies, past the houses, past the flowers, and into the cold and empty library. There had been noises outside afterwards, lights and voices in the night, but nothing could penetrate the darkness that wrapped around his soul. The murmur of voices outside the door finally forced him to move, to pick up the worthless ring and stick it back in his jacket, wipe the tears from his muzzle, and take a shuddering breath of the stale air that filled the library. Life would go on. There were little unicorn students who needed him. His family needed him. And everything he had ever needed in his life had just been taken away. But while he admitted that life would go on, he knew his life would be forever darker for what had happened here. The brilliant star that he had been planning to guide his life by had been extinguished, and never again would the world see its like. Until the library door opened. And Princess Twilight Sparkle stepped through. * ♥ * “He was very quiet,” said Twilight, snuggling into Cadence’s warm barrel. “He sniffed a lot. We hugged a lot. His lips were ice-cold. You know, we haven’t done… been intimate since then. Well, until lately.” She blushed brightly, trying to hide under Cadence’s colorful tail as four sets of eyes stared at her. “Darling,” started Rarity, “I hadn’t really counted months, but does that mean you were with foal before you became an alicorn?” “And before you went through that freaky mirror to the ‘human’ world?” asked Rainbow Dash. “And before we first visited the Crystal Empire?” whispered Fluttershy. “No!” said Twilight, still trying to pull Cadence’s reluctant tail over her face. “Well, yes. Kind-of. Princess Celestia says the foal is perfectly fine for this stage of development, that is as much as we know about alicorn pregnancy, which is nothing, but she says so, and I trust her. So the foal has been turned into a human and an alicorn and who knows what else will happen over the next eight or nine months and what am I thinking! We’ll be fighting some giant evil monster and I’ll be huffing and puffing around behind you girls, as round as a barrel. The five Elements of Harmony, and Tubby Twilight, their leader.” Fluttershy patted her softly on one hoof. “It won’t be that bad, Twilight. You made it through the first few months already, and we’ll help whenever you need it.” “Yeah!” said Rainbow Dash. “At least you’re not having twins like Mister and Missus Cake. She was as big as a — you’re not having twins, are you?” “No,” sniffled Twilight. “Princess Celestia checked twice, and so did Princess Luna. They confirmed that there’s only one foal, and that he or she was conceived on the night after we returned from the Crystal Empire. We were… intimate then.” “Any particular position?” asked Cadence. “Just for… curiosity’s sake.” “Eww!” Twilight wrinkled up her nose and glared at her sister-in-law. “That’s still my brother you’re talking about. Besides, it was… more than one.” “Cool.” Rainbow Dash rolled over onto her barrel and put both hooves under her chin. “How many? Because my mother always said, ‘Once for a filly, twice for a colt.’ I’ve got no idea what comes after that.” “Eww again, Rainbow! I’m not having a litter.” There was an awkward pause in the conversation where an unanswered question that had suddenly gotten more interesting waited patiently for an answer. Every one of Twilight’s friends knew her personality, and the best way to get an answer to a question was simply not to say anything until she cracked. It took nearly two minutes. “Seven!” Cadence’s tail had acquired several new kinks as Twilight repeatedly attempted to hide under it, trying not to look at the growing grins on her friends as she added almost apologetically, “It was almost eight.” After a quick check to make sure Spike was still snoring in his blanket, Rarity slipped down next to her friend and giggled. “Details, darling. We want to hear all of the spicy details.” ~ ~ ♥ ~ ~ Green Grass determined that returning to the party after their photography session in the plaza was a little like attending an entirely different affair. Crystal ponies actually started to come up and shake hooves with him, and from the number of admiring comments about his hat, it seemed as if he was setting an entire fashion trend. Sophia was an admirable escort during the whole millinerian process, nodding along as the important pony would run a hoof along the hat’s frayed stitching or comment on his worn hatband as if it were a bold fashion statement. To be honest, it was a little embarrassing, and his head was feeling a little chilly from the number of times its warm cover had been examined, but he persevered and picked up the slack when Cadence and Twilight slipped out early, actually managing to relax a little when the griffon emperor left the party to “Do a little flying before turning in.” Even though Green Grass was being as subtle as possible with his questions, Sophia refused to admit just why she had been so skittish around the Night Guards, and who exactly ‘Wingmaster Lumpy’ was, but he put it off as a question that could wait until tomorrow and their scheduled visit to the Misty Mountain aerie. He saw her off in the escorting claws of one of the gold-armored Imperial Guards before the party trickled down to just a few last guests, and was making himself useful by putting chairs up on tables with the servants when Shining Armor trotted over. “,” chirped and squawked Green Grass in his best Griffon, somewhat pleased to see that permanent scowl on his future brother-in-law pucker up into a grimace. “” “No Griffon,” said Shining Armor. “It makes my throat hurt. I just wanted to escort you to your room—” and the extra little emphasis on ‘your’ indicated it was ‘yours only with no other ponies particularly my sister’ kind of room “—before heading out to my game this evening.” “Game?” asked Green Grass with a small interrogatory Griffon chirp. “Couple of the married guards and I are playing cards. It seems the Royal Bedchambers are currently mare-only, and until their little slumber party breaks up, we’ve actually got some free time.” Shining Armor yawned. “Could take until dawn.” “I’ll leave you old married geezers to your poker game then,” said Green Grass with a matching yawn as he fell into step alongside his escort. “Poker?” said Shining Armor with a snort of derision. “Not against these guys. I’d like to have two bits to rub together and partial ownership of the kingdom tomorrow. We’re getting them accustomed to the modern era, so it’s Hocus Pocus: The Get-Together, bring your own decks, no cash bets permitted.” They trotted together for a while, up some stairs and down a corridor before Green Grass worked up the nerve to venture, “You know, I’ve got my own control deck, but I’m trying to work up an aggro deck.” * ♥ * “Good evening, gentlecolts. I brought a newbie player tonight.” Shining Armor swept into the small guardroom with his green guest trailing behind. Green Grass felt more than a little out of place with the three bulky crystal ponies gathered around a table, but his heart nearly stopped as all three guards started. There was just a fraction of a second where their ears tucked back, shoulders hunched, and a tense ripple of combat readiness rippled from head to hocks as each stallion was prepared to launch themselves into a futile and murderous attack against a deadly foe. There was a glint of desperation in their eyes that almost instantly turned to embarrassment and chagrin as each of the three looked away, shuffling cards or fumbling with a nearby bag of haychips. The closing door hit Green Grass in the flank as he backed into it, although the three young stallions seemed like blushing little colts who had been caught in the cookie jar now. “What in stars was that,” he managed to gasp. One of the embarrassed stallions, somewhat of a topaz with shimmering highlights, bowed his head and said, “Sorry about that, sir. It won’t happen again.” Shining Armor had been caught looking in just the wrong direction at just the wrong time, and swung back with a puzzled look at his card-playing compatriots. “Sorry about what, Gneiss? He just got here, and you’re apologizing already?” “Sorry, Shiny. It’s just that every time we see a dark unicorn, we get a little…” Gneiss trailed off as Green Grass took off his hat and placed it on the table. “You’re an earth pony?” “I think my father the unicorn said exactly the same thing in the delivery room,” said Green Grass, putting his hat back on and nabbing a few haychips from the bag while the three crystal ponies gawked. “Maybe in a slightly more accusing tone, and from what mother said, after about three applications of Starswirl’s Parenting Pair-Up spell. I think he expected the hospital to offer a refund or an exchange for somepony a little more pointy.” “Better than me,” quipped Shining Armor. “I was born right after mom’s thesis defense. There’s still a professor at the university who keeps calling me Final Summation.” The stallion at the back of the table, a dark obsidian bulk that soaked up the light and released it only in little sparkles, shifted uneasily. “Me mum said I was born in the mines. I don’t remember much of that time. Just at the end when Sombra was fightin’ with Celestia ‘n Luna an the whole ground was shakin’ like a leaf. I swore I’d kill ‘em for what he did to me mum. That’s about all I can remember, ‘an I’m glad of it.” He looked up at Green Grass, his eyes as pure blue as glacier ice. “Yer wife an Shiny’s wife broke that. Thank ye.” “I’ll accept your thanks, but Shining Armor here deserves it far more than me. All I did was sit on my flank in Canterlot and worry.” “And knock up my sister,” grumbled Shining Armor before putting on an obviously fake smile and sitting a box of cards on the table. “Well, with that out of the way—” “M’name’s Onyx, by the way,” rumbled the big crystal pony, extending a rugged hoof that could have been carved out of his namesake mineral. “Structural Engineer,” he added, pointing with his nose to his cutie mark showing a pillar of stone. “Green Grass,” said Green Grass, carefully leaving out the ‘Lord’ at the beginning as well as the title that Spike kept poking at him to use: His Impending Highness Prince Consort Green Grass the Incredibly Humble and Modest. “Itty-Bitty Unicorn Teacher,” he added, pointing to his own cutie mark of a little filly unicorn horn and a few weak sparks. “That’s weird for an earth pony,” said Gneiss. “Do you have a brother who teaches flying?” “No, but he has been known to preen,” said Green Grass. “Particularly if the young mare is exceptionally beautiful and single, with powerful wings.” We’ll just not mention Luna’s other attributes. They settled down to a few quick games to get situated, with Green Grass showing a good game even though he had a tendency to get beaten by just a few cards on a consistent basis. Chips were brought out, a case of imported Honeydew was sampled and compared to the local non-fermented crystal berry juice, and Green Grass had just managed to trade one of his excess Manticore cards for an Octoserpent when Gneiss came back into the room. He was being trailed by a little crystal pony without a cutie mark on her light green coat, a shimmering perfect pale green that reminded him of a fluorite coated telescope lens. She huddled behind her father’s glittering flank, obviously not wishing to be introduced to the large and frightening adults in the room, but he nudged her forward anyway and introduced her as his daughter, Fluorescence. “She’s our very special powerful little filly, Mister Green Grass, and I was thinking since you’re a teacher and all…” The broad-shouldered guard had started his sentence somewhat slowly, and trailed down to an embarrassed stop, scuffing one heavy hoof against the floor in an obvious sign that what he had considered a good idea a few minutes ago was rapidly going to turn into a future apology and chagrined retreat from the room with his bashful daughter at his side. Fluorescence seemed to be a perfectly normal little crystal pony filly with big topaz eyes and a sparkly deep green mane heaped up on her forehead in a swirled manestyle that looked very stylish. She stammered when she tried to say hello, looking away from him as much as possible, but there was a certain behavior that he recognized from exposure to Fluttershy. It was the opposite of Fluttershy’s habit of hiding behind her own mane, and she cringed backwards several steps and trembled when he raised his hoof to examine her manestyle closer. After crouching down to bring his eyes on a level with the little pony, he doffed his hat and sat it on the ground in front of her. “Your turn,” he whispered with as warm and mischievous of a grin as he could muster. A sharp tremor twitched through Fluorescence’s pale green hide in a shocked start. She seemed to be entranced by his round and most definitely not-horned head, eventually taking a few steps forward to touch his mane and ruffle around it, as if there might have been the stub of a horn hiding beneath his short manecut. With a look at her father for reinforcement, she sat down on the floor and took a deep breath before raising hesitant hooves to her head and removing the intricately woven hairpiece from her delicate fluted horn. There was a sharp intake of breath from the rest of the guards, indicating that this was a secret not even they knew about, and Shining Armor crouched down to look at the young crystal unicorn. “It’s a very nice horn,” he commented. “Straight.” “Impressive fluting,” said Green Grass, turning his head sideways to look at her horn. “Somewhat shorter than most students, which is still perfectly normal. I’ve seen proportionally shorter horned unicorns top of the class in Celestia’s school.” “Am I going to have to go to the bad unicorn now?” she whispered. “Mommy said if I show my horn, the bad unicorn will come take me away.” Gneiss put one hoof around his daughter’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, sweetie. The Crystal Princess sent the bad unicorn away, and she will never let him return.” Green Grass nodded. “From what… um… the Twilight Princess told me, Cadence and all of the crystal ponies helped defeat the bad unicorn with their magic. Did you see it happen?” Topaz eyes glittered with hero worship and Fluorescence abruptly gained a grin that would have looked large on Pinkie Pie. “Oh, YES! The Crystal Heart was falling off the tower and The Great and Honorable Spike the Brave and Glorious jumped off the tower to save it and…” She stammered to a halt and looked around as if King Sombra was going to jump out of a dark corner of the room. “A-and the b-bad unicorn was rising up on a crystal to grab it first.” “And then what?” prompted Green Grass at the sudden blush and uncomfortable expression on Shining Armor’s face. “Prince Shining Armor the Mighty and Powerful lifted the Crystal Princess and hurled her through the air to grab the Crystal Heart and Spike first!” The little crystal unicorn was fairly dancing in place with gestures as she continued, “And she put it into The Reliquary and we all focused all of our love on it just like this!” Before Green Grass could stop her, she knelt down to put her head against the floor and pushed with her magic. After a few minutes when he had regained his sight, Green Grass regarded the glittering sparkles that seemed have become ingrained into everything in the room. According to Twilight, the effect was both temporary and related to how much of the Crystal Empire’s magic had been absorbed by the affected creature or object. His own coat now had a glossy shine that actually made the dull shade of green somewhat attractive, but it was small beans compared to the other ponies in the room. Shining Armor was resplendent in reflective shades of ivory and azure, although it still was easy to pick him out from the native crystal ponies, who fairly glowed with an internal light and a pearlescent sheen on their coats. The little sparkling crystal unicorn seemed almost at a Fluttershy stage of embarrassment, but was having problems hiding behind her semi-translucent father. “That was… AWESOME!” Green Grass peeked around Gneiss at the blushing little unicorn, whose pale green face had taken on a rosy tinge. “Can you do it again?” “No!” Shining Armor scowled, inadvertently taking the role of Bad Teacher just as Green Grass was hoping. Hiding a knowing grin, Green Grass dug through the educational toys in his pockets and spread a couple of them out across the floor. “Well, how about we try something a little less fun then. You seem to have a good grasp on how to release your magic, but control is even more important than power. This little toy here has a couple of ball bearings that go into numbered holes. The more holes you can fill, the more control you have over your magic. Why don’t we start by…” ~ ~ ♥ ~ ~ Hours later as the card game was slowing to a halt, the Crystal Guard notified ‘Prince Shining Armor the Mighty and Powerful’ that the Royal Slumber Party was breaking up and that tomorrow’s trip to the Misty Mountain aerie was going to be coming around in just a few hours and would you like to get some sleep before that happens sir because you haven’t been getting much lately. Fluorescence had run through nearly every test he had brought and reached the end of her youthful exuberance a short time earlier, allowing Gneiss to arrange her on his back for transport with only a few sleepy protests. As the rest of them left the room and headed back to their own bedrooms for whatever sleep they could get before tomorrow’s trip, Green Grass still felt perky and alert, although it was probably due to the number of Honeydews had had put away during his impromptu tutoring session. “You know, Shining Armor, I really wasn’t looking forward to this trip, but it hasn’t turned out too—” One sparkly blue hoof darted over to cover his mouth and Shining Armor glowered. “Not even on a dare. You finish that sentence, and I’ll have the guard fly you out somewhere in the mountains where the impact crater won’t affect the city. I swear, I don’t see what my sister—” Shining Armor gave a yelp of surprise and yanked his hoof back. “You licked me!” “And I’m horribly disappointed in the taste,” said Green Grass. “By the way, I almost forgot to ask. Do you want to be a groomstallion in Twilight’s wedding?” “Are you going to be there?” he grumbled as they started to trot down the hallway again. “I understand it’s traditional for the groom to be present for at least part of the ceremony,” said Green Grass. “Although I seriously thought about using a cardboard cutout for all of the press conferences and parties. I don’t think anypony would notice the difference.” “Tell me about it,” said Shining Armor. “No, on second thought, don’t. Just smile. Wave. Try not to think about what will happen to you if you make Twiley unhappy in even the slightest.” They continued down the corridor for what Green Grass determined to be a calculated amount of time before Shining Armor added, “Anypony volunteered to run the bachelor party yet?” “No, but I think one will really soon.” He gave Shining Armor a dry look. “Promise me it won’t be completely full of military masculinity?” The resulting chuckle had no humor to it at all. “Don’t worry, I know a few stallions who don’t spend all day in armor. Here’s your room.” The chunky crystal pony guard in front of the bedroom door opened it and Green Grass stepped through, although his future brother-in-law could not resist adding one more piece of advice. “Don’t go wandering the halls in the dark. Our dungeon has crystal rats, big ones about twice the size of your hoof, and if you get tossed in there, it may be a few days until we get you out.” After the door closed, Green Grass heard a few additional orders to the guard, mostly slanted in the direction of keeping the ‘guest’ inside the room and preventing any late-night visits by any purple princesses who might be in the castle no matter how famous they were and even if they did sign an autograph. He sighed and peeled out of his lumpy jacket, taking the time to hang it up in the closet and to toss his crumpled hat on a shelf before dropping into the soft glittering bed with a groan. “What a day. And I’m still not sleepy.” “Good.” A soft shadow tinted with purple glided out of the shadows and planted a kiss on the top of his head. “I had a few questions to run over with you before bed, Greenie.” “Your command is my wish, Your Highness,” said Green Grass, rolling over and puckering up, taking a long moment to enjoy the resulting kiss and subsequent warm nuzzle before looking into Twilight’s hooded eyes. “How did you get in?” “Balcony,” said Twilight, fluttering her wings while she extracted several books from her purse and made an organized stack. “Pumpernickel pulled guard duty for your room tonight. Didn’t even protest, just opened the balcony window for me and closed it after I went through.” “Good lad. Very attentive to the needs of the Princesses,” said Green Grass. “How did your night out with Shiny go? Did he bore you with stories about the Royal Guard all evening?” Twilight floated several of the books up into the air and began to leaf through them all at once, apparently engrossed in her midnight studying. “We played a little Hocus Pocus with his military buddies, talked about things, started training a young crystal unicorn in her first magic, stuff like that. What did you and the girls talk about?” “Mostly you,” she confessed while adding a color-coded bookmark to her book and opening another one off the stack. “Did you really meet a crystal unicorn, or are you just being you?” “I am being me and I met a crystal unicorn. A little bitty one named Fluorescence who still doesn’t have her cutie mark. I’d place her right in the middle sixties for her power/skill ratings, but I’ll have to send for a real teacher from Canterlot to do an official evaluation. Preferably somepony who doesn’t remind the cute little tyke of King Sombra. Probably should be a female teacher with a light color. Without a hat.” He paused for a moment, running the previous words through his head. “You talked about me with the girls?” “Did you know that Cadence makes regular visits to the city library and has collected a number of rare volumes for her personal library? They’re from over a thousand years ago, and are still perfectly preserved.” “Yes, Twilight, but—” “Of course being the Alicorn of Love, she has a little different view on what important works of literature deserve the most study.” “Twilight, I really don’t want to hear about Princess Cadence’s pornography collection right—” “It’s not porn!” protested Twilight, clutching several of the books to her. “They’re deeply sensual books on the love between ponies. And griffons. And… some other creatures. They don’t have anything to do at all about how we were talking about you. Much. I wanted to find out how ponies a thousand years ago interacted between the three tribes, and most of the books seemed so monospeciest, but then Rarity found this book on wing fetishes and Rainbow Dash found this series on sensual spells — hey, wait!” Using his experience at reading Twilight’s visual clues, Green Grass had grabbed the very bottom book out of the stack and was examining it by the dim light of the bedroom. “The Sensual Alicorn - Illustrated. Who did they use as a model for the…” He had to admit that from his multiple visits with Princess Celestia over the last year, he had gotten a fairly accurate idea of just exactly what she looked like, but whoever had done the illustrations for the book had seen a side of the princess Green Grass had never seen before. And a particular end. And several other points of interest that he had specifically avoided looking at in her presence. He turned the book sideways and squinted. “It’s a stepstool,” blurted out Twilight with a bright blush and delightful wiggle. “She’s rather… flexible for her age,” said Green Grass after a moment’s thought. “You know, as a Monodeist, I was raised to believe that Princess Celestia was the epitome of Purity and Light, the Perfect Pony in All Regards. As a perverted stallion — but I repeat myself — I want to turn the page and read the rest of the book. As a husband-to-be, I’m both frightened and a little curious at what I might find. As a brother, I so want you to make a copy of this for Graphite. And as a fellow bibliophile, I’m somewhat shocked that Princess Cadence put sticky notes all over the book, including a color-coded rating system.” There was a warmth around his back as Twilight curled up around him and swept a feathered wing across one shoulder. “How do you feel about it as a teacher?” She punctuated her question with a sharp nip to his side that nearly make him jump off the bed. “Errr… Well, if you consider it to be a textbook, it’s only appropriate that it be checked for… errors. Errata. Corrections. Additions.” Each word gained another nibble up his side and along his neck. “Greenie, did you know that a pregnant female pony requires vigorous—” she punctuated the word with a sharp nip under one ear “—exercise in order to keep her muscles strong for foalbirth?” “Really?” A sharp ripple traveled down his back as Twilight nipped him again. “Even alicorns?” “Particularly alicorns,” she breathed in one ear. “I’ve just spent most of the evening talking about it with my friends. What would you say about skipping the lecture and going straight to the all-nighter. We can see how many chapters of the textbook we can cover before tomorrow.”