//------------------------------// // Invasion of Privacy - Morning In Canterlot Shimmers // Story: Bit by The Love Bug // by Winter Silvermane //------------------------------// Split Second was the second happiest pony in all of Canterlot. Why only the second? He didn't want to outshine Radiance. He was that thoughtful. He owned a little apartment next to the castle just like half of the guards. He entered into the building, and couldn't contain his excitement anymore. " Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! " He was jumping all around the place. On a sudden thought he went into one of the larger rooms. On the wall just opposite the door there was a world map. It had blue and red pins on it in different places. If ponies wandered into this room, they would think, that they walked right into a conspiracy theory, or something crazy like that. It was nothing like that. The red pins were for the places he already visited, and the blue ones were for those he wished to visit. It was sort of like a bucket list. " I wonder if Viper likes travelling. Maybe we could travel around the world, but that is for tomorrow. Good night map! " He checked on the map almost every day. To see how far has he come in achieving his lifetime goal. He went into his bedroom, and put his armor on the pedestal. He carefully examined his armor. It had to be perfect all the time. Although his helmet was missing. He hoped the Commander won't give him a whole speech about what it means being a guard, and how is the armor part of him. He could almost remember the whole speech, as he heard it at least five times before. He jumped straight into bed, as he was quite exhausted after the long day. On his bed there was two stuffed pony. He just simply couldn't live without them. Both plushie were characters from his favorite comic book called Endless Voyage. One of them was the most notorious pirate called Helix, Captain of The Maiden's Grief, and his eternal love, Lady Lightbeam, The Seeker of Faith. He found it quite romantic, that despite they belong to two different world, and they tried to kill each other countless times. In the end they still found happiness together, even though they died in a horrible way, but at least they were together in the end. It was a really sad and depressing end for an epic adventure. " Good night Helix. Good night Lady Lightbeam. " " Ugh... " " Huff... huff.. " " Argh! I can't sleep. " He was so excited about the whole marriage thing, that he just couldn't sleep properly. He looked at his clock. It showed 1:07. Instead of sleeping he decided he will use this time to for something much more productive. He was at his desk, and he was writing furiously. What was he writing? Well, of course his fanfiction. It was about a pegasus stallion - totally not him -, who fought against the forces of evil using the power of friendship. From manticores to dragons there was no one, who could topple this hero, and stand against his undeniable charm. Split Second was snoring lightly on his desk. His drool covered the paper he wrote on. He was awakened by his rude alarm clock. With the agility of a cat he jumped up quickly. Crashing into the ceiling, then with a 'thud' he landed on the floor. He looked up, down, left, and right, but he did not see the enemy. Suddenly his eyes were on the alarm clock. He turned it off. " Oh... my bad. False alarm, Captain. *yaaaaaaawn* Ugh.. I wish I could sleep more, but alas, Equestria needs me! For Equestria! " With the ferocity of a thousand tiger, he charged out of his little apartment. A minute later he returned, while having a sheepish grin. " I almost forgot my armor. What would have Celestia think of off me, if I were to walk around naked in the castle? I would die in embarrassment. " Somehow he forgot to realize, that ponies are almost always naked. He was flying in the castle, while eating his breakfast, which was nothing more, than a really big carrot, that he got from the market. It was fresh, and crunchy. Soon a very angry voice echoed through the empty halls. " First Lieutenant! " Hammerhead was shouting at him as loud as he could. " Good morning, Commander! " He waved at him, while still airborne. " Aren't you forgetting about something? " He was prepared to shout him off the sky if needed. " Hmmm.... " He was thinking very hard. " Yep! I knew there was something wrong. I didn't tell anypony the good news. " He landed in front of the Commander. He was right in front of his face. " Last night I asked Viper... the big-big question. She said yes! We are going to be married! " He used his very bright happy smile on Hammerhead. " I thought you are going to say something embarrassing, but this is good news. Congratulations. " Hammerhead patted him on the back. " I know that you are really happy right now, but remember! You are a guard pony. So, please leave the celebrations after the Royal Wedding. Repeat after me. I am a guard pony, and I take my duties seriously. " Hammerhead thought that if the classical shouting don't work on him, maybe he should just use a different approach. " I am a guard pony, and I take my duties seriously. " Split Second felt energized by this. He really was feeling the responsibility. " Don't worry, Commander. I got this. " Instead of flying he just ran off without another word. " Princess Celestia's room is on the opposite way. " Hammerhead just sighed. " Ops.. my bad. " He ran past Hammerhead again. He was running so fast, that he couldn't stop himself to crash into a pony when he turned left. He crashed into Princess Cadance. " Sorry, Cadance. I didn't see you. " He smiled at the mare trying to hide his embarrassment. " Watch where you are going! " She said it with the most arrogant tone she could muster. " That's Princess Cadance for you, commoner. " " Cadance, you won't believe me what happened. I finally asked Viper to marry me. She said yes! Can you believe it? " He clearly ignored the 'commoner' comment. He was just so happy, that on a sudden impulse he hugged the Princess. " Get off me you filthy.. wait... " A sudden realization hit her. " Viper, as in Viper Trail? " She was now clearly intrigued. " Tell me everything about this Viper Trail. " Split Second failed to realize the sinister tone in her voice, or the shining green eyes she had for a second. After a really long talk they just had to part away. She had to get dressed for her wedding, and he had to see Celestia before the wedding. He was just going towards Princess Celestia's private chamber. He was thinking loudly. " So I hugged Celestia, and Cadance, that means I'm two princesses ahead. Eat that, Pinkie Pie! I only need to hug Luna, and I will be the King of Hugs! Huahuahahuahua! " He was trying to imitate an evil laughter, but failed horribly at it. He sounded like a seal. The guards who were around him started to slowly back away. They whispered something about, that he clearly lost his mind. Without knocking he barged in to the Princess's room. The guards posted in front of her room just groaned in annoyance. How could Split Second be this rude towards Princess Celestia? Does he have no respect for her? To tell you the truth. He respects her more, than anypony else. That is why he does everything in his power to act as casually as he could around her. He wants her to feel like, if she was just a simple pony, with simple problems. Not a magical alicorn princess, who ruled over an empire for a thousand year. It is a sad, and lonely position. " Good morning my little pony. I was just expecting you. " Princess Celestia was just as graceful as usual. " Good morning Celestia. Viper said yes. It's official! We are going to be married." He tried to stifle his yawn. " That is most wonderful. I wish for the both of you a very happy, and long marriage. " She smiled gently at her subject. " I'm afraid my duties are going to occupy me for the whole day. Don't forget to remind me to talk about the details of your wedding. I also invited my sister to our little get together. I hope you don't mind. Luna will bring the cake this time. " After she said those she became very serious. " As you know I entrusted you with a very important task. Do you remember? " " Yes. I will be guarding the Elements of Harmony as you requested. " He wanted to say a lots of thing, but this time he didn't speak up. Clearly he wanted to take his duties seriously. He was a guard after all. " They must not fall into the hooves of our enemies. Even if they can't use Elements. It will be devastating for Equestria to loose them. I will entrust you with this key." She levitated a golden key, that looked like a unicorn horn. " This key can open the vault if something happens to me, and the Elements of Harmony has to be used, or if they have to be taken to safety. Only you and me can open the vault. Are you sure, you will guard this key as if the fate of Equestria depends on it? " " Do not worry, Celestia. I'm a professional. Not even manticores, or dragons could deter me from my path. I will guard the Elements with the ferocity of a thousand tiger. Raaaawr! " He grabbed the key. " Thank you. " She eased the seriousness in the air with a small smile. " You should be on your way, then. I have to prepare myself before wedding. Oh, and don't worry. I will smuggle out a few slices of a cake for you. " Not everypony was in good shape during the morning. Viper barely slept during the night. Her eyes were puffy thanks to how much she cried. She was looking at herself in the mirror. She was in her natural changeling form. " Alright, Viper. Everything will be fine. The invasion will go just as planned, then you will have a really long talk with Split. Maybe at the end of they day he won't completely hate you. Maybe. " She turned her head to the left. " Great. I'm talking to myself. I'm going to be just as insane as the other infiltrators. Get it together girl! Come on! Embrace your persona! " She changed into her disguise. As she was cleaning out her house completely, so there won't be any evidence left. She found tulip petals randomly throughout the house. Viper smiled knowing why they were there. But... something was not right. On one of the petals she felt something. The presence of an another changeling. A very familiar changeling. " What are you planning? " She narrowed her eyes. The flower shops were the first ones to open in the morning, as many restaurant bought fresh flowers from them. The flower mare, who helped out Split Second yesterday just put the open sign on the door, when her first costumer arrived. " Good morning! How can I he-- " She couldn't finish the sentence, as Viper punched her in the face really hard, that effectively knocked the mare on the ground. " Woah. You hit me really hard. " She massaged her aching jaw. " So... you remember me, and here I thought you infiltrators were above remembering us commoners. " She stood up. " How can I help you... sister? " She said it with as much venom as she could. Instead of answering. Viper put the closed sign on the door, then closed all the shutters. " You were careless. I found your presence on the flowers. You knew well he was allergic to flowers, but still you gave him some. You probably wanted to ruin our night. Am I right, or am I right? That's low even for you. Why are you here, Vapor? " Viper's voice was just as cold as the howling northern wind. " I was just looking after, my twin sister. " Vapor was looking so sincere. Viper could almost believe her. Almost. " I heard rumors about you. You being with a pony. Preposterous, I know, but I had to see it with my own eyes. Oh girl, he is totally in love with you. I felt it. There is only a slight problem with that. You are essentially a monster, and he as a guard pony should hunt you down. You see the irony? " She laughed. " I only tell you this once. Stay the fuck out of my life. I know you well enough. You are not a kind sister. You are a backstabbing bitch. After what you did to us... to me!!! " Viper was so angry, that she hit her again, again, and again. " I promised mom, that I won't kill you for what you did, but.. remember this warrior. As an infiltrator I could make your life a living hell. Do not cross my path again. " Viper was about to leave, but she turned her head back, and sent a final glare at her sister. " Don't you dare coming near him, or mom has to bury another one of her daughter. " Viper just left the flower shop. Leaving a very furious Vapor behind. " That arrogant bitch. I will tear your world apart bit by bit, and I'm going to start with your little boyfriend. Ahahahahahaa! " Vapor was laughing like a maniac. The morning went by really quickly. Viper completely cleared out her apartment. There was two soft knock on the door followed by two stronger ones. She opened the door. In front of her was a changeling in pony disguise. It was quite an amateur copy. She saw several flaws, that was just screaming fake. She tried to ignore these facts, as it clearly didn't mattered anymore. " Message from the Queen. Ahem. Thanks to your connection to the guards our invasion will go smoothly, but there is one last critical task I'm going to give you. I am aware of your interactions with Split Second. Use your influence on him, and make him giving us the Elements of Harmony. That is your order. " He said it in a monotone voice. " What? " Viper hoped she just misheard the whole thing. " Repeat the message. " " Thanks to your connection to the guards our invasion will go smoothly, but there is one last critical task I'm going to give you. I am aware of your interactions with Split Second. Use your influence on him, and make him giving us the Elements of Harmony. That is your order. " He repeated it without a problem. " Do I get a help in this? Any reinforcements? " Viper was feeling sick. She had a knot in her stomach. " The Queen could not provide you with assistance at the moment. Our forces are busy enough dismantling the city's defenses. Those heavy ballistas could have taken out our whole invasion force. Good thing the pony you charmed had a really big mouth. Your reinforcements will arrive as soon the shield is broken. " Just as he said those words. The wedding bells started to ring. They both looked at the direction of the castle. " The first phase has begun. " Viper said silently. Forgive me Split.