/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Canterlot...
Train station...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Sunset stared nervously at the glistening spires that made up the city of Canterlot. She fluffed her wings nervously, hoping everything would go all right. Despite Celestia's assurances that she was forgiven, the guilt was still there. She felt it always would be...
She felt a comforting hoof on her shoulder, and turned. Twilight smiled at her. “It'll be okay,” the purple princess said. “Trust me.”
Sunset just grinned weakly. “I hope so...” she said. “I just have the weirdest feeling that something major is going to happen today.”
Rarity, who was nearby, giggled. “Well, certainly there is, darling! It's not everyday that you're crowned a princess!”
“Indeed!” said Rares, the transformed unicorn smiling warmly. “Oh, this is quite exciting!”
Sunset chuckled weakly. “Exciting. Right,” she said. “Let's go with that.”
Twilight nuzzled her. “It'll be okay,” she assured. “It's just nerves.” She chuckled. “You should have seen the mess I was before my own coronation.”
AJ thought of something, debated for a moment on saying in, and decided to just roll with it. “Plus, if nothin' else, y'all won't have t'hang around and deal with the nobles bein' all huffy about you being princess,” the human-turned-Earth pony said.
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I missed a lot about this place... Dealing with the snobs of the court was NOT one of them...” she said, both she and Twilight giggling and nuzzling each other.
Flutters watched them, blushing. “Are they in love?” she asked softly.
“Hm?” Fluttershy asked, frowning. “Not that I know of, why do you ask?”
“Well, it's just...” Flutters stammered, blushing and trailing off as she began to twiddle her hooves nervously.
“Most people in our world don't get on nuzzly and cuddly like that unless they're really deep into each other, like Rares and AJ,” Dashie explained.
The Equestrian natives giggled. “As I told my counterpart,” Celestia said, “We are a society based on friendship, love, and harmony. Plus, we don't have those nice wriggly hands humans do, so we find other ways to show affection. What may be an expression of intimacy in your world is simply an expression of friendship here.”
“Well, I like it!” Pinkamena proclaimed. “Free hugs for everypony!” She immediately began running around the train car, hugging everypony she met. Everypony giggled, Pinkie joining in the hug fest.
Celestia smiled warmly at the display. But then she remembered something. “Ah. Rarity, the royal tailor would like to speak to you about the final touches on the dresses we princesses will be wearing. Rares, if you wish, you may talk to her as well.”
Rarity nodded. “Of course, Princess Celestia,” she said.
Celestia sighed. “I wish I knew what happened to my old one,” she said. “It was quite lovely.”
Luna snickered. Rarity just smiled knowingly. Rares leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. “Let me guess,” she asked her counterpart. “Fashion disaster big enough to merit an intervention?”
“Pink with yellow styling,” Rarity said simply.
Rares gagged. “With Celestia's coloring?”
Rarity nodded. “Indeed,” she said. “And apparently, it's design was a personal request by Celestia.”
Rares groaned inwardly. “And because the Royal Tailor is an employee of the Princess directly, the poor dear couldn't refuse...”
Rarity just grinned wickedly. “She actually helped me destroy it,” she said. “And remove the evidence.”
Rares smirked. “Of course, she had to commission a new dress,” she prompted.
“And she asked me to help the Royal Tailor to design it,” Rarity answered. “Everyone wins.”
The two Rarity's tittered.
The two Fluttershys, meanwhile, were staring up at the city in awe.
“It's so beautiful,” said Flutters, grinning widely.
Fluttershy nodded, trotting near her. “And there's so much culture to see as well! Animal sanctuaries, excellent libraries with lots of spots to hide in for privacy, marvelous parks with lots of space to be with animals and not deal with other ponies, and just recently they've started holding manega conventions!” she said with quiet excitement. At the mention of manega, though, she wilted a little, blushing in embarrassment. “Oh, but... I don't know if you have those in your world...”
Flutters, however, had a joyous expression on her face. “You... you have manga here?”
Fluttershy went wide-eyed. “Ranmare ½?”
Flutters nodded, mentally translating the name to the human equivalent. “Revolutionary Girl Utena?”
Fluttershy grinned, doing the same. Revolutionary Filly, but YES! “Pony Genesis Evangelion?”
Good lord, this cheerful place came up with something like NGE? Still... Flutters nodded, grinning widely. “Dragonball?”
Fluttershy nodded, grinning even wider. “Oh my... Sailor Moon?” she asked.
Flutters nodded, the two pegasi squeeing happily and hugging each other. Common ground yet again!
AJ facehooved. “Lordamighty. Two of them, now...” she muttered, smirking and shaking her head.
Applejack chuckled. “Ain't never understood what she sees in those comic books from Neighpon,” she said. “But whatever makes her happy I suppose.”
Dashie grinned up at the towering spires of the castle. “Hey pony me, think you could beat me in a race around those towers?” she challenged.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “First, yes I could, no contest. Second... we can't. The archers around the towers have been twitchy ever since Tirek's attack.”
Twilight shuddered. “Can we not talk about him, please?” she said. “This is Sunset's time. Let's focus on happy things!”
Celestia looked thoughtful. “Actually...” she said. “Sunset needs to get ready, of course, but perhaps you girls would like to show our visitors around the city?”
Luna brightened. “An excellent idea!” she said. “We will, of course, have to send guards with each group, just to be safe, and to assure everypony that they aren't changelings.”
“Excellent idea,” she said. “What say you?”
The Canterlot High students seemed excited by this prospect. Tia and Lulu, however, looked somewhat uneasy. “Perhaps at least Tia and I should stay with you also,” Lulu said. “After all, we do look like the rulers of this land.”
“That could create some unnecessary complications,” Tia said. “Remember what happened when we went to Joe's yesterday? We were lucky and Joe was fairly easygoing about it, but others might be a bit more paranoid, especially after that Changeling invasion you told me about.”
“Oh!” Luna said, frowning. “I didn't think of that...”
Celestia nodded. “A good idea,” she said. “We'll have time later to escort you around ourselves. As for the others, I think a guard or two per group should be enough.”
Rainbow Dash gave her an 'are you serious?' look. Celestia rolled her eyes. “Contrary to what the tabloids say, Rainbow Dash, our guards are very competent at their jobs. We wouldn't keep them around otherwise.”
One guard, a unicorn, stepped forward. “Your majesties,” he said. “I am Lance Bearer. My unit and I would be more than willing to escort our guests around Canterlot.”
Celestia smiled. “I applaud your initiative,” she said.
“If it's okay...” Twilight said, stepping forward. “I need to help Sunset get ready for her coronation. Would one of your unit be willing to take Twily to see Moondancer, a friend of mine here in the city? I trust her to show Twily around, and you can quote me on that to her.” She gave the guard directions to Moondancer's home, as well as having Spike writing and sending out a letter to explain the situation to Moondancer.
"Hey, actually, can I go with Twily and Moondancer?" Spike asked after sending off the letter. "I know some places I think she'd like, too."
Twilight thought about it, and nodded. "Sure! Lance Bearer, you mind Spike accompanying your group?"
Lance Bearer nodded. “Of course,” he said, smiling grandly, his white coat as shining as his armor. “It's no problem at all. May I be excused to gather my unit?”
Celestia nodded. Lance Bearer smiled warmly, and then trotted off to the barracks. The group casually talked amongst themselves, Celestia explaining the coronation ceremony, where the others would have to stand, what they were allowed to do during the ceremony, and so forth. After a few minutes, Lance Bearer came back with several unicorn stallions, all with warm, pleasant smiles on their faces. Each guard was paired up with one pair of Twilight's friends, Lance Bearer himself going with Twili to visit Moondancer.
Before leaving, though, Lance Bearer excused himself once again, citing a need to use the bathroom. Once inside, he checked to see if anypony was watching and cast a spell on a mirror. A shadowy figure appeared in the opposite image, his face barely visible from the nearby fireplace.
“Master,” he said. “We have a unique opportunity. The Rainbow Bearers and their otherworldly twins are all splitting up to see the city, with all the alicorns staying in the castle. I'm taking Princess Twilight's twin and the little dragon to see a friend of theirs in the city.”
The unicorn on the other end of the messaging spell grinned. “Excellent...” he said. “Is your plan what I think it is?”
Lance Bearer nodded. “Once the Rainbow Bearers are isolated, my troops will capture them and bring them to the castle to witness the death of the alicorns,” he said.
The other unicorn chuckled. “Perfect... Hurry back to them, before you are missed. Keep them away from the castle until we are set, and then bring them back to watch the execution from the foul hybrids. We shall contact you once we are ready.”
A few minutes later, Lance Bearer had gathered his troops, each one escorting a pair off to see Canterlot. The princesses, meanwhile, escorted Sunset Shimmer, Tia, and Lulu up to the palace.
“Everything's so beautiful,” Tia said softly.
Lulu giggled. “And echoey,” she said. “The noise must be frustrating at times with hooves clip-clopping everywhere.”
“Our private quarters and offices are soundproofed,” Luna said, grinning. “Simple spells. Perhaps even with the limited magic in your world you could cast them.”
Tia shook her head. “I'm still trying to get the hang of this magical telekinesis,” she said. “I'm still accidentally crushing things...”
Lulu blinked, and grinned. “Telekinesis? Like lifting something with your mind? That's a trick I'd love to learn before we go home.”
Celestia smiled. “We'll see what we can do about tha... ah, here's Princess Cadance!” She turned to the others. “Ladies, this is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Princess Cadance for short. She's the Princess of Love and co-ruler of the Crystal Empire.”
Waiting in the foyer was a candy pink alicorn with a wide smile on her face. Twilight immediately ran towards her, the two hugging delightedly. “And also Twilight's favorite babysitter from when she was younger,” Celestia added, the others chuckling.
And then...
“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” they chanted, doing a silly little dance with it.
Sunset just stared, her jaw dropping. Celestia giggled. “Adorable every time,” she said. Luna nodded in agreement.
“That was certainly... a thing...” Tia said, not sure what to think.
“Cadance... I swear I've heard that name before... AH! Yes. She was recently hired to be the guidance counselor at Crystal Prep,” Lulu said.
“Neat! So I have a counterpart over there as well, huh?” Cadance said as she and Twilight came over to the group.
Lulu nodded. “One that's being fairly well-received at her job, from what I've heard,” she said.
“Nice,” Cadance said. “Guidance counselor at a school, huh? Sounds like a job I'd enjoy.” She looked over the two transformed alicorns. “Wow... It's like a perfect mirror... Granted, there's not that aura of ancient wisdom about you two...”
“Ancient!?” Luna and Celestia said, affronted. Cadance wilted a little as the two glared at her... and then both Princesses broke up in a fit of giggles, Cadance smiling and relaxing.
“Wow, Twilight... Just... wow...” Sunset said, coming up to Twilight.
The purple alicorn blushed. “It's just something Cadance and I have done since I was a little foal,” she said.
Sunset shook her head, snickering. “You are such an adorable dork,” she said.
Twilight grinned. “Ah, speaking of...” she said, turning to Cadance. She suddenly turned sheepish, tracing a circle on the ground with her hoof and blushing. “Did... did he come too?”
Cadance frowned, hesitating. “Yes,” she said after a long moment, gesturing to a nearby corridor. “He and a couple other guards are unloading some of my bags.”
Twilight grinned widely. “I'm gonna surprise him,” she said, trotting off merrily.
Tia blinked. “Wait... Are you talking about Flash Sentry?” she asked, smiling.
Cadance, nodded. “There's a version of him on your world?”
Lulu nodded, smiling. “Sweet boy. Plays in a student band... rather popular with the ladies.”
Sunset nodded, blushing. “I dated him once, back when I was...” She coughed. “Well... I wonder what he's like here?”
Tia grinned. “Let's eavesdrop,” she said. “This should be fun!”
Sunset, Tia, and Lulu followed Twilight down the hall, amused. Celestia and Luna, however, stayed behind, having sensed Cadance's hesitation.
“What's wrong?” Celestia asked.
Cadance pawed the floor nervously. “I just...” she shook her head. “Normally, I'm able to tell immediately whether or not a relationship will work out, but whenever I apply my senses to this relationship, I get severely mixed signals. It's left me uneasy...”
Luna frowned. “Perhaps because you know that there are two Flash Sentrys, and your magic is applying itself to both?”
Cadance sighed. “Possibly...”
Celestia stared down the hallway the others had gone, her face expressionless. After a moment, she said, “One of my greatest worries for Twilight is having her heart broken. Not just because her power level would make her anger dangerous to those around her, but because no one deserves that sort of betrayal. Let us join Sunset and our otherworldly counterparts in eavesdropping.”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Meanwhile...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
“...I tell you what, guys, I have got to be the greatest stud ever,” Flash Sentry said, laughing.
The crystal pony guard that was with him shook his head. “Morals of today's ponies are so strange,” he muttered, his blue, crystalline coat and flower Cutie Mark shining in the sunlight in the corridor. “In my day it was considered uncouth to brag about one's sexual conquests.”
The unicorn guard, black-furred with a boat cutie mark, that was helping supervise the transport of Cadance's belongings to her temporary room rolled his eyes. “It's uncouth today. Flash is just a jerk,” he said.
“Y'all are just jealous. I mean, how many studs could say that they're on the verge of getting to bang an ALICORN PRINCESS!?” Flash said, giggling. “It's great. And she's so damn naive, too! I couldn't have thought up a better scam if I had those two scheisters Flim and Flam helping me!”
“Don't remind me,” the unicorn muttered. “Still can't believe those idiots came to the Empire looking to buy things that belonged to Sombra off of the Prince and Princess...”
The crystal pony frowned. “You are tricking Princess Twilight?” he asked.
Flash nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I've been with earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, thestrals, buffalo, zebras, minotaurs, this teen dragoness one time, griffons, crystal ponies, changelings...”
The unicorn blinked. “Wait. Changelings?”
“You'd be surprised at the number of changeling hookers in the red light district,” Flash said, smirking. “Those bugs are so desperate for anything even remotely resembling love right now that they'll do almost anything. But back to Twilight.” He giggled. “Seriously, I've used my guitar-playing to get me some mares before, but it's NEVER been this easy! Overhearing that love-gushing loser we work for talking with Prince-Captain Armor about the me in that other world Twilight visited was probably the best thing that's happened to me. All I gotta do is strum some stupid love songs, and I've got Twilight Freakin' Sparkle, a national hero and the most adorkable hotty I've ever seen panting like a dog!”
The unicorn and crystal pony guards froze, their eyes widening as they saw who was coming up behind Flash. “Um... Flash?” the crystal pony said, his voice cracking with fright.
Flash, not noticing the growing danger, kept ranting. “It'd be almost sad if it wasn't so damn funny! She's like the changeling hookers in how desperate for love she is at times.”
“Flash, I'd really shut up now if I were you,” the unicorn said, both he and the crystal pony grinning nervously.
Flash continued to ignore them. “Tell you what, though, it's all been worth it. To add an alicorn princess as a notch on my bedpost? I'll be the greatest damn stud alive!”
“By the ancients, Flash, STOP TALKING!” the crystal pony said, his voice raising to a squeak of fright.
Flash, once again, ignored them. “Hm. Don't wanna be tied down, though. Gotta think of a plan to break up with her after I get her in bed with me...” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “And considering she's royalty, she'll probably be expecting things from me... Maybe I'm not thinking this through enough.”
“Oh no fucking kidding,” the unicorn said, he and the crystal pony visibly sweating. “Flash, for ALL of our sakes, TURN THE HELL AROUND!”
Flash blinked, finally noticing the two of them. He turned... and paled. “Oh horseapples...”
Seven alicorns were standing behind him. Two Celestias, two Lunas, Sunset Shimmer, Cadance, and Twilight Sparkle.
The Celestia and Luna who were visitors to this world looked utterly shocked at the depths of Flash's infidelity, their expressions a mix of disgust and incredulity. Sunset Shimmer looked almost sad, shaking her head in disappointment. The native Luna's eyes glowed with fury, small swirls of lightning forming around her. Celestia was radiating with barely controlled heat, her eyes furious. Cadance, by contrast, had an icy glare to her, an unnaturally cold expression on her face. And Twilight...
“You... YOU... YOU BASTARD!!” she screamed, her coat turning white as her tail, wings, and mane turned into bright coronas of flame, her teeth gnashing with rage. “I was giving my heart to you, you miserable JACKASS!!” She lunged, only to collide with the edge of the force bubble Celestia created around her.
“Deal with this,” Celestia said acidly to Cadance, who just nodded as the other princesses filed off, Twilight's screams of fury echoing down the hallway as Celestia carried her away.
Flash held his breath, not daring to sigh in relief that Twilight wasn't going to murder him. He still had Princess Cadance glaring at him coldly. He gulped.
“Do you understand why we're angry with you, Flash Sentry?” Princess Cadance said, glaring at him. The unicorn and crystal pony began to slowly edge their way out of the room, a brief glare from Cadance freezing them in place.
Flash gulped. “B-B-because I broke Princess Twilight's heart?” he tried, grinning nervously.
“Why are you smiling?” Cadance asked. “Do you approve of your actions?”
Flash's face immediately froze into the emotionless stone-face most guards wore. “N-NO, YOUR HIGHNESS!”
Cadance sighed. “We're mad at you for breaking Princess Twilight's heart, yes, but that would not be enough to justify punishing you. Princess Twilight is a tremendously powerful magic user, and her control is affected by her emotions. When those emotions get out of control, she becomes dangerous, both to herself and to those around her. In addition to that, she is also one sixth of the Rainbow Bearers, the Guardians of Harmony. If her own heart is imbalanced, in the grips of rage or despair, or any other purely negative emotion she cannot properly use the magic of friendship,” she said, pacing back and forth. She paused, glaring right at Flash Sentry, making him flinch. “Your actions, in addition to being absolutely DICKISH, have created a potential security risk on what should be a joyous day, Sunset Shimmer's coronation as Princess and Ambassador to the other world.” She took a breath to calm herself. “And it is because of that coronation that I will defer your punishment for now.” She turned to the other two guards. “Golden Sail and Quartz Heart, correct?” she asked, addressing the unicorn and crystal pony.
“Y-yes, your majesty,” the unicorn, Golden Sail, said.
Cadance sighed. “Did you know of his reputation beforehand? And if so, why did you not give me or Twilight warning about it?”
Quartz Heart gulped. “M-My lady... I served in the palace under King Sombra's reign. Those who questioned his decisions in any way were locked into helmets that stripped them of their free will, turning them into cannon fodder soldiers that he would use in death matches for his own amusement. I know you are a far better ruler than Sombra, and have proven to be trustworthy over and over again, b-but...” He looked ashamed. “Old fears don't go away so easily, even if you know the pony you're talking to is better than the one before her. Old doubts don't go away completely, and old habits are hard to break...”
Golden Sail grimaced. “I don't have an excuse, my lady,” he said. “I knew beforehand, but since Flash obviously can't keep his mouth shut, I assumed that scuttlebutt on him would have gotten up to your level, that you knew about it and were taking action on your own. Apparently, I assumed incorrectly.”
Cadance went over and hugged them both, startling them. To Quartz Heart, she said, “Never fear me. Always trust that I will be there for you, and never bring you harm, especially for something so petty as being told I was wrong. If you believe I am mistaken about something, come to me. I love you all, my crystal ponies. And I will always be there for you.”
Quartz Heart just closed his eyes. “I am sorry, my princess...” he said softly, ashamed of letting his old fears of Sombra influence him. “I will endeavor to be stronger in the future.”
Cadance nodded, turning to Golden Sail. “To you, I say the same thing. If you have doubts about something that we're doing, tell us. Tell ANY of us. The most that will happen is that Luna may yell a little, and she would never hurt anyone. We're your rulers, yes, but we also want to be your friends. We'll listen, and take your thoughts into account.” She giggled, and added. “I'll spare you the old cliché about what assuming makes 'u' and 'me.'”
Golden Sail smiled. “Thank you, your highness. I'll try to keep that in mind in the future.”
Cadance nodded, her expression turning dark as she turned to Flash Sentry, who was too scared to move. She sighed.
“Confine Flash Sentry to the guard barracks and keep him there until we leave,” Princess Cadance said. “After we return to the Crystal Empire, you both will be given a week's vacation to make up for missing the ceremony.” The two guards nodded, saluting. Princess Cadance turned to Flash Sentry, who was visibly sweating. “As for you,” she said. “I'm sure Prince-Captain Shining Armor, Princess Twilight Sparkle's big brother,” she emphasized, “would LOVE to hear about your... 'conquests.'”
She trotted away, picking up the bags the guards were carrying. Once the sound of her hoofsteps were out of earshot, Flash visibly wilted, groaning in frustration. “Princess Twilight's big brother...” he moaned.
“Boy, you screwed and not in the fun way,” Golden Sail said, smirking.
“I believe the modern phrase is 'dead pony walking,'” Quartz Heart said, visibly calmer after Cadance's pep-talk, both he and Golden Sail laughing.
Flash let out a strangled-sounding squeak. “Come on, 'stud,'” Golden Sail teased. “Let's get to the barracks. Unless, of course, you'd like to talk to Princess Twilight some more...”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Meanwhile...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Twilight Sparkle was sobbing, both Sunset Shimmer and Celestia hugging the heartbroken princess as she wept. Luna and the two offworlders stood off to the side, frowning and talking amongst themselves.
“I knew there would be differences between counterparts in each world,” Lulu said softly, “but I didn't think they'd be polar opposites...”
“The Flash Sentry of thine own world be truer of heart, then?” Luna said, still tense, her more archaic manner of speaking more comfortable when dealing with her anger.
Tia shook her head. “Our world's Flash is sweetheart. When he and Sunset were dating, back when Sunset was evil, he was completely faithful to her. She broke up with him.”
Lulu nodded. “I swear, if I was twenty years young, I would want to date him.”
Luna sighed. “And Twilight let herself be blinded by memories of the other Flash,” she said softly. “To be fair, we should have paid closer attention ourselves. Twilight was just so happy meeting him, she thought she would have a chance to pursue a relationship...”
“We all made mistakes,” Cadance said, coming up to the group and setting down her remaining bags. “I should have spoken of my concerns sooner. All we can do now is help Twilight recover from this.” The other three nodded as Cadance walked over to Twilight, who was starting to calm down.
“You gonna be okay, ladybug?” Cadance said, laying down in front of her.
“Eventually...” Twilight said, sniffling. She sighed, reluctantly pulling out of the hug and turning to Sunset. “Sorry... This is supposed to be your day, and here I am bringing personal drama into it.”
Sunset nuzzled her. “It's okay, really...” she said, smiling warmly. “You couldn't have known this Flash would be so different from the one in the human world. We all make mistakes.”
“Even colossally stupid ones?” Twilight muttered. “Swift Saber and Power Words, my personal guards, both warned me about dating him... I should have listened...”
Celestia hugged her again, gently stroking her mane. “If you wish to be alone, Luna, Cadance and I can handle the rest of the preparations on our own.”
Twilight sniffled a little, thinking about it. “No... No, I need to keep busy right now. If I don't I'll just be a weepy wreck all day.” She smiled a little, turning to Cadance. “What's going to happen to Flash?”
“He's confined to the barracks until we go back,” Cadance said. “I'll let Shining Armor deal with him then.”
“Oooh,” Lulu said, grimacing. “Big brother with royal authority. Not fun.”
Cadance snickered. Twilight just smiled. “Okay... I can deal with that... okay...” the lavender alicorn said. “Meantime, we still need to get you ready...”
Sunset grimaced. “You... You sure you don't want to talk about this some more? Maybe have a long, long heart-to-heart with ice cream and cheesy movies?”
Celestia frowned. “You're still uncertain. Why?”
Sunset sighed. “I just... I don't feel I deserve a royal title...” she said. “I've only just recently discovered the magic of friendship, and things are still so shaky back at the school. Only the girls really trust me... well, and Vinyl, but I think a nuclear bomb going off wouldn't bother her.”
Luna, Twilight, Cadance, and Celestia gave her blank looks at that. Tia and Lulu looked visibly uncomfortable. Sunset quirked an eyebrow, moderately amused by everypony's reaction. “Humans have... 'interesting' military technology...” she said.
Celestia was the first to recover. “Time enough for that later,” she said. “Sunset, I know you have doubts. But we all believe in you. The fact that you have ascended is proof of that.”
Twilight nodded, grinning. “You've earned your wings,” she said. “Now it's time to fly with them.”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Elsewhere...
Guard Barracks...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
“What's this now?” asked Captain Harbinger, the sturdy earth pony staring at Golden Sail and Quartz Heart as they led a dejected Flash Sentry into the barracks.
“Sir,” Golden Sail said, saluting. “Flash's reputation and penchant for bragging finally caught up with him. He was bragging about 'bagging an alicorn' when all four of them plus the new one and the two copies from another world were standing behind him.”
Flash grinned weakly.
Harbinger snickered. “And now he's being locked down for lighting the fuse on the Twilight Timebomb, right?”
Quartz Heart nodded. “We are to keep him confined in here until our return to the Crystal Empire.”
Harbinger rolled his eyes. “Kids these days. No self-discipline,” he said. “Well, I've no love for heartbreakers. I'll take you to where you can lock him up.” He turned, having the two lead Flash further into the barracks until they came to an empty bunkroom with no personal belongings in it. “Here,” he said. “No one's using this bunk right now. You can...”
“What in blazes are you doing?!” screamed a voice from the front of the barracks. Harbinger, Golden Sail, Quartz Heart, and Flash Sentry all turned as the front door of the barracks suddenly slammed shut. Harbinger growled, and dashed forward, vanishing in a blur and reappearing at the front gate.
He tapped the door, a surge of magical energy repelling his hoof. “What's going on out there?”
“Know your place, earth pony!” came a voice from the other end.
“Soon, all of you mudhooves and airheads will know your place!” cackled a second voice.
Harbinger blinked. He knew those voices. “Windshield? Sword Glow? What are you idiots up to?”
The voice Harbinger recognized as Windshield spoke next. “To the unicorns in there, don't worry. Once the filthy hybrids are dead and a true ruler is put into place, you'll all be honored for your service. The rest of you had best learn to respect your betters.”
“It's a coup...” Golden Sail said softly, realizing what was going on.
“Oathbreaker filth,” Harbinger growled. He turned to the guards imprisoned in the barracks with him, the indigo-furred earth pony about to bark orders when he saw that the thestrals and pegasi were already on the move, heading for the upper exits to the building. Unfortunately, they encountered the same magical seals.
“No good!” shouted one of the pegasi. “This one's blocked off also!”
“Helluva time for Barricade to be out of the city,” Harbinger muttered. “That bulldozer could just knock down a wall and get us out of here...” He turned to the door again. “OATHBREAKERS! Let us out of here right now and I MAY let you live long enough to see a trial!”
The two treasonous unicorn guards manning the door just laughed. Harbinger snarled, turning to some of the unicorns trapped in here with them. “Can you break the barrier?” he demanded.
“Yes sir,” said one of the unicorns. “But it will take time.”
“Start now,” he ordered. The unicorns immediately went to work. “Everypony else, start working on knocking down a wall! We need to get OUT of here before the princesses are hurt!”
Flash Sentry stepped forward. “Sir... Permission to help?” he asked.
Harbinger just glared at him. “You're on lockdown, runt,” he snapped.
Flash Sentry flinched. “Sir, I know. I admit I'm a pervert, and that I was exploiting Princess Twilight's feelings. But I'm no traitor! Whatever my faults, my loyalty is to the crowns!”
Harbinger thought for a moment, and sighed. “Fine. Help the pegasi and batponies in getting us out of here,” he said. Flash immediately went to work. Captain Harbinger stroked his beard, keeping an eye on everypony's progress. He silently prayed that he'd be able to get out before the traitors behind this could get away with it.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Elsewhere...
Castle hallways...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Prince Blueblood was strolling down the halls of the castle, noted earth pony photographer Photo Finish trailing behind him, taking pictures of the stained glass windows. Blueblood would pause at each one, the smarmy, blonde-maned unicorn prince telling a brief story about the image.
“And this is where Princess Twilight and the other Rainbow Bearers bested mighty Tirek. They...” Blueblood trailed off as he noticed someone trotting down the hallway in the opposite direction he was walking. “Ah. Pardon me one moment, my dear.”
Photo Finish frowned, but nodded. Blueblood walked up to the figure, an elderly unicorn with reddish fur in white robes, his hair a graying pink. “Lord Firestone,” Blueblood said. “How wonderful to see you.”
The elder unicorn nodded. “I just wanted to thank you again for your assistance. Without you, we wouldn't be able to pull off the wondrous feat we're going to accomplish in a few minutes.”
Blueblood smiled. “Then everything proceeds according to your plan?” he asked.
Lord Firestone nodded. “Indeed. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to put the final preparations in place,” he said, slowly trotting off. Blueblood said nothing, watching him go with a smirk on his face.
Photo Finish frowned. “...Forgive me, Prince, but what is goink on?” she asked.
Once Lord Firestone was out of earshot, Blueblood levitated a small flask out of his coat pocket. “This evening's entertainment, my dear Photo Finish. If Lord Firestone's plan is proceeding apace, that means my own plan is doing just as well.”
“...When the nobility are plannink things, I am gettink quite nervous,” Photo Finish said, fidgeting.
“Trust in your prince,” Blueblood said, sipping from his flask again. “And keep your camera at the ready. The real reason I brought you here today will become evident soon enough...”
TO BE CONTINUED...