Chapter 125: One Step Forward, Two Steps Backward
Flurry just sat there, looking all the grown-ups staring at her, and giggled and cooed while she sucked on one of her front hooves. Grown-ups were so silly, they always talked funny and used words Flurry didn't understand, and of course they always made funny faces every time she did anything.
"So, Flurry's a baby alicorn? Well... I guess that means she'll be a super strong flyer and can use magic." Soarin commented at last, breaking the silence.
"Indeed, and that could be a problem," Princess Celestia spoke up, drawing attention to the fact that she and Princess Luna were already in the nursery and had been for a while. "You all know about the surges baby ponies get, strong bouts of strength, magic surges, and random bouts of flight. But as an alicorn, Flurry Heart's surges will be even more powerful than an average foal, perhaps even more powerful than even the strongest of magic surges in baby unicorns."
"Don't remind me," Shining shuddered. "Twily used to burst into flames all the time when she got mad, scared the living daylights out of the whole family."
Twilight blushed, and tried to ignore the stares (and faint echos of laughter). "Really? Of all the baby stories he just had to bring up that one?!" She thought to herself.
"Anyway," Luna called, as she coughed into a hoof to change the subject. "This is something that this portion of Equestria has never seen before."
"Whatever do you mean? I get that she's a natural born alicorn, whereas her parents were ascended, but what about Princess Amore?" Rarity inquired. "She was an alicorn too, and she ruled the Crystal Empire before she was deposed by King Sombra. But she wasn't the first ruler of the empire, and her family was tied back to the empire's first queen. Wasn't she born here as an alicorn?"
Luna shook her head. "Yes, but you'll notice that I said 'this portion of Equestria', which is the point of view I wish to remind you of. When Amore took the throne, the Crystal Empire was still a sovereign state, its importance to Equestria as a whole wasn't yet known. It was only once King Sombra overthrew Amore and turned her to crystal, that we understood why the empire could ill afford to be kept in his greedy hooves. As much as my sister and I may not have liked what kind of a ruler Sombra was, we are hardly the types to intervene in the affairs of nations beyond our borders without reason."
"Which is why this Royal Crystalling is very important," Celestia advised. "The Crystal Heart and the Crystal Empire are key to maintaining light and hope throughout all of Equestria."
Just then, Flurry began to twitch and scrunch up her face! Shining Armor and Cadence realized what was about to happen! Instinctively, Shining shouted! "Everyone down, now!" And everyone obeyed! Seconds later, a massive magical burst of energy shot out from Flurry's horn, tearing a huge hole in the ceiling of the nursery! Fortunately, the blast avoided any permanent harm, no one had been in the path of the sudden sneeze.
But the close call had given Cadence more than enough cause for concern. "Are you sure it's such a good idea to have the Crystalling now? I know it's been a month since she was born, but we really need to get her magical surges under control. If we don't, somepony's gonna get hurt, or worse."
Celestia shook her head. "This Crystalling is extremely crucial to the safety of the empire, and Equestria. Delaying it any longer than you already have could have grave consequences," She told Cadence. "If Flurry's power worries you so much, I'd advise an inhibitor ring or spell, something to curb her powers temporarily."
"Well that's the thing, your majesty," Shining commented. "They don't make inhibitor rings for alicorns, and there's certainly no spell that can just take away a pony's magic. At least, no spell that's legally allowed, and no way am I using dark magic again!"
"Then my sister and I shall serve as safety nets," Luna offered. "Flurry's magic may be strong, but it only comes and goes in short bursts. So long as we keep an eye on her, we should be able to contain any sudden surges she might get. And do not worry, like all foals, the little one's surges will fade with time," Turning to Shining Armor, Luna then asked. "So, my adopted nephew-in-law, is everything ready for the ceremony?"
Shining gasped in response! "What?! Oh no, I completely forgot! I've still yet to choose the honor guard, select the purity crystal, and find a crystaller! I'm doomed!"
But Twilight simply stepped forward and advised. "Calm down, Shining, we can handle this. There's more than enough hooves to get the job done in time. Pinkie, Braeburn, and I will stay here and keep an eye on the baby," Twilight stopped to briefly smile at Flurry. Sure, she may be all but a ticking time bomb, but she was still a baby and she certainly didn't mean to cause trouble. "And the rest of our friends can help you get ready."
"Good idea, Twilight!" Fancy Pants smiled, approaching Shining. "And we can start with a little bit of grooming for the new father, after a nap of course. Celestia knows you need one."
Shining yawned. "I guess I am kind of tired. Parenting'll do that to you," But before he left the nursery, he cautioned. "You all keep a close eye on Flurry, and keep her in the nursery, I don't need her getting lost," He then briefly approached his daughter and nuzzled her while he cooed. "Now, Flurry, Daddy's gonna go get some sleep, while Mommy and your great aunts tend to royal duties. So you be a good little pony for your Auntie Twily and her friends, and stay out of trouble, okay?"
Flurry just cooed and babbled in foalish gurgles.
While Cadence spoke at length to all the citizens of the Crystal Empire, Fancy Pants, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Applejack, Big Macintosh, Fluttershy, and Thunderlane all set to work on a plan to help make sure Shining would be ready for the Crystalling in time. While their friend napped, they laid out the details of who would do what and when, and began to make arrangements.
Once Shining awoke (and had a cup of coffee to wake himself up), he was approached by Rarity and Fancy Pants. "Hope you're ready for your grooming, darling," Rarity smiled, putting on her red sewing glasses. "And I'm afraid I need to make some last minute repairs to your wedding suit."
"Oh, that's okay, Rarity. The Crystalling's not a formal occasion, even if it's for royalty," Shining explained. "If it was, I don't think we could get Flurry into a dress. That's part of why we haven't taken baby pictures to send out on cards, she just won't hold still long enough for us to put anything on her besides her diapers."
"It might be because the outfits are too itchy or don't afford her a lot of room to move," Rarity pondered. "Send me her measurements when you get a chance, and I'll see if I can make something more comfortable for her to wear. You're at least going to want something if you take her out in public a lot, so as to give her some modesty."
"There'll be plenty of time to worry about that later," Fancy Pants spoke up, clearing his throat. "For now, let's just focus on getting Shining all cleaned up and looking nice. Nothing fancy, just a little bit of mane re-styling and coat scrubbing."
And in a matter of mere minutes, Shining was back to looking like he had before Flurry had been born. The bags under his eyes were still a little bit noticeable, but only if one were really looking close. And considering they were no longer accompanied by a messy mane and tail, the bags didn't look nearly as bad as they did before.
With the grooming done, it was now time to choose the honor guard. Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Big Macintosh had already called up some potential candidates for Shining to screen. Among them was Flash Sentry, who Shining hadn't seen in months. "I figured Commander Silverbolt's got a pretty good handle on things in Canterlot, so I put in a request to be transferred back to home base for a while," Flash informed Shining. "I just got back the other day, sorry I haven't kept in touch."
"That's alright, Flash, things have been pretty chaotic around here since the baby arrived," Shining replied to the lieutenant. Then, after a moment of weighing the candidates before him, he announced. "Admiral Star Trail, I want you to head the honor guard, and recruit the best soldiers from the Crystal Guard that you can find."
Admiral Star Trail (who was a purple coated crystal earth pony) nodded. "Will do, Captain. I won't let you down."
All the other recruits departed a few seconds later, except for Flash Sentry who approached Shining and asked. "Why was I not chosen, Captain? Haven't I proven my services to you and Equestria multiple times?"
"You most certainly have, Flash. And I can't deny you've impressed me with your performance, especially for someone so young," Shining replied to Flash. "But you already snagged a high position in the royal guard because of your ancestry. Not only are you the great grandson of Flash Magnus, but your family heritage arcs back to General Flash, one of the earliest leaders of the Wonderbolts. And I have to be fair and give other members a chance, members who've had to start from the bottom, because they don't have connections or family heritage to justify a higher spot."
"Fair enough, Captain, but I hope you won't object to me serving on the honor guard, should I be chosen." Flash nodded in agreement.
"Indeed I won't, but don't go getting any ideas," Shining cautioned. "I better not hear about you pestering Admiral Star Trail behind my back, or I won't hesitate to put you on probation."
Flash nodded and saluted. "Don't worry, sir, you won't hear a peep about me!" Then he dashed off.
"Okay, that was easy enough," Shining commented, as he left the throne room. "Now for the purity crystal."
A short time later, Shining was now eyeing an entire case of potential purity crystals, as Rarity held the beautiful red case open with her magic. "I took the liberty of arranging them on a spectrum, from least pure to most exceptionally pure," Rarity informed him. "Don't be shy, any of these should do just fine. I made sure to get only the best crystals I could."
But Shining couldn't spot any difference between the crystals, a fact that he quickly made clear. "They're all the same to me! How am I supposed to chose?!" He complained.
"Here," Fancy Pants offered, presenting a special lense to Shining. "Think of these as like Miss. Rarity's sewing glasses, but for jewelry. In the fashion business, attention to detail is always crucial. There are some accents and shades that look the same on the surface, but when you look at them very closely you can notice differences that are all but invisible to the naked eye. The same should work with this lense, and the crystals."
Pressing his left eye up to the lense, Shining examined the crystals more carefully. And indeed, he could see a few key differences between them. Some shone more brightly than others up close, while others had more aligned patterns, and others still seemed to be more polished. At last, he settled on the crystal second from the right. "Maybe it's not the absolute purest of pure, but nopony said the purity crystal has to meet such exceptionally high standards. This one should do nicely, it kind of reminds me of Flurry's eyes. Speaking of which, I wonder how well Twilight and the others are managing with the baby?"
Back in the nursery, Flurry was enjoying herself! Despite Pinkie Pie holding onto her from the bottom, the baby alicorn had little trouble dragging the much bigger (and older) pony across the ground, while firing off blasts from her horn that Twilight kept matching (while constantly moving around). To her it was all a game, she didn't see what the harm was in engaging a little bit of "target practice". After all, her daddy was Captain of the Royal Guard, and he'd told her many stories about sharp shooting guards, and brave archers, that hit their target no matter what.
"Well, at least she's having fun." Pinkie panted, as Flurry continued to drag her all around the nursery.
"Pinkie, hold her still! I can't keep doing this!" Twilight pleaded, barely matching another horn blast from Flurry.
"I'm trying to, she won't listen!" Pinkie replied. "I swear, even Pound and Pumpkin Cake are more behaved than her! Oh, why didn't I think to bring sacks of flour with me?!"
"No worries, ladies, I got this!" Braeburn shouted, as he dove forward and scooped Flurry into a butterfly net.
"Braeburn! This is a baby, not a wild animal! You can't catch it in a butterfly net!" Twilight scolded.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt her, this is just so she doesn't fly away again," Braeburn explained, as he waited for Flurry to poke through the top of the net and quickly (but gently) grabbed her wings and put a hoof to her horn. "Okay, I think I got her!" He told Twilight. "You can pull her away now. Be quick about it, she's really fussy!"
Twilight lit up her horn, taking great care as she enveloped her niece in her horn's soft glow. "Okay, missy," She half cooed/half scolded at Flurry. "You've had your fun. Playtime is over now," When Flurry started to tear up a little, Twilight added. "Oh no, don't go pulling that stunt on me. Spike used to do that all the time when he was a hatchling. You're gonna wear yourself off before your big Crystalling, and sleep right through it. And you don't want that, do you?"
Flurry seemed to obey, just a little. She didn't much like the idea of not being able to play with the grown-ups (especially the pink one, she smelled nice), but she wanted her mommy and daddy to be happy, and they'd been talking about this... whatever it was for a long time. If they expected her to be awake for it, they probably had a very good reason for it. After all, the grown-ups were never wrong (except for when it came to nap time. Why didn't they understand that Flurry hated naps?).
Pinkie and Braeburn both breathed sighs of relief. "Whew, and I thought Pound and Pumpkin Cake were a hoofful the first time I foalsat them," Pinkie commented. "After what I've just been through, the twins seem like a walk in the park."
"I swear, it's like that kid's always running on full," Braeburn panted. "Does she even have an 'off' switch?"
"Braeburn," Pinkie scolded. "She's a foal, not a toy! You can't just 'turn it on' and 'turn it off', that's not how it works!"
"Don't start, you two, we're not out of the woods yet!" Twilight called, as she held a squirming Flurry in her magic. "Now comes the hard part, we've gotta give her a bath! Shining Armor and Cadence want Flurry to be all nice and clean for her big debut. And something tells me, Flurry's going to absolutely hate baths, because if Sparkle family history is any indication, all little Sparkles tend to not like baths."
While Shining and Cadence (along with their friends, and in Cadence's case her all powerful aunts) were getting ready for the Crystalling, and Twilight and the others were tending to Flurry Heart, Starlight and Sunburst were having their own problems. Namely the fact that they were more or less making small talk.
"So, Shining wants us to be friends again, huh?" Sunburst asked. "Kind of wish he'd run that by me first, especially since he's not here to explain his reasons."
Starlight nervously laughed. "Well, when the Prince of Friendship gives you an assignment, you kind of just roll with it and don't ask questions. Besides, I'm sure he has a good reason."
"I just don't understand," Sunburst commented, adjusting his glasses. "Don't get me wrong, our friendship kind of ended abruptly, but why exactly are we supposed to be making amends now?" Glancing at Starlight, he innocently asked her. "Did... something happen to you after I left for magic school in Canterlot? I never got any letters or anything."
"What?" Starlight monetarily replied, as though she hadn't heard the question. But the moment faded and thumping her hooves down on the table she and Sunburst were seated at, she replied. "No!" As she spoke, Starlight didn't seem to notice she was overfilling her tea cup. "I-I don't see what that has to do with anything. W-Why would you even ask that?"
"I was just curious," Sunburst remarked. "No need to get all jumpy. If you don't have anything you want to share, that's fine. I just thought I'd ask to be sure."
"Why?" Starlight asked, turning Sunburst's question back on him. "Did something happen to you after you left? I always wondered why none of my letters ever got a reply, and they didn't get sent back for not having a valid address or being sent to the wrong place. I know you must've been busy, but was there something going on I wasn't aware of?"
Now it was Sunburst's turn to act surprised and defensive! "What? Ur um, no. I mean, l-like you said, I'm a," Clearing his throat (as if to emphasize the point) "big, i-important wizard. What... what would I have to hide?"
"Nothing, I guess." Starlight replied with a sigh. "This sure isn't going like I thought it would. I expected him to be more curious about my past, not that I'd tell him everything. If Shining hasn't told him yet, it's all the better I keep Sunburst in the dark." She thought to herself.
Meanwhile, Sunburst was thinking. "That was too close! I didn't expect Starlight to be so curious! Why oh why didn't Shining Armor tell her I'm not who she thinks I am?! More importantly, what would she think of me if she knew?" But he didn't dare try to steer the conversation in that direction.
So it was up to Spike to figure out how to get past this stumbling block. "There's got to be something that can break the ice," He said to himself, as he looked over the list. "But what? Come on! Think, Spike, think!"
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Kind of hard to send letters when you don't know where he lives.
This is something a lot of fans don't understand. This is not the real world where you have the Internet, the telephone, telephone books, facebook, twitter, ect. Most fans are idiots because they don't realize this.
If you don't have their address, you can't send a letter. Sunburst, on the other hand, knew exactly where Starlight lived. The fault for not sending letters lies squarely on him.
8590594 Like I said, we don't know all the details, especially since it's from Starlight's perspective.
Once more, excellent job on this latest chapter. The exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-ups are all well done in all the right places. I particularly liked Celestia's efforts to go into greater detail concerning one of her statements, Twilight, Pinkie and Braeburn's attempts to keep Flurry under control and the looks into both Starlight AND Sunburst's thoughts. I'll very certainly be looking forward to more of this, but if real life gets in the way, I'll understand.
Lol I don't know why they made them laugh but it work lol
Boy things things have gone crazy so far first off shining armor was a mess so he needs to sleep and twilight pinkie and Braeburn taking care of flurry heart which she has some crazy Magic and starlight and sunburst is having there own problems of not telling about their past