Chapter 8
Celestia laid on her bed, her wing lightly over her little foal as he laid next to her, sleeping soundly. She hummed a small lullaby, stroking his blonde mane with her hoof. Her soft voice carried the gentle tunes, keeping Spero relaxed and at peace while he enjoyed the warmth and love of his mother.
She kept looking at him, enjoying this quiet moment. Like when they were down in the garden, this was one of the very few moments she could have just to herself with him. It was times like this when she feared for the future, she had lived through the ages, seen friends and family die, seen the horrors of war, experienced the joy of peace, she had seen it all. Though it was only now, only now with a foal of her own she felt uncertain about the future, scared of her duties.
Celestia knew of her duties, she understood them like no other pony could, and yet, now, deep within herself she felt like running, simply to leave and live a peaceful life with her son. It was the crown that had denied her the chance of a real family, a husband to stand by her side and raise their foal.
Some looked at the life her and Luna led, seeing the silks, the marvel, the power. Yet they always failed to see the loneliness, the pain of outliving everypony you cared about and the burden of the crown. She could still see her father, kneeling down to them, explaining his golden rule.
"A ruler will be resented, as much for good deeds as for bad.."
It was true, though her ponies were loving and accepting creatures, there was still things they did not know about or they were blind to. Sighing a little she nuzzled Spero, knowing the life that waited for him. She would do her best to make sure he had everything he needed to be prepared for the long road ahead, she would make sure of it.
~~***~~
"What?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her face in shock and anger.
Twilight sent her a look, trying to get her to calm down, no matter how upset they all were at this news. "Rainbow Dash, please."
"But!" Rainbow Dash protested, but then sighed and simply nodded.
So far this morning had not been very good. Soon after Celestia raised the sun a messenger arrived, bearing the worst kind of news they had hoped would never come to pass. Discord had betrayed them..
Fluttershy was simply silent, disappointed beyond belief, she had hoped, she had really really hoped Discord would stay on the path of good. Celestia looked ashamed, but still very much in control of herself. "The fault is mine.." She admitted with no hesitation. "It seems my faith in him was misplaced and now he and Tirek is gathering magic on a massive scale. It is only a question of time before he comes here."
Cadence and Shining Armor stood to Celestia's left, Luna to her right, together they formed the most powerful force of magic the land had ever seen. "Along with you, we have a chance to stop him." Cadence said. "Twilight, you and your friends will pose a great threat to Tirek along with us."
"But." Luna continued, her expression serious. "If the situation becomes to dangerous, you must flee and join the prince."
The five mares looked confused. "Uhm, pardon me princess." Applejack cut it. "But if this Tirek managed to drain ya magic, then what would be the point of fleeing? He will be unstoppable.."
"No being is truly unstoppable honest Applejack." Celestia said with a small frown, knowing it was going to be dangerous if it truly came to that. "If this were to happen, you have evacuate to the crystal empire along with any pony who manages to flee, gather our allies and prepare for.." She hesitated, she did not like to use this word lightly, but it was what was going to happen should they fail. "Prepare for war.."
Swift Strike had remained quiet for now, standing to the side, listening. The only reason he was here was because he was in charge of protecting one pony and one pony only, Spero. Even so, he wanted the princesses to have the best chance possible. "Princess, if you are planning to hold him off, you need to keep him at bay. He is more dangerous up close than he is from a controlled range."
"We could lay traps!" Pinkie said excitedly, not because she didn't take it seriously, it was just her being Pinkie.
"I can't believe I am saying this, but I agree with miss Pie." Swift Strike said. "This city is unknown to him, we are on our home turf, use that against him."
"And what of Discord? He can simply teleport to the palace, can he not?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight thought for a moment, and like the princesses she shook her head. "No, we can actually prepare for that now. We can keep them out from teleportation inside these walls, which means they will have to get in the old way."
"But that means they have to go through the entire city, it's full of unicorns." Rarity exclaimed already seeing the problem.
"Then we should evacuate them to the caves." Celestia said. "We won't have much time, even as we talk the time grows ever shorter and soon he will come to take our magic.." She looked to Swift Strike. "Captain, you and your regiment will protect the citizens of Canterlot in the caves. Keep my son safe, and if need be, you know what to do."
Swift Strike did not need to hear her say it, he understood full well what she meant. He stood a bit taller, giving a single nod. "I'll prepare my regiment at once." With that, he turned and left the group of ponies to do exactly that.
Twilight watched him leave, then as soon as he was gone she looked to her mentor. "So what do we do?"
Celestia looked down at Twilight, a calm expression on her face. "We prepare.."
~~***~~
Swift Strike stood on top of the stairs, looking down at his 156 strong regiment, all uniformed, armed and ready to serve. All of them stood in perfect formation, all of them looking serious up at their captain. He had informed them all about what was happening, none of them were afraid on the outside, but he knew full well some were scared, it was only natural.
There was not much to do, other than to swear their oath of service, because tonight their metal and courage would be tested. Taking a deep breath, Swift Strike yelled out the start of the oath, the oath only their regiment used, one that was unique, just like them.
"Step forward soldiers, and swear by the royal sisters of Equestria, the manes of your ancestors, and your own honor an unbreakable oath that you will follow your charge wherever he may lead you!"
"We swear!"
"You will obey orders enthusiastically and without question. You relinquish the protection of the civil law and accept the power of your prince to put you to death or be punished for disobedience or desertion. You promise to serve under the standards for your allotted time of duty and not to leave before your commander discharges you."
"We swear!"
"You will serve Equestria faithfully, even at the cost of your life, and will respect the law with regards to civilians and your comrades in camp."
"We swear that we will not leave our comrades for fear or for flight, and will not quit the ranks save to fetch or pick up a weapon, to strike an enemy, or to save a comrade!"
"Congratulations! You are now soldiers of Equestria!"
~~***~~
And so it began, the entire day was spend making ready for the incoming attack from Tirek. Celestia and Luna knew it would come today, with the speed he could now move with, thanks to Discord, he would not wait for long. Provisions was brought down into the caves, supplies, medical units, everything they needed to stay safe.
The Solar Guard were busy with preparing the city's defenses, preparing the streets, even some roof tops, planting traps, barriers, lookout posts, everything and anything they needed.
Celestia and Luna had spend most of their time with the army high command, planning out the defense of the city, but they knew it would ultimately not be enough to stop him. It would only buy them time, give them a chance to strike Tirek and end him before things got to much out of hoof.
Swift Strike had made his regiment get ready to protect the caves, while he and a few select soldiers stayed near the prince in Celestia's suite. The mood was quite tense, everypony knew by now what was coming, the nobles obviously didn't join the other ponies in the cave, they instead hid in their mansions or had actually fled the city all together.
Fancy Pants had stayed in the city, he had made Fleur leave the city however, she was pregnant and he did not want to risk their foal's safety. It had been a tearful goodbye, but Fancy Pants stood his ground and stayed behind to help out any way he could.
As the afternoon came closer and closer to an end, Celestia moved to her suite. The guards said nothing, they simply stepped aside so she could enter, when she did she sent Swift Strike a nod, telling him to please leave her with her son. Without any arguments he nodded firmly and left the two alone.
When they were alone, she took a deep breath and walked over to the bed, laying down to be close to her Spero, possibly for the last time. 'I have to be strong, I can't think like it is the last time I see him, it's not, I refuse to believe that.' She thought and nuzzled the little prince.
Laying her head down onto the soft mattress, she watched his sleeping face, the peaceful expression he had filled her with a small sense of joy and hope. He had no idea what was going on around him, so blessed to simply enjoy the love his family and friends showed him, without the worry of what might happen to them.
'If I were to die, or banished, what would he remember of me? The kind and loving mother? Or a mare that was not there for him when he grew up?'
She mentally slapped herself again.
'Stop that, no use thinking like this, it is not going to help him.'
She heard the far away horn from the south gate, alerting that Tirek was on his way. Celestia frown, booping her son's nose once before she used her magic to wrap him up in some blankets. Just as she did so Swift Strike and an two guards from the prince's life regiment entered.
"Your majesty." Swift Strike said. "We need to move now, Tirek has been spotted."
Celestia remained calm, holding the little bundle of love in her hooves for a bit. "I know, captain." She looked at him, her eyes stern and as serious as he had ever seen her. "Protect my son, you must not let Tirek get a hold of him. Protect him with your life, captain, and promise me you will keep him safe."
Swift Strike placed his hoof upon his chest. "I swear your son will come to no harm princess, I swear that on my life." He turned to a female guard and gave her a nod. She nodded back and carefully approached the princess.
"Good.." She took one last look at her son, kissed him between the ears, holding him tight for just a moment before she finally handed him over to the mare. "May Faust watch over you all.."
And with that, she teleported to the throne room to get herself ready along with her sister and friends.
~~***~~
Tirek stood at the road, not far from Canterlot, he smirked a little. He was no longer the frail old creature from before, no. Thanks to Discord he had managed to consume much more magic and speed up his plans! Today was the day he would get his revenge!
"Pathetic, so this is where they have been hiding for all these years?" He asked with a confident smirk.
"Well." Discord poofed into existence next to the large and muscular centaur. "Celestia mostly, moonbutt has only recently returned." They could hear the horns going off, alerting the city to their arrival. "My my, seems like they know we are here." He proceeded to pull out a spyglass, seemingly out of nowhere. "Let me have a looksie."
He saw the many guards stationed up on the battlements, readying themselves with spears and what looked like crossbows of some kind. Then above the gate he saw the one and only Shining Armor, looking directly back at him.
"Now this is interesting, seems like they have prepared more than I would have thought." Discord scratched his chin in thought. "We might need some leverage.."
Tirek snorted. "You don't think I can take these puny ponies?"
Discord shook his head. "Of course not, but you forget, you may be strong, but they have numbers and more stronger beings on the other side of the wall."
"So what do you suggest?" Tirek asked, already getting impatient.
"That I go hunting for a bit, in the meantime, you go and have fun, sooner or later the princesses should come to you. I'll be back before they pose any real threat towards you. Byeee~." And with another poof, he was gone.
Tirek rolled his eyes, thinking no pony in there could match him soon. If getting his revenge and take what should be his meant he had to go through a few soldiers, then so be it.
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Love it , I wonder if Celestia having a son will change the result for discord’s betrayal, like she won’t let discord be free after he deliberately put Spero in harm.
9915047
Yeah, I am actually debating how to handle that part myself, but I have several options already, just need to choose one. ^^
9915054
This fic has become one of my favorite reads in a long time, keep it up.
9915059
Thank you, I am having a great deal of fun with it as well. The support you guys has shown this story has made it all worth it. So thank you!
9915061
It deserves more , it should at the very least be featured , it’s amazing and it keeps you interested through the read.
Love it.
In the words of King Theoden: So it begins
9915093
Epic music!
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/490/138/0ed.gif
Do anybody know who the father .
9915148
Two ponies were told int he last chapter, though obviously for dramatic effect I didn't let the readers find out just yet.
9915096
Yeah!!!
By the way did you see my comment about making Spero's dad an Earth pony?
9915177
I did, but I cannot say anything. I cannot confirm or deny if I agree with you, it will just give people a clue. But his father is decided long before I wrote the story itself. ^^
9915180
Understood👌
Discord you fool.
The suspense is intense. Keep up the good work.
And just like that, the hooded ponies who have only been mention briefly and never consider much of a treat go unnoticed, something tells me that they have a part to play in all this, a reason for knowing so much of Spero, maybe a way to determine the future. If they somehow knows how to weaponised it to an extent they can truly turn the tables. Like catching Tirek of guard with a doctor strange trap that make him loop the same event over and over again.
Or found a way to make their magic actually poisonous to him, something is sure, they have been patient and observing everything. Best case, Tirek risk ruining their plans so they will join on the effort to stop him. Worse case, Tirek is just what they were waiting for and had a plan to stop or destroy him so they gain the support of the people and give them reason to get closer to the princess…maybe even force a position where she can't refused their request to see Spero.
Bottom line, they have been very quiet so far, and that is making me more afraid of them than Tirek and Discord, like Jaws said. It quiet…too quiet.
Discord hopefully dont screw up to hard. He ruined his friendly relations already. Lets see if he get betrayed ones more and get teached humility.
Swift Strike... This is probably cost him or/and his troops dearly. If not than the Royal Guards battle the villain Tirek.
One hell of a oath !
Discord get hunting? I guess many Pony will be catched by him so Tirek can grow and refule his health & Manapool. Like a Doom-powerup.
Tirek dont get stoped by Twilight so many expandebel ponys will probably die...
Discord will have a lot on this charges. From ponynapping to high treason. At least i hope he keeps the population lifes out of it. There will be enough dead in the Guards ranks...
Lauren Faust?