Age of the Alicorns: Chaos Rising

by AleximusPrime

12. The Comfort of Children

The Comfort of Children

The South Spire Mountain continued spewing forth the smoke coming from Grumblebog. It got thicker and closer to Everfree with every passing day. None of the soldier ponies in the valley below dared enter the cave, though they would send some troops up every now and then to check the cave entrance for any signs that the dragon may have finally left. One morning, two soldiers walked cautiously up the mountainside path to the top of the cliff to make their rounds.

“I can already hear the snoring.” said the first guard, sighing.

“Yes, and wouldn’t you know, more smoke.” the other said sarcastically.

They continued walking just to be sure and looked hard into the entrance just as they got to the top. Not only was it dark inside, the smoke was starting to get so thick it made it hard to see the reflection of light on the gold.

“Well, there’s definitely a dragon in there,” said the soldier, pushing his helmet visor up.

“Just great,” the other replied. “I still don’t understand why King Solmidas thought it was a good idea to send his daughters in there. They probably only made him angrier.”

“Yeah, and then the king just sits around not knowing how to solve this problem. He could probably just blast the beast if he wanted to.”

“Well, you know the king’s a pacifist.”

“Of course, but he should consider how badly this will affect the rest of us. Hopefully, next time, he’ll handle the situation properly rather than leaving this in the hooves of his daughters who, let’s be totally honest, never stood a chance.”

As the two soldiers walked back down the path to the forest below, behind a large rock nearby was the mysterious cloaked pony who watched the princesses and Accord on the shore earlier that year. He kept a close eye on the soldiers until they disappeared down the side of the mountain. He then turned his head and looked into the cave entrance, lifted his snout to sniff the air, and then gazed out to the north where the palace could just barely be seen in the horizon.

“I had a feeling it would come to this.,” he said to himself, shaking his head. “They could be capable, though they lack the confidence needed. The dragon is understandable, but I don’t see how the griffons could have been a problem for the princesses. This is all starting to look very suspicious…”

The stallion looked down and began stroking his beard which was just barely obscured by his hood.

“If they fail this next mission, I fear……I fear for the safety of the kingdom. Whatever it is, these dreams, this chaos I constantly see in my sleep, I doubt anyone can stop it.”

He turned his head and looked out to the west. “If you two were still here, we would know how to deal with this……but that time is over.” Putting his head down, the mysterious pony returned to the shadows behind the rocks. “We are running out of time. I must find them…”

Back at the Everfree Palace, the princesses and dragons were out on the northern balcony walking around and talking as they went. They stopped on the edge and watched the town, where plenty of worker ponies were fixing up nearby houses. Senator Accord was walking through the streets, accompanied by a posse of guards.

“Just look at how much progress is being done with the town, you guys!” Penny exclaimed.

“I know, right? Just a few weeks ago that entire block was nothing but little stone huts and thatched-roof cottages that looked like they were about to fall over!” Percy added.

“Well that is certainly Accord: always willing to help the needy.” Luna said proudly. “You know, Tia, it’s almost as if he’s preparing for when you and I will be leading!”

“Accord knows we’re going to need all the help we can get and he’s taking necessary measures.” Celestia said, wrapping her wing around her little sister.

Celestia looked on as Accord took out a small bag of coins and gave them to beggars on the side of the street.

“I’m sure glad we have him on our side. He’s been the perfect influence on us for so long.”

“OH MY GOODNESS!” Luna gasped. “Tia, Starswirl’s lessons start any minute! We’re going to be late!”

“Oh! Well, pony feathers!” Celestia said laughing a little, “Silly old me. Come on Luna, we best get moving! Bye guys!”

“Bye Tia! Bye Luna!” the dragons said waving to the princesses as they flew off towards the educational center.

Meanwhile, down in the town, Accord continued walking while flanked by his guards stopping every now and then to talk to some ponies.

“Senator Accord!” shouted a landlord pony whose buildings were currently being repaired. “Oh Senator, I am so honored to be in your presence!” he said bowing. “You have no idea how much this district has been needing renovations!”

“That is why I am here, my friend.” Accord said, smiling warmly.

“Everywhere I go, Your Honor, ponies talk about you so much.” the landlord continued, “They always say such good things about you. You are giving money to the poor on the streets, you are lifting our spirits with your speeches and lectures, and now you selflessly sacrifice your own riches to help improve this city!”

“This is something I have been meaning to do for quite some time.” Accord replied. “Nothing makes me feel better than knowing I can help you all and seeing just how grand the results are. And this is just the beginning. There are plenty of other areas that need improvement, and I will do all in my power to see it all come to fruition.”

“I understand, wise Senator. I thank you so much for what you are doing. You are one of the kindest ponies I have ever met.” he said bowing to Accord.

“Thanks to you as well, my friend.” said Accord bowing his head in response. “Now I must be off to meet with your fellow landlords and see the improvements.”

The landlord pony walked off happily. A worker pony came out from a nearby building to talk to Accord.

“Senator, I have excellent news!” he said. “This entire block is nearly finished and hopefully in another day or so we will be ready to move on to the next one. The workers are moving much faster with each passing day.”

“Excellent job!” Accord replied. “I shall see to it that you are all paid handsomely. Do keep me up-to-date on all of this. I must go now to check the other buildings if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, Senator. I will not forget it.”
Accord walked on with a smile on his face, looking around at all the other worker ponies renovating the buildings.

“It’s even better than I thought.”

In the educational center, Starswirl the Bearded stood in his classroom waiting for the princesses to arrive for their lessons. They were running a little late, but that wasn’t what was on his mind at the moment. He looked at a nearby banner adorned with an image of King Solmidas and sighed.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Celestia and Luna rushed in.

“STARSWIRL!” Luna shouted, “Starswirl, we’re so sorry we’re late!”

“Oh, Highnesses!” he replied, startled.

“We aren’t in trouble for that, are we Starswirl?” Celestia asked.

“It’s alright, Celestia, it’s alright. I was just…I was just deep in thought. Now, where was I? Oh……yes.” The unicorn wizard got up from behind his desk and used his magic to levitate some books towards him. He opened one of them and started flipping through the pages while rubbing his forehead with his hoof.

“Is everything alright, Starswirl?” Celestia asked him.

“Well……I don’t know, Princess…” he replied. “I guess I’ve just been a little worried lately…”

“Is it about the dragon and things of that ilk?” asked Luna.

“Well……it’s the king actually.” Starswirl closed the book he was reading right after bending one of the pages down and set it on his desk. “Your father hasn’t really been himself lately. He's been very preoccupied with the griffons and, of course, Grumblebog, and all of this has been taking a toll on his kingdom.”

Celestia and Luna looked at each other worriedly.

“Now, I know you two may think it’s your fault, but you need not blame yourselves for any of this. The King thinks it’s his fault actually. He feels he made the mistake of sending you to a cave with a dragon inside and put you in danger. I’ve tried telling him otherwise, but he still worries over the fact that we lost our diplomatic ties with the griffons, and now that dragon has ownership of half the treasury. There are rumors that he’s even considering inflicting punishment on the dragon.”

“As in…” Celestia started saying.

“As in he may have to use magic to slay the beast or at least injure him enough to scare him out of the cave.”

“Would he really do that?” Luna asked.

“Your father never wants to kill anyone or anything, Princess…but just the fact that he may have no other choice is making him uneasy.”

“Do you think there’s anything we can do about it? I mean like…not go back and try to speak to the dragon, we’ve already tried that, but can we cheer Father up at all?” Celestia asked.

“If I know King Solmidas, I know he will find joy in knowing just what wonderful daughters he has. If you two can find any way to comfort him, I’m sure it would lift his spirits. After all, he may be a king but he is also a father. Anyway, we best get on to your lessons…”

Celestia looked down and thought about this news. Her father was not doing well, and she felt responsible.

“Perhaps Starswirl is right. Luna and I need to be there for Father.” she thought to herself.

While Starswirl was going through some books and writing things on the nearest chalkboard, she quickly wrote a tiny letter and used her magic to pass it to Luna. Luna carefully took the letter with her magic and read it to herself:

Meet me after magic lessons

Luna looked to her sister and gave her a quick wink and Celestia did the same.

That night, the royal family sat in the dining hall, feasting after a long day’s work. Queen Chernalia was in the middle of talking about some extraordinary things she saw while roaming through the streets of Everfree, like the new renovations that Accord was preparing.

“The city is looking even better than it ever has before.” she told her children and the dragons. “I never thought Accord would be quite this generous. It’s astounding to know how much work he is putting into this project.”

“Well Mother, how are things going here?” Celestia asked. “Like, are the subjects doing their jobs as well as they always do? How is it going in the courts?”

“Oh it’s politics. It’s always the same here.” the queen said dabbing a napkin on her lips. “For starters, there are some senators trying to pass legislation having to do with our backup plans following the Griffon Province’s departure from the union. As you can imagine it’s quite a hassle.”

The King ate his food without saying much, but the mention of the issues with the griffons made him even more solemn. He put his fork down briefly and looked to the side. His wife put her hoof on top of his. She realized she had reminded him of something he did not want to think about at dinner. The King sighed and continued eating.

“Is everything alright, Father?” Luna asked.

“Your father has been having rough times lately, Luna.” Chernalia responded.

The entire hall was silent for a few moments until finally Celestia and Luna exchanged glances and gave each other nods of approval. They had to do something to lift their father’s spirits.

“Hey Father?” Celestia asked him.

The King raised his head to attentively respond his daughter and cleared his throat.

“Yes, Celestia?”

“Do you remember……hehehe, well I was just thinking about it this afternoon but do you remember that time back when Luna was really young. I think she was almost a year old and she was having her first meal here in this room. Do you remember that?”

Finally, Solmidas started to smile a little.

“I remember it, Celestia.” he said.

“Wait, what’s this now?” Luna said, puzzled.

“Yeah, she was really little; she still had to be spoon-fed, but she thought the spoon was what she was supposed to be eating or something.”

“I ate a spoon?” Luna asked.

“Your mother was feeding you some of that pudding you love and you just wouldn’t let go of the spoon.” the king replied.

“Oh gosh, I remember that!” Percy said, nearly choking on some of the gems he was eating. “I was such a little dragon, but I remember it!”

“What happened next?” Penny asked the king.

“Hehe, well, it was…Why don’t you tell them, dear? You’re better at this story than I am.” Solmidas told his queen.

“Alright, well……actually, Celestia, you were close. It was Luna’s first birthday, remember?” Chernalia started saying.

“Oh, her birthday! That’s why we had the pudding and tarts and all those other cavity-inducing things on the table!” Celestia responded, quivering a bit at the thought of sweets she was not fond of.

“Yes, we were celebrating her birthday in here and she started playing around with the spoon.” her mother replied.

Percy continued explaining what happened using a nearby spoon to illustrate.

“She kept the spoon in her mouth like this and everyone just started laughing!” he said.

“Plus, some of the chefs and servants came in to see what the commotion was about. That only added more laughter.” Celestia said, giggling while talking.

“Aw, is this something I missed out on back when I had just hatched?” Penny asked.

“Yeah, poor Penny didn’t get to see any of this. It was, like, right around the time us dragons came to this palace when I was little and she was a newborn.” Percy explained.

Luna’s head was darting back and forth every time someone spoke. She still didn’t understand what this was all about.

“Did I really do this when I was a foal?” she asked.

“You had so many moments at the table back when you were little, Luna.” her mother said.

“Luna, it looked like this. Here, watch…” Celestia said.

She put her spoon into her mouth, then, with her head back, used her lower jaw to wiggle it around for everyone to see. Everyone at the table began to laugh.

“HA!!! Why didn’t you guys tell me I did this when I was that age?” Luna said laughing along.

“Wasn’t that also when Accord asked you to sing the song of the alphabet, Celestia?” Percy asked.

“Oh yeah…” Celestia responded blushing a little. “A few minutes after the commotion, he asked me to do that and I was so embarrassed. I started singing but everyone was staring at me so I shrunk down in my seat.”

“Gah! Why did I have to be so young at that time?” Penny complained while laughing.

“Oh Luna,” the queen said, “did I ever tell you about that time when Accord was holding you when you were an infant and you-“

“Yeeees.” Luna said sarcastically.

“What happened?” asked Penny.

“You weren’t around when this happened, Penny, but when Accord held Luna for the first time she threw up all over his face.” Chernalia told Penny.

Out of embarrassment, Luna buried her face in her salad bowl that still had some food in it.

“Luna, if you think you’re embarrassed now, you should have seen Accord after that!” Celestia said to Luna.

“Alright, alright, methinks the Princess of the Night has had enough humiliation for one day.” Luna said wiping food off of her face.

“Yeah, bro, let’s not forget that incident with the gems during the annual ball!” Penny teased.

“UGGGGH, CAN WE NOT?!” Percy said, covering his face while trying not to laugh.

The king continued laughing a little before taking a sip from his chalice. “Those were indeed good days.” he said. “You four are growing up so fast.”

“We have fine children and dragons with us.” the queen added.

The room was silent for a few moments until the king finally stood up. His wife, children and the dragons did the same. They were finished with their food and were ready to leave to attend other matters before bedtime. The king tapped his hoof on the ground several times, and a few servants came to take away the plates and silverware.

“I enjoyed these old funny stories, children.” he said gratefully. “It’s always entertaining to have these conversations at dining hour.”

“You’re welcome, Father.” Celestia said, bowing politely along with Luna and the dragons.

The princesses and dragons then walked out of the dining hall to attend to their duties. The dragons volunteered to help in the courtroom that night as Celestia and Luna were heading to their room to continue with their studies before sleeping.

“We had a good time tonight, Sol.” Chernalia said as she nuzzled herself against the king.

“Yes, we did, didn’t we?” he replied as he draped his wing around her.

“I know you’re worried about the griffons and such, but we need to both take the time to enjoy what we are given as parents.” she told him.

“You’re right. I don’t really know what we’d do without them in our lives.”

With that, they parted ways, and the queen walked towards the entrance that lead to the main court, where Accord and the others were still working.

“Well I’m going to go check on the courts for now; I’ll see you in bed, my love.”

The King stood over the table, deep in thought as the servants cleaned away. A royal guard then entered.

“Your Highness?” he said to the king.

“What is it, Safeguard?” he responded.

Safeguard came over to the king and whispered something in his ears. Solmidas’s ears perked up and his eyes widened at the news he was being given.

“This news just came in?” he asked Safeguard.

“Yes, My Lord. They actually sent one of their own messengers to us first.”

“That is good to hear. Thank you, Safeguard. I will speak with the others soon.” Safeguard bowed and exited the dining hall.

The king sighed in relief at what he was just told. Whatever it was, it was certainly good news.

“I knew you’d come around eventually, Leogle…” he said.