Northen Stars

by Flower03

Chapter 7

"Twilight has taken longer than usual. Don't you think so, Shining?" Cadence said, frowning in a slight worried expression.

The rulers of the Crystal Empire were already at their usual breakfast place, still waiting for a certain alicorn and her little dragon companion to arrive at the table. Clearly they were already feeling some confusion about their tardiness.

Shining Armor also frowned at his wife's words.

"It's weird, Twilight usually gets up as soon as Princess Celestia makes the sun rise and she's the one who sometimes wakes Spike up," He replied after swallowing the portion of breakfast he had in his mouth. "Although maybe she just wants to relax in her room for a day after everything that happened before."

"I suppose so," Cadence said with a sympathetic look. "That was quite a lot for a single mare."

"I think so," Shining let out a brief snort. "Anyway, I'll send two ponies to their rooms to bring them breakfast."

After calling out to two of the staff crystal ponies near them, they both approached and bowed their heads in respectfully to their rulers. After Shining Armor indicated his orders, the two stallions nodded and made their way to the palace kitchens ready to carry it out.

It was not long before their paths led to the rooms in one of the wings of the castle, where the Hero of their Kingdom and the Princess of Friendship were now staying.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Prince has ordered me to bring her breakfast," One of them spoke as he tapped softly on her bedroom door with a hoof. "Please, open to me."

After a few moments of silence, the crystal pony tilted his head slightly and tried again, this time a little harder. Like the previous occasion, nopony answered, there was not even the slightest sign of noise behind it.

The stallion frowned in confusion as he took a few steps back and turned his head to where his companion was, at the door of the other room at the end of the hall. The pony shook his head.

"I don't think there's anyone in the room, Silver," He said as he approached with the dragon's breakfast tray neatly placed on his back. "It seems that Spike the Brave got up earlier than usual."

"And where would he go?" Silver asked, placing the tray he carried in his hooves on his back. "Nopony among the servants and guards saw him leave."

"Well, he's a dragon, so he could just fly," The other justified.

"Maybe," He shrugged slightly. "Princess Twilight doesn't answer me either, maybe they're just still sleeping."

"Then let's just drop their breakfasts and go out quietly again," Suggested the other crystal pony.

The servant nodded to his companion before turning to grab the door handle with a hoof. It put up no resistance and opened quickly. The stallion was a bit surprised that the princess's room was not properly locked, but he soon forgot that when he finally entered it.

He observed everything, from the perfectly arranged room to the neatly arranged bed and the open window that let in the sunlight. And more importantly, the room was completely empty. He set the tray aside to keep it from falling out of surprise.

"Tide!" He called to his friend as he ran toward him. "There's nopony here! Where's the princess?"

The other stallion entered the room and turned his gaze back to the servant, now with a frown on his face.

"The other room is empty, too. And nopony saw them come out!"

"Then I think the parchment on that desk might give us the answer," He pointed to the rolled-up paper on the princess's desk. "We have to take it immediately to Their Highnesses," He emphasized after slamming a hoof into the ground.

His companion nodded and took the paper with his snout. They both left the room, leaving it tightly closed this time, and without wasting a second, they went to the place.

***

"I can't believe she did that!"

The white unicorn's cry echoed throughout the space of his royal chambers, not at all happy when they informed them of the situation and read the note Twilight had left for them. Cadence closed the door behind her as she entered the room.

"I made it specifically clear to her that I didn't want to see her involved in the matter. But she ignored me anyway and did what she thought best!" Shining snorted furiously and with clear anger.

Cadence could only frown a little as she approached a few steps, staying by her husband's side before putting a hoof on the stallion's shoulder. He momentarily turned in her direction when he felt her touch.

"You have to calm down for now, Shining," She said after letting out a small sigh. "We must keep a cool head to better resolve this situation."

"Calm down? How am I going to calm down, Cadence?" Shining said as he turned to her. "What she did by leaving is putting her in too great a danger!"

"I know, but Twilight is an adult mare. She's aware of her actions, as she made it clear in the note."

"That doesn't take away from the fact that she can get hurt," Shining Armor shook his head. "It happened recently. What guarantees that it can't happen again?"

Cadence looked down and walked in a certain direction, toward a large table in one corner of the room. She activated her magic and picked up the paper that was there.

"Still, you read what she put in the letter," Cadence turned around with an unusual bright look in her eyes. "What was her true desire."

The scroll continued to float in her magic, before she directed it to her hooves. The bright black ink of the letters contrasted nicely with the light background, highlighting the well-kept calligraphy of the younger princess. Cadence turned the paper in his direction, and although Shining didn't pick it up, he could read very well what was written on it.

And his mind was able to highlight one phrase in particular.

"It's my responsibility to protect those I love."

Shining Armor frowned slightly and gave a low snort. Cadence smiled a bit as she noticed that she already had him.

"Even if I don't agree with what she did either, I can understand her: She went alone just because she didn't want anypony else to get hurt," The princess finished saying.

"But at the risk of her getting hurt," The unicorn argued. "Although she's not entirely alone, Spike's not here either."

"Twilight wouldn't have let him go with her, I'm sure of that. Maybe he could have followed her?" Cadence asked intriguingly after tucking a hoof under her chin.

"Most likely," Shining nodded. "But I don't know if Twilight told him or if he somehow found out."

"The second is the best possibility," Cadence reached over and stroked his shoulder. "Now, if Spike is with her, we just have to wait for them to come back."

"What if..." The stallion began, but was quickly interrupted.

"If they don't, you can go on with the original plan," The princess determined. "After all, it's already organized by you, and you told me that everypony knows what they have to do." She frowned a little worriedly. "I just hope that we don't have to use it."

"I don't expect it either" Shining stood up and let out a brief snort, Cadence followed. "We should give this news to the princesses, though I don't think they'll be too happy when they find out, especially Princess Celestia."

"She's definitely not going to like it," Cadence confirmed in dismay, shaking her head and closing her eyes. "And I also think we should tell Twilight's friends in Ponyville, they deserve to know."

Shining Armor nodded at her words.

"Princess Celestia will surely take care of it."

"Then we need to get to that right away, I'll send it to her." Cadence walked over to where what she would need was, right on her desk. Before settling in, she turned with a sympathetic expression in her gaze. "I understand how you feel, Shining, after all they are also my family, I just want to tell you that you are not alone in this."

Shining approached her with a small smile that contained sadness, but anyway, his wife's words had managed to reach him, as it always did.

"Thank you, Cady," He whispered before gently wrapping his front paws around her.

Cadence returned the hug that expressed all the gratitude and affection they felt for each other, as well as that strong emotion that she had always been able to feel in him, which made her heart fill with happiness.

"You're welcome, Shiny," She replied as she caressed his back gently, then placed a small kiss on his lips.

After the two slowly parted, Shining Armor walked to the door with the intention of leaving her alone at work so that she could focus. He, on the other hoof, had other tasks to perform. But one last worried thought of a certain mare stood out in his mind.

"Come back soon, sister."

---

The sound of two pairs of horseshoes echoed through the corridors of the Royal Castle of Canterlot.

The princess of the night trotted somewhat hurriedly, intrigued by the call she had received from her sister just before she decided to let herself be carried away into the dream world she dominated.

However, she had a hunch that it was all related to the infamous news that had reached them just a day before, the news of the possible return of the King of the Shadows.

When she reached the room, she activated her magic. A dark blue aura enveloped one of the doors that then ended up opening.

"I've arrived, sister," she announced as she closed the door behind her. "What news do you bring back from the Crystal Empire?"

The white alicorn standing in front of her bedroom window turned around, and Luna's alarms went off in her head as she noticed the worried expression in her gaze.

"Read it for yourself, sister," she showed him the paper that floated in the golden aura of her magic. The younger princess quickly took it with hers.

Luna's expression became more and more frantic as she read and delved deeper into the words written there. When she had finished, there was a clear frown on her face, but when she became more aware of her sister's dejected countenance, her gaze softened a little.

"Oh, Tia," Luna stood beside her and wrapped a wing around her. "I can't imagine how you feel now."

"I'm worried, Lulu," Celestia leaned back in her sister's wing. "On the hoof, I understand what she did and the reason that led her to that, I can even say that I feel proud." The corners of her mouth tried to rise into a smile, before it quickly lowered. "But on the other hoof I can only think of her, alone, trying to face him. I know that last time she managed to overcome that situation successfully, but she has never directly faced the danger that he poses."

Luna looked at her and straightened up a bit before she began to speak.

"I understand that you don't want her to be in the same situation that I went through, but you mustn't forget that she is strong and completely capable of dealing with it," Luna gave her a slight smile. "After all, she learned from the best teacher," she said in an attempt to cheer up her sister.

Luna gave herself a mental point when she noticed her sister's expression change a little. In the end, Celestia nodded slightly to her words and stood up, her sister following her.

"I think you're right." The older alicorn turned her gaze back to whatever lay beyond her window. "I have to trust that she can do it."

"Then what shall we do now, sister?" The princess of the night asked, entering into the burning question for which she had been summoned.

Celestia turned and walked toward her.

"I'll go to the Crystal Empire, Cadence and Shining Armor need support," She put a hoof on the younger princess's shoulder. "I trust you can take care of everything while I'm gone."

"You can trust me, sister," Luna adopted a determined expression as she put a hoof on her own chest. "Our subjects won't even notice your absence."

Celestia gave a faint laugh at the sound of her younger sister's enthusiasm.

"But first, there's something I need to take care of before I go," She said as she walked toward the desk in her room.

"And that is...?"

Celestia took one last look at Luna.

"Reporting this to a certain group of mares."

Comments

[DarkSnowGaming]

"I don't think there's anyone in the room, Silver," He said as he approached with the dragon's breakfast tray neatly placed on his back. "It seems that Spike the Brave got up earlier than usual."

Do I need to clarify why and how much this angers me? Uuugh. Nevermind.

"Reporting this to a certain group of mares."

Already know who those are.

I am so glad I do not have any siblings, especially one that would be older than me.

The more and more I read stories featuring Shining Armor and Twilight, the more I'm glad I don't have a sibling.

Excited about next chapter, that is if it focuses back on Twilight. I'm more curious where the Romance tag kicks in, that will be exciting.

[Flower03]

11888261
I have a younger brother and even though I love him, sometimes he's a total pain in the ass.

We won't see our protagonists until chapter nine, but I plan to publish it along with chapter eight.

And as for the Romance tag... We'll see how it goes, I don't want to give spoilers.

[DarkSnowGaming]

11888331
Guessing chapter 8 will be focused on the main 6?

Having a younger sibling is probably not as bad as having an older sibling, that would probably suck.

Although in the MLP universe everything is all sunshine and rainbows (mostly until Twilight decided to come along and bring all the chaos with her) so siblings are probably 1000x more overprotective there then here. Especially when that sibling was the captain of the royal guard, although Shining Armor is only prince because of Cadance and Twilight became Princess because she accended, I think that technically means she outranks him, plus he is a unicorn only good at shields when Twilight is an Alicorn and is litterly good at everything involving magic, including shields.

Actually now that I think about it, Shining Armor's cutie mark is probably his destiny for being overprotective as hell.

[Flower03]

11888376
Yep, it will focus on them.

I guess they wanted to act out the typical stereotype of the overprotective big brother with Shining Armor. Well, at least he cares about her.