All in a Night's Work
A clear breeze blew across the snow-blown landscape. Late winter, but winter nonetheless, crystal guards patrolled the streets of their city with a vigilance rarely seen in Equestria, rivalled only by Canterlot.
Even members of the Royal Guard were here in greater numbers than usual, no doubt having been called in for a special occasion.
Indeed, it was a very special occasion, and considering the last time that Cadence and Shining Armor had a special event together, there were to be no surprises this go round.
At least, not from Chrysalis.
While Shining was in the palace attending to his wife, whom was due to give birth any hour now, Flash Sentry had been placed in charge of the entire guard within the city. A momentous task at first, but once every guard member knew their shift and position, the rest just came naturally.
Fifth watch of the night, and Sentry stood guard near the Crystal Heart with two other guards. One was a crystal blue earth pony, whose dark blue armor glittered in the nighttime lighting of the city. The other was a white pegasus, yellow armor starkly contrasting the surroundings.
“You know Sentry, I cannot wait until the princess gives birth,” the pegasus stated, dully watching the night sky, “We have been driven like slaves with this security detail bullshit, and for what? A false alarm with Celestia, Twilight, and even Luna.”
“For the record, you have no idea what it is like to be a real slave.” The crystal guard huffed in annoyance, eyes narrowed towards the pegasus. “You would not last one day under Sombra's rule.”
“Regardles, Snow, Sword,” Sentry gently warned, eyeing the two, “We have to remian vigilant, so that we do not have to worry about another Sombra showing up.”
“Tch, another Sombra already has shown up.”
Both pegasi looked towards the crystal pony with some scorn.
“Sword, that is Shining that you are saying that about!”
“Frankly, I am a little surprised to hear that from you.”
Sword did not stand down, and in fact eyed both of his companions with scrutiny. “Sombra started out pretty decent too. Then he started taking away the swords, and the next thing you know, whips replace words in dictating policy.”
Sentry snorted, kicking a small pile of dirt into the air. “That is ridiculous. The alicorn sisters would put him in his place if he ever lost it like that.”
“Oh yeah, they did a real good job with Sombra. I will give him his credit on one thing though.”
Sword stared towards the palace in a melancholy, as if lost in thought. “The treasury had not ever been fuller by the time of their intervention. Heck, main reason we got to host the Equestrian games was because we could actually afford to.”
“Yeah well, it did not help that the world went batshit crazy and dumped a bunch of confused griffons and dragons on our heads.” Snow reached a wing underneath his armor, pulling out a small cigarette.
Sentry looked just in time to see the pegasus strike his armor with a small blade, creating a spark that just so happened to light the cigarette end. Sentry frowned disapprovingly.
“You know you are not supposed to do that in public. Might be a bad influence on any foals.”
Snow took a drag, then exhaled into the night air. “Right. If there are any foals wandering around this time of night I got a question or two for 'em and their parents.”
“Hey guys!”
A shrill voice cut the chatter quickly, the three stallions turning to face the source of the sound, somewhere to their right. Down Main Street, a pony was rushing towards them, a saddlebag on their back.
While the pony approached, Sentry could have sworn that he heard the distinct clang of glass.
“Guess what I got?” The beaming crystal earth pony beamed, mane disheveled from the apparent gallop taken just to arrive, “You have got one guess each.”
“Relief?”
“Orders from Prince Shining?”
“Laid?”
All eyes turned to Snow, who was taking yet another drag on his cigarette. The newcomer growled, reaching a hoof into the saddlebag whilst glaring at Snow.
“No, no, definitely no Snow. I am shocked that Sentry can even stand you with such a mindset.”
“I do it out of necessity.” Sentry eyed the saddlebags, noting that they were quite full.
The mare pulled out a very familiar article. It was a glass bottle with an apple on it. For the unwary observer, it was mere apple juice for the thirsty guard. To the all-knowing guard members, it was a formula for disaster and merriment.
“Apple cider!” Sword's eyes grew wide, the stallion licking his mouth in anticipation. “It has been forever since I had some good ole' apple cider.”
“Got it for a steal back in Ponyville, and I figured that I would save it for just the right moment.”
Snow laughed, snubbing out the remainder of the cigarette onto his helmet. “Awww, you shouldn't have. I will take a swig of that.”
“Now hold on.” Sentry stepped between the delivery mare and her two eager charges. “Slice, I am thrilled that you thought about us, but there is no way in Equestria I am going to allow drinking on my watch.”
“Why do you have to be such a tighthard?” Snow sat his haunches to the ground, which elicited a slight shiver from the stallion. “We have had this coming for a very long time. Stop sucking Shining so much...”
Sentry stepped calmly towards Snow, coming to eye level with the haunched subordinate.
“Listen Snow, we have a job to do. Until the job is done, there are to be no celebrations of any sort that will distract us from our mission.”
Snow stared back, glaring straight back at Sentry. For a moment, it seemed that the two would come to blows, both flexing their wings as if preparing to strike.
Practically head to head, the two continued their staredown even as Slice slipped Sword a bottle. The stallion quickly stashed it away underneath his armor, surprisingly without making much of a sound.
Screams of agony rang through the air, the source being from the palace. All four ponies froze, the shouts unintelligibly, but undeniably, belonging to Princess Cadence.
Snow relaxed, and then dropped back onto the ground, splayed out lazily. “Ah, the miracle of foal-birthing. Kind of makes you glad to be a stallion.”
“Should we check up on things?” Slice looked concerned, the screams ringing throughout all of the city. “That does not sound quite normal for a mare giving birth.”
Sword chuckled, much to the unamusement of his comrades. “What is so funny?” Sentry backed away from the sprawled out Snow at long last, his attention diverted. “She is in some real pain up there.”
“It is not the first time an alicorn has given birth. Been a generation or two, but not the first.”
Sentry would have snapped at Sword for jokes, but it dawned on him just how dead serious the stallion was. That, and that the crystal ponies had missed roughly a thousand years, so their idea of a generation would be a little different than theirs anyways.
“Explain yourself.”
Sword looked from Snow to Sentry to Slice, seeing all three of their inquisitive faces turned towards him. Realizing that he had become the center of attention, the stallion cleared his throat with a dramatic cough.
“Well, it is general Crystal Empire history that the alicorn sisters both had foals, though who sired them or even if they survived to make foals of their own is more Equestrian history than anything else.”
Sentry shook his head. “I disagree with that. I have never heard of Celestia or Luna having foals.”
Snow smiled and then chuckled, finally sitting up so that he was on his haunches again. “Yeah well, we didn't even know for a fact that Celestia had an alicorn sister till she came back threatening to plunge the world into eternal night, so it would not surprise me if the nobles were actually related to the Sisters and not just mouthpiece heirs.”
Sentry thought about the implications for a moment, considering that many of the nobles were either pegasi or unicorns. It did make some degree of sense that they would have some alicorn blood in them, although why they were not alicorns was probably yet another mystery of pony genetics.
A distinct popping noise redirected attention to Slice, who had taken a moderate sip of cidar. “Slice, I just said...” Sentry started before another pop went off.
Snow perked up once he realized that half of the gathered assembly had begun disobeying Sentry's orders.
“Well hell, toss me one Slice.”
Though the mare gave Snow a dirty look, she tossed one in his direction, only for Sentry to intercept with his wings.
“Enough of that!” he stomped a hoof down, handing off the bottle to Slice, “I said no drinking, and that is how it is to be!”
“You know, if it were not for Cadence looking so good, I bet Shining would have made you a happy wife,” Snow joked, getting to his four hooves, “Come on, it is practical mission complete! Hear that?”
Silence. For a few moments, everypony digested the information.
Sentry glared at Snow one more time before finally relenting.
“Alright, one drink. Sword, I think you are already at your one drink.”
Sword chortled and finished the last half of his bottle in a single breath.
Sentry sighed and shook his head, knowing that he would get fired on the spot if Shining could see him now.
In a secluded chamber in the palace, with no windows and only a single door, a small assembly of ponies gathered around a very stressed out pink alicorn.
Panting heavily and sweating profusely, Cadence stopped screaming not because all had ended, but because she had simply ran both out of breath and out of energy for the time being.
Though Shining stood barely a hoofstep away, Cadence's blurry vision made it difficult to tell his hoof from his leg, or arm, or whichever part of him she stared unfocused at.
“I am going to need a few pushes out of you Cadence,” one of the doctors pleaded, “Come on, I know you can do this.”
Shining glared at the unicorn doctor. “Cadence has been in labor for nearly ten minutes now; and the foal has yet to emerge?”
The doctor, just as confused as Shining was, could only sigh. “ Maybe it would be better if she were standing...”
“She can hardly look straight!”
“Listen Prince Shining, we are doing the best that we can here, but frankly, we have not the slightest damn clue about what is going on here.”
Shining cursed under his breath, using a hoof to stroke Cadence's mane. His wife was already exhausted, and yet, hardly any progress had been made. Her contractions had suggested that the foal had been ready to come; the kid already was as stubborn as its mother.
“Is there any way we can ease this at least a little bit?” Shining had come near the point of begging. The unicorn consulted the surrounding nurses, and then looked to Shining.
“We can summon Celestia or Luna here.”
Shining bit his lower lip. Cadence had insisted on them not interfering, out of worry that the attention would prevent a somewhat low key delivery date.
The dramatic increase in patrols probably voided that desire. He should have arranged for them to be there regardless of Cadence's wishes on that one.
Relenting, Shining nodded. “Whatever it takes.”
A bright flash on the far side of the room brought the attention of all of the ponies (excluding Cadence) to the new arrival, it being none other than Princess Luna.
Her starry mane could have passed for the night sky were they not obviously in an enclosed room. However, the fact that Luna had come practically on call was not the attention grabbing aspect of things.
It was that she bore the Crystal Heart in her magical tow.
“Shining, I suggest you stand back,” Luna warned while she calmly walked towards Cadence, “And we will not be needing these attendants either..."
Celestia twitched slightly in her sleep; a mere head twitch, nothing all that dramatic. Though she did not dream, her body seemed specially attuned to falling objects. And her mane was telling her that something was about to fall atop of her head.
No sooner had her ever flowing mane settled on that matter did a scroll gently tap her own on the head, dropping from the space of thin air. The day alicorn awoke groggily, using her magic to levitate the letter to her still droopy eyes.
Her eyes slowly opened wider and wider while she read, until Celestia was wide-eyed and fully awake. Hearing the sounds of hoofsteps, Celestia called out towards her door, “The letter mentioned urgent and as soon as possible, but this is a little unexpected. Where is my sister?”
“She is in the Crystal Empire helping Cadence give birth.” The guard spoke so casually, as if he had not just prompted the awakening of his ruler on a relative whim. “The nobles wish to speak with you this very moment. They have some members of the guard supporting them.”
Armed rebellion? Celestia dismissed the thought, but decided that she should fully wake herself before heading out. “Very well, give me about five minutes. My throne room I am guessing?”
“Yes ma’am.”
Celestia’s throne room, normally unoccupied at this hour, was packed full of nobles and royal guards. Chatter ceased, however, when Celestia entered the room, gingerly walking to her throne.
Observing the crowd, Celestia noticed that most were in their sleeping wear (or lack of wear for that matter) and seemed to have been awakened in a similar manner as her. Strange enough, the guards that were with them were the ones who were off duty at the moment.
She made a mental note of each and every one of them before sitting on her throne.
“Alright, this impromptu meeting is in session. Now I understand that you are protesting my recent budget decisions…”
“Yes, yes we are!” A particular stallion strode forward, still dressed in pajamas, but looking almost as regal as he could muster. His blonde hair and blues eyes contrasted sharply with his white coat and red spotted pj’s.
Celestia would have sworn, had she not awoken herself properly, that the stallion had a severe case of the pox, such was the manner in which he was dressed.
“These tax increases are ridiculous! I could see if you were taxing just us, but you are increasing general taxes in almost every part of Equestria! Why?”
Celestia hardly wished to entertain a discussion on taxes, but this peaceful assembly was not going to let her go back to sleep until they had their answer.
“It is simple, really. Following the mass transportation incident a few months back, payments for deportations and extraditions have drained the Equestrian treasury. Now, since dragons eat gems for a living and we did have to feed some of them, I am sure you understand that our bit directly and indirectly took a hit from all of this.”
The assembly murmured in agreement. Good, no disagreements there.
“So, in order to make up the difference, a tax hike was in order. However, this is only temporary-”
“I just want to know why the Crystal Empire does not have to pay these taxes as well.” Blueblood’s face went from angry to curious. “And I know they are not paying. I checked.”
Celestia suppressed the desire to make fun of Blueblood’s diligence when his bits were involved, but instead decided that a less inflammatory response was in order.
“Frankly, taxing the Crystal Ponies would cause some issues-”
“Are they not being protected by our royal guard? Our brave captain and his wife?”
Celestia gave Blueblood a deadpan look. Most other ponies, even nobles, would have hesitated to interrupt her twice let alone once. Not to mention this sudden concern for the ponies in armor hardly struck a bone in her body as genuine.
“They are, and they are technically citizens of Equestria since their acceptance of Cadence as their princess, but taxing them seemed unreasonable.”
Blueblood looked shocked to hear this, and so did half the assembly. Apparently, Celestia was the only one to learn from the recent history lesson. Then again, most of the world lost their memories of the lesson, so in that regard, it was excusable that they would be shocked.
“Well if they are citizens, then they should pony up and pay like citizens!” Blueblood insisted, “Any day now our fair princess is going to give birth and complete the cycle of inheritance. Might as well start taxing them now.”
This brought some attention from Celestia, though she largely remained stoic with this particular audience. “Inheritance?”
Blueblood nodded fiercely, believing that he had won some sort of ground in requiring Celestia to ask a question. He pressed on with this confidence.
“Yes, due to some agreements made after the fall of Discord, the Union between the Crystal Empire and Equestria continues from its ancient roots and will finally be settled with the birth of a new pony to the throne.
If an alicorn is born, then Equestria will inherit the Crystal Empire. But in the off chance that it is not an alicorn, then it is the other way around. It made much more sense when we were about the same size.”
Celestia nodded. She highly suspected that Cadence would give birth to an alicorn. Of course, since Shining was not an alicorn, there remained that slight chance of a unicorn or pegasus, but even then, it would be impractical for the Crystal Empire to attempt to claim union rights to a country more than three times their size.
“So what you are suggesting is that I tax the residents of the Crystal Empire at the same rate as you all?”
“They are Equestrians, are they not?” Prince Blueblood seemed so sure of himself, so sure that he had caught Celestia in some shape or fashion.
Poor stallion had not learned yet that Celestia had dealt with far craftier ponies in her time. “They are under the protection of Equestria, but until the union solidifies the two as one, no, they are not technically residents of Equestria. Thus, I cannot tax them directly as I can you.”
Blueblood deflated, and seemed about to back down. That’s when another pony stepped forward. Another unicorn, white coat, blue eyed, and wrapped in a silk. Celestia would have groaned had it not been for formalities.
“No, but you can ask Shining Armor and Cadence to tax them and give the income to us.” The pony spoke almost like every other noble, and it seemed that his logic did not fall far from that tree.
“Fancy Pants, that would be rather underhoofed,” Celestia pointed out, “I am certain they would be willing to go to war over that.”
“Well then, you cannot expect us to pay ourselves back to peasant status through taxes when there is another option viable,” Fancy Pants pressed, standing next to a defiant Blueblood, “You can lock us away and steal our estates, but if it comes to that, the crystal ponies will be the least of our worries when the world begins to think of you as a tyrant.”
That word again, Celestia noted, thinking of previous discussions on similar topics. As much as it offended and grated her, she was not going to stomp her morals over a single title that some liked to threaten her with.
“I have made my stance clear on this matter, so unless you have some solid proof that taxing the Crystal ponies would be a far greater solution than downsizing the aristocracy, this meeting is over.”
If only meetings with so many nobles could go so smoothly. Blueblood had been very willing to surrender when Fancy Pants had given him hope again. Now the stallion looked as fired up as ever, and even had the nerve to sneer.
“Well Celestia, I am sure Luna had her reasons for rejecting your latest tax increase. We will simply have to ask her. I am sure she will understand.”
Celestia stifled a laugh, only for the sake of saving face for laughing in the face of the assembled crowd.
“Right, I am sure my sister will be amused to hear your arguments. Until then, this meeting is officially over. Goodnight my little ponies."
The crystal heart levitated above Cadence as if it were a Hearth Warming Eve’s Star shining on those below it. In many ways, this would not have been far from the truth, though Cadence likely thought of nothing related to the holiday that symbolically would have awed a crowd of foals.
No, she was busy trying to, with Luna’s coaxing and support, finally end her labor. It had reached the thirty minute mark, and no doubt, some progress had been made, but it still did not make foal-birthing any easier.
Shining still stood anxiously by his wife, smoothing her mane and softly speaking words of encouragement. “You are doing fine Cadence, just a little longer.”
“You said that five hours ago!” Cadence howled in agony, unwittingly screaming her displeasure to the entire kingdom.
Far below the palace, four guards continued to stand watch. Or, more accurately, one pony stood watch while the other three tried to put on the front that they were standing watch. None of them were looking in the actual direction of the Crystal Heart, or at least, where it normally would have been.
“Hey Sentry,” Snow whispered, giggling upon seeing Sentry’s annoyed expression, “Hey Sentry, I got something to tell you.”
“If it is another joke about me polishing the Prince I swear to Celestia that I will demote you to the ground.”
Snow pondered it for a moment, perhaps considering the ramifications of speaking his mind. Deciding against silence, the pony ventured on.
“You know Princess Luna? Yeah well, she came and took the Heart.”
Sword seemed baffled by this piece of information, looking towards where the Heart used to be. “Well ain’t that a donkey? Snow’s right, the Heart is not there anymore.”
Sentry found himself turning to face where the Heart used to be, only now questioning why he had been facing away from it in the first place. “Why did she not tell us?” Sentry feared the worst; impersonation of an alicorn may be illegal, but it was not impossible to pull off.
Slice hiccuped after downing yet another bottle, tossing this one through the air haphazardly. The shattering of glass accompanied the landing of the bottle into the street.
Sentry, the most sober of them all, went into full on panic mode. “Oh buck, Shining is going to be pissed! Celestia is going to be livid if Luna says anything about how we were acting…”
While Sentry paced frantically in place, Sword’s ears snapped to attention, standing on end like the hairs on the back of one’s neck during a standoff.
“Wait, how did you get this cider again?”
Slice sheepishly giggled, blushing slightly. “To be honest, I came here on a suggestion from Luna, though she told me not to tell you guys until after you had a few drinks. I am sure it will be fine.”
Now Flash was anxious for a different reason. “What if Luna is trying to assassinate Cadence? She did try to overthrow Celestia before.”
“Jeez, you just cannot let that go,” Snow commented, eyeing the area around for another bit of cider, “The elements purified her, remember?”
“Correction, they stripped her of her power.” Flash seemed to be on a mad spree. He rushed up to Slice, startling the mare with his seizure of her saddlebag.
Sure enough, two bottles remained, and as Sentry thought more and more about it, the less sense it made that there was even cider in glass bottles. “We have to alert Shining immediately!”
Slice scoffed, turning her nose into the air.
“You can go if you want, but like Tartarus if I am going to barge in on the process and start accusing the princess of the night of assassination. You will get demoted so fast you will forget that you were even a part of the guard.”
“He does not care,” Snow crowed, swooning forward ever so slightly, “He did not even have a full bottle of cider! Ride like the wind Flash Sentry! This is your day!”
Sentry spread his wings and, encouraged by a variety of things, took off into the air. Few knew the secret location of the birthing room, but somehow Luna had managed to get access. As far as Sentry was concerned, this could be a very important moment in Equestrian history.
Silence, for just a brief thirty seconds, broken only by the haggard panting of Cadence. The alicorn weakly leaned her head on Shining while Luna busied herself on the other end.
“I don’t think Cadence is in pain anymore. Is it over?” Shining hoped so, as he had not enjoyed this ordeal in the least. Granted, he had not been the one in labor, but just hearing and seeing Cadence’s pain seemed to convey the misery of the process.
“Just a little cleaning up,” Luna commented, back turned to the royals, “And of course, a little exercise for the little one.”
“Colt, filly?” Cadence slowly murmured, hardly able to form a sentence, “Which?”
“Colt. I must say, he really is quite beautiful.”
Cadence angrily shook her head, the suspense and waiting finally wracking at her frazzled nerves. Of course, she did not have the energy to do much else, so Shining instead took up the cause.
“Listen Luna, Cadence is about to pass out any minute now. Do you think she can at least see-?”
Luna turned around, and in her magical grip was a small colt. She set the colt to the floor, and a speechless Shining and Cadence could only watch as the small colt began taking literal baby steps towards his parents.
Cadence got over her shock very quickly, and before the half-walking half-stumbling colt could fully fall, Cadence snatched him up in her hooves, bringing the colt into a great embrace. Apparently her exhaustion had been alleviated by the mere sight of her offspring.
“Oh my little love, at last!”
Cadence cried tears of joy, seemingly renewed in strength while she nuzzled and kissed the colt, practically smothering the head-sized foal in affection.
Shining still stood mouth agape, closed only by Luna chuckling. Luna teasingly eyed Shining with just the hint of mischief.
“I used the Crystal Heart to aide the process, recall? The crystal sheen will most likely fade with some time.”
Shining’s eyes watered, the stallion starting to come to earth as his mind processed this information. “Luna, his coat is almost blue like tropical waters, his eyes like the very crystals that make up this palace. But, he is not an alicorn.”
The two turned to Cadence, who seemed too enthralled in the newborn to give a care. She might not have even noticed as of yet, all things considered.
“Well, Shining, even if you do have some alicorn in you, you are not an alicorn,” Luna explained, “So expecting your foal to pop out as one is asking a bit much.”
“But Celestia said that-"
A banging at the door alerted the trio to someone desiring entry, and very urgently. Of course, there was only one regular door, but this room was not exactly public knowledge. A frantic voice on the other end told Shining that it was Sentry.
“My Prince, is everything alright in there? Have you or Cadence been harmed?”
“Yes, it is just fine,” Luna shouted back, smiling wide while stepping over to Cadence, “Just so you know, it is a colt.”
Apparently not satisfied with Luna answering, the door burst open, Sentry aggressively sizing up the situation.
Without thinking, Shining had crossed the few meters between him and the guard in time comparable to that of teleporting. A swift hoof to the throat and Sentry was sent hacking towards the ground, another down atop his head sending him unconscious to the floor.
The helmet slightly dented, Shining was about to strike again when Luna intervened, using her magic to restrain Shining.
“Hold on now, you do not want to go full Sombra and beat your concerned security force to death,” Luna jested, perhaps not fully joking with the reference, “I may have taken the Heart without their explicit permission.”
Shining, hardly even aware of how hard he had hit Sentry, gazed towards his unconscious second in command with a level of contempt. “Sentry was in charge, and I told him specifically not to barge in like that.”
“Yes well, protecting Cadence and your foal no doubt overrode any logic that Sentry might have had a good reason to be concerned.” Of course, Luna had no idea that Sentry had in fact come in to warn Shining of Luna, or to attack her if that proved unsuitable. “You are much faster than I thought.”
Cadence, her attention finally brought from her colt, gazed towards the unconscious stallion on the floor. “So, what are we going to name him? I am thinking Sea Crystal.”
Shining seemed mortified at the suggestion, and once Luna released him from her magical grip, he rushed back to Cadence.
“Honey, with all due respect, I really do not think you thought that name through.”
Luna, on the other side of Cadence, chuckled, foreseeing the ensuring conversation regarding a name.
“What is wrong with Sea Crystal?” Cadence sounded offended, in the least because the ‘all due respect’ part suggested that Shining had a more barbed response stowed somewhere.
“That is like, the first thing that came to your head!” Shining spoke as if it were obvious. “He needs a more symbolic name, one that he can look in the mirror and etch out in mist with pride! Like Crystal Armor.”
“To that I must object. How dare you mock my suggestion, and then offer such an atrocity?”
“Well, maybe we can combine the two. Sea Armor?”
“Might as well name him Sea Coat while you’re at it,” Luna suggested, hardly able to contain her laughter, “Or Spring Tide.”
Cadence turned to her aunt for a brief moment before facing Shining again. “Aunt Luna is on the right track at least.”
Shining looked down at the young colt, who stared up at the adult ponies as if they had lost their minds. Shining sighed, and with a wide grin, sat on his haunches.
“This is ridiculous. There is no need to argue over a name.”
“No, but one would be very useful whenever referring to the colt.”
Cadence and Shining gave Luna a deadpan look. The princess of the Night could not help but outright laugh, her attempts at suppressing her volume resulting in her shaking in place.
Husband and wife turned from Luna, their eyes locking into place on each other. For a few moments, Luna’s laughter echoed through the halls, until it finally died down.
Once the awkwardness of her solo laughing settled in, Luna cleared her throat, as if to re-compose herself.
“Yes well, you could always try Dusk Armor.”
In unison the new parents declined, though whether it was because Luna had suggested it or because they genuinely didn’t look forward to calling their son Dusk was, at the time, up for debate.
Cadence broke out into a wide grin, eyes sparkling in a sudden stroke of inspiration. “I think I know exactly what to name him.”
Shining patiently awaited his wife to tell him, but soon realized that she wanted him to attempt to guess. “Gleaming Shield?”
“Not even close.”
“Uh, Bolero Cadenza?”
“Try one more time, and please, try something a little more obvious.”
Shining thought hard for a minute, a hoof to his chin, deep in thought. All save for the unnamed colt held their breath, one hoping beyond hope that Shining would at least get close.
Aware of the attention and expectation upon him, Shining carefully voiced his final guess.
“Mi Amore Dusk Armor?”
Luna facehooved, but Cadence seemed pleasantly surprised at the response. “I was going for Diamond Shield personally, but I think just Dusk Armor rolls off the tongue much better.”
“Then from henceforth, the new prince shall be known as Dusk Armor!” Luna proclaimed in her Canterlot voice, “Long live the prince!”
“Long live the prince!” echoed Luna's voice throughout the city.
Sword went rigid, his crystal blue ears catching a particular turn of phrase that reminded him less of good times. By this point, Snow had taken to busily patrolling the surroundings, looking all the world as if he were completely sober.
Slice had taken off already, not wanting to be around when the wrath of Luna sent Sentry to the next century, but had cleared any broken glass that had resulted from the bottle shattering. Truth be told, until this point, Sword had not even realized how clear the scene was of any improper behavior.
The words rang in his ears like an angry bird, memories of Sombra’s re-coronation and subsequent vengeance plot towards the residents of the Empire flooding his mind.
“What have we done?” Sword took a few steps backwards, kicking up while he did so, “This is history repeating itself!”
As if in agreement, the sky darkened, and the wind picked up with a viscous howl. Even Snow had to stop pretending and address this change in weather, his white wings embracing his body.
“Since the Heart is not here anymore, think we can leave our post now?”
Sword was too terror stricken to answer, his mind flooding with memories of Sombra’s rule.
“We have no time to lose!” he shouted to no one in particular, dashing down Main Street, “I must alert the guard immediately to this!”
Snow sighed and watched the last of them leave. "I take that as an implicit yes."
Celestia once again rested her head, her body atop a large, flurry cushion, custom made. Even after a few years, the amount of comfort conveyed in the simple act of laying down to sleep on this particular cushion always soothed Celestia’s soul in ways she never thought possible with an inanimate object.
Still, her attempts at sleep were futile. The earlier disturbance had taxes and court and all of her daytime duties on the mind, and permission to sleep refused to be granted to her weary body by her still up and alert mind.
Celestia huffed in annoyance, attempting to flush out thoughts of her duties with thoughts instead of sleeping. Yes, she began to count sheep, one by one, intending on reaching one thousand at least before the night was over.
A knock at the door disturbed this mild fantasy before it set in, much to the princess’ chagrin.
“Yes?” She pleasantly called out, though she was in less than a pleasant mood.
“Sorry to disturb you again, your highness, but Luna has announced the new crystal prince.”
Celestia sighed in relief; nothing to get up for, no matter how excited she was for Cadence and Shining. It could wait till morning, since she apparently had missed the actual birthing.
“That is great, what is his name?”
“Dusk Armor apparently,” the guard replied, hardly hiding his disdain, “I thought between the two of them they would have chosen a much more, impressive name.”
Celestia chuckled, perhaps in part because she had to somewhat agree with the odd choice in naming. “Well, it is their choice, and I think it is a fine name.”
“There is one more matter that has to be addressed, your highness.”
Celestia frowned; she assumed too soon that that would be all that there was to it.
“Go on.”
“Well, the new colt, according to rumor, is a crystal earth pony. Does that not strike you as a bit, odd?”
Celestia found her hooves and shoes almost as fast as the guard could speak, the princess once again up on all fours.
“Are you sure of this?” Celestia inquired while she donned her regalia and attended to her flowing mess of a mane, “No very small horn or wings?”
“You can ask Luna yourself, as she should be returning within the hour,” the guard reported, sounding oddly excited, “Can you believe it? Give it a decade or two and we will finally have an earth pony alicorn!”
Celestia decided not to correct the stallion, as that would prompt a discussion she would have preferred to save for Cadence and Shining. Once finished with that, the princess waited for the guard to depart before disappearing in a flash of yellow magic, already knowing where she needed to go.
Luna paced the floor of the royal throne room, taking quite the notice of something that stood out of place. “Why is there still only one throne here?” Luna pondered, moments before Celestia burst through the throne rooms.
Based on her rapid pace, her sister was very eager to hear the news.
“Is it all true?” Celestia inquired, “What I have been told?”
Luna nodded fervently, though her gaze slipped to the single throne for just a moment before answering. “Dusk Armor is the new heir to the Crystal Throne, and certainly fit for rule! You should have seen the little colt attempt to walk up to his mother before she embraced him.”
“Luna, this heir is not an alicorn, is it?” Celestia looked at her sister intently, with a serious expression.
“Well of course not, I gave birth to a pegasus recall? Nothing unusual about an alicorn and a not alicorn having a not alicorn child. The only exception…”
“We do not speak of that exception in relative public,” Celestia chided while she walked over to one of the many stain glass windows, “And besides, I figured Shining’s relation to me would have been enough.”
Luna laughed, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye at the notion. “Sister, you realize it has been over a thousand years since the last time an alicorn bred? Certainly the dilution from all those subsequent generations does not slip your mind.”
Celestia stopped in front of a particular window. Not even moonlight filtered through this one, though it depicted the saving of the Crystal Empire from Sombra.
“No, but Shining actually impregnated Cadence. That alone spoke volumes. There has to be something that is not adding up.”
“Did you ever consider that the orphan filly you made an alicorn before my return just might be related to us legitimately?” Luna joined Celestia in front of the window, slowly losing her jovial mood. “You cannot just make any pony an alicorn you know.”
“I understand that, but I have checked all of my records, and there is not a trace of Cadence or her predecessors. She is literally just, there.”
“Yes, orphans tend to have that problem.”
Celestia looked towards Luna with a slight scowl. Luna, though it came off as a joke, was dead serious, and stared at her sister to get that point across.
“I am not trying to downplay your concerns or anything, but I think you are getting worked up over nothing.”
Celestia frowned, looking down to her sister, as if ready to make a point. “I have not gotten worked up over something several times. Aside from banishing you and having to have Sombra executed, I am sure you can think of a few other examples where my lack of executionary concern caused problems.”
Luna frowned, not liking to be reminded of both incidents at the same time. “I understand your need for concern, but even if Dusk were to inherit both states, it would only make pony kind more powerful.”
Celestia narrowed her eyes, her frown turning into a scowl. “You are well aware of that and you still do not see the issue?”
Luna broke eye contact, striding towards the single throne, her mind once again temporarily occupied by its loneliness. “Well, out of the two of us, your successors have certainly been very successful in the pony world. We all have a due date, and perhaps we should be preparing to pass the torch.”
Celestia walked after her sister, her scowl becoming a straight face. “Luna, that is the problem; Equestrians are not going to accept the rule of a crystal pony, even if said pony is an alicorn. I have seen these ponies threaten revolt for less.”
Well, Celestia at least considered money a lesser cause. The nobles might would have had a different opinion if asked.
Luna chuckled. “But did they actually revolt?”
“Well no, but—“
“Then there is nothing to be so worried about.”
Luna’s reassurances did little to assuage Celestia. She sighed, looking off into the distance, as if staring into some mystical picture book.
“I just do not want history to repeat itself. Equestria is one of the longest lived kingdoms the world has ever seen, and I do not want it to end over who gets the crown.”
A few minutes of silence passed before Luna finally conceded.
“Okay, so there might be a little bit of trouble, nothing that we cannot handle. There are four alicorns now, we have the loyalty of three Guard forces, and the Elements have proven very resourceful even without the elements. If and when something goes wrong, we will be more than adequately prepared for it.”
Celestia turned back towads Luna, concern written on her face. “I hope you are right Luna. I hope you are right. There is one more matter that I must speak with you about.”
Luna trotted back over to Celestia, coming to her side once again, the throne finally off of her mind.
“What is it Sister? Despite my running to the Crystal Empire, I have made sure to stay on top of my nightly duties.”
“It is not that.” Celestia waved off that notion and gazed through the glass stain window again, seemingly distant. “What is your opinion on taxing the Crystal ponies?”
Luna did not laugh, nor snicker; not even a meep gave away her internal reaction to the question. “Now why are you asking me that?”
“To put it shortly, the nobles are not very pleased with how I intend on making up the deficient from the costly relocation operation to get the world’s residents back to their respective homes without incident.”
Luna did not answer right away, as if contemplating an appropriate response. When she finally answered, it was with conviction and confidence.
“Frankly Sister, as I would have stated had you asked why I rejected your tax increase, you have to be reasonable. Rule of law cannot just apply to some, it must apply to all. If even we have to pay for our own defense, then certainly the crystal ponies can do the same?”
“What if they think of us as tyrants?” Celestia felt besmirched just uttering the word, but her concerns had to be voiced, “What if they reject us? Or worse, actually get Cadence to oppose us?”
Luna shook her head violently, her mane going side to side in a sparkly rejection notice. “I am sure some of the nobles fancy us tyrants on their worst of days, but that does not make it true. You dealt with much worse when I was gone.”
Celestia smiled weakly, slightly alleviated in spirits. “Thank you Luna. I suppose I should be a little less like Mother on occasion; I can’t control everything.”
“That is the spirit!” Luna cheered, patting her sister’s back enthusiastically, “Now then, there remains an hour or two left of the night, and we have yet to celebrate a reunion of our two lines.”
Celestia’s smile grew wider, and a rather confident look slightly shifted the mood to that of mischief. “So you admit to knowing that Cadence is a member of your side of the family, and we may have permitted a most incestuous relationship?”
Luna laughed at the thought, a few real tears straddling her eyes. “Come now, that was a thousand years ago when things branched off. Cannot really call it incest now can we?”
“I don’t know,” Celestia teasingly remarked, “There are nearly a thousand years’ worth of family records missing if you want to make that claim, and since the Armor family emerged at some point during that age, there is really no telling for sure, is there?”
Luna’s facial expression dropped, her ears drooped in deep contemplation about the ramifications were Celestia to be correct.
Celestia sneered, and teasingly stroked Luna’s mane with a hoof. “Now, you do not think that I would let your descends out of my record keeping do you? In case you ever needed – company – on the moon.”
For a tense few moments, the two stared at each other, one somewhat abstractly, the other in a sort of triumph. Luna was the first to speak, voice shaky and smile wavering.
“You are kidding, right sister?”
Celestia turned from her sister and began walking towards the throne room doors.
“Maybe...”
Before she left she turned to face her still dumbfounded sister with the most sadistic grin that she could muster. Considering her track record, this would be a difficult task, but she tried her best, aligning it with a contorted expression and a gaze that could raze an entire city simply from its intensity, speaking more words than perhaps were meant to be spoken.
“Maybe not.”
Luna looked mortified before Celestia’s full expression turned jovial again.
“Gotcha Sis. Goodnight.”
And with that Celestia departed, leaving a stunned, and slightly amused Luna behind.
“Huh…” Luna said aloud to no one in particular, “Did not see that coming…”