Chance Encounter

The Heart Of Ice That Burned

First impressions are very important. Nobody can deny that. They form the basis of how one person views another person he or she has just met. This applies to any first meeting between any two individuals. In a casual environment, first impressions help people choose their friends. In an interview, the evaluator decides whether or not to hire the applicant based on their first impression. In the workplace, the boss gives all of his employees a certain level of responsibility according to how reliable he finds them, which in turn is determined by his first impression of them

The most delicate and sacred form of a first impression is the type that ultimately leads to a romantic relationship between the two parties involved. However, the majority of romances do not begin with either of the participants having an amorous view of the other. Unless it is love at first sight, they only regard each other as acquaintances at first. But it is always possible for their bond to grow into something stronger than friendship.

Nopony understood the value of the first impression more than a certain officer in Equestria's Royal Guard.

This officer was a stallion named Comet Frost. He had been in the Royal Guard for close to a decade. He loved his job, he loved the respect and prestige it brought him, and he had taken it because he loved his country.

When he first joined the Royal Guard, Comet Frost assumed he would spend most of his career patrolling the halls of Canterlot Castle. This was in fact what he did for the first nine years. However, less than a year ago, the Crystal Empire had remerged in northern Equestria after disappearing for a millennium.

Princess Cadance and her husband Shining Armor had been given control of the Empire. Once the city was secured from danger, fifty of the Royal Guard in Canterlot had been assigned to accompany the royal couple.

The number had gradually increased overtime. Just three months ago, Comet Frost had been transferred to the Crystal Empire's division. When he arrived there, he was promoted to the rank of Commander, which made him the Crystal Empire Royal Guard's third-in-command after Captain Shining Armor and his deputy, Commander Plainview.

Because of his status in their ranks, every member of the Royal Guard knew Comet Frost by name and by appearance. He was a Unicorn with an aqua coat, a white mane with a grey streak down the center, and his cutie mark was a snowflake. However, his eyes made up the most unique aspect of his appearance. His right iris was red, and his left iris was blue. Nopony knew why he had mismatched eyes; only he knew. It was a private matter he did not like discussing with others.

In the Crystal Empire, Comet Frost's duties extended to more than just a hallway sentinel. He was also tasked with performance reviews, recruiting the local crystal ponies into the force, and overseeing their training programs. Shining Armor had given him a considerable amount of authority to match his rank.

Comet Frost was very appreciative for all these new responsibilities. He had a great deal of admiration for his commanding officer. The two of them had served together on the Royal Guard for years, and they were more than just colleagues. They had become good friends as well.

However, while Comet Frost knew Shining Armor very well, he was nowhere near as familiar with his wife. In fact, he had never officially met Princess Cadance. He had occasionally passed by her in the hallways of both Canterlot Castle and the Crystal Empire Palace. Whenever he did, he always bowed to her, but they never spoke any words.

It had been three months since Comet Frost came to the Crystal Empire, and he still had not presented himself to Princess Cadance. Of course, Comet Frost knew that he would have to formally introduce himself to her at some point. After all, the whole reason the Royal Guard were even in the Crystal Empire was to protect her.

Comet Frost did not get nervous when he met people. One of his best qualities was that he always knew how to make an excellent first impression. The primary reason he had delayed introducing himself to Princess Cadance was that he was looking for the most ideal opportunity to do so.

Three months after Comet Frost arrived in the Crystal Empire, he was given that opportunity. On this day, he woke up like he did every other morning. He ate breakfast and made himself presentable like he did every other morning. He checked in at his office and examined the roster like he did every other morning.

On any other morning, he would have drawn up a set of training exercises for the new recruits after examining the roster. However, before he could do this, he was summoned to the barracks by Shining Armor. Comet Frost was intrigued when he got this message. The only reason Shining Armor would summon him to the barracks without any prior notice was if there was a sudden need to increase the level of security in the palace.

When Comet Frost arrived at the barracks, three other ponies were already there. Two of them were Shining Armor and Commander Plainview. The third was an orange Pegasus with a blue mane, light blue irises, and a blue shield with a yellow lightning bolt for a cutie mark. He was Flash Sentry, the fourth-in-command of the Crystal Empire Royal Guard.

Once Comet Frost was settled, Shining Armor debriefed him and the other two stallions on the situation. He informed them that he had received an important message from Canterlot. According to the message, the Crystal Empire had been tasked with holding a summit for the newly-crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle. The summit would start in the late evening, and it would last about a week.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would both be attending the summit. They would be arriving well before noon. However, Princess Twilight was not expected to arrive until sometime after Luna had risen the Moon. Shining Armor explained that the summit had been arranged this way so that the Royal Guard at the Crystal Empire would have time to reinforce their numbers and tighten their safety measures. That way, by the time the other three Princesses showed up, the palace would be totally secure.

After the debriefing, Shining Armor distributed the assignments. Commander Plainview was tasked with selecting which units would patrol the exterior of the palace. Comet Frost would pick which units would monitor the corridors and entrance hall. Flash Sentry would organize which units would observe the throne room.

This was the majority of what Shining Armor expected his senior officers to do that day. He also expected each of them to play a minor role in the opening of the summit itself. Plainview was asked to escort Princess Twilight and her friends to the throne room once they reached the palace. Flash Sentry was asked to introduce Twilight Sparkle when she appeared in the throne room. Comet Frost was asked to introduce Cadance, Luna, and Celestia in turn.

Comet Frost saw this as the perfect chance for him to make a good first impression of himself in front of Cadance.

After the meeting, the four stallions got busy. A couple hours before noon, an entire legion of the Canterlot Royal Guard came to the city. These were their reinforcements. It only took Plainview, Comet Frost, and Flash Sentry a few hours to assign all these units to their posts. In the end, the palace had a very strategic and formidable security network formed by hundreds of the Royal Guard.

Comet Frost was off-duty for a couple hours before the summit. He spent that time contemplating what he would say when he introduced the princesses. He stood alone on the balcony outside the throne room, practicing his introductions.

"Okay, how do I put this?" he muttered under his breath, "'Their Highnesses, Princess Celestia of the Day, Princess Luna of the Night, and Princess Cadance of…' of what? The Crystal Empire would certainly work, but that seems too vague. And somewhat insignificant when compared to day and night. Perhaps I could say 'Princess of Love.' No, that might be too suggestive. Maybe I shouldn't refer to them as 'Their Highnesses' either. I can afford to say 'Her Highness' three times; I'm not any time constraints. Hmmm… what if I introduced Princess Celestia as the 'Princess of the Sun,' Princess Luna as the 'Princess of the Moon,' and then Princess Cadance as the 'Princess of the Crystal Empire.' At least that way, I'd be saying that they each represent a physical object. Still, it seems a little inadequate. The Canterlot Royalty already rules all of Equestria, and the Crystal Empire is technically part of Equestria. That being said, all three of them would have some amount of jurisdiction here. I can't make it sound like Equestria is a divided kingdom."

He went on like this in solitude for a long while before he had some company. At one point, he heard a voice behind him call out "Good evening, Comet."

The aqua stallion quickly spun around to face his visitor. He eased down when he realized who it was. He smirked and replied with "Oh, hello, Flash."

The orange stallion nodded his head in acknowledgment and trotted onto the platform. He asked his friend in interest "What are you doing out here?"

"I'm trying to decide how to introduce the princesses at the summit," Comet Frost explicated, "I've literally considered dozens of possibilities, but none of them seem suitable."

Flash Sentry scoffed and stated "I never would have thought you of all ponies would be so distraught over such a small detail."

"Flash, in this line of work, no detailis small," Comet Frost countered.

"Alright, that may be," Flash openly admitted, "Still, I think you're needlessly stressing yourself out. I'm just going to say 'Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle.'"

"That's it?" Comet Frost remarked in surprise, "No addendums or anything?"

"Nope, just that," Flash Sentry confirmed, "Even if I wanted to add something, I wouldn't know what else to say."

"Off the top of my head, I can think of a few things," Comet Frosts informed him, "You could say 'Princess of Ponyville.' Or 'Princess of Magic.' Or 'Princess of the Elements of Harmony.'"

"What about 'Princess of Books?'" Flash Sentry joked.

"Books?" Comet Frost repeated.

"Captain Shining Armor once mentioned how much Princess Twilight Sparkle loves to read," Flash Sentry illuminated, "So 'Princess of Books' could be an appropriate label. Who knows? If I say that, she might even be amused."

"It's possible that she has a sense of humor, but I wouldn't risk finding out the hard way if Captain Shining Armor doesn't," Comet Frost observed, "After all, this is his sister we're talking about. You realize that, don't you?"

"Of course I realize that," Flash Sentry retorted, smugly grinning, "How dense do you think I am?"

"Do you really want me to answer that question?" Comet Frost leered wittily.

Flash Sentry lightly shrugged and said indifferently "Sure, go ahead. In your mind, how dumb am I?"

"You know I don't regard you as dumb, Flash," Comet Frost stated, "I'm just trying to make sure you understand how important it is that we say the right thing at the summit."

"I understand, Comet," Flash Sentry assured his friend, "Believe me, I'm taking my responsibilities very seriously. And anyway, if one of us should be concerned about the introductions at the summit, it would have to be you."

"Oh?" Comet Frost remarked, raising an eyebrow "Why is that?"

"Captain Shining Armor can be a forgiving stallion," Flash Sentry remarked, "But I put emphasis on 'can be.' It would depend on what misdeed he'd be asked to forgive. If somepony screws up introducing his sister, he'd probably be willing to pardon them. If somepony screwed up introducing his wife… I'd hate to be in that pony's horseshoes."

Comet Frost narrowed his eyes at the younger stallion and frowned, as if he was profusely annoyed. Then he sarcastically uttered "Thanks for bringing that to my attention, Flash."

"I'm not saying that would actually happen," Flash Sentry told him, "I was just speculating. Like I said before, you and I don't have anything to worry about. If you want my advice, look over these 'dozens' of introductions you've made and pick one. You'll do fine."

Comet Frost could not deny the reasoning in his colleague's words. He sighed and remarked "Okay, Flash. I'll do that. You go ahead and double-check the security in the throne room. I need a little more time to think."

Flash Sentry agreed to this proposal and departed from the balcony. Comet Frost was left by himself once more. He spent about ten minutes going over all the possible introductions he had rejected, and finally, he selected one which he deemed adequate.

An hour later, he returned to the throne room. Flash Sentry and a dozen of the Royal Guard were already assembled there. Interestingly, all twelve of these Royal Guard were crystal ponies. Other than Flash, Comet was the only person in the whole room whose coat was not glittering.

That quickly changed. Less than twenty minutes later, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance arrived in the throne room. The fourteen stallions bowed to them as they passed through the large double doors and proceeded to the opposite end of the room. Cadance sat down in the throne, and Celestia and Luna stood on either side of her. Once they were settled, the Royal Guard stood up straight again.

Fifteen minutes later, the double doors opened again and Commander Plainview held them open. The twelve crystal Royal Guard each raised a trumpet to his mouth and blew strongly. As they produced the customary royal fanfare, A lavender Alicorn passed through the double doors and walked down the columns.

She gazed around the room as if she was astonished. Unfortunately, because of this distraction, she was unable to walk in a straight line. She veered slightly to the right as she proceeded down the room. When she reached the end of the column, she bumped into Flash Sentry by mistake.

Both the lavender Alicorn and Flash Sentry were surprised by this, but the orange stallion wordlessly assured her that everything was alright. As the mare backed away, he closed his eyes and announced "Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

Comet Frost smiled in satisfaction. Then he pointed towards the other end of the room and declared "Her Highness, Princess Celestia of Canterlot; Her Highness, Princess Luna of Canterlot; and Her Highness, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire!"

Cadance stepped down off the throne and approached the younger Alicorn. She chuckled, nuzzled her head against Twilight Sparkle's, and told her happily "Twilight! I haven't seen you since the coronation."

Princess Luna and Princess Celestia moved to Cadance's sides. Twilight Sparkle was not alone either. An orange Earth Pony, a pink Earth Pony, a white Unicorn, a yellow Pegasus, a cyan Pegasus, and a purple and green baby dragon gradually advanced towards her. The white Alicorn pronounced "He have so much to discuss. But it can wait until tomorrow. You all look tired from your journey. Now off to bed, all of you."

Twilight Sparkle, the dragon, and the other five mares acknowledged Celestia's command. All seven of them turned around and headed back to the double doors. On the way, they talked amongst themselves excitedly.

Once they were gone, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance departed from the throne room as well. On her way out, Cadance looked at Comet Frost out of the corner of her eye and smiled at him. He just nodded in return.

After the princesses left, the twelve crystal Royal Guard filed out of the room one-by-one. Subsequently, Comet Frost and Flash Sentry were left by themselves.

Flash Sentry scoffed and perceived "That was perhaps the briefest initiation to a summit that I've ever seen in my life."

"Well, to be fair, it is quite late," Comet Frost pointed out, "Besides, this summit is supposed to last an entire week. There's no harm in having a brief opening."

"I guess that's true," Flash coincided. After a moment of silence, he grinned and stated "Couldn't help but notice you got Princess Cadance's look of approval."

"Yes, but it still wasn't a formal introduction," Comet Frost debated, "And it certainly wasn't 'close and personal,' like your encounter with Princess Twilight."

Flash Sentry scoffed and professed, "Yeah, that's true. I'm a little surprised that happened. You'd think she'd be as concerned about her presentation as we were about ours."

"Apparently not," Comet Frost commented, "Then again, this was her first summit. You can't blame her for being astonished by the profundity of it all. Having all this… attention. She may find it a little overwhelming."

"A fair observation," Flash admitted. There was another short interval of quietness. Then the orange stallion suggested "We should probably turn in for the night, too. We'll need our rest in order to maintain this much security for an entire week."

"I concur," was all Comet Frost said in response.

The two high-ranking officers left the throne room and made their way to their quarters. Comet Frost thought about how the introductions went. He was quite pleased that he had not stuttered or misspoken in any way. However, he still had yet to properly introduce himself to Princess Cadance. To some, that might not have seemed like a big deal, but it was a matter of principle to Comet Frost. He felt that Cadance had a right to know who exactly had been appointed to protect her, and he doubted that she even knew his name. To him, that was inexcusable.

He vowed that he would remedy this problem the next morning. If everything went on schedule, he would have done so indeed. Unfortunately, an unforeseen complication occurred before the Sun was raised.

Comet Frost was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud thumping sound. After collecting himself, he realized somepony was knocking on the door to his quarters. He called out hastily "Enter!"

Immediately, Commander Plainview entered and shouted in urgency "Comet, get in uniform and report to the throne room right now! We have a security breach!"

Plainview left immediately after saying this. Without stopping to think, the aqua stallion jumped out of bed and donned a full set of armor. Then he galloped as fast as he could to the throne room. Shining Armor and Plainview had already arrived there ahead of him.

"Alright, what's the situation?" he enquired anxiously.

"An intruder was in the palace," Shining Armor apprised him.

"'Was?'" Comet Frost noted, "Where is he now?"

"She got away," Plainview enlightened him, "But we know where she is."

"Okay, how did she get out of the building?" queried Comet Frost.

"The same way she got in," Shining Armor replied, "Strictly speaking, she never entered or exited the palace. She just appeared through a type of portal in the east wing. Princess Twilight and her friends were the only ones who saw her. They described her as a yellow Unicorn with a red and yellow mane, mint green eyes, and a shimmering sun for a cutie mark. She escaped through the aforementioned portal before they could stop her."

"What was she doing here?" Comet Frost queried.

"She was trying to steal Princess Twilight's crown," Plainview informed him, "Unfortunately, she succeeded."

"Then we must got after the intruder and apprehend her as soon as possible," Comet Frost declared.

"Negative, Comet," Shining Armor countered "Princess Celestia has already been informed, and she's forbidden anypony from going after that intruder without her consent."

"Did she give any particular reason why?" Comet Frost requested.

"No, but as you and I both know, that's not the point, Comet," Plainview retorted, "When Celestia gives an order, it is our job to follow it."

"I'm not disputing that, sir," Comet Frost assured his superior officer, "I'm just saying; we cannot risk letting that thief get away. The longer we delay, the better her chances of escape may be."

"Princess Celestia has informed us that she has a plan to recover the crown," Shining Armor notified the aqua stallion, "However, she has requested that we let her handle it in her own way. She does not want the Royal Guard involved."

To Comet Frost, this was a most unusual request. However, he had an obligation to honor Celestia's wishes. So he did not question her orders.

"Very well," he agreed.

Later on, Comet Frost discovered that the intruder was a mare named Sunset Shimmer, Celestia's previous failed apprentice. She had been residing in an alternate world for years, but she had found a way to accumulate information on the events of Equestria and return to steal Twilight Sparkle's crown. Her motivations for taking the crown were unknown, but the princesses were very clear when they said it was imperative that the crown be recovered.

Twilight Sparkle was tasked with following Sunset Shimmer into the alternate world. She would be getting there the same way as Sunset: by passing through the portal in the east wing. This portal was actually a mirror which doubled as a gateway once every two and a-half years. Whenever the gateway opened, it only stayed open for seventy-two hours at a time. That was how long Twilight had to retrieve her crown.

Twilight Sparkle was expected to go to the alternate world by herself without any backup. Although she was hesitant to do this, she reluctantly agreed. However, her dragon assistant Spike had rushed in after her before anypony could stop him.

There was nothing anypony else could do now except wait.

Twilight Sparkle's friends Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash all agreed that they would not leave the room with the portal until their friend had safely returned to them. Out of concern for both Princess Twilight and her friends, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance had decided to remain with them in that room for as long as they were there.

Since all three of the princesses were staying in one room, the Royal Guard saw it necessary to post a hefty security force outside the chamber. Shining Armor and Plainview were too preoccupied with overviewing the security measures in the rest of the palace, so the duty for organizing the princesses' detail fell on Comet Frost's shoulders.

Near the end of the first night, Comet Frost entered the room. None of the eight mares were focused on the mirror, but every now and then, they each glanced towards it, as if they were hoping Twilight Sparkle and Spike would come out.

Comet Frost politely cleared his throat and announced "Pardon me, ladies, Your Highnesses."

At this, all eight mares turned towards the aqua stallion. Once he had their attention, he stated "I understand that you have no intention of leaving this room until Princess Twilight has returned. However, she may be gone for a while. So I was wondering… Is there anything I can get you? Some food? Some water? Maybe something to help pass the time?"

Although their primary concern was still for Twilight Sparkle's well-being, the mares had not eaten all day. So they gladly accepted Comet Frost's offer. He asked each of them what they would like for dinner, and he sent their orders down to the kitchen.

Comet Frost decided to wait with them until their food arrived. None of the mares objected, much to his relief.

They spent several minutes in silence. However, there was something on Comet Frost's mind. Something that had been bothering him all day long. He felt the need to get it off his chest, and he believed the best way to get it off his chest would be to discuss it with somepony.

At one point, Comet Frost gazed towards the mares and requested "May I speak freely?"

"Certainly, Commander," Princess Celestia replied.

Comet Frost knew what he wanted to say, but just like the introduction at the summit, he was concerned that it would come out wrong. So he chose his words carefully. He disclosed to the mares "I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am that this fiasco had to occur. I cannot help but feel that this is somehow my fault."

"What do you mean, Commander Frost?" Princess Luna queried in perplexity.

"Captain Armor tasked me with strengthening security inside the palace," Comet Frost expounded, "I posted plenty of units throughout most of the foundation. Yet I didn't think to post a sentinel outside of this room. If I had… maybe we would have arrested Sunset Shimmer before she stole the crown. But that's not the case. So I just want to say that I take full responsibility for this disaster, and for whatever happens to Princess Twilight Sparkle and her assistant."

The mares were astounded by Comet's expressiveness and rectitude. Cadance stepped up to the aqua stallion, gently placed her front hoof on his shoulder, and told him "Commander, there is no way you could have forecasted this. You mustn't blame yourself. I certainly don't. If anything, I blame myself for not watching over this mirror more carefully."

"That is very thoughtful of you to say, Your Highness," Comet Frost remarked gratefully, "But there is no need for you to place the blame on yourself. I'm willing to accept it."

Cadance lightly smiled and said softly "I admire your readiness to accept consequences, Commander, but you are not at fault here. In the long run, the only person at fault here is Sunset Shimmer. She was behind this offense. Not you or anypony else."

Comet Frost felt he would be a fool to continue arguing this point. After all, there was some irrefutable logic in Cadance's speech. Aside from that, he knew better than to directly contradict a princess. So he decided to let the matter go. At the very least, he no longer felt as guilty as he did before this discussion began.

After the mares ate, they spent a few more hours grouped around the mirror. By then, Comet Frost could tell that they were tired. So he had eight portable beds rolled into the room. That way, the mares were able to get their rest without leaving the room.

This was the bulk of Comet Frost's schedule for the following two days. He made attending to the princesses and the five mares from Ponyville his first and only directive. Some might have referred to it as uneventful or tedious, or even somewhat boring. He did not think so. He was just glad he was able to contribute to the mares' well-being.

He was rather surprised that Shining Armor never stopped by. Especially considering the fact that it was his sister in the portal, and his wife was one of the eight mares waiting on her. He just assumed the Captain had his own reasons for not showing.

On the night of the third day, Twilight Sparkle returned with Spike and her crown. She appeared to be tired, but she had succeeded. Not a moment too soon; the portal sealed itself up just as she got back to Equestria. Her friends and the other princesses happily welcomed her home.

Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Spike, and Cadance all followed Twilight back to her room. On the way, she accidentally ran into Flash Sentry again.

The orange stallion just smiled, helped her up, and stated casually "We've got to stop bumping into each other like this."

Twilight just blushed a deep red when he said this. Once she was on her feet, Flash Sentry sauntered away from the scene without another word.

Comet Frost had seen the whole thing. When Flash Sentry reached him, he remarked cheekily "Smooth move, Flash."

The Pegasus turned to the Unicorn and asked in perplexity "What do you mean, Comet?"

"You've only encountered the Boss's sister twice, and now she seems borderline smitten with you," Comet Frost clarified.

"I wouldn't say she's that interested," Flash Sentry refuted, "Give me some credit. At least it wasn't the Boss's wife. That's more than I can say about a certain superior officer of mine."

This time it was Comet Frost's turn to be confused. He raised an eyebrow and enquired "What in Tartarus are you talking about?"

Before the younger stallion had a chance to respond, they were approached by Princess Cadance. The pink Alicorn stepped up to the aqua stallion and said "Excuse me, Commander Frost."

"Yes, Your Highness?" he acknowledged.

She smiled at him and declared "I just wanted to tell you how appreciative I am for everything you did these past three days. Thank you for keeping us company, and for looking out for us. You are a very praiseworthy and honorable stallion."

Comet Frost did not know what to say to this. But he did not need words to prove that he understood. Cadance bid him and Flash Sentry good night and went to find her husband.

Once she was gone, Flash Sentry remarked "You see what I mean? You were with Princess Twilight's friends and the other princesses for almost all of the last three days. You stood by them when nopony else would. They'll remember that. Especially Princess Cadance."

Comet Frost could not deny it; Flash Sentry was correct. It was then that he realized he had finally succeeded in presenting himself to Princess Cadance. He had left her with a positive first impression of him. The most remarkable and fascinating part was that at the time, he had not even been concerned about making a good first impression.

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After the incident with Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle's summit did not witness any more setbacks. All the same, the Royal Guard made certain to keep tight security in the palace throughout the rest of the week. As an extra precaution, Comet Frost posted two of their most vigilant units outside the room with the mirror.

While very little had been accomplished in the summit's first three days, the achievements of the last four days made up for that lost time. The four princesses spent much of that time discussing politics, economics, and social order in the meeting chambers. They gave several speeches to the public; some of them individually, some of them as a group. They arranged an outline for some of the events of the upcoming Equestria Games.

Shining Armor handled overseeing the princesses' protection. He assigned Plainview, Comet Frost, and Flash Sentry to continue monitoring the security of the palace. The three officers were kept very busy with this task, and although it may have seemed somewhat monotonous, they managed to have a little excitement.

The last event of the summit was a type of social gathering. That evening, the palace doors were opened to the public, and the residents of the Crystal Empire were invited to come inside the magnificent building. Nearly everypony in town accepted this invitation, believing that they would be in for a wonderful night.

Sure enough, they were. The gathering was regarded as the Crystal Empire's equivalent of the Grand Galloping Gala. Twilight Sparkle's friends Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie organized the whole thing. They treated the guests to a night of excellent refreshments, elegant fashion, exquisite sightseeing, enthralling competitions, and exciting merriment.

However, not everypony who attended the celebration was entirely pleased. The officers of the Royal Guard just viewed the gathering as an addition to their work schedule. With the vastly increased population and level of activity, the Royal Guard were given a difficult directive. They had to maintain the palace's security without getting in the way of the festivities.

Comet Frost was posted as the entrance hall. He greeted everypony who entered the foundation and redirected them to wherever they wished to go. It may have seemed like an uneventful duty, but he did not protest. He actually met numerous interesting characters that evening.

At one point, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor stopped by. Initially, he assumed that they were there because they were expecting somepony important to arrive soon. As it turned out, they were there to see somepony, but this pony had already arrived. They had come to speak to Comet Frost himself.

The aqua stallion was perplexed as to why his Captain and his Captain's wife would want to see him. He quickly discovered that they were there to commend him for all he had done in the past week. Shining Armor was particularly appreciative of how Comet Frost had looked after his wife, Celestia, Luna, and Twilight's five friends for the first three days.

Comet Frost was a fairly modest stallion, but he made it clear that he was grateful for the recognition Shining Armor and Cadence gave him. To him, it was an honor to be commended by both of them. Not only because that was a surefire sign that he was doing his job right, but also because he now had assurances that both his boss and his employer approved of him.

By the time the Sun was in the sky the following morning, all the guests had left the palace. After cleaning the place up, Princess Twilight and her friends went back to Ponyville, and Princess Luna and Princess Celestia went back to Canterlot. Now the only members of the Equestrian Royalty left were Cadence and Shining Armor.

The additional safety measures were quickly disbanded, and the palace was returned to its usual level of security. Everyday life was pretty much the same as before the summit. The only major difference was that Comet Frost's self-confidence in his ability and his image was now significantly greater than before.

In the weeks that followed, nothing out of the ordinary occurred in the Crystal Empire. The empire's popularity as a vacation spot and a habitation gradually increased. It saw a constant rise in tourism and emigration. The town started expanding in size. More and more ponies came to admire the city for its beauty and hospitality.

Comet Frost continued to carry out his duties as the third-in-command of the Crystal Empire's Royal Guard. He scheduled combat drills. He drafted training programs. He reviewed personnel files. He broke in the new recruits. He also spent a significant percentage of his leisure time with his fellow officers.

At the time of Twilight's summit, he had been in the Crystal Empire for three months. By the time that extended to four months, Comet Frost had gained the respect of most of his colleagues. He had also gained the attention of the very person he was there to protect.

Comet Frost could tell that Princess Cadence was a little fond of him. Every time they encountered each other, he greeted her, and she greeted him in return. She always seemed genuinely pleased to see him whenever she bade him good day.

Comet Frost was not the only recipient of Cadence's warmth.

Somehow, Comet Frost came across Princess Cadence much more often than he did before the summit. More often than not, it was just pure coincidence that they were in the same place at the same time. Whenever he encountered her, Cadence was typically speaking with a member of her council or one of her consultants. Sometimes the other person was expressing serious concern or anxiety over a certain issue. Cadence never reciprocated these feelings of worry. She remained patient, assured them that the situation could be resolved, and offered a suitable solution to it.

The aqua stallion could see why Cadence was regarded as the Princess of love. She treated everypony she knew with tremendous affection and care. He had to admire the pink Alicorn for her compassionate persona.

A few days before the Summer Sun Celebration, Comet Frost was summoned to the meeting chambers. When he arrived there, he found that Shining Armor and Cadence were waiting on him.

"Good day, Commander," Cadence welcomed him.

"Hello, Your Highness," he said in response. As he approached the table, he turned to his commanding officer and saluted him, saying "Hello, Captain."

Shining Armor nodded in acknowledgment and stated "At ease, Comet. Take a seat."

Comet Frost lowered his front hoof and sat down at the table. Once the white Unicorn and the pink Alicorn took their seats, he remarked "So, how may my services be of use?"

"As you know, the Summer Sun Celebration will be in less than a week," Shining Armor began, "We were informed just this morning that the official ceremony will be in Canterlot this year. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight Sparkle will all be presiding. Princess Cadence and I have decided to go to the capital city on that day, as well."

"That way, the whole of the Equestrian Royalty will be present," Cadence added.

"I would have expected as much," Comet Frost perceived, "I can comprehend why you'd want to attend the Celebration. But I hope you do not plan to travel to Canterlot by yourselves."

"We don't," Shining Armor assured him, "My wife and I are going to have a group of the Royal Guard accompany us there. The members of this group will be specially selected by a high-ranking officer."

"That is why you are here, Commander," Cadence pronounced.

Comet Frost raised an eyebrow and proclaimed "I'm afraid I do not quite understand."

"At the ceremony, my husband will be presenting himself as 'Prince Shining Armor' rather than 'Captain Shining Armor,'" Cadence expounded, "Because of that, we do not think it would be appropriate if he was the one who put together our security detail."

"So another officer will be given that assignment," Shining Armor declared, "We both believe you are the most qualified person for that."

Comet Frost now fully realized what the Captain and the Princess were asking of him. After a moment of silence, he stated "With all due respect, what about Commander Plainview? He outranks me, so wouldn't he be the more ideal choice?"

"We've already spoken with Commander Plainview," Shining Armor apprised him, "In our absence, he will remain in the Crystal Empire to oversee and maintain its security. Whoever puts together our group will be supervising it, too. Naturally, we couldn't expect Commander Plainview to be in two places at once."

Comet Frost could not deny that his commanding office made a good point. After all, Commander Plainview had been in the Crystal Empire for at least two months longer than he had. He knew the palace and the city even better than the aqua stallion. It would make sense if he was appointed as its temporary guardian while Cadence and Shining Armor were away.

"In addition to that, Commander Plainview is not as close to the other guards as you are," Cadence debated, "I've seen how you interact with your subordinates. The majority of them seem to enjoy your company. You know what they are like both on-duty and off-duty. So for you, it should be relatively simple to pick the most eligible units for the security group."

Comet Frost thought about this for about ten seconds. Then he uttered solemnly "Your faith in my ability is very well-founded. I shall prove it as such. How many people would you like to have in this group?"

"Half a dozen would suffice," Shining Armor replied, "That doesn't including you, so altogether we would have seven. We will leave the selecting of the other six up to you."

Comet Frost nodded his head in acknowledgement and stated "Very well. You can rely on me to assemble the rest of the group."

"Thank you, Commander," Cadence said appreciatively, "You are dismissed."

Comet Frost rose from his seat, bowed in respect, and departed from the meeting chambers.

He decided to go ahead and start straightaway on putting together the security team. He could imagine it would not be a quick task. After all, there were literally scores of the Royal Guard in the Crystal Empire. While Comet Frost was acquainted with most of them, there were many that had sufficient merits to apply for a position on the team.

When Comet Frost got to his office, he dug out the personnel profiles for all of his colleagues. He quickly went to work examining them. He conducted the process of selecting the six units based on a variety of factors. These criteria included their field experience, their service records, the degree of their allegiance, and more.

After several hours of reviewing the profiles, Comet Frost managed to narrow down the six most qualified guards. Two were Earth Ponies, two were Unicorns, and two were Pegasi. Three of them were crystal ponies; the other three originated from another city in Equestria.

The crystal Earth Pony was a stallion named Wary Spot. He was one of the most attentive members of the Royal Guard. Even the stealthiest spies could not evade his notice.

The crystal Unicorn was a stallion named Charm Pitch. He had a substantial aptitude for defensive and invasive spells. Every time he had to enter a conflict, he always took down his opponents with a few bursts of magic from his horn.

The crystal Pegasus was a stallion named Rapid Zephyr. He was perhaps the speediest and most elusive flyer in the entire Crystal Empire. Whenever a hostile attempted to escape, he always caught them before they could get away.

The normal Earth Pony was a stallion named Sweat Breaker. He was amongst the largest and strongest stallions in the force. He was known to neutralize most of his opponents with a single punch.

The normal Unicorn was a stallion named Brusque Rush. He was a professional at organizing tactics and strategies for campaigns. His fellow officers could rely on him to determine the best course of action in any scenario.

The normal Pegasus was Flash Sentry. Comet Frost had selected him for quite a few reasons. Despite his rank and authority, he had a very likable personality. He treated his associates with thoughtfulness and sympathy. If the situation called for it, he was still willing to resort to fiercer means to protect those he cared about. There was nopony else in the force that Comet Frost preferred to be around more.

The next day, Comet Frost met with these officers and debriefed them on their new mission. All six of them accepted the terms of the assignment without hesitation, and they assured their superior officer that they would be ready by the time Princess Cadence and Shining Armor were ready to leave.

The subsequent days were spent preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration. Because the Crystal Empire had disappeared before Princess Celestia banished Princess Luna to the moon, the city's inhabitants had never actually observed the Summer Sun Celebration. This marked the first year that they would partake in the holiday with the rest of the nation. Needless to say, they were looking forward to it.

Comet Frost made certain that all six of his men made all the necessary arrangements before they left for Canterlot. They would be getting to Canterlot by means of a fortified crystal train. It had been built especially for Cadence and Shining Armor. After it was manufactured and inspected, Comet Frost worked out the posts for the other guards.

Everything regarding the events leading up to the Summer Sun Celebration went according to plan. It was not until the day of the Celebration itself that something unexpected happened.

Although the summer solstice was the longest day of the year, the Sun was not scheduled to rise until six o'clock. However, the Sun was up at exactly midnight. Its early arrival was not even the most jarring factor. The most disturbing part was that the Moon had not been lowered. Now both the Sun and the Moon were side-by-side in the sky.

This was just the first of the many strange events that happened that day. The Crystal Empire soon received word from Canterlot that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had disappeared. Shortly after, they heard news that Ponyville was being invaded. Somehow, a cluster of enormous, malignant weeds had sprouted from the Everfree Forest. They were attacking the citizens of Ponyville. The clouds over the city had become dark, spike-encrusted, and hostile.

So far, Ponyville was the only town that had been struck by these forces. But there was reason to believe that the weeds were expanding. They reaching out in all directions, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. It seemed the weeds would not relent until they covered every last inch of space in Equestria.

When this theory became public knowledge, the other settlements went into a frenzy. Many people thought about stocking up on provisions and barricading themselves inside their house. Some other people wanted to consider evacuating the cities and relocating to a safe haven.

For some reason, the weeds were expanding the most slowly towards the north. This was good luck for the Crystal Empire, as it was located in northern Equestria.

However, the Empire was in just as much danger as the rest of the country. In anticipation of a possible incursion, the Royal Guard wanted to be prepared to counter any potential threats.

Shining Armor quickly brought together his highest-ranking officers in the meeting chambers. He informed them that he planned to take half of the Royal Guard to southern border of the Empire and establish a blockade. He ordered Commander Plainview to join them.

Comet Frost and Flash Sentry were instructed to take charge of the other half of the Royal Guard and use them to uphold the security of the palace. Once everypony had their orders, Shining Armor dismissed them and urged them to their posts.

An hour later, Shining Armor, Plainview, and a hundred of the Royal Guard made their way to the southern border to form a blockade. Comet Frost and Flash Sentry spent that time handing out orders to another hundred of the Royal Guard.

In the end, there were only five officers were not assigned to the blockade or the palace. These five were Wary Spot, Charm Pitch, Rapid Zephyr, Sweat Breaker, and Brusque Rush. Comet Frost had pulled them aside. Initially, he did not give them a reason why, but they got one once all their colleagues were gone.

Comet Frost explained that the seven of them would protect Princess Cadence during this ordeal. He commanded Flash Sentry and the five officers to come with him to the throne room. When they arrived there, they found Princess Cadence alone. She was seated at her throne.

When the seven stallions entered the room, the pink Alicorn rose from her throne and trotted over to them. She asked in anxiety "Have you heard anything new from Canterlot?"

"I'm afraid not, Your Highness," Flash Sentry apprised her, "But Captain Shining Armor is taking some precautions in case that threat ever reaches the Empire."

"Our main objective right now is to ensure your safety," Comet Frost declared.

The aqua stallion then distributed orders to his colleagues: "Wary, keep watch on the balcony. If you see even the slightest abnormality in the distance, report it immediately. Charm, cast every fortification spell you know on this room. I want to make it impenetrable, in case we have to barricade ourselves in it. Rapid, circle around the palace and look out for any vulnerabilities and hazards that could compromise the palace's security. If anypony tries to break in, arrest them. Sweat, wait outside the door to the throne room. Do not let anypony in here without authorization. Brusque, devise a few contingency plans. In the event that we have to evacuate the throne room, we'll need some backup strategies at the ready. Flash, stay here with me. The two of us will guard the Princess."

The six stallions acknowledged these commands and proceeded to carry them out. Wary Spot and Rapid Zephyr left through the door to the balcony. Sweat Breaker stepped outside the front entrance to the throne room. Brusque Rush stood off to the side and used some parchment, a quill, and ink to outline several plans to counter the impending danger. Charm Pitch scurried around the room and cast various spells along the walls, ceiling, and floor.

Flash Sentry and Comet Frost were the only ones who stayed with Princess Cadence. They planned to remain by her side until the threat posed by the Everfree Forest had been eliminated.

For a while, the three of them stood in silence at the center of the room. They simply watched as Charm Pitch rushed around the room and as Brusque Rush drafted more plans. Then they made their way to the end of the room. Cadence sat down at her throne. Flash Sentry stood to her left; Comet Frost stood to her right.

After a brief interval of silence, the pink Alicorn looked around at the orange Pegasus and the aqua Unicorn and asked them "Do you know the whereabouts of my husband?"

"He and Commander Plainview took a hundred of the Royal Guard to the Empire's southern border," Flash Sentry enlightened her.

"What are they doing down there?" Cadence inquired in intrigue

"They're forming a blockade," Comet Frost illuminated, "Captain Armor is concerned that those dangers from Everfree Forest may end up covering the rest of Equestria. He's preparing us for an invasion."

Cadence appeared somewhat stunned to hear this. She remarked in perplexity "Invasion? That's the last thing we should be worried about."

"The Captain does not believe so, Your Highness," Flash Sentry politely rejoined, "He has established that our first priority should be to ensure the Crystal Empire's well-being. He believes the best way to do that is to anticipate the worst."

"My husband is n fine officer, but even he can be wrong sometimes," Cadence professed, "We should be more focused on protecting the city, not its outskirts."

"The Captain realizes that," Comet Frost disclosed, "That is why he only took half our forces. The other half are here to guard the city."

"Dividing up our forces like that is a huge mistake," Cadence debated, "A kingdom cannot survive unless its people stay together. Especially in a time of crisis."

"We ARE together, Your Highness," Comet Frost declared, "You must understand that those dangers we mentioned are like a sickness. The sickness is spreading throughout the land. It has already claimed Ponyville, and it is expected to hit Canterlot soon. It is only a matter of time before it reaches the Crystal Empire as well. Whenever it does get here, we cannot be caught unawares."

"Hold on a moment," Flash Sentry interceded, "If the capital city falls, who's to say we would be any safer here, anyway?"

"This city survived an annexation by an ironfisted tyrant," Princess Cadence reminded them, "Even when he took the form of an abstract entity, we were able to push him back. If King Sombra couldn't subjugate us, we can easily hold off against a few giant, carnivorous weeds, too."

"I hope you're right," Comet Frost remarked, "But at least with Sombra, we knew what we were up against. There is no telling the full extent of what those weeds could be capable of."

"Whatever the perils, I'm confident that we can deal with them," Cadence avowed, "At any rate, we have more pressing matters to worry about."

"Like what, Your Highness?" queried Flash Sentry.

"For starters, the disappearance of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Cadence explicated, "The entire Canterlot division of the Royal Guard cannot account for when or how they went missing. They simply vanished very suddenly and without anypony noticing. There must be some explanation for that, yet we're not doing a thing to find one."

"That is not entirely true," Comet Frost steadily apprised her, "We've been notified that Princess Twilight and her companions are looking in to the affair. She believes they have found a lead somewhere in Ponyville."

"Ponyville?" Cadence repeated in surprise, "They're there now?"

"Not as of half-hour ago," Flash Sentry disclosed, "We were informed that they went to investigate this lead in the Everfree Forest."

Cadence was shocked to hear this bit of information. She queried in concern "They went into the Forest itself? They went into the very source of all this danger?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Comet Frost affirmed, "You should know that they also went in there without backup."

Once more, Cadence was stunned. She got up from her throne, frowned in dissatisfaction, and declared "That is completely unacceptable."

Immediately after she said this, she descended the short staircase in front of her throne and started trotting towards the entrance to the throne room. Comet Frost and Flash Sentry quickly followed her. On the way, the latter inquired "Where are you going, Your Highness?"

"I'm leaving for Ponyville," she expounded.

Now it was the stallions' turn to be astonished. Comet Frost walked alongside the princess and stated "Why would you possibly wish to travel there of all places? And at a time like this?"

"I know Twilight Sparkle very well," Cadence elucidated, "In a way, I helped raise her. She is very intelligent and very meticulous. If she claims she has found a lead, then I believe she is on to something. However, she also has a habit of being overconfident and unwilling to rely on the aid of others. She may be willing to accept my assistance if I offer it."

"If you do not mind me asking, what exactly would you do to assist her, Your Highness?" Flash Sentry questioned.

"Specifically, I am not entirely sure," Cadence revealed, "But I'm certain I could find a way to help her and her friends with their investigation once I get there."

"Princess, I understand your wish to provide your assistance here," Comet Frost remarked, "However, I do not think I can guarantee your safety if you travelled to Ponyville."

"What about the safety of Princess Twilight and her friends?" Cadence countered, "For all we know, they may be walking into a death trap."

"I appreciate and sympathize with your concerns, Princess," Comet Frost assured her, "But it was their choice to go into the Everfree Forest. It was their choice to gamble with their lives. They would not have gone in there unless they deemed that risk worthy."

"He does have a point," Flash Sentry commented, "Aside from that, haven't Princess Twilight and her friends saved this country a hoofful of times already?"

"Yes, they have done so at least four times," Cadence confirmed, "I helped them get through two of those ordeals. I may be able to help them this time, too. But the only way I can do that is if I joined them."

"It may not be my place to say so, but I would not advocate that, Your Highness," Comet Frost interjected, "The danger you would be up against is unacceptable. Aside from that, didn't you make an argument only minutes ago about the importance of keeping the people of the Crystal Empire together?"

"Indeed I did," Cadence acknowledged, "The Empire is together right now. In the same way, the rulers of Equestria should function together, as well. Consider the whereabouts of Twilight and her friends. This is the Everfree Forest we're talking about. Anything could happen to them while they're in there."

"All the more reason why you must not go," Comet Frost countered, "We have already lost two of our leaders. The loss of a third would be devastating enough. But I shudder to think of what might happen if we lost all four of our leaders in the same day."

"I have no intention of doing anything so reckless, Commander," Cadence assured him, "However, I do intend to sit by and do nothing while my sister-in-law is out there doing all the work. She will need all the support she can get, and I plan to lend it to her."

Cadence seemed determine to end this conversation. She started making her way back to the entrance of the throne room. Before she was even halfway there, Comet Frost stepped in front of her and stated firmly "Your Highness, if I sound impertinent, then I beseech your pardon. But I cannot allow you to put yourself in harm's way like that."

Cadence was quite alarmed to hear such a resolved statement come out of Comet Frost's mouth. Flash Sentry, Brusque Rush, and Charm Pitch were surprised, as well. The three Royal Guards stared at their superior officer as if he was going insane.

After some uncomfortable silence, Cadence grimaced at the aqua stallion and conjectured "Are you saying that if I attempt to leave the Crystal Empire, you will actually physically stop me?"

"I would never do that, Your Highness," he reassured her, "But you tasked me with heading up your security detail. I cannot do that job unless I do what I deem necessary to ascertain your safety. As of right now, that's my number one goal."

"I thought you told me that looking after the Empire was your foremost responsibility," Cadence recalled.

"No, Captain Shining Armor believes the Empire's well-being is top priority," Comet Frost clarified, "I, on the other hoof, believe that YOUR well-being is more important than anything. In the time since you've been here, Your Highness, you've provided hope and faith to a people who were deprived of those qualities for over a millennium. You've given life back to the Crystal Empire. Currently, you're the only member of the Equestrian Royalty who is not in imminent danger. It would be a travesty of monumental proportions if anything were to happen to you. I know very well that you are under no obligation whatsoever to take orders from me or anypony else. But I urge you to hear me out. Please, stay here. Stay where you are truly needed. I beg of you."

The following three minutes were spent in total silence. Although he was a patient stallion, Comet Frost felt as though he could not wait for Cadence to reply. She seemed to be deliberating on whether she would listen to Comet Frost's advice or write him up for insubordination. Flash Sentry, Charm Pitch, and Brusque Rush were just as eager to hear their princess's response.

Ultimately, Cadence just sighed in amazement, looked the aqua stallion in the eyes, and stated cheekily "You have quite a way with words, Commander."

"Uh… thank you, Your Highness," Comet Frost stated in ambiguity, "Assuming that that's meant to be a compliment."

"It is," Cadence informed him, "As per your suggestion, I will stay here in the Crystal Empire. But if we get any news updates from Ponyville or Canterlot, please have them brought directly to me."

"It will be done, Your Majesty," Comet Frost guaranteed her. He turned to the orange stallion and instructed him "Flash, swing by the relay room. See if anything new has shown up on the bulletin."

"You got it," Flash Sentry said in compliance. He made his way to the entrance of the throne room and headed out into the corridors.

Brusque Rush and Charm Pitch went back to work. Comet Frost and Cadence were left on their own for a while.

Eventually, Comet Frost looked to his leader and addressed her with "Your Highness?"

"Yes?" she responded.

"I apologize if I appeared to be challenging your authority," he told her sincerely, "It's just that… well…"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Commander," Cadence assured him, "I actually admire an officer who is not afraid to voice his own opinion. That's the sign of a stallion who can think for himself and for others."

He smiled and told her "Well, then I thank you, again."

She smiled back and stated "You are very welcome."

The next few hours were spent waiting endlessly for something to happen. Every now and then, Flash Sentry stopped by the relay room to look for more news from Ponyville or Canterlot. Cadence and Comet Frost were hoping he would return with something, but he kept coming back empty-hoofed.

At one point, he actually did return with something. It was a communique from Ponyville saying that the threat posed by the Everfree Forest had been neutralized. In addition to that, Princess Luna and Princess Celestia had been rescued. Best of all, Princess Twilight and her friends were totally alright.

When this joyous news reached the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor quickly lowered the alert level and disbanded the blockade. When he returned to the palace, his wife welcomed him back with open front legs. He congratulated Comet Frost, Flash Sentry, and the other guards on how well that had kept the palace safe.

Now that Equestria was no longer in any danger, the Summer Sun Celebration was back on schedule. Commander Plainview was given provisional command of the Crystal Empire. While he oversaw everything that went on there, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor travelled to Canterlot, just like they planned. They were accompanied by Comet Frost, Flash Sentry, Wary Spot, Charm Pitch, Rapid Zephyr, Sweat Breaker, and Brusque Rush, just like they planned. They arrived a few minutes late, just like they planned. Except not really.

The Celebration itself was magnificent. Flash Sentry almost had another accidental run-in with Twilight Sparkle, but they just missed each other.

Comet Frost still remained by Princess Cadence's side. He planned to remain there until they were back at the Empire. He was willing to stay by her for as long as he needed to be.

Little did he suspect that he would be by her side for a very, very long time. And after a certain amount of time, he would not just be standing there as her bodyguard.

Worthy Of Trust

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The Summer Sun Celebration only lasted for a single day, but Cadence and Shining Armor stayed in Canterlot for much longer. They wanted a chance to mingle with the other members of the Equestrian Royalty, and the Celebration provided the perfect opportunity for that.

While the couple was in Canterlot, Comet Frost and the rest of the security detail stayed close to them. They were there to ensure their well-being and protect them.

That's not to say the seven stallions were working the entire time they were there. They had time to interact with the locals when they were off-duty.

Wary Spot, Charm Pitch, and Rapid Zephyr had never been outside the Crystal Empire. They were intrigued to be in a town with a predominantly non-Crystal populace. Sweat Breaker and Brusque Rush introduced them to many of their colleagues at the castle.

On one occasion, Flash Sentry ran into Twilight Sparkle once again. Fortunately, this time she did not physically bump into him. It also happened when he was off-duty. Because of that, the lavender mare and the orange stallion had a chance to do more than just acknowledge each other. This time, they were able to exchange words as well.

Comet Frost did not protest Flash Sentry's openness with Twilight Sparkle, but he did give him a friendly warning about fraternizing with her. Luckily, Flash Sentry knew better than to cross that line.

Of course, some would say that Comet Frost was one to talk. While in Canterlot, he spent most of his time with Cadence and Shining Armor. That included the majority of his leisure time. This was not because he had a poor social life or that he was a workaholic. He was a very popular stallion, and he valued his time off just as much as anypony else. In actuality, he stayed by Cadence and Shining Armor because he greatly enjoyed their presence. They seemed to appreciate his company as well. Although Shining Armor and Cadence were his boss and his employer respectively, there were times when they seemed to regard Comet Frost as a friend.

In addition to that, the aqua stallion could not help but admire Cadence and Shining Armor when they were together. Comet Frost had never really been a romantic type, but he liked watching how couples interacted. The affection they had for each other was abundantly evident. After all, a little more than a year ago, their love had saved Canterlot from a Changeling invasion. Nowadays, their bond was just as strong.

Or so it seemed.

Four days after the Summer Sun Celebration, Cadence, Shining Armor, and their security detail returned to the Crystal Empire. Once they got back, Shining quickly dropped his role as "Prince Shining Armor" and went back to "Captain Shining Armor." After donning his uniform, he resumed his duties as the commanding officer of the Crystal Empire's Royal Guard.

As the commanding officer, it was no surprise that most of Shining Armor's duties tended to be particularly time-consuming and strenuous. They were rather broad, as well. They ranged from conducting reconnaissance on the city limits to approving the new trainees to organizing work shift time tables. One could say Shining Armor did more work than anypony else in the Empire.

That was truly saying something, as there was no shortage of work in the Crystal Empire. A thousand years of isolation had rendered the town in need of modernization. Ponies from various cities in Equestria had come seeking jobs to improve and remodel the place. In the year since its return, the Empire was pretty much up to date on the customs and cultures of present-day Equestria.

Since the Crystal Empire had been selected to host the Equestria Games this year, the townsfolk anticipated that they would be even busier than the previous year. The stadium next to the palace was built to accommodate tens of thousands of ponies. Given the popularity of the Equestria Games, it was logical to assume that every single seat in the building would be occupied at the event.

Cadence and Shining Armor consulted their advisors on how to prepare for the arrival of tens of thousands of ponies. The overall conclusion the Council reached was that there would be further need for expansion in the Crystal Empire. They would need more hotels, more department stores, more restaurants, etc. In their mind, tourism was always good for the Crystal Empire, but the numbers they forecasted for the Games vastly overshadowed the town's current population. They had to be ready to receive everypony who came to them. The Council advocated getting started on this project straightaway.

Cadence and Shining Armor found this an ideal proposition. Shining Armor immediately busied himself with seeking out the necessary capital. He started by bringing together everypony that would be needed, such as construction workers and architects. He worked out a plan with them for expanding the Empire outwards, as well as building it up from within.

After the architects spend weeks debating and outlining their plans, the construction workers got to work. They were excellent builders, but they could only go so fast. Shining Armor assigned a group of Royal Guard to supervise the production of the buildings and ensure that everything was going along smoothly. It may have seemed like a strange job for the Royal Guard, but these were arrangements for the Equestria Games, and the Games were regarded as much a political event as a social event. Because of that, Shining Armor felt it appropriate that the Royal Guard monitor the progress of the work teams. He brought it upon himself to head them up.

Despite how busy he was, Shining Armor never appeared fatigued or aggravated. Like his younger sister, he was well-known for his ability to multitask and handle huge workloads in a limited amount of time. However, unlike his younger sister, he had a habit of neglecting to make time for those close to him. Including the mare he shared his bed with.

Princess Cadence did appreciate Shining Armor's vigor and devotion to his work. But all the same, sometimes she was inclined to wonder what he valued more: his time as a guard or his time as her husband. She could not bring herself to ask him, as she felt he already had enough on his mind at present.

At least before the Equestria Games were announced, Cadence was able to be with Shining Armor on a regular basis. But now that he was preoccupied with overseeing the preparations, his wife had no way of knowing when she would see him. If she was lucky, he would return to the palace in time for dinner. If he did not show up there, the best she could hope for was to see him when she went to bed.

As much as she disliked this new routine, there was very little she could do to change it. She had tried speaking to her husband about taking some time off, but he had refused to consider the idea. Shining Armor only trusted himself to get his own work done.

His wife tried to be understanding and patient with him, but before long, she started to feel somewhat resentful. She never told him about those feelings. She had no intention of telling anypony about them. And she never would have, had it not been for a certain aqua stallion.

One morning, Comet Frost visited the relay room. He always stopped by that room regularly to see if anything new had shown up on the bulletin. Most of the time, the news they received was just meant for the Royal Guard or Princess Cadence's Council. However, today's news was addressed to the Princess herself.

"Better swing by the throne room," Comet Frost muttered under his breath.

On his way to the throne room, Comet Frost briefly looked the document over. Its contents pertained to the Equestria Games. Upon his discovery, he lightly scoffed and muttered under his breath "Seems like the Equestria Games is the only thing anypony in this town can think about these days."

When he arrived at the throne room, Comet Frost found several of his fellow officers standing guard along the walls. However, Princess Cadence was not seated at her throne. Comet Frost inquired about her whereabouts to his colleagues, and they informed him that the pink Alicorn was outside on the balcony.

Comet Frost soon made his way to the other end of the throne room and stepped outside. Sure enough, Cadence was standing at the very end of the platform. She was leaning against the rail with her front hooves folded on top, and she was gazing downwards. She appeared to be focused on something that was happening on the ground below.

"Excuse me, Your Highness," Comet Frost politely called out.

The pink Alicorn looked over her shoulder to see who was there. When she realized it was the aqua stallion, she smiled and stated "Good morning, Commander Frost. What brings you here?"

"I have something to share with you," Comet Frost replied. He added in "I could just leave it here if you're preoccupied with something else."

"At the present, I'm not," she disclosed, turning towards the officer, "Come on over."

Comet Frost nodded and trotted over to the pink Alicorn. He held the document out to her, saying "This just popped up on the bulletin."

"What is it?" she asked as she took it in her hoof.

"An article about the Equestria Games," he answered her.

At that, Cadence frowned, sighed in annoyance, and commented "Why is it everypony is so focused on the Equestria Games these days?"

"I'm not going to lie; I was literally thinking the exact same thing on my way here, Your Highness," Comet Frost remarked, smirking.

"Then you and I are perhaps the only ones around who aren't completely obsessed with them," Cadence perceived.

Comet Frost noted that Cadence sounded very frustrated when she made that last statement. He inquired in concern "Does something trouble you, Your Highness?"

"No…" Cadence tentatively began. Then she sighed again and declared "Actually, yes, Commander."

"May I ask what?" he queried.

Cadence did not answer immediately. After a long pause, she looked up at the aqua stallion and told him "Are you certain you'd want to know, Commander? This isn't really your problem."

"If you are bothered by it, Your Highness, then it is my problem," Comet Frost pointed out, "My job is to look out for your well-being. Not just your physical well-being, but your emotional well-being as well. I'm willing to give you my assistance in any way I can."

Cadence lightly smiled again and said "I appreciate that, Commander. I suppose maybe you can help me."

"Very well," Comet Frost coincided, "What would you like me to do?"

"Right now, I'd just like you to listen," Cadence requested.

"Certainly," he stated, "You've got my undivided attention."

There was another brief pause, and then Cadence broke the silence by saying "In the past month, how often have you encountered my husband?"

Comet Frost thought through his memories of the last several weeks, and he tried to recall all the times he had seen Captain Shining Armor. Only now did he realize there were very few of them. He elucidated with "Not that many, Your Highness. Other than the weekly briefings on Sundays, I've only been in the same room or hallway as him about eight or nine times."

"Is that unusual?" Cadence asked him.

"Very unusual," Comet Frost affirmed, "On average, I meet with him at least twice a day, and no fewer than four times on Sundays. But over these past thirty days, including the briefings, I've only seen him twelve or thirteen times."

Cadence scoffed and stated sardonically "That's still more than the number of times I've seen him."

Comet Frost was surprised to hear this. "How often have you seen him, Your Highness?"

"About twice a week," Cadence illuminated, "Yesterday made three for this one. Altogether, I've seen him on ten different occasions in the past four weeks."

"That's rather strange," Comet Frost remarked, "And unfortunate. What's been keeping him away from you?"

"He has a previous engagement with an upcoming event," Cadence explicated, "I'd have thought you'd already be aware of that, Commander. Shining Armor must have mentioned that on one of the times you saw him."

"Well, he did say something about 'preparing the city for a temporary mass pony migration,'" Comet Frost recounted, "I just assumed he was referring to the Equestria Games."

"He was," Cadence disclosed, "Apparently, the Equestria Games are now his top priority. He's devoted a lot of his time and resources to overseeing the preparations."

"Really?" Comet Frost uttered in astonishment, "Peculiar. He told me and my fellow officers that he would just check in on the preparations a few times each day."

"That may have been his original plan," "But he must have decided that dropping by and asking for a progress report was not enough. He's literally spent almost every waking moment down there. I don't think I've ever seen him more determined to get something done perfectly."

"Well, I can understand why he'd want to supervise," Comet Frost thought aloud, "After all, the entire city is preoccupied with the expansion. With all that activity going on at the same time, the Royal Guard would need a high-ranking officer to coordinate them. However, there's no reason why it has to be Captain Armor. Commander Plainview or I could just as easily manage that. Maybe I could speak to him about giving the task to one of us for a while."

"I wouldn't advise that," Cadence informed him, "I actually did suggest that to him at dinner last night. But he flat-out refused to consider stepping down. A couple hours later when we went to bed, I tried to get him to change his mind again, but he declined again. In a much more eloquent manner, I might add."

"What do you mean 'eloquent?'" Comet Frost inquired.

"For one thing, he seemed very restless and irritated at the time," Cadence recalled, "When I tried to continue talking about it, he shot my idea down again. He even raised his voice to emphasize his disapproval."

"He actually yelled at you?" Comet Frost presumed in surprise.

"Yes, and that was what encouraged me to change the subject," Cadence explained, "He looked as though he was going to genuinely lose his temper if I didn't let the issue go. I don't think I've ever seen him like that."

"Neither have I," Comet Frost stated, "Later on, maybe I could talk to him about this subject. You never know; maybe he'll be willing to listen to somepony in uniform."

"A logical observation, Commander," Cadence professed, "But you probably shouldn't bother. If Shining Armor won't listen to his wife, I doubt he'd listen to anypony else. Even his most trusted coworkers."

"Oh… that's a fine point," Comet Frost acknowledged, "One I probably should have considered first. Boy, do I feel like a fool."

"You're not a fool," Cadence assured him, snickering, "What makes you think you are one?"

"The fact that I forgot that Captain Shining Armor doesn't always think like an officer," Comet Frost responded, "You see, family and work are equally important, but the Royal Guard are instructed to keep them separate. A lot of my fellow officers are able to make time for both, including Captain Armor."

"What about you?" Cadence questioned.

"No, I'm not one of them," Comet Frost expounded, "I've been in the force for so long that I've almost forgotten that there can be a link between family and work. In fact, there are only two things I truly believe in: my job and my friends."

Cadence was astounded to hear this. She stated in perplexity "Don't you have a family, Commander?"

"Yes…" the aqua stallion began uneasily, "But I haven't seen any of my relatives in a long time. I'm not exactly on good terms with them."

"Why not?" the pink Alicorn queried in interest.

Comet Frost hesitated for a minute. He did not like discussing his background with anypony. Not just because it disturbed him, but also because he did not wish to make anypony else feel disturbed. He worried that he would do just that by sharing certain memories of his foalhood.

Ultimately, he illuminated Princess Cadence with "It's a bit of an unpleasant matter. By 'a bit,' I mean 'a copious extent.' I don't think you'd really want to know about my life, Your Highness."

He had hoped that that would be enough to change the subject. But Cadence was not about to let the issue go that easily. She stepped forward, looked the Unicorn in the eye, and asked him "Does it really bother you that much?"

"Yes, it does," Comet Frost confirmed, "But it's not myself I'm worried about. I can stand reflecting on the memories. If I couldn't, I wouldn't be standing here. The one I'm really concerned for is you."

"Me?" Cadence repeated in confusion.

"Yes, I feel it would be inappropriate to discuss the early stages of my life with Royalty," Comet Frost clarified.

"Why do you say that?" Cadence enquired.

"For one thing, my past is full of dismal events," Comet Frost revealed, "Events I would regard as horrific, shameful, and even somewhat traumatizing. Aside from that, what really matters is that they're all in the past. As terrible as they were, I've moved on. I don't see any point in bringing them up to anypony else. If I did, I would probably just end up unsettling whoever I spoke to. The last thing I'd ever want to do is make you feel uncomfortable."

Cadence understood his reasoning, and she certainly appreciated it. All the same, she was still motivated by compassion and inquisitiveness to get a more direct answer out of Comet Frost. She informed him "If you're worried about unsettling me, then don't let that stop you, Commander. You should know I'm no stranger to shock. You can speak freely."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Your Highness," Comet Frost disclosed, "But this is my problem. There's no reason I should make it yours, too."

"Funny," Cadence commented, smirking lightly, "You told me that exact same thing a moment ago, remember?"

"Yes, I did," Comet Frost realized.

"So, I'll give you the same response you gave me," Cadence thought aloud, "I am willing to provide you the same type of console. After all, you convinced me that I could open up to you on my feelings for my husband. In the same way, you can open up to me about the past events of your life. Regardless of how dark they are."

Comet Frost was intrigued by Cadence's persistence. He inquired cheekily "Are you ordering me to reminisce on my life, Your Highness?"

"No," Cadence guaranteed him, chuckling a bit, "Not everything that comes out of my mouth is a command. I'm speaking to you as a friend."

"A friend?" Comet Frost asked in bewilderment.

"Yes," the pink Alicorn affirmed, "Right now, think of me as a friend, Comet."

That last word took the aqua stallion by surprise. Cadence had never addressed him by his first name. Come to think of it, he had never seen her address any of the Royal Guard informally. She must have been doing this to assure him that he could be frank with her. In his mind, she was making a very compelling case.

Eventually, Comet Frost inquired "Is there any particular reason why you're so interested in this?"

"You stayed with me during the incident with Sunset Shimmer," Cadence reminded him, "And you protected me from the Everfree Forest and my own rashness during the Summer Sun Celebration. You were there for me throughout two ordeals. Right now, other than my husband, there is nopony in this entire Empire that I trust more than you."

"I'm flattered to hear you say that, Your Highness," Comet Frost said appreciatively.

Cadence grinned and told him "Please, just call me Cadence."

Comet Frost was surprised by that statement. He asked skeptically "Are you certain that would be proper?"

Cadence just rolled her eyes and said in amusement "Yes, I'm quite certain. Stop being an officer for just ten minutes, Comet."

"Alright, as you wish," Comet Frost avowed, smirking widely, "I don't think I could cover the long version of the story of my life in ten minutes, though."

"Then just give me the short version," Cadence proposed, "That or stay with me for a longer period of time."

"It would probably be best if I went with the first option," Comet Frost decided, "I have to get to the arsenal in a half-hour. The quartermaster believes that some of the weapons have been lifted without authorization, so he asked me to go over the inventory with him to see if anything is missing."

"Very well," Cadence coincided, "You can see to that later. For now, I'd like you to stay here and tell me about yourself."

"Then I shall, Your High- er, Cadence," Comet Frost uttered in compliance.

As Princess Cadence laughed as his mistake, the Royal Guard officer could not help but chuckle as well. Then he said somewhat apologetically "Sorry, that'll take some getting used to."

"No worries," she assured him, "When Shining first started courting me, he felt just as awkward when we started going on a first-name basis."

Comet Frost chuckled and said "That sounds like him. On-duty, he's all about formality. Off-duty, he's as candid as Flash Sentry."

"Yeah, that's definitely him," Cadence confirmed, "But we're not talking about him or me. Let's talk about you."

Comet Frost nodded in acceptance and said "Alright, then. But please promise me one thing."

"What?" she asked in interest.

"If I start to get too graphic or too depressing, feel free to ask me to stop," Comet Frost stated, "I won't be offended or anything. Just say the word and I'll end the discussion."

"Okay, you got it," Cadence remarked.

There was another long period of silence. Comet Frost contemplated how to start the recollection of his foalhood. Ultimately, he figured that he may as well pick up at the very beginning. He was still somewhat skeptical about revealing everything to Princess Cadence, but he was convinced that she was willing to listen to whatever he had to say. After all, he now had the privilege of being on a first-name basis with her. No other member of the Royal Guard could make that claim. Except her husband.

Haunting Memories

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Comet Frost did regard himself as much of a storyteller. Not that he did not have a vivid imagination. He simply preferred listening over speaking. Aside from that, he had never been especially interested in fairy tales or other works of fictions. He preferred to talk about real things that had taken place in real life. For that reason, he felt he would not have any circumstantial problem discussing his backstory with Princess Cadence.

However, he was a little uncertain about how to start, as he had never discussed his foalhood with another pony. He was hoping to start out soft and gradually transition into the darker parts. Comet Frost rubbed his chin and muttered quietly "Now, where should I begin?"

"The very beginning, of course," Princess Cadence wittily replied.

"Of course," the aqua stallion commented, scoffing lightly.

The pink Alicorn suggested "Start by telling me about your early years."

"Very well," he coincided, "I was born to a middle-class family in Fillydelphia. My father was an insurance sales representative, and my mother was an attorney. I was the eldest child. My brother was born when I was two, and my sister was born when I was four. But you probably already know about them."

"Actually, I do," Cadence informed him, "I read your personnel profile the day you transferred here. It contained a list of your immediate family."

"I figured as much," Comet Frost remarked, "There was once a time when I deeply cared for every pony on that list, and they cared for me in return. Nowadays, they're about as close to me as the people I protect you from."

"How did that happen?" Princess Cadence asked in perplexity.

"It was the result of a long and complex chain of events," Comet Frost elucidated. He looked off to the side and paused for a moment. Then he stated "It all started when I was a colt. Back then, I was a much different pony. I was never as outgoing or as popular as I am now. During elementary and middle school, I was something of an outcast to my fellow students."

"Why is that?" Cadence enquired.

"The main reason was this," Comet Frost enlightened her, gesturing to his eyes, "Where I come from, people are fond of pointing out the flaws of other people. Most of the time, they do it for fun or to promote their self-esteem. Foals tend to be the most relentless and unsympathetic. So as you can imagine, having mismatched irises made me an easy target as an object of ridicule. From my first day of school onward, my peers would routinely pester me about them."

Cadence seemed somewhat concerned by the implications of that last statement. She queried "Were any of things they did particularly hurtful?"

"Oh my, yes," Comet Frost candidly admitted, "I was a lot more sensitive back then, and much more insecure. My classmates could be rather creative with their insults. For instance, several suggested painting over one of my pupils so it would match the other, and one of them actually tried to do it. If our art teacher hadn't been so attentive, he probably would have succeeded. But that was one of the least harmful pranks my classmates pulled. More often than not, by the end of the day, I would be reduced to tears."

Cadence frowned in sadness and stated assuredly "Oh, I'm… I'm so sorry to hear that, Comet. I had no idea your foalhood was so difficult."

"I appreciate that, Your Highness," Comet Frost told her.

"Cadence," she corrected him.

He chuckled and nodded his head lightly "Right, Cadence. Thank you for saying that. But you don't need to feel sorry for me. I'm considerably more assertive and spirited now than when I was a foal. These days, I don't let insults, accusations, taunts, or anything of the sort bother me. I don't take that nonsense from anypony. Except Commander Plainview and your husband, that is. But that's different."

"I should say so," Cadence concurred, "My husband would never mistreat people like that. Aside from that, there is no excuse for how you were bullied. It's absolutely appalling that you were harassed simply because your eyes are not the same color. Your peers should have known that that was out of your control."

"I understand what you're saying," Comet Frost disclosed, "Back then, I couldn't comprehend why everypony saw the need to badger me for something I couldn't help. I mean, it was not my own fault that I was born with a red eye and a blue eye. I tried to explain that to my classmates, but my attempt to reason with them was wasted."

"Didn't any of your teachers try to intervene?" Cadence conjectured.

"Yes, but they didn't have much luck," Comet Frost responded, "I went to a very large school with a relatively small staff. The zero-tolerance policy wasn't enforced very strongly there. It was surprisingly easy to break the rules and get away with it. And, of course, I wasn't the only one with problems. The teachers couldn't afford to give me special treatment when they had hundreds of other fillies and colts to supervise and educate."

"That does make some sense," Cadence perceived, "But what about your parents? Didn't they do anything?"

"They never even knew," Comet Frost bluntly remarked.

Cadence was surprised to hear this response. She raised an eyebrow and said in bewilderment "They didn't?"

"No, they were essentially in the dark," he confirmed, "But not for the reason you may think. It wasn't as though my parents didn't care about my emotional well-being or that my teachers weren't concerned. This time, it was my doing. I kept my classmates' abuse towards me a secret from my mother and father. I went to great length to ensure that they never found out."

This time, Cadence was stunned and a little confused. She muttered "What would have possibly motivated you to do that?"

"I didn't want them to worry," he told her simply.

"They were your parents," she pointed out, "It was their job to worry,"

"I know, but there's more to it than that," Comet Frost explicated, "Despite the relentless maltreatment I received at school, I managed to put up with it. You see, regardless of how bad things got, there was still something that got me through the day. That was the thought in the back of my mind that once the final bell rang, I would be going home to my parents and siblings, who loved and accepted me as the pony I was, mismatched eyes and all."

"Well, that's certainly wonderful, Comet," Cadence remarked, "But it still doesn't explain why you didn't talk to your parents about your troubles at school."

"I had a simple reason," he illuminated, "Simple yet methodical. My house was the only place where I felt totally safe and secure. I feared that if I let my parents know about the bullying, they would do whatever they deemed necessary to get it to stop. Who knows what would have happened then? I probably would have been labeled a coward by my classmates for 'running home crying to mommy and daddy.' I also may have gathered more unwanted attention, and my parents might have become overprotective of me. Essentially, I didn't tell them about my school problems because I didn't want to risk bringing those problems to my home. If that were to happen, I would lose the one place where I felt totally at peace."

Cadence understood this reasoning completely, and she was even a little impressed by it. She tilted her head towards the aqua stallion and observed "That's some very practical thinking for a colt."

"I get what you mean," Comet Frost brusquely remarked, "When your parents are a lawyer and an insurance salesperson, it's easy to develop a more dogmatic and realistic view of life at any earlier age. That's what happened to me. In addition to that, I also matured faster than my entire class. Both physically and mentally."

"What about emotionally?" Cadence queried.

"Yes, emotionally, too," Comet Frost affirmed, "By the time I was ten years old, I was able to ignore my classmates' derisive behavior. However, that's not to say I was completely unaffected by it. Overtime, because of my peers' rudeness, I became more spiteful and resentful towards other people. I deliberately avoided social interaction and conversation every chance I got. You could say that my persona had become ice cold."

"As cold as your name?" Cadence wryly theorized.

Comet Frost scoffed and cheekily professed "Actually, that's a fairly accurate assessment. During middle school, I was about as icy as winter. In fact, I'm not certain if I got my cutie mark because of my withdrawn demeanor, or because of my proficiency with weather spells."

"I'd pick the latter," the pink Alicorn declared, "I've never heard of a pony whose special talent was being a pessimist."

"That's a good point," Comet Frost stated, "After all, if I really did get my cutie mark for being a nihilist, it probably would have manifested itself in a symbol other than a snowflake. Aside from that, the circumstances under which I gained my cutie mark suggest that it was my magic that helped me gain it and not my character."

"How so?" Cadence asked him in intrigue.

"Well, I got my cutie mark in the summer, during the vacation," Comet Frost informed her, "Naturally, none of my classmates were around to aggravate me, so I had no reason to feel cynical. However, it was an abnormally hot summer that year. Like record-breaking or something. Even with air-conditioning, the heat was nearly unbearable. So I practiced my chilling spells so that my family and I could cope with the high temperature. One morning, I tried covering our backyard with snow. I concentrated a little too hard and I ended up covering our entire neighborhood by mistake. The snow didn't melt for four days, but nopony complained. To them, it was like getting a drink of cold water after traversing through an arid desert. Best of all, after that day, there was one less blank flank at my house."

"Well, there you go," Cadence remarked, smiling brightly, "It was your magic that earned you your cutie mark after all."

"Indeed," Comet Frost coincided, "It also earned me a lot of friends and respect."

"It did?" said Cadence.

"Ho, yeah," Comet Frost buoyantly affirmed, "Fillydelphia's a large city, but word travels around it quickly. During that scorching hot summer, everypony was desperate to find a way to cool down. So when they heard about a young colt in town who had the ability to produce a minor blizzard in his suburb, my neighborhood soon became a lot more crowded."

Cadence laughed at this statement. Then she asked "How did that work out? Were you able to give the entire city a break from the heat?"

"Just about," Comet Frost replied, "I've always believed in helping my fellow pony, so I was willing to use my ability to help the town cool down. I even shared my ability with my fellow students when they came by. They were extremely grateful for that. So grateful that almost none of them ever teased me again."

"That's good to know," Cadence commented, "Did there ever come a time when nopony at all bothered you?"

"Actually, there was such a time," Comet Frost informed her. He paused for a moment, and then he looked the princess in the eye and told her "But it wasn't under very favorable circumstances."

"What do you mean?" Cadence queried worriedly.

Comet Frost did not answer straightaway. He spent a minute debating over whether or not he should actually continue. He was worried that if he went on, he would start to greatly disturb Princess Cadence. However, at this point, she seemed captivated by his story, and her eyes beckoned him to keep telling it. Ultimately, he let out a deep sigh and said "This is where the story starts to get really dismal."

"More dismal than being tormented by your peers every day for the most of the first nine years of your life?" Cadence hypothesized.

"Far more dismal, Your Highness," he unhappily confirmed.

"Well, go ahead and continue," Cadence calmly proposed, "I'm certain I can handle it. And remember, it's Cadence."

"Sorry," he told her sincerely. There was a brief pause as Comet Frost prepared to continue with his story. He wanted to describe it accurately without making it too graphic. After a bit, he turned to Cadence and began with "Two years after I got my cutie mark, Fillydelphia was struck by… another dramatic increase in temperature. But this one took place during the academic year, and it was not caused by a natural heat wave. In fact, the only place that was effected was my school. You see, one morning, the roof of the main building… well, it spontaneously combusted."

Cadence was alarmed by this revelation. "There was a fire at your school?"

"Yes, but nopony knows how it started," Comet Frost informed her, "Maybe a chemical experiment went wrong, maybe there was a natural gas leak, maybe somepony was recklessly playing with matches, maybe a flame spell got out of control. For all we know, it might have even been the work of an arsonist."

"That's dreadful," Cadence commented, "Arson itself is reprehensible enough, but the thought of setting fire to a school… why kind of monster would do such a thing?"

"The kind I pray neither of us will ever meet," Comet Frost thought aloud, "At any rate, after the fire started, it did not take long for the faculty to take action. While the blaze was spreading quickly, they were able to evacuate most of the classrooms. Thanks to our monthly fire drills, nopony panicked. Once we were outside, the dean and the principal took roll. While they did that, most of us gathered with friends or family. So naturally, the first two people I sought out were my brother and sister. However, I quickly discovered that they weren't with their classes or their own friends. By then, the dean and the principal realized that several members from the younger grades were unaccounted for. Both my siblings were two of them."

Cadence's breath seemed to go away at that. Sensing the princess's discomfort, Comet Frost asked her in concern "Do you wish for me to stop?"

"No, go on," she urged him, "What happened?"

"The dean and the principal announced to the student body that several of our fellow students were still inside the burning building," Comet Frost recounted, "They were hoping to keep us calm, but that bit of news had the exact opposite effect. It sent almost everypony into a panic. Everypony except me. The nearest fire station was at least ten minutes away, but I wasn't willing to wait that long. So I… I went back inside on my own."

The aqua stallion expected Cadence to be surprised or startled by this explanation. Instead, she seemed strangely awestruck by it. She grinned and declared "That was admirable of you, Comet."

"Really?" he said in surprise.

"Of course," she affirmed, "I don't have any siblings of my own, but if I was in your position, I would have done the same thing."

"Any caring person would," Comet Frost asserted, "As I was saying, it only took me five minutes to find my brother and sister. They and about a dozen other foals were trapped inside a room that was directly beneath the fire. Part of the ceiling had collapsed in front of the door, and the windows were bolted shut. There was no way out. It was up to me to get them out of there."

"So what did you do?" she questioned in fascination.

"After another minute or two of searching, I managed to find a stairwell that went up through the ceiling," Comet Frost expounded, "I used it to access the roof. From there, I made my way to the very heart of the fire. Then I conjured up the most potent blizzard charm I knew and cast it on the blazing building. Within seconds, the entire inferno was reduced to a massive pile of slush."

Cadence whistled in amazement and perceived "That's incredible, Comet. But what about your brother and sister and the other foals? Were they alright?"

"Yeah, and I was just in time," Comet Frost answered her, "If I had waited another twenty seconds, the roof would have caved in on them. As soon as the flames were out, I went back down to the ground floor and made my way to the room where the foals were trapped in. I managed to force the door open and liberate them. To my relief, nopony died that day. My siblings and the other fillies and colts appeared to be totally unharmed."

The wording of that last statement caught Cadence's attention. She raised an eyebrow and inquired "What do you mean 'appeared to be?'"

"I'll get into that in a bit," Comet Frost assured her, "Before I do, you should know that that day was the day when my reputation at school was permanently changed. Initially, the dean still wanted to discipline me for violating the proper safety protocol and endangering my own life, but his idea was quickly shot down by the principal and the rest of the faculty. Not to mention the parents of the other foals I saved. They couldn't care less about how many rules I broke. They were just grateful that I rescued all those children. I was recognized as a type of hero to the school, and nopony ever gave me trouble there ever again."

"That's wonderful," Cadence declared merrily, smilling again, "You must have been proud, Comet. Putting out a fire and rescuing dozens of young foals singlehoofedly is quite an accomplishment for a grown stallion. For a twelve-year-old colt to do the same thing is nothing short of a wonder."

"I'm inclined to agree, Cadence," Comet Frost stated, "The affection and appreciation I received for my actions seemed limitless. I no longer had any enemies or rivals; everypony wanted to be my friend or acquaintance. For the first time ever, I felt just as comfortable at school as I did when I was at my house. That feeling stayed with me for quite a while. But it wasn't long before it started to fade."

"Did your classmates start bullying you again?" Cadence presumed anxiously.

"No," Comet Frost straightforwardly responded, "I never had any more troubles at school. My last social problem took place days before the fire. Unfortunately, a couple weeks after it, I had my first domestic problems."

Cadence seemed a little disconcerted by this. All the same, she was just as curious as ever to hear more. She leaned closer to the aqua stallion and bade him "Go on."

"You may recall earlier, I mentioned that the foals I rescued appeared to be alright," Comet Frost explained, "Now would be the appropriate time for me to specify what I meant. You see, the damage inflicted to the school itself was minimal. Certain parts of the roof needed to be rebuilt and resurfaced, and they had to close down a section of the building temporarily. There was nothing that couldn't be repaired, though. One might say the same thing about the foals I saved. Because of their prolonged exposure to smoke, almost all of them had come down with a violent cough. Most of them were able to get better with the help of medicine, visits to the doctor, and bed rest. So at first glance, there appeared to be no long-term effects. But first glances can be very wrong. My brother and sister were not so lucky. While the other foals improved overtime, my siblings just got worse."

"I assume they contracted something more than a cough?" Cadence hypothesized.

"Correct," Comet Frost affirmed, "When my siblings didn't get better, my parents took them to see a pulmonary specialist. The specialist discovered that both of them had developed a respiratory ailment known as emphysema."

"Emphysema?" Cadence repeated in surprise.

"It's a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease," Comet Frost exemplified, "It damages the air sacs in the lungs, causing the victim to become progressively more short of breath."

"I know what it is, Comet," she disclosed, "But I'm very surprised that your brother and sister came down with it. Emphysema is fairly common in teenagers and adults, but it's rare for a foal to contract it."

"True, but that didn't stop both my siblings from acquiring it," Comet Frost recalled, "To make matters worse, my brother and sister's symptoms were quite advanced by the time they were diagnosed. By this point, there wasn't any medicine or healing magic that could fix them up. The specialist told us that the only option available was lung surgery."

Once more, Cadence seemed rather surprised. She said in astonishment "They were doing that badly?"

"Yes," Comet Frost affirmed, "And it didn't help that lung surgery is hardly inexpensive. My parents had more than enough money to pay for one operation. But they couldn't afford two. However, they were not about to let either of my siblings die. So they called in favors, took out a loan from the bank, and pulled all the strings they could to accumulate the necessary funds. I even got a part-time job to help them out."

"That's commendable of you," Cadence commented, "Out of curiosity, what did you do?"

"I worked at an air-conditioning company," Comet Frost enlightened her, "I used my aptitude with weather spells to decrease the lowest setting of the machines by an additional ten degrees. It greatly increased sales, and it maximized customer feedback."

"But was it enough to get the money your parents needed?" Cadence asked hopefully.

"No, it wasn't," he grimly informed her, "So my father resorted to more… extreme means to pay my siblings' hospital bills."

"Extreme in what capacity?" Cadence inquired.

"I don't know what he did exactly, but there were a lot of signs that suggested it was dirty work," Comet Frost recounted, "For starters, he began coming home later and later. His office generally closed at eight o'clock, but he seldom came home earlier than ten o'clock. I was typically asleep by the time he returned. On the rare occasion when I saw him at night, I noticed he was behaving very strangely. He was always perspiring, exhausted, and shaken. One night, he even came home with blood on his hooves."

"Blood?" Cadence whispered in shock.

"That's correct," Comet Frost asserted, "That's not even the most unsettling part. The most unsettling part is that the blood wasn't his own."

"Then whose was it?" said Cadence.

"According to him, it was the blood of 'some damn imbecile who pissed him off,'" Comet Frost replied, "Pardon my language, but those were his exact words. Soon after that, we had the money needed to pay for an operation for both my brother and my sister. The surgery was carried out without any complications. Once it was over, both of my siblings were breathing normally again. Unfortunately, even after that, my father didn't stop working. He said that he planned to hold on to his 'second job.'"

"Did he give a reason why?" Cadence queried.

"No, but he was adamant about keeping it," Comet Frost recalled, "He tried to convince me and my mother that everything was alright, and he asked us not to worry about him. My mother agreed to look the other way, primarily because my father was still bringing home more money at the end of the day. But the extra money wasn't enough to sway my mind. I was determined to find out what exactly my father was getting himself into. Of course, that was no easy task. He was very good at keeping secrets and covering his tracks."

Comet Frost paused for a moment here, and then he cheekily declared "Thus began my very short-lived career as a private investigator."

Cadence scoffed at that and remarked "Really? You tried your hoof at detective work?"

"Yes, but I was an amateur, at best," Comet Frost apprised her, "I stuck my muzzle in a lot of places. Most of them got me nowhere. Still, I was able to get a bit of useful information twice. The first time, I swung by my father's office and asked some of his coworkers if they had seen him exhibit any suspicious behavior recently. Most of them were unable or unwilling to tell me anything, but his supervisor mentioned that a couple weeks prior, a group of stallions in business suits had visited him. They were only there for five minutes, and only one of them spoke to my father. However, what he did was rather noteworthy. He gave my father two briefcases and told him something. The supervisor did not remember what exactly the business stallion had told my father, but it was something along the lines of 'The first case contains your payment for your last assignment. The second case contains a list of your next assignment. As before, it is a list of problems that I need to be rid of. Once they have been dealt with, you will receive your next payment.'"

"That's some very vivid paraphrasing," Cadence perceived, "But what type of 'problems' did this stallion expect your father to handle?"

"I found out when I got home that night," Comet Frost expounded, "My mother was busy tending to my siblings, and my father was elsewhere. So I snuck into his study and searched for his briefcases. I found both of them hidden in the back of a cabinet. The first one was full of money. I don't know how much money, but it had to be more than both my parents' annual salaries put together. The other briefcase just had a bunch of photographs of certain mares and stallions who lived in Fillydelphia. Some of the photographs had a huge red X drawn over them. One of them was a teacher of mine."

"So that business stallion's problems were all other ponies?" Cadence presumed in perplexity.

"Yeah," Comet Frost affirmed, "And it did not take me long to learn how my father 'dealt with them' for him. Around this time, a lot of unsettling articles started appearing in the newspapers. These articles were about ponies in Fillydelphia who had been beaten, killed, or gone missing. All of these articles included a picture of the victim. Many of them were strangely familiar to me. Before long, I recognized them as some of the ponies in the photographs from my father's briefcase."

At that, the color seemed to drain from Cadence's face. After a tense interval of silence, she muttered uneasily "You're not saying that your father had something to do with all those mishaps, are you?"

"As much as I didn't want to believe it, I couldn't ignore the possibility that he was somehow responsible," Comet Frost disclosed, "When I thought about it, it all made sense. The time away from home, the sudden change in his personality, the suitcase, the blood… everything pointed to the suggestion that he was bringing harm to other people. But I still had enough respect for my father that I did not to write him off like that straightaway. So for a while, I tried pretending that I never looked in that briefcase of his. I chose to remain ignorant for a couple months. Then…"

He paused once more, and he gazed off to the side, as if he was contemplating how to continue. After a short interval of quietness, Cadence presumed "Did something happen?"

"Yes, something atrocious," Comet Frost disclosed, "A moment ago, I mentioned that one of my teachers was amongst the people in that briefcase. This particularly teacher was my magic professor. I had known him since my first day of middle school, and he was both a mentor and a friend to me. He believed I had potential to become a master of weather spells, and he offered to help me hone my skills. Since I quit my part-time job, I was able to see him after school for private tutoring. I saw him almost every day for an entire year. However, one day, he said he would be unable to see me after classes ended. He told me that he had scheduled a meeting with my father. Apparently, my father wanted to speak with him to see if I could actually pursue a career in weather spells. So I agreed to skip our lessons for one day. That was probably the biggest mistake I ever made."

"What do you mean?" Cadence queried nervously.

"My magic professor was found dead the following day," Comet Frost grimly revealed, "It was the first thing I read in the newspaper. The coroners' report indicated that he died at approximately 3:45 the previous afternoon. That was the exact same time his meeting with my father took place."

Cadence gasped at this and she mumbled "Oh my…"

"My reaction exactly," said Comet Frost bitterly, "My parents hadn't left for work yet. My father was in his study at this time. After I learned about what happened to my magic professor, I stormed upstairs and burst into the room without knocking. There I found my father at his desk. He had his briefcase open on the surface, and he was in the midst of drawing a red X over the picture of my magic professor. It was at that very moment that I finally realized that my father was a murderer."

Cadence did not know what to say to that. Comet Frost could tell she was disturbed, but she was even more enthralled than ever. He sighed and continued with "What happened next is something I wish I could forget, but the memory of it is imbedded into my mind the way my cutie mark is imbedded into my flank. As you can imagine, I confronted my father once I discovered his dark secret. I yelled at him furiously and cursed him for bringing harm to my magic professor and the countless other innocent people in that briefcase. He tried to justify his actions by claiming that none of his victims were innocent and that they had all done something to warrant their fates. In turn, I demanded to know what my magic professor had done. He told me that it was none of my business, and that I had no right to judge him for putting those people in the ground. I countered by saying that I had every right, that I was ashamed to call him my father, and that he had committed unspeakable, unforgivable atrocities. What he said in response… it chilled my blood."

"What did he say?" Cadence asked him restlessly

"He claimed that it was my fault that he took up this second job in the first place," Comet Frost enlightened her, "Initially, I was confused and I had no idea what he meant, but he was quick to clarify that point. He told me that the reason he first got this second job was that we needed the money for my siblings' operations. He argued that if they had died in that fire, they never would have needed that money to begin with. However, since I was the one who saved them, he debated that I was responsible for their debt with the hospital. In other words… he blamed me for the fates of all those people in his briefcase."

Cadence gasped in shock at that. She uttered softly "He… actually said that?"

Comet Frost solemnly nodded his head and remarked "When he said that, something awoke inside me. I happened to look in the mirror on the wall, and I saw that my left eye had become red like my right eye. That was the first sign that I was losing control. My blood became as cold as ice, and I could feel the anger boiling in his veins. It was as though a demon was consuming me. I felt nothing but pure, unadulterated rage. All I wanted was to put my father in pain, and that is precisely what I did. I seized my father by the throat and started attacking him. He barely had time to react. I struck him over and over again. When I was done beating him, his face and chest were covered in blood. But I wasn't finished with him yet. Before he had a chance to recover, I conjured up an iceberg spell and cast it on my father. As a result, he was trapped in a block of solid ice."

Cadence had already been shocked no fewer than half a dozen times, but this part of Comet Frost's explanation left her absolutely speechless.

"If you're wondering, I didn't kill him," Comet Frost assured her, "He was simply in suspended animation. However, my mother and my siblings came into the room a couple minutes later, and they did not react well at all. I tried to explain that my father was a contract killer and that he had dozens of deaths on his conscience, but they wouldn't even do me the courtesy of listening. My brother and sister looked at me as though they were afraid of me, and my mother acted as though she was going to disown me. She pretty much did; she slapped me in the face and demanded that I leave the house. I agreed without offering any resistance. Within an hour, I was packed up and I moved out of there. Then I left Fillydelphia. I've never set hoof in that city since then."

Cadence nodded in acknowledgment of all this information. Then she asked "So, how'd you come to join the Royal Guard?"

"After I left home, I went to Canterlot to look for a job where my magic could be useful," Comet Frost answered, "The capital city wasn't big on manufacturing air-conditioning, so I decided to join the Royal Guard. They seemed to be the next best choice, as well as the most logical one. You could call it my way of atoning for my father's sins."

"That's a noble way of looking at it," Cadence commented, "Do you think it was the right call to enlist in the Royal Guard?"

"Oh, absolutely," Comet Frost told her, "I've never regretted my decision. Not for a second. It's given me a feeling of importance and usefulness. Plus, my fellow officers have been like another family to me."

"That's good to hear," stated Cadence, "But have you heard anything from your real family? Do you know what became of your parents and siblings?"

"I assumed they were able to thaw out my father," Comet Frost speculated, "However, I've lost all hope of ever seeing or talking to them again. I don't really care if I do, either. They turned their backs on me, so I've turned my back on them in return. I just hope that my father will ultimately be brought to justice for what he's done."

Princess Cadence lightly smiled and placed her hoof on Comet Frost's shoulder. Then she told him assertively "Well, look on the bright side. After going through so much and struggling for so long, you've made it this far. You're a commander in the Equestrian Royal Guard. Even if he doesn't pay for his crimes, your father can't touch you now. Nopony can touch you."

"Except you," Comet Frost slyly pointed out, gesturing to her hoof on his shoulder.

Cadence chuckled again and stated "Right, except me. So remember, Comet; if you ever need somepony to talk to, or somepony to speak your mind to, or somepony to discuss your troubles with, I'm willing to listen."

"Thank you, Cadence," Comet Frost uttered gratefully, "I really appreciate that. I really do."

"It's my pleasure," was all the pink Alicorn said in response.

The Ones Who Endure

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Before their discussion on the balcony of the Crystal Palace, Princess Cadence and Commander Comet Frost had already a relationship that went beyond that of leader and subordinate. However, they had merely regarded each other as casual acquaintances and reliable peers. After the aqua Unicorn told the pink Alicorn about his backstory, the two of them gradually began to develop a stronger bond.

Comet Frost had made it clear that if Cadence ever needed a shoulder to lean on, he would be there for her. His job already required him to be there for the princess, but this offer went beyond the obligations of the Royal Guard. He assured her that he would be there for her on both a professional and a personal level.

Cadence was very grateful for this, and out of courtesy, she extended the same offer to Comet Frost. She assured him that if he was ever bothered by his past, his duties as a Royal Guard, his personal life, or anything else, he could feel free to come to her for support.

While Comet Frost appreciated that gesture, he was hesitant to accept it. He did not feel it would be very proper for the princess to be the one comforting her bodyguard and not the other way around. Aside from that, he rarely ever needed comforting, as he had been trained not to feel distressed by any events or emotions he underwent. Still, he kept Cadence's offer in mind, as he had already been able to trust her with the knowledge of his checkered past.

All the same, Comet Frost felt that the person who should have been most concerned about Cadence's well-being was her husband. Despite how busy Shining Armor was with the preparations for the Equestria Games, Comet Frost was obligated to bring his wife's loneliness and depression to his Captain's attention.

So a couple days after his conversation with Cadence, Comet Frost sought out Shining Armor. It took the aqua stallion a surprisingly long time to locate the white stallion. He searched the entire palace and was unable to find him. Then it occurred to him that Shining Armor was probably continuing to supervise the preparations for the Equestria Games.

With that in mind, he went outside the palace to continue his search. He headed straight for the district that had been designated for the new buildings. A couple months prior, the area had been little more than an empty patch of land. In the time since then, the construction teams had made a lot of progress. Half of the new buildings had already been completed, and the other half were well under way.

Comet Frost conducted a thorough examination of the small district, but he still failed to locate Shining Armor. Strangely enough, the Captain was not the only one missing; all the other Royal Guard who were supposed to be supervising were absent from the area, as well. Curious as to their whereabouts, Comet Frost approached the construction foreman and asked if he had seen his fellow officers.

The foreman was more than willing to explain why the Royal Guard were not present. He claimed that some complications had arisen earlier that day. He had reason to believe that the floors on some of the multistory buildings might not have been reinforced before the supports were put in. Because of this, construction had to be temporarily halted so that each of the buildings could be inspected. This may have seemed like an extreme measure, but it was also the only way to ascertain the stability of the walls. If the construction teams went ahead without doing this, they would run the risk of having one or more of the new buildings collapse after they were inhabited.

Since the inspection was just standard construction protocol, the Royal Guard did not have to be present for it. As such, Shining Armor had chosen to give all the Royal Guard on the supervising committee the rest of the day off. Consequentially, most of those officers had gone back inside the palace. The rest of them had decided to stop by the tavern before returning to their posts. The foreman recalled that Shining Armor had been in the latter group.

Upon receiving this bit of information, Comet Frost thanked the foreman for his time and departed from the vicinity. Then he quickly made his way to the pub, and he found a couple dozen of his fellow officers gathered there. Some were conversing with civilians, others were playing cards, and a couple were visiting with family.

Comet Frost spotted Shining Armor at a table near the back. He seemed to be talking with a young mare. This sight took Comet Frost by surprise, and it left him somewhat perplexed. He had never seen Shining Armor talk with a mare who was not in the Canterlot Royalty or Royal Guard. To see him doing such a thing now was a little… disconcerting.

Comet Frost had a bit of a history of prematurely jumping to conclusions. Luckily, he did no such thing this time. If he had, this situation would not have ended well for him, Shining Armor, or anypony else in the bar.

The aqua stallion calmly trotted over to the table and politely cleared his throat to get the attention of the two ponies seated there. The mare and the white stallion immediately turned towards Comet Frost. The latter nodded in acknowledgment and stated "Commander Frost."

"Captain Armor," the aqua stallion said in response, nodding. He turned to the mare and told her cordially "Good afternoon, madam."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir," the mare rejoined, smiling.

Comet Frost tentatively smiled back. He wondered who this mare could have been and why Shining Armor would be speaking to her. Almost as if he had read the aqua stallion's mind, Shining Armor announced to his fellow officer "Comet, allow me to introduce you to one of the Crystal Empire's most influential natives, Lambent Flare."

The mare remained smiling and extended her front hoof to him. Comet Frost slowly gazed down at her hoof, as if he was contemplating whether or not to accept the gesture. However, she seemed friendly and open-minded. So he slowly lifted his own front hoof and shook Lambent Flare's. Initially, he was inclined to be gentle with her, but it turned out she had a very strong grip.

Lambent Flare had a rather respectable appearance. She had a tawny coat, a light brown mane, and lime green irises. Her cutie mark was a torch, and her entire body was sparkling, meaning that she was a crystal pony. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, and she was wearing a peculiar interest. It had jewels in place of beads, and the trinket at the bottom contained a symbol of a cross inside a circle.

After the hoofshake, Comet Frost inquired in interest "Influential in what way?"

"The locals view her as a symbol of endurance and hope," Shining Armor enlightened him, "It was partly because of her that the Crystal Empire survived King Sombra's rule."

Comet Frost was astonished to discover that. He turned to the crystal mare and asked her "Is that true?"

"Somewhat," Lambent Flare replied, shrugging slightly, "Captain Armor's exaggerating a bit. I won't deny that I played a role in securing my people's survival before Sombra was banished."

Comet Frost had known this mare for less than thirty seconds, but by this point, he was already intrigued to learn more about her. He set his front hooves on the table, leaned closer to Lambent Flare, and queried "Just what, pray tell, did you do?"

"It may take a while to explain, Commander," Lambent Flare notified him.

"That's fine by me," Comet Frost proclaimed, "I'm off-duty for the next few hours, and I've got nothing planned until I return to my post. So right now, I've got plenty of time to listen."

Lambent Flare smirked and remarked "In that case, Commander, pull up a chair and I'll tell you of my contribution to this town."

Comet Frost nodded in agreement, pulled back one of the chairs to the table, and sat down in it. Once he was settled, he looked to the tawny mare and eagerly beckoned her "Proceed."

Lambent Flare then gave a thorough recollection of the Crystal Empire's distant past. Like the rest of her people, she had regained her memories of life before King Sombra's rule. However, he had usurped the Empire when she was just a filly. She had been born free but raised as a slave. However, as she grew up, she came to acquire a deeply empathetic and rebellious personality. She was one of those individuals who is effected worse by the misery of others than their own misery. When she saw how badly her people suffered at the hooves of King Sombra, Lambent Flare became strongly motivated to somehow find a way to relieve them of their pain.

Although King Sombra was practically omnipresent and omniscient in the Crystal Empire, even he did not have the means to monitor the activities of every single one of his slaves for every minute of every day. While the city's population was always working, not all of them worked at the same time. Three-quarters of the crystal ponies were always at work while the remaining quarter would get some rest. They rotated shifts every six hours. Whichever quarter of the population was sleeping would not be monitored by King Sombra until they returned to work.

Lambent Flare saw a way to use this to her advantage. Whenever she and the others in her quarter were not working, she did one of two things. She slept, and she spoke to her companions. She did not talk about rudimentary subjects like how to divide their rations or how to put up with the aches they received from their arduous toils. Instead, she talked to them about… alternatives to their current lifestyle. She filled their heads with visionary ideals. She asked them to imagine a life from before Sombra arrived. It would be a life devoid of shackles and hard labor. To many of them, freedom had become a foreign concept, but they shared Lambent's desire for it.

When Lambent Flare's people were properly motivated, she proposed that they act on their wish for a new beginning. They managed to spread the word of this to the other three quarters of the population, and everypony wanted in on this conspiracy. Shortly after, the crystal ponies began to form a covert resistance movement against King Sombra. It was not long before the movement was established, and once it was up and running, the crystal ponies launched a plot to bring Sombra down.

They implemented two different strategies to accomplish this objective. Firstly, they tried searching for the crystal heart. All citizens of the Crystal Empire knew of its legendary ability to repel any and all threats and dark forces from the city, and the heart was regarded as the only object powerful enough to vanquish King Sombra.

The resistance decided that finding the crystal heart was top priority. Unfortunately, they did not have very much luck in this endeavor. The only time they could afford to search without drawing Sombra's attention was when they were supposed to be sleeping. They had to sacrifice the only hours of solace they had in their hellish lives to look for the key to their salvation. Even those of them who were not fatigued were unable to come up with any sign of the crystal heart. They looked and looked and looked for the relic, but it seemed to be nowhere in the entire city.

Before long, Sombra caught on to what the resistance was up to. Almost half of the insurgents were subsequently captured and executed by Sombra. He warned the remaining members of the resistance and the rest of the crystal ponies that they would all receive the same fate if they attempted to overthrow him again. He also boasted that he had hidden the crystal heart somewhere where they would never find it.

Some members of the resistance wanted to continue looking for the crystal heart, but the majority did not feel the risk was worth it, seeing as how so many of their companions had died in the search for it. So the resistance promptly ended the search for the crystal heart. The way they saw it, they only had one alternative to defeat Sombra: they had to seek out help from outside the Empire.

This was before the Crystal Empire had been officially recognized as a part of Equestria. However, every one of the crystal ponies had heard the tale of how Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had defeated the infamous draconequus Discord. It was their hope that the two Alicorns could give King Sombra the same fate.

The resistance quickly decided that they needed to send a request for aid to Equestria. However, they had no means of delivering a message or communicating over long distances. So in order to contact the rulers of Equestria, one of the Crystal Empire's residents had to leave the city and travel to their neighboring country to ask for aid directly.

Most members of the resistance were very unwilling to undertake for this errand. After all, even with the right directions, it would likely take weeks to reach the Castle of the Two Sisters on hooves. In addition to that, there would certainly be many dangers on the way there, such as savage animals, harsh climates, and rough terrain. To top it all off, while Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were well-known for their benevolence and hospitality, nopony could say with absolute certainty that the two rulers would actually agree to help the Empire.

All the same, that was a chance that they were going to have to take. Ultimately, Lambent Flare volunteered to go. She spent about a week preparing herself for her journey. That was perhaps the longest week of her life. She had never left the city before, let alone the country. As such, she had no idea what she would face on the road ahead. However, she was determined to do whatever she deemed necessary to remove King Sombra from power.

After a week of thorough preparation, Lambent Flare fled the Crystal Empire. Even escaping from the city proved to be a difficult endeavor. Even with her six-hour interval of opportunity, she had to evade the notice of King Sombra from the moment she stepped outside. The Unicorn king always kept a close eye on all activity that took place in the city streets. Somehow, he never had to sleep.

Despite Sombra's persistent gaze, Lambent Flare managed to flee from the city without drawing attention to herself. She had to move slowly and carefully through the city streets. If she made even the slightest sudden movement, she would have been caught. In total, almost three hours elapsed from when Lambent Flare snuck outside her house and when she reached the edge of the city.

Her trek did not get any easier once she was out of the city. After she left the Crystal Empire, Lambent Flare had to navigate through miles of snow and ice. The average temperature in that landscape was far below freezing, so Lambent had to gallop at a fast pace to stay warm. She could not afford to stop for long, lest she risk freezing to death. At most, she allowed herself three minutes to rest and catch her breath every few hours.

By the end of the day, she arrived at the border of Equestria. Her journey became significantly less perilous after this point. On her way to the Castle of the Two Sisters, Lambent Flare passed through many different regions of Equestria. She encountered an arid desert, an overgrown jungle, and a barren wasteland. However, most of the land she traversed was green, lush, and beautiful. It vastly overshadowed the dreary setting that King Sombra had created at the Crystal Empire.

In addition to Equestria's stunning scenery, Lambent Flare was deeply impressed by the size of the country. She had seen maps and charts of it, but she did not realize just how large Equestria until she made this journey. Of course, one could argue that nopony would truly comprehend how large Equestria was until they travelled all the way through it like Lambent Flare.

Since Equestria was a massive country, naturally it had a fairly large population to match. However, Lambent Flare decided to keep a low profile while she was in Equestria. She deliberately avoided visiting towns or settlements. She was not mistrustful or suspicious of the inhabitants; she simply did not want to turn heads until she reached the Castle of the Two Sisters. After all, it was very likely that nopony in Equestria had ever seen a crystal pony before. Lambent Flare did not want to run the risk of alarming the Equestrians with her presence if that was the case. So she ended up undertaking the entire quest without any aid whatsoever.

Almost a month after she left the Crystal Empire, Lambent Flare made it to the Castle of the Two Sisters. Immediately upon arrival, she practically demanded to have an audience with the princesses. The Royal Guard almost turned her away because she had no identification, no appointment, and a rather disheveled appearance. But when Lambent Flare insisted that the fate of an entire civilization was at stake, the Royal Guard agreed to let her in.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were willing to hear what Lambent Flare had to say. She told them everything about what was going on in the region north of Equestria. The two rulers were astounded to learn that the Crystal Empire had been enslaved for more than a decade without them knowing of it. However, it did explain some strange recent events that had taken place in Equestria. For the last ten years, the sky over Equestria seemed to get more menacing, and various dangers had sprouted all over the land. One of the latter was the notorious Everfree Forest.

Lambent Flare and the two rulers quickly concluded that there must have been a special connection between the Crystal Empire and Equestria. Whatever spirit the residents of the Crystal Empire were undergoing, the same aura must have been channeled onto the citizens of Equestria. Since the Empire had been consumed by a malevolent entity, the crystal ponies' misery must have been having a destructive effect on its adjoining country.

Once they reached this conclusion, Celestia and Luna decided that it was in everypony's best interests that King Sombra be removed from power. So they willingly accepted Lambent Flare's plead for assistance. They would have left for the Empire straightaway, but Lambent Flare was clearly exhausted and weakened from her trek; she was in no condition to go anywhere. Luna and Celestia allowed her to stay for a night to regain her strength and energy. That was the first night of peace she had gotten in years. She tried to enjoy it, but in the back of her mind, she could not forget the fact that her people were still suffering terribly.

Luckily, the following morning, Lambent Flare was ready to return to the Empire and save her people. She woke up that morning knowing it would be the start of the last day that the crystal ponies lived under the cruel subjugation of King Sombra.

It had taken Lambent Flare nearly thirty days to reach the Castle of the Two Sisters. Fortunately, it took her nowhere near as long to get back; Princess Luna and Princess Celestia offered to fly her there. With their help, Lambent Flare was able to return to her home in a matter of hours.

On their way to the Empire, Celestia and Luna came up a plan. Lambent Flare paid close attention as they explained it to her. They told her that they would need her to get back into the city and get her people to shelter. Once the crystal ponies were safe, the two Alicorns would confront King Sombra and banish him to the glaciers surrounding the area.

As soon as the two Alicorns and the crystal mare arrived at the Empire, Lambent Flare rushed back into the city. This time, she was not as concerned about avoiding detection by King Sombra. If anything, she was hoping the Unicorn king would notice her so that she could distract him from Luna and Celestia. This was precisely what happened.

The moment King Sombra spotted Lambent Flare, he tried to ensnare her. She managed to evade capture long enough to free her people from their chains and instruct them to get indoors. Once everypony was safely indoors, Celestia and Luna moved in and confronted King Sombra.

Lambent Frost had gone to a window to witness the conflict. The battle was short, but very memorable. Celestia and Luna had flown high into the sky. When they were over a hundred feet above the ground, a bright white light engulfed the entire area. The light was so powerful and so intense that Sombra was blinded by it. Lambent Flare covered her eyes to avoid being blinded as well, but she quickly turned her focus back to the scene outside. She felt that after everything she had been through, she had earned the right to witness Sombra's demise.

Through the bright light, Lambent Flare watched as King Sombra was immersed in a huge cluster of energy. He shouted in agony, as if he was being tortured. Lambent Flare could not help but chuckle at that prospect; in her mind, Sombra deserved a painful end.

Ten seconds later, Sombra was visible again. Most of his body had dissolved into a huge cloud of black fog. Only his head retained its shape. Working together, Luna and Celestia projected Sombra's new form to the north, away from the city. They opened up a large body of ice, cast Sombra into of it, and sealed it shut once he was trapped inside.

Lambent Flare smiled at the sight. Then she completely blacked out, as did the rest of the crystal ponies. For a reason nopony could fathom, the Crystal Empire vanished alongside King Sombra. It was as though every trace of it had simply faded from existence, and the Empire did not reappear for more than a millennium.

Lambent Flare ended her story here, as Comet Frost and Shining Armor knew the rest.

When she was finished giving her account, Comet Frost whistled in amazement and commented "That story… is beyond incredible. I cannot imagine what you must have been through."

"You're telling me," Lambent brashly stated, "It's still hard to believe it all took place a thousand years ago."

"Then I must say; you've aged rather well for an 'old mare,'" Comet Frost cheekily remarked.

Shining Armor and Lambent Flare both got a good laugh at that.

"Well, thank you for that, Commander," the tawny mare muttered in amusement, "Back in the days of King Sombra's rule, I never gave much thought to my physical appearance. After all, I had better things to do than fret over the state of my mane or my complexion. Nowadays, it seems as though my biggest worry is the possibility that I won't regain my looks. Strange, huh?"

"Yeah, strange indeed," Comet Frost coincided, scoffing. After a short pause, he declared, "Well, at any rate, you seem to have made a fully recovery. I don't see any scars or bruises on your body, you look quite healthy, and your façade bears no lingering signs of fatigue or anguish. So if you ARE concerned about maintaining a physically appealing image, you shouldn't worry, ma'am. You've already got one."

Lambent Flare seemed a little stunned to hear the aqua stallion tell her this. However, his observation had a positive effect on her. Once she took it in, she grinned and cockily stated "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were flirting with me, Commander."

In response to that, Comet Frost blushed furiously. He tried to cover this up by covering his face and looking away. Lambent Flare and Shining Armor chuckled at his reaction. Fortunately, that was the most they did; for Comet's sake, they did not tease him or mock him.

As soon as the pink tint faded from the aqua stallion's cheeks, he turned back to the tawny mare and told her candidly "That was not my intent, Miss Flare. I apologize if I sounded as though I was… 'hitting on you,'"

"Don't sweat it, Commander,'" she asserted, "I was just joking. Still, I really appreciate what you said about my appearance a moment ago. While I'll never forget the memories of King Sombra's tyranny, I'm glad to know that his rule did not leave a blemish on my exterior."

"Your fiancé must be pleased to know that," Comet Frost thought aloud.

At that, Lambent Flare raised an eyebrow in bewilderment and queried "What makes you think I'm engaged, Commander?"

"Your necklace," the aqua stallion expounded, gesturing to the long piece of jewelry around the tawny mare's neck, "Before I was transferred here from Canterlot, I did a lot of research on the history of the Crystal Empire. I also read all about your customs and cultures. I learned plenty about the Empire's politics, social order, economy, art, fashion, and special ceremonies. Since weddings fall under the last category, I know all about how people get married here. I remember reading somewhere that whenever a stallion wishes to propose to a mare, he makes a necklace of jewels with a symbol of a cross inverted in a circle at the head. Then he approaches her and offers her the necklace. If she accepts it, they are wed within a month or so."

Lambent Flare took in everything the aqua stallion said. When he was finished, she sighed, lightly nodded her head in affirmation, and remarked "You did your research very well, Commander; that is entirely correct."

"So who's the lucky stallion?" the aqua stallion inquired in interest.

"Nopony," the tawny mare blunted apprised him. She used her magic to lift up the necklace of jewels and clarified "This wasn't given to me by a lover, sir. It belonged to my sister-in-law."

Comet Frost was surprised to hear that. He rubbed his chin and presumed inquisitively "So, am I right to assume that you have a brother, and that he made that necklace?"

"Yes, and yes," Lambent verified, letting go of the necklace, "He gave this to his marefriend shortly before King Sombra came to power. They were married less than a week before we were enslaved. They were together for almost the whole duration of Sombra's rule."

"'Almost?'" Comet Frost repeated in bafflement, "What happened to them? Did they break up sometime during the occupation?"

"No, she died shortly before Sombra was banished," Lambent Frost drearily enlightened him, "To make matters worse, she passed away when I made my month-long pilgrimage through Equestria. I wasn't even able to comfort her or my brother when it happened. I can't help but feel guilty for that; my sister-in-law meant as much to me as she did to him."

Comet Frost frowned sadly and placed his front hoof on Lambent's saying "I'm so sorry for your loss. How did your brother take it?"

"Well, as you can imagine, he was devastated," Lambent Flare disclosed, "He swore to make King Sombra pay for his wife's death. At first, his desire for revenge seemed to be the only thing that kept my brother going. However, after Sombra was killed by Princess Cadence, we had a proper memorial service for everypony who died under his rule. That set my brother's mind at ease, and he was able to move on."

"I'm glad to know that," Comet Frost remarked. There was another short period of silence, and then he leaned back and pronounced "But that still doesn't explain why you're wearing his wife's necklace."

"I'm getting to that," Lambent Flare assured him. She held up the necklace again and continued with "This type of necklace is not only used for weddings, Commander. In special cases, they can be created to represent a pledge. Ideally, the maker gives the recipient one with the promise to stay close to them. That's why my brother gave it to me."

"That makes sense," Comet Frost proclaimed, "What sort of pledge did he have in mind?"

"He promised to take care of me," Lambent Flare illuminated, "You see, nopony else in our family survived that holocaust. Because of that, and because of the pivotal role I played in Sombra's downfall, my brother felt obligated to look after me. So he gave me this necklace and went off to earn a living to sustain the both of us."

"Where is he now?" Comet Frost queried.

"He works in the palace," Lambent Flare informed him, "He's actually a member of the Royal Guard, so you probably know him. His name is Solar Flare."

It turned out the aqua stallion knew that name very well. He raised an eyebrow and assumed in interest "Oh, so you're Solar's sister?"

"Yeah, she is," Shining Armor confirmed.

"Huh, that explains a few things," Comet Frost frankly said in response.

"Like what?" the tawny mare asked curiously.

"For starters, there is a striking resemblance between you and Solar Flare," Comet Frost revealed, "In addition to that, every time the Royal Guard are paid, Solar always sends about half of his paycheck to a certain address in the city. I always assumed the recipient was either a dear friend or an immediate family member. Most of all, many times when Solar Flare is off-duty, a lot of the crystal pony members of the Royal Guard ask him to introduce them to his sister."

"That so?" Lambent Flare asked rhetorically, "And how does he respond to that?"

"He just humors them by claiming that he would consider their request and pass along their interest to his sister," Comet Frost apprised her, "At first, I thought the others were so interested in meeting Solar's sister because they were trying to irritate him or because they were desperate to get a date. Now that I've met you and I know what you've done, I think I can guess the real reason."

"I should say so, Commander," Lambent Flare speculated, "Whenever Solar Flare tells the others that he'll consider introducing them to me, he must be bluffing. I've never been contacted by any member of the Royal Guard. Other than Captain Armor, of course. But that's different."

"Different how?" Comet Frost enquired.

This time it was the white stallion who provided the explanation. Shining Armor notified his fellow officer "Since Solar Flare is always so busy up at the palace, he is often unable to make time to visit the city. Because of that, he asked me to check up on Lambent from time-to-time to see how she's getting by and such."

"He also brings me up to date on how Solar Flare is doing," Lambent added in, "Although Captain Armor is not allowed to give any of his officers special treatment, he's given me his word that he will keep an eye on Solar and make sure he stays out of trouble."

"Well, that IS his job," Comet Frost pointed out, "Every other member of the Royal Guard – myself included – is primarily responsible for ensuring the safety and security of Princess Cadence and her subjects. Captain Armor, on the other hoof, is primarily responsible for ensuring that we don't slack off when we're on-duty."

Lambent Flare snickered at that and turned to the white stallion. She queried "Is that true, Captain?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much my job in a nutshell," Shining Armor affirmed, smirking, "Even when I'm off-duty, I make sure my men stay in line. In fact, that's why I came here today; to keep tabs on that bunch."

At that, he gestured over his shoulder to the other off-duty members of the Royal Guard. Comet Frost stated in perplexity "Wait, so you didn't come here to talk to Lambent?"

"Well, not originally, no," Shining Armor explicated, "Originally, I only came here to watch over the men. Just wanted to make sure they stayed in uniform and did not have too much to drink. I planned to stop by Lambent's house sometime later. It was just a coincidence that she came to the tavern shortly after those stallions and I did. We decided to go ahead and talk since we were both in the same place at the same time."

"I gotta say; this is a most interesting meeting place," Comet Frost perceived, gazing around at the pub, "Especially since I know for a fact that you don't drink, Captain. And I'm pretty sure you didn't decide to take it up, just now. I don't smell any alcohol on your breath."

"Well, like I said, I was just here to supervise the men," Shining Armor reminded his colleague.

"Right, right, of course," Comet Frost acknowledged. He then turned to Lambent Flare and pronounced "Still, I don't smell alcohol on your breath either, Lambent. Aside from that, you don't strike me as somepony who drinks. You must have another reason for being here."

"An astute observation, Commander," Lambent Flare affirmed, "There are a lot of people in this city who prefer to drown out their sorrows with liquor. Considering how they all endured ten years of slavery, one could hardly blame them. However, I'm not one of those people. In fact, I've never had an alcoholic beverage in my life. I sometimes visit bars, but never for the booze. I just like the peace and quiet atmosphere."

"I can understand and identify with that sentiment," Comet Frost disclosed, "This sort of tranquility is hard to find these days. Truth be told, I never saw the appeal in getting intoxicated. That's probably one thing the three of us have in common; none of us have any interest in drinking."

"Then that honestly bids the question, Commander," Lambent Flare declared, "What are YOU doing here?"

This question caught the aqua stallion off guard. He tentatively mumbled "Well, uh…"

"Actually, I'd like to know the answer to that, too, Comet," Shining Armor remarked, leaning a little closer to his fellow officer, "If you aren't here for a drink, why are you here?"

Believe it or not, Comet Frost had forgotten the reason he had entered the tavern in the first place. However, he was quickly remembered the conversation he had with Princess Cadence earlier that week. Once that thought occurred to him, Comet Frost turned to his commanding officer and informed him "I was looking for you, sir."

"For me?" the white stallion repeated in slight confusion.

"Yes," the aqua stallion affirmed. He paused for a minute, and then he looked Shining Armor in the eye and inquired "May I speak straightforwardly, sir?"

"Always, Comet," Shining Armor answered genially.

"Good," Comet Frost stated. There was another brief period of quietness, and after that, he sighed and told Shining Armor "In that case, I'd like to talk to you about Princess Cadence."

Shining Armor seemed to tense up a little at that remark. He leaned closer and queried nervously "Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's doing fine," Comet Frost assured him, "However, when I talked to her last week, she seemed somewhat depressed. Subsequently, I asked her if anything bothered her, and she expressed some… concern about your work habits."

"My work habits?" Shining Armor repeated in perplexity.

Comet Frost nodded in confirmation and revealed "Yes. In a way, she has come to believe that you are far more interested in making arrangements for the Games than you are in leading the Empire with her."

"Why, that's preposterous!" Shining Armor countered heatedly.

"Maybe," Comet Frost calmly coincided, "But considering how long you've been outside the palace monitoring the supervising committee, I'm inclined to agree with her."

"Well, I can assure you that that allegation is not true," Shining Armor insisted, "Believe me, Comet; I am not intentionally avoiding my wife. I just want to ensure that everything about the Games is handled properly. I'm not just doing this for my pride. The Games could do a lot to improve the image of the Crystal Empire. Delegates from all our ally countries will be coming here. Since the Empire is going to represent the whole of Equestria at this event, we should do everything we can to give our visitors the right impression of our nation."

Comet Frost took in everything Shining Armor told him. Once the white stallion was finished, the aqua stallion remarked "Well, I would be a fool to dispute that. One can never underestimate the power of the image, after all. All the same, Captain; is it really necessary for YOU to be the one who monitors ALL the preparations?"

"I suppose not," Shining Armor professed, "Because of how important the Games are, it is equally important that all the arrangements are executed properly. I feel as though I'm the only who can handle the responsibility of ensuring that everything gets done the right way."

"I understand where you're coming from, sir," Comet Frost declared, "However, Commander Plainview or I could just as easily head up the supervising committee. Neither of us is married; we don't even have a lover. Why not let us shoulder the burden for a while? That way, you'd be able to spend more time in the palace."

Shining Armor gazed off to the side and rubbed his chin to think about this proposal. It was fairly reasonable and methodical, and Comet Frost clearly knew what he was talking about. Eventually, the white stallion turned back to the aqua stallion and told him "Alright, Commander. You've convinced me that you've got the right determination and capability. You really wouldn't mind leading the supervising committee for a while?"

"Not at all, sir," Comet Frost maintained, "Nearly all of the officers seem to enjoy my company, so I'm confident they won't object if I took charge. Plus, it'd be nice to get out of the palace every now and then."

"Why is that?" Shining Armor enquired, "Are you having any personal problems of your own at the palace?"

"Oh, no; I have nothing to complain about," Comet Frost asserted, "It's just that nearly all of my work involves being indoors. Believe me; I greatly enjoy being in that citadel, and I enjoy my work in there just as much, but at times I feel as though I don't get enough fresh air and sunlight. As such, I figure that this change in our schedules would benefit both of us, Captain. I mean, regardless of how nice one's place of residence or workplace is, I don't think anypony would want to be cooped up inside for every minute of every day."

"My brother would probably disagree with you, Commander," Lambent Flare countered, "Ever since he enlisted in the Royal Guard, I've only seen him about once or twice. I pass by the palace at least once every day, but Solar is never stationed outdoors when I'm there. From what Captain Armor tells me, Solar always takes on the longest shifts with the most time-consuming assignments, and every single one of them takes place inside the palace."

"That's actually a pretty accurate assessment of Solar Flare," Comet Frost coincided, "He's like a textbook example of what the Royal Guard are expected to be. He's typically one of the first awake in the morning, one of the last asleep at night, and he's almost always got his hooves full. On average, he only stops working about five times a day; three times to eat, once to shower, and once to mingle with other off-duty officers. Altogether, those five breaks add up to just slightly over one hour."

"I've noticed that, too," Shining Armor perceived, "Every day, Solar Flare spends about six hours sleeping, one hour to eat, refresh himself, and mingle with others, and the remaining seventeen hours laboring."

"Damn, seventeen hours?" Lambent Flare remarked, "That's just one less than the work shifts we had during Sombra's occupation."

"It could be possible that Solar Flare never really broke out of that routine," Comet Frost conjectured, "Either that or he's a workaholic."

"Could be," Lambent Flare stated, "But if you ask me, I think the real reason he works so hard is that he wants to make enough money so that the two of us will never have to worry about anything ever again."

"If so, that's astonishingly noble of him," Comet Frost declared, "However, from the way you put it, you seem to imply that he's working so hard because he doesn't want you to have to work to make a living."

"Oh, he doesn't feel that way, Commander," Lambent Flare pronounced, "However, he DOES feel as though I shouldn't have to work as hard as most other people. Still, that doesn't prevent me from finding a way to contribute to society."

"Then you DO have a job?" Comet Frost presumed.

"Yes, I'm a private investigator," Lambent Flare disclosed.

Comet Frost did not expect to hear that, but he was rather intrigued to learn this fact. He raised an eyebrow and stated "Oh? So you're involved in the detective business?"

"That's right," she confirmed.

"How did you come to get into that line of work?" Comet Frost inquired.

"Well, as you can imagine, I didn't have many ambitions for the future when I was a filly and a teenager," Lambent Flare expounded, "I didn't get my first job until after King Sombra was destroyed. Once the Crystal Empire was fully restored, I started looking for a job. To make my search easier, I had some criteria for what to look for. I was hoping for a job that would involve making an honest living, serving the community and society at the same time, and maintaining peace and order in the Empire. In the end, I chose to be a private investigator."

"How has that worked out for you?" Comet Frost queried.

"It's been going very well," the tawny mare elucidated, "I'm very good at solving problems and locating missing things, Commander. If any wrongdoing is committed anywhere in the city, the residents come to me to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice. So far, I've solved forty-three different cases over the course of the last year."

"Out of how many clients?" Comet Frost asked in interest.

"Forty-three," she bluntly retorted, smiling, "Currently, I'm the most prestigious P.I. in the whole city. My services have a 100% success rate."

"That's rather impressive," Comet Frost commented. He rested his front leg on the table and rested his head on it. He then gazed downward and rubbed his chin; he looked as though he was getting an idea.

"Something on your mind, Comet?" Shining Armor enquired.

The aqua stallion did not answer straightaway. A minute later, he turned back to Lambent Flare and asked her "Are you a private investigator on the state level?"

"Yes, sir," Lambent replied, nodding her head in confirmation, "I work in coalition with the town's police and the security forces."

"Alright then," Comet Frost acknowledged, "Tell me; have you ever thought of becoming a P.I. on the federal level?"

"You mean where I would aid the Royal Guard and the Equestrian Royalty?" the crystal Unicorn theorized.

"Precisely," Comet Frost affirmed.

"Well, I don't know about that, Commander…" Lambent Flare tentatively began.

"Actually, Comet may be on to something, Lambent," Shining Armor interjected, "Think about this in perspective. You'd get your own office in the palace, where you'd be able to have plenty of peace and quiet on a regular basis. Plus, you'd have the opportunity to see Solar Flare when he's both off-duty and on-duty. Rather than me telling you how he's doing every few days, you'd be able to visit him yourself."

Lambent Flare could not deny that these were all fine points. She shrugged and thought aloud "That certainly does sound appealing."

"We haven't even mentioned the best part yet," Comet Frost proclaimed. He leaned closer to the tawny mare and pronounced "I could arrange for you to have an audience with Princess Cadence herself."

This prospect seemed to excite Lambent Flare. She smiled and asked eagerly "Really?"

"Absolutely," the aqua stallion replied, "It's the least we could do for the mare who helped bring salvation to the Crystal Empire."

"You give me too much credit, Commander," Lambent Flare modestly proclaimed, "All I did was run for help and cause this entire city to vanish for ten centuries. Princess Cadence and Spike The Dragon were the ones who really saved my people."

"Still, you helped relieve their suffering," Comet Frost pointed out, "Because of that, I'm certain the Princess would be delighted to meet you."

"Well, if she is, than who am I to decline an invitation from her?" Lambent Flare perceived, "I'll take your offer into consideration, Commander. In the meantime, could you decide on a specific time and date for when I could meet Princess Cadence?"

"It would be my honor," Comet Frost proudly declared.

There was another long period of utter silence between the three of them. Then Shining Armor gazed at the clock on the wall to get the time. It was already late in the afternoon. The white stallion turned to face Comet Frost and told him "We should probably head back to the palace soon. Could you get the men ready to leave?"

"You got it, sir," Comet Frost avowed. He stood up and trotted towards the center of the room. From there, he loudly cleared this throat to get everypony's attention. Soon, all eyes were on him, and he announced "I need all members of the Royal Guard to listen up. We are about to depart for the palace. So I need you to empty your glasses, round up your cards, straighten your uniforms, and stop flirting with the patrons."

He had meant that last one as a joke. It had the intended effect; every other member of the Royal Guard let out a hearty chuckle. In actuality, none of the officers had been trying to flatter any of the mares in the bar at this time. Once they had their laugh at Comet Frost's joke, they proceeded to follow his orders.

Comet Frost watched his fellow officers as they cleaned up their tables and paid for their drinks. At one point during this event, Comet Frost gazed back at his table out of the corner of his eye. He noticed that Shining Armor and Lambent Flare had gotten out of their chairs, as well. They were standing very close to each other and whispering into each other's ears.

Amidst the all the noise in the tavern, Comet Frost managed to overhear three lines of their conversation.

"You should go ahead and take the job at the palace," Shining Armor encouraged the tawny mare.

"Maybe I will, but then I won't have these visits to look forward to anymore, Captain," Lambent Flare perceived.

"Well, look on the bright side," Shining Armor told her, "They won't have to be just visits anymore."

At that, Lambent Flare grinned and nodded her head in agreement. She said something more that Comet Frost could not make out. In response to that, Shining Armor smiled back deviously and said something more in an equally quiet manner.

These strange actions arose Comet Frost's suspicions. He wondered if there was another reason for Shining Armor's meetings with Lambent Flare other than the well-being of Solar Flare.

At first, he thought that such a concept was inconceivable. Then he realized something odd.

Over the past several weeks, Shining Armor had found a way to make time to speak to the sister of one of their coworkers; a mare he supposedly barely knew. Yet over the course of those same weeks, he had been unable to make time to see Princess Cadence, his own wife. In Comet Frost's mind, there was no way that could add up without… the personal involvement of another individual.

So maybe Shining Armor did have another motivation for seeing Lambent Flare. However, as of right now, this was only a theory he had. Since he currently had no conclusive evidence to validate it, he decided to put the subject out of his mind for the present. But he did not plan to let it go altogether. If something was going on between Shining Armor and a mare other than Cadence, it would mean trouble for all four of them.

He made a note to keep an eye on Shining Armor and Lambent Flare whenever they were around each other in the future. But despite his suspicions and even with this objective, Comet Frost hoped that his theory was flawed and that he was just being paranoid. Because if it turned out he was right… he knew he would have to tell Princess Cadence about it. And once that happened… Comet Frost could not foresee any good ending to that scenario.