> King: The Beginning
>  by DanishDash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again the morning sun rose to greet the kingdom of Equestria, the rays bathed the capital city of Canterlot in Celestia's warm light. Ponies all over the city was getting up to greet the day and begin work, again the weather was excellent thanks to the hard work of the weather team.

As the streets started to fill with the many ponies, there was a certain spring in their steps. Every pony could feel the joy and excitement in the air, they all knew the time was growing ever closer. The time of the birth of the new member of the royal family.

Princess Cadence had arrived with her husband Shining Armor a few days ago, which had to mean the foal would soon be born. It was the talk of the city, the talk of the entire kingdom in fact. Most of the inns and taverns had been booked, a huge amount of visitors had flooded the city in order to be here when the newest addition to the royal family was going to be born.

There was even some small camps outside the city, ponies from all over who simply had to be here when it happened, it was a historic birth after all. After thousands of years one of the royal sisters was going to have their first foal, it was an event few wanted to miss.

Of course with the big number of ponies arriving in the city, security had to be tightened. In fact, it had not been so tight since the wedding of princess Cadence and Shining Armor, though the royal guard had improved a lot of the loopholes and learned their lesson from that failure.

Any time or any day now a new princess or prince would be born, though most counted on it would be a princess. Well most ponies anyway, some in fact counted on the opposite, some in fact, knew it. They however did not Prance around in the streets or celebrated like all the other ponies, instead they hid in the shadows, waiting patiently, as they had for over a thousand years...





"Urgh..." Luna groaned as her head rested on the dining table, this had been the fourth morning she had raised the sun for Celestia. She didn't mind to help out her sister, especially since she was expecting, but handling the moon, the dreams and the sun, she was exhausted. "This kid better be cute..." She mumbled.

"Good morning aunt Luna." Cadence smiled as she trotted inside along with her husband. "Are you okay? You look exhausted?" The pink Alicorn asked as she made her way over to her dark blue aunt.

Luna nodded. "Yes, I am fine, but I don't know how Celestia dealt with raising the moon and the sun for a thousand years.." She admitted looking a bit down, she felt a little guilty about being gone, creating a situation where she had to be banished and left Celestia with all the responsibility.

"Well she never had to deal with the dream world as well." Shining, the white unicorn with a blue mane and tail reminded her as he sat down.

Cadence nodded and sat down beside her beloved. "Yes, please don't fear Luna, auntie Celestia will be back sooner than you know."

Luna smiled and mouthed a small thank you. "I am pretty excited to see her foal, it's been the big news back at the Crystal Empire." Shining said, shifting the conversation. "I even think some of our subjects has come to bear witness to it's birth."

"Speaking of which." Luna continued. "How is security? Any news about that strange.. Uhm.. Cult?"

Shining's face became serious. "No, and I do not like it."

"Do you really think they are a threat?" Cadence asked worried. It had been a few weeks ago, during the last few days of the day court Celestia attended before she decided to relax for the foal's sake. A group of cloaked ponies had shown up, asking all sorts of inappropriate questions. They had claimed they knew the gender of the foal, claimed they knew of a prophecy that had foretold his birth. 

Celestia was used to sometimes meet, strange and eccentric ponies, she had been very patient and polite. The minute they started to ask about the foal's father she had sent them away, no longer entertaining their claims or willing to hear anymore. The episode had Luna, Shining and Cadence worried, they did not expect her to share such things with a group of strange ponies, but she hadn't revealed any details about the father to them either.

"We don't know, it's not that they have done anything illegal, but they seemed like fanatics.." Shining explained. "Ponies like that can be dangerous. Even more worrying is if they are right and the foal is a colt, who knows what they would do."

"Indeed." Luna agreed. "Which is why I want to make sure everything is handled." Shining nodded in responds.

"I have my best guards covering the entire palace and the rest patrolling the city, the mountain and the surrounding area." 

"Also." Luna continued. "It may still be early since we don't know the gender, but maybe we should start planning for it's guard."

Cadence tilted her head. "I had thought the Solar guard would have that responsibility?"

There were three branches to choose from with their own subsections, there were the Solar Guard who patrolled during the day. Then you had the Lunar Guard who guarded the night. Lastly you had the Royal Guard, the most elite soldiers of Equestria.

"I haven't had the chance to speak to Celestia about it, and yes, maybe at first, but the guard will expect a new regiment to be formed in the honor of the new foal." She smiled a little. "I am most excited to see the formation of a new life regiment!" She clapped her hooves a little as it had been so long since the formation of her own guard. "At any rate, I would like to retire, it's been a long night and I would like to-."

The doors went up and in sped Raven Inkwell, Celestia's personal secretary and assistant. "Princess Luna, please come quickly!"

Luna quickly stood up as the white unicorn mare looked rather rattled. "What is it miss Inkwell?"

She panted a little after having been running throughout the palace. "It's happening your highness.." She panted and adjusted her thick glasses. "It's the foal, it's being born, her majesty is giving birth!"





The whole city had gathered, the trumpets had finally alerted that the birth was taking place. Ponies talked in almost whispers, like they were afraid it would disturb the doctors and Celestia. The guards had been doubled on the palace walls and it was like time itself stood still in anticipation.

"That's it your highness, you're doing very well." The doctor told Celestia as he and the nurses worked. "That's it, yes, keep pushing, push!" 

Celestia did as instructed, her fur all wet from the sweat, her body sore from tensing up and fighting through the pain as she did what the doctor asked of her. Several times she let out small and big screams, making the ponies on the other side of the door worry, even if they knew it was a part of it.

Luna felt like a stallion at that moment, she was pacing back and forth, worried, wanting to help in any way she could as Cadence and Shining sat on the bench outside the royal infirmary, reserved for the sisters. Twilight had been allowed to be here, but she was still in the city and was probably speeding to the castle with all possible haste!

"Okay, I can see the head your majesty, come on, you're almost there, push!" 

Summoning all her willpower, Celestia squeezed her eyes shut, willed her body to push once more and let out the biggest and longest scream yet. She could feel the foal leaving her body and she let out a long exhausting sigh. She panted, but it felt so good even though her whole body was sore and she still felt some pain.

However, the pain vanished instantly as she heard a tiny little voice starting to cry. Even out in the waiting room, they held their breaths as they heard the tiny crying. Cadence started to cry tears of joy, taking her husband into her hooves and hugging him tightly, he hugged her back and cried even more.

Luna looked at the door, steeling herself as the crying slowly died down, as expected the doctor came out, wearing a small smile as he bowed to Luna. "Your royal highness, the princess would like to see you."

She did not hesitate one moment as she walked past him and into the room. There was of course some blood here and there, but the nurses were quick to clean it up. Celestia laid on a big bed, it was soaked in sweat, but it was only for the moment until she could be moved into a clean bed.

"Tia?" Luna said as she carefully walked closer to her older sister.

Celestia's ears perked up as she turned her head to face her, now that her head was moved Luna noticed her cradling something small in her arms. "Lulu.." She said with a tired voice, but a happy one. "Come and say hello.." Luna walked closer to see and when she did, she saw a little bundle of blankets with a small head poking out.

Luna felt her heart expand ten times over, the little colt had white fur like Celestia, a horn and a blonde mane. What was most fascinating however was his eyes, they had a golden like color, like the sun itself was burning within him. "This is your nephew , Spero."

The name was very old, in old Equestrian it meant hope. Luna however didn't mind it. "He's beautiful Tia.." Luna said softly and came all the way over to the side of the bed.

Celestia nodded. "Isn't he? He's perfect.." She whispered, a tear running down her cheek, but her smile was still there. Luna had to wonder if it was a tear of joy, or because she was thinking about the father. "He's a big boy, the doctor says he's quite strong too." She said and planted a small kiss between the little colt's ears. "Are the others out there?" 

"Yes sister, only Twilight hasn't arrived yet." Luna said apologetically.

"It's okay, my darling couldn't wait, but I think it is time to inform Equestria they have their first prince. The first male Alicorn." Celestia smiled proudly, Luna however was stunned.

"Did you say.." She shook her head and smiled. "Never mind, of course sister." There was no reason to burden Celestia with all the questions now, she was tired and she and the foal needed rest. She instead turned to the door. "Captain Shining Armor." She called in a formal Canterlot voice, though not as powerful as to not scare Spero.

The door went up and in marched Shining Armor, a serious expression on his face as he stood in his armor, ready to receive the order he had been waiting for all day. "Yes your majesty?"

"Fire the cannons captain, one after another, to salute the birth of my nephew." Luna said proudly, feeling giddy for finally being able to say that.  

Shining seemed to feel the same way of finally hearing those words, he didn't let the surprise of the information of nephew overtake his professionalism, but he couldn't help but smirk. "At your orders princess."

He turned and left the room, marching out of the waiting room, but as he did Twilight came into the waiting room in great speed, Spike following closely behind her. When they passed one another Shining sent her a small wink before putting on his helmet and vanished down the hall.

Twilight looked after him before she hurried over to Cadence. "The foal is born then?" The lavender unicorn asked with a bit of disappointment. "Is it a colt or a filly?"

Cadence smiled. "Don't worry, it has just happened, but I'm afraid I do not yet know the sex."

"The streets are full, I had a hard time getting to the gates, that's why I was late." She said apologetically. "We got here as fast as we could.."

"Twilight, it's fine, aunt Celestia had a bit more to worry about." She smirked as Luna came out. Both mares looked to her excitingly.

"Everything went well." Luna smiled. "She wants to see you, for a short visit, the doctor is strict and wants my sister and the foal to rest." 

Both of them nodded and followed Luna inside. The nurses were already making the new clean bed for Celestia while another one got in the crib. Luna stood back, letting Cadence and Twilight go over so they would not crowd the little colt.

Celestia smiled up at them, they both saw the little colt laying in Celestia's arms, they both let out an. "Awwww."

The little colt looked over at them, he seemed confused at first, but then smiled ever so slightly and made some small baby sounds. "Cadence, Twilight, I would like for you to meet my son, Spero."

Twilight held back the urge to ask about him being a male Alicorn, like Luna she knew there would be a time and a place for all that, and she respectfully simply resigned herself to be patient.

"Hello little one." Cadence smiled. "You're a handsome little gem, aren't you?" She said gently. "I'm your aunt, princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can call me aunt Cadence." Little Spero did of course not understand a word she said, but seemed happy to listen to her gentle voice.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, it's an honor to meet you prince Spero." She said happily and bowed respectfully, earning a small giggle from Celestia.

"Come now Twilight, you are practically family. I think he can call you aunt Twilight." Celestia said gently and gave her a foal a small lick to clean him a little.

Twilight was touched, her ears flattened and she smiled as her eyes started to fill with some tears. "T-thank you princess Celestia."

Before anything else could be said, a thunderous sound could be heard from outside. It was the cannons, saluting the birth of the prince. Almost immediately afterwards a roar of cheers could be heard from the entire city. The sound was almost overwhelming and for a moment Celestia feared Spero would be scared.

Instead, to her pleasant surprise, the little foal giggled in delight as the small vibrations from the many canons could be felt in the room. Only a little, but enough to make the foal giggle.

She smiled gently at her son. "My brave boy.. It seems all of Canterlot and Equestria are wishing you happy birthday." Celestia nuzzled Spero and he in turn pushed himself closer to her, his mother.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The news spread like wildfire, a male Alicorn had been born, he was the first prince of Equestria, first born of princess Celestia and the heir to the throne. It would be quite a while before that would happen, but the ponies liked to know they were there when the prince was born, to know the royal bloodline would continue.

Festivals around Equestria were taking place, lots of music, dancing, eating and drinking to celebrate the prince's birthday, a historic moment to be sure. Though as other celebrated, some simply watched and took in the news with no surprise. In the shadows of the alleys a group of black cloaked ponies stood and waited.

Thankfully the wait was short as another cloaked pony appeared. "So, it's a colt then."

One of the other cloaked ponies stepped forward to answer the stallion. "Yes, just as we predicted.. Should we try to approach the princess again?"

The cloaked stallion shook his head. "No, for now we watch him."

"For how long?"

"For as long as it takes, we will watch him.."


*****


When the new day finally arrived and the festivities had died down from yesterday, Celestia gently woke from her slumber. She had rested all day yesterday and all night, only waking up to take care of her little foal, feeding him, talking gently to him and simply taking care of him in any way he needed. 

The night had been pretty calm, he had hardly cried, and the few whimpers that did came was quickly silenced with some motherly warmth and a nuzzle. Now, as the Alicorn got up to raise the sun for the first time in a while, the little colt moved under his blue blankets. Celestia smiled gently, moving over beside the crib to greet her son.

Spero moved under the blankets, finally sticking his tiny muzzle out, his nose sniffing around as he slowly emerged. Celestia smiled gently seeing her son come out to explore from his warm nest. "Good morning little sun." She whispered and moved her head down and nuzzled the waking foal.

The colt nuzzled her back, his eyes opening to look at his mother. "Mommy just need to raise the sun, you just stay warm and cozy." The little foal only let out a slow long yawn out before he laid down again, accepting his snugly fate for now. She gave her son a kiss between the ears and then moved closer to the window.

As she did so, the little colt tried to stand on his hind legs, it didn't go that well, he kept falling back on his rump. Though after some effort, he managed to stand just long enough to put his forelegs over the edge so he wouldn't fall. He was just barely able to move his head above the edge of the crib, his eyes watching his mom as she used her magic to open the window.

His eyes filled with wonder and amazement as he watched his mother use her magic, and she giggled a little, but kept her focus on the horizon. Taking a deep breath, she reached out with her magic and gently started to raise the sun. It had been some days since she last felt it, even though she was still tired, it felt good to finally touch it again.

Spero's tail swayed from side to side as he watched his mother, the whole scene was amazing to witness and he watched with all the focus a little foal like him could give. However when Celestia finished, his legs could not hold him up and he fell onto his back in the crib. His wings fluttered a bit in a short panic, but as he turned he calmed down.

His mother giggled, seeing her son being an eager little colt. He had the desire to learn and explore, that much she could tell already. Her little foal moved around the crib, trying to stand, but he simply didn't have the strength yet. Picking up her son in her magic, she gently guided him to the bed so she could feed him.


*****


Luna was tired, but she knew there was still things that needed to be done, like greeting the world with her sister and her nephew. Also the guard wanted to salute their new prince and future commander, well that would be beyond their lifespan, but not beyond the lifespan of the guard itself.

Coming to a hold at the door, the two Solar Guards saluted Luna as they let her pass. She gently took a hold of the door with her magic and slowly opened it. "Sister?"

Celestia looked up and smiled at the sight of Luna. "Please, come in Lulu, good morning." She was laying on her side, Spero close to her as he was fed.

Luna smiled and closed the behind her. "Good morning to you as well Tia. We were simply wondering how you and our nephew were faring."

"The night was peaceful for us, Spero hardly made a sound." She smiled looking down as her little foal was sucking on her teats. Luna blushed a bit, though Celestia could not help but giggle. "Come now Lulu, we did the same when we were just fillies as well, no need to be embarrassed." 

Luna shook her head. "We am not embarrassed.. Well maybe we are a little, it has been centuries since we last saw something like this, and you being my sister makes it even more.. Well personal."

Celestia simply smiled and looked down at her son. "He is a greedy one." She commented and smirked at Luna who looked a bit uncomfortable seeing something that personal. "So what can I do for you?"

"Well." Luna said and walked closer to her sister, happy to have a change in subject. "As you know, you have to greet the press later, not to mention our subjects. Besides that, the guard is eager to salute their new prince." Celestia nodded, knowing it would have been proper to introduce her son to the ponies the day of his birth, but she quite frankly did not have the energy. "Also," Luna continued. "I think it would be proper to discuss the formation of his own guard regiment."

At that Celestia raised a brow. "His own guard regiment? Isn't that a bit to soon?"

Luna shook her head. "No, well maybe, but I think it would be a good show of unity." Luna explained. "The Lunar Guard is almost all Thestrals and your guard is almost all ordinary ponies." She quickly waved a hoof. "Not that it is a bad thing dear sister, but my Thestrals still faces some prejudice.." She sighed. "I think if we form a new regiment, made up of Solar Guards and Lunar Guards, ponies and Thestrals, it shows trust and the prince will grow up with all the tribes."

Celestia frowned, it was true the Thestrals still faced some prejudice. After Luna's betrayal and the short war between them, Thestrals were not treated kindly and to Celestia's shame, she hardly did anything at first. Thankfully times were changing and having their lady of the night back had helped a great deal to relieve tensions.

"I see your point.." Celestia said thoughtfully as her greedy little foal had enough of his mother's milk and moved his head away. Both Alicorns smiled as the little foal started to crawl up towards his mother, it took a little, but finally he settled into his mother's forelegs, curling into a ball and nuzzled against her chest.

"Looks like you got a fan." Luna smirked

"That I do." Celestia agreed, smiling down at Spero before looking back up. "You make a good case, do you wish to handle the matter?"

Luna shook her head with a smile. "Dear sister of mine, it is something we should do together. Don't want anypony accusing me of making his guard up with those i place in high regard." Both sister giggled as they could easily imagine some nobles spouting such accusations behind their backs. "But really now, you should get ready to meet our ponies, you won't be able to hide him away forever, you have to share." Luna said teasingly before her smile faded. "Tia.. Uhm, I know you have not wanted to talk about it, but, his father.."

Celestia frowned at the sudden change of topic. "Lulu, please, I.."

"Tia, they are going to ask, you know that. You have might been able to avoid the worst questions due to your pregnancy and the press not being so bold they would in fact intrude on you, but now. Nobles and the press alike wants to know.." Luna said with a frown. "I want to know, but I am not as foolish or so selfish I would want to force it out of you, but I just wish for you to be prepared."

She was right, Celestia knew it, of course she was. She chided herself for sometimes forgetting her sister was more clever and wise that some, even herself, would give her credit for.

"You're right, once again.." Celestia sighed. "The only thing I can do is to be honest.. I do not wish to reveal his identity and I wish to respect his privacy."

Luna frowned. "I don't understand sister, why is he not with you?"

"Lulu, it's complicated.." Celestia said with a frown. "Do not pass judgement on him, this is no more easy for him than it is for me.. Trust me when I say he is probably beating himself up, but, he feels he can't be here, he's afraid."

"Afraid? Afraid of raising his foal?"

Celestia sighed. "In some ways yes, but he feels he is not worthy of me, that he would never be worthy of his foal.. He is stubborn, he distanced himself from me in order to protect us. At least that is what he thinks, and i'm afraid in some ways he is right." Celestia could see Luna tried not protest or burst out in rage, but finally she seemed to give in.

Both of them knew the nobles would make an even bigger fuzz if the stallion was not a noble, then that would just put Spero's legitimacy and right to the throne into more question, and he would always have to dodge the questions and looks he would get.

"Though, he is wrong too. He is more than a worthy father, he would be able to give him life lessons I fear I will never be able to give him, but I have faith. Faith in our son and faith in him, I believe one day we shall be together again, and we both be there for Spero." She whispered, leaning down and nuzzled the little colt that happily nuzzled back.


*****


"Guards, attention!" Shining Armor commanded the hundreds of guards that had been gathered on the parade square of the barracks. Hundreds of hooves stamped to the stone floor beneath them, in one unison sound. "Unicorns, present horns!" The unicorn guards that had been gathered in one end raised their heads, the tip of their horns lit up. 

"Pegasi! Present wings!" The pegasi guards, in the group across from the unicorns, spread their wings, folded one back and then with the other made a salute. "Earth guards, salute the royal family!" The last group marched forward, about 20 steps. They moved as one, not one moving out from the beat. Finally they stopped, raised their heads high and saluted with their right hooves.

Shining Armor, standing in front of all the guards, Solar and Lunar, turned to the balcony not far above them and saluted Celestia, Luna, Cadence and of course Spero. "Your majesty, the royal guard salutes the birth of his royal highness, prince Spero!"  

As if he had given a command all the guards yelled out in unison. "Huzzah! Long live the prince! Long live the prince!" When they were done, they returned into normal attention stances, letting their horns, hooves and wings drop back.

Celestia smiled and gave Shining a nod. Little Spero did not understand, but he seemed very fascinated and entertained by the display. Clapping his hooves together and making happy noises. As he could not speak for himself yet, Celestia spoke for her son, as expected. 

"Thank you all, the crown thanks you for your loyalty to your prince and to this country. I know, if my son had the words he would say the same." The little foal, sitting on her back let out a small hiccup and continued to make sounds. Cadence found it adorable, which she was pretty sure a lot of the guards down there did too, but they had a better poker face when it came to cute things than her. 

Shining nodded, saluted the princesses again and turned to the guards. "Battalions! Salute!" Every right hoof was raised to their heads, standing taller than before. The princesses bowed their heads as thanks and Shining continued. "Battalions! Dismissed!" one sound of hundreds of hooves stamping once into the stone floor later and the guards left the parade square.

Shining walked up to the balcony via a small stair case just inside. When he reached them his wife gave him a loving nuzzle. "I always love it when you use your commanding voice~." She teased.

Shining blushed, but returned the nuzzle. "Well, I say that went quite well."

Celestia nodded. "I think so as well, Spero seemed to enjoy it." She smiled and looked back on the foal that was happily sucking on both his hooves on her back. "Didn't you darling?" Hearing his mother's cooing he looked up and giggled, holding out his hooves and spoke unintelligible sounds. Celestia simply smiled. "That's right, yes you did enjoy it, that you did."

It was weird to see Celestia talking all goo goo baby talk, but in a good way. She was so happy and the foal clearly enjoyed the affections and attention from his mother.  "Your highness." A mares voice said from the door. A white unicorn with glasses and a brown mane looked at them, hoping not to disturb the royals.

"Ah, miss Inkwell, please." Celestia said. "Is it time for the the kingdom to meet the prince?"

She nodded. "Yes princess, everything is ready. The crowd is pretty big."

Shining sighed and looked at Celestia. "I have three lines of royal guards keeping them away from the door, they are pretty pressed."

"Then we should get this over with." Celestia said amused. "They are eager." She looked at her son with a smile. "Seems like the time has come to finally share you with the world, my son." And with that, the group of Royals made their way down stairs, to greet their subjects and the press. Seems like things were going to be pretty busy for the young prince, the life of a royal was never easy, which was a lesson he had to learn, even now.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was it, the moment all of Equestria had been waiting for. Celestia knew this had to happen, but still, she hadn't been so nervous about public appearances since her very first one. Years of practice and still she was nervous, not about herself, but about sharing her young foal so soon.

It was something that needed to happen, something he needed to get used to. As a princess she knew this, but as a mother, she wanted him to just be a little foal and enjoy his childhood for as long as possible, but.. That was simply a luxury a royal could not afford, no matter how much they wished it so. She would need to lead him by example, to share her vast experience and show him there was nothing to fear.

"Princess..?" Miss Inkwell stepped closer. "It's time."

The sound of the massive crowd gathered below the palace was incredible, it had been so long since their ponies had gathered in such massive numbers, such love already shown to her little foal, it warmed her heart.. The balcony and the royal family was only separated by the red curtain, the two Solar Guards ready to lift it aside so they could walk out.

Taking a deep breath, she looked to the foal on her back. "This is it Spero, ready to meet our subjects?" She asked with a small smile. The colt smiled back, fluttering his wings a bit in excitement. "That's my little brave colt." She said and nuzzled him once before she looked back towards the curtain. With a nod the guard moved the curtain to the side and let them pass.

The crowd started to roar in excitement as soon as Celestia stepped out with her little foal on her back. The streets and the courtyard in front of the palace was a colorful sea of ponies, all waving, taking pictures, holdings signs, cheering and calling to them.

Celestia let them cheer for about half a minute before she held up a hoof, and just like that  the crowd of ponies quieted down. When there was enough silence, her horn glowed and her voice could be heard all throughout Canterlot. 

"My dear little ponies, yesterday marked a historic day, not just for me, but for you. For a long time, I thought I would never have the great honor of giving birth to a foal, the honor of motherhood. An honor many of you have experienced already and have done well."

The crowd cheered.

"I can only hope I will do you all justice as I try this new adventure myself. The road is long ahead, but I know in my heart my son, your prince, and the first male Alicorn shall make you all proud." She smiled at the little foal as he giggled, earning him some 'awwws' from the crowd below, at least for those who could see him.

"And so, I hope you will stand with me, as we show him the way of kindness, friendship and what it means to be a loyal and honest pony. That way he will learn to love you all as I do." She smiled and levitated Spero with her magic, showing him to the crowd, but of course she did not hold him so high that it was dangerous. "My son, prince Spero."

The crowd went wild, cheering, stomping their hooves or clapping, taking pictures and called out praises. Spero was confused at first, looking down at the many ponies, his big round eyes seemed to grow as he looked at them all. He started to giggle and wiggle in delight as he floated gently in the air.

The crowd started to cheer again and call out.

"Long live the princesses! Long live prince Spero!"

Celestia levitated her little Spero down to her, she nuzzled him lovingly. "You did so well my little sun." She held him in one foreleg, while the other princesses waved dignified. Celestia would wave too, if she could, but the crowd understood and liked to see the prince close to his mother.

After about five minutes the group went back inside, soon enough they could hear the music start up again from outside and the festivities continued. Luna let out a sigh. "Well, that went really well Tia." 

Celestia smiled and nuzzled Spero again. "He did so well, not crying or showing fear." She giggled as Spero reached up his hooves and touched his mother's muzzle. "You're so like your fath.." She stopped herself, her expression growing sad for a second, but quickly regained her composure and continued. "Such a good colt, you're mommy's little sun, yes you are."

Luna and Cadence exchanged a glance, worrying about Celestia. However they chose to not press the matter, she would tell them once she was ready. Luna smiled and stepped over to her sister. "Tia, the elements will be waiting downstairs, they are the last visitors for today."

"Thank you Lulu, let us depart then." Celestia said, thankful for none of them had pressed her on her foal's father. Again, she knew she could not avoid the questions forever, at some point she had to address the issue, but for now, for the second time in her life as a princess, she wanted to be selfish and just enjoy the quiet for a little while longer.


~~***~~


Twilight and her five best friends all waited in one of the salons of the palace. Rarity enjoyed some tea while Pinkie Pie enjoyed one of the many cakes. "Ah must say, it is mighty kind of the princess to invite us all here." Applejack said as she looked out the window, seeing the festival starting up again in the streets.

"Oh yes." Rarity smiled and removed her tea cup and wiped her lips with a napkin. "It is an important occasion after all, to think, a born Alicorn, and a colt no less."

Twilight nodded in agreement. "I was pretty shocked too. I had no idea this could happen, well, I mean I know Alicorns can get pregnant, well, I was pretty sure of it." Twilight rambled a little, but her friends was used to it when she had a lot of questions on her mind. "I am just surprised the foal was born as an Alicorn, I wonder how his magic will be growing up. As an Alicorn he should already be pretty strong. Oh, maybe I can teach him and learn more about him!" 

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes a little. "Yea, that sounds fun, but what about the little guy learning to fly? That's important too you know." She smirked and stuffed a cream cake into her mouth, chewing for a few seconds before swallowing the whole thing, earning her a disgusted look from Rarity. "Who's the stallion that knocked Celestia up anyway?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity scolded. "That is not way to speak in the palace."

Rainbow lowered her head a bit. "S-sorry, I didn't mean anything bad by it." She looked to Twilight. "Don't you know anything?"

Twilight shook her head. "Nothing, I wanted to ask about it, ask about what kind of pony he is, earth, unicorn or Pegasus, but princess Luna asked me not to bring it up?"

"Why not?" Rainbow asked.

"Maybe because it's none of our business?" Applejack suggested and raised a brow at Rainbow.

"Maybe it's because it is a bit painful to talk about.." Fluttershy added, quietly as always, but she did have a point. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie looked up from the many cakes.

"He is a secret papa stallion! Maybe she has him wrapped up and he is going to be opened like a birthday present!" She grinned.

"Girls." Twilight cut in. "No matter what we think, or how much we want to know, I promised princess Luna we would not bring it up. So please, for her sake, let us not."

They all nodded and promised not to bring up the issue about the foal's father. As if on cue, the doors to the salon opened and in stepped the three princesses and Shining Armor and of course, riding on his mother's back, prince Spero. Celestia smiled at them all. "Thank you for coming, all of you." She gave Twilight a nod. "Twilight, you have already met my son, but I think it is time for him to meet the elements of harmony for the first time." She levitated her little colt off her back and in front of her. "This is my son, Spero."

All the mares, including Rainbow Dash, let out a long. "Awwwww."

"Well gosh princess, ain't he just the cutest little thing." Applejack said as Celestia placed the little foal on a thick blue blanket that had been laid out on the floor for him.

The little foal could not stand, still he gave it a try, but each time he fell down. Then, as he looked up on the mares around him, his eyes widened, like if he was seeing them just now. His eyes scanned each of the colorful ponies as they cooed and admired him, but as soon as his eyes fell on Rainbow Dash, or rather her colorful tail and mane, he started to crawl towards her.

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as the little prince started to make his way towards her. "W-wha? What is he doing?"

"Ohh, I think he likes you!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"Why don't you sit down and hold him?" Celestia suggested, slightly amused to see Rainbow's hesitation. Though as she suggested she sat down, holding out her hooves a little. To her shocked the little foal seemed to beam at that, moving faster towards her, even fluttering his wings slightly.

"Awwwww~."

The mares exclaimed around the two of them as the little foal finally crawled into the hooves of Rainbow Dash. At first she was a little hesitant, but seeing him beam at her, she couldn't help but smirk and lift him up. "Well good job kiddo." She laughed. "You're the fastest crawler in this room." They all let out small laughs.

"Wow, Rainbow, you're good with kids, maybe you should get your own soon?" Rarity suggested with a teasing grin.

If it wasn't for the foal in her hooves, Rainbow would have yelled her off, instead she simply stuck her tongue out at her. "Hey, it's not my fault the kid recognizes awesomeness when he sees it." She lifted him up. "That's right kiddo, you know talent, and I bet you..." Her words trailed off as she heard something strange, then felt something wet. She stiffened in place while all the others tried not to laugh.

Rainbow had lifted Spero up enough so he could reach her mane, he had wasted no time in catching the strains of hair with his mouth and had started to suck and chew on them like if she was a giant candy.

Finally Pinkie Pie and Applejack fell to their backs and started to laugh and laugh at the sight. Rainbow blushed and tried to move the foal out of her mane's reach, but the little colt had a strong grip. "Ow!" She exclaimed as he refused to let go of his price. They all joined in the laughter and soon enough Rainbow couldn't help but chuckle too.

Celestia was just about to step in, but Rainbow managed to get him to let go when she started to tickle his tummy with her wings. 'Clever, maybe Rarity is right about Rainbow Dash being a good mother.' Celestia thought and smirked.

Applejack sat up, wiping some tears away. "Oh sweet hayball, that was great. So much for being recognized for being awesome and all that."

Rainbow Rolled her eyes. "Please, the kid has potential, if he doesn't try to eat me first." She said and gave a mock glare at Spero, who simply stared into her eyes and then let out a happy sound before reaching out to her with his hooves. Rainbow's expression softened. "Fine, I forgive you kiddo." She smirked.


~~***~~


Meanwhile.

There was only silence in the study, the curtains had been closed, and it was only the crackling of the fireplace that broke the silence and most of the darkness. Several ponies wearing masks stood around the room, waiting for the meeting to begin.

Finally the doors opened and in stepped a large unicorn, wearing a cloak and a mask just like the others. "Let us begin then.." He said and they all nodded. "The princess has let us wait for two days now, she refuses the nobility to see the prince."

"Two days, it's a scandal, the guard, the commoners, all of them got to see the heir, before us." A masked noble growled and the others nodded in agreement.

"Calm my friends.." The masked unicorn, who was hosting the meeting said. "Tomorrow she will present the prince to us and we all know what we must do. The father, we must know who he is. Now, we have all made use of our connections, I think at this time we can be certain he is not a noble."

It was true, if the father was a noble he would be up there enjoying the spotlight and attention and his new status, but no pony had done so. It had to mean there was no noble who was involved in this whole affair.

"Are we talking about questioning his right to the throne?" A mare asked.

"That would be a mistake." Another one said, and the whole group turned to another masked unicorn. "Not to mention pointless."

"Explain yourself." The host demanded calmly, but still firmly. 

"We all come from old households, we cannot use the young prince yet, but we can guarantee our status and our family legacy, not to mention our families future. He's young, we can make the time to mold him into what we want. At some point he will have the power to challenge the royal sisters. Not to mention the old laws.."

The room grew silent, this was dangerous talks, it bordered on treason. When no one protested the unicorn decided to go on. "We all know about the laws of the royal sisters mother, the first born will become king or queen. He will be king, and when he is old enough he can take over for both of them, if they decided to retire one day." He looked around at the ponies who were slowly started to nod along. "I see you are all starting to understand. If we mold him, we can get the king we want, a king that will listen to the nobility. The golden age will return, if we seize this opportunity."

The cloaked and masked nobles started to murmur in agreement when suddenly the host tilted his head. "And if we should fail in this? What then? This club could risk exposure if we act recklessly."

"Very true, which is why I suggest we continue to look for the father. Though, instead of suing it right away, we hide it, like our ace, we can wait to see how best to play that card. Now, all in favor?"

All of the hooves raised to the air and all the cloaked nobles all agreed with a single. "Aye."
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The time had come, the fourth day had arrived and it was time for the nobles to meet their prince and future ruler. All of them were gathered in the throne room, the hall filled with murmurs, whispers and gossip. The princesses had not yet arrived and so there was time to plan out their little games.

Some knew this prince could provide them with new opportunities, lining up potential suitors in the future, seeking favor in taking special interest in the prince, schooling, even babysitting. Political favour and advancement in Canterlot high society was the goal today, at least it was for them and the princesses knew it.

It was a game as old as the monarchy and everyone gathered here today were master players. Only a few tried to act on their principles, the kind Celestia valued, but that did not mean they were any less skilled at navigating the political landscape. 

Lord Fancy Pants was one of the few nobles who had Celestia's trust, of course this meant he was a target and he knew it. Having favour was just as much of a curse as it was a blessing, being favored made you a bigger rival, one to be taken down. It helped that Fancy Pants knew how to play the game and still be above it, but no matter how much he hated the game, he had to play it. If nothing else, it kept the balance of power in check and helped with the survival of his family.

Essentially, you needed to be aware of two ponies when playing this game. Fancy Pants was one of them, the other was of course, Prince Blueblood. The two had a rivalry and were both masters of the game and titans within the Canterlot high society. They hated one another to the bitter core, but both of them never openly flaunted their disdain for each other.

No, their hatred and rivalry was only something you whispered about, you never, EVER, talked about it openly, and you NEVER showed your true emotions or thoughts. Doing so would be like showing your hoof in poker and it could cost you dearly.

Long story short, the nobility was a hornets nest where every word, expression and glance was a carefully calculated gamble.

Fancy Pants stood to the side with his wife, Fleur De Lis, a unicorn model with beautiful white fur and a light pink mane and tail. Despite her working as a supermodel she was no less intelligent than any other mare brought up in the nobility. She was not some naive mare who did not know how it all worked and she has shown herself to be an excellent player, one to be watched out for.

Like her husband Fancy Pants, she hated the game and would much rather be without it, but she knew it was simply part of life in Canterlot. She stayed close to Fancy, looking as lovely as ever as she observed the crowd of nobles along with her husband.

"They all look very... Hungry.." Fleur said, not knowing how else to describe the mood of the nobles. 

"They are planning my dear." Fancy said. "All hungry to get a piece of the prince, to use him as a pawn."

Fleur looked to her husband. "Do you think the rumors are true?" She did not need to clarify which rumor, it had been the topic of the palace and Canterlot for months now.

"If it is, then we do well not to speak of it. We owe it to the princess." They both knew what the nobility would be like if they got confirmation to the rumor that the prince's father was a commoner. It did not matter to Fancy Pants or Fleur De Lis, but it mattered a great deal to many of the nobles. Such information could be valuable, it was the ultimate price right now and anypony with such knowledge could become a very dangerous rival and player.

Fleur narrowed her eyes, the expression change was so subtle that without a trained eye for such details would miss it, but Fancy saw it clearly. "You know something.." She said even more hushed than before.

Fancy Pants did not look at her or speak for several seconds, when he finally spoke it was short. "I have my suspicion, but I do well not to speak about it." His wife nodded ever so slightly and looked out to the crowd again. She understood, even unconfirmed rumors and speculations were dangerous, spreading what he was thinking even to her would put them at risk. Especially if he knew nothing for sure, for now, it was best to keep whatever cards they had VERY close to them. 

Suddenly, like a breath of fresh air, the huge doors opened and the guards stood at attention and all the nobles bowed low. "The royal sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, with his royal highness, Prince Spero!" The announcer said before making way for the royal family as they calmly walked in. Spero sat on his mother's back, looking over the room in fascination. 

The royal sisters did not say anything, nor did they pay them any attention. They simply walked dignified up to their thrones and sat down, with Spero being levitated onto a small pillow in front of Celestia. Only at that point did Celestia speak to them. "You may rise."

All of the nobles did as their princess allowed, all looking up at the radiance of the peak of true nobility, the place they all wanted to reach, but never could. The sun and the moon, the beacon of power, elegance, and wisdom. It was not something they could ever reach, but the closer they could stand, the more they could bath in their glory and enjoy whatever bits of power their light granted them.

However, now, this light had dimmed, a shadow in the form of the new Prince was now enjoying the full attention of their princess, gaining everything the nobles wanted. It would be some time before they would ever benefit from whatever light this newest member of the royal family would cast.

Some saw him as a threat, others, an opportunity. 

This was a fact everypony in this hall knew, and right now the greatest game was being set up, Celestia and Luna knew it, hence their serious look. The game had changed, new players, new rules, but the same goal.

Let the games, begin..  


~~***~~


An hour earlier.

"You know what will happen today.." Luna said as she sat on the couch in Celestia's private suite. The two sisters enjoyed some tea as Spero explored the final frontier that was Celestia's mane, every once in a while his little head would poke out and give a sheepish smile before diving into the unknown once again.

Celestia sighed and nodded. "The nobles, I know they have been scheming, like they always do." Her small smile was only caused by feeling her son's tiny hooves move around on top of her as he played within her mane. "They played these games for centuries Lulu, we know how to handle them."

Luna nodded. "We do indeed, but with the birth of your son, the game will change." They both knew it, and they knew it would be hard to protect him from whatever influence the nobles wanted to have. "So I say we flip the table."

"Hm?" Celestia raised an eyebrow as her sister smirked. It only took a second after that for Celestia to smile. "Clever, as always Lulu.. We change the balance of power within the nobility."

"Indeed, it should create enough chaos within them to keep Spero out of it for a while." Luna said, both of them already thinking up a plan how to do it.

"But in doing so we are putting others at risk.." Celestia sighed with a frown, knowing full well how cruel the major players could be. "Besides, our nephew expects to be the first of the nobles to greet my son, since he is family."

"Then call up somepony else, somepony who can handle the fallout and turn it into an advantage. One who can survive it." Luna did not need to say it, both of them knew exactly who to call up.


~~***~~


"Lord Fancy Pants, please, step forward." Celestia's calm voice said, which shocked every single noble. Though nopony showed it, Celestia had enough practice to notice the slightest of clues to see they were all getting tense.

Even Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis looked surprised, but like the rest, refused to show it. Instead they gracefully stepped in front of the crowd, walking right up to the foot of the steps that led to the throne and bowed. "Your majesty, allow us to express our joy and give your our congratulations on the birth of your son."

Fancy Pants had instantly understood what had just happened, so did everypony else. Celestia had just taken the board, flipped it over and made Fancy Pants the most powerful player on the new board. Even though Blueblood remained calm on the outside, Luna noted he was tense, his eyes showing outrage, shock and anger, but he hid it well.

Celestia inclined her head, her expression softened as she looked at the two ponies, showing favour towards them. "I thank you Fancy Pants, my son too, i'm sure."

"Bhah!" Spero let out and then giggled in delight as he found his hoof very interesting to stick in his mouth and suck on.

Fleur giggled. "He is cute your majesty, i'm sure he will grow up to be a handsome stallion."

Celestia joined in Fleur's giggle and replied. "Well, I have until then to double the guard to protect him from all the suitors he will surely have."

There was a wordless conversation being played out between Fancy Pants and the sisters, hidden by the pleasant conversation Fleur provided for them as cover. He knew he had been placed in this position by intend, it showed the great trust Celestia had in him and Fleur, and with that came loyalty. That sort of loyalty was dangerous, but it was a double edged blade, he was now an even bigger target to be taken down, but any wrong move would mean facing the worst kind of consequences. The biggest reason to target him was now also his greatest shield, so, he needed to play his part.

The two bowed again and walked back into the crowd, then, and only then was Blueblood called upon. He stepped forward, neither smiling or frowning, simply holding himself dignified, never showing signs of being outraged or offended his rival had been called up before him. 

He bowed deeply for a moment, then looked up, straight at Celestia, not even granting his cousin a glance. "Auntie, congratulations of the birth of your son." He did not say anything else, not yet at least. Instead he was locking eyes with his aunt, both of them taking a moment to figure out the best way to play this. Blueblood was the first one to break it off, smiling a little as he continued. "It is a happy day for all of us, seeing an heir to the throne, the hope of all Equestria."

Even though he said that, there was no real meaning behind it, he was just saying what they all expected him to say, what he was supposed to say. It was an empty gesture, saying something so generic he might as well have been sarcastic, but he did what was expected of him, no more, no less.

"Thank you Blueblood." Celestia said with a small smile. "My son thanks you as well."

"I'm sure he is, your majesty, i'm sure he is." 


~~***~~


The rest of the nobles offered up their congratulations one by one as expected, soon enough they had all greeted the prince and were on their way out as Celestia had another matter to attend to. Other kingdoms wished to offer their congratulations and meet the prince of the sun.

To prepare for the arrival of the royals and ambassadors, the whole throne room was filled with tables of all sorts of delicious treats for the guests. Of course before any of them could dig in, there was the formal greeting from the rulers of the other kingdoms.

The first one to approach and offer their greetings were king Flavius, ruler of the Griffon Kingdom. He was a tall grey feathered griffon who commanded respect and showed the signs of wisdom only age and experience could provide him. He bowed respectfully, but not as low as Celestia's subjects would go. "My dear princess, I come to offer my congratulations. I bring your son a gift, a golden royal feather, to show our friendship, one that he will hopefully continue."

Celestia smiled and nodded. "I am sure my son will come to respect the Griffon Kingdom as much as myself. Thank you for coming all this way."

"It is an honor and an important day." He smiled and stepped back as his servants placed his gift on a table reserved for the gifts.

Next up was king Aspen and Queen Fyr from the forest kingdom of Thicket. Aspen was deer with white and golden fur, even his antlers were golden like it was a crown. Both royals stood tall and noble, but not unapproachable. They bowed their heads in respect to their fellow ruler. 

"We greet you princess of the sun and moon, and we also come to honor the birth of your son, prince Spero." Aspen said with a pleasant smile.

Fyr nodded. "We were delighted to hear the news of the birth of your son, as a sign of this we have brought him a gift." A deer servant presented Celestia and Spero with a pot containing a very small tree. "It is from our very own garden."

"We thank you both for coming, and for your gift." Celestia replied and inclined her head.

After the calm and mild tempered rulers of the deer kingdom, came the loud and not so mild tempered ambassador of Yakyakistan. Equestria and Yakyakistan were not really allies, but it would be an important step on the road to friendship if the ambassador was invited.

There was not much said, but a gift was provided from prince Rutherford himself. A yak helmet with gold rings forged into it, a strange gift for a foal, but the intend was good.

Next up was the ambassador from Saddle Arabia, like Yakyakistan it was far away and therefore the congratulations were offered by the ambassador instead of the queen herself. They offered their congratulations and very fine silk blankets for the newborn prince as a gift.

The dragon ambassador presented them with a big gem, one that the king himself had sent in order to let the alliance continue.

Finally there was princess Cadence, representing the Crystal Empire. Of course she had already met her cousin, but it was just as much to greet the other representatives and  rulers, and it was simply tradition. Her and Shining Armor presented the prince with a very fine crystal, carved into look like a pony. Not really a toy, but it was very beautiful and symbolized the close friendship between Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

After all the greetings was over, Celestia and Luna started to mingle, making pleasant conversation, letting the royals meet the prince up close. At some point however, princess Luna excused herself, much to the confusion of Celestia, but then again, it was very late for her and she needed to rest before she had to resume her duties during the night.


~~***~~


The room was dark, only a few candles provided light. A lone guard stood at attention, awaiting whoever had summoned him. The guard was a Pegasus, dark grey fur, brown eyes and black mane and tail. Despite being a normal pony, he had joined the Lunar Guard and had build up a fine reputation among his fellow guards.

Suddenly the door to the small room opened and to his surprise it was princess Luna who entered. He straightened a little, refusing to show any sign of weakness or nervousness before the mistress of the night.

She didn't speak at first, she simply walked over to a desk, looking at some papers and then back at him, eyeing him for a few seconds before she spoke. "Lieutenant, Swift Strike yes?"

"Yes your majesty, proudly." 

Luna nodded and looked down at the papers again. "Your service record is impressive, best recruit in your class, top marks in your exams, youngest lieutenant." She turned to him with a pleased smile. "And a glowing recommendation from Shining Armor." She walked up to him. "Tell me lieutenant, and I want you to be honest with me. What made you join the Lunar Guard?" 

Swift Strike did not have to think long. "I know most of the action happens at night, my lady, I want to do something, not simply enjoy the peace of the day."

"I see." Luna simply said, but with a pleased smile. "You may have heard, but my sister and I are planning to create a new guard regiment for my nephew." Swift Strike gave a single nod. "I would like you to lead it, as a captain."

Now Swift Strike's body failed him, he twitched in surprise, but he quickly regained his composure. "My lady?" Did he hear right? Lead his own regiment? As a captain no less? But that would mean skipping a rank, it was not unheard of, but it was rare.

"I am planning to recommend you to my sister, though the reasons are not what she thinks." She could see another twitch of confusion, so she continued to explain. "Despite your good service record I've also seen the complaints from your fellow officers.. You have a brutal streak, beatings is just one of the allegations.. Yet Shining Armor recommends you, I think he is thinking the same as me.. We need someone who is willing to protect the prince, someone who is willing to go beyond the rules if need be."

Swift Strike Started to understand. "I see."

"Good." Luna smirked. "The nobles, our enemies, all of them wants to get a piece of my nephew and use him, your job is simple. Protect him, eliminate these threats." Her eyes became cold, her smile vanished. Her sister knew how to play the games of the nobles, but Luna knew with the game being changed, they needed a new card to play, that card would be Swift Strike. "Do you understand what I mean?"

Swift Strike took a deep breath before looking at the princess, meeting her calculating eyes with his own dutiful ones. 

"Absolutely, your majesty, I do indeed."
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the topic of the officer's messhall, Swift Strike had skipped a rank and become the captain of the prince's life regiment. The regiment was at this point still small, but since they would build up their forces slowly along with the growth of the prince, Swift Strike took care to only appoint those he trusted, carefully vetting every single guard.

He needed them willing to do what was needed in securing the future king, making sure they were loyal and devoted to their duty. Of course he made sure they were not fanatics, but he needed to be sure of they could follow orders and carry them out without hesitation. For now, the regiment was barely a regiment, only 100 ponies strong, enough to be a company, but nothing more. For now, they were a regiment only in name.

This did not render them useless however, Swift Strike demanded the kind of skill only the Royal Guard would have, and if they did not have it, they would get it. Most of all he demanded loyalty, them being fewer meant he needed to keep the quality up, make sure they would be able to handle any sort of situation, which meant endless drilling and training. 

Princess Luna had recommended him for this position, along with captain Shining Armor. Now he was the prince's captain, the captain of the future king if he lasted that long, and he intended to. He knew Princess Luna would want him to go beyond the line of duty, to go beyond even the rule of law, if it meant protecting the prince. Princess Celestia would not approve, not at all, but this was why he was chosen, he was prepared to take the fall and do what was needed, always.

"Captain." 

A voice suddenly called to him. Swift Strike turned and came face to face with the former captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor. He saluted and then bowed his head.

"Your majesty."

Shining armor scoffed and then smirked. "Shut up, don't call me that, it's hard enough to get used to it back home. So don't you dare."

Swift Strike smirked as well and looked back out on the training field, watching his newly formed regiment train. "Sorry, guess i'm still getting used to you being a prince and all, not sure how I should address you."

"Well, in private I would like you to just relax, i'm not much for titles." He said and looked out on the newly formed regiment as well. "They are impressive."

"Going to be the best." Swift Strike replied. "Though I assume you are not here for them, so what do you want Shiny?"

Shining sighed, his old friend knowing his motives before he could even speak of them. "I came to.." He hesitated. "To tell you to be careful.. The princess has given you a longer leash than any other officer. You need to be able to control your, temper.."

Swift Strike scoffed. "I know what I am doing.."

"Swift, if I had not stepped in back then you would have killed him." He said firmly. "You were out of control."

"So why did you recommend me then? And what is this Yakshit about you writing a recommendation in my service record?" Swift Strike did not need to look at his old friend to know he was frowning. "Cut the crap, you wanted me here because of my willingness to break a few rules, and muzzles if need be." He turned to Shining with a serious look. "I'm doing the job you and the princess want's me to do."

Shining had no real argument, once again his friend showed his intelligence most ponies did not think he had. To most, he was a brute, a thug, it was like then during school too, ponies underestimating him because of his rough edges.

"Swift, that is not why I recommended you, but you are right.. I did write it up when I found out princess Celestia was pregnant.." He admitted.

"Then why?" 

"Because you're clever." Shining said. "You're observant, your brutal streak did not play the biggest part in the decision making as you might think. Yes, you break rules, yes it is a vital part of it, but you know how to read ponies, despite not being a noble you are the best I know who can gather intelligence. Being a spy, gather information, being able and willing to act on it, those are the skills that got you this position."

Swift raised a brow. "And break some muzzles?"

Shining sighed, he could not deny that. "Yes, and that.."

"So you're fine with me being willing to take the fall if I do go to far, despite acting on the orders of the princess herself?" Swift smirked as he saw the uncomfortable look on Shining's face.

"It's not that I am fine with it, I just know we can trust you.." He said, a hint of shame touching his voice.

Swift rolled his eyes. "All for the crown Shiny, if protecting it means ponies like me must do bad things then so be it. We have enjoyed peace for so long, we both know it is not gonna last, i'm pretty sure the princesses realize it too, which means the future king must be protected. I'm willing to risk it all if it means we are ready for that day.."

Both of them grew silent, watching the guards who wanted to do what was needed. The common pony would never be able to understand it, which was why the crown could not be seen as being involved in this. It was sadly the way it had to be, it was just the reality of life. Some ponies needed to sacrifice in order for others to live their lives in peace and have the luxury to feel outraged about these sort of things.

"It's not fair, I'm sorry it had to be you.."

"Don't be." Swift said. "It's our job Shining, you and me knows that. We each have our part to play, I am simply playing mine, and trust me.." He looked to his friend. "I intend to bring fear into those who would hurt our prince..."


~~***~~


"Come on sweetie, you can do it." Celestia said encouragingly as her son tried to stand up and walk. He had attempted several times by now, getting closer and closer of making it.

It had been almost three weeks since his birth and he was finally getting strong enough to walk by himself. The nice summer weather was perfect for this little afternoon practice, here in the garden, under the apple tree and near the small pond. It was Celestia's favorite spot, a place to relax and be in private. She laid on the blanket, her back against the strong apple tree, looking to her son who kept struggling.

This was one of the moments she cherished most, just being here, alone with her foal. Here she could be Tia, not Celestia the princess, but simply a mother and a mare.

Spero kept standing up, refusing to stay down for very long, his wings fluttering each time in frustration whenever he failed. Celestia could not help but to giggle, his stubbornness and his refusal to get help was a mark of true royalty. Not only that, but it reminded her a lot of.... Him...

She quickly pushed the thought away, she was here, with their foal, no use on dwelling what could have been or on the why and how. Spero needed her to be there for him, she needed to give the love she knew his father would want. 

He finally managed to stand, using all his willpower to do so as he started to take one step, then the next, and the next. Celestia beamed with pride, holding a hoof to her mouth in order not to squeal in delight and thus breaking her son's focus.

Instead, she sat up, holding out her hooves, gently cheering him on. "That's right, you are doing so great. Come to mommy, come on then."

Encouraged by his mother, Spero started to walk towards her, each step making him more confident. Celestia felt a tear running down her cheek as her little foal came closer and closer, then finally as he reached her she scooped him up and hugged him. 

"That's it! You're such a big boy, mommy is so proud of you!" She held him up with her hooves, above her head. Spero giggled in delight as he by reflex spread his beautiful white wings. Even though he was only a few weeks old, he displayed such determination and curiosity for the world around him. Putting her lips to his tummy, she started to blow and giving a loving raspberry. Spero kept laughing and giggling as he squealed and moved all his limbs in attempt to escape his mother's assault.

She moved him down and hugged him once again, just enjoying the moment and the feeling of her son as he nuzzled himself into his mother's fur. Here they stayed for quite some time, simply enjoying the quiet relaxing garden, here, under the apple tree they could simply be a family.


~~***~~


Swift Strike moved down the hall of the barracks, all his belongings had been moved to his new quarters, since he was now a captain for a whole new regiment, it meant he was privileged to an apartment in the upper part of the barracks. He did not really care for such things, but it came with the rank, and it be a nice work space.

When he opened the door he was greeted with a large living room/office, with all the luxuries he needed. A door to the side led to a bathroom and the one next to it led to the bedroom. On the other side of the room was an open door leading to the kitchen, a nice place to cook and dine, but Swift had a feeling he would be ordering outside food a lot. 

The most impressive thing however was the big wooden desk at the far end of the room, it faced towards him and had a chair behind it. Behind the chair was a nice big window from where he could see the parade grounds, typical officer home, here he could watch the common guards, all of which would be saluting him.

He stepped inside, closed the door and thought he could have a nice and quiet evening. Those hopes were dashed however as a voice from the couch spoke up. "So, you finally made it to captain?"

Swift sighed, first Shining now, her.. "I'm not in the mood Spitfire." He simply said and walked past the couch, ignoring her look as she sat up. She was wearing her blue common uniform, not the skintight flying suit that was, he had to admit, very pleasing to the eye.

"Gee, nice to see you too." She said and stood up to follow him. "What crawled up your butt?"

"I'm tired, so say your piece and go.. How did you get in here anyway?" Swift asked and placed his saddlebags on the desk.

"You be surprised how far a signed picture can get you." She smirked and trotted up beside him. "Relax, I just came to say congratulations, didn't think you had it in you."

Swift sighed and turned around to face her, though he hardly realized how close she was standing and so their noses almost touched. Yet, neither of them moved away from the other. "I thought you were to busy running the Wonderdorks to think of me anymore."

Spitfire made hurt expression, though he could tell it was fake. "Why, Swifty, if I didn't know better I say you are still pissed you can't join."

"Pfft." Swift Strike snorted. "Unlike you, I wanna serve and to be of use, not just on display."

"Is that a bad thing?" She said and pushed him a little, smirking. "You can't deny you have always liked what you saw." She winked at him before she turned around, letting her tail move up under his chin and then made a flick. She walked over to where a small cabinet with liqueur was put. "Anyway captain, I figured we could drink to your new position."

Swift sighed, trying his best not to blush as he felt Spitfire's tail move against him. "I am on duty tomorrow." He said, but it was a weak protest, one that Spitfire would ignore. She pulled out two glasses and some Flyby whiskey.

Spitfire let out a small whistle. "Flyby? You sure got the good stuff." She smirked before she put it all on the coffee table before she sat down. 

Swift Strike was getting kind of annoyed, he knew her well enough to know like Shining, she hadn't just come for a social visit. For now however, he played along and sat down next to her as she poured the whiskey. They moved the glasses together and took a sip each, enjoying the burning sensation. "Buck.." Spitfire said satisfied. 

"Spitfire, why are you really here?" Swift asked tired of playing this games with the both of them.

She sighed. "Fine, listen, I don't know what your pal Shining told you, but I am gonna say my piece." Her expression became serious. "I know you well enough to figure out you got this position because of your... Unique, skills.." She looked to his flank, his cutie mark had been burned away, there was no fur there, or a mark, simply scars. "Special talent.."

"So what's your point? Shining has already given me this speech." He grumbled.

"Just shut up you idiot." Spitfire snarled. "I came to tell you that I think you should back out, refuse the position."

"What? Why?" Swift Strike had not counted on hearing that when he saw her.

"Because  of your special talents, don't you think you're going to be used? Being a secret enforcer? I'm pretty sure that's why you got the job." Spitfire said with a stern look. "I don't want you to be used like that, and knowing you, you are ready to take the fall if it ends badly."

At first, he really had no idea what to tell her. How did she know all this? Did she really know him that well? Then again, it was not like they didn't know each other VERY well. "It's my duty, I was fully informed what this position meant, I know the risks and i accept them."

This time Spitfire glared for real. "Don't be an idiot, you're just gonna throw your entire life away if you buck up? Swift, think about it, you be the scapegoat." His face and resolve remained unchanged, she then sighed. "You're an idiot.." Spitfire simply stated and took another sip of her drink.

"Sure, but I was told I was hired to keep the prince safe, I will do that the best way I can. I do what I feel is right, not matter what the consequences to my personal life... Or relationships.." He said bitterly and took another sip.

This earned him another glare from Spitfire. "That is not the same thing you arrogant asshat!" Putting the glass away she stood up on the couch and leaned closer to him, her angry eyes looking straight into his. "I followed my dreams, you knew what I wanted, you were the one who couldn't handle it!"

Now Swift Strike was glaring back at her, putting his own drink away and pushed his forehead into hers as they continued to glare at one another. "So when you applied and got accepted behind my back, that was all to surprise me was it?!" 

"I did that because I knew how you would have reacted!"

"Yeah, so you dated me with the knowledge I would not be happy with you going away for months on end! Not happy with my marefriend being little more than a showmare!"

Her eyes lit up in anger. "You joined the army you prick! You never consulted me on that decision, what if you would have been called away on patrol duty, then you would have been the one away for months. Oh, but I guess that is not the same thing?!"

"I did it for my country, to serve! To be a part of something that REALLY matters!"

"The Wonderbolts matter, Swift, they matter to me!" She hopped down on the floor and turned to leave. "I should have known, you're still the most arrogant, hypocritical, self-loathing bastard you have always been. That's what this is really about Swift, you want to fall, you want to be punished, locked away or Celestia forbid, banished. You live in pain, that's when you are the most happy, when you're the one in pain." She started to walk towards the door. 

Before she reached it however she noticed him coming up behind her, she glared, not in the mood for anymore of his bucking excuses and justifications. She turned around, her hoof swinging to punch his smug ass face. She felt him block the punch with his hoof. 

Their eyes locked, both glaring at one another, both of them silent, until, he actually spoke the words she had not heard for years. "I love you.." 

This took her aback. "W-what?"

"Yeah, you heard me." He kept his glare on her and he started to walk towards her, forcing Spitfire to back up. "You're the most beautiful, amazing, and annoying mare I have ever met." She kept glaring at him, but started to blush as he said all of that with such conviction, and she knew he was never one to say anything he didn't mean. "And I want you, right now."

She glared back him, her blush only growing, she would be lying if she didn't miss him, his strong body against hers. Still, he was the worst at flirting, really. "Is that how you ask a mare to bed you? Still so direct, no tact.. You're an idiot.."

Swift snorted. "Like you have never been direct and cut to the chase."

Sighing a little she shrugged. "Fair enough." She pushed against the door with her hind leg, moving her body quite forcefully into his, pressing her lips to his as they both fell down to the floor.

He rolled them around, grabbing her hooves and pinned her down to the floor with her hooves above her head. Their lips never parting for a moment as she struggled a bit beneath him. Moaning, she felt his strong body against her, holding her down as her own strong body fought against him.

Their lips parted as he started to move the kisses down her muzzle, then down her neck. She in the meantime managed to free her hooves and wrap them around his neck, pulling him closer as she stretched a bit, allowing him more access to her.

Finally, she had enough, pushed him hard so he would get off and then proceeded to jump him, her turn to be on top. She looked down at him while she started to loosen the black tie of her uniform. He in the meantime started to unbutton the blue jacket.

Smirking a bit, she tossed the tie to the side. "So tell me, captain. Still think i'm the most annoying mare you have ever met?"

Swift nodded. "Yes, you really are. Still think i'm a prick?"

"Oh yeah." She nodded, then smirked and leaned. Their lips met for a quick peck. "I also still think you're the biggest idiot I have ever met."

They both looked into each others eyes for a bit, then without another word, they moved in and continued the kiss, letting their desires drive them for the rest of the night.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was early morning, the fog had settled nicely around the small farming town of Greenworth. Only a few rays of the sun cut through the thick mist, letting the patrol of Solar Guard see the dirt road without much trouble. The silence was heavy, only broken by the hoof steps of the soldiers as they marched towards the town. 

About a week ago, the local garrison in the region received a letter from the town, telling about some unknown illness that had taken hold of the villagers. Though since then, no more news had arrived, making the garrison commander send out the patrol.

Soon enough the silhouettes of the buildings could be seen through the mist, growing larger and larger as they approached. It was quiet, and as the dramatic saying went, too quiet. The streets that opened up before them was empty, no signs of cleaning, travel, the stalls of the small market laid barren and there was no sign of life what so ever.

The sergeant looked around, confused just as the rest of his squad. "Search the area, look for any sign of life." The soldiers gave a confirmation and started to walk around the buildings, holding their spears at the ready in case something attacked them.

Though nothing happened, and as they gathered again the sergeant let out a sigh. "Check the houses, somepony must be here, they can't all have vanished."

The search went on, this time however they moved from door to door and knocked, calling out to anypony who might be home. Finally a door opened very slowly before one of the soldiers could even knock.

"Sir!" 

The sudden call made the sergeant and some of the other soldiers come over, and what they saw, shocked them beyond belief. Standing in the doorway was an earth pony who looked, deflated, sick, without any energy or even will to live. Was this the sickness?

"Medic!" 

They all got a hold of the poor pony and carried him out to an outdoor table as their unicorn medic came running. She looked over the stallion and almost let out a gasp before her magic started to examine him. "Sir, this pony.. Has been drained.."

The sergeant looked confused. "Drained? Drained of what?"

"His.. Magic, sir.."

"What?" He looked to the stallion who looked dazed and weak. "How many in your village is like this, how did this happen?" Before he could answer any questions, the stallion passed out. "Search every building, and send a dispatch to the garrison commander, he must be informed of this, so too does the princesses!" 

"Yes sir!"


~~***~~


The mood and conversation was pleasant in the royal garden, Celestia had invited some mares over to chat. Common theme among them was they were all mothers and one was expecting, so this was just as much to chat and congratulate Fleur De Lis on her pregnancy.

Other than Celestia, present at the table was Twilight Velvet, Twilight Sparkle's mother, who could talk about the magic aspect of having two foals. Stormy Flare, the mother of Spitfire, who could talk at length about her daughter's flying experience. Rainbow Dash's mom, Windy Whistles, had also been invited, but unfortunately she had come down with a case of feather flu and had to decline.

Celestia took a sip of her tea while Stormy Flare took a moment to enjoy one of the cream cakes. "So did you manage to save the vase?" Twilight Velvet asked, taking a sip of her own tea.

"I'm afraid not." Celestia replied before levitating the cup down to the table. "He managed to make it vanish and pop it into existence, though it broke when it hit the floor." She giggled a little. "His magic is growing."

Twilight Velvet giggled along with the princess and nodded. "Shining was more controlled and well behaved with his magic. Twilight on the other hand, well, she had a thing with fire. Lot's of fire.."

"I thought that was just an exaggeration from Cadence?" Celestia exclaimed, a little startled.

"No, not at all princess. I would keep the fire brigade on standby if he has started to use magic already." Twilight Velvet said with a small calm smile, which kind unnerved Fleur a bit, like it was normal for a small filly to set fire to everything.

"Don't worry dear." She continued. "I'm sure your little one will be more controlled." 

"I certainly hope so.." Fleur agreed, taking a bit of a nervous sip of her tea. 

"Velvet, you're scaring the poor girl." Stormy Flare said, jumping into the conversation again. "Magic is one thing, you should try flying." She let out a small sigh as she remembered her little Spitfire flying around their home. "I had to put a leash on her, but then she started to get trapped and tangled. Flyers are quite a mess that age."

Celestia let out a small sigh, but not an annoyed one, just as a sign she understood what was to come. Spero had managed to fly, but it was very little. He was strong too, and that being added with his earth pony side had made him a big colt, not out of the ordinary, but he was a bit bigger than the average.

The muscles thankfully carried into his Pegasus side as well, so his wings were wide and strong, enough to carry him when he got the hang of it, which by the looks of it could be any day now.

"On another note." Celestia continued. "Fleur, tell us, have you decided on a name for your foal yet?"

Fleur blushed slightly, rubbing her slightly bigger stomach with a gentle hoof. "We were thinking, if it's a colt, we call him Claud, if it's a filly, I would like her to be named Allouetee."

"Allouetee, that's a beautiful name." Velvet smiled and looked to her. "At least it will give Spero some more foals to play with."

"Yes indeed." Celestia smiled. "The nursery has been good for him, most of our staff's foals is there during their shifts, and so far he has been doing well. Though more close friends would be good, if you don't mind Fleur."

"Of course not, your majesty." Fleur smiled. "A play date would be fun." The mares giggled and took some sips of their tea.

Fleur was of course not naive to what it could mean, some nobles might see it as a potential marriage set up if she were to give birth to a filly. It was a rather old fashioned way to establish alliances between families, and though the practice had been outlawed, she knew in certain circles it still happened.

She was happy both her and her husband were above such things and would never use their foal for political gain. Fancy Pants had always been a noble and kind stallion, and when she used the word noble about her husband, it was not some simple title to his family bloodline, instead she meant it in his character. He liked fashion and the finer things in life, but he was never afraid to do some hard work or help his fellow pony, noble or otherwise. 

He was also never afraid to speak to a pony like an equal, even to the simple worker, the gardener, anypony he came in contact with he always treated with respects. His noble heart and character was the thing she fell in love with, not his noble bloodline or long family history.


~~***~~


Swift Strike stood beside Luna in a small private study, before her was a large red book, not one you would normally read in a library. "Before you is a record, one out of 198 journals, gathered by our services, detailing every single member the royal court. Their heights, weights, mane color, cutie mark, eye color, their daily movements. From the valets, to the cook apprentices and dishwashers."

Luna nodded,  carefully turning the pages, looking at the level of detail that had been put it. "You have certainly been busy during these few months." Swift Strike inclined his head, as if to say thank you. This was not really illegal, they had to know who came and went in the palace, for security reasons of course, but she knew Swift Strike would use this in order to keep taps on potential threats and have an easier time spying on the ponies close to the prince.

She turned to the last page, the part of the record that somehow had a lot of details, and then somehow not a lot. The name was not used, powerful protective magic had been cast on these journals, but still they knew it might not be enough, which was why these books could only be read in the most secure of rooms.

It was the file about Discord. Luna had not been a fan of giving Discord a second chance, but she trusted her sister, trusted Twilight and her friends, so she had let it go, but she still wanted to be sure they had some way to protect the prince from him if needed. She and Swift both knew Discord was impossible to spy on, so there was just written what they knew, who he was, how he looked, some of his habits, tricks and his daily activities with Fluttershy.

Luna truly hoped they would never have the need to use these books more than necessary, but she refused to be so naive to trust the nobles fully and neither was Celestia, but she was now a mother, she had stepped back some, taken more time for her son, which was understandable. It meant however, she would not be on the top of her game, she would not be able to spot every single plot or clue to what the nobles were doing. Luna wanted to make sure they were being fully informed, they would have a shield and sword, and that would be Swift Strike.

"You've done well.." Luna said and closed the book, satisfied with what she had seen of his progress. Swift Strike had not only created a life guard, but also a service of informers and spies, lot of ex Lunar Guards who was used to work in the dark and being unseen. "Anything of note so far."

Swift nodded. "Yes, my intelligence services have heard certain whispers about a group of nobles plotting something.. It is nothing new, but they spoke of some sort of secret society, but so far the existence has not been confirmed."

Luna was not shocked, in fact it was hardly news, such clubs had existed for a long time, but the fact Swift Strike's agents had managed to even uncover some clues to their existence spoke of a level of skill she could only be impressed with. "As you said captain, nothing new." 

"Do you wish me to act?"

She thought for a moment, but then shook her head. "No, continue your investigations, but do not interfere. If you find them, they will be a good insight into what they are doing, arresting them would mean closing off a waterfall of information."

Swift Strike smirked. "Keep your friends closer, and your enemies closer."

Luna returned the smirk and nodded. "Indeed." She let out a small tired sigh and stood up. "If there is nothing else captain, I would like to retire for the day, the night was long and I wish to be ready for my nightly duties."

Swift Strike bowed. "Yes your majesty." He kept his head low as Luna walked to the door. Before she exited however, she stopped and glanced back at him. 

"You've done well, captain. Please continue to do so, I wish for my sister to be able to relax and enjoy her time with her son.." Her voice grew soft, he could not see her expression, but he could tell by her voice that she was sad, frowning even. "It's the least that I owe her.." That last part came as a whisper, but she quickly recovered and looked forward again. "Carry on captain."

"Yes princess."


~~***~~


Celestia looked up at her sun. "Oh, it seems we are running out of time.." She said with a hint of disappointment. Day court would begin soon enough and she needed to perform her royal duties. Looking to the others, she smiled and waved a hoof before any of them could even ask it. "Please, continue, finish your tea and have a pleasant morning, ladies. Though, if you will forgive me for leaving you though."

All the mares, well except for Fleur, stood up to bow their heads to Celestia before she left. She had commanded Fleur not to bow to her, not while she was pregnant. They all thanked her for the tea and for the invitation, and with a final nod from her, she left them.

She however did not manage to get far, before she was even a few meters away she noticed her assistant, Raven Inkwell, hurrying toward her, careful not to loose her glasses. "Your majesty. I'm so glad to see you coming this way.." She said relieved as she walked beside her, holding a clipboard in her magic.

"Take a deep breath, miss Inkwell." Celestia chuckled a bit amused. "How's my son?"

Inkwell couldn't help but smile a little. "Oh, he is just fine princess, last I checked in with him in the nursery he was napping along with the other foals."

Celestia nodded, satisfied and happy to hear her little sun was comfortable there with the other young colts and fillies. "So, what is my first appointment of the day?"

Inkwell checked the clipboard. "Well, i'm afraid we need to start with a cabinet meeting, your ministers were all very insistent we moved the meeting to ten."

"That is to be expected. Probably about the new defense budget and the royal pension." Celestia said, knowing her ministers were dutiful and hard working. She was happy they had an eye for details, but that didn't mean some meetings couldn't get boring and drag on. "What else?"

"Well, we have day court, oh! And the graduation of the a new flying squad." Inkwell smiled.

Celestia shared her smile, happy to see young ponies who hard worked had finally reaching their big day of recognition. She always enjoyed meeting them, congratulating them personally. She always made sure to make the speech a bit personal to the graduating class, she never wanted to be the kind of princess who simply gave the same type of speech to all the events she went to.

She was about to answer when a Solar Guard glided down, folding his wings just before he landed. He instantly bowed before her. "Your majesty!"

Celestia stood up a bit straighter, this was clearly something important and she could tell the soldier had been flying fast, hard, and for some time. "Rise, please."

He stood straight, saluting her once before he moved his right hoof into his saddlebag. "Urgent dispatch for you princess." The soldier hardly got it up before Celestia snatched it up in her magic and unfolded the letter.

Her eyes scanned the paper, then read it once again, then again, her eyes growing wider each time she read it. She looked to him, a serious expression on her face. "Please, go to the barracks, get food, water and some rest, you've earned it." Without waiting for a reply, Celestia started to walk again, this time faster than before.

"What is the matter princess?" Inkwell asked, struggling a little to keep up with Celestia.

"Have someone wake my sister, call niece and her husband and the ministers to meet me in the throne room, and cancel court." Once again, she didn't wait for a reply, instead she spread her wings and took off towards her tower, if this report was true then her kingdom was in great danger, not to mention her son..
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Long ago... Tirek and his brother Scorpan came here from a distant land, intent on stealing Equestrian magic, but Scorpan soon came to appreciate the ways of Equestria, even befriending a young unicorn wizard."

"Scorpan urged his brother to abandon their plans, when Tirek refused Scorpan alerted us to Tirek's intentions."

"Scorpan returned to his own land, and Tirek was sent to tartarus for his crimes." The officers and ministers listened closely as Celestia and Luna explained. All of them looked rather worried, if Celestia had called this meeting with all their high ranking officers and all the ministers, then it had to be pretty serious. "But it appears he has found a way to escape.." 

Luna nodded and looked around at them all as they sat around the massive table. "We believe it happened when Cerberus left his post at the gates."

"But, that was a long time ago." One of the ministers pointed out. "If he has been out for that long, then how come he is only revealing himself now?"

"Tirek was weakened during his time in tartarus, it has taken him a lot of time to become strong enough to gather enough magic to make enough harm that we would even notice him.. He has been out there for some time, but it is only now he has become strong enough to attack our ponies." Celestia explained and looked over the map of Equestria. "We got a report that an entire farming village has been attacked and deprived of their magic.."

The mood grew heavier and one minister managed to stammer out. "An entire village.."

"We should send out our troops to hunt him down and if need be, kill him.." The minister of defense said. "If he is still weak then it should be possible."

Luna shook her head. "I fear he would simply manage to drain their magic.. My sister has a plan." She looked like she wanted to say more, but managed to hide whatever her feelings about Celestia's plan was, if she disagreed, then she would speak about it when they were alone, not in front of their cabinet and their officers.

"Yes, I suggest we use Discord to track Tirek down and capture him." The reaction was one she expected, skepticism, disagreement and worry. It was the same exact look Luna had given her when she explained her plan before they went into the throne room. She was not keen on the idea, but she trusted her, which Celestia was grateful for. "Before any of you say what you think, allow me to explain. Discord can sense magical unbalance, he will be able to sense Tirek now that he knows what to look for, he will also be able to bring him in safely without any of our ponies being at risk."

The cabinet ministers still seemed to dislike the idea, but even they could see the logic in that plan. That was why it shocked every pony in the room when an officer spoke up, not even a commander or a general, but a captain, Swift Strike.

"Your majesty, if I may." The hall went silent, a commander was just about to tell him to shut his trap, but Luna raised a hoof and Celestia inclined her head towards Swift Strike, allowing him to continue. "To put our faith in Discord, I simply don't think it would be a wise move. If he was to join him, Tirek would be able to drain the magic of even more ponies much faster, at that point our forces would not have a chance.."

Celestia nodded. "I understand your concerns captain, though I trust his wish to be redeemed." Swift Strike believed in her, but he didn't have faith in Discord, he was too unpredictable, a wild card. His job was to protect the prince and that meant he needed to be prepared for the chance Discord was going to betray them. He hoped he was wrong, but for now there was no use to argue the point.

"I would like the guard to be on the alert, like Captain Strike pointed out, there is a chance my faith is misplaced, which is why I would like to be prepared for any scenario." Celestia continued to explain. "I would like you." She looked to her generals. "To begin drawing up plans to defend the city and the palace."

"And the public? Should we alert them?" Minister of agriculture, Dust Hoof, asked.

"No, it could create a panic." Minister of finance, Penny Worth, cut in quickly. "Your majesty, I would strongly advice against that, it could cripple the economy if ponies hide away, refuse to trade and travel the road, the flow could be halted and create problems on it's own."

"Not to mention potentially create dangerous situations for our forces, they would be forced away from their positions to deal with any trouble that could have been avoided." Iron Blade, minister of defense added.

"But if the press detect unusual troop movements, they will suspect something is wrong.." Celestia said with a frown. "Then they will speculate, making our ponies even more scared, scared of the unknown." This was the trouble, in cases such as these there was really no right answer. She did not wish to lie to her ponies, but things were not black and white.

Luna knew of her struggle, but they needed to maintain order. "We mention the unknown threat, our troop movements will be mentioned as a precaution." She knew it was not lying, but it wasn't exactly reassuring either. It was however, the best compromise, it meant they could control the story when the press got hungrier.

"Yes, I agree.. We will prepare a statement and of course it goes without saying that what has been said here does not leave this room." All the ministers and officers nodded, knowing they had to keep their cards close. "Then let us prepare." The ministers and officers all bowed before the royal sisters.

As Swift Strike was about to leave however he heard his name being called. "Captain Swift Strike, if you would please stay." The other ponies left the hall, leaving only Swift, Celestia and Luna together in the hall, there were not even any other guards around.

He turned to face them fully, standing a bit more to attention. "Yes your majesties?" He was almost a bit worried he was gonna get a scolding for questioning the princess, but he was ready for that, it was his job.

"I have a special assignment for you." Celestia said as the two sisters approached him. "My sister tells me my son's life regiment is coming along nicely, you even special ordered new armor."

"Yes your majesty, princess Luna approved it." He confirmed. "We have been using the weapons and armor for about a week now."

"So would you say you are ready to put it to use for real if we were attacked?" Celestia sounded calm, but there was an edge to her voice, like the concerns he had raised before had been with her as well.

"Yes." He replied simply, feeling like the regiment was ready for action, even though they were still not a full regiment as of yet. "We are ready to defend the prince with our lives if need be."

Celestia nodded. "I hope it doesn't come to that captain, however, as I said, I have an assignment for you in case we are attacked. Please listen closely."


~~***~~


Swift Strike stood at the edge of the training yard, watching his regiment train, using their new armor and weapons, practicing the formations they had developed. Unlike the Lunar Guard and the Solar Guard, their armor focused on being light and fast, the armor was less heavy and less restrictive, but it did offer less protection too. It covered all the vital areas as it should, and they had developed ways to compensate for the lack of armor.

Other than the short sword strapped on their backs and the classic spear, they had developed shields that could grow per command. It would help form a defensive line using the muscles of the earth ponies to hold enemies at bay, leaving the unicorns to perform the ranged attacks and the pegasi guards to overwhelm them.

Right now they they had formed two teams, one team would be the guards, the other team played the enemies. They were trying to get past the earth ponies and into the defensive circle the other team had formed. "Hold the circle!" The team leader ordered the earth ponies who held the enemy back using the enlarged shields.

As he watched them, he couldn't help but smile a little. They had gotten so far in just three months, but then again, all the soldiers in his regiments came from both the Solar and the Lunar guard, so they had to focus less on physical training and more on developing their fighting style.






As he watched them, his mind couldn't help but to think back on what Celestia had told him. Her voice still echoed in his mind.

"If the worst should happen, take my son to his father.. Make sure they both stay safe."

That had been her words just before she had revealed the identity of the prince's father. He knew he was the first pony she had told this to, the shock on Luna's face told him enough to know this was the first time she had been told as well.

She had revealed the biggest secret she carried in her heart to him and her sister. He knew he had been given a weapon, something he could use against her if he went to the nobles. Not that he would ever do that, but it spoke to the level of trust she had in Luna and by extension, him.

He had not earned that trust, so now, by following her orders he would prove himself worthy. If Celestia and Luna should fall, should Tirek win, then it was his job to find the father, gather whatever forces they could and evacuate. If the father was not willing, then he would use force, he had his orders and he would carry them out no matter what the father thought.

He could not reveal the information to his soldiers, only if the unthinkable were to happen and he would need to seek out the father, only then could he tell them the full details. For now however, he could do little other than prepare his regiment and stand by the prince, in life and if it came to that, in death.


~~***~~


This was a testing time, the day was spend with the guard patrols doubling, the walls getting more sentries and the princesses's announcement. Their honesty paid off, sure, the ponies were worried, but at least they had some way to prepare for it, in whatever way they thought best.

Cadence and Shining Armor arrived late at night, Twilight and her friends had already been informed and Discord dispatched to look for Tirek wherever he might be hiding.

All of them sat in the dining room, all discussing what might come and what they should do if Discord could do nothing or even aid Tirek. Fluttershy of course defended him, trusting him and approving of Celestia's decision, thinking it would be good to give him a chance, though none of the other five agreed.

"I don't like this, princess Celestia.." Twilight said. "If something goes wrong, we would have gathered some of the most powerful ponies here for him to drain, all in one place."

"I know Twilight, but divided we won't stand a chance against his might.. United we have a chance to overwhelm him, to defeat him before he has that chance." Celestia explained, looking to her son who was playing on a small blanket not far from them.

Rainbow Dash was down there with him, keeping an eye on the little prince, and at times trying to make sure he didn't snack on her hair. "I understand princess, but still.."

"We also have our soldiers ready to defend the city. They all know range is the key, making sure not to get to close." Luna tried to reassure Twilight, but even Luna knew it was not likely they would stand much of a chance.

It was Rainbow Dash who spoke what many of them were already thinking. "And if Discord decides to join in his fun? What then?"

Fluttershy looked at Rainbow. "Rainbow Dash, Discord would never-."

"Ah have to agree with Rainbow, ah'm sorry Fluttershy, but we have to at least admit it's a possibility." Applejack agreed. 

Her ears fell and she slumped back into her seat. Rarity did not like seeing Fluttershy without allies, but what could she say? She had to agree, she feared Discord turning against them as well. Pinkie Pie bounced over to Rainbow Dash and Spero, sitting down on her rump as she watched the little foal play. 

"If he keep his word we can have a hero party! If not, then we can kick his butt and have a send off party!" She said trying to sound cheerful, but it didn't really help Fluttershy. "Besides, i'm sure princess Celestia would not sent Discord if she didn't have some faith in him, right?"

Celestia smiled and nodded. "Indeed Pinkie Pie." This made Fluttershy smile just a little, happy to see Celestia and Pinkie were at least on her side, well, even if Pinkie had no problem kicking Discord's butt and then party after.

Rainbow laid down on all fours, making a face at Spero that earned her a few laughs from the little prince. Smirking a bit, she turned to look at the others. "I'm sure we can handle anything that villain throws at u-OW!" Rainbow let out a yelp, cutting herself off. 

They all looked over at Rainbow, soon enough they all started to laugh. Spero had finally gotten close enough to bite down on Rainbow Dash's hair, munching on the colorful mane like it was candy. "Owowowowowowowowowow!" Rainbow Dash tried to get away, but she did not dare to move to hard or to fast as that would only pull on her mane even more.

Pinkie Pie rolled onto her back and started to cry with laughter, even Rarity couldn't help but to giggle into her hoof.

"Hey! Stop laughing, he is eating my mane! Come on guys!" Rainbow begged, but for now, no help came as the scene was just to amusing, and right now, they could all use a good laugh.


~~***~~


Meanwhile, in the dark allies of some far away town, a poor unicorn fell to the ground with a laud thump. His magic drained, his eyes unfocused and his body had gone limp. The big cloaked figure felt his body grow in power, enjoying every single drop of mana the unicorn had granted him.

Before he could slink into the darkness he noticed yet another unicorn, seeming to tape up a box with his magic. The cloaked figure almost licked his lips as he slowly started to approach the defenseless pony. Silently the figure got closer and closer, his heart pounding fast with expectation to get even more magic. His thin, yet massive hands reached out to grab the pony, but just before he could even touch the fur, the head turned to face him with a smirk and a fine voice greeted him.

"Tirek, I presume?"

"Discord..?"
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia laid on her bed, her wing lightly over her little foal as he laid next to her, sleeping soundly. She hummed a small lullaby, stroking his blonde mane with her hoof. Her soft voice carried the gentle tunes, keeping Spero relaxed and at peace while he enjoyed the warmth and love of his mother.

She kept looking at him, enjoying this quiet moment. Like when they were down in the garden, this was one of the very few moments she could have just to herself with him. It was times like this when she feared for the future, she had lived through the ages, seen friends and family die, seen the horrors of war, experienced the joy of peace, she had seen it all. Though it was only now, only now with a foal of her own she felt uncertain about the future, scared of her duties.

Celestia knew of her duties, she understood them like no other pony could, and yet, now, deep within herself she felt like running, simply to leave and live a peaceful life with her son. It was the crown that had denied her the chance of a real family, a husband to stand by her side and raise their foal.

Some looked at the life her and Luna led, seeing the silks, the marvel, the power. Yet they always failed to see the loneliness, the pain of outliving everypony you cared about and the burden of the crown. She could still see her father, kneeling down to them, explaining his golden rule.

"A ruler will be resented, as much for good deeds as for bad.."

It was true, though her ponies were loving and accepting creatures, there was still things they did not know about or they were blind to. Sighing a little she nuzzled Spero, knowing the life that waited for him. She would do her best to make sure he had everything he needed to be prepared for the long road ahead, she would make sure of it.


~~***~~


"What?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her face in shock and anger.

Twilight sent her a look, trying to get her to calm down, no matter how upset they all were at this news. "Rainbow Dash, please."

"But!" Rainbow Dash protested, but then sighed and simply nodded.

So far this morning had not been very good. Soon after Celestia raised the sun a messenger arrived, bearing the worst kind of news they had hoped would never come to pass. Discord had betrayed them..

Fluttershy was simply silent, disappointed beyond belief, she had hoped, she had really really hoped Discord would stay on the path of good. Celestia looked ashamed, but still very much in control of herself. "The fault is mine.." She admitted with no hesitation. "It seems my faith in him was misplaced and now he and Tirek is gathering magic on a massive scale. It is only a question of time before he comes here."

Cadence and Shining Armor stood to Celestia's left, Luna to her right, together they formed the most powerful force of magic the land had ever seen. "Along with you, we have a chance to stop him." Cadence said. "Twilight, you and your friends will pose a great threat to Tirek along with us."

"But." Luna continued, her expression serious. "If the situation becomes to dangerous, you must flee and join the prince."

The five mares looked confused. "Uhm, pardon me princess." Applejack cut it. "But if this Tirek managed to drain ya magic, then what would be the point of fleeing? He will be unstoppable.."

"No being is truly unstoppable honest Applejack." Celestia said with a small frown, knowing it was going to be dangerous if it truly came to that. "If this were to happen, you have evacuate to the crystal empire along with any pony who manages to flee, gather our allies and prepare for.." She hesitated, she did not like to use this word lightly, but it was what was going to happen should they fail. "Prepare for war.."

Swift Strike had remained quiet for now, standing to the side, listening. The only reason he was here was because he was in charge of protecting one pony and one pony only, Spero. Even so, he wanted the princesses to have the best chance possible. "Princess, if you are planning to hold him off, you need to keep him at bay. He is more dangerous up close than he is from a controlled range."

"We could lay traps!" Pinkie said excitedly, not because she didn't take it seriously, it was just her being Pinkie.

"I can't believe I am saying this, but I agree with miss Pie." Swift Strike said. "This city is unknown to him, we are on our home turf, use that against him."

"And what of Discord? He can simply teleport to the palace, can he not?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight thought for a moment, and like the princesses she shook her head. "No, we can actually prepare for that now. We can keep them out from teleportation inside these walls, which means they will have to get in the old way."

"But that means they have to go through the entire city, it's full of unicorns." Rarity exclaimed already seeing the problem.

"Then we should evacuate them to the caves." Celestia said. "We won't have much time, even as we talk the time grows ever shorter and soon he will come to take our magic.." She looked to Swift Strike. "Captain, you and your regiment will protect the citizens of Canterlot in the caves. Keep my son safe, and if need be, you know what to do."

Swift Strike did not need to hear her say it, he understood full well what she meant. He stood a bit taller, giving a single nod. "I'll prepare my regiment at once." With that, he turned and left the group of ponies to do exactly that.

Twilight watched him leave, then as soon as he was gone she looked to her mentor. "So what do we do?"

Celestia looked down at Twilight, a calm expression on her face. "We prepare.."


~~***~~


Swift Strike stood on top of the stairs, looking down at his 156 strong regiment, all uniformed, armed and ready to serve. All of them stood in perfect formation, all of them looking serious up at their captain. He had informed them all about what was happening, none of them were afraid on the outside, but he knew full well some were scared, it was only natural.

There was not much to do, other than to swear their oath of service, because tonight their metal and courage would be tested. Taking a deep breath, Swift Strike yelled out the start of the oath, the oath only their regiment used, one that was unique, just like them.


"Step forward soldiers, and swear by the royal sisters of Equestria, the manes of your ancestors, and your own honor an unbreakable oath that you will follow your charge wherever he may lead you!" 

"We swear!"

"You will obey orders enthusiastically and without question. You relinquish the protection of the civil law and accept the power of your prince to put you to death or be punished for disobedience or desertion. You promise to serve under the standards  for your allotted time of duty and not to leave before your commander discharges you."

"We swear!"

"You will serve Equestria faithfully, even at the cost of your life, and will respect the law with regards to civilians and your comrades in camp." 

"We swear that we will not leave our comrades for fear or for flight, and will not quit the ranks save to fetch or pick up a weapon, to strike an enemy, or to save a comrade!"

"Congratulations! You are now soldiers of Equestria!"



~~***~~


And so it began, the entire day was spend making ready for the incoming attack from Tirek. Celestia and Luna knew it would come today, with the speed he could now move with, thanks to Discord, he would not wait for long. Provisions was brought down into the caves, supplies, medical units, everything they needed to stay safe.

The Solar Guard were busy with preparing the city's defenses, preparing the streets, even some roof tops, planting traps, barriers, lookout posts, everything and anything they needed.

Celestia and Luna had spend most of their time with the army high command, planning out the defense of the city, but they knew it would ultimately not be enough to stop him. It would only buy them time, give them a chance to strike Tirek and end him before things got to much out of hoof.

Swift Strike had made his regiment get ready to protect the caves, while he and a few select soldiers stayed near the prince in Celestia's suite. The mood was quite tense, everypony knew by now what was coming, the nobles obviously didn't join the other ponies in the cave, they instead hid in their mansions or had actually fled the city all together.

Fancy Pants had stayed in the city, he had made Fleur leave the city however, she was pregnant and he did not want to risk their foal's safety. It had been a tearful goodbye, but Fancy Pants stood his ground and stayed behind to help out any way he could.

As the afternoon came closer and closer to an end, Celestia moved to her suite. The guards said nothing, they simply stepped aside so she could enter, when she did she sent Swift Strike a nod, telling him to please leave her with her son. Without any arguments he nodded firmly and left the two alone.

When they were alone, she took a deep breath and walked over to the bed, laying down to be close to her Spero, possibly for the last time. 'I have to be strong, I can't think like it is the last time I see him, it's not, I refuse to believe that.' She thought and nuzzled the little prince.

Laying her head down onto the soft mattress, she watched his sleeping face, the peaceful expression he had filled her with a small sense of joy and hope. He had no idea what was going on around him, so blessed to simply enjoy the love his family and friends showed him, without the worry of what might happen to them.

'If I were to die, or banished, what would he remember of me? The kind and loving mother? Or a mare that was not there for him when he grew up?'

She mentally slapped herself again.

'Stop that, no use thinking like this, it is not going to help him.'

She heard the far away horn from the south gate, alerting that Tirek was on his way. Celestia frown, booping her son's nose once before she used her magic to wrap him up in some blankets. Just as she did so Swift Strike and an two guards from the prince's life regiment entered. 

"Your majesty." Swift Strike said. "We need to move now, Tirek has been spotted."

Celestia remained calm, holding the little bundle of love in her hooves for a bit. "I know, captain." She looked at him, her eyes stern and as serious as he had ever seen her. "Protect my son, you must not let Tirek get a hold of him. Protect him with your life, captain, and promise me you will keep him safe."

Swift Strike placed his hoof upon his chest. "I swear your son will come to no harm princess, I swear that on my life." He turned to a female guard and gave her a nod. She nodded back and carefully approached the princess.

"Good.." She took one last look at her son, kissed him between the ears, holding him tight for just a moment before she finally handed him over to the mare. "May Faust watch over you all.."

And with that, she teleported to the throne room to get herself ready along with her sister and friends.


~~***~~


Tirek stood at the road, not far from Canterlot, he smirked a little. He was no longer the frail old creature from before, no. Thanks to Discord he had managed to consume much more magic and speed up his plans! Today was the day he would get his revenge!

"Pathetic, so this is where they have been hiding for all these years?" He asked with a confident smirk.

"Well." Discord poofed into existence next to the large and muscular centaur. "Celestia mostly, moonbutt has only recently returned." They could hear the horns going off, alerting the city to their arrival. "My my, seems like they know we are here." He proceeded to pull out a spyglass, seemingly out of nowhere. "Let me have a looksie."

He saw the many guards stationed up on the battlements, readying themselves with spears and what looked like crossbows of some kind. Then above the gate he saw the one and only Shining Armor, looking directly back at him. 

"Now this is interesting, seems like they have prepared more than I would have thought." Discord scratched his chin in thought. "We might need some leverage.."

Tirek snorted. "You don't think I can take these puny ponies?"

Discord shook his head. "Of course not, but you forget, you may be strong, but they have numbers and more stronger beings on the other side of the wall."

"So what do you suggest?" Tirek asked, already getting impatient.

"That I go hunting for a bit, in the meantime, you go and have fun, sooner or later the princesses should come to you. I'll be back before they pose any real threat towards you. Byeee~." And with another poof, he was gone.

Tirek rolled his eyes, thinking no pony in there could match him soon. If getting his revenge and take what should be his meant he had to go through a few soldiers, then so be it.
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You don't have to go, my love.."

"I do.. If they discover i'm the father then.. It would not do you or the foal any good.. I'm as common as common can get.. What kind of dad would I be anyway? I'm nothing Celly, our foal won't be able to look up to me or anything.."

"That's not true ------ , you be a fantastic father.."

"They will use this against us, Celly. They will use this to undermine you, to hurt you, to hurt our foal.. No, it's better if I just do what I was always meant to do.. We both know it has to be this way.."

"......"

"I love you, Celly.."

"I love you too, ------. More than I can ever express with words... Our foal will too, I know it.."


~~***~~


The voices from the past did very little to calm her nerves, Celestia felt like she stood alone during this storm that was Tirek. Thankfully she was soon reminded that she in fact was not alone, standing beside her was her long lost sister, somepony who would be there for her from now om, stand with her during the worst of times.

Her niece who had always been so supportive and kind. Not to mention Twilight, her faithful student that would always do what she could to help her mentor in whatever crisis the kingdom faced. Not only that, but her friends stood with her, eager to help out Twilight and their princess.

No, she was not alone, she had her son, her sister, her niece and her friends, she was not alone, not anymore.

"Sister." Luna said as they stepped out onto the balcony. "The battle has begun."

Both of the sisters stood in their armor, knowing they would be better in combat than Cadence, who would focus on healing the wounded. Even when it came to Twilight and her friends, it was better to let Celestia and Luna handle the combat itself.





They could hear the booms, see the flashes and feel the magic energy rising. This was the second time Canterlot faced an attack such as this, this time however they had managed to prepare, and this time, they would get the chance to defend their home!


~~***~~


"GET BACK!"

A powerful blast of magic shut through the gates, sending the heavy wooden doors flying into the air, the guards barely managing to take cover and get out of the way. "Go to the rally point, move, move, move!" Shining Armor commanded. 

The golden armored guards started to run down the stone stairs from the battlements and down the small streets. "WhoARGH!" One of the guards was caught in Tirek's magic, forcing her towards the centaur.

"Leaf!" Shining turned around, but the unicorn waved at him, trying to resist and fight the strong pull. 

"Go! Leave me!"

Before Shining Armor even had a chance to either do as she asked or refuse, his friend got pulled into the smoke, vanishing from sight. He could hear the disgusting sound of what was no doubt Tirek draining his friend's magic. He glared, but did what Leaf had told him to do, leave her.

He ran down the street, most of the other guards had already made it behind the first barricade. Shining jumped and the other guards used their magic to carry him to the other side.

"Get ready! Spears!" Shining commanded and his troops readied the spears, pointing them towards the street on the other side, towards where Tirek would no doubt be coming from. They could not use their magic on Tirek, but they could use it on objects, such as throwing spears. Shining looked several feet behind the defensive line they had formed, he smirked slightly as their new weapons had arrived, the ballista.

They were like big crossbows that fired massive spears or balls of iron or even stone, they were strong, and if something was gonna put a dent in Tirek, it was these babies. "Load ballistas, fire on my command!" They had planted several around the city, hoping to lure Tirek down the streets they wanted, that way they could tire him out and let the princesses crush him. Though the idea meant that he could not loose many of his soldiers, or he would just regain power and continue his attacks.

They could hear him, calmly moving his way towards them. "Haha! You ponies really think you can stop me?! Hah! But at least you are making this just a little interesting!"

A recruit gulped, taking a small step back, but he felt a hoof touch his shoulder. He looked behind him, only to see Shining standing there, shaking his head. "We make it through this, keep formation."

"Y-yes sir.." The recruit replied and got back to his station.


~~***~~


They moved with great haste through the old tunnels, the only light provided was the few torches that was lining the walls. Swift Strike and his squad felt the tremors, heard the faint sounds of explosions that caused the dust to fall from the ceiling. As much as he wanted to join the defenders up top, he had a single mission, to protect the prince, for now, that was the only thing he could do.

"Sir, do you think they'll win?" The mare guard, who was carrying Spero, asked.

"Don't think about that, soldier. Just focus on your job." Swift Strike simply replied, he needed to keep them focused on the task at hoof, not speculate on what was happening up in the city.

Going around the corner the hallway opened up into a massive cave, the tunnel they used had been one of many scattered throughout the city, allowing all the citizens to move down here with relative ease. The cave was nicely lit, ponies huddled around in groups here and there, trying to comfort one another as they did their best not to focus on the tremors of the stones or the sounds.

Swift always admired this about ponies, their ability to care about one another, to stick together and try to stay strong, even in the darkest of times. The result of them huddling up meant they were more relaxed, well, as much as they could be.

Swift Strike and his squad made their way to a small area that was well protected by more guards from this new regiment. The mare laid the little prince into a makeshift crib, mostly made up of blankets and pillows, not the most luxurious, but it would have to do.

Spero looked around, confused, not understanding what was going on. His big golden eyes moved around to each adult pony, trying his best to figure out what was happening, that, or he was trying to find a familiar face, like his mother's. The female guard took off her helmet and laid down close to him, hoping a friendly face would help relax the confused prince. 

"It's okay, no one is going to hurt you down here." She gave a reassuring smile, not sure if he would understand her, but hopefully a smile would relax him, even if her words might not be the truth.


~~***~~


"Move!" 

It was too late, the beam of magic made the wall near a group of soldiers explode, making the three ponies fly a few meters, screaming in shock. They laid there, one screaming in pain as he felt the small sharp rocks that had splintered from the wall cutting into him. He bled, he was in pain, but thankfully he was not going to die, at least not with the proper care.

Another had passed out, laying there motionless, some of his fur had been burned, but his armor had protected him from the worst of the explosion. The last one tried to not go into shock, her wing was broken and she tried to keep it together, but the pain was great, and so she simply let out a few whimpers.

"Get them out of here!" Shining ordered, looking to a squad that immediately ran to their comrades. He glared forward again, sweat running down his forehead as he tried to keep his troops moving and out of range, but with the chaos growing it was getting hard to keep track of everything around him.

"Sir! We need to evacuate, we can't hold him back!" Corporal Beacon yelled to Shining over the noise, his expression was one of desperation. 

Shining sent him a stern look that made him stand to attention right then and there. "We move when I say so, Corporal. We have a job to do, don't you forget that! Now move!" He looked to a sergeant. "Give the signal, we are moving to the square!"

"Sir!" 


~~***~~


Twilight looked over the city, it was burning, being destroyed by a single being. She worried for her brother, not knowing how he was doing made her fear the worst, but she needed to keep calm, nothing good came from rushing into something without thinking.

That however didn't seem to concern Rainbow Dash. She looked up at Celestia, she was not glaring at her, but her expression was filled with anger. "Should we not go? They are getting beaten out there, we need to do something!"

"Not yet." Celestia simply replied, never taking her eyes of the battle that was happening down there. "We have to wait for the signal, otherwise we may miss our perhaps only chance to defeat him."

"But that's... They are getting their flanks kicked out there, princess. We can't leave them like this!" Rainbow exclaimed, wanting to go down there and show that Tirek what a good ass kicking would feel like.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight turned and gave her friend a harsh look. "We all feel like you do, but we have a plan and we need to stick to it! Don't you think I don't want to go down there? My brother is down there, fighting to give us a chance! So.. Please.. Just stop.." Her voice trailed off, looking down at her hoofs.

Rainbow frowned. "Twilight I.. I'm sorry.." She didn't mean to worry her friend, but she hated standing up here doing nothing while others were in danger. Though she didn't imagine it was any easier for her, or for Cadence..

There was silence, at least from them. The sounds of the battle could still be heard coming from the distance, which did little to help the mood they were in. Suddenly a blue orb of magic shot up into the air. "The signal!" Luna said, letting out some of the air she had been holding in.

Celestia nodded. "It's time then, let us make haste!"


~~***~~


"Hahaha! You gave it your best efforts, but you are simply outmatched!" Tirek said as he walked into the city square. The guards had spread out, trying their best to keep standing, holding their weapons as high as their tired bodies would allow.

Shining armor stood in the middle of the plaza, panting, feeling the sweat moving down his body as he tried to fight every urge he had to lay down. They had done it, Tirek might not want to admit it, but he could tell he was tired as well, he had cuts here and there, small wounds and marks. Hopefully it would be enough to let the princesses and his sister to finish him off.

"I must admit, I didn't expect you to put up this much of a fight, then again, I suppose I would have been disappointed if you at least didn't try, no matter how useless it might be." He chuckled and kept walking towards Shining. He passed a lamp post, picking it up and out of the ground with ease, ready to use it as a bat on the unicorn pony. "Though, i'm afraid our games end here captain. When I am done with you and all of your fellow guards, then I will go and find Celestia and Luna, take all of their magic, then move on to your little love doll."

"..!" Shining Armor's eyes widened, then he glared at the massive centaur. He knew his plan, he knew what he would do if they lost today, but hearing him say it, hearing him threaten his beloved, it lit a fire within him. Forgetting all sense, he picked up a sword with his magic and charged the centaur, yelling out a war cry, his eyes burning with fury!

"Oho?!" Tirek grinned, lifting up his makeshift bat in the air, ready to strike the foolish pony. As soon as Shining came close enough, he swung the lamppost, only to be blocked with Shining's shield magic. The pony jumped, using his magic to swing the blade towards Tirek's chest. "Aurgh! You little!" The small cut across his chest was a small and pricey victory, because as soon as the swing had been done, Tirek simply grabbed the pony as he was moving toward the street.

"Ergh!"

Tirek lifted Shining up to face him. "Brave, but useless.." He said grimly.

"That's enough Tirek!"

"Hm?" Tirek looked up and then smiled with a sick sort of sadistic smile. "Oh ho! Princess Celestia, princess Luna, and, yes, if it isn't the newest addition, princess Cadence!" Then he noticed six ponies running down a street and moved up next to the princesses. "Uhm? And you are?"

"Let go of my brother!" Twilight yelled without thinking, her eyes fixed on the monster that held him, her eyes glaring with the same fire Shining had.

"Your brother eh? Tirek smirked and looked at the unicorn and then back at Shining. "Well, Guess this will be more fun for me then." And with that, he opened his mouth and drained Shining's magic.

"Shining!"

"Shining!"

Both Cadence and Twilight screamed, but it was to late, all of his magic was drained from the brave captain's body. Tirek smiled sadistically. "Delicious." He said and nonchalantly tossed Shining towards the group. Both Cadence and Twilight used their magic to levitate Shining before he hit the ground.

Luna glared at Tirek, taking a step forward along with her sister. "Thou shalt not hurt anypony else this day!" She declared and lifted her own spear, getting herself into a combat stance.





Tirek simply grinned, feeling Shining's magic make him stronger and even heal some of his wounds. "We'll see about that princess Luna. Come on, it has been such a long time since I've had a real challenge!"


~~***~~


The ponies in the caves huddled closer together, some whimpered, some cried, others comforted those who needed it. The sounds had grown louder, the tremors of the stone more violent, even to the point some feared the cave would collapse. Swift Strike did not let himself be ruled by fear, he needed to remain calm.

The female guard who laid beside Spero giggled and Swift turned to see what was happening. The little prince had started to play with the blankets and pillows, rolling around in them as he wrestled with the pillows. Swift was impressed the tremors of the ground or the sounds of explosions didn't bother him. "He's a brave one." The mare, known as Hazel said and smirked up at her captain. "He'd make a fine guard."

"He is our commander." Swift just replied. "Well, he will be once he comes of age."

"I was just joking sir." Hazel chuckled, figuring they could use the distraction.

"Ohhhh, I love jokes my dear~."

A voice said from nowhere, it simply echoed in the entire room. Swift Strike narrowed his eyes. "Discord.. Formation! Protect the prince!"

The earth ponies surrounding the prince made their shields bigger, all making a defensive wall around the prince and Hazel. She in the meantime put her helmet back on and quickly pulled the prince close with her wing.

"Now now, that isn't very fun~." Discord said playfully and poofed into existence only a few meters away from Swift Strike himself. "Sorry about this, but I have been looking for you for some time now. I must say it was clever to mask your magic right under the biggest magical battle since.. Well, I don't know." He said with a shrug.

"Traitor!" Swift strike growled, moving his wings out, ready to strike his enemy with the hidden blades within his feathers.

"Now now captain. My apologies, but I don't have the time to play, I've come for the little one." He flicked his claw and suddenly all the guards protecting the prince floated up into the air, including Swift Strike and Hazel, leaving Spero confused and alone in his nest of blankets.

Swift Strike struggled as he yelled. "You bastard! Don't touch him! Guards!" The other guards sprang into action, but soon enough they were either suspended in the air or rope coiled around them from out of nowhere.

"There there." Discord smirked and got closer to the little prince. To Swift Strike's small delight, he saw the prince stand firm and glare at the much taller creature. Even though he did not understand what was going on, he still understood enough to know Discord was a bad guy, even taking it so far to growl at the draconequus.

"Feisty little guy, isn't he?" Discord smirked. "Ohhh, that glare, just like his mother." He flicked his claws once again and suddenly Spero found himself within a large bird cage. Discord chuckled and picked up the bird cage like it was nothing. "Well it has been pleasant, I'm afraid I need to dash and.." He stopped in his tracks as he came face to face with the entire population of Canterlot. All glaring at him, all looking at him like he was the worst kind of monster. "Uhm.." It was not often the lord of chaos was left speechless, but that sight kind of caught him off guard.

"Stop him!"

"Save the prince!"

"For Equestria!"

They all yelled and charged towards Discord with a fury the draconequus had never seen from ponies before. However, before they got to close he simply flicked his claws once again and with a poof! He was gone.

All the ponies in the air suddenly dropped like rocks, but were quickly helped to their hooves by the civilians. "Pepperfeathers!" Swift Strike yelled out. "Buck!" He was beyond angry and he needed to do something, right now! Taking a moment to calm himself, he quickly went over his options. Then again, there was only one..

He turned towards one of the tunnels. "Sir?" Hazel said with a worried expression.

Swift Strike stopped, but only to turn towards all of the ponies looking at him. "I'm going up there to save our prince." He could see the shocked expression on the many ponies faces, but he didn't care. "I'm a captain of his majesty's life regiment, I will perform my duty and fight for his royal highness until my dying breath." There was a pause, but he could see some of the guards stood a bit taller now. "I'm tired of going to the sidelines, we're soldiers! It is time to redeem ourselves, changeling invasion, Discord, and now Tirek, fuck them all! It's time we showed them what a royal guard can do!"


~~***~~


"Ahrgh!" 

"Luna!" Celestia watched as her beloved sister was hit with an entire stone arch and sent flying across the plaza. Celestia could however not aid her, she needed to keep her distance to Tirek and make sure she used her magic only on her swords.

"Never you mind sister!" Luna called and stood up, ignoring the small pieces of glass and stone that had cut into her, thankfully just minor scratches. Celestia soon landed beside her, trying to think of a way they could cut him down. "We need to keep moving, his magic has grown stronger than we imagined.." Luna said, panting slightly.

"I know, we must end this now.. Give him everything we got, that way he cannot consume it all safely.." Celestia said, panting as well as they had not been in such intense combat for centuries.

"You're getting soft dear sister.." Luna smirked a little. "Must be all the cakes.."

Celestia couldn't help but to smirk too. "Well, I see this situation has not lessen your ability to tease. Must mean you're holding back, or you were never that good of a fighter."

"Pah! Parish the thought sister, let us show off our power then, let us put this monster in his place."

"Agreed."

The mane six could do nothing, but to keep the wounded safe along with princess Cadence. Rainbow Dash was just waiting for the excuse to go in there and join the fight, but so far it seemed Celestia and Luna had it under control, somewhat.

Both of the royal sisters was just about to charge up and make their final attack, when suddenly a large sign appeared in front of them. On it was written in large red letters: STOP!

With a poof of smoke, discord appeared beside Tirek, who was looking more beat up than Discord expected. n his paw he held the bird cage, but it had been covered with a red blanket. "Oh my, seems like you are having fun."

"There you are Discord, where have you been?" Tirek asked, a little annoyed.

"I was out fetching our ace." He smirked and gestured to the bird cage. Already Celestia felt a knot in her stomach, she hoped to her mother that this wasn't what she thought it was.

"Discord..?" 

A small voice said, and Discord turned his head to see Fluttershy had walked closer to them, even ignoring Tirek. "Ah Fluttershy my dear, sorry i'm late to the party, but I'm afraid you are gonna have to find someone else to have tea with." Flicking his claw, she vanished and appeared in a cage, alongside all of her friends.

Cadence glared from where she was, looking over her poor drained husband. "You're a traitor Discord! We trusted you!"

"The only one Discord betrayed was himself!" Tirek smirked and turned to his ally. "So, what kind of ace have you brought us?"

"Oh, simply the cutest thing!" Discord vanished and then reappeared in the middle of the plaza. "Ladies and.. Tirek! I give you, Spero!" He removed the blanket, revealing the prince standing in there, moving around, trying to get out of his cage. "The prince of the sun and son of Celestia!"

Everypony gasped, nopony had thought even Discord would use an innocent foal in his twisted games. Tirek looked the most shocked. "Celestia, has a son!?"

"Oh yes indeed." Discord said in delight.

Celestia glared, rage building up to the point she swore she could unleash Daybreaker and destroy everyone who would harm her foal. She managed to remain calm as Luna stood a bit closer, reminding her it would come with a heavy price, one she should not consider lightly. Still, this was her son!

"Don't do this, Discord!" Celestia called, no longer speaking as a princess, but as a mother. Her eyes pleading with him, but behind them was pure anger that he would resolve to this.

"Well, Celestia, since you asked so nicely." He smirked. "Then surrender and your foal will be safe."

Celestia looked to Spero, he was fighting with all of his might, but when he spotted her he quickly pressed himself against the small bars in an attempt to get to her. Her heart broke, she could not take this decision as a ruler, she was a mother, she needed to protect her foal, but would that mean surrendering the kingdom and thousands of ponies who depended on her?

"What will it be, princess?" Discord smirked. "Your son? Or your kingdom?"

"...I...I..."

"Forget it, Discord." Tirek cut in, taking the cage from his grasp.

"W-what?" Discord looked at him confused. "But we can win, here, now." 

"I will still win, Discord. They can't beat me, now that I have the prince I have the full set." He smirked and held up the cage closer to his face, looking at the little foal, who was for the first time cowering in fear.

"You want to drain him? B-but, that would kill him." Discord said, looking uncomfortable and frankly, alarmed at the idea.

"You think I care? You've grown soft Discord, you may not like to admit it, but your time with these ponies has made you soft and weak." Tirek used his magic to get a hold of Discord. "In fact, I cannot use weaklings like you as my allies."

The ponies could only watch in horror as Discord, the lord of chaos was drained of all his chaos magic, leaving him useless and tossed aside on the ground. "But.." Discord said, as he tried to stand, but failed. "We.. We had a deal..."

"Deals change, Discord, you should have seen this coming." He grinned as he felt himself grow larger and stronger. "Haha! Now where was I? Oh yeah!" He lifted the cage.

"NO!"

The three Alicorn princesses all rushed Tirek, all charging him with a speed only a caring and powerful family could achieve. It was useless however, Tirek simply used his magic to capture all three of them. "Ah ah, wait your turn." He looked at Celestia who was glaring at him, her eyes starting to tear up as she felt so useless, she could do nothing to save her son, she had failed!

"Once I've finished off your son, I'll drain you, your sister and your niece. Then you shall be banished into tartarus and feel the pain I endured for all those years!" He growled with an evil smile. "Don't worry, I let you keep the body." He turned his attention back to the little foal in the cage, opening his mouth to start draining his magic when suddenly!

SLASH!

"Arugh!" Tirek felt a sharp pain running across his upper chest, his vision blurred by a dark grey Pegasus who sweep in and proceeded to use his wings to cut Tirek's chest and arm. Tirek concentration wads broken and so was the grip on the cage. Celestia managed to catch the cage before it hit the stone streets. All the royal sproceeded to fly several meters away. "Who the flying fuck has the balls to-RHARGH!" He felt the Pegasus make another pass, this time cutting his face and shoulder.

Now he was getting pissed off, as the Pegasus landed, jumped back toward him and spread his wings, Tirek managed to strike him with a window that laid on the ground. Swift Strike screamed out in pain as he fell to the ground. He felt his face bleeding, but before he had a chance to move on, Tirek grabbed the pony and lifted him up by the neck.

"Who do you think you are?!" Tirek demanded to know, ignoring the blood that leaked from Swift Strike.

Tirek only got more angry as he saw the pony smirking at him. "I'm Swift Strike, captain of prince Spero's Royal Life Regiment.. We fight and we die in his name... So... Screw you.." Swift Strike spat at the centaur, the spit hitting him in the face.

"You little shit!" Tirek threw Swift Strike to the street with such force everypony present could hear some bones crack and break. "I don't see any regiment, captain. I only see a suicidal pony, a bunch of weak princesses and useless guards!" 

Despite the pain, Swift Strike managed to grin and look up at the massive centaur. "That's because, i'm the distraction.."

"What?!"

It was at that moment Tirek noticed the whole plaza had been surrounded by guards. Up on the roofs, in the air, on the streets. All of them, Solar, Lunar and of course, Spero's life guards. 

"Ha! You think you can defeat me?! Look what I have done to your city! To Discord! To your princesses, you're bunch of weak and limited ponies, how can any of you think you can defeat, Lord Tirek!"

"FIRE!"

The command rang out, and several ponies moved, revealing the remaining ballistas, stationed around the roof tops. Several of them fired, moving the arrow like missiles towards him with such speed that he barely had time to react. He quickly snatched them all up with his magic, doing exactly what Swift Strike had predicted.

"Charge!"

All of the guards rushed Tirek all at ones. To an untrained eye, their attacks might seem random, but it had been carefully planned out. Spears was sent flying, swords were swung and wing blades rushed in. Tirek roared in anger, fighting off anypony he could, smacking some away, draining others, but the confusion only got increased as he started to loose focus.

Swift Strike smirked as Hazel hurried over to him. "It's working!" She exclaimed.

He nodded. "Then, finish it sergeant.."  

Hazel nodded and stood up straighter. "Second salvo, fire!" 

The ballistas fired once again, and this time Tirek only managed to stop two and by then, it was to late. His eyes widened as he felt missiles penetrate his body one by one. All the guards stepped back, letting the ballistas do the work. Tirek could only look down at his body in pure shock. In a pure daze of confusion, he tried to grab one of them, trying to pull it out, but the blood loss was already making him weaker.

"Ergh. no.." Was the only words he could get out before his mouth filled with the warm iron taste of his own blood. He looked to the princesses who looked equally as shocked. Celestia had covered Spero's eyes. The mane six looked on with a mix of anger and shock. "C-curse you.." Those were the last words spoken before he fell to the ground, his body starting to light up in a blue glow.

"Get back!" Hazel ordered.

The guards barely had time to react before Tirek burst into a beam of energy, all the magic he had consumed leaving his body and returning to the ponies he had stolen it from. Shining was one of the first to get his magic back, and just like that he felt all his energy returning. His body was still tired, but he was feeling a lot better.

"Shining!" Cadence cried and hugged her husband tightly. 

"Wha..? What happened?" He asked, confused, but hugged his beloved back.

"We won, Shining. We won the day!" She cried, so happy that it was finally over.

"We did..?" 

The guards opened the cage that held the mane six, all of them happy the nightmare was over. Celestia held her son close, relieved to see no harm had come to him. He in turn hugged her back, like he would never let go ever again, which at this point, she was fine with.

Luna let them have their moment, getting up and walked over to spot where Tirek had once been. There was nothing left, some burn marks on the stone, some of his blood still remaining, but otherwise it was over, Tirek was dead. She smiled slightly. "Congratulations captain Swift Strike, it seems like you and your fellow guards has won the day."

All the guards let out cheers, finally, it was like the failure of the changeling invasion and Discord, it was like everything had been washed clean, now, their honor had been restored!

Luna turned to face him. "You have my personal thanks, you saved the kingdom and the royal fami-." She stopped seeing Hazel crying over the captain. "Captain!" She ran to him. He didn't move, and it looked like he didn't breath either. "GET THE HEALER, NOW!"
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

"Urghhh..." Everything was dark, everything was a horrible mess of darkness and pain. His head felt like it was gonna split open and his body felt like it had been thrown down Canterlot mountain. Slowly he opened his eyes, the beeping sound forcing his mind to come out of his slumber.

"What the hay..?" He mumbled, his voice small and hoarse. A hospital room? No, it was the royal palace's infirmary. Oh yeah, Tirek. TIREK! He sat up in alarm, the heart monitor attached to his chest started to go off faster now. He was just about to jump out of bed when two yellow hooves pushed him back into bed.

"Swift! Swift Strike! It's okay, everything is fine, you're safe!" 

Swift looked around, his vision still blurry, half his face covered with bandages. It took him a while before he realized it was Spitfire trying to hold him down. When he saw her worried expression, he nodded slightly and laid back down. "What.. What happened?"

Spitfire sighed as she put the covers back over him again. "You idiot, you have broken bones, you shouldn't be moving."

"Spitfire, what the buck happened?"

She looked at him, a small smile moving across her face. "You won, okay? Your plan worked, you and your regiment saved the princesses and yes, you saved the prince. He's safe."

Swift let out a sigh and laid back. "Good.." He took a moment to simply relax, enjoying the feeling of the honor they had brought upon the guard. Not only that, but his regiment had proven themselves and the entire royal army had been redeemed, once again they were shown to be loyal and brave soldiers, ready to do whatever they could to defend the kingdom.

Slowly he lifted his hoof to his bandaged part of his head, he felt weird, and judging by Spitfire's concerned expression, she had bad news. "Stop that."

"What?"

"Looking concerned, it doesn't suit you."

She snorted, chuckling a bit before she shook her head. "You're a jackass.."

Swift sighed, reaching out and took her hoof. "How bad is it..?" He figured he might as well get it over with.

"Well, you are gonna be fine, your bones will heal, you will earn a few scars, but most of your fur will cover it up." She said, holding his hoof a bit tighter.

"But?"

"But they.. They couldn't save your left eye.." She said with a frown. "I'm sorry.."

"Come on.." He smirked a little. "It's not your fault, besides, you looking all guilty and concerned, it's just not you, never was, so why start now?"

"You know if you weren't hurt already I'll punch you."

"You might as well, today i'm on all kinds of pain relieving spells." He chuckled. "So, how long have I been in here?"

"Only five days.." She said and leaned against the bed, resting her head on the mattress. Swift noted her mane was not maintained, she also had bags under her eyes, she had probably been here for some time.

"Five days huh? What did I miss?"

She let out sigh, typical Swift of asking something like that right after he woke up. "Well.. The city is back to normal, some places still need fixing, but they are getting there.. Everyone who had been drained are back to normal, the wounded are tended to and.. Well, Discord is on trial for treason today."

That last bit of news surprised him. "What? Discord? On trial? How did he agree to that?"

"Well, he offered himself, even made some special chains for us to use on him so he could not resist them.." Spitfire explained. "I was not there to see it, but that's what I heard. I also heard princess Celestia was beyond furious with him, about the whole, taking her foal hostage deal.. Can't say I blame her, I would have roasted him with the sun if I were her."

"So everything is as it should be.." Swift sighed, relaxed and happy with how it all turned out.

Spitfire however wasn't satisfied. "Except for the part where you nearly died, Swift. You were lucky, you actually stopped breathing and your heart stopped for several seconds before the medics got hold of you.. You got lucky."

Swift Strike looked at her, she was really sad. Her ears hung low, and she nuzzled a bit closer into his hoof on the bed. "Sorry.." He finally said. "Guess old habits die hard.."

"Yeah.. You still the idiot I dated years back, still self centered, arrogant and-."

"We have been through this, Spitfire." Swift smirked. "We can't stand one another for more than an hour, well unless we.." She placed a hoof over his muzzle.

"Shut up, just.. Just shut up, okay?" He didn't reply, he simply nodded slightly. Spitfire turned her head, as if making sure they were really alone. She looked back at him with a devilish smile. "Not a word, let me take care of you, hero."

"What are you-."

"Ah ah, shut your trap, let me just take care of you." She smirked, starting to moving down the bed, then suddenly up under his covers.

"Spitfire, you, oh!" He blushed heavily, but did not say anything else. Letting out a small moan, he did as she asked and let her take care of him. Since he was to injured to do anything else, he figured he might as well let her, not that he needed much convincing at this point.


~~***~~


Celestia was a compassionate princess, she always tried to look at the bigger picture and tried to be as fair as possible in all the decisions she did. This however was a case she found hard to be fair in, Discord, the lord of chaos, had foalnapped her son, held him hostage in order to make her surrender the kingdom and her magic to Tirek.

The only redeeming note about this was his unwillingness to kill her son, but he still put him in immense danger. Right after Tirek was defeated, Celestia had ordered the arrest of Discord, who, to her surprise, came willingly, and even conjured some chains that could hold even him and lock away his magic.

He seemed sorry, he seemed to really be regretful, but, he used her son, HER foal, that was not a crime easily forgiven, not one, SHE would easily forgive.

Today had been one long day of debates, the trial itself was not as long as one might expect. Discord had admitted to his crimes and told he accepted whatever punishment they deemed fit. It was an unusual move from Discord, not one she expected, but right now, she simply could not find it within herself to care about his apologies. He betrayed her trust in a way that cut deeper than anything, he had tried to use her son against her. If he had just followed, helped Tirek even, if he had just left Spero out of it, then maybe, maybe she could find it in herself to be more merciful, but she simply couldn't.

That was the reason she had left the judgement to her sister, not because she didn't want to punish Discord herself, but, she was to emotionally involved, and she admitted that. Right now she sat in her suite, looking out at the rising moon as it slowly took over the sky. She was tired, the last few days had been hectic, medals, visits to the hospitals, meetings, a LOT of meetings.

She had never minded it before, nor did she really now, it came with the job. Though, she right now just wanted to take a break and simply be there for Spero. Duty simply did not allow that, and that was the biggest drawback of being a princess. Thankfully her son could enjoy his childhood more, and if it meant she needed to attend more meetings for him to simply enjoy his foal years, then so be it.

"Tia?"

Celestia recognized the voice of her younger sister, but she didn't turn around. "Come on in. Lulu."

Luna gently shut the door to the suite behind her. Making her best efforts not to wake little Spero who was sleeping soundly in his mother's massive princess sized bed. She smiled down at her nephew. "You know, he is a heavy sleeper."

"That he is." Celestia agreed with a tired smile. "I suspect he get's that after his father." Luna knew better than to speak of that subject now, so she simply let it slide. Even though she now knew the identity of him, Celestia had revealed that information out of fear, not out of willingness. That was the reason she had not spoken about it, she wanted Celestia to talk about it when she was ready, truly ready.

"I know it has been a long day.." Luna said and trotted over to her sister.

"For us both.." Celestia reminded her. "You work better during the night, and you still have a lot to do.."

"It matters not, affairs of state is finally calming down, things will return to normal soon. I am sure of it." She reassured her older sibling. "Though, the question remain, what is to be done about Discord."

Celestia almost growled at the mention of him, but she needed to remain calm, after all, nothing had happened to Spero, and she could thank the loyal and brave captain Swift Strike for that. His quick thinking, bravery and leadership had rallied their troops and saved them all. 

"I left that decision up to you, I fear the punishments I have in mind would be seen as too cruel, even for him." She sighed, not taking her gaze from the window.

Luna could not help but to giggle. "I am not sure my ideas would be seen as anything less than that as well.. Though, I have given it some thoughts, I was thinking imprisonment in tartarus for an amount of twenty five years. If his chains really are doing what he claims, then it should not be a problem sending him there."

Celestia turned and finally looked at her sister. "That sounds fair, tomorrow morning we can deliver the judgement and have him sent there. Please, sister, can you arrange it?"

"Of course dear sister." Luna moved up and nuzzled her. "Please, Tia, get some rest. You need it, and he needs you. Don't worry about me." She smiled warmly. 

Celestia returned the smile and the nuzzle and let out an exhausted sigh. "Thank you Lulu, i'm glad to have you here with me.. Please, have a good night, and don't overexert yourself."

Luna smirked. "After my vacation on the moon? I think I can handle some extra work." 


~~***~~


The dungeon of Canterlot castle was rarely ever used anymore, it was build when the palace was first constructed and now it was only ever used to house the few intruders the guard had to deal with now and again. For the last five days this dungeon had been the home of Discord, the lord of chaos.

He did not care, it was cold and dark, but he deserved it. He had betrayed his friends, and for what? Discord was not one who often felt guilty about anything, but seeing Fluttershy's expression, understanding that Tirek would have killed that foal if not for Swift Strike, thanks to him. Discord might be a trickster, but he had never killed or harmed any pony, and it shamed him a foal nearly got the pay the price for his stupidity.

This was the only way to repent for that, by surrendering himself fully to the mercy of Celestia, accepting whatever punishment she had in mind for him. He had even gone so far to make a set of magical chains that would lock away his magic, making him powerless to whatever they might decide for him. It was the only way he could somehow redeem himself, if only a little in Fluttershy's eyes, surely she would see he never intended for the foal to be hurt?

But all in all, he would accept whatever Celestia decided on. The trial itself had been rather short, mostly because Discord pleat guilty in every crime that the prosecutor had listed; aiding someone to steal magic from other ponies, kidnapping, resisting the commands of the royal guard, foalnapping of the royal prince and high treason against the crown.

Thankfully the only thing not listed was attempted murder, that was indeed not the case when he took Spero, never. The rest however, that was fair. He could do nothing but to sit and wait, without being able to use magic time seemed to go by even slower than before, kind of a humbling thing to suddenly be so powerless.

Then suddenly, he felt something, though it came not from within, but from the guards stationed down there with him. He did nothing, they did nothing, but he could sense powerful magic. Then he heard ponies fall to the ground, then faint snoring, a sleeping spell? Who was,

"Good evening, Discord." A male's voice said and Discord turned his head to face the bars of the cell, only to see a black cloaked pony standing there. His face covered in the shadows of the hood.

"And who might you be?" Discord asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My name is not important, just know that I am here to deal with you." He said flatly.

"Oh?" Discord stood up, getting a little interested in this little drama. Was he some would-be assassin? Somepony who would avenge the injured soldiers? Somepony taking matters into his own hooves? No, something else was going on. "And why is it you are here to deal with me? I am already awaiting my punishment from the princess of the sun herself?"

"We cannot take any risks.. You nearly got the prince killed, and that, is something we cannot allow to happen." The mysterious pony reached into his clock and held up a small crystal ball, no bigger than a tennis ball it seemed. "You nearly ruined everything, you are a an unknown factor we cannot predict or prevent, so we have decided to take you out of the equation while we have the chance."

Discord was not afraid, he simply raised his claw with an evil smirk and. Oh yeah, the chains. 

The cloaked unicorn chuckled. "Do not worry, we do not plan to kill you, we may one day have use of you, until then." He held the little crystal ball out, and then with a big white flash Discord felt himself getting pulled towards it!

"Wait! Wait! No no no! FLUTTERSHY, I'M SOOORRY!"

With another blinding light, the lord of chaos was gone. The pony held up the ball, looking at it like if he could see Discord, but of course he couldn't, but he knew he could hear him. "I'm sure you are Discord, but this is for the best. Like this, you wont hurt her, or the prince, ever again. They will simply think you ran and soon enough, they will forget about you." He let out a small chuckle, he had just seen pure fear from the lord of chaos himself, that was kind of funny. 


~~***~~


Morning came, the sun gently touching the face of Swift Strike, waking him up ever so calmly. He let out a small yawn, disappointed in being woken up. It was one of the few things he could actually enjoy while he was injured, sleeping in. After last evening and Spitfire's 'care', he would not mind sleeping in and simply enjoy her being near him, but unfortunately she had training today, so she had left during the night.

"I'm afraid it seems I've disturbed your peaceful rest, captain."

A soft and elegant voice said. His eye shot open and he quickly saw the princess of the sun herself standing at the foot of his bed, looking at him with a small smile.

"Princess Celestia, I." He tried to sit up, but Celestia held up a hoof.

"Please, don't. You deserve to rest, after all, you saved my son.." She said, her words filled with gratitude only a mother could give. "He was your charge, and you fulfilled your duty even at the risk of your own life. You also managed to restore the honor I imagine many of our guards think they have lost.." She let out a sigh. "The fault may be mine, not letting you all know how much you mean and how important you all are to the security of Equestria.. For that, I am sorry."

Swift shook his head, as fast as he could without giving himself a headache. "No, please princess, don't say that..."

"And yet it is already said, and I truly mean it." She said and smiled at him. "I cannot thank you enough, if you wished to retire with a nice pension, I would grant it, but from what my sister has told me, I do not think you would like to retire anytime soon."

Swift starred at her for a few seconds, then relaxed a little, smiling. "Your sister is right, I would like to continue in your service and protect the prince."

Celestia nodded. "I feel it would be a shame to rob the regiment of you, the guard is lucky to have you, and so is my son and me." She bowed her head, which caused his body to tense, the princess could not bow to him, and yet, she did. It was then he realized, this was not his princess, this was Celestia as a mother thanking him with all of her heart.

He felt a sense of pride rising, but what could he say? He said the only logical thing to say. "T-thank you, your majesty.."

"It is me who is thanking you, I must also express my deepest apology for your eye.. I understand from my doctors they were unable to save it.." A small frown crept across her face, she felt guilty, that much was clear.

"Your majesty, I knew the risk when I got into the guard, I also knew full well what might happen if I used myself to distract Tirek, with the prince safe, I'll say it was worth it, and I would do it again." Swift Strike reassured the princess.

She smiled a bit again. "Your words are noble and kind, and I will find a way to thank you for your actions and your continued service and loyalty." She assured him, before she could go on however the door opened and Shining Armor gave her a look that instantly told Swift something was wrong, very wrong. "Shining Armor? What is the matter?"

"Uhm, if you would, princess, this is urgent.." He said, not wanting to burden Swift with the news, though he seemed to have other plans.

"Shining, first of all you don't come to visit me when I finally wake up, so the least you can do is to share the news if there is a security risk." Swift growled, then stopped himself as he remembered the princess was in the room.

Celestia chuckled slightly, but then composed herself. "Shining, please, if it is a safety risk, please share it with us both."

Shining Armor nodded and walked into the room. "It's Discord.. He has vanished, and we don't know how it could have happened.."

Both Celestia's and Swift Strike's eyes widened. 

"What?" 

Celestia asked, her voice cold and on the edge of anger, not something that was directed at Shining, but at the traitor known as Discord. 


~~***~~


It did not take long before Celestia herself stood in the dungeon with Shining Armor and a few guards. "What, happened?"

"We simply don't know, the guards heard nothing, we suspect some of them might have fallen asleep and that's when Discord vanished." Shining explained looking into the empty cell. "The chains must have been, well not what he claimed them to be.. Just a show perhaps.."

"But, for what purpose?" Celestia asked glaring into the empty cell.

"I couldn't tell you princess, perhaps he really did wish to reform, to receive what punishment you had in mind for him and simply, got cold hooves?" He suggested, not quite sounding convinced himself, but what else had they to explain this? The fact was that Discord was gone, and they most likely never see him again.

Celestia sighed, she knew it would be useless to send out patrols to find him, he was long gone, she was sure of it. "If he ever shows himself, I want him arrested on the spot."

Shining nodded. "Yes princess."


~~***~~


It seemed everything had gone wrong, right, then wrong. Discord was gone, proving once and for all to her that he was an untrustworthy fiend who only ever looked after himself. She cursed the day she ever decided to give him a second chance. 

Letting out a sigh, she decided to let go of her anger. Tirek was defeated, her son was safe, the kingdom was secure. Discord may be gone, but still, she had all the ponies she loved close to her, that was the most importing thing to her.

She stopped by one of the large windows, looking up to see the depiction of herself and her little Spero above her, shining like as she held him above her with her wings. She smiled a little, the artist had made it seem like the second birth of Faust, though her mother would not have wanted such an image of herself.

Celestia let out a chuckle, but understood to many ponies, Spero was a hope that the future held great things. She smiled a little to herself, she thought that too, but right now, she just wished for him to be a foal and enjoy as much of life as he could.

Turning around, she proceeded towards the door, from the other side she could hear giggled and excited chatter. It was Twilight and her friends, all happy to watch over Spero while she took care of some of her duties. She gently opened the door, not wanting to distract them from whatever fun they were having.

Looking inside, she saw the girls all on the big carpet, laughing as Rainbow Dash, again, was trying to get Spero off her mane. "Seriously guys, it hurts, somepony get him off!"

Twilight was on her back, holding her stomach as she could not hold back her joyful laughter. It was the same for all the other girls, all laughing and smiling. Celestia giggled lightly, happy to see Spero might have already found some great friends and hopefully one day, teachers.

Spero's ears perked up and rotated towards the sound of his mother's giggle. He turned his head and grinned, letting go of Rainbow Dash's mane. Her heart almost exploded as the little colt jumped onto the floor and started to run towards her, his wings flapping happily as he did so.

Smiling, she opened the door fully and let him come to her. She laid down, both of them embracing one another. The girls could only look on with smiles, Even Rainbow Dash, who was still rubbing the spot where he had bitten. It was a beautiful sight, just a mother and her foal.

Celestia closed her eyes, enjoying having her son close. "My little sun, my little Spero, I love you.. Always.."
> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning had arrived, Celestia stood out on her balcony, slowly raising the sun into the right position. Her graceful light bathed the land in her warmth and glory, and like always it was a beautiful sight to behold. Today was in particular important to her, because today, it was her son's birthday.

This day today it had been ten years since he came into this world, ten years since he came to this world and brought her the joy of motherhood. So that meant everything today had to be perfect!

The weather schedule was set to be a sunny day, with a few clouds to bring shade, but otherwise a nice sunny day. She had it all planned, out, but first things first, find her little sun prince and wake him up. It was one of the traditions she enjoyed, something that made her feel like just a mom and not a princess.

Her son would often make a mess in his room, toys scattered around, and even though they did have maids, she always wanted him to clean up his room by himself. Not dusting off, but picking up his toys and such. He never really complained, not more than any other young colt his age, so she simply found it amusing and happy she even got to experience things like this, even if it could be a frustration at times.

Celestia walked out of her suite, making her way down the grand hall of the palace wing reserved for them, and them only. Their suites were all located in the royal wing of the palace, though every bit of the palace was their home, this wing was strictly off limits to all who were not invited, which meant the royal family could be themselves and more relaxed in this part of the palace. Here they did not need to worry about some minister or noble who simply had to talk with them right this instant, no, here they could drop the crown, walk around in socks if they so wished, just relax and be off duty so to speak.

The wing housed the three suites of the royal family, Celestia's, Luna's and of course, Spero's. There was also a living room, dining room, two guest rooms and a small library and kitchen.  

As she made her way down towards her son's room, she noticed her sister yawning as she too walked out from her room. "Good morning Lulu." Celestia greeted cheerfully.

Luna looked at her, smiling warmly, but still had tired eyes. "Good morning Tia.." She said and stretched just slightly.

"I thought you would have gone to bed already sister?" Celestia smirked, knowing full well she was still up to wish her son a happy birthday. Luna had quite the soft spot for her nephew, maybe it was because Spero had this habit of sneaking out whenever he could not sleep. He did not go far, just up on the roof of the royal wing. 

Luna often found him there. They enjoyed chatting a little during those moments, watching the night sky she had created and flew a little around the palace, though not to far as he was still young and could not go for as long as a full grown Alicorn, yet.

"I would not miss wishing my nephew a happy birthday." She chuckled. "I am guessing you have a lot planned today?"

"Indeed. Other than the birthday breakfast I've planned and the greetings to the ponies of Canterlot, I was thinking taking him to Ponyville, he has not had an opportunity to go there since he was four." She smiled a little, hoping he might be able to go an explore without to much fuss. "Also later during the afternoon, Cadence and Shining Armor will arrive with Flurry Heart." 

Luna chuckled amused that her sister, the picture of dignity and self control was almost squealing in excitement. "It seems you have everything planned out then, Tia. What about his lessons? Seeing his friends?"

"Oh, Brave Star and Alouette will be over later, I've made sure to invite them both over. Though I am sure Twilight will insist on giving them all a lesson today, I hope she won't make it to long though." 

Celestia could not help but find it funny. Twilight, her most faithful student, had gotten a son. He was very much like Twilight in many ways, loved to read, skilled with magic despite his age. Celestia was happy their sons were able to bond so quickly when they first met.

To their little foal group was also Fleur's foal, a filly named Alouette. She looked as elegant as her mother, but had her father's mane color, she was sweet and very clever, that much was clear.

Last to their little group was Flurry Heart, Spero's cousin. She simply adored Spero, looking up to him and always happy to play with him whenever the family was together. Amusingly enough, Celestia had noticed a very tiny rivalry between Alouette and Flurry Heart, it was kind of adorable.

As they came to the door that led to the prince's room, Celestia noticed a new face. It was a young Pegasus guard, her stance was stiff, especially after noticing the princesses. Celestia thought for a moment, the guard seemed to holding her breath, but then noticed she was taking very small sips of air now and again.

"At ease corporal." Luna said calmly, and the guard did as asked and relaxed her stance a little. "Has the prince awoken yet?"

The mare shook her head. "Not that I know of, your majesty. It has been quiet ever since my shift."

Celestia held back a small chuckle, newly appointed guards to her son's security detail always had one small problem when they began their first shift. "Tell me corporal, this is your first time guarding my son's room, is it not?"

"Yes mam, it is." She confirmed with a sense of pride.

Her princess smiled warmly. "Well then, let us begin the first lesson." She used her magic, gently pushing it open in case she was wrong, but she quickly realized, she was not. Indeed, the big window was open and the big bed was empty. "My son has a habit of sneaking out."

The guard looked into the room in alarm. "But I, I heard nothing." She stammered perplexed.

"I'm afraid that is the reason we know he is not there." Luna replied, smirking a little that her nephew had managed to avoid his guard's attention. "If he was still sleeping you would be able to hear the faint sounds, yes?"

The guard thought for a moment. Yes, indeed, when her shift first started her ears had noticed the small breathing, it was a sound that was hard to hear, but she was trained to pick up such things. She had simply tuned it out though, she had not noticed it stopping, a newbie mistake Spero was no doubt aware of.

Her squad mates had probably found it funny not to make her aware of Spero's escape tricks, probably to have a little fun and bid the newly promoted corporal welcome to the squad.

"Well, let us make haste to find the prince, shall we? I would not want him to be late for breakfast." Celestia said equally as amused as Luna, even though it was wrong of Spero to sneak out on his guard like that, but it was still a little funny.

"Y-yes mam, right away!" The young guard replied hastily and saluted before she sped off.


~~***~~


Normally he would wake up early, though today he had the morning off. His marefriend needed him at home, but with her mother moving in he was glad to finally go back to work. He looked himself in the mirror, same image as always. A dark grey Pegasus, scars across his face, a hole where his left eye should be.

Swift Strike sighed, he could see Spitfire on their bed, her stomach having grown larger little by little. It was not because she was getting fat, but because she was pregnant. It had come as a shock to the two of them, none of them had counted on it, even though they had plenty of sex.

The princesses had been delighted over the news, insisting that both Swift Strike and Spitfire took a long needed vacation, which was fine and all, though, it also made him think. He was the captain of the life guard, it had grown to almost 1.000 ponies, which meant he was due for promotion to commander and Hazel to the new captain.

It was a more of a secure position, one that Spitfire wanted him to accept, but.. It would mean Hazel would take over his network of spies, an issue he had not yet discussed with her or with Princess Luna. There had to be a solution to that, he did not want Hazel to be a part of that.

That just left the final problem.. 

He was going to be a father, and if he was the spy master, it would mean he would be at risk of having to take any fall that might be required, which meant his foal would not have their father around. Could he risk that?

To be honest, he didn't know anymore...

Spitfire and him had only gotten officially back together once she was stationed as the Wonderbolt Academy commander. It meant she would would have a permanent position, a good position that meant she did not need to travel around anymore, which meant she could be there to raise their foal.

She would want him to step down, take the promotion as commander and be a stable pillar in the family they would create. He hated the fact he could not give her a yes right away, tell her he agreed and yes, he would take the position and become the father their foal deserved. Swift simply could not, he felt bound to his job, like it was his calling, his sacred duty to keep the prince safe.

He would need to figure this out, for both of them, he owed them that much. 

Looking down on the small table, he sat down and picked up a very fine eye patch. It was black, was pretty simple, only, that in front in the very fine symbols was three small blue crystals. They stuck out a little, but sort of worked like three new eyes to compensate for the one he was missing.

The gift, other than the large bonus and the medal, was the reward Celestia and Luna had granted him. Once put on, the crystals connected with his magical signature, giving him a new perspective of the world around him.

Now, he could not only see like before, but he could see the magical signature of every pony he was close to, even at times seeing their heat signature. This would help him see past illusions, even see through a changeling disguise and help him deduce certain things from the information he got from his new eyes.

It also made him more aware of the room, being able to see in a sort of weird new way, like he could see behind him without actually looking behind. He could simply read the magical signature and sort of see them mentally, it was hard to explain, and truth be told he was still getting used to it.

Letting out a small sigh, he placed it over his missing left eye and tied it in place. Already he felt the magic move through him, sensing everything in the room and even a little beyond. Without looking at Spitfire he could see her magical signature, sense her presence and the one growing inside of her.

He smiled a bit, turning over to the bed and trotted over, Swift made sure not to make to much noise as he did not want to wake her up. He came close and leaned down and kissed her cheek. Before he could move away however, she placed a hoof on the top of his head. 

"Kiss me like you mean it you dork.." She mumbled, sounding like she was still sleeping.

"You should sleep." Swift whispered before leaning in and kissed her softly.

"Mmmh~." She enjoyed the kiss, letting their lips message one another for a bit before they pulled away. "I'm not going to see you for hours.." She said and opened them. "So I want to make sure you know that despite being an idiot, you're my idiot."

"Thanks." He smirked and kissed her again. "I'll see you this evening." 

"Mhmm.. Give my best to the birthday prince." She mumbled and closed her eyes yet again.

"I will."


~~***~~


The morning wind felt so nice, when his mother's sun warmed the air just right and bathed the city in it's light, that was the best time for a morning flight. Spero loved to fly, the feeling of the air moving through his white feathered wings, it was pure freedom.

Unfortunately he could not go very far, he had to stay within the borders of the palace walls, which sucked, big time. He'd never understood why his mother made such a big fuss over having a guard, not that he minded most of the time, but, Equestria was one of the safest places in the entire world. Even the city, the most secure location in the kingdom, so why did he have to stay here?!

He landed on the roof of one of the many towers of the palace, looking over the valleys, seeing the long river cutting it's way through the landscape like a snake. The rising sun made it sparkle and reflect the yellowish light, making it look like a river made up of pure crystal. This was the land his mother and aunt watched over, this was his home and the kingdom he would one day watch over and protect, just like his mother.

Taking a deep breath, puffing out his chest a little, he felt a small sense of pride in knowing his family had been a vital part in keeping all of this safe. Not to mention some of his own teachers had been great heroes, defending the kingdom against villains like Discord, Chrysalis, Nightmare Moon, king Sombra. They've even reformed the changelings! King Thorax was a great ally and he was always fun at whatever galas there was at the palace. Spero loved seeing him transform, it was the best way of playing pranks!

Yes, this was his kingdom, his subjects, and he would protect them from all evil! Just like his mother and aunt, just like the heroes of old and of course one cannot forget, the element bearers! He was gonna be a gallant king, a hero of justice, and the bravest of-

"Hey watcha doing up here?!" 

"AAHH!!"

SMACK!

"OW!"

Spero was so startled that he turned with around with such speed that he forgot he stood right next to a flagpole and banged his head into it.  

"Oooh, that's got to hurt.. Are you okay?"

Spero laid on his back, holding a hoof to his head, feeling the stomping pain move through his head like a sledgehammer. As it vanished little by little and he heard the mare's voice again he slowly opened his eyes again, only to be met by a pair of big green eyes.

It took him a second to figure out what was going on, but soon enough he saw it was a young Pegasus filly, hovering above him as she examined him with a small smirk. She had a light blue coat and a rainbow colored mane and tail, funny, just like his flying instructor, Captain Rainbow Dash.

"Hellooooo? You in there your royal princely highness?"

She tapped his head with her hoof, though he quickly swatted it away. "Yeah, i'm here!"

"Oh good! For a second I'd thought you might be hurt." She smiled satisfied and landed down on the roof just as Spero started to sit up, still rubbing his hoof against the sore spot on his head.

"Who are you? I've not seen you here before.." He said and finally stood up on all four hooves.

"Me? Oh, I just wandered away from my guide, it's my first time here." She grinned mischievously. "Saw you flying around, figured I've come join you, see if you're as fast as I've heard." A note of challenge was in her tone now, her eyes narrowed and her grin widened.

Spero could not help but grin back. "What's your name?"

"For now you can call me Dawn, if you beat me then I tell you my full name~." She said like it was some great reward. Though Spero was more than happy to accept that challenge. Dawn looked around for a bit and then nodded to herself. "Alright, let's go one time around the palace and back here?"

"Sure, ready?"

"Set."

"GO!"

"GO!"

Both foals ran to the edge of the rooftop and leaped into the air, spreading their wings and started to speed off. The Light blue filly laughed as they both picked up speed, turning as they followed the walls of the palace. She was certainly confident in herself and her flying, but Spero could see it wasn't entirely without merit.  

He gave his wings some more powerful flaps and started to get ahead, but it was only for a short time. The filly flew above Spero and then dived right in front of him, glancing back at the young prince once to stick her tongue out teasingly before she left him in her cloud trail.

Or so she thought.

Spero was far from done with her yet, he quickly moved up the, down again. gaining some speed with a little help from gravity. This time it was his turn to dive in front of her! "H-Hey!" 

The filly called, pouting, but he could see it was just in good fun. They flew side by side, fighting to get ahead of the other. Spero was not sure when this was, but at some point they had stopped looking ahead and had started to glance at each other, both grinning and held challenge in their eyes.

Almost by chance, Dawn looked ahead, just for a second, but it was enough to make her eyes widen. Spero looked ahead as well, just in time to see they were speeding towards one of the towers. Her turned, moving his hooves to push Dawn out of the way, only to be met by her hooves. 

She had gotten the same idea, so instead of pushing just one out of the way, they smirked and pushed each other out of the way. They just barely managed to miss the tower that now passed between them, but they did it!

When they met on the other side, they laughed and flew around one another. It quickly became less and less of a race and more playful tricks in the air around one another. Soon enough they landed back on the roof, both of them still laughing. "That was so awesome!" Dawn screamed in excitement. "I was all like, 'oh no!' And you were like, 'buck!"

"Then we both were like, awesome! And pushed each other out of the way!" Spero agreed and the two foals jumped around still feeling the excitement rushing through them. "That was so cool!" He laughed, but then found it strange as he suddenly noticed he was the only one laughing now. "Hehe.. Dawn?" He opened his eyes to look at her, she was sitting on her rump, her ears down, looking nervously at the roof they were standing on. "Dawn what's wro-"

"Ahem.."

Spero froze, then slowly turned his head to look behind him. There, looking very, VERY angry stood Rainbow Dash, captain of the Wonderbolt Rapid Responds Team.

Spero quickly turned around so he stood next to Dawn."Oh, uhm, hey capta-"

"Hey mom.." 

Dawn cut in before Spero could even begin to explain. Though it was what she said that made Spero's eyes go wide in shock! He looked at Dawn, then back at Rainbow Dash, then back at Dawn again.

"Oh.. That explains a lot.." He looked back at Rainbow Dash. "Uhm, we're sorry?" Judging by Rainbow's expression he could tell that unlike them, his weak apology was not gonna fly here.


~~***~~


Well, if there was one thing that was worse than Twilight's insane amount of homework, then it was the disapproving look of his mother. Celestia stood beside her sister Luna, looking down on the two foals that both had their heads low and their ears back.

Rainbow stood right behind her daughter, holding a stern look of disapproval as well. Though she let the princess handle the talking, because it would pale in comparison on the talk she was gonna give Dawn later when they got home.

"Spero, one thing is you go out early and sneak out on a guard, but another one is you flying recklessly around the palace. Both of you could have gotten hurt making that crazy stunt." She said calmly, but still firmly as only a mother could.

Spero knew better than to try and argue with his mother. "I'm sorry mom... We did not plan on it, honest, we just, you know, wanted to race.." He didn't want to make it sound so bad, and he would not argue if she wanted to ground him, but it seemed today was his lucky day.

"Since it is your birthday, I let it slide just this once." Celestia said, a small smile slowly appearing on his mother's face, which meant he was safe, at least for now.

"Oh it's your birthday?"

WHACK!

"Ow! What was that for?!"

Dawn asked, but was quickly silenced when Rainbow Dash gave her a small whack on top of her head, nothing hard, but enough to get through to her stubborn daughter.

"You're still in trouble young lady." Rainbow said firmly, giving Dawn a stern look that quickly made Dawn frown and look down once again. "Sneaking away from me when I told you to stay close and NOT wander off on your own. Flying up to the towers and doing a dangerous race with the prince that almost got you both injured."

There was silence for what seemed like a full minute, but then Celestia's warm voice broke it. "Now now, I think both of them understand the seriousness of it, and I think they both will remember to be more careful in the future." She raised an eyebrow at them both. "Right?" Both foals quickly looked up and nodded. "Then I see no reason to let this ruin our day."

Rainbow sighed. "If you say so princess.. Though we are still going to involve your father." Dawn groaned, but did not protest.

"Though you did miss breakfast, Spero." Celestia continued. "So why don't you take Dawn with you to your room and I have something sent up, for you both."

Both of the foals smiled. "Thanks mom! Come on Dawn!" Both of them ran out, leaving the adults to themselves.

Luna chuckled a bit at them and then looked at the two mothers who also seemed amused. "So, who won?"

"I'm pretty sure if they had stayed focused on the race... My girl would have won, no doubt." Rainbow grinned and sent Celestia a teasing look.

Celestia held her head high, but could not hide her smirk. "I am confident my son would have left your daughter in the clouds if he wasn't such a young gentlecolt." Both of them started to laugh a little, having sort of expected this ever since Dawn came into the world.


~~***~~


"Wooow, it's so big." Dawn said, her eyes wide with wonder as she looked at the splendor of the palace.

Spero grinned a little. "It's just a hallway, come on, my room is this way." They walked for a bit, passing a guard or a servant now and again. "So, you never told me your name?"

"You didn't win." Dawn smirked.

"I didn't loose either." Spero shot back.

Dawn giggled a little and shook her head. "Okay, that's fair.. Well it's... Rainbow Dawn." She looked a bit nervous, blushing a little as she suddenly seemed more interested int he floor than their conversation. "But just call me Dawn, okay?"

"Uhm, sure." Spero agreed. "You don't like being called Rainbow?"

"Well.." She looked ahead again, smiling a little. "My mom is awesome, she's the fastest flyer in Equestria!" She said that with so much pride, just like the kind he had for his mom and her roots. "Though.." She frowned a little. "I don't want ponies to compare me to her all the time.. I like my name, and I love my mom, but until I beat her, I just want to go by Dawn."

"When you beat her?" 

She smirked and looked at him with the same confidence she showed when they raced. "One day, I will beat her in a race, then I'll be the fastest pony in Equestria, then.. Then..." She trailed off a little. "Anyway.." She clearly did not want to speak more of the subject, certainly not to a colt she'd just met, and he could understand that.

Thankfully they came to the door of his room, giving them a new topic of conversation. "This is my room."

"Looks like a door." She replied with a grin.

"Oh, haha, yea, the door to my room then." He smirked and used his magic to open it. As soon as it was opened however they were met with two foals inside yelling out a greeting.

"Happy Birthday Spero!"

"Happy Birthday Spero!"

Both of the foals stepped back, a little startled, but the colt and filly simply smiled. Spero then laughed a bit. "Hey guys! I thought you would come by later!"

"We were!" Brave Star, Twilight's son, laughed and adjusted his glasses. "But princess Celestia had sent a letter to my mom, saying it was okay if we came earlier."

"It was the same for my mother." The filly, named Alouette, replied. She then noticed a second filly standing outside the room. "Oh? Who's this?"

"Brave Star?" Dawn asked and walked in.

"Dawn?" Both the foals seemed surprised to see one another. "What are you doing here?"

"Thanks a lot, I snuck in if you must know." She said almost proudly.

"She came with her mother and then wandered off." Spero corrected. 

"Hey!"

"I didn't know you two knew each other." Spero said and looked at the two of them. Then again it made perfect sense, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were both friends and heroes of Equestria, so of course they knew each other. 

"We see each other from time to time when our moms come together." Brave Star explained. "Though it is not very often."

"I had no idea you knew Spero, why didn't my mom introduce us!" Dawn groaned and stomped her hoof on the floor. 

"Perhaps because she thought you did not have the right... Etiquette?" Alouette suggested, not meaning it in a mean way, but she could not help but smile slightly.

"What was that?!" Dawn asked and looked at her.

"Wow wow, easy!" Spero said and hurried over to Dawn. "It's okay, Alouette did not mean you didn't have manners or anything, but.. Uhm.. What did you mean Alouette?"

Brave Star facehoofed. Alouette however quickly continued. "Oh, forgive me, I did not mean to say that, I just thought you seem like the type who liked more wild things, maybe your mother thought you might not like hanging out here in the palace?"

"What?! There's free food and I get to hang out in these fancy rooms." Dawn smirked and walked around the big bed room, checking out some of the toys, the enchanted ceiling that made it look like the sky. "This is such a cool room!"

Spero could not help but to smile. "Thanks, my mom and my aunt designed it themselves. At least that's what I've been told." He said and noticed the small table filled with some breakfast, for all of them. Seemed like his mother was a step ahead of everything, like always. If she was not the princess of Equestria he would think she was a witch.

It seemed the day was going to be quite interesting, first he met a new friend, then later he would go to Ponyville, who knew what the rest of his day had in store for him?
> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Swift Strike was normally not one to arrive at the barracks so late, but since it was his first day back at the job, he had gotten special permission to do so. That didn't mean he had not been preparing for today, Hazel had been so kind to bring him all of the notes about today's parade and taken his orders and plans back to the regiment and prepare. All he needed to do today was to brief his officers.

As he walked down the halls he was suddenly greeted by his second in command, lieutenant Hazel Nut. "Good morning sir." She said happily. "How's the mrs?"

Swift simply kept walking. "We're not married, and she is fine."

Hazel rolled her eyes and followed him. "I know sir, but if you're going to be parents wouldn't it be better if you were married?"

"Spitfire and I do not believe in being tied down." He said, a little annoyed Hazel would always find a way to be so happy and so annoying at the same time.

"Well, pardon me for saying, sir, but that's a load of horse dung." 

Swift Strike stopped and looked at her, which made her flinch and come to a quick stop. "Excuse me, lieutenant? Care to explain?"

Hazel gulped, knowing she was standing on the line now, and one wrong word could make her cross it. "Well sir, I am simply saying.. She has gotten a more stable position for the foal, you have been offered the same.. Uhm, so.. Well, I think miss Spitfire would love it if you were married..."

"How you figure that?" Swift Strike asked.

"Sir, she's a mare, believe me when I say this. Deep down, we want a stallion who we love to be with us forever. No matter how tough we may seem, we still want a special pony in our lives, and marriage is a great symbol of trust and commitment.." She shuddered a bit. "I get all giddy just thinking about it."

She noticed Swift blush a bit, and a massive grin appeared on Hazel's face. "You HAVE thought about it, haven't you!?" Hazel exclaimed. Swift Strike grumbled and turned around, leaving her behind. She was quick to follow him however. "So do you know how you want to propose?"

"Shut up."

"Like flowers, candles, music, all of that?"

"Lieutenant, i'm warning you."

"Because if it was me, I would want it to be in the night, like full moon, many stars, a picnic on a hill and-"

"One more word and I have you clean the latrines with your wings."


~~***~~


"So what are you going to do in Ponyville?" Dawn asked as she let out a small burp.

Alouette flinched as the Pegasus filly burped right at their breakfast table. "Dawn, if you be so kind not to do that at the table." She said in her very fine Prenciant accent. Since her mother was originally from Prance, she had kind of inherited that fine accent.  What was fun was it got more heavy the more frustrated she got, and sometimes when she got very angry, she would switch language.

Dawn looked to Alouette and smirked. "What's the matter, Alouette? I'm simply enjoying my breakfast."

"Well, this is not simply, YOUR, breakfast. This is Spero's birthday breakfast and we are his guests." Alouette explained calmly, and used her magic to levitate a napkin up to her lips and gently wiped them.

Dawn blushed a bit, remembering she was in fact in the presence of the royal prince and future king. "Uhm..."

Spero noticed the change, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed he smirked. "Hey, Dawn." He called, and the rainbow maned filly turned her head to look at him. He took a moment to prepare, then let out a burp.

Dawn blinked a few times, then she burst out laughing, falling to the floor as she held her hooves to her stomach as the laughter wouldn't stop. Alouette on the other hoof looked disgusted, while Brave Star tried to hide his laughs behind a hoof.

The laughter continued for maybe a minute, and even after much trying, Alouette could not help but to let out a few giggles. As the laughter died down, the door slowly opened and they all turned to see who it could be. As it opened, it soon enough revealed a little filly alicorn, one Spero was all to familiar with.

"Flurry Heart!" Spero exclaimed and got up on all four hooves and ran to her.

"Spero!" She squealed and ran inside. The two met in a tight embrace, though Flurry Heart was the most eager of the two, and so when they met Spero felt himself being tackled to the floor with her on top of him, smiling brightly. Spero felt his air leaving him as Flurry hugged him tighter and tighter. "I've missed you so much!"

"Ergh...air..." He croaked.

"Oh!" Flurry got off him and smiled sheepishly. "S-sorry about that.."

There was a little giggle from behind Flurry Heart, and they all looked at the door again. In came the princess of love herself, princess Mi Amore Cadenza!

The other foals quickly bowed their heads, but Spero quickly moved over and hugged her. "Aunt Cadance!" If they were being truthful, she was his cousin, but with the age difference he preferred to call her aunt, which she also preferred much more .

Cadance smiled and hugged him back. "It's good to see you Spero, happy birthday."

"Thanks!" Spero grinned and noticed his uncle coming in too. "Uncle Shining!" The two of them shared a hug, and soon enough Brave Star came over and hugged Shining Armour too. 

"Uncle!"

Shining grinned and hugged both the colts. Spero and Brave Star had been friends for a long time, and since they were both related to Shining Armour and Cadance, they felt like brothers at times. Brave Star looked to Cadance and hugged her as well. 

Flurry Heart made a pouty face. "Hey, Brave Star, i'm here too you know!"

"Oh, sorry.." Brave Star said a little embarrassed. "Hey Flurry Heart, it's great to see you again." He smiled and trotted over and shared a hug with her.

"What are you doing here so early?" Spero asked. "I thought you weren't supposed to arrive before later today?"

"I wanted to surprise you!" Flurry Heart announced happily.

"And she couldn't wait." Shining said with a small grin. 

"Well you five have fun, and behave yourselves." Cadance smiled. "And Spero, remember to come down in an hour, your mother wants you to be ready for the parade."

Spero sighed and nodded a little. "Okay.." He always hated the parades, sure it was fun, but he did not like to be the center of attention. He hadn't even done anything, and yet he was praised and cheered like he had moved both the sun and the moon at the same time.

When Cadance and Shining had left and closed the door, an ice cold voice spoke up. "Hello, Flurry.."

Nopony said anything as Flurry Heart slowly turned to face, HER. "Hello, Alouette.." She replied, equally as cold. Dawn looked confused as she almost started to feel the room temperature drop in the air as the two fillies looked at each other.

"It's good to see you again." Alouette said with a small smile, but her eyes remained cold.

"You too." Flurry said and suddenly pulled Spero close and hugged him tightly. "I could not leave MY cousin hanging on his birthday."

"Ergh.."

"Well." Alouette continued and grabbed Spero's hoof and dragged him close, holding his head close to her chest. "Well, you can sit at the kids table, since me and Spero are gonna spend time together, princess." She said with a small smirk.

"mmfh.."

Flurry Heart glared at Alouette. "I'm eight now! And you are barely a year older than me!"

Alouette continued to smirk. "But still older, and most certainly more mature~."

"Grrrrr!" Flurry Heart growled.

Dawn leaned closer to Brave Star. "Are they always-"

"Like this? Yes, yes they are, but would you think they are actually also best friends?" Brave Star replied and sighed, not bothering to look over as the fillies started to pull on Spero from each side.

"Wow.." Dawn said and winched a little. "Poor guy."

"Eeyup."


~~***~~


Swift Strike looked at all of his officers as he finished his speech. "And that is the plan for the parade, is there any questions?" He gave them a moment to think and raise their hooves, but none came. "Good, then let us move onto the royal visit to Ponyville. We will-"

Hazel, who was standing next to the podium cleared her throat. "Ahm, sir, you might not have heard, but.." Swift sent her a look, not only did he hate being interrupted, but he hated the news that there was something he had not been told. "The princess has ordered there is to be no escort.."

Swift raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

"Well, he will be accompanied by headmistress Twilight Sparkle, Captain Rainbow Dash and be visiting Sweet Apple Acres.. She did not want him to be crowded.. As I understand it, at least.." She said carefully, seeing Swift Strike having that look of utter irritation. 

He looked to the rest of his officers. "You're dismissed, ready your squads." A union of confirmations rang out before the officers left the room. Swift was quick as he walked to Hazel. "What do you mean by there is to be no escort?"

"W-well I-" 

"It is the wish of my sister." Luna's voice said, and both of them turned to see her standing in the doorway. "I'm happy to see you back on duty, Captain."

Both of them saluted the princess. "I am happy to be back, princess." Swift Strike replied firmly.

Luna nodded. "Indeed." When she came up to the podium she looked at the nervous Hazel. "If you will please excuse us lieutenant."

She nodded and gave a quick salute. "Mam!" 

When Hazel had left and the door closed Swift got right to the point. "I don't like sending his royal highness to Ponyville without any protection."

Luna always appreciated his candor, it was one of the many reasons why she trusted him as much as she did. "I know, but, i'm afraid I must agree with her decision." She noticed the look of confusion on his face, and she had to stifle a giggle as it was not often she saw him confused, or lost for words. "Spero is used to be the royal prince, it sets him apart from a normal life other foals have.. To have him go to Ponyville, explore, be with friends in the free, it is what he needs. To not feel like a prince, but just a foal."

Swift sighed, still not liking it, but he knew she had a point. "At least allow me to send a squad out to be ready in case of anything.."

"I would expect nothing less from you, Captain." Luna nodded with a satisfied smile. "Now, have you thought anymore about your promotion?"

"Uhm.." Swift sighed and looked away. "I simply don't know your highness.. The promotion is a big thing, and I am honored, but the regiment, I'm not sure I could leave it.. My duties would fall to Hazel, and to be honest, she is not ready for those."

Luna nodded. "Well, I understand your point, and I may have a solution to it." She looked at the clock on the wall. "But now you must hurry, the parade will start soon enough. We will speak more of this later." Luna smiled and in a flash, she had teleported herself out of the room.

Swift Strike sighed, knowing this was a big decision that would involve not only himself, but Spitfire, their foal and Hazel. Not to mention the prince. "Buck..."


~~***~~


The parade had begun, hundreds and hundreds of ponies had gathered in the streets, standing to the sidelines to allow the soldiers, the band and of course the royal carriage to move by. The ponies all cheered, waved and threw confetti as they came by.

First came the band, then a platoon of royal guards, then a carriage with Spero, Celestia and Luna. Spero sat a little in front, his closest family right behind him, all of them smiling and waving gracefully. 

Spero did as he had been shown, smiling, waving, but not to wildly. He was happy to see so many ponies had come out, cheering at him, telling him happy birthday. He still felt awkward about all of this, to have so many ponies cheer at him when they did not know him. He knew they had great respect for his mother and for his aunt, and he was proud to be here, excited to serve them.

Though, he still felt quite nervous. He mostly paid attention to the foals, waving back at them for the most part, mainly as he could relate to them the best, kinda. They seemed excited whenever he locked eyes with them, waving a bit more, sending them a smile or a nod. It was a little embarrassing at times, but he was just happy they were so excited.

Meanwhile up in one of the stands made for the nobles, Blueblood could only look on in annoyance. "The prince certainly is popular." A stallion next to Blueblood said.

"What a dreadful sound commoners make when they're happy." He replied with a certain amount of disgust. "The colt has barely done anything, and yet the commoners sing his praises."

The stallion next to him chuckled. "You forget, these ponies are the ones paying tax, they are the ones paying for your lifestyle."

"But of course." Blueblood said. "It's the least they can do, I have averted many diplomatic crisis's, being a skilled negotiator is just part of my many talents." 

"Indeed." The other stallion smirked. "But I guess you're not the biggest fan of your royal cousin."

"Hardly, he is a wild savage." Blueblood huffed. "You should see him when I tried to teach him about the finer details of court, he seemed more interested in the guards training, had no thought to what I was saying and even at some point he ran with the guards in the training yard!"

"Well how did he get there? If he was in court, how did you get to there?" 

"The little savage ran off multiple times." Blueblood grumbled. "This is what I get for looking after that spoiled brat." The other stallion looked like he wanted to say something, but wisely decided not to point out his hypocrisy.

The carriage with Spero passed, so did the one with princess Flurry Heart and Cadance, it was not the one that interested Blueblood though, but the carriage coming up behind it. His eyes widened a little as he saw the ponies inside. There was three adults, ponies he knew all to well. Twilight Sparkle, headmistress of the school for gifted unicorns, then a captain in the Wonderbolts rapid responds team, Rainbow Dash. Then lastly of the three was Fleur De Lis, wife of his greatest rival. 

Though again, this was not what caught his interest, instead it was the foals with them, one in particular. "Isn't that the daughter of Fancy Pants?" Blueblood asked his friend.

The stallion looked closer, then nodded. "Yes, young lady Alouette, I believe her and the prince are close friends."

Blueblood felt his heart stop for a second, had he really been so blind to that simple fact? True, he did not like his cousin and he rather avoid him, but, it seemed his rival had taken that chance to strengthen his position. Blueblood growled. "Smart move.." 

"Hm? What do you mean?" He asked and tilted his head.

"Don't be so stupid, clearly Fancy Pants has placed his daughter close to the prince in the hopes of a marriage alliance." Blueblood said, keeping his voice down. "If he can get his daughter to marry my cousin, then it means he can enter my family, if that happens then he will be even closer to the princesses than even I am."

"Uhm, I'm pretty sure they are only friends, Blueblood. They have known each other since she was born." 

"You idiot, nothing in court happens by chance, this is just a long term move, and I need to find a way to stop it." Blueblood looked back at the carriage, more specifically, at Alouette.


~~***~~


When the parade finally stopped, Spero slumped down onto the floor of the carriage and sighed. "Urghhhh..."

Celestia chuckled. "Well, you're certainly popular, are you not?"

"Not funny mom.." Spero said as he blushed.

"Yes, I agree sister, clearly his biggest fans are in the carriage behind us." Luna smirked.

Spero blushed more and stood up. "Aunt Luna!" Both the princesses started to giggle and Spero rolled his eyes. "That's it, i'm leaving." He moved over and jumped down to the ground, but only to then be tackled by Flurry Heart once more.

"That was so great, cousin!" She squealed. "Did you see how much they cheered at us?!"

"...air..."

"Oh! S-sorry.." She smiled a bit again and got off him. 

Spero had forgot this habit of hers. As he got up to dust himself off, Twilight Sparkle, former student of his mother, came walking up with the rest of the group. "Well, that was fun, how about we get ready to go to Ponyville?"

Spero's eyes went wide. "Really!? Finally!" 

Twilight chuckled. "It's been a while since you were there last, huh?"

"Indeed." Celestia said and walked up behind her son. "It's been a few years, so please take good care of him Twilight, let them have some freedom and some fun."

Twilight tilted her head. "You're not coming, princess?"

"I'm afraid not, I do have some duties to perform i'm afraid." Celestia replied. 

"We shall stay as well." Cadance replied.

"We will?" Shining asked before getting a hard nudge by his wife. "Oufh! Y-yes we will."

"We can handle it, don't worry, the kids will be as safe as a coin in, uhm.. The bank!" Rainbow Dash smirked. "Come on kiddos!"

All the foals let out a cheer and hurried after Rainbow Dash. Twilight stayed behind, waiting to they had all left before looking back at the group. "Princess, why are you staying here? Applejack will be more than happy to see you."

Celestia nodded. "I have no doubt Twilight, but, if we all came, then the royal guard would be forced to secure the whole city, all sort of press and ponies would flock around the town, giving my son and his friends no space or opportunity to just play and relax."

Twilight was about to say something, but stopped herself. She had a point, it was enough only Spero and Flurry Heart was there, if the entire royal family were to show up, the chaos would be enough to bring Discord out, wherever he was hiding these days.

"I understand princess." Twilight nodded.

"Twilight!" Rainbow Dash called from outside. "Come on, hurry, or we are leaving your flank behind!"

"Oh! C-coming!" She called and ran out quickly. Celestia and the other shared a laugh at the display.


~~***~~


The trip to Ponyville was pretty exciting, a few Pegasus guards flew the carriage through the air, led by Rainbow Dash. Dawn wanted to fly too, but the trip was to far for a filly her age, instead she and Spero were forced to stand by the window and look out.

"So how much has changed?" Spero suddenly asked, still looking out the window.

"Hm?" Twilight looked at him. "What do you mean Spero?"

"Like the town, and you know, you and your friends.." He said and looked at her. "I've read about all of your adventures, but I was simply wondering.. You got to be a teacher, Rainbow Dash a captain, but Applejack stayed a farmer."

She nodded a little, understanding what he wanted to know. "Well, some things have changed. Fluttershy is still in Ponyville, just like Applejack. She has though opened a little animal hospital too. Not a big one, but if somepony needs some help with a pet, Fluttershy is the pony you go to." Spero nodded, waiting for her to continue. "Applejack as you know has stayed a farmer, I don't think she could imagine herself doing anything else."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Dawn smirked. "Her and my mom is still competing over weird things."

"Pinkie Pie." Twilight continued, giggling a little as Dawn was right, they did still take bets and compete, some things never changed. "She is out traveling the world with her husband and daughter. Spreading laughter, as she calls it." Brave Star and Dawn shared a small laugh with Twilight as they knew what that meant. "As for Rarity, she still lives in Ponyville, but she does travel at times, she has opened up a few stores around Equestria you see. I think she is the one who made most of your outfits too."

Spero had met Rarity a few times, she was kind and charming, but he never had much chance to speak with her. He looked back out the window.

"We're still great and close friends." Twilight suddenly said, and Spero looked back at her. "True friends will always be there for you, in here." She smiled and placed a hoof over her heart. "No matter the distance, our hearts are always connected."

The foals all smiled, and Spero found himself smiling too, looking back at all of his friends who looked back at him. He hoped he could have with them what Twilight had with her friends. Friendships that lasted forever, that was truly the most precious gift he could receive. 


~~***~~


"Ma! Ma!" Macoun ran with great haste towards the farm house. Applejack came out, looking confused for a second as she saw her son running towards her. 

"What's wrong sugarcube?" She asked him.

"It's the royal carriage, ma. It's heading this way." He panted a little after having run across the entire field.

Applejack smirked. "Well then, looks like they are early." She looked at her son. "Go get your father, and make sure he looks presentable."

"Yes ma!" Macoun nodded and ran back into the orchard. Applejack smiled as she looked on as her son vanished into the apple field.

It did not take long after that for the carriage to dive down from the sky and soon land on the ground. It had barely done so before Rainbow Dash flew over and hugged Applejack. "How have you been you Apple Fritter?!"

Applejack chuckled and hugged the Pegasus back. "Well enough, Rainbow Crash, now, will ya let go, I have to receive royalty."

Not long after the door to the carriage opened, Twilight and the foals all came out. When Spero exited the carriage Applejack bowed. "Ya royal highness, welcome to Sweet Apple Acres." 

Spero smiled. "Thank you, but Spero is fine.." He said a bit shyly.

"Understood, Spero." Applejack smiled before turning to Twilight. "Twilight!" She exclaimed and the two mares shared a hug. "So nice to see you again, and howdy to you guys!" she greeted the whole group and they in turn greeted them. "Well, you're a bit early, but that's alright, Macoun should be back with Noble any time now."

Golden Noble was Applejack's husband, he was a big strong stallion, kind of like Big Mac. He however was not a farmer, he worked as a carpenter or construction worker. He had helped make the barn when Big Mac was away, and one thing led to another, and now ten years later they had a family.

It did not take long before she said it, when a little yellow colt with a blonde mane and tail came running with a big stallion behind him. they stopped not far from them, and as the dust settled it revealed a massive stallion, a light green coat with a blonde main and tail just like his son. A hammer and nail as his cutie mark, and big brown eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't see the carriage.." The stallion panted.

Applejack rolled her eyes and trotted over to her husband. "This here is my goofy husband, Golden Noble, but we just call him Noble." She said and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Noble, this is the prince, Spero and princess Flurry Heart."

Noble froze in place as he saw the little alicorn foals. He quickly bowed, but he managed to do it so fast his forehead hit the ground. The foals could not help, but to laugh a bit and even Applejack chuckled a little. "Oh, come here." She kissed the forehead of the large earth pony. "Good thing ya as thick as a fence post."

They all shared another laugh, even Noble. Then as the laughter died down he looked to his son. "Macoun, how about you show the royals and their friends around Ponyville?"

Macoun looked a little worried, but he then nodded. "Sure thing pa."

"Uhm, you sure that's a good idea?" Twilight asked and looked to the foals, then back at Noble and Applejack. "The princess did not want them to be crowded."

"It will be fine Twilight." Applejack promised. "Besides, this is Ponyville, probably the safest place besides Canterlot. Now come in and get some tea, I've prepared some pie too." She looked to the foals. "When you guys are done, come in and get some snacks."

"Well, alright then. Be careful and stay out of trouble." Twilight said before her and Rainbow Dash followed Applejack and Noble inside the farm house, leaving Macoun alone with the rest of the foals.

There was an awkward silence between them, though Brave Star and Dawn was the ones who broke it by going over to Macoun and giving him a hug. "Nice to see you again!" Brave Star smiled.

"Why, it's good to see you two again." Macoun  answered.

"You gotten any stronger?" Dawn smirked wanting to challenge him at something again soon.

"You bet." Macoun grinned and then looked at the three remaining foals. "Well, suppose I should introduce myself first. I'm Macoun Apple."

Even though Spero and Flurry Heart knew that he knew who they were, they might as well be polite and introduce themselves. "I'm Spero." He said with a friendly smile.

"And i'm Flurry Heart." The other royal introduced and nodded to him. "It's nice to meet you Macoun."

"Yes, it is quite a pleasure." Alouette said with a most charming smile. "I'm Alouette."

"Welcome to Ponyville, now how about I show you around town, then we can do something fun?" Macoun suggested, to which they all nodded. They left Sweet Apple Acres, not seeing the mysterious figure in the shadows, watching them.


~~***~~


Day court was important, but today Celestia had cancelled it, she did that every time there was a special event. Today however, she awaited a very special visitor. She sat in the throne room, other than the guards, she was completely alone.

About a month ago, she had sent this stallion a letter, asking him to come to Canterlot, asking him to help her with something she trusted nopony else to do. So when the doors finally opened and the guard announced his arrival, she felt a sense of relief.

In came a tall, muscular unicorn, he wore leather armor, an old cloak that was torn a few places here and there. On his side he had two blades strapped to his belt, and his overall appearance made him look harsh. He had a black coat, a blonde mane and tail, blood red eyes, and as cutie mark he had a coat of arms with twin swords crossed over a shield.

Celestia smiled. "Valiant Charge.. It is good to see you again."

The stallion stopped not far from the steps to the throne. He knelt down and bowed his head low in respect to his princess. "Princess Celestia, it is me who is honored. I came as soon as I got your letter." Standing up again, he moved the hood back from his head and looked up at Celestia. "You said it was urgent and you had a job for me?"

"Indeed I do. You may have heard that I have a son now?"

Valiant nodded. "Indeed, congratulations princess."

"Thank you Valiant. Though, I do have a favor to ask you, and I know you have other plans, but I really need your help in this.." Celestia said with a small frown.

Valiant frowned a bit too, it was not like her to frown, not in front of ponies like him, not in front of ponies who were not family or close friends. Though what shocked him even more was the thing she said next.

"I would like for you to become my son's instructor in the arts of combat."

"Wha?" His eyes widened a little. He had certainly not expected that. "Princess I.. Why me? It takes years to become a decent warrior, and I... Why me?"

"Because I fear I would not be the right teacher for him, neither would my sister or any other for that matter." Celestia sighed. "My son must learn combat, it is part of royal law my mother drew up. I cannot train him because I fear I would go to easy on him, like my sister. Any other officer we can find will probably not put their heart into it either.. So, I wrote to you, I know you would have no problem striking a noble, so why would you hesitate here?"

Valiant raised an eyebrow. "He is a bit young isn't he?" Then again, Celestia was not asking him to go full on training mode right now, but yes, the time would be good, it would help him grow stronger as he grew up. Though it meant he would be stuck here in Canterlot for a few years, it meant leaving his adventuring days.

"He is, but I trust that you know how to train him with the proper care he needs." 

"Hm.." Valiant took a moment to think. "Well, i'm not cheap, but I guess that won't be a problem." He said and looked up at Celestia. "I will do it, but I wont have any pony interfere with my training. I'm a tough task master, but I will be fair and make sure he'll learn how to fight." He promised.

Celestia nodded. "You have my word.. It's a deal then?"

Valiant smirked a little. "When do we start?"


~~***~~


Macoun exited the bakery, waving goodbye to the cake twins behind the counter. The group came out right behind him, all licking their lips from the cupcakes they had just enjoyed. "So that was Sugarcube Corner." Spero smiled. "I've heard and read about it, but I have never been here."

"Well, they make the best cakes in town, I can assure you of that, prince." Macoun smiled.

"That certainly was a tasty treat." Alouette agreed. "The Cakes know their craft, I'll give them that."

Macoun nodded and started to walk down the street with the group following him. "So, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself Macoun." Flurry Heart smiled.

"Well, there is not much to tell." He said with a shrug. "I'm the oldest sibling in my family, I have a little sister called Akane. Uhm, a uncle and an aunt." He said and shrugged, then frowned. "My great grandmother died a few years back.." He sighed a little. "But still have the rest of my family." He said, trying to cheer himself up a little.

"So where is your uncle and aunt?" Spero asked.

"Oh, well my uncle Big Mac is visiting some relatives, and my aunt is overseas with her friends."  

Spero nodded. "I see."

Brave Star was the next one to speak. "So, what now? We have seen everything worth seeing, though I still think we should have stayed longer in my mother's old library.."

"What?!" Dawn exclaimed. "No way! You can go and be an egghead on your own time, we are here to have fun!" She flew closer to Macoun. "So, any new exciting places we should go?"

Macoun sighed. "Well, we can always go see my uncle's cabin, it's closer to the forest and it is pretty fun to go visit, but he is not at ho-"

"That settles it!" Dawn smirked. "We go there, at least we have some place to explore!"

"That sounds interesting." Brave Star nodded as he adjusted his glasses. "Macoun, do you think you could be our guide in this matter?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said? My uncle is not home, what would be the point?" Macoun asked confused.

"Come on!" Dawn said and looked at him. "It's not like we have anything better to do right now, and if it sucks we just go back to the farm and get some more cake."

Macoun sighed. "Alright fine, follow me then."


~~***~~


It did not take them long to reach the cabin, down a few small roads, a shortcut through the apple orchard and they were there. The group all stood in awe as they saw the cabin, it laid in the shadows of the ever free, overlooking the many fields of Sweet Apple Acres, like a lone protector.

The cabin was small and simple, there was a work shed, and a wood working area. 

"This is where my uncle lives." Macoun said, still not understanding why they were here when his uncle was not even home.

"Oooooh, creepyyy~," Dawn smirked as she made her voice ghostly.

"So, he lives here alone?" Spero asked and walked closer to the house. "I thought he lived with you at the farm?"

"Oh he used to, but he didn't want to take up space, and he likes the quiet, so, he moved out here." Macoun explained. "He still works at the farm, but he does travel a lot, I don't know where, he never really talks about it."

"I see." Spero nodded, understanding. As the group started to explore, Spero thought he heard something sharp, yet faint. "Hm?"

"What's wrong?" Dawn asked as she flew down to him.

"Uhm nothing, I just thought I... No, never mind, sure it was nothing.." He didn't sound convinced, and as he spotted Flurry Heart, he could tell she had heard it too. Did someone whistle at them or something?

"You sure?" 

"Uhm, yea I think s-"

They all stiffened as they heard somepony scream. Spero quickly turned to where the scream had come from, it had come from behind the cabin and Spero already knew who it was.

"Alouette?!" 

He quickly turned, spreading his wings and flew along the cabin with the others quickly following behind him. As soon as they rounded the corner they all came to a full stop, there, on the ground laid Alouette, she was shaking in terror, her leg was bleeding, not to badly, but badly enough. And there, standing over her was a massive, growling timber wolf.





It's green eyes glowed slightly and Spero could see it got ready to snap it's jaws at her again. Alouette was to scared and in shock to do anything, so just before it got close enough, Spero blasted the creature with his magic.

He had not been shown combat magic, so his blast was not very effective against the massive wolf, but it did the trick.  He quickly leaped forward, flying in and scooped up Alouette in his hooves. He managed to grab her, fly back to his friends and yelled. 

"RUN!"

He didn't need to tell them twice, as soon as he came to them they all turned around and started to run. However as they rounded the corner a and was about to follow the road back towards the farm, two more wolves jumped out while the first one was hot on their tail.

In a panic they all looked around for a solution. It was Brave Star who found it. "Everypony, in here, quick!"

All of them turned around to find Brave Star at the door to the work shed. Again, not needing anypony to say it twice, they all ran and flew in there as quick as they could. As soon as they got in they slammed the door shut! And just at the nick of time as they heard and saw the door shake violently as the three wolves had leaped at them.

"That door wont hold forever!" Macoun said.

Spero was for now more concerned for Alouette. He placed her on some blankets, she was whimpering and Flurry Heart quickly looked over her leg. "Thank Celestia.." She said. "I think it's just a scratch.." 

"So what do we do now?" Brave asked as he tried his best to ignore the growling coming from outside.

"Well great job Brave! You trapped us in here, there are no windows or anything we can use to call somepony for help." Dawn said with a mix of irritation and fear.

Brave glared back at her. "Well why didn't, YOU, fly away to get some help?"

Dawn growled, but then looked away from him, not able to answer.

"Guys, this won't help us, we need to get Alouette out of here and go see a doctor, quick." Spero said as calmly as he could, but like them, he was scared. "We need a plan.."

"Great, but what do we do then?" Macoun asked, a little irritated, mostly at himself for bringing them here when his uncle was not home.

"Well.. We..." Spero closed his eyes and tried to think, they had to do something, the doors would not hold forever, and Alouette needed to get out of here. He thought back to the race he had with Dawn and then suddenly an idea popped into his head. Turning to Dawn he smiled a little. "How about another race?"

"Huh?"


~~***~~


The timber wolves kept growling as they walked around the shed, trying to find some sort of way in there. Suddenly, shocking all three of the beasts, the door flew open and out came two foals, flying right past the three wolves before they had time to react.

The door to the shed slammed shut with some light purple magic, and wolves turned around again to see the door, but before they understood what had happened one of them felt something hit it. The three wolves looked over at what had hit them, and they saw two foals flying in the air, throwing tools and whatever else they had found.

Spero felt his heart pound fast, but not as fast as Dawn's. 'Step one, distract them.' Spero thought as they continued to throw things at the wolves.

The wolves growled and suddenly leaped at them. Both Spero and Dawn dropped everything they had and started to fly towards the orchard. The three wolves were quick to follow them, barking and growling angrily.

"Step two, stay low and make sure they follow us."

This plan depended on the two of them using their flying skills to keep up speed while avoiding the many trees. Both of them were excellent flyers for their age, but that didn't mean this was not hard as buck!

The wolves were more experienced running through a forest however, so they kept coming closer and closer. When they were close enough Spero send Dawn a nod, and she nodded back. At the very last second before the wolves could get their tails, they split up, flying to the sides, making the wolves break, then splitting up as well to get them both.

'Step three, split up and force the wolves to do the same.'

Luckily, or not, he noticed two of the wolves were following him instead of Dawn, which meant she only had to avoid one of them. He kept moving through the trees, trying his best to stay out of their reach, but his body was getting tired. A mix of adrenaline and his Alicorn stamina could only handle so much, which meant it had to be worse for Dawn.

Figuring it was time for the final parts, he flew up into the air, made a loop, flew back down above the wolves and continued the way back he came from. That earned him some angry growls, but they kept following him just as he counted on. This time he made sure they were allowed to be hot on his tail, which wasn't hard since he was getting more and more tired. "Just a little... More..." He said through his clenched teeth.

As he sped through the trees, he soon spotted Dawn heading towards him, her wolf right behind her. 'Great, now if they could just! YES!' 

They passed each other, even managing a quick hoof bump. As soon as they passed each other they flew upwards to avoid the wolves, but thankfully things went perfectly according to plan. The wolves hardly got a chance to bite at them before they crashed into one another.

'Step four, turn, pass, crash.'

Dawn and Spero flew up to meet one another. "You think.. They.. Had enough..?" Dawn panted.

"No.." Spero replied as he saw the wolves starting to get untangled. "Let's finish this.."

"Right!"

Both of them flew down towards them again and the wolves glared up at them, ready to leap at them. Instead the two foals split up again, moving around them quickly before meeting around. Making the wolves confused, but they quickly turned and followed their two pests.

Spero and Dawn made sure to speed up, forcing the wolves to speed up as well. Soon enough they saw the cabin come into view, which meant it was time for; 'Step five, spring the trap!'

"NOW!"

Both Spero and Dawn yelled as they passed between two trees and came back into the clearing in front of the cabin. Before the wolves could react, Macoun, Brave Star and Flurry Heart pulled a rope they had tied to one of the trees Spero and Dawn passed. The looped it around the other tree a few times before pulling it, now a line had been suspended between the trees, just enough to make the three wolves trip and fall.

It looked very nasty as all three wolves had no time to react, and soon enough they flew forward, hitting their muzzles on the ground and slid, rolled and flew several meters forward before crashing into the work shed, demolishing it instantly.

Flurry Heart had of course with the help of the colts gotten Alouette out of there before all of this happened. Now all three wolves laid sprawled on the ground, confused and exhausted. This seemed however to work, the wolves had lost their appetite and as soon as they were able, stood up and ran back into the forest.

Spero and Dawn landed near their friends, they all cheered, but Spero was more worried about Alouette. "I can't believe that crazy plan actually worked!" Brave Star laughed.

Dawn squealed. "Did you see me fly!?" 

"How am I gonna explain to my uncle I've ruined his shed?" Was Macoun's only comment.

Spero placed Alouette on his back and stood up."Hey guys, we should get back to the farm before they get the idea to come back with their friends. We also need to get Alouette some help."

Alouette could only blush as she was carried by Spero, Flurry Heart would normally say something, but since Alouette was hurt, and she was more concerned about that right now, she let it slide this time.

The group started to walk away, still not seeing the dark figure in the trees watching them. "Dammit... So close.." The figure mumbled before vanishing into the Everfree.


~~***~~


They did not expect a hero's welcome when they got back, they were all exhausted and tired, so when their families saw them come up to the farm house, looking the way they did, there was quite a lot of scolding.

At least that was until Macoun explained what had happened, thankfully, being as honest as his mother, his story quickly calmed the adults down, not that Spero particularly cared right now. He stayed by Alouette's side as Twilight tended to her with some help from Applejack's first aid kit.

"Is she going to be alright..?" Spero asked with a frown.

Twilight smiled gently and nodded. "She's gonna be fine, it's just a scratch, but that can still hurt quite a bit." She looked to Alouette who was still a bit shaken up about the whole thing, but had calmed down a lot too. "Just get some rest, okay?"

"I will, thank you.." The filly mumbled in reply.

Spero smiled at Alouette, who was quick to blush and then smile back at him. Macoun in the meanwhile finished his story, and this time his mother's outrage was not directed at them, but the guards that had supposed to protect Spero and Flurry Heart, and by extension, the other foals.

"Well, mom just gonna have a few words with those guard when they get back here.." She growled, but then let out a sigh and looked at Spero. "Ah understand you did some quick thinking there."

Spero looked over at Applejack, then looked down. "Y-yes.. I'm sorry, it was a stupid plan, but I just thought that I-OUFH!" Before he could say any more he was suddenly consumed by a strong bear hug from the female apple farmer.

"Thank you for saving ma boy and your friends!" She explained. "Ya welcome here any time you wish Spero, as an honorary member of the Apple family!" 

Before Dawn could sneak away, she too was snatched up by her own mother. "That's my girl! No wolf can catch a Rainbow!" 

"Moooom!" Dawn whined, but despite her protests, she hugged her back, like Alouette, she was still a bit shaken too.

Twilight nuzzled her son who nuzzled her back. "I'm so proud of you, Brave Star."

"Thanks mom." He smiled and moved in and hugged her.

"....air....."

Noble patted his son on the back. "Atta boy Macoun! You did good tripping up those bucking wolves!" He laughed, but then stopped as soon as Applejack shot him a glare for using a curse word.

Alouette giggled a little, then looked over at Flurry Heart. "Hey... Flurry..."

"Yeah?" Flurry asked and moved over to her friend.

"Thanks for helping me.." She said with a small smile, putting out her hooves for a hug, which Flurry Heart quickly moved in to give.

"....air....please....."

"Huh?" Applejack looked down at Spero who was still held very tight by her. "Oh!" She quickly let go of him. "Sorry about that sugarcube, I was just so happy you see.."

Spero took a few deep breaths as he moved back a few steps. "It's.. Okay, just happy that my friends are alright.. All of them." He said and shot Dawn and Macoun a look, who both smiled back at him.

Then suddenly he heard Alouette say from behind. "And thank you Spero, for saving me." She said almost in a whisper as she leaned closer, and then to his surprise, kissed his cheek.

His cheeks became pink.

"H-Hey! Not fair!" Flurry Heart scolded and moved closer to Spero. "Thank you for saving us Spero!" And with that she too placed a kiss on his cheek, which made his face turn from pink to red.

Dawn growled a bit, then finally walking over to the prince. "Dude, you're the best flying partner I had, and, you know.." she blushed too, then to his shock, she bend over and kissed him on the other cheek.

Now his white fur turned as red as Big Mac's coat, and Brave could swear he saw steam coming off his friend as he heated up. The pressure seemed to have been to much as Spero proceeded to slump down against the floor, still as red as Applejack's brother, and more.

All the adults started to laugh while Brave Star sighed. "Poor guy.."

And Macoun responded with a single. "Eeyup." Then they two burst out laughing.
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They day had ended with a grand ball in the evening, festivals in the towns and the villages, and finally some much needed sleep. Spero had the best birthday in his life, at least if you do not count the timber wolf attack and Alouette getting bitten, everything was perfect.

Alouette had been fine after a little time to recover, some powerful healing magic from Twilight, and she was ready to join them at the evening party. A great feast, cakes, presents and friends, really, it had just all been great.

Now the sky was no longer clear, dark clouds had gathered over Equestria, and the rain could no longer be held back by the wishes of the princess. Which was fine, it had been held off all day, so some rain during the night was not the worst. In fact, Spero loved the rain, he loved the sound of thunder and the sound of the raindrops hitting the ground and his window, it was so soothing, so relaxing.

Although this was a perfect night for him to fully relax and sleep soundly, he felt restless. He groaned and turned in his big bed, trying to relax, but his mind would not let him.

His dreams were troubled, he could see and hear things he had never experienced. He saw burning villages, heard hundreds of screams and yells, armies marching, the thunderous sounds of cannons, and then, as a lightning struck outside his window he quickly sat up in his bed. His heart was galloping, he was sweating, panting. 

"Spero.." A gentle voice said.

He looked over, saw his aunt standing there with a worried expression. "Aunt Luna..." He mumbled.

She hushed him, moving over to the bed and pulled him into a gentle hug. "I'm sorry I could not calm your dreams before you woke.." Her voice was calm, warm and caring, he was happy to have her close and simply hugged her back. In truth, he was not sure what the nightmare was, for now it just felt like flashes, things that was not really there, but still present in his mind.

They stayed like this for some time, she hummed gently as she calmed Spero, and it worked. Soon enough his heart was back to normal, he had stopped sweating and he felt ready to go back to sleep.

"Feeling better?" Luna asked her nephew.

Spero nodded. "Yes.. Thank you.."

As she was about to respond, the doors to his room was opened and three guards stepped in. Luna frowned and stood up to face them. "Guard, what is your business here?"

The leader of the group looked to Luna and replied promptly. "An attempt on the prince's life."

Luna stiffened, her eyes almost glowed with rage, but she remained calm. "From whom?"

"We do not yet know, Swift Strike has moved out to assess the threat."

Spero looked on in confusion. "Auntie, what is going on?"

For a moment she had forgotten there was a foal in the room, he did not understand, of course he didn't, he should not have to, but this was the reality they were living in. She turned to look at him, a worried expression on her face, but she still smiled a little. "Nephew, we need to escort you to the guard room, immediately."

Spero frowned, he did not like to admit it, but he was scared. Though, he was the prince, and he needed to behave like one. Taking a deep breath, he nodded. "Okay auntie, if that is what is best.." He said, his voice still a little timid, but he put on a brave face.

Luna smiled, moving over and nuzzled him. "That's a big colt.." She whispered before looking at the guards. "Wake my sister, now."


~~***~~


Meanwhile, in an alley in Canterlot.

Swift Strike looked at the three trembling griffons, they were soaking wet, their feathers heavy, the rain did nothing to help any of them with the cold, but Swift didn't care, neither did the guards he had brought. The griffons were all chained, waiting for whatever was supposed to happen next. Finally Swift broke the silence, and with a cold gaze from his eye he simply said. "Fine morning for flying, have you lost your way by any chance?"

None of them answered, none of them fought, not even as one of the guards walked closer and started to search them, one by one.

Swift simply kept looking at them, then spoke again. "Et puto, quomodo alia est regnum gryphem." They all looked up as he used their own native tongue, telling them that their homeland was the other way.

The guard found something in one of the griffons bags, he took it and presented it to Swift Strike. It was an envelope, and as one of the guards shielded the paper with his wing, Swift Strike opened it up. On the paper was several symbols, clearly a code of some kind, and this only cemented his belief in what these griffons were after. He put the paper away, gave it to one of the guards that promptly put it away in his saddlebag to protect it from the rain.

He looked back to the three culprits, walking closer to them, looking at each of them as he passed them by. "Since you're clearly lost, perhaps you don't know where you are." He stopped at the largest griffon, looking him in the eyes before suddenly.

SLASH!

Using his wing blades, Swift Strike had cut the throat of the leader in one quick movement. The griffon fell onto the muddy street, quickly bleeding to death, but Swift was not done. He simply walked closer to him, now only talking to the last two of the group. "My name is Swift Strike, my work protects the prince." Placing a hoof on top of the griffon's head, he pushed it deeper into the mud. "Welcome to Equestria."


~~***~~


The doors to the throne room was flung open, and in stepped Celestia, she was beyond angry. "Tell me what happened?" She demanded and looked at Luna and Shining Armor. "Where is my son?"

Luna stepped forward, placing a calming hoof on her sister's shoulder. "It's okay, Tia. Spero is in the guard room, along with Flurry Heart and our niece. Don't worry, they are safe."

"Then how?" Celestia asked, her fury calmed and now she looked more worried than angry. "First a Timber Wolf attack, and now this, do we know what happened?"

Now it was Shining's turn to speak. "Captain Strike is out there, princess. The last thing I heard was that they were in hot pursuit, if they are still in Canterlot, I have no doubt they will be captured." 

"See?" Luna smiled gently. "They never even got near the royal wing, Spero is safe."

Celestia nodded, sighing a bit, knowing full well she was very emotional when it came to her son. Most of the time she had full control of her emotions, but this scared her, they had not dealt with an assassination attempt like this for hundreds of years.

"In the meantime I have doubled the guard. No one get's in or out without us knowing about it." Shining added, wanting to calm the princess the best he could.

"How far did they come?" Celestia then asked.

"Not far, as far as we understand, they flew in through the garden. The guards managed to spot them, they fled, but Swift Strike is after them as we speak." He then frowned. "What worries me is that they came in during a guard shift, they thought they could use the small gap in attention to gain entrance to the palace."

"I want that gap in attention fixed." Celestia frowned. "Did they have help?"

"It's to early to say, your majesty. Perhaps it was simply a coincidence." Shining replied.

"No." Luna simply said. "There are no such coincidences in Canterlot, not in the royal court, someone, or somepony must have been behind this."

"I'm afraid the princess is correct." A voice said, and the group turned around to see Swift Strike walk in.

"Captain." Celestia greeted. "What is happening?"

"Three griffon mercenaries, I have placed them in the dungeon for now." 

Celestia let out a relieved sigh. "Thank Faust for that, good work Captain. Any clue who sent them?"

"Not yet, but one of them was carrying this." He took out the letter, and Celestia was quick to levitate it in front of her.

Her eyes went over the strange symbols, but finally she let out a sigh. "That is strange, I do not recognize these symbols.."

Swift shook his head. "I did not expect you to, your majesty. I think this code was invented to prevent the guards, and even you and your sister to read this. Any language out there you know, so creating a new system would be easier."

"A new language?" Shining asked.

Swift shook his head again. "Does not need to be new, the symbols could relate to a book, places, dates, anything they wish it to relate to."

"But who are they? Surely they did not think they could have gotten away with foalnapping the prince." Luna said in disbelief. "How do we even know he was the target, Shining Armor said they never made it past the garden."

"Yes, that is true, but I overheard them speaking in their own native tongue, his name was mentioned, and there was some importance to it. Whatever they were hoping to achieve here tonight, it involved the prince. Of that, I have no doubt." The one eyed captain explained. "But, they are mercenaries, not trained soldiers. They could have been hired by anyone, pony, griffon, changeling, we will not know before I have a chance to speak with them."

"And do you think you can extract that information?" Celestia asked bluntly.

Swift nodded his head. "I do, your majesty. Having killed their leader, they will have no one to look to, and I-"

"You what?" Celestia had a shocked expression on her face. "Did he resist?"

"No, but he would have." Swift assured her, but did not look worried about her reaction.

"So you killed him in cold blood?" Celestia asked, an edge of anger touching her voice now. 

Swift Strike however did not flinch at her anger and disgust. "I did, with him being their leader, their alpha, he would have assured the others would not talk."

"But he could have valuable information for us!" Celestia protested. "At any rate, you do not kill a creature that is defenseless and has surrendered." The throne room was dead silent, not Luna or Shining spoke, both of them knew, and Luna was prepared to defend the captain, but Swift simply met the angry gaze of his princess and spoke his mind.

"He probably did, your majesty. But you know, just as I do, with him being their alpha, he would never have surrendered that information to us, not even if we tortured him." He said plainly, and before Celestia could utter a word, he continued. "If I would have let him live, he would have made it his life mission to free himself, take as many of our guards with him as he was killed, clawed his way to your son if need be. I was not gonna risk my guards, or waste time guarding him. Also, having taken away their leader, right in front of them, his companions fear me, given enough time, they WILL speak."

There was another silence, Celestia could hardly believe such harsh and cold words came from one of her ponies, but alas, she knew in her mind it was true, but her heart could not condone it, never.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked to the steps of her throne, with slow, but sure steps, she climbed up and sat at her throne. Now she spoke as a princess, but in truth, she was conflicted. She needed answers, but she hated she had been blindsided into this position, not knowing what her son's captain was doing, behind her back no less.

"Captain, I want you to find out who hired them, and the full extend of their plans. I will advice you however, do NOT, go behind my back again. Am, I, clear?"

Swift bowed. "Perfectly, your highness."

"Then you can leave. Captain Armor, that goes for you too." She said and waved them both off, leaving only her and Luna left in the throne room.

When the doors closed, it left an echo in the throne room, for quite a while there was no word spoken between the sisters. Finally, as Celestia seemed to find the words, she spoke. "How long have you known about this?"

Luna did not look at her sister, neither did Celestia on her. "Since he got the position."

"And you kept this from me?"

"I kept nothing from you, he has never needed to kill outside of combat before." Luna simply replied, as calm and collected as she could.

"But am I wrong to assume he is not simply acting as a guard captain." There was another moment of silence, so Celestia pressed the point. "Luna."

"No, you're not wrong. He has been acting as my spy master too, gathering intelligence on every pony who has their day to day business within these walls, not to mention every noble."

Celestia tried to look calm, but Luna could see her frown deepen ever so slightly. "By what right do you think you could do this? It goes against everything we stand for."

Luna scoffed, but not in disgust over her sister, but the lie they were telling themselves. She turned to Celestia, a little annoyed she was not down here with her, talking about it. Instead she tried to hold her royal status over her like it would have an effect, it did not. She too was the ruler, and she would not be spoken down to, or given a lecture on morality.

"Sister, the years of peace has made you, excuse me for saying, naive." Now Celestia's expression twitched. "For hundreds of years our kingdom has lived without war or conflict, we had monsters to fight, villains, but with the help of the former element bearers we have prevailed without much bloodshed." Of course not talking about the event with Tirek. "Sister, you and me are old enough to know it will not last. The nobles has grown fat and lazy from the days of peace, they scheme and plot to gain favor and more power, now with Spero they have seen a new target to achieve these goals. Some will see him as a threat, you don't think the Timber Wolf attack was really just a coincidence, do you?" 

When Celestia didn't reply, she continued.

"We have been in countless battles, seen friends fall, seen the worst and the best within our subjects. Now we are in an era of peace, but, since Twilight.. You must have noticed the signs, peace is coming to an end, being the nobles plotting, war, we don't know, but we both see the signs..." She sighed. "The captain and I do not take pleasure in any of this, sister. But, we have to be honest, total morality is a luxury our subjects can have thanks to the battles we fought.. It is a burden we bear, but we do it, for them."

Celestia sighed, hating when her little sister ended up lecturing her. Though was she right? She had to admit, she could not think straight when it came to her son, normally she would have everything planned out, but times were changing, she knew that. Maybe things had become so easy to calculate because of peace times? At any rate, Luna was right, no matter how much she hated it, she knew she was right.

She nodded a little, then looking to her younger sister. "I do not want to see us become tyrants, Luna. That is not who we are."

Luna nodded. "We won't sister, but the safety of our subjects, of your son, we must do what we can to secure it. If Swift can manage what we cannot, then we have a chance to keep peace for a while longer." 

Celestia nodded a little, standing up and walked down to Luna. She did not say anything before she stood before her, still with a disappointed frown on her face. "Luna.. Don't go behind my back again, we are better than that.." She then looked at her sister, her eyes a little wet as she tried to come to with terms of the danger posed to her son, the harsh reality she had made herself forget, and then her sister. "I don't want us to drift apart, not again, never again."

Luna frowned, feeling guilty for making her sister this emotional, but, glad that she was thinking about them too. Luna moved closer, then embraced her older sister in a warm hug. "We won't Tia, never again.."


~~***~~


The night had certainly been eventful, even if Spero did not know the full extend of what was going on, he knew it was serious. He had gotten used to reading the mood within the palace, and so knew when something serious was going on. However, sitting here, in the guard room, drinking some hot chocolate one of the guards had offered to make the young prince and princess, his tense mood seemed to fade a little.

He had always enjoyed being here, listening to the stories the soldiers told, they were much more pony when they were on a break, and he found he could listen to them for hours. They were always friendly, and although the new recruits were always afraid when he was there, but in time, they all came to relax and just treat him like any other colt. Right now however, they were alone. Cadance had stepped outside for a moment to speak with them, most likely to find out what was going on in full, and if there was any news.

Flurry Heart looked a little uneasy, sitting beside him on the wooden bench, drinking her coco in silence. He could tell she was nervous, but he couldn't blame her, this was pretty scary, and judging by the guards forced smiles, it was pretty serious.

Spero scooted closer to her, nudged her gently with his shoulder. "It's gonna be okay." He said softly, and with an encouraging smile.

She looked to him, sending him a small smile back, before leaning into him a bit more. "Sorry.. I'm just not used to anything like this happening back home..." It was true, the Crystal Empire was still new, despite having existed for over 10 years now, well, in the modern world at least. They were still getting used to everything, and so one could say they were more relaxed and innocent.

They didn't have these big political games, maybe because they were a client state of Equestria. Spero looked to her, shook his head and gave her a small nuzzle, which she gladly returned. "It's okay, you don't have to be sorry, we're safe here."

She nodded a little, put her cup down and simply let out a long relaxing sigh. Flurry closed her eyes, she was not used to being up this early, and the awakening had been rather rough. Spero was not doing any better, his eyelids started to feel heavy as well, and the relaxing sound of the rain didn't exactly help him stay awake. Slowly, but surely, he too started to fall asleep.

He could not be sure how much time had passed, it felt like minutes, but it had probably been about half an hour when the door to the room opened yet again. Spero yawned, rubbed his eye with one hoof before looking up at his aunt, well cousin, Cadance.

"Children.." She said gently, waking them up as carefully as she could. 

Spero was already awake, so he simply yawned a bit, his eyes still heavy. Flurry Heart was also pretty tired, and let out a long yawn. "Mommy...?"

"Time for bed, the guards says it's okay now."

Flurry Heart frowned slightly. "Mommy, can I sleep in Spero's room?" The suggestion surprised Cadance as much as it did Spero, but then again, there was nothing wrong with it. The sun would be up in a few hours, which meant it was only for a little while.

"I don't mind." Spero replied, it would only be for a few hours, and she was clearly more scared than he was.

"Well, I don't see any harm in it, and if you are okay with it, Spero. Then I don't see why not." Cadance smiled. "Come on, let us go back into the palace."


~~***~~


It did not take them long to get to the royal wing yet again, Spero saw his mother and aunt stood by his door, waiting for them. Celestia hurried over to him and hugged her little sun. "Spero, are you okay? I'm sorry I did not come and see you sooner."

Spero squirmed a little at first, but then he felt how sorry his mom really was. Not just sorry, but worried, and scared, for him. He stopped, then gently hugged her back. "It's okay mum, we're okay."

He felt her hugging him a bit tighter now, but after a few seconds she let him go and smiled softly at him. "We have a lot to talk about, but that can wait for tomorrow, you two go in and get some sleep. We'll speak in the morning."

"Okay mom.." 

He did not like to see her like this, all worried. To so many ponies, his mother was the embodiment of perfection and self control. She was the sun herself, a well of wisdom. To him however, she was just mom. Ponies did not see her like this, not like he and those closest to her saw her. He couldn't help but wonder if he had simply learned to see those things, or if she simply let down her guard when she was with family. 

"Goodnight." He told them all, and they all said goodnight to him and Flurry Heart.

When they trotted inside the room, Luna gently closed the door with her magic. Spero let out a deep sigh, he was exhausted, his birthday had been one long adventure, new friends, a wolf attack, and now this. He just wanted to rest.

He made his way to his big bed and climbed in, Flurry Heart was quick to follow. Spero did not speak, he simply got under the covers, and soon enough he felt something fluffy and warm cuddle up beside him. Spero blushed, looking to his left to see Flurry Heart blushing as well. 

"You don't mind, do you...?"

Spero shook his head and answered, in almost in the same low whisper. "No, it's okay.." He really didn't mind, after all, they had snuggled up before plenty of times, and it was not really that unusual in pony culture to snuggle up. He was simply surprised she placed that much faith in him. He knew they were safe, but was she still scared something might happen? In that case, did she trust him that much to keep her safe? Or was it simply to find some comfort after a scary night. 

Then again, maybe he was just overthinking this. He enjoyed her soft warm fur, and she always smelled really nice. She didn't look at him, neither did he look at her, they simply laid there in the darkness, listening to the still pouring rain that hit his windows.

They laid there in silence for about a minute or two, then Flurry spoke, again with a quiet voice, as if nervous she was going to wake him up. "Do you think it will be like this when we are grown ups too?"

Where did that question come from?

"What do you mean?" Spero asked after a few seconds of pondering.

"I mean, do you think we'll be in more danger when we grow up? You're a prince... And i'm a princess, one day, we will ascend to the throne.."

The topic was a serious one, the likes Spero had not really thought would come from Flurry Heart. Maybe the events had put some of those thoughts in motion within her, if so, then he could not blame her. It was scary, and although he knew full well some ponies, some creatures, would never accept him, nothing could prepare him for the actions they might take, and how scary it was. It made a lot of things unsure, like the wolf attack, was it really just a coincidence, or was it an assassination attempt.

His thoughts were interrupted by a nose boop from Flurry's hoof. "Stop that, you look like you're about to solve the greatest riddle of all time.."

"Hm? What do you mean?" 

"You have that serious look in your eyes.." She let out a small giggle, moving a bit closer to him she closed her eyes. 

"Sorry.."

"It's okay.." She replied with a small yawn. "Makes you look all, kingly.."

Spero laid in the darkness, thinking about the word she used. Kingly. Looking to the window, he let out a deep sigh. One day, he would be king, he would be standing where his mother and aunt did, he would make the hard decisions and be resented, as much for good deeds as for bad. Prince, king, princess, all titles that was as much of a curse as they were blessings. Even as a foal, he knew the weight of the crown, he knew no matter how much he pretended to be an ordinary colt, he would never ever be ordinary. His birth alone was proof enough of that, first male Alicorn in recorded history, first to be king of Equestria.

As a prince, he would prepare for that role, he was learning how to walk, how to think, how to behave, how to speak. His education was far beyond what any normal foal his age would go through, ranging from topics about law, to history. Not that foals didn't have history lessons, but he had a private tutor from the university of Canterlot, teaching him in depths history, using material from the royal archives no less.

All his life was preparing him for one role, for one purpose, to be a king.

Everything he did would lead up to that day he would put on the crown. He finally closed his eyes, and allowed himself to drift into the last bit of sleep he could get this night.


~~***~~


When morning came, the news of the attempted forced entry into the palace had reached the papers, every front page spoke of it. As far as Blueblood could read, it seemed whatever these culprits had wanted to achieve, it had failed.

He rolled his eyes at the foolish attempt, taking a sip of his morning tea as he enjoyed a nice breakfast. His butler suddenly entered, Blueblood put down the paper. "Sir, count Night Sprint is here to see you."

Blueblood raised an eyebrow. What was his old friend doing at his mansion so early in the morning? He shrugged and gave his butler a nod. "Send him in." The butler bowed his head and left to fetch Blueblood's old friend. He let out a sigh, putting the paper down as he took one more sip of his tea and then proceeded to put some butter on some toast.

Not long after the butler returned with Night Sprint. "Lord Night Sprint, sir."

"Blueblood." The noble smiled and walked past the butler and over to the table.

"My friend, a bit early for visits, don't you think?" Blueblood asked with a small smirk, but gestured for his friend to take a seat. Almost by silent command the butler put down a plate and a tea cup by the young lord so he could partake in breakfast. Once done, Blueblood waved him off, leaving the two nobles alone.

Night Sprint smiled and poured himself some tea. "It is, but I needed to speak with you." He glanced at the paper on the table, the headline read.

Griffons Breaks Into Royal Palace! 

"You read about it I see." Night Sprint said and took a sip.

Blueblood nodded. "Yes, dreadful news, and a horrible attempt to gain entry."

"Indeed." Night Sprint agreed. "Which brings me to why I am here. You go to the palace each day, you know how to get in and out without being seen."

Blueblood put down his cup and raised his eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"You see, the attempts we have tried have all failed. That freak of nature Swift Strike is not making things any easier for us." Night Sprint simply said, and continued to spread some butter on some toast.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Blueblood was more than confused by now, what the hell was he talking about. "Do you know something about this?"

"Hm?" Night Sprint looked up. "Oh yes, I am sorry, I should have told you about it earlier, but we could not wait."

"No, Night Sprint, what are you talking about, who are we? And told me what?" He really looked confused, and now a bit nervous.

"You said it yourself yesterday at the parade. You wanted to find a way to stop your rival, to stop his daughter getting close to your dear cousin." Night Sprint smirked.

Blueblood stood up. "Don't tell me you had anything to do with this?"

"Sit down Blueblood, and spare me." Night Sprint sighed a little, taking a calm bite from his toast. "Things have been put in motion, nothing happened to young lady Alouette, neither did anything happen to the prince. We simply sent a message."

"What? To whom?" Blueblood asked, not sitting down.

"To our rivals in court." Night Sprint said and now looked a little annoyed. He looked to Blueblood and raised an eyebrow. "You really are that naive?" Then he chuckled a bit, leaning back in his chair. "Then again, I forget to whom I am speaking."

Blueblood did no longer recognize his so called friend, the gentle, careful young lord. No, somepony had taken his place, a confident, intelligent and calculating noble who looked like he had played the court games masterfully for years. That could not be however, Blueblood knew about all the important players, and his friend was certainly not one of them!

"You really are that thick Blueblood?" Night Sprint asked. 

Blueblood growled. "Then why not explain it to me?"

Night Sprint shrugged. "Guess I have no choice in the matter.. Well you know alliances happens on a daily basis in court, the games we play, promises, deals, information, gossip, everything." Blueblood nodded, and Night Sprint continued. "That is the sort of games, YOU, and a majority of the nobility plays. Others, like me, play a deeper game. We form clubs, clubs that is binding, that cannot be broken, a strong alliance between families of noble blood. We pull the strings of power, we play nobles like you like strings on a fiddle."

Blueblood could not believe this, he was the most powerful player in court, him and Fancy Pants, they were the ones controlling court!

Night Sprint simply smiled. "There are two clubs, I am member of one of these clubs, and, we are at war with the other. We cannot directly touch them, neither can they us. So we play it out between nobles like you, pawns, so to speak. Now, I came this morning to recruit you."

"Recruit me?" Blueblood asked, still processing all of this, could it be real?

"Yes, you see, being close to the royal family, we could use your services. Of course this will also grant you a seat at the grown ups table."

"Wait." Blueblood said. "Did you try to kill the prince? Alouette?"

"Yes." He simply said like it was nothing. "Well, maybe not kill the prince, as I said, we were sending a message to our rivals. As for lady Alouette, yes, we were hoping to kill her."

Blueblood felt his whole being stiffen. "Why?"

Night Sprint smirked. "As a favor to you, my friend, you wanted her gone, we can provide that."

"Are you insane?" Blueblood asked. "I never wanted the filly dead, removed from reach of the prince, sure, but never dead!"

"Oh? Should we not try again then?"

"No!" Blueblood almost shouted. "Wait, the wolf attack, was it-"

"One of our agents? Yes indeed, though his failure was, unfortunate. We had to, terminate, his contract.. So to speak." Night Sprint said with the same cold calm as before. "Well, if you do not wish young Alouette to be, removed, then I guess we find another way in time."

Blueblood shook his head, then lowered his voice. "Do you realize, we could be hanged for speaking like this?"

Night Sprint snorted. "Come now Blueblood, it is not like you are walking within the borders of the law yourself. Don't you think we know about your little art collection? Your souvenirs from your diplomatic trips to other nations? Your bribes and financial state?" He chuckled. "Let me be clear, we can ruin you, Blueblood. Without even touching a single pretty golden hair on your mane, we can ruin everything if we choose, if you don't accept and play ball."

He was stunned for a few seconds, then looked down at his plate. "Why are you doing this? Why do you want to kill the prince?"

"The foal ruined a lot of plans for us when he was born.." Night Sprint replied, his voice sounding bitter. "We had big plans for the kingdom, him being born changed everything.."

"What do you mean?"

Night Sprint sighed. "Did you know your aunts were planning to retire?"

Blueblood raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"Neither did anypony else. We knew it was a chance for us to take control of the crown, if the right pony was placed in the throne. We had already picked a candidate in Twilight Sparkle. She was young, naive, well liked throughout the kingdom, a perfect instrument for us.. But then somepony fucked the princess of the sun and ruined everything.."

Blueblood found himself having even more questions than before, but right now he had more important matters to attend to. The security of his livelihood. "What is it you want me to do..?" 

Night Sprint smirked. "We'll let you know when the time comes." He placed a silver coin on the table. "Welcome to the club, Blueblood." He stood up and turned towards the door. "I'll show myself out, and, chin up Blueblood. Serve the club well, and you'll be more powerful than you are right now." And with that, his former naive friend left.

Blueblood sat in silence, just a few minutes ago he was relaxing, thinking he was one of the most powerful nobles in the whole kingdom. Now, he was a slave, a pawn, not only that, he knew this path would mark him as a traitor...


~~***~~


Meanwhile, back at the royal palace, Spero was eating breakfast with his family. Everypony except for his aunt Luna who had retired for the day. Since she was princess of the night, she did most of her work at night, in a few hours she would be up, but for now, she choose to sleep.

Spero was quietly eating the pancakes his mother had prepared for him and the rest of the family. Nopony spoke, maybe because nopony knew what to say that was not related to the attempted attack this night. It was not like Spero did not know what had happened by now. Maybe they tried to keep him out of such matters for as long as they could, letting him enjoy the days of being a foal.

"Spero.." 

There it was, Spero looked to his mother. "Yes?"

"We will be changing your daily schedule, starting today." She said and looked at him. "I have made arrangements for a combat teacher for you. He will be training you, starting today."

That was certainly not what he had expected from his mother. Not that he minded, he knew he would need to learn how to fight sooner or later, he had just not expected it to be so soon. Judging by the facial expressions of his family, they already knew, well all except for Flurry Heart, who looked as surprised as he did. 

"Combat training?" Spero echoed, not sure if he understood that right.

Celestia nodded. "Yes, though it is only the basics for now. You are still just a foal, but you need to start learning. Your teacher is a knight that has served us well in the past, an old friend of mine. Valiant Charge." 

Spero noticed the mood change, he noticed his uncle twitch at the mention of the name, his aunt Cadance trying to hide a frown. Maybe it was better not to ask, but he could not help feeling kind of nervous, if they were disapproving of the choice of teacher, what should he think?

Though his mother would not have this knight teach him if she did not trust him, so maybe it was better to simply trust they both knew what they were doing and simply try his best. He knew being the prince, he was expected to perform certain duties, that included defending the kingdom with his life, if need be.

He felt nervous, but he did as he knew his father would, or at least, he hoped that was what he would do. Taking a deep breath, and accepted the responsibility placed on him. "I will do my best, mother.." He said in a firm voice, trying to sound older and more mature than he really was.

Spero was mature for his age, but he was also still just a foal, he got scared, he broke rules, he played. It was what hurt Celestia the most, not that he acted like a foal, in fact, she was happy with it. Though, it was that the things expected of her son far exceeded any level of responsibility that should be placed on a colt his age. Nopony should have that thrust upon them.

But, as always, she found her son willingly, and proudly accept his role, and do his best to fulfill what was expected of him. It made her so proud, and she hoped, one day, his father would come and tell him that as well.
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


One Month Ago.


Valiant Charge still felt stiff, his body was sore, and tired, but still, he felt good. He and his partner had managed to chase off a band of robbers, and even brought their leader in. It was glorious, and the money they earned were a pretty large sum too. Now, like always after a great battle, he celebrated with his quiet friend.

They sat in a booth, keeping to themselves as they simply wanted to relax with some beer, and not get involved with to many drunken brawlers who always seemed to fill in the tavern at this time of night. They were far from their homeland, simply enjoying the road, where ever it took them it always seemed to bring them adventure.

His silent friend however, he seemed to travel the road for other reasons. He had never told him why, something personal he imagined. Valiant Charge had known the large stallion for many years, but he never shared much. He had changed his name, changed everything that would tie him to whatever he left behind back home.

Another thing about his friend was, he always went back. for some weeks, or months, then he would always find Valiant, and join him on another journey. He knew his real name, but never spoke it, out of respect. He didn't know why he did all this, but he could tell he was hurting, tell something was always on his mind.

Unlike himself, his friend always looked back, while Valiant Charge always looked forward.

"You'll go back soon, won't you?" Valiant asked, taking a long gulp from his mug.

"Hm.." His partner said, nodding a little.

He had always been the silent type, never saying much about where he was from, or anything in general. He was not unkind, but Valiant was always reminded how lonely he looked. He could talk, he simply chose not to do it as often as he was able to do. 

He also hid in a dark green cloak, the hood of it hiding his eyes, and shrouded his face in darkness. The only time he got to see his eyes, was either during bright sunlight, or whenever he smoked on that pipe of his, the glow from it would always light up his face, just a little.

"What are you planning?" Valiant asked when he put the mug down. "You simply go back, then after some time, find me again?" He nodded, and Valiant scoffed with slight amusement. "How much longer do you want to continue this? You're looking for something, don't think i'm an idiot.."

His partner eyed him for a moment, then took a long suck from his pipe, letting the white smoke rise when he exhaled. It was clear to Valiant his friend was debating himself if he should trust him, but Valiant knew they had more than proved each other capable of trust. Even though they never shared much of their background, they always had each others backs, so why should that change now?

"I'm looking.." He searched for the right words for a second or two, then continued. "For some bad ponies..."

Valiant raised a brow. "We have met plenty of those my friend.." He sighed and leaned back. "Who are they?"

"I don't know.. Yet... But I know they are up to something, and I won't let it happen.." 

He almost seemed to growl, and that took Valiant by surprise. He had been insulted, wounded, and beaten by a tons of bad creatures, but he had always given twice as much in return, but he had never seemed to take any of it personal. This however, was something that hit home for him.

"And what do you do when you find them?"

There was no hesitation in his voice as he replied.

"Kill them.."

Once again, Valiant was taken by surprise. He had seen his friend kill before, but that was only whenever he was forced to. Valiant was less patient, but he had always seemed to have a clearer head in those matters, and always seemed more willing than him to let their enemies go. Despite how Valiant would sometimes disagree, he could respect his patience as he was never afraid to do what needed to be done, if they had no other option. For him to go straight for the killing solution, that spoke of the volume of the problem.

Either way, if his friend was searching for them, and willing to go that far, then he needed to be with him.

"Then I will be coming with you." Valiant Charge said.

"No.."

Valiant raised a brow. "No? What do you mean by that?"

"This is not your fight.." 

His partner responded, calmly, but there was an edge of warning to his tone, not that Valiant cared. They had been fighting before, with weapons as well as their hooves. Even though Valiant Charge was the superior fighter of the two, his friend had pure strength behind his blows, and some well placed ones and Valiant would be out for the count.

"It wasn't my fight either when I saved you from that brawl when we met." Valiant countered.

Just as calm as before, his friend responded with. "As I recall it, I had to save you right after. So we're even." 

"Fuck off." Valiant said. "I said I'm helping you, and that's fina-huh?" Something flashed into existence in front of him, it was a scroll. "What the hell.." He groaned in annoyance, levitating the scroll to him and started to read it. "It's from princess Celestia.." For a moment, Valiant thought he saw his friend tense up.

He read through the letter, though after a time, his friend surprised him yet again. "Well, what does it say?" His voice tried to mask the eagerness, which increased Valiant's suspicion.

"Well, she wishes for me to come to Canterlot and train the young prince.." Valiant snorted. "He's eight, or nine.. Too young."

"Ten."

"Hm?" Valiant looked up at his friend. "What was that?"

"He turns ten in a month.." The stoic stallion grumbled. There was silence between them for a while, Valiant was not sure how to respond to that, he was not sure why his friend knew that little fact, but he seemed invested in this bit of news. "You should go." He finally said.

"What?"

His friend sighed. "You should go, to Canterlot, train the prince.."

Valiant didn't understand, why the hell was he so invested in this? Why did he even care? "Why?" Valiant asked bluntly.

"Because the princess is asking you, and you would be good at it." He simply replied, taking a few more sucks on his wooden pipe.

"No. I mean why do you want me to take the job? Is it just to get me out of the way?"

"You know that's not why."

"Then why?" Valiant asked, not taking any more bullshit from him. "Tell me what the hell is going on, cut the crap. If you don't, I simply don't reply to this letter."

The two stallions eyed one another for a while, trying to spot any signs of a bluff. Valiant was pleased as his friend finally let out a sigh, giving him the victory, he however did not count on getting the answer he got.

"He's my son.."

"What? Who?"

"The prince, Spero, he's my son..."

Valiant sat a second, then smirked. "Nice try, but that's a load of.." He trailed off, looking into his friend's eyes. There was not a single trace of a bluff or a lie. "By Faust, you're serious, aren't you..?" His friend simply replied with a nod, and for the first time in ages, Valiant Charge was left speechless..

It took him a little while to recover, his mind flooding with questions. But the more important one came to his lips first. "Why are you here and not with them?"

"I can't.. Not before it's safe.."

Valiant frowned. "Those bad ponies you spoke of?" His friend nodded. "Does Celestia know?" 

"No.. I told her I left because of the nobility.. Which is only a small part of the truth.."

"But ten years.." Valiant said. "For ten years you've not been close to your son and, I assume your love.."

"I've been there, they may not have seen me.. But I've been there..." The hurt in his eyes was clear, he was in pain, great pain.

Valiant was not one to get all emotional, but this guy had been by his side for almost eight years. They had fought, not only each other, but side by side. They had saved one another more than a few times, and Valiant would be lying if he said he didn't consider him a friend.

"Still, why do you want me to train your boy? If you want to eliminate this threat, it be better if I went with you."

His friend put out his pipe, placing it back into his saddlebag before looking at Valiant. "I don't trust others like I trust you. Either with skill or loyalty, if he's with you I know both him and Tia will be safe.."

"You're giving me a lot of credit..." Valiant groaned, never really expecting anyone would like him to train any pony, much less their foals. Finally, he looked back at his friend, a determined look in his eyes. "Fine, I'll train your son, but when you find these ponies, you will come and get me. Don't have all the fun without me."

The stallion grinned slightly and held out a hoof. "It's a deal then.. Thank you, my friend.."


~~* *  * * ~~



Present Time.


It was late morning, the sun removing every trace of last nights rainfall. Valiant was already up, preparing for the first lesson of the day. He had of course heard about what happened during the night, and he cursed himself that he was not prepared for it.

Valiant had made a promise to his friend, he would protect the prince, and he would teach him how to defend himself and others.. Of course, he had needed to talk to Celestia about certain conditions, and go over some details about the training. 

First things first, Spero was only a foal, which meant he couldn't push him as hard as an adult. He would need to build a solid foundation, make him understand the principles of fighting, how to focus his magic during combat, and build up his body's strength and endurance. 

Second came the conditions he had set. He wanted their sessions to be private, no guards to interfere, no questions from the princess on how he'd run his training. He would be allowed to treat him as a student, not as a royal prince. If he treated him as such, he would never be able to get Spero to understand, never get him to separate the prince from the warrior. Not that Valiant thought Spero would be a spoiled noble brat like that Blueblood feller, Celestia would never raise him like that, but that didn't mean his surroundings couldn't have an effect on him.

Everything had been set up, from their conditions, to his pay, to how the training should function. Valiant had gotten an entire courtyard to themselves. It was near the barracks, but still cut off by large white walls. Each day for a certain amount of hours this courtyard would be reserved for Valiant, no guard was allowed to interfere, nopony except for the princesses and certain staff members was allowed to go in during training.

He had never met the young prince before, he had seen him on pictures, read about him in passing, but he knew next to nothing about him. His friend would not share too many details, only telling him that he was proud of him, and he was sure he would not disappoint Valiant.

Well, he would be the judge of that. No matter what, he would make the colt into a stallion in no time.

The doors went up, and into the courtyard stepped Celestia, her son a few steps behind her, looking a bit nervous, but still had a determined look in his eyes. Good first start, at least he was not scared or whiny.

She stopped, smiled warmly as Valiant bowed. "Princess Celestia."

"Valiant Charge." Celestia smiled. "Good morning, I hope you found your quarters satisfactory for you?"

Valiant nodded. "Yes, it was comfortable."

"I'm glad." She turned her head, smiling to her son. "This is my son, Spero." Valiant sent him a nod. "Spero, this is Valiant Charge, he will teach you the art of combat." She tried to make it sound like any other subject, like history or math, but Spero could tell she was not fond of the idea. But, that was her mother side, her princess side knew Spero needed to learn, he would one day be king, and so she accepted this needed to happen.

Spero still looked nervous, but he forced himself to look upon Valiant, meeting his gaze. Valiant was impressed, and when he looked into the foal's eyes he knew. 'Yes, this is definitely his son..' He thought.

"H-hello.." Spero said, trying to sound braver than he was feeling.

Valiant could see he was fighting every inch of instinct to hide behind his mother, he did not blame the foal, he did look pretty intimidating. His red eyes looked the prince over, he was a big colt for his size, not fat, but strong. Of course, being a male alicorn, he embodied all three tribes, it was not hard to imagine the potential within him.

"So, you're the colt i'm supposed to turn into a stallion?" Valiant saw how the foal held his gaze, then after a few seconds, he gave a single nod. "Determined one, isn't he?"

Celestia smiled. "I will leave you to it then." 

The princess left the two of them alone, both of them simply looking at one another. It wasn't until they heard the doors close that Valiant spoke up.

"Listen up runt, today we will begin your intense training into becoming a warrior worthy of the throne." He started to circle the colt. "You will call me master, you will do what I say, when I say it. If I tell you to jump, your only question will be, how high."

He came up in front of Spero once again, his red eyes almost glowing as he looked over the colt again. "Now then, let's see what you are made of."


~~* *  * * ~~


Celestia did not like to leave her son, but she knew it had to be done. Luna and her had spoken about this countless times in private. What Luna had said during the night's event had stuck with her, peace had made her naive..

The more she had thought about it, the more she had to agree. It had been hundreds and hundreds of years since Equestria was at war, or was involved in a serious conflict. She had grown accustomed to play chess in her own world, pull the strings that would direct ponies to the places she wanted them to be.

But peace had effected her as well, thought she was a master at manipulation, not with malice intend, she had grown naive. Instead of facing the problems head on, she would lead her little ponies by subtle pressures, but that rarely dealt with the root of the problem. It was how the nobles had grown so, so... She let out a sigh as there was only one word that described both of them, manipulative..

She felt shame, she had prepared for the return of her sister for so long, even sending Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville, not only to help her learn the values of friendship, but because she saw how she might be able to help her sister upon her return. For a very long time, she had put things into motion to let them play out for Equestria's benefit, and the nobles had learned from her, they knew the game, and she feared they had might found a way to play it on a larger scale without her notice.

After Luna's return, she had met, HIM.. Spero's father, her beloved.. He had been the first one to ever point out her ways, been the first one to speak back to her. At first she had felt offended, tried to block him out, only seeing him as one of her subjects, not as a pony who might have a point, which he did.

It was only after that realization she had found out what she had become..

Luna's banishment, the failure to reach Sunset Shimmer, it all had fed her stubbornness and ego.. Even with Twilight, she had pushed her in a direction she herself had not chosen. Of course, there was never any evil intend behind her actions, never a desire to control or hurt anypony, and everything had worked out for the best.

But in the end she could not push him in any direction, he walked wherever he wished. Kept himself respectful towards her, but would never shy away from stating his opinion if he felt it was valid, and the right thing to do. His boldness had taken her by surprise, and it was then she realized she had held herself above her little ponies, she thought herself above them..

The shame she felt was nothing like she had ever felt before...

He left shortly after that, but she needed to see him again, to ask for his forgiveness for acting so distant and arrogant towards him. She however could not bring herself to simply ask for him to come, so she summoned him for a simple job, nothing her own staff couldn't handle, but she wanted him.

Of course he saw right through it, and told her as much.

She told him how sorry she was, wanting him to know he was right. She didn't expect him to forgive her, even as she had once again manipulated a situation so they could speak again. To her surprise, he asked for a date. She had been surprised for sure, out of every scenario she had imagined, a date was the last thing she had expected. She however agreed, not knowing what to expect.

He was charming, intelligent, observant, much more than she had given him credit for. He also treated her as simply Celestia, not princess Celestia. It was nice, feeling the worries that came with her title vanish whenever she was in his company. The night had ended with a kiss, a 37 second long kiss under Luna's night sky. 

That had begun their relationship, for a year they met in secret, as often as they could. A year of pure happiness, nice memories, unforgettable nights of passion. The stallion had taken her heart, and she found herself loving him more each time they met.

But, it all changed when she got pregnant. Not at first, at first he was excited, happy, he even cried.. She had expected him to make another bold move, asking her to marry him, but, that never came to be.

One night, he told her he would leave, he could not be the father their foal deserved. She was shocked, angry, mostly because she could tell he was lying. She begged him to stay, feeling more vulnerable than she had for thousands of years.. She loved him, and he was the father..

He remained firm however, telling her if the nobles knew he was a simple commoner, they would make a bigger fuss, putting Equestria in danger. While the logic was somewhat sound, she could tell something else drove this decision. She wanted to know what, she asked him, but he simply told her to please not ask him, and look after their son.

At the time, she had wanted to scream, to beg, to use all her powers to deliver swift punishment! But, she loved the stallion, and thus, she had come to know his heart. Celestia saw he didn't do this because he wanted to, but because something was forcing him away, something he had to deal with, alone...

It didn't make it any less painful, but at least she knew he didn't do it because he didn't want to take responsibility. He did it because he had to, and she knew in her heart, he would return to them, someday..


~~* *  * * ~~


Fancy Pants stood at the entry way for the cabinet meeting room, he was not sure why he had been summoned, he was not an official or anything, just a noble. But, Celestia had her reasons, and soon enough it would all be explained. The sound of hoof steps brought him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see who had approached him.

"Blueblood?" Fancy Pants asked, surprised to see his rival, but even more surprised to see the state he was in. His mane was not neat and tidy, his eyes look blood red, like if he had lost sleep, cried, or was simply in great distress. Even his clothes did not look like it had been put on right.

Blueblood looked to his rival, and simply nodded. "Good morning to you, Fancy Pants.. What brings you here?" Good morning? Blueblood rarely said good morning to him, let alone morning, he didn't insist on calling him, Prince, Blueblood either.

Fancy Pants frowned. "I say old chap, are you quite alright?"

Blueblood shook his head, as if trying to get his thoughts straight. "Yes, thank you, I am quite fine. But, if I may ask, what are you doing here?"

Thank you? Okay, something was definitely wrong with him, Blueblood never said thank you, let alone asked if he could ask anything, normally he would just say whatever he pleased. However, Fancy did not want to press him, not right now, it looked like he was beyond stressed, and he was a gentlecolt after all.

"Princess Celestia summoned me for this meeting." Fancy Pants replied. "Though I cannot imagine for what reason. Now, what about you old chap? Are you here to attend the meeting as well?"

Blueblood sighed. "No, I'm afraid not. I just needed to speak with my aunts about something quite urgent." Fancy Pants was not sure what to think, he was clearly upset, but what could have upset him so much he came to the palace looking like he was being chased by assassins. Before Fancy could reply, they heard hoofsteps, and the blood from Blueblood's face drained.

When Fancy looked, he saw Celestia walking towards them, but she was not alone. Beside her was a young black and grey unicorn, who Fancy recognized as count Night Sprint. He didn't know much about him, he was rich, but most nobles were, with a few exceptions. But other than his wealth he did not really know much, not even any reputation for him to go by.

Celestia looked at Night Sprint and nodded. "That is an excellent suggestion Night Sprint, I shall take it under advisement." Looking forward again, she noticed the two stallions waiting. "Ah, Fancy Pants, and, uh, nephew? Are you alright, you look rather, disturbed.." Celestia said in a worrying tone.

Before Blueblood could even attempt to think of an answer, Night Sprint stepped in. "Blueblood, my friend. Still worried about your debt? Hehe, as I said, think nothing of it, a game of Royal Highland should not ruin your finances just yet."

"Oh?" Celestia looked to Night Sprint. "Did something go wrong?"

Night Sprint chuckled and shook his head. "Oh no, we simply went to one of the salons and played some cards. Sad to say the night did not favor Blueblood, he lost quite a few bits to me."

Celestia sighed as she looked to her nephew with a stern look. "Nephew, I've told you this before, please don't spend more than what you get in. If you have come to ask for another loa-"

"Ahem." Night Sprint coughed politely, earning him Celestia's attention. "Really your majesty, it's quite alright. As I said, I have forgiven his debt to me. It was just a friendly game, nothing more. No reason to make a fuss about it." He chuckled. "I assure your highness it is fine." 

Blueblood felt his heart beat faster, Night Sprint, the stallion he had thought was a friend, had come to Celestia before he could, making it clear he knew what he was up to. Celestia looked at him, sighing. "Well, never the less.. Nephew, please do be more careful from now on."

Blueblood nodded, his posture stiff, and his eyes darting around nervously. "Of course, auntie.."

Night Sprint smiled. "Now, you look like you have lost a lot of sleep my friend. As I said, do not think about the debt anymore, why don't you and I go to one of the salons and get some late breakfast, hm? What say you?"

He hesitated, but what could he do? Night Sprint was dangerous, and so was this, club, he was a part of. He couldn't risk his life, but he didn't want to risk angering his family. "Of course, I'll be delighted..." Blueblood said with a strained and forced smile.

"Capital, let us be off then." He turned and bowed before Celestia. "Your highness." Then with a nod to Fancy, the two stallions walked off.

Celestia sighed. "Well, I do hope my nephew will learn moderation one of these days.." She then turned to Fancy with a smile. "Well, Fancy, I am delighted you could make it."

Fancy nodded. "Of course Princess, I came as soon as I got your message about this meeting. Though I must confess, I am unsure of what you expect from me.. I am not an official after all.."

"But your words carry weight through the nobility, and your insight would be valuable." Celestia assured him. "Do not fear, I do not expect you to know everything, or make any decisions, but, your insight into the nobility is greater than my own.. Despite my many years working with them, there is some things a princess will never know.."

Fancy Pants considered her words, then nodded. "I see your point, your majesty. I'll do anything that might make this meeting easier for you."

She smiled in return. "Thank you Fancy. Now, shall we?"


~~* *  * * ~~


Spero felt the cold stone floor beneath him, his legs could no longer carry him, so he laid down, panting, sweating. His new teacher simply looked at him sternly, there was no mercy, no rest to find in his eyes. He didn't need to say it, they both knew it, so Spero tried to stand up under his own volition.

He tried with all his might, but his legs simply shook, and wobbled under him, his whole body shook the more he stood up, and Valiant Charge simply stood there with a stern expression. It didn't matter, the more Spero seemed to try, the more his body seemed to protest. He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes shut, forcing his body to move.

Finally, it gave out, and he fell back onto the stone floor, panting, exhausted. Valiant sighed. "So that's it? That's what the royal prince can do? You didn't manage to land one single punch or magic blast at me." He frowned, and it was hard to tell for Spero which kind of frown it was. 

Valiant had counted on this, he had not expected Spero to land a single punch or blast, he was not trained, and he was just a foal. Still, the fighting was not the point, he needed to see if the kid had the spirit and the will to fight. Valiant could only do so much after all, and if the kid didn't have the will, then he might as well not even try.

"I..." Valiant heard Spero say. "I won't quit..." Spero was shaking, his muscles refused, but he willed himself to stand up, despite his exhaustion.

"Hm.." He was impressed, but this was the first day, and Valiant refused to let up on the colt just yet. In a few days time, he would have the answer, until then, he needed to remain distant and firm. Spero needed to know that there was always a bigger, meaner, and stronger opponent out there. And no matter how skillful you were, you could never overestimate yourself. Spero would understand this lesson before he would ever need it, better to understand it now than later.

For now however, he was satisfied with how today's training had went, even if it was cut short. Valiant walked towards the foal, and gently placed a hoof on his forehead, and gave him the gentlest of push. Spero let out a groan as he from that fell back onto his rump, and then slumped down onto the stone tiles beneath him.

"You're done for the day." His teacher said firmly. "Get some water and get out of here. If you feel it's too hard, then don't bother showing up tomorrow and waste my time." And with that, Valiant walked away. Of course he didn't go far, he made sure the prince would be okay, but he couldn't know that of course.

Spero struggled to get up before his teacher left, but he finally gave up, letting his body recover. He bit his lip, still panting a little, a pathetic sight of disappointment and small sobs. Spero had never worked so hard in his life, he had never felt so defeated and tired. He was angry, he wanted to show his teacher that he could do it, that royal life didn't make him weak. He would show him, some day...


~~* *  * * ~~


"So.." Night Sprint said as he led the white coated stallion into one of the many salons of the palace. "Let's see what we can get for some light breakfast." Blueblood didn't speak, he simply followed the stallion he had thought of as his friend, but now, now he was more like his blackmailer.

The salons of the palace were typically reserved for the nobility, they often treated this as their second home, as this was the place to get news, gossip, and alliances. Food was often readily available, so was the drinks, and the palace staff saw to all their needs. Blueblood had prided himself at being the crown jewel, not just at these gatherings, but also a master at the gambling tables.

He had enjoyed the social games, enjoyed how lesser nobles would seek him out in the hopes of gaining some sort of favor from him, or by extend, the royal princesses. Now, he felt like he was as low as he could go, trapped by somepony who had outsmarted him... It felt horribly, and it made him angry.. But his anger was overshadowed by the fear, the fear of being found out, being seen as a traitor, which would not only mean him being stripped of his royal titles, but end with him being hanged... 

That could not be allowed to happen! He needed to find a way out of this, he was good at that after all.

His thoughts were interrupted as Night Sprint hummed, looking over all the delicious treats that was placed on a long table. There was everything from small sandwiches, to tiny treats and cake. Not many were up here at this time of day, it was still a early, so most nobles waited for lunch, or just before lunch to enjoy the light food provided by the palace.

That also meant he and Night Sprint were mostly alone, and could talk privately, a fact that was surely by intend. His suspicion was only confirmed as Night Sprint started this secret conversation by saying. "Did you really think we didn't know you would come running to your aunts?"

"I.." Blueblood looked at his old friend, then straight ahead to the food, not wanting to give anything away. His anger must have shown though, because Night Sprint chuckled.

"We know you Blueblood, and we will always be a few steps ahead of you.. Now.." Night sprint levitated a small plate to him, and started to place a few goodies on it. "If you stop being such a baby about it, then maybe we can get over this and move on."

"I don't know what you imagine I can do for you..." Blueblood said in as calm a voice as he could muster.

"Maybe you can do more than you realize." Night Sprint responded, not even bothering looking at him. Though, when Blueblood did not reply he did roll his eyes. "Come now Blueblood.. Use your imagination, you're the cousin of the future king.. He's going to need somepony to show him the ropes of court. I'm sure you don't want Fancy Pants to take that role, no?" Blueblood didn't reply, he didn't have to. Night Sprint glanced behind them, then smiled. "Looks like he is already making his moves.."

Blueblood discreetly turned his head slightly, and saw princess Cadance, and lady Fleur De Lis, behind them followed their daughters, looking around in awe.

"You see?" Night Sprint smirked. "If Fancy Pants's daughter is getting close to the future king, then so does he.. Rumor has it in certain circles that she would make a good match for him.." He returned to fill his plate. "We all make moves Blueblood, time for you to make yours.."


~~* *  * * ~~


Flurry Heart and Alouette walked side by side, following their mothers as they intended to show them the court. Back home in the Crystal Empire, they had court too, but nothing as elaborate as this. It was a little intimidating, Flurry had to admit, but, she held her head high, and listened as the two mares explained.

"The stallions are at war." Cadance told the fillies. "And so are we."

Fleur followed up by saying. "The stallions use their swords, we use our beauty, but the end is the same."

Cadance nodded. "Conquest."

The two fillies gulped as this court business sounded more intense by the minute. Cadance and Fleur had plenty of experience, and Cadance knew full well her daughter needed to learn how to navigate these social circles. The Crystal Empire did not have a court such as this, not yet anyway, and so it was better to learn here and now.

The mares let their daughters walk between them, that way they could speak so only they could hear. "When you pass the doors to this court, you're not walking into a room, you're entering a marketplace. Now, transactions mean contacts, contacts mean credit, credit means power."

Fleur looked down at the two fillies with a serious look. "And power, means everything."

It was a harsh lesson, and for now, a confusing one for the two fillies. When they grew older, they would understand the small social cues. How a mere look from the right pony could translate into credit, could translate into something of worth. Cadance and Fleur had both been a big part of that game before they met their husbands. A sway of the hips there, and look of interest there, everything you did in court could be seen as a transaction.

The rules changed depending on where you were, like when Cadance became a princess, or when Fleur married Fancy. Thankfully, their daughters would not need such details for a while, and it would come to them naturally the more time they spend in court.

They walked out again, into the more private hallways of the palace. "Now then girls, I think that will do it for today.." Cadance smiled gently. "Why don't you go and find Spero, his lesson should be over as well."

The two fillies nodded, smiling, and ran down the hall towards the private wing of the palace. Both Fleur and Cadance smiled, happy that their girls were still innocent and playful. They were also happy that their friendship with Spero was as strong as it was, but, both of them knew very well, that that friendship could be as much as a curse, as it could be a blessing. Which was a lesson they would also one day learn..

But hopefully not for a long time. 


~~* *  * * ~~


Brave Star let out a sigh, it was not like his friend to be so downcast. After his lessons, Star had gone to Spero's room to hang out, and maybe go over some of the homework his mother had assigned them both. Instead, Star had found his friend on the floor of his room, looking as tired and as miserable as he had ever seen him.

He wasn't crying, but, Star could tell that he had shed more than a few tears. He was of course worried for his friend, because he had never seen him like this. Spero still laid on the floor, his back turned to Brave Star, hardly speaking.

"Come on Spero.. You lost the fight, but you'll bounce back, you always do.." Star tried to encourage.

Spero nodded a little, turning his body to face him. "Yeah, I know.. I'm just... He is so strong.. I just don't want to disappoint my mom or my dad.."

Star frowned, it was rare for Spero to talk about his dad. As far as Star knew, he had never met the stallion in his life, still, when he did speak about him, it was with great respect and devotion. Perhaps it was the way princess Celestia spoke of him, Star was not sure how his mother talked about Spero's father, but the way Spero spoke of him told Star it was with love and respect. That being earned or not, Star could not say, and he could not judge anything he didn't know about, it was not his place.

Before he could reply, the door went up, and in trotted two fillies. Once they saw Spero on the floor looking beaten and exhausted they both let out a shocked gasp. It was almost comical to Star, but he didn't say anything, he simply grinned.

"By Celestia, what happened to you!?" Alouette exclaimed, and ran to Spero's side, followed by Flurry Heart who took her position on the other side. "You look dreadful!"

The mere sight of the display almost made Star burst out laughing, Spero looked almost even worse as the two fillies started to examine and comfort him. Spero tried his best to be polite, and patient, but it was clear it was strained as the two only served to remind him of his defeat.

"Was your training that hard?" Flurry Heart asked, a worried tone in her voice, making Spero flinch a bit.

He seemed slightly embarrassed as he sat between the two fillies, blushing slightly as he looked down at his hooves. "N-no... Yes, but.. I will get stronger.." He assured them, not really liking the looks of pity they gave him. While with good intend, their pity looks only made him feel worse.

It was at that moment another filly entered the room, by window no less. "Of course you will!" Rainbow Dawn exclaimed as she landed in the windowsill. All eyes turned to her, and she smiled smugly as she looked confident in her remark. "So you lost, and that sucks, but I loose to my mom all the time." 

Dawn jumped down from the windowsill, then trotted confidently towards Spero. "So what you are going to do is simple. Train! Keep trying! You will probably loose a bunch of times, but each time, you get just a little bit closer. And then." She pressed her nose against his as she looked intently into his eyes. She didn't mean anything by it, or thought about the action, she simply wanted to make sure he understood what she was saying. "Then one day, you get to taste the sweet taste of victory as you whoop his butt!"

Their eyes locked, and Dawn seemed to be the only one not realizing she was basically kissing him, or did something intimate. Spero blushed, not daring to blink or look away from her eyes. Star held his breath, afraid if he moved it would set off the two other fillies in the room who was almost fuming. 

There was a moment of silence, and it was not broken until the two fillies had enough. "I think that's long enough Dawn!" Flurry Heart proclaimed, and Alouette nodded in agreement.

Dawn just looked at them, a trace of confusion on her face. "Huh, what are you talking about, I just got here." 

The two fillies blushed, not wanting to say it out loud, which understandably made Dawn even more confused. Luck however gave them a chance to escape this awkward moment, as the door suddenly slammed open and in walked Macoun Apple, carrying a tray on his back, with. "Apple fritters for everypony!" He stopped, sensing the mood in the room, and noticed every set of eyes upon him, and not the way he expected. "Uhm, did ah miss something?"


~~* *  * * ~~


If there was one thing Luna hated, it was meetings. Meetings upon meetings upon meetings. They all sometimes seemed to blend in together, all seeming to talk about the same nonsense. While it had it's function and importance, it was still more dull than growing grass, and even that was more interesting.

Still, she was a princess of Equestria, and even though she thought it was boring, she did manage to absorb what was being said and explained. Despite Luna having been back for several years now, it was still hard to get used to all the meetings and paperwork. In her time it felt simpler, or maybe it was just because she was still getting used to the times it felt even more daunting.

Finally, they came to the last topic of the day, the reforming of the armed forces of Equestria. Luna felt it was long overdue, and the generals seemed to agree, even Swift Strike who was just a captain had mentioned the confusion about having four guard branches.

"So.." Celestia began, taking a sip of her tea that had been provided for this meeting. She looked at her ministers and some high ranking officers, sitting along the massive oval meeting table. "I believe the final subject on the agenda today, is the issue with our defense structure. General Flint Hoof, if you would." 

An armor-clad dark grey unicorn sat up straighter. "Yes, your highness.. As you know." He started off, talking to all the ministers in the room, and what few generals that had been gathered for this meeting. "Our military structure has been quite, confusing over the last few years. We have three guard regiments, and the royal guard, it is a huge hit to our defense budget, not to mention a logistic nightmare.." He looked to the princesses. "Excuse me for saying so.."

Celestia shook her head. "No no, do go on. Your honesty is important."

"Indeed." Luna agreed.

Flint Hoof nodded, and continued. "As such, I would suggest, a total reform and reorganization of the armed forces of Equestria. Disbandment and transfers of regiments and it's personnel. Introduction to new weaponry and equipment, and lastly, the introduction of a draft system."

The minister of defense looked a little, uncomfortable. Luna noticed it, but Celestia did not seem to, not before the minister had managed relax her posture again. "Yes, I must agree with General Flint Hoof. We must reorganize the army, right now we are using more of our budget than we should."

"But you talk about, introducing new weaponry?" Celestia asked. 

"Indeed." The minister replied. "We believe we might as well modernize the army while we are reforming it. As such, we would like to introduce as the new standard weapon for the common soldier, a new contraption called a musket."

Luna tilted her head slightly. "A what?"

"A musket, majesty." She repeated. "It's a muzzle loaded long gun, works kind of like our cannons. We load a small projectile into the barrel. Then pulling the trigger, it will ignite the black powder, and send the projectile flying towards the enemy."

Celestia and Luna both nodded, they could see the benefits of such a weapon, but of course, before they could produce it as a standard weapon for the army, they needed to see it in action. The minister made a note of it, and promised to inform them once a test was ready to be made.

"And you suggested to disband certain regiments?" Luna then asked, fearing for her Lunar guard, as they were made up of thestrals. 

The minister nodded. "Yes, I believe captain Swift Strike has spoken of this before?" Luna nodded.

Flint Hoof continued "Indeed.. Well, I would not suggest to to fire anypony, but instead of having four regiments protecting the palace, we would suggest to combine them into one branch. The Royal Guard. Those who cannot meet the standards, should be transferred to other garrisons around the country. The security of the palace, and the royal family, should be the responsibility of the royal guard, exclusively."

Murmurs of agreement went around the table, and Celestia could see the logic, and the difficulties the guards and officers had. "It is certainly a lot to think on, but for now, I think it is a matter me and my sister should discuss with the captains. General Flint Hoof, if you would like to accompany us during that meeting, we will be most grateful." 

It seemed they would have a lot more meetings in the future about how the army would be reformed. It would also be an investment from their part, as it would cost a lot of bits to make such a huge change. It was not only a question about weapons, but uniforms, training, new regulations, and personnel transfer. It would take time, but Celestia did think it was for the best, and she knew so did Luna. She had been the one reminding her about them needing to change with the times after all.

She took another sip of her tea, and looked to all her ministers once again. "Now then, Fancy Pants, what are your thoughts about this? How do you think the nobility will react?"

One might ask why that would matter, but Celestia and Luna knew all too well that if not prepared for it, the nobility would take a chance to gain some sort of political advantage. And if you could be prepared for it, then the easier it would be to limit their influence.

Fancy took a moment to find the right words, and after that moment had passed, he looked to her. "Well, I do believe if this entire reorganization of the army is to take place. You will quickly find nobles trying to capitalize on it. Offering you the best deals and materials, or at least, that is what they will promise."

Luna wanted to groan, but she refrained from it and instead said. "Some might even try to push for the reforms in order to gain from it."

"Yes, that is quite possible I'm afraid." Fancy replied. "I do have a few friends in that sort of business, they are outside the social circle of the court. Depending on what is needed, I could put you in contact with them, maybe negotiate some deals?"

Celestia smiled, satisfied. "Thank you Fancy, that would be most agreeable." Taking one final sip of her tea, Celestia looked to all present and said. "I think that will be enough for today, we shall pick this up again soon."


~~* *  * * ~~


Once the meeting was over, Celestia found herself walking down one of the hallways along with Luna, hoping to get some lunch in the garden. First however, the princesses looked to Fancy. "Thank you for your insight today Fancy, it was most helpful."

Fancy shook his head. "Not a problem at all, though I am afraid my help was not necessary."

"On the contrary good Fancy. Your insight was quite valuable." Luna assured him, and Fancy smiled in return, bowing his head in thanks. 

"Now, we mustn't keep you any longer. Thank you again Fancy Pants, you have been a bigger help than you know." Celestia assured him, and Fancy bowed once again.

"Good day to you both then." And with that, he left the two alicorns, still not knowing what Celestia had in mind for him.

There was a lot to consider, and Celestia had to admit that this meeting had left her mind exhausted. Luna was the first to put it to words though, she let out a long and tired groan.

"Sister, I do understand the importance of these meetings, I truly do. But three hours talking about nonsense before we finally got to the important subjects.. I know not how you could deal with that during my absence, but you have my undying respect.." She said exhausted.

Celestia giggled, having to agree with her younger sister. "Well, you're getting better and not showing you're boredom Luna. And yes, I will admit some of the laws proposed today were not of equal importance as other matters. But, never the less, we need to consider the matters, so we know what we sign."

Luna sighed. "I know, and you're right dear sister.. I just wish.. Hm? Captain Swift Strike." Luna said as she noticed the captain walking towards them. 

Both of the alicorns stopped, waiting for their loyal officer to come to them. Once within respectable range, he bowed. "Your majesties."

While Luna was pleased to see the captain of her nephew's lifeguard, Celestia had mixed emotions. She was not doubting the captain's loyalty, not doubting his words, but, his actions had left her rattled a bit. His loyalty had extended so far that he was willing to kill without question, it was rare for her little ponies to have such a mental switch.

Still, she did not doubt him. He had been willing to give his life for her son, and that alone was what kept him from prison. She then chided herself, reminding herself that the world was not so peaceful as it had been only a few years ago. She still hated to admit that, but with the birth of her son, so much had changed.  

The world seemed ready to ignite, the nobility seemed to grow more arrogant and bolder. Not to mention, she had seen reports of troop movements, nothing that worried her, but Luna was right in saying they were old enough to know the signs of war.

In other words, she needed ponies like Swift Strike.

With that in mind, she focused her eyes on the captain. "Do you have anything to report about the prisoners, captain?"

"I do, your majesty." Swift Strike nodded. "They came to the palace, expecting to meet somepony. They expected to be taken into the royal wing, and indeed, reach the crown prince."

Celestia felt her eye twitch with anger, but she kept her composure. "And to what end?" Her voice was strained with forced calm, and Luna knew Celestia probably felt like burning them with the sun itself right about now.

"The two of them believes they were there for a kidnapping."

"They were not there to kill him?" Luna flinched, remembering they were in the open hallway, but thankfully, they were alone.  

Swift Strike shook his head. "That would have been riskier to do in the palace. They could have planned to take him elsewhere before attempting something like that, but if that was the plan, the two prisoners had no idea." He then looked at Celestia. "But, they were expecting somepony to help them.. Which means.."

"They have someone within the palace helping them.." Celestia felt despair and anger at the same time. How could any pony within Canterlot wish to betray the crown? And who within the palace would ever wish it so? She couldn't understand it, or maybe, she could, but would rather not believe it.

Swift Strike nodded. "With your permission, I would like to start a discrete investigation into this matter. If somepony within the palace is endangering the royal family, then I will find the guilty one, and bring him or her to justice."

Neither Celestia or Luna doubted his word, or doubted that he would indeed with time find the ones responsible. "That would be most agreeable, captain." Luna said. "But, maybe this is not the most ideal time, however. The army is looking to be drastically reformed, which means you will need to decide upon the offer of your promotion."

It was a total shift in the conversation, but, Swift Strike was prepared, and answered. "If I may, I do not wish to leave my soldiers. I have build up this regiment myself, and I trust them fully, just like they trust me. Therefore, with the upcoming reforms, I would like to ask permission to select a group of the finest among my regiment, and create a special branch."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Special branch? Of the army?"

He nodded. "Yes ma'am. A group of elite soldiers that can handle investigations like this, and perform lightning strikes against enemy forces."

"Why, captain." Luna smirked. "Seems like to me you want command of an elite corps of soldiers."

Swift Strike did not attempt to hide it, that was indeed exactly what he wanted. "Yes. I want to create an elite corps, a special force that only has room for the best of the best."

"Hmm.." There was a lot to consider, and even though this might be beneficial, it was not something she or her sister could decide here and now in the middle of the hallway. "Please write up your request in full detail, then me and my sister will review it."

He saluted. "Ma'am!"

Luna smiled, a proud smile Celestia determined. "Until next time, captain." And with that, the alicorns left Swift Strike to prepare his formal request. There was certainly a lot to do, and it almost seemed overwhelming.

The sisters walked in silence for a bit, then Luna broke it. "Onto some more cheerful news. I hear Cadance is planning on letting Flurry Heart stay with us for a time?"

Celestia looked at her sister, taking a moment to make the mental shift in conversation. "Uhm, yes, indeed. Cadance feels she would get more out of her education here in Canterlot, with Twilight as her tutor. Spero would also have someone close, and it would give her an opportunity to learn more about the inner workings of court."

"Is that wise?" Luna asked. "With all that is going on, is this the best place for her right now?"

"I honestly don't know. But, my son lives here, and so, one would think it was the safest place in Equestria.. I've decided to agree to her wish, unless you have anything to say about it?"

Luna shrugged. "Nothing at all, in fact, it might be good for my nephew to have some close trusted friends nearby."

"Indeed.." Celestia said, with almost a grim tone. "Trusted friends is exactly what he will need..."


~~* *  * * ~~


The day had been eventful for sure, lots of things to consider, lots of things to think over. It was easy to understand why the royal family got such a good sleep that night, and when morning came, Valiant Charge was once again ready in his little training yard.

He had spend the day, after making sure Spero was okay of course, out in the city. Getting acquainted with the local taverns, and how the gossip spread across the city. He had also spend some time in the barracks, getting to know some of the guards. 

It had let him hear the rumors of the army reforms, which, didn't really interest him all that much, but, news such as that helped him be updated on everything that went on around the palace, and by extend, his student. 

Valiant was not sure if Spero would show up, he had gotten, not a beating, but he had been defeated. He reminded himself that the colt's father had faith in him, and what he did for his son in the hopes he could one day return. That made Valiant hope that Spero would have the guts to show up, or he would be disgracing the hopes his friend had placed in Spero.

Still, the whole affair did made Valiant wonder. Who could he be chasing after? What did he fear so much that he stayed away from the princess of the sun herself, not to mention her sister, and the royal guard. Surely they would be able to protect his family without him having to run off into the world in the search for this mysterious organization.

However, Valiant trusted him. Even if he had to remind himself of that several times whenever he was thinking about all of this. Maybe it was because he was not used to sitting on the sidelines, he was used to be in the action, not away from it.

It infuriated him that he did not know how he was doing, if he was okay, or how his hunt was going. He let out a small growl in annoyance, kicking at the dirt a little as his frustration grew slightly. Then, suddenly, he heard small hoof steps on the stone floor.

Looking up, he saw the young prince, standing with his head held high. A tired, yet determined look about him. Good.. Valiant smirked, happy to see the colt had some balls, and was ready to face him even though he didn't have a chance of winning.

"So you decided to show up after all, prince." Valiant said, almost taunting him a little. "I must admit, I'm impressed. I didn't think you would show up again, or that I would still be in the palace." He lied, just wanting to light a fire under him. "Figured you would go cry to your mother, and have me thrown out for being mean."

Spero shook his head. He hadn't spoken much about it with his mother. When she had asked, he had simply smiled, and explained it was hard, but he would pull through. She in turn smiled back, told him she was proud of him, and to hang in there. Spero decided to do exactly that.

He refused to back down, not on the first day, and certainly not on the second. He would show this Valiant Charge, he would prove himself worthy, and he would make his father, wherever he was in the world, proud of him.

Spero looked him directly in the eyes, his eyes burning with determination. "I will never give up! And I will not keep loosing to you!"

Valiant's smirk grew slightly. "Oh, really now? Well then, prince. Then you better be prepared for what comes next, because to beat me, you have to be the best of the best. Now, I can make you the best, but I will not make it easy for you. Do you understand? I won't let you rest just because you're tired, I won't comfort you when you're crying, and I certainly won't slow down for you. No, you have to keep up with me. Do you understand, prince?"

The colt felt his anger rise each time he used his title. It was not that he hated it, but the way Valiant used it made it seem like stamp of royal laziness. Dripped with the expectations that he was going to fail and give up as soon as things got to hard. Well, Spero wouldn't give up, and he would make Valiant Charge eat his words, one day.

Taking a step forward, Spero glared at his teacher. "I understand, teacher! I won't let you down!"

Valiant chuckled. "Is that so? Well, I guess we better get started then.."